Track Two
Island in the Sky
As Donnie finally made landfall, he was fully able to relish in the sheer presence of the institution before him. Each surface a sleek white or blue, the sun reflecting off the docking area in an almost blinding-fashion, which only served to make the academy before him all the more ethereal and otherworldly.
Rolling his luggage behind him, Donnie followed the shifting crowds of new students as they all began to congregate further up ahead.
Walking beyond the arching gates of the academy, Donnie entered what he could discern as the front entrance way/battle arena of the school. The advertisements and pamphlets hadn't fully sold the sheer volume of the arena, and yet still it was almost unidentifiable amidst the crowds of students.
Suddenly, the regular advertisements and announcements playing off the massive jumbotron screens that sat above the front entrance cut to darkness, causing murmuring crowds to scale back their chatter. It wouldn't take long for the screens to flicker back to life, only this time, clearly displaying the visage of their academy's director.
[Hello, hello, is this working?] The dark-skinned man tapped against the lens of his camera.
[Well, considering I have no way of telling from over here…] The director barked out a laugh, [I'll just assume we're a-okay!]
[Now…] The man shifted his attention to the camera's lens, a wide grin on his face. [Welcome, one and all!]
[My name is Mr. Cyrano, but you may call me Director Cyrano, and as you may, or may not… know, I am the director of this fine academy!] Cyrano swung his arms out wide. [First things first, allow me to congratulate all of you for being accepted to our academy! We pride ourselves on selecting only the finest students, so give yourselves all a big pat on the back for making it this far, that's no small feat!]
Donnie felt a small smile creep across his lips as his chest tightened. That's right, he did make it. Made it from the bottom, from a cramped apartment, a crappy part-time job and now he was here, despite it all, he was able to pursue his dreams.
It all still felt so fantastical, so dream-like that he still wasn't a hundred-percent sure if he was going to wake up from all of this. But the little reminders like this, that truly made him process that all of this wasn't some sort of lucid dream, this was real.
[We all may hold different dreams for the future, but we've all gathered here today with one common goal: you and your peers wish to become stronger Pokemon trainers, and even more proficient battlers.] The director grinned. [Me and my wonderful staff shall help you all to push yourselves towards this goal over these next three years, but we are not the only ones…]
[Look around you!] Cyrano declared. [These are your peers, your partners, your rivals and friends! More than our staff, more than our courses, our curriculum and even myself, the people you're standing next to right now will be the ones to help you grow even stronger! Never forget that, my students! You will get as much out of my academy as you put in, so go out there! Get involved! Join our clubs, make friends, push each other and yourselves to become even stronger, and create memories over these three years that will last you all a lifetime!]
As if to punctate the director's speech, the crowd of new students erupted in cheers and cries. Donnie felt himself jolt as the unbridled passion of his fellow students burst to life around him.
Just as quickly as it started, the cheers were swiftly, if awkwardly snuffed out with a flurry of hushes as the oblivious director opened his mouth and began to speak once more.
[Now that we've dealt with the fun stuff, let's get into the rest of the details, shall we?]Director Cyrano scratched the back of his head, before holding up… was that a piece of paper?
[Once this broadcast finishes you'll each be grouping up at the front of the arena based on your class numbers. Those are found on the Blueberry Academy student ID you were all supplied with the physical copies of your acceptance letters. Once you all organize yourselves with your homeroom teacher, their homeroom teacher, they'll lead you all on a tour to the student dormitories, where you'll be shown to your room and can drop off your luggage.]
[Following this, your homeroom teacher will collect you all and show you to your homeroom class; before finally finishing up your first day with dinner at the cafeteria!] Cyrano looked up from reading his paper and smiled, [Sounds like fun, huh? Alrighty, now I'm sure that everyone is raring to go, but to avoid you all trampling over each other like Rhyhorn, I'm going to hand the mic over to our lovely Ms. Briar to call each of you over by class number.]
[Have fun everyone!] Director Cyrano smiled and waved. [And don't forget, my door's always open!]
The screen went black, before Donnie peered over the crowds of students to see the same woman from the entrance exams walking to the front of the crowd holding a megaphone in her hands.
"Alright everyone, let's begin! Can I ask everyone in class 1-A to step forward and join Ms. Rosalia over here at the far right!"
Donnie looked down at his Student I.D. and huffed as he realized that he was in class 1-A as well. What are the odds?
"S'cuse me…" Donnie muttered to students as he made his way forward, trying his best not to notice the way the students basically flinched away from him as he moved.
"Hold up your sign, Ms. Rosalia." Ms. Briar asked. "Nice and tall so our newest students can see where you are."
"I'm trying!" Ms. Rosalia squealed, before puffing out her cheeks from underneath the dark-olive hair that framed her face.
The first thing that stood out about Ms. Rosalia to Donnie was how… short she was.
Well, perhaps that was being unfair, because almost everyone was kind of short for Donnie. But the woman was actually short, even in her glossy purple heels, the woman stood at around five-foot-four.
Clad in a dark-green cardigan underneath an open brown blazer, Donnie was seriously beginning to wonder how exactly his new homeroom teacher wasn't boiling alive underneath the late-summertime sun.
Ms. Rosalia made one final, frankly pitiful attempt to hold the sign up, before slumping down in defeat.
Slowly, she turned to the one other person beside her. "Drayton, come over here and help hold this sign up, will you?"
From behind the diminutive teacher, stepped an older boy with silver and purple hair. Barely stifling a yawn, the boy took his hands out of his baggy, black and gold jacket.
"Sure thing." The boy, Drayton spoke, as he scooped up the sign from his teacher before lazily hoisting it into the air with his right hand – his left coming up to his mouth to cover another yawn.
"Thank you." Ms. Rosalia smiled. "You know, you being here is almost useful enough to make up for that stunt you pulled last year."
"I apologized, didn't I?" Drayton hummed.
"Yes, well that would be fine if you didn't miss the make-up test as well." Ms. Rosalia turned to the silver-haired teen. "I swear Drayton, I will not have you back in this same class next fall."
"Right, right…" Drayton nodded, before his eyes turned towards the group. "Ah, here they come now…"
Donnie made his way over right as a handful of other students did. The group slowly began to grow as more and more students came out of the crowd.
Looking around, Donnie took in the faces of his other future classmates. There were a few oddities, one girl had half her hair dyed a shade of green so vibrant that it might have actually been toxic waste, and another girl had her hair arranged in… were those screws ?
But as he subtly scanned around, he stopped as his gaze locked onto the glare being sent from the far corner of their class's congregation.
The source was a girl standing near the back of the group, her arms shoved into the pockets of a pair of basic grey track-pants while her dual-toned navy-blue and red hair spilled out from the confines of a yellow hair band and fell all around her face.
Speaking of her face, her features were certainly not Unovan. Donnie couldn't place his finger on it to be honest; maybe she was from Johto? Sussing out her ethnicity wasn't made any easier by the look she was fixing him with either.
Now, stares were something that Donnie had (unfortunately) grown used to over the last few years, but this wasn't quite a stare. No, this was more of a mix between a glare and a… grimace? What kind of expression was that?
The small, one-sided stare-down was broken when Donnie felt a tap on his arm, causing him to break away and look to see Drayton looking up at him.
"Hey man, think you could do me a solid?" Drayton asked, handing the sign over to Donnie. "Think you could hold this up for me? My arms are getting tired."
"... Sure." Donnie finally relented. While it was obvious that it was a ploy to try and get him to do the work, Donnie didn't mind. To be honest, he welcomed the opportunity to stop focusing on the piercing gaze the one girl was giving him.
"Thanks." Drayton stuffed his hands into his jacket's pockets. "Oh, I never got your name. I'm Drayton, and you?"
"Donnie."
"Nice to meet you, Donnie." Drayton replied.
It wouldn't take much longer for all of the students in class 1-A to make their way out of the dense crowd; Ms. Rosalia performs a quick headcount to herself, before smiling.
"Alrighty class, let's head on inside, shall we?" Ms. Rosalia waved, "Follow me, we'll go check out our dorms."
Slowly, the group of twenty filed into the entrance way, making their way down a large set of stairs that lead them deeper into the academy before entering a massive platform elevator. Donnie couldn't help but look around in awe as the platform elevator passed through a clear shaft, displaying the ocean life around them as they descended. The sights of Alomomola and Basculin swimming about all around them was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.
After a moment, the elevator clunked to a halt and the doors opened up, allowing the group to lead into a large circular atrium space. A massive garden growing right in the middle as the walls were lined with electronic displays and massive tunnels designated with signs. Students wearing sterling white and blue uniforms making their way through the space, emerging and reentering tunnels in every direction as they all went about their day.
In a way, it reminded Donnie of the Nimbasa and Castelia City subways stations… Only, with considerably less trash, grime, homeless people, the smell of piss… Alright, maybe they weren't so similar, but whatever.
"This here is what we call the 'Nexus' of Blueberry Academy." Ms. Rosalia explained. "This is where you'll find the entrances to most of the major wings of the academy. You'll see that each tunnel here is designated with a specific color, which helps you tell where you are."
Ms. Rosalia pointed to the green tunnel to their left. "If you ever get lost trying to get to class, just look for the green tunnel right there, since that'll take you right to the first year section of the school."
"That red tunnel right there leads to the culture section of the academy. That's the place where you'll find the school store, the cafeteria and all the rooms for the different clubs we have here in the academy! I highly suggest checking them out in the next few weeks when they start recruiting!"
Ms. Rosalia turned back to her class. "Now, let's head to your dormitories so you can drop your stuff off, shall we?"
Once the group had finally finished dropping off their dormitories, they all came together and were led by their new homeroom teacher to their classroom. Donnie's breath was taken away as he took in the space around him. The room itself was easily twice the size of his old elementary classroom, and like the rest of the academy, it looked straight out of a science fiction movie.
Looking around, Donnie saw that everyone had much the same reaction. The strange girl who'd been glaring at him earlier looked utterly bewildered by her surroundings.
"Well don't be shy guys, come on in and have a seat wherever you want!" Ms. Rosalia smiled, beckoning the students inside.
Donnie made his way over to a desk right at the back row of the class, the very top right of the classroom, literally wedging himself in the corner of the room. Carefully, Donnie shoved the chair of the desk back an extra few inches, allowing him to sit down without disrupting anyone with his legs.
The rest of the students also quickly filed in: the screw-haired girl made her way to the very front of the class, right in the front corner of the room, as if to choose the very first seat in the room. The 'death-stare' girl parked herself in the back section of the class a significant amount of chairs away from Donnie, and Drayton…
"Aw bummer, you took my spot."
Drayton sighed, and sat down next to Donnie.
"...Sorry." Donnie mumbled.
"What's that?" Drayton asked, "Don't whisper, just say it."
"I said I'm sorry." Donnie clarified, channeling his deeper voice.
"Ah, it's fine." Drayton waved-off half-heartedly. "I'm not gonna lose sleep over it, y'know?"
"Alrighty class!" Ms. Rosalia clapped her hands, silencing the conversations around the room. "I was thinking that we could use the time we have before dinner to get to know each other a little bit better! When I call your name, you can come up, tell us your name, and show us your favorite Pokemon! Then you can answer any questions your classmates might have!"
"Here, I can start!" Ms. Rosalia stepped from her podium to the front of her classroom. "Hello everyone, I'm Barbara Rosalia, but you can call me Ms. Rosalia. And here's my favorite Pokemon!"
Ms. Rosalia grabbed a Pokeball clipped to her hip and pressed the button, causing a flash of red light to engulf the area to her left; leaving behind a fluffy, two-legged red and black fox. Donnie leaned forward in his seat, his calculating azure eyes peering out from behind his bangs and training themselves on the bipedal pokemon.
"Zha~!" The fox cried as it shook its body around.
"This here is Zoroark, and he's been my partner since I was super little!" Ms. Rosalia smiled. "He's a real powerhouse as well!"
"Anyway, are there any questions that you may have for me or Zoroark?" Ms. Rosalia opened the floor up to the classroom.
"Yeah," One boy in the front of the class raised their hand. "When you say that Zoroark is strong, how strong do you mean?"
"Well, that's a good question." Ms. Rosalia smiled. "What do you have to say about that, Zoroark?"
"ZHA!"
"AAAHHH!" The poor boy cried out in shock.
A large chunk of the class whipped around, shocked out of their minds when Ms. Rosalia's Zoroark cried out from behind them, revealing it to have been leaning against the back wall of their classroom the entire time.
"Alright, Zoroark, that's enough. We don't want to scare our new students half to death." Ms. Rosalia cooed, as she waved a hand through the now dissipating form of her partner at the front of the classroom. "I apologize everyone, Zoroark can be a bit of a trickster when he feels like it. Anyway, I hope that answered your question, Jamie!"
"I'm surprised you didn't flinch." Drayton leaned over and whispered to Donnie. "She pulls this prank every year, and she gets everyone at least once. You got nerves of steel or something?"
"No." Donnie shook his head, "I knew it was an illusion."
"Oh~?" Drayton smiled lazily, "How'd you get that, detective?"
"An illusion created by Zoroark doesn't cast a shadow." Donnie explained.
"Mhm…" Drayton hummed. "Look at you, you know your stuff. No surprise that you got in here."
"Drayton!" Ms. Rosalia called from the front of the room. "Since you seem to want to talk right now, how about you come up here and introduce yourself instead of talking over others' introductions?"
"Busted." Drayton grinned as he stood up from his desk, and sauntered over to the front of the room, flashing the golden Maschiff insignia on the back of his black jacket to the class.
"Hey guys, the name's Drayton." The silver-haired boy gave a little wave to the classroom.
"My favorite Pokemon is… uh… I don't really have a favorite…" Drayton looked over to his teacher, who only pinched her brow.
"Keep going, Drayton."
"Alright… Well, I have this guy right here." Drayton tossed a Pokeball to the floor.
"Fli-ai-ai!"
A Flygon stood up at the front of the classroom, standing upright, its head twitching to the left and right in an erratic manner as it glanced over the room.
Flygon weren't super common, even in the Desert Resort that separated Castelia and Nimbasa. Typically it was mostly Trapinch and Vibrava, but the fact that Drayton had a Flygon told Donnie quite a bit about the experience the boy up there hid under his lazy, devil-may-care attitude.
Eyes roving over the ground-dragon, Donnie's gaze landed on the small bracelet tied around the green Pokemon's left forearm. A small purplish-pink orb sparkled faintly under the fluorescent L.E.D. lighting of the classroom. Donnie ran it down a list in his head, league-approved held items… Small marble or ball… The only logical option being a life orb, but those were items that scared off many a trainer; not wanting to potentially inflict undue harm to their partner's in battle.
The fact that Drayton had such an item lent itself to the same idea that Drayton had a very distinct idea of what he was doing.
As quickly as the Flygon was there, Drayton picked up its Pokeball and dismissed it in a flash of light. "Does anyone have any questions?"
"Greetings, my name is Amarys. Why is it that Ms. Rosalia dislikes you?" Came the very blunt response from the screw-haired girl in the front row.
"I don't hate him." Ms. Rosalia stepped in. "I'm just a little frustrated at him, that's all. Drayton's an incredibly bright student and an even better battler, but…"
"I missed the final exam last year." Drayton admitted with a shrug. "... And slept in past the make-up test. And didn't hand in a paper for the term."
"Exactly. I know that Drayton is more than capable, but because of that behavior, he's been unable to move into second year courses just yet."
"Yep, that's the 'sitch." Drayton grinned. "But hey, it means I get to meet and learn alongside all of you!"
"I see." Amarys replied, before bowing her head. "Thank you for answering my inquiry."
"Alright, thank you so much Drayton." Ms. Rosalia smiled, "Now, let's have… Felicia, you're up!"
The next forty minutes went the same way. Each time, one of the students would come to the front of the room and show off their Pokemon. Frankly, after the life orb Flygon that Drayton brought out, there wasn't a whole bunch catching Donnie's eyes.
A Pignite here. A Swoobat there. All sorts of par for the course.
"Thank you, can we give a round of applause to Henry!" The class clapped softly as Ms. Rosalia read down the list. "Carmine! Carmine, can you come on up."
Donnie perked up in intrigue as he watched the very girl who'd been glaring at him back during the period where the class had begun to group. Her two-tone hair flowing behind her in waves as she strode to the front of the room, before parking herself in front of everyone.
"My name is Carmine." The girl announced as she tossed the locks of her hair. Her Unovan was understandable, but underlined by some thick accent.
A hand raised in the front row, originating from a blonde girl, Samatha, if Donnie could recall.
"What's your accent?" Samantha asked, "You don't look Unovan."
"Yes, I'm from Kitakami." Carmine confirmed. "I came here to get stronger as a trainer."
"Kitakami?" Samatha tapped her finger against her lips, "Where is that anyway?"
"It's lodged within the outskirts of Johto's borders." Ms. Rosalia supplied. "It's right in between Johto and Kalos. Definitely closer to Johto, however."
"Whoa, so you live way out in the sticks then?" Samantha snickered. "Do you guys even have indoor plumbing out there?"
" Of course we do! " Carmine grit her teeth as her hands balled up into fists. "Kitakami is super awesome, okay? I'll prove it to you all when I make you eat dirt!"
"Alright, alright, settle down everyone." Ms. Rosalia placated. "Samatha, don't be rude. Please apologize to Carmine."
"I'm sorry~" Samantha drawled out half-heartedly.
"Now, Carmine, how about you show us one of your Pokemon?" Ms. Rosalia prompted. "I'm sure that you have a special Kitakami Pokemon to show the class!"
" Ahem " Carmine quickly regained her prideful composure. "Absolutely. Come on out Polchageist!"
Bursting from the Kitakami native's Pokeball, a tiny brown and grey piece of fine china with a doofy little smiling face floated in the air. Green globs of goo spilled out of the cracks in its pot-like shell, bubbling up and congealing into little arms that clutched onto a small wooden stick.
"Pol-Cha~!" The small Pokemon squeaked as it spun around and performed a little dance.
"Awwww~!" One girl near the front row squealed. "It's so cute!"
Carmine puffed out her chest. "Obviously it would be! It's from Kitakami, after all!"
"It looks pretty harmless though." One boy admitted. "Like, couldn't a stiff breeze knock that thing out?"
"Shut up!" Carmine rounded on said boy, in a split-second, she was right back to staring daggers and clenching her fists. "She's super strong! She's like, a thousand percent stronger than whatever Pokemon you Unovans have!"
"Let's get back on track, class." Ms. Rosalia warned. "Carmine, thank you so much for showing off your Pokemon. I can already tell that it's been very well trained."
"Thank you Ms. Rosalia." Carmine smiled as she promptly returned Poltchageist to its ball, before she made her way back to her seat and folded her arms under her chest.
"Now let's see here…" Ms. Rosalia scanned over the attendance paper. "Ah, yes, Donovan, how about you come on up here?"
Donnie snapped out of his reverie as he felt a hand reach over and clap him on the shoulder. Said hand belonged to the silver-haired slacker sitting to his right.
"Knock 'em dead, buddy."
"Thanks." Donnie grumbled as he braced himself. Slowly, he pushed back his chair and rose to his feet.
In a perpetual slouch, Donnie paced over to the front of his room, drawing the gaze of the entire room as he did so, until finally, he arrived at the front of the room.
Standing in front of everyone as he was now, Donnie realized that perhaps his wardrobe was doing him no favors in avoiding stares. Unlike the practical exam, his bangs were back to falling in thick clumps into his face, obscuring his eyes behind a veil of white hair. Not only that, he elected to forego the collared shirt and tie for the more comfortable option of a non-zip hoodie from an old Ryuki concert he attended a few years prior, and a pair of distressed jeans.
Same to say, in combination with his sheer height, he had quite the presence to him.
Donnie swallowed the frog growing in his throat, and opened his lips.
"H-Hey everyone." Donnie awkwardly greeted. "I'm Donovan, but people just call me Donnie."
Donnie licked his lips in a desperate attempt to stop his mouth from drying out. The words dying on his tongue.
Thankfully, a hand suddenly sprung up from a random black-haired boy in the middle of the class. Grateful for the assist, Donnie pointed to them. "Yes?"
"How tall are you?" The boy asked, accompanied by a smattering of his peers mumbling out agreements to the question.
Donnie sighed.
Of course that was the question.
Best he just gets it out of the way, no?
"I'm six-foot-two inches last time I checked." Donnie admitted with a shrug. "I just grew fast, I don't know…"
" Six-Two?! " Another kid spat out in shock. "You're practically a Golurk!"
"That's an exaggeration…" Donnie muttered.
"Donnie, would you like to show us one of your Pokemon?" Ms. Rosalia cut in, before turning to the class. "Sorry, I know you all have questions for our friend here, but we are starting to run out of time before dinner and we still have other people to get to."
"Right, I can do that." Donnie nodded as he collected and centered himself. Hand falling to his hip, Donnie instinctually latched onto Gliscor's Pokeball, before pausing. He was sure that people already had a certain perception of him in their heads, and perhaps sending out an already-poisoned Pokemon would be a bit of a cause for alarm.
So, Donnie shifted his hand back, gripping the only other Pokeball on his belt. Tugging it free, Donnie held the ball upright, clicking the button and allowing the ball to spring open, releasing the Pokemon from its confines.
"Stuf!"
The Pokemon landed on the floor with a tiny stumble. Securing its footing on its plush, fuzzy limbs, the Stuffle looked up to the class before it and cocked its head to the class.
"Stuf?"
"Awww~!" Several voices squealed.
"Stuf! Stuf!" Donnie's Stuffle beamed right back, bouncing around as it soaked in the praise.
"This here's Stuffle." Donnie bent down and scooped the plush bear into his arms. "He gets a bit excited when he's around new people."
Stuffle attempted to squirm out of Donnie's grasp. "Alright buddy, settle down, time to go back."
"Stu…"
Donnie tapped the front of his partner's Pokeball against its head. With a sigh, he clipped Stuffle's Pokeball back onto his hip. "So… Yeah, there you guys go. Any more questions?"
Donnie flicked his bangs out of the way as he fixed the class with a piercing glance. "Preferably not about my height?"
The room stayed silent. Before a hand sprung up from the back of the class.
"Drayton?" Donnie pointed over at the lethargic teen.
"Yeah, I was just wondering where you managed to get a Stuffle." Drayton asked. "You see those guys in Alola and Galar, but they don't really exist here."
Donnie chewed his lip. "He was… a gift from a family friend, so to speak."
The answer seemed to satisfy Drayton enough, as the boy simply nodded his head and returned to taking a nap on top of his desk.
"Alright, well let's give it up for Donnie, everyone!" Ms. Rosalia encouraged the class to clap. Donnie simply stuffed his hands back into his Ryuki hoodie and marched back to his seat. Content to zone out for the rest of the day. Several student's introductions passed by, each more boring than the last.
Suddenly, a buzz inside Donnie's pocket shook him from his reverie.
Slowly, Donnie drew the phone from his pocket, making sure to keep it out of Ms. Rosalia's sight. Turning it on, Donnie peered down at the notification.
Perry: [Hey, you able to come back to town this weekend?]
Perry: [Got a potential special order coming in that you might be interested in.]
Donnie's gaze sharpened as he silently typed away.
Donnie: [Party-Sized order for the Millman's?]
Perry: [Yep. Large one too.]
Donnie paused and mulled something over for a moment.
Donnie: [Let me see what I can do. I'll get back to you.]
Perry: [Right. Enjoy your school life.]
Donnie pocketed his phone and returned his attention to the front. Some kid was showing off his Gothorita to the class. Before their introduction was cut off by the clapping of Ms. Rosalia.
"Thank you so much, Kevin." Ms. Rosalia smiled. "Alrighty everyone, we should begin making our way to the cafeteria for our dinner. So let's slowly make our way to the front and form a line, okay?"
Donnie watched from his seat as the crowd of students slowly congealed and utterly failed to form any order. Thankfully, it took surprisingly little time for Ms. Rosalia to whip them into a proper line.
Donnie finally got up alongside Drayton and the two took up a file in the back of the line.
"Hey, who were you texting?" Drayton grinned as he rested his hands behind his head.
"My Pops." Donnie replied. "He wanted to know how I was doing with school."
"Ah, gotcha." Drayton hummed. "I remember I couldn't go a day without my Ma' calling me during my first year here."
"Yeah… Parents are like that, huh?" Donnie checked his phone absentmindedly. "I should probably pay him a visit this weekend."
"Where's he living?"
"Oh, he's in Castelia." Donnie answered. "He's not doing great health-wise, so we moved him to a care home on the outskirts of the city."
"I see, well that's good." Drayton nodded, wisely choosing not to press the topic of Donnie's family anymore.
And a wise decision it was, because right as their conversation ended, the group made their way to the front entrance of the Cafeteria.
"Ah, here we are!" Drayton stretched his back. "Man, I could use some grub right about now. How about you, buddy?"
"I guess." Donnie shrugged. "You've been here longer, is there anything I should watch out for?"
"Like the food?" Drayton turned to him. "Nah, everything I've had has been pretty good. The Mac n' Cheese is pretty good. Their rotisserie is… it's fine. A bit dry for me, personally."
"Noted." Donnie nodded as the group made their way inside.
Shortly after their dinner, Class 1-A made their way back towards the dormitory's common room for the night. As people arrived, they quickly broke off and headed towards their respective rooms in order to properly unpack.
"Hey Ms. Rosalia, can I ask you a question quickly?" Donnie pulled his homeroom teacher over.
"Yes, of course Donovan!" Ms. Rosalia smiled up at her student. "What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if we're able to leave the academy on the weekends?" Donnie explained. "My Dad's not doing great… He's in a care home in Castelia City right now. I wanted to pay him a visit over the weekend."
"Oh, of course!" Ms. Rosalia comforted him. "We have a ferry that shuttles students to the mainland all over the weekends. They come and go from the academy every two hours, and they go until 11:00 p.m. each night. Also, you're more than welcome to call a flying taxi to the docks of the Academy."
"Perfect." Donnie bowed his head. "Thank you so much, Ms. Rosalia."
"You're welcome!" Ms. Rosalia smiled. "If you ever need anything else, don't hesitate to let me know."
"Of course." Donnie smiled as Ms. Rosalia walked away.
Once his teacher left his proximity, Donnie fished out his phone.
Donnie: [I can make it. What time do you want me to clock in?]
Perry: [Hell yes. I'll get us all set up. Be at the shop on Saturday night, around 10:30 p.m.]
With a subtle smile, Donnie pocketed his phone and headed off towards his dorm room; determined to finish his unpacking efforts before he fell asleep.
Carmine stomped through the dorm hallways, the once bright fluorescent lights now dimmed to a soft golden hue for the night. The time on the walls displaying that it was already 11:43. Everyone else in her class was already in their rooms, either wrapping up their unpacking efforts, or even already getting sleep in preparation for the upcoming school day.
And yet here she was. Well pacing down the dimly-lit hall, well and truly lost.
No, not lost . She told herself. A true country-bumpkin would get lost, she was simple… turned around! Yes, that's it! The elevators that separated the various floors of the first year dormitories simply spit her out in the wrong place!
One hand went up to grasp a fistfull of her hair – a little tick she'd had since early childhood – as she continued to make her way down the hallway.
Whoever designed this academy, oh boy, did Carmine ever have words for them…
Like why in the hell was every single door and hallway the exact same? At least in Kitakami there was order in the disorder. You could tell whose house was whose by the color of their roof tiles, or the arrangements of flowers in their front gardens. But here, well there were a few ways to describe it.
Gentrified would be the key one.
What was she supposed to do? Knock on every door, hoping to get some help in finding exactly what floor she was supposed to be on? No, that would only give those idiots in her class more ammunition. She could practically hear their sneers already.
"Oh my god, Carmine got herself lost on the very first day? How? We were literally shown to our rooms earlier!"
"Give her a break, after all, she's from the middle of nowhere, she must not know how buildings work~!"
"Alright, here's your room! Want me to come in and show you how to flush a toilet while I'm at it?"
Carmine ground her teeth against one another as her grip on her hair tightened. What did she care about?! It was only her entire social life for the next three years that she was potentially shooting down in flames on the very first day of school!
Speed walking down the halls, she rapidly scanned the door plates of each passing room. Desperate to find the one that she'd been looking for…
There!
On her left, Carmine's eyes locked onto the door labeled 'B-312'. 312, yes! A wave of relief crashed into Carmine, as she approached the room, pulling out her student I.D. and swiping it through the reader and grabbing onto the door handle.
Carmine tugged at the door handle.
*Ch-Chunk.*
Carmine froze, the flood of calm within her turning to ice as soon as the horrid sound of a locked door filled her ears.
This wasn't her door.
Somehow, this wasn't her door.
She turned down the traitorous card in her hands, and realized all too late that her room number was listed as C-612 and not B -312.
She'd done it. In her frustration and worry, she achieved the very thing she sought to avoid. The sheer terror of hearing the approaching footsteps on the other side of the door left her without feeling in her legs.
This was it, her fresh-start, her bright future, all shot down in flames on the first day…
And she was the one who held the smoking gun.
Time turned to a snail's pace as Carmine listened to the slow clank of the door's lock being flicked from the other side. Watching in utterly hopeless paralysis as the door slowly swung open.
"Um… Hello?"
Carmine's eyes practically bugged out of her head as she saw the face of her downfall.
"You!"
After pinning his hair out of his face, Donnie had taken to sitting down, folding his clothes into their new drawers. Humming the tune of a Roxie song quietly to himself as he went. All the clothes slowly took their place, except for a certain outfit that Donnie had begun to pile into a duffle bag on his bed.
*Ch-Chunk*
The sound of something rattling his door quickly stopped Donnie in place. Slowly, he made his way towards the door, while making sure to keep himself out of harm's way if anything decided to blast the door down.
It took Donnie an embarrassing amount of time to realize that in a secure and futuristic academy like this, that a home-intruder was probably not an actual worry. Rubbing the back of his neck, he instead opted to simply head to the door, flicking off the lock.
Pulling open the door, he was greeted by the tense, shaking figure of the same girl who'd been glaring at him all day.
"Um, hello?"
The girl locked her frantic eyes directly onto his and her expression shifted from absolute horror to both horror and exasperation.
"You!" She barked, baring her teeth like a cornered Poochyena.
"Yes, it's me." Donnie remarked. "You're… Carmine, right? Did you need something?"
"Nope! Not at all!" Carmine spun on her heels.
"But didn't you just try and open my door?"
"Shut up!" Carmine snap-turned back to Donnie. "I don't need any help at all, especially not from…" Carmine thrust a finger at Donnie. "You!"
"You're lost, aren't you?" Donnie inferred, and judging from the way that Carmine shoulders sank, he must have been spot on.
He sighed, grabbing his own keycard off the entranceway table. "Do you remember your room number?"
"I just said that I do-"
"You obviously do." Donnie cut her off. "Look, I'm not going to say anything about you being on the boys floor to anyone, if that's what you're scared of."
"Now…" Donnie locked eyes with Carmine. "What's your room number?"
"C-612." Carmine admitted, her head hung in defeat.
"Cool. Alright, let's find the elevator then." Donnie stepped out, locking his door as he did. "For the record, I get it, this place is like a maze sometimes."
"Don't patronize me." Carmine shot back."
"Well, I wasn't , but noted." Donnie snarked back. "Are you always this unpleasant to people who help you, or..?"
Carmine's eloquent response was lightly socking Donnie in the arm. "...Also noted."
The two continued down the halls in silence, taking turn after turn around the strange, ringed hallways.
While either of them could find the silence comforting, the existence of the awkward tension in the air hung heavy as the two made their way towards the nearest elevator.
"Soooo~" Donnie drawled. "What's Kitakami like this time of year?"
"Seriously, what is your deal?" Carmine huffed. "Are you intent on getting on my nerves at all times?"
"Hey, I'm just trying to make conversation." Donnie stopped and turned to her. "Heaven forbid a man tries to get to know someone!"
"Uh-huh, sure you are." Carmine bit.
"Fine, then how about a different question?" Donnie crossed his arms. "How come you've been glaring at me the entire day?"
"You really thought I wouldn't notice?" Donnie sighed at Carmine's shocked expression. "Girl, if that's you trying to be subtle, then I'd hate to see you trying to drop hints."
Carmine stormed off in a huff, with Donnie closely following behind her.
"Seriously, can you just explain that to me, because I'm pretty sure that we've never spoken before now."
The two finally broke from the hallways, finding one of the elevators situated at the end of the wall.
Carmine tapped the button to call the elevator, then turned and scowled. "Fine. Imagine this: you're trying to get into the Blueberry Academy, and you have to do a mock battle to impress the staff, okay?"
"I'm following." Donnie motioned for her to keep going.
"And then imagine if, just as you think your battle's going well, some random kid next to you walks in, and annihilates their opponent in a single hit!" Carmine clenched her fists. "Sounds familiar? I should because you're that kid! And because of you, I almost didn't make it!"
Donnie paused his retort.
"So I'm sorry, but I don't feel like being all buddy-buddy with a guy who stole my thunder."
"Do you expect an apology for that?"
"Huh?" Carmine faltered as Donnie rounded on her.
"I fought because I had something to gain by winning. I also had to get in here, same as you." Donnie growled. "If you feel that your thunder is getting stolen, then steal it right back."
"Why you…" Carmine's eyes burned. "I ought to make you eat dirt."
"Feel free to try, I insist." Donnie grinned, a snarky, sharp smile that wouldn't feel out of place on a Sableye. "But I'm not going to make it easy for you…"
Donnie leaned in, his face a few scant inches from Carmine's own.
"You want me to eat dirt?" Donnie spoke in a husky whisper. "Then you're going to have to earn it."
Carmine stumbled back, gripping her hair in her hands and letting out a low growl, even as a small blush crossed her face.
Donnie rose back up. "You got that? You gotta come at me like you mean it~"
The ding of the elevator chime cut Carmine's reply short. Slowly, the elevator doors slide open. Carmine made her move to escape into the elevator.
"Wait-!" Donnie whispered as his hand shot out, grabbing the girl by her wrist, tugging her into his chest.
"What the f-!" Carmine was about to shout, before Donnie's other hand clamped over her mouth. Suddenly, Carmine felt her whole body being spun by the larger boy, causing the two of them to land against the wall behind a pot of tall bamboo shoots that decorated the hallway.
Carmine watched from her spot behind the plant as one of the boys from their class made his way out of the elevator, a bottle of water in their hands as they made their way out of sight.
"I'm going to let go now." Donnie whispered into her ear, causing Carmine to shudder in place. "Don't freak out; he'll hear us."
Slowly, Donnie gently released his grip on Carmine. The two-toned girl stumbled out of his arms, a tectonic blush painting her visage.
"Sorry about that." Donnie apologized, a smirk growing on his face as he watched Carmine try to regain any semblance of composure. "C'mon, let's get in before anyone else shows up."
As the two teens quickly slipped into the elevator, Donnie wasted no time and pressed the button to close the doors, leaving the two of them in the silent lit cabin of the elevator.
"You're floor C, right?" Donnie asked, only receiving a nod from Carmine.
Pressing the button, Donnie eased against the wall.
"So, what's the silence for?"
"I'm still deciding whether to thank you or punch you."
Donnie nodded, "I'll take that."
The elevator slowed to a halt as the two stepped out into the female floor.
"There's the six-hundred hallway." Donnie pointed out.
"..."
"This is the part where you say thank you." Donnie teased.
"God, you're like a Murkrow, you know that?" Carmine remarked. "You come out of nowhere and do nothing but pester me."
"... You don't say, huh?" Donnie chuckled softly. "Anyway, I meant what I said; I won't say a word about this to anyone."
"However." Donnie's eyes glinted. "My offer still stands. Anytime you want to try and take your precious thunder back, I'll be waiting. "
"Just get out of here before I start calling security." Carmine threatened.
"Oh, watch out, you almost sounded appreciative there." Donnie jeered. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Donnie swiftly ducked back into the elevator, giving Carmine a wink and a two-fingered salute that left her clenching at her hair hard enough to threaten ripping it out.
Still stewing in a mess of emotions, Carmine stomped back over to her room, a small bit of relief blossoming inside her as she finally was able to open the door. But as soon as the catharsis faded, as soon as the door clicked shut behind her, Carmine had no defense left.
Running up and throwing herself onto the bed, Carmine buried her face into the pillow and…
"ARRGGRGRGRGRGRGGRGRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"
Carmine flailed her fists and her legs against the mattress as she continued to muffle her frustrated screams into her pillow.
After several moments, Carmine finally rose from the bedding. Her face still flush, her heart pounding, her teeth gnashing against one another. He was the weird, quiet loner with a stupid strong Gliscor, not… whatever that was.
Carmine could feel her heart galloping faster than a Zebstrika all while her temper threatened to boil over. The cocktail of emotions leaving her just…
Carmine's fingers twitched erratically as she failed to put a name to exactly what she was feeling.
So she did the one thing she knew she could do.
"ARRRGRGRGGGRRGHHHHHHHH!"
Go right back to screaming said emotions into her pillow.
Hey guys, I'm back! I know, two chapters in one month, it's crazy for me too! I've just been really inspired (and also deep into the Indigo Disk brainrot) right now, so I've been enjoying pumping these out!
So we finally get to see more of the actual canon Indigo Disk characters! Since this story begins about two years before the events of Scarlet and Violet's base game, the current roster is a lot smaller, containing only the students who we know are third-years by the time of the Indigo Disk storyline. That means Lacey, Crispin and most notably, Kieran will be coming into the story in future arcs.
For now though, we got Drayton and Carmine! First, let's start with Drayton. I really like the guy! He's a super fun character in the actual games, and I feel like he makes a great parallel/foil to Donnie. Both of them are abnormal from their student body in some way (Drayton's held back a year and Donnie's mad-tall); so there's some odd kinship found there; but I also feel like Drayton almost latching onto Donnie like we see here kind of reflects a fascination he has with Donnie. Initially, yeah, Donnie is an easy guy to pawn off a little bit of work onto, but then Drayton is picking up on some of the subtle details; and I feel like Drayton more than any of the other students has an inkling that Donnie is a bit more competent than he lets on.
Carmine on the other hand, has already had a taste of what Donnie was capable of from her easter egg appearance in chapter one; but here we get to see how she's begun to discover that Donnie isn't actually like how he's been presenting himself. At least, not fully. Also, I wanted Carmine to really feel like more of a loner, especially in an environment where she's away from her family, and has no prior experience or friends to rely on. Big inspiration comes from a fic called "Bumpkaboo", which put the idea of Carmine kind of being a little bullied/isolated from the students into my head.
Now for Donnie. There's been hints at him being a bit more confident when in his element, but his scene here with Carmine at the end of the chapter really helps illustrate that he's been concealing a lot of his true personality. He's a bit of an ass, I'll admit. While Drayton can be equally snarky, Donnie's is a lot and I mean a lot more focused on goading people. The way I see it, Donnie acts almost like a Heel.
Anyway, I already feel the itch to keep going with the story, so I'll leave this writeup where it's at right now.
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Thank you everyone for your support, and if you don't hear from me before the next year, I wish you all have a great New Year's, here's to 2024!
Rock on, and Happy New Year!