"Rather than introducing yourself to me, you should introduce yourself to the class." Ms. April, my new teacher, gazed at me with slight curiosity. I looked out to what was to be my new classmates – three girls and two boys – to be met with whispers of their own piqued interest. I locked eyes with one of the boys; a fiery redhead with golden brown eyes. He smirked at me, and in an effort to keep my face from catching on fire, I looked away.
"I'm Kate…" I said, feeling the heat rush to my face. In my peripheral vision, I could see the redhead's smirk becoming much more evident. "I want to be a Ranger." I stated simply, looking back to Ms. April. I'm sure my face was bright red, and she smiled lightly at me. "So, our new friend's name is Kate…" she said softly, turning to the class. There was a slight pause, the students soaking up the information, before Ms. April spoke up again. "I understand she scored quite well on the entrance exam." In hearing this, I looked up in surprise. She wasn't looking at me, instead her gaze pointing again to the redhead. "Why the big grin, Keith?" She asked, amused. I'd seen the smirk transform into a huge grin, though at Ms. April's words, it subsided quickly. There was some gentle laughter that came from the rest of the students.
Ms. April motioned for me to take the seat next to him, the redhead, Keith. I could feel the eyes of the class on me as I slid into the rather comfortable chair. Ms. April waited for me to get comfortable before speaking up again. The words that came out of her mouth were cut off by harsh whispers coming from my right.
"Hey, new kid. You want to be a Ranger as well?" I avoided looking at him. "I just want you to know now, you have some competition. I'm gonna be a Ranger too, and a good one at that!" Ms. April glared at him as she walked by, giving me what I presumed to be a Capture Styler. Ms. April went on telling me about its functions, and I could hear Keith yawn in the background. Ms. April scolded him quickly. Afterwards, she assigned a blonde-haired green-eyed girl to be my guide around the school, and made the day a free day. As soon as Ms. April walked out, everyone took it as a cue to come circle around me. It made me a little uncomfortable at first, then Keith chose to speak up.
"So, new kid, I've forgotten your name already," I glared at him, "but how long did it take you to capture the Pikachu? Like an hour?" I rolled my eyes at him.
"Thirty seconds." I responded, unamused. He looked at me, surprised. The blonde girl assigned to be my guide looked at me.
"I'm Rhythmi, and don't listen to Keith, he's just a show-off. Instead, you should be listening to me!" She laughed lightly. "Anyways, I'm here to be an Operator, so when Keith becomes a Ranger, I can boss him around like my slave!" At this, I giggled. I've only known this girl ten minutes, and already I like her sense of humor. She giggled with me, and Keith protested only slightly.
Rhythmi went on to show me around the school on her tour of "Wonder and Excitement!" There, we met Isaac, the boy genius, Ponte, the conflicted marshmallow boy, and Mr. Kincaid, who at first glance I could tell was quite vain. He was the only person I'd met by far who I was feeling uneasy about, though I didn't disclose my feelings with my new friends. Keith turned out to be alright too, even when he gloated about befriending five of the rampaging Bidoof while I'd befriended four after Rhythmi showed me around the schoolyard as well. He sheepishly admitted he'd known my name the entire time, and Rhythmi's only response was "You're slick, Keith."
"You're taking her to Ascension Square? Then I'll go too." Keith said when Rhythmi mentioned there was a place she had yet to show me. I followed their lead, and soon enough we found ourselves near a pier with a large statue that had been dubbed "the Pledge Stone." I'd forgotten the school was on an island, but the ocean view intrigued me more than the statue itself. Rhythmi and Keith followed me out to the pier, Keith mentioning something about being able to see the Haruba Desert from there. Though we shortly heard the school bells ringing in the background, my heart was racing as I realized that these two people were to be my best friends at Ranger School.
We raced back, smiling and laughing. Though I'd only known them that day, I felt as though the three of us formed a strong connection down there. Even if it were only looking off of a pier.