Short chapter this time around!
For reference:
Soldering iron – A small mechanism used to melt bits of metal so they can be fused together. Often used for small repairs in mechanical equipment. It's kind of like welding. "Soldering" is pronounced "soddering" in the U.S. and phonetically elsewhere.
(Don't worry, this isn't all that important.)
Volkner tapped his foot restlessly and stared at the second hand. Couldn't the clock move any faster? The other kids in his class were still frantically scribbling away, but he had finished his test ten minutes ago.
Cynthia noticed Volkner's impatience and smiled to herself. Every Friday was like this these days, and she knew why. Turning back to her desk, she finished grading his test on Forces.
Another perfect score for her star pupil. These two months had worked miracles for the boy.
Finally, the bell rang, signaling the end of class. The other students groaned, desperately trying to finish their last questions. Meanwhile, Volkner hopped from his seat and swung his bag over his shoulder. He fast-walked out of the room. It was fairly obvious he was trying not to look like he was running, and he just barely remembered to wave goodbye to his favorite teacher before he left the classroom.
Volkner weaved his way expertly between the other students and tried to unlock his locker, messing up twice in hasty excitement. He shoved his backpack in and whipped out a Poké ball, releasing its resident.
"Ready for today's Firewire meeting, Raichu?" The electric mouse responded with a squeak as he hopped eagerly onto Volkner's head. "Great. Let's go!"
At last, the two arrived at room 112. Volkner smiled, straightened his jacket, and took a deep breath before ripping the door open and hurrying inside. "Hey, guys!"
Gardenia was the first to respond. Noticing the Raichu perched on Volkner's head, she kept her voice down. "Hi, Volkner! Wanna buy an Old Gateau? We almost have enough money to pay for the Johto trip."
"Of course," he said, withdrawing his wallet to pay for the small cake. "Raichu, I know you're drooling right now, but it'll have to wait until later. We both know you don't need it right now." He could see Raichu's tail droop a little in disappointment out of the corner of his eye as he pocketed the Gateau, and he couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Thanks, Gardenia. I heard Candice was out sick today. You and the others holding down the fundraising fort alright by yourselves?"
"Yeah. She caught a cold, but she'll be okay. I can handle it over here," the girl said, waving a hand dismissively. "By the way, Lucian's looking for you!"
"Thanks, Gardenia. Let me know if you need help!" Volkner said as he walked away. He'd have to remember to send Candice a get-well text later. He jogged over to the next group and tapped Lucian on the shoulder.
"Hey! Gardenia said you were looking for me," Volkner began, raising the volume of his voice a bit. After working with the club for a while, he had figured out Lucian was hard of hearing and stood overly close to people to compensate. The man kept his distance just fine when someone was loud enough. "Was it about that book you were telling me about?"
A gentle smile graced Lucian's features as he turned around. "Ah, Volkner. Just the man I wanted to see." He retrieved a thick book from the table behind him and gave it to Volkner. "Here it is: No Strings Attached. Enjoy."
Volkner took the hefty book and grinned. He'd been curious about string theory for a while, but it wasn't going to be covered in his physics class. "Thanks a lot, Lucian. I appreciate it."
"Anytime, Volkner. By the way, your boyfriend's already working on the robot," Lucian said, gesturing to the back table where the mechanics did their jobs.
Volkner rolled his eyes. "Thanks." He fought back a grin as he made his way to the back of the room, spotting the red afro immediately. It hadn't taken very long before he and Flint became best friends. They weren't dating, but they had given up correcting their team members after about the hundredth time.
Maylene spotted Volkner first. "Flint, your boyfriend's here," she commented offhandedly, going back to perusing the extensive rule book for this year's game.
Flint whipped his head over his shoulder, then turned back to carefully put down his soldering iron. He hopped up from his seat and jogged up to his friend. "Good to see you, Volk!" What's up?" He threw an arm around Volkner in a brief side-hug and patted him roughly on the back. Flint then addressed Raichu, who was now fidgeting in excitement on Volkner's head. "Hey there, little buddy! I got somethin' for ya. Think you can catch it?"
Raichu sprang to the floor and braced himself, getting into position on all fours and wagging his tail in anticipation of his and Flint's game; this was usual for the two of them by now. Flint pulled out a poffin and fake-threw it a few times to try and throw him off, but Raichu remained steadfast. He then tossed it high, and Raichu made a rather impressive leaping catch, rescuing the poffin before it could hit the floor and devouring it immediately. Not that it mattered, really; Volkner knew the Pokémon would gladly eat Flint's poffins off the floor if he had to.
"Wow, great catch, Raichu! Did you teach yourself Acrobatics since I last saw you? C'mere!" Raichu squeaked loudly and dashed toward Flint, jumping eagerly into his waiting arms and nuzzling his chest affectionately. Volkner approached the happy pair and sighed, shaking his head and smiling fondly.
"What's wrong, dude? Afraid Raichu's gonna start liking me more than you?" Flint teased with a mischievous grin.
"He doesn't like you. He only likes your cooking," Volkner said, though they both knew that wasn't true. He reached out to tickle his Pokémon under its chin. "If you didn't make him jump around for it, I'd worry that you were making him fat."
Their banter was interrupted by Thorton's voice. "Are you two done playing house? We only have a few more meetings before the competition," he teased.
Volkner looked up, remembering where he was and settling down on the bench to get to work. He'd noticed he had a tendency to forget his surroundings when he hung out with Flint. "What are we working on today?"
Flint ambled back to the robot, explaining what they had to fine-tune. He put Raichu down and took off one of his red suspenders, clipping it to one of the robot's panels and wrapping it deftly around one of the bot's arms to keep it out of the way so he could point out the minor bug and operate the soldering iron more easily. Volkner couldn't help but remember the first time he'd tugged on one of the red straps, asking his friend what they were for. Since then, he'd seen many practical and silly uses, his personal favorite being the one where Flint had played tug-of-war with Raichu.
Flint's explanation—and Volkner's thoughts—were interrupted by a jovial, youthful voice. "Guess who finally has the new t-shirts...spoiler alert, it's me!"
There was a collective cheer throughout the room as Aaron hobbled in carrying a large box with the help of his Vespiquen. Volkner jumped from his seat. The first time he saw Aaron with his bizarre outfit, green hair, and multiple butterfly Pokémon, he'd had his doubts on the designer's competence and worried about the possibility of overly-girly t-shirt designs. One look at the new logo had fixed that attitude immediately.
Volkner rushed toward the box with Flint and the others at his heels. As soon as he got his hands on one of the right size, his face lit up as he inspected it. The t-shirt itself was black, and the word "Firewire" was emblazoned on the front. The "Fire" portion consisted of a flaming font, and it was connected to the "wire" part of the word, whose letters resembled a glowing yellow neon sign. Small sparks marked the junction of the compound word.
Volkner excitedly whipped off his jacket, tossing it haphazardly at Flint with a quick "Think fast!" so he could pull the new team shirt on over his own black t-shirt. Flint caught the blue jacket and giggled at his friend's antics.
"Jeez, slow down, Volk! You're such a geek."
Volkner just laughed in response. It occurred to him that hearing that just two months ago would have offended him, but he couldn't for the life of him remember why.
Two more chapters to go. Stay tuned!