Can you guess who will appear in the next two chapters? A lot of explanations for previous chapters soooooo… enjoy ;)
CHAPTER 3: DECISION (part 1)
Those clouds above Aspertia City were becoming darkened, trying to obliterate the sun though it was only 9 am in the morning. The weather looked gloomy today as if it was reflecting the innermost feelings of those students inside the biggest building in the city, but it could not stop the chatter and laughter in there from echoing all over the place. Aspertia Trainers' School was having one of the most emotional parties in years and every of its students could be seen holding a present on their hands. They all looked quite happy, or were they just pretending to look happy?
As Black was walking along the corridor, several students ran past him and they appeared to know exactly where they were going. Why did it matter to Black so much? Because he absolutely had no idea where he was heading. The school was surprisingly big.
"Bastard… that bastard…"
A young, spiky-haired boy was walking towards Black and mumbling something in an impatient manner. His words became clearer as the boy got closer to Black.
"Irresponsible… Unacceptable… Who does he think he is? Just when more people are coming for him… and they really think I know where he is just because they saw me with him during that incident?"
It seemed that the boy could not suppress his anger until he found the one he was looking for. Black kind of knew who that was but he was not quite sure. Why did the boy suddenly want to stay away from people? There had to be some reason…
What is she doing?
Black's focus was just shifted to this small, empty classroom in which the presence of a single young girl made the whole room look tranquil and magical in a strange way, as if it was being immune to all the noise outside. The girl had her hair tied up into two large buns and it reminded Black of a famous cartoon character he saw on TV a long time ago. He could not see her face because she was looking out through the window. And why did she look so familiar? Some vague memories in his head were telling him he had met this girl before but he could not remember when it was.
The reason she took his attention was that it looked like she also wanted to be left alone and Black was wondering why... Wasn't it true that everyone came here, on Sunday, to give that boy a big send-off?
Kids are certainly weird nowadays…
"Excuse me, but you're in the doorway."
Another girl, possibly that girl's friend, said to Black in a neutral tone, and he realized that he was blocking the door.
"Oh, sorry!"
There was a strange expression on her face in a split second but it quickly vanished, and he was not sure whether he just imagined that.
"It's ok. Have a nice day."
She smiled at Black and entered the room. He found no reason to stay any longer and eavesdrop on their conversation so he left the two girls behind and kept walking along the corridor.
Now… where is that boy, Lack-Two? Playing hide and seek, huh?
...
...
"Room 108? Ok, I'm on my way."
Finally, Aspertia City…
She remembered coming here countless times when she was a kid but she had not been here for so long. When was the last time she came here? Let see… That one time when Cheren became a gym leader? That was about one year ago.
Aspertia Trainers' School and Aspertia City Pokémon Gym, the sign read.
White took one deep breath and stepped inside. She walked past a few students who seemed to be curious about something. White didn't know any of them and didn't care either so the president just kept moving towards her destination.
106… 107... and… 108.
Currently, there were two girls in the room. They appeared to be discussing something but one was about to leave.
"Then I will come back when Hugh's found him. I've got to tell the others about it, too."
"Thank you," the other girl said with a smile.
"Are you feeling ok? Should I stay with you until then?"
"I'm good, Maya… thank you. It's just… I just want to stay here for now."
"Oh… Alright! Then call me if you need me, will you, Whi-Two?"
"I will… thank you!"
The other girl left the room, not paying attention to White who had been listening to their conversation for a while. She waited until the girl had gone upstairs before knocking.
"Senior White!"
The girl turned around from the window, some relief could be spotted on her face. White closed the door behind her and moved towards the girl.
"Senior, I don't know what I should do now—"
"Calm down, Whi-Two! I'm here."
White held the girl's slightly sweating and trembling hands. Whi-Two, her junior dexholder, had been through a lot of things for a 12-year-old girl. Looking at this young girl in front of her made her feel a little uneasy since it reminded her of a similar situation she was facing but that was all the more reason why she really wanted to help the girl just because she wanted to prepare her for everything.
"You're already here, that's all that matters to me, Whi-Two. Why are you still wavering on anything?"
"Because… because…"
And the girl hugged her senior, more like she was crushing her senior in an embrace because White was feeling some certain pressure against her chest which made the president unable to breathe in a few seconds. It was not like she was crying but her decision-making ability might not be working at the moment. White stroked her hair tenderly, speaking to her between her sobs,
"Now… now…"
"He's going to… leave me... he's going to leave everyone behind… I don't want it to happen. Please tell me, how can I stop him?"
Seeing the boy you like leaving you and there is nothing you can do about it? It definitely sounded quite familiar to the president herself. But this girl, Whi-Two, and the boy, Lack-Two, had so little time together that she had no chance to show him how much she actually cared for him. And, to make the matter worse, he used to consider her as his high-value target; the reason why he flirted with a lot of girls was to find out which of them was the former Team Plasma member. And it was none other than Whi-Two herself. Even now when everything was over, the girl still could not completely get rid of that side of his in her head.
And when they were not paying attention, things were going to end even faster than it had started with just one sudden announcement of his departure and everyone in the school only had one last morning to see him for the last time before he left Unova. Because the two girls had grown very close since Whi-Two's first visit to the Pokéstar Studios (she looked so cool in the Foongus Girl's costume), the girl had been asking her senior for a useful piece of advice since yesterday and all White had been trying to tell her was that she could not change anything. And more importantly, she was too nervous to see Lack-Two in person.
"Whi-Two, I know it's not fair but he's not going to stay."
Whi-Two let go of her senior and the president could now look straight at her round blue eyes. A tear was forming from the corner of her eye but she shook her head, refusing to let it fall.
She was such a strong girl.
"Then what do I do now, Senior?" she asked.
White sighed quietly, knowing that she would eventually ask this question. In fact, she did not have the answer for it. It was not something the Dreamer could simply say you should do this or that. One mistake and it might ruin the rest of Whi-Two's teenage years. A series of possibilities run through her head and none of them seemed ok.
"Should I see him?"
If only she could give her junior dexholder a yes or a no straight away. White closed her eyes as her head wanted to explode from inside. Certainly Bianca was much better at handling these sorts of things. But she was not Bianca and she couldn't even handle her emotions properly.
So what could be better than letting the young girl answer her own question?
"Whi-Two, I don't want you to regret anything after today. Whatever you are going to do, whether you choose to do it or not, I don't want you to regret anything…"
"… Now, what do you have for him?"
The girl showed White a small, pretty handmade card she just took out from her bag.
"Um… Does it say you like him?"
"WHAT? N-n-no, of course."
"Then there's no way he'll learn about that, right?" White paused, gathering her breath and carefully choosing her words. "If you don't tell him about it, will you be able to sleep well tonight or will you think you should have told him?"
Whi-Two pressed a hand against her heart as if it hurt a lot. That was the same heartbroken feeling White was quite sure the young girl was suffering even though it was just an imagination. And that was exactly the idea she wanted her junior to think about.
"Whi-Two, since yesterday, all we've been discussing is just how you'll do it. It's never been whether you should do it or not. That's why I told you earlier that, seeing you here is everything that matters to me. You've proved yourself to be a strong girl. No, you're the strongest girl ever."
"Senior, I'm n—"
"Now that you're here already, you have all the reason to see him and tell him everything. Tell him how you think of him as a friend and more than that, how much you like him."
"What if… what if he doesn't like me?"
"So what? Will it make you his enemy? Even if he doesn't, I'm pretty certain he will still appreciate your feelings. You will be much happier that he finally learns about it, and you're not going to regret anything."
A short silence fell over the room. Whi-Two had her eyes hidden under the peak of her cap but she couldn't hide her biting lips. The president knew she was trying to think straight and came to her own conclusion.
And all White ever wanted was to make it happen faster.
"Of course, Whi-Two, you can still go home now and imagine nothing has ever happened today." And with a sly smile, she slowly reached for the pretty card Whi-Two was holding. "And I promise I will give this to him on your behalf—"
"NO!"
Yes…
"N-no! I… I don't need your help!" Her eyes suddenly became so furious as if they wanted to burn her senior alive for the idea. "I will do it myself! I will see him and… t-tell him what I think of him!"
"If you insist—"
"I can do it! I can do it! Senior, please tell me I can do it!"
"You can do it! I believe in you, Whi-Two. I always do!"
And for the second time, the president felt like she was being crushed by the girl's embrace. However, no more depression and hesitation; she seemed determined and knew exactly what she was doing. White could feel Whi-Two's heart pumping wildly and so was hers. On the one hand, she was feeling happy and relieved but on the other hand, pretending to be cunning and cruel was never a great choice when persuading others but she found it extremely effective in many occasions. She hated that side because it felt like another personality inside her was taking control.
Still, it worked, and that was the only thing that mattered.
"Remember when both of you received the pokédex?" White said to the girl, patting her back while still being held tight. Whi-Two was like her little sister, a sister who needed help quite often but she still wanted to stand on her own feet. That inner strength was something that even White, her so-called senior, admired so much without any doubt. "Though it's true he was targeting you, you two have been through so many things together. Believe it or not, those memories—he cannot forget them so easily. After today, whether he still sees you as a friend or just a case among a thousand cases in his job is unsure but hey, who cares, right? You only need to do your part!"
"I… I got it, Senior. But… it's still the end of everything, isn't it?"
Those quiet words—White could hear them very clearly since Whi-Two was whispering them right next to her ears.
She wanted to say no, but she couldn't.
"It's just… I can't stop thinking about it. I know I've been causing you trouble. I'm so sorry."
"It's ok, Whi-Two."
White heard the girl let out a deep, thoughtful sigh while she was trying not to do it herself. It looked like they both wanted to say something more but in the end, both decided to remain silent. Time slowly passed by; the tick-tock of the clock on the wall seemed to be noticeably amplified in the quiet room. The president was not sure how many questions Whi-Two was having in her head, whether Whi-Two was thinking the same as her but one thing White was certain—if Whi-Two did have those questions, time would be the answer for all of them.
(to be continued)
