“Thanks for always dropping me off and picking me up, Silver Platter,” Silver Rose smiled to her butler as she pushed the car door open.

“It is my pleasure, princess,” he bowed his head and nodded. “Enjoy your day at school.”

Silver Rose closed the door and headed down the school’s stone path, watching as other students walked on, or stopped to look at her and her ride.

Really? I’ve already been here a week. You’d think they’d all get used to my presence by now…

Silver was never one for attention, so she picked up her pace and carried on, hoping to get into the school building as quickly as possible.

As she entered the school foyer, she spotted Canvas Splash, busy picking up a stack of papers and brushes from the crystalline floor. Silver strolled over and bent down to help out, handing them to Canvas as she gathered them.

“What a way to start the morning, Canvas,” Silver said, handing her friend a stack of blank paper. “What happened?”

“Oh, it was just Sunny again,” the pink haired artist answered like it was the most common thing. “She… well, she thinks I’m weird, so she usually messes up my stuff like this.”

“Why does she think you’re weird?” Silver’s eyebrows met in confusion. “You’re not too different from the rest of the students here.” But different enough to make a difference to me.

“You know, I kinda stick to myself when I work, I… uh, talk to my paintings at times,” Canvas explained as she accepted her stuff from Silver. “Just to name some. Sunny doesn’t seem to like that.”

“Sounds a little unreasonable,” Silver said as the two got back on their feet. “Just try to stay out of her way until I’m done.”

“Until you’re done?” Canvas echoed, puzzled.

“Sure. Now, where’s Lemon Zest?”

Canvas looked around. “Lemon Zest? She takes the school bus here, so she might be on the way. They don’t exactly arrive early. What are you going to do?”

Silver looked dramatically over her shoulder at Canvas.

“Make some friends.”

As Canvas headed for her homeroom, Silver waited by the main doors, watching out for the school buses as they arrived. Lemon Zest wasn’t on the first one, but she soon arrived on the second, jumping off the steps and into a few of the other students, who would’ve fallen over if they hadn’t gotten out of the way.

The lime haired girl seemed to be listening to something on her headphones, her hands moving back and forth on an imaginary guitar as she headed to towards Silver’s position.

Silver sauntered up to Lemon and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Good morning, Lemon Zest!”

Lemon turned and lifted one side of her headphones, then smiled when she saw Silver.

“Silver Rose! Good morning! What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing much. Say, you’re always listening to music on those things. Can you tell me your favorite bands?”

“Here, this’ll do! You gotta hear it to know it!” Lemon took off her headphones and put them over Silver’s ears.

It was a move that Silver soon regretted, with the music being loud enough to knock her back a step and attempt to prise the headphones off her head. But then she saw Lemon’s excited face and decided to leave them on, instead fiddling with the volume control on the left side to make it a little less deafening.

It was a rock song, just as Sound Wave had said about Lemon Zest’s music choice, though it wasn’t anything Silver had heard before, though, she didn’t know what was so questionable about it.

“That’s pretty neat,” Silver handed the headphones back. “This sounds like a good band.”

“You think so?” Lemon Zest’s face lit up. “No one else in school thinks so! They’re my favorite. You have a favorite band, Silver?”

“Can’t say I do, Lemon. I usually listen to classical.”

“I can introduce you to more music,” she hopped around the spot as she cranked up her volume again, skipping to the beat. “I know plenty of rock music! Whether others like it or not, it’s entirely up to them, Silver, so I won’t judge you if you don’t like what I like.”

“I’ll think about it, Lemon Zest,” Silver grinned. “But… I think we should really be getting to class.”

“Alright, then I’ll see you later!” the cheerful girl said and headed off, continuing to play on her air guitar.

Strolling off to homeroom, Silver Rose prepared herself for another another day of poem analyzing, which she didn’t enjoy at all.

“She asked you what?” Sunny Flare asked as she unbuttoned her shirt and put it in the locker.

“About what music I like!” Lemon Zest replied enthusiastically, already fully changed for PE. “She said Copperrear is a good band!”

“Lemon, no one likes Copperrear,” Sunny pointed out. “All their songs sound the same.”

“I like it,” Sour Sweet said. “If I wanted to kill myself.”

“Well, I think they’re great,” Lemon folded her arms. “And so does Silver Rose.”

“Silver Rose…” Sunny Flare groused as she put her PE shirt on.

“She’s not that bad-”

“Not that bad?” Sunny raised her voice. “You remember what she did to me in the field the other day? She clearly thinks she’s better than me! Not that bad? She’s out to take over what we have here.”

“Hey, I’m just saying,” Lemon said with her palms up. “Anyone who I can share my tunes with can’t be all bad.”

“Whatever,” Sunny slammed her locker shut. “Sour Sweet, if she tries anything this class, make sure you hide her stuff better.”

“You can count on me, Sunny,” Sour Sweet smiled, which quickly morphed into a frown. “No one outsmarts me a second time.”

“Just what I want to hear, Sour Sweet,” the mulberry haired girl grinned wickedly.

After changing, Silver Rose carefully folded and placed her belongings into a locker, then reached into her shirt for a small padlock which she clasped around the locker’s handle.

This’ll deter any trouble from you, Sunny Flare… the pink and grey haired girl smiled to herself. If she did indeed embarrass Sunny again, she wasn’t going to have to worry about her belongings disappearing this time. She stuffed the key into one of her sports shoes and waltzed out onto the field.

“All right, class,” Coach Mustang shouted into a megaphone. “Today we’ll be running a mile, so let’s begin with some exercises.”

Silver found a spot beside Canvas Splash to begin. “Hey, Canvas.”

“Hi, Silver,” the painter waved. “Are you ready for this?”

“Running a mile? Sounds simple enough,” Silver said as she got into position for some jumping jacks.

“Probably,” Canvas said as the class began jumping. “My stamina isn’t all that great, but I think I can pull it off in a decent time. How about you? Sunny’s going to be watching you. She’s one of the Shadowbolts after all.”

“I can run pretty well…” Silver said as the coach ordered them to start touching their toes. “It’s just a matter of energy.”

“I hope you stick it to her, Silver.”

After some push-ups, crunches and lunges, Coach Mustang got got everyone to gather on the track in an organized group.

“Now, this is simple,” he briefed the students. “Four rounds around our track and you’re done. Come on, show me what you can do, kids. And remember, it’s not a race. Just finish as best you can. I’ll be timing you all from the finish line.”

“You got it, coach!” Royal Pin pushed up his curly fringe.

“Let’s begin. On your marks, get set…” Coach Mustang brought the whistle to his mouth and blew, signalling the start of the run.

Silver Rose started at the back with Canvas, jogging along side her friend as she examined the rest of her class. They all seemed to be pacing themselves, jogging at a moderate pace along the track. She spotted Sunny and the other Shadowbolts in her class at the head of the group, already starting to form a distance between the rest of the class. Even Lemon Zest was up there with Sunny, which Silver found interesting.

“Here goes nothing, Canvas,” Silver told her friend. “I’m going on ahead.”

“Sure,” Canvas answered. “Good luck, Silver!”

Acceleration. Another of the changeling arts. The ability to channel love energy into superhuman feats, such as running very quickly. Silver reached deep within herself and found the stores of love which her mother and aunt had given her and set her mouth in a grim slash.

She easily overtook the bulk of the class, widening the eyes of some of her classmates; Neon Lights’ jaw dropped, as did his round shades, forcing him to stop and pick them up as Silver made it to the front of them all.

Sour Sweet had turned back, widening her eyes when she saw how close Silver was. She tapped Sunny on the shoulder and whispered over to her, but thanks to her acute hearing, Silver could hear exactly what she was saying.

“How did she catch up so quickly? She was at the end with Canvas!”

“Well, you must’ve been mistaken, Sour Sweet!” Sunny Flare hissed. “There’s no way she could’ve gotten all the way here if she was! Just keep running.”

Silver Rose was rapidly bearing down on the Shadowbolts, her arms pumping at her sides.

Lemon Zest turned around and waved a hand. “Heeeey, Silver Rose! Wow, you’re pretty fast too!”

“Thanks,” Silver managed between breaths. Channeling more love energy, with a flex of her legs, she leapt clear over the Shadowbolts and hit the track in front of them, dashing off down the path.

“Did she just-” Sunny couldn’t keep her mouth closed. “No way, what the hay was that?!”

Lemon Zest’s eyes had gone wide and her pupils had shrunk to little dots. “Woah…”

“Guess that’s it then,” Sour Sweet smiled happily. “There’s no way we’re catching up. But only losers give up!”

“We’re not letting her outrun us. Come on, girls.” Sunny Flare swept her hair from her face and picked up speed.

Silver chuckled to herself as she turned back to face the front. Sunny wasn’t going to forget that, but so did the rest of the class. She hadn’t thought too much about it, but now that she had time to think, she realized that jumping like that mightn’t have been the best of ideas. Humans weren’t able to do things like that.

Tone it down a little, Silver. At least stay within the reasonable human ability.

The mauve-skinned girl slowed her speed down as she finished her first lap, trying to blend in more with the humans, but also to reserve her love energy. She had been spending it, but she had also forgotten that Crystal Prep wasn’t the best place to get it back.

On the bright side, she was never going to forget Sunny’s expression when she leapt over her.

It wasn’t long before the rest of the class managed to catch up, though Silver remained burning energy just enough to stay ahead of the pack.

“Tired, Silver Rose? Do you need a break?” Sour Sweet asked her as the Shadowbolts kept it up, right behind her. “Then you should just stop and fall back!”

“Not really, just worried I’ll make you look bad,” Silver replied with a wink.

“You better watch yourself, Silver Rose!” Sunny Flare called from behind her. “You aren’t as great and powerful as you think!”

Silver kept running, ignoring her, but suddenly from the left, Sunny ran into Silver, hitting her in the chest with a shoulder.

“Oops!” Sunny said sarcastically.

Both of them lost their balance and fell to the side to the grass off the track. Silver Rose landed hard on her back, but Sunny Flare tried to keep her balance, going ahead a few steps, but her foot twisted to the side on her last step, sending her tumbling down with a cry.

Silver felt her leg slide over a rock, cutting open the skin on the back of her leg.

She winced. Superficial damage, she ruled. She had suffered much worse during swordsmanship training. I can heal that just as quickly- no. I can’t blow my cover. Not now. She then decided to pick herself up and see where Sunny Flare had gone.

The other girl was further ahead, on her side and clutching her leg, groaning in pain. None of the other students had bothered to stop and help. In fact, the other two Shadowbolts had gone on, already at least twenty meters away.

Almost to her surprise, one student did stop. She looked between the pack of runners and Silver, but decided to go over to where Silver and Sunny were.

I knew she was different.

“Silver, are you alright?” Canvas stopped beside her. “Your leg’s bleeding.”

“I’ll be fine,” Silver waved her friend off. “It’s Sunny I’m worried about.”

“Umm… really?” Canvas looked past Silver at the curled up girl, still clutching her leg. “You’re worried about… about her?”

“What if I am?” Silver limped toward Sunny. “Hey, um, what’s wrong? Do you need me to take you to the nurse?”

“Go away, Silver Rose,” Sunny grimaced, clearly unable to stand. “You’ve done enough.”

“Come on, you’re obviously hurt, the least I can do is get you to the nurse’s office.”

“No!” Sunny tried to get up and failed, landing face first in the grass. “Leave me alone.”

“All right, up you get,” Silver hoisted Sunny up and draped herself around the other girl, ignoring her protests. “Let’s go. Canvas, which way to the nurse’s office?”

“I’ll take us there,” Canvas motioned her head to the school building.

Sunny kept up her yelling, but gave up by the time they got to the other side of the track.

“Sunny’s injured, coach,” Canvas explained as their teacher came over to see what was going on. “We’ll take her to the nurse’s office.”

“Right. On you go, then.”

Canvas led the way back into the building, with her and Silver supporting Sunny on each side. Just another turn down the hallway, and they were at the nurse’s office. The pink haired artist knocked on the door and pushed it open before the three of them entered.

The nurse took one look at Sunny and quickly ushered them to one of the beds. “Put her there. I’ll get some bandages and ointment.”

Dutifully, Silver Rose laid Sunny Flare down on the cot, trying to be as gentle as possible.

“Alright, we’re here,” Sunny said frostily. “Now go away. I don’t want to see you, Silver Rose.”

“That’s no way to talk to her-” Canvas began.

“No, Canvas. It’s alright. If she wants to be left alone, we’ll leave her alone, right?” Silver shrugged, but deep down she could smell something else other than anger and pride radiating out from Sunny. A faint, almost unnoticeable trace of… gratitude.

“But your leg, Silver,” Canvas pointed. There was a trail of blood leading down Silver’s leg and staining her sock and shoe. “You need to get that looked at too.”

“That looks like a nasty cut, dear,” the nurse returned with her first aid box. “Here, let me clean it up first.”

“It’s just a scratch,” Silver said, but relented and allowed the nurse to treat it anyway. She didn’t want the blood to stain her kneesocks, after all.

After cleaning it with an antibacterial wipe, the nurse added a dressing and bandaged it up. “You’re free to go, Silver Rose. Don’t put too much strength on that leg just yet. You’ll just make it bleed more.”

Right… just let me get home and I’ll have this fixed in no time.

She got ready to leave, but looked back one more time at the mulberry haired girl sitting on the bed. “Are you going to be alright, Sunny?”

“Please,” Sunny held her head high. “You’re making this worse. Just go.”

“Alright, no problem,” Silver said, steering Canvas out of the nurse’s office. “We’ll let you get some rest.”

“That was awfully nice of you, Silver,” Canvas said once they were well away from the nurse’s office. “After all she’s done to you, you were still so nice to her. And your leg. Are you okay?”

“It’ll be fine once I get back home,” Silver waved her hand dismissively. “I’m more concerned about Sunny Flare. She may have sprained her ankle back there.”

“You’re a nice girl, Silver,” Canvas patted her on the shoulder. “If only more students were like you, huh?”

“Well, you know what they say, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.”

Canvas looked puzzled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I have no idea,” Silver Rose lied. “It’s just something my mother likes to say. Come on, let’s get back to class.”