The next day, Kate arrived at the Union building earlier than usual. She was surprised to see Keith there. "Keith? I figured you'd be sleeping."
He shook his head. "Couldn't sleep."
"You've been up all night?"
"Yeah."
"Keith..." Kate said with a frown, "I told you not to stay up too late. Anyways, how's Heath? Has he been up?"
Keith shook his head. "Hasn't shown his face since last night. When do you have to leave for the entrance exam?"
"We've got all morning. I was planning to leave whenever he was ready."
"Ready for what?" The two Rangers jumped at the sound of Heath's voice.
"Don't sneak up on us like that!" Keith snapped.
Heath flinched. "Sorry."
Kate sighed. "When do you want to leave for the Ranger School?"
"Soon?"
"Well, how soon?"
Heath hesitated. "Now?"
"Of course." Kate sighed again and beckoned for him to follow her out. "Let's go, then."
Once outside, Kate captured two Staraptor for them to ride to the school. They said farewell just outside the gates; Heath pushed them open. Kate led him onto the school grounds. There were several people already there, lined up to enter Mr. Kaplan's building for the entrance exam.
Kate waited at the end of the line with Heath standing awkwardly behind her. Kate noticed a few people giving her funny looks; she did suppose it was strange for a Top Ranger to presumably be enrolling in the school she had already graduated from.
By the time the line had shortened and it was Kate and Heath's turn to enter the building, an hour had passed since the two first arrived. Kate walked inside and was instantly greeted by Mr. Kaplan. "Kate? Why, I thought you'd graduated!" he said with a smile.
Kate bit her lip. "Actually, I'm here with someone else." She pointed behind her as Heath followed her in.
"I become Ranger," he explained.
Mr. Kaplan raised an eyebrow. "Huh, it's been a while since we've had an adult student. Why are you chaperoning, Kate?"
Kate leaned over. "He was kind of a criminal," she whispered. "So Chairperson Erma wanted some supervision."
"And he wanted to be a Ranger?"
"Yes."
"Well allrighty then!" Kaplan stepped back, grinning, and handed Heath a School Styler. He took a moment to look at the sleek object in his hands while Kaplan released the Pikachu.
Heath activated the Styler and a small capsule freed itself from the device and floated toward the Pikachu; a moment later, a perfectly straight beam of light rose from the Styler. Heath exhaled sharply. "I do what?" he asked Kate.
Kate stepped over to him and pointed at the capsule. "That thing, the Capture Disc, reacts to the movements of the light. You spin the Styler around to draw loops around the Pokémon you're capturing," she explained. "Try it out."
Heath stuck out his tongue and rapidly spun his arms around. The Capture Disc moved rather quickly; Kate was worried something would go awry, but Heath did just fine. The capture was completed successfully and quickly.
Kaplan clapped his hands. "Very well done. You are now a member of our secret socie-"
"Mr. Kaplan!" Kate chided. "Don't confuse him."
"Right, right," the instructor replied with a laugh. "You're now an official member of the Ranger School. That School Styler you just used is also yours during your time here."
Heath did a little dance.
"All right, Kate, you know where Ms. April's class is after all this time, don't you?"
The Ranger responded with an exaggerated sigh. "Of course I do. Come on, Heath." He eagerly followed her outside.
The two conversed as they walked towards the schoolhouse. "I draw loop around Pokémon!" Heath exclaimed, beaming.
"Yes, I know!" The fact Heath was enjoying himself so much after just one capture was a bit amusing to Kate.
"I become student!"
"I know, Heath, I was there!"
"I get Ranger clothes?" he asked suddenly, pointing at Kate's uniform.
"Oh, not these yet," she responded. "You wear this after you graduate. You do get a school uniform to wear, but you'll get it later tonight. They also might not have one in your size.." she trailed off as they entered the schoolhouse.
Heath looked around him at the large hallway. His eyes flicked from the door at the right of the hallway to the left door. "Ranger...where I go?"
"Over here." Kate jogged to the left door she knew to lead to Ms. April's classroom. She opened the door with a creak and poked her head in. Ms. April was already inside, and the rest of her class was already assembled.
Ms. April looked up. "Well hello, Kate! What brings you here?"
"I brought you another new student." Kate opened the door as wide as she could and stepped back to let Heath in first. Following him inside, she closed the door behind her.
Ms. April smiled at Heath. "Hello there! What's your name?"
"I am Heath," he stated.
"It's wonderful to meet you, Heath. Why don't you take a seat at the empty desk in the corner there?" She pointed at a desk near the right-hand corner. Heath happily complied and was soon quietly seated. Kate stood leaning against the nearby wall, eyes trained on Heath.
"All right, class," Ms. April began, "today will be a free study. I'll leave you all to introduce yourselves to each other. If you need me, I will be in the staff room." She pointed to Kate. "Ask the friendly Ranger over there if you don't know where it is."
As their teacher left, the other students swarmed around Heath. "I never thought I'd see a grown-up at the Ranger School!" one boy exclaimed.
A girl elbowed him in the ribs. "That's rude!"
"Hey! I thought I told you earlier to stop elbowing me!" he complained.
"Whatever." The girl looked up at Heath. "So, uh, Heath! Are you here to be a Ranger, Operator, or Mechanic?"
"I become Ranger," was the response.
"You talk funny!" another boy said.
The same girl elbowed him, too. "Stop being rude, all of you! Heath, where do you come from?"
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"Is Heath your real name?"
"Do you have any friends?"
"What's your favorite Pokémon?"
Heath shrunk back as he was bombarded with questions. Kate immediately stepped in. "Slow down, all of you," she commanded. "You're asking too fast for him to answer you."
The first little boy turned to her. "Oh, Ranger! Why are you here with Heath?"
The girl gasped. "Are you two married?!"
Every other child in the room let out a loud "eeewww!"
Kate jumped back, surprised. "What? No we're not! He's a prisoner!"
"Oh," the girl replied with a sigh.
Heath looked over to Kate and raised an eyebrow, smirking. "We can be."
"No!" Kate's face turned red.
The second little boy pointed. "Ooh, that was mean!"
Heath pretended to cry.
"Th-that's enough, Heath!"
Heath and the other students all laughed at Kate's embarrassment. "But your red face, it is funny!" he gasped between laughs, wiping a tear from his face.
Kate groaned. "I'm regretting taking up this Mission..."