The bell rung right as I grabbed my backpack and scrambled down the hall. My high school was fairly big and hard to navigate; that, combined with the fact that I was a freshman and the school year had just started, didn't exactly add up to me being perfectly punctual.
I had just opened the door, preparing to sneak to my seat, when a loud- and also very annoying- voice sounded at the front of the room, "Ms. Kitty, Alice is late again!". Shoot! I thought as I turned to face the front of the room, where the teacher, Ms. Kitty, was now standing. Her old and wrinkled face was nothing like a cat's, despite her name, however she was know around the school for having a short temper and a wicked sense of humor and revenge, much like that of an ill-tempered feline.
"Ms. Alice" her squeaky voice grated on my ear drums, "Do you have a late pass, or am I going to have to send you to the principal again?". "No Ma'am," I slumped my shoulders to make myself closer to her height; I wasn't exactly tall at a solid 5'4. It didn't help that she was 2 feet tall at most. "Well, then you know what I have to do, don't you?" she shuffled over to her desk and took out a slip of paper and a pen. I sort of knew this would happen, but even so, I couldn't help but want to argue; I had already been to the front office more times than I could count, even though for most I hadn't done anything.
Retrieving the paper, I walked over to the door, casting a hopefully hateful look at my tattle tale: Purrlisha. She had been bullying me since I found out she was just using me as a friend and manipulating me. For what purpose, I still don't know. She was tall, with dark hair, perfect skin, and enough make up to make a star nosed mole look good. Her two little suck-ups, Gabby and Gracie- who happened to be identical twins with the same "glorious" fashion sense- , snickered as Purrlisha flashed a fiendish smile and waved as I turned out the door.
I trudged down the hall to the front office and sat in a chair to wait my turn to see Mr. Krook, the principal. As I waited with a knot forming in my stomach, I happened to glance at my reflection in a large mirror near the secretary's desk. My pale skin almost glowed in the dim light, and my flaming red hair stuck out at angles across my shoulders and down my back. I brought my hand up and smoothed down the mop, using my fingers to undue some tangles I had located. Pulling my hair over to one side, I pulled up my T-shirt sleeve to view the scar on my left shoulder; it was a circle shape with a horizontal line across the middle. It had always puzzled me how had gotten there, but whenever I asked my mom, she always seemed to steer the conversation away.
"Alice?" the door to Mr. Krook's office opened and he walked out. He was at least 6 feet tall and very intimidating, but I knew him well enough now to know he was really a kind older gentleman. "Yes sir," I lifted my pack and scooted behind him into the small room. He closed the door behind him as I plopped down in the folding chair in front of his desk. He sat and folded his hands on the desk, peering at me over the top of his glasses with his strikingly gray-silver eyes. My eyes were almost exactly like his, only mine were a much shinier silver color. Handing him my note, I told him "It wasn't my fault,". He read the slip and eyed me. I knew what was coming next.
"Well, I suppose I will have to call your mother," he took the phone in his hand and started dialing. My throat felt like it had been sewn shut and I felt like I had rocks growing in my stomach. Mr. Krook waited patiently for my mother to pick up, and then said "Ms. Arkaus? Yes, Alice is not feeling well and would like to go home, please,". Shocked, I looked up at his smiling face. He winked at me, thanked my mother, and hung up. I felt like the weight of the world had been lifted from my back, and a grin quickly spread onto my face. "Thank you, sir! Thank you so much!" Snatching my pack up from the floor, I scurried out the entrance to the office. "You're welcome!" he called with a hearty laugh.
Mom picked me up a few minutes later and dropped me at home. "I have to go back to work, but I'll be by later to check on you, ok?" she said sweetly. "Ok," I fake-groaned as I inserted my key in the lock and shut the door behind me. As soon as she was gone, I dropped my backpack near the kitchen and ran out the back entrance. The outdoors was my only place of solitude, living with a sister and brother. Geo, my dog, woofed and scrambled out the back, panting and running along side me. He knew where I wanted to go; there was an old oak tree that was hollow at the base and had great climbing branches. It was our favorite place.
We reached the tree, and I gazed up into the twisting branches and smiled. I closed my eyes and felt the sun's warm rays on my cheeks. Suddenly, I heard a noise to my right and Geo began growling. Opening my eyes, I looked on in awe as what appeared to be a giant white horse wearing a hula hoop run off into the woods. Geo barked and continued growling while I rubbed my eyes and stared in the direction the beast had retreated. The woods are dark I thought, I'm sure there's nothing there. Suddenly my phone began beeping in my pocket. "What?" I pulled it out; it had never made a sound like that before.
Flipping it open, a blurred picture of the creature appeared on the screen. It then proceeded to say something I would have never expected in a robotic voice, "Arceus, the Alpha Pokemon,".