Rei
"Hey," a voice said. "Wake up."
I rolled over, not wanting to get up."A few more minutes," I mumbled.
"Not a morning person are you," the voice said, chuckling. "Rise and shine, up and at em! You've got a test today, and you won't want to miss breakfast."
Test? I don't remember having an exam… wait a second. I opened my eyes and jerked upwards, yesterday flooding through my mind..
"Oh crap, am I late," I panicked, frantically shoving the sheets aside. "I'm so sorry, I-"
"Woah, woah, calm down," she said, holding out her hands placatingly. "We have wiggle room, no need to panic."
"Oh, okay then… Wait, why am I in your room!" My face flushed in embarrassment. "Did I…"
"Nothing happened, relax," she said, smiling. "We should just head there early so you can eat alone."
I yanked myself upwards and followed her as she guided me out of her room. I could tell she was amused and not angry, but I was still mortified by how I fell asleep without any preamble. She led me outside the building and to the Wallflower. As we walked, I noted the sky was still pretty dark. The sun had barely risen and she was already full of energy.
"Beni," she called out. Beni glowered as he came out to meet Akari. "An early breakfast, if you please."
"You know the rules." He said, crossing his arms.
"Come on, he's going to take the test today, and he can't ask anyone else." As she was saying this, she got closer and clasped her hands together. "Please? Just this once?"
He grumbled but nodded and went inside. "Just this once."
"I owe you!" she shouted, then turned to me. "Let's take a seat."
I sat down beside her. A few people were eating at other tables away from us.
"Is it ok to impose on Beni like this?"
"Beni is way nicer than he looks. If you're really busy and won't be able to eat later, or he notices you skip meals, he'll make an exception. The test being this early is really silly anyway, how the heck are you supposed to eat on time? It's like they're trying to starve us."
I laughed softly at that. "Oh, that reminds me. How exactly are they going to test me?"
"It'll probably be to catch a pokemon nearby. Which will be a piece of cake for someone as good as you."
"Hmm," I said. If it was just catching, that would be pretty easy. Based on how they view pokemon, it should be a test that only consists of a small number of pokemon. In that case though…
"How long have you been a part of the corps?"
"Me," she said, surprised. "Well…"
"A few months," Beni said, putting down a plate of potato mochi. "Eat."
"Ah, thank you," I said on instinct. How did I miss him carrying all that?
"You've only been here for a few months? How do you know everything so well then? And do we just have mochi for all meals?" I asked Akari quietly.
"He mixes them up, " she said. "You can trust it. And as for me, I just had a lot of experience with the corps before I officially joined. Though I'm the newest recruit besides you, I'm still doing my best!"
"I see," I said, and then focused on my food. It was pretty good after all. And Akari… She seemed pretty good at this corps thing, so what did the more experienced members look like? Did they have the same fear she did? Hmmm…
Before I knew it, I already finished the food.
"Done yeah? Then let's get to it." Akari waved me over, and we headed towards the HQ for my assessment.