#1: Nursery Rhymes


Lavender blue and rosemary green,

when I am king, you shall be queen.

Call up my maids at four o' clock

some to the wheel and some to the rock...

Under the glaring lights of the contest dressing room, gentle hands disengage Dawn's anxious fingers from the gigantic knot in her hair.

"Let me."

She straightens, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "Kenny?"

My learned friend and neighbor pig,

odds bobs and bills, and dash my wig!

It's said that you the weather know,

please tell me where the wind will blow...

"Are you nervous?" he asks, combing her hair with steady, even strokes, and she tries to relax, remembering the many lessons she and Leona had given him (under protest) on hair care when they were little.

"Yeah. It's only the final of the Grand Festival, after all," she tries to be sarcastic, but it comes out in a whimper. "Are you?"

Pull, release. Pull, release. In, out. In, out. Breathe, Dawn. Don't think about the battle. Just breathe.

"You bet, Dee Dee," his own lungs aren't cooperating with his apprehension, but she doesn't need to know that.

"Stop calling me Dee Dee!" her voice cracks on a hysterical edge.

What are little boys made of?

What are little boys made of?

Snips and snails and puppy dog tails.

That's what little boys are made of.

"Kenny...I'm really scared," she gulps. "I don't think I can do it, especially with all of Sinnoh watching..." she shudders.

"It's just me you're battlin' Dawn, not the boogeyman. No need to worry, right? We'll have fun." He rubs her shoulders, warding off the below-freezing air-conditioning chill of every contest dressing room.

Billy, Billy, come and play

while the sun shines bright as day.

Yes, my Polly, so I will

for I love to please you still...

"And no hard feelings, whoever wins?" she squeaks.

"Of course. But you'd better stick to that when it's me up on that platform."

She feels her competitive juices start to rise. "Oh no, Kenny, that ribbon has 'Dawn' written all over it!"

"You mean, Dee Dee."

"I do not mean Dee Dee!"

He laughs, and runs his hands through her hair once more before pulling it back.

"Now you need a hair ribbon." He thinks. "A blue one."

Jenny shall have a new bonnet,

and Jenny shall go to the fair,

and Jenny shall have a blue ribbon

to tie up her bonny blue hair...

He scans the room, snatches a pair of scissors, cuts a blue ribbon off his costume, and ties it around her ponytail.

"There."

And why may I not love Jenny...

She stands, and gives a little twirl. "How do I look?"

and why may not Jenny love me...?

"Uhhh...great," he stammers, perpetually unsure how to answer that question from any girl.

For I love Jenny so well...

Two notes chime from the speakers overhead.

"That's our cue," Dawn says. "Good luck out there!" She holds up her hand for a high-five.

More than any other body...

Quickly, he darts forward, and brushes a sticky boy's kiss on her cheek, before fleeing for the stage.

"What...?"

If you love me, love me true,

send me a ribbon, and let it be blue...

Dawn stands rooted to the spot, turning into a tomato, before a thought occurs to her. Then she's off at top speed, mentally berating herself.

"Oh no you don't, Kenny," she whispers to herself as she races for the stage. "You're not gonna break my focus that easily! It is SO on!"

One for the money

and two for the show.

Three to get ready

and four to go!