I woke up a bit later than I thought I would, so I hurried to get dressed and left the empty hotel room that mom left so she could go to work. It was about noon and I hoped that Yvonne wouldn't be waiting for me too long at the hair salon... D-Did I even tell her which one I'm going to!?
"Dammit!" I groaned and quickened my pace while controlling my breathing. It should keep my heart from aching through this slight running. From a distance, I could see the hair salon from far away.
"There it is!" Beside the hair salon was Yvonne, carrying her large bag and wearing the same outfit she wore yesterday "Yvonne" I waved, catching her attention. She looked over and gasped in delight before rushing over to me "You came"
"Yeah!" She smiled big "I was so excited that I hardly went to sleep last night! I ended up doing laundry and washed the same clothes I wore yesterday. Is that weird?"
"Why would it be?" I chuckled and walked into the salon "I'm just glad you showed up" I dug in my pocket and handed her the keychain, in which she waved her hands to.
"You can hang onto it. Since we're going to be together from now on, you should hold it. I have so much on my bag already" I looked at my keychain before putting it back on my key ring.
"I suppose. Again, I really appreciate you doing this for me. I'll try my best to not be a burden"
"Don't worry about it! It's my job, after all! I must provide the best service for my master!" I froze and looked at her shocked. W-What did she say?!
"M-Master..?" She cupped her mouth a little.
"Y-Yeah! That's what we call our clients!"
"You can call me by my name" she blushed and played with her fingers, looking up at me.
"I don't know your name..." I flinched. That's right! I didn't even tell Valerie my name!
"S-Sorry... My name is Calem" her eyes suddenly looked sad "I should had said something before"
"Don't worry about it! I'll call you Calem then, but remember... If I'm working, I have to call you master" I gulped and turned to the hairdresser that was leaving her client to write down my name so I can wait for my turn "Your hair is really long..." Yvonne played with it "It looks dead"
"Yeah. I never really cared much about my hair. Because I studied everyday for the pass 6 years, my body isn't in the best conditions. I hardly ate and my face always feel uncomfortable" I touched my acne.
"For one thing, you shouldn't touch your face" she pointed up her finger "And the oil producing in your scalp would come into your pours on your face and clog them! Even touching everyday things and touching your face after will make it look bad. Aside from stress, you should get a good skincare routine! What's your skin type?" I sweat dropped.
"That seems like a lot of work... We'll be traveling between routes before we get the chance to find a near by sink"
"There are water fountains. As soon as you see results, you'll feel like a new man!" She smiled wide. I smiled back at how brightly she looked at me. She seems strangely happy for having a client like me.
"Okay then, I'll start with a haircut" she nodded proudly "are you a skin care specialist too?" I joked, which made her laugh and spin side to side like she did the other day "cute" I realized I said that out loud, which made her stop and look at me surprised "U-Uh... I mean..."
"Are you ready?" The hairdresser asked me as she walked to the front desk with the customer "Give me a minute to clean and I'll take care of yah!" I nodded and looked back at Yvonne playing with her fingers again. She wasn't this shy in the beginning. I wonder why she changed all of a sudden.
"Do you mind if I go out to shop?" She asked.
"I don't see why not" I looked at the hairdresser finishing with the last customer "how long do you think this haircut will be?" I told her to cut my hair shorter than it is right now and decide what may look best on me.
"I'll say about 30 minutes? I'll have to wash your hair and give it some treatment. We also do facials" that doesn't sound too bad.
"You think I should get one?" I asked Yvonne.
"Totally! Treat yourself! How long will that take?" The estimated time would be an hour, so it'll take an hour and a half to get myself done here "That should give me enough time to do some shopping!" She looked in her bag "I moved out my apartment and got the moving people to move my things to the new place my mom got, so it'll be going to her house. I had to throw away a lot of stuff, so shopping is necessary"
"You're moving?" She nodded "how come? The place looked pretty comfortable"
"It was, but it's time for a change. My mom got a new house, so my stuff will fit just fine! I can't have all my jewelry stay at a place where clients may lure to and steal" I shrugged. She has a point "My mom will handle the rest. As for me, I'm going to buy some clothes and some other things suited for the journey" the hairdresser was finished cleaning and called me over.
"Be careful out there" I said. She nodded happily and ran off to who knows where while I start getting a haircut I haven't had since I was 15. I can't wait to get rid of all this hair...
"Ready?" The hairdresser asked, looking ready to treat me "Let's cut a large part of your hair before I wash it, yeah?" I gulped, hoping things will go well.
After what felt like forever, I woke up from my facial and felt so weird. In a good way! Some of the facial features were kind of painful, but other than that, I felt revived and light. My hair was short and reached my ears. It was shorter, but long enough to pull back in a ponytail so my hairs won't get in my face.
As soon as I came back to the salon from the back room, Yvonne came into the salon with a ton of shopping bags "had fun there?" I teased.
"You won't believe that I got on sale!" She smiled big, showing me her bags. I paid for my facial and all, which was more expensive than I thought, and walked out with Yvonne showing me what she got in each bag.
"I didn't get a lot of clothes since we'll be using the same clothes a lot while on the route, but I got some comfortable ones that looks good!" She searched in other bags "Some hair accessories, since my hair is always in my face" I chuckled.
"Same here" she looked at me and smiled.
"You really look nice with the haircut. It suits you!" I rubbed the back of my head, flattered. It's strangely really cold behind my head now "You look refreshed"
"I am. Thanks for noticing" she chuckled and dug in her bag to hand me a box "What's this?"
"Skin care products!" I sweat dropped "Your skin looks pretty oily and acne prone, so I got you some stuff that should feel good! I got some of my own since I never really had time to get some too!" I looked at the box at a fancy brand I knew my mom uses sometimes.
"You didn't have to buy me anything. Remember, I'm basically the client" she stuck her tongue out.
"I'm getting the chance to finally go on a journey! Just take it as a thank you" she dug in another bag and gave me a even bigger box "I think these should fit nicely" I blinked confused
"Y-You got me shoes?!" She nodded, proud of herself "Why?!"
"Look at your shoes! They're falling apart!" I looked at my own running shoes that had a hole on the side "New shoes will help you be more active when you start feeling better. The best way to deal with your condition is proper hydration, healthy meals, and good shoes! We don't want to struggle when you start getting better! You should be able to walk comfortably!" She pointed her finger up "My mom always told her patients that if you want to live a healthier life style, you should prepare yourself and get what you need to start. I thought shoes would be a good start" she nervously laughed "Oh! I got some healthy snacks for the road too! Wouldn't have to rely on food trucks. It'll be bad for your heart" I stared at her being extra prepared for something I didn't really ask for. It's nice and everything... but why is she doing this?
"Is all this special treatment part of the contract?" I slowed down my pace. She stopped and looked back at me "I can't believe you got me new shoes... and the skin care all together is expensive"
"Well... money really isn't an issue" she blushed.
"I get that, but I asked you to come with me so you can look after me if something happens. I didn't expect you to do this kind of thing"
"Would be a bad time to mention that I got this..?" She took out a blood pressure machine "my mom always carried this around... and I thought it could help"
"How did you know I have high blood pressure?"
"Some of my moms patients have high blood pressure due to stress. I know what the numbers mean, so when I use this, we can handle the things we do so you can improve!"
"I think you're going up an extra mile" she looked away, looking bothered. I walked up to her and pet her head "Thanks for being considerate and just showing that you're thankful for letting you come to this journey, but don't worry too much. I have to be the one to take care of myself"
"But it'll be good to have a retired nurse assistant on your side! This will be useful!" She pouted "Please... Master?" I flinched and cupped my face, making sure no one heard that "I-It's my job to take care of my clients... In any way possible. If I'm here to make sure you are in the best condition possible, I'll work on giving you good options in eating healthier and checking your blood pressure and all... That's all I can really do" she faced me "If you're worried about me spending money, don't worry about it! I don't want to be the only one comfortable in this journey" I nodded.
"Okay, I get it. Thank you for these things. I'll make it up to you" she sighed in relief "But don't overdo it next time. I asked you to come to this trouble, so I'll repay you for everything" she nodded and smiled again "Where's the contract?" She flinched and slowly took it out her bag, looking like she didn't want to give it to me, but did anyway.
The packet she showed me yesterday was clear to understand as I read it while we were on our way to route 5. She took the lead while looking around excitedly while I kept my eyes on the contract to make sure everything made sense, though I didn't see anything about the service involving sudden gifts or anything. I guess she really was just trying to show how thankful she was.
I later signed the contract and turned to look at Yvonne in her own little world, admiring the route around us "Here you go" she looked at the contract and took it without looking to see if I even signed it "How will you be sending this to your work place?"
"I guess I'll fax it in the next city" she shoved the packet into her bag and threw her empty shopping bags in a near by trash can before coming back to me "It's so exciting to be out in a route with fresh air! Lumiose is so crowded with people! It's a nice change"
"I bet. Having to practically be a therapist for your clients must be exhausting" she nodded "Does this really mean I received the full package of services?"
"Yes!"
"But I still have the keychain"
"It's not like you can run from me" she teased "Don't worry too much about the little stuff. I'm here to serve my master!" I choked on my own spit and looked at how serious she was.
"Just call me by my name" she pouted.
"If you say so, but like I said, I will call you so when I'm in the middle of my services! Would you like a body massage when we get to the next town? It should be very relaxing" I blushed and looked away.
"S-Sure..." she clapped and leaned closer to me "W-What?"
"How many Pokémon do you have?" I released my nerves and looked at her normally.
"3" she pumped her fist "Want to battle?"
"Yeah! One on one!" She jumped and hurried off to give us some space "I'm a little rusty. I haven't trained my Pokémon in a long while, so go easy on me!" I chuckled.
"We'll see" she send out her Pangoro, which was a dark type Pokémon that's not located anywhere near Lumiose. I wonder how she got that "Not bad! Looks strong!" I said, sending out my Pyroar "But we're stronger! I've been training my Pokémon long and hard if I'm not studying all the time!"
"I never get the chance to train my Pokémon, so don't go too hard on me!" She waved her arms. Pyroar looked back at me, whining a bit
"What's wrong, Pyroar? Are you worried about us battling again? I won't push myself" Pyroar looked back at Yvonne looking up at her Pokémon that's bigger than she was and was talking to it "Something wrong with her?" Pyroar cooed and looked ready to battle now. Yvonne noticed and got ready with her Pokémon.
"Let's go!" The two of us started our battle, which took longer than I expected it to. For someone who hasn't trained her Pokémon in a long time, she knows how to keep the battle going until the end. Pyroar won and rushed over towards Yvonne after she returned her Pokémon and tackled her to the floor.
"Pyroar!" I gasped and hurried to pull him away from her, but ended up seeing him licking her face and making her laugh "Huh?"
"Hey! Stop that! That tickles!" Yvonne laughed and pushed him off her so she could pet its head. Am I missing something?
"Sorry about that. Pyroar never does that"
"No problem-" I groaned and fell back, landing on Pyroar who was quick to catch my fall "Calem!" Yvonne came to check on me.
"Sorry, I kinda got scared of what could had happened. I didn't know what to think" she frowned at the explanation and looked at Pyroar.
"It's okay, don't worry" she took out her handkerchief to wipe my face "Relax here before we can start the journey again"
"I'll try to get pass this. I don't want to keep doing this and delay our progress"
"Don't worry. We have enough time to take care of that. Summer is just beginning" she placed her forehead on mine. Yvonne..? "I'll stay by your side for as long as I need to, okay?" I didn't know why she was saying this, knowing this may not last forever. I was happy she was here to make sure I'll recover soon, but I can't make it all about me. Seeing that she really wants to try to help me out, I'll do what it takes to show her my gratitude.