NOTE: Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! :)
Happy late Remembrance/Veterans Day! I hope you guys are enjoying your long weekend (if you have one). haha
Thanks to everyone who reviewed since last time - Q-A Authoress, FantasyLover88, sunshineisdelicious (I know there are dots in your name, but when I save it always seems to erase half of her username), DJKitKat12, gurkaran23, aliensinnoh, 2Guest, skyblu23, gabed1298, Bluejack222, & PunishedEagle88 who left a PM :)
You guys are all great! I hope you enjoy this chapter too~!
Chapter Ten: Friendship
The sound of the bell echoed throughout the classroom, signifying the end of last period. Serena let out an enthusiastic yawn while stretching her arms over her head. She then closed her books in front of her, and stuffed all her supplies back into her backpack.
"Not getting enough sleep?" Miette asked while standing next to the honey blonde's desk.
"Barely," Serena answered, standing up from her seat. She flung her bag over her shoulders before snuggly fitting it comfortably around her arms.
She hasn't been getting much sleep since the year started, but now that her presidential platform was right around the corner, the amount of beauty sleep she's been receiving drastically decreased than before. Not to mention, catching the person behind her trashed dressing room was giving her nightmares. It's only been a few days since the incident, and Dawn and May have been working so diligently to catch the person who did it. They were still adamant on the fact that it was Amelia, but Amelia always had people around her. They were having a minor setback with trying to examine her blazer.
After Palermo was informed of the incident, Serena received an earful from her. Palermo warned her of the cheaters, and told her a billion times in the past to lock her dressing room door whenever it was time for her to enter another Showcase. Serena supposed she was just so excited to be back on the scene, but Palermo still found it unacceptable. She asked Serena if there was any evidence in the scene to pinpoint whom it might be, but Serena lied to her. She didn't want to have her mentor worry about one of her students being the culprit. She already had enough on her plate.
"You shouldn't worry so much. You have a lot of people helping you." Miette said as they exited the classroom.
"I can't control what I'm feeling," Serena deadpanned.
"1, 2, 3, 4! Guess who you should vote for…!"
"5, 6, 7, 8! GARY! GARY! GAAAARY OAK!"
"What's going on?" Serena asked as they turned a corner. The same cheer was being repeated in bright preppy voices.
Through the bustling crowd of students, the cheer grew louder as the two girls continued their walk down the hall. Eventually, the two stopped behind a small crowd of people, and Serena could already make out a few cheerleaders jumping around the area. With Miette trailing along behind her, Serena pushed her way through the crowd until she had a clear enough view of what was happening in front of her.
"That's right everyone!" Gary yelled out through a megaphone. "Vote for me and you'll get free pizza everyday!"
"Vote for us and we'll get you any food you want!" Serena's eyes darted over to the left where Amelia stood, holding her own megaphone.
She couldn't believe what was happening. Did Gary and Amelia partner up for the upcoming election? Serena tried her best to keep her jaw from dropping open, but she failed upon receiving a coupon from one of the cheerleaders. She looked down at the small, square sheet of paper that contained a voucher for a free slice of pizza.
"Free food?" Miette remarked. "That's going to be hard to beat."
"Free food isn't going to help the school." The honey blonde gritted through her teeth while scrunching the coupon within her grasp.
"Yeah, but it's a way to win the majority." Miette shrugged her shoulders.
Serena sighed as she watched all the students around her grab their own coupon from the perky cheerleaders. All the students then took a left, most likely towards the cafeteria to grab their own slice.
The hall was already crowded, and it was still growing by the second. The cafeteria was probably even more crowded with people grabbing a slice of pizza.
"We're going to have to check it out," said Serena as another cheerleader handed her another coupon. She had an urge to scrunch this one up too, but prevented herself from doing so in order to check out the selection that Gary and Amelia managed to put together.
Serena took a left with Miette trailing behind her. As they reached the cafeteria, the two were greeted by a worried Dawn who stood at the entrance to the dining area.
"This sucks," Dawn said, pointing to the large crowd who stood at the other end of the room. They were all lining up behind a food truck, labeled Gary & Amelia's Pizza Parlour. The line went to the back of the room before making a turn, and extended back towards the truck, before once again looping back to the other side.
"This is awesome!" A male student rushed by with a cluster of other boys. "The line is really long, but it's definitely worth it."
"I bet if we ask Gary for a second food truck for faster lines, he would do it." Another one added.
"Yeah, We're definitely going to vote for Gary and Amelia!"
The trio glared at the cluster of boys leaving the cafeteria. Their harsh stares went on unnoticed, and their glares immediately shifted into saddened expressions.
"What are we going to do?!" Dawn threw her hands up in the air. "We can't give away free food! Where did they even get the money from?"
"Don't they both come from rich families?" Miette crossed her arms as she stuck her foot out in front of her.
A boy running with a few slices of pizza fell to the floor, his food now sliding across the hall. He grimaced before using his palms to pull himself up. "What did you do that for?!" He spat out at the bluenette who remained calm.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe you're just a klutz." Miette waved him off dismissively. "You were running like a maniac."
"Now I have to wait in line again!"
"Oh, Boohoo!" Miette stuck her tongue out at him.
The boy glowered down at her with his face just a few inches away from her. He groaned in frustration with clenched fists before marching out of the room.
"Miette!" Serena began to scold her friend. "We probably lost a vote now because of you."
"Oh please, you can still win without his vote." Miette retorted.
The honey blonde groaned before letting out a frustrated exhale. She loved Miette to pieces, but sometimes her ways of support was just a little bit extreme. "Every vote counts." She finished off.
She returned her attention back to the line, wondering how she was going to compete with the king and queen who held the title of being the most annoying rich kids in the school. In the past few years, those who ran for president never partnered with someone who was running for vice president. She couldn't decide if that was considered some form of cheating or a really smart move. If she were to talk to Headmaster Redwood, he would probably allow it. He would be happy to see that a guy and a girl were getting along. That was far more important to him than the outcome of the newly reformed student council. If he were to allow that, then maybe her partnering up with Dawn would be a good idea too.
"Let's go check out the selection," said Serena. "Maybe it isn't as great as we think…"
The honey blonde took a deep breath, trying to keep herself positive. She wasn't going to let an idea like free pizza prevent her from running an even better platform. Sure free pizza was great, but in the long run, it was unhealthy and unbeneficial to the school.
"Alright," Dawn agreed. "I'll ask the students if there is something they want other than pizza."
The trio nodded at one another before going their separate ways.
Serena wandered around the cafeteria, the smell of melted cheese wafting over her nose. It was much stronger than any other ingredient on a typical slice. As she maneuvered around the students, she made a mental note of the kind of pizza they were all eating. They were all typical flavors. Pepperoni. Cheese. Hawaiian. With that, she could definitely alter the cafeteria menu a bit if that's what the majority wanted.
"Get more coupons here…"
Serena whipped around, hearing Ash's voice sound close to her. She scanned the area, until her eyes fell upon the boy standing just a few feet away from the side of the food truck. Serena chuckled upon seeing the raven haired Champion wearing a giant pizza costume. The only thing Serena could see was his head sticking out through a hole, and a small portion of his legs peeking beneath the crust.
The honey blonde giggled much louder while walking towards him. He looked flustered, and very much agitated. She couldn't blame him though. She would feel the same if she ended up as the mascot for the pizza truck.
"Hey Ash!" Serena called out, garnering his attention with a wave. "Or should I say Mr. Pizza?"
With a reddened face, Ash turned his attention to her after handing out a few coupons to a couple passing students. "He-Hey Serena," he greeted. "I didn't want you to see me like this…" he said quietly.
"I'm going to guess that because you're Gary's roommate, you were forced to wear this costume." Serena tried to stifle another wave of laughter, but failed. She extended her arm and reached out to touch the giant slice of mushroom that was located just under his face. "Your red face actually suits the costume even more. You look like a slice of tomato in the center of all of it," she teased, causing the boy's face to redden much more than it was.
Ash chuckled nervously before handing out a few more coupons. "I was against wearing it… but then Master Redwood passed by while we were arguing, and I was forced into doing it." He sighed. "I really want a different roommate…"
"I hope that doesn't mean that you're going to vote for Gary."
"C'mon Serena," said Ash. "You know that I'm going to vote for you."
Serena smiled, feeling her own cheeks turn a rosy shade of pink. Ash was always such a sweet guy. She surely hoped that he wasn't breaking other girls' hearts with his kind personality.
"Ashy-boy!" Gary called out behind Serena. In just a few seconds, Serena could feel the brunette drape an arm over her shoulder. "I want all those coupons gone in the next ten minutes! You know I'm not paying you to just stand around and talk to cute girls," he said before turning his head to look at the honey blonde. He winked at the girl, sending shivers up her spine.
"You're not even paying me," Ash groaned as Gary shooed him away.
Serena grimaced before pulling Gary's arm away from her. "Gary," she said in a stern voice.
"Serena," he said before brushing his index finger against her chin. "I'd make a pretty good president don't you think?"
"Winning votes from the students by giving them free stuff doesn't make you a good president," Serena retorted with crossed arms.
"Serena..." His signature smirk formed across his face. "I'm already winning. If you want, I'll drop Amelia and make you my vice president instead. I'd rather have you anyways." He leaned in close, and winked.
"As if." Serena pushed his face away. "I'm still going to win this election."
"Why don't you just give up?" He pouted. "I'm pretty sure I have this election in the bag."
"We still have to deliver our platform," she pointed out. "I'm still going to beat you, and Dawn will beat out Amelia too!"
"Your determination just makes me like you even more," he sneered.
His comment made her want to barf, but she held it in to prevent degrading her image.
"Serena," May called out before grabbing ahold of her wrist. Serena turned around to look at May. Behind her stood Dawn and Miette. Within a matter of seconds Dawn and Gary began bickering with one another.
"I don't think you have to worry about Amelia anymore. I got all the evidence I need to prove that it was her who trashed your room."
Serena widened her eyes. "Really?" she asked. "That's fast…" she glanced over at Dawn who was lecturing Gary about their assignments.
"Come on," May said, dragging her through the crowd.
"You're all just wasting my time! Can't you see that I'm busy?" Amelia barked with crossed arms. "I'm winning my spot as student vice president!"
"That spot belongs to me," Dawn murmured.
"It's mine now," Amelia smirked. "C'mon ladies." She turned her attention to her three avid followers. She then stood from the stool, and began strutting towards the door.
"Not so fast Amelia." Palermo entered the room just as the angered performer reached for the doorknob. "If May here has something important to tell me, than I would like to hear it."
Serena stared at her mentor in shock. She took a step to the left behind Dawn, intending to hide herself from Palermo's sight. She didn't think that May would invite Palermo to her accusation. She could still be wrong, and make herself look like a fool. Then, Serena would receive a handful from her mentor about why her friend wasted her time, and why she lied about finding evidence in her dressing room.
"Serena," Palermo cleared her throat. "Do I still have to tell you to be comfortable around me?"
The honey blonde shut her eyes tightly before fluttering them wide open. She peeked her head over Dawn's shoulder and grinned awkwardly at her mentor. "I didn't think you'd have time to come here…" she said with a shaky voice before noticing Shauna who was standing beside Palermo. She must have entered the room just after her.
"Well, it is my issue when two students come to me, complaining about a certain student in my faculty." Palermo narrowed her eyes at Amelia. "Now what seems to be the problem?"
Serena shuffled a few steps to the left, and watched as May began rummaging through her pocket.
"I believe that it was Amelia who trashed Serena's dressing room!" May said with a stern expression. Despite that Serena could tell that even May was slightly wavered by Palermo's presence.
"What is your proof?" Palermo asked.
"After the incident, Dawn and I found this button in the dressing room." May held the button up for Palermo to inspect. "It has our school insignia on it, and the button is only found on our blazers. That is already enough proof to show that it was a student from our school."
Palermo took a couple steps forward before grabbing the button from May's hand.
"Your only proof is a button?" Amelia scoffed before pointing to all the buttons on her blazer. "A button is nothing. Look at my blazer. I'm missing none!"
"Her buttons are all intact," Palermo agreed.
Serena shuffled over a bit, readying herself to hide behind Dawn once more. She could see that Palermo was getting a bit agitated.
"But that isn't her blazer," May said.
"What!?" Amelia said, unamused. "This is my blazer! If you're just going to waste Palermo's time you should at least do it right."
"That is not your blazer," May said once more. "Look at it." She pointed to the blazer, gesturing Palermo to analyze it closely. "It's a bit too big for her, and look at Whitney…" May then pointed to one of Amelia's followers. A follower that was noticeably larger than Amelia. "Whitney's blazer looks a bit too small for her. My bet is that they switched blazers."
"Whitney." Palermo stared at the girl, signifying that she should remove her blazer.
Whitney stood from her seat and obliged. She removed her blazer and handed it over to Palermo.
Serena took a few steps forward to analyze the blazer with the rest of the girls. It was, as a matter of fact, missing a button on one of the cuffs.
"Amelia must have made Whitney switch blazers with her, so that she would receive the punishment instead." May said rather proudly.
"That's just a coincidence!" Amelia pointed out. "It was hot during lunch, so we all took off our blazers. I must have grabbed Whitney's by mistake."
"Since when do you grab someone else's clothing by mistake?" Miette scoffed. "You don't like sharing any of your clothes, and a blazer isn't an exception."
"I was in a hurry, and didn't notice." Amelia rolled her eyes. "Sue me for making a mistake."
"Well, Whitney is still missing a button. That could still mean that you sent her to do your dirty work."
"Oh please, Whitney's been missing a button since the start of the year. Your evidence means nothing."
"Amelia is right." Palermo interjected. "A button is not enough evidence to pin her as the criminal. It could merely be a coincidence."
"But I-" May began, ready to protest.
"No but's," Palermo said. She furrowed her eyebrow before looking at Serena, giving her a disappointed look. "I know you girls aren't fond of one another, but that doesn't mean that you should pin the blame on someone because of some differences. That is not how a Kalos Queen acts." She nodded her head in shame.
Serena looked down, unable to meet Palermo's gaze. There it was. Her disappointment. That was something Serena didn't want to see.
"That's why I'm here." Shauna said. "As current Kalos Queen, it becomes my problem when a performer's work has been trashed. I want to be able to compete with the best, and that can't happen when someone who has the potential to beat me loses their chance when someone ruins their hard work."
The honey blonde looked up in surprise, her eyes resting upon Shauna. She watched as the brunette began rummaging through her bag.
"After the show, I went to security, and asked to see their surveillance tapes." She pulled a disc from her backpack, and walked to the other side of the classroom. There, she inserted the disc into a computer, and began relaying the images on a projector.
Serena and the others looked up at the screen as Shauna began scrolling through the video, trying to find the scene that pertained to the incident. After a couple minutes of going through the video, Serena watched the recording to see Amelia entering her dressing room. She squinted her eyes, noticing that the button on her cuff was still there. After a few minutes, Amelia left with a missing button, and soon after she watched Dawn, May, Miette, and herself stand in front of the dressing room with shocked looks on their faces. Serena remembered that moment all too well.
"If this isn't enough to prove that it wasn't Amelia, then I don't know what is." Shauna said. "She came in immediately after Dawn and May left the room. It obviously wasn't trashed at that point."
"Very well then," Palermo said rather calmly, but Serena could tell that she was feeling the exact opposite. That vein popping on her forehead gave it all away. "Amelia, I'll see you in my office. Now."
"But I-"
"Your minions too," Palermo interjected while walking to the other side of the room to grab the disc from the computer. "I gave you a chance in the program simply because your father wouldn't stop bothering me. Well, it seems that I have made the wrong decision by accepting his wishes.
"It's not fair!" Amelia countered as she stomped towards the door. "I've been a student here longer than Serena, and I've never been your favorite nor have I been able to participate in any showcases!"
"Because you have an attitude problem." Palermo was quick to point out her flaw. "Under my instruction, it seems you aren't able to change your stuck up, prissy personality. You are nowhere near becoming Kalos Queen with the way you are now. I'm pulling you out of the election to work on this attitude problem of yours. We'll discuss the rest of your punishment in my office, NOW!"
Palermo exited the room with Amelia and her minions.
Serena blinked in confusion, still trying to process what just happened. She's never seen Palermo insult a student like that before. It now, made it much harder for her to get comfortable around her mentor.
"That was so awesome," Dawn squealed. "After all these years, Amelia is finally getting what she deserves."
"It all makes sense," May said before turning her attention to the honey blonde. "Amelia never liked you, but she was never motivated to do anything until now because Palermo deemed you qualified for the Showcases this year."
"I couldn't have done any of this without you guys," Serena thanked her friends before pulling them into a group hug. She then looked over at Shauna who stood there awkwardly.
"Shauna," Serena said. "Thank you for helping me."
"Well," Shauna began, shyly. "To be honest, I owe you one. You stood up for me when Amelia was giving me such a hard time. I don't even know why I chose to hang out with her."
"Everyone makes mistakes," Serena said, walking up to her. "So… friends?" She held her hand out for the brunette to shake.
"I'd like that," Shauna smiled before gripping the honey blonde's hand. "And Serena…?"
"Yeah?" Serena couldn't stop herself from smiling so widely.
"As Kalos Queen, I want to compete with the best, and you're one of them."
"Then when the time comes, I'll give it my all."
Shauna smiled back. "Me too."
Next Chapter Preview: Shauna's Confession
"So why exactly did you hold a grudge against Serena all these years?" Miette asked.
Serena nudged her friends' shoulder. She never asked Shauna why she did, and she didn't bring it up because she didn't want to lose her friendship with her again.
"What?" Miette asked. "You have the right to know."
"It's okay," Shauna giggled. "Miette's right. You do have the right to know. I'm honestly surprised that you didn't bother to ask me the second we became friends again. The truth is…"
After the next chapter, we should be getting into more amourshipping moments, so I'd like to say thanks to all of those who remained patient. haha.
Anywho, thanks for reading the chapter!
Leave a like, leave a favorite, leave a review or even a PM! ~ :)