Ms. April was late. Keith, arm over his eyes, had his chair tilted backwards and had decided to snore the free time away when he detected a vicious, evil aura lurking over him, as if it was attempting to inflict terrible nightmares to him during his holy nap period. The presence casted a ghostly shadow over his body and his soul, and he waved his other arm without looking in front of him to ward off the devil.
"Rhythmi, buzz off," he grunted, "I'm trying to sleep."
"Yeah, you Snorlax," Rhythmi's annoying voice floated somewhere above him. It was hard to ignore her when she was standing right in front of him, but Keith tried to tone her out anyway. "Wasn't the library your personal nap room, not the classroom?"
He failed. Trying out another tactic, Keith lifted his arm up with as much energy as he could muster, squinting at her. "Who are you again?"
"Rhythmi Orchard. I'm your awesome dictator. You do all my homework and piggyback me around all day."
Keith smirked, putting his arm back over his eyes. "I'm sorry, top rangers like Keith Dazzle don't talk to second-class operators. You can try again after you make an appointment."
"As if," Rhythmi scoffed. "Wait until you're the one making appointments to see me, then you'll be sorry."
When he didn't bother to respond, Rhythmi kicked his desk not-so-gently. "What do you think the new student will be like?" she asked.
Keith had put his feet on top, so when it suddenly moved, it was no surprise that he almost fell over. Glaring at her while trying to regain his balance, he muttered, "Hopefully not prissy suck-ups with stupid last names."
"Don't get me started on your last name, Dazzlepants."
"Orchard? What are you, some kind of mutated berry from alien land?"
"If you're talking about fuzzy berries with long red antenna sticking out everywhere, I have a good example right in front of me."
"Actually, no, I made mistake. Even sour alien food wouldn't use as much hairspray as you do. I think you beat Mr. Kincaid for the award," he added as an afterthought.
Keith grinned as Rhythmi balled her fists, knowing he hit a soft spot. As she started to rant about the benefits of hairspray for girls, a mystery he would never understand, Keith mulled over this new information with his eyes closed. Apparently there was a new student coming in, which explained why Ms. April was running so late… Keith hadn't really bothered to pay much attention to class, but he had heard the words "new" and "student" somewhere, so it was probably legit. Anything Rhythmi said was usually legit anyway.
Well, unless it was about him. Nothing Rhythmi ever said about Keith was true. He didn't wear pink boxers, he didn't smuggle cookies in his backpack, his styler did not have pretty glittery keychains attached to it, he didn't carry stuffed animals, he did not cheat on all his ranger tests, and he may or may not drool on his pillow at night. (There was no proof.)
"-and hey, are you even listening?" Rhythmi suddenly said, snapping Keith out of his thoughts.
"Of course," he snorted. "I don't know what you got out of that conversation, but what I got was that I'm a pretty badass ranger."
In a flash Rhythmi had a pen clicked out and at his neck, holding it as if it was a knife. "You weren't listening, you arse," she snapped. "Get your facts right: one, you're a ranger-in-training, as long as you miraculously end up graduating; two, I'd so cut your throat right now if we weren't waiting for Ms. April to show up."
Keith grinned lazily. "You wanna go, poofyhead?"
"Bring it on, jackass."
There was one more thing that he had failed to mention: Rhythmi and him were known across the school for having the most epic fights ever.
"Settle down, settle down everyone!" As Ms. April walked in with a cheerful air around her, the classroom door swinging behind her, everyone burst into more chatter than before.
"Were you talking to the new student?"
"You were, weren't you Ms. April?"
"Where are they from?"
"Why'd it take so long?"
"Are they going to be a ranger or an operator?"
"Is he or she nice?"
"Is he or she hot?"
"Do you think anyone cares if they're hot?"
"Do you think I care that you care?"
"Do you think I care that you care that I care?"
"Ms. April, can you make these two shut up?"
"I'll repeat myself one more time - everyone sit down and be quiet," Ms. April said tightly, a dangerous smile on her face, and Keith hurriedly slammed his chair back down onto the ground as Rhythmi scurried back to her seat, pen nested behind one ear. Everyone hurried to rearrange themselves back into a perfect model of a classroom, chatter dying out like the last puff of a candle flame.
He and Rhythmi may have the most epic fights schoolwide, but no one messed with Ms. April. Ever.
"Now that we've all settled down," Ms. April said brightly, with the underlying hint of "don't make me hurt you", "I'm sorry to keep you waiting class! And good morning everyone!"
"Good morning Ms. April!" ("We will obey your every command!")
"As I mentioned yesterday, we have a new member for our class," Ms. April continued.
A student sitting at the front of the class jumped out of his seat, obviously unaware of the strict hierarchy system that was their classroom. "Hey, is it a boy or girl?"
When Ms. April didn't respond, eye muscle twitching, the boy exclaimed, "I knew it - it's neither, isn't it? That's why you wouldn't tell us!" He twisted around. "I told you guys it was a Pokemon! But none of you listened!"
Keith put his elbows on his desk and his face in his hands.
"...How about you see the new student for yourself?" Ms. April finally said, apparently deciding not to acknowledge the strange, strange conclusion her student came up with. "You can come in now, Kate!" she called.
The student apparently named Kate pushed open the doors in the back of the classroom, and the first thing Keith noticed when he lifted his head from his hand were her eyes. They were a bright blue that glittered softly underneath her chestnut bangs, full of life.
Keith froze at his desk. He had never seen eyes like hers - the way they glimmered, reflecting light from the windows like a pond, snatched his breath away in an instant. They were absolutely stunning.
...For a girl, that is.
Her hair was done in spiked, spunky ponytails to compliment, with bright yellow elastics to match the bandana that was tied around her neck. Her bangs softly framed her pale face, and she brushed them out of the way as she walked up to the front of the class. The way she moved, a bit careless and shy at the same time, made Keith think that she most likely didn't particularly try hard with her hairstyle, and she didn't look like she was wearing make-up either (as far as he could tell). She didn't give the impression that she tried hard, but she was still really pretty.
...For a girl, that is. That's what he meant.
Not like he cared or anything.
Not like it was important. Keith still was confident that he was top in both the looks and the skills department, and that's pretty much all that mattered.
"Hi," she said, all perky and optimism, like he would expect from any new student full of hopes and dreams. "I'm Kate Hitomi, and I've lived here for a while, but I just decided to enroll in this school. I'm here to become a ranger!" she exclaimed cheerfully, smiling.
Keith couldn't hold back his snort. It didn't matter whether she was cute or not, she was an airhead. Sorry kid, but only Keith was the best around here, and there was no room for girly, giggly styler-twirling idiots in second place.
Then she jut out her chin, grinning maliciously, and this was the moment when Keith's first impression of her came crashing down to reality. "And if any one of you messes with me on my way to the top..." She paused, narrowing her eyes at Keith in particular. "...you're going down."
A couple students laughed awkwardly, thinking it was some sort of failed joke. Keith, an experienced threat-maker himself, knew that she was being serious. Trading glances with Rhythmi in a temporary alliance, he raised his eyebrows and grinned. He had been planning to go easy on her, but now it was on. Oh, he'd make sure to crush her sparkly, adventure-filled ranger wonderland in seconds flat.
"That's the spirit!" Ms. April cheered, as he spared a glance out the window. (Keith was unsure whether she thought it was some friendly Trubbish-talk or actually knew it was a threat and encouraging violence. Knowing her, it could swing either way.) "I understand our new friend Kate scored quite well on our entrance exam, so for all you future rangers out there you're going to have some competition!" (...?)
Ms. April caught his happy-go-lucky mood out of the corner of her eye and glanced over his way. "What, Keith? Why the big grin?" she teased.
Surprised, he flinched and dropped his grin. Noting his reaction, she turned to face him and questioned, "Have you been staring out the window the entire time?"
Crap. He was not going to be called to detention again for something he didn't do. "It's because it's so beautiful outside-" he blurted; then, suddenly thinking of something, he added, "-just like you!"
He winked, ignoring the urge to glare at Rhythmi's smirk. Ms. April just looked amused. "Sure, sure," she said, waving off his compliment. A couple girls around him giggled, and Kate raised her eyebrow. "Kate, how about you sit next to that jokester Keith over there," she said. "You can't complain if he'll just shoot you compliments all the time, isn't that right, Keith?"
"Yeah," he agreed, nodding awkwardly. His forced smile turned into a wince. Oh shit - Rhythmi was going to hold this over him for life.
Kate, on the other hand, seemed to blow an annoyed breath out. She muttered something like "wait until the gang heard about this one", walked over, and sat down next to him. Up close, he could see that she was chewing bubblegum. He didn't like bubblegum ever since that taboo incident with his hair in seventh grade, and he especially didn't like that the way she was chewing it, and he didn't like how she hated him already even without talking to him, and he didn't like how she just had the nerve to threaten everyone when everyone knew that he, not she, was going to be the best ranger, and ARCEUS DAMN IT THIS GIRL WAS GOING DOWN IF IT WAS THE LAST THING HE DID.
"Let's do it everyone... Let's not fail your dreams of becoming Rangers, Operators, and Mechanics!"
"YEAH!" Keith hadn't really been paying attention and was pretty sure he was shouting for the wrong reason, but whatever. He fist-pumped with the eagerness of a psychopath about to set the town on fire with his Charizard, and Ms. April told him to sit down.
Needless to say, after Ms. April droned on about the basics of the styler and reminded everyone that they had a free period - "I'll be in the Staff Room if you need me, but I'm mostly sure you won't have to go that far!" - Keith watched eagerly as everyone gathered around his new classmate. A new classmate was big news, he had to admit, even if she was pretty rude and unlikable, since everyone around here grew up with each other and knew each other well. "Where do you live in Almia?" asked a girl, the first to speak. "I've never seen you around here before."
Kate tilted her head. "Uh, well, I've actually lived in a lot of places around Almia, and I used to live in Fiore when I was little. Plus I don't really go out much…"
"Do you have family members?" someone else asked.
"Yeah, I have a dad and a little sis," she said. Keith noticed she never said anything about a mother.
"What's your favorite Pokemon?" asked a third.
"Jolteon," she immediately piped.
The student's eyes immediately bugged out of his sockets. "Like the Flash Jolteons?"
"What is it with the Flash Jolteons and everyone?" Kate looked uncomfortable. "Oi, listen, I like electric pokemon, and I don't like hearing them getting dissed 'cause some group's using them. Just because they're the name of a gang, that make all Jolteons evil? Are the Flash Jolteons even evil anyway?"
"Of course they are!" a girl exclaimed. "They terrorize people and commit crimes!"
"They attack people with feral pokemon with rabies!"
"They rob stores and tie the shopkeepers up with rope up to trees!"
"I heard that they kidnapped innocent kids once and held them for ransom!"
"No," she shook her head, narrowing her eyes, "they don't. That's just what everyone says they do."
"How would you know?" Suddenly it seemed like everyone took notice of her yellow bandana and elastics at once. "Are you part of it?"
"...So I wear yellow 'cause my favorite color's yellow, and you morons immediately think I'm part of a gang? Tauros shit! What are you guys, like ten?" Everyone seemed to simultaneously blow a sigh of relief. It seemed like there was something off about the way she said it though to Keith.
"Are you a Ditto?" someone behind her asked.
She paused and turned around. "...What?"
"You're a Ditto, aren't you!" It was more of an exclamation than a question. Pokemon kid raised his hands. "See guys? See? What did I tell you?"
Kate looked weirded out, along with most of the class. "The hell?"
Keith finally decided to end the stupid parade before anyone could say anything else. "Hey, new kid, how long did it take for you to capture Pikachu? Like an hour?" he quipped.
The kids around them, including Rhythmi, fell silent, wanting to hear what she would say. "Ten minutes!" Kate said, turning around stiffly to face him. She smiled sweetly. "I'm sure that's shorter than in your dreams, isn't it?"
"Psh," he scoffed, instantly not believing her. "Lying Lotads aren't going to get anywhere in this school, let alone help you become a ranger, kid."
Amused, she leaned on her desk with her elbows, her eyes flashing evilly. "And who says I'm lying?" she said, chewing her gum.
"Well, it's impossible," he said slowly, getting a little unsure, "since no one has ever beaten my record of twelve minutes and seventeen seconds." He shrugged. "At least make up something believable before you work your way up, idiot."
She blew a pink bubble and popped it. Kate seemed to be getting angry. "So just 'cause something doesn't fit into your view of things, you're calling me a liar?"
"No, I just don't believe that someone like you could figure out what Pokemon were before you ran out of time. Are you sure you didn't ask for help?"
"Listen, you jerkwad-" Kate slammed her boot onto her chair fearlessly and a couple people jumped, "-I don't feel taking anymore of your cocky comments today, so how about you shove whatever you're going to say next down your throat or I'll personally do it for you?"
Keith grinned cheekily. "Whatever you say, Princess."
She looked like she was going to murder him. "Asshole," she hissed, pulling her yellow bandana off with a single tug. "You have no idea what I could do to you-"
Rhythmi stepped up. "As much as I'd like to see Dazzlepants get beat up by a girl - well, apart from me," she said cheerfully, pocket blade flashing in the air as she twirled it with a finger, "Ms. April told me to show Kate around, and you wouldn't want to get her mad, right Keith?" She winked at him, and Keith remembered what the embarrassing thing he did earlier. "Besides, it's best to ignore show-offs before they get big heads. Come on Kate," she called, walking away, "I think we're going to become really good friends!"
Kate took one look at the weapon and the dangerous glint in the blonde's eyes and grinned like there was no tomorrow. "Me too!" she said merrily, following her towards the door. "How about we start being best friends today?"
"That's a great idea! Bye Keith!" Rhythmi swung the small knife down in the air like she was chopping up imaginary heads as a goodbye wave, and this plus the implied alliance against him did not do anything to sooth Keith's energy.
He wasn't nervous though. If anything, he was excited. "Don't get lost, airheads!" he shouted after them.
"Says the dork who can't even navigate through his hair!"
"Yeah right!"
"Oh, Keith, I'm sorry, we didn't mean to make you jealous!" He heard the slap of high-fives.
And thus was the start of a beautiful friendship...
Keith, awesomest almost-ranger in the history of rangers, leaned back in his chair. …as if. That kiss-ass Kate thought she was hot stuff? Please. He'd kick both her and Poofyhead into the dirt before either of them knew what hit them.