Juliana skipped into her dorm room and closed the door behind her. Wasting no time, she immediately took her new shoes out of the shopping bag and placed them on the ground. She sat on her bed and excitedly took her current shoes and socks off and went to open her sock drawer. It didn't take her long to decide to wear her basic white crew socks. After putting them on, she eagerly slipped on her new shoes and tied the laces. She went to the mirror and looked at herself, feeling a burst of energy.
"Oh these are so cute! Eri was right, they suit me so well!" She slightly rotated her toes at an angle to look at the Tandemaus graphic on the heels, "I'm so lucky to have gotten the last pair in stock!"
After looking at them for a few more minutes, she grabbed her backpack and went skipping out the door, locking it behind her. When she reached the entrance hall, she saw Arven headed her way.
His eyes lit up, "Juliana, hey!"
Juliana waved enthusiastically, "Hi Arven!" She ran to him and leapt into his arms, bending her knees so her feet were sticking up behind her. Arven caught her and held her up without difficulty.
"Whoa!" He chuckled, "Someone's excited today!"
She hopped out his arms, landing with a slight bounce on her toes, "Haha! I'm just having a good morning!"
"I heard you battled with one of those Team Star girls, how's that go?"
After looking around to ensure no one could hear, Juliana whispered, "I won."
Arven smiled, "Of course you did, that's my little champion! I'm a little bummed out that I missed it, but still! Great job!"
"But enough about me, where are you headed now?" Juliana asked.
"I'm headed to my next class, it's home economics with Professor Saguaro."
Juliana's eyes lit up, "Hey, that's where I'm headed too! All right, we're gonna have a class together!"
Arven returned the energy, "Wait, really? All right, that's so awesome! Let's get going!"
When they got to the classroom, it was mostly filled up. Luckily, they found two chairs at one of the front tables, Juliana took a seat and Arven sat across from her. Students were still chattering amongst themselves and looking at their rotom phones. That was until Professor Saguaro entered the room and greeted the students, "All right everyone, put away your phones. It's time for class."
Everyone put their phones away as requested, prompting Saguaro to speak again, "Though some of you had to retake the midterm exam multiple times, I am glad to say that the majority of the class passed without issue." He smiled, "I feel honored to see that the knowledge and skills indispensable for daily life have taken root in all of you. Hopefully what you've learned here will be applied in your daily lives. Now, let us turn our attention to the topic of the day, which was inspired by a question I received on the subject of meal powers. The student who asked this question is a young man who enjoys the culinary arts."
It didn't take long for Juliana to realize he was talking about Arven, she stole a loving glance.
Saguaro continued, "He tells me that he regularly researches culinary techniques on his own and pays careful attention to the ingredients he uses. He also spends day and night studying all aspects of the culinary arts. Yet despite this, he is baffled by his inability to increase the effectiveness of his meal powers…"
Saguaro turned to face Juliana, "So tell me, Miss Juliana, since you did quite well on your midterm exam… what should Ar-Ahem, this young man, do to increase the effectiveness of his meal powers?"
Without thinking, she replied, "Ar…ven?"
Saguaro's facial expression was one of shock at her answer, it took a few seconds for Juliana to realize what she had done. When she did, her eyes flew wide open and her entire face flushed bright red, "Ah! Um! What I meant was… he should… cook with more people!" She smiled nervously, but on the inside she felt like she wanted to cry.
Saguaro paused for a moment before replying, "Ahem… yes, that's the answer I was looking for Miss Juliana. I cannot disclose the identity of this male student who enjoys the culinary arts, it may very well be Arven, but it may not be!"
The other students in the classroom all started laughing, it was good-natured laughing, but Juliana still felt like an idiot. She shrunk in her seat, burying her face in her hands. She could see Arven slouched forward, also with his face in his hands. But then she heard what sounded like a chortle coming from him. Was he… laughing?
"Okay, enough of that." Saguaro silenced the laughter, "To increase the effectiveness of meal powers, your sandwiches must be filled with many different ingredients."
As Saguaro continued speaking, Juliana felt like she wanted to flee from the classroom and hide in her dorm for the rest of the day. She noticed Arven slowly pick his head up and focus back on Saguaro. She could still feel some eyes on her, she couldn't believe she had done something so silly.
"Ahh… I want to disappear so bad! I'm so dumb why did I do that!? I just want to hide…"
Saguaro then stated, "I am sure that Arven will likewise work with friends to craft his sandwiches in the future."
Arven visibly reacted once more, Saguaro gasped lightly realizing he had spilled the beans. Trying to brush it off he cleared his throat, "Um… the identity of this male student is a matter of privacy, I ask that you do not pry any further."
At that moment, the bell rang to signal the end of class, "Okay, that's all for today. Thank you everyone." Saguaro bid everyone. The other students stood up and left the class, some were laughing about what Juliana had done, but most of them were just talking about their own things. Juliana stood up after everyone left and put her backpack back on her shoulders. Arven also stood and walked to her with an amused look.
"I'm so sorry…" Juliana apologized bashfully.
Arven shook his head and chuckled, "It's okay, don't worry about it. Everyone probably would've figured out it was me anyway. I'm happy to know you were thinking about me." He teased.
Juliana squeezed her eyes shut, hoping she wasn't blushing too bad. Saguaro approached the couple, "Are you two all right?'
"Yes sir." Arven answered. Juliana simply nodded.
"I'm terribly sorry about that Arven." Saguaro apologized, "It slipped out of my mouth and I didn't realize it until it had already been said."
"You aren't the only one." Juliana related.
Saguaro laughed a little, "I certainly wasn't expecting that, Miss Juliana. But nonetheless, don't fret too much about it. It happens. So, Arven here has told me that you two are… together now?"
Juliana nodded, "That's right, we got together recently."
Arven put a nervous hand on his neck.
Saguaro gave an approving nod, "That's wonderful news! I had asked Arven what was going on when we were having a one-on-one conversation. I noticed he seemed to have an extra… spring in his step. So I asked about it."
"Ah, that makes sense." Juliana replied, looking at her boyfriend.
Arven added, "Saguaro had been curious for a while. He's heard some things about us from all over the place."
Saguaro confirmed, "I have. Many students love to come into this room to grab a snack and gossip about all the going-ons of the school. Juliana you are quite the object of everyone's interest, although I can imagine that must be a bit of a bother to you."
Juliana shrugged, "I've kinda grown used to it to be honest."
"You come up so frequently in those talks that I can't help but be intrigued." Saguaro admitted, "Of course, the one thing everyone has been saying right now is how cute the newest couple is, Juliana and Arven."
Professor Saguaro recalled the gossip…
"Juliana and Arven are so adorable together!"
"I know right!? They seem so different though, who would've thought they'd be a couple!?"
"That's what makes them so cute!"
"Man, that Professor's kid is so lucky, he's dating that really pretty girl, Juliana!"
"I wonder how they got to be so close. Juliana seems really outgoing and that Professor's kid? He hardly said a word to anyone last year, right?"
"Ah, who cares! They're so cute!"
Saguaro chuckled before speaking, "Please feel free to relax and unwind a bit. I certainly don't mind at all."
"Thanks sir!" Arven thanked him, "Hey Juliana, that reminds me! I have another recipe I want you to try. Let me get the ingredients ready!"
Juliana smiled, "Yay! Just in time, I was hungry!"
Saguaro watched proudly as the two sat down at a table and Arven began preparing many different ingredients.
"Well, I hope you've got a big appetite for this one!" Arven winked, "Because this one will fill you right up!"
Juliana clasped her hands together as Arven prepared the sandwich, the ingredients consisted of a hamburger patty, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes and pickles. Combined with ketchup, mustard, butter, and pepper.
"Yeeeeeaaarrt! Hiya! Huwatcha! Hyah!"
The finished sandwiches were a delightful work of art with just the right fillings, all perfectly blended together.
"Wow! It looks really good!" Juliana enthused.
Arven grinned and gave her one, "Give it a try! It's one of my Arven specials!"
She did, and it was nothing short of amazing. The meat was just the right amount of tenderness without being too dry. The lettuce made a satisfying crunching noise while she bit down and the pickles gave it that tangy bit of juice. The cheese also gave it some extra salty flavor. The tomatoes gave a pinch of tart. The butter helped keep the bread nice and firm and the ketchup and mustard tasted like heaven together.
Juliana's eyes lit up as the sandwich went down smoothly, and she took another bite without saying anything.
Arven laughed, "Hahaha! I'm glad you really like it!"
It was honestly a very tasty sandwich, it felt like the perfect fix of absolutely everything. All well-rounded, beautiful perfection. Arven chuckled again after swallowing his first bite, "Haha! Slow down cutie!" he cautioned.
Juliana giggled a little, "Sorry! It's just a really good sandwich, how do you come up with all these recipes they are genius!
Arven replied, "I've had a lot of practice. It helps to have a passion for it too."
"You'll be the most amazing cook Arven, I know it!"
Now it was Arven's turn to get a little red, "Heheh… I hope so… say, Juliana?"
"Hm?"
"What about you? What do you plan on doing now?"
Juliana paused at the last bite of her sandwich, "Um…"
"I mean, you've become a champion, you're the strongest trainer in school, you've done so many amazing things. What's your plan now?"
"That's a… good question. Heheh… I never really thought about that before. There's so many different options, it's hard to decide on one."
"Yeah, that's true." Arven agreed, "It took me a bit of time before I realized what I wanted to do with myself. So don't worry about it too much, okay?"
"I know I want to keep travelling, and I want to go somewhere outside of Paldea one day… I just haven't been able to find an opportunity to do so yet…"
Neither Juliana nor Arven noticed the brochure on the table next to them that advertised a future school trip to the land of Kitakami, a place of tranquil natural expanses, featuring rice paddies and apple orchards.
"That's a good idea." Arven nodded, "You'll have more opportunities to learn about yourself travelling beyond the boundaries of what's familiar to you."
"That's right! I want to experience all kinds of new things! I want to know what goes on in the world besides what happens here! I hope I get to do that soon…"
"You will." Arven encouraged, "I know that will happen for you one day Juliana. And know that I'll be cheering you on, okay?"
Juliana smiled, "Thanks Arven." Before finishing the last bite of the sandwich, "Also Arven… Could you make another sandwich just like this one? I want to give it to Koraidon later."
Arven smirked with a knowing eye-roll, "Yeah, sure. I don't mind. That fellow deserves a sandwich after what happened before…"
Juliana wasn't sure if he was referring to Area Zero, or the incident with the ruin Pokémon. But regardless, she was happy when Arven made another sandwich with the same recipe and wrapped it up for her. She stored it safely in her backpack.
"Thank you, Arven." She stood up and stretched. He also stood, "All full now?" He asked her playfully. She smiled, "Yes, I am."
Arven checked his rotom phone, "As much as I would love to keep spending time here with you. I have to get going to my next class. Ugh… I hate math…" he sighed.
Juliana giggled, "I'm sure you'll be okay!"
"I hope so." Arven replied, "Well, I'll see you later cutie. Take care, okay?"
They exchanged a hug before leaving the room and parting ways. Saguaro called out to them, "Have a good rest of your day you two! Thank you for your attention!"
Juliana and Arven waved back before disappearing. Juliana walked the halls not sure of what to do next. Luckily for her, that issue would solve itself.
"Hey Juliana! Over here!"
She turned to see Nemona rushing her way. Juliana was excited to see her friend, "Hey, Nemona! What's up?"
"I know this is sudden, but could you come join me in the courtyard? Miss Dendra is there and she wants me to run laps with her, I was wondering if you could tag along! Eri's joining us too, she's there already!
"Oh wow, that sounds like fun! I would love to join you guys!"
Nemona leapt for joy, "AAAH YAY! I'm so happy! Come on let's get going now!"
As the girls rushed to get there, Nemona stated, "This will be great! Four strong girls running laps, I hope nobody get scared of us!"
Juliana laughed, "Me too!"
They ran to find Miss Dendra and Eri on the courtyard, Juliana was excited for the opportunity to hang out with more of her favorite people, and to really break in her new shoes.
This was going to be fun!
Author's Note: I am sooooo hungry now after writing this XD that's a good sign because it means I am recovering from this stomach illness well! Well wish me luck everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I have so much fun planned for ahead, so be excited!
See you all next time! I'm gonna go grab me some food.