Anthropomorphism

Chapter Five: New Friends, New Beginnings: Part Three

Edited by: TheDaringDone SoulfulSymmetry Stupid bloody wanker and your confounded name change...

Not long after Pinkie Pie had dragged you through the crowd, she stopped abruptly at the entrance of a classroom, almost causing you to collide into the pink earth pony. "We're here!" she exclaimed. You could tell that she was excited, as she had a certain...twinkle in her eye.

Note to self: do NOT underestimate Pinkie's strength ever again, you thought as you rubbed your aching wrist. With your mental note carefully folded and put away, you glanced through the windowed door and observed the cooking room.

Like the rest of Ponyville High School, the cooking room was a lot smaller than you were used to. There seemed to be five cooking stations aligned in a roughly upside-down U shape formation, with counters and sinks separating each oven. You noticed a distinct lack of tables and chairs upon which to eat at. You turned to ask Pinkie about the missing furniture, but she wasn't there. Confused, you looked back through the windowed door to see Pinkie Pie already inside the room and wearing an apron.

How did she do that? you asked yourself as you opened the door and stepped into the room. You know what? Never mind. I don't think I'd even understand if she told me, anyway.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to grab an apron and help?" said Pinkie cheerfully. If anypony else had asked, you would've figured that comment to be rude, but Pinkie said it in such a way that you knew she was honestly asking if you were literally going to stand there.

"Coming, Pinkie," you sighed as you made your way over to the rack of white aprons. After sliding one on and tying it around your back, you looked over at the pink earth pony, awaiting further instructions. Pinkie Pie stared at you with a completely neutral expression for a whole ten seconds. Ill at ease, you asked cautiously, "Yes?" What is up with her?

Her mask of indifference broke suddenly when she started giggling uncontrollably. Pinkie's laughing was so infectious, you found yourself smiling and chuckling along, even though you had no idea what was so funny.

"You look so...so silly wearing that apron! It looks so teensy-weensy on you!"

You looked down and realized that, yes, the apron was far too small for your tall form. It barely went past your waist, while on a normal sized pony, it would probably reach as far as their thighs, or maybe even their knees. I feel like a giant.

"Yeah, well, what are you going do? Not all of us can have a fancy, made-to-fit, pink apron like yours," you replied, giving Pinkie's apron a glare. If aprons had eyes, you were pretty sure that it would have given you the evil eye in return.

"I know! I wish we could all have matching aprons too!" exclaimed Pinkie, the sarcasm going in one side and out the other.

"Uhh-yeah. Yep. Definitely." After saying that, you decided to clarify that you didn't actually want a fancy pink apron, as Pinkie had proven herself to be fairly oblivious to sarcasm so far. "Actually, on second thought, I think I'll stick to this plain 'ol white one for now. I'm pretty sure pink isn't my colour, anyway."

Like a deflating balloon, all the energy and joy seemed to dissipate out of Pinkie Pie. She turned her back to you and you swore that she was choking back tears. Did...did I break her? What'd I do?!

"Pinkie?" you asked. You received no response, unless the 'Humph!' that followed was the response. The complete emotional flip-flop caught you off guard and your mind reeled to try and determine what you did or said wrong. After a moment of frantic thinking, it hit you.

'Pink isn't my colour'. Of course. Of freakin' course. Why in Tartarus did I have to say that? You rapidly processed all of this, trying to find a way to reconcile or retract your previous statement. I just flat out insulted her without even realizing it! The heck is wrong with me?! Ugh, think! I need to figure out how to get out of this...

An idea came to you. It was risky, but it was still worth a shot.

"Actually, now that I remember correctly, pink is one of my favourite colours. I don't know why I ever said it wasn't. In fact, now that I think about it, you're the reason why I like pink so much..." you stated, trying to sound as authentic as possible. After all, Pinkie Pie may not get sarcasm and she may be bipolar, but that didn't mean that she was more susceptible to lies than anypony else. You just hoped that she wouldn't take the flattery too seriously.

Your hope was immediately dashed, ground up, and turned into paste as soon as Pinkie spun around and practically flung herself against you, giving you another rib-shattering hug in the process. Oh Celestia, why do my plans never work the way they're supposed to? You awkwardly patted her back in a feeble attempt to get her off. You tried not to think about how nice it felt when she buried her face into your chest. "Yay! I knew you weren't a big meanie who definitely wouldn't get invited to a surprise party after school-"

Pinkie comically gasped and let go of you. She covered her mouth with both hands to stop the flow of words, as it seemed that her mouth had a mind of its own. The doubly pink earth pony kept talking, although her hands managed to reduce her words to mere mumbles. Surprise party? was the single, brilliant deduction you managed to conjure.

Before you could ask Pinkie about the aforementioned party, you heard somepony cough behind you and say, "Pinkie Pie! It's this young stallion's first day and you're already assaulting him..."

Both you and Pinkie turned to face the teacher at the same time. The home economics instructor was a female earth pony, and she appeared to be middle aged. Her fur was similar in colour to Rainbow Dash's, although at a second glance, you noticed that it was several shades lighter than your athletic friend's. If she was still only your 'friend'...

Later, you told yourself. Think about that later, when you have time to yourself.

Your attention returned to the...plump teacher. You felt bad about using the word, but it described her perfectly: she looked like a homely housewife. In fact, she kind of reminded you of your Nana back when you visited her as a foal. Even her pale crimson mane was curled and rested atop her head in a way eerily similar to how your father's mother's hair always was.

Beside you, Pinkie bounced to attention. Literally. "Oh hi Mrs. Cake! It may be his first day here, but I already know that we are going to be the very bestest of friends!" She punctuated her statement by giving you a larger-than-average smile. It wasn't the creepiest thing you had ever seen, but it was definitely up there.

Gulping, you turned to the teacher and said, "Err, hi. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Cake."

"Is Pinkie bothering you?"

"Hey! I'll have you know he-" Pinkie started to say, but you managed to silence her by putting a hand over her mouth before she could say anything that you would regret.

"Nope. Everything's all fine and dandy," you replied. Mrs. Cake gave you a look that said, 'I know there's something else going on here, but I'm going to do my best to ignore it.'

"Well, since you're both here early, why don't you two help me get the supplies out?" she asked.

Before you could say, 'Yes', Pinkie started jumping up and down with her hand raised in the air. "Ooh! What are we making today?!"

The bright cerulean earth pony smiled and said simply, "Cupcakes."

You weren't sure why, but you felt a chill go down your spine at the mere mention of cupcakes. I've got a bad feeling about this... you thought as you prepared yourself for cooking with Pinkie Pie.

*******************************************************************

Hmm. Actually, these aren't half bad with regular hot sauce, you thought as you chewed a cupcake that you and Pinkie Pie had made. Even though, technically, you didn't make them: you were pretty much just Pinkie's cooking assistant. I've still no idea how she can eat that obscenely, nuclear-waste-hot sauce on her cupcakes, but whatever. She can put whatever she wants on her own, just as long as I'm not forced to try some...

"See? I told you they'd be good!" said Pinkie from across the fold-out table that you shared. It turned out that since there was so little space in the cooking room, even with only ten students, the tables and chairs had to be of the collapsible variety to allow for maximum space usage.

"That's true: you did tell me," you replied after swallowing your bite. You had no idea why or how chocolate icing went well with hot sauce: it just did. You looked behind yourself at the spotless counter and empty sink. "My turn. Does the food taste better when the dishes are already done?" you asked. It had taken all of your skills at persuasion to convince the bubbly pink pony to put off eating until you had both done the dishes.

"Mmm hmm!" Pinkie said through mouth full of batter cake. "It's so much better than having to do them after!" She grabbed another cupcake from her already dwindling pile. Pinkie was eating her fifth cupcake while you were slowly working on your second.

You smiled and leaned back in your chair. You lazily glanced over the rest of the students in the small classroom. Several of them gave appreciative glances back. A few waved. One filly with carrot orange hair even blew you a kiss. You bashfully ducked your head in response. The seemingly infallible law that males would be outnumbered five to one by females was broken in your Home Economics class: you were outnumbered ten to one, with you being the only guy.

I feel like there's a target painted on my back, you thought whilst taking another bite. You could feel your classmates staring at you, some openly, some sneakily. So this is how all the popular kids feel...

"Alright girls!" said Mrs. Cake, which claimed your and everypony else's attention. "...And boy," she added after seemingly noticing you again, which caused a wave of giggles to erupt from your assembled classmates. You smiled shyly. "The bell is going to ring in a few minutes from now," continued the teacher. "I want all your stations cleaned up, the floor swept, and the tables and chairs to be put away before you leave!"

Wow, that block flew by quickly, you thought as you stood up and packed your uneaten cupcakes into a brown paper bag. "Hey Pinkie, if you sweep, I'll deal with the table and chairs," you offered.

"Deal!"

*********

"See you tomorrow, Mrs. Cake!" you said as you exited the classroom, Pinkie Pie following close behind.

"See you after school, Mrs. Cake!" chirped Pinkie as soon as your words died down.

After school? "After school program?" you asked Pinkie as you walked down the hallway to your locker.

Pinkie beamed at you. "Nope!"

You kept silent, waiting for her to tell you why she would see Mrs. Cake after school. It was only after fifteen quiet seconds did you realize that you would have to be more specific with your pink friend. "Why are you going to see Mrs. Cake after school?"

She giggled and added a little skip to her already bouncy walk. "I live with Mrs. Cake, Mr. Cake, and their twins, dolty-colty!" listed Pinkie.

You sighed and rolled your eyes. Once again, if it came from anyone else, the last thing Pinkie Pie said would've been an insult. From Pinkie however, you understood that she was just saying rhyming words, much like the term 'silly-filly' you heard her use earlier. You looked around and noticed that you were quickly approaching your locker.

"Huh. The more you know..." you replied as you pulled out your schedule for the fifth and final time. Why didn't I just read the whole bloody thing at once? you realized when a flash of déjà vu hit you. It's not like I pulled this thing out five separate times or anything...

Shaking your head slightly to dispel your niggling thoughts, you read your last block out loud. "'Physical Education.' Well I'll be. Guess I will get some exercise this semester then."

"Ooh, Dashie has P.E. this block too! I've got Science class right now, so I'll see you later!" said Pinkie before giving you yet another bone crushing hug. She then continued skipping happily down the halls.

You shook your head and walked the few remaining steps to your locker. Your thoughts turned towards the supposed 'party' after school as you unlocked your locker. Is that the 'surprise' that Dash told me about on Saturday? Well, since she's in my gym class, I might as well ask...

You opened up your backpack and looked around inside, as you couldn't remember if you packed spare clothes for gym class or not. "Ugh...damnit," you said quietly when you didn't find it. I hope we aren't doing anything too physically demanding today, you thought. I don't want to be all sweaty and have nothing to change in to.

Sighing, you locked your locker and made your way over to the gym, which was on the opposite side of the school. You didn't bother going to the change room, as you had nothing to change in to. When you pushed open the door to the gymnasium, you were immediately singled out by a huge, white pegasus wearing a muscle shirt and long shorts. "Where's your gym strip!" he shouted at you.

Startled, you stammered, "I-uh, d-didn't know to bring it. It's my first d-"

"Two laps around the school!"

"But-"

"GET TO IT!"

Seeing as how the gym teacher was having none of any of your excuses, you walked towards the nearest outside exit with your head down and your posture downcast. You sullenly opened the push-bar door and started to jog around the school.

Couldn't have just brought spare clothes anyway, you thought as you jumped over a particularly sodden patch of grass. Seems like I'm going to need them with how my luck has been lately. You continued to jog around the school, your long legs eating up the distance faster than you thought possible. Either I'm suddenly good at running or this school is just really small.

You were just starting on your second lap when you saw a winged shadow on the ground to your right. Perplexed, you stopped jogging and looked up.

"'Bout time you looked up!" announced a familiar voice. "What, do earth ponies disregard everything skywards?" There's only one pony that this could be...

You gave the pegasus a level look before starting to jog again. "Very funny, Dash," you said in-between breaths. "How long have you been flying above me?"

"Since I saw you get kicked out by Mr. Flake," replied Rainbow Dash from above you. "I figured you'd like the company. Running alone isn't fun. Trust me; I've ran more than my share for not bringing my spare clothes."

"How very...thoughtful of you, Dash."

You could practically feel her cocky smile. "Yeah, well, I'm not an egghead like some ponies, but it's the very least I could do for a friend."

A brief silence followed before you recalled what you were going to ask your feathered acquaintance. "Is the 'surprise' you warned me about on Saturday going to be a party?"

You heard an irregular flap in Dash's otherwise completely routine flying, causing her to drop slightly in altitude. "N-nope! What made you think that?"

Yeah, it's definitely a party, you confirmed to yourself. I wonder who's going to be there...

"No reason," you replied to the pegasus as you ran back towards the gym, seeing as how you had just completed your second lap. "No reason at all." You paused at the door, waiting for Rainbow Dash to land. When she did, you asked another question that was more relevant. "What are we doing in P.E. today?"

Rainbow landed beside you, her wings folding up and pressing against her back once more. She flashed you a grin. "Haven't you heard? We're playing Dodgeball today!"

Oh dear...

***************************************************************

"Ya'll can't keep dodgin' forever, sugarcube," stated the bane of your gym class. The tanned orange earth pony with a blonde mane done up in a ponytail had gotten you out every single time during the four other games of Dodgeball. If you were of a slightly more self-centered variety, you would've assumed that she was going for you and only you.

Kind of like how I went for Rainbow Dash every single time, you thought with a smile. The athletic pegasus was fast, but even she couldn't dodge missiles thrown from both you and Thunderlane at once. Many ponies thought that earth ponies were at the most disadvantage in Dodgeball: this was untrue.

Unicorns had the most accurate throws due to some basic heat-seeking spells, but the power and speed behind them was weak. They couldn't dodge very well and any magical shields were instant disqualification.

Earth ponies could throw fast and powerful volleys, but the accuracy factor wasn't in their favour. Most earth ponies like yourself could dodge fairly well, but your size happened to be your greatest disadvantage.

Pegasi, on the other hoof, were an absolute terror to deal with, as using their wings was a perfectly viable strategy. Pegasi could dodge with ease due to their flying nature and the fact that they were in the air, which also meant that gravity was not on the other pony's side. Gravity was on their side, however, which meant that they had the easiest time launching barrage after barrage of soft rubber ammunition.

Of course, none of the racial imbalance mattered now: it was just you and the Stetson-wearing cowpony left, with the match point determining the victorious team. The score was tied 2-2 and you were the last hope for your team.

Crap...

"Go get him, A.J.!" shouted the ponies from the opposing team's sideline.

Not wanting to be outdone, your own team responded with, "You can do it, new kid!"

At least my team has some faith in me, you thought offhandedly. With barely any warning, 'A.J.' whipped a ball towards you with frightening speed. You narrowly avoided it by jumping to the side. It was close enough that the wind ruffled your shirt.

"Alright big fella: no more games!" shouted the cowpony before flinging rubber projectiles at you left and right. You managed to dodge the first by flinging yourself to the ground, but that left you open to her unnervingly precise and surprisingly powerful throws. You scrambled on the ground, evading volley after volley by a painstakingly narrow margin that only seemed to get smaller as the showdown continued.

What the hay! you analyzed while clambering around on your side of the gym. How is she so freakin' good at this?!

Your opportunity to strike back came soon after that thought. While A.J. huffed in agitation and went to pick up some more dodgeballs to fling at your face, you took advantage of her momentary distraction to throw your own.

The ball flew straight and true, hitting her right in the stomach. You heard her make an 'oof' sound, the breath being forced out of her lungs from the impact. She doubled over immediately.

Did I...did I actually manage to...?

Your rush of exuberance was immediately cut off when A.J. stood back up, holding the very ball that you threw at her. She triumphantly held the ball in one hand. Son of a-

"The blue team is victorious!" announced Mr. Flake from his referee vantage point of the sidelines. "That means the red team has to run three laps around the school! Blue team, you can hit the change rooms and leave early!"

Damnit! you thought bitterly. So. Bloody. Close!

You turned to your teammates with a disappointed sigh, expecting them to heckle and jeer at you for losing the game. Instead of insults, congratulations and friendly pats on the back were sent your way.

'Nice job!', 'Damn close game!', and 'At least you did better than me...' were just some of the commendations you received. What's going on here?

"Shouldn't you guys be angry at me for dropping the game?" you asked.

Thunderlane cleared his throat and responded, "I think I speak for everypony here when I say you did better than anypony else thought you'd do. A.J. has a helluva arm on her, Celestia knows why, but you managed to go hoof-to-hoof with her." The end of Thunder's speech was met with approving nods from your Dodgeball compatriots.

"Uhh, well, thanks everypony," you said with a smile.

A collection of ‘No problems’ and ‘Your welcomes’ filled your ears. Thunderlane took charge and said, “Now, if we don’t want to stick around after school, we should probably get to running.”

Nodding, your team started to file out the side door with you bringing up the rear. You were just about to step outside when a voice that had been taunting you only a few minutes ago called behind you, "Good game, tall stuff!"

The orange earth pony had her hand outstretched and waiting. With a grin, you grasped her protracted limb with your own and shook her hand. "Good game, A.J." you responded. Ow! you exclaimed inwardly soon after the handshake was finished. She has a strong grip!

You turned to exit, but stopped when the earth pony asked, "Do Ah know you from somewhere?"

"Umm," you replied, trying to think of where you could've possibly seen the surprisingly toned girl before. "I don't think so, no."

She frowned in thought, her freckles becoming more prominent through her thin facial fur. "Hmm. Must be the ol' adrenaline gettin' to me. Anyhow, see ya 'round!"

"See you later."

**************

After you finished your three designated laps, you made it to your locker just as the bell rang. Nice timing, you thought as you entered in your combination and twisted the dial accordingly. When you opened your locker, a small envelope fell out with your first name printed on the front. What do we have here? A secret admirer? A long lost relative recognizing me but too afraid to say anything? you thought, your mind going through all sorts of implausible situations.

...Or it could be the party invitation, you realized when you opened the envelope to see party balloons on the front of the half-sized card. You flipped it open and read the inside.

'Be at Sugarcube Corner at 8:00pm for a fun surprise! Don't be late!' you read in your head. You subconsciously read it in Pinkie Pie's voice, as you were almost one hundred percent sure that it was from the sprightly, pink earth pony. "Fun, fun, fun," you muttered to yourself as you grabbed your backpack from the open locker and placed the invitation in one of its many compartments.

"BOO!"

You rapidly spun around, surprised by the sudden noise. You managed to ram your fingers on your open locker door as you did so. You swore out of reflex, holding your fingers with your other hand.

Snickering in front of you was Rainbow Dash. "Oops," she said whilst snorting. "Sor-ry!” The snort rather diminished the validity of her atonement. "I didn't think you'd react quite like that..."

You narrowed your eyes at the rainbow maned pegasus. Your fingers were starting to throb. "Yeah, well, you startled me, alright? If somepony did that to you, I'd bet your reaction would be similar," you reckoned.

Dash harrumphed and brushed back a few strands of her hair that had gotten out of place. "I doubt it! I'm not as easy to spook as you are!" she declared arrogantly.

We'll see about that, you thought, already picturing how her reaction would be when you snuck up on her. "If you say so, Dashie," you said as you shouldered your bag and locked your locker.

No reaction. She had yelled at Pinkie Pie for calling her that, but she seemed ambivalent towards you using it. Well, confirmation is nice, I guess, you thought amiably. "I take it you're going to walk with me?" you asked.

"Pff!" she replied. "Nah, I just felt like scaring ya. I've got flight practice after school, but I'll definitely be seeing you later!" With that, Dash turned tail and jogged away, giving you a nice view of her backside.

"See me later where?" you managed to ask.

"I think you and I both know what I'm talking about," she teased before disappearing around a corner. She poked her back around and added, "Oh, and have a shower first: you stink," before laughing and withdrawing again.

You unconsciously sniffed your armpit. Nose wrinkling, you started the walk back towards your home, grumbling about how you couldn't understand girls.

***************************************************************

You stood outside Sugarcube Corner a few minutes before the party was supposed to start. You had left early, never one to believe in being 'fashionably late'. The only thing stopping you from knocking on the door was the fact that the building seemed to be completely empty. No light broke through the tiny slits in the blinds and you couldn't hear any voices whatsoever.

You frowned and tugged on your dress shirt sleeves. Your mom hadn't so much as requested that you wear something nice rather than forced you to wear what she thought somepony going to their first party was supposed to wear. I can't believe she made me wear a tie, you grumbled inwardly.

Your dad had been slightly more pessimistic about the party after you told him about the hidden hot sauce in your lunch. He had figured that it would be even easier for somepony to try something if they knew exactly where and when you were going to show up. It had taken all of your persuasive skills, of which you didn't have very much to start with, to convince him that you weren't the target of some nefarious plot and that it was just a couple of ponies pranking the new kid.

You checked your watch. 7:59pm. Well, it's now or never. Maybe it's a surprise party...?

Taking a deep breath, you strode the few remaining steps to the door and knocked three distinct times. You waited a few seconds for a response. When none came, you knocked again the exact same way. After still no answer, you thought, I guess it is a surprise party. As you grabbed the door handle and made sure it was unlocked, you thought, Only one way to find out...

You twisted the handle and stepped inside the pitch black bakery. Try as you might, you couldn't make out anything beyond the rough outlines of some shapes. Is that a wing-?

"SURPRISE!"

The sudden onslaught of lights flickering to life and a cacophony of noise blinded and deafened you momentarily, causing you to wince and take an involuntary step back. As soon as your eyes cleared, you scanned across the main room at faces both familiar and not.

Thunderlane, Rainbow Dash, Roseluck, A.J., and Rarity were just some of the faces that you recognized. There was a slew of others that you couldn't identify by name, but you had seen them around and about the school. And, of course, there was Pinkie Pie.

"Yay! You made it!" she exclaimed happily. She turned to everypony else and said, "Now that the guest of the hour is here, LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!"

I hope she doesn't mean what I think she means, you thought, suddenly worried. We have school tomorrow...

********************************************************************

I'm glad that Pinkie only meant to bring out the food and start up the music, you thought as you began the slight ascent up the driveway to your home. An unhappy growl sounded from your stomach. Ugh. Next time, I'm going easier on the food.

The party had been short and sweet, only an hour long. Pinkie had said something about not wanting to drag the party on for longer because 'Some ponies don't appreciate good music after midnight.' You had to give the pink pony credit: she certainly knew how to throw a party. A smile appeared on your face when you thought about that. A pink party pony named Pinkie Pie...

Your smile quickly turned into a grimace when you remembered that the 'Welcome to Ponyville' banner had your name spelt wrongly. It's not like my name is that hard to spell, you thought with a roll of your eyes. The mistake had given you something to laugh about, so it wasn't all bad.

With a grin on your face, you unlocked the door to your house and stepped inside. You breathed in the nice, warm air as you closed the door behind you. The only thing wrong with walking, according to you, was the fact that it got really cold in the later months of the year. You slipped off your hoofshoes with numb fingers and made your way to the living room.

"Mom, Dad, I'm back," you announced when you stepped into the living room.

"How was the party, sweetie?" your mom asked. Your dad was nowhere to be seen. "Did your friends like your clothes?"

You paused for a second, unsure if you should answer truthfully or not. "Well, Rainbow Dash thought I looked, and I quote, 'like a colt on his first date,'" you answered wryly. "The party was fun, although I felt a tad bit overdressed."

Your mom gave you a look. Bah! How do mothers always know?

"Alright, I was the only one who actually wore something even slightly formal."

Your mom beckoned you over. "I'm sorry, darling," she apologized as she undid your tie for you. "Did some of the lovely young mares at the party at least compliment you on your looks?"

You shifted uncomfortably. "That depends: being called 'cute' is a compliment, right?"

The smile that your mother wore made you think that she knew something that you didn't. "You really don't understand fillies at all, do you?"

You were going to make a witty retort, but you realized that you really had no clue whatsoever regarding the inner machinations of the female mind. "Nope. Not a clue...Anyways, I'm heading to bed. I'm pretty drained of energy."

She let out an exaggerated huff. "I have a feeling that you're going to have to make some very difficult choices soon," said your mom as she placed your now undone tie into your hand. "Some choices that will determine exactly how the remainder of your high school years will pan out."

You blinked, surprised. "That was...surprisingly deep, mother."

"I have my moments," laughed your mom. "Have a good sleep honey. Be sure to say goodnight to your father as well! He's up in his study."

"Yes'm."

You walked up both flights of stairs, as the study was on the third floor. You had only been up there once before and you didn't really know where everything was. After a minute of searching empty rooms and finding dead-end hallways, you finally found the study.

Your father was sitting in a simple leather swivel chair. He was hunched over a very expensive-looking ancient oak table, writing something down. You decided to wait quietly by the door until there was a break in his scribbling.

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to say hello to your father?"

So much for waiting quietly. "Hey Dad, whatcha doing?" you asked as you stepped into the room.

"Just another pet project of mine," he replied. You raised an eyebrow at this. Your dad's last 'pet project' had been the nanobots. He put his pencil down and swivelled in his seat to face you. "How was your party, kiddo? Any more pranks?"

You shook your head. "It was good. Food, music, awkward dancing, the full bit.'

"I take it your mother is the reason you're wearing formal attire, eh?"

You looked down at your dress shirt and pants. "Is it that obvious?" you asked sarcastically.

"Yes," replied your dad with a perfectly straight face. "Now, what was the reason you came up here?"

"To say goodnight. I'm beat."

Your dad nodded sagely. "Parties will do that. Have a good sleep, kiddo."

"'Night, Dad."

With the nightly farewells given, you wearily stepped down the stairs and headed to your room. Stifling a yawn as you closed your door behind you, you shrugged off your clothes, except for your underwear, and crawled into bed.

You briefly thought about everything that had happened to you on your first day at a new school. Too much, you thought tiredly as the events and occurrences started to really pile up. Too many things happened today.

...Is it strange to be looking forward to school tomorrow? Next Chapter: Chapter Six: Read it and Weep Estimated time remaining: 32 Minutes