A/N: Here's a chapter for you guys, enjoy!
A/N: I don't own Pokemon!
Ranger School: Chapter 11
The four students looked at one another, and collectively came to the best course of action after a few minutes of conversation. They all decided that acting as if it weren't them would be the best case solution. After all, the students figured that if the photos Mr. Kincaid showed Mr. Caplan didn't show them bringing Pokémon in, then it'd be best to deny what occurred. Even if they admitted the truth, it wouldn't have been anything to expel or suspend them from the campus, and Mr. Kincaid most likely would be wary of them in the future no matter what.
'Hmm, this is such a strange situation…the best thing to do would be if we stayed calm. Then, once Kincaid calls us into his office, we'll explain what happened.' Kellyn thought as Marcus tapped him on the shoulder.
"It'll be okay Kellyn, don't worry, alright? All of us have your back." Marcus said as Kellyn gave a sigh of relief.
"I know, thank you. I'm concerned about how Kincaid will react, but he'd probably be indifferent whether we keep a straight face or not." Kellyn said.
"Well…I think Kincaid would like to see people afraid of him." Luana said.
"What gives you that idea?" Wendy asked.
"In all honestly, I don't like him. I mean it's just an assumption of mine, but I feel like Kincaid is the type who'd be happy to see people fearful of him." Luana said.
"If that's the case, we need to really be cautious around him. In the meantime, I'll head back to class and wait for when he'll call me, but I won't stress about it." Marcus said.
"Yeah, we'll just head back into class as well. It wouldn't make sense to worry about Kincaid, especially as he already spoke to Mr. Caplan. I'll be seeing you later, Marcus!" Luana said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Once the trio reentered the classroom, they acted as natural as possible since a few students glanced back at them, wondering what the conversation was about.
Some time later, class finished, and the trio left the classroom to head into the hallway. Despite Mr. Caplan and Marcus trying to reassure them, Kellyn was a bit nervous, which Wendy picked up on, while Luana was her usual self.
Eventually, Luana ended up needing to go her usual route, with her expression being jubilant as always.
"Okay guys, if Kincaid speaks with me today, then I'll call one of you and let you how his demeanor and everything was. In the event that he speaks to one of you first, can you let me know what he said?" Luana asked as Kellyn and Wendy nodded.
"Of course, we'll let you know how it goes." Kellyn said as Luana breathed a sigh of relief.
"Phew…thanks guys! See you tomorrow!" Luana said as she said her farewells and went her way, leaving Kellyn and Wendy behind.
The duo continued to walk down the hallway, with the silence going on for a few minutes before Kellyn felt Wendy give him a pat on the back.
"Don't you worry Kellyn, I know it feels like a scary situation, but as long as you do your best to stay calm, things will be okay!" Wendy said.
"Thanks Wendy…but…whoever took those photos when we were out in Pueltown…do you think that maybe they followed us?" Kellyn asked as both of them felt a chill up their spines.
"It…it could be possible. After all, only the four of us knew we'd be going to Pueltown, and didn't tell anyone else. Of course, Mr. Caplan being there made things easier for us. But maybe it was someone who followed us from the Ranger School…but who…and why?" Wendy asked.
"I wish I knew, then we'd know who to avoid. All we can do for now is wait for whenever Kincaid will be calling us." Kellyn said as the two continued to walk.
Eventually the pair reached where their extracurricular classes were, and Wendy headed into her Poké Assists course. Kellyn of course, went into the rock climbing activity.
Once Kellyn entered, he saw that Keith was there amongst the other students. To his relief, Mr. Caplan was there as well, and the professor gave a smile and nod at Kellyn before he went to help a few students with their harnesses. Kellyn went over to Keith, with the latter doing a short wave as he saw the quiet Student Ranger.
"Hi there Kellyn, good to see you. Sorry I wasn't around recently, haven't been feeling well." Keith said.
"That's okay Keith, glad you're feeling better. Ready to start?" Kellyn asked as Keith nodded.
Following that, Kellyn and Keith attached their harnesses to themselves and began to scale the wall. Eventually, some time had passed and the two took a break, being at the bottom of the rock wall.
"Man…that was really something. I really enjoying doing this, what about yourself?" Kellyn asked.
"Yeah, it's pretty nice to do. Everything good with you?" Keith asked as he avoided smirking.
"Yeah, everything's going good with me, thanks! What about yourself?" Kellyn asked.
"Couldn't be better." Keith said as the two went back to rock climbing.
As the duo continued, Keith couldn't help but let a small smile escape his lips.
'This guy doesn't suspect anything…brilliant! Am I ever glad that he doesn't suspect my darling Linda went to stalk them. Caplan was just an extra bonus. Having Linda do the dirty work really makes it easy. It also makes it easy for me because I can gather information on Kellyn and the rest. Then I can let Kincaid know so Linda can do whatever he needs her to do.' Keith thought.
Eventually, Kellyn and Keith finished their rock climbing and unstrapped their harnesses. The rest of the class was filing out either in groups or just by themselves. Keith said his farewell to Kellyn and there were a few students left in the room. Kellyn said his farewells to Mr. Caplan and the professor did the same in return.
Exiting the classroom, Kellyn figured he would call Wendy on her Styler. A few rings later, the green-haired Student Ranger answered.
"Hi Kellyn, I'm heading out now, are you by my activity's door?" Wendy asked.
"Hello Wendy, yup, I'm right by it. I'll just wait for you, if that's okay!" Kellyn said.
"Of course it is, see you soon!" Wendy said.
A few moments later, Wendy exited the classroom and waved to Kellyn as the latter gave a smile.
"Hi Wendy, how did class go?" Kellyn asked.
"Not too bad, I feel like I'm improving on my coordination, so that's a really big step for me!" Wendy said.
"That's good! You'll keep improving and doing better, just don't give up!" Kellyn said as Wendy became flustered.
"Th-thank you…I won't give up!" Wendy said as she began to inwardly kick herself for getting so easily flustered.
'How can I get so easily flustered and blush like a maniac around Kellyn so much?! I know I have a crush on him…and I want to wait for the right time in case he's interested in me; but this is so agonizing for me. Well…I'll be my usual self around him…after all, if Kellyn had an issue with it, he would've said something. I need to be focused on this whole thing with Kincaid until it's over with, then I can focus on my affection for Kellyn.' Wendy thought.
"I'm glad you aim for what you want to achieve. That's always good." Kellyn said.
"Exactly, it's better to be sure of you want, but there's also nothing wrong with not being too sure. I
"You know Wendy, when Mr. Caplan mentioned that Kincaid spoke to him and that he could speak to us as well, it made me panic. After all, there's no problem with what we did, but Kincaid is making it one. So it's…scary." Kellyn said.
"I can see where you're coming from, we'll be okay, the whole situation is nerve-wracking. I'm trying to stay optimistic though…things will resolve themselves." Wendy said as her Styler gave off its ringtone.
Seeing that it was none other than Luana calling, Wendy answered while motioning for Kellyn to come closer.
"Wendy…is Kellyn there with you?" Luana asked.
"He is, what happened Luana? Is everything okay?" Wendy asked.
"Yeah…Kincaid just finished interrogating me a few minutes ago. I waited until I was out of the building so that I can give you a call. So…with how everything went, he wasn't yelling or anything like that, but his demeanor was calm. Whenever I tried to avert from a question though, I could definitely see the anger on his face. Ultimately, he let me go, but he warned me to not try anything like what we did ever again." Luana said.
"Hmm, okay…we'll be fine then. I'll just stay calm and answer his questions. Are you heading out with Marcus?" Wendy asked.
"I am, initially I was really worried for you guys, and I still am…but after facing Kincaid, I feel a lot better. You guys take care, and don't get phased by him!" Luana said.
"Will do Luana, take care, and see you tomorrow!" Wendy said as the call ended.
"Well…at least it won't be too bad…though I can't tell if him holding his anger back is a good or bad thing." Kellyn said.
"Based on what I've heard, it's certainly a good thing." Wendy said.
Eventually the two neared the exit of the building, and stepping out from one of the doors leading to a staircase was Kincaid. At first, his expression was emotionless, but upon spotting Kellyn and Wendy, his face twisted into a sneer as he rubbed his chin.
'Finally…I found the both of them. It'll be better to speak with both of them at once, as I wouldn't want Kellyn to wet his pants when I talk with him.' Kincaid thought as he gave a friendly wave.
"Hi there guys, good to see you. Can I have the two of you come to my office for a little bit?" Kincaid asked.
At that moment, a pin could be heard dropping in the room. While Wendy did her best to be brave, especially as Kellyn was there, she was, in reality, nervous.
"Of course, lead the way!" Wendy said, doing her best to make sure her voice didn't waver.
Kincaid lead the two towards the door leading to the staircase and opened it, making sure they went first. Along the way, Kellyn noticed that the staircase in question would lead to each floor, as he saw a sign as they continued to go up. Eventually, they reached the fourth floor of the building. This floor held the offices for the teachers and the principal. The door at the very end of the hallway was Kincaid's, with font on the glass of the door being in bold lettering to show off the arrogant principal's name. The duo had to wait on Kincaid, and he soon unlocked the door and pushed it open before heading through first. After he sat down, he motioned for the two to have a seat, and Kincaid got up to close the door before sitting back down.
There was an awkward silence in the room for some time, but soon enough, Kincaid spoke.
"So…I'm sure you both know why you're here…right?" Kincaid asked.
"W-was it because of Pueltown?" Wendy asked as Kincaid grimaced.
"Of course it was because of Pueltown. I don't know who the lot of you think you are; but I don't appreciate bringing students bringing Pokémon from other places onto campus." Kincaid said as he took out all the photos Linda had given to him.
Kellyn and Wendy looked at the photos, it was just as Mr. Caplan had described. The photos that showed all of them together were blurry, and ones that showed one or more of the group didn't show any Pokémon near them. Any evidence that Kincaid thought he may've had was thwarted, the duo collectively realized.
"Mr. Kincaid, I understand where you're coming from, but was what we did so wrong?" Wendy asked as Kincaid clenched his jaw.
'Even though Caplan didn't give away the students who were with him, I suspected it was Kellyn since one photo does show him at Pueltown. Plus…the green hair belongs to Wendy, and she's the only one who's so close to Kellyn, according to Keith. Linda also mentioned to me the same night she brought the photos about Marcus and Luana's descriptions, so singling them out wasn't hard. Still, it's astounding that Caplan is so protective of these impudent brats.' Kincaid thought.
"Of course it was wrong! The lot of you brought Pokémon on campus, how could you do such a thing?!" Kincaid asked.
"Well…w-we did so because of how many students could benefit from learning how to properly capture Pokémon. After all…people can get experience from hands on learning." Kellyn said.
'He has more courage than I thought…' Kincaid thought.
"Be that as it may, I'm surprised that all of you decided to go ahead and bring in Pokémon. I should expel all four of you and fire Mr. Caplan for doing something so confounded!" Kincaid thought as Kellyn began to sweat.
Wendy however, became absolutely furious from Kincaid's spiteful demeanor, and calmly looked at the principal directly in his eyes, making him flinch.
"Listen here Mr. Kincaid. Pokémon Rangers need to understand various Pokémon and how their attacks and abilities may work to get the help they need in the field. By extension, us Student Rangers need to get that understanding so we can do well as Rangers." Wendy said as Mr. Kincaid was the one who began to sweat.
'I-I need to take control of this conversation…' Kincaid thought as he began to open his mouth, only to be interrupted by Wendy.
"Besides that, if you expel four students, without a real reason, that won't end well for you. Even more so, you would fire Mr. Caplan, an amazing instructor for the grappling and rock climbing activity, for no reason. If you would like to be that way, then it just wouldn't end well for you at all." Wendy said.
'Wow…good work Wendy.' Kellyn thought as he tried to hide his blush.
"Is that a threat?" Kincaid asked, his rage building.
"No. But just know that trying to intimidate hardworking instructors and students isn't going to work. At least, not with us. Is there anything else, sir?" Wendy asked, a trace of annoyance as she said sir.
"Nothing further. You may both go." Kincaid said as Wendy and Kellyn left the room quickly.