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Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon in any way, shape or size!

Picture Perfect

Grade Three

May (8), Drew (8), Gary (9), Paul (9), Ash (9), Misty (9), Dawn (8)

Today was class photo day, and May, along with the other girls in her class, was in the washroom, making sure she was looking her best.

May checked her bandana to make sure it was straight. Beside her, Misty was re-doing her side ponytail. Slowly, as the girls finished, they began heading out the door to rejoin the class. May was about to leave too, but then she noticed that someone was not done. Dawn was still fixing her hair.

Dawn was new that year, and May and the others had accepted her as part of their friend group. The school year was close to being over (less than three months left!), and they were really building up their friendship. May thought it would build up even more if she waited for her instead of leaving.

"You can go." May told her friend Misty, gesturing to Dawn with her head. "I'll catch up." Misty, understanding what she meant, nodded and left.

Soon, Dawn and May were the only ones left in the washroom.

"Hurry up, Dawn!" May urged. "They're going to leave without us."

"No need to worry, I'm almost done!" Dawn, who had a brush with her, gave her hair a few more strokes. "My hair just needs a little more brushing."

"It already looks fine!" May insisted.

"Just fine? It needs to look perfect! Class photos are so everyone can keep a picture of their class and remember everybody else. We're probably going to keep this picture forever, so I want to be at my best!"

"But you already look great. And if you don't hurry up, we might not even be in the picture!"

Dawn sighed, finally giving in. After a final few strokes, and posing in the mirror, she was ready to go. The two girls exited the washroom and followed the rest of their class to the assembly hall, where the class photos were taking place.

"Everyone's looking great!" Dawn whispered to May as they walked. "I can tell Drew really cleaned up for today. He's always pretty neat and tidy, but today he looks extra well-dressed. Even Misty's wearing nicer clothes than usual, instead of her usually sporty outfit. Gary's hair is extra spiky today! He probably took hours doing it. How to you think he makes it like that? Looks like Ash's mom might have forced him into those clothes; I know he would never wear them himself."

May listened as Dawn chattered away. In the time she had known her, she had discovered Dawn loved to chat and look her best, especially when it came to her hair. Kind of reminded May of a "hair phase" she herself went through in kindergarten. Now, why was it that she had become obsessed with her hair back then?

"May, look!" Dawn whispered, sounding a bit furious, as if some big injustice had been made. "Paul hasn't gotten ready for today at all! He's wearing his plain-old everyday clothes. And did he even try to brush his hair?"

May glanced up ahead to see Paul. He was within hearing distance, and May hoped he hadn't overheard what Dawn had just said. But the increased scowl on his face showed that he had, and May felt a bit guilty.

Soon, the photographer was arranging the students for the picture. A very uncomfortable-looking Ash (because of his neat, but tight clothes) was put on the front bench, as were Dawn, May, and a very handsome-looking Drew.

Drew had evidently taken extra time to get ready that morning. He was wearing a dress-suit with a tie, and his hair had been combed well. He had resisted the temptation to flip it all day, just so he wouldn't mess up the good job his hairdressers did. He wasn't sure why he always flipped it; it was just a habit.

Gary, Misty, and Paul were made to stand in the back row, since they were taller. Like Dawn had pointed out, Gary's hair was done better than usual, and he was wearing brand new clothes, courtesy of his older sister, Daisy.

While Misty was not wearing a dress or anything frilly, her clothes were very nice on her. They consisted of a blue shirt with a little bit of sequence, and new jeans that did not look roughed up, as the jeans Misty usually wore did.

But Paul? He wore the clothes he always did. Dawn, who was sitting in front of him, turned around to face him.

"Did you forget today was picture day?" she asked sympathetically. Maybe his mom didn't know he had to get extra-ready for today. she thought.

Paul glared in return. He didn't forget, he just never bothered about it. He did not want anyone feeling sorry for him!

"Okay everyone, smile!" Dawn faced the front again, and smiled directly at the camera. She looked perfect; this picture was going to be really special!

"Okay, on three! One..."

Dawn's nose began to twitch. No, she couldn't sneeze now!

"Two..."

She tried her best to hold it down, but it was too difficult.

"And three!"

"ACHOO!"

Snap!

Later, on the walk back, May and Misty were trying to make Dawn feel better about the unfortunate event.

"Maybe he took the picture after you sneezed." Misty said.

"And he took three pictures. Maybe he'll choose one of the other pictures instead." May pointed out, even though it was unlikely. Dawn's sneeze had been a big distraction, so many of the students were looking the wrong way on the second and third time.

Dawn smiled shakily. "Y-yeah! N-no need to worry!"

The day came for the class to receive their class photos. The teacher handed out the pictures at the start of recess. Many of the students, after observing it, glanced in Dawn's direction and snickered.

When said girl decided to see how it had turned out, her heart fell. Everyone in the picture looked so nice, smiling and all. Even Paul managed to erase some of his usual scowl to look decent.

But Dawn was a different story. The camera had caught her right in mid-sneeze. Her head was tilted back, her eyes closed, and her mouth open. She did not look nice at all!

"Sneezy Dee-Dee! Sneezy Dee-Dee!" someone yelled, pointing at the poor girl.

"Sneezy Dee-Dee! Sneezy Dee-Dee!" Others joined in. Tears began to well up in Dawn's eyes.

"Stop it! Leave her alone!" May stood up for her friend, but no one listened to her.

"Didn't you hear her? She said stop it!" Misty shouted, with far more success.

Dawn's friends huddled around to comfort her.

"It isn't too bad. Everyone will forget about it later." May attempted to convince her.

"And we will be taking a lot of other pictures next year and the years after. You can just look extra good next time to make up for this one." Drew suggested.

"Act like you don't care. The others will stop bothering you that way." Misty advised.

"You can't even tell that it's you. Even if someone does keep it, they'll forget who it was, so it's not like they will bug you about it forever." Gary joked.

"Yeah, like you say, no need to worry!" Ash put in.

Dawn started to feel a little better, until Paul decided to voice his opinion.

"It's so ugly!" he said, grinning broadly. "I'm gonna keep it for the rest of my life and write your name on it so I won't forget it's you!"

Dawn burst into tears and ran from the room. The other five glared at their friend.

"What?" Paul did not feel sorry at all.

"That was mean, Paul. Go apologize!" May ordered.

"I was just being honest, unlike you guys. It's not my fault she's such a cry-baby!" he tried to justify. But the others wouldn't have it.

When they went outside, Gary ran to the playground as usual, not really caring about what had just happened. Paul used to sit alone when he was younger, but he later discovered that he liked being around his friends too. Not that he'll ever admit that. But today, May, Misty, Drew, and even Ash turned their backs on him.

"We're not playing with you until you go find Dawn and say sorry!" Misty declared.

Paul was surprised, but quickly switched to being angry. "Fine! I don't care!" He stomped off.

He was not going to apologize to anyone! Dawn started it; she was making fun of him before the picture (it had sounded like that to him anyways). It was her fault she let what he said upset her. His older brother teased him all the time, but he never ran away crying.

"Sneezy Dee-Dee! Sneezy Dee-Dee!" Up ahead, Paul saw a couple of kids from his class continuing the chant from earlier. They were standing around someone who was sitting on the ground against a tree.

Dawn was hugging her knees with her face down, trying her best to follow Misty's advice. So far, it was not working, and only upsetting her further.

Paul felt a twinge of annoyance. They always teased each other in his group of friends; it was normal. But Dawn was a part of the group too, now, and he didn't like seeing other kids making fun of her the way they were.

"Go away!" He marched up behind them, startling them. "I said go away!" he shouted again, with an intimidating glare. They cleared out, frightened of the boy.

Dawn didn't look up, and Paul was left standing awkwardly in front of her. He was unsure of what to do, but something told him he shouldn't leave. After a short silence, Dawn peeked at him.

"What do you want?" she asked, glumly.

"Nothing..." He rocked back and forth on his feet a little. There was another silence, but it was much shorter this time.

"Are you really going to keep that picture?"

Paul considered her question for a moment before answering. "Yes."

Dawn let out a groan and hid her face again, but he continued.

"I like remembering my friends from school, and this year was special because I made a new one. It would be too boring to have an every-day picture for that. So, it's nice to have a different kind of picture this year. But the good kind of different."

Dawn looked up. "Am I really your friend?" she asked hopefully, sounding happier after hearing his explanation.

Paul didn't like admitting these kinds of things, but he knew the others wouldn't talk to him until Dawn was happy again. "...Yes."

The little girl's face shone as she got up.

Later, at home, she set her class photo on her desk. She and Paul didn't look their best that day, but they were perfect for the picture.

It was Dawn's turn today. My next one should have Leaf make her debut. Hmmm, I like writing about when they were in kindergarten the most so far. It's fun making them cute five-year-olds.

Thanks for reading!

Bye bye! And have a smiling day! :)