The city had faded from Ethan's sight hours ago. Hundreds of trees belonging to the woods, joined by open pastures as great as the sea replaced middle class neighborhoods, glass high-rises and paved intersections. His mother's minivan cruised down the winding highway, Ethan said nothing. He wasn't supposed to be talking anyway. A bubbly pop song filled the car, it was stupid. His mother hummed along, tapping her thumbs on the steering wheel. They passed by herds of miltank and tauros, he watched the pokemon graze on the lush grass.
Further off in the distance he spotted a patrat at standing atop a hill. Ethan pressed a thumb against the cool glass. The mound was about the same size, this far out. Now it looked like the wide-eyed beast was three inches tall, standing on his thumb. He smirked with amusement. Acting fast he reached into a pocket and fished out his cell. This deserved a picture.
Elisha glanced at him, smiling. "Glad to see you in better spirits."
Ethan frowned. He certainly was not in a happier mood. He sank deeper into his chair like a spoiled child that didn't get a toy at the toy store. "I'm bored, that's all."
He spoke the truth. They had been heading down state, on the road nearly four hours now. He peeked at the GPS in front of him, a little less than an hour remained. The van rounded a bend toward a long, breathtaking bridge that appeared similar to the Golden Gate Bridge. It stretched over a lake, turning into a river that went back upstate. Below, he noticed several ducklett and swanna floating along the surface, dipping their heads underwater. Further out, Ethan saw a fisherman and his son in a lone boat not too far off. The boy looked to be no older than a first or second grader, wearing a bucket hat and a life jacket.
He tugged excitedly on his father's arm, pointing at all the magikarp and goldeen leaping up around them. Ethan's mother reached out and turned a knob on the radio, changing the station. Above the bridge, a flock of taillow, led by a couple Swellow soared on air currents. Ethan leaned forward, watching through the windshield.
Elisha, his mother, was mocha skinned and lanky. As was her son. Her eyes brown, his hazel, like his father. Normally her hair came down to her shoulders. Last week though, while Ethan got a haircut in preparation for today, she tied her own into long thin braids and put them in a ponytail.
It was supposed to be raining by the time they arrived. The temperature would drop as well. Elisha sported a windbreaker over a long-sleeved shirt. Below that, comfortable jeans. Her son's outfit wasn't too different. He wore his favorite gray steelix hoodie instead of a jacket.
"We're almost there, so you might as well lose the attitude," Elisha began. "St. Margaret is a great school."
Ethan sat back in his seat, adjusting his seatbelt as he turned his head to stare out his window again. His frown deepened. He didn't care whether the academy was a good school or not. He wanted to be at Lakeside Prep. Not only was it still in the city around everything he knew and was comfortable with, all his friends were going to be pokemon trainers there. Here, he was being dropped off in the boonies, all by himself. He hated it already.
Elisha continued. "You're too young to throw away your education for all this pokemon business. Remember our deal?"
When he didn't answer Elisha's jaw tightened in irritation. "Ethan!"
He grumbled.
"Louder, please."
He sighed. "I remember."
"Thank you. St. Margaret is the perfect place for you to finish your studies. And you get to go do what you've always wanted. Two birds, one stone. Your father and I could've saved our money, you know."
Ethan looked down. He understood the hoops his parents were leaping through to do this. He just didn't want to be alone. Out here by the woods and farms, he literally knew absolutely nothing. And to top it off he was going be here the next two or three years. He might as well be moving to a new state. Out here, he'd have to start all over. Ethan didn't know how teenagers acted when his mom was younger, but these days kids were pretty cold. He opened his mouth to reply but a chippy tune interrupted, cutting off the song on the radio too. Through the van's bluetooth her cell was was going off, one of Elisha's friends was calling. She quickly answered, pressing a button on the wheel.
"Hey girl, what's up?" She began.
Still clutching his cell, he started scrolling through the feed of his social media app. Half of him felt relieved he was stopped.
Ethan's stomach started doing flips when they arrived at the school's outer gates. They surrounded a dense forest. The van continued down a narrow dirt path with tall trees and thick brown shrubs on both sides. Ethan could barely see past them. He could hear the cries of pokemon. Despite it drizzling he rolled down his window. Chirps of birds and the buzzing of bugs filled the air. They were all around him. Rain sprinkled his face.
He thought about catching a Spearow or a Murkrow. Maybe a Fletchling. Could that be the move? Long as he was he student at St. Margaret anything he captured around here was his to keep. He grinned. Mine, he thought. To care for and play with, to raise. Battle. Thinking about all these things made him excited and that eased the knots of anxiety in his belly. Perhaps his time out here wouldn't be so bad…
"JESUS!" Elisha yelled, suddenly stomping on the breaks.
Ethan turned to face his mom, he could barely get a word out before the momentum of the van roaring to a stop threw him forward. Forcing him to stare at his lap. Luckily his seatbelt prevented him from slamming his head against the dashboard. The van kicked up a thick cloud of dust as it swerved a bit to the bushes.
Breathing hard and admittedly scared out of their mind, mother and son looked up through the windshield, spotting an enormous sawsbuck standing in the middle of the road. It gazed at them apprehensively. Lush green leaves sprouted from its tall, crooked antlers. He noticed a scar above one of the eyes. Its fur was full and chestnut colored. Ethan blinked.
"It's…"
Not even a second later, a herd of deerling, accompanied by more sawsbucks came sprinting through the green from his mother's side. Their hooves sounded like thunder; they could feel the ground trembling. There were so many Ethan couldn't keep up his count. He leaned forward, his heart started to pound faster, not from fear this time, but from sheer fascination.
This moment just took the cake. There were more pokemon here than he'd probably ever seen in his life. Albeit it being the same one and its evolution. So close, so… real. Elisha also seemed to be captivated. He had to get this on his phone. He glanced down, fumbling through every pocket on him. Where was it? Oh come on!
He found it on the floor between his shoes. Unbuckling the van's belt, he ducked down to grab it. When he came back up everything was silent. Real thunder rumbled across the gray skies.
The big sawsbuck remained. It snorted, a puff of nearly visible vapor rising from its nostrils. Without a word it bolted off, leaving them to sit back and exhale.
"Goodness," Elisha clutched her chest. "I didn't… I didn't realize I was holding my breath!"
She turned to her son, putting a hand on his shoulder. Then moved to his arm. "Are you alright? Does anything hurt?" She lifted his arm to check his side.
Ethan pushed her hand away, gently. "I'm fine," He said. A smile crept across his face. "That thing was huge."
His mother chuckled. "Wasn't it?!" She rubbed her forehead. "Swear to God it, came out of nowhere… I'm so sorry!"
Ethan waved a hand at her. He needed a second to process what just happened. She noticed his smile and she couldn't stop a proud grin from forming on her own lips.
"What do you think now?"
"I… I don't know." He said lowly. He pointed at something right ahead on the side of the path, closer to him. It was a fancy sign, a myriad of colors with bold cursive letters. Welcome to St. Margaret Academy, it read. A Family of Learning.
Elisha nudged him. "There's one on my end too."
Sure enough, they found another. A smaller, diamond shaped yellow one with the silhouette of a deerling and a venipede. Black letters, all caps.
BEWARE OF ROAMING POKEMON.
That made them laugh.
She grabbed the steering wheel and turned it to the left. Then she stepped on the gas and the van was off once more.
Ethan recalled his mom reading something online about their gates protecting the habitats of pokemon. Hunters caught on the grounds would be arrested and fined. He also remembered reading that certain areas the forest were open only to part time staff and faculty. He wondered if any of them were out here.
Not too long after, they reached a crowded parking lot next to the campus. It wasn't hard to find, there were more signs. Handwritten with bright markers.
Standing in small patches of well-kept grass decorated with polished statutes were trios of teenagers in raincoats and hooded jackets. Helping to direct cars and buses of incoming students. Their partner pokemon eagerly assisted. There was a hoothoot on some kid's shoulder with glowing red eyes. It used the scarlet beams it emitted like the long arms of a security blockade right before vehicles entered the lot. A jigglypuff danced cutely at one girl's side each time she handed out a ticket and told drivers which lot to park in.
Another guy had a gurdurr that was hoisting a female student in each hand high over its head. And they held signs above them, to reach the windows of a coach bus behind his van. All of that was to the left, facing his mom. Ethan's eyes grew big as dinner plates. He felt like he was a six year old again.
Shay grabbed a fresh stack of registration forms from the giant printer in the corner of the teacher's lounge. Three-hundred papers was quite a load to carry alone and the red haired woman struggled for a second to balance the hefty weight in her arms. When she felt comfortable enough to move with them she hurried out of the spacious white room, entering a brightly colored lobby swarming with old students working behind long desks. New students stood in front of them, waiting in long lines to be served, with their parents. Glass panels made up the walls that surrounded the open space and behind them were offices where faculty spoke with mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, as well as the elderly. All answering any questions about the school or handling registration issues. Beside them, computer labs were filled with more teens, nearly finished in completing important paperwork. Registration time was certainly a whirlwind.
Dressed in a pristine button up, a dark pencil skirt that hugged her curves and heels, Shay zigzagged her way past lines of waiting kids with their families, making her way to an empty corner where a small group of second and third years were waiting, chatting quietly amongst themselves.
"Alright everyone," She huffed once she reached them. "Here's the re-up. You know what to do."
"Yes, Ms. Willows!" All the students said as they grabbed large stacks from the pile.
"Once you've passed out all the forms, you're done here," She pushed her glasses onto her nose. "Find Mr. Nichols and get ready for the tours!"
She watched her kids disperse into the crowds, shaking the strain from her arms and hands. "Phew," She sighed to herself. That out of the way, she needed to find her clipboard and check on the parking lot situation. Where on Earth did she leave it, again?
"Looking for this?" A man's voice asked, coming from behind her.
She spun around, meeting Mr. Humphries or Calvin, as she knew him, as he approached her. He was holding a clipboard in each hand. Not only was he a Geometry teacher at St. Margaret, he was the school's Normal type gym leader. The final line for seniors to cross before graduation. A man with broad shoulders, wearing a striped and buttoned vest, gray slacks. His hair was cut low, styled into a neat fade. Below that, a salt and pepper streaked goatee.
"Oh Cal, you're a lifesaver!" Shay said relieved, extending an arm out to take the one in his left hand.
"Found it on my desk when I went back to the office. Figured you'd need it." He grinned.
"Do I ever," She smiled. "Thank you. You on your way to the parking lot?"
"Actually, I don't have anywhere to be, so why not?" He shrugged. "If it's anything like this lobby, I'm sure they'll need all the help they can get."
"We do," Shay nodded. "Let's go."
Back outside, visitors could either park and explore the campus with their kids or use the express lane to drop an incoming student off if they had already been registered online. Ethan was one among many who completed the necessary forms and other registration procedures on his laptop with his mom. She took the second lane. There was a long line of cars along the path, stretching out from a brick red building not too far off in front of him.
Concrete walls with black gates on top of them had been built to each side of the place, going on to surround the entire campus. Ahead, more pokemon, students, guards and some faculty awaited him as if they were staff at a fancy hotel or something. Helping groups of families with their bags. Passing out packets of papers, giving out instructions on where to go. Crowds of people were piling inside.
"This place seems so lively already!" Elisha giggled.
After ten minutes, Elisha pulled the van up to the building at last. He hopped out and stretched. The wind had picked up, spraying light rain at him. He pulled his hood over his head. A group of students and their energetic partners rushed past him to tend to the large bus of teenagers. Joined by his mother he went to the back of the van, they opened the trunk to gather his things.
He glanced at his mother as she helped him. She didn't say a word. He stayed quiet as well. This was it. The lonely road. After today he wouldn't see his mother or his family until early December. Four months from now. All of the nervous energy returned full force, putting a giant knot in his stomach. His fingers felt shaky. But he had to keep moving. He had a whole bus of kids like him waiting. Ethan had a camping backpack, another bookbag on wheels, plus a very heavy duffel bag. He threw the camping one on first.
Without warning Elisha abruptly grabbed him, pulling him in for a tight hug. She squeezed him even harder when he rubbed her back. Who was he kidding, he was going to miss her. Ethan embraced her back, hard as he could.
"I'm going to miss you, kid." He heard her sniff.
"I'll miss you more." He replied. Despite him being upset the entire ride, it all melted away at this moment.
They stepped back and she wiped an eye.
"Mom, don't do that." Ethan looked down, afraid he might tear up if the water works began to flow. He felt a lump form in his throat.
"Oh shut up," She said. "You're my son and I'm not going to see you until Christmas." She wanted to wail right then. "Christmas, Ethan! Do you have any idea how stressful this is for a mother?!"
"I'll call, I promise." Ethan nodded.
"Every damn Sunday, understand?" Elisha pointed at him sternly. "Not by phone either. I want a video call because I love seeing your face."
"Alright, alright," Ethan grumbled, beginning to feel embarrassed.
"And if I see one black eye, I'm marching right up here to German suplex somebody's kid."
"Please don't. I don't think that's legal."
She folded her arms. "Who's going to stop me?"
"Uh, try the police!" He threw his hands up.
"Don't you worry about them. I'll suplex them too, if need be."
"MOM!"
She hugged him again. "I just had to get that out, okay?"
"Mmhmm." He moaned into her shirt.
"Take care of yourself," She rubbed his head. "Let the fun come to you. Remember to smile. Do your homework. I'm serious, Ethan. Do your freaking homework."
"Mmmmmppphhhh." Ethan groaned. His face was stuffed between his mother's bosom now. She was squeezing him for the second time.
They broke away at last. With all of his things, Ethan stepped onto the sidewalk and moved closer to the entrance. Elisha remained at the van, rummaging through the trunk as a brunette-haired woman walked up to him. She touched Ethan's shoulder softly, causing him to yelp and spin around.
"Whoops! I didn't mean to scare you!" She chuckled. She also had her hair tied into a long ponytail. Sporting glasses and a clipboard under one arm. She wore a zipped-up windbreaker plus a long pencil skirt that fell to her calves. It hugged her figure nicely.
"Are you a new student?"
Ethan nodded.
"Fantastic!" The woman pulled out her clipboard. "Can I have your name, please?"
"E-Ethan Hawkins."
"Hmm…" She flipped through pages of her list. "Hawkins, Hawkins…"
"Aha!" She smiled after a few minutes, circling his name on one sheet. "Found you. Your name seems familiar."
The woman held out her hand, the other squeezing the clipboard to her chest. "Anywho, welcome to St. Margaret Ethan. It's wonderful to meet you! I am Ms. Willows."
"Nice to meet you." Ethan gave her his best kind smile.
"Willows?" His mother asked slamming the trunk shut. She quickly approached them. "You wouldn't happen to be the woman I spoke to on the phone would you?"
"Well, I made quite a few calls to some families with the same last name…" Ms. Willows giggled.
"I'm Elisha."
The brunette's eyebrows shot up. "Oh! I remember!" She held out her hand again. "It's great to finally meet you too!"
"Likewise!" Elisha shook her hand. "Listen, can I talk with you for a second?" They started to move toward his van.
Ethan rolled his eyes and groaned. Leave it to his mother to ruin everything, put an extra set of eyes on him so he can't enjoy his freedom away from home. He began walking toward to the glass doors when he heard a female voice shout.
"Watch out, watch out!"
Several others leapt out of the way just in time, yelling out. He turned to find the person responsible right when a yellow blur unexpectedly crashed into him. He shut his eyes. There was a flash of colors in his vision and the next thing he knew he was on his ass with his bags all over the ground. Pain throbbed in his head, his chest and knees.
"Ow, ow, ow…" The blonde sat up, rubbing the side of her face. She was a freckle faced girl about his age with curly hair falling to her shoulders. Most of it was. One side of her of head had braids above an ear. She wore a thin, open parka with a blouse underneath. Below that, black corduroy jeans. She seemed to be carrying about as many bags as he was.
"Come on dude, I said watch out!" She said frustrated. "Do you have sand in your ears or something?"
"Hold on, how is this my fault?" He picked himself up. "You ran into me!" How was anyone supposed to get out of the way with that one second warning?
"Everyone else moved just fine!" She pointed at him. "You're just a slow moving dumbass!"
"Dumbass?!" He began, clenching his teeth. This girl… this freaking girl!
"My, my, this is a mess, isn't it?" A man spoke as his figure cast a shadow over the two of them.
They looked up to spot a broad shouldered man standing over them, dressed in a striped vest and slacks. He sported a salt and pepper streaked goatee. "There's no need for tempers to boil, you two. Need to get somewhere?"
He continued, placing a proud hand on his chest. "I may not look like it, but I am the gym leader of this fine establishment here. You'd be hard pressed to find any better help around! Ahahah!"
Ethan's eyes damn near went wide. St. Margaret has a gym leader?! He knew all about the fighting type leader at Lakeside Prep, but to have one here too, this just changed everything for him!
Students who witnessed the accident rushed to help them to her feet and collected their things. The blonde seemed just stunned as Ethan.
"Wait, you're Mr. Humphries?" She asked, shaking her to get rid of the wonder in her eyes.
"In the flesh,"He nodded.
"My name is Summer Belair and I have an appointment with you, about the Young Aces Program!"
Ethan blinked at her. This girl wanted to be a Young Ace? They had a program like that? He didn't know how things went here, but at Lakeside, Young Aces are a class of top trainers at the school. Not only that, but graduating seniors have to face the best of them before challenging the gym leader. That way, when seniors leave, not only will they be a full fledged trainer with a team and a license, they will also have one foot ahead of the competition with a gym badge. He couldn't stop a bit of envy from blooming inside him.
The man's eyebrows raised. "Ah, miss Belair! Wonderful to finally meet you in person. You're not the only student with an appointment, come with me and we can round your new classmates up."
At those words they were off, disappearing into the throng of adults and teens heading inside. He barely got a moment to breathe, because after that, his mom and Ms. Willows were at his side.
Ms. Willows turned to face him. "Your mother and I had a little chat, you'll be with me for the afternoon." She gave him a warm smile. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you."
Just what he needed. He wanted to scream.
"Follow me." She said, walking ahead of him, into the brick building. Ethan turned to give his mother a wave, then rushed to follow the brunette, his bags bouncing behind him and at his side.
Inside, the place was about as big and spacious as the lobby of a shopping mall. Fancy carpets covered the floors. Tall pillars covered in giant banners stood in the corners, behind long counters where school staff worked from several computers. Along the walls, students stood at information booths, ready to provide whatever they could to curious parents. There were also a few school clubs present, new students could join right off the bat to make transitions easier.
"Keep up Ethan, I wouldn't want you to get lost," Ms. Willows said, making him begin to jog up to her as she zigzagged between desks. "You'll have to go upstairs to get your student ID. Around the campus that card will be your key to get in every building, even your own dorm. It'll also be your source of currency."
She made her way to a set of stairs at one end of the room. "We do start new students off with free credit, but once it runs out, I'm afraid you'll have to reload it on your own. You'll learn how to do that here." She peered over a shoulder to look at him as she moved up each step. "Understand?"
Ethan was too busy lugging the heavy wheeled backpack up the stairs and avoiding the strangers coming down. The massive and weighty duffle bag on his shoulder wasn't helping. He was starting to breathe hard. Was it always this heavy? A light sheen of sweat covered his forehead. Damn it all, why did he bring this useless pack of—
"Ethan? Do I need to repeat anything?"
"Um…" He wheezed. "Maybe."
Ms. Willows giggled. "Don't worry, the students in lab five will be happy to explain everything again. "This way."
Once Ethan had gotten his ID and the free credit, he registered himself on the school's online system and set up his email. He was kind of miffed about the whole process because he finished so many forms on his computer back at home, only to find out he had to come here and waste half an hour doing even more.
The academy was much bigger than he originally thought. It was massive. There were a little over two dozen buildings that made up the campus, according to Ms. Willows. Each of the establishments, dorms, centers, and academic halls were distanced a good ways of from one another. Which simply meant Ethan had to drag his ass out of bed early and get a move on if he wanted to be at class on time. In order to make to his new home, he had to cut through Orland Park.
The park was a vast area smack dab in the heart of school grounds. Alive with pokemon students could catch, plus spots to train them. Trees towered over every inch, the grass was lush. Ethan passed a couple of huge ponds where he noticed some groups of lotad and lombre floating on the calm waters. A flock of pidgey and pidgeotto flew high over them, squawking noisily. Venipede nearby trembled at their calls, darting for safety between the weeds.
At every intersection of the park, he found statues of the school's founders, along with famous and cherished teachers. He was surprised to find a statute of Ms. Willows amongst them. Remembering her instructions, he simply followed the brick roads to his dorm.
On his way, the rain really started to fall. Dark clouds hid the sun, making it feel like the middle of winter. Lightning flashed over him, making him begin to pick up his pace. Tall lamp posts along the road illuminated his way. Ethan's dorm was in the John J. Bison building and it wasn't far from him now.
It was another brick building painted tan, five stories high. Across the road from it was a large domed building. He assumed it must have been some kind of battling arena. Behind that place was another tall structure, though he had no clue what it was.
There was a huge monochrome lobby with a gaming area. Billiard tables, air hockey tables, even a foosball one sat in the middle of the area across from him. In the corners, he spotted a few big flat screens nailed into the wall over empty wooden stands. He guessed that was where students could plug up their own video game systems. What he couldn't get off his mind though, was why the hell everything around him was black and was responsible for this ugly crap?
Sure, he didn't know a thing about decorating and color schemes but that didn't mean it was any less fucking ugly. Even the chairs and couches by the windows, all an eye sore. Ahead of him, two security offices sat in a hallway, one to his left and one to his right. Beyond that a sign hanging from the ceiling directed him to the cafeteria.
When he pushed open the door to his dorm on the third floor, the place was empty. The living room seemed comfortable, set with an open window in front of him. A couch was pushed to wall to his right, a love seat on the opposite. A polished wooden table sat between them. Further to his left, a dark hall led to three bedrooms plus a bathroom. Behind the door in a corner was the kitchen. Kind of on the small side.
He felt exhausted already. Ethan sauntered to the very last room at the end. His bed had been moved to the middle of the room in front of the window. He didn't care. Dropping his bags, he collapsed against the bare mattress face first. His legs ached. So did his back and his shoulders. Hell, everything hurt. He did a lot of walking. At least the bed smelled nice, the scent reminded him of daisies. He felt himself sink into the material, he sighed. There were dressers already set up, and a closet to his left.
He closed his eyes, they felt so heavy. Before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.