Rainbow Vision: Rewritten

Chapter 1- Coffee and Tea

Sunny Madison added yet another layer to her animation, sorting through her digital brushes to find one that looked like a gel pen. She had to finish this assignment before noon tomorrow, or she wouldn't be allowed to participate in peer review. She touched the tip of her pencil to her screen, almost instantly receiving a disheartening notification. Sunny slumped and groaned into the marble table. 

"What's going on, Sunny?" Skyler's concerned voice sounded from where she was sketching on their dorm room couch.

"Frowny face emoji... my pencil is out of battery!"

Skyler frowned, coming into the kitchenette area to console her roommate. 

"I wish I could help, but all of my pencils are made of real graphite." 

She looked sadly at Sunny's big brown eyes, wanting to help. 

"Hmm, I think I have an idea! Why don't we go to the Rainbow Union and get a latte?"

The yellow haired girl perked up, nodding. "Sure, Skyler! Ooh, maybe we'll run into Ruby, I think she has a shift right now!"

"Oh, I think you're right!" Skyler blushed, smiling softly. She definitely knew about Ruby's work schedule, but she didn't want to be THAT obvious. 

Sunny skipped towards Poppy's door, the pencil forgotten. She knocked three times, careful to do it gently.

"Oh POPPY!!! Want to go get coffee and croissants with us?"

A few moments later, Poppy's door creaked open and a head of thick orange curls popped out. 

"I guess I could go for a pastry right now. Just let me grab my headphones." 

Sunny did a little happy dance on the spot, excited to take a little break with her friends after hours of animating. Poppy soon emerged from the room with her orange butterfly headphones over her ears, already picking a playlist for walking. Sunny made for the door, but not before Skyler stopped her. 

"Sunny! Pencil!"

Sunny startled and ran back to the table, plugging in her pencil to her tablet. "Thumbs up!" She said, and the three headed out to the hallways.

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"Poppy, what do you think of the new sugar cookie latte flavor?" Skyler asked, pushing one of laminated menus in her line of sight. Poppy's eyes remained closed, her fingers tapping out a complicated beat on the table of their booth. The blue haired girl waited for an answer, but quickly decided that Poppy was too engrossed in her music to pay attention. Sunny, who was sitting next to her, tapped her shoulder. 

"Poppy, you seem really distracted today. What're you listening to-"

"What's up, girls?"

Skyler lit up as a certain red haired server showed up at their table, notepad at the ready. 

"Ruby! How's your shift been so far?"

"Better now that you guys decided to drop in, it's been BRUTAL! Get this- I was the De'Vious Twins' server only twenty minutes ago. I had to remake Holly's frappe four times! She kept insisting there wasn't enough caramel drizzle in the cup!" Ruby shook her head. "So, what can I get you?"

"I haven't even decided yeetttt..." Sunny moped, scanning the menu even faster. 

"Hmm.." Ruby tapped her chin with her pen. "How about a side of tea to go with your hot coffee while you figure that out?"

"What do you mean?" Skyler asked. 

"I overheard some exciting news from the twins- maybe the one perk of waiting their table!" She leaned closer to the booth, her eyes sparkling. 

"Miss Wright is putting Rainbow Vision audition sheets up today! In the commons!"

Poppy was suddenly alert and listening, her headphones slipped off one ear. "Wait what? How do you know that?" 

"Hi, Poppy!" Sunny giggled. "Where have you been all this time?"

"Rainbow Vision?" Skyler questioned. "Isn't that, like, the one music thing Rainbow High does every year?"

"That one music thing?" Poppy's headphones were off and around her neck now, her blue eyes glowing with excitement. "It's Rainbow Vision! The biggest music competition of the year! And not just for Rainbow High, for all the top art schools globally! I've been dreaming about entering even before I got accepted into Rainbow High!" she gushed.

The other three stared at Poppy, surprised by her sudden outburst.

"What?" Poppy slid back against the booth seat. "I know, I know... I've just been waiting for this for so long! I've been mixing up tracks all day in preparation!"

"Ruby, do you know exactly when the sheets will be up?" Skyler asked.

"Admittedly, no. I'm not THAT nosy. But it can't be long now, if Miss Wright already talked about it!" 

"RUBY! Get those orders and get moving, we have a lot of business!"

"Sorry Kia!" Ruby yelled back to the cafe. She smiled apologetically. "I really do have to get going, I think I've connected with customers long enough." She winked at the group. "So, what can I get for you?"