Note: Hey guys! Things are starting to get interesting now. :)
Anywho, I would like to say thanks to those who commented in the last chapter! RavenRusher11, Q-A Authoress, aliensinnoh, Guest, Bluejack222, DeretArmourShippping, & FantasyLover88!
I know I've initially chosen Friday as my update schedule, but its random as of now until I finish my amourshipping one. :)
Chapter Four: Detention
Palermo was going to be absolutely furious. She was going to give Serena a handful once she found out that she received detention on the very first day of school. The number one rule she engraved into Serena's mind before taking her under her wing was for her to stay out of trouble.
The honey blonde could already hear Palermo's yells paired off with a lecture. She was most likely going to blame the introduction of boys to the school, and point out that Serena was boy crazy, when in reality she really wasn't. She just cared for Alain's well-being, and losing her detention free streak was worth saving him.
"Well, that's what you get." Alain chuckled after taking a swig from the water fountain. "It's your punishment for caring for me too much." He sounded rather proud, and flattered about Serena's actions.
Serena glared at the boy who resumed his walk down the hall with a single notebook in his hand. He had a few loose pieces of paper hanging out of his book, and it aggravated Serena just a tiny bit. For a boy who just completed his first official days of classes, he didn't seem too worried about being organized and keeping track of his assignments. She wanted to point out his lack of enthusiasm about school, but she had other, important things on her mind.
"It's not my fault that you won't look after yourself." Serena shrugged after turning a corner.
As the two took another turn leading them straight to the detention hall, Serena looked up to see Gary standing just outside the room. She stopped in her tracks as she met the brunette's eyes. With his hands in his pockets, the boy simply nodded and winked at the girl before opening the door and entering the room. His attempt at a flirtatious wink sent shivers down her spine. She was so worried about Palermo's wrath, she completely forgot about Gary.
"So that must be Gary, huh?" Alain asked, staring ahead at where the brunette just stood. "The guy who wants to go on a date with you..." He finished off bitterly.
Serena sighed as she held her books up to her chest. "Yes," she responded reluctantly. She was now hoping that someone else got detention. Even if they did though, it was most likely going to be another boy. None of the girls were stupid enough to receive detention on their very first day.
"See you later," Alain said before walking down another hall.
Startled, Serena looked up at Alain who seemed eager enough to get away from her. "He-Hey!" She called out. "Where do you think you're going?! You said you were going to walk me to detention!"
She looked at the figure that was slowly starting to get smaller. All the Kalosian Champion managed to do was raise his arm up, and wave two fingers at her. He didn't even bother to turn around and look at her being caught in a panic.
Serena groaned before clutching her books tighter against her chest. She took a deep breath before walking the rest of her way to the detention room. As she opened the door, the results of who received detention seemed to be just as she expected. Taking a quick glance around the room, the only person who sat there in the very center was Gary. He already looked very comfortable with his back leaning against his chair, his arms crossed behind his head, and his legs resting on top of his chosen desk. Serena tilted her head upwards, looking at the clock that was placed above the blackboard. She still had five minutes until detention was actually going to start. Five minutes for any other miscreant to enter the room.
The honey blonde walked into the room, closing the door behind her. She took a seat at one of the desks that were closer to the blackboard. She placed her bag on the ground, and her books on top of her desk before sitting up straight. She could already hear the steps of the brunette behind her making his move.
"You don't want to sit beside me?" Gary pouted.
Serena opened her eyes, and took a peek to her left to see Gary sitting in the seat next to her. "It's detention, Gary. We're not supposed to talk."
"But we still have four minutes."
Serena once again glanced up at the clock that was ticking away. Four more minutes for anyone to enter the room. Anyone. It could be Amelia, a girl that gave her a hard time in the Performer's Program for all she cared.
"So how about that date?" Gary was quick to pop the question.
Serena sighed as she continued to stare at the clock in front of her. "I'm sorry Gary, but I don't want to go out with you." She admitted. "That bet was between you and Dawn. I shouldn't be apart of it. I think you should talk about a new reward with Dawn." She tried to refrain from showing her annoyance.
"Those were the terms of the bet, and I don't like changing terms." He responded fairly quick.
This boy just wasn't one to give up. How long has it been since that bet was made? Half a year. Wasn't there any other girl he could bother?
"Just one date." He continued to pester her. "I promise I'm a pretty fun person to be with." He held his hand out in front of him as if he was ready to cite some kind of oath.
Other than just not being interested in the boy beside her, she just didn't have the time to go on dates. She had to train extra hard for her Showcases, and she had a tonne of duties to fulfill as student body president. Halloween was still weeks away, but she knew that she was going to have to plan the events for the holiday in the next couple days.
"I don't have the time to go on dates, Gary."
"It's just one."
"No."
"On the weekend."
"No."
Serena glanced back up at the clock that was a minute away from commencing the beginning of detention. She guessed that she had to be stuck, alone with this boy for a half hour. She absolutely dreaded it, but there was nothing she could do. He was currently listing his charming attributes, and she was paying little to no attention to it.
Suddenly, the door in front of them clicked and opened. The two of them looked up to see Ash enter the room with Pikachu perched on his shoulder.
"Ketchum?" Gary questioned with a raised eyebrow. "What are you doing here?"
"Hey guys..." Ash slightly chuckled with embarrassment as he rubbed his nape. "This is detention isn't it?" He asked for confirmation before maneuvering himself around the desks, and taking a seat behind Serena.
"You have detention?" Gary laughed. "What did you do?"
The honey blonde shifted her weight in her seat to look back at the raven haired Champion. Even she was curious as to how Ash got himself into detention.
"Well..." Ash began, flustered. "I went to check out the battle arena earlier this morning." He looked at Serena. "You know, the one you were supposed to take me too yesterday."
Serena bit her bottom lip, remembering that she did promise Ash that she was going to show him the arena when he was finished picking up his uniform, and finding his classes. She completely forgot though because Gary was his roommate, and she ran away the second she heard his voice.
"… I went there to train... and I forgot to attend my classes. Professor Sycamore found me and he gave me detention for skipping all my classes..." He finished off.
Gary burst out into a fit of laughter. "No wonder why I didn't see you in any of our classes. I just thought you had important Champion duties, but I guess not. Leave it to Ketchum to always be late."
It was just like Ash to put training before anything else. Serena constantly wondered if that trait about him changed, but it seemed to have remained intact. She felt happy to know that Ash was still a hundred percent dedicated to his training. She just thought that after becoming Champion, training wouldn't be such a big deal, but to keep his title, she guessed he had to constantly train hard.
"So what were you guys talking about?" Ash asked, changing the subject. "It sounded important before I came into the room."
"Oh yeah," Gary said, looking back at the honey blonde who began sinking into her seat. "Go on a date with me."
"Date?" Ash perked up at the word date. "You're trying to get Serena to go on a date with you?"
"She owes me one," replied Gary. "Dawn lost a bet and promised me a date with Serena for losing."
Serena groaned before sitting up straight in her seat. "But that bet was months ago. You should just let it go."
"No. I want to go on a date with you."
He wasn't even asking her anymore. To Serena it felt more like he was commanding her to do so. She had to admit that she admired his perseverance, but it still wasn't enough for her to go on a date with him. He was her first bully and was always such a nuisance whenever she came into contact with him. There was absolutely no way that she was ever going to go on a date with him. "Why do you want to go on a date with me so much?" Serena asked with curiosity. She, at least had the right to know as to why he wanted to take her out so badly.
She looked over to Gary, wondering that he was going to say. It had to be along the lines of 'You're another girl on my list', or something like that. His vibe was definitely giving off this obnoxious and narcissistic attitude.
"Who wouldn't?" He replied after a minute of contemplation. He then looked over to Ash and tapped on the edge of his desk. "Wouldn't you want to go out with Serena?"
Serena's eyes widened as she stared ahead at the blank blackboard. Her heart slightly fluttered at Gary asking Ash that question. Her younger self always wanted to know what Ash would think about if they went on a date together. Now, she just felt curious, but that didn't stop her heart from heavily pounding through her chest.
"Yeah," Ash responded after what felt like a billion minutes. "Serena's pretty awesome. I think any guy would be lucky to go on a date with her."
The honey blonde slightly blushed before whipping her head around to look at Ash. He was always so nice, and he probably thought the same about Dawn and May, but she just had to make sure that he wasn't just trolling her, or reading off some cue cards.
"You know," Ash continued, meeting Serena's eyes. "I've read so many of your accomplishments from reading Dawn and May's letters. You became president, you became the top performing student with the best grades, you pulled the Kalosian Champion, Alain out of his rut... You did a lot of great things."
Serena slightly squinted her eyes, trying to read his emotions and what was going on in his head. He sounded somewhat sad, and maybe it was because Dawn and May were the ones conveying her accomplishments to him. She never once wrote a letter to Ash simply because she wanted to get over him. It seemed like he actually took interest in what she was doing over the years, and she tried so hard to rid herself of any news revolving around him.
Once again, the door to the classroom flung wide open, causing the two to look away from one another. Serena raised an eyebrow as Professor Sycamore entered the room with his hair and the top half of his outfit drenched in water.
"Are you okay, Professor?" Serena asked as he took off his lab coat and began drying himself off.
"It's just water," he said. "It's not a big deal... I'm just a few minutes late, that's all."
"How did that happen?" Ash asked as Gary broke out into laughter.
"Well... Alain..." Professor Sycamore gritted his name through his teeth before urging Alain to enter the room.
With one of his hands in his pocket, and the other one holding onto his notebook, the Kalosian Champion sauntered into the room looking like he did nothing wrong.
Serena stared at the boy as Professor Sycamore instructed him to take a seat behind Gary. It suddenly made sense to Serena. She knew Alain well enough to know that he drenched Professor Sycamore on purpose so that she wouldn't have to be alone with Gary in detention. That was why he left her so suddenly before she entered the classroom. The honey blonde smiled to herself before glancing back at Alain. She gave him a faint smile, paired off with a wink to show that she knew what he was up too. He simply met her eyes, and looked away, flustered, immediately after she gave him a wink.
"Alright, we will commence with your detention for half an hour. There will be no talking or fooling around of any sorts," said Professor Sycamore. "You are free to work on any homework you have rece-"
"SERENA YVONNE!"
The all too familiar scream sent Serena over the edge. It belonged to the one and only Palermo, and Serena knew that she wasn't pleased. She didn't even need to turn her head to know that Palermo was standing at the doorway with that giant vein like thing convulsing on her forehead.
"Palermo," Professor Sycamore stood up straight. "Is there something you-"
"Why is my student in detention?" Palermo interrupted before stomping into the room.
Palermo only ever left the Performer's Faculty if it was for something important... or if one of her students were in trouble. Today was the day that Serena thought would never happen.
"Serena is the one who activated the sprinklers in yesterday's assembly. I had to give her detention."
"Yes, well if my students cause any trouble, you let me deal with their punishment." Palermo pointed out in a stern voice. "Now, if you excuse me, I need to talk with her." Palermo glowered down at the honey blonde before commanding her to gather her belongings.
Serena knew all too well that if you didn't listen to Palermo's commands, your entire school year would suffer.
Serena sat in the cushioned seats of Palermo's office as Palermo herself sat across from her, tapping her fingers against her desk. They sat there in silence for what felt like an eternity, and Serena already felt like this was much worse than being in detention.
"I am very disappointed in you, Serena." Palermo finally said. "You have never once gotten detention, and as soon as boys are introduced into the school, you get your first one."
The honey blonde scrunched up the hem of her skirt between her hands, unable to look at her mentor straight in the eye.
"Do you have a crush on one of those boys? That's why you got detention?"
"What?!" Serena almost choked on her spit. "I don't like any of them!" The honey blonde met Palermo's piercing gaze, and she could feel her soul being sucked right out of her body.
Palermo simply sighed before sliding a folder in Serena's direction. "The Grand Opening Ball will be held here in Kalos Academy this year." She was quick to change the subject. "I want you and the council to plan it. It will be held a week from now."
Serena rapidly blinked her eyes. She found it rather strange as to how Palermo's mood changed so quickly. Palermo reached over to the red button on her phone. "Send her in now," she said through the mic, and Serena could hear Miss Anderson's voice through the speaker.
In a few seconds, the doors opened and Shauna entered the room. Palermo gestured for her to take a seat next to Serena, and Shauna was quick to oblige.
"Since Shauna is our current Kalos Queen, I want you two to plan this event together with the student council. I trust Shauna's experience with these kind of events, and I trust your skills as an event planner." Palermo was quick to get to the point. "If you have any questions, please contact me. I will check on your progress every day or so." Palermo urged Serena to grab the folder. Serena opened the folder to already see the requirements needed for the ball. "You two may leave."
The two stood up from their seats and shuffled out of Palermo's office. She thought that she just received a break from Gary, but then she had to face Palermo's wrath. And now, she had to plan an event with the girl that hated her. She just couldn't receive a break.
"Do you want to start working on this now?" Serena asked as they exited the waiting room. "We can jot down some ideas."
"Uhm..." Shauna trailed off, looking around the area.
"Shauna! Over here!"
Serena turned her head to see Amelia waving at them. She then looked over to Shauna who began jogging her way over to their fellow Performer.
Great. Serena thought. The girl who disliked her has befriended the girl that absolutely despised her. Her year was starting off just great.