So what do you want to be when you grow up?
It's an impossible question.
You'll have about a thousand dreams, at any given moment. Visions of who you want to be. I'm sure that everyone wonders, 'can't I be all of them?'
I don't want to pick just one.
Wagging her pencil and ignoring her paper, White gazed out the paneled window, her eyes searching the bay's sparkling waters beyond. Dusk was falling quickly, and an orange light was filtering down through the clouds and over the backs of flapping, floating puffballs– Woobat. Their piercing screeches bounced off the window in dull thuds.
"The light. Looks like orange soda," White murmured, her mouth cupped in her hand. It was the end of the school day, and she was starting to get dreamy and strange.
"Everything looks like soda to you," Bianca said blithely, her mouth wide open and eyes shining.
With a bewildered expression, White turned her head and gazed at the girl. She would of never expected to hear such a quick-witted remark from her. A sign of maturity? The thought suddenly made White feel very lonely.
"Having a good little chat over there, are we?" Professor Juniper asked mischievously, marching away from her rolling chalkboard and snatching the paper off of White's desk. "Hmm," she murmured, observing it carefully.
From a few desks over, Cheren's eyes darted to the paper and then to White. There wasn't a hint of emotion on his serious face, but White already knew what he was expecting. He was betting that his essay was better than hers. He pushed up his glasses in challenge and she gave him a mocking smile filled with childish glee. She was confident hers was topnotch. As if hearing their telepathic exchange, Juniper began reading White's paper aloud for everyone to hear.
"...'Though humans always try to plan and change the world's future, it's been proven that it's an impossible force to control. Despite this unmovable fact, I'm still being asked about my own future. What do I want to do with it? This question resounds in my mind, and a thousand answers burgeon. You see, my future is also proving to be an impossible force to control.'..." Juniper paused, not bothering to look up from the paper. Coughing, she continued reading Nina's essay:
"...'I was thinking about being a nurse. The reasoning behind this is I would love to carry around a giant syringe filled with glitter water and floaty heart beads. However, I was soon captivated by the idea of being a pokemon ranger. There's something powerful and moving about their ginormous fedoras. I'd also humbly like to be incredible hero of the world, with my own electric jet plane, if possible. But at this very moment, I've been considering becoming a cross country trucker. Driving on those twisted, hidden roads must feel like riding on a roller coaster.'..."
Juniper stopped reading. Raising her eyebrows, she silently slid the paper back to White.
"All those things sound lovely!" Bianca said, clasping her hands together. "Especially the trucker bit. It'd be nice piloting a roller coaster! I bet you could go to secret places and even see the whole world."
Grinning, White glanced down and nodded her head slowly. She was pleased that Bianca shared her romantic vision.
"A trucker?" Cheren yelled in outage, slapping his hands down his desk and blasting up from his seat. "You're seriously considering that?"
"Huh?" White muttered, looking up at him. "What's so wrong about it?"
"It's just that it's a complete and total waste," Cheren said, pushing his glasses up. "You've got good methods, but your ideas are always way out there. And what was that bit about carrying around a giant syringe filled with glitter water? That kind of nurse sounds definitely wrong."
"You sound definitely wrong," White spat immaturely. "That kind of nurse sounds exciting. And awesome."
"I don't even want to know."
"Professor, look at my paper!" Bianca bursted, holding it up and frantically waiving it around.
Tightening her face, Professor Juniper took it in hand and began reading it aloud. "...'Gee, what do I want to be? You mean, like, when I grow up and need to get a job, right? Well. I guess I'd really like to be an orthodontist. For dinosaur bones! And maybe people and other pokemon bones, too. That kind of job sounds impossible, cool, and impossibly cool– like– all at once! I bet I'd be the first one, ever. Well. That's all I have to say for now. I'm not sure what personal essay format is! Wow. How do I even do that? Sorry, Teach! XOXO'–" exhaling sharply, Juniper stopped reading and handed the paper back. The rest of the page was filled entirely with Xs and Os.
"Let's see yours then, Cheren," the tired professor murmured. "Then I'll hand everyone's First Pokemon Tests back, since I've finished grading them."
"Right, of course." Cheren proudly handed his essay over, which Professor Juniper immediately began reading for everyone.
"...'Whenever I'm asked about my future, I feel quite troubled. Which way do I go? Every path leads to the same mundane outcome. Everyone aims to be completely ordinary, but from the beginning, I've felt different. This, I know... I want to do something amazing with my life, and in my heart, I feel that I am destined for greatness. This is why I've decided to pursue the greatest job of them all. I have finally decided that I will become Pokemon Champion and President of the United States of Unova. Permanently. Through the power of knowledge, research, and friendship, anything is possible, even three or more terms in office. I'll break laws if I have to. Laws are for normal people, anyway.'..." Growling to herself, Juniper whipped the paper away and lifted a chair up over head– slamming it against the lab's back bookshelf.
"KRRR-LUNK!" Books toppled off the shelf.
Quite stunned, the three students fell silent at the crash.
"What is WRONG with you kids?" Juniper yelled, clenching her fists and shaking them. "THESE ESSAYS ARE TERRIBLE, CHOOSE REALISTIC GOALS AND MAKE UP YOUR MIND."
"Nonsense. My goals are realistic," Cheren argued.
"Goodness, you guys," Juniper huffed, shaking her head and traipsing off to her cluttered desk. "The only person with somewhat realistic dreams and goals was White– but of course– she has way too many of them. Here's your tests." Walking over, she quickly handed the test papers to each respective student.
"Hmm," Bianca muttered, glancing at hers before turning it over on her desk. She nervously adjusted her puffy green hat.
"I did it, I won," Cheren proclaimed, triumphantly holding up his paper. "One hundred and five percent! One of the questions actually had two answers, so I gave both. Naturally, this earned me extra credit."
"Good job, Cheren. I wasn't expecting any of you to know, but I was proven quite wrong," Professor Juniper explained. "There's more than one way to stop a pokemon's evolution. Having it hold an everstone is the second option."
"Whoa, I didn't know that," Bianca spoke in awe. White put her legs up on her own desk, still glancing dreamily out the window.
"White, I beat you at last. I beat you, right?" Cheren demanded. Adjusting his glasses, he sweated nervously at his rival's silence. "Show me your score."
"No." White turned her paper over.
"Oh, so you finally did lose. You just don't want to admit to my victory, is that it?"
"Actually," Professor Juniper laughed nervously, scratching her cheek. "White also knew that extra credit answer. And also, I made a slight grammatical error on the test. White was the only one who caught it, so–"
"–What?" Cheren cried incredulously, grabbing White's test away and reading it. "One... one-hundred and six percent?"
"Aww, you lost by one point." Bianca sympathized with him. "Don't worry, I do that all the time."
"Nooooo!" Cheren yelled and agonized. Holding his head, he fought back tears. "She earned one more extra credit point than me? This is impossible! How can this be? Why am I always second place?"
"Professor," White warned through gritted teeth, all while opening a soda pop can. This forced competition with Cheren only encourages me to goof off in class. I thought I told you that, didn't you believe me?
"White, please take your legs off your desk," the professor scolded. "You look like a delinquent. And please. I know you love soda, but no drinking it in class."
Frowning, White put it away and pulled out a bottle of fresh water.
"Can we go home now?" Bianca wailed.
"Fine, fine," Juniper sighed over the quiet sound of Cheren's depressed sobbing. "But before you go home, I have an important announcement to make."
Everyone stopped and looked up to listen, even Cheren who was curled up in a ball under his desk.
"Since the three of you have no direction in life whatsoever, I'm giving you all a pokemon," she said, turning her attention towards her laptop and typing. "I'll explain the rest to you later, alright?"
"So, the day has finally come..." Cheren commented, sitting up in his seat and pretending as if his emotional breakdown had never occurred.
"Huh? What's going on?" Bianca asked.
"I'll drop by White's house in an hour, so you three need to be there," Professor Juniper explained. "You can go now– but don't forget."
Folding her test into a paper airplane, White took it between her thumb and finger and threw it through the air.
"Vrrroooo," she grumbled, imitating the sound of a jet engine. Overlooking the corroded railing, she watched the airplane soar over the sparkling bay water below. The tangy, stinging smell of seaweed stung her nose, so she turned away to sniffle.
"Aw, what a waste of a perfectly good test," Bianca said, leaning over the railing in thought. A troubled expression settled on her face.
"Must be nice... having parents who don't watch over your every grade," Cheren remarked, stuffing his hands into his blue coat pockets. He sniffled a bit as well, overcome by the pungent and damp sea air.
"It's just paper," White murmured, smiling as she bathed in the company of her friends. Though the air was cold, she could feel an unexplainable warmth radiating from them. The few moments were precious, and she almost believed they would last forever. But her friends seldom stayed in one place for long.
"Um. I kind of need to go home for now," Bianca said suddenly, tugging her hat tightly over her head. "But I'll stop by your house later, ok?"
"Ok. We'll wait for you," White promised. With saddened eyes, she watched as Bianca dashed off for her house across the street.
"Fine, but we shouldn't wait here," Cheren suddenly said, walking away from the railing. If we stay here, we'll hear them...
"What?" White leapt after him. "Why not?"
"You're too smart to understand. And your parents let you roam wild– so that's another gap in the bridge."
"Hey, don't treat me like that. This is about Bianca's overprotective dad... isn't it? When they argue, they get pretty loud. Everyone in town can hear them, you know."
"Fair enough. I guess it's no secret–" Cheren suddenly stopped. Curious as to why, White looked ahead and found Professor Juniper hurrying back to her lab. She was hurrying so fast, that she was kicking up dirt clouds with each stomp.
"Argh! We didn't get to my house soon enough," White exclaimed. "She looks quite spry. Do you think she's mad?"
"Strange. It hasn't been an hour yet. Regardless, let's hurry and find out from your mom."
Bursting into White's house, the two stomped across the dining room floor, only Cheren quickly flopped off his shoes in the walkway.
"Good evening, sorry for intruding," Cheren quickly regarded White's mom.
"Hello Cheren! Ah, you guys just missed Professor Juniper. She brought a huge present for you three to share," the cheerful woman spoke, looking at the doorway to see if someone else was there. "But... where's Bianca?"
"I believe she went home to ask for a time extension."
"Oh, I guess that's right."
Everyone knew about Bianca's seven 'o clock curfew.
"We're gonna wait for her in the meantime," White explained to her mom, though she was explicitly warning Cheren. He was eyeing the stairs– obviously eager to obtain his pokemon.
"That's so sweet of you! The Professor did say that you all should be present when deciding," White's mother explained.
"I suppose that makes sense," Cheren exhaled.
"You two go upstairs then. I'll bring you some snacks in the meantime."
Bianca stood, gridlocked in her own dining room by her father. Though the TV blared squeaky jibberish via "Koukan Talk", her and her father's voices rose to decibels far above the unintelligible noise.
"It's White's house, White will be there!" Bianca begged, closing her eyes and slouching.
"I told you, it's too late at night. Stop trying to make me upset," her father asserted.
"You don't understand!"
"No, you don't understand, Bianca. Tell me. Do you know how many predators are roaming around in the night right now?"
"B-but Nuvema is different. It's safe!"
"No! It's not safe enough. Another girl and her pokemon even went missing yesterday night!"
"But that was in Castelia! ...Mom," Bianca pleaded, turning to the woman by the sink.
"Listen to your father, dear..." she said passively. She had given up fighting for her daughter's freedom long ago.
"But Cheren and White are waiting for me," Bianca refuted, summoning her courage to rebel. "I'm supposed to be there."
"Cheren? I've been needing to talk to you about that," her father raised his voice, hinting that the next area of discussion was going to be very painful. "Aren't you too old to be 'playing' with boys? You're fourteen years old now, meaning you're not a little girl anymore. I can't approve of that behavior."
Bianca took off her hat, twisting and wringing it in her hands as she gazed shamefully at the ground. Her stomach was twisting as well. "But... you treat me like a little girl," she murmured in defiance.
"What did you just SAY to me?"
"I said, 'you treat me like a little girl' anyway," Bianca finally yelled, her eyes fogging over and stinging. "Cheren and White are my only friends– and always– you always try to keep them from me! Because of you... I'm always late to everything and I can never keep important promises... I don't want to be this sort of person anymore! I won't!"
Running for the door, she yanked it open and flew outside– running off down the dirt road as her father yelled after her.
Excitement grew in her gut and her knees quaked as she sprinted. Never before had she roamed outside in the dark like this– the feeling was empowering.
I don't know what I want to be when I grow up. How can I know when I don't know anything at all? But I do know that I want to be strong. Reliable.
I don't want to hide in my room and cry anymore. I'm going to follow my friends...
That's what I want to be!
Panting, Bianca reached White's doorstep and knocked. After a few silent moments, the door opened and a bright light flooded her aching eyes.
"Bianca! You finally showed up," White's mom said invitingly. "Everyone's waiting for you upstairs. Are you alright?"
"Y-yes," Bianca laughed apologetically, holding her arm behind her head. "Sorry I'm late!"
~To be continued...~
What am I thinking, starting up another story? I'm not thinking at all. :C