Chapter Text
(3rd POV Maka)
Clouds scattered around her as she flew among them. Up and down she went, wind flying in her face. Maka brushed her hair curly hair back out of her face as she continued on towards school, excited for once. That day a new student was coming, and no one knew what he was yet. New students were unheard of, let alone in the middle of the year. Not knowing anything about him piqued her curiosity even further.
'I wonder if he is Alados like me. Or likes music. Or is hot-'
At that last thought, she shook her head, instead thinking of how they were having one of their monthly assemblies later, quite a lucky coincidence for the new guy. They take most of the day and are a time for everyone at the school to perform. Boruh Academy, well known for its prestigious musical arts program, earned most of its funding through these concerts, which only added that much more pressure to the students. On the bright side, it also brought in donations for each group, making tuition almost completely free for most students in the program.
The assemblies were always fun, but today's was going to be really good because they were performing a new song that Makala was sure would raise their rankings among the students. In their first year of high school, her besties, Callia, Tama, and Vestuvia had started a band called "The Smashing Sirens". Ever since, they had been working hard, making new songs every few months.
She made it to school and flew inside the building before taking a deep breath, mentally preparing for the coming chaos.
And chaos there was. Students of all types of Feir wandered the halls, with Nyasha travelling in convenient water pipes built into the ground and Nhen using their spidery legs to simply crawl on the roof, it was safe to say there were truly students everywhere. Nonetheless, she simply jumped into the fray, well versed in the hallways by her 4th year.
She was about to head over to her locker when she was suddenly lifted off her feet. She let out an embarrassing yelp, before turning to see black hair and a mask of the same color. "Tama!" She yelled, grabbing his neck so she wouldn't fall. He laughed, before shifting her so he could hold her bridal-style.
Once she had recovered a bit, she whacked him on the head, yelling at him to put her down. He just kept laughing, which only made her angrier.
After a while, he put her down, and she breathed a sigh of relief, before grabbing him by the shoulder and punching him in the chest.
"Geez," he said. "I was going to apologize!"
"Sure..." she scoffed, turning away from him. "See you later for warm-ups!" She called, waving over her shoulder.
(*___*)
She had planned to get to school early, but by the time she made it to her locker and got her stuff, it was time to go to class.
She stuffed her things into her satchel, and ran to history, music notebook in hand. She got in, and took her seat in the back, just as the bell rang. 'Perfect,' she thought. 'Now I'm not gonna get to talk to Callia until practice.'
She sighed, before looking to the front. She tuned out the teacher, until she heard him mention the new kid. Makala was focused again by the time a boy in strange clothes walked in. He was wearing a sky-blue sweater, with polka-dotted green and pink arm warmers. There was also no clear indicators of what type he was, so she just assumed he was Alkahin like Vestuvia. There was no way of knowing though, with his arms covered. She hoped the two would get along, perhaps be able to .
He had a big grin on his face as he introduced himself as "Fern". Afterwards, the teacher looked around, her eyes eventually resting on Maka. "Fern," she said. "Go sit next to Makala in the back row." He turned to where the teacher was pointing, smirking when he saw her.
She mentally groaned as he strode down the aisle and slid into the seat next to her. She could already tell he would be a handful. "The name's Fern. Nice to meet you!" He stuck his hand out for her to shake, but instead she ignored it. She instead replied with, "Call me Maka. Also, the teacher is talking."
(.___.)
It took 5 minutes for both of them to completely lose focus. 3 minutes for her to start working on lyrics, and another 2 minutes for him to realize she wasn't taking notes and start asking what she was writing. "Watcha got there?" he whispered, trying to see over her shoulder.
She merely hunched over more. "None of your business."
"C'mon, tell me."
"No."
"Please?" He made a pouty face leaning forward.
"No," she said, closing her notebook.
"Uuugh," he groaned, leaning back in his chair. Seeing this, she grinned, quickly hiding it as she went to work, following the instructions left on the board by the teacher.
(.___.)
After an agonizing 45 minutes of learning about the Great Separation, a bell could be heard, signaling the end of class. She put her things back in her satchel, and had almost made it to the door, when she was stopped by a hand on her arm.
The new kid, Fern, stood there, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck with his color-clad hand. "Could you maybe show me the way to the gym? I never really got a tour of any kind." He gave her another sheepish grin, and she couldn't help but sigh. There was something about his awkward smile and friendly manner that she just couldn't say no to, which only pissed her off more.
"Fine," she replied bluntly, before walking briskly to their destination.
"Thanks!" He waved over his shoulder, leaving to find a seat when they arrived. She turned and started jogging through the halls, already late for rehearsal. 'Shit.' She thought, seeing the looks of annoyance on her friends' face as she rushed in.
"Sorry I'm late!" She gushed out, rushing to set her stuff down and prepare to practice.
Tama huffed in mock annoyance, but Callia, ever the mature one, gave her a gentle smile. "Just try to be here on time next time." She flicked her tail, pushing herself a little farther out of the water, before continuing. "Let's just practice with what time we have left!"
Maka grinned, as did the other two, as they started practicing their song for the assembly later.
The song starts by talking of a weeping girl, who is being comforted by her friend. The two simply hold each other, staying close for years. But they change. They drift apart. One moves forward, but the other clings on, longing for the days of her friend's embrace. She holds on, until finally in the end, she realizes that she's already moved on, and that now there are others who are here comforting her.
They finished with the last note fading from Callia's lips, and Maka's guitar.
They all breathed a sigh of relief that the practice had gone well. They were ready.
(.___.)
They were 7th in the lineup, but by the time it was their turn to play, there had been no slow songs, which was a good sign. If they stood out, then more people might vote for them. They might even make it to the leader board if they were good enough!
They went out on stage, Callia using a set of specially made pipes to get across it. With Tama giving them a beat from behind, and Vestuvia setting a groovy bass line, they performed the song.
Ironically, Maka had really bad stage fright, so she never looked at the crowd, but when they had finished, a flash of color to the left caught her eye. She looked that way to see the new guy, Fern, smiling and clapping wildly.
'He seems really odd,' she thought. He was like a rainbow among the other students simply seeming to glow. She decided then and there that she wanted to be his friend.