Forbidden Fruit

Chapter 6: The Ball

Why do we have to wake up so early every day? I get that fairies are morning creatures, but 6AM is just too early. Besides, I'm more of a night owl, so I can't even sleep early. At least their breakfast is good. I follow the girls to the cafeteria and we sit in our usual spot.

"I heard Headmistress Faragonda has some exciting news."

Musa says while grabbing a toast. Exciting news?

"I think I know what it's going to be!"

Stella squeals. It seems that only Bloom and I are clueless about what Faragonda has to announce. While eating and chatting casually, Griselda claps her hands to grab our attention to the front, where the teachers eat.

"Listen up girls! Headmistress Faragonda has an important announcement to make."

Faragonda then gets up and coughs to clear her throat.

"In honour of the new year, and to welcome you all to Alfea, there will be a special event. This is an annual tradition that Alfea shares with Red Fountain. The event in question is a ball celebrating the beginning of the school year."

At the mention of Red Fountain, all of the girls start to squeal and whisper in excitement among themselves. I've seen some of the guys of Red Fountain in Magix before, but I've never talked to them before. Griselda demands order so that Faragonda can finish up what she has to say.

"The dance will be tonight, so there will be no classes today for you to have the time to prepare. I hope you girls have fun and enjoy the ball tonight."

After Faragonda finishes her speech and sits down, the chattering gets louder. That means that the class with Professor Palladium is cancelled for today.

"This is going to be AWESOME!"

Stella seems the most excited about it. After breakfast, all of us regroup at the dorm. We all show off our dresses to each other. Stella's mermaid cut dress is a very sunny-like, with its orange and yellow fabric. Tecna's is a light blue and green modern looking dress that really suits her personality. Flora's pink dress is adorned by green vine patterns. Musa's outfit is made of different shades of red, complete with red headphones, giving her a groovy look. My dress is mostly black and short. The skirt is flared with a black rose made of fabric at the waist. The dress is sleeveless. At the waist is a white corset with black thorn patterns. My black high heel sandals complete the look. As for Bloom...

"Where's your dress, Bloom?"

I ask her, a bit surprised to see her in her usual outfit.

"Well, is it alright if I go like this...?"

She says a bit hesitantly. Of course, Stella jumps at what Bloom just said.

"Are you kidding me? This is the event of the year! You can't go like this! Don't you have a dress?"

"...No, I don't have a dress..."

Wait, no dress at all? Even I have one, and I'm not much of a dress kind of girl. All the fairies and me look at her with bewilderment. There's a short silence that is then broken by none other than the fashion obsessed Stella.

"Alright, girl, you NEED a new dress. We're going out shopping!"

We all then drag Bloom to downtown Magix, in hope of finding something nice in time for the ball. We go from store to store, making her try out every plausibly appealing dress we find. Finally, she tries on a blue one-sleeved dress that looks perfect on her. She then looks at the price tag and gives up on it. After walking around some more, we don't find anything worth it. The fairies and I go our separate way, since it was getting late. Bloom decides to keep looking, though. When we get back to the dorm, we wear our dresses and perfect our makeup for the big night.