This chapter, we get some more noxious foods being tried, and a few surprises coming too! As well as a surprise guest that will surely make a big impression!
KedharS: Hey, she's trying her best, it's really hard to find steady work you know!
Aquahaze675: I wouldn't want to meet someone who would eat that.
Pokemonking0924: Sango's been keeping her feelings secret for quite some time, she's actually pretty good at playing them off. It doesn't hurt that Blake is as dense as a doornail, either.
Thunder Fire: Little awkward, yeah.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 483
"What are you doing here?" Blake asked, confused. "I thought you were working at Yang's Kitchen? Why are you delivering pizzas?"
Carrie glanced away, a guilty look on her face. Blake decided to drop the topic. It was better than her working for Team Rocket.
"Are you going to take this nightmare of a pizza or not?" Carrie asked, shoving the box at him.
"Y-yeah, right," Blake said, pulling out his card and handing it to her as he took the box. She scanned it in her portable scanner and handed it back, giving him a professional smile.
"Have a good evening! Custom Crusts is not responsible for any damages that result from consuming our products!" Carrie said, turning and heading off. THAT didn't make Blake feel very good. He turned and headed back inside.
"That the pizza?" Cynthia cackled. "Give it a go! Ayame and I can't be the only ones to get food poisoning tonight!"
Blake rolled his eyes and set the box down on one of the tables in the room and opened it. Part of him had hoped that, somehow, all the stuff that had been added to it would somehow blend together into an actually okay-tasting combination. One look at it told him that would probably not end up being the case. The pizza sitting in front of him was, in a word, revolting. He had to suppress his impulse to throw up just looking at it. A shiver went down his back. Was… was he actually going to have to eat a piece of this monstrosity?
Most of the others were looking sympathetically at him, even Nick, who had dared him to do it in the first place.
Some of them were not. Cynthia and Dakota were both loving this, and Sylvia was probably incapable of expressing sympathy to begin with. Julia and Reiner also seemed more amused than sympathetic, and Sango was trying very hard not laugh, much to Blake's irritation. Great friends.
Ayame walked over and patted him sympathetically on the shoulder. Blake sighed, digging out a slice of the disgusting pizza and lifting it up, ranch and barbecue sauce dripping down. A wave of revulsion roiled up in his stomach, but he held his tongue, pinched his nose, and took a bite.
It was bad. Really, really bad. It was the worst pizza Blake had ever tasted. There was a tangy sourness and a bitter aftertaste, that mixed together with the saltiness of the sliced Magikarp in a way that made his stomach refuse it. It was foul, unbelievably foul, and he nearly threw up. But he managed to force the bite down, coughing all the way, shaking his head.
"Gross," Blake said, shaking his head. "Worst pizza I've ever had."
"Well, you lived," Ayame laughed, patting him on the shoulder. "That's gotta count for something, you didn't eat poison and die, right?"
Blake glared at her. Ayame snickered.
"I'm gonna go brush my teeth," he muttered, heading for the stairs.
"Not gonna finish?" Ayame called after him. Blake responded by flipping her off as he left, Ayame smiling good-naturedly and returning the gesture.
"Well, that's a pity," Sylvia shrugged, heading over to the pizza. "No sense letting good food go to waste."
Everyone looked at her like she was crazy, which was a pretty fair interpretation. She dug out another piece from the box and held it up to her lips, to the shock and horror of everyone watching. Mostly shock and horror, anyway. A few people were looking forward to it, hoping to see her suffer when she ate the pizza.
They were good people, but weren't THAT good of people.
Sylvia took a big bite… and smiled.
"Delicious!" She said, the bright look on her face giving the impression that she was eating a delicacy, rather than the most rancid pizza anyone here had seen.
Sango rolled her eyes. Sylvia had a penchant for odd food combinations, but this was on a whole other level. As Sylvia took the pizza back to her seat, everyone she passed felt like throwing up. She actually liked that disgusting thing? Unbelievable.
"Is it finally my turn?" Sango asked.
"Oh, right!" Cynthia said, Sango's reminder finally taking her mind off the awful food. "Yeah, it was your turn, Sango!"
Sango had been interrupted so many times, she'd had more than enough time to come up with a good one. "Maddi! Truth or Dare?"
Maddi brightened up, turning to Sango, and smiled a little. "Truth."
Sango grinned. "What pokemon do you think is the cutest? And not pokemon that you already have! I mean pokemon that you don't have, what's a cute pokemon that you would want? The cutest one in your opinion."
"…Huh." Maddi considered the question for a moment. She felt a little embarrassed revealing this. It didn't help that Cynthia was practically bouncing in her seat and holding her hand up, ready to answer the question for her like they were in class.
Cynthia was being a particular kind of annoying tonight.
"…Totodile," Maddi admitted. "Totodile are really cute, and I've always wanted one. Either that, or a Gengar, but Gengar are more cool than cute."
"Hah! I knew it!" Cynthia crowed. "That's why you dressed up as Totodile for the Pokemon Day party, I knew it!"
Maddi blushed even brighter, glaring at Cynthia. Why did she have to say that?! Damn girl.
"I think Totodile are cute, too," Nikita told Maddi, smiling softly at the girl. "My Totodile Chomper is really adorable, he's a big ol' bundle of energy, you know?"
"I'm kind of jealous," Maddi admitted, nodding.
"Okay, Maddi, you're up," Sango said.
"Cynthia," Maddi smirked, glancing at the redhead. "Truth or Dare?"
"Me again?" Cynthia pouted. "You really have a grudge, Maddi! I thought we were cool?"
"Don't you want to ask more questions to people?" Maddi shrugged. "I'm just trying to be helpful, it's your birthday after all."
"Oh! So that's what it was!" Cynthia brightened up. She jumped to her feet and skipped over to Maddi, patting her on the back. "Yeah, thanks! Go for it, Maddi! Truth!"
Sango recognized Maddi's smirk. It wasn't the smirk of a girl who was telling the truth, it the smirk Maddi had when she saw victory on the horizon. Sango sighed, and rolled her eyes.
"Cynthia, if you had to choose between being Blake's girlfriend and having sex with Serefina once, which would you choose?" Maddi asked.
Cynthia's jaw dropped and her eyes glazed over as she tried to process the question. She stumbled back towards her seat, staring off into the distance, not actually sitting down yet.
"Uh…"
Sango could SEE the fuses in her brain shorting out.
Ayame raised her eyebrow and glanced at Cynthia. Serefina turned bright red and curled up into a tighter ball, burying her face in her arms in embarrassment. Dakota smirked, leaning in intently to hear what the answer would be.
"That's… well…" Cynthia wasn't quite sure what to say. She loved Blake, and would love to go out with him. But Serefina's boobs…
Serefina's boobs were amazing, getting to have sex with them- err, her, would be an amazing, life-changing experience for her first time. But Blake…
Who's dumb idea was it to play this stupid game, anyway?! …Oh, right.
"I-I don't know…" Cynthia admitted. She didn't want to have to choose.
Maddi smirked, leaning back in her seat, crossing one leg over the other as she rested her arms on the armrests and her cheek in her hand, sitting like royalty as she watched Cynthia squirm. "No worries, Cynthia, if you don't want to answer, then you can always come back and be my maid… I haven't gotten my fill of you just yet…"
"Wow, and I thought I was evil," Sylvia said, finishing off the last remains of the pizza. She had actually eaten the entire thing. Unreal.
"Fine!" Cynthia admitted. She glanced at the staircase. No sign of Blake. She sighed, defeated, and cast a mournful look at Serefina. Then she turned to Ayame, her face contrite. "Sorry, Ayame. Sorry, Serefina. But if it came down to between going out with Blake and having sex with Serefina… I would choose to go out with Blake."
"…What's that now?"
Cynthia whirled around, her face red at the sight of Blake, having come down the stairs, hearing every word she'd said.
"…Yay?" Serefina said, not sure if she should be happy or sad at this revelation from Cynthia.
"So Blake ranks higher than big boobs for her?" Julia asked, the incredulity in her voice showed she shared the disbelief with the others. "Wow, that's… wow. I can't believe it."
"It- Blake! It's not what you think, right Ayame?" Cynthia sputtered.
Ayame said nothing, her face tight and inscrutable. Cynthia winced. Then Ayame smiled a little, and Cynthia sighed with relief, sinking back down into her seat.
Blake's face was a little red, and he returned to his seat, embarrassed at what had happened in his absence. Maddi was properly amused, though.
"Sango!" Cynthia exclaimed, turning to her friend. There was a wild look in her eyes that sent a shiver down Sango's spine. Sango had a sinking feeling in her gut that Cynthia was going to ask her something to take the heat off of her.
"Y-yeah?" Sango asked nervously. "Me again? I just went…"
"Truth or Dare," Cynthia said insistently, not broaching any objections. Sango gulped. She could tell by the look in Cynthia's eyes that Sango did NOT want to do Truth. If Sango did a Truth, then Cynthia would ABSOLUTELY force her to say who it was that she had feelings for.
And Sango was not about to let that happen. So she swallowed her nerves and hoped that Cynthia would be merciful with the Dare.
"Dare," Sango sighed.
Cynthia's face got even brighter, and she hopped out of her seat and ran over to Sango, holding her hands behind her back, leaning forward and tilting her head to the side coyly. Her eyes narrowed into mischievous slits. Sango sighed, knowing what would come was probably not going to be very fun for her.
"Sango, I dare you to put on that cheerleader uniform again!" Cynthia said, her eyes twinkling with excitement. "I still have it adjusted to your size and everything!"
Sango went pale, and Maddi perked up at the sound of that, secretly grateful to not be the only girl squeezed into one of these outfits. It was pinching her chest which was annoying. Maddi's boobs were bigger than Cynthia.
Julia and Reiner were both trying not to laugh. Nikita looked a little bit sympathetic, but Sango could see she was suppressing a giggle. What really annoyed her, though, was the fact that Aidan seemed almost… eager. Oh yeah, that was eagerness in his eyes. It made her feel irritated. She remembered what Ayame had mentioned about Aidan maybe having feelings for her. She'd been thinking about that a lot, tonight. It was kind of making her concerned. Maybe Ayame was onto something there.
"…Fine," Sango sighed. "But remember it's still my turn to go Truth or Dare. Before I go change I want the chance to call on somebody, okay?"
"Sounds like a plan!" Cynthia chirped, giving Sango a thumbs' up of approval.
"Kate," Sango said, turning to Kate, "Truth or Dare?"
"Huh?" Kate was perpetually surprised to be called on here. "Uh… Truth." She'd poisoned too many people tonight to risk anyone daring her in turn. At least the pizza was gone now.
"How are you feeling right now, hanging out with your friends again after so long?"
"H-HUH?!" Kate sputtered, turning bright red. "Wh-who said we're friends, huh?!"
Sango giggled in response to Kate's predictable reaction. Everyone had a good laugh at her expense, no one buying her denial for a second, no matter how loudly she protested.
"Answer the question," Sango said, Kate scowling in response. She sighed, slumping over, looking directly at the carpet so she wouldn't have to make eye contact with anyone.
"…Yes," she muttered.
"Yes what?" Sango prodded.
Kate's head shot up and she glared at Sango, leaping to her feet. "I'm happy, okay? I'm really having a lot of fun! Are you happy with that answer?!"
Realizing what she'd said, she slumped back down into her seat, her face bright red. She shielded her face with her hands as she writhed around in embarrassment, as everyone else said "aww!"
"Shut up! All of you shut up!" Kate wailed.
"Okay, Cynthia, we can go!" Sango chirped, turning back to Cynthia. The two girls headed upstairs, leaving Kate to work off her frustrations on the rest of the group. It took a few minutes for Kate to tsun down enough to engage in rational conversation, and when she did, she was still more than a little bit mad.
"Ayame, Truth or Dare?" Kate asked, turning to Ayame. She had calmed down enough. Ayame wasn't sure what Kate would have in mind for her dare, but she didn't know if she wanted to take a Truth from the girl, either. She shrugged her shoulders.
"Let's go with Dare," Ayame said.
"I dare you to go outside and yell 'I'm really a boy!' at the top of your lungs," Kate cackled, her mood already improving. That should be a good one.
Ayame scowled at Kate, but figured that was probably fair enough of a Dare. She rose to her feet and walked over to the door, heading outside. Everyone gathered around in the doorway to watch. Ayame grumbled and stomped out into the night, holding her hands to her mouth and cupping them into a bullhorn.
"I'M REALLY A BOY!" Ayame shouted as loudly as she could.
"SHUT UP!" Someone shouted at her from a window. She turned and flipped the building off in response, scowling as she walked back into the common room.
By the time she made it back, Cynthia and Sango were heading down the stairs. Sango looked a lot cheerier than she did the last time she'd worn the cheerleader outfit. She flounced out, holding her pompoms high, with a much better attitude than her fellow cheerleader Maddi. She skipped back to her seat.
That was more of her act, though. She felt more than a little embarrassed by what she was wearing, but she didn't want to give off the impression that she was actually THAT embarrassed. Instead, she would prefer to just show how happy and cheery she was!
"My turn," Ayame said, sitting back down in her seat, Blake coming and sitting down next to her.
"Just not me, please," Nikita sighed, sitting down, making sure to avoid the wet spot she'd been sitting in. "Those ice cubes finally melted."
"Madison, Truth or Dare?" Ayame asked, turning to Maddi. Maddi opened her mouth to say "Truth" reflexively, but she caught herself. She couldn't say Truth. Ayame was the Empress's right-hand woman. If she said Truth, and Ayame tried to press her for stuff… no, it was easier to choose Dare. And with the exception of Cynthia's poisoning, Ayame's dares were okay so far.
"Dare," she replied. Worst came to worst, she could choose to be Ayame's maid, but that would have to be a pretty bad dare.
"Huh, okay then," Ayame said. She'd been expecting Madison to choose "Truth" if she was being honest, and was hoping to ask the girl a question similar to what Sango had asked Kate. But if she wanted a Dare…
Ayame smiled, coming up with an idea for something that would be entertaining.
"I dare you to hug…" Ayame looked around, figuring out who would be the most entertaining. "Aidan. I dare you to give Aidan a big bear hug."
Maddi blinked. That wasn't something she wanted to do.
"Aidan, stand up please," Ayame said, gesturing to Aidan. She glanced over at Serefina and Cynthia to make sure this was okay. "…You guys are cool with this, right? It's not a violation or anything? Like asking people to kiss?"
"Nope! You're golden!" Cynthia said, giving Ayame a thumbs' up, eager to see Maddi, dressed as a cheerleader, hugging the muscular Aidan.
"…I guess hugs are fine," Serefina admitted.
Aidan shrugged, standing up. This wasn't that big a deal, even if this girl Madison wasn't the cheerleader he wanted to hug him.
"Well?" Ayame looked at Maddi, who had a sour look on her face. She slowly rose from her seat and trudged over to Aidan, her face feeling a little flushed. She wasn't interested in hugging the guy, but she didn't want to be Ayame's maid, either, and this dare wasn't bothersome enough for her to choose that instead.
Maddi leaned in and hugged Aidan tightly, squeezing her eyes shut even tighter. It was sort of like hugging the trunk of a tree, if the trunk of a tree was soft. No, it was just like hugging the Machamp on her Fighting Type team, that's what it was. After a few seconds she realized that Ayame hadn't put a time limit on the hug, and she immediately pulled away.
"Good?" Maddi asked, looking back at Ayame. Ayame nodded, pleasantly amused by that. Maddi didn't even spare Aidan a second look as she returned to her seat.
"My, someone got real hot and heavy," Sylvia giggled. "You enjoy that one, Maddi?"
Maddi shot Sylvia a glare, and scowled. "Sylvia, Truth or Dare?"
It had just sort of come out. A lot of people gasped and groaned in response to that. Not that she cared that much what Sylvia would do to whoever her victim was. But Sylvia was always picking Dare, and she had a Dare for her.
"Dare," Sylvia replied. As Maddi had expected. Strange, it wasn't like her to be predictable.
"Sylvia, I dare you to go outside and shove your head in the snow for 20 seconds," Maddi replied. She could tell that everyone, herself included, just wanted the girl to shut up, and maybe a head full of ice would be a step in that direction.
Sylvia smiled. "Sounds like a plan!"
She skipped outside, found a mound of snow big enough to suit the situation, and jammed her head into it, a loud sound erupting from her throat. Whether it was a scream or a laugh was hard to tell, it was too muffled.
"Quick, someone lock her out," Sango not-so-sarcastically said with a sarcastic tone in her voice.
"WOOOOOOOOOOO, that's an experience!" Sylvia said, walking back into the room and shaking the snow off of her blonde hair. She was shivering, but wore a wild smile on her face. Maddi frowned. So much for teaching her a lesson.
"Now then, Blake, Truth or Dare?" Sylvia asked, turning to Blake. He rolled his eyes. Of course. It would be him. He sighed.
"Dare."
Sylvia smirked.
"I dare you to stop the next person down those stairs, and tell them 'I'm in love with you'," Sylvia said, pointing at the stairs heading up.
Cynthia immediately made a beeline for it, but Ayame grabbed her by the collar.
"No, no, that's cheating," Sylvia said, waggling her finger from side to side, going "tsk tsk". "No, it's gotta be someone who isn't here. So no getting Ayame to go up and come back down, got it?"
Blake sighed, and nodded.
Ayame rolled her eyes. This was just dumb.
Then, as though by providence, the sound of footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Blake sighed and rose from his seat, heading towards the stairs. He didn't even know if they were going to be a boy or a girl. Hell, he didn't even know which would be better, a boy or a girl.
When the person reached the base of the stairs and came into view, though, his eyes widened in surprise, and Ayame's blood went cold.
"Oh, Blake, heyahoo!" Andy greeted Blake with her abnormal greeting, her face brightening as she gave him a wave. "I didn't know you lived in Bulbasaur House! What's up?"
Blake opened his mouth, his voice catching in his throat. He hadn't expected it to be someone he KNEW who would be coming down the stairs, much less, well… someone like her.
Oof. Awkward. This should be good.