"Get your money ready, everyone," Sylvia called over her shoulder.

"Why did I agree to this?" Mori whined.

"Because you get three whole days away from your dad," said Vasilio, passing money for his and Mori's tickets to Sylvia. "And you get to enjoy our company."

"Terrific," said Mori with a scowl. "Just peachy."

The Everspring Train Station was swarming with people and Pokemon on that Thursday morning. Liam wasn't too surprised—the people of Nanzo saw every holiday as an opportunity to return home, and National Day was no exception. Still, it made getting their tickets and reaching their train an adventure. Liam did his best to stick close to Vasili and Mori as they squeezed their way through crowds, pushed their way to the front of "lines" (in Nanzo, most lines more closely resembled mobs), and finally made their way to their seats on the 8:40 train to Hempshear Town. The leather seats were stiff and uncomfortable, and the cabin smelled strongly of cigarettes, but both of those things were to be expected in Nanzo. Liam found himself sitting beside Ruth, which he liked. She would let him spend the trip listening to his music in peace.

Mori was deeply absorbed with her phone as the train pulled away from the station. Liam suspected she was texting Dustin—a suspicion that was confirmed when Vasilio tried to peek over her shoulder and she flicked him in the face.

"You're as bad as that redhead," said Mori irritably.

That redhead. As frustrated as Liam was with Chelsea, Mori's words still irked him. He knew Mori was more than capable of holding a grudge, but to hold one against Chelsea just because she didn't know how to mind her own business seemed petty—especially compared to Mori's perfectly legitimate grievances against Claire. Liam knew what Mori's counterpoint would be—"You just think she's hot"—and she was at least partially right. Liam had been checking his PokeGear a lot that morning—hoping that Chelsea would be the first one to reach out. He didn't want to seem desperate, and he knew Chelsea probably needed space after their fight, but…

He pulled his PokeGear out of his pocket.

I'm sorry about yesterday.

That didn't seem like enough. He deleted the message and started over.

Chez, I'm sorry for not believing you. I should have trusted you.

That one was a lie. He wasn't sorry for not believing her, and he was still convinced that she was either lying to him or to herself. He deleted the second message and stuffed his PokeGear back into his pocket.

"Are you okay?" asked Ruth.

Liam took off his headphones and shook his head.

"I got in a fight with someone yesterday, and I feel like I was right, but I still don't like them being mad at me. So, I want to make up with them, but I don't know what to say."

Ruth pursed her lips thoughtfully. Her round, childlike face didn't lend itself well to serious expressions, but Liam did his best to restrain a smile. She was helping him out, after all, and Ruth was probably the wisest one in their class. He knew better than to underestimate her.

"You should tell her the truth," said Ruth at last. "You have to be honest, or you are just pushing your problems away."

"I get that," said Liam. "But… wait, I never said this was a girl."

"Well, she's not an idiot," said Mori under her breath.

Vasilio choked on his bottle of tea.

"This is the freshman girl, right?" said Ruth. "Marsha's friend?"

"Yeah. It's something similar to what… happened with Mori, I guess."

"See," said Mori. "She is nosy. She really needs to learn to—."

"Yeah, I know," Liam interrupted. "Believe me, I'm not taking her side in this, I just… I don't know. I think our friendship is more valuable than this fight."

Mori clearly wasn't buying it, but Ruth nodded seriously.

"That is very mature," said Ruth. "You should tell her that. If you think being her friend is very important—."

Mori couldn't restrain herself any longer.

"Ruth, Liam thinks she's hot," Mori choked. "It's not that—."

"Oh," said Ruth. "Well, if Liam is in love with her, he should still be honest, but—."

"Ooh, who is Liam in love with?" asked Sylvia, leaning across the center aisle.

"This is not—look, I'm not… gahh!."

Liam put his headphones back on, turned up his music, and turned away from his friends to look out the window. It was the only escape he could think of. The train was just leaving the outskirts of Everspring City behind, revealing an open country of patchwork crop fields and farming villages. In the distance, Liam could see the dark blue silhouettes of high mountains—the foothills of the Tubon Plateau. That was the direction they were heading—away from the populous heart of Nanzo and into its untamed west.

"Do you want some?"

Liam blinked groggily at Ruth, but when he saw what she was offering, he suddenly felt wide awake. She had packed a beautiful lunch of rice, kimchi, dried fish, beansprouts, seaweed, and eggs. It reminded Liam of the bento the students at his old school in Johto brought for lunch every day, and he had already learned to appreciate Ferrumian cuisine.

"I will take as much as you're willing to part with," said Liam eagerly.

Ruth seemed torn between pleasure at his enthusiasm for her region's cuisine and anxiety at how much food would be left over for her after Liam helped himself. Liam decided to content himself with a little bit of rice, kimchi, and fish wrapped in seaweed in a sort of improvised kimbap. It was delicious, and it took all the self-control Liam could muster not to ask for seconds. He was grateful to Ruth for offering at all—he hadn't had the foresight to bring a lunch, despite it being strongly recommended on Sylvia's packing list. It wasn't quite noon yet, but Ruth loved food just as much as he did, and he was sure having such a delicious lunch packed away in her bag had been trying her patience all morning.

Liam wasn't the only one who had taken a small nap. Mori was snoring on Vasilio's shoulder in a position that would have been intimate if it wasn't so undignified. Vasilio was looking up Steel-type Pokemon in his Pokedex and making notes. In the seats across from them, Jonah was bobbing his head to the music in his earbuds. Sylvia was on the phone with her brother, while Stephanie was reading a book Liam guessed was about Pokemon breeding—all the text on the cover was Kalosian, so he couldn't be quite sure.

"Did you text Chelsea?" asked Ruth.

Liam shook his head.

"I still don't know what to say."

"I am sorry for teasing you," said Ruth, sounding genuinely remorseful. "I did not realize that you really had a crush on Chelsea."

"Yeah, well… I didn't either. Until recently."

Ruth cocked her head to one side.

"Are boys often uncertain about whether they like a girl?"

Liam laughed.

"No? Yes? I don't know. Anyways, it's not like I've… just, keep it to yourself, okay?"

"Oh, of course," said Ruth seriously. "I would not tell anyone."

"Except all of us," said Vasilio with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, I can always count on Mori to spill my secrets," said Liam. "Are you sure Rebecca would be okay with, uh…"

He waved vaguely at Mori, who was now drooling onto Vasilio's shoulder.

"Have you tried waking Mori up before?" said Vasi in a whisper. "This is for my own safety."

"Fair point," said Liam.

He had, after all, made the same choice in a similar situation.