Bad Romance: Episode 1
Vermillion City, Kanto. 25th April, 2023. 8:07am.
Slice. Slit. Slice. Slit. Tap. Slit. Slice.
May's eyes fluttered open. She looked at her surroundings, frantically checking for the source of the strange noise. Slice. Her already panicked state made her imagination run wild, thinking up all the possible sources. Deciding to check it out, she went down on all fours as an extra precaution.
She started crawling over to the kitchen, each slit or slice making her jump and tremble in fear. Finally reaching the doorway, she slowly poked her head through. Inside, she saw her sister, Leaf, cutting up some strawberries, which she put atop the wonderful batch of pancakes set on the kitchen table.
Leaf turned to her, her brown hair fluttering in the wind coming in through the open window. May smiled. "Morning." "Morning!" Leaf greeted. "Hey, can you get Misty and Dawn down here? We're gonna be late," she pointed to the clock. May's eyes widened and she ran upstairs, determined to get her sisters down.
She reached Misty's room and opened the door just enough to see her redhead sister on the phone. She closed it, hoping desperately that she and her ex, Rudy were sorting things out. A year ago, Rudy had broke up with Misty without giving her any reason. When she asked for some sort of closure, he blocked her. She'd been in therapy for over six months after that. She's still a little depressed, but is much better now, and ready to enjoy life.
May then walked across the hall to Dawn's room, where she saw the bluenette sleeping peacefully. May walked up to her and shook her awake. "Dawn! Wake up! We're gonna be late!" Dawn shot up straight and scrambled to the bathroom. "I'll be ready in five!" she called, turning on the shower. May sighed and mumbled a 'sure' before running down the stairs, back to Leaf.
"Hey. Oh, morning Mist!" May greeted. Misty smiled. "Good morning." May grabbed a plate and put three pancakes on before drenching them in syrup. "So, who were you talking to?" May asked amidst bites. Misty grinned. "Oh I was talking to-"
"Hi girls! Come on, let's go!" Dawn rambled loudly, grabbing a pancake and dunking it in May's puddle of syrup before leaving out the door. May picked up her bag and followed her out, grumbling curses under her breath. Misty and Leaf glanced at each other and shook their heads before going after their sisters.
The four girls ran into the university at exactly 8:42 and ran down the hall to their first class that started in three minutes. While running, they bumped into a group of boys. Leaf fell on top of a spiky haired male, Misty fell back first onto the floor, with a messy raven-haired boy directly on top of her. May and a handsome chartreuse haired boy were close to kissing, their faces being only inches apart, both of them etched with shock. Dawn was caught by a purple haired boy, with eyes as dark as a black hole. The moment was interrupted when the bell rang, and all the students hurried off to class.
They reached the door and knocked. May stepped up first. "Sorry we were late, we please join class?" The teacher looked her up and down. "No." "Please?" Leaf asked, shuffling nervously next to her sister. The teacher looked them straight in the eye before turning back. "No. Now go and stand outside the class. You too, Ash, Drew, Paul, and Gary. I need to have a word with you all about punctuality." she sniffed. The girls and boys put their heads down. "Yes, miss." they chorused and stood outside silently.
(Order door to left: May, Misty, Ash, Gary, Paul, Dawn, Leaf, Drew)
A few minutes later, a boy with long dark green hair dressed in a green shirt, dark green vest, and blue pants came out and stood beside May. He looked down and took in the view of her exposed legs, thanks to the school uniform. May shifted away from him a little, feeling uncomfortable. He scooted closer. Drew was fed up. He grabbed the boy by the collar. "What's your name?" He demanded. "C-Conway," The strange boy replied, petrified. The others watched in amazement as Drew forced the creepy dude to go to the back of the line. Then, he stood beside May to make sure no one else would look at her legs.
May turned to him. "Thanks," she told him shyly. Drew rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I only did that because I have a sister as crazy as you to show off her legs," he spat a little harshly. May grew angry. "Hey! I was just trying to thank you!" She yelled. Misty grabbed Drew's collar. "Look, I appreciate you helping my sister, but you don't get to call her crazy, you got that?" she threatened. Ash freed Drew and glared at Misty. "Don't touch my brother!"
Soon enough, things got into a catfight and the teacher had to come out to separate them. "Geez! Can you not be by yourselves for twenty minutes?! You're not ten, so stop acting like it!" she fumed. "And go on, get inside, I have an announcement to make," she told them, sighing tiredly as she followed them.
The teacher got up to the front of the class. "Hello everyone, I have an important announcement to make, if I could have some silence…" The noise in the class died down. "Thank you. So, I have some good news for you all. Tomorrow, we'll be having an overnight camping trip at the nearby campsite-" "Ooh, is it the one with the hot springs?" "Yes, it is. So, I want you all to be here by six thirty tomorrow." she finished. The class groaned collectively. 6:30?!
"Oh shut up!" The teacher snapped. "Now get to your next class!" she said, shooing them out. Dawn caught up with May. "I really hate that teacher." May nodded, looking ahead. "Me too."
The next day, May, Misty, Dawn, and Leaf all arrived at the university bus stop, making sure to get there extra early. The boys did too. The teacher soon arrived, and so did the rest of the class. The teacher held up her palm to signal silence. "Okay, I will announce your parters on the bus today," she explained. "Melody and Rudy, Conway and Brianna, Hilda and Kelsey, Misty and Ash, Leaf and Gary, Tracey and Daisy, Marina and Jimmy, May and Drew, Dawn and Paul, Lyra and Silver, and Serena and Calem," she finished.
Brianna shivered and May and Misty both glared at the group, while the others seemed indifferent about it. They climbed onto the bus. Leaf and Gary sat down next to each other. Gary put in his airpods. A few minutes later, Leaf looked at him curiously. "What song are you listening to?" she asked. Gary pulled out an earpiece. "Oh um, it's Venom by Stray Kids," he told her. "Wanna listen?" Leaf smiled. "Sure. Thanks," she said, taking the earpiece and putting it in her ear.
Dawn and Paul settled down near the back. "Hey, um. I'm sorry about my sisters yesterday I…" Paul glared at her. Dawn swallowed before continuing. "I…didn't think it would end up in a catfight." she said at last. Paul's expression eased a little. "It's fine. It wasn't your fault anyway. I'm sorry on behalf of my brothers too. They are doing a great job so far of being a royal pain in the ass." He said. Dawn smiled brightly. She may have just gotten a new crush.