Classroom Changeling

by Someguy458

Chapter 20: A Date To Remember

Eventually, we got to Luigi's, a quaint italian restaurant run by a local family. The hostess, a teenage woman with red hair and freckles, put on a smile at the sight of us, her aura a mixture of pale rose and khaki (I should really start keeping track of what they mean). "Welcome to Luigi's, how many seats do you need?"

"Just us two," Os smiled back. The lady nodded, grabbing two menus and leading us to an open booth. Looking around, I was surprised to see a few other equestrians, including a hippogriff, two zebras, a dragon, and a fellow Changeling.

The hostess got us to an open table, a nice little booth where Os and I sat across from each other. She placed some menus onto the table, then left us to look over them.

Os began, "So, anything happen lately?"

I shrugged, "My dad became a changeling yesterday."

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow. "That must've been quite the surprise for him."

"Yeah," I chuckled. "He almost didn't pick up for our bi-weekly call."

"He's in Iran, right?"

"Afghanistan, actually," I corrected.

"Right, right."

It was then that the waitress came back. We ordered our drinks (I got chocolate milk while Os got strawberry lemonade), and she left again.

Os picked up a menu with a wing. "Alright, what still looks good...?"

I used my magic to levitate mine. "Well, I don't exactly need to eat real food anymore, but I still want to get some — keeps some amount of normalcy, you know?"

She nodded, then went back to looking at the menu. While she looked, her emotional aura began to rotate between multiple colors such as chartreuse, dark blue, and light orchid.

That settled it; I pulled out my notebook and began to write out a guide to my emotion sense. Os looked up, then paused when she saw me. "Uh, Rove?" Her aura was now maroon.

"Yeah?" I grunted, barely noting that she seemed confused and putting that next to maroon.

"Where'd your notebook come from?"

I paused, finally remembering the fact that I hadn't actually brought my notebook with me on this date. "Huh, would you look at that?" I checked the front; definitely my notebook, and not a completely new one.

"I think you just teleported your notebook here!" Os was now beginning to get excited, her aura turning tangerine yellow.

I made note of that. "I suppose I did, didn't I?"

"That's so cool! Do you think you could do it with anything else?"

I couldn't help myself; Os's excitement was contagious. "Let's find out, shall we?"

I then spent the next few minutes trying to get something else from my room to appear next to us. It took a bit of work to consciously do it, but once I realized that it worked better if I really wanted it, I began to get the hang of it pretty quickly. I managed to summon a box of tissues and three pencils before our drinks came. The waitress's aura turned maroon at the extra stuff now at our table, but she didn't comment.

We placed our orders (I got pasta e fagioli, while she got a chicken and spinach calzone), then went back to what we were doing before. I showed Os what I was writing in my notebook, and together, we came up with a pretty comprehensive list of emotions I could sense.

Eventually, the food came out. Even if it wasn't filling, that pasta e fagioli still tasted amazing. And judging by Os's pink-and-white aura, she was satisfied by her meal, too.

We talked for a little while longer about this and that — the kind of stuff only friends would find interesting. Eventually, the check came, and I summoned my stash of money to pay (Os wanted to, but I insisted).

But as we were leaving, a family entered the restaurant with a Changeling among them. And though we only made eye contact for a moment as we passed, his aura flashed a dozen colors.

But the lead color was fire brick red.

---

As we walked home, that Changeling plagued my mind. Os seemed to notice, and asked, "What's wrong?"

"That Changeling..." I muttered. "When he looked at me, he suddenly got really angry."

Os looked concerned, and her dark magenta aura backed that up. "Maybe, uh... Maybe they were just having a hard day, having become a Changeling, and the sight of you brought out all their emotions?"

I sighed. "Maybe you're right, but I just can't shake off this bad feeling it gave me."

She thought for a moment, then smirked. "I think I might know something that'll get your mind off of it."

Before I could ask what she meant, she suddenly took to the sky with unsteady wing beats. She gestured with a hoof to follow her lead, and I did so, buzzing up to meet her. She led me up over a house, in a direction I knew led to a park (Cascade Valley, I think?).

As we approached, she told me, "Close your eyes."

"What??" I balked. "But we're flying; I'll crash!"

She paused for a moment, then took my hoof in hers. "I'll make sure you don't."

I could feel a little blush invading my face, but I did as she asked, and closed my eyes. She led me forward for a bit, before we both landed on something wooden.

"Alright, open your eyes."

I did so, and was stunned.

The park looked spectacular. With winter coming in soon, all the leaves were beautiful shades of red and gold, and there was just a touch of frost on everything, making it all glisten. The boardwalk we were on overlooked a small valley with a river running through it, which shone in the evening sun. I'd been here once before, but never had I truly appreciated how beautiful it looked until now.

"Wow..." was all I could say.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Os asked. I looked over to her to find she was looking at me, smirking. "It truly is something to—"

She couldn't help but laugh at how cheesy she was being, and I joined her in it. When we finally wound down, we decided to just sit there, taking in the view.

Soon, I felt Os's hoof on my lap. I turned to see her looking at me again, this time more dreamily than last. I couldn't help but get lost in her pumpkin orange eyes again, just like last night.

It happened before I could even register what I was doing; I moved forward and locked lips with her, and we both melted into a kiss. This time, however, Os was a little more experimental; as soon as my mouth opened a little, she snaked her tongue in. I was taken aback a bit, before moving my own tongue forward to meet hers.

Suffice it to say, we made enough heat ourselves to stave off the cold autumn air.

---

<Rove, are you there?>

When I came to, it was just after sunset. I was still entangled in Os's limbs, but I didn't feel like I needed to change that anytime soon. So I simply laid there, taking in her wonderful smell while I sent back my reply: <What's up, Mom?>

<Where have you been? We were looking all over the house before I remembered the Hive Mind.>

<I'm on a date.>

She paused for a moment. <A date? I don't remember you mentioning dating anyone.>

<It was a recent development.>

Her next reply came with a bit of motherly teasing. <I see. So, who's the lucky other?>

I chuckled a little internally. <It's Os, actually.>

This time, there was a shorter pause. <Huh. I thought there was something else going on with you two, but I was never quite sure.>

I rolled my eyes. <Alright, did you really wake me up just to gossip about my love life?>

<Actually, no. While you were gone, we came up with a plan.>

Author's Note:

Edit (3/4/2023): Added an illustration

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Is there any violence in this story?

[Someguy458]

10971295
Nope, and I should hopefully keep it that way unless something goes terribly wrong while I'm writing.

[Feynna]

We talked for a little while longer about this and that — the kind of stuff only friends would find interesting. Eventually, the check came, and I summoned my stash of money to pay.

So, wait... did they go to the restaurant without their money? Because if they only figured out that they could summon that notebook, why would they leave their money at home?

[Someguy458]

10971851
Os was going to pay, but Rove insisted.

Edited to show that now.

[tsaukpaetra]

Hmmm, the angry one, perhaps recognized him as the first to change and is harboring blame? Not good.
Wonder if others have discovered the hive mind and are going to take advantage of it? Things getting complicated...

[Mix-up]

Nice to see an update again, been trying to catch up on what I missed, keep it up.

[Boof Man]

"He's in Iran, right?"

I’d sure hope not lol