Chapter 2

The bus ride wasn't too long, and as I got off I simply followed May and Dawn into the school. I looked around, avoiding looking at her incredible blue hair. The main hall was absolutely gigantic, with a glass ceiling and huge glass windows. To the left, the third and second (main) floors were visible, and the first and basement were downstairs.

"Ash!" Someone yelled to me. It was May. Her simple group had turned into a much larger group. I walked over. "Ash find your name on this paper. It will tell you your home class and where your locker is."

"HI I'M MISTY!" A tall, orange-haired girl was suddenly in my face and shaking my hand. May pulled her back and gave her a strange look. Things just got awkward.

"I'm Brock! Great to meet you. I hear you play soccer; I'm the captain. I'll put in a good word for you. Tryouts tomorrow!" The boy was my height, but much darker skinned. His voice was deep, and you could tell he was athletic. But he was nice, so I felt more comfortable again.

"Great! I'll definitely be there!"

"Gary's the name! Wassup, brotha?" This guy's use of slang was already starting to annoy me. But at least he was trying to make me feel more comfortable, I had to give him that. He had light brown hair and was shorter than Brock and I. Suddenly, he put his arm around me. "Alright here's the story. I'm the chick magnet of the school, bro!" Everyone moaned. "Shaddup, so if you ever..."

Out of the corner of my eye I could see a figure staring at me. It was Dawn! Again, the sweat returned and I began to radiate heat like a fire pokemon. I glanced at her. She was zoned out staring into my eyes. I decided to play it cool and give her a smile. She immediately returned and looked down. I could have sworn she blushed, but then again, it was hard to see her face. I couldn't tell if my sweating and heat died down, or if it just became even worse and I couldn't feel it anymore.

"...Okay, bro?" I realized Gary had just finished talking.

"You got it man!" I said humorously, because everyone clearly saw that I wasn't paying attention at all.

"Hmph"

"I'm sure you'll meet more of our friends in some of your classes, Ash!" May told me.

I actually took that one to heart. It was as if she believed that I couldn't make friends for myself, and that kind of pissed me off.

"Cool!" I decided to say.

My locker was located in the basement, next to Gary's. On my way down I wasn't expecting much; it was a goddamn basement. When we got down it actually seemed more pleasant than the main floors. The lockers were much wider, which was great. I began unloading my things and dumping them in there.

"What's your first class, man?" Gary asked.

"Uhh, it's math"

"That sucks! Sorry man!"

Actually I didn't mind. I was good at it and it was easy to me; a good way to start off my day.

"Well I'll catch ya later, dawg" said Gary. He never missed an opportunity to add a pointless word to a sentence.

Getting into Math, I sat around the middle. Didn't want to be in the front, that's for sure, and I always found the back very uninviting, unless you had a substitute teacher.

I wasn't the first, but there weren't many people in yet. I looked at my watch and noticed the bell would ring in 2 minutes. In those two minutes, every seat filled up but mine. So, there WERE a lot of people.

The bell was ringing as she entered. "Goddamn it" I thought. "Her AGAIN?" It was Dawn. Of course, the only seat left was beside me. It seemed she was hesitant to sit beside me, and it seemed that she almost preferred to stand. Eventually she sat. "What the hell?" I thought.

I had some strange feelings for this girl. She had an effect on me where I would always become nervous and usually sweat at her presence. But, it was weird. I liked to be in her presence.

And I say, "be in her presence" lightly. I couldn't talk to her, nor look at her. Nothing. I couldn't understand it. This never happened before.

75 minutes felt like years sitting quietly beside her. Finally class was over, and it was off to second period. Music.

I played many instruments. My best was piano, but I played guitar, trumpet, drums and violin as well. Music class was a breeze, and Misty and her friend were in that class too.

"Oh! Hey! Ash!" Misty called out. "This is Jasmine."

A fairly tall girl with light brown hair was greeting me. Her hair was let down, but she almost had horns of hair on top. It sounds weird, but it was a nice look for her.

"So what do you guys play?" I asked.

"Well I LOVE the flute. And Jasmine plays the saxophone." Misty replied.

"Jeez, Misty, I can talk for myself you know..." Jasmine complained.

"Whatever."

The teacher just talked about the rules of the music room for the whole period. I was disappointed that we didn't get to play, not even just for fun. Oh well. I had a nice talk with Misty and Jasmine during the period.

Lunch time, and I wasn't looking forward to it. I had a feeling that my predictions at breakfast were going to prove true.

I made my way to the caf with Gary, as well as Jasmine and Misty, who I found out also had lockers in the basement. It was a huge room with quite a long line-up, but it seemed like they sold everything. I was very surprised. They even sold pokemon food, which was completely unnecessary, for no one in the school could own one.

I actually bought a delicious looking slice of pizza and a drink. Not too shabby. As I followed my new friends to our table, I noticed Dawn wasn't there. My body and brain were happy, but my heart sunk. I quickly snapped out of it and sat across from May.

"How's your day been so far?" She asked me.

"Well if this pizza tastes good, then it will be perfect." I lied. First period was torture.

"See? See? I told you you'd love it here!"

"When did I ever doubt it, May?"

Brock started, "So Ash, what do you have after lunch?"

I was preparing my answer when someone sat next to May. It was, once again, Dawn. My heart was pounding a million beats per minute and I was surprised that no one else could hear it. May gave her a "hello" nod and then turned to look to look at me, puzzled.

"Uh, Ash?" Brock asked impatiently.

My heart skipped a beat, or maybe two, as I remembered the question previously asked.

"Oh! Right sorry! Haha." I said, nervously laughing. "I have P.E."

"Oh, me too!" Brock seemed happy. "And I think we're playing volleyball as an introductory activity"

"Yes!" I thought. "Finally, something that will take my mind off 'things' for once".

"I hear you're quite the star at it!" Jasmine added.

"Yeah, and to think we get to watch him play all period, eh Dawn?" Misty said, addressing Dawn.

Wait, WHAT?

Dawn let out a breath that I interpreted as a failure of trying to say something. "Really?" she corrected herself.

"Yeah, health class is in the gym today! Isn't it great?"

At that point the bell rang, and we all started towards our lockers. I was nervous as ever. "Great" I thought. "Another period with Dawn? Way to 'take my mind off things'".

And so I headed to my locker and then to the change room, not at all prepared for P.E. anymore.