Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Pokémon or any of the concepts relating to this, despite it being awesome. However, I DO own the figments, and ideals that correlate to the story, plot and characters of this story, and I will not take kindly to anyone who patronizes this relative perspective or claims otherwise…
Chapter One…
'Beep!' 'Beep!' 'Beep!' 'Beep!' 'Beep!' 'Beep!' 'Beep!' 'Beep!'
I opened my eyes slightly, groaning as I lifted my arm and forcefully hit the snooze button on my shrill alarm clock.
"So early…" I moaned as I turned under my sheets, "Why am I even awake?"
I yawned and opened my eyes, looking at the clock I had just punched…
6:30 am
'Damn…' I thought to myself, closing my eyes once more as I let out a yawn, 'That's really early…'
I poked my foot out from underneath my sheets, but immediately pulled it back in. The air around was cold and pierced my skin, even for that brief moment, but in my bed, it was warm and toasty. Ahh… So cozy… It was probably this which caused me to doze and eventually fall asleep again. Just as soon as I began to doze off though, a light turned on and I was brought back by a familiar voice.
"You're not up yet?" I heard a feminine voice yell as I came back around, "Hurry up! You're going to be late!"
I looked at my clock…
7:47 am
Of all times… I can't believe I almost forgot!
At that thought, I bolted out of bed to see my mother, a young Dewott, giving me one of her 'Should've been prepared' looks as I scrambled around like a deranged lunatic. Fixing my bed, brushing my teeth, and using the bathroom as my mother continued on with her exasperated stare.
I grabbed my backpack and began to make my way to the door when my mom came up to me and said monotonously, "Before you leave, you should probably put some pants on…"
I looked down, only to notice that in my rush, I had forgotten to dress myself, despite the fact that I remembered everything else. Seeing this, I ran into my room and slipped on my blue body suit and booked it, grabbing my backpack as I stormed out the front door.
7:56 am
Now striding on the sidewalk, I looked through my backpack, and found four things. First, I found my binder, which was filled with all sorts of things that I would need where I'm going, then I found a small paper sac with a note attached to it.
This is your lunch. I made it last night, while you were playing video games. See what happens when you actually prepare for things? Let this be a lesson for you.
Have a good first day,
Mom
Jeez… She always says that… I stuffed the sac back into the backpack as I found what I was looking for, a small plastic card strung onto a sea-foam green necklace, my school ID.
I read over its contents as I brought it around my neck.
Owen Hiroshima
Freshman
Tachimaru High School
Freshman
Class of 2017
ID Number: 771040
Two seconds before the final bell rings (7:59:58 am)…
I ran into my first class just before the bell rang and immediately walked over to the nearest seat, next to a young Snivy who appeared to be my age. He wore a white polo shirt, which complimented the rest of his look, composing of a pair of navy blue denim shorts and a black watch.
Sitting down in my seat, I looked around the room, only to see that other than the Snivy sitting next to me, there was nobody else around.
"Where is everybody?" I asked the Snivy as I took my backpack and placed it under my seat.
"I don't know…" the Snivy replied as he looked over to me, "The real question is, where's the teacher?"
I looked around, and saw that he was right, the bell just rang, and the teacher wasn't even here…
At that moment, the door swung open, and a young Pikachu strode in to the classroom. She seemed to have a confidence in her step, like she had more balls than most of the male population. She carried a leather satchel and a medium-sized black case which she held without any difficulty. She also wore a denim skirt, and a tight-ish grey T-Shirt that emphasized her curves… Very nicely…
"Am I late?" she asked airily as she took a seat next to me, smiling as she said so.
"Yeah…" I said, smiling back at her, "But the teacher isn't here yet, so you're okay…"
"I'm Sam!" She said, offering her paw for me to shake, "What are you guys' names?"
"I'm Owen!" I said as I shook her hand, letting go after four shakes.
"And I'm Kiyomaro!" the Snivy chimed, "But you can just call me Kiyo."
"It's nice to meet you two!" Sam said as she looked at them friendlily, "Are you guys freshman too?"
"Yeah…" Kiyo and I said—oddly enough—in unison.
"Nice!" Sam said as she pulled the medium-sized black case up from under her to show it to us, "What do you guys play?"
Ah yes… Now I remember… This is first period Marching Band… I searched through my bag and took out a black case that, in comparison to Sam's, looked a little small.
I opened my case and put the parts inside together to reveal what looked like a black plastic tube covered in an intricate series of holes and keys, "I play the Clarinet…"
Apparently, Kiyo had done the same thing while I was occupied with my Clarinet, holding up his instrument as he said, "I play the Trumpet!"
"Well I play…" Sam came in as she held up her instrument and strung the strap around her neck, "The Saxophone!"
At that, the door swung open, and in came a Wigglytuff wearing an orange T-Shirt and denim jeans, finishing a toaster pastry as he came up to the front of the room.
"Good Morning!" He said happily.
"Good Morning!" Sam, Kiyo and I greeted as the teacher looked over the class skeptically.
"There are three of you?" The Wigglytuff asked as he looked at the three of us and back to his roll sheet in amazement, "Only three?"
"Is it really that much of a problem?" I asked as I folded my arms crossly around my Clarinet, "At least we showed up!"
"Yeah…" the Wigglytuff said as he—by the sound of his voice—approached the brink of tears, "But… What am I gonna do?"
"What do you mean?" Kiyo questioned as he placed his trumpet into his lap.
"The school district is going to cancel the music program if we can't get enough students to join this year!" He said, obviously panicking, "I can't have a marching band with only three students! I need at least fifteen to even get started! What am I going to do?"
"Why don't you just go out and find students who want to join?" Sam asked, lifting one eyebrow as she cradled her Saxophone in her lap.
"I tried, and asked the middle schools what students were interested in the music program…" He replied, fidgeting as he said so, "But… Nobody answered…"
"So?" I said, not even hesitating for his little sob story, "You should try advertising to the actual students… Then, maybe you'd get a response…"
"How am I going to do that?" the teacher whined.
"How should I know?" I said as I looked him straight in the eye, "Figure it out! You're the freaking music teacher for crying out loud! DO SOMETHING!"
He stared at me, his eyes beginning to water before he went into an all out bawl, "You're right! I'm a FAILURE!"
He then ran into a small room conjoined with the one we were currently in, and slammed the door behind him, however, even after that, I could still hear him crying.
"Wow…" Kiyo said, staring at me with wide eyes, "Five minutes into class, and you already made the teacher cry…"
"It's not my fault!" I snapped, my temper beginning to flare, "He needs to man up!"
"Yeah…" Sam said, looking through the glass paneling that surrounded the door to the room the teacher was in, "He's a pretty big wuss… But you could've been a little gentler…"
"I could've…" I admitted; I mean, he was probably stressed out enough as it is… And I probably wasn't helping.
"Should we…" Kiyo began, tilting his head in contemplation, "You know… Help him?"
"Probably not…" Sam answered, crossing her arms over her Sax as she did, "He should let out some of his steam first…"
"Well…" I concluded, looking towards them as I began to disassemble my Clarinet, "I guess we won't be using these today…"
The three of us then proceeded to put our instruments away, and in a few minutes, we sat down in our seats again.
"Are we gonna…" Kiyo began as we sat down, looking over to that same room, from which the teacher's sobs could still be heard, "You know…"
"I know I'm just going to regret this later…" I gave in, sighing to myself as I heard another groan of self loathing from the other room, "But yeah… We should…"
With that, all three of us stood up and walked over to the door, and couldn't help but stand as the truth dawned on us…
Just what the hell are we gonna do?
Sam probably didn't care, since she just walked in and said, "Are you done crying now?"
"No! I'm not!" he snapped, burying his face into his arms, "I'm DOOMED! I'm going to be fired, thrown out of my apartment, and then I'll have to sell myself on the street for money! My entire life's RUINED!"
"Is it really that serious?" I asked; I mean, I had no idea that this could have been the end of his world as he knew it…
"Yes! It is!" he retorted sourly, "I'm going to lose everything! And I'm going to die a dirty sex slave!"
"Shut up!" Sam exclaimed angrily as she slapped the crying Wigglytuff across the face, "You are NOT going to do that! Now get up!"
"B-B-But—"
"I said: GET UP!" Sam yelled as she smacked him once again.
He reluctantly stood up, whimpering as he stared at the Pikachu, "But—"
"Do you really think that crying is going to do anything about your situation?" Sam snapped as she gave him a glare that scared everyone in the room half to death, "Don't be a fuckin' pussy! Try actually doing something!"
"Like what?" he asked, beginning to cry at the mercy of her harsh words, "What can I possibly do?"
"I don't know!" Sam snapped, "Figure it out! You have a freaking PhD for crying out loud! So stop crying like a damn pussy! BE A MAN!"
"She's right." Kiyo added as he placed his hand on the teacher's shoulder, "Crying won't solve anything… We need to do something if we're going to change anything…"
In all honesty, I agreed with them completely, but I just wasn't sure…. I mean, what could we possibly do? Think… What could I do? Hmmm…
Before I even realized it, three words slipped from my mouth…
"I got it…"
"What?" the others asked, baffled at what I just said.
"How long do we have before the school district fires you?" I asked confidently, staring the Wigglytuff in the eye.
"We…" He began, wiping a tear from his eye before he continued, "We have one month."
"Would the administration be okay with us hosting an event next week during lunch?" I posed without hesitation as I came closer to his desk.
"I think so…" the teacher said as he looked up at the ceiling in contemplation, "Why do you ask?"
"In order to get people to join, we need to appeal to the general public. In other words, we need to impress them so that the other students will want to join…" I reasoned as I leaned over his desk, "I suggest that next week, we host a Music Festival during lunch, where we'll play for the students and if we're successful, some of the student's will join…"
"D-D-Do…" the teacher stammered, hesitating as he finally came out, "Do you really think that'll work?"
"I'm positive it will…" I replied as I put my paw on his shoulder, "But first, please tell me… What's your name?"
"I'm Akito Taruna…" the teacher said as he finally stopped crying, "But you three can call me Mr. T… Or even Akito if you like…"
"I need you to schedule something like that for next week…" I said as I took my paw off of his shoulder, "Do you think you're up to it?"
"Yes! I am!" Akito said happily as he picked up his phone and began to punch in a number, "Now… If you three don't mind, I have some calls to make…"
"Oh, we don't mind!" Kiyo said as we all left his office, "Not at all!"
At that point, the bell rang, and the three of us, as if on cue, took out our schedules. I read over mine and looked at the classes one by one…
Period | Course | Instructor | Room
1° Symphonic Band | Taruna, A. | K-106
2° Geometry | Monjiro, R. | A-207
3° French I | Hiroshima, J. | C-108
4° Conceptual Physics H | Ritiché, C. | D-105
5° English 9 H | Lumis, V. | B-204
6° PE Co-Ed 2009 Fall | Narunakoji, K. | GYM
"I have Geometry next…" I said as I read it over one more time.
"Hey! Me too!" Kiyo said happily as he leaned over to look at my schedule, "Oh…"
"What?" I asked as I looked at his schedule and suddenly realizing what he meant, I found myself speechless, "Oh… That's… Odd…"
"I have Geometry next…" Sam said, unknowing of what had just happened as she looked at our schedules, "What do you guys have? Oh…"
We all froze, I looked at their schedules and back to my own as something clicked in my head…
Our schedules were all exactly the same…
"Do any of you…" I said, breaking the silence in our conversation, "Find this weird?"
"Yes…" I heard them both say as we all looked at each other.
"So…" I began as we started walking over to the A-Hall, located just north of the school's main commons, "It looks like we're classmates…"
"Yeah…" I heard Sam say as we walked up a staircase leading over to the second floor.
We remained silent for the rest of the journey to the classroom, walking in and taking three seats in a group in the corner of the room.
"Why are we sitting here?" Kiyo asked as he placed his bag under his desk, "Wouldn't it be harder to see the board from here?"
"Sure it would…" Sam replied as she leaned backward on her seat, "But I sometimes fall asleep in class… Especially when it comes to math, and it would be much better for me if I sit here…"
"Well…" Kiyo said, still unsure of her intentions, "That's okay… I guess…"
"Good…" Sam said as she pulled out a small pack of gum from her skirt pocket, placing a piece in her mouth with a flick of her wrist.
"What are you doing?" I asked, shocked at this sight, and at the fact she did it in plain sight.
"Oh!" she replied, taking the pack out again, "You want some?"
"No! I don't!" I said, turning away from the atrocity as she gave one to Kiyo, who accepted it gratefully, "Chewing gum is against the rules!"
"Suit yourself…" Sam said, putting the gum back into her pocket as the final bell rang.
While we were in our own conversation, the room had filled with some thirty other students, who silenced themselves as they heard the bell ring.
"Good morning students!" a Noctowl said as he waved a wing to all of the students, "I am Mr. Monjiro, and this is Geometry!"
"Good morning Mr. Monjiro…" we all groaned, Sam already beginning to drift off as we did.
Mr. Monjiro immediately went to work, calling out attendance and after that submitting it into the computer before standing up in front of the class again.
"Since today is the first day of school, we won't go into any math." Mr. Monjiro explained as he took a stack of papers from his desk, "Instead, we'll use today's class period to get to know each other!"
Mr. Monjiro proceeded to pass the papers out and after finishing, he continued, "On each of these papers, there is an activity… Please complete this activity quickly and efficiently, so we can play a game afterwards!"
No offense to Mr. Monjiro… But that class was REALLY boring… At the end, I had to wake both Sam and Kiyo from their desks… Twice… Hearing the bell, we headed for our next class, and as we walked in, I heard a familiar voice…
"Hey Owen!" My mother said as she came up to me and gave me a warm hug, "How's your first day been so far?"
"Oh… Hey mom…" I replied, still caught in her embrace, "I'm doing great…"
"Wait…" Kiyo asked, confused by the sight, "The French teacher's your mom?"
"Yes I am!" my mother chimed, "Are you guys Owen's friends?"
"Uhh…" Kiyo babbled, her question only flustering him further, "Sure… I guess so… I'm Kiyomaro… But you can call me Kiyo if you like…"
"It's nice to meet you!" she said as she shook Kiyo's hand, looking over to Sam eagerly as she asked, "What's your name young Pikachu?"
"My name's Sam…" she responded in an unusually polite tone.
"Well it's nice to meet you Sam!" my mother said happily, "You three can sit anywhere you like… I just need a few minutes to get ready for the class period…"
"Sure thing!" Kiyo said as he led us over to a table group close to the front of the classroom.
The rest of the period was relatively boring… All we did was sing the French alphabet… Which I've been doing for a long time since my mother is the French teacher… Even the fourth and fifth periods were BORING. Not even worth mention… By the time I even knew it, we were in sixth period PE…
We came in and sat down in the bleachers along with the other students, and as soon as the bell rung, we heard a loud whistle blow.
"Good afternoon students!" a feminine voice said from the middle of the gym as we turned to see the source, "Are you all excited for PE this year?"
The room suddenly fell silent, and everyone turned to see a young Espeon speaking into a megaphone.
"Oh…" the teacher said, blushing with embarrassment before she continued, "Well… If you aren't… The you better get excited, because this year, we're going to have fun!"
"Oh joy…" Sam said sarcastically, crossing her arms as she watched the teacher, "This class sounds fun already…"
The rest of the class went by quickly and after we went over the class procedures, they released us to talk freely amongst ourselves.
"So how do you guys like school so far?" I asked.
"It's fun!" Kiyo said, clapping his hands softly as he said so, "I basically get to hang out with you two all day, so it's really fun!"
"Thanks…" I said as I felt my cheeks flush.
"Hey!" I heard someone say from behind me.
I turned around to see a Dewott running over with a smile before sitting down promptly next to me. He looked a lot like my mother, but he felt a little different that her, probably because the Dewott was a boy.
"Hey Little brother!" the Dewott said warmly as he scooted closer to me.
"Hi Big brother!" I said, hugging my older sibling as he neared.
"Big brother?" Sam asked as we released our embrace.
"Oh! I forgot to introduce myself!" my older brother said as he outstretched his paws to them both, "I'm Owen's older brother, Caboa!"
"It's nice to meet you…" they both said as they shook his paws.
"So have you three heard about Freshman Friday?" Caboa asked as he moved a little closer into the circle.
"What's Freshman Friday?" Kiyo asked as he moved a little closer in as well.
Caboa cleared his throat and leaned into the middle of our circle and whispered "It's apparently a school tradition… Where upperclassmen throw the freshmen into trash cans…"
"That sounds horrible!" Kiyo exclaimed as he sat up straight with fear, "Are they going to do that to us?"
"They'll probably try…" Caboa said solemnly as he pointed to both me and Kiyo, "So you two need to be especially careful on Friday…"
"What about me?" Sam asked, crossing her arms as she did so.
"You don't need to worry…" Caboa said reassuringly as he gave her a smile, "For some reason, girls don't get canned… It's just the boys…"
"Well that's not fair…" I spoke out; I mean… It's just messed up that we get to be 'canned' just because of our gender.
"Life's never fair Owen…" Sam said dismissively as she gave him an ominous laugh, "Life's never fair…"
"It's okay…" my Big brother said as he placed a paw on my shoulder and on Kiyo's, "I'll make sure you guys don't get canned…"
"Thanks…" I said, hugging my brother as the bell rang to symbolize the end of the school day.
"No problem!" Caboa chimed as he got up from his seat, looking towards me as he continued, "Mom said she has some work to do here for a while, so she told me to walk you home!"
"Okay!" I chimed as we began walking out of the school, Sam and Kiyo still following us.
"Oh!" Big brother said as he noticed them following us, "Are you two going this way too?"
"Yup!" Kiyo said happily as he followed, "I live on Oran Court!"
"Really?" I said as I walked beside him and stared in amazement, "That's where we live!"
"It looks like we're neighbors too…" Sam said, chuckling softly as they walked through the streets, "It just so happens that I live on Oran Court as well…"
"Wow…" Caboa said looking at the two warmly, "You're very lucky Owen! You've made friends already, and they're our neighbors!"
"So wait…" Kiyo started, "I've lived in Oran Court my entire life, but I haven't met you guys before… What's with that?"
"That's not true!" Sam said as she nudged him playfully, "I remember you from middle school! You were always so quiet and shy back then…"
"Yeah…" Kiyo added as a blush came to his cheeks, "I guess I changed over the summer…"
"Well, I'm glad that's the case!" I said as we neared Oran Court, "We moved here from the city over the summer!"
We came up to a large sea foam green house, and immediately Kiyo said, "Well… This is my stop…"
"Okay! See you later!" the three of us said in unison as Kiyo went into his house.
"My house is just across the street from here…" Sam said as she began to head off to a large blue house, "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah…" I said as she walked off, "Bye!"
After that, Caboa and I walked home… But after that, the time seemed to fly by, and before I knew it…
'Beep!' 'Beep!' 'Beep!' 'Beep!' 'Beep!' 'Beep!' 'Beep!' 'Beep!'
"Wake up Little brother!" Caboa pleaded as he lightly shook my form, "I need to walk you to school today!"
"What day is it?" I asked, probably in the doze of my grogginess as I did so.
"It's Friday…" Caboa replied as he pointed to the calendar on my wall.
End of Chapter One…
Hello to you all! It is I, the author! I have transcended the boundaries of time and space in order to bring to you my wisdom! I am sorry that this chapter is a little long and maybe even a little boring, but let me tell you that when I say that the next chapter will make it all worthwhile, I REALLY mean it… So please be patient as I leave a little room for the story to set in.
As a writer, it means a lot to me to hear your feedback. Be it big or small; a thoughtful compliment or a brutal flame, I really want to hear what you think as a reader! Please let me know what you think through reviews and other such methods. It really means a lot to me when you take the time to tell me how you feel…
A Sneak Peek on the Next Chapter… It's Freshman Friday, and what happens when Caboa has to leave for a dentist appointment? Will Kiyomaro rise up to the occasion? Why do they still have showers in high school locker rooms? Find out in the next chapter of: Why Gym Is My Favorite Class!