Liam really, really didn't feel like getting up on the first Monday of the autumn semester. The long summer had utterly ruined his sleeping schedule, and he spent most of his ride on public bus 77 dozing with his head against the window. If Vasilio hadn't nudged him as they arrived at the stop for school, Liam probably would have kept riding the bus all the way to the end of its route. Stepping out onto the familiar school stop, however, woke him up more effectively than anything else he had tried that morning. He was excited to see his friends again.
Liam bumped into Taylor almost immediately. Taylor had been in Unova all summer, and he was eager to hear about what had been going on in Nanzo during his absence.
"I heard you guys went to the Karst Forest," he said, pushing a strand of long black hair out of his face, "Did you beat Ashima?"
"Yeah," said Liam, showing Taylor his badge, "Just barely."
"She's a tough one, dude," said Taylor, "Good job beating her. It took me three tries. She's probably the worst in Nanzo."
"How was Unova?" asked Liam.
"Dude, I spent the whole summer doin' nothing but eating and skating," said Taylor, "Pretty sure I ate a Snorlax's weight in just tacos. I love tacos. They should invent tacos in Nanzo."
Liam laughed.
"Oh, and Cass says hi," said Taylor with a grin, "I asked if she wanted me to deliver a kiss, but she said no. However…"
Taylor reached into his bag and produced a large package of Sweet Hearts.
"Don't eat 'em yourself," said Taylor, "They're for Pokemon."
"Thanks," said Liam, putting the package into his backpack.
"What's Team Power been up to?" asked Taylor as they turned onto the road leading to the school's main gate.
Liam shrugged.
"Nothing in Nanzo," he said, "You didn't miss much."
"Nothing much anywhere else, either," said a familiar voice.
Arthur, Sylvia's older brother and the former study body president, had been waiting for them on the curb. Arthur had jet black hair—his parents were Nanzonese— but Liam noticed that he wasn't wearing his usual glasses.
"Hey, dude," said Taylor, giving Arthur a hug, "Did you listen to that demo I sent you?"
"Man, I'm a senior now," said Arthur apologetically, "I've got a lot to do."
"Oh, shut up," said Liz, Arthur's girlfriend, "You've been playing video games all summer."
Liz was a thin Unovan girl with curly blonde hair that fell to her shoulders. As usual, she was wearing a wool cardigan and a playful expression.
"Cass says hi," said Taylor, giving Liz a hug, "Where's Rebecca?"
Liz shrugged.
"She must have gotten up late," she said, "Or she's already drooling over a certain white-haired 10th grader."
Liam chuckled.
"Are they a thing yet?" asked Taylor as they continued towards the school, "Like officially?"
Liz shrugged again.
"Liam?"
"Not so far as I know," said Liam.
"People spend forever in the 'technically-not-dating' phase here," said Liz, "Not everybody moves as fast as Liam."
Taylor snorted. They had reached the school's main gate—over their heads, red and black lettering on the gate's arch spelled out "Everspring International Pokemon Academy." The Mightyena that lived by the guard shack wagged its tail excitedly as they passed. Liam excused himself from the group as he spotted Mori sitting alone on a ledge by the school cafeteria.
"Yo," said Mori, without looking up from scrolling through her iPod.
"You waiting for Dustin?" asked Liam.
Mori shook her head.
"Even without Rain to snitch on me, I should probably play it safe on the first day back. I'm aiming for a 20% reduction in 'being grounded' this year."
Liam chuckled, but he was also surprised by his friend's uncharacteristic desire to keep out of trouble. He wondered how long that would last.
"Is there an assembly this morning?" asked Liam, looking around at the other students in the school's main courtyard.
"There always is," said Mori, climbing to her feet with a slight wince, "Speaking of which, we should probably grab the seats in the back row before they're gone."
Liam hesitated for a moment.
"What?" asked Mori.
"It's… nothing," said Liam, shaking his head.
"Okay then," said Mori, still looking at him curiously, "Let's go."
Liam nodded and started walking with Mori towards the school atrium.
"Was that where she told you?" asked Mori, "I mean, told you that she was leaving?"
"Yeah," said Liam, avoiding Mori's eyes, "It's… nevermind."
"Hey," said Mori, stopping and turning around so suddenly Liam almost crashed into her, "I'm sorry for bugging you about Cass all summer. I know you're dealing with it too, even if it's not the way I would."
"Thanks," said Liam.
He did his best to smile. Mori seemed satisfied.
"C'mon," said Mori, flicking Liam on the shoulder, "Let's go find Vasi before he does something stupid like sit with Rebecca instead of us."
"Good idea," said Liam, and together they entered the school's main doors and stepped into the atrium, where hundreds of seats were already filling up with students awaiting the principal's beginning-of-the-year address.