Countdown
"Crobat, Return," Janine said. She re-attached Crobat's pokeball at her waist, and sat down on the cold gym floor. She stole a glance at the clock hanging on the wall. 11:05. Janine groaned; it has been a long night. "Will midnight ever get here, so I can go to bed?" she hissed to herself. This was the first time she has ever spent a holiday alone. New Year's shouldn't be counted as a holiday, she told herself for the umpteenth time. It's just a new year; there is no need for all this stupid celebration. Her father, Koga, along with the other elite four members, had the same philosophy about the holiday, as they decided to stay open and accept challengers through the New Year.
Koga told her he wouldn't be spending New Years with her over breakfast a few days after Christmas. "The other members and I decided that we will take challengers through the night," Koga said, as he was finishing up his tea. Janine looked at him, flabbergasted. "Why?" She blurted out. But she knew the answer even before she asked. Koga looked at her sternly. "To become a stronger trainer one must not take breaks, even for holidays. That's why we accept challengers always, no matter what day it is." Janine bit her lip, slightly embarrassed she asked the obvious. Koga continued, "Since you will most likely be spending the night here, I expect that you will be training as well. We usually train on New Year's anyway, but this year, I will not accompany you. I know you understand the importance of training and accepting challenges."
It was true, every New Year's as far back Janine could remember, they would spend the night training. On a few occasions, they would have guests. But when it was just the two of them, Koga would cook them a New Years meal, usually one of Janine's favorite dishes and then they would spend the last hour of the night before midnight, relaxing in front of the television, Janine eating as much chocolate as she could stomach. Janine quite enjoyed this tradition. This year, it seemed, she would spend it by herself. "Of course I understand," Janine said to her father as she got up from the table. Janine turned around to walk out of the room when her father called her name. She turned to look at him. His expression had softened. "You are old enough now to make your own decisions," he said. "If you would rather spend New Years somewhere else than here, by all means." Janine stared at him for a few seconds. "I have nowhere else to go," she said, and she walked out of the room.
Janine started to doze on the gym floor, when she looked at the clock again. 11:23. She considered just going to bed, but decided that would be the wrong thing to do. She was going to make this New Year's Eve worth it. However, she wasn't doing a very good job at it at this point. Janine looked around the room. The gym walls were still glistening with Christmas lights. She made a mental note to take them down tomorrow. Janine gritted her teeth, stood up, and decided to walk to the kitchen to see if there was any food left over. "I will not be unhappy tonight," she told herself. She opened the fridge, and saw nothing that looked appetizing. She slammed the door angrily. Suddenly, she remembered she had mint candies left over from Christmas in her room. She glanced at the kitchen clock. 11:29. She made her way to the stairs, slowly. This will help pass the time, she thought.
As she made her way up the stairs at a snail's pace, her thoughts turned to her conversation with Falkner that she had the same day her father told her about New Year's. She had been trying to avoid thinking about the conversation all night, for she was anxious that she would act on it. After her conversation with her father, Janine felt bitter for the rest of the day, even when she met Falkner for lunch at the Celedon City Department Store food court (clearly not a date, she would think to herself, as some past gym challengers would look at the two of them and smile, as if they knew something she didn't). Falkner immediately noticed her disposition as she sent looks of annoyance across the room toward an unruly group of trainers, whom did not seem to understand the difference between "inside voices" and "outside voices."
"What's wrong?" Falkner asked after Janine failed to comment on Falkner's story of his recent gym victory. Janine snapped back to attention. "Nothing," she said quickly, trying to cover up the fact she hadn't been paying attention. Falkner gave her a small smile and changed the subject. "I heard that your father and the other elite four members are going to take challengers on New Year's Eve. They are very dedicated," he paused. "Your father is very dedicated." Janine smiled, despite the fact that she was still bitter. "Yes," she agreed.
They sat in a contented silence for a minute. Lunch hour was almost over and the cafeteria was starting to empty out. Suddenly Falkner looked up from his empty bowl. "Do you have any plans for New Year's?" He asked. Janine looked up surprised. But before she could answer he started speaking again. "Every year the Johto gym leaders have a party on New Year's Eve. Usually it's at Whitney's gym but this year it's at my place because Whitney is renovating." Janine raised an eyebrow. She knew Falkner was not the party type. "How did you get stuck with it?" she asked, teasingly. Falkner laughed and leaned back in his chair. "I-I really don't know. Morty suggested it and everyone assumed I said yes and—that's just what happened. Anyway, I'm inviting you."
Janine sat up tensely and considered for a moment. Falkner looked at her expectantly. Suddenly she looked down at her lap. "I-I can't," she whispered. She looked at Falkner's disappointed face, and cringed as guilt swept over her. "I've been careless with my training lately, I can't take a night off, even for the holidays," she said. "I'm sorry," she added quickly. But Falkner smiled back at her gently. "Let me know if you change your mind."
As Janine thought back to that past conversation, she wondered with regret if she made the right decision. She entered her tidy room and looked at her watch. 11:33. She sighed and started leafing through her draws for the candies. She found them rather quickly and plopped down on her bed. As she lay down, her head hit one of her several training books that were propped against her pillow. She turned to a random chapter and started to read, but quickly realized she couldn't concentrate. Her thoughts kept traveling back to Falkner and his invitation. She couldn't figure out why she rejected the invitation so quickly. She didn't really like parties even though she wasn't a shy person. Falkner was her friend; although she was sometimes annoyed by his constant talk of his father, she couldn't imagine life without his friendship. She turned over on her side and tried to read the book again.
Suddenly, her father's words echoed through her head. He had said she was old enough to make her own decisions. She sat up with a jolt and looked at her watch. 11:50. If she hurried, she could make it before midnight. She jumped out of her bed and ran down the stairs, through the gym, and outside. The cold air hit her with a force, but she ignored it. "Crobat, come out!" She cried. The bat like pokemon emerged from its pokeball, sweeping the air with its wings. "Take me to Falkner's gym," she instructed her. Janine held on to Crobat tightly as she raised her swift wings, and cut through the frigid night air.
Falkner glowered into the punch bowl. It was one minute to midnight, and as far as he was concerned, it couldn't have come soon enough. Hosting the party was overwhelming. He tried to ignore his noisy party guests around him. Suddenly, the front door opened and a small figure stumbled in. His face broke out into a wide smile. Janine was standing there, looking a bit frazzled and breathless. Her hair, pulled back in a tight bun, was slightly frizzy, and her cheeks were pink from the cold air.
The countdown had begun. "Ten!...Nine!...Eight!" the crowd around him roared. Falkner made his way through the crowd, ignoring the chants. Janine stood in the doorway, overwhelmed by the noise and frantic movements of the people around her. Crobat flittered behind her, as she forgot to recall him back into her pokeball. Janine caught a glimpse of Falkner pushing his way through the crowd towards her as the clock struck midnight. Deafening cheers rang out around her as she walked briskly to meet Falkner in the middle of the room.
Falkner greeted her with a hug. "I knew you would show up!" he said, as they broke apart, his hand still lightly touching her arm. "I would have been really stupid not too," Janine answered smiling. "Um…Sorry I'm late," she added. "That's very uncharacteristic of a ninja," Falkner responded. They both laughed and stared at each other, both smiling, for a few moments before they heard a crash near the back of the room. Both Janine and Falkner turned to look and saw Crobat had found the snack table and was crunching on some chips. At first the people near the table was startled, but then they started to laugh as Crobat was munching happily. Falkner turned back to Janine. "Can I show you to the snack table?" he asked in an amused tone. "I think that would be a good idea!" she said brightly as Falkner guided her toward the back. She made New Year's worth it after all.