Humhumhum. Crappiness. :3

Chapter 2: Worst Day Of My Life

She had shoulder-length, incredibly glossy hair the colour of autumn leaves and eyes like almond-shaped, long-lashed sapphires. She was dressed in a plain white tank top and jeans, but she should have been wearing a royal gown, or at least some kind of prom dress. It was as though the whole room had suddenly turned dark and a heavenly beam of light was shining down upon her.

I must have been staring, because she gave me a funny look. Then she started walking towards me. I frantically tried to pull together an amazingly cool greeting that didn't sound like a corny pick-up line, when I realised she was walking past me towards Nurse Joy. I stifled a sigh of relief as she said to Joy, "I'm here to pick up my Cubone. Is the check-up over?"

"Yes, it is. Your Cubone is very well looked after," replied Joy. "Cubone!"

A small brown Pokémon with an oversized skull over its head hurried out, grunting excitedly. "Cuu! Bone!"

"Hel-lo, Cubone," she cooed, bending down to pick it up. She gave me another odd look and muttered at me, "Do I have something on my face?" as she straightened up.

I jumped, startled, and tried to stop myself blushing. Dignified, Will. Dignified.

"Er...um...I...uh...no," I said rather lamely, and felt my face grow hot before I could stop myself.

She gave me what could have been a smile if she hadn't looked so taken aback. "I'm Linda."

Linda. The name bounced around my mind, which had gone oddly blank.

"Er...I'm Will," I managed to stammer.

What was wrong with me? That morning seemed an age ago, when I had spent three hours admiring myself in the mirror, thinking how cool, collected and smart, not to mention good-looking, I was. I felt like an ugly mutant next to Linda.

"Your Bulbasaur is ready," said Joy suddenly, interrupting my thoughts.

I jumped again, feeling like a twitchy squirrel or something. "Oh - er - thanks." I took the PokéBall from her. I felt Linda's eyes on me.

"What do you do?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" I replied, surprised.

"Well, I'm in training to be a Pokémon Professor. What are you?"

"A trainer," I said promptly, and to my astonishment, Linda recoiled suddenly, as if I'd said 'a Rocket'.

"...oh," she said, looking rather disappointed. "You see - er - I think battling is...inhumane."

"How?" I said before I could stop myself, and wished I hadn't. She looked disgusted.

"Trainers force Pokémon to battle," she said fiercely, switching moods. "They sit back, yell out orders, and watch their friends suffer."

"Well...it's not always like that, is it? Some Pokémon enjoy battling." I knew I hadn't a hope in a debate against Linda, not when I was already distracted by her looks, but my pride wouldn't let me give in and say wearily, 'yes, you're right'.

"How do you know, Will?" She stared at me as if seeing me in a new light - or darkness, I thought gloomily. "How do you know...? It's funny. I thought you seemed okay at first. Now I find out you're one of those - those - barbarians!"

She stormed out of the Centre, clutching her Cubone. Oh great, I thought. She thought I was okay at first... I sighed, my shoulders sagging. Why didn't I say I was going to be a field medic or a breeder or something?

I scuffed my feet as I left the Centre. I got the worst possible starter Pokémon, was annihilated by a little kid, and now an insanely pretty girl thinks I'm barbaric. Could this day get any worse?

Crap. Apparently it could.

Look who's back. None other than Little Miss Crazy herself.

"Why the long face?" chirruped Bridget, skipping along beside me.

"Never you mind," I snapped back. The snappy retort bounced off her and she just smiled in her naive way that suggested she wasn't actually naive at all.

"So where are you going now?" she asked, like it was any of her business.

"Viridian Forest. And then Pewter City," I replied flatly. Nosy little -

"Can I come?"

It shocked me more than I thought I would. "What the - NO!" I yelled, startling myself. "It's all I need, isn't it, to be glued to an annoying little kid? After the worst day of my life, I've got another crappy day with Bridget the Insane to look forward to! No you may not! Now stop following me, you weird stalker!"

Oh, joy of all joys. Bridget's eyes filled with tears and she began to sob.

Damn, she's a good actor.