What was Crystal Prep's Sugarcoat like as a little girl? Let's find out, shall we?
Everyone knows Sugarcoat as being a stuck-up, smart-mouthing, hyper-intelligent, soon-to-be valedictorian with grades who surpassed everyone at Crystal Prep after Twilight left for Canterlot High.
But, much like everyone, Sugarcoat had a childhood. And when she tells her story to the other Crystal Preppers she finds to be her acquanitances, they'll find out that she was much, MUCH different as a kid.
Sugarcoat walked through the herd of Crystal Prep students with a textbook lodged underneath her left arm. She rolled her eyes as she passed by the students, listening to the many echoes of their conversations that sounded like incomprehensible gibberish to her when put together all at the same time. Through their bright colours and idle smiles, she could still see the level of professionalism that she shared with her peers before, during, and after the Friendship Games—even if said talent had been buried underneath the fall of Cinch and the rise of a new principal.
After Principal Cinch tried to persuade the board to have Canterlot High disqualified from the Friendship Games due to a magical outbreak, the aged woman had not only found herself booted off of the board, but also found herself the target of a lawsuit by Twilight Sparkle for blackmailing. Sugarcoat still remembered the oak tables, pews, and pillars that filled the space in the courtroom whenever she thought back to that day, followed by the screams of desperation, fury, and then insanity as Cinch was deemed guilty and hauled off by the police officers. She still shuddered at the sounds, but shook her head and pressed on regardless.
How quickly this world seems to change... Sugarcoat took a deep breath and exhaled through her nose as she turned a corner and approached a pair of doors. How can the students of this place be at peace when stuff like magic is running throughout this world? Shouldn't they be panicking, or at the very least, disturbed by this whole scenario? Shaking her head, she pushed through the doors and walked into a large refectory. Calm yourself, Sugarcoat. Remember what mother said. Worry leads to disaster. Perhaps something to eat should calm my nerves.
Sugarcoat took a tray and gathered her food, collecting some salad, pasta, and a drink of water as she made her way towards the tables. As she casually strolled past the various rows of seats that had been occupied by other students eating their fill before their next lessons.
"Hey, Sugar! C'mere, girl!" Lemon Zest called out from the top floor as she peaked her head over the mezzanine's banisters. She gave Sugarcoat a vigorous wave, dropping her headphones onto her arm. "We're all waitin' for ya!"
Sugarcoat gave a sigh and shrugged. She walked up the stairs and came to the table where Lemon Zest and her friends were sitting with their trays of food. The four of them all watched as she laid down her food on the one empty slot and slipped her legs underneath the table. "Lemon Zest. I will never understand how you always get the tables up here, let alone save a spot for me."
"Aww, Sugar. Sometimes you've just gotta go with the flow, y'know?" Lemon Zest wrapped her arm around Sugarcoat's shoulders and gave her a grin. "And if that flow takes you all the way to the top, then you've just gotta take it at the first chance."
"I'll never understand this 'flow' you keep talking about, Lemon Zest." Sunny Flare lifted one of her brows as she pulled her eyes from her meal and stared at the headphone-clad girl. "But I suppose that if you like it, then who are we to deny you it?"
"Yeah. It's not like you're considered the weird girl or anything, not when everyone dresses like a unicorn vomited on them." Sour Sweet blew a little tuft of hair poking out above her forehead as she took another bite of her pasta.
"Aptly put as always, Sour Sweet." Sugarcoat nodded and took a small swig of her water. "So, do you any happen to have any topics of discussion, or are you just preparing yourselves for your next class in silence?"
"Eh. Little bit of both, really." Indigo Zap hunched her shoulders and held her hands out flat, poking her fingers out to the sides as she wobbled her wrists. "What about you?"
"I happen to have come out of a very important history exam." Sugarcoat picked her textbook up and slid it into the backpack resting delicately on her shoulders. "Even with Cadence's promotion to Principal, I can't let my grades slip by even an inch. Crystal Prep does still need to keep a good track record, crazed elder's shattered reputation or not."
"Yeah. I never guessed that Cinch was that heartless, really." Lemon Zest kicked her feet up and put her hands behind her head as she looked up to the ceiling. "OK, so there were one or two little detentions here and there, followed by a meeting with mom and dad, but honestly, I didn't really see her as someone who blackmailed people..."
"I have to agree with Lemon Zest on that. Abacus Cinch did a great job of hiding the wolf that she was underneath that crusty exterior." Sunny Flare nodded lightly. "Through her morals and her severe rules, there didn't seem like much to distinguish her. Then, those teenage girls from Canterlot High came along and she became a totally different person."
"Well, what did you expect? She's an old lady." Sour Sweet tipped her hand as she used her other one to gather a clump of mashed potatoes on her fork. "I'm surprised she didn't need any medication or porters. Heck, I think she deserved to be in a retirement home more than prison." Her frown melted slightly as she took a bite of the white slop. "She's not gonna last a day in there with all those big, bad, mean convicts..."
"Let's not spend the whole day talking about Cinch's termination. The mood here's really beginning to turn foul." Lemon Zest shook her head and turned the music up on her headphones. "Let's move on to something a bit more friendly, shall we?"
"Like what, Zest?" Indigo tilted her head as she bit into a piece of chicken breast. "We're Crystal Preppers. All our time here is usually work, work, work. Heck, I barely get any time to practice my sports anymore with Cadence's new timetables. And I've really gotta give that Canterlot High girl a good game when I see her again..."
"Which one?" Sunny Flare asked.
"Y'know? That one with the rainbow-coloured hair. She's pretty radical, if I do say so myself. And I am pretty rad." Indigo had a toothy grin as she pointed both of her thumbs at her chest. "But yeah, if I fall behind on my training, she might think that Crystal Prep's gone soft. I mean, we've changed a whole lot since the Friendship Games, but I still don't want her to think that we've lost our touch when it comes to sporting events now, do I?"
"Ah, don't be so hard on yourself, Indy. You're still a great girl when it comes to sports." Lemon Zest reached over the table and gave Indigo a small hug, brushing her face against Indigo's cheeks as she inadvertently got food all over her dress. "Plus, you're looking so much better now in yellow."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence there, Zest, but I've still got a pretty packed schedule ahead of me." Indigo wormed out of Lemon's hug and watched as she sat upright once again. "Plus, I do kinda need a lighter tone now so that I don't totally freak out and mess up my lessons." She turned to the other girls at the table. "Anyone got any suggestions for what we could talk about?"
"Well, I suppose I could talk about this new profession that I've been taking up ever since the Friendship Games." Sunny Flare raised her finger, attracting the attention of the group straight away. "Who knew that the world of dress-making could be so enthralling? It's not just about your satins and velours, no. There's plenty of—"
"I said lighter, not boring." Indigo Zap put her hand over Sunny's mouth. "I mean, c'mon, girl. Give me something fuzzy to work with, like, uh, I dunno. kittens or something?"
"Kittens are so cliche these days." Sour Sweet scoffed and ate another piece of her meal. "All they do is look at the camera with their big eyes, and yet the world seems to think that they're so cute and adorable. Well, I have a cat like that, and all that she does is lie around and lick her paws, and I don't find it to be that emotionally gripping!" She slammed her fist on the table, causing a small silence to fall between her and the others. She fluttered her eyes briefly and took her hand back. "Sorry."
"What about the news? There's gotta be something good in the headlines that'll make you either laugh or—"
"Lemon Zest, I'm going to have to stop you right there." Sugarcoat gave a quick flick of her hand, silencing Lemon as she brought it back down to the table. "All the news that's going around these days are about stocks and crime. Nothing really that interesting to talk about. And even if we did, it would just make us grimace with how the world is spiralling out of control with economical or political drama."
"Yeah. There's been some pretty bad news going around lately." Sunny Flare slowly blinked as she put her hands together. "I... think that we should try something else."
"Hold on a sec. I've got it!" Indigo Zap shot her finger up in the air. "Why don't we talk about our childhoods?"
"Childhoods?" The other girls chorused as they stared bug-eyed at Indigo Zap.
"Yeah. We all had 'em? Don'tcha remember, girls?" Indigo Zap began to smile again as she stood up from the table. "We didn't spend our whole lives at Crystal Prep. We had to get born and grow up from little squirts until we got where we are today. We didn't just magically forget everything that happened up until now, right?"
"Hmm... I suppose you're right." Sunny Flare put her fingers against her forehead and leaned over as she tried to recall what it was like to be young. "But even if we do reminisce about those days, how is that going to help us feel better?"
"Duh! Because of the fun and games we used to have!" Indigo threw her arms out and walked around the table. "Think about it. We used to draw, play with bouncy balls, run around in the park as fast as our little legs could take us back then, and our voices were way higher back then too. It was like we didn't have a care in the world!"
"I've tried to remember what those days were like, Indigo. And believe me, it's much harder than it sounds." Sour Sweet deadpanned as she turned to face her again. "Nowadays, all I can think of is trying not to blow my brains out with anger as I try to get my grades, then get a job as someone with a pretty face but who ends up in the pits, meets a guy who somehow seems nice, get married, have children of my own, then die peacefully with the knowledge that I could've done more and taught my offspring some better lessons."
"Oookay. I didn't really need to hear that today." Indigo tugged on her collar as some sweat popped out from her forehead.
"You've gotta give it to Sour, though. She doesn't skimp on any of the details when she's describing something," said Sunny Flare.
"Though, I will admit that the memories of our youth does seem like an interesting concept to bring up, Indigo Zap." Sugarcoat's brows elevated a few inches as she looked up and put her utensils down. "Who should start us off?"
"Well, considering that you're the stuffiest and least interested in things most of the time, I figured that you could start us off, Sugar." Indigo sat down and leaned in close.
"M-me?!" Sugarcoat's eyes shot wide open as she lurched backwards and almost fell off the other edge of her seat. "Pardon my outburst, but why do I need to be the one who has to begin this conversation?"
"Let's face it, Sugarcoat, you're pretty boring." Sour Sweet laid down her knife and fork, then placed her elbows on the table and coiled her fingers together. "Most of the time, you always give a snide remark about what a person's wearing, or that the choice someone's making might land them or another person in the hospital. Heck, you don't really seem to smile at anything anymore."
"I do smile! Just... at certain times is all." Sugarcoat took in a massive breath and blew it out through her mouth, pushing her glasses back to her face again. "Shouldn't it make more sense to have Indigo Zap or Lemon Zest do it first? They do seem to be the most spontaneous children here at Crystal Prep Academy..."
"Listen, Sugarcoat, Indigo and Lemon are always gonna be kids with their attitudes." Sour walked over and patted Sugarcoat's shoulders. "If they went first, we probably wouldn't get anything we didn't expect. They probably had wonderful childhoods where they did nothing but mess around, giggle, and play silly games, go to kindergarten together, and most likely became friends long before they attended this musky place."
"Even so, it would make all the more sense to start with them, purely because, even if I did share my life as a single-digit child, there wouldn't really be anything interesting to talk about either," said Sugarcoat.
"But, see, that's the whole point, Sugarcoat." Sunny Flare looked Sugarcoat in the eyes. "You seem to be the least interested at anything here at Crystal Prep. You shoot off papers like they're going out of fashion, and I dare say that you might even be better than Twilight Sparkle now. You're the perfect candidate to start us off remembering our kid lives." She cracked a smile. "After all, what better way to dive into the lives of when we were kids, than to have someone with a lack of emotion recall her time as a little one?"
"Yeah! C'mon, Sugar. What've you got to lose?" Lemon Zest fluttered her eyebrows.
"My self-respect? My sanity? My lunch?" Sugarcoat tried listing off the different examples by pulling on her fingers, but it didn't divert the attention of the other Shadowbolts as they got even closer to her. Defeated, Sugarcoat groaned and rubbed her forehead. "Fine then. I suppose that I could at least humour you with what little shreds of my young life I know."
"Great!" Lemon Zest threw up her arms and put both of her hands on her chin, smiling widely as she awaited the stories of Sugarcoat's childhood. "Just start whenever you feel like it. No need to rush, Sugar."
"This is gonna be good." Sour Sweet smiled as she and the other Shadowbolts huddled up close together and waited patiently for the story.
"You're never going to let me live this down, are you?" Sugarcoat asked the girls but got no response as she tried to pick out a story from the many that her mind had managed to fish out from the recesses of her memory. "Alright then. I suppose I should at least start with a lighter tale. One of the normal days for when I was a small child under the age of ten." She began to envision what her life was like when she was young. No matter what she was going to say, she knew that deep in her mind, she was going to have to consult a therapist for what she was about to say. "First of all, I suppose that, if you want to know what I looked like as a child. Picture me in what I'm wearing right now, only with less pigtails, no glasses, a small red bow around my neck, and a purple teddy bear."
"Oh, we already see it," said Indigo Zap. "And she looks like one super-adorable little Sugarcoat." She stifled a small chuckle.
Sugarcoat's cheeks flushed red at Indigo's remark, but she managed to retain her composure as she began to tell the story. "Ten years ago, in a simpler time than now, there was a little girl named Sugarcoat, living in euphoria with her mother and father in a quaint little house in the town..."
I was a very peaceful little girl, living with my mother and father in a secluded and cozy part of the town. A rather far cry to the Crystal Prep student you all know today, I'm well aware, but times were much different back then. People weren't as conflicted and torn by news and small little squabbles as they are today in this fractured world. No. For most of us, it was nothing more than peace and prosperity.
"Yeah. Must've been pretty nice, huh? Nothing like what we've got now," Sour Sweet groaned.
"Indeed. But let's not spend too long admiring the past." Sugarcoat folded her arms around her chest. "The sooner that I sate your cravings for the remnants of my youth, the sooner that you'll all feel better, we can finish our lunches, and move on with the rest of our days."
Anyway, one story that I can recall for you was the one where I had learned about how to lie. Obviously, nowadays, I find the whole concept of deceit to be a blemish on the world that needs to be stomped out immediately, but as a child, I was quite taken with the idea of saying something to cover my tracks after I'd done something wrong.
I was walking around the house with my teddy bear when I hapened apon a—
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Stop right there!" Indigo Zap pushed her hands out in front of her. "You never told us you had a teddy bear, Sugarcoat."
"Didn't I?" She tilted her head and gawked at Indigo. "Funny. I would've thought that every child would have had one. Something to keep them occupied if their parents aren't around."
"That, or cartoons." Lemon Zest raised her index finger. "Cartoons were super-duper fun back as a kid! Plus, when you had some toys to play with, it was like you could do the actions on-screen with them!" She threw her hands up high into the air and waved them around.
The other Shadowbolts only gave Lemon Zest stares as she brought her arms back down and pressed them against her hips. Their attention soon returned to Sugarcoat, who shook her head and took another deep breath before she continued.
"What was it like, Sugarcoat?" Sunny Flare broke the silence. "The teddy bear, I mean."
"Well, I'm not sure that I would agree with these statements now, but back when I was a kid, I used to carry it wherever I go." Sugarcoat tipped her hand at Sunny Flare and coiled her fingers, almost as if she was holding the bear once again. "We never threw it out after I grew up. Instead, I gave it to my little sister, Fudge Numbers to look after."
"What should we do today, Mr. Cuddles?" I said, as my eyes scanned the room for something to play with.
"Mr. Cuddles?" Indigo Zap had trouble repressing her laughter. Tears were practically flowing out of her eyes as her cheeks began to bloat. Eventually, she released all of the air she had captured and laughed as loud as she could, throwing herself onto the ground as she did so. "That's gotta be the best thing I've heard all day!"
Sugarcoat's entire face turned beet-red as she watched Indigo Zap laugh and wiggle around on the floor in reaction to her teddy bear's name. She herself managed to keep her composure in the face of the buzz-saw-haired girl's merriment, but had no idea just how long that it would last. For a while, she thought about changing her name and remodelling herself in the worst case scenario that ended with her being mocked and ridiculed by everyone else at Crystal Prep until graduation.
"Alright... Alright. I think I'm calming down." Indigo Zap wiped the last tear from her eye as she stood back up and caught her breath again. "I'm over it now. Go on, Sugarcoat. Tell me more about what you did with Mr. Cuddles that day..." She let a few more chuckles slip at the end of her sentence.
"Hmmph!" Sugarcoat pouted at Indigo and stomped her foot on the ground. Pushing her glasses to her face, she closed her eyes and pushed her hands together. "I am zen. I am calm. There is nothing for me to get angry about. Anger leads to self-destruction..." she said to herself over and over again as she let the emotions inside of her head dissipate entirely. "Alright. Let's continue with the story, shall we?"
When I was a kid, it was easy for me to get distracted with bright and colourful toys. Most of the time, I would usually gawk and stare at pink things like I had been hypnotised by someone to adore it. I'll have to take a study on how that works in the future someday. It would be fascinating to know what drives us as a species to examine things like that.
One day, hearing my stomach rumble, I waddled off towards the kitchen for some food. My usual diet was healthy food, candy, and the meals that mother and father cooked for me. Mother talked about bringing some friends of hers around for some coffee and snacks, so, I saw a giant jar of cookies laden on the kitchen worktop.
"Look, Mr. Cuddles! Cookies!" I said with a massive grin plastered onto my face. "Let's try and get some!" And without another word, I walked over towards the edge and tried to reach the jar. Unfortunately, due to my rather diminutive stature, I couldn't even jump high enough to reach the cookie jar's lid. But that wasn't going to stop me from acquiring food for me and Mr. Cuddles.
I eventually found a small stool that Father used when he wanted to do some feather dusting on the top of the cabinets. Knowing that I couldn't stave off my hunger pangs anymore, I went over and dragged it across the floor towards the jar. The noise it made was quite unbearable, but me and Mr. Cuddles put up with it just fine. As soon as we put the box into place, we climbed on top and opened the jar, treating ourselves to our prize.
"Before we go on, what kind of cookies were they?" Lemon Zest butted into Sugarcoat's mental image of the story and returned her to reality. "Macadamia nut? Chocolate chip? Those really good ones that you can get from the bakery downtown? Dang it, woman! I need to know ASAP!" She grabbed Sugarcoat's top and shook her like a ragdoll.
"Lemon Zest, I hardly think that the smallest details matter in a story." Sugarcoat pried Lemon's hands off of her clothing and patted down the crumples and creases that had been afflicted to the fabric. "It's common knowledge that in every piece of writing ever created, you're supposed to show the important parts as well as you can and simplify the insignificant stuff."
"Yeah, but if cookies are part of your story on how you used to lie as a child, then wouldn't it make some sense to answer Lemon's question?" Sunny Flare raised one of her eyebrows and tilted her neck closer to Sugarcoat.
"Why do you think cookies are such an important plot thread?" Sugarcoat blinked at Sunny and Lemon Zest as she alternated her gaze between the two of them. "Let's just say that they're whatever flavour that you want them to be and leave it at that. I was barely lucky to even remember the fact that it was cookies. For all I know, it might've been pieces of candy, or some fruit for that matter."
"Yeah, girls. Leave Sugarcoat alone." Sour Sweet walked up to her side and wrapped her arm around Sugarcoat's shoulders. "She's only nineteen years old, after all. Stuff about when she was a little squirt is hard to remember these days. Especially when the world's gone down the drain with all of these politics and scandals!"
"Thank you, Sour Sweet." Sugarcoat couldn't help but grin slightly at her. "You know, out this whole rag-tag group, I consider you to be almost like a friend instead of an acquaintance."
"Wow. That's pretty high-praise coming from you." Sour's eyelashes fluttered as she turned to face Sugarcoat. "You really mean it? You're not saying that because I snapped halfway through that sentence?"
"I do mean it. In fact, next to Sunny Flare, you might be just as sensible as I am." Sugarcoat smiled and patted Sour Sweet's shoulders gently. "Even when you deal with bouncy kindergarten-minded kids like Indigo Zap and Lemon Zest, it makes me feel both proud and humbled to be in your presence."
"Thank you, Sugarcoat!" Sour Sweet's mouth erupted into a big smile as she pulled Sugarcoat into a tight hug. "I promise that I'll try my hardest to keep you as a friend."
"As will I." Sugarcoat nodded. "Now. Will there be any further interruptions?" She looked at the other three Shadowbolts, who merely looked down at the ground and slid the tips of their shoes on the crystalline floor. "Good. Let's get back to the story."
Me and Mr. Cuddles were enjoying eating the cookies. At the time, my childhood imagination thought that he was alive, so I made a rather humorous and entertaining attempt in trying to feed him. But in the end, the harsh reality was that he was nothing more a plush toy meant to keep an infant, toddler, or child entertained. Quite weird when you look back on it, actually.
I thought that I would be able to close the jar and get off scot-free, but as I reached to pick the lid up and put it back onto the jar, the front door opened and I began to fumble around. In my haste to get the jar back on and put everything back where it was, I ended up dropping the jar on the floor altogether, causing it to shatter and spill the contents all around me.
If that situation were to have happened when I was an adolescent, I would have owned up to my mistakes, bowed to mother or father, paid off whatever I owed them, and moved on. But since I was a child, I hadn't evolved that far up to be mature about anything yet. So, I did what only children of my age did when everything went bad. I looked around at the mess, cried, and ran off as fast as I could back to my room.
Sure enough, mother did come through the front door and saw the mess. I wasn't there to see her reaction, but if I knew her like I think that I knew her when I was young, she probably would've been shocked, maybe even mortified at the mess and that her friends were going to be devoid of the treats that she had promised them.
I spent the next few minutes curled up in bed, safe underneath the protection of the soft fabric as I clutched tightly to Mr. Cuddles and a few of my other stuffed animals. I didn't know what to do back then. I was young, stupid, reckless, and everything that's the exact polar opposite of who I am now.
"Oh, good. That means that you were fun when you were younger." Indigo Zap remarked snidely, jabbing a finger at Sugarcoat.
"Very funny, miss Zap." Sugarcoat deadpanned and shook her head. "But if you don't mind, I happen to have the highest grades out of any of us in this little circle of people, so I would watch your mouth, if I were you."
"Yes, Indigo." Sunny Flare turned towards Indigo and looked straight into her eyes. "Sugarcoat has A-pluses in every subject of every class here at Crystal Prep. The only thing that she doesn't have that Twilight did was the amount of extra credit that had been put into her work."
"Heck, Sugarcoat was number one in the top twelve rankings for the last Friendship Games!" Sour Sweet threw her arms out towards her sides. "Don't you think that you're making fun of the most successful student at Crystal Prep?"
"Nah. I'm just saying the truth, like she does." Indigo put her hands behind her head and shrugged. "I know that Sugarcoat's so smart that she could practically run the world or something like that. It's not insulting someone if it's true, y'know."
"Anyway..." Sugarcoat rolled her eyes.
I heard footsteps approaching my door, and my grip on the toys grew tighter and tighter with every passing breath. Since father had been at work and our pet dog was outside, mother could have quite easily backtraced the spilt cookies and shattered jar back to me. She came through the door and stood underneath the frame. She watched as I quivered in the bed and quite quickly rushed to my side.
"Sugarcoat," she said, "what happened down there? Why are you in bed? It's not bedtime for another seven hours."
"Mama..." I replied. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, I got all of my shopping done faster than I expected, so I came home to see how you were doing." She walked over to me and plucked me from my cocoon of bedsheets, sat me up, and gave me a gentle kiss on my cheek. "Then I saw that my jar had been broken and all of those cookies had tumbled out." I thought I knew what was coming the second her gaze tensed up at me. "Did... you drop the cookie jar, Sugarcoat?"
"Uhh... No?" I'll admit. My first attempt at lying seemed very pathetic at that. How I even managed to even comprehend saying no to something I'd done is a mystery in itself, to be honest.
"Of course you wouldn't." My mother simply gave me a grin and tousled my hair. I had been expecting to get a punishment of some description, not a sense of comfort. "It was my fault for putting it too close to the edge like that. I should've paid more attention."
From there, the rest of my day seemed very hazy. I had done something terrible to mother's evening, yet she didn't suspect me at all and I had been able to worm my way out of trouble with a simple no. I didn't know what else to say there. If I had said that I'd done it, things might've turned out quite differently. I don't know what else to say. I lied and got away with it.
"So, is that the end of the story, or what?" Lemon Zest twisted her wrist around in a circular motion.
"Yes. I managed to avoid being punished by mother and father, simply by denying what I'd done and lying about the broken cookie jar." Sugarcoat finally broke out of the story and came back to reality. "Now, how do you all feel? Have I given you the relief that you wanted?"
All of the other Shadowbolts gave Sugarcoat some time to let the story sink in. After the way she told it, they could almost see exactly where she had been coming from. However, they were more distracted by the thought of their friend as a little kid to think of anything else major. The four of sighed and gave big, goofy grins once they came back to Crystal Prep with the deafening screech of the bell.
"Well, what do you know? Right on time." Indigo Zap watched as the other students began to take their trays and leave the room, dropping off any trash into the receptacles along the way. "But before I go, can I just say that that was a really good story, Sugarcoat?"
"Yeah, dude! You've really made me feel better." Lemon Zest nodded and slid her headphones back onto her ears. "Thanks for that, girl!"
"Hmm..." Sunny Flare scratched her chin as she brought her food over towards the trash bin. "It was a good story and all, but we barely got to see you and how you were like then, Sugarcoat."
"What do you mean?" Sugarcoat asked as she followed the other girls down the stairs.
"Well, you told the story really well and all, but judging from how little character traits we got, it seems like any old child could've done that and gotten away with it," she said. "If you have any more stories about your childhood that you'd like to share with us at our next break or free period, I'd very much love to see some development; flesh young you out a bit more."
"I admit. Looking back on it now, it does seem pretty strained and broken down when you think about it." Sugarcoat rubbed her forehead once she had deposited her tray and walked out of the cafeteria. "The blame for that can be shifted onto Indigo Zap and Lemon Zest, seeing as how they interrupted me and gave me no time to make myself up as we went along. I promise that—if there is another moment where I need to regale you with stories of my youth—that I won't be just your generic little kid."
"Alright." Sunny Flare went her separate way along with Sour Sweet. "I'll be sure to look forward to your next story then, Sugarcoat." She waved her off before the crowd of CPA students swallowed the two of them from her view.
Sugarcoat, having finally returned to her isolation, walked off to her next class, tapping the textbook in her backpack with the tips of her fingers. Despite how she had come out of a story from her childhood, she still needed to be on top form for the upcoming lessons and examinations that she would face. On the cusp of victory, she couldn't afford to let her guard down for anything. For she was Sugarcoat, a soon-to-be-valedictorian in many different areas. And she was determined to keep it that way.
