They found Rain Kim—a slim Ferrumian girl with dyed auburn hair and a heart-shaped face—waiting for them right outside Hempshear station with her Aromatisse. Liam recognized the outline of Prism Tower on her pink sweater. She had worn that sweater a lot last year.
"Oh my gosh, you're here!" said Rain, hugging every member of their group in turn. "How's everyone in Everspring? Do you want lunch? I heard you're doing a Winter Ball! Ugh, I'm so jealous! Oh, Grace, you did get to come!"
Mori flinched a little as Rain embraced her, which made Liam laugh. Clearly absence hadn't changed Mori's antipathy for their former classmate.
"Come on, my driver is waiting for us," said Rain.
"Cheerleader," Mori muttered as they followed Rain to the van.
Rain's driver turned out to be a scruffy-looking Nanzonese man driving a "bread loaf" van—a ramshackle vehicle that's odd shape was known to lead to it tipping over of its own accord. It was the first hint that Hempshear Town was very different from Everspring—even more different than Jadetower had been. Quiet, rustic, and even a little shabby, Hempshear reminded him of the old-fashioned, small-town charm of Ecruteak City, except without the mystique and self-importance. Hempshear was simply an old town on the edge of a large, blue lake, and seemed content to be little more. The townhouses they passed as they drove along the western bank were in the traditional Nanzo style, with sloping roofs covered with mossy tiles, but the white paint on their walls was peeling and cracking, and the windows were grimy with dirt and dust. Some of the houses weren't old-fashioned at all, but more like concrete cubes reaching up three or four stories. Liam recognized these as the multi-generational homes of farmers, building upward as the modern world crowded in around them. All in all, it was a charming place—the kind of place Cass would have described as "perfect."
Rain's house turned out to be one of the newer, tower-style compounds, with three floors and what looked like a standalone guest room on the roof. It stood right on the shores of the huge lake, with only a narrow highway and a row of dark-green bushes separating it from the water.
"We're here!" announced Rain. "Come on, my mom is making japchae."
As eager as Liam was to sample Mrs. Kim's cooking, he still paused to take in the beautiful view of the lake. The lightly rippling water was a dark blue, spanning well beyond his line of sight in both directions. Out on the water, Liam could see long wooden boats with swarms of blue Pokemon whirling around them.
"Hey Rain, what are those?" asked Liam.
"Those what?" said Rain, shading her eyes and looking where Liam was pointing. "Oh, those are Cramorant. The fishermen train them to catch fish for them."
"That's one of the things Hempshear is famous for," added Sylvia. "That and Old Town. We're going there tomorrow, right?"
"Yes," said Rain. "But the gym leader is—."
"Food!" said Ruth, pushing Rain towards the door.
Liam laughed. More trivia about Hempshear would have to wait. He didn't want to stand between Ruth and lunch.
The inside of Rain's house felt oddly familiar to Liam. It was comfortably furnished, with more mismatched chairs and sofas than Liam thought were necessary, and bookcases stuffed with Ferrumian and Unovan books against every wall. It was orderly, neat, and welcoming, but also crammed full of things. It was, to put it simply, the house of foreigners who had made themselves comfortable in an uncomfortable place. The house of a foreign family all but perfectly adapted to their surroundings, with years' worth of homeschool curriculums, homemade quilts, foreign DVDs, and other precious amenities transforming what had been built as a rural farmer's residence into a foreign family's home. It was strange to think the Kims had only lived here for a few months—but then, Liam reminded himself, TCKs and their families were adept at transferring their lives from one place to another.
Liam, Vasilio, Mori, Sylvia, Jonah, Ruth, and Stephanie all settled into the ample seating on the first floor as Rain went to check on the lunch situation.
"This place is huge," Jonah remarked.
"I think it's three floors," said Sylvia. "Plus, Rain's room on the roof. I think it'll just have room for all of us."
"We can always put Liam outside if we have to," said Mori.
"Thanks, Grace," said Liam.
Mori stuck her tongue out at him.
"Lunch is ready in five minutes," announced Rain, returning from the kitchen. "So, what do you guys think?"
"I think Jonah is coveting your three floors," said Sylvia.
"Heck yeah I am," said Jonah. "I have to share a room with my bro back in Everspring. This place is practically a mansion."
Rain gave an appreciative smile.
"We should move the school to Hempshear Town if we could all live like this," Jonah continued.
"No Unovan burgers in Hempshear," Sylvia pointed out. "Or Unovan Soda Pop. The perks of living in the country come with a price."
Jonah looked genuinely conflicted over trading burgers for a room of his own, but the mention of food just made Ruth even more ravenous. She shifted irritably in her chair.
"So, uh, why is it called Hempshear Town?" asked Liam, deciding to turn the conversation away from food for Ruth's sake.
Rain gave an uncomfortable cough, but Sylvia seemed amused by the question.
"Oh, you didn't notice?" said Sylvia with a grin. "There's a whole row of them right out front."
"A row of what?"
"Cannabis," said Sylvia, adjusting her round glasses. "It grows wild here."
"What?"
"Ma-ri-jua-na," said Ruth, carefully enunciating each syllable in a heavy Ferrumian accent.
Mori's Misdreavus, who was making faces behind Vasilio, gave a gleeful snicker.
"Wait, are you serious?" asked Jonah.
Rain sighed. This clearly wasn't her idea of suitable pre-lunch conversation.
"Yes, there are cannabis plants in our yard," she explained wearily. "The local people have been growing it as, I don't know, rope or cloth or something for hundreds of years. So, it's everywhere."
"That's where the 'hemp' in Hempshear Town comes from," said Sylvia. "The 'shear' comes from the Skiddo and Mareep they've been raising here for generations for their wool."
"And skin," added Mori dryly.
"It is part of Nanzo culture," said Stephanie matter-of-factly as Ruth gave a startled squeak.
"I… think it's time for lunch," said Rain.
Liam and Mori exchanged a glance as they all got up and made their way to the Kims' dining table. They had both missed seeing Rain squirm.