Oak Academy
Chapter 1, Opening Day
A gentle, night breeze wafted through the window into the room, one of many, all of which were dull and standard across the entire building. Within that standard room rested a small bed, worn dresser, and common desk with a matching chair. All of these furniture items were as standard as the room itself and were of a matching color. One could halfway expect to see a "1 of 13,000" carved into the bottom of any one of these items. Despite being a cold, impersonalized space, the room gave off a cozy feeling common to dorms. It was meant to be a home for a very long time, after all. Of course, this by no means made up for the room's total emptiness which greatly annoyed its new inhabitant, first year student, Alexis Faire.
Alexis, although no optimist, was not a pessimist either, so she did not see the unbridled potential of creativity or the stifling blandness. What she saw was the sheer emptiness as it was: loneliness. She had always had a sibling by her side in a small home, being a twin, for good or bad, and had many friends. Needless to say, privacy was not something she was particularly used to. She always had coveted alone time, but being in a strange place gave her a new perspective on it. This is the first time she wished for a roommate since she knew she was coming this school.
As soon as the thought graced her mind it fled away into oblivion as she finally started back on her task of unpacking. Her two burgundy suitcases stood out wildly against the white walls, in a way that a pop of color engulfs everything, as she rifled through her crimson duffle bag. From it she drew out various clothing and toiletries, making it her personal bag, and hurriedly sorted through them and put them away. When this bag was mostly empty she split open a suitcase, revealing more clothing and some blankets. A few personal items were quickly scattered across the wooden floor, which matched the furniture, to make it slightly less empty. Finally, she moved on to the last suitcase. This one had a mirror encased in clothing as its main item. It was the size to hang on the door, which she quickly put into place before taking a moment to see that day's toll on her appearance.
She had dirty blond hair, a little frenzied from earlier that day, and dark blue eyes staring ever deeper into the mirror. She merely glanced over her features other than her face and hair. Her pale skin, thin body, and mix-matched though harmonious apparel were nothing new to her. From habit she grabbed a brush from its new place on her dresser and smoothed out her hair. Not once while she was doing this did she particularly develop an opinion on herself. She merely primped according to habit. These mindless actions slightly annoyed her in some respects, since she had always had better things to do, but right now she did not.
She finally placed her brush back onto the dresser and moved her vivid luggage against the wall. With a sigh she plopped onto her new bed. Grumbles quickly filled the air.
"This mattress was probably taken from a prison, or at least its supplier. Cheap school!" She cried out, thrashing about.
Her violent fit was over in seconds and she straightened up. Boredom toyed with her mind as she searched the room for entertainment. Instead, her lively eyes fell on her alarm clock set neatly on her desk. It was exactly eleven p.m. She shuddered at the thought of waking up at six the next morning and yearned for sleep already, but was far too restless for that at the moment. Suddenly, a thought popped into her head and she dug viciously into the pockets of her hoodie. A crumpled up paper surfaced as she looked upon it with both traces of love and hate. As she smoothed it out she read the neat writing swiftly aloud.
"Dear Alexis, I know you have been looking forward to attending Oak Academy all summer, but you must know this is hard on me. You have never left home before, let alone for this long. I know I am going to be the one that is tortured the most by this distance between us, but do write often. I cannot wait to hear all about your friends, new and old. How was travelling there, by the way? This is also your first time travelling alone I guess. You must have had quite a day, so I will keep this message short. As requested by the school, your father caught your first Pokémon and sent it in. I am sure you will love it, but do remember it is a dangerous creature. It was also asked that we do not spoil the surprise of its identity so I can speak no more on that matter. Goodbye and good night then, Alexis. Have sweet dreams, and if you ever want to come home your family is only a phone call away. Love, Margaret Faire."
Alexis slightly cringed at the end of the message. She wanted the impossible, her father's signature. Her mother was her mother, but her father was also her parent. A sudden flash of rage moved through her, crumpling the letter and thrusting it into the room's corner. In all reality, she wondered why she had not done it sooner. Had she honestly expected the signature to magically change over time? The very thought disgusted her, but it lingered in her mind. That was why she was here, though. She was here to make something of herself, something she wanted. Oak Academy was quite the prestigious school and being accepted had completely shocked her. More than anything, she wanted to become her class's valedictorian and the next Pokédex holder. Every Pokédex holder in history had done something amazing, from being the king of the country to becoming its hero. She wanted that assurance when she went on to become the champion she had always fantasized about being.
However, that was much easier said than done. She had only met her class today and she knew this. One of her main competitors was someone she knew very well, Viola Whincott. This person was her best friend from her hometown and no one knew better than Alexis what she was capable of. In fact, it would have surprised her if Viola had not been accepted by Oak Academy. What was more is that her talents were proven; unlike all the others Viola was not unfamiliar with Pokémon and battles. The familiar faces did not end there, either. Still in her class was Wren Harris, another close friend. Wren was a lot more like Alexis in both aspirations and strengths, so she would really have to be at the top of her game to stand out against her. Then, in a rival class, were Kimberly and Sarah Johnson. These two twin sisters were also close friends with Alexis, which made her even gladder they were in a separate class. That did not even mention the rest of her class that all deserved to be there in their own right and it made her head spin.
Alexis sincerely loved Pokémon. She could have been happy without Oak Academy, or the Pokédex, or even being champion. She knew this in her heart, but it ached all the same when she imagined herself without it. Her thoughts sorted through everything that happened that day in a frenzy as she drifted away from reality. It had been the opening day that day. She arrived at Oak Academy just before a Pokédex holder alumnus started his speech. He urged the students not to worry about the overall competition for the Pokédex and that being at the academy was an accomplishment in of itself, of course he emphasized not taking it for granted either. He said the reason that Oak Academy was created was to give young trainers with potential a place to learn and grow, even when the dear Professor Oak had departed into the afterlife, and foster a love of Pokémon.
From there she was directed to her classroom where she was greeted by two familiar faces, Viola and Wren. She had been beyond grateful at the time, but that entire class period ate away at her mind as she imagined the competition between the three. She there met her teacher, Mr. Summers, and the rest of her fifteen other classmates. All of them had to make an introduction in front of the class, including a name and dream in the speech. It turns out becoming a champion was pretty common, but Alexis had expected as much. After the introductions there was only time for reviewing basic rules before the students were dismissed for lunch. That was the bulk of her day, basically. Afterwards a tour was administrated by dorm leaders and then there was dinner before the students were finally released to unpack.
Her memories of the opening day started to fade in and out. Through wavering sight she saw that it was now around 1 a.m. That was the last sight that she held before black engulfed her mind and she sunk into her bed. In her room the lights still shined and the window funneled in the night air. Alexis lay motionlessly upon her simple, white covers still dressed from the day. Her mind had finally drifted to sleep and no dream could arouse it from the black, not even the dream of the championship that Alexis was assured that this grand opening day would eventually lead to.
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