The night's coming to a close for dinner time ending, and with it, Cynthia has to figure out what she wants to do with her friends. Hopefully, things will work out with Elaina and Caelia, and they'll all be able to become friends! A girl can dream, right? All she needs to do is stop being a pervert. Because that's definitely something Cynthia can do.

The Final Round of the Pokemon Academy Best Girl Contest 3 has begun! Get the votes going in soon! There are three girls in the finals! Who's going to win? Chloe? Cynthia? Or Vic? One of those girls will become the third best girl, so get those votes in as soon as possible! You've only got one vote this time, so make it count!

Finalists: Chloe, Cynthia, Vic

KedharS: Yeah. Hopefully she won't lose her temper and snap. That's the biggest risk to her making relationships with other people. But if she can keep a lid on her harmonia, then maybe she'll have a chance. It doesn't hurt to try.

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 1039

"Delicious as always, grandma," Cynthia smiled sweetly up at her grandmother. "And with just the right level of spice!"

"This is like eating fire!" Kitty wailed. Her pale lips were red and swollen from all the from the spices in the teriyaki sauce, but she couldn't help eating it anyway. It just tasted so good! How could god make such food that was both painful and delicious?!

"That's the famous Lavaridge spice," Cynthia smiled proudly. "It's the same stuff our legendary Lava Cookies are made of!"

Then a lightbulb went on in her head. "That's it! That's what we can do tomorrow! We can get some Lava Cookies!"

"More spicy food?" Kitty winced. She doubted she'd even be able to taste ANYTHING tomorrow, let alone Lava Cookies.

"Yeah, they're spicy, but they're also really sweet!" Cynthia assured her. "Trust me, you'll love every bite!"

It was hard to resist her bright smile. Kitty could already feel the pain coming. She slumped over and nodded reluctantly.

"I could be down for some Lavaridge Cookies," Blake nodded. "I didn't get a chance to try them during the school trip."

"Oh, you'll love 'em!" Sango gushed. "We had some last time we were here for winter break, and they were some of the most delicious cookies I've ever had! I'd wait in line all day!"

Blake looked suspiciously at her. Knowing Sango she could be messing with him. But then again, she was pretty serious when it came to food… he really had to think hard on this one.

"I'll have some too," Julia agreed. "I could never get 'em back in Rusboro."

"Well, we don't have any Lavaridge Cookies right now, unfortunately," Rose sighed. "But there is a special desert we've got prepared for you kids!"

She rolled a long card out of the kitchen. A massive mountain was on the center of the card, startling everybody.

"What's that?" Sango asked curiously, licking her lips.

"It's a mountain cake," Rose explained. "A cake in the shape of Mt. Chimney."

"Oh, yeah, it IS shaped like a volcano!" Blake realized.

A mischievous twinkle I Rose's eyes revealed that she was definitely Cynthia's relative. "It's not just shaped like a mountain… take a look in the center."

Blake and the others gathered around to look in the center of the mountain, where a thin crust of cake was. Grandma Rose jammed her fork into it, and hot fudge erupted, rolling down the sides. Everyone gasped in awe.

"This is awesome!" Cynthia exclaimed. "You really outdid yourself, grandma!"

"A hot fudge mountain," Sango murmured, licking her lips. "Delicious…"

Everyone could agree with that.

"Guys, hold down Sango," Blake instructed. "If we don't, she's going to devour the whole thing all by herself and we won't get any."

"I second that," Sango nodded. Julia grabbed her wrists and she immediately started pulling against her, thrashing desperately.

"No! Lemme go! I NEED it! It's DELICIOUS! GIMME GIMME GIMME!" She wailed. Julia felt like she was trying to hold Roden down, Sango had the savagery of a wild pokemon. "It looks even better than the dinner did!"

"That's the spirit!" Grandma Rose laughed. "Here, let me pass it out." She began cutting sections out of the fudge cake, handing them out to the kids. The fudge-drenched chocolate was one of the best cakes that they'd ever eaten before.

"Ooogh, this is go good!" Nick groaned. His eyes rolled in his head as he felt himself drifting away from his body.

"I know, right?" Kitty gushed. She didn't have a very big appetite normally, and that dinner had practically stuffed her like a Hariyama. But right now she was starving. She shoveled the food into her mouth.

"I'm surprised Cynthia's so skinny if she grew up eating food this good," Sango said enviously. "I had to live on fast food and frozen tv dinners."

"Aww, thanks!" Cynthia laughed. A guilty expression crossed her face and she looked away. "…I'm not really that skinny," she muttered under her breath. That's when everyone noticed that she was the only one who didn't get any of the cake.

Compared to the rest of the girls, Cynthia was actually a little overweight. But just a little. Elaina's body was flawless, of course, and Sango was in very good shape due to her exercise. Julia also took care to maintain her nice physique, and Kitty's scrawny body, while not healthy, wasn't overweight. Caelia was a whole different matter altogether, of course, and even though Cynthia hadn't seen her naked in a while, she had a feeling that the other girl was probably still skin and bones given how little of the delicious food she'd actually eaten.

Meanwhile, Cynthia felt like she could lose 10 pounds or so, even if that wasn't the case. And the bath had only increased that feeling. Even though nobody would care in the slightest, and few would even notice, she still felt self-conscious about it. Her fingers rubbed against the small paunch in her belly and she sighed.

"What's up, Cynthia?" Blake asked, glancing up from his plate. Cynthia stared dryly at him and sighed to herself.

There it was, the newest source of her body image issues. Even though Blake was dating a hot tomboy, Cynthia had an internal surge of doubt. She couldn't help but imagine that if she had lost those ten pounds, then maybe she could have-

"MWwrrfh?!" Cynthia sputtered as Sango jammed a spoon into her mouth.

"Eat already," Sango chastised her. "This stuff is delicious, and I'm not getting more until everyone's had some."

"Geez Sango," Cynthia yanked the spoon out of her mouth and handed it back. "…Geez… oh my gosh, grandma, this is delicious!" It was like a dam broke, she couldn't help but devour the delicious cake. She hated her family so much for always making food that tasted so good!

Everyone was all smiles while they finished up their meal. Even Caelia's mood seemed to be picking up slightly.

"I love this," Elaina smiled. She found it surprisingly easy to relax, ever since the bath happened and Cynthia's apology. It wasn't like she was exactly friends with the other girls, but she had stopped being outwardly wary of them.

She just had to hope that she wouldn't lose control of her abilities and summon a tornado to tear them apart. That would be pretty bad.

When dinner was finished, everyone headed back to their rooms. It was their first night at the inn, and while Cynthia wanted to stay up and play cards or chat about whatever, she was quickly and severely overruled.

They'd already gotten to the inn late. And the bath and dinner had taken a long time as well. It was past midnight, and after such a long flight and feeling the strain of jet lag that was certain to come, the girls all just wanted to go to sleep.

Cynthia sighed, staring up at the ceiling. It was hard to imagine that she was already back home. Just this morning she'd woken up at 4 in the morning in her bed at the Pokemon Academy, and now she was lying in a futon surrounded by other girls, with Elaina to one side and Caelia on the other. And listening to the soft yips of Kitty's snoring.

She yawned, her eyes fluttering closed. She was about to drift off to sleep, the world slipping away from her, when a haunting melody caught her ear. Had her dream already started? Or was it…

Hey eyes snapped open and she sprang up out of her futon. No way! It was real music, she could hear it clearly.

What was going on? Cynthia looked around, trying to see where it was coming from. At Caelia's insistence, they'd installed a night light into the room, so everything was bathed in a dim glow, casting the shadows away and making it clear.

Someone wasn't in her futon.

Cynthia glanced to her left and saw that Elaina's futon was empty. She got up and looked around some more, but she wasn't anywhere in the room. Had she gone to the bathroom? Or was she…

Cynthia was lured to the deck by the haunting melody. She peeked out the door and saw Elaina, standing past the outside door on the long wooden path. She was facing out at the garden with her flute in her hands, playing a haunting melody. The wind swirled gently around her, forming a light tornado that she kept under control.

"Elaina?" She asked.

Startled, Elaina nearly dropped her flute. She turned around and stared at Cynthia with a shocked expression on her face.

"Cynthia?! What are you doing… I-I thought you were asleep!" She sputtered, hiding her flute behind her back.

"I woke up," Cynthia yawned. "I heard you play… that was you, right?"

Elaina glanced down, her cheeks flushing. "I-I play the flute… when I need to think about stuff, that's all."

Cynthia smiled. "I understand. So… um, if you don't mind me asking… how WAS today? I mean, it's not like everything went perfect, what, with that flight, and then there was the… incident in the bath, but I mean… it could have been worse, right?"

"Could have been better, too," Elaina mumbled.

"Huh?" Cynthia asked.

"Nothing."

Cynthia frowned, not sure what Elaina was driving at. But she didn't press the issue. "Look, all I'm saying is that in total, today wasn't that bad, right?"

Then Elaina smiled. It was a rare smile, and yet Cynthia felt that she'd seen quite a few of them today. She couldn't help but smile back.

"I had a lot of fun," Elaina said. "Thank you for inviting me."

"Hey, no problem," Cynthia laughed. "Look, just don't blow the place down with your harmonia and we'll call it even, okay?"

And just like that, Elaina's smile went sour. She narrowed her eyes and clutched her flute. "Why would you say that?" She demanded. "Stuff like that isn't funny."

"No, I-I know," Cynthia said. "I was just… I mean…" She wilted under Elaina's piercing stare, and reluctantly lowered her head. "…Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry, Elaina, I shouldn't make light of your condition, that's not cool."

Elaina shook her head. "No, it isn't. I'm trying very hard not to lose control of my powers, I'm sure you must have noticed," she snapped, pushing past Cynthia and going back to bed.

Cynthia took a deep breath and exhaled, slamming her head against the wall. "What a pain in the ass," she groaned. Somehow she'd managed to screw everything up again. It was like she couldn't do ANYTHING right!

Well, today had been quite a failure, that's how Cynthia felt when she went back to bed. She'd tried to help Caelia, and didn't seem to have much luck. And all her attempts to bond with Elaina just kept blowing up in her face because of her own carelessness.

She needed to try harder if she wanted to be friends with them. With that thought in mind, she decided that tomorrow morning would be a new day, and she would try even harder to have a good time with the two girls.

That night, Cynthia had a dream. A very ominous dream. She saw a dark shadow crawling over her, choking the life out of her. And yet even as she was being strangled, she could feel nothing but softness. How odd. And still terrifying. She wondered if this nightmare was a metaphor for how she was feeling, being strangled by her fears of the future.

I don't know what to do, she recognized in the haze of blackness. I want to move forward. But I don't know if this is really what I want to do. Do I want to join the Battle Frontier? Or am I too young to hitch my wagon to that train? I just don't know… and my indecision is causing me to difficulty in breathing, it's like my future is choking me…

Cynthia blinked, surprised at how smart she was. She'd figured that all out from just a dream? She really was something special.

Yessir, I'm a genius.

Cynthia woke up in a precarious position. Her futon had been kicked off, but she didn't notice that. Because her body was wrapped up tight in Elaina's grasp. Apparently, Elaina was a bigger thrasher in her sleep than Cynthia was. She had not only kicked off her sheets, but she'd crawled into Cynthia's futon as well, and pulled her into a big hug, pressing Cynthia's face right into her giant chest. Normally, Cynthia would be grateful for waking up in this position, but now really wasn't the right time. If Elaina woke up in this state…

Oh yes. She would be dead.

"Ah my dream was an omen," she muttered. She needed to find a way to break out of here before Elaina accused her of groping her in her sleep. That would spell the end. Of not only her attempt at making friends, but of her grandparents' inn, and maybe even her life.

Yeah that wasn't an option.

She struggled, trying to find a way out. But no. Elaina's grip was unbreakable. She could barely breathe, what a pain.

And she couldn't even enjoy the fact that she was planted in an enormous rack. Of all the days she could wake up cradled in the arms of a big-boobed hotty, and it had to be today, when she couldn't enjoy the blessings.

She squirmed enough for Elaina to loosen her hold, turning her head to see Sango. She was staring right at her with a smirk, seeing everything.

"Say nothing!" Cynthia hissed.

After what felt like forever, she finally managed to slip free. She took a deep breath and sighed, slumping over.

Elaina flopped over and kept sleeping.

Cynthia wiped her eyes and got out of bed, lightly kicking Sango in the side as she walked past. She wanted to go see her grandparents.

"Grandma, grandpa! Good morning!" She greeted them with a wave. "Time for breakfast? I better warn you, Sango devours eggs without even chewing."

"Ah, almost," he grandma nodded. "How did you girls sleep?"

Cynthia blinked. You… girls?

She suddenly realized she wasn't alone. Caelia had followed her out of her room, silent as a grave, and was now looming in the doorway. She gave the faintest nod in response to Rose's question, her eye showing a brief glimmer of light.

"Speaking of breakfast… would you girls like to help?" Rose asked. "I could always use a few extra hands in the kitchen!"

"I'd love to!" Cynthia said, nodding. "Caelia, what about… oh."

Caelia said nothing. She just stared at Rose.

The elderly woman gasped. "Oh, I didn't even realize! After your… you know."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Cynthia asked, confused.

Rose gestured at her cheek, trying very hard not to say anything. "You know, her… you know."

"Her… burns?" Cynthia gasped. "Yeah, I know. What about it?"

"Well, I mean, she wouldn't want to work in the kitchen, considering… you know." Grandma Rose had been saying "you know" quite a lot.

"After all, wouldn't she be afraid of the stove and stuff like that?"

Cynthia nearly burst out laughing in spite of how inappropriate that was.

"No, grandma, it's fine," she assured her. "Caelia isn't afraid of fire, right? She even trains Fire type pokemon."

Rose was surprised. She looked at Caelia. "Is… is that true?"

Caelia nodded.

"Wow," the old woman said, wiping her forehead. "That's really something. You're an impressive girl, not letting your accident get the better of you like that."

Caelia didn't know what to say, so she didn't say anything. There was an awkward lull in the conversation.

"…Grandma," Cynthia said, clearing her throat, "Caelia doesn't know how to cook. And even if she did, she wouldn't be very good at it, I doubt."

She looked hopefully over at Caelia. "Unless you'd like me to teach you how to cook?" She asked hopefully.

Caelia shook her head.

Cynthia sighed. So far, her new day was off to a bad start. But that was no reason to let herself get down! She was going to try and pull something out of her sleeve.

"I know, Caelia!" She gasped. "What about having a pokemon battle?"

Caelia blinked. "…Battle?"

"Yeah!" Cynthia nodded. "A really quick one, just you and me! One pokemon each! What do you think, sound like fun?"

Caelia stared blankly at her.

"…Alright," she nodded.

Cynthia grinned, pumping her fist into the air. "Yes!" She cheered. "That's what I want to hear! Let's do this thing, Caelia!"

She loved battles. It was the best way she could bond with Caelia, because it was the last thing that she had left to try.

Hopefully it would go well.

Cynthia's going to have a quick battle with Caelia! We all know that Caelia's probably going to use her Charizard, but what pokemon will Cynthia use? Hopefully this will work out, and Cynthia will be able to make friends with Caelia for real! Maybe this could also work with Elaina? Or… maybe not. Yeah, that's a bad idea.