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Daywalker slammed the newspaper down on Principal Droning's
desk. "I'm calling for RubyRainbow333's resignation as class valedictorian."
Mr. Droning turned his dull gray eyes skyward,
then to Daywalker's face. "And why, The_Daywalker, would you want that?"
"Take a look at this." The red Nimmo gestured
towards the gossip article. "Tell me that the one who wrote this article would
make a poor valedictorian."
Mr. Droning picked up his spectacles and peered
at the paper. His eyes widened with shock. "What in the name of… Does everyone
feel that she should resign?"
He shrugged. "Pretty much."
Mr. Droning sighed and leaned back in his creaky
office chair. "The students are the power in this school, and I'd have done
as you wished if you had come to me last week and not now. It's too late to
find a replacement for Ruby." He shook his head sadly.
"Could you at least try?" he asked. Mr. Droning
glared at him, eyes showing irritation, but speaking in his usual monotonous
drone. "Even if I could, Mr. Daywalker, a single article is hardly the basis
on which I could force her to resign."
"What?"
"She's a very accomplished person, Daywalker,
and I can hardly take this honor away from her because of one silly article
in a paper that's probably going to be gone by next week, anyway."
"Fine," Daywalker said crabbily, stalking out
of the office in a huff. "Be that way."
* * *
At lunch that day, Daywalker told his brother Dante what the principal had
said. "She lied about me and she's not going to be fired or anything! How cheap
is that?"
"Very." Dante shrugged. "But what can we do
about it?"
Daywalker sighed in agreement. Then, the Uni
in question (namely, me) came over to the table. "What're you doing here?" Daywalker
snapped.
I gave him a look that could have split the
Tyrannian volcano. "This is where I always sit, Daywalker."
"Can't we vote you off the island or something?"
"Unfortunately for me, no."
Indigo came over with her tray. "I think we
should take a vote. Who thinks that the traitorous RubyRainbow333 should move
to a different table?" Dante, Indigo and Daywalker raised their hands. Sky,
Emerald, Sapphire and Amethyst remained defiantly silent. "I can sit where I
please," I said coolly, placing my tray on the table between Sky and Sapphire.
For a few moments, silence reigned. No one dared
to speak to the other. Finally, Indigo broke the awful stillness. "So, Ruby.
Have you quit being a reporter?"
I shrugged. "I don't know."
"A reporter is faithful to her job and her editor."
I picked up my fork and began stirring the long,
rubbery strings that were supposed to be spaghetti. "An editor is an honest
and trustworthy creature."
"Are you saying I'm not honest or trustworthy?"
I didn't respond, still focusing my entire attention
on eating the overcooked noodles. Emerald butted in. "What are you two talking
about? Did you get into a fight or something?"
I nodded. "I'd just like to let you know that
the only reason I'm sitting here is because Sky and my siblings are sitting
here, too."
"Hooray for you," Indigo muttered.
A pause, then, "I can't stand the tension any
more," Daywalker said. "Dante, Indigo, do you want to move somewhere else?"
Dante shrugged and Indigo nodded silently.
The circle of friendship had finally broken.
It lay, torn right down the middle. Indigo, Dante and Daywalker glared at me
from their side. I returned the glare. The brilliant light with which the ring
once shone was now extinguished like a burning flame. The metal had come out
of the forge, twisted and bent. The golden color had dulled. That ring, which
had once been a part of me, now left me in anguish. I wanted to repair it, but
my pride would not let me. Pride is a bitter thing sometimes.
Then, Sky picked her tray up and silently left,
following Indigo and the Nimmo brothers. I didn't call out after her. I understood
why she had left.
It was just me, alone now. Not entirely true,
I still had my family. But when it came to friends, I was alone. I was very
alone.
However, Sky had still not abandoned me.
"See reason, Indigo!" she pleaded to the blue
Gelert. "Ruby sacrificed everything for you. She gave up her integrity, her
friends, and her role as valedictorian. I think it was a foolish decision on
her part, but that's a pretty big sacrifice. And you turn around and give her
the most impossible choice in the world to make."
"Impossible? It's hardly impossible," Indigo
said, contempt dripping from her voice like poison.
"She cannot choose between you and her own sister!
Nor can she choose between you and the people."
"Again, it's hardly a tough decision."
Sky paused. Then, "You're right. The decision
was obvious all along."
"It was?" Indigo asked with surprise.
"Yup. You've been an awful friend these past
few weeks. The apparent choice is for Ruby to ditch you and keep her honor."
"But the paper…"
"The paper is as good as doomed. Everyone knows
that. Especially now that Daywalker has shown Principal Droning the gossip articles.
The only thing worth fighting for in this dilemma is you. You've been Ruby's
best friend since she was a foal. Now wise up!"
Indigo paused, still staring forlornly at her
spaghetti. "You're right. Ruby has sacrificed so much for me. Now, it's time
I sacrificed something for her."
***
I knew what I had to do. I was a Gelert with a mission. That mission: to destroy
the exact thing I had so lovingly created. To destroy the Golden Jubjub Voice
in order to salvage the broken remnants of my friendship with Ruby. The shattered
pieces of that ring of friendship were being gathered into one pair of paws.
That same pair of paws would make one sacrifice to provide a fire hot enough
with which to forge the broken ring.
"Principal Droning," I said quietly, knocking
on the door to his office. "Principal Droning sir, I've come to a decision."
"And what is that decision, Indigo Musician?"
the Buzz principal asked in his usual flat tone of voice.
"I think it's time to… get rid of the Golden
Jubjub Voice. You're right. It isn't worth the money."
"I'm glad you see reason, child," the Buzz said.
"But, I hope that in your two years of being the editor of the paper, you've
learned something."
Memories. Memories of grade scandals, haunting
spirits, and front-page headlines. All memories with one thing in common. I
shared them with Ruby and the Golden Jubjub Voice. "Yes, sir. I've learned a
lot." Then, I exited the room.
The hours flew by, swift as the morning breeze.
Lunch came, full of chattering students and rotten cafeteria smells. I stood
in the lunch line, waiting to be served my share of mystery slop. Ruby entered,
and came into line behind me. "Ruby," I said.
"Save it, Indigo," the rainbow Uni snapped.
"I'd like to let you know…"
"I said, 'Save it.'"
"That I got rid of the Voice."
"YOU DID WHAT???"
I shrugged, smiling at the shocked look on Ruby's
face. "I thought it was the right thing to do. The Voice is precious to me,
but you're my best friend, and you always will be. You're far more precious
than a silly newspaper. Even if that newspaper was my brainchild."
"Indigo… I don't know what to say…" Ruby's deep
azure eyes were watering, and her voice was trembling. "You loved the Voice."
"So did you. But you left when you felt that
it was no longer worth it. It was time for me to do the same thing."
"That was so sweet," Ruby said, tear glistening
at the corner of one eye. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a few apologies to
make."
* * *
We were again united at one lunch table. The ring shone again with the light
of a thousand stars. Emerald and Ruby made jokes about the food. Dante and Daywalker
chatted with Ruby and Sky animatedly, as if nothing had ever happened.
Sky never confessed to talking to me about the
Voice. It was Sky and Sky alone who had fixed the circle with the resounding
force of her hammer of words. And Ruby would never know.
The vision of the whirlpool flashed before my
eyes. I saw Ruby, a rainbow of colors growing duller and duller as she sank
below the crashing waves. Like a graceful porpoise, I dove into the whirlpool
and swam after her. I felt myself going under, lungs aching from lack of air.
But Ruby was within sight and I extended my paw to help her. She took it and
together we kicked upward… upward towards the blazing sun.
Later that afternoon, the newspaper club met
for the final time. Together, we recycled the few issues of the Voice that were
left. I held the latest issue in my paws, almost in a fearful manner. Fearful
that if I let this last issue go, I would let a part of me go too. Fearful that
life would never be the same.
"No, life won't be the same," Ruby said quietly,
as if reading my mind. " But the Golden JubJub's Voice still sounds, sweet and
melodious, and I hear it every time you speak. It lives on in you and me. Its
creators. Detective and editor together, friends forever. Are you ready to continue
our mystery solving legacy to the Golden Jubjub High School?"
"Yes," I said, tossing the paper into the recycling
basket. "Yes, I am."
* * *
The seasons would roll on, from the bright greens of summer to the flaming
reds and golds of autumn. Ruby and Indigo would continue to solve mysteries
for a long time. Truer friends never existed in Neopia Central, the outside
worlds, or the pages of storybooks. Their ring was nearly indestructible, resilient
and strong like the firmest of steel. Neither ever kept a secret from the other,
or so Indigo thought. But when she thought she had destroyed the last issue
of the Voice, one paper still lived. The headline: "PRINCIPAL STERNS GIVING
UNFAIR GRADES." It was the first-ever issue of the Voice, and it remained
in Ruby's folder until she graduated from college.
And Indigo never knew.
The End
Author's Note: I'd like to dedicate this series to Indigo's owner, Cathy.
Countless miles haven't weakened our ring of friendship. We still remain strong.
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