Rising Shards

Marmalade realized she’d been staring at Michi for about five minutes as the latter had plopped a canvas down on the campus grounds. Michi found a spot under an awning outside that blocked any snow, giving them a dry patch to work with. Curiously, Michi also had an array of water balloons that were filled up.

Alright, I should probably say things to them to not just stand here like a dork.

“Hi Michi,” Marmalade said. “What uh…what are you up to?”

“Art project,” Michi said.

“Which is…?”

“I put random colored paints into these water balloons,” Michi started. “And I’m throwing them up in the air and when they land on the canvas, I have to leave them as is. Outside of peeling the balloons off. No do overs even if I don’t like how the color looks. I’ll demonstrate.”

Michi grabbed one of the water balloons (or paint balloons?) and chucked it upwards. The two watched as it splatted, the mustard color paint within spreading out on the canvas.

“See?” Michi said.

“I dig it,” Marmalade said. “So you’re adjusting to things pretty well, then?”

“Things like?” Michi asked.

“Like the fangs, the new school. Them thangs.” Marmalade said, hating how awkward and forced her laugh was after saying ‘thangs.’

“It’s going fine,” Michi said. “And you?”

“It’s uh, it’s alright,” Marmalade said. “I’ve only had a few meltdowns which is pretty good for me, I guess.”

Marmalade watched as Michi threw a few more water balloons up, the art on their canvas starting to take shape. As Michi continued to work, Marmalade noticed someone with a large, poofy lilac tail approach.

“Looks like something interesting is going on around these parts,” Caeda said.

“I was just having a newbie chat with Michi,” Marmalade said. “Since we’re both newbies.”

“Say, I’m a newbie too! We’re all newbies.” Caeda said. “All three of…oh.”

Michi had left in the few seconds after Caeda’s arrival, somehow leaving no trace that they had been there at all, gathering their canvas and supplies absurdly quickly.

“They’re a bit shy, I think,” Marmalade said. I’m not sure why I’m defending Michi. Caeda didn’t even say anything. Would Michi even want me to stick up for them?

“I see,” Caeda said.

“So what are you up to?” Marmalade asked. Caeda was also new to Rising Shards. We got that in common. Maybe we have more in common?  

“Just walking around,” Caeda said. “I’m tired of sitting around and waiting.”

“Oh.” Marmalade said. “Waiting for…class?”

Caeda wagged her finger at Marmalade. “Not that. I’m tired of waiting to get going, you know?”

“Like going…” Don’t say ‘to class’ please. “To…class?”

“I got to go in the void right when my fangs came in,” Caeda said. “And I befriended a clybrid Cani girl who helped me escape. I thought that was just the prologue of my epic journey. But since I arrived at Rising Shards, I’ve done nothing of importance. In my opinion, that’s not befitting of the main character.”

“The what?” Marmalade laughed.

“Oh, it’s just a goal of mine,” Caeda said. “When I’m really going, you’ll see it. I want people to see me and go: that’s the main character.”

“Like main character of what?” Marmalade asked.

“Of life! You can be a main character, a side character, a minor character, an antagonist…they’re all roles we play on this stage. But only one person at this school gets to be the main character. The one all discussion revolves around. The one who’s such a mover and shaker in and out of the void that you can’t help but think about her the instant you get to class.”

“So you basically mean like really popular?” Marmalade asked.

“In a sense,” Caeda said. “I want to be the person who’s so notable and memorable that I not only have lots and lots of friends, but I also can be popular enough to leverage this place into a career of superstardom.”

“I think I get it,” Marmalade said. “I guess they say we’re all the main character of our own, er, selves? I think I heard that somewhere.”

“Sure, but I can go beyond that,” Caeda said. “We have incredible gifts and incredible minds, and we should be using them to be greater, not just sit around while your best friend pines for their ex when you’re right there.”

“Ah,” Marmalade said. She had no idea what to say. Silence with Michi was easier than this. She managed to mutter something about needing to be somewhere and started to flee toward the nearest building.

“Before you go, what’s your name again?” Caeda asked.

“Marmalade.”

“I’m Caeda Firae,” she said. “And the next time you see me, I’ll be making an undeniable impact.”

“You…you betcha,” Marmalade said, unsure if she should commit to anything more than that. She recuperated in the library, hoping Caeda wouldn’t pop up there too. Well. That was really weird. I think maybe Caeda should probably be out of my newbies to try and befriend. That sounds really mean. But whatever.

Before she could lament that more, her phone rang. Zeta was calling, which was strange.

“Hello?” Marmalade asked.

“Hi, this is Zeta!” she said. “I kind of had a trans moment last night. Not the fun kind, like the anxious kind…do you want to hang out today and share war stories, maybe?”