Hi! This is my first story! I love the characters from Pokespe, and I've wanted to write about them for a while. This story will mostly be from Crystal's POV, but I might have a few chapters be told from the POVs of other characters. Please, please review! Constructive criticism is appreciated, but please know the difference between an insult and a helpful comment.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

Here are the ages of the characters:

Crystal: 15

Gold: 15

Yellow: almost 16

Red: almost 17

Green (boy): 17

Blue (girl): 17

Ruby: 15

Sapphire: 14 and a half

Enjoy! :)


Crystal

Briiing!

My alarm clock rang out, filling my small room with a loud and annoying noise. My eyes fluttered open sleepily, and my hand reached out and slammed down on the snooze button. It was still dark outside, and the blinking, illuminated numbers on my alarm clock flashed 5:00 AM. I was normally up bright and early, but I hadn't slept well last night because of the writhing pit of nervousness in my stomach.

Why had I been so nervous? It was because today—tonight to be exact—was the day I would finally get the letter telling me whether or not I had made it into the high school I needed badly to get into: the Ashton Academy of Education.

Ashton was the most elite of all high schools, a boarding school considered the best in the entire world. It went far above and beyond what other high schools taught, striving for a deeper understanding of the world. It was a ticket to all the best colleges, and was where many of today's brightest minds had gone to high school.

Needless to say, it was very hard to get into, especially for people like me.

It wasn't that my family was so poor that we didn't have enough food to eat or anything. We weren't even really that poor. We just had less money than most other families, and neither of my parents had ever gone to college. Also, the majority of the students at Ashton were children of very wealthy families. It was uncommon for students from less wealthy families to get into Ashton. I had estimated that only 1 out of 100 less wealthy applicants were admitted each year. My parents thought I had a good chance of getting in, but I wasn't as sure.

I guess I could have been considered the valedictorian of my 8th grade class. I had maintained a perfect 4.00 grade point average for three years straight, had gone far above and beyond the required amount of community service hours, and had won the national middle school championships with my varsity volleyball team. I had also won first in the national science fair and had placed second in a writing competition.

Unfortunately, if I didn't get into Ashton, none of this would matter. I would go to a public high school, and then probably end up at a community college because my parents couldn't afford to send me to a good college. There's really nothing wrong with a community college, and I don't really blame my parents, but the sad truth is that "community college" doesn't look as good on your job application.

I pushed these thoughts out of my mind as I got up from my bed. After all, it was no use getting stressed out about things you can't control. I had done my very best to get into Ashton, and whether or not I got in was now in the hands of whoever judged the application essays. I just hoped they wouldn't accept bribery, because then I would never get in. I had heard of the many rich families who had pulled strings in order to get their kids in. I just hoped that this year, there wouldn't be as many strings to pull.

I walked slowly down the creaky stairs of my house towards the dining room, from which the smell of breakfast wafted. As usual, my dad was up before me.

"What's for breakfast?" I asked, getting out a plate.

My dad turned around to smile at me, "your favorite."

I grinned, imagining the melty deliciousness of chocolate chip pancakes, but wondered why he was making them. We didn't have any kind of pancakes often. We usually ate packaged oatmeal or nothing at all, "What's the occasion?"

My dad looked surprised that I didn't know, "My daughter getting into Ashton, of course!"

My grin faltered. Both of my parents were so sure I was going to get in, but there was a good chance that I wouldn't. I dreaded seeing the looks of horrible disappointment on their faces when I opened the letter and told them I didn't get in.

The look on my face did not go unnoticed by my dad, and he tried to comfort me, "Don't worry, honey. I'm sure you'll get in."

He didn't know that what he was saying was exactly what I didn't want to hear.

I exhaled slowly, and helped myself to a few pancakes. The food I had so been looking forward to was tasteless and dry in my mouth as I thought with dread about getting the letter. I knew that the moment I opened and read the letter would either be the best day of my life or the worst.

My dad's face softened, "Why don't we go out someplace later," he suggested. "It'll help take your mind off of things."

"Can't," I told him. "I already promised White I would teach her some volleyball techniques. She's been badgering me for weeks."

White was my cousin. She was a year younger than me, and I think she really looked up to me. She would be yet another person I would disappoint if I didn't get into Ashton.

I finished eating, washed off my plate in the sink, and headed up to my room to get dressed. I put on a tee-shirt and a pair of volleyball shorts, and pulled my shiny, black hair into my signature two pigtails. I grabbed my volleyball and a water bottle, and headed out, yelling out a goodbye to my parents before closing the door behind. Like me, White liked to be awake before the sun, and it was she who had suggested meeting at 6:30 AM.

I climbed onto my bike, which was how I got pretty much everywhere, strapped on my helmet, and pedaled down the empty street towards the gym.

When I arrived, White was already there, her shiny waves of dark brown hair pulled up in a ponytail that spilled out from underneath her pink baseball cap. She looked up as I came in.

"You okay, Crys?" She looked at her watch in concern. "You're two minutes late."

"I had a rough night last night," I explained.

"Were you nervous about the letter?"

There was no point in lying, "yes."

"Oh," White was silent for a moment before perking up again, "you ready to play?"

I nodded and smiled in appreciation. I knew White was curious about the letter, but she had kindly held in her curiosity in order to help take my mind off of the issue. I set down my water bottle and jogged onto the court.

Volleyball really did help me forget about the letter. We spent the next few hours bumping the ball over the net and cracking up about stupid things. I promised myself that if I didn't get into Ashton, I would do this more often.

We were laughing about the volleyball hitting White in the head and knocking her hat off when White's phone suddenly rang. She grabbed it and then offered it to me, "It's your mom."

My parents couldn't afford a phone for me, so whenever they needed to get in touch, they called my friends. I was always embarrassed when this happened, especially when my mom was calling about some stupid thing like winning free mascara.

I took the phone, and, as tempted as I was to just not answer, I held it up to my ear, "Hello?"

"Crystal?" My mom said in a high, yet trembling voice, "A letter just got delivered to you in a special truck, hours ahead of all the other mail…"

My blood went cold, and I briefly wondered whether I was just imagining the call.

"Honey, the letter is stamped with the Ashton seal!"


Well, I think the first chapter was... okay. I guess it could've been longer... Don't forget to review and tell me what you thought!