Hello everyone! Today's Thursday, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the read!

Today's topic was actually a suggestion I received in a review. So, this one's for you, Ready to fly! ;)

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

Beware the Cooties!

(Summer before) Grade One

May (6), Gary (6), Paul (6), Drew (6), Ash (6), Leaf (6)

It was a perfect summer day, and also the day Gary had invited his friends over to play with him. So he, along with his friends from kindergarten, May, Drew, and Paul, his best friend and next-door neighbour, Leaf, and Ash, whom his grandpa had insisted on inviting along, was on his way to the park near his house, with his responsible grandpa, Professor Oak, watching over them.

Once they reached their destination, Professor Oak went to sit on a bench. He had brought along something to do, since sitting around, watching the kids play for an hour, was bound to get boring. He pulled out a pencil, opened a book that had blank, lined paper, and began to write.

Gary and his friends headed for the playground.

"What should we play?" May wondered.

"I know!" Gary exclaimed. "Let's play King! I'm the king and you are my servants, so you have to do what I say!"

His friends looked at one another. They didn't like this game.

"Can we play something else?" Ash asked. But Gary had already made his way to the top of the highest slide.

"Get me ten cookies!" he ordered. The others looked up at their bossy friend for a moment, before Leaf yelled out.

"We don't want to play this game! Come on, everyone, let's go play something else!" To Gary's dismay, they began to go to a different part of the park.

"No, wait!" he called out, not wanting to be ignored. But they paid no attention, and left, with Leaf in the lead.

While Paul was following Leaf, something more interesting caught his eye. Professor Oak was still working on something, and Paul wondered what it was that the old man was so absorbed in. He made his way over to him and peeked at his book.

"What are you writing?" he asked curiously.

The fact that someone, even though it was only a six-year-old boy, was interested in what he was doing lighted a childish excitement in Professor Oak.

"Well, young man, I am writing Pokemon poetry. Usually I write small ones, like haikus, but today, I'm attempting to make a sonnet. Do you know what a sonnet is?" Paul shook his head, as he obviously did not.

"Why don't you sit beside me, and I'll tell you?" When the purple-haired boy hopped onto the bench next to him, Professor Oak began his explanation. "Well, you see, a sonnet..."

Meanwhile, Gary had discovered that it was boring playing all by himself. He went down the slide, and headed in the direction Leaf had taken his friends. He found them, all standing around the emerald-eyed girl, as she told them something that had them all captivated. Gary tried to listen in, but since he had come part-way through the story, it wasn't making any sense to him.

"Wanna play something?" he asked, before quickly adding, "Together?" He decided it was more fun to play with everyone rather than alone.

"Sh, Gary!" May said, not even turning towards him. "Leaf is telling us a story!"

Gary made a few more attempts to get everyone's attention, but they were all too focused on what Leaf was saying. This frustrated the spiky-haired boy, as he didn't like being left out or ignored. But he couldn't do anything to get their attention away from his best friend. Thoroughly irritated, he racked his brain for something, anything, that would help him take the spotlight away from her. And then he found it. He took a deep breath.

"Everybody, get away from Leafy!" he hollered. "She has cooties!"

This had the reaction he was expecting. Frightened, Drew, May and Ash jumped back from the girl, and ran to a safe distance.

"What are cooties?" Drew asked Gary in a worried voice.

"Leafy has them!" Gary answered, not having a very good explanation himself. "And if she touches you, you'll get them too!" Drew, along with May and Ash, who were also listening, looked horrified at the news. Leaf, however, had not yet budged from her place, as she was still a bit shocked. But once she regained herself, her expression turned to one of anger.

"I don't have cooties!" she insisted, folding her arms. When the others continued keeping their distance and watching her warily, she became angrier and stamped her foot."I do NOT have cooties!" she repeated. "Tell them, Gary!"

"She has cooties! Run, everyone, before she gets you!" Gary yelled out, causing the others to start running away frantically.

"GARY OAK!" Leaf screamed, and began chasing after him, causing more panic amongst the others. "I do not have cooties! Tell them the truth!"

May let out a loud shriek as the furious girl closely passed her on her way to the one who had started all this. "I don't want cooties!" the bandana-wearing girl sobbed, as she began heading in a different direction.

"But I don't have cooties!" Leaf insisted, and she tried to reach May to show her that she didn't. This only caused May to scream louder and speed up.

"Don't worry, I'll save you!" Drew heroically began making his way to the two to save his friend from 'a terrible fate'.

"Leaf, leave May alone!" Ash yelled, trying to get her attention away from May.

"But I'm NOT doing anything!" Leaf cried out furiously. "And I DON'T have cooties!"

All that yelling and screaming finally caught Professor Oak's attention. He stopped the explanation he was giving Paul to look up, as he was afraid someone might have gotten hurt while he wasn't looking. He relaxed when he saw that the kids were just running around, chasing one another.

"They're probably playing tag..." he figured, before turning back to his little listener. "Now where was I? Oh, yes! So in the late 16th century, Sir Philip Sidney..."

Meanwhile, Gary, Drew, May and Ash had made their way onto the playground equipment, and were using a part, which was covered by a small roof, as their 'hideout'. There were some steps that led to their little base, and Leaf was standing at the bottom of them, glaring up at the others.

"Come down here! Gary, tell them I don't have cooties!" she ordered.

"Fire!" Gary commanded. He and Ash began tossing handfuls of sand, which they were carrying in their shoes (as they did not have a pail), at her. She let out a small scream as she jumped back.

"Now I have sand in my hair!" she whined before going back to glaring. "Let me come up!"

"But you have-" May started nervously.

"I don't have cooties!" Leaf shrieked.

"How do you know?" Drew demanded.

"How do you know I have them?" she shot back. Drew, May and Ash turned to Gary. Gary noticed their gaze, and quickly tried to create a reason.

"Because I know so! And I'm the oldest, because my birthday is first, so I know more things than you!" His reason was good enough for his three friends, but not for Leaf.

"No! Paul's the oldest!" she argued. "And he never said I have cooties!"

"Paul isn't here now. And how do you know he doesn't think you have cooties? You never asked him!" Gary argued.

"Wait, where is Paul?" Ash wondered out loud.

Back at the bench...

"And that, my boy," Professor Oak concluded, clapping his hands together, "is the history of sonnets! Do you understand what a sonnet is now, Paul?"

Paul, who had been listening intently the whole time, nodded, feeling more knowledgeable than before, despite not remembering over half of what the old man had said.

"Oh my, look at the time! I guess time flies when you're having fun." The professor chuckled as he glanced at his watch. "Okay, everyone! It's time to go!" he announced.

The five who were in the playground had gone back to running from Leaf. They all stopped when they were called, and began hurrying to get to Gary's grandpa.

As they walked back, following behind Professor Oak, Gary, Ash, May and Drew continued keeping their distance from Leaf. The poor girl frowned, and walked up to Paul, who was currently her only friend left who was unaware of her so-called cooties.

"Do you think I have cooties?" she asked him.

"What are those?" Paul asked, nonplussed.

"Run, Paul!" Gary yelled. "She has cooties, and if she touches you, you will too!"

"But what are they? What do they do?" Paul asked the thing no one else had yet.

"Yeah, what do they do?" Ash repeated the question as he, and everyone else, turned to Gary.

"Um, they..." Gary tried to make up something, but all that pressure was preventing him from thinking.

"I don't think they exist." Paul declared.

"Yeah, maybe..." Gary admitted. But he didn't care. He had had a lot of fun with his friends today because of those cooties, whether they existed or not.

"Wait! If cooties don't exist, then... Gary lied!" Leaf realized, and turned angrily to her spiky-haired friend.

"Uh oh..." The boy began to run ahead.

"Gary Oak! Get back here!" Leaf yelled as she ran after him.

So how was it? Tell me in your reviews!

Thanks for reading!

Bye bye or now! And have a smiling day! :)