Chapter 19: Back to School

Every year prior, Bryce was rather indifferent about school starting up again, an act that many would probably paint him as a nerd to most of his peers. To him, school and home were the same: a place to get work done and hope to not get interrupted with whatever he was doing. School itself was hardly interesting, but it did give him something to do. Home, he could busy himself cleaning, but that wasn't exactly enjoyable, either.

Now? Going back to school sounded nothing short of awful.

At least he was doing one thing that a teenager his age would be, the night before he went back to school: playing videogames–in this case, alongside Violet. While he often thought about whatever move he made in-game for a few moments, both of them could tell he was getting lost in thought more than normal with how much time he was taking.

"Still don't trust me to not burn the house down?" Violet teased, giving him a light elbow in the ribs as she passed him in his chair, returning from the bathroom.

"Still?" Was his response, in the exact same tone. "From what you've told me about Pokemon evolution, you're more mature than I am. You'll be fine."

It was true; he was hardly worried about her, in both taking care of herself and keeping herself out of sight from any surprises. Although it happened gradually over the last few months, Bryce had gone from intentionally giving Violet her space to ultimately letting her decide on how much time she wanted to spend with him–and the answer was 'yes', provided that both were awake and neither were working on their various jobs. They were well and truly used to having each other around now. While Violet had been trained for as many situations as possible, including the possibility of having no one around when she arrived here that she could trust, Bryce had only had similar 'training' by having not being close to any creature that wasn't Shadow.

"Call it a hunch, but I don't think I'm going to be able to focus at all tomorrow." He said, half-jokingly.

Violet gave a small frown. "Well don't just slack off." And then she stuck her tongue out at him. "Even if it is because you're thinking about me."

"Ha, ha. The first day is just going over the usual anyway: rules and expectations, what we'll be learning in the course, seating…nothing that I'll be graded on." He sighed a bit, finally making a decision on what path to take in their game and watched as he took a long sip from his glass of water sitting on the desk. "Amazing how much school can teach you new things, and none of it the least bit important."

"That's not nice." She replied.

Ah, but if only she knew. "Sure, some basic concepts are helpful, but all these miniscule details? They'll never come into play for anyone, and if they did, they'd be learning it again at a higher level, in a better way. Problem solving, logic, thinking critically? All that stuff is something you learn because of yourself, not because you're sitting in a class learning about the different eras of dinosaurs."

It wasn't the first time Violet had heard him bashing his school–or rather, the entirety of the education system. "Is it really that bad?" She offered, trying to level with him.

He could tell she was trying to talk him down from the ledge, and so, Bryce relented. "I guess not, at least for everyone. I just need more of a challenge and something more interesting to me."

Violet's turn came up as she looked back to the screen, mulling over her options. "Like what? Video game design?"

"Nah." He shrugged. "I'd rather be a player than a creator. And I'd definitely rather do both than test games."

"Come to think of it…what does interest you? Really, actually interests you?" The Lucario asked.

Admittedly, she'd seen him do most things out of necessity, or to pass the time. Maybe that was a large part of what entertainment was, but Bryce only seemed entertained by everything around him to a small degree.

"Well…you." He answered rather lamely.

It was the first thing that came to his mind, and he didn't want to give the obvious moody answers of 'nothing' or 'I dunno'. The moment he said it, Bryce was waiting for the obvious tease that would come with it; he'd just given her a slow, underhand pitch that'd be all too easy to swing at, after all. Instead, he got silence from his housemate. With the lights off, noticing a small blush on her cheeks was nigh impossible, but he could still feel the embarrassment from her.

"Nice shot." He responded, commenting on the game–then quickly wishing he'd said nothing.

"Thanks." She mumbled.

Bryce found himself saying it anyway, "I dunno. Maybe once I finish high school and move out with Shadow, the change of scenery will give me an idea." He could feel her giving an almost mom-like look of 'that's not an answer'. "Tell ya what: I'll think about it tomorrow at school."

"That's better." Violet grinned, taking the lead over Bryce's score, though narrowly.

"Speaking of, you're getting better. Do I need to start taking the kid gloves off?" He teased.

"I could start doing that as well, you know. Care to see how tough it is to wrestle a Lucario?"

Nopenopenope.

"No thanks, I'm good." He dryly replied, taking the lead back from her at the end of his turn.

The two continued to play in silence for a few minutes, only vaguely reminded of the time by Violet yawning from time to time. With the game ending just as Bryce was starting to feel tired, Violet had beaten him by only a small amount.

"Yep, I think you're getting better." He noted.

Violet rolled her eyes, grinning at him. "And I think you took a dive a few turns back."

"Yeah?" He smirked. "Well, if you can tell, that means you're improving. Besides," Bryce stood, smirking as the Lucario did the same before grabbing her by the waist and hoisting her up in the air by a foot or two. "I've already won, because I've got a Pokemon buddy, right?" He finished the out-of-character moment with a playful wink, leaving a slightly flustered jackal in mid-air, squirming a bit, more in embarrassment than anything.

It got her laughing, though. "Ahaha…okay, put me down…" She grinned, a small hint of 'or else' in her voice.

"Awh, do I haaaave to?~" Bryce pouted.

Violet laughed again, a much more sincere laugh than a cute one. "What's gotten into you?"

The less Bryce thought about thinking, the more fun he'd often had with Violet over the past few weeks. This time, though, it was a mix of that and thinking ahead. "Just making sure you have something to remember while I'm stuck in purgatory tomorrow."

Finally, he set Violet down, but that was his biggest mistake. Instantly, she pressed her face into his chest, giving him a deep, and very warm nuzzle. "Mmmm, then I hope you remember this~" Her paws wrapped around him, tail wagging softly.

Bryce made a mental note to step up his gaming, because she was doing a much better job at flustering him. He couldn't even hug her back, too focused on his heartbeat increasing in pace and sound. Eventually she let go, waving a paw as she headed for the door. "See you tomorrow."

The door closed behind her as he blinked. Violet was the black sheep of her family? Perhaps the stereotype of Lucario typically being far too serious for their own good was true, at least in her 'tribe'. Heart rate slowing down, Bryce gave a soft sigh, heading for the bathroom to brush his teeth before bed. Yeah, school was definitely going to be a lot less fun tomorrow. At least it would mean his weekends were that much more important.

The next morning…

Even as he walked to school, the now official high-school senior ran through his mental checklist one more time. Plenty of food and drinks stocked up, Shadow taken care of until he got back, and the house completely empty save for said feline and Violet. Yeah, he had nothing to worry about. Idly he wondered if this was what a parent felt like, leaving their kid alone at home for the first time.

The school itself seemed to be split down the middle when it came to the student's mood. As Bryce walked down the halls, he saw plenty of students who looked like they'd slept maybe two hours at best, or just on edge from having their precious, unimportant plans of nothing but 'eat, drink and be merry' taken away from them. Still, there were plenty of kids, younger and older, that were chatting happily with classmates they hadn't seen in several weeks about all the places they went and things they did. Well, it took all kinds, he supposed, walking into his first period and sitting in a chair closest to the window, about halfway up the front. It was a good spot to keep away from the troublemakers who sat in the back–at least until assigned seating became a thing–while also keeping far enough away from the front to be an obvious target for questions or errands. On the off-chance that one of the back-seaters decided to cause trouble, he was also ahead enough to not have to worry about being the victim of any pranks.

He'd gotten there only a few minutes early, but the class was only about one-third full. The rest of them filed in as time went by, with the usual high traffic just as the bell rang. Luckily for them, no staff ever took the tardy bell seriously on the first day. There was always at least one new kid, after all, and they might be lost in the halls, particularly with the ensuing scuffle that came every hour, on the hour. In this case however, the new kid came in with the teacher herself, giving a small smile towards the class as half of them settled and the rest of them continued to idly chatter–probably with their friends that they hadn't noticed in the halls.

"Good morning class. Welcome back, and congratulations on making it to your last year here."

A few students whooped at that. Not exactly 'lifelong learners', as Bryce often put it–at least, internally, he did. Mrs. Clouser was her name, if he remembered right, tuning out her speech: a short but polite woman in her late thirties with chestnut brown hair and a penchant for wearing large, sky blue earrings. Well, she'd be a nice teacher to learn all those important mathematics, science and the like on the way out into adulthood after they were done with the year.

"I'd also like to introduce you all to Veronica, your newest classmate."

Taller than their teacher and with a darker shade of brown hair, Veronica waved lightly, her green eyes scanning the room quickly. She wore a faded yellow shirt, with a small, white scarf tucked around her neck

"Well, we have a lot to cover today, so take a seat anywhere you like, dear." Mrs. Clouser urged, moving over to the whiteboard to write her name in the top left corner.

Veronica did so, and surprisingly, ended up walking towards Bryce, placing her backpack underneath the chair next to his own as she slid into position. With Bryce on her left and nobody on her right, she gave a small smile and a soft 'hi'. He returned it with a soft 'hello' of his own as the two looked back to the whiteboard. Sure, most teachers would have noticed, but it was a polite greeting, nothing more. More importantly, Veronica might have actually wanted to pay attention, seeing as it was her first year here.

And so, Bryce let his mind wander, finding it all too easy to think about anything other than school. Hopefully Violet was having more fun than he was–or at the very least, learning something that didn't involve how to use a bathroom pass. He thought about what it'd be like to go back to her world, with her. Admittedly, when it came to the Pokemon world and the various regions, he didn't know too much outside the games. Maybe he could replay through the Sinnoh region with Violet and she could confirm or deny what the game showed as her world.

What would it be like, being a Pokemon trainer? Sure, plenty of kids probably imagined it as they grew up, but Bryce might be the person on earth closest to actually making that imaginary job a reality. Setting out on the road, camping under the stars most nights, training to make his team stronger and more effective at communication…heck, he didn't even necessarily have to be a trainer. Doing research, Pokemon breeding, doing contests–anything that gave them enough money to live well. Based on how most characters in the games seemed to be, it couldn't be that hard to live that way…

"...and now, with the last of the expectations taken care of, you may all use these last few minutes to talk amongst yourselves." Mrs. Clouser smiled slightly, the last of her sentence dulled out by the idle conversations already going.

She was probably right to do that, honestly. Let the class get all their excitement to talk to each other out, at least until lunch.

"So, been going to this school a while?"

Bryce turned his head, looking over at Veronica. "Yeah, pretty much since kindergarten." He paused, offering a hand. "Bryce."

She shook his hand gently. "Veronica, but you already knew that, I guess." The girl responded, chuckling.

"So what brought you here?" Bryce asked, continuing a light, polite conversation. "Moved from a different school in the state, or from farther away?"

"Farther away, actually. My grandparents on my mom's side of the family are getting older and they live here, so my parents moved here to make sure they could take care of them if they needed." Veronica shrugged, as if to say 'oh well'.

Admittedly, it would be pretty hard to refute that claim if she wanted to stay, especially as a kid. "Well, hopefully you'll like it here. There's nothing too terribly special here, but there's also not too many kids that'll be mean or rude."

Even if he technically qualified most days as the latter category by largely ignoring everyone…

Fittingly enough, he could hear a whisper or two that involved his name. Subtlety and high schoolers didn't exactly go hand-in-hand. Veronica noticed it too, eyes looking towards the general direction for a split second.

"Don't mind them." Bryce rolled his eyes. "They're just not used to hearing me talk much." He lowered his voice to an actual whisper. "Probably because they're not all that interesting to talk to."

That got a smirk out of her. Good to know he could be appreciated by another human being from time to time.

"So, what're you planning on working on for a career?" She asked.

Bryce blinked. "Mm, I don't really know."

Veronica looked at him curiously. "Not going to get a degree at a college or university?"

"If I had an idea of what I'd want to do for a job, maybe. Universities are pretty expensive, though, even with my grades probably giving me a scholarship." He paused. "I, uh…haven't really thought about it, though."

"Huh…" She looked down, as if thinking about something.

He did the same, knowing full well why he hadn't bothered to pursue any ideas of a career. "How about you? Any ideas?" He asked, looking back up at her.

The girl's smile returned. "I mean, I'd love to travel, especially to less populated areas."

"Ah, the explorer type?" Bryce offered, getting a nod in response.

"Yeah…not really the 'camp out in the jungle type', but just getting to see more natural beauty. Plants, animals, that kinda stuff. Maybe do some sketches for art or science and help people learn a bit more about it all.'

"That sounds pretty cool, actually." Bryce mused.

He'd been thinking similar thoughts about learning all new things about the world…although it wasn't exactly this one he had in mind. Before he could respond, the bell rang, and half of the class rushed out as if the building were on fire.

"Well, if you'd like, feel free to follow me around for the day. I can show you around, if Mrs. Clouser didn't give you a tour."

She nodded, having just finished packing up. Bryce hadn't even bothered getting his own supplies out during the first period. The two stood, calmly leaving through the door and heading on to the rest of their day.

It was hardly an interesting school day, but it passed by none the same. With the promise to sit by him again the following morning, Bryce idly waved goodbye as the pair left school, heading in directions opposite of each other. Despite the probability of rumors about Bryce and Veronica–'love at first sight', as if–he still couldn't keep his mind off of what was going on at home. His pace home was just that little bit faster than normal as he unlocked the front door, heading straight to his room.

Sure enough, Violet was in there, laying on his bed with Shadow on her stomach as she listened to her music player, only one earbud in as she lifted her head slightly. "Welcome back."

Dropping his backpack by the door, Bryce walked over, petting Shadow. "Good to be back."

"So, was it as boring as you thought?" She couldn't help but ask.

Bryce thought it over for a moment. "Well, let's say yes and no." He paused. "Spent a lot of time thinking about what I'd want to do after I'm out of high school."

Violet scooted over to give him space to join. "Was that what the subject was in class?"

"Nah, just something that the new kid asked me about." He paused. "I know it's not really possible, but…I dunno, going back to Sinnoh with you and going on a Pokemon adventure sounded kinda fun. Doesn't have to be becoming a Champion or anything, but traveling around and seeing the world, y'know?"

The silence that followed was beyond strange; it was downright awkward. Before Bryce could ask what was up, he got a look at Violet looking away, her face very warm as her gaze met his for a few moments.

"Uh, t-that's…" She gave a small cough. "A rather intimate thing to ask…"

"Really?" Bryce raised an eyebrow. "Seemed pretty commonplace, from what I know about the Pokemon world…"

"Maybe if you have a dedicated goal, yeah…but to do it just for the sake of doing it is…" Violet stopped, looking at Shadow as she tried to think of the right word.

Oops. …then again…

"Well, half of taking a trip is about who you're traveling with, right? I couldn't think of anyone better than you to journey around with."

As he finished, he slid into bed next to her, taking the free earbud and sliding it into one of his ears. The two listened to the song playing in otherwise silence. Just as the song ended, Violet gave a quiet response.

"Yeah, it does sound nice, doesn't it?"

It did. Bryce gently took her paw in his hand, giving it a squeeze as he smirked.

"That settles it, we'll take over Sinnoh someday." A playful tease, but the sentiment was still the same as the two continued to listen to music well into the evening, resting like that for a few more hours.

Maybe he'd committed a faux-paus when it came to Violet's world, but it sure didn't feel like it anymore.

Author's Notes:

Ahh, it's nice to be back at this again, even if I'm finishing it up after the end of a pretty nasty cold. Things are finally starting to get warm here, and a bit warmer in the story as well. If it seemed like I was doing a bit of bashing of the education system, you'd be correct. Before moving into doing creative writing and English literature as my career, I was initially planning on being a teacher, the same as my mother and her parents. But then, unsurprisingly, life got in the way. The education department couldn't seem to understand why it was impossible to get up at 6am, teach until 5pm, go to classes from 5-9pm, get my homework done, get lesson plans for the class I'm teaching done, take care of my mother, and work two part time jobs all at once. Apparently they also aren't aware that humans need a thing called sleep and also that there's only 24 hours in a day. If that wasn't enough, the department head said in no uncertain terms that I'd have to choose between my career and my family. I moved over to a humanities degree and didn't look back, and that department was super understanding and reasonable.

TL:DR–Got to see many a flaw in the education system up close, as both a student and a teacher at the same time, and at a middle/high-school level and university level at the same time. Luckily, not all professors are like the ones I had in the education department.

For anyone out there–in particular, teenager age through early 20's–who feel like they haven't found something they really gel with when it comes to a career: find something similar to, but not exactly like, what you enjoy doing. I love writing, so my degree is English Literature. Having to read and comprehend more than the normal student would has only made my writing get better and better (heck, compare this story to the original from half a lifetime ago). You don't have to get there right this very second. But also that the right or wrong teacher/professor can absolutely make or break your confidence and eagerness to go into a certain field. If you find your career but a teacher shakes you, keep going. Maybe it's a good kind of push, or maybe a different professor will put things into a better light.

Having Veronica in the story was an additional piece I wanted to put in there for a while now. Will she serve as some romantic interest to Bryce? Short answer: no. Bryce having some other relationship, outside of Shadow and Violet, is a way to show his visible effects even when he's not around Violet herself. Everyone's probably seen a student in their class have a shift, dramatic or minor, in how they act and behave from the end of one school year to the start of another. And, of course, as kids are quite good at creating gossip, it's a good reminder that you shouldn't believe everything you hear. 'Bryce is into the new girl'-as you can tell, as the reader–is way off. He's in a better headspace because of Violet and can actually act a bit more human towards others as a result.

As much as I could timeskip and move to holidays and events without school, relationships are ones that, especially when getting older, require both planning to make sure all parties are actually free (not in school, in this case), but it also means that Bryce and Violet are now making specific time for each other, rather than just doing so whenever they feel like it. Obviously giving space is important, but also important in any sort of relationship is making sure that you're not spending too much time with the other person. While it might be fun for a while, eventually you'll run out of things to talk about and do, whereas taking some time to do other things (with other people as well) gives you more to talk about and come back to things you've done before that you're not burnt out on.

Although I do want to include something for the next chapter, it would go out of order in terms of time. So, as a result, I may do just a fluff chapter next (something that has no bearing on the story or any development) or move on to the next plot point. For now though, I'll end the author's notes here since it's a longer chapter than normal. Hope you enjoyed it!

Oh, one last little note, there's a small reference to "The Sun Also Rises" in one of the lines of dialogue (slightly modified, of course, I'm not just going to steal from an Earnest Hemmingway novel). See if you can find it, if you've read that book before.

Comments are always appreciated, and remember that as long as you're here, there's always a new year, a new month, and a new day to change for the better. -Delta