“I know!” Hightide spit out the big red disc that was almost as big as him in order to speak. “He can stay here and play frisbee with me!”
 
“No he can’t, ‘Tide. Hush!”
 
As her brother wilted under her reprimand, Cherry Bomber eyed the young griff with a grave expression.
 
“So, you’re sitting out again, right?” It was a rhetorical question, she already knew what the answer would be.
 
“I don’t need to go.” Ghajini threw his bag to the near bushes, carrying it long enough so Cherry’s parents would be satisfied with the idea of him going to school. He would find a better place to hide it later, but for now he needed to get rid of the two tag-a-longs, one of which had no reason to even be with them. Hightide still had a year before he even started, and Cherry Bomber, his older sister, accompanied him to the school house for the first few days, awkwardly stood next to him during what must have been the most embarrassing introduction any creature could ever stand to sit through.
 
But when it came to enduring the wall of shivering hides and whispering heads, and not a single pair of eyes willing to look him in the face, he was on his own. The teacher did her best to keep him in the loop, to encourage inclusion, but her students were resistant, and there was only so much she could do.
 
“And why not?” Cherry huffed. The young filly leveled a glare at him in such a way that Ghajini felt his feathers rankle.
 
“I’m not a pony if you haven’t noticed.” he said. “So, why do I need to even begin to care about what ponies learn?”
 
“You know, I could easily ask the same thing,” Cherry rolled her eyes. “But I’m not the one making the rules here.”
 
“I’ll just…“Ghajini jumped to the nearest tree, climbed the trunk, and rested on a thick branch that jutted over the path. “wait here until you get back. Then you can tell me…whatever it is you ponies find important.”
 
“I’m not going to keep making excuses for you, griffon.” Cherry said. “Either I tell my parents you’re skipping class or the teacher will. But I’m sure as sugar not gonna cover for you anymore.”
 
Ghajini looked down at her squarely before he leaned back and yawned. The biggest carefree yawn he could manage. Honestly, he over did it for effect.
 
“Do whatever you’d like.” he said before laying his head down on his forelegs. “I don’t care about that stupid school, or your parents.”