"Hokulani Observatory is at the forefront of astronomical discovery," the tour guide said brightly. She was really cute, honestly - soft brown hair styled in an adorable bob, pudgy enough to be soft curves nearly everywhere, confident, constantly smiling - though the latter two might be part of her job. "The light pollution is almost negligible, with Alola being hundreds of miles from mainland, and Mount Hokulani high enough elevation that Hau'oli doesn't affect too much. All this means that this telescope right here-" She gestured to the large contraption behind her, so large that it nearly touched the domed roof- "has the clearest pictures of space from anywhere on this planet. Of course, telescopes in orbit are another matter- but there's something really exciting about sitting down at the eyepiece and seeing the beauty of the universe yourself. Not photographs, not artists renditions- the actual thing."

Calem grinned as the guide spoke. It had been years since she'd given up her own dream of working in any kind of astronomy or astrophysics - as it turned out, classical physics was boring as shit - but the child in her still loved to hear about it, loved to see others as passionate as she herself had been.

Given the tour group at the moment was herself, two local high school students (according to the nametags clipped to their bags), and a rich-looking teen girl who seemed interested in anything and everything around her, Calem thought she wasn't going to steal too much attention away regardless, so- "I dunno, at least some of the universe's beauty seems to be right here." The guide startled, and Calem winked.

The young woman- Marzanna according to her nametag- chuckled a bit nervously, then walked ahead. "In the next room, we have some of the computers that analyze the data collected here."

Yeah, flirting with someone while they were in customer service of any kind was pretty shitty, wasn't it. Calem mentally kicked herself, and tried to make up for it by reacting to questions and showing her genuine interest in the field- probably what she should have done in the first place, but oh well. It was a bit late for that now.

A few rooms on, and the teen girl spoke up. "Hey, miss?" she said, "Are you guys connected to the university here, or are you privately owned or whatever?"

Marzanna gave the teen an odd look. "A bit of both, I guess? We do have official connections to the university, and the telescope itself is owned by Alola U, but much of the automation is Captain Molayne's intellectual property. Why do you ask?"

The girl shrugged. "I'm more into history, but this place seems really cool, I guess? When I'm in college next year, it might be neat to come here. And knowing daddy probably can't touch it doesn't hurt either~" She grinned brightly.

Daddy? Calem realized after a moment- this girl wasn't in as frilly of a dress, and with her dark hair up in a ponytail she looked different, but this was almost certainly the girl she'd seen in the carriage yesterday. She'd never have guessed that this girl was late teens, or even into puberty- but then, Calem's own puberty hadn't exactly been dramatic, either, with her nigh-flat chest and lack of ass or hips. Wearing men's pants almost fit her better than women's, even; so it wasn't like she was one to judge.

Marzanna chuckled at the girl, though looked a bit uneasy. "If Kahuna Nance wanted to do something, he probably could. Especially when that market down south opens up- but then, the boost to the economy will only help the Observatory to teach more people. I don't think there's any reason to worry, Acerola."

The teen crossed her arms and grumbled to herself for a moment. "Just don't go to him if you need funding, I guess," she said, a bit more loudly, "or free tours like this will go the way of the Archen."

Well, Calemine supposed that was some of the tension Molayne was talking about. Whatever, Calem wasn't here to hear about that. "So, what does Molayne do, exactly? I sort of know him, but he didn't really want to talk about all this-" Calem waved a hand in the general vicinity of everything around them- "when I spoke with him last, so I'm curious, I guess."

"Oh!" Marzanna said, "Well, I hadn't intended to take you guys through the storage system rooms, but it's not off limits of tours, or anything, just not on the usual path. Here, let me show you-" and they were off, down a different hallway.

It was nice to hear about what Molayne did from someone who wasn't so dismissive of it- though it really did drive home the fact that Calem's progress was pitiful compared to her parents and their friends. Mom was working on a Master's degree in... human biology of some kind, Calem never had understood what. She was doing this even several time zones away from the university she'd started at, and taking the opportunity to study abroad. Her older brother wasn't into the sciences, but was a published author.

And Calemine hopped from region to region, squandering any net gain she got from leage challenges, never putting enough effort into any one subject to amount to anything.

Eventually, though, the tour ended. The two disinterested sudents had slips of paper that they asked Marznna to sign, and were quickly out the door. Marzanna rolled her eyes at them, and said to her remaining two tourists, "I hope you guys enjoyed the tour! It's always nice to have folks who care about the subject. Will you be coming back soon?"

Acerola shook her head. "I'm definitely not supposed to be out and about today, but I couldn't stand staying inside the mansion all day. I don't care how big it is, it's too stuffy." She puffed out her cheeks in irritation, though it was more adorable than anything. "So I'll probably be grounded when I do get back home. And anyway, I'm working on... a few projects, I guess! Today was one of the last days I'm probably not gonna be busy for a while, setting things just right. Dunno when I'll be able to act on things, but lots of prep still to go, I guess!" She grinned brightly at the two of them.

"How about you, uh..." Acerola hesitated. "Molayne's friend? I dunno if you ever said your name."

Calem laughed. "I guess I didn't! I'm Calem, nice to meet you." She stuck out her hand to shake, and Acerola took her up on it. Looking between the tour guide and the- heiress, maybe? Calem explained, "I'm only here for a few days, actually. I'm in the middle of a league challenge in Kalos, and taking a last vacation before I start an internship next semester with Professor Sycamore."

Both girls nodded, and Marzanna said, "Well, if you come back in town, be sure to stop by again! I'd be happy to give you another tour." The way she winked at Calem gave her heart a flutter. Ah, she was always so weak for big eyes like Marzanna's.

Acerola asked, "So, what're you doing for the rest of today, any plans? Because I wanna do more stuff today, but having a friend along is always better, and a friend of Molayne can't be too bad!"

Calem wasn't sure she followed the logic, but what the heck. "Nah, my schedule's clean. What d'ya feel like doing?"

With a shrug, Acerola said, "Just explore, I guess! Dad's really weird about letting me go places, so I just wanna see what I can!"

"Sounds fine to me. Let's go," Calem said, and started to walk away.

"Hey, actually, wait a moment," Marzanna said, digging around under the front desk. "I've got something for you- we usually give these out as promotional things, but I..." Marzanna blushed. "I dunno, I thought you'd like it." She seemed to find what she was looking for, and handed Calem a shiny blue rock. "It's called a Comet Shard, though it's not actually from a comet, any more than Star Pieces or Stardust is from actual stars. Still, it's thematically space related, and pretty, and- I guess I was hoping you'd remember me." She glanced away, tucking some of her hair behind her ear out of nervous habit.

Calemine's eyes glittered at the site of the stone, and took it gingerly. "I-" Calem hadn't mentioned her interest in geology, so Marzanna couldn't know how good of a gift this was for her. "Absolutely, and thank you," Calem said. "Hey, can I get your number, actually? No reason not to keep in contact, I guess."

Marzanna grinned, and found a slip of paper to write her number on; Calem did the same.

(Perhaps this was for the best, Calem thought- even a long distance relationship, if she could get one to happen, was probably much wiser than confessing anything to Sycamore.)

A moment later, Calem was being tugged outside by her new friend, and directed towards the Exeggcutor Express- Calem had walked up the mountain path from Po Town, and it was nice to see she wouldn't have to walk back down it, at least not right away.

The garden in Malie City was nice, and they both got ice cream cones. Acerola insisted on paying, which Calem had to object to on moral principle- but not too strongly. The younger girl even left a frankly ridiculous tip for the attendant in the stand, and Calem smiled. It was nice when folks who could do that, did.

Acerola took her shopping, though mostly the teen bought things for herself, and Calemine commented on how the clothing looked, or that was a good deal, etcetera. All Calem bought was a carved statuette, labeled by the shop as a Strange Souvenir. The name was so on the nose that Calem couldn't resist.

Afternoon turned to evening, and after a dinner at the Sushi High Roller - significantly cheaper and less snooty than the one in Lumiose City, it turned out - Calemine convinced Acerola that it was probably time to get home.

With an irritated sigh, Acerola said, "Yeah, okay. You're probably right." There wasn't a convenient way around the mountain that didn't go the whole length of the island, so they rode the bus back up, and then a ski lift down the other side - Calem hadn't even noticed there was a skiing area, or the lift's hut at the bottom. Well, at least it saved her tired feet from any more pain now that she knew about it.

Calem walked Acerola all the way to the gates of Po Town proper. Children went on trainer journeys all the time, but Calem wasn't sure if the girl had any Pokémon with her - granted, Calemine didn't either, due to customs, but two people were less likely to get jumped than one, anyway.

"Thanks for hanging out with me!" Acerola said with a wave, then put a passcode into the terminal beside the gate; it opened, she waved again, and slipped inside.

Calemine sighed, and walked back to the hotel she'd booked at the edge of town.

In her room, she finally put Marzanna's number into her holocaster, and sent a text - in case you didn't put my number in yet, it's calem! hi :) then put the device aside to watch television in the room.

There was a buzz from it not long after, but she ignored it; Calem didn't want to come on too much too fast, given the way she'd started flirting before talking about common interest this morning. A hello text was good, but much more - probably not wise.

So many commercials between shows, on whatever channels she flipped through, seemed to be for malasada. She and Acerola had walked by a malasada shop, but hadn't been hungry at the time. Now, though, the sizzling golden-fried treats on screen made her mouth water. Tomorrow was her last day here, maybe she could try to get one before she left.

Tonight, though, she should really call Professor Sycamore, and clear the air about... that whole mess with the drunken confession.

No matter what, things were going to be a bit awkward, but she needed to minimize the damage. That Guzma fellow's excuse seemed legitimate, even more so now that she wasn't drunk- 'new drinking buddy just thought it would be hilarious to see drunken confession' seemed like the actual, factual situation. He was pretty amusing, but... eh.

She should wait for a bit longer, though. There was a thirteen hour difference in time zone - Calem couldn't remember whether that was thirteen hours ahead or behind, but either way, it was very nearly the opposite time of day, there. The later at night it was here, the closer to the middle of the day it was there.

Finally, she found the nerve, and called.

"Calem, ma chere," he said, softly. "How are you? Not suffering too much, I hope?"

She snorted a laugh. "Hi, Prof," she said, "and I'm fine. I think my drunk ass actually listened to you with the water thing, I woke up pretty much okay?" Not entirely painless, but she'd taken some painkillers and walked up the steeper side of Mount Hokulani without much issue.

Sycamore grinned. "I'm glad to hear it!"

There was a pause. Calem didn't know how to start, but Sycamore didn't seem to know what else to say. Of course, they both found words at the same time.

"Ah, you go first," he said.

Calem shook her head, glad for any excuse to beat around the bush. "No, you! I'm fine, really, I'm not going to forget."

Sycamore shook his head as well. "I was only asking what you've been up to, if you'd seen anything interesting while there, and such."

"The observatory is really cool, I might have to see if I can work here some time in the future," Calem said, mostly meaning it- until she thought about having to be near Molayne all that time. "I met a really cute girl too," she added, trying to distract herself from that train of thought, "I even got her number!"

Sycamore's eyebrows went up a bit, and he smiled crookedly. "I see," he said after a brief pause, "congratulations."

Ah, right. She hadn't actually been out to the Professor before this, not to mention yesterday's phonecall.

Welp, Calemine couldn't really avoid it anymore. "Listen..." Calem said, "I'm- sorry about yesterday. Like you said, I was very drunk, and-" She couldn't quite bring herself to lie about how true her words had been. "New drinking buddy thought it would be hilarious, and it seemed like a good idea at the time... I hope this doesn't make things awkward."

Sycamore took a deep breath. "Non, ma chere, it shouldn't. Though, to be clear: was that playing a prank, or...?"

Damn. Calem had been hoping he'd infer for himself that it was 'just a joke' without making her say it.

And... she couldn't.

Calem put a hand over her face, covering her eyes and hopefully her blush - though the monochrome holograms probably wouldn't show such a small detail as blush anyway. "Fuck me, but it was sincere. I won't make trouble or anythi-"

"Mon dieu," Sycamore said. "I was hoping so, but I didn't want to coerce you."

Calemine looked up at the projection of Sycamore, who was running a hand through his hair and smiling faintly. "Wait- what?"

A chuckle came from the holocaster, then, "I didn't want you to think that you needed to return any kind of affection in order to do well. I've... made that mistake before, and while that ended up turning out fine in the end, I didn't want to do that again."

Oooh, ouch. Still, "I'm less surprised at the ethics thing than that you give a shit about me?"

"Of course I care, Calem!" Sycamore said, a little more forcefully than necessary. "First of all, each and every one of my league students are precious to me-"

"Exactly," Calem said. "Don't see any reason I should stand out, I guess, aside from being a washed-up has been."

Sycamore gave a lopsided frown. "Asking why someone has feelings won't really get anyone anywhere, though to be frank your wit, your insight, your willingness to try new things- there's plenty to be proud of in you."

Calem felt herself smile a bit. "Thanks." She hesitated, then added, "So, when I get back... how do you feel about that date?"

Sycamore chuckled. "The lab will be mostly closed for a holiday break soon, so... yes, that sounds pleasant."

After the call, Calem smiled to herself. It hadn't ended up going as planned, but it was still thanks to that Guzma fellow that this had happened at all. It was a shame she hadn't gotten his number, she thought. Well, even if he wouldn't personally know, maybe she could at least send good karma his direction.