With the swimsuit competition having drawn to a close, it's time for our group to really get down to some fun in the sun and see what the rest of the beach has to offer! Of course, they'll first have to get through a crowd of horny guys to do it.

KedharS: Somehow I doubt it.

Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Well, there are all sorts of activities they could get up to on the beach, that's for sure!

Saad: Maybe.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 900

With the swimsuit competition finished, it was time for the two groups to finally relax and begin enjoying the beach for real.

First things first, though, they had to deal with the fallout stemming from the swimsuit contest.

Namely, all the horny guys trying to pick up girls.

Of course, not every girl received an equal amount of attention. Vic was collectively agreed to be too scary to attempt to court, and while Giselle and Chloe were both attractive, their more reserved natures meant that they were able to avoid getting the spotlight shone on them. Darla, in turn, was also good at driving men away with the obvious air of dismissiveness looming off of her, but she still received a few propositions.

The real attention, though, was on Olivia, Alcea, Lila, and Donoma.

Donoma was in exactly the situation she wanted to be in. A big part of the reason she'd arranged for this competition in the first place was to excite the boys, and she couldn't deny that she'd succeeded. Even if most of the crowd was into Olivia and Alcea after their performances, she wasn't wanting for potential suitors herself. The other two might have been more attractive, but Donoma was offering something that they weren't.

She was easier. Dressed in her skimpy bikini, she was advertising that she was open, and flirted right back with the guys who were trying to pick her up. She didn't mind if the only reason they were hitting on her was because she was low-hanging fruit, as far as she was concerned, they were low-hanging fruit themselves.

Lila was receiving similar levels of attention, but not for the same reasons. While Donoma was sexy and Alcea and Olivia were hot, Lila was cute. She was more approachable than the other three, and she treated the guys who came to talk with her sweetly, which meant some of the shyer ones set out to try their luck with her. Of course, she had less than zero interest in any of them, but she let them down so nicely that everyone left with a smile on their face.

It was a skill that she'd cultivated over the years as an idol. She needed to strike the perfect balance between approachable and unattainable, and reject the advances of boys without driving them away as her fans. And this was the perfect field to keep her practice going, since there was no chance of any mistakes affecting her reputation all the way out here.

But in spite of the attention on Donoma and Lila, it was clear that Olivia and Alcea were the ladies of the day.

The two of them were immediately flooded with offers, practically swallowed up by crowds of men asking for their numbers and if they would be interested in getting a bite to eat or meeting up later. It was rather predictable for Olivia, even if Alcea was a little taken aback. She was used to popularity, but in most instances she had a buffer between her and the men who tried to hit on her, thanks to her friends in the Gardening Club.

And of course, neither woman was at all interested. But their responses were rather surprising. One would think that Olivia, the aspiring actress and model, would be used to rebuffing the advances of men who were trying to get with her, and to an extent that was true. Olivia definitely had more experience dealing with horny guys than the "bright sheltered rose in the center of a thornbush" that was Alcea Vermeil.

But right now, she was in no mood to play nice. She stared at the crowd of men surrounding Alcea with a scowl. The redhead was politely declining offers, and with the courtesy of addressing each one individually. Because of that, she looked like she was almost enjoying herself, even though she was just being polite.

Olivia was infuriated. How dare those stupid men go sniffing around? Didn't they know that she was the one who deserved all the attention? She was much better looking than that Alcea, the only reason the girls had tied was because Alden didn't have any taste! Everyone was supposed to be looking her way, so why were there so many men gathered around her?

The sight of Alcea surrounded by a cloud of would-be suitors set Olivia off. She pushed the boys out of her way and stormed into the crowd.

Startled, the men pulled away and made a path for her. The look on Olivia's face could give Vic's glare a run for its money. Considering she had been wearing a bright, cheerful smile for the entirety of the competition, seeing her look mad came as a complete shock to her sudden fanbase, and they were too confused to get in her way.

She broke into the center of the cluster and grabbed Alcea by the wrist, dragging her away.

"Olivia?! What are you doing?" Alcea asked, scowling herself.

"That's enough of that!" Olivia shouted, stomping her foot in the sand. "Listen, I know that after a competition like that, some of you boys might think things like 'hey those girls were pretty hot! I'd better shoot my shot!' well, you can forget it! Neither Alcea or I have any intention of getting together with a bunch of punks like you! The only difference is, this moron is too polite to tell you all to get lost! So I'm gonna do it. That competition? NOTHING to do with you! That was a competition between women, not some tawdry peep show for a bunch of horny beach bums! So beat it!"

The guys were taken aback. But some of the bolder ones, weren't backing down, the kind of douchebags who weren't used to taking "no" for an answer and saw any rejection as the beginning of a negotiation instead of a clear signal to get lost.

"Hey, come on now, we're just trying to be friendly is all," one of the guys said, putting on a smile that he might have thought looked charming but to Olivia's eyes reeked of condescension and sliminess. "You don't need to act so guarded."

Olivia was seething. It was times like this that Ayame was decent to have around, because she could beat the assholes up. But right now, it looked like it was up to Olivia to drive them off. She sighed and prepared to deliver a particularly scathing criticism when someone jumped in front of them.

"Hey! She said 'back off' so back off!" Callie shouted, tromping into the center of the crowd and throwing her arms up defensively in front of Olivia and Alcea. She'd been watching patiently on the sidelines this whole time, but she could tell that the situation was only going to get worse from here, so it was up to her to step in and help her friend.

"Oh? Who are you? Her little sister or something?" The guy asked, glancing dismissively at Callie's childish figure.

Callie seethed. That look in his eye was one she knew well, and she nearly laid him out in the sand right there.

"Just back off," she growled, taking up a fighting stance. She was prepared to get physical if she had to, but she really hoped this guy would get the hint.

Of course, the douchebags didn't take her seriously. A few laughed at the thought of someone so tiny acting so tough, not at all realizing just how strong Callie was.

"Come on, kid, beat it," one of the other guys said, coming up to gently push her aside in order to make time with the taller blonde.

Before he knew it, his back slammed into the sand and the air was knocked out of his lungs. He thrashed for a moment, struggling to breathe as Callie let go of his wrist. She shot a cool glare at the rest of the guys.

"I have a boyfriend," she growled. "So I'd appreciate it if you keep your dirty paws off of me."

Olivia scowled. This was going poorly. She'd wanted to drive them off, but Callie had gotten violent. Which had resulted in a lot of the guys deciding this was no longer worth their trouble, but at the same time, the ones who had stayed had only gotten more belligerent.

At this point, it wasn't about picking up chicks anymore, it was about feeling insulted. And guys like this didn't let it go easily when they felt insulted, at least that was Olivia's experience anyway.

"Hey, come off it! You don't need to be such a cunt!" Douchebag 1 growled, helping his fellow douchebag back onto his feet.

"If someone's coming at me I put 'em on the ground," Callie spat back. "Did you really think you can just approach a girl like that without her doing anything?"

Olivia shook her head in frustration. The crowd was getting more agitated, and Callie was only fanning the flames. If things kept up like this, there was a very real chance that they could get violent. And if that happened…

A painful-sounding "smack" of a beefy fist hitting a squishy face put an end to any hope Olivia had of this ending peacefully. But it wasn't Callie who'd messed things up.

"Hey, punks! What the fuck do you think you're doing, messing with the girls in our group like that?!" Tommy, of all people, had thrown the first punch, laying out the douchebag who had started the whole thing in the first place. His tanned face was ruddy with anger and his muscles rippled. He looked like he was ready to fight the entire crowd himself.

Olivia was surprised. She'd thought that the rest of the Commander's group would just watch impotently off on the sidelines, because they never really seemed to do anything. But Tommy had just stormed into the crowd and was all set to turn this thing into a brawl.

But before anyone else could get hurt, salvation came from an unlikely source.

"That's enough of that!"

Everyone turned to see Rui Carver standing next to her daughter. And the look on her face immediately cleared any doubts that she was Vic's mother. Like the other girls, she'd gotten changed into a swimsuit herself, a nice purple and blue bikini that showed off how youthful her body still was even as a mother. But no one was paying attention to that right now. That look in her eye… it was chilling.

And then it was gone. She smiled politely and walked over to Olivia and Alcea, inserting herself into the conversation smoothly.

"I'm the chaperone for these kids, so they're my responsibility," Rui explained. "These children here are all high school students, so I wouldn't recommend messing with them any further. Unless you'd like for me to get the authorities involved, off course?"

"De audoridies?!" The punk whose face Tommy had turned into an open-concept floor plan jumped to his feet, holding his nose and fuming with rage. "Dat punk jusd broge by node!"

Rui sighed. Still wearing her jacket, she reached into her pocket, and for a second Olivia wondered if she was just going to pay the kid off to get lost.

But it wasn't a wallet that she took out, it was a photograph.

"I completely understand," Rui smiled. "My husband is used to dealing with disputes like this. You're welcome to speak with him. In fact, I can give him a call right now if you'd like, and he'll come down and get this whole mess sorted out."

The douchebag took one look at the man in the photograph, and it was like the tan of his skin fell away his face went so pale.

"N-No! Nod necessary!" He gasped, clutching his face and running as fast as he could away from the group.

Rui panned the photo across the crowd, resulting in the general effect one would expect of brandishing a cross in front of a horde of vampires. One look at Vic's father and the beach was cleared in a matter of seconds.

"…Well, that sorted that out!" Rui chirped, slipping the photograph back into her pocket.

"Aww, come on!" Donoma groaned disappointedly, trudging back over to them. "You scared all the good ones off, too!"

"I'm fairly certain Hiromi doesn't want you picking up random guys on the beach," Rui said. "Besides we're going to get lunch later, you don't have the time to be making dates with beach bros."

"Well, that was a letdown," Tommy sighed, deflating slightly now that it was clear that there wasn't a fight to be had. He turned to Callie with an uncharacteristically concerned expression on his face. "Hey, are you okay?" He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

He wound up sprawled on his back in the sand for his troubles.

"I have a boyfriend," Callie coldly repeated, twisting his wrist before letting him go. "I would appreciate it if you don't touch me so casually."

"Hey!" Tommy scowled, jumping to his feet and nursing his twisted shoulder. "I was trying to help you, geez!"

"A-Ah!" Callie gasped, coming back to her senses. "I'm so sorry! I just kind of responded without thinking!"

"You flipped me onto my back on reflex?! That's what I get for being worried about you," he grumbled. "After I stepped in and had your back and everything."

"Yeah, like I said, I'm really sorry," Callie apologized again.

"It's your own fault," Olivia smirked. "Don't go laying your hands on a girl without her permission next time."

"She's got you there, Tommy!" Ross laughed.

Tommy muttered something under his breath and stormed off.

"Well, that was definitely exciting!" Alden said, walking over to them. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do when the guys were crowding around the girls, but he was glad that everything had been handled. "Gotta say though, swimsuit contests? Not really my thing."

"It was stupid," Vic seethed, shooting him a glare that he ignored. "We never should have done something that ridiculous in the first place."

Everyone from the Commander's group held their tongues, no one having the courage to pipe up and tell Vic that she had been the one pushing for it the hardest out of them.

"So now that that whole mess has been handled, what should we do now?" Lukas asked, turning to Rui. "It's still a little early for lunchtime, don't you think?"

Rui flashed him a grin. "Well, that's easy! What else do we do at the beach? We have fun, of course! It's as simple as that!"

Rui led the group down the beach, everyone giving them a wide berth. She went to a shack by the shore and rented some beach blankets and parasols, and they set up a nice little base camp in a sunny patch of sand.

Everyone just kind of sat in a circle on the beach towels.

"So… what are we supposed to do?" Donoma was the one who finally asked the question that was on everyone's mind. When she went to the beach, it was usually just a pretext for picking up guys, she hadn't ever actually thought of the beach as an activity in and of itself.

Lukas was similarly concerned. "I'm not sure. I mean, we can't pick anybody up, so-"

"Would the two of you stop thinking with your lower halves?" Darla snapped, shooting them both a cold glare. "It's really frustrating."

"I-I also… would like that, please…" Lila said, her face getting a little red.

"Well, there's all sorts of stuff we can do!" Rui said, her positive energy not wavering for even a second. "We can go for a swim, we can play some beach volleyball, if you want, you can sunbathe, or read a book, all sorts of stuff!"

Surprisingly, it was Mason who rose from the group first, walking over to a patch of sand a few feet away from the parasols.

"Mason?" Rui asked, concerned. "What are you doing?"

"…Sand castle," Mason said, glancing back at them. He didn't give them another thought after that, and got to work on building a sand castle.

"…Or we could do that," Ross said.

"…So, beach volleyball, then?" Alden grinned.

There weren't very many people up for playing a game of volleyball, unfortunately. Vic, of course, was in, because the Commander had been the one to suggest it. And Tommy and Ross both agreed that they wanted to try. But no way was Chloe going to do something like that, and Giselle said that she'd feel more comfortable just watching.

"Eh, why not?" Donoma sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "I might as well."

Lukas and Allen were roped in too, because neither one could think of anything else to do, while Olivia said that she'd sit out.

"I need to work on my tan," she explained.

"Darla! Let's go swimming!" Lila suggested, her eyes shining excitedly. "It's been a while since we went to the beach without having to worry about any cameras!"

"…Sure, sounds like fun," Darla agreed, cracking a smile. The idols headed for the water, leaving Alcea and Callie alone with Keya.

"What about you guys?" Rui asked, turning to the trio. "Wanna come play beach volleyball with us? It'll be fun! And I promise not as hard as regular volleyball, since we're using this." She tossed a beach ball up into the air to emphasize her point.

"…I'm too short," Keya admitted, shaking his head. "I'll… just watch."

Callie scowled. She put her hands on her hips. "Well, I'm NOT too short! I can do it, too! Let me in, I wanna play!"

She turned hopefully to Alcea. "Alcea… they look like they might be having fun, what do you think?" She asked.

Alcea wasn't much one for sports. Honestly, she just wanted to relax for a little while. But that hopeful look in Callie's eyes… the other girl really wanted to play with her new friend, didn't she?

Alcea remembered how bravely Callie had stood up for her when those douchebags from earlier were picking a fight. Even though they were bigger than her and outnumbered her, she was still willing to fight them off for her sake.

She smiled. "Oui. It could be fun, is it?" She agreed, and Callie's face lit up with joy.

"Oh! Yes! This is gonna be great!" Callie cheered, pumping the air in excitement. "Come on, let's go!" She dashed to the net the others were setting up so fast, she kicked up a cloud of sand behind her when she ran.

Alcea laughed, and shook her head. She'd had experience with beaches before. Private beaches, and one she'd been stranded on. In all her time by the ocean, though, she'd never tried beach volleyball before.

Who knows? Maybe it could be fun.

I wonder if beach volleyball could be fun. Well, it should hopefully be relaxing, at least, we need some more casual excitement and less picking fights. Let's make the most out of our time on the beach!