In an effort to spread the spirit of friendship at Crystal Prep Academy, the Shadowbolts decide to revive an old school tradition.
On their quest to spread friendship at the strict Crystal Prep Academy, Sour Sweet, Indigo Zap, Sunny Flare, Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest decide to throw a party on school property. After all, what better way is there for the students to losen up and get to know each other than at a nice, fun party?
Though for the party planners themselves, the night might turn out to not be quite as nice and fun as they had wished...
The hallways of Crystal Prep Academy glittered and sparkled, giving off a noble, if somewhat decadent glow. Why the entire school, from its floors and walls to the columns and ceiling were built out of crystal was a mystery nobody knew the answer to. Perhaps the bright material was supposed to represent the spirit of brilliance and perfection this school represented. Perhaps it symbolized the minds of the students going to the school, which would be cleaned and polished until they were just as perfect and bright as the crystal. Or perhaps it was just to justify the Crystal in the name. Whatever the reason, Crystal Prep Academy was a beautiful place, both on the outside and the inside.
Not quite as shiny, but still very pretty was the gym of Crystal Prep Academy. Separate from the main building, it featured the same crystalline architecture on the outside. From the inside it wasn’t quite as shiny, looking more like a regular sports hall, safe for a few crystal columns and a handful of decorative elements. The majority of the hall was taken up by a large sports field, which of course was just as smooth and sparkling as the floors of the academy. Each side the field was flanked by a large tribune, offering seats for well over a hundred spectators if needed.
On the edge of the field, near the entrance doors, five girls were taking a look around the hall. One was crossing her arms, critically inspecting everything, while another one had her hands on her hips, a confident look on her face. The third one stared with monotonous nonchalance at everything around her, and the fourth girl wore an excited, if a little smug expression. The fifth one didn’t really seem to care for what they were doing, standing around while making a bored face.
The girl with the crossed arms turned towards her. At first it seemed like she wanted to glare a hole into her head, before a large smile suddenly formed on her face. “Excuse me, Lemon, but would you do us all a favor and stop looking like you’re about to throw up?” Sour asked, her smile vanishing as fast as it had appeared.
“Yeah!” Indigo said, also glaring at the rocker girl. “This was your idea anyway.”
Blowing a strand of her green hair out of her face, Lemon scoffed. “Throwing a party was my idea – never said I wanted to organize it.”
“Then who did you think would organize it?” Sugarcoat asked, in her usual calm and dry, somewhat aggressive manner of speech.
Lemon shrugged. “Some geeks, a friendly handyman, a magic pony princess from another dimension or sumthin’ - just not me. I’m the type who parties hard, not the type who works hard…”
Turning around Lemon showed her back to the others. Sunny stepped to her side, and put a hand on her shoulder. “I must say, it was a great idea having a gala to ignite the spirit of friendship at Crystal Prep” she said, casually brushing her hand through her bangs.
Lemon glared at Sunny’s smug face for a moment. With two finger she pinched her hand, putting it off her shoulders. “It’s a party – not a gala, ball or some other fancy thing, but a party.”
Sunny shrugged. “Whatever.”
Meanwhile, Sour had taken a few steps onto the field. The hall was almost as large as a soccer field, but since the tribunes could be retreated into the walls it was actually even larger. Several sports instruments were scattered across it, from exercise mats to springboks. “Lemon has a point though” she told her friends, showing them a sweet, darling smile and a sweet, darling eye-lash. “While it would be reeeaaaal great to have a party here, celebrating with ALL the students to strengthen the bonds of friendship at this school – it’s gonna take forever to set up - this place is friggin’ huge!” In an instant her peppy spirit had dropped, slouching her shoulders.
“I admit, the gym is rather large” Sunny said, turning around herself while staring up at the ceiling. “We’ll probably have to work every free minute outside of school if we want to get done until Friday.”
“Then let’s get started!” With a leap Indigo jumped into the center of the group. “We promised Dean Cadence to spread the spirit of friendship at this school, and there’s no better opportunity than this!”
Sunny and Sour exchanged a glance, before cracking a smile. “Yeah!” they shouted.
“We’re gonna get this place ready in no time” Indigo yelled, pumping her fist into the air. “And then we’ll throw a party like this school has never seen before!”
“YEAH!” Starting to feel excited, Sugarcoat joined in on the chorus. Even Lemon looked over her shoulder at the energetic athlete.
“We will clean this place until its sparkles brighter than the rest of the school!”
“YEAH!” all four girls screamed in unison, Indigo’s spirit rubbing off on them.
“We’ll scrub off every little piece of dust!”
“YEAH!!”
“We’ll turn this boring old gym into the coolest place this city has ever seen!”
“YEAH!!!”
“We’ll make sure this is gonna be the best night ever – even it kills us!”
“YEAH!... Wait, what?” A look of irritation crossed the faces of Indigo’s friends.
“We’ll work until our bones break, our spine snaps, until every last drop of sweat has been drained out from our body – and even then we will continue to drag our bodies across the floor, enduring the pain that numbs our senses as we work off the very core of our soul until-”
The over-excited teenager was cut off as Sour placed a hand over her mouth. “Thank you, Indy – but I think we get the point.”
Indigo blushed, smiling a little sheepishly as Sour removed her hand. Clearing her throat, she said in a calmer tone: “Besides, we can’t back out now after we told everyone ‘bout this – there’s even a big announcement on the school homepage.”
Sour snickered. “Yeah, like anyone ever looks at the school homepage.”
“A lot of people check it for the cafeteria menu…”
“Shut it, Sugar.”
Pulling her phone out of her skirt pocket, Sunny opened the school homepage. A banner popped up, showing a big picture of a crystalline heart. There was a large text written across it in big, dark pink letters. “This Friday at the gym, the Crystal Heart Formal” she read out loud. “Food, music and drinks are free – we’ll dance until they kick us out.” She threw a look over her shoulder at Lemon. “I guess you were the one who added that clever little bit at the end?”
Lemon shrugged. “Somehow had to balance out your lame-o name.”
Indigo shook her head. “Seriously, what kind of name is ‘Crystal Heart Formal’? Like, you couldn’t have thought of anything more kitsch and girly!”
“That wasn’t my idea!” Sunny protested, stemming her hands against her sides. “Principal Cinch insisted on it.”
Curiously Indigo raised an eyebrow. “Why that? Can’t imagine she is the poetic type.”
“It’s got something to do with tradition – one sec…” Sunny’s thumb skipped over her screen, browsing through the internet. After finding what she was looking for she read quietly for a moment, before raising her voice to her friends. “Apparently, the Crystal Heart formal used to be a school tradition that was abandoned already before Cinch became principal. Originally it was a small fair on the school property, but turned into a formal dance. The purpose was to celebrate the spirit of unity and comradery, set up in times when the school was already an elite academy, but not quite as…” She cleared her throat “…strict.” Putting down her phone she let it glide back into its pocket. “It hasn’t been celebrated since decades, but apparently is still part of the school codex, and the only form of after-school festival that is allowed at Crystal Prep aside from prom night.”
“Which is lucky for us, cause else Dean Cadence probably would have never gotten Cinch to allow it” Sugarcoat remarked.
Lemon chuckled. “Yeah, she was already ticked when we pulled off the whole casual Friday thing – can’t imagine how mad she must be knowing people are gonna DANCE and have FUN at Crystal Prep!”
The girls shared a laugh. “All right” Sour exclaimed, clapping her hands. While her voice was commanding, she was wearing a genuine smile as she spoke. “It’s time we get started! Me and Indigo will clean the floor. Sunny, you will start putting all the sports instruments into the closet – we’ll help you later with the heavy stuff. Lemon, since you are the party queen of us you will organize everything, make a list of what we need and how to decorate the hall. Sugarcoat, you’ll help her to make sure she doesn’t mess up.”
Lemon frowned. “Hey, why do I get the most work?”
“What am I supposed to say?” Sugarcoat asked, also frowning. “I’m basically gonna play your nanny.”
“Alright, does everybody know what they got to do? Then let’s get to it!” She was about to dash off, when she heard Indigo clear her throat. Turning around, she saw the blue-haired girl was holding out her hand, palm pointing downwards, into the center of their group. “Seriously?” A little annoyed Sour glared at her. “I thought I made clear we’d never do that again.”
“Come on, just this once!” Indigo pleaded, though with her lips forming a challenging grin.
Sighing, Sour shook her head. “Alright, alright” she mumbled, putting her hand above Indigo’s. Sugarcoat, Lemon and Sunny followed, stacking their hands to a tower. Everyone took in a deep breath, before throwing their hands up in the air together.
“Alright, let’s get down with it!” Lemon shouted, raising both her fists into the air as she walked through the hall. “Let’s plan the most awesome party ever!”
Walking behind her with a clipboard and a pen under her arm, Sugarcoat raised an eyebrow. “For someone who didn’t want to do anything a minute ago, you are suddenly very enthusiastic.”
“That’s because I can do pretty much what I want!” Grinning evilly from ear to ear, she rubbed her hands like a super-villain. “I can set up this party any way I want, put in all the stuff I love, and nobody’s gonna say ‘that’s not possible’ or stuff!”
“Except for me.”
Lemon shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m used to not listening to you. Just make sure you write everything down I tell ya.”
Sighing, Sugarcoat took out her clipboard and pen, ready to take notes.
“Okay, first we set up a bunch of tables, somewhere over there, for the snacks and stuff” Lemon said, waving towards one side of the hall while already looking somewhere else. “Then we need balloons and streamers, tons of ’em, scattered all over the place.” She spread out her arms as if to mimic an explosion, before excitedly turning towards the end of the hall. “And of course we need a big stage with a huge sound system, turned up to eleven, and a really rad DJ! Oh and while we’re at it, we should also-”
“What size?”
Lemon stopped in her tracks, looking in confusion at Sugarcoat. “Huh?”
“The tables” Sugarcoat said, raising her gaze from her clipboard. “What size should the tables for the snacks be?”
Lemon scratched her head. “Um, I dunno. Any size is fine I guess.” Turning her back to Sugarcoat she pointed at the ceiling. “So we’ll set up some spotlights, maybe up there, point them at the dance floor and-”
“How many tables?”
Again Lemon stopped. Over her shoulder, she threw an annoyed glance at Sugarcoat. “Well enough to get all snacks and drinks on ‘em, duh! Anyway, some spotlights up there, and-”
“What kind of snacks and drinks?”
A vein on Lemon’s forehead twitched. “What kind of question is that?!”
“A very practical one.”
Lemon slammed her palm against her forehead. “Just get the stuff everybody eats and drinks at parties! Potato chips, nachos, sausages, lemonade, fruit punch – maybe some salad and sandwiches for the veggies, I don’t know.”
“How much food-”
“OH FOR PETE’S SAKE!!!” Lemon shouted, pulling on the strands of her messy hair. “Just make sure it’ll be enough for everyone, ‘kay?!”
Crossing her arms over her clipboard Sugarcoat harrumphed. “Fine. Then I’ll go to the supermarket and tell the clerk he should get me some snacks, and also to give me tons of streamers. And while I’m at it, I’ll ask Dean Cadence for a bunch of tables of any size to put the food on.” She held out her clipboard, strictly poking with the hard end of her pencil on it. “I need exact numbers and measurements Lemon, or I can’t make the errands!”
Lemon slouched her shoulders. “Alright” she sighed “What do ya need, Sugarbabe?”
Eyes on her clipboard Sugarcoat cleared her throat. “I need the measurements of the tables we need for the buffet, preferably at a height that makes it easy to pick up the food and drinks, as well as of course the number of tables. And speaking of food, I need a list with all the food items I should purchase, including the number I should get of each and the exact name including brand and if possible also price to make sure I don’t make a mistake, as well as to better calculate our budget. Then I need to know how many bowls and plates we need to set up for the food, also glasses for the drinks, and as for the spotlights…”
“This is gonna take a while, innit?” Lemon interrupted her, her face having turned up further and further during Sugarcoat’s monologue.
Sugarcoat nodded. “Probably.”
An uneasy feeling in her stomach, Lemon gulped.
Leaning on her broom, Sour grumpily stared at the dusty ground of the hall. The euphoria from a few minutes ago seemed to have completely washed off her. Reluctantly she straightened up again. In a slow, monotone rhythm she swept the floor, the entire time wearing a scowl. “This is boring, and my arms are aching” she moaned, sounding like a bratty little girl. “Please tell me we are almost done!”
Indigo, who was cleaning the floor a little ahead of her, looked over her shoulder. With a smirk, she nodded behind Sour. Turning her head, the cherry-haired girl saw she had only moved a couple of feet away from the broom closet.
Sour dropped her broom. “Oh come on, you gotta be kidding me!” she yelled.
Still sweeping the floor Indigo shrugged. “Nothing to it unless you do it. Tis not like someone else is gonna do it for ya.”
With a “Humph” Sour picked up her broom. A movement by the open entrance then caught her attention. Two boys from the football team walked by the gym, talking to each other. A big grin formed on Sour’s face. “Watch and learn” she said over her shoulder. Interrupting her work, Indigo curiously watched her.
Quickly Sour brushed some dust of her clothes and smoothed the wrinkles on her skirt, before placing both her hands around the tip of her broom and leaning on it. “Oh, guuuuys♥
The extremely honeyed and bright voice made the two boys stop and look at Sour. Cuddling her cheek against her hand she tilted her head slightly, putting on her cutest and most innocent smile. “I am so sorry to bother you, but would you mind helping a poor little girl with a task far too big and exhausting for her?” she asked, fluttering her eye-lashes at them.
The two boys looked at each other for a moment, then back at Sour. “Sorry” one of them said, looking rather neutrally into Sour’s puppy eyes. “But we have training.” A moment later the two were gone.
Sour stared at the empty door for a while, her little girl look frozen on her face. A chuckle from behind made her furiously turn her head. Leaning against her broom, Indigo laughed out loud. “Way to go, girl!” she bought out between giggles. “You’re an expert flirt, aren’t cha?”
Her broom in one hand Sour stemmed her other one against her side. “As if you could do it better!”
Behind her angry friend, Indigo could see two other boys walking by the door. These ones didn’t look like athletes, but more like the academic type, with neat haircuts and glasses. She flashed a cocky grin. “Challenge accepted!”
Putting two fingers into her mouth she whistled. The shrill tone almost made the boys jump on the spot. As they turned their heads they barely had time to catch the broom Indigo was tossing in their direction. Hitting them on height of their stomachs they boys hastily grabbed the broomstick, groaning.
“Hey, you there!” Indigo shouted, grinning with her fists on her hips. “How ‘bout you get your butts over here and give us a hand?”
The two boys looked at her in fright. After exchanging a quick glance they dropped the broom, screaming as they dashed away as fast as they could.
A little irritated Indigo looked at the empty door. The sound of clapping, so slow it could only be meant sarcastically caused her to turn her head at Sour, who was smiling so wide it also could only be meant sarcastically.
“Oh, Indy, you really showed me there! Why, these boys were like wax in your hands – you burnt yourself while they slipped through your fingers.”
With a grunt, Indigo went to pick up her broom.
“…and twenty-two packages of two-coloured streamers in four different colour-variations” Sugarcoat finished reading out the list she had made, looking up from her clipboard. “Shall we go through everything again?”
Wearing a completely blank expression Lemon let out a weak moan. Her eyes were unfocused, staring somewhere at the ceiling. Staggering slightly, she looked like she was about to collapse.
“I take this as a no.” Sugarcoat ripped off the a page of her clipboard and handed it to Lemon. “This is a list of everything that needs to be done. I’ll go and get all the stuff while you and the others get the hall ready.”
Perplexed, Lemon took the sheet of paper. “More… work?” she whispered, in an unusually quiet voice.
“That’s just the start of it.” Leaving a horrified Lemon behind Sugarcoat turned towards the exit. As she walked over the fiel, her gaze fell upon Sunny. She was standing in front of a gymnastic box, staring at her smartphone. There was a nervous, somewhat crestfallen look on the face of the teenager as she stared at her display. Her shaking thumb was hovering above the call-button, but she seemed uncertain whether to push it. Just as she seemed about to lower her thumb, she suddenly put the phone back into her pocket, sighing.
“You look kind of down.”
Shrieking, Sunny jumped into the air. She seemed quite annoyed to find Sugarcoat standing behind her, looking at Sunny with her usual expression of indifference and monotony. “D-don’t scare me like that!” she scolded her.
“Just wanted to make sure you’re alright” Sugarcoat said, not sounding the least like she cared. “Also, you’re slacking off.”
In a snobbish manner Sunny scoffed at the blunt girl. “I would rather have it you mind your own business, thank you very much.” With some dignity and elegance Sunny bent down to the ground, her delicate fingers embracing the small gymnastic box before she lifted it. Instead of bringing it to the closet right away however she stood on the spot for a moment, looking somewhat ponderous. Her gaze snuck back to Sugarcoat, who was walking towards the exit again. From the top of Sugarcoat’s complicated, yet not very striking hair-style, to her monotonous face with its slightly angry expression down over her clothing, Sunny was giving her friend a thorough inspection. As the white-haired girl left the gym through the open doors, Sunny thoughtfully tilted her head.
The door to the clothing boutique opened. “Do we really have to buy new clothes just for this occasion?” Sugarcoat asked as she and her friends entered the store.
“But of course, dearie” Sunny replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world, stroking the back of her hand through her bangs. “For such an event, we all should look our very best – and there is no better way for a girl to stun everyone in the room than by walking in with a sparkling, brand-new dress.”
Indigo rolled her eyes. “You’ve been reading too much of those weird novels again…”
“And heard too much kitschy lullaby-music” Lemon added.
Scoffing, Sunny turned her shoulder to them. “You two probably don’t even have a dress for such an occasion.”
With a loud yawn Lemon stretched herself. “Whatever, dudes. I’m just happy we are finally done with preparing everything.” Her arms behind her head she cracked a few bones in her body. “Man, I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard in my life before!”
“Which would be sad since I did most of the work” Sugarcoat remarked.
All attention then turned to Sour as she clapped her hands. “All right, everyone, enough chitchat” she declared, stepping forward. Hands on her hips she looked everyone in the eyes. “We have three hours before the ball-”
“It’s a party!” Lemon chimed in, glaring at her.
Sour sighed. “Right. We have three hours before the PARTY starts.” A large smile formed on her face. “Until then, we need to have picked our new outfits, got our hair and make-up done and be back at Crystal Prep, to celebrate the spirit of school community and friendship. SO GET MOVING, YA SLOWPOKES!!”
Her friends jumped as she ended her speech with a sudden yell. The girls scattered through the store, searching the aisles of clothes for new outfits.
Time passed with the girls looking through the store. Their backs turned to each other Sour and Indigo were scramming through the assortment of dresses. “Ugh, don’t they have any cute outfits here?” Sour moaned as she shuffled through the clothes racks.
Behind her, Indigo snickered. “Still on about that cute stuff? We see how that worked!”
With squinted eyes Sour scowled at her. “You’re one to talk” she mumbled, before turning her attention back on the dresses. After pushing some more dresses aside Sour stumbled across an outfit that made her eyes gleam. “Oh, Indigooo” she cooed in a soothing voice. “I’ve got the perfect outfit for you♥”
Indigo turned her head. With a big smile plastered over her face, Sour was holding out a baby-blue frilly dress with a bell-skirt. There were ribbon-shaped buttons, puffy shoulders, a collar that looked like it was made out of cotton-candy, and ruffles that were pouring out of every opening. Indigo stared at the outfit for a moment, before skeptically raising her gaze to meet Sour’s. “You’re kidding? Tell me you’re kidding.”
“Not at all!” Sour chirped. Against her friend’s protests, she held out the dress against Indigo’s body, squealing in genuine, if exaggerated delight. “Aw, you look so cute – now if we just get you the right hair-do and make your fingernails, you’ll be the most adorable thing EVER!
Indigo took in a deep breath. Suddenly she smacked the gown aside, startling her friend. “Don’t call me cute again – EVER!” she shouted, hardly poking Sour at the chest. “And hell’s gonna freeze over before I get some girly hair-cut or make my fingernails all prissy!”
Much to her surprise, Sour didn’t get snarky. Instead, her face beamed even more as she pinched Indigo’s cheeks. “But look at these sweet little cheeks, and those big puppy eyes – it’d be a crime not to make any use of them!”
With a red hue decorating her cheeks Indigo pushed Sour off. “I don’t have sweet cheeks and puppy eyes!” she said, pointing at her features. “My face is toned from training and my eyes radiate determination!” Turning around she rummaged through the dresses on her side. A sly smile on her face she pulled one out, showing it to Sour. “Here – this is the stuff for me!”
Sour looked at the dress Indigo was presenting her. It resembled a cocktail dress, with no holders and barely reaching down half the length of their uniform’s skirts. Its base colour was black, but when moving Sour could see there was some sort of sparkling pattern on it, glistening in a several hues of blue. “That thing?” she asked, raising an eye-brow. “You sure you wanna go to the ball…”
“PARTY!!”
Sour glared in the direction of Lemon’s voice. “…to the party wearing that?”
Holding the dress in front of her body Indigo grinned. “Of course! It’s bold, it’s aggressive, it screams ‘Watch out for me’ – perfect!”
Amused, Sour chuckled into her hand. “Oh, Indigo, you have so much to learn” she said, fluttering her eye-lashes. “It’s the cute girls who are the most popular with the guys♥”
Irritated, Indigo stared at her friend. “What are you talking about? Guys want strong, tough gals at their sides - self-confidence and attitude are what draws them in crowds!”
Sour shook her head. “On a soccer field maybe. But at a ball…”
“PARTY!!”
“ …at a party” she murmured, casting another glare in the direction of Lemon’s voice, before turning all smiles and sunshine again “…the boys will look out for weak little ladies they can protect and shelter.”
The athlete blew a raspberry. “Yeah, sure. Because every guy wants to date a gal who reminds them of their annoying little sister.”
Crossing her arms, Sour pouted. “More likely than dating someone who acts like their bossy big sister…”
Indigo’s lips curled up to smirk. “I smell a challenge.”
“Oh please, we are no little kids…”
Putting her fists into her armpits Indigo wailed her arms, walking on the spot while making chicken sounds. The contours of Sour’s face quickly turned into an angry frown. Grabbing Indigo by the shoulders she forced her to stop, looking her straight in the eyes.
“You want a challenge? FINE! I bet I get to dance with more guys at the ball – SHUT IT LEMON!!! – by wearing a cute outfit than you in a bold one!”
A cocky look on her face, Indigo nodded. “I’m usually not in for girly bets like that, but CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!”
Calm and slowly, Sugarcoat was walking along the aisle of dresses. Occasionally she stopped to give one a closer look, but quickly let it slide back into its place. Most of the time she wasn’t even interested in the dress, just pausing to incredulously stare at some of the glittery, over-the-top designs. Wandering around like this she made her way through the store. As she stopped to take a look at a dress, one that actually would have suited her it didn’t have such an awfully frilly hem, she heard a rustling noise behind her. Quickly she turned her head. A few dresses seemed to be wavering slightly on their coat hooks. She adjusted her glasses, squinting her eyes to take a closer look. After intensely staring at the dresses for a moment she shrugged it off, and continued her march down the aisle of cloth racks.
Once she had taken corner the head of a girl poked out between the dresses. Careful not to lean out too far she looked after Sugarcoat, but couldn’t spot her from her position anymore.
“You are following me.”
Sunny almost got a heart-attack when she heard Sugarcoat’s voice behind her. Gasping she pulled her head out from between the dresses, surprised and shocked to see the white-haired girl standing next to her with a strict look on her face. “What? N-no, I was, um…” With a shy blush Sunny coughed. “Okay, I did follow you. But see, this is a big night for us, so it’s important we all look good...”
Sugarcoat tapped on the floor. “Go on.”
Growing more uncomfortable Sunny rubbed her foot over the ground, as if she was trying to bore a hole into it. “And well, I was afraid the dress of your choice might be a little bit… um…”
“Blunt?” Sugarcoat finished the sentence for her.
Sunny cleared her throat. “To put it bluntly, yes.”
Rubbing her temples Sugarcoat took in a deep breath. “Look, I’m not much into fancy stuff. Also, considering this is just a regular party…”
“THANK YOU!!”
“…held in the middle of the school year, it probably won’t be a special or big night for any of us.”
“But it COULD be our big night!” Sunny said, smiling broadly at her friend.
Not seeming convinced Sugarcoat coldly stared at the nervously smiling girl in front of her. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in-”
Suddenly Sunny’s face was hovering millimeters in front of her own. “Pleeeaaaassse!!! Just let me pick a dress for you, okay?”
Their nose-tips almost touching each other, there was something pleading, at the same time demanding in the way Sunny looked at Sugarcoat. She quietly stared back for a moment, before letting out a sigh. “I am so going to regret this.”
Shining like the sun, Sunny’s face was beaming with a bright smile. “Great! Okay, I’m thinking of something gallant that brings out the sparkle in your eyes, but not so vibrant it puts too much focus on your pale skin, and of course it has to match your white hair – though you should really consider getting another hair-do, and of course you are going to need glasses matching your new dress, and maybe some decent jewelry and…”
On and on Sunny went, soon losing herself in all the possible dresses and accessories Sugarcoat could wear. The white-haired girl endured her non-stop rambling with stoic nonchalance. “I am so regretting this...”
Sitting on a bench near the changing cabins, Sugarcoat rested her chin on her fist, a frown on her face. Around her dozens of dresses were lying, with another one being thrown on the pile every few seconds. Sugarcoat watched as Sunny worked her way through the dress racks, tossing one after the other away.
“Not enough sass… too much sass… too right amount of sass…”
Pushing the latest dress out of her face, Sugarcoat incredulously looked at Sunny. “How can something be too right amount?
Sunny rolled her eyes. “Because it makes you look like you’re trying too hard! The key is too look like you didn’t put much effort into it, as if it just naturally comes to you.”
“That is dumb.”
Ignoring that comment, Sunny continued to browse through the shop’s assortment. Suddenly she stopped. Looking at a specific dress, a wide smile formed on her face. “I think I have found the perfect one for you” she chirped, pulling out the dress. Though reluctantly, Sugarcoat took the dress out of her friend’s hands and entered a changing cabin with it. A few minutes later the curtain was pulled open, revealing Sugarcoat in her new attire.
The dress was pale blue, the colour just so bright it caught the eye without being unpleasantly striking. Its fabric was formfitting around the torso, but the skirt was rather wide, slightly conic with the hem going to her knees. Underneath it the laces of a silky, half-transparent underskirt were looking out. The whole dress was glistening slightly, especially the hem of the skirt, looking like a silver lining.
Walking up and down in front of her, Sunny critically evaluated Sugarcoat like an item in a vitrine. “You know, maybe we should look for one that is a little more glittery” she remarked.
Furrowing her brows, Sugarcoat shot a dark glare at her.
“…On second thought, the amount of glitter just brings out the sparkle in your eyes.” Looking over her, Sunny smiled in content. “But seriously, you look absolutely stunning in it!”
Seeming not nearly as happy as her wardrobe manager, Sugarcoat sighed. “So, are you also gonna tell me what make-up I have to put on? Or how I have to style my hair?
With a wave of her hand Sunny dismissed it. “Oh I am completely confident you can manage this by yourself, dearie.” Smirking more mischievously, she whispered: “Besides, I have a far more important task ahead of me…”
Music banging from her headphones Lemon searched through the racks, humming and tapping to the rhythm. Over the loud music, she didn’t notice a silhouette approaching her from behind. Eventually though she caught a glimpse, and turned her head.
Sunny was standing in the aisle between two rows of dresses. In one hand she held a comb, in the other one a hairbrush.
Backs turned to each other, Sour and Indigo continued to look for outfits. As she scanned some frilly dresses, a thought struck Sour. “Hey, what if we both end up with the same number of dates?” she asked over her shoulder. “I mean I’m obviously gonna win – but just in case.”
Turning her head Indigo pondered for a moment. A loud rumble suddenly emerged from behind the line of dresses. Both girls stared in surprise as Lemon and Sunny burst through them. Wrestling with each other they rolled over the ground, towards the opposing wall of dresses. Sunny held a comb and a brush in her hands, trying to reach Lemon’s hair with them, something the punk rock fan vigorously tried to avoid by holding Sunny’s wrists and trying to push her off.
“Lemme go, you punk!” Lemon shouted on top of Sunny, before they rolled over and switched positions.
“Come on, just a few strokes!” Sunny yelled, almost bringing the comb in reach.
“You’re not my mom!” Pulling her head away from the comb Lemon rolled on top again.
“No, but I’m your friend!” Sunny shouted, the two switching places again. “And I’m not gonna let you go to the ball with such a coiffure!”
“IT’S A PARTY!!”
“IT COULD BE OUR BIG NIGHT!!!”
“MY HAIR IS MY AFFAIR!!!!”
“I’M GONNA TAME THAT MANE!!!!!”
Bursting through the dresses Sunny and Lemon rolled into the next aisle, leaving two rather dazzled spectators behind. For a moment, Sour and Indigo stared at where the two girls had disappeared, blinking in confusion.
With a big smirk Indigo looked at Sour. “Well, I guess a catfight is always an option!”
Normally, like any other school Crystal Prep Academy was an empty and dark place at night. But under the brilliant light of the moon of this Friday, the place was full of light and life. Students marched towards the brightly illuminated gym. A small number wore their school uniforms, some came in casual clothes, but the majority was dressed in colourful dresses and tuxedos.
Among the various teenagers making their way to the gym was a group of five girls. As they arrived in front of the open doors, they stopped for a moment to take a look inside. The sports hall had always been a sparkly place, but with the decorations the place was a sight to behold. School banners and garlands in the colours of Crystal Prep were hanging from the walls and the ceiling, alongside numerous streamers. On one side a large banquet had been put up, carrying food and drinks of various kinds. Opposite to the door a large stage was set up, with a DJ playing some light dance tunes. The majority of the field was the dance floor, with the spot lights shining right on it. Additionally to the bright, glaring head lights, a few smaller lights with switching colours had been installed, giving the whole place a slight disco-flair.
A large part of the school’s student body had come. Some of them talked with each other and sometimes even laughed, a few people were dancing rather tame dances, but most of them were by themselves. Still, although a certain strictness and stiffness was still lying over everybody’s heads, for Crystal Prep the atmosphere was relatively casual.
Wearing a content and somewhat proud smile, Sunny looked around the opulently decorated hall. The classy girl was wearing a violet dress with a short multi-layered skirt and one single holder, leaving her left shoulder bare. Long yellow stockings covered her legs, while her high-heels were in the same colour as her dress, maybe a little darker, each sporting a yellow paper flower on the tip. Instead of her usual hair clip she was wearing a crystalline version of it, slightly transparent with a subtle sparkle. Her naturally smooth hair was even more well-made than usual, looking like one could slip on it. Taking in a deep breath of the fresh and cool night air, Sunny let out a dreamy sigh. “Ah, isn’t this the kind of night that makes you want to break out into a musical number, singing about all your hopes and expectations?”
With the look of a dog that was about to bite Indigo glared at her. “Chirp one note and I’m gonna throw up on your shoes” she warned her. The athlete was wearing a dress similar to the one she had shown to Sour in the store. The dark fabric was lying smoothly on her body, glittering in several shades of blue. Long black boots covered half her sheens, while she wore fingerless blue gloves on her hands. Instead of her goggles she wore a blue hairband, as well as dark blue crystal earrings in the shape of lightning. While still combed back in its usual way her hair was lying a little more loosely than usual, flowing over her head to her neck. “Gotta say though, we did a good job on this place” she remarked with a smirk.
Sour was the first to step inside the gym. The cerised-haired girl wore a dress fitting her hair-colour while also featuring some highlights in brighter hues of red and white. A large ribbon dominated the backside of her dress, several smaller ones scattered over the rest of it. Stripped in alternating colors her bell-skirt looked like a whirl of whipped cream and cherry ice. Two pink buttons shaped like hearts as well as a pair of bright puffy shoulder pads rounded out the sugary-sweet appearance. Cherry-red slippers and white gloves with frills at the elbow accompanied her outfit, alongside two-coloured socks going up to her thighs. A hat reminiscent of a pastry chef with a cherry symbol on it sat on her head, tilted a little to the left, while her hair was tied to a pair of braids. ”It’s really amazing what we’ve done to the place! And by that I mean it’s amazing Lemon didn’t mess it up.”
“I gave her little room to mess up” Sugarcoat replied as she entered. She was clad in the dress Sunny had picked for her, alongside a brooch looking the hairpin she usually wore. Matching her outfit, she wore a pair of blue high-heels, glistening like her dress, especially at the tip of the heels. Though not glittering, her glasses did shine in a bight silver, and while subtle her make-up did underline her complexion quite well. Her signature pigtails were curled slightly, with the tips being died in a lavender hue.
The green-haired punk snorted, but if anything, she was looking more tired than mad. Surprisingly, the dress she wore was rather feminine and conservative, a dark pink one with spaghetti-holders with the skirt reaching to her thighs. The straps of her green high-heel-boots went up to her knees. Though not completely smooth her hair wasn’t as messy as usual, a dark pink hair band holding it in place. Around her neck her headphones were hanging, connected to the MP3-player on the belt around her hip. Shining in a crystalline yellow the belt buckle was shaped like a lemon slice. “I just hope I never have to do something like that again” she mumbled. When her gaze wandered over the decorated hall though, she couldn’t help but smile. “Though it is kind of nice, seeing it all like that…”
“You have every reason to be proud of yourselves.”
Startled by the familiar voice the girls turned around. A woman in a simple, yet very pretty dress was standing behind them. The fabric was featuring different shades of pink and violet intervening with each other. Decent make-up and jewelry complimented her outfit, being not too striking, but emphasizing her features while hiding some slight signs of age. Her long smooth hair was falling down both sides of her pink face. She smiled with so much kindness at them, the girls were a little flustered.
“D-Dean Cadence” Sunny said, smiling back as she digested the shock. “It’s really nice to see you!”
“What are you doing here?” Lemon asked, scratching her head. “You got some work to do?”
Sunny rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Teachers and parents are here to supervise everything. Also, it’s not like they are not allowed to attend the ball…”
Lemon glared at her. “It’s a party!”
The dean giggled. Watching her, Sour noticed that alongside some laughter lines, there were hints of rings under her eyes, covered by her make-up. Nevertheless, her face radiated the same kind of compassion and friendliness as usual as she looked each of them into their eyes. “I just wanted to tell you how very proud I am – not just for making this all possible. I want to thank you for everything you have done to spread the spirit of friendship at this school. Your hard work and dedication have already made Crystal Prep a better place.” She made a slight bow in front of them. “As dean of Crystal Prep, let me say thank you, girls.”
Bright blushes crept on the cheeks of the Shadowbolts. While a little embarrassed, they were all smiling happily at the dean, clearly moved by her words of gratitude.
“N-no problem, Miss Cadence!”
“You are far too kind.”
“Yeah, it was no biggie.”
“Didn’t even break a sweat!”
“Actually, it was a lot of work… but we gladly did it.”
A chuckle slipped through the dean’s lips. “Okay girls, I’ll be with the rest of the teachers and parents. If you need something, you’ll find me with them near the banquet. Have fun!”
With these word, the teacher left the quintet of friends. Sour looked after her for a moment. Near the banquet, there were a few chairs positioned, with several teachers and a few parents sitting on them. Among them was the headmaster of the school, the infamously strict Principal Cinch. Dean Cadence sat down right next to her, greeting her with a smile. But the only response she seemed to get from the principal was a scoff.
“Okay girls, you heard the lady!” Lemon declared. “Let’s go and have some fun!”
“Yeah!” the others shouted in excitement – except for Sour, who seemed somewhat distracted.
“What’s wrong?” Sunny asked as she noticed she had not joined their cheer.
Sour was still looking at Dean Cadence. A finger on her chin, she turned to her friends. “Didn’t Dean Cadence look a little… tired?” she asked, worry ringing in her voice.
Everyone sat their gaze on the dean. “Now that you mention it, yeah” Indigo said, rubbing her chin. “She did seem a little burned out.”
After watching her a while, Lemon shrugged. “Eh, maybe she is tired because she just woke up?”
Everyone rolled their eyes.
“It’s not even 8pm yet, Lemon” Sunny told her. “Why should she have just gotten up?”
“Do you think teachers immediately go to bed after school and don’t wake up before the next day?” Indigo chuckled. “Like they are some sort of robots that do nothing but teach?”
“Though with the way some of our teachers act, it’s actually possible they are machines” Sugarcoat said.
After looking at Dean Cadence some more, Sour shook her head. “Never mind – she is probably fine. Let’s just enjoy the night.”
A wide grin formed on Lemon’s face. “Now you’re talking! Let’s get ROCKIN!”
As she raised her fist enthusiastically into the air, she accidentally bumped with her hip against a small snack table. Seeing it tilt and almost tumble, Lemon quickly grabbed it. Once it was at rest again, she sighed.
“Phew, that was close.” She wiped with her arm over her forehead. “Okay, now let’s really get rockin’!” Excited, she stormed off towards the dance floor.
“I don’t intend to rock tonight” Sugarcoat said dryly. “I’m just gonna enjoy myself and have a calm, nice evening.” With that, the white-haired girl also got on her way, to a less populated part of the hall.
Clearing her throat, Sunny pointed into the direction she had went to. “I, um… gonna do that too” she said, hushing after their friend. Sour and Indigo watched her confused, but shrugged it off.
“Alright, Sour, you ready for this?” Indigo asked, a cocky grin on her face.
Sour smiled back. “Anytime Indy! This is gonna be the best night ever - cause I’m gonna kick your butt!”
Side by side, the two girls looked over the sports hall. “Okay, here’s the deal” Indigo said, hands on her hips. “Any guy who is here on his own is game. Whoever gets the most dances until midnight has won.”
Sour looked at the various students. “And what do we do if there are barely any guys who came without a date?”
Indigo laughed. “This is Crystal Prep – it’d be a miracle already if anyone besides us came with their friends.”
Sour shrugged. “Fair point.”
Taking a step forward Indigo clenched her fist. “So, shall we do this fairy princess?”
A sweet smile on her lips, Sour nodded. “Absolutely - I’ll show you the charms of a pure, innocent girl♥” She cracked her knuckles. “Now let’s go break some hearts!”
Casually Sugarcoat walked through the gym, past a few dancing and talking students. Though she wasn’t the most party-going person, and even considering this was a school festival, she noticed everything seemed to be a little stiff and formal. There seemed to be a sense of uneasiness around the hall, as if many of the students were holding back or not daring to fully party out – and considering they were under the constant glare of the teachers, including Principal Cinch, this wasn’t a far-fetched assumption.
As she took a look around however, there was something else catching her attention, making her steadily more uncomfortable: A lot of boys were looking at her. Many of them smiled towards her as she walked by, some of them awkwardly, some with more confidence, as if they were trying to flirt with her from a distance. Another thing she noticed was a lavender-haired head repeatedly poking out behind other students, following her like a shadow.
On the side of the sports hall, Sugarcoat stopped. Without turning her head, she reached her arm into a nearby group of students, and grabbed her pursuer by the neck. “What did you do, Sunny?” she asked as she pulled her out of the crowd, looking her sternly in the eyes.
Choking, Sunny freed herself from Sugarcoat’s grasp, rubbing her throat. “W-what do you mean?” Smiling, she tried to make an innocent face. “I-I have no idea what you’re talking-”
“Drop the act. Tell me why so many boys are staring at me.”
Hands folded behind her back, Sunny avoided looking Sugarcoat in the eyes. “Maybe because you look so good in the dress I picked for you?”
Sugarcoat furrowed her eye-brows.
“A-and maybe also because, um, I might have texted a few dozen of them that a girl with pigtails is looking for a date tonight.”
For a moment, Sugarcoat’s expression was completely blank. Suddenly, every muscle in her face turned up to form a deep, raging frown. “You did WHAT?!” she yelled, clenching her fists. “ARE YOU CRAZY?!”
The loud voice of Sugarcoat caused some students to turn their heads. Ducking slightly in front of her, Sunny whispered: “B-but I just wanted to help...”
“HELP?!” Sugarcoat shouted, causing some more heads to turn. Realizing the attention she was receiving, Sugarcoat took in a deep breath. As she exhaled it was almost as if steam was blowing out of her mouth, but she regained her calm attitude. “I never asked for help to get a date” she said, anger still ringing in her voice. “I thought I made perfectly clear I wanted to spend a calm evening with myself. Also, I am surprised you would do something silly like that – this kind of hare-brained scheme is more typical for Lemon, Sour or Indigo, but not you.”
Flustered Sunny forced a nervous laugh out of herself. “Now come on, don’t be like that. Just give those guys a chance! And who knows – maybe you’ll find the love of your life tonight?”
“It’s very unlikely I meet the love of my life by dancing with a bunch of random boys at a school festival.”
Folding her hands in front of her chest, Sunny looked at Sugarcoat with big, pleading puppy eyes. “Pleeeeaaaaase, Sugarcoat – for me?”
Sugarcoat glared at her friend. Eventually though, her frown fell apart with a sigh. “Fine - I’ll do it.”
Beaming in excitement, Sunny looked like she was about to explode with joy. “Alright boys, get in line!” she shouted, clapping her hands. From all around, boys began moving in their direction, grinning eagerly from ear to ear. “This beauty here is all ready for you!”
Pushing up her glasses, Sugarcoat rubbed the bridge of her nose. “You sound like you want to sell a horse…”
Content, Lemon looked around the sports hall. There was the banquet, offering chips and dips, sandwiches, meat balls, some fancy stuff on toothpicks as well as bowls of punch alongside water, juices and soft drinks. The rest of the hall looked just as great: Lights, decoration, the dance floor – everything was just perfect! Closing her eyes Lemon listened to the music from the DJ for a moment. It a mixture of pop, techno and some hip hop beats – not quite as metal as she would have preferred, but definitely something she could dance to. She relinquished in the feeling of having worked so hard for all of this to come together some more, being somewhat proud of herself. “Alright!” With one hand she grabbed her shoulder, swinging her arm in circles as if she was preparing for a pitch. “Time to get this party-”
The sudden noise of something bumping against glass made her turn her head. At the banquet someone had hit a bowl with his elbow. Tumbling around, it slowly slid towards the edge of the table. Inside the punch was sloshing around, increasing the swings as it moved around. Lemon’s eyes widened in horror it danced on the rim. Eventually, the bowl tilted so far over the edge it fell off the table.
Panicked Lemon dashed towards the banquet, and leapt for the falling bowl. Her belly gliding over the smooth floor she caught it with her hands. However, as she still had a lot of momentum she kept sliding forward. The bowl tilted towards her, causing its contents to spill right into her face. Lemon closed her eyes as the punch washed over her head, her hair and a part of her dress. Meanwhile she was still sliding forward, passing through the tablecloth of the banquet like through a curtain. Holding the bowl in front of her she hit a leg, pressing the glass hard against her face. While the leg of the table didn’t break it was bent slightly. Above her Lemon felt everything on the table was tumbling. In an instant she rolled on her back, grabbed the underside of the table and tried to stabilize it. Holding her breath she listened for the sounds of the wobbling plates. As she couldn’t heart them anymore she sighed in relief.
Still keeping the table in balance with one hand she grabbed the damaged leg with the other. Luckily, nothing was broken, so with some strength Lemon was able to repair it. It was still a little wobbly, but it would probably hold for the night. Turning back on her belly she took the bowl off her face. Only a very small puddle of punch remained at the bottom, the rest clinging to her body. Lemon frowned. They had bought the punch ready in the super market and just mixed a few different sorts together, yet it took her three attempts until she had found the right combination (though she didn’t get why her friends rejected a pineapple-lemon-dragon fruit mix). Now the fruits of her labor were dripping from her hair, some drops landing back inside the bowl as she stared into it. There were a couple more bowls of punch on the banquet, as well as many other drinks. Still, seeing her hard work wasted like this kind of turned her down.
Feeling a little disheartened she crawled back out under the table. Just as she was about to pull her head out from the tablecloth she bumped against the edge. Unfortunately for her, at that exact spot someone had put down his glass. As the unstable table tilted the glass fell over, the cool punch pouring over Lemon. The few strands of her hair that were still dry got soaked as well while the rest of the punch flowed down her back. Cool liquid ran under her dress, drenching it further and making the fabric cling to her. Still kneeling under the table Lemon froze, clenching her teeth at the feeling of the punch under her clothes. As the tension in her muscles dissolved she slouched her shoulders, growling in frustration.
Standing at the side of the dance floor, Sour was looking for her first victim lucky date of the night. There were quite a lot of people in the hall, some in couples, but most of them seemed to have come without a partner. Sour scanned the available material for a while, until her eyes fell upon a somewhat cute guy. He wasn’t the most handsome or attractive, but to get warmed up, she figured he was acceptable.
Sour coughed into her fist, focusing for a moment. Her lips then curled up to a giant smile, showing pretty much all of her teeth, while her eyes sparkled with a happy-go-lucky attitude. She didn’t walk, but rather skipped over to the boy, making sure her skirt was fluttering playfully with every of her steps. As she got in his hearing range she began to chirp a sweet “la-la-la”, just so loud the guy turned his head in her direction. Her smile grew even wider, Sour waving her hand as she approached him.
“Oh hello there!” she greeted him. Her voice was so bright it almost hurt the ears, each of her words drenched in a deep layer of sugar and honey. “What’s such a handsome guy like you doing here all on his own?”
With an indifferent look on his face, the boy shrugged. “Oh, not much. Just hanging around, enjoying the music, getting some snacks – you know, what you do at a school gala.”
“Party!”
Both he and Sour looked in surprise as a completely soaked Lemon walked past them towards the toilets.
“..Aaaaanyway” Sour went on after that awkward interruption, quickly getting back into her role “I thought maybe you and I could, you know, like, hang around a bit?” she asked while staring at the boy with puppy-eyes.
No muscle moved ins his face as he looked neutrally at her. “Sure – got nothing better to do anyway.”
Not quite the thrilled response she had been expecting, but as long as he agreed to a dance Sour didn’t mind. “Why thank you! You’re such a kind, sweet gentleman.”
“If you say so.”
Still wearing a giant smile Sour wrapped her arms around his biceps. “Oh, you’re so strong!” she praised him, feeling his muscles with her fingers while grabbing him more tightly.
“T-thanks” he said as they walked towards the dance floor. “Um, y-you’re quite strong yourself…”
Quickly Sour shook her head. Oh, not at all! I’m just a poor fragile girl, needing a strong man to protect me.
The boy’s face made a grimace of pain. “For a poor fragile girl… you are… crushing my arm!” he coughed, his face becoming red.
Realizing she was holding him too tight, Sour let go of his arm. “Oh, um… s-sorry.”
With a groan he rubbed his upper arm. “Dang it, right on my aching muscle…”
Sour was about to say something like “Your probably got that from working out”. Before she had a chance to speak however a girl standing nearby turned towards them. “You got an aching muscle?” she asked. As he nodded, she touched his shoulder with a smile. “I know a good method against that. Want me to show you?”
Still rubbing his arm, the boy pondered for a moment. “Well okay” he eventually replied. As the two of them went off, he said over his shoulder. “Sorry – guess you’ll have to find someone else to hang out with.”
Though her eye twitched, Sour’s giant smile remained frozen on her face. “Oh that’s no problem!” she assured him. Once the two of them were out of range she frowned. “Jerk.”
On the lookout, Indigo searched for a boy she could approach. Eventually her eyes fell upon a guy near the stage. He was nodding his head to the rhythm of the music, but not really dancing to it. Well, she would change that.
Her face radiating confidence she waited until he was roughly looking in her direction. Moving towards him she tried to strut a little, swaying her hips to the rhythm of her steps. If it was the way she walked, her dress or the simple fact she approached him, it didn’t take long until the boy had set his eyes on her. She greeted him with a bold smile. “Yo, buddy. Guess you’re enjoying the view, huh?” Her hips moved in a half-circle, before making a thrust to one side. With her thumb, she pointed behind her. “Say, how about we cut the chit-chat short and just hit it off on the dance floor?”
A big grin on his face, the boy nodded. “Sure! Can’t think of a better way to spend this night than dancing with such a cutie…”
The smile on Indigo’s face vanished. “CUTIE!?” she yelled. In an instant she was at his face, grabbing his shirt by the collar. “You got billiard balls for eyes? This outfit isn’t cute – it’s BOLD!”
The boy broke out in cold sweat. “I-I just meant… y-your face is kinda cute and…”
Letting go of his collar Indigo pointed at her frowning face. “My face is toned, okay? I’m an athlete, not some sugary baby doll! You got that?!”
Hastily the boy nodded.
“Good! Now let’s dance!” Her high heels nearly dug holes into the floor as she stomped off. But as she turned around for her partner, she could just see him he dash away from her, as fast as his legs could run.
Blushing, but with her fists shaking in anger, Indigo was just about to chase him and drag him to the dance floor. Before she got to move however he ran straight into another girl. Holding a cup of punch in her hand she spilled the drink on her shirt, which had a rather weird space-ship-logo on it.
“Hey! Watch where you are going!” she yelled at him, pulling on the hem of her top. “You’ve ruined my shirt!”
Flustered and intimidated, the boy ducked himself. “I-I am sorry!” As she tried to wipe the punch of her shirt, he blushed even harder. “Oh my gosh, and that’s a limited edition too, isn’t it? I’m so, SO sorry!”
The girl looked at him in surprise. “You know this is an official ‘Space Patrol’-shirt? And that’s it’s a limited edition with special colour motives and small signatures of all the main actors?”
Still startled, the boy nodded. “Well, yeah, I’m a big fan, a-a-and I’ve been trying to get one for years…”
The fury on the girl’s face vanished. “I thought I was the only fan at the entire school” she said, smiling.
As she calmed down the boy also relaxed and smiled back. “Oh no! There is even a fan-club – though it’s n really official by the school’s terms, of course.”
“Really? Can I join?”
“Sure. Hey, I think I’ve seen some of the other members around here – should we look for them?”
“That’d be great!” As the two of them went off, she said more strictly: “But you’re still gonna pay the cleaning for my shirt!”
Frozen on the spot, Indigo watched how her date walked away, and frowned. “Jerk.”
Nonchalantly, Sugarcoat looked after the boy who just walked away with tears in his eyes from her. Just as he left another guy in a tuxedo approached her. “Hi!” he said, smiling a little nervously at her. “I heard, um, you are here on you own?”
“I am” Sugarcoat replied dryly. She cast a quick glance down his feet. “Your shoes don’t match your clothes.”
Confused, the boy looked down, blushing as he noticed he was wearing sneakers to his tuxedo. “Oh... I-I guess I just automatically put on these instead of my-”
“Also, there is lettuce between your teeth.”
Quickly the boy covered his mouth with his hands. Sugarcoat could see him blush even more behind his fingers. Lowering his head in shame he slowly walked away.
She wasn’t alone for long though, for soon the next boy approached her, in a similarly fancy outfit as the one before (except with matching shoes).
As they stood in front of each other, Sugarcoat’s glance drifted to his neck. “Your tie is folded incorrectly.”
The boy grabbed his neck. “Oh. C-can you fix it for me?”
“A girl fixing the guy’s tie? That’s very old-fashioned thinking, and goes against the image of an independent female.”
Sweat running down his forehead the boy slowly backed off. As if he was waiting in line for his turn, another one approached her. He was wearing very casual clothing, consisting of a pair of blue jeans and a flannel shirt, alongside a straw hat. As he spoke, small drops of spit were flying at her face with each of his words.
“Hiya, lady!” he greeted her with a big smile, revealing his braces to be the most likely cause for his humid pronunciation. “I heard y’all ain’t got nobody to keep ye company, so lil’ ol’ me thought why don’t the two of us take it to the dance floor?”
Slowly, Sugarcoat wiped the spit from her glasses. “I can’t understand what you’re saying and you spit on me with every word.”
Slouching his shoulders, the boy walked away.
The next one was another guy in a tuxedo. Instead of a classic black and white combination though, this one sported more colours than Sugarcoat could count, including some she couldn’t even name: His bowtie already was in three completely different hues, one of which she believed to be between deep purple and magenta. This went on with his every other part of his clothing, making Sugarcoat feel like she was staring at a failed rainbow experiment. Even more striking than his clothes however was the hair of the boy, which could best be described as a mixture of a clown wig and a bee hive. Through her glasses, Sugarcoat silently inspected the boy for a moment. After scanning him from top to toe she looked him in the eye.
“You’re weird.”
With a frown, the boy turned around, leaving Sugarcoat alone. As she awaited the next one, she suddenly felt a hand tightly grabbing her shoulder. Before she knew it she was twisted on the spot, staring at a scowling Sunny. “Sugarcoat, what are you doing?!”
Sugarcoat shrugged. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
With a loud thud Sunny’s hand hit her forehead, before proceeding to rub the bridge of her nose. “You promised you would give these guys a chance.”
“That’s what I am doing. I’m just telling them what I think of them.”
“You’re scaring them off!” Sunny yelled. More calmly, she folded her hands as she asked: “Look, can you just try to spend five minutes with each before you go full power Sugarcoat on them?”
Sugarcoat looked at her friend for a moment. Sunny’s furious face having given way to a somewhat more pleading expression, almost as if she was begging. “Alright” Sugarcoat sighed. “If it makes you happy…”
After using up almost all of the cleaning clothes at the toilet (and most of the toilet paper), Lemon finally returned to the sports hall. While there were still a few stains on her dress, she had managed to wash the majority of the punch off from her, and got her hair somewhat dry. “Alright!” she said, a wide grin on her face. “Now it’s really time to get this party star-”
Her euphoria immediately vanished however as she caught sight of a group of students dancing at the side of the hall. Though their moves were far away from what the punk rocker would consider wild, they were rather close to one of the banners of Crystal Prep that were hanging from the ceiling. It had taken her forever to hang them up, especially to get them straight – and now, as these students danced to the rhythm of the DJ, moving their arms, hips and legs, they would occasionally bump against the banner. Though this didn’t damage its stability, the banner tilted slightly every time it was touched, making the perfectly positioned symbol of their school a little less perfect.
“HEY WATCH IT!!” she yelled, running over to the students. “I WASTED A PART OF MY YOUTH TO GET THAT RIGHT!!”
What’s the difference between a gala/ball/party/whatever anyway?
Standing on the side of the dance floor, Sour leaned against a pillar. Arms crossed her lips were forming a pout while she looked for her next target. In the middle of the hall, a tall, muscular student was standing. He was probably part of the wrestling team (if Crystal Prep had one), for his arms were toned and defined, with a torso and legs to match.
“Perfect!” Sour said, her pout turning into a smile. That last guy probably knew she was WAY out of her league anyway. This one was more on her level. Her expression softened, again mimicking the look of an innocent little girl. With the same girly skip as before she approached the hunk. Her arms wrapped themselves around his biceps, causing him to look rather surprised at the sweetly smiling Sour.
“Hi there big guy!” she chirped, tracing along the definition of his muscles with a finger. “My, you look really buff – bet you’re working out. I like guys who stay in shape♥”
He smiled. “Hey, thanks! You’re into body-building too?”
Not expecting that kind of reply, Sour quickly shook her head. “Oh no, no, I could never do that kind of stuff – I’m way too fragile and small for something so masculine!” She tried to sound as feminine as possible, gently stroking his biceps.
His face turned up in disappointment. “Aw, too bad…”
“Hey, I’m into bodybuilding!” Another boy came up behind them, also looking rather muscular. “Didn’t know there was someone else in this school who was.”
Excited the boy turned his head. “Sweet!” Sour felt his arm slipping out of her grip. “What weights do you use?”
“Ten kilos, but I’m thinking about going up to twelve. What do you do for leg day?”
As the two boys walked off talking about fitness machines and body-building technics, Sour casted a not very cute look after them.
Calming herself down, her eyes scanned the hall again. Near the banquet, she saw a tall boy wearing shades standing by himself, with a cup of punch in his hand. Holding a fist in front of her face she cleared her throat, before bouncing with a big smile in his direction.
He seemed to pay no attention to her, even as she stood right next to him. With the tip of her finger, she delicately touched his shoulder. As he turned to her she put on the most adorable look she was able to muster. “Excuse me, but I’m all alone here at this party. Would you mind keeping an eye out for poor little me?” She folded her hands, leaning her cheek against it while fluttering her eye-lashes at him.
Staring at her through his shades, the boy cocked his head. “Look out for you? Is someone after you?” Quickly he looked left and right, scanning the area.
Sour blinked. “Um, no I just-”
“Is it that guy?” he asked, pointing at some random dude on the other side of the hall. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of him!” Before Sour could stop him he dashed away. From afar, she watched him stop in front of the other guy, yelling at him. Confused at first, he eventually shouted back. After shouting at each other for a while however both seemed to calm down. Suddenly, the two of them shook their hands. Next, she could see them talking and laughing, the boy with the shades apparently having forgotten about her.
Unconsciously, she had clenched her hands into fists. Instead of letting her anger out however she cooled down once more. She then noticed a spoon that was lying on the banquet table. Quickly she snatched it as if it was some kind of treasure. Standing by the banquet, she waited with the spoon in her hand. As a boy was about to walk past her, she let go of the spoon in front of him.
“Oh no!” she gasped as the spoon landed on the floor. “I dropped my spoon! Is there no knight in shining armor to pick it up for me?”
The guy turned his head around, first looking at the spoon at his feet, then at Sour. “Er… I think you can just pick that up yourself. Don’t want to be rude, but I don’t wanna get any germs from you.“ Turning around he walked away.
Casting a dark glance after him Sour kicked the spoon into the air. “There are no gentlemen left in this world” she mumbled while grabbing the spoon in the air.
A frown on her face Indigo stomped through the hall. “Calling me cute” she mumbled. Her cheeks still red from anger she looked out for her second first date. Underneath a slightly ramped up banner, she caught sight of a boy on his own. He seemed a bit insecure, tapping with his fingers on the cup in his hands, while nervously looking around the gym.
“The shy type, huh?” Indigo whispered to herself. “Perfect!”
With the same confidence as before, she slowly approached him. He didn’t seem to take notice of Indigo at first. Only when she was standing right in front of him, one hand on her hip, the other one leisurely hanging at her side, he cast a nervous glance at the resolute teenage girl. “You got five seconds to ask me out” Indigo said firmly.
The cheeky grin on her face made the boy freeze. More than five seconds passed without him replying. Standing there in her pose, Indigo was beginning to feel uncomfortable as well. However, as showing insecurity was not really something a femme fatale would do, she played down her doubts by coughing into her fist. “Well, you game or not?” she asked.
Eventually, the boy opened his mouth. “Um.. d-do you mean… Mon-n-nopoly?”
Confused, Indigo furrowed her eye-brows. “What?”
“O-or a game of cards? Or chess? Ch-checkers?” He helplessly looked at her. “I… I am not sure what I should ask you out for…”
Indigo was about to yell “To a dance you doofus” in his face. Before she could open her mouth however, she could hear a voice behind her.
“Excuse me, but are you into board games?” Turning her head, she saw another boy standing there. Instead of addressing her however, he was looking at the guy she had tried to hit on.
“Um, kind of” he replied.
The other boy was getting excited. “Are you interested in forming a board game club at school? We are short of one member to reach the necessary minimum.”
Relaxing, the boy nodded. “S-sure!”
“Great!” With a smile, he took him by the shoulder. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the other members! Well, future members.”
Walking away, the two game fans left Indigo behind. She snorted, but forced down her anger again as she spotted another boy standing by himself near the wall with his back towards her. He watched the people on the dance floor, whose number had steadily increased during the night, while calmly eating a sandwich.
Suddenly, he could feel himself being grabbed by the shoulder, and was forcefully pulled backwards. Before he could react, Indigo had him pinned against the wall, one hand next to his face with her gin just hovering in front of him. “Ready for the time of your life, nerd?” she asked.
After chewing for a moment, the boy gulped down his sandwich. “Um, sorry, but I’ll pass.” Swiftly, he ducked under Indigo’s arm. Jumping to the side he dashed away, to another corner of the hall.
Taken by surprise, Indigo stared at the wall for a moment. With a sigh, she turned around, and began her search anew. On the other side of the hall, there was a guy with freckles and braces. Not really her first choice, but she guessed she was past that point anyway. Swallowing her growing frustration, she marched straight at him. Her strut wasn’t quite as enticing as before, but more of a hectic one. Arriving upon her target, she didn’t even wait until he noticed her to speak in a dominant manner to him. “Hey there! You. Me. The Dance Floor. Sounds like a good deal, right?”
Startled, the boy turned towards her. “S-sorry, but I’m not a good dancer-”
“That’s okay – I’ll lead!” Grabbing his wrist Indigo spun him around. As she let go however he stumbled away from her, right on the dance floor. Like a twister he turned around himself, yelling while dizzily moving through the gym. Eventually he collided with the wall on the other side, falling on his butt.
Watching him crash Indigo flinched. Well, she did perform a dance move with him. Maybe that counted?
As he was sitting there rubbing his head, a girl approached him. A smile on her face she held out her hand, which he gladly took as she helped him back up.
Indigo slouched her shoulders. No, she thought, throwing a guy into another girl’s arms definitely didn’t count.
While Sour and Indigo had trouble getting a hold on the dance floor, Sugarcoat was having a hard time escaping it: Without a break, guys kept asking her for a dance, which she would always accept. Not a single time she smiled during her time with them, but she also didn’t frown or show any other signs of discomfort. With the same stoic, neutral expression she let herself being led by boy after boy, not saying a word as they danced through the hall. Exactly after five silent minutes with each of them however, Sugarcoat would open her mouth and speak:
“Your hands are sweaty, your breath smells like onions and you keep stepping on my feet.”
“You are talking nonstop about barely interesting subjects and don’t move to the beat.”
“Your glasses keep sliding off your nose. It’s irritating me.”
“You’re pulling me too hard.”
“You are unnaturally pale.”
“You’re boring.”
“Your hair is terrible, the colour of your clothes bite and the way you raise your voice at the end of each sentence makes you sound like a snob.” She considered for a moment. “Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. But seriously: Your hair is a mess.”
Though the exact reaction differed between her partners, some being angry while others were ashamed, this would cause all of them to slowly step away from her, making way for the next Romeo. Some of the rejected ones banded together and comforted each other, while others went to talk their frustration out on a friend.
Her fingers tapping on her elbow Sunny watched Sugarcoat with crossed arms. The lavender-haired girl’s mouth was upside-down, her eyebrows furrowed, and with each guy that walked away from Sugarcoat the look of anger on her face intensified. Fixed on Sugarcoat, she didn’t notice another girl stumbling in her direction. Only when she bumped against her shoulder she took a glance to the side – and was quite surprised to see Lemon with her head wrapped into what looked like a piece of purple cloth standing next to her. “Lemon? What happened to you?” Sunny asked.
It took a moment for Lemon to turn into Sunny’s direction. Her voice muffled by the fabric, she began to babble an incomprehensible explanation. With a sigh, Sunny grabbed one end of the cloth, and carefully began to unwrap it. As she did, she realized it was a part of a Crystal Prep banner.
The moment Lemon was freed she took in a deep breath. “Thanks” she wheezed. With both hands she grabbed the fabric still wrapped around her neck, and tossed it over her head. “So yeah, long story short: I tried to keep those punks from messing up the banner, but ended up ripping a piece out by myself. Aaaand wrapped it around my head.”
Sunny rolled her eyes. “I’m not even gonna ask how you managed that feat.”
A sheepish look on her face, Lemon rubbed her head. She noticed however Sunny wasn’t looking at her anymore, but glared at something else. “Hey there, what’s that face for?”
Sunny snorted. “It’s Sugarcoat – that girl is driving me crazy! All I try is to get her a date, but she just keeps rejecting everyone. At this rate, she’s gonna run out of boys!”
Lemon followed Sunny’s gaze, watching Sugarcoat reject her next dance partner, before looking back at Sunny. “What about you? Doesn’t Miss Fancy have a date herself?”
Sunny flinched. “Um…” Her eyes nervously moved around, when they lay sight upon something. “Hey, is there someone trying to climb the sound machine?”
“Wha- HEY, CUT IT OUT!! I nearly broke my back getting that in here!!”
Turning on the spot Lemon dashed towards the stage. The rock fan rammed her shoulders against anyone in her path, pushing students aside without caring for the scowls she earned. However, her charge eventually came to a halt as she tried to squeeze herself through a group of people. Trying to move faster than the limited space would allow she tripped over someone’s foot, and before she knew it found herself once again gliding on her belly over the floor. As she stopped, the tip of a very sharp high-heel was right in front of her nose. The shoe and the light blue skin of the one wearing it seemed familiar. As she raised her gaze past a very conservative skirt, she found herself staring into a stern, strict pair of eyes that gazed down on her through a pair of glasses.
Lemon gulped. “P-Principal Cinch!” Quickly she got back up on her feet. The headmaster of the school was sitting on a chair, surrounded by the other teachers and parents who supervised the students. “So, um, how do ya like the party?” Lemon asked, forcing a very fake smile on her face.
With the same serious and fun-denying expression as always, the principal scoffed. “Considering it’s an utter waste of time, I guess it is a rather enjoyable gala” she remarked.
Lemon had to bite her tongue not to yell “PARTY” into her face. “That’s great!” the teenager said, though she was not even sure if a compliment from the most stuck-up person of the world was really worth anything. Seeking to keep this conversation short, Lemon took a step back. “So, yeah, I’ll be back and, er partying.”
Luckily, the principal didn’t seem interested in talking to her any longer either, as she simply scoffed again and turned away. Lemon was about to dash off, when she saw who was sitting next to the principal.
“Oh, hello Lemon.” Dean Cadence smiled at her. “Enjoying the night?
Frustrated Lemon sighed. “I’m trying, but I just keep going after people who mess stuff up.” She looked a little confused at the dean. “Why aren’t you doing anything? I thought you and the rest of the adults are here to make sure everything stays civil and clean.”
The dean nodded. “Technically, that’s true. But it’s more of our duty to make sure things don’t go out of hand between boys and girls.” She glanced at the principal, who wasn’t taking notice of their conversation, and leaned a little closer to Lemon. “Also, I talked with the other teachers and parents, and we all agreed not to be too strict” she whispered, shielding her mouth with her hand. “The school receives a lot of government funding, so we can spare a few broken tables and reparations to the hall.”
Tilting her head Lemon looked at the stern figure behind the dean. “What about Cinch?” she asked in a low voice.
The dean winked. “I might have been distracting her a little with school politics throughout the night.” She straightened herself again. “If you want to make sure everything stays intact though, go ahead – it’s your party, after all.”
A blush on her face, Lemon smiled. “Thanks.” Turning around she went back to the dance floor, unsure what to do next. A moment later however, she returned. “Also thanks for calling it a party.”
As she left again, the dean giggled into her hand.
The definitely not best, but also not worst night ever
The night went on, alongside the Crystal Prep Formal. Bit by bit, the strict atmosphere from the beginning had dissolved: The air in the decorated gym was filled with casual banter, and though not crowded the dance floor was occupied by a large number of students.
Much to her dismay though, Sour Sweet wasn’t one of them.
The later it got, the more desperately she tried to get someone to dance with her. But no matter who she talked to and how cute she tried to act, it all ended either with the guy hanging out with someone else instead, or just rejecting her. As the Crystal Heart Formal neared its final hour, she still hadn’t gotten a single guy to dance with her, and was starting to run out of targets.
“Come on, come on” she whispered, pushing students aside as she looked out for a boy she hadn’t talked to yet. She didn’t even think about beating Indigo anymore, but not getting a SINGLE boy to dance with her would hurt her pride – not to mention Indigo would mock her until the end of time with it.
Finally, her eyes came upon a guy in a tuxedo, not really handsome, but not ugly either. At this point, she didn’t care much for appearance either way. With quick steps she skipped over to his side, and gently took his arm.
“Hi there, cutie-pie!” she chirped into his ear. “Say, would you mind accompanying a sweet fragile girl to the dance-floor?”
Surprised, the boy looked at Sour’s sweetly smiling face. He was about to say something, when he felt his other arm being grabbed as well. As he turned his head, he stared into a pair of eyes brimming with attitude.
“Hey there!” Indigo grinned, a demanding manner in her voice. “You look like you’re tough – think you’re tough enough to handle me?”
Looking past the boy, Sour stared at Indigo first in surprise, then in anger. “Excuse me, but I think I had the attention of this darling gentleman first” she said while lightly pulling the boy towards her.
Indigo also seemed surprised at seeing Sour, before she furrowed her brows. “Then it’s a good thing I showed up” Indigo replied, also pulling the boy towards her. “Spares you the embarrassment of getting rejected.”
Though a vein on her forehead twitched, Sour kept her honeyed smile. “I think this boy here prefers the company of a well-mannered, kind girl instead of a mean bossy macho-lady…“ Her bell-like voice cracked at the end as she pulled more firmly on the boy’s arm.
With both hands, Indigo dragged the boy in her direction. “And I think he’d rather be around a real woman, not some lollipop!”
Gritting her teeth Sour tightened her grip on his arm. “Let him go, Indigo!”
“No, YOU let him go!”
“No you!”
“You!”
“You!!”
“You!!!”
Fighting with each other, the girls pulled more and more tightly on the boy’s arms. Soon he felt like the rope in a tug of war. For a while he was helplessly torn between the two girls, looking like they were about to snap him in half. Sweat running down his face he took in a deep breath, before shouting out of his lungs: “STOOOOP!!!”
Some of the students around turned their heads. Startled and embarrassed, the two girls quickly let go of him. Bending forward he put his hands on his knees, panting. With a slightly forced smile he looked back at Sour and Indigo. “I-I’m really charmed you two want to dance with me. But, um, I was actually about to ask this girl out.”
Both girls looked in the direction he was pointing, their eyes widening at what they sw.
“Sugarcoat?!” they both screamed in disbelief.
The boy nodded. “Yeah. I’ve heard she was looking for a date, a-and it’s not like she is prettier than you or anything, but, um…” Uncomfortably the boy rubbed his head. “Er, gotta go!”
He practically vanished in a cloud of dust, leaving the two dumbfounded girls behind. The students around had also lost interest, and were back at their chatter. Slowly, Sour turned her gaze towards Indigo. “Did… did we just get ditched for Sugarcoat?” she asked in disbelief.
Slowly Indigo nodded. “Seems like it… don’t want to sound like a jerk, but it’s hard to believe someone would want to date her…”
“Oh, he isn’t the first.” Sour and Indigo turned their heads, staring into frowning face of Sunny who had appeared behind them. “In fact, I’m pretty sure he is the last one.
Sour raised an eyebrow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Sighing, Sunny rubbed her forehead. “I set up a couple of dates for her and she promised to give every guy a chance, and that she would spent at least five minutes with them. Turns out, she has given each of them EXACTLY five minutes – and the moment they were over, she dropped them like a gum that’s out of flavor.”
Flinching, Indigo nearly tripped over her high-heels. “Wait… since we got here, Sugar has had a new date every five minutes?!”
Rolling her eyes Sunny growled. “I wish! Before I intervened, she already rejected a bunch within ONE minute – this girl is driving me crazy!” With clenched fists she marched off, her high heels loudly clapping on the floor of the gym.
Indigo and Sour stared after her for a moment, before looking awkwardly at each other. “So, um, how many dates did you get?” Indigo asked, nervously rubbing her shoulder.
With a blush on her face Sour cleared her throat. “Weeeeell… none” she flatly stated.
Indigo sighed. “Yeah, me neither.”
“So, looks like Sugarcoat won our bet!” Even though she said this in her sweet voice, one could clearly hear the bitter ring in it.
Folding her arms Indigo leaned against a nearby table, frowning. “Don’t know what’s worse: Tying zero with you, or losing against Pigtails.”
Sour also leaned against the table, putting her hands around its edges. “At least we learned guys are neither into cute little girls nor self-confident femme fatales – or rather girls who try way too hard to act like them.”
Taking in a deep breath Indigo hissed through her teeth. “I can’t believe we really did this!” she moaned “Betting who dates more guys! This is so… so…” Gritting her teeth she growled in frustration.
Sour glared at her. “Hey, it was your idea, okay? Don’t complain!”
“But you’re the one who started it!”
“Me? What did I do?”
“You provoked me!”
“How?”
“You called me cute!”
There was a moment of silence. While Indigo huffed with an angry look on her face, Sour stared at her in confusing. “Um, Indy? I actually meant that as a genuine compliment.”
Now it was Indigo’s turn to look confused. “Really? You were not teasing me?”
Sour shook her head. “Of course not! I just meant to compliment you on your natural complexion.”
“Oh.” Quickly Indigo turned her head away as she felt a blush on her cheeks. “Well… thanks, I guess.”
One eye-bow arched Sour looked at Indigo for a moment as if she was crazy. Suddenly, both girls wrapped an arm around each other’s shoulder as they broke out into laughter. Wiping the tears from their eyes they leaned against the table, watching the rest of the students. “Hey, Indy” Sour said after a while “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
Folding her arms Sour looked her in the eyes. “Why do you react so aggressive to anything girlish? Like making your fingernails, or being called cute?”
Indigo shrugged her shoulders. “Dunno. You usually don’t expect an athlete to wear make-up, do their hair or be considered ‘cute’ by anyone. Guess I think if someone finds me cute, they are not taking me serious as an athlete.” Rubbing her arms, she looked at her own feet. “It’s already tough as a girl to get treated as someone who can play soccer or run a marathon on a boy’s level. You’re always a girl first, a girl second, a girl third, and somewhere on the end of the line, one or two might recognize your talent in sports.” She closed her eyes. “That’s why I want to show ‘em I can be just as tough and strong as they are, and see eye-to-eye with them.”
As she spoke, the look on her face changed from somewhat embarrassed, to nervous and insecure until becoming gradually more stern and grim. Suddenly, the stern look on her face turned into a grimace of pain as Sour punched her side.
“OUCH!” Indigo yelled, rubbing the aching spot while scowling at her friend.
The cerise-haired girl smiled sweetly at her. “Oh, I’m sorry! I just wanted to make sure you aren’t made out of papier-mâché - cause the Indigo I know wouldn’t care about any of that stuff.” Switching to a harder, yet still friendly tone, Sour poked Indigo at the shoulder. “She’d just challenge anyone who makes fun of her or questions her athletic skills to a race and leave ‘em in the dust. You shouldn’t force yourself to be tough just because you think you have to. And while you don’t have to be girly or cute - it’d be a total waste if we never made use of those cheeks!” she chirped, pinching Indigo’s cheeks. Though the sporty girl didn’t like this, she seemed somewhat happy as she pushed Sour’s hands off her face.
“Thanks, Sour” she said. “You know, when you don’t try to be a cute little girl, you ARE actually quite nice and charming – in your own way, somehow.”
Taken by surprise Sour blushed. “Y-you really think so?”
“Yeah! Don’t know why you are always trying so hard. It always seems so forced and unnatural.”
Sour folded her hands behind her back, her eyes glancing to the side. “Well, maybe it’s because I’m actually… not that good in being… nice to others” she murmured, her voice barely audible. “So it can sometimes come out kind of artificial and exaggerated.”
“Really?” Indigo cocked her head. “I always thought you are just being sarcastic.”
Sour snickered. “Oh don’t worry, I am most of the time.” More quietly she added: “But… not always.”
Silently, the two girls stared at the dance floor.
“This talk has gotten a little heavy, hasn’t it?” Indigo said after a while.
Sour nodded. “A little.”
A soft smile hushed over Indigo’s face. “Well, it was still nice talking about it. And… thanks.
Sour smiled back. “You too.”
Standing beside each other, the two girls watched the other students in the hall for a moment. “But I’m still bummed we lost to Sugarcoat!” Indigo suddenly groaned. “I mean, seriously – SUGARCOAT!
A challenging look on her face, Sour glanced at Indigo. “How about a new bet then?” she asked, holding out her hand. “I bet I can hold out longer on the dance-floor than you do.”
Indigo looked at Sour’s hand, before cracking a smile. “Challenge accepted” she said, taking the hand of her friend.
On the side of the dance floor, benches had been placed for students who wanted to rest. Sitting on the outer end of one was Sugarcoat. Her elbow on her knee her head rested on her fist. The look on her face was a tired one, but more than that, it as one of relief, as if she had finally gotten rid of something that bothered her.
Suddenly, a shadow was cast over her. Raising her gaze she stared right into Sunny’s eyes, who looked sternly down on her. “What a surprise” Sunny said dryly “Here sits the queen of the ball, with no more kings left to reject.”
Sugarcoat harrumphed. “I did what you said. I gave every boy a chance and-”
“You know exactly I didn’t mean you should brush off every guy after five minutes!” Sunny shouting, stomping on the ground.
Sitting up straight Sugarcoat crossed her arms and legs. “I just told them what I thought of them. It’s not my problem if they can’t deal with me telling them the truth…”
“This had nothing to do with telling the truth!” Sunny said, pointing her finger at her with an angry grimace. “You were just impolite!”
“Any form of relationship should be based upon-”
“Damn it, Sugarcoat, I didn’t try to hook you up with someone, I just wanted you to have fun!”
“If that’s what you wanted, you failed hard!”
Frowning Sunny sat down next to her, though in a noticeable distance. “I’m so sorry I wanted to do you a favor” she mumbled.
Side by side both girls sat on the bench. None of them said a word, and they avoided looking at each other. After a long moment of silence, Sugarcoat took in a deep breath, before sighing out loud. “Look, Sunny” she said, her tone a lot softer than before. “I really appreciate what you were trying to do here for me. Really! It’s just I am a little…” She paused for a moment, as if to gather courage before going on “…insecure with boys.”
Surprised Sunny raised her eyebrows. “Really? You and insecure?” Slowly, Sugarcoat nodded. “But why? Obviously not because you are unpopular with them…”
Uncomfortably, Sugarcoat wriggled about on her seat. “I’d rather not speak about it.”
Sunny slid a little closer to her friend. “So, you’ve really been trying the whole night to scare them off?”
With two fingers, Sugarcoat pushed up her glasses. “Not exactly. I just fear that if I get interested in a guy, as we grow closer to each other, it might turn out there are things about each other we don’t like.” She folded her hands in her laps. “I… I’m scared these things could drive us apart, and as a result, I could get… hurt.” Tightly she squeezed her hands, before relaxing again. “So, I just tell everyone straight up what I think of them, with a special emphasis to all their faults, in order to avoid this kind of… pain.” A sad chuckle slipped through her lips. “Now that I say it out loud, this must sound rather stupid.”
Sunny, having listened carefully, shook her head. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Really?” Sugarcoat asked, sounding surprise.
Sunny nodded. “I mean I absolutely don’t agree with you. Nevertheless, I am sure you have your reason to think and act like this, and maybe one day you will share that reason with me. Until then, I must simply accept your fear of boys and your way of dealing with it.”
A smile on her face, Sugarcoat blushed a little. “Thank you, Sunny.” She took a look down herself. “For the dress, too. You really did a good job considering so many boys felt attracted to me.”
“Praise the present, not the wrapping” Sunny said, winking at Sugarcoat. Her gaze wandered to her lap. “To be honest, it wasn’t just out of pure generosity that I helped you all evening to get a date.” She clenched the hem of her skirt, swallowing a little. “I… am actually dealing with a fear on my own.”
Sugarcoat arched an eye-brow.
“The truth is… There is this boy I have a crush on. But, I… I didn’t have the courage to ask him out. And now, he is here with a girl from another school. So, in order to distract myself, I focused the whole evening on you, that at least one of us would have some fond memories of tonight.” She bit her lip, before giggling. “Pretty miserable, huh? I try to get you a date this whole time, when I’m actually too afraid to ask out the boy I like myself.”
The white-haired girl shrugged. “Well, you’re scared of one boy. I’m scared of all of them. I’d say you are still better off than me.”
Both friends silently smiled at each other.
“Sorry for dragging you on the dance-floor all night” Sunny apologized. “Your feet must be killing you.”
With a smile, Sugarcoat stood up. “Actually, I think they can spare one last dance” she said, holding out her hand.
Sunny looked up at Sugarcoat for a moment. Also smiling, she got up as well, taking Sugarcoat’s hand.
Her shoulders hanging low, Lemon walked along the side of the dance floor. Regularly she bent down to pick up streamers, and tried to throw them back on their place. Although she hadn’t really gotten to dance, she felt pretty exhausted. As she picked up a dirty spoon someone had dropped, she paused to take a look at the sports hall.
Most of the decorations had been messed up. Streamers were scattered around where they weren’t supposed to be. The banquet was full of crumbs as well as stains of sauce, punch and guacamole. The usual gleam of the floor had washed off a little, having become dirty from all the people walking around. A lot of the banners were not hanging right, some even being damaged with little bits being ripped off. She remembered how long it had taken them to set everything up. How much sweat she had spilled to hang up the banners. How all of them had worked together, and how great everything had looked just a few hours ago. Now, she noticed with a sigh, very little evidence was left of all their effort.
“Everything’s a mess.” Crestfallen, Lemon looked at the hall for a moment. Suddenly, she shrugged. “Oh well, tis a party after all.”
Dropping the spoon back on the ground, she stepped on the dance floor. The DJ put on a new song, one that was a little faster than the previous ones. Once more, she looked at all the hard work they had put into everything. As she looked over everything that had been messed up however, she also became more aware of the other students around her: Boys and girls were losing it on the dance floor, there was chatter and laughter echoing through the gym, and while the atmosphere wasn’t really like in a disco, the light-hearted tone in the air kind of made her feel a little like she was in one. Standing in the middle of the hall, surrounded by laughing and dancing students, Lemon smiled. Realizing their hard work hadn’t been for nothing, she raised one arm into the sky, forming a goat sign while moving her feet and head to the rhythm.
From the side of the field, Dean Cadence watched the students. With great pleasure, she had noticed how the atmosphere had slowly become lighter during the night. “Looks like the kids are all having fun” she remarked with a smile.
Not looking like she really cared, the headmaster of Crystal Prep Academy harrumphed. “If you say so, Miss Cadenzia.”
A look of amusement on her face, Dean Cadence rolled her eyes. As she looked over the dance floor, her eyes caught sight of Sour and Indigo. The two girls were dancing with each other – although, by the way they repeated the other’s dance moves and tried to do them better, it looked more like they were having a dance battle. Near them, she also spotted Sunny and Sugarcoat, as well as Lemon. Eventually, the five girls noticed they were all on the dance floor. With a laugh they huddled up to a group, wrapping their arms around each other. Seeing them, the smile on the dean’s face grew a little wider.
The night went on, and eventually, the Crystal Heart Formal came to an end. A few new friendships had been made, while some others had been strengthened. It wasn’t the most spectacular of nights, but all in all, everyone had a great time at the ball.