It was a normal day, like any other. School had just finished, and Mario and Hitch were on the bleachers preparing to pack up from their latest practice. Zipp was still on the field, still in her gear, as the girl was looking to get some extra reps in. Moreso, she was trying to showcase why she was selected as captain by Coach Spitfire. Mario was tying his shows when he glanced up to see the girl score a series of goals one after the other.
"Seems like every time we say how good she is, Zipp keeps on getting better," said Hitch as he eyed their friend/captain.
"Yeah... she's athletic and competitive," responded Mario.
"She's also intimidating."
"Oh, trust me... I know. So, did you hear from Sunny?"
"Y-Yeah, she said she just arrived at the hotel and is waiting for the World Champion. Man, she's lucky."
"Yeah, right," scoffed Mario as he turned away.
Zipp bounced the ball with her feet back on the field as she eyed the goal. The girl attempted to try something new as she took a deep breath. The ball hit the grass and bounced slightly as she began to take off. She was running toward the goal with the ball as Mario and Hitch got up and started to walk. Just then, the boys heard something. One of Zipp's shoelaces came untied from all the movement she did that she didn't notice until it was too late.
Zipp had caught one of her laces with her opposite foot and was unprepared to brace for the fall. She let out a yelp as it caught the attention of the boys. They looked and saw their friend on the field and quickly rushed toward her.
"Ow!" groaned Zipp.
"Zipp, you okay?" called out Hitch as he and Mario bent down to check on her.
The girl opened her eyes and saw her arm in front of her. At first glance, it looked fine.
"Yeah, I thi-" As she tried to sit up, she felt the sudden sharp pain that hit her arm. She almost cried at the pain but held it back in front of the boys.
"Are you alright?" asked Mario.
He touched her shoulder and saw her tightly grabbing her elbow. Mario saw a tear escape from her tightly shut eyelids, but her head was tilted downwards to hide it from the pair.
"Ta-ake me to the nurse, P-Please," said Zipp, as Mario could hear her say in her cracking voice.
Hearing the pain in her voice, both boys helped her get up. She leaned on their shoulders as they walked to the nurse's office across the field. Mario rubbed Zipp's shoulder, comforting her, but it didn't do much to help with the pain.
Hitch and Mario were waiting outside the nurse's office while Zipp was getting her arm checked.
"You think she'll be alright?" asked Hitch.
"I don't know, amigo. It looked pretty bad. I could see she was trying to hold back her tears. I think she may have busted her elbow." said Mario.
"A joint? Yikes. If it's really bad, she may need immediate surgery." responded Hitch.
Their conversation was cut short when they saw Zipp leaving the office. She had no cast, but a splint immobilized her right elbow completely.
"Well? What happened?" Hitch asked, getting up.
"Nurse says I got lucky," Zipp said, sighing. "I dislocated my elbow, but not too terrible. I won't need surgery, but I have to wear this splint for quite a while, and after the first few days, I can practice elbow bending exercises." She said, picking up her backpack. Mario helped her put it on. "Thanks." She said sadly.
"Did they give you painkillers?" asked the boy.
"Yea, but only for today." She replied. "What sucks is that now I can't play sports or do anything requiring some heavy lifting." She said, looking downward. She was really bummed out about her injury.
"Coach is not gonna like that. But, hey. Don't worry." Hitch said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be back to your old self in no time."
"If you want, we can get something to eat?" suggested Mario.
"Sure." She said, shrugging unenthusiastically, "I guess I'm a little hungry."
Mario knew how upset Zipp was because she was limited in her ability. Her arm injury was not just on her elbow, but her right elbow. She would need some help to do all her schoolwork, and she wouldn't even be able to perform daily tasks without help. The boy felt bad about the girl's injury, and seeing her this sad hurt just a bit. The group then began to head off campus toward a diner that was close by.
"Hello, how are you doing today?" Asked the waitress, taking out her notepad.
"Just swell," said Zipp sarcastically.
"Well, would you like to hear the specials, or do you know what you'll have?" She asked.
"Um, I'll take a hot chocolate," Hitch said.
"I'll have some cider," said Mario. The boy looked at Zipp, who was staring out the window.
"I'll take a breakfast," Zipp said. She rested her head on her left hand and sighed.
"Very well, I'll be with you in a moment." The waitress said, checking off her notepad and then attending to the next customer.
Mario looked around the restaurant, which was pretty quiet, then back to Zipp, who looked blankly into the setting sun.
"Zipp," Hitch said. "I know it sucks to be in your situation, but always remember it could be worse." The teen said, trying to cheer her up... but it backfired.
"Oh, right, it could be worse. I could've dislocated my knee or cracked my spine, but that still doesn't change the fact that I'm gonna be miserable for a while! MAYBE MORE!" Zipp yelled. Everyone in the diner turned their attention to the booth the teens sat at; it was very uncomfortable.
"Okay, Okay, I see your point, but that's not what I meant," Hitch said passively. "If you had dislocated your knee, you'd be on crutches, which would be annoying. Not to mention stairs." Zipp looked at her friend for a few seconds, then scoffed and looked back out the window. "Look, I'm sorry," Hitch said. "I didn't mean to anger you, but it doesn't have to be all bad."
Zipp looked back at Hitch and sighed, "I'm sorry too. I just hate how I won't be able to do anything on my own."
"Here you go." The waitress said, putting down the plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast, alongside a cup of hot chocolate and cider.
"Thanks," Hitch said to her.
Mario took a sip of his drink and saw Zipp staring at her food with a confused look. "What's wrong?" the boy asked.
"I just realized..." She said hopelessly, "How am I gonna eat this?"
Her sudden words clicked in Mario's mind; deep down, he wanted to laugh. After all, realizing her situation was a little funny, he hid his light smile behind his drink.
"Well, I mean..." the boy started to speak, "If you want, I could-"
"No." Zipp cut him off mid-sentence, already knowing what he would suggest. "You are not going to feed me." She said strictly.
"Okay, suit yourself, rich girl," Mario said, still hiding his smile.
Mario watched as Zipp attempted to grab her eggs with the fork in her left hand. The plate rattled and moved slightly with each attempt. She finally managed to grab a piece of egg with the fork and was about to eat it when it fell back onto her plate as if it never happened. The girl looked at Mario seated next to her and saw his now obvious smile on his cheeks. She sighed with her head down and admitted defeat.
"Fine." She said. "But you will tell no one about this. You as well, Hitch!"
Both boys nodded in agreement as Mario grabbed the scrambled eggs onto the fork. He held it up to her face, filled with embarrassment and frustration. Still, a slight smile appeared, and she ate the food. Mario's smile turned to a light chuckle between the both of them.
"You know what? I'm just gonna eat the bacon and toast." She said, chuckling.
"Oh, come on, isn't it romantic, though?" Mario asked playfully, "Couples do this all the time."
Zipp sat out her food and coughed as she appeared to be choking on her food. "W-What?"
"Got you, rich girl," chuckled Mario as he couldn't contain his laughter.
"I... hate... you," said the girl in between coughs as she drank some water. The girl sighed before seething through her teeth at how the boy embarrassed her by saying... that.
Eventually, the trio decided to return as it was getting late.
Mario said goodbye to Zipp and Hitch as the boy assured him he'd get the girl to her room since they were in the same dorm building. After helping Zipp to her room and ensuring she had everything, Hitch said goodbye and told the girl to call him if she needed anything, as his room was only two doors down.
Hitch returned to his room, pulling out his phone to call Sunny. The boy was hoping to talk to his friend but didn't get a response. After a while, he gave up as he figured she was busy and would return his call when she could. He flopped onto his bed as he stared at the ceiling. The teen began to recollect a memory.
(Memory)
"Sunny, you know you're not supposed to come into my dorm room after 9:30."
Sunny gripped the door frame. "Come on, Hitch, it's not like Ms. Applebloom is watching. She doesn't do her bed checks till a quarter to 11. Anyway, can you read over my latest manuscript for the children's pony story thingy?"
"Only if you'll help me with my chemistry homework after," I say.
"Deal."
Sunny stepped inside, leaving the door wide open. The school policy stated that students of the opposite gender could be allowed in during the day, but when it was close to bedtime, only up to 60 minutes before lights out at 10:30, and the door must be wide open and lights all on while in the room. It was 9:34pm, or 56 minutes before the lights were out. And Sunny was clearly in violation of that bylaw.
After a while, Hitch was banging his head on his chemistry homework. The boy got up from his desk and went to his bed. Soon, Sunny joined him. The bed was positioned in the corner of the room so that the view was obscured even with the door fully open.
"Sunny, we shouldn't—"
"Oh, relax, Hitch." She rolls her eyes. She looked more annoyed than anything. "What about all those sleepovers we had when we were little?"
"Well, that was long ago, Sunny," Hitch said. "We're older now."
She smirks. "Oh, so are you saying I shouldn't trust you and your self-control—"
"No, no," the boy cut her off. "Of course not. I…" Hitch scooted a few centimeters away from her to reduce the evidence against him. And try to rehearse what to tell Ms. Applebloom if she found them.
Sunny heard her friend whispering. "Why are you so afraid of Ms. Applebloom's bed checks, anyway?"
"Because if she sees you in my room after 9:30, I'd violate the school policy on co-ed visits. She'd think I was trying to take advantage of you, and I—"
"…and I'd vouch for you." Sunny placed her hand on the boy's shoulder. "Calm down, Hitch. We're friends, okay? There's nothing wrong with two fully clothed friends sitting next to each other." The girl gave her childhood friend a warm and loving smile. "Oh. Yeah. The reason I came here." Sunny rummaged into her backpack and pulled out a handwritten manuscript. "Here's the latest draft of my story."
Hitch skimmed through the 80-page notebook Sunny handed him. More fictional stories about magical talking ponies. Apparently, they're based on the bedtime stories her dad used to tell her. Sunny's dad loved horses. It seemed like yesterday when Sunny, and he had a sleepover, and she'd repeat and re-repeat those stories about ponies to him. Guess she never grew out of them.
This time she managed to get digital renderings of the characters she created printed on photo paper and sandwiched between the pages of the notebook. There were six ponies in the foreground: an orange pony with a cowboy hat; a pink pony with poofy hair; two winged ones, one blue, one yellow; one white unicorn with a purple mane; and one purple winged unicorn standing in the center, wings outstretched.
"I snuck into the digital art studio downstairs to use Adobe Illustrator. Don't tell anyone, okay?" She smirked and hid the bottom half of her face with the collar of her blue sweater.
Hitch felt like he should tell. He should. Sunny could only access that space if she was taking a class. She could get in trouble for what she did. Just then, some footsteps were heard.
Tap. Tap. And a rustling. The rustling of a large square of fabric. Ms. Applebloom wears a shawl. It seemed like the woman was coming to his room to do an early bedroom check!
"Sunny, hide!" Hitch whispered to her.
Sunny did the opposite of what her friend said. Instead of hiding, she poked her head out of the door.
"Hitch, stop panicking. It's just Pipp."
Hitch approached the door as he, peeked out and saw their friend.
"Hey, Pipp!"
"Hey, Sunny! I'm just going down the hall passing flyers for this Friday's Karaoke night at Mane Melody. You should come. It'll be fun." Pipp then noticed Hitch. "Hey, Hitch. Want a flyer too?"
"Erm, sure," said the boy as he took two flyers.
"Have a good night, Sunny!"
And with that, Pipp skipped back down the hall, singing her "me-me-me" vocal warmups. She ascended the C-minor scale with perfect AutoTune precision.
"So, you gonna go?" asked Hitch.
"Of course, it'll be fun," responded Sunny. The girl then had a look as it didn't go unnoticed by the boy. "Hey, Hitch. Can I ask you something? Do you... ever feel like you're in a loop?"
"Loop?"
Sunny raised her eyebrows, "You know. You can't break free like you are trapped in this magical neverending loop. Our whole lives are like a loop. Just the things in the loop change as we get older. It's schoolwork, after-school clubs, lunch, and lights out. Later it'll be schoolwork, sorority parties, bar hopping, pass out. Then it'll be work, a little league tournament, family dinners, and lights out. Then it'll be retirement, shuffleboard, brunch, and lights out. Then lights out, lights out, lights out, lights out. You get what I'm saying, Hitch?"
What the girl said was a bit too philosophical for him, but he supposed she was right. They were in a loop. But... Hitch liked this loop. He liked Sunny. She was a nice gal. And he knew her so well; he could be bored with her. He could sit all day with her with nothing to do, and he'd feel okay. He seemed to like to want to be trapped in a loop. That way, he'd know exactly what was gonna happen next.
"Oop. 10:29. Guess I better be goin' to my room before I get in trouble," Sunny said in a singsong voice, smirking.
"Oh, Sunny…" Hitch stopped her at the door.
"Yeah?"
The boy almost wanted to tell her she had never helped him with his chemistry homework. But it was past lights out anyway. Instead...
"Good night. And... be safe."
"Thanks, Hitch," she said through her whispery giggling before casting a smile and leaving.
(End of Memory)
The boy let out a sigh as he finished recollecting. He turned on his side, and eventually, he fell asleep.
"Pipp, did you finish your slides for the presentation?" Mario asked.
Silence.
"Pipp?"
"Pipp?"
"Oh my gosh, hold up, I need to do promotion cause my new single releases in two days," she mumbles and texts a few emojis. Then she looks up. "Sorry, what were you saying?"
"The history presentation. That's why we're meeting up, right?"
"Oh… right." Pipp pulled out her laptop and opened up the shared presentation. She hadn't even started, and it was due next Tuesday. The girl hastily typed a few bullets on slide 7. She now had six more slides to fill. Mario watched as words appeared on the screen.
"Renaissance Italy? Pipp, this presentation is about Ancient Greece."
"I don't know, Mario!" she placed her palm on her forehead. "I read chapter 9 instead of chapter 4 'cause I didn't read the assignment properly. So sue me, okay?"
"You signed the sheet in class saying you did the correct reading. That's dishonest, you know."
"Well, I'm used to it. I'm used to being dishonest; I'm like dishonest with literally like my whole dishonest life," she mumbles as she hastily reads a page about Ancient Greece she found off the internet.
Mario groaned. Pipp was a terrible partner. She was out of school half the time due to her work at Mane Melody. And then, many nights, she's locked in her dorm room doing livestreams. Or she's taking selfies or posting on social media. In the past hour, they'd been meeting in person; Pipp had spoken to Mario more through his social media notifications than actual dialog.
New single, Glowin' Up, top of the charts!
What's up, my Pipp-squeaks? Hope you're having a fabulous day~! UwU
See me live at Mane Melody!
He got it was for her work, but he still didn't understand it. How was making a duck face at a camera more important "work" than writing slides for a history presentation?
The boy bookmarked the affiliated link to open later. He began to pack his stuff as Pipp looked up from her laptop after just 90 seconds of typing for their history project.
"You know want, this project and grade is something you need, not me! So when you're ready to learn, let me know!" stated Mario as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and stormed out of the library.
"Mario, Mario..." said Pipp as she was left stunned and having her mouth open by the boy's action.
The girl quickly grabbed her things and zoomed out of the library to catch the boy, but he was long gone.
The girl arrived at his dorm as Pipp was knocking on his door.
"Mario! Mario, please, I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
The girl had been at it for quite a while as Roll was nearby and leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.
"Why won't he open the door? I just want to talk to him."
"My brother can be a bit stubborn. Plus, you did leave him hanging."
"What can I do, Roll?"
"Sorry, but this is something you're gonna have to deal with. Just pray that my brother is forgiving," said Roll as she had to leave.
"Mario! Please... I'm sorry for how I acted. Can we talk?" said Pipp, trying to get a response from the boy she had a crush on.
The following day, Mario was walking to his class when he turned the corner and saw Pipp. The girl was waiting for the boy, knowing he would be coming down this way. The teen scoffed as he walked past the girl, ignoring her.
"Hey, wait up!" called out Pipp.
"What do you want?" asked Mario as the girl walked by his side.
"I want to say I'm sorry."
"You're gonna have to do a lot more than that, chica," responded the boy.
"I know. Which is why I finished the assignment myself."
Mario stopped as he turned to look at the girl with a raised eyebrow. Pipp reached into her satchel, pulled out her laptop, and showed the boy their presentation. The girl began to flip through the different slides as Mario read the info on them; Pipp wrote down impressive points and read the required chapter as she made points of reference to the book and added some images with small details.
"Huh, you actually did it," stated the boy.
"I'm sorry, okay. History isn't my strongest subject. And it also doesn't help that I'm technically behind the rest of you because I work at Mane Melody. But I would never turn down your help. Please?" said Pipp as she pleaded.
"Look, Pipp. I was upset because I tried to get your attention several times, and you just ignored my responses to be on your phone. I get it. Your whole life is dedicated to your craft. I can respect that. But can you talk to me like we're having a regular conversation and not texting every time? I don't care if I have to take time out of my day to help you; I just want to make sure that I'm not wasting it." said Mario.
"I know... I'm... sorry," said Pipp as she put her head down. She instinctively had her hand reaching out as it grabbed Mario's. The boy didn't move it away as he let the girl do her thing. "Please... can you... forgive how I acted?"
Mario sighed as he rubbed his forehead with his other hand. The boy looked away as he turned to the girl looking at him with those cute eyes.
"Alright," said the boy as he gave in.
"Thank you. I promise I won't ever do it again," said Pipp as she perked up a bit. The girl hugged the boy she was crushing on before leaning in and kissing his cheek.
The girl then pulled out her phone and pulled Mario close so their cheeks were touching. She quickly took a photo as the boy made a concerned face. Pipp quickly added a header and caption before she posted it to her social feed. The girl winked at her crush and kissed him before bouncing down the hall as she sang to herself. The boy was slightly entranced by how Pipp's skirt moved when she sashayed down the hall before he put it out of his mind and went on his way.
"Hustle! Hustle!" shouted Spitfire as she blew her whistle.
Zipp was shown sitting on the bleachers as the girl could do nothing but watch her teammates. It pained her that she was out of commission because of her fractured elbow. And given her carefree spirit, she wasn't the type of girl that would settle down; she needed to be up and about. Sitting on the sidelines just wasn't her. But no matter how hard she tried to say she could continue to do daily stuff, the splint she wore brought her back to reality.
"It sucks when you're useless," stated the girl as she looked about the field.
The girl eyed her teammates as they seemed fine without her leadership. Almost like they didn't need her. Zipp put those thoughts out of her head as she refocused; she saw Hitch and Mario as the pair ran some drills with the ball before the former shot a goal. Spitfire blew her whistle as the pair returned, allowing the next pair to go. Zipp looked at her friends as some thoughts began to form.
Hitch was someone she knew she could count on. Loyal, determined, friendly, kind, and overall a great friend. As for Mario, he was sort of in that same boat. Granted, his attitude was slightly different than Hitch, but he was still a good comrade. Though, there was one thing that the girl wouldn't admit outloud to anybody. Not even her own family. And that Mario was... kinda hot. The girl had her fair share of relationships like Pipp, but none of those she was interested in. She liked boys, but she didn't. As confusing as that may sound, in Zipp's defense, she never could find one that attracted her to them. All of them were just… ehh. But for some weird reason, the boy had the opposite effect on her.
"Alright! Hit the showers!" yelled Spitfire as practice came to an end.
Zipp got up and began to walk onto the field. Mario and Hitch were hunched over as they took deep breaths after the intense practice.
"Nice work, boys," said Zipp as she approached them and gave them water.
"Thanks," responded Hitch.
He began to sip his drink as when Zipp offered Mario some, the boy held it above his head and drowned himself with the water instead of drinking it. The boy felt the cool water hit his head as it was getting rid of how hot he was; he shook his head to get rid of the water as it was unintentionally affecting Zipp. The girl looked at the boy as he shook his head of water and ran his hand through his hair. It made the teen feel some way. She gulped as her body tingled, and her cheeks turned red from looking at her friend. The girl managed to snap out of it and looked away to avoid the boy from making assumptions that she was checking him out.
"You feeling better?" asked Hitch to Zipp.
"Y-Yeah. Still sucks that I can't do stuff," said the girl as she showed her cast.
"Don't fret, Zipp. You'll be back on the field before you know it."
"I appreciate the support, Hitch," smiled the girl.
"Well, I'll see you guys. I'm expecting Sunny to call," said the boy as he grabbed his stuff and left the field.
"You ever think he's too concerned about her?" asked Mario as they watched their friend leave.
"He's just looking out for her. They have been friends since they were kids. They've almost done everything together, and being apart must feel weird to them. Imagine you and your sister not seeing each other for an extended period." stated Zipp.
"That doesn't sound too bad. It means I'd get some peace and quiet from her trying to annoy me," smiled Mario.
"Hey, now!" said Zipp, using her other hand to punch Mario in the shoulder playfully.
The pair let out some light chuckles as getting peace and quiet from their younger siblings seemed to please them. The girl glanced at the boy beside her as the feeling she had experienced earlier returned. Mario grabbed his stuff and then slung over Zipp's backpack.
"I'll carry your stuff," offered the boy.
"Thanks," smiled Zipp.
"You still gonna help with writing your report?" asked Mario.
"Y-Yeah. If it's not too much, can you..."
"Yeah, I got you," responded the boy.
Zipp smiled as she began to walk beside the boy. The warm feeling returned once again as Zipp found it hard not to look away from Mario. After all, he was just a friend. Nothing more. Right?
Author's Note: Some stuff has been happening during Sunny's absence. For one, Zipp suffering an injury that's left her feeling a bit useless and out of commission for a while. In addition, Hitch recalling a memory involving Sunny talking about her little book she's working on and the idea of them being stuck in a loop. The issue of Pipp with Mario and it seems something else if happening with Zipp when it comes to the boy.