Chapter 12: Racing to Attend

Orbs flew into the sky around the campus. Bleachers were erected for the viewing pleasure. Today was the race between Ash and Anne, the prize of attending Luna Nova Academy on the line. Amanda and Wangari watched over the construction of the course Ash and Anne were going to race on as a limousine arrived on campus grounds. "This will be one heck of a race!" believed Amanda.

"And Constanze said her camera bots are ready for the sky," Wangari added. That's when they heard tires from the black limousine rolling closer and closer before the students turned. They saw a young brunette man emerge, wearing a black tuxedo over a blue shirt and red necktie.

"Andrew?" guessed Amanda. "What's he doing here?" Seeing the girls, Andrew walked to them.

"Miss Wangari?" he greeted. "Miss O'Neill?" Amanda sighed to the formality.

"Andrew, what are you doing here?" she asked. "What about Appleton?" Andrew had a joke in mind

"Which one: Appleton Academy or Appleton, Wisconsin?" he teased. "You're from America, you can understand." Amanda scoffed to Andrew's joke. "On a serious note, I came to check on you after hearing about news of a boy being a part of Luna Nova Academy." Wangari knew of Andrew's claim.

"You mean Ash, huh?" she voiced. "He's been challenged to a race by Miss Finnelan to become the first male to be a student. He also has creatures that I know you'll be friendly with." The information made Andrew curious.

"Okay…" he pondered.

"By the way," Amanda wondered. "Did you come based on the news of Ash alone or are there others?"

"Like anyone else from Appleton is interested in you girls?" teased Andrew. The girls laughed, knowing better. Inside Miranda's office, Ash prepared for his race with a rather upset Headmistress by her desk.

"It would've been better to just have accepted being enrolled to Luna Nova Academy without jeopardizing it because you agree with one teacher," she mulled.

"It's like Pikachu told Croix and Miss Callists about me," Ash briefed. Ursula, Croix, Nelson and Pikachu were in the room to confirm the Mouse Pokémon's take. "When someone challenges my pride, I'm going to react. Besides, it's helped me throughout my Pokémon career." Hands behind her back, Miranda nodded in understanding.

"Your sense of pride is indeed strong," she confirmed. "However, that pride may come back and hurt you in several aspects." Ash bowed his head, sensing the concerns.

"I'm aware," he sighed. "But I also could tell that if I don't do this, Miss Finnelan wouldn't stop challenging me until I did." Ursula could tell about Ash's point.

"She has had a disdain for you since you and Pikachu first arrived," she recalled. "She's hardly had any interest in men so it's no wonder she wanted you gone after you recovered."

"Take it from my time with her," Croix added. "She was so focused on her becoming an exceptional student that she didn't like interactions. She was hellbent on overtaking your mom's podium as best student when she wasn't even at her best." Miranda sighed, sensing the hostility between Anne and Delia.

"I will say that you must be careful," she warned. "Anne will accept you whether she likes it or not." Ash nodded before he headed outside with Croix, Ursula and Pikachu behind. As they stepped outside, the sky seemed colored and lit up as everyone came to watch the race. Anne soon joined as someone created a poster made of lights highlighted featuring Ash and Anne's heads with a large "V" in between.

"WELCOME TO THE LUNA NOVA RACE BETWEEN ASH KETCHUM AND ANNE FINNELAN!" announced Wangari. "NOW, LET'S WELCOME THE RACERS! FIRST OFF, THE LINGUISTICS TEACHER OF LUNA NOVA ACADEMY: ANNE FINNELAN!" Cheers came to some of the students. "HER OPPONENT, THE POKÉMON TRAINER: ASH KETCHUM!" More cheers came from everyone. Andrew scoffed to seeing Ash.

"It looks weird to see a boy do a broomstick race," he remarked as Akko, Diana, Ursula and Pikachu found him. Akko wore a blue cheerleader outfit with a matching blue frilly skirt. Seeing Andrew, Ursula gulped.

"Andrew Hanbridge?" she named. "Has Appleton become interested with the events going on here?" Andrew scoffed to the claim.

"No, just me," he corrected as he spotted Pikachu. "But what sorcery is this? What is that you have, Miss Ursula?" Having Pikachu in her arms, Ursula bounced the Mouse Pokémon a couple of times.

"Well, we have visitors from another dimension, so to speak," she teased. "Ash and Pikachu are from the Pokémon World. We did tell them about Appleton Academy, but you're practically the exception from that school."

("How is he an exception?") asked Pikachu. Andrew became interested to the Pokémon.

"It is intriguing to know," he pondered. "Come here, I won't bite." Interested, Pikachu leaped down to reach Andrew.

("How do you know I won't bite?") he questioned. Andrew reached for Pikachu's head and petted his ears. It brought relief to Pikachu.

"Andrew and Pikachu are friends," Lotte noticed. Nelson saw the course with colored orbs and lights in the sky with some thunderclouds.

"MISS NELSON WILL PROVIDE THE RULES OF THE RACE!" added Wangari. Ash and Anne turned to the other teacher.

"Both of you have three laps to complete in this course that goes all over the campus grounds," Nelson brought up. "Leaving the grounds, using magic on your opponent or touching the ground in the race results in a disqualification. Constanze's cameras that she has set up to verify that the race goes clean. Are we clear?" Ash and Anne nodded before they stepped onto the track and the starting line. A screen appeared out of nowhere to show a map of the track which the two would fly through.

"RIDERS MOUNT!" announced Wangari. Ash and Anne mounted their broomsticks. "FOLLOW THE ARROWS! RIDERS, READY?" Ash and Anne had their broomsticks levitate and their feet were off the ground. "3! 2! 1!" A whistle sounded and the two sped off with a burst of speed. They navigated through orbs with arrows pointing them to slalom around. Winds pushed the broomsticks and riders to the side. Ash dipped to avoid Anne oncoming. They banked left by the left arrow as they weaved through orbs and some flares that suddenly emerged. The track circled around the academy.

"Go, Ash!" cheered Akko, armed with pom-poms. "You can win this!" Pikachu's loud squeaking added to the girls in their cheering as the racers entered the thunderclouds. Ash held a slight lead, staying in front of Anne to prove he was a part of the curriculum. Passing the clouds, Ash gained momentum and distance between him and Anne as they swooped in for the crowd below. They passed the balloon Wangari and Constanze rode on.

"LAP #1 IS PASSED US!" announced Wangari. "AND ASH HAS A DECENT LEAD OVER MISS FINNELAN!" Ash focused on the race ahead, though there had been times that he wanted to look back to locate Anne who seethed at Ash's lead.

'I don't care that he's Delia's kin,' she minded. 'He's still a boy… and I can't allow a boy to beat me!' She clutched hard on the broomstick as they journeyed around the obstacles and paths a second time. The cheering became rampant for Ash, eager to have him as a classmate. Flares rocketed from everywhere among the path. Ash was rocked by a few bursts as Anne sought a way to close the gap, if not take the lead at the moment. After the flares was the field of thunderclouds. Anne had a few lightning bolts pass by, spooking her to slow down. The sudden bolts slowed Anne down. Ash showed no breaking of his stride and powering through the storm.

'Being struck by Pikachu's Thunderbolt so many times,' he minded. 'I can take a few shots.' As he escaped the storm a second time, a stray lightning bolt hit the bundled straw. This caused the broomstick to buck under Ash, tossing him from the ride. Watching, the girls and Pikachu gasped in shock as Ash and his broomstick started to descend uncontrollably.

"OH NO!" gasped Wangari. "A BOLT FROM THE STORM CLOUDS HAS KNOCKED ASH AND HIS BROOMSTICK OUT OF CONTROL! IF HE HITS THE DIRT, HE'S DISQUALIFIED!" Ash caught his broomstick, but they still fell rapidly. With both hands, Ash regained control while Anne saw the accident. She grinned, wanting Ash to crash.

"Keep the book, but leave the school!" she mocked as she raced ahead. Passing the balloon, Molly began to waive the white flag.

"MISS FINNELAN HAS ENTERED THE FINAL LAP!" announced Wangari. Ash gritted at his situation.

"I don't see her trying this," he grinned before swinging on the broomstick. He rocked back, then forth, then back before going forward and swinging around and around his ride. The girls and Andrew blinked, confused to Ash's method.

"What is Ash doing!?" asked Lotte. As he spun, his broomstick gained speed.

'Practicing with Akko and Diana, I know that I have one shot or it's over,' he plotted. With one more pass, Ash passed the balloon and released his grip on the broomstick, having him fly for a second.

"ASH IS TRAILING MISS FINNELAN AS HE ENTERS THE FINAL LAP!" warned Wangari. That's when Ash landed on his broomstick, riding it like a surfboard. "WHOA! WHAT IS THIS!? ASH GOES FROM HANGING ON TO HANGING TEN! THIS IS LUNA NOVA ACADEMY, NOT THE FLORIDA KEYS!" Anne turned to find Ash riding his broomstick on his feet.

"Hey, that's not how to ride a broomstick!" she scolded. Ash grinned where the two entered the magical minefield. Anne forced her broomstick to fly faster, fireballs nearly bashing her. She retained her balance as Ash never seemed bothered. They entered the thunderclouds once more with Anne getting sparked a few times. Ash didn't flinch. He rode through the thunderclouds as he closed in on Anne's lead. The race became tight as they exited the thunderclouds.

"THIS IS IT!" cheered Wangari. "THE FINAL STRETCH! WHO'S GOING TO PULL THIS OFF!?" Both racers turned, cheers from the girls deafened the atmosphere. Molly had a black and white checkered flag. It looked like Ash and Anne were even. "IT'S NECK-AND-NECK! THIS IS GOING TO BE VERY CLOSE!" They saw the flag. The race was ending. They had a final push. They passed the balloon and Molly waived the flag. Wangari and Constanze had no idea who crossed first. "IT'S A PHOTO FINISH! STUDENTS, WE'RE GOING TO THE CLOCKS!" Ash and Anne landed where both stepped off. Akko and Pikachu raced to be with Ash before the timers rang up.

"That was an amazing race!" cheered Akko with Diana slowly coming up. Anne seemed disgusted, thinking Ash should have been disqualified for falling off his broomstick.

"STUDENTS AND TEACHERS, THE TIMES ARE IN!" reported Wangari. Everyone looked to the balloon where a monitor appeared. Ash's and Anne's pictures emerged.

KETCHUM – 8:59.95
FINNELAN – 9:00.01

Anne's jaw dropped at the times on display. "RAZOR THIN! BY SIX ONE-HUNDREDTHS OF A SECOND, YOUR WINNER: ASH KETCHUM!" The girls on the ground swarmed Ash, knowing that he's won himself schooling at Luna Nova Academy. Angry, Anne stormed off, never acknowledging the victor.

"Suddenly, I'd like to know Ash a little more," Andrew laughed. Croix and Ursula hugged Ash, proud of his race.

"You were incredible, Ash!" they cheered as they kissed each cheek. Ash's face became red before the girls grabbed him to start a kissing spree. Sucy and Constanze just watched as each girl had a lip to each part of his face. When the girls finished with their cheers and praises and kisses, Ash's face was painted with lipstick and saliva. After a while, Andrew was in Miranda's office. A proposal was given to the Headmistress.

"I see," Miranda muttered. "Since Ash is now part of Luna Nova Academy, you're willing to use your Viscount ability to offer Ash a dormitory for himself and his Pokémon?"

"Correct," Andrew confirmed. "As the heir of the Hanbridge family and a close friend to some of the young witches here, my reasoning was to have an expansion to the dormitory after rumors of a new face surfaced. I prepared two proposals for the cause, but now that I learn that the student's a boy with his creatures, I can offer him a dorm of his own to sleep and shelter his pets."

"Bear in mind, Ash would need to understand your offer to this. That's not to say that he minds the idea but have a consideration should it be necessary."

"Probably because you've told him to an extent about Appleton that he might find me a bit suspicious. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Of course not, considering Appleton's past with us. If anything develops, we'll let you know." Nodding, Andrew departed. In the tower, Ash, Ursula, Croix, Akko, Lotte, Sucy and Pikachu discussed the race.

"So, going to the moment you rode on the broomstick with your feet," Lotte recalled. "How did you do it? I mean, we're all rather furious that Miss Finnelan just allowed you to fall and not consider that you might've been injured."

"That happened the night before Croix came by," Ash started. "Miss Callists and I rode brooms and I was having the time of my life when it happened to me. I let my fun get out of hand and I fell, but I caught my broom before I hit the deck. I tried to recover and swing myself up, but I had no upper strength left. When we were at the ground level, I tried to get back by the swinging technique and I either overshot or didn't have enough swing to reach back up… so I swung myself around a few times to get back on, and nearly stumbled to the ground."

"Well, the saying does come true: 'Practice makes perfect'," Sucy quoted. "And I thought Amanda added to it."

"Yeah, she's a natural with how to handle broomsticks," Akko recalled. "You should see it, she's amazing." Ash smiled before Croix had another question.

"Speaking of broom handling," she spoke up. "How did you make your broomstick go faster when you were surfing on it? You didn't apply any magic to it, right?" Ash shook his head.

"That, you'll have to thank Akko and Diana," he pointed out. Other than Akko, the young women gawked to the help.

"AKKO!?" they gasped. Akko knew what Ash referred to.

"The pockets of magic that we discussed last night!" she remembered. "But by that logic, you found them on accident. Still, it helped you become one of us, a student of Luna Nova Academy!" Ursula giggled to the notion.

"Well, you go from seeing the school to being in it," she teased. "Your mother would be proud that her offspring is a student like her." Ash smiled, anxious for his first day as a student.

("That doesn't mean I won't stop being by your side,") Pikachu squeaked. Ash could only picture what it will be like for him as he becomes the first male student in Luna Nova Academy.

TO BE CONTINUED...