THIEF! Chapter 4
Glory
"Hey, Liana, what did you borrow Tangela for, yesterday?"
"Erm, Well, I read in this magazine that in small amounts sleep powder and stun spore could be used as good flavoring in tea. So I wanted to try it."
"Did it work out ok?"
"I don't know. I must have put too much sleep powder in, because I fell asleep."
The next day, the whole school was buzzing with stories about Liana's theft. Rumors filled the air, becoming more and more extravagant with each telling.
"I heard that the thief used a ghost pokemon to bypass all the security systems."
"Heh. I heard that the thief WAS a ghost pokemon."
"Well, I heard that the statue has special properties when exposed to moonlight. If you hold it in the moonlight, it bestows a certain power on you. That's why the thief brought it outside, but didn't keep it afterwards."
"Yeah, I heard that too. I also heard that there were two thieves, who had an epic battle over which of them would get the power."
"So the power can only affect one person, then. I wonder what it is."
"I heard that the power you get makes you stronger, faster, and smarter. Who wouldn't want it?"
Most of these rumors were way off base, but Liana didn't mind. They were making her out to be a legend. And she was still feeling thrilled from last night, so she wouldn't have minded anything anyway. And she couldn't stop herself from smiling secretly whenever somebody mentioned "the mysterious thief."
A few people noticed this, chiefly among them Jenna. She began to suspect that Liana knew something about this whole incident, and began watching her friend more closely. She even began to wear her own secret smile as she tried to uncover the truth behind the matter.
And people noticed this too. They surrounded both Liana and Jenna, clamoring to hear their thoughts of what had really happened. Liana didn't comment, but Jenna said: "It seemed to me just like an elaborate prank." Which started the rumors off in a whole different direction.
When Liana heard her friend's scornful remark, she felt hurt to be compared to a mere prankster. "Jenna is one of the smartest girls in school. She won't be impressed by theatrics or rumors. I'll have to become more professional if I want to earn her respect."
So, during her lunch hour, Liana practiced with her pokemon. She worked with Kirlia, perfecting its Teleport technique. Liana wanted more accurate landings, and pushed her pokemon hard. They also worked on quick-teleportation, where Kirlia could do multiple accurate Teleports in a row. Liana was worried that they might get in a tight spot after 1 Teleport, and she wanted to be able to get out of it in a hurry. Kirlia performed magnificently, improving greatly. "Good job Kirlia; you were wonderful. Now you should take a rest."
As Liana returned her pokemon to its spherical home, she saw Jenna come out from behind a tree. "Wow, Kirlia looked really great there. But why are you practicing Teleports?"
She needed to think up an excuse fast! And Jenna wouldn't be fooled as easily as Sara had been. "Um, I think Teleport can be of great use in battles, to disorient opponents, and that's why we were working on it."
Jenna smiled that sly smile of hers. "Yes, you do have kind of a tricky battling style. But Teleport can also be handy for other things, don't you think so, Liana?" And with that, Jenna sauntered away.
Liana let her breath out. "Phew. That was close. I'll have to be extra careful around Jenna, or I'll get caught for sure." Then she saw that it was time to go back inside. As she walked towards her classroom, she saw that Bobby had his Combusken out and with him. And she could have sworn she saw the pokemon point at her. But that wouldn't happen, she told herself, and she shrugged it off and went back inside.
When school was out, Liana was preparing to walk home with Angel. "It seems you're starting to do some serious pokemon practicing," he said to her.
Someone else knew too? "Jenna told you, right?" Liana should have asked Jenna to keep it a secret, or would that have been too suspicious?
"No. I saw you from the window. I didn't want to disturb you, but your performance was captivating."
"Disturb me?" Liana pouted. "You should have come and helped me!" That was a lie. Liana would rather that he Angel had never seen, especially since he was such good friends with her brother. That was why she had chosen such a secluded spot.
"Sorry. Next time I will, I promise."
Just then, Bobby walked up to them. Liana was puzzled, because Bobby always kept to himself. "Hello Angel. Liana, can I talk to you for a minute?"
Now Liana was on guard. He couldn't possibly know, could he? But then, why would he want to talk to her? In any case, she would find out soon enough. "Yeah, ok. Sure. Angel, you probably don't want to wait for this, so I'll just walk home myself today."
As Angel walked off, Bobby led Liana over to a nearby bench. Once they sat down, he began. "Let me be perfectly frank. I know that it was you in my house last night, Liana."