Chapter 6: Big day out
Juliette's eyes fluttered open early in the morning. Her eyes played tricks on her as she stared up at a colorful blue blur—said blur being the floral themed fan she spent the night staring at before falling asleep. She turned to her left and peered at the the alarm clock placed on top of the nightstand. It was a quarter past six in the morning.
I got some sleep? Incredible! The girl shifted her attention to her cellphone. A blue light blinked every few seconds signaling an unread notification. Mom messaged me!
Juliette sat up in bed and grabbed her phone. With daylight barely coming out, the bright screen made her squint for a moment until her eyes got used to the light. Sure enough, she received her awaited message from her mother. However, there was a problem. The message arrived fifteen minutes ago. The phone's lock screen darkened—threatening to go black in the next few seconds. Juliette swiped her finger in an upwards motion across the screen. Her phone asked her to type her PIN code. After doing so, she opened the message.
"Hey, Juliette. Dad and Grandma told me about your sleepover. I hope you spend a good weekend at your friend's house!"
The girl re-read the message at least five times. Why did she send this only recently? She goes home around three o'clock in the morning. What if she forgot about it and only remembered now? Juliette tapped the message bar intending to send another message, but she knew that anything she would type at the moment would sound passive-aggressive. She hated feeling like this towards her mother. All Juliette wanted was to have proof that despite all the hours her mother spent working at the Pokémon Center, her family was still on her mind. Sadly that was hard to believe for Juliette.
"And I hope you spend a good weekend at work."
Juliette deleted the text soon after. That was the kind of message she wanted to avoid at all costs. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her eyelids were still heavy from sleep. Her fatigue threatened to take over and put her back to sleep as she sat up, but she opened her eyes again and faced the screen with the keyboard up to type a new message.
"Thank you! I've been doing well so far. I hope your weekend goes well too."
Much better… Juliette sighed and pressed the Send button. In a few seconds the status of the message went from "Sending" to "Sent". The teen spent a few minutes sitting in bed and staring at the screen in hopes her mother would read it and message her back. However, that didn't happen. She placed the phone on the nightstand with resignation, lied down on her side, and turned her back away from the phone. Juliette wanted to fall asleep again—something that wouldn't be too hard to do if she wasn't thinking about how her mother might message her back at any time.
Hours had gone by and morning gave way to midday. Hau'oli City was bustling with activity. Streets were full of people and shops were receiving customer after customer. One of the local Malasada Shops was among those establishments.
Hau, Juliette, and Luana sat down at a table waiting for their friends to arrive for lunch. Some of their Pokémon accompanied the trio. Juliette brought Halbert and Poppy along with her while Luana had Anu come along. "He'd enjoy going to a malasada shop," she said in the morning as they prepared for their outing. Hau was with his Alolan Raichu, who also showed a great deal of excitement over the location they were in.
"I can't wait for the others to arrive so we can make our orders," Hau grinned widely. He looked out the window next to their table hoping to see their friends, but none of them have arrived yet.
"Patience," Luana said as she nudged Hau playfully, "they'll be here soon!"
"I hope so, because I'm starving!"
The only one who wasn't taking part in the conversation was Juliette. She sat as far from the window as possible. She was sitting by Luana—leaving space for at least two people to sit to her right. Right now she wasn't think much of who would occupy them, for that her mind was stuck thinking about the small message exchange between herself and her mother. When Juliette woke up at nine o'clock and checked her phone, she had a new message from her mother. It was simply just a thumbs up emoji, which was received around half an hour after the message she last sent.
Her father and grandmother, however, sent her good morning messages that were way more enthusiastic and helped put a slight smile on her face. Despite that, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get her mother out of her mind and how she didn't seem to be all that interested in her own daughter having her first sleepover. Am I asking too much from her? Juliette asked herself with her head resting on her hand and her eyes staring down at the table.
"Juliette! Are you still asleep?" Hau's energetic voice didn't phase her.
"Of course not!" Luana chuckled and peered at Hau. She then directed her attention towards the aforementioned. "Is everything alright, Juliette?"
Juliette sighed and looked at her companions with a forced smile. "Yes, I'm okay. I didn't get much sleep last night, that's all."
"It's understandable," Hau said, "sleeping in a bed other than your own always feels weird."
"You look a bit sleep deprived, but I'm sure it'll pass as soon as you have lunch." Luana gave her a reassuring pat on the back.
"Lua is right. Maybe you need a sugar rush. Wait until you taste the malasadas in this shop!" Hau bounced in his seat with excitement.
Luana smirked. "Says the boy with a never-ending sugar rush!"
The exchange made Juliette laugh a bit along with Hau and Luana. I need to distract myself. Juliette glanced out the window and then at the clock hanging above the counter. The group arranged to meet for lunch at quarter past twelve but the clock marked twenty-five past twelve. With all the crowds out on the streets I'm sure they're having trouble getting her—
The ringing of a bell above the entrance interrupted Juliette's thoughts. A large group of people made their way into the shop and approached their table. The newcomers were Mallow, Ilima, Kiawe, Lana, Sophocles and Lillie. Everyone except Lillie had a Pokémon out beside them. Sophocles with Togedemaru, Lana with Dewpider, Mallow with Panthump, Kiawe with Marowak, and Ilima with Eevee. Anu, Raichu, Poppy, and Halbert leered at the newcomers and greeted each of their Pokemon.
"You guys are late—," Luana pouted—feigning annoyance.
"Sorry Luana," Mallow apologized, discreetly pointing at Lana, "our friend here misled us because she insisted the best Malasada Shop in Hau'oli City is the one in the mall."
"Nonsense!" Hau jumped from his seat. "Lana, if you've eaten here then you'd know this place makes the best malasadas in Hau'oli City and possibly the entirety of Alola."
"I'm sorry," the blue haired girl stuck out her tongue, "I really thought you three were at the mall."
Luana shook her head and smiled. "It's alright. Now hurry up and take a seat!"
Sophocles and Kiawe took the free seats to Juliette's right while Lillie, Mallow and Lana sat on the opposite side. Ilima pulled up a chair and placed it at the end of the table. His Eevee took a leap and lied down on his lap.
"I can't decide on what to get! There's so many malasadas here that I want to try!" Hau scanned the single carte on the table.
Lana sighed. "I get you're excited, but shouldn't you wait until we all have a carte?"
Hau put down the piece of paper and smiled apologetically. "Yeah, I guess you're right…but I'm too excited!" He continued to stare at the carte, which caused Lana to sigh in defeat.
A few minutes later, a waitress arrived at their table. She handed a carte to each of them, which were similar to the one Hau has in his possession currently. The group examined their cartes thoroughly.
"Guys, I think I'm trying the Mythic Malasada. With that name it's bound to be the best one in the world." Hau rubbed his belly in anticipation.
"A spicy malasada should do for me," Kiawe decided as he placed his carte down.
"I think I'll get a sweet malasada with custard filling," Luana said without dropping the menu—just in case she spotted something else she wanted to order.
Meanwhile Juliette glanced over the carte numerous times unable to decide over what kind of malasada to get. She wasn't quite hungry at the moment and it clouded her judgement. Seeing how most of her companions were already settled, she was contemplating making an order only for her Pokémon and call it a day. I don't think that would look good in their eyes, but I really don't know what to order and my Pokémon are way more hungry than I am.
The same waitress from before reappeared to take the group's orders in no particular order. Juliette hoped she would be the last person to be asked since she was still looking through the carte. The others ordered malasadas for their Pokémon as well, just like what she was considering.
"I want a Mythic Malasada, please!" Hau proclaimed with a wide smile.
"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid they aren't available at this time of the year," The waitress replied apologetically. She kept the tip of her pen against her small notebook at hand.
Hau put on a pouty frown. "What a bummer! Okay, instead I'll have four Big Malasadas—two for me and two for my Pokémon."
"Sure!" The woman wrote down his order. "What about you?"
The waitress aimed her question at Juliette. She was so absorbed staring at the carte that she did not notice both the waitress' question and the two taps on her shoulder from Luana. "Oh, me? I think I'll have…" she glanced at the menu out of the corner of her eye, picking the first thing she saw, "I'll have a Big Malasada for myself and one for my Pokémon each."
"You have good taste, Juliette," Hau said with a grin, "The bigger the malasada, the better!"
The rest of the group ordered right after Juliette. Ilima went with a custard filled malasada similar to Luana. Sophocles and his Togedemaru both went with a Sour Malasada. Mallow and Lana went with plain Big Malasadas as well. When they ordered something to drink, there wasn't much diversity with their choices. Most went with either Moo Moo Milk or a variant of juice. Juliette, however, opted for a bottle of water.
When the waitress left their tableside, Luana struck a conversation with the group. "So," she stressed the word out, "what has everyone been up to this morning?"
"I got up early today to fish with my little sisters," Lana began. "Waking up at sunrise was a great idea because the three of us caught a shiny Gyarados each."
The group went silent. "Interesting…" Sophocles narrowed his eyes in doubt.
"The shiny Gyarados bit was a joke," Lana giggled. "I hope nobody fell for it."
"Speaking of your sisters," Kiawe intervened, "Mimo keeps asking me if she can see them again. Will you be able to bring Harper and Sarah someday soon?"
"Sure thing! I might be able to do so tomorrow, in fact." Lana winked in Kiawe's direction and he grinned as a form of thanks in reply.
"What about you, Mallow?" Luana peered in Mallow's direction.
"Oh, me? I've just been working with my parents at the restaurant ever since we opened this morning. My brother will be away all day again."
"Juliette," Luana said to get her attention, "did you know Mallow's brother is a Trial Captain?"
"No?" Juliette answered with unintentional bluntness. "Er, sorry! That sounded way harsher than I intended."
"No worries," Luana reassured her. "Mallow's brother has his Trial Site at Lush Jungle. We could go there someday!"
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Besides, he's always eager to meet new people," Mallow added with a smile.
Shortly after Mallow finished her sentence, the waitress came back with everyone's drinks. She carried them on two trays since they all ordered extra drinks for their Pokémon as well. "The malasadas will be ready momentarily," she announced with smile before going back to the counter and fetching a tray for a different table.
Hau took a sip of Moo Moo Milk and then praised the place they were in once again. "What makes this particular shop so great is that they make the malasadas fresh before serving them instead of selling premade ones."
"Nothing beats a freshly made malasada," Ilima agreed before taking a sip of his own drink.
"But malasadas are nothing but jelly filled donuts…" Lana trailed off nonchalantly and observed Hau for his reaction with a sly grin on her face.
"Did you really just say that?" The green haired boy frowned.
"I did, but it was a joke, I swear! Don't take it to heart like that." Lana laughed in amusement.
"Alright. I'll let it pass this time." Hau relaxed on his seat and took a quick look at a nearby table that was being served.
A few minutes later the waitress came back with their malasadas. "The malasadas are ready! Who ordered a sweet malasada with custard filling?"
"Me!" Luana raised her hand enthusiastically. "I also ordered another one for my Pokémon."
"As did I," Ilima said with a slight raised hand. His Eevee squealed and shook its tail in anticipation.
"Alright." The server placed the two small dishes in front of Anu and Luana then did the same with Ilima and his Eevee.
Anu licked his chops upon seeing the pastry and tried to taste it, but Luana stopped him. "Now now Anu, wait until everyone has their malasada!"
The Pokémon looked at Luana with an apologetic look and sat down by his Trainer's side. Meanwhile, the waitress held up more plates. "Was it you who asked for the spicy malasada?" she asked as she looked at Kiawe.
"Yeah, that was me," he answered before the waitress placed the plate in front of him. She did the same with his Marowak's malasada. She then handed Lana, Sophocles, and Mallow's their orders.
Shortly after that, everyone was ready to eat. "Bon appétit!" Hau exclaimed happily before taking a big bite out of one of his malasadas.
I doubt I'll be able to finish this, Juliette looked down at her plate and examined the supersized malasada. She handed the extra pastries to Halbert and Poppy respectively. The two started eating right away with delighted expressions. After taking a sip of water, Juliette finally tasted the famous dessert. The dough's sugary coating intrigued her. "Now I understand all the fuss. This is so good!"
"Right?" Hau replied with a mouth full of food. "Yup, this is indeed the best malasada I've ever tasted. I'm glad we came here!"
"Don't you say that with every malasada you try?" Luana joked with a slight smirk on her lips. "Anyways, don't you know speaking with a mouth full of food is inappropriate?"
"Whatever you say, mother," Hau answered sarcastically in an equally amused manner.
Lillie, who prefered eating her malasada using the plastic cutlery that came with the plates, giggled slightly at the exchange.
The friendly environment helped Juliette relax more. Watching her Pokémon eat contently played a big role as well. if they're happy, then so am I.
"So, Kiawe," Luana began, "how did it go at the supermarket yesterday?"
Kiawe huffed. "It was a handful. I had to deal with several rowdy customers. This one woman had the audacity to tell me I was bothering her because I was in her way. All I did was replenish the vegetable section. That was it."
"Seriously? That was very rude of her!" Outraged, Mallow took a big bite out of her malasada and chewed vigorously.
"The worst part is that we can't do much about it," Kiawe added as he shook his head slightly. "As a stock boy, part of my duty is to help people out even if they misbehave. In my case, I'm patient enough to withstand that, but others aren't as stoic."
"I guess you'd be in trouble if you told a customer to do the decent thing and leave," Lana commented.
"Exactly."
"That's why I always try my best to stay away from people," Juliette muttered under her breath.
"Did you say something, Juliette?" Luana asked.
"No, I didn't," Juliette answered nonchalantly before taking a big bite out of her malasada.
"I don't think I'd make a good stock boy. If I was in a similar situation I would go blank," Sophocles said as he laughed nervously.
"I think you could get used to it," Kiawe encouraged Sophocles. "If we ever work together I could show you the ropes."
Sophocles smiled in response. "That'd be very nice of you, Kiawe. Speaking of work, did anyone finish the homework Oak assigned yet?"
Juliette smacked her forehead. "I was going to do it yesterday, but I forgot."
"You can always do that tomorrow!" Luana suggested. "That's what I'm going to do. We could even work on it together!"
"That sounds like a good idea." Juliette nodded in approval.
Ilima used a paper towel to clean his lips before speaking. "Hearing you lot talk about your homework takes me back to my school days. It brings back so many memories!"
"But you're still in school...only you're a teacher now!" Hau pointed out with his mouth full of malasada. Only half of his second one remained on his plate.
"That's true," Ilima nodded, "it's just sometimes I miss the hustle of being a student."
"I'm pretty sure being a teacher is more laborious than being a student." Mallow, who already finished her share of malasada, rested her face against her hand. "After all, teachers must do tons of things like prepping the next day's classes, correcting exams, and other things."
"I don't mean to change the subject," Luana chimed in, looking in Ilimas direction, "but I must ask: why didn't you bring Mina with you?"
"Oh, I did want to bring her along and I'm sure she would have loved to be here with us, but she had to attend her duties as a Trial Captain today." Ilima then craned his neck to look at Juliette. "I think you and Mina would get along. She enjoys drawing, too."
"Mina is Ilima's girlfriend," Luana clarified. "They've been dating for a while now."
"That's nice to know," Juliette answered with a smile; not knowing what else to add. More new people to meet eventually. I'm not sure how to feel about that.
Not too long after their conversation, the teens and their respective Pokemon were finished with their food. Luana sat up first. "Don't worry about paying. The food is on me," she brought out her wallet from her pocket only for Ilima to place his hand over hers.
"No no, let me insist on paying instead." Luana locked eyes with Ilima and stared at him hard for a few moments before nodding lightly.
"O-of course!" she stammered. The rest of the group headed outside while Ilima paid for their food. Before that, however, Hau promised the cashier that he will be back very soon. Juliette left with the group hanging behind them all. She stared at the back of Luana's head.
I saw that weird look she gave him, she thought about Luana's strange behavior towards Ilima. That was the first time I've seen her look...anything other than bubbly.
Ilima spent little time paying for the group's food. Now they were all together taking an aimless stroll under the island's radiant sun. "Where should we go next?" Lana asked out of the blue.
"There's so many things to do in this city," Ilima said, extending his arms to span the scenery in front of him, "we could spend the whole day going places and we wouldn't see this entire place place yet."
Juliette, on her part, was secretly hoping their next stop was Luana's house. Having lunch with them was fun, but she wanted to relax and get some alone time if possible. However, the others had different plans.
Luana turned around with a smile. "I know! We can go to the mall! What do you guys think?"
"Sounds great to me." Mallow's eyes lit up at the idea.
Kiawe smiled. "I don't have to go to work today, so I can join without a problem."
Everyone expressed their agreement with the plan except Juliette. Luana approached her. "You will come with us, right?"
She looked at Luana with a blank stare trying to think of something to say. She didn't want to go anywhere else, but she also knew saying no to Luana's offer would make her come across as rude and ungrateful. For that reason, Juliette decided to confess something that also went round in her head. "I do want to go, but I don't do very well in crowds."
"Is that so?" Luana asked, her smile persuasive. "Don't worry, nothing will happen as long as you're with us."
"Luana is right. Besides," Sophocles approached her, "I'm sure you will see tons of things you like in the mall."
"There's several art supply stores there. Maybe you can buy something for your drawings," Ilima said with a gentle smile.
"Luana and I can guide you through the best stores if you want." Lillie patted her bag as she spoke in what Juliette assumed was a gesture conveying her desire to buy.
Juliette looked heavenward with a resigned smile. "Looks like I have no other choice. Let's get going, then!"
The nine teens and their Pokémon made it to Hau'oli City's Mall in fifteen minutes as they patiently made their way through the crowded street. Upon entering the venue they were greeted by a multitude of stores that ranged from a beauty product store to a small but crowded café. There was also a daycare center for young children to be entertained while their parents did their shopping. Some small Pokémon like Stufful or Snubbull were there as well.
"Where should we go first?" Ilima asked, scanning his surroundings.
Hau put his arms behind his head. "I'm not sure. There's so much to see here."
"I was thinking of going to the Antique Shop. Who wants to join?" Luana looked at Lillie with a smile, expecting her answer.
Lillie nodded. "I want to go there." She turned to Juliette's direction. "Juliette, do you want to come with us? You might see something you like here."
"Sure, why not?" Juliette gave a small nod.
Sophocles eyes suddenly lit up. "I remembered there was a new gadget launching this week. Does anyone want to come with me?"
"All I can think of right now is going to the Malasada Shop here, but," Hau snorted, looking at Lana, "we've already been to the best one in Hau'oli City. The second best shop can wait unless I get hungry again."
"Knowing you, I'm sure you will." Luana giggled.
Hau shook his head at Luana as he gave her a half-smile and directed his attention back at Sophocles. "Yes, I'll go with you. It might be fun."
"Great! Will you come too, Kiawe?"
"I'm not very big on technology, but I'm sure it'll be an enjoyable visit at least."
"I want to go to the art supply store on the second floor," Ilima said, looking at Lana and Mallow, "unless someone else has other plans."
"There's an herbal remedy shop I'd like to check out, but I can wait." Mallow smiled at him.
"Now that we are here, I think this is a good time to buy my Dad a new fishing rod. His broke last month and he hasn't been able to go fishing ever since." Lana then went over to one of the signs to look for a floor with a sports store.
"Wait, is that one of your fabrications?" Ilima looked at Lana with a raised eyebrow.
"Well," she started, turning around, "the part about him not fishing for a month is. He borrows my Mom's fishing rod, but I think getting him a new one would be a nice gift."
"Ah, I see!"
"Now that everything is settled, let the shopping begin!" Luana grabbed Lillie and Juliette's hands and ran with the girls towards the Antique Shop. The others left for their respective destinations.
Since the shop was on the ground floor, the girls were able to arrive there quickly. Although the store was small, it had plenty of things to offer. Most of the items had to do with various Legendary Pokémon from different regions. I might find something related to Kalos legends, Juliette told herself. Paintings showing a variety of scenes hung on the shop's beige walls, capturing the attention of the people visiting the venue. Meanwhile, Juliette and her companions prefered checking the shelves in search of something they might like.
"Alola! How can I help you?" A woman who appeared to be in charge of the store approached the girls.
"Alola," Luana greeted her, "We're just looking so far but I'll let you know if we need something, thank you."
"Alright. I hope you and your friends enjoy our store." With those words, the woman left for another spot in the shop.
Lillie glanced at a shelf until a particular item caught her attention. "Look," she called Juliette and Luana, "isn't this one pretty?"
She was referring to a doll that had an upper body visually similar to a Poké Ball. Two smaller spheres served as its shoulders, leading to thin upper arms that continued into large, claw-shaped forearms. Its lower body was much bigger and also spherical in nature, similar to a ball gown.
"Is this supposed to represent an actual Pokémon?" Juliette looked at the figure but avoided touching it out of fear of it breaking.
"It does! It's the Mythical Pokémon Magearna. Isn't it so cute?!" Luana gushed over the delicate Pokemon. Her eyes watered profusely as she spoke, "it's said to be built five hundred years ago as a gift for the king's daughter. Nobody knows if the Pokémon still exists."
"I see, but...why are you crying?" Juliette raised her eyebrows and tried to think of something to say in case Luana happened to be upset all of the sudden.
"Oh, please forgive me," Luana apologized as she wiped away her tears. "I tear up whenever I'm into something very cute. It just sorta happens, is all."
"Ah…" Juliette nodded slowly and sighed in relief. She turned her attention to various items close to her.
One painting caught her attention thanks to the peculiar state it was in. Most of the canvas was burned away. What appeared to be a creature's foot could be seen on the bottom right corner of the remaining canvas. Although faded by the antiquity of the paint, the foot appeared to be a shade of yellow. Three claws jutted out of it as well as a large crystal protruding forwards. Vibrant green grass and flowers were beneath the foot. The creature's environment appeared to be an exuberant field. Juliette shook her head after noticing the painting's price. Would someone really pay for the remainings of an ancient painting? I never would.
Meanwhile on a different floor, Sophocles, Hau, and Kiawe were inspecting the tech store the first wanted to go to. Its mascot was a shiny Porygon with black rimmed glasses. On the inside, people of all ages looked at the various devices which ranged from smartphones to sophisticated high-end computers. Hau's Alolan Raichu and Sophocles' Togedemaru stared at their surroundings in awe. They were amazed by the amount of electronic devices in the room. Kiawe's Alolan Marowak, however, wasn't that impressed by them and prefered to stick by his Trainer's side.
A new tablet model was on display that was eligible to try. Sophocles approached the device and carefully swiped his finger in an upward motion to unlock the screen.
"The commercials weren't lying. This definitely looks robust enough to last a few years! The screen is big too," Sophocles muttered to himself as he fiddled with several options that changed the letter's size on the screen. Simultaneously, Togedemaru climbed onto his shoulder. "I think Big Mo should have no trouble reading what's on the screen."
"Is this the new gadget you wanted to see?" Kiawe asked Sophocles as he peeked at the screen.
"Yes. It's a new tablet model they launched this week that I wanted to check out myself. I'm considering buying it for my cousin as a gift… I have enough, but that'll be all I have." Sophocles sighed and stared at the price tag. The device was a whooping twenty five thousand Pokédollars.
"You have enough for it?" Kiawe inquired. His question granted him a slight nod from Sophocles.
"I battle more than you might think," Sophocles said with a bold facial expression. "I earned that money myself."
"So...would this tablet be a birthday gift or something?" Hau asked as he mashed random buttons on the screen; opening one app after another as he went.
"Don't do that! It might break!" Sophocles pushed Hau aside and closed all the apps in the blink of an eye. He turned to face Hau and lowered his head in guilt. "I'm sorry for pushing you."
"It's whatever!" Hau had a bright smile on his face.
"To answer your question: No, it's not for his birthday. You see, my cousin only has a small phone to work with while he is away from the Observatory. I think a tablet like this one would be easier on his sight. He can barely see the small letters on the phone screen."
"So you want to buy it so your cousin doesn't have to strain his sight too much. How thoughtful of you!" Kiawe exclaimed.
"It's not that big of a deal…" Sophocles scratched the back of his head as his cheeks turned pink at the comment.
Located on a different floor Ilima, Lana, and Mallow were in the middle of browsing the art supply store. Before that, they went to a shop selling fishing apparel conveniently located close to the establishment Ilima wanted to visit. Lana became fixated on going there first so she could get it out of the way first.
"I'm scared you'll end up knocking something over!" Mallow shot a worried glance at the fishing rod Lana was carrying. It was dangerously close to a stand were a few small buckets of paint were piled up in a pyramid formation.
Lana turned around swiftly and brushed one of the buckets in the process. "Don't worry, I'm being careful. I don't want to get you guys in trouble."
"That was a close call…" Mallow mumbled.
"I think I already have everything I need. Shall we go?" Ilima was loaded with various drawing and painting supplies. His Smeargle helped him by carrying some of said items. The purchase included a couple of sketchbooks, a set of professional brushes, a set of charcoal pencils, and a small can of blue paint.
Mallow nodded. "Sure, let's go!"
Ilima headed for the counter and both him and Smeargle placed the items on it. The clerk scanned all of the supplies one by one and placed them in a paper bag featuring the shop's logo: a Tsareena posing as The Mona Lisa. "That'll be five thousand two hundred fifteen Pokédollars, please," the cashier requested. Ilima gave him the money and after picking up the bag and saying goodbye, he left the store followed by his friends.
"Next is the herbal remedy shop you wanted to visit, right Mallow?" Lana asked.
The green haired girl nodded. "Yes, according to the mall's map it shouldn't be too far from where we are."
After a bit of a walk, the trio found the store. It was a small venue with a stand full of diverse aromatic plants on the outside. Mallow approached it and examined the tags next to each pot.
"If you like any of the pots, you need to make your payment inside," a woman taking care of the stand informed her.
Mallow only nodded as she kept scanning through the plants, her hands resting on her thighs. After a few more seconds, she decided for a particular one. "I'll take this rosemary plant."
"Very well. Feel free to look through the shop and see if you find something else you might like," the woman said in a friendly fashion.
Mallow, Ilima, and Lana entered the store. The smell of all the plants combined hit them like a truck at first but they soon got used to it, especially Mallow and her Phantump. Besides more plants there were other things like natural incense, medicinal herbs, and natural beauty products.
Phantump soon decided to explore the shop on his own. "Please don't stray too much!" Mallow followed her Pokémon with her eyes and then turned around smiling. "I feel like a kid in a toy shop!" She gave a quick glance at the medicinal herb section and grabbed a chamomile sachet along with a lavender one.
"We can tell," Ilima said with a controlled smile. He moved away to take a look at a set of hand painted flower pots.
Lana looked at a shelf with several spices. "I wonder if Mom will like these. It says this one goes well with fish…"
At the same time, Mallow examined a cardboard box containing several kinds of roots. "I wonder if my brother could make use of this Big Root. There's plenty of them at Lush Jungle, but you never know," she thought out loud.
Going back to Juliette and her two companions, now they were in a fancy clothing store located on the same floor as the antique shop. Luana didn't have a hard time persuading Juliette to join them, reminding her their conversation last night about how they would be touring all the clothing shops in Akala Island someday.
"Are you girls sure you don't want to get yourselves anything?" Luana asked as she tried on a white beach hat.
"I already said I'm fine. Maybe next time." Juliette checked her phone. No new messages from any of her family members.
" I'd love to get something but," Lillie sighed, "I don't know if Mother would like it."
Luana became serious for a second before saying, "I see…" She quickly looked up at Lillie and added "Maybe we can invite her to come with us someday!" Luana's usual cheeriness reappeared.
"I don't think that will happen, she is busy most of the time." A sad smile formed on Lillie's visage.
Seeing how she didn't have much to add to the current conversation, Juliette headed for where her Pokémon were. Halbert and Poppy were idly looking at a rack of expensive looking clothes. "I don't understand why people spend so much on...this." Juliette picked a taffy pink dress with frills on the skirt and stared at it with contempt.
"Ooooh!" A long squeal came from behind her making Juliette flinch, "I knew you wouldn't leave with empty hands." Luana's eyes sparkled looking at the dress.
"Ah no, this is a misunderstanding. I was just looki—"
"Nonsense, I'm sure it will look great on you. Guess what? I'll buy it for you." Luana snatched the dress from Juliette's hands and threw it into the basket where she deposited the clothing items that caught her eye. It was almost full.
Juliette let out a harsh sigh. "I said I was just looking, really. I...I don't want any of you to spend extra money on me."
"Don't worry about that. I brought enough to buy what's in the basket." Luana waltzed happily around the store still checking out what the place had to offer.
Lillie looked over at Juliette with an amused smile and the second girl shrugged in response. She complained to her Pokémon, "Won't you guys help me?" Halbert and Poppy walked away from their Trainer while whistling a random tune. Sometimes I think my Pokémon hate me.
A couple of hours had gone by since the group arrived to the Shopping Mall. Juliette gave up and allowed Luana to buy the dress with her. She is currently carrying around a paper bag with the shop's logo. She didn't even want to look inside.
Sophocles decided to get the tablet in the end. It was nicely wrapped in gift wrap. Kiawe took the opportunity to buy his sister some earphones so she could listen to music wherever she wanted. Hau, on his part, caved in and bought himself some more malasadas from the mall's shop.
Mallow ended up buying two Big Roots; one for her brother and another for her family's restaurant. She also bought several spices and medicinal herbs as well as the rosemary plant that caught her attention outside. Lana and Ilima didn't buy anything extra.
The split groups gathered together once again in the front of the mall's entrance way. They were all ready to leave. "I think this was a very productive trip. Did everyone buy what they wanted?" Luana asked.
"Almost everyone…" Juliette muttered under her breath looking at her bag out of the corner of her eye.
"Yes, it was about time I renewed my drawing material. This shopping trip was what I needed." Despite how full his bag was, Ilima carried it with ease.
"Teacher!" a childish voice called out behind them.
Ilima turned around and saw a tan skinned little boy accompanied by his Rockruff. Ilima crouched to get on his level. "Hi Jimmy! What brings you here?"
"I came here with some friends but they already left." The little boy approached the group.
"Are you going home then?"
Jimmy furrowed his eyebrows and looked away, but soon his face lit up. "I was gonna, but there's something important I have to tell you, Teacher."
"Really? What is it?"
"Did you hear about the rumors surrounding our school?" Jimmy's voice had suddenly turned low and serious. His facial expression turned eerie.
Ilima shook his head. "No, I haven't heard about anything out of the ordinary. What are these rumors about if you can tell me?"
"I heard from other kids that weird things happen at the school at night," Jimmy said. "Everyone believes it but I don't and I want to prove them wrong."
Luana playfully shoved Ilima away and crouched in front of the child. "What kind of weird things are we talking about?"
"Like hauntings and stuff." Jimmy swayed on his feet.
"A haunted school? Sounds like a thrill!" Luana shifted her attention to Ilima and gave him a cutesy stare. "Can we go check it out tonight? Pretty please?"
"Going to a haunted school sounds like a great plan," Lana intervened with her eyes sparkling, "I'm running out of ideas for horror stories to tell my sisters and I'd love to get new material."
Lillie tensed at the idea. "We're going to a haunted school?" After less than a second, she suddenly let out an exclamation, "I just remembered I should be going back home. Today is...board game night. I can't join unfortunately."
"Don't worry Lillie, I'll make sure the let you know all about it tomorrow." Luana winked at her friend causing Lillie to shrink a bit.
"Who else wants to go? Now's your chance." Jimmy challenged as his Rockruff squirmed in his arms in attempt to jump away. "Don't worry Rockruff, you know ghosts don't exist!"
Mallow shuddered but tried to hide it. "I really, really don't like the idea and if something weird happens I think I won't go anywhere at night for a long time but...I'm still curious."
"I agree with Mallow," Kiawe took a step forward, "I'm not a fan of the idea either but if she goes, then I'll go too."
"Thank you!" Mallow smiled at her friend and let out a sigh of relief.
Ilima looked at Hau, Juliette, and Sophocles, "Are you three coming with us as well?"
"Sure, why not? Since we'll all be together, nothing bad should happen," Hau said.
"Hau is right, we have nothing to fear as long as we stick together." Sophocles gave the group a half-smile.
Juliette gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "I don't mind. I'm a bit tired but I will still join."
"Thanks everyone!" Jimmy jumped triumphantly. "We'll be the ones to disprove my classmates' rumors."
What started as a chill day out turned into something more and—to a greater or lesser extent—nearly everyone was ready for whatever the night had in store for them. Little did they know, however, there were surprises waiting for them between the walls of Melemele's Trainers' School.