Chapter 2 – The Choice
"You look so handsome! You look just like your father did, all those years ago," Mrs. Roth exclaimed, placing her slender hands on Red's shoulders. "Oh, honey. I can't wait to see all of the wonderful things you're going to do in this world."
Red blinked the sleep from his eyes – it was hardly six in the morning. His confirmation ceremony wasn't for another three hours, but he had to look proper. His suit hung elegantly on his slim frame, and his normally wild hair had been tamed by a comb and wax. He looked proper. Professional. He looked the way he'd imagined a president would.
Red was no president. He didn't have the guts. The demeanor. He was loud – rude. Crass. He was 10.
"Mom, can you lower the lights a little bit," he pleaded. He wanted none of this – he never wanted this.
"Oh, saddle up, young one," Mrs. Roth advised, her country roots showing in her language. Mrs. Roth herself was decked out in a daring black pantsuit, perfectly formed for her curves. She was three decades her son's senior, but had the tenacity of a much younger woman. Like her husband, she was a go-getter, or so she liked to believe. In truth, she had not worked in years – she didn't need to. But she still had to keep up appearances.
"Son," she cooed, kneeling down to his level, placing her chin on his shoulder and meeting his eyes in the mirror. "This is your big day. The Pokémon League Academy? One of the most prestigious schools in all of Kanto!"
"Mom-"
"No time for protest, my amazing baby boy!"
Mrs. Roth examined her son in the mirror and licked her finger, spiking the hair at his forehead just a fraction of an inch. Red's appearance was important. He would be standing alongside all of society's most prestigious youth in the confirmation ceremony. Silph Company's heir, the daughter of the Goldenrod Media Conglomerate, even Professor Oak's grandson. He had to look presentable.
"Mom," he moaned again. In truth, he had failed the classes. He had failed the exams. He did not know how he'd won admission to the League Academy. And he never wanted to in the first place.
He knew his parents were wealthy. They had homes all over the world – he'd never wanted for a thing. He was well-fed, well-dressed – he had a nice home in Pallet Town, his mother's birthplace. But this – all of this – this was not who he was. He did not want to go to school. He did not want to study among the hoity-toity elite.
"Can I say no?"
Mrs. Roth batted her eyes. Her expression contorted – like she was going to say something. Instead, she seemed to catch her own reflection in the mirror – her mascara was too thick. She grabbed a brush off the counter and scraped it to perfection.
"Now, go on, Red," Mrs. Roth ordered, "Go eat your breakfast and collect the mail. You're such a wonderful son! I can't believe my baby is going to the League!"
Red stepped into the cool morning air as the first vestiges of sunlight graced the horizon, painting the treetops with a golden pink. His breakfast – a victorious pile of waffles and eggs – sat ready for him on the patio's glass tabletop. The smell of it made his stomach turn.
Luther awoke early, as he always did when he was hungover. Through the hotel's plate glass windows, the sun's first intrusion glared.
His head pounded, his body covered in sweat – not all of it his, he was sure. As he stirred, he felt the breathing of another close by – Sapphire lay facing the other way, her torso rising and falling with rhythmic, peaceful breaths.
Pulling on his slacks, Luther fought the blinding light and his pulsing headache to the sliding glass door leading to the shared balcony between his room and Giovanni's. The Rocket boss sat at the balcony's table perusing the day's newspaper, a cigar stuck between his yellowing teeth. He looked no worse for wear than he had the night before.
"Morning, sunshine," Giovanni greeted him, his eyes barely deviating from the paper.
"Fuck you," Luther replied, fumbling through his pocket for his last half cigarette.
The Rocket boss sucked his cigar smoke deep into his chest and blew it out, the acrid cloud catching the vibrant rays of the rising sun. "Nah, Ruby took care o' that. By the way, my men say Devon Co. is going public next week – I know a stocks guy, if you're interested."
"I'm not."
"Suit yourself," Giovanni said through a sinister grin. "Have you given any thought to my proposal?"
Luther ignored him. Today was the first day of the school year. He thought he'd be home to see his son off to the League. But he wasn't.
