Hidden Spark on Earth (TFP)

Chapter 15

When Monday had finally arrived, Saphira was less than thrilled about going to school. Mostly because she wouldn't have the autobots with her all day. Especially after yesterday. She had spent the rest of Sunday with Optimus and Ratchet in the med bay. Mostly because she didn't want to be with the other kids, even though Jack has been a good friend to her. When the kids did go home, she spent the rest of her Sunday with Optimus. The commander was happy that Saphira was finally genuinely smiling and laughing. It brought the base joy, at least in his opinion.

Though when he saw her slip on the pajamas with the words Bid My Blood to Run on the front, he was a little worried. Mostly because Saphira still said that she liked black. When Optimus expressed his concern, Saphira just reassured him that it wasn't anything that her should worry about and that it was just a lyric of one of her favorite songs. Optimus was curious about what song she liked, though he didn't actually ask her, not yet anyway.

Optimus drove Saphira to school, she was wearing one of her new outfits and she opted to apply the lipstick as well. Saphira was still beautiful, the black really didn't take that away from her. It actually seemed to make her eyes look brighter. Or maybe it was because Saphira was happy now that her eyes were sparkling. Optimus just hoped nothing will break that happiness, the people who hurt her were still in the town. She told Optimus that they don't go to the same school as her, though she still seemed less than confident. Jack promised Optimus to keep an eye on her when he dropped her off.

And Saphira was happy, she sat with Jack, Miko and Raf at lunch, and the other kids have seemed to notice. Saphira used to sit in the corner alone with the free lunch. Today, she was sitting with three kids who were often left out of the groups of friendships in the school. In fact, Saphira noticed that some of the girls seemed to be more jealous of her. She didn't know why. She was glad none of the teachers said anything about her lipstick and nails, but that was mostly because she was still go at being invisible.

When school finally ended, Saphira and Jack walked together to KO Burger. "This will be great, Jack. You didn't tell me you had a shift today," Saphira said with a smile.

"Yeah, well, since I recommended you, the boss wants me to show you the ropes. And honestly, I don't mind at all." The boy chuckled lightly as they walked along the footpath. "You'll pick it up quickly. It's not a difficult job, it's just some of the customers."

"That's to be expected when working in retail or fast food," Saphira said with a slight shrug. "At least I have better clothes to wear today."

"That is true. Oh, I should warn you, the boss is a little superstitious. He will probably ask you to wash off the lipstick." She rose an eyebrow in surprise and shrugged. "I don't want to sound like I'm being mean or anything..."

"It's fine, Jack, I'll wash the lipstick off before I start," She interrupts gently. "I know not everyone likes people who wear black. But since he is the boss, I'll respect him. If he asks about my nails, I don't have any polish remover."

"He should be fine about your nails," Jack said, though he shrugged a little as he wasn't entirely sure about that. "But as nail polish isn't easy to remove, and most people wouldn't notice unless they look, there is no way there will be a complaint. Hopefully anyway...but you should do fine with your job. Have you filled out the documents?"

Saphira pats the folder she had in her armpit. "Yep. It is all done."

"Good. I hope Optimus won't mind that you have nearly a whole week, I told the boss you want as many shifts as possible." Saphira shrugged, the bots will just have to put up with it. "At least since you're in your last year, you can save for college."

"I don't think I will go to college, Jack," Saphira said with a sigh. "I'm not even sure what I would want to do."

"Alright...or take a gap year to think about it," Jack suggested with a smile. "There is no hurry to get to college, and you don't need to go to the best of the best."