"Finally onto something more enjoyable," the slim red-headed girl said to herself while pulling a book out of a tattered backpack. Cracking open her engineering manual, she smiled. This stuff was so much better than the organic chemistry she had just been trying to learn. Although the class was little more than a review to her from previous classes, she still enjoyed looking at the diagrams and quizzing herself over old concepts.
After reviewing various graphs and tables, she closed the book and noticed her stomach was grumbling at her. She had a tendency to study through meals, not that it bothered her. Pulling her hair into a short ponytail (she had cut off her precious long hair long ago), she traipsed into the kitchen and looked through the freezer for a suitable meal choice. She found a foil wrapped dinner and popped it in the oven. Knowing she had a good fifteen minutes to blow before her dinner would be ready; she sat down at her computer desk.
Her first task was to turn on some suitable music. The apartment was always quiet due to her roommate usually being gone with this day as no exception. She turned on one of her favorite playlists and checked her e-mail. Other than the various class and organization announcements, there wasn't much to look at. It didn't surprise her much, personal e-mail was not something she got very much of. Working two jobs and being a full-time student didn't allow for much social time. Making notes of a few things she needed to remember in her planner, she closed the lid on the laptop and listened to the song currently playing. It was a fairly angsty tune she had been in the mood for lately. She had been dealing with small bouts of depression and was always trying to convince herself that she wasn't working too much.
Her eyes fell to a picture near her laptop again. About a week ago, she had come across a box of things form a former life; pictures, costume pieces, tattered notes and plans. It really was a bunch of junk, but to her, it still meant a lot. The picture near her computer was of her at about 22 and a male about the same age. They were at a festival dressed in shorts and t-shirts, both smiling and showing treats they had purchased from street vendors. It was the only picture she had been allowed to keep after leaving Team Rocket. Because she had cut a deal with an Officer Jenny in reward for precious secrets, her and her friends were considered free after a significant rewrite was done on their records. All three team members were advised to settle in different places, without divulging their whereabouts to one another. It had been painful to leave her friends, but Jessie knew that it was the best thing at the time.
After leaving Team Rocket, Jessie had settled in a small town not too far from Veridian City. She had no real ties to the town, but there was a nice university there she had hoped to gain entrance to. It took a few months of studying, but when she took the test for admission, Jessie blew away the competition and received a top spot and full scholarship into the class. Now nearing the end of her junior year, she was proud of her accomplishments but dealing with being alone. With a huge chunk of her life that she couldn't really explain to any of her classmates, she was always an outcast (even the small group of people she tried to tell thought she was lying to them). She tried not to be hurt by this, but she always valued human companionship. Her only friend was a surprising old foe that had allowed her to watch the apartment for her. Cassidy and Jessie had never gotten along, but Cassidy needed someone to watch the apartment and put up the appearances of two people living there and Jessie needed somewhere to stay. The two met a strange agreement, as each had dirt on the other that could get one another killed. Cassidy never divulged to the team the whereabouts of the deserter, while Jessie never told anyone about Cassidy and Butch's 'not so secret' relationship.
After looking at the picture for a while, Jessie moved to a couch and looked through other things in the box of things she kept from her Team Rocket days. None of the items said Team Rocket, of course, and most were relatively pointless. The majority of the items consisted of tattered IOU's and 'OVERDUE' notices. Sure, she had never had much in the way of money when she was on the team, but she was happy.
"And skinnier," the red-head chuckled to herself while holding up a skirt she had pulled out of the box. It was barely more than a fabric tatter, and she had worn it on numerous occasions. Jessie laughed and looked at the outfit she was wearing currently. Although she was not heavy by any means, lack of physical movement and lots of studying had let to development of small love handles and a bit of meat on her thighs. "Not something I would dare to wear now," she added with a sigh. She still valued her looks, but was much less dramatic. Her hair was now a medium length with no large flip at the end, and she normally chose to wear jeans and sweaters, not tiny skirts and thigh-high boots. At twenty-five, she was definitely a different person. She really realized this when she had inadvertently ran into two members of the former 'twerp trio' at the restaurant where she was a waitress. It had been Ash and Misty, going out on a date and making googly eyes at one another. Jessie was afraid the two twitterpated teens would recognize her, but neither even paid her a second look throughout the whole meal, even when she had let it slip that she knew their names without them telling her.
Digging to the very bottom of the box, she found something that brought a tear to her eyes. It was an old dried up and pressed rose, the one James had given her when the trio had split up for good. He had told her it was to remember him by. She picked up the rose, smiling and gently stroked the papery leaves. It was one of many that James had carried when he knew her. He had always tried to carry a rose as a symbol of who he was. She had no clue how a rose was such a symbol, but it was one of his characteristics that she had always admired.
It was then she came to a conclusion "It's been two years," the former Team Rocket agent started, "if Giovanni had truly wanted us gone, it would have happened by now." Without being cocky, Jessie knew she could locate James and Meowth if she wanted to. She had known it for a long time and had been tempted many a time before, but she had never done it. After a few horrible weeks at school and finals coming up in a few short days, she came up with a plan. A smile passed her small lips, "I always was the inventive one between the three of us," she thought aloud. She knew she had just the plan to see her friends again.
