Good morning, readers! I'm going to be busy today, so I'm updating now.

Happy reading!

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

Those Confusing Hallways...

Grade One

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

When Drew came to class one morning, it was May who noticed something was missing.

"Drew, where is your lunchbox?" she asked worriedly. Had he lost it?

Drew looked around and realized May was right; his lunchbox was nowhere to be found.

"Did someone take it?" May asked. Immediately she turned to Gary. "Did you take it?"

"No!" Gary protested. "I was here the whole time, and Drew just came. I didn't take it!" How unjust of her to accuse him like that! Just because he did stuff like that sometimes didn't mean he always did!

"Maybe I dropped it when I was coming here." Drew theorized. It could have slipped out of his grasp and he didn't notice.

"How are you going to eat?" Ash said, panicking. "What if you don't have anything to eat for the whole day?"

Drew stiffened. "It's okay. I won't complain." If, at his mansion, he had to do something he didn't want to, he wasn't allowed to complain.

May hesitated. "You can share some of my lunch." she offered. Drew smiled. She was such a nice friend.

Mrs. Thomas came in, and class started, so they all had to go to their desks.

When lunch time was about to start, Mrs. Thomas addressed Drew.

"Drew, I got a call from your house. You forgot your lunch box at home, so they sent it to the office so you could pick it up from there." she informed him. "I am a bit busy right now, so I wouldn't be able to take you there myself. But I can tell you where to go."

She gave the green-haired boy directions to the office, which he understood very well. After all, he had to follow many directions and rules at his mansion.

"Maybe someone should go with you." May suggested.

"No, I can do it myself." Drew was very confident. And he was right; he reached the office without any problems.

Problems started, however, after he had received his lunch box and exited the office. Mrs. Thomas had given him directions on how to get to the office, but not how to get back. He couldn't remember which hallway he came through, and which direction he needed to go. The area was unfamiliar, because this was where the higher grades were located. It didn't help that the halls were completely crowded with tall students who didn't even notice his short self.

Now, Drew had plenty of experience conversing with grown-ups. He had a lot of practice from the parties his parents had or went to sometimes. He knew how to speak politely, and answer and ask questions without being intimidated by their towering heights.

He did not, however, have experience in communicating with teenagers. Teenagers who were loud, rough, always moving, more interested in where they were going or talking to their friends, and failing to notice his presence.

Drew attempted to catch someone's attention, but with no success. They couldn't hear his tiny voice in the bustling hallways, and simply passed him without even a glance. The little boy decided to try to find his way without help, but this only caused him to end up in another unfamiliar place, where the students seemed to be even taller. He was now in the junior high and high school area.

He knew he needed help, but he continued to fail catching anyone's attention. He couldn't even find a reliable teacher; the students were so tall, it was hard to figure out the difference between a teacher and a student. He thought he saw Paul's older brother once, and later, he glimpsed Gary's sister too, but they disappeared before he could get to them. He was completely lost, and had no idea which direction he should head in.

"Hello." A nice, calm voice caught his attention. "Are you lost?"

Drew looked up to see a tall, teenage girl standing in front of him. She had long, pink hair, blue eyes, and a pleasant, reassuring smile.

"Yes. I have to go to my grade one class." Drew was glad someone was finally helping him.

The girl chuckled. "Well, if you're looking for grade one, then you're a bit off. My name is Solidad, and I can take you back to class if you want."

"Yes, please." Drew said gratefully.

Turned out Drew was not a bit off, but a lot off. He followed Solidad through hallways with many turns, making their way to his destination.

Meanwhile, May was getting very worried when her friend didn't show up for a long while.

"He's still not here! Where is he?" she wondered worriedly.

"Can I just go outside to play?" Gary grumbled. She wouldn't let him leave until Drew was back, so they could all go outside together.

"No, we have to wait for Drew!" May ordered, anxiously watching the classroom door, with a little hope that he would arrive through it soon.

"Don't worry." Ash reassured her. "He'll probably come back soon."

"Or maybe he won't." Paul pointed out, not looking concerned at all about the situation.

"He has to!" May said frantically.

"No, he doesn't." Paul said monotonously, shrugging. "If he got lost, and he doesn't know anyone, then no one would help him, and he can't get back himself."

"Don't say that!" Ash scolded. "Drew is very smart. He'll ask someone for help, even if he doesn't know them."

"But maybe no one would listen. I go to the big-kid place all the time when I have to go to my brother. Nobody hears you if you don't know how to get their attention."

"Yah, and they step on you!" Gary jumped in. "Once, when I was going to my sister in the big-kid place, people kept stepping on my feet!"

May looked terrified, and even Ash's positive attitude seemed to be wavering.

"What if..." May said in a frightened voice. "What if... he got hurt, and he's lost and scared, and nobody will help him and people keep stepping on his feet and..."

"Who?" A confused voice became present, and May stopped her ranting mid-sentence.

"DREW!" she yelled, launching herself onto the speaker. "You're okay!"

"Um, yes?" Drew had finally arrived with his lunch box, and he was a little puzzled at May's behaviour.

"Are these your friends Drew?" Solidad was at the door, watching them reunite.

"Yes. These are May and Gary and Paul." Drew introduced, before his eyes widened when he realized something. "How do you know my name? I didn't tell it to you."

"Oh, lucky guess." Solidad said, winking. She didn't mention that she had heard May scream it out in front of her.

Drew thought it was a bit odd, how she knew, but didn't think too much into it. "Bye Solidad. Thanks for helping me."

"Bye, Drew! Bye, Drew's friends!" And the pink-haired girl left.

"Can we go to the playground, now?" Gary whined. "Drew's here!"

"Okay!" May finally gave him permission to do as he pleased.

And thus, the five friends went on their way, with Drew starting to eat his lunch, and telling them about his latest adventure.

And there you go! I realized that I said I'd be adding more side characters, but I haven't been doing much of that, now, have I? Which is why Solidad made her appearance today!

Also, I'm going to be a bit busy this week, so I might not have a lot of writing-time. So if you have suggestions, I'm still willing to hear them, but don't expect me to post a chapter on them right away. I still would be updating, though, because I happen to have a couple of chapters written out in advance for such situations (like this one!).

Please review, and thanks for reading!

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