The New Kids on the Block: Chapter Fourteen
Celeste- "Underneath It All"
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Iceblink House
Thornton, Silver Millennium
June 10, 2028
My ankle was just about completely healed by the time a week had gone by; after all, it was just twisted, no major problem I guess. Not being able to walk was a good thing, just as long as it was temporary. To make sure nothing was seriously wrong, Mrs. Iceblink had sent for a physician to check on me. He said that the ankle would be fine and to stay off of it for awhile. He also said that I would have to keep a cast on my wrist for a few weeks. No big deal, if I had of been fine, I would be gone by now, thus making me not able to realize how Mrs. Iceblink had to be one of the coolest grandmothers around.
She was so funny and nationalistic. She ordered Blair around, I giggled to myself when I saw her roll her eyes and slither away; she was a great cook, and we liked the same books and she loves to swim, only in the warm pool at the Thornton Fitness Center.
Having Quinn, Blake, and Raja back made my world complete. It was incredible how much we missed one another when we were separated. It was something that I would never want to experience again, however, I am by no means a psychic, and I cannot change my fate.
There was not one half-hour before I felt the familiar brush of his body against my leg, just to check on me to see if I am still there, I guess. I didn't mind. At least I knew that he really had begun to care for me, just like how I had to him. I smiled each time. I also noticed that Blake made a point that he was always with me, Charlize, and Serenity and Brian. Quinn, I noticed, was a bit more overbearing and watchful. (Notice the "more" in the last sentence. )
Serenity and Brian were good people. They were very kind and considerate, in other words, they were friend material, and that's what we all became: friends during our stay.
I couldn't quite interpret if Blair minded our presence. Knowing her, she probably did mind. She visibly seemed to be unaffected by our presence at her grandmother's house, but who knows would could be going on in her mind? Sometimes, I thought I could feel her staring at me when I hobbled out of the room. Well...she and Quinn seemed to get along pretty well.
While the rest of us would be sitting around, being teenagers, those two would sit together and stare off into the distance, or look at us, sometimes stealing a few words between themselves. I wonder if...probably not, she seemed like the type who didn't care about guys—or any gender—instead, she appeared to me to be the loner type. Not saying that that doesn't have its benefits, but I would take the struggle of maintaining a friend over having none at all any day.
Right then, we were sitting in the parlor once more. It was a mellow peach color and the furniture was all antique and all broken-in, which made it much more comfortable, like the furniture in out parlor back at Ashbrooke Park. But, this was nothing compared to Briarcliffe Castle; it's size almost scares me sometimes.
"Ewe," I spat. "Are you telling me that I actually drunk some chicken broth? I can't believe I did that. What was I thinking?" I narrowed my eyes at Charlize, "and why didn't you stop me?"
"Well," she lingered, "I couldn't not just say 'Celeste don't drink that broth', it wouldn't mix well with Mrs. Iceblink here."
"Well said Miss de Belleville," she rejoined. "I personally don't understand why you won't eat a piece of chicken here and there."
"But really, I don't like the taste of—"
"I am not telling you that your meal should be completely carnivorous, but there's nothing like Vitamin D from things like fish. You need that you know. It lowers the chance of you getting a sunburn, but then again, it doesn't matter that much: you and your brother have a healthy bronze tone. That is why Blair eats fish twice a week." She leaned forward. "She got her paleness from her grandfather." She chuckled to herself. "He was lucky that I preferred men with sallow skin."
Blair rolled her eyes and sunk deeper into her chair, her hair streaming over her shoulders. She was actually kind of pretty, in a rugged way. Maybe if she would put some effort into her appearance, she would be really beautiful. She could be a model. Oh well, I hoped that she would be one of those internally beautiful people, yet so far, she hadn't showed me any signs of it.
Serenity sighed, "I am getting bored. I could be training right now instead of crocheting, Mrs. Iceblink."
"Nonsense," she puffed. "Now you finish that row now, dear. I need a new potholder. Besides, I have some granola bars baking in the oven." She smiled to herself.
"You must want to make us all fat before we leave Mrs. Iceblink," Blake said jokingly.
"I'm not making you fat, you all are the ones who are eating. I'm just providing."
I grinned.
"Hey," Brian said, rising from his chair and advancing towards me. His blue hair bouncing the tiniest bit. "How about a match to pass the time, Celeste. Just you and me?"
I stood up, feeling a bit awkward to be applying some pressure on my ankle, and extended my hand. I shook it and said, "Bet."
Raja trotted alongside me as we headed outside, my skirts brushing up the snow. I really needed to buy some warmer clothes, just in case I'm in this situation again. But these were still kind of nice. I felt like a Darling Debutante from one of Julia Quinn's novels, searching for a husband who can ensure me security, comfort, and of course, love; well, I felt like one minus the whole husband thing. I don't think I'm looking for a boyfriend; in this lifestyle it would be hard to maintain one, more extra work.
I haven't battled in a long time!
He looked rather excited.
"You mean that you actually want to battle?"
I think so. We've been cooped up in the house for so long. We all need some exercise.
"Hey Brian, how many pokémon do you want to use?"
"Three is fine with me."
"Cool."
I pulled out a pokécrystal and grinned. "Release and dispel!" It flashed a bright light in the sun. I hurled it into the air, where it began to spin very fast, dispelling green energy onto the cushiony snow. Flit appeared, ready for action.
"Hey buddy, are you ready for a match?"
Yeah, he cawed, flapping his wings to make the blood flow. It was a bit brisk outside. I rubbed my hands together.
"Wait!" Charlize and Serenity cried as they rushed onto the scene, hair streaming in curly locks in the wind. Their cheeks were flushed a light carnation pink. Blair nonchalantly meandered her way over to the makeshift arena, leaning up against a tree.
I faced Brian and watched as he released his pokémon back into reality. Out of the green energy came a tall beast, with long legs with hooves at the end, and a streaming mane of fire. It was a Ponyta.
"Cool, what's her name?"
"She's Flash," he said as I patted her on the flank. She snorted and stamped the ground, eager to begin the match. Her eyes flared. I wondered if she was a really aggressive animal, she sure was acting like it. I worried about Flit.
"Start things off with an ember attack!"
Flash stamped the snowy ground once again and began to rapidly shake her tail from side to side, releasing little flames that were directed towards Flit.
"Just move out the way, Flit. You have the advantage since you're in the air." He flew into the air with incredible speed. I decided to use that to my advantage.
"Tackle him!"
With a loud whinny, Flash charged forward chasing Flit, who nervously weaved his way through little saplings to evade her. She neighed once more and packed on more speed. She was super-fast.
"Fly lower to the ground, Flit. Yeah, just like that."
He descended lower, making it harder for her to see him, or at least to keep track of where he was. I saw something off in the distance that could help us win the match, so I let Flit lead her to it.
"Use agility and stomp that bird."
She was getting closer. Her hooves thundered on the snow. The snow flew up into the air, creating little mounds in its wake. Closer—yeah! That was it. We had her!
"Stop Flit!"
He stopped suddenly confused. With a loud whinny, Flash reared up on her powerful hind-legs and fell down onto the ground, aimed at my friend. With a frightened squawk, he hopped out of the way just in time. My stomach had just lurched. He would have been squashed if he hadn't moved out of the way.
Flash whinnied in confusion as she tried to free herself from her white imprisonment. She snorted and stamped her hind-legs on the ground in anger. Her mane and tail blazed on.
"Flit, it's time to use your quick attack."
Flit nodded as he leaped into the air, going upwards in order to gain altitude and momentum. He came down in a flash, aimed directly at her muzzle, what he figured would be a sensitive spot. A white line appeared where he had once flown by. A shocked look showed in Flash's eyes. Then, three more appeared as he flew up, right, and left. He landed at my feet and stared at the dazed horse. Everything was silent—she fell to the ground.
"Wow Flit!" Charlize cheered.
"Great job, Flit. We won our first match together," I told him as I stroked his breast. He puffed out his chest proudly, he looked like he had gained some self-esteem at that moment.
Yea!
"Now," I said, tossing two crystals into the air. "Release and absorb! Now, release and dispel!"
My trusty blue friend appeared in front of me. I patted him on the head and whispered him words of encouragement. He shook his head, his voluminous coat trembled from the gesture. He faced Brian, who said: "Flit was pretty strong. Let's see how your Mareep does against my Bulbasaur. Vine, release!"
A solid green pokémon with a large green bulb on its back appeared on the battlefield. It wore an intense expression on its face. Its cherry eyes stared at Mareep, its vines were halfway extended. All of his pokémon looked experienced.
"All right, Fuzz. Since Vine is a grass-type, your electric attacks won't work that well; however, as long as you keep them aimed away from that bulb or his vines, they should work. OK?"
He shook his head so I took that as a yes. I changed my stance, placing the weight on my left leg because I had begun to feel a throbbing sensation in my right.
"Vine, use your vine whip attack!"
The olive vines extended fully, reaching for Fuzz, who stood there, awaiting my orders. The vines were rapidly approaching so I had to make it fast. But I was too late, the vines had already wrapped around his torso. But maybe I wasn't too late.
"Fuzz, quick! Tackle him while he still has a grip on you."
Like a blue blur, Fuzz sprung into action and galloped to Vine, whose eyes had widened in surprise. With a low growl, Fuzz sprung off of his legs and smashed Vine right in the face, causing him to skid a few feet before tumbling over. I was surprised.
"Now use your cotton spore attack!"
"Counter that with the razor leaves!"
Vine struggled to his feet and wriggled a bit, releasing four spades that sliced through the little fluffs of cotton, deactivating them. They fell to the ground, useless.
"Thundershock!"
Blue energy crackled from his fur and came out of his ears, directed at Vine's midsection. They hit dead on, Vine didn't evade it quick enough. His body quivered at the electricity spread through his body. Fuzz prepared another one as he recovered.
"Cancel those out with another vine whip."
Like little whips, he extended the vines, and thwacked the electricity. The vines absorbed the energy and Vine was left unharmed. He was tough.
"Use your leech seed, Vine!"
He emitted a loud "Bulbasaur" as his bulb bulged inwards, propelling a large yellow seed into the air. In a graceful arc, it landed on Fuzz's head, causing little roots to extend over his body. It glowed a bright red before making a loud whirring noise, draining Fuzz of all his energy. Fuzz squealed in pain. I winced.
He fell to the ground, where I patted him on the head and returned him to his pokécrystal. His figure landed into the palm of my hand and I placed him pack into his rightful case.
I looked to Raja, "It's your turn now."
He slowly advanced towards the middle, his head hanging low. I figured that he must've gotten discouraged from what he'd just witnessed. "Don't worry about it, Raja! You can do this!"
He smiled wryly as he waited for his opponent to be released. The magic words were said and the green energy dispelled a pokémon with jet black fur, tinted at the ends with gray, the claws white and sharp. Two golden beads ornamented its fur, one on the chest and one in the middle of the forehead. Its quill-like ears were hot pink as were its eyes, a smirk hung on its face. It was almost...scary.
I immediately saw Raja tense up upon the sight of this pokémon—a Sneasel. "Don't show that you're afraid, Raja. It gives the opponent the advantage." He tried to take heed to what I said but I knew that he was still scared. I also knew that we would have to work on this later.
The Sneasel appeared to be waiting for Raja so I decided to go first: I could tell that this pokémon was no force to be reckoned with. "Tackle, Raja!"
Raja jumped on his trunk-like legs and barreled towards the clam Sneasel, who barely moved except for when she sidestepped Raja's attack, causing Raja to come to a screeching halt. Raja recovered and charged once more but he was much too fast. If we had a chance, then I had to end this quick, and use Raja's most powerful attack as of yet.
"Rollout!"
We'd only practiced this move once or twice, so naturally he was a bit uneasy about it. It looked good to me though. Tucking himself into a compact ball, Raja speeded across the ground, which produced a loud whirring noise. Snow was flying all over the place.
He hit once, causing the Sneasel to skid back a few feet; and he did it again and again: totaling three consecutive hits. But the next one wasn't so successful for Sneasel had begun to glow.
"Good job for using our technique, Stealth."
Technique? What was it?—evading Raja's moves and getting hit three times—on purpose? I was completely baffled.
"Now, unleash it triple times!"
Stealth crept across the snow like a thief in the night, hence his name, his claws glowing. Before I had time to tell Raja to roll out of the way—I assumed that he figured he still had the advantage—Stealth had already clawed the air. a golden scratch materialized there. Raja was frozen dead in his tracks, his mouth agape in horror. He fell.
"Raja!"
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"You're good for a beginner, Celeste. I have to give you that," Brian commented after every pokémon was healed, the only thing being damaged was possibly their pride.
"Thanks Brian," I said, but my attention was elsewhere.
Raja had been unusually quiet after he was healed. Usually he would be off with his pals but instead he rested in front of the blazing hearth. I looked at him from time-to-time. I was worried about him.
I smiled weakly. I believed that I had faith in my pokémon's abilities. I knew that they were powerful. But I also knew that Brian was an experienced trainer and our chances of winning were relatively low. Being a swimmer and all, I would say that I'm pretty competitive at times. Yet I was not a sore loser by all means—well, the loss to Collin hurt me but in a different way. That guy just gives me the chills—I can't shake him.
I felt a tap on my shoulder so I faced whoever it was. A familiar baritone greeted me. "Raja doesn't look too well."
"I know," I told him in a low voice. "Ever since the battle he's been down."
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"Go over to him."
I looked over at him just in time to see his body slightly heave, before ending in a mass of shivers. I sauntered over to him and stooped down on my knees, careful not to rip my skirts. I touched his leathery skin—it was amazingly soft—and stroked him gently.
"Hey, buddy. What's wrong?"
He sniffled and looked down at the ground. I looked at him, he reminded me of a young child. His lip quivered. Nothing, he declared.
A dazzling tear stained the thick carpet beneath him.
His behavior was oh so familiar that I could tell what he'd said. I'd done it so many times before.
"There is something wrong. You're crying. Is it because of the battle?"
He turned to look at me, his eyes big watery pools, glistening with tears. N-no. He looked unsure. Well, y-yes!
I raised my eyebrows.
He began to explain: I-I wanted to battle so bad to make you happy. I wanted to win again because winning is cool and it makes me feel good. I was so confident—but—but it all went away when I battled. I was such a coward, shivering like a wimp. And to make things worse, I lost with one attack! Will I ever be good enough to hold my own in a match? Will I?
Quinn translated and I immediately felt sympathetic. "Raja, I didn't know. Winning isn't everything you know. As long as you tried—that's what really matters, right?"
No! That's what everyone says but deep down everyone knows that that isn't true. Everyone says that just to make someone feel not so bad about themselves.
"But it is true," I pleaded. I furrowed my brow in thought. "When a person loses, it teaches them what their faults are and what they can do to improve them for the next match. You see...sometimes you have to work hard to get the results that you want. And...if what you want is to win; then, we have to train harder—the both of us, together."
He began to relax, the last molten crystals fell down his cheek. I patted him on his round head and hugged him close. "If we work hard, we'll go far, Raja."
He just melted deeper into my embrace. I hope that my words had begun to take effect on his way of thinking. I couldn't stand to see him this way again.
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"Where are you going to next?" Blair asked as we stood at the grand door that led to the walkway and to the main road.
"We're going to the next Gym. Wherever that is."
She nodded complacently. She looked around, her face emotionless. I could not possibly figure out if she was thinking or not. The only emotions I had ever seen on her were anger and this blank one.
I felt so awkward there, standing there like that with her right next to me, and we weren't feuding. She was such an imposing creature, so tall and brazen. And I was so short—well compared to her—and relatively had a friendly face. Yet somehow, I felt a gnawing in the back of my head that told me something. Something I could not possibly understand.
"What's the name of the next city, Quinn?"
"Cosmos City; it has a gym. But there's another place that has a gym that's to the east called Windmere. It has a Gym too."
"We should go to Cosmos first, sounds like it'd be a cool place," Charlize remarked. "Maybe they sell Cosmopolitan magazines there, I've been dying to read one."
I smirked.
Blair rolled her eyes but I think I saw a hint of something. Was it a—
"It wasn't," she declared as if she was reading my mind.
Mrs. Iceblink strode in with a large basket. "Now you all take these provisions here—with three young men around, they're sure to be hungry." She turned to her granddaughter. "Have fun, Blair. I've enjoyed your stay."
"What?" she asked, confused.
"You're going with them," she said. She didn't ask, she just...commanded it.
"But—"
"No butts. You're going and that's final. My butt is killing me right now so I'm going to go sit in my favorite chair and knit you all some sweaters. Don't worry, I'll find you."
She began to walk away before she stopped. "Blair, your bags are up against this wall here. I packed them whilst I was upstairs. You come get them."
Blair stomped over to her grandmother, who grabbed her ear and pulled her down to her level, whispering incoherent things. Blair hesitantly agreed to whatever it was that she said. She then shrugged on her monstrous pack and walked up to us.
Serenity announced that she and Brian were going on to Windmere first. I gave them both hugs and bid them farewell. They were cool people.
Mrs. Iceblink walked us to the gate of her property, looking so cute in her black stuff dress and white cap.
She brushed some snow off of her briar roses and sighed. "I hope this confounded snow will go back to where it came back from. On my word Blair, are you some sort of witch?"
"Grandma!"
She let out a throaty chuckle. "You watch for one another, hear? My fragile body wouldn't be able to take it if anything bad ever happened to any one of you, including your pokémon. You're my honorary grandchildren now. Promise me that you'll keep in touch with me and with one another."
We did.
She gave us all hugs. I hugged her tightly, taking in her smell of tea, fava fruit, and the eternal fragrance that all elderly people seem to have. She smelled good and she smelled real. Mrs. Iceblink was a cool woman.
We began to trudge along the snow before we heard a loud voice. "You all come back now, hear?"
I smiled. Things were going to be different with Blair around for a while.
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I hope that you all enjoyed this, I am sorry that I took so long—I hope that it's of good quality because for some reason, I don't feel like I've done a good job at all. Tell me what you think. And, if you haven't read my poem, The Last Time, or any of the stories I mentioned last, I would really appreciate it if you did. Also, I have a short story that I did for Global Lit., it's called The Window. Please give it a look. Please review! Your doubtful author— The Duke of Briarcliffe