"Do you mind?"
May smiles at me as she kicks out the chair next to her. "Not at all."
She's sitting like she always does: Left elbow leaning on the table, chin propped up against her palm. I always wonder how she manages to concentrate with the hair falling in front of her face. The thought doesn't deter me from grinning back, and I immediately drop my books down on the table before plopping down in the aforementioned chair.
It's always the same. I enjoy our routine because it makes me feel like there's at least some form of stability that I can count on. Though it might be small, it's still something.
As I reach for my Advanced Pokemon Battle Strategies textbook, I notice that she's looking at me dubiously. ''What?''
May lets out a small laugh and brushes the loose hair behind her ear. "I didn't think you'd be here. Dawn told me that you and your friends had plans to pull a prank tonight," she explains.
Ah, that's right. Memories of Drew ranting about 'the audacity of Rudy Trovita and his moronic group of dumbass friends' sprang to mind, and I remember him planning something to do with worms and meat pies. Rudy Trovita was in the year above us, as were his moronic group of dumbass friends.
I don't have anything personal against any of them. They aren't a bad bunch, exactly; their only crimes were being interested in the same girls my friends are. Defending the girl's honour in the form of- and for the life of me I had no idea these words were even in his vocabulary -punishment not disproportionate to the action, Ash justified it as, although he was only pissed because Rudy asked Misty to the Spring Dance before he could.
She'd said no, but he was still adamant about following through anyway.
As for the rest of Rudy's friends, I have no idea what they've done to invoke the wrath of my own. Drew normally doesn't act without reason, and, as far as I'm aware, none of them have approached May Maple. Not since the last time, when Drew filled all, not just the guy who asked her out, but all of their shampoo bottles with hair removal cream.
It had been chaotic, but I couldn't deny the effectiveness of the prank.
Really, you couldn't blame Drew for liking her, she was pretty. It wasn't that hard to notice. With her bright, sapphire eyes and chocolate brown hair that fell just above her shoulders, she definitely stood out amongst the girls in our year. Even hunched over homework wearing grey sweats and a tank top, May was still able to catch anyone's eye.
I just shrug and begin turning through the pages of my textbook. ''Ash is off somewhere showing Misty some new water pokemon trick, Calem decided to crash early because he's got an important test tomorrow and Drew copped detention for nicking Professor Oak's glasses," I explain, watching her eyes flash at the mention of Drew.
I don't bother mentioning that Paul gave Kenny a black eye for trying to sneak a peak under Dawn Berlitz's skirt. I'm generally a peaceful person, but the guy deserved it.
May nods, and then jabs her thumb to the bookshelves behind her. ''And Gary is over there,'' she states, and they're hard to see from this angle, but he's clearly making out with someone on one of the bean bags tucked away in the corner.
I shake my head. ''Classy, as always. Who is it this time?''
She scrunches up her nose in distaste as she answers, ''Leaf Green.''
''That's... surprising,'' I respond, not really knowing what else to say. Oh. Oh. So, it was Leaf he'd been referring to earlier when he said there was someone new he had his eye on. The information sort of shocked me, because in the entire fifteen years Gary and Leaf have grown up together, not once has he ever made a pass at her.
Hell, he's never even mentioned her. Not in that way. They're close, I'm aware of that much, but I always just assumed it was in the way that anyone who grew up in the same tiny town would be. He normally went for brainless and short skirts and large assets.
Leaf Green is not easy, she is not brainless, and she does not cover herself in clothing that leaves little to the imagination.
May pretends to gag, but she does visibly shudder. "Ugh. what she sees in him, I'll never know. No offence."
So Leaf is interested in Gary, then. I can't help but feel annoyed. If she likes Gary and he knows, then he's leading her on. It's one thing to use someone's feelings against them, but Leaf isn't just any girl to him. Why in the name of Arceus would he risk their lifetime of friendship just to get in her pants?
"None taken," I assure her. "Are you sure that you want to miss out on Cerulean with the others this weekend? We can always ch -"
"I'm fine with it, Brendan, really," she cuts me off, waving a hand in the air dismissively. "Besides, I know exactly what's going to happen. They'll flirt, they'll fight and someone will probably make out, and I'm also not interested in having Drew shoot annoying remarks at me. At least when we're here I can walk away."
She has a fair point.
''Wanna put money on who's gonna seal the deal?'' I suggest, grinning at her, and although she looks at me with disapproval, the corners of her mouth twitch upward.
''I hope you only mean first base,'' May warns, and then tilts her head to the side in thought. ''I'd like to say Ash and Misty, but he's too chicken and she's way too stubborn. If we aren't counting Gary, then probably Dawn.''
I raise an eyebrow. ''Really? You're betting on Paul and Dawn?''
She puffs out her cheeks. ''Well, why not? She's already made him promise to drive her to (some shops). The (some shops), Brendan. That means hours of shopping. I really don't think a kiss is too far off.''
Again, she has a point. None of us really know what's going on with Paul. He claims to not have feelings for her, and when we ask all we get is a grunt or a glare. His reason for punching Kenny was 'because he's an ass and that was borderline sexual harassment', but I highly doubt he'd have acted that way had it been anyone else. Hell, I doubt he'd have acted at all.
''What about Calem? Reckon he's got a shot with Serena?'' I question.
May shakes her head. ''Nah, she's got a huge thing for Ash.''
Now that is news.
''She does?'' I try to hide my shock, but given the look on her face I don't do a very good job at it.
''Brendan, Serena has had a thing for Ash for years. Remember how she got lost at Summer Camp and he found her? She still keeps that stupid handkerchief in her bottom draw,'' May explains like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
Huh. Now that I think about it, I guess it makes sense. Unexpected.
Not news I'll be sharing anytime soon, but certainly not what I was expecting. Serena liked Ash? Oh boy. That makes things very awkward, especially considering Misty is one of her closest friends. I'm tempted to ask if Misty knows, or even if anybody else knows, because there's no way Ash has a clue, but I try my best to avoid drama.
''Wait,'' I say, flipping another page of my textbook and frowning, ''doesn't that make things awkward? You know, between her and Misty?''
May just rolls her eyes. ''Girls work a little differently than boys do, in case you haven't noticed. Serena feels hurt, sure, but she isn't going to stand in the way of their happiness when she knows that Ash will never look at her that way.''
When I don't respond, she continues, ''we know when to back off when somebody makes it clear they aren't interested.''
The implication is clear and I feel a twinge of guilt; Drew wouldn't take the hint, despite her telling him over and over again that she wanted nothing to do with him. He really was persistent when it came to something he wanted.
"You learn to deal with it," I tell her. and she isn't impressed but what else can I say. "And I agree with you, I don't feel like spending my weekend with a bunch of idiots trying to impress your friends. When they aren't bugging you, they'll be bugging me over finally getting a girlfriend.''
"You mean to tell me Grasshead actually managed to find a girl that would put up with him all weekend? Ha!"
"Actually, I think he's still under the impression that you're going," I tell her. She gazes at me questioningly, and I couldn't help but find it cute."Drew probably thinks that you'll end up hanging out with him," I elaborate.
"You're kidding me," May says, her face full of annoyance, and I shake my head. "I can't believe him! He's so arrogant! If Drew just thinks that I would ju- did you say finally get a girlfriend? Don't tell me you've never had one before."
I wince and force myself to fight down the pink that threatened to flood my cheeks. Really, of all the things she could have picked up from my comment, that's what stuck out? Really? Why is everyone so obsessed with my relationship status, or lack thereof?
Because it's such a touchy subject and I really, really don't want to have this conversation with her, of all people, I give- what I hope looks like a -a nonchalant shrug and just shake my head in response. Hopefully she'll take that and run with it.
May blinks a few times. "Wow. I never picked you for- I mean, I just thought thought that you... Ah, never mind. Forget I said anything," May rambles, and I'm pretty certain that this is the first time I've ever seen her flustered. At least I can take comfort in not being the only one who's embarrassed.
"Um. Well, I- You see I, uh..." I stumble out, and this time when the heat rushes to my cheeks there is absolutely no way I'm able to do anything to stop it. "I guess I just never really thought about it,'' I finally manage to settle on, even if my voice does sound weird and it comes out sounding like I can't breathe properly.
It wasn't too much of a lie, and technically, I was telling the truth. Sort of, anyway… Of course I've thought about it, what guy my age hasn't? I just never thought about relationships in the conventional way, is all. While they pictured normal, I mulled over my label as an ex-member of Team Rocket and reminded myself of why I can't live the same life they do.
"Ah, well, can't say that I blame you." May gives me a sort of half-smile, and some of the awkwardness fades. "Relationships are tricky things, I tell you. I just got dumped by my boyfriend. Apparently he's sick of me being away at school all the time."
And the awkwardness intensifies. Again.
"Oh... I'm sorry,'' I mumble out, except I don't sound very sorry and it comes out more like a question.
What are you supposed to say when someone tells you they've been dumped? Other than these tutoring sessions, May and I aren't particularly close. I can't hug her, that would be weird, and something tells me that giving her a comforting pat on the back will just make this situation twice as uncomfortable.
Not that it could really get much worse, but I don't want to take that risk. Also, while Gary's probably still occupied with seeing how far he can get with Leaf on a library bean bag, on the off chance he does see, I don't want him getting the wrong impression. That would not be good for me at all.
Drew has a tendency to... overreact, when it comes to guys getting close to May.
"It's fine," May replies, her eyes twinkling. "My little brother wanted to tell people that I got put into rehab, instead of a boarding school for pokemon training. I guess my ex-boyfriend just didn't want to take the risk of people thinking his girlfriend was in a loony bin."
It's a joke, I know it's a joke, but it hits something inside of me a little too close.
"That's family for you," is all I can say back. I add, "my family still don't believe that I actually made it. They thought it would be impossible."
They aren't wrong, it should have been impossible. The sole reason I even got accepted is because of my uncle. Like Gary, I too had a relative that was well-known in the field of pokemon research, and thanks to his connections and my young age at the time, he managed to pull a few strings.
Professor Birch is the only one who tried. When Team Rocket was disbanded, the rest of my family either left me for dead or just assumed I was. None of them wanted anything to do with me. Not that I could blame any of them, after all, but it had been hard to adjust with nobody to turn to.
My parents hadn't made it out alive.
Unknown to the thoughts whirling inside of my head, May simply stares at me in disbelief. "Why would they think it's impossible for you to get in here? You're one of the smartest people that I know! You have three pokemon, and your bond with your poochyena basically made you way ahead of every other student when you first enrolled.''
I squirm in my seat uncomfortably. This conversation was definitely steering in a direction that I was in no way comfortable with, because it was dancing along the lines of all the things I preferred to keep hidden. The sole reason my poochyena and I formed such a close bond is a direct result of our time spent living with Team Rocket.
Poochyena is a standard pokemon given to Grunts when they join; Professor Birch gave me the ralts; the school allowed us a selection of starter pokemon native to our region, and so I chose a mudkip. It isn't amazing. It doesn't make me smart. It's not something to be proud of. If she knew the truth, she'd understand that. She doesn't know, though, so it's hard to blame her.
"It's a long story," I eventually mutter, averting my gaze down to the textbook and pretending to look for something. I speak again before she can ask me another question, "so, why is he breaking up with you? Surely distance can't be the only reason."
Her face goes blank and I want to kick myself for blurting out the first thing that came to mind.
"Well,'' May starts slowly, biting her bottom lip hesitantly. ''The distance thing is hard, but I think the main problem is that he's sick of hearing about you and your friends," she explains, her cheeks dusting a light shade of pink.
I glance back up at her in confusion. "What?"
She immediately holds her hands up defensively. "Don't worry, I only mentioned good things! Well, mostly. I needed something to write about, and the thing is, most of my time is spent with my friends, who spend most of their time with your friends. I guess he didn't like that,'' May tells me.
That still doesn't make much sense. He didn't like her having guy friends? Her ex-boyfriend is that petty?
"I don't see how that's any reason to end it," I point out. ''Besid- oh. You told him about Drew, didn't you?''
May's cheeks turn a darker shade of pink. My guess is that she hadn't told him that Drew wasn't aware of her relationship status, which I doubt she would have, considering we didn't even know she was taken and her friends normally don't keep a lot from us. Come to think of it, why hadn't they said anything?
Misty, Dawn, Leaf and Serena are all privy to Drew's affection for their friend. It seems strange that they'd keep the information from us, despite it being any of our business. Did May prefer keeping her private life separate from school? That I can understand, at the very least, but still.
"I did, and it's not. He's just overly jealous. Complained that I wrote too much about tutoring and Drew. Not mention Gary and his... whatever you want to call it," May mutters out, waving her hand in the direction of where Gary was now actually talking to Leaf. "I was planning to break things off, anyway."
May had a boyfriend and Gary's engaging in a conversation with a female after getting what he wanted from her. What is the world coming to?
"Ah, I see," I tell her, even though I don't really get it at all. "Well, either way, I'm sorry about it."
She smiles. "Thanks, I guess. We actually broke up about three and a half weeks ago, but I got a letter yesterday from him saying that he wanted me back. That's why I'm writing this," she says, sticking a piece of paper in my face, "a polite response detailing where he can stick the aforementioned letter when I said it back.''
Has she been working on that the whole time?
"Polite? May Maple?" I joke in fake shock.
"Eh, maybe just a little less polite and a bit more colourful with the vocabulary," May admits, eyeing me slyly. "Speaking of, I need to get this down to the mail room before they close for the evening. I take it we're still on for tomorrow seeing as neither of us are going to Cerulean?''
I nod, giving her a grin. ''You know me. As long as I get my morning toast, I'm good to go.''
She laughs. "Catch you then," May says with a wink, collecting her belongings and standing up in one swift motion.
I catch myself gazing after her, and note feeling a sudden warmth spread through my chest.