Ariel clutched the empty pokeball to her as she stumbled through the double doors of the school. Her brown eyes were wide and she was shaking with fear, her stomach performing acrobatics within her as it flip-flopped in her anxiety. She was alone in the hallway, and the sun glared in from the windows, creating a glossy glow over the tile flooring as she tried her best to walk across it slowly. I shouldn't be here, she thought to herself. I'm not supposed to be a pokemon trainer. I'm not supposed to even have a pokeball. They're going to throw me out of here. Her heart pounded louder in her chest at every step further down the hallway she managed to make it.
"Now, class, today we're going to be learning about how to make your pokemon more friendly towards you," She heard a man say, from a classroom further down the hall. She stopped dead. She knew that she didn't belong here, that she had come from too poor of a town for her to be able to finance a pokemon adventure, but she felt so nervous. What if they turned her down? She took a deep breath and coaxed herself to continue. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. Her palms were clammy, causing her grip on the pokeball within her hands to tighten unintentionally. It popped from grip and she let out a quiet gasp as it clattered noisily to the floor. "What was that?" She heard the man from the classroom inquire, and then footsteps followed. Ariel could only stand there as the man walked out into the hallway and met Ariel's eyes.
"Who are you?" He demanded, advancing towards her. She snatched her pokeball and shrank away in fear. "You shouldn't be here, young lady! Get out at once!"
Ariel's eyes grew even wider, as she saw heads of the pupils poke out from the doorway of their classroom. A slow red blush of embarrassment burned across her face and she stammered an apology, before racing, her heart falling in dissapointment, to the doorway. She burst through the door and wiped away the forming tears from her eyes. What am I going to do? She began to worry. I can't go home. Mother will be furious after she finds the letter I left.
She sniffled once, as her breath choked in her throat, tears forming once more in her eyes. No. She had to be strong. She sucked in a deep breath of air and looked around, to see if anyone around the area had seen the almost breakdown she had nearly come to. Good. No one.
Sighing, feeling almost lost, she tightened the straps of her backpack and began to walk away from the school, her one hope at having a pokemon. At getting to explore, and to see new things. She hung her head and kicked at the stones on the ground, defeated.
"Hey, wait!"
Her head snapped up, and she whirled, finding that she had been followed by an older looking boy. He was waving to her, almost as though he was afraid she wouldn't see him. When he caught up to her, he was a little out of breath, but smiled politely and said, "My name is Sam." He stuck out his hand for Ariel to shake, but she glanced down at him, and back up at his face, and tightened her grip on her backpack straps.
"And?" She asked. Sam seemed taken aback. He brushed his hand back, behind his head, laughing nervously.
"I saw what happened in there," he said, "With the professor. Look, don't let him get you down, he's just a cranky old man."
Ariel glared. "Yes, I'm fully aware. I'm obviously not welcome here, so I'll be on my way." She spat the words at him, like venom, and whirled, beginning to walk away. Sam blinked, startled, but when he was able to regain his thoughts, he began once more to chase after Ariel.
"Pokemon?" He asked her, "Is that what you came here for?"
She glanced at him, fire burning in her eyes so bright he could almost feel the heat. "Yes," She said curtly. "But it seems I sauntered in to a preppy 'boys only' pokemon academy. So I don't get any."
Sam slumped, realizing it was not going to be easy to befriend this girl. He walked alongside her, not speaking. He studied her face, and what she was carrying, and came to the conclusion that she had left home to become a pokemon trainer, and having been let down, meant she was alone, and that, more likely than not, wouldn't be able to return home for the shame of what she had done. "Do you want a pokemon?" Sam asked, quietly.
Ariel stopped. She hadn't believed she'd heard him correctly. "You're offering me a pokemon?" She asked, and Sam nodded.
"Just because you're not able to afford or catch one doesn't mean you shouldn't have one," he told her, and saw her expression softened lightly. He breathed a silent sigh of relief. "Come on, I'll take you to my grandfather's farm. He has tons of species of pokemon."