Chapter 2: Evolution High
Ash stepped into the large yellow bus as if walking to his imminent execution.
The bus driver stared at him quizzically.
The elderly looking Persian scratched behind his ears before resuming his seemingly soul piercing gaze.
"Who iz you?" he asked in an extremely raspy voice, his left eye twitched involuntarily, his mouth slightly agape, revealing his close to toothless frown.
Ash seemed frozen to the spot, the entire bus had been struck with silence, their eyes glued to the newcomer at the front of the bus.
Ash tore his eyes from the crowd of curious onlookers with a sharp twist of his neck, bringing his stare back to the eye twitching persian.
Ash opened and closed his mouth a few times before stammering a reply.
"I'm, um, new to the bus... Thing..."
The seemingly grumpy Persian's eye twitched yet again, before his frown turned into an extremely agitated snarl.
"Get yez punk ass off of myz buss! Ya kids in youz dumb pranks!"
Ash stammered with increasing embarrassment as snickers erupted from the crowd.
"Leave him alone Roger, he's a new student," Sam spoke with a chuckle.
Making his way through the narrow passage of students, the chuckling Lucario grabbed his embarrassed friend by the arm, leading him to an open seat not to far from the back.
Ash sat next to his friend, with a deep breath.
The crowd of students seemed to lose interest in the "new student" the second Roger began to drive.
"Arceus your arm was hot!" Sam accused harshly, shaking his hand in the air rapidly.
Ash smiled shyly. He had been so embarrassed, he thought his fur would ignite.
"Try not to make eye contact with him next time," Sam chuckled.
"Who?"
"Roger, he doesn't like any of us, just pretend that you don't hear him."
Ash nodded, more focused on discreetly looking at the other students around him.
Some were engaged in their own form of conversation, some listened to music, and some...
"WHO'S READY FOR SCHOOL?!" Sam shouted at the top of his lungs, nearly giving his nervous friend a heart attack.
His friends deafening question was replied to with a multitude of greetings, replys (most of them "nos") and most noticeably, the sudden changing of seats.
Within seconds a small portion of the bus seemed to converge to Sam's location, which unfortunately, was Ash's as well.
Ash stared intensely at the floor, keeping to himself as his friend engaged in more then four conversations at once.
His heart sank when one particular question stood out from the rest.
"Is something burning?"
Ash gripped his tail tightly, his body temperature beginning to rise.
Sam, knowing of his best friends "issue," quickly jumped on the question and handled it with complete professionalism.
"It's just one of those days when the air smells like a fire." he said in a complete matter of fact tone.
"Come over my house after school and we will see if we can fix it. I can't use that excuse everyday," Sam quickly whispered in his friends ear.
Ash nodded before mouthing a small thank you, returning to his stiff inspection of the buss floor.
"So, how's it going." A soft voice whispered in his ear.
After nearly jumping out of his seat, Ash turned to see Baby, no more then three inches from his face, smiling mischievously.
"Oh. Um h-hi baby,"
A resounding "Awww" emanated from the surrounding teens, along with a barrage of questions and comments.
"Do you like her?"
"You like her don't you dude!"
"Aww he called her baby."
"I bet they do it all the time."
"They make a cute couple!"
"Of course Barbra gets the new cutie... Maybe if I cut back on the yoga pants and wear skirts more often..."
Ash felt as if his head would explode, so many people were talking to him at the same time.
"Umm... What?" He muttered.
Baby looked at the curious crowd and then back to Ash, a small smile on her face.
"Do you like me?" She asked, giving him a small wink.
Ash stammered " Well I guess... But wait... Not like like. I mean, um, your nice and stuff, I, well..."
The crowd erupted into laughter, only fueling Baby's onslaught of uncomfortable questions.
She leaned close and asked in her most seductive voice "Do you want to get with me?" Effectively making Ash's heart stop, and Sam's obnoxious laughter begin.
"I...I...I..." Was all the extremely embarrassed teen could muster before the bus took a sharp right.
Unbalanced, Ash reached his hand out for support.
And found it.
Ash slowly turned to where his hand had landed with a look of pure anguish on his face.
Baby looked down at the hand that rested on her chest.
The group fell silent for a moment, before erupting into a fit of hysteria.
Ash tore his hand away in horrible realization.
"Oh my Arceus... I'm so sorry. The turn. I fell, my hand, well...yea. It was an accident I swear!"
His body was on fire, and he was more then certain that others could feel the heat when Baby spoke next.
She lightly grabbed his thigh before speaking in a very sincere voice.
"Wow you are HOT! You know, I've never been with a fire Pokemon before, I'm curious, do your tongues really feel like lava?"
The bus stopped, with a screeching halt.
Ash was up in a flash, practically throwing himself through the ally and down the stairs.
He took a deep, comforting breath, and analyzed his new school while he waited for Sam to get off the bus.
His new, least favorite place.
Ash unraveled his schedule that had resigned in his pocket and gave it a last minute check.
He would have four classes, each an hour and thirty minutes long.
His schedule seemed easy enough, first period he would have Honors English two with a Mrs. Depher.
Second period would be (much to his dismay) gym, as there was no way for his mom to teach him that from home, and the class was required for graduation.
His gym teacher would be the notorious Mr. Salk. Who, according to Sam, punched a kid square in the face the year before.
Third period would be Algebra with Mr. Baker.
And lastly, fourth period would be the luxury of attending health class with Mrs. Dong.
Lunch would be after third period, and after the first semester, his classes would change completely.
The High School, being new to its district, was shockingly appealing for the eye on the outside, it's green grass and vibrant blue paint almost gave it a welcoming vibe.
Outside a big sign read, "Have a great first day! Freshman, welcome to Evolution High."