Veilstone Diaries

[Carmen Lopez]

OOC: I didn't give up on Moving On...but please don't shoot me for this

Autumn: First Days

Dear Diary, this year has been a whirlwind @_@

When I look back on this time years later I will wonder how on earth I survived at all. I had to endure moving—and to a new region no less—a tough new school, a whole new environment, mean snobs, and of course all the good times and bad times in between. Yet, I came out alive and that's saying something. Lol, I got this free e-diary software ages ago and I'm just now using it. Oh well, I just didn't feel like putting my thoughts down on paper until now.

First off there was the move. We had to leave our big comfortable house in warm Johto and move to a hole of an apartment in icy cold Sinnoh. And I hated it. It was like being in some kind of weird asylum with the white walls and with the fact that my room had no windows. I didn't complain though. My mom had just pulled herself out of the slump she'd been in for months after losing our farm and house and I wasn't going to rock the boat.

Monday, September 1st. I'm getting chill bumps just thinking about my first real day in Sinnoh. I got up the morning of my first day of school and put on my uniform. Veilstone High School was where I was headed. I didn't know what the school had in store for me, but I thought I looked good in the uniform at any rate. I pulled on my loafers and grabbed my bag, lunch, and sweater and headed out the door.

The cold air slapped me in the face. My thin sweater and the blazer of my school uniform REALLY didn't help me, but it wasn't like I had anything else to keep me warm. I would've given just about ANYTHING to take the trolley but I didn't have money for the fare. On the way to school, I found out that it was only Sinnoh's weather that was cold—my new classmates were too. And man, they were spoiled brats! All they seem to talk about was material things. These people were obviously very rich. I should've known I was in trouble then.

I also noticed that most of the girls had on thick, black stockings to protect them from the cold. My bare legs were really taking a beating and I vowed to beg Mom to give me the money to buy stockings later. When I felt like I was going to freeze to death, I stepped into a coffee shop for warmth. I looked around the place and saw that everyone was staring at me like I had morphed into a Wobbuffet. The looks on everyone's faces told me that I didn't belong there and the day went downhill from there.

Gah, it was an awful day! Sorry, I got ahead of myself there. ^^;

When I first got to the school, my jaw dropped. It was the nicest school I had ever seen. It was new and modern and very beautiful—much better than my old school. The bell rang for homeroom as soon as I stepped through the doors. I panicked as I realized I had no clue where my homeroom was. People were pushing and shoving me from all directions as I tried to clear my head. Then, I swallowed and stopped a girl who was walking with her guy friend. I kid you not, it went something like this:

Me: Oh, um, hey wow. It sure is uh, chaotic—
Girl: What do you want?
Me: Uh, um, I need you help because I'm con—
Girl: What do you want?
Me: Ineedhelpfindinghomeroom!
Girl: …what?
Me: ~heavy swallow~ I don't know what room my homeroom is in.
Girl: It's online, duh. Are you stupid or something?

And then she and her friend walked away and I KNOW I heard him say "idiot." But I wasn't going to let them get to me. All I needed to do was find a computer and get my schedule. Lucky for me, I found a module that was set up for schedules. I printed mine out and hurried to homeroom…ten minutes late.

The teachers at Veilstone don't tolerate tardiness and I ended up with Saturday school detention my first day of school @_@. Yeah, that wasn't the way I wanted to start my Veilstone High career. The rest of the class looked at me like I was some kind of freak. I half wished I'd never found homeroom.

Oh, and another thing about Veilstone High? The students are freaking intense! They are dead serious about their school work. I heard students bragging about how they were taking ten upper level classes. Yes, you heard right. T-E-N. They may think they're smart, but I just found them crazy.

And if homeroom was bad, my math class was worse. It was pre-Calculus. I honestly thought they'd made a mistake on my schedule. How could I have pre-cal in 10th grade? And boy was I lost in that class. My teacher, Mr. Bach, may as well have been speaking a different language for all I understood.

Then he clicks a remote in his hand and says "Here's a quiz to see what you remember." Most of the class pulls out these expensive tablet laptops and folded them over. And the remainder pulled out futuristic pens. I felt remedial pulling out my #2 Pencil. The teacher gave the rest of us a hard copy of the quiz and told everyone to begin.

Needless to say, I didn't understand a thing. I started making up stuff after a bit and I still managed to finish dead last. It was embarrassing as crap to pass my paper up at the end of it. There were these four people at the front, including this one girl who was really pretty and had a tall forehead. She had these death stare gray eyes. Well anyway, she and her friends laughed when they looked at my paper. I sunk low in my seat hoping no one would notice me…

The rest of the class went just as badly. I was utterly bored out of my SKULL. No one else in the class looked bored. In fact they looked completely focused. No one was daydreaming, no one was talking, in fact, no one was doing anything except listening to the teacher and take notes. The very few questions that the students did have went completely over my head.

Finally when I couldn't take it any more, I raised my hand and told the teacher I didn't understand. He told me (very patronizingly no less) that it was simple math and that I should understand it. Half the class smirked and I could feel my face turn red. I packed up my things and walked out of the room.

Everything came rushing to me at once and I realized this year would be very, very rough. This school was for the cream of the crop: the smartest and the richest. And I was neither of those. It was really surprising that Veilstone was a public high school. My family never had much money, so sometimes even getting the little things was a struggle. I sighed and did a bit of exploring before my next class, English started.

When the bell finally did ring, I dragged my feet on the way to my next class and as a result, I was the last one to get there. And guess where the last seat was. That's right. At the table with the pre-cal foursome. I grabbed that seat and sat down without looking at any of them. My teacher for this class was strict, but a lot nicer than Mr. Bach. But I was not pleased when I heard I'd have to be in a group with the foursome.

I signed my name on the roll sheet and found out that their names: Akira Yamakage, Miguela Cruz, Alicio Sandoval, and Carina Diaz but I wasn't sure who was who yet…that didn't come until after yet ANOTHER quiz. My teacher said that all we had to do was read the passage and answer questions. My first read through I found that the passage was unintelligible, so I read it again, and again, and again. To my surprise it started to make sense and after one final read through, I answered the questions. Sure, I was dead last to finish again, but I understood it and that was all that mattered.

The teachers asked us to go over our responses with our groups. After the girl on my right, the pretty dark haired girl with the green eyes commented on how oh so easy it was (rolly eyes), we got started. I was surprised to find that I had gotten the same answers as everyone else. Apparently I wasn't the only one surprised. The girl with the piercing eyes turned to me and rudely asked if I cheated. I resolutely said no, saying that I would've finished at the same time as everyone else.

I was able to deduce who was who during the course of the conversation. Akira Yamakage was the boy with the chin length black hair and gorgeous almond shaped eyes. Alicio Sandoval was the one with the golden eyes and short black hair. Miguela Cruz was the green eye one and that left Carina Diaz as the girl who kept glaring at me.

Carina: *picks up the roll sheet* So you're Quinn Ross.
Me: Yes
Carina: *Glares at me more
Me: … (This girl obviously hates me)

The class wasn't all that bad I suppose but I was still desperate to leave. Carina, Alicio, and Miguela all put me through my paces as they drilled me about the answers I got. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Akira roll his eyes. He seemed to be a lot nicer than the other three but he still laughed at me in the first class…

Finally the bell rang. I looked down at my schedule and discovered that we'd be having an extended break to get IDs made (Wahoo!) and would have an extended lunch. I was the last one to leave class and I felt ever so slightly better than I did at the end of math class.

That feeling died as I walked to get my ID. I became self-conscious of how dirty and ratty my bag looked and how I didn't have a nice manicure like all the girls had. My mousy brown hair wasn't shiny and cut in a fashionable style. I made sure to avoid looking into any reflective surface as I followed the crowd to auditorium where the IDs were being made.

FLASH! It was the brightest flash I'd had ever seen on a camera. I hoped dearly that I didn't blink and have my eyes closed on my ID and thankfully they weren't. The ID was completely transparent save for my picture, the school's logo, and the strip on the back. Apparently the thing was my ID card, my library card, a trolley pass, an ATM card and whatever else I wanted it to be. Then it was time to head off to a lonely corner of the cafeteria where I hoped to be able to eat my pitiful lunch in peace.

But as I was about to leave the auditorium, I heard Miguela Cruz call out to me to come with them to the mall. Now my better judgment was telling me to get as far away from these people has I could, but that teeny part of me that wanted to make friends wouldn't let me. So I found myself walking over to them.

Carina looked at me with nothing less than disgust as she eyed my pilly sweater and ratty bag. Alicio looked at me with this weird expression—like he wanted to study me or something o.o Akira looked mildly relieved that I was coming. I looked briefly into Miguela's eyes to see if they were just messing with me and I was shocked. The girl's eyes looked totally flat and dead. Like there was no life behind them whatsoever. I wondered if she had sold her soul to this school.

I immediately regretted going with them. Being indoors in the warm heat had made me forget how cold it was. Once again, the cold hair ripped at my skin and especially my bare legs. Miguela, Alicio, and Carina stared at me. Alicio narrowed his eyes and asked me where my coat and stockings were. Carina being the sarcastic little brat that she was said that they were in the same place as my laptop and smart pen. I felt my face and neck grow hot. Akira just shook his head at the three of them and offered me his heavy brown coat.

I didn't even think it was possible but my face and neck grew even hotter. No thank you, I said. Are you sure? Yes, thank you. Maybe Akira really wasn't all the bad. BUT. He still laughed at me during first period and I wasn't going to let that one go so quickly. Along the way, I found out two things: that Carina, Miguela, and Alicio give themselves far too much credit and that I really hate this trio. They were the biggest overachievers I'd ever seen and yet, at Veilstone High School that made them the height of cool. And oh my goodness, they were nasty mean! They picked on so many people for so many things: they didn't have enough money, they weren't smart enough, they didn't have the right attitude, they didn't have the right "toys."

Sheesh, by this point Akira and I had the same expression of "Someone…please. Kill me now."

It wasn't until we reached the mall that Carina said the one thing that infuriated me beyond anything else up till that point.

Carina: Yeah, I really think we should make Veilstone High School a private school. It's time to officially raise the bar to keep out the indigent. Oh, and an admissions test wouldn't hurt either. That would solve all the problems of the idiots at our school.
Me: …
Carina: Oh did I hurt your feelings Quinn? I'm just giving my honest opinion. Your attire and your little meltdown in Pre-Cal this morning tells me you don't belong at this school, and you never will. Plain and simple.
Alicio and Miguela: *Giggle
Akira: *facepalm Really? Really? Was that necessary at all?
Carina: Akira, really, I'd watch it if I were you. If you get associated with something like her, it could ruin you school career. And you wouldn't want that, would you?

Carina brushed off the collar of her expensive coat that probably cost as much as three months rent. I'd had enough. Completely forgetting to "not let them get to me" and not even bothering to hear Akira's response, I bolted down the long escalator into the underground mall. I was trying my very best to hold back the tears that were coming. I put as much distance between them and me as I possibly could. My breathing was still heavy as I sat down on a nearby bench.

Yep, that settled it. Carina was an evil witch and she was going to be the bane of my existence. Her two minions were just as bad. I looked around at the other students in the mall in their different uniforms and had the vague idea to switch schools because Veilstone High School was nuts. Then I noticed I was getting glares and later catcalls from other student. Apparently they hated my school as much as I did. I sighed and hung my head backward.

When I held my head back up, I saw Akira standing there. He asked if I was okay and I lied and said yes. Before I could open my mouth again, he apologized for laughing at me earlier and I immediately accepted. He even offered to help me with Pre-cal which I accepted even faster which made him flash that megawatt smile of his. Akira sat down on the bench and we started talking. Turns out he was an outsider too, only he was from nice, warm Hoenn.

As we talked, I also found out he was a hippie. He was big into Pokémon rights, the environment, and healthy eating. I couldn't recognize what in the world he was eating for lunch. And since I knew he wouldn't laugh at me, I pulled out my peanut butter sandwich and juice box and ate my lunch on the bench next to him. After that we explored the mall for a bit.

The place was huge and it was easily the nicest mall ever. Akira and I picked up two artistically decorated shopping bags and watched a mall fashion show for a few minutes. But when I picked my shopping bag when we were about to leave, I found three pairs of the black stockings inside along with the receipt and a note that said, "Just so you don't freeze to death" in cursive writing. Neither Akira nor I knew where they came from and neither of us recognized the handwriting, but I was grateful. Very grateful. Akira waited for me as I found a bathroom and put them on. The miracle material felt awesome against my skin and I felt so warm.

I dreaded going back to school when the time came, but I felt slightly better when I found out I had two more classes with Akira. And since we had zero desire to find Carina, Alicio, and Miguela (he hated them as much as I did), we walked back together. I didn't know at the time why they had invited me along, but I didn't care that much to be honest. It wasn't like the whole trip was a waste like I thought it'd be: I did get stockings and someone to talk to out of the trip…even if I was humiliated first.

And since most of my classes went about the same, I'll make this brief ^^
Current Affairs: Teacher gave us a run down of how tough the class would be and how we'd have to live up to Veilstone standards to pass. (…)

Biology and Pokézoology: Teacher gave us a run down of how tough the class would be and how we'd have to live up to Veilstone standards to pass. (yeah...)

Film: Now this class was interesting. Since the school was rich, we had access to state of the art materials. Sure, the class would be tough but at least it was fun.

SAT prep: Too bad I can't say the same for this class. Seriously, this class basically reiterates the point that you will be a failure at life if you don't get a high score on your SATs and get into a good college; I hated the class within the first two minutes.

PE and nutrition: I'm glad I have this class at the end of the day to refresh myself after the torture chamber that was the previous class. Even the best gyms didn't have as good equipment as we had in this class. We even had our own nutrition guides.

The good: the fact that I had Akira for Current Affairs and Biology. The bad: I had the trio in Current Affairs as well but thankfully no other classes with them. Three were enough, sheesh! The ugly: the fact that I got homework in every class except Film and PE. Akira told me what our Pre-Cal teacher had assigned and promised to help me if I'd get to school early the next morning. Hmm, maybe the day didn't suck as much as I thought it did though it was far from the best (stupid Saturday school detention).


Holy crap, did I really just spend six pages writing about my first day of school? Well, I guess it was vivid in my mind. BUT HEY! The next entries probably won't be this long. And if they are, they'll cover more than one day.

So ends this entry,

Quinn Ross

OOC: If I don't get shot for this, I'll give more background later. But I wrote this in two days when I was bitten by the writing bug.

 

[Sem]

*pets* I keep telling you it rocks socks xP You won't get shot, you'll get uber-glomped by people :0

 

[Teapot]

Hey, there is nothing wrong with writing more than one thing at once. Especially in this case, as your writing is really, really good. I love how you convey the "zomg, first day at school" feeling, and I really feel sorry for Quinn. ^^ Akira sounds like a nice guy, though.

 

[Secad MS]

Akira sounds like a great person! Why, oh why, does he sound so...awesome? For a lack of a better term.

I find this story very engaging. I want to find out more about Quinn's past.

For some reason, this sounds sort of like the beginning of Mean Girls.

 

[Psycho Monkey]

A fic based in the Pokemon world with not much to do with Pokemon? *hugs* You just reached a new level of awesome Carmen, and I mean it.

This style of writting (journal entry) is completely original and I love how well developed the characters are already. The only reason I'd shoot you is if you didn't keep this up.

 

[Shocari]

KEEP THIS STORY UP. DON'T MAKE PSYCHO MONKEY GO PSYCHO AND SHOOT YOU WITH A BANANA GUN.

This is easily the most radical approach to a Pokemon story that I've ever read (IMO). Akira seems to be a genuine friend to Quinn. The girls deserve death for being total bitches.

 

[Secad MS]

Shocari, that's the way many high school girls are, sadly. However, the upside is that Carmen did a great job of portraying them!

 

[Cody]

...................

*Shoots Carmen...................................San Diego* Hah. I found her. Hiding in Carmen's awesome story *blows off smoke from gun*

Carmen, go get a career in writing already. Srsr face. You could do it. Your writing is superb.

 

[Magpie]

*Uber glomps you*

Awesome, Carmen! I think you captured school life perfectly. There's always a group of girls hell bent on making life difficult, and lovely boy full of loveliness. That's why when I was at school, all my friends were boys XD

Nice writing style, though I'd expect nothing less from you, and very well done. An interesting start, and as you haven't been shot, you needs to write moar ^^

 

[Pheonix]

Awesome job Carmen! Love the fact that you are showing daily life in Sinnoh from the viewpoint of an outsider! Great consistency between your other fics and this one in keeping demeanors and outlooks on non-natives the same. General high school life sounds just about right, always will be absolute bitches/assholes that think it is their job to make everyone else's life hell, and hate it when they are forced to work with someone that they don't approve of. I can't wait to see where you go with this. ^_^

 

[Carmen Lopez]

OOC: This is from Miguela's POV, so her style of telling is a bit different than Quinn (for one she isn't as animated).

...Maybe Stel is right: Maybe I -do- like torturing my characters

Miguela Cruz

Second day of the school year that would change everything…

Most would think getting up as early as I did was awful, but it wasn't a big deal to me. I felt very content when I woke up that morning and had no problems getting out of bed. The noises coming from beyond my bedroom door meant that my parents were already up while my sister Miranda was probably still knocked out because she hated getting up earlier than she had to. I opened the door to my closet and pulled out my school uniform, black leggings, and black boots and headed to the bathroom.

Getting dressed didn't take me long since I always took my showers at night time. All I had to do was put on my lotion, face cream, and perfume and I was off to the kitchen. I was made even happier by the sight of my dad cooking oatmeal—my favorite food. To everyone else, a man in an expensive business suit cooking breakfast was odd, but that was my dad. He liked to cook for us if he had time. My mom greeted me with the usually "Goooooood morning Gail!" and a kiss. Compared to a lot of other people I'd seen, I got along fairly well with my parents even if they didn't agree with all my decisions.

When I sat down to eat my parents starting fussing over me. "You weren't up too late last night with homework right?" "You're not too stressed are you?" "You know, it's never too late to change schools." That last one was my dad's favorite line to say to me. And I responded with the usual "Mom, Dad I'm fine I can handle the work. It's the best school in the city and that's where I want to go." My parents were absolutely thrilled that Miranda had decided not to go to Veilstone High School which they thought was evil. And speak of the devil…

Miranda had just stumbled in with her pajamas on and she immediately started in on me.

"Hi, Gail! Off to the school exclusively for high strung over-achievers?"

"Shush Randi, Veilstone is where I fit in."

"But you're not an uptight nerd—oh right. GAIL isn't. But your other personality Miguela is! Oh silly me! How could I forget?"

I pointed and waved my spoon at her in mock irritation. "Randi, just because I'm more focused at school doesn't mean anything."

"Oh pleeeeeeeeease! One day you'll admit you're bipolar.

"I am not!"

And of course my parents took her side, especially my mom. "Well, Gail I don't like how you act at school. It's like you're a different person."

I said nothing. Deep in my heart I knew they were right, but I didn't want to admit it. I noticed the time and started eating faster. My parents questioned me and I answered that I was meeting Carina and Alicio at the coffee shop. My parents and my sister hated Carina, but I just shrugged off their disapproval. They had met Carina and her mom at my school's Open House and they immediately got a bad impression of her. They thought she was cold and callous and would do anything to get to the top…okay, so they were right, but Carina was proud of herself. And I felt she had every right to be. She believed she exemplified how a Veilstone student was supposed to be.

When I finished my oatmeal, I went back to my room to get my stuff. My room is my sanctuary. It was painted in lavender and sea foam green with white furniture and curtains to make it relaxing. My favorite thing about my room was the large picture window because I had an awesome view of Veilstone City from our penthouse. I usually have most of my things for school together so I didn't have to hunt and search for anything (unlike my sister). I reached for my red coat in my closet and noticed the wine-colored coat beside it which had never been worn and still had the tags.

I thought about Quinn yesterday and how she nearly froze to death. It only took me a split second to make up my mind. I put the coat in a shopping bag and got my sunglasses so I could be incognito. Then I headed off to school after saying goodbye to my family and promising I'd go shopping with Randi later. I decided to walk instead of take the trolley. There was always so much to see and I never got tired of it. Sure, it was freezing outside but I was a Veilstone girl to my heart so I was used to that. My breath rose up in the air as I took in the scenery.

There were parents taking their young children to school, businessmen and women with suitcases and cell phones headed off to their offices to work, joggers doing their morning run with their Pokémon, and the nightclub stragglers stumbling in from whatever they did the night before. I wondered how in the world some of these people found there way home as I watched them stagger around. Yes, people watching was one of my favorite hobbies because I found it fascinating how every single person I met had their own life story.

All in all it was a routine morning, until that old man caught my attention. He was dressed in ragged clothing with a long, navy blue cloak that was frayed and torn along the bottom. His white hair and wild beard and mustache made the man stand out more. As I drew closer, I saw a shorter, hooded figure next to him. He was holding out a tin can for money from passers-by, but he wasn't having much luck. Most of the people who walked passed him averted their eyes and kept right on walking.

He looked up and saw me looking in his direction and I know his dark eyes twinkled. Well, I couldn't just turn away after that—well, at least Gail couldn't. I pulled a twenty dollar gift card out of the front of my bag and walked over to him. No one except my family knew how I'd carry around extra gift cards—and I always made sure it was my own money that I made in my mom's store as well. It was a bit awkward though; there was something about that person beside the man, something strange. I put the card into the man's tin can and he smiled. To be honest, I was slightly surprised he still had all his teeth.

"So young, and yet you're already at a crossroads…what path will you choose? The one you know full well is wrong that'll end up destroying your very soul? Or the one that you know is right?"

For a second I was speechless. "Uh, what?" I said, stupidly. Absentmindedly, I removed my huge sunglasses.

"Oh," he chuckled. He had a deep growling voice. "I apologize for reading you like that. You see, both myself and my friend Ali can sense something in you."

It was the expression on my face that gave me away. I felt my eyes widen and I body felt like it wanted to turn and run away. This complete stranger could read minds, I just knew it. And he was reading me like a book. But the hooded figure was the thing that was creeping me out the most.

The man turned to his friend. "Ali, don't be so insular. You were the first one to notice her after all."

Ali dropped her head before slowly pulling away her hood. I was shocked to see that it wasn't a human at all, but a Lucario.

"Even though they're…revered here, this is the first time I've been this close to a Lucario before," I said. Ali tilted her head to gaze at me intently, like she was trying to analyze me. But now that she'd had removed her hood, she calmed rather than weirding me out. Ali never said a word but then again, she didn't really need to.

"Well, now. I should thank you for your generosity," said the man holding out the card. "But it's probably time for you to hurry."

I had completely forgot that I was meeting Alicio and Carina. "You're right! I'm going to be late!"

The man smiled before I turned to start running. I didn't want to be late in meeting them. When I got closer to the coffee shop, I slowed down. It was time to let Miguela take over now and put what happened before in the back burner. I wasn't actually bipolar but my way of thinking did change when I was at school. I noted the shopping bag in my hand and planned to just shove it into her hands. I fully admit I have an image to keep up, but I knew how to keep that image and my true self separate.

I was seeing more of my classmates now. Some of them were off to study sessions at school, whole others had early morning classes before homeroom to get to. They were the ones who took ten classes or more. I was already about five minutes late to the meeting. At least I could pretend I saw something in a window that I just had to have. Carina always saw buying something expensive was always a good excuse for being late to meet—as long as it wasn't something intense for school

I spotted Alicio and Carina as soon as I entered the coffee shop. From the look on her face, I knew she was continuing her Quinn Ross rant from yesterday. And of course I was right. Quinn was an enigma to all of us, really. She wasn't from Sinnoh, and clearly wasn't from our circle. Even though Veilstone was a public school it was almost a standard that the students be very rich and very smart. Occasionally some subpar person would enroll in Veilstone, but they never lasted long. However Quinn was below even those subpar people, and neither Carina nor I knew how she got in. But Alicio had the answer.

"You remember that old apartment building, the one near the edge of this district? Well, Veilstone High School is actually the closest to there, so maybe she lives there," Alicio said. I noted that he didn't sound scornful about it as he usually would have.

"Yeah, that makes sense!" said Carina. "My mom has been petitioning to have that dump torn down for ages now. When I tell her about that thing Quinn, she'll be floored."

"The girl won't last long," I said. "Anyone can see that. Well, anyone except maybe Akira."

And that started a firestorm. Akira was another odd one. We deduced that he was smart but he just acted like he didn't want to fit in after Pre-Calculus the day before. He laughed at her along with the rest of us, but by English he acted like he was disgusted by us. Well, that was his problem; if he kept up that attitude he wouldn't last long either. We were three of the best students in our year and he should be honored to hang out with us.

"We'll just have to drill him today," Carina said bossily. "Since he's in our group in English, we're stuck with him. So we better at least make sure he's good enough."

"Right," said Alicio. "That's what we'll be doing in homeroom today."

After that we mostly talked school and more importantly about our study schedules. I was put in charge of creating them this year. As usual, Carina had the most to do out of all of us: the standard nine courses per day with two extra ones every Tuesday and Thursday, piano lessons, club meetings, and student government. I admired her; she woke up early every morning to get to school early, all of her work (and it was a lot) was done one time and she still managed to keep with all the latest trends. It was amazing really and something I aspired to be—too bad my Gail side wouldn't let me. It was time for Carina's early class so it was time for us leave at that point. But before we could leave, Carina held her hand up to stop me.

"Miguela, I noticed something," she said icily. "You're only taking the standard seven classes and not that many extra curricular activities. Why aren't you doing more?"

"I wanted to work more in my mom's store," I answered.

Carina raised an eyebrow. "And why would you need to work? Did your family mess up financially?"

"No, it's hands-on experience," I said matter-of-factly. "I'm doing accounting and management so it's good practice."

"That better be the reason," said Carina darkly. She turned and walked out of the coffee shop. Alicio looked at me and shrugged before following Carina. Thus was the nature of our relationship, and I was glad to be friends with the both of them. We kept each other in line.

I put my sunglasses back on as I was walking to school. This would be the year that would decide how the rest of our high school careers would play out. Everything was going to get harder from here. I can already hear my parents trying yet again to convince me to change schools. We were seeing more of our classmates now. I looked around and wondered how many of them wouldn't make the cut.

Carina went off to her class without taking a second glance at Alicio and me. She said she was going to get the highest test scores this year and I was almost sure she would. Alicio said he was going to the computer lab to do some work, which left me to the library to study. My family thought that the fact that I had to get studying the second day of school was obscene, but I thought it was something to be expected from a high ranked school like Veilstone.

I decided to study the SAT guide given to us yesterday and became totally immersed in the facts, figures, and vocabulary—giving no thought to anyone else around me. This would be good practice for the test we were taking later that day. It was the first big test of the year and the top ten students in each year would have their scores posted all over the school and all over the school's website for everyone to see. Alicio, Carina, and I were going to be in the top ten, with Carina being number one; that was no question. I mused over Alicio's idea that they should also post the bottom ten as well. If nothing else, it would serve to humiliate these students into doing better.

After about an hour, I stopped studying and started thinking about how to get rid of that shopping bag. I left the library and headed out to the hallways and who should I see leaning against one of the columns? Quinn. I was in luck, there was still very few people actually in the hallway. I put back on my sunglasses and strode over to her. She had finally got some thick stockings but she still had on that awful sweater.

"Huh, what- she said when I was close to her.

"Here," I said as I roughly shoved the bag in her arms. "Take it and don't tell a soul." Without another word, I walked away and didn't turn back even when she called out. I'm sure I would feel something about what I'd just done when I was at home, but I was too focused on school to really care at the moment. It was now nearly time for homeroom and Akira's roasting. I was eager to learn more about him because he just so…odd. When I finally got to homeroom, Alicio was already there sitting beside Akira who didn't look all that happy about it.

"Look who I found in the school's greenhouse," said Alicio before I could even say anything.

"The greenhouse?" I asked.

"Yeeeeeah," said Akira. "The warmth and the greenness reminds me of home."

"I guess we can start when Carina gets here," Alicio said.

"Start…what?" Akira asked, his eyebrow raised.

"The questioning," said a voice behind us. It was Carina. Her expression was even more hardened and focused than ever. She dared anyone to cross her with her harsh gray eyes alone. For one second I wondered if people got the same reaction from me. "First one: where the heck do you come from?"

Akira smiled. He had a nice smile—I cast that stupid thought out of my mind as fast I could. "I'm from Moon Lotus Island."

"Never heard of it," said Alicio bluntly.

"It's somewhere south of Sootopolis City. My home is in a lonely place in the ocean…" Akira turned his head away.

"Soooo…did you have internet and schools there?" Carina asked.

"Yes, my parents were part of a group of eco-scientists who colonized the island before I was born as an experiment," Akira explained. "They got all the modern conveniences in time, they just had to make sure they didn't harm in environment or the native Pokémon in anyway."

Alicio, Carina, and I went back and forth with the questions. It was like they were interviewing Akira for a job. I had to admit to myself that he was fascinating.

Carina: What do your scientist parents do?
Akira: They're champions for the environment, Pokémon rights, and healthy living.
Alicio: Why did you leave then?
Akira: My aunt and uncle live here and they run a Pokémon daycare here. I wanted to work there because I love being close to Pokémon and take care of them.
Carina: But that doesn't sound like it makes a lot of money.
Akira: You'd be surprised.
Me: Why Veilstone?
Akira: I wanted to go to the best school. After all, I have to be the smartest hippie I can be if I ever want to change things. No one likes a stupid hippie. My other reason is a secret.


"A secret," repeated Alicio, narrowing his eyes.

"That's what I said," Akira said. "You'll all find out in due time—if you're smart enough that is."

All three of us opened out mouths in anger. This dirty hippie had just insulted our intelligence. Carina was the angriest. She actually stood up and was about to rip into Akira, but before she could say anything, the bell for first period rang. Akira casually stood up and walked out of the classroom without acknowledging Carina at all. Who did he think he was? Carina, Alicio, and I talked about him all the way to Pre-Cal. When we got there, we saw that he wasn't sitting with us anymore; instead, he stayed in the back with that thing. At that, we knew he was officially an outsider and an object of our scorn.

But now class was starting and we had to focus on our teacher and his words. To our utter surprise, Quinn managed to do the homework question that Mr. Bach called on her to do—and do it correctly. It completely took me by surprise, but I quickly dismissed it. She probably got help from Akira, who looked like he was going to be a slacker. But then she answered an entirely new question that Mr. Bach had given her. I guess everyone lucked out sometimes.

In English class, Carina finally gave Akira a piece of her mind.

"Look, I don't know where you get off with that attitude of yours but just know, you're not in Hoenn anymore, hippie slacker. We do things differently in Sinnoh" she said through clenched teeth so her voice wouldn't carry.

"Yes, I can see that I'm not in Hoenn anymore," said Akira. "But you shouldn't insult your own region like that. All of Sinnoh is not as high-strung as you are!." He didn't bother to keep his voice down so he got some nasty looks from the rest of the class.

Even though he was irritating me, I still had the weird urge to smile. What was wrong with me? Quinn didn't say much during the rest of class and when she did speak, it was only to Akira—the outsiders sticking together. I noticed the wine-colored coat hanging on the back of her chair. Perhaps she'd taken my words to heart, but at the back of my mind I did wonder if she told Akira about me giving her the coat.

~ ~ ~​

After lunch came Current Affairs with the outsiders and Biology. I had to work harder to keep up my façade in Current Affairs after Akira got into a huge debate with our teacher over some political polices. I completely disagreed with Akira and I wanted to debate, but I couldn't let myself. Half the class looked as though they wanted to join in too, but they also decided to just keep cool instead. We had a quiz in biology as soon as we walked in, but I'm sure I did well. Microeconomics was next up for me and it was my favorite class. It just proved that the world really did run on money. Latin was my next class and was also a favorite of mine. It really was a shame that the language died because I liked the way it flowed.

And finally it was test time. You could cut the tension in my SAT prep class with a butcher knife—people were just that focused. I ran through my head everything I'd studied that morning and during lunch. Unlike at other schools, the teachers didn't give us the formulas and graphing calculators were banned. Everyone got out their tablet laptops and smart pens, all of which had locks put on them to prevent cheating, and the teacher clicked her remote and passed out hard copies: the test had begun.

To make things more challenging, we only had two hours to do the test and there were sixty questions—many of them math. I worked as efficiently as I could by getting the easy questions out of the way first, then focusing all my attention on the remaining questions. I had to recall much of the information from last year's math and today's math class to answer them all. After looking over my work a couple of times, I hit finish on my screen to turn in my test with fifteen minutes to spare. My teacher looked up and smiled at me.

I looked around the class and saw that Alicio and Carina were already done as well and I expected no less. We had permission to leave school as soon as we were done. Some of the other students threw us looks of admiration as we walked out of the room. We went to a deserted study lounge. Carina and Alicio had a little time before their afterschool classes began.

"I can't wait until tomorrow when we see our scores," said Carina, excitedly. "We'll be the top three.

"Yeah, it looks like this year is getting off to an awesome start," I said. I was still in test mode, but I felt like I'd done extremely well on it.

"So, what are you doing after school, Miguela?" Alicio asked me as he shifted his brown messenger bag.

"I'm going shopping with my sister and then I'm going to finish up all my homework when I get home," I said.

"Sister?" Carina said. "But, she's a year younger than you right? So why haven't I seen her here?"

"My sister? Here? Riiiight," I said. "She chose to go to Stoney Vista High School."

"And your parent's let her?" Carina asked me."

"They were absolutely happy about it," I told her. "They wish I had gone there too."

"Really now?" Carina said, her voice trailing off. "Your family doesn't sound like the supportive kind, now do they?"

Alicio narrowed his eyes. He and I both knew where she was going with that tone of voice. I shrugged. "It's not that they don't support me. They just wish I went to a different school."

"Whatever," Carina drawled. "Well, I'm off to do something productive now. And Miguela, you really should talk to your parents because they really should be more serious about your education."

Carina brushed her kinky hair off her shoulder and sauntered off down the hallway toward the library. She was indeed one of the most amazing people I knew. I felt the same way when I met her in sixth grade. She was impressed by my grades then and she'd hung around me ever since. We were like best friends.

"Wow, if she thinks your parents aren't serious, I'd hate for her to see mine," said Alicio. It was the first time I'd heard him speak about his family. "But anyway, I should really be going to my class now," he said.

"Right," I said. "I'll see you later Alicio."

He waved at me and then walked off. My sister wouldn't be out of school just yet so I decided to meet her at school. Sure, I probably wasn't welcome there, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Stoney Vista was about the same distance from our house as Veilstone, only to the south. There was a trolley stop that was convenient near the school which I took, yet once again I wanted to walk. For one it would buy me time until my sister was ready, and I could get out of Miguela mode and back to Gail.

The same parents that I saw taking their young children to school were now going to pick them up again. It made me think about my own elementary school days. Looking back on it, they pretty harsh for an elementary school as well, and we were miles ahead of other children our age. Our teachers said it was preparation for when we entered Veilstone High School, but it also served to weed out weaker students then as well—middle school was the same way.

My sister and I attended the same elementary and middle school, and while she was intelligent too, she decided intense academics weren't for her. That was how we ended up at different high schools. Stoney Vista had the reputation that its students were fashionistas despite the fact that they had to wear uniforms. Well, those uniforms were cooler than ours were.

"HEY MIGUELA!" I heard a voice calling to me. I turned around to see a little girl getting scolded by her teacher for yelling. It was Carina's seven-year-old, curly haired sister Amanda who was standing next to a pale, yet beautiful black haired girl. I laughed as I waved back. Amanda was a sweet, cheerful little girl who loved to play. I wondered how she would fair with all the work she would have to do. But then again, if Carina or their mother had anything to say, Amanda would have to put those childish things away.

In about five more minutes I found myself in front of Stoney Vista High School. It rather resembled an ancient cathedral and was extremely gorgeous. I walked through the double doors of the school where I was met by a school official.

"I'm here to meet my sister, Miranda," I told her. She handed me a visitor pass and I sat down on bench and sent my sister a text to let her know I was there. On the inside, Stoney Vista was nice, but looked like any other school. But it was more cheerful and vibrant looking with its photographs from around the city and of the students. Finally the bell rang. I smiled as I saw that she was one of the first students down the stairs.

Miranda looked in disbelief. "You really are here! You know I didn't believe you when you sent that text."

"I can't believe you doubted me," I said as I poked her forehead. Just as I'd predicted, I was getting dirty looks from passing students, but I ignored them.

"So, are we going home to change clothes?" Randi asked me.

"Eh, I was thinking more of buying something to wear, that way we wouldn't have to make two trips home."

"I like they way your mind works—well, Gail's mind anyway."

"Shush Randi."

And just like that, Gail had retaken over, proving that I had a handle on this whole "separate school image" thing.

OOC: Unless I change my mind, Quinn is up next ^^

 

[Secad MS]

Reina, this is amazing. We finally get to see into the minds of one of the 'mean girls.'

I do have a question, though. When do people in your universe become trainers, anyway? I'm curious.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

In my universe, it varies from region to region. It's ten in Sinnoh and Hoenn and thirteen in Kanto and Johto (if I remember correctly ^^. However children younger than that in all regions can still have Pokemon, they just can't compete in the official leagues.

And btw, all of my fics take place in the same universe.

 

[Pheonix]

Hrmm... interesting read there. Almost like multiple personalities but the cognitive shift is a nice twist. This shall be rather amusing to see how this whole drama pans out. Keep up the good work! ^_^

 

[Carmen Lopez]

Quinn

Omg, I survived my first two days of school O.O. And it was two of hardest (and weirdest, but I'll get to that later) of my life: that awful test that I totally didn't finish yesterday, the tough classes, Carina, the attitudes of the students, all the homework, and Carina. Yep, I was having serious doubts as to if I'll actually survive this year. At the moment I was staring at my Current Affairs homework hoping it would do itself. And on top of all of that, my mom was calling me to help clean up. Sigh…you've got to be kidding me.

Me: MOM! I'm trying to finish this work!
Mom: You can afford to take a break.
Me: Uh, no I really can't!
Mom: Oh, come on! This won't take too long! And you can tell me about your day while you're at it.
Me: *facepalm
Little Sister Mary: Mommy? Can I have a cookie?

I slumped away from my homework and made my way to the kitchen. My mom was clearing away the rest of the dishes. Before she could say anything, I just told her my day was hard. What about details? she asked. No, no details, just hard. She just smiled and left me alone until I was ready to rant. Until then, I just kept myself busy by wiping down the cheap counters and the cheap stove.

My seven year old sister had apparently caved into peer pressure and now insisted that mom and I call her María instead of Mary. She was sitting at the table doing some homework no second graders should be doing until much later. Now I knew the elementary school that most of my high school attended. Heh, so it wasn't just Veilstone High that was nuts—it was this whole area. And the worst part (at least to me), she didn't seem to be having much trouble.

Me: Mary, I mean María? Is the work too hard for you?
María: Nope. (*takes bite of cookie)
Me: But, this looks like fourth grade stuff?
María: And? My teacher said that it would help us be successful when we grow up
Me: Riiiight (*resists rolling eyes. My sister was already turning into one of them)

And another strange thing about my sister: she doesn't look anything like any of the family—even our deceased dad. While I had ugly, mousy brown hair and brown eyes like my mom and we both look average if I might add, María here was simply beautiful with her pale skin, jet black hair and hazel eyes. I'm convinced my mom adopted her, but she persists that we're full sisters when ever I teased Mom about it.

But anyway, back to the subject. My mom was looking at me like she really wanted to talk. I sighed again:

My rant: Fine, fine. This was my day. My school is insane, I have seven tough classes a day, a lot of homework, and I don't fit in. Happy?

My poor mom worked so hard, and you can tell it in her eyes. She just smiled and told me that it was just the first two days and to hang in there. When I thought about all the crap she had to go through, I couldn't help but to stop complaining. I did tell her that I wanted to transfer schools, and to my surprise, she told me that if it ever went too far, I could switch schools. That was good to hear. Through the whole the whole thing, my sister just hovered over her work like she was in a trance—and she was scaring me o.o because that wasn't normal second grader behavior.

I walked over to her and waved my hand in front of her face and she playfully pushed it away. THAT was a bit more normal. Seeing how tough my first two days were, she let me go back to staring at my homework and hoping that it would somehow do itself. I think I just gave up at that point and just headdesk'd. I'm currently having trouble trying to figure out what the heck is going on with my classmates. Miguela shoves this expensive coat into my arms and then walks off (WEIRD). Usually I'm not the one to take charity but if she's not going to throw it up in my face all the time (and since I'll freeze otherwise) I'll keep it. I'm grateful and all, but I still don't like her. Akira and I have given up on the mystery of the stockings, btw. It was probably someone from a different school though.

Absentmindedly, I made a list based on all the random thoughts I had that day

1.Try to ditch one of my seven classes
2. Try to ditch pre-cal
3. Try to change groups in English
4. Try to stand up to Carina

Okay, so that last one wasn't likely going to happen but a girl could dream. Oh, and I'm still happy that I found some not so evil people in my film class They're a pair of twins—a boy and a girl—who care a lot about film and yet don't come off as total brats. They're also in my SAT prep class. Maybe I'll actually talk to them tomorrow. ^^

Riiiight, time for me actually get started on this crap. I'm really grateful to Akira for all his Pre-Cal help. I never would've made it through that class without him. It's thanks to Akira that I finished my Pre-Cal homework before I left school—right after he had to console me after that test -_- Yeah, those test scores are going to be posted the next and I wasn't looking forward to it. But at any rate I turned back to my homework and trudged through it.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!


I nearly jumped out of my skin as I fumbled around trying to turn off my alarm clock. The poor thing had finally croaked and was now emitting the loudest annoying sounds ever. I reached behind my rickety nightstand to yank the cord out of the outlet. My mom and sister were already gone, so once again I was alone. I was extremely tired but I was happy I got all my homework done. But even so, I was not eager to get out of bed.

My mom left me a twenty next to my breakfast so I would have lunch money for school. Yep, we found out another unfortunate thing about Sinnoh—everything was more expensive. Like Carina, Sinnoh hated me. Walking to school wasn't so terrible now that I had protection from the cold. And I was attracting less evil stares from people because my coat looked expensive enough for their tastes. I wondered how much DID Miguela pay for it.

I was going to start making a habit of going to the computer lab (were Akira tutored me the second day) before homeroom started so I could use the internet. Teachers at Veilstone just adore sending out assignments online at anytime of day or night. And sure enough when I got to the computer, my English professor posted some extra credit at two in the morning. Akira, who was in the computer lab with me at the time, laughed and said it was a good thing it wasn't a required assignment. Yep, I had fun surfing the internet. I never really did anything particular—just, well, surfed ^^; Interesting stuff was everywhere: news stories, editorials, music, random.

Akira looked like he was in deep thought when I glanced at him, so I had to ask what he was thinking about.

Akira: I'm just thinking about the changes that will be coming this year.
Me: What kind of changes?
Akira: The people here…they need help. And I will be the one to help (*smiles)
Me: Oh…

I didn't quite see where this was going but it sounded like fun. Lol, I had no idea what Akira had in mind, but that didn't stop me from looking forward to whatever he had planned. Akira was one of those people who was just fascinating. He was both open and he was this crazy enigma at the same time. But just as I was about to have some more fun on the internet, Alicio walked into the lab. Yeah, I was annoyed; I groaned to myself. Alicio smiled at us and said he hoped we had done well on the test the day before and he started his lecturing. Akira stopped him before he could get too far.

Akira: Look, if you're just going to preach to us you can go somewhere else.
Alicio: Oooh, aren't we touchy. Is it because someone didn't do well on the test yesterday?
Akira: *Snorts Like I care about that.
Alicio: Well, Akira you'll have a more achieving attitude than that if want to make it here
Akira: Is that all you people can say at this school. Get out of my face—you and your manpurse.

XDDD

I had to laugh at that. The manpurse was referring to Alicio's handsome brown leather bag. Alicio was taken aback and emphatically (that's an SAT word) claimed it was a messenger bag and not a manpurse. But when I said it was, he looked outraged. I thought he was going to hit me with an insult and I was surprised when he didn't. He just look flustered; I had to laugh at too. Alicio looked confused for a minute as to what he wanted to do before he pulled out his cell phone and checked it. He walked out of the room before telling Akira and me that he was letting us go this time (ooooh scary ./sarcasm).

Akira was right; the people at this school did need major help and the next thing that happened proved that to a ‘t.' I looked up over my computer through the glass wall of the lab to see a staff member taping a piece of paper to the wall. My heart sank; all those awful feeling when I was taking the test came flooding back. And what was worse, a crowd of people were approaching that piece of paper like it was the light at the end of the tunnel. They looked mesmerized like they were having a date with destiny. The trio (Alicio had gone to meet the other two) was leading the pack so they were the first to get to the paper. Carina caught my eyes and leered before she turned her eyes to the test scores.

It was Akira's turned to lol. I almost wanted to run out there to catch Carina's face because it fell. I mean, it really fell. That smug expression was off her face so fast it wasn't even funny. Okay that's a lie—it was; she looked nothing short of stunned. Akira and I got up and looked at the scores backwards through the paper and saw that Carina was not numero uno…Akira was. She looked at him with an intense hatred. Akira just casually walks out of the lab and faces her.

Akira: Looks like the dirty hippie isn't such a slacker, huh. See you in homeroom…

He waved at me before walking through the crowd and disappearing like he was some kind of antihero in a movie. The crowd broke into a whispered frenzy—including Miguela and Alicio, who just looked curious. I felt like I was in a high school manga. Why couldn't people just be normal? Well, I was brought back to reality by Carina glaring at me. I averted my eyes and went back to my computer.

Carina turned her back on the list and stalked off while her two minions followed. Behind the computer I was grinning like crazy. Akira had really stuck it to her with that, but I could already tell Carina wasn't going to let this slip by unchallenged. So unsurprisingly, Akira confirmed at lunch time that Carina had confronted him in homeroom. We were sitting with the pair of twins from my film class, Anastasio and Esmeralda Morales (yes, I worked up the nerve to sit down with them in the cafeteria).

The twins found the whole situation hilarious. I guess I should tell you about the twins. Both of them were really smart and into film and photography, but it was their personalities that made them great. Anastasio was really positive and was easily the most charming person I'd met so far in Sinnoh. Esmeralda had a more forceful, go-getter personality rather like Carina's only she wasn't mean—in fact, she was pleasant to talk to.

Lunch time was almost over when I saw the trio pass by from their lunch at the mall. Alicio had bought a new backpack and the manpurse was no where to be seen. I nudged Akira and we started cracking up again. I really enjoyed lunch that day. Well, I was still feeling like an outside but I was starting to make acquaintances who could become really good friends. Everything was looking up right now (socially anyway), but I wasn't going to get my hopes up too high only to be crushed.

Akira looked at his phone (one of those cool smart ones that I wanted sooooooooooooooooo much but would never be able to afford ahem) and said What the? How the heck did she get my email address? He showed us the email address and Esmeralda let out a short laugh. It was a pretty nasty message from Carina that said stuff like "I don't know how you cheated on that test yesterday, but I will find out" and "You'd better watch your step" and "Go back to Hoenn you hippie foreigner." Akira just smiled and created a new folder on his phone titled "Hate Mail" and put Carina's message in it. He didn't block her.

He looked completely unperturbed (another good SAT word). So that's how it is now? Akira told me that since this "Machiavellian" school had nothing against cyberbullying that there was nothing he could do about it. My goodness I wish I could be that cool. If I had gotten an email like that I'd have been intimidated for sure. But man, Carina was so full of crap! It was craaaazy o.O

And so that's how all that got started. Akira said he got three of those emails that day and had already gotten one this morning (Thursday). And they just kept getting nastier D: But…Akira just kept putting them in that folder and going on like nothing was happening. It just made her madder if anything. I was amazed.

And as for me Dear Diary? Sorry about that going off track, Akira's life is a bit more interesting than mine right now. But I'm wiped out. The nine classes a day are really kicking my butt. I had no idea how people were able to do it. Maybe Akira's health food was his secret. Meh, it wasn't like I could afford to eat like that anyway. But school was draining me -_- I was going to have to put my list to the test—and I was going to do it that day.

As soon as I was done taking a shower after PE, I went down to the Registrar's Office. The lady at the desk was dressed in a fancy business suit and looked coolly intimidating. I shakily told her that I wanted to talk to someone about my schedule and she pointed me to some seats outside of a door to our right. Already I was nervous but I couldn't help. I tried to take deep breath to make my heart quit beating so hard but that failed. Through the door I could hear Anastasio trying to negotiate his schedule.

Staff lady: I'm sorry Mr. Morales but we can't allow you to drop homeroom—and I do hope you know that's for obvious reasons. Now quit begging and get out of my office!

At that the staff person (rather harshly) escorted Anastasio out of her office. Meh, I guess charm doesn't you get you everywhere in life. Anastasio gave me the thumbs up before leaving the office. It made me forget for two seconds what I was supposed to be doing. But then the staff lady looked at me and I somehow involuntarily swallowed hard. Her eyebrows almost met her hairline. She asked if she could help me and told me to come into her office.

Nerve-racking….It was so nerve-racking.

It was like asking that girl about my schedule. Do you know how it feels when you're asking someone something and they make you feel really, really stupid? Well, that was exactly the feeling I had. But I was only asking something simple! D: (ramble over). I told her I wanted to take a less strenuous math class and to drop something so I could have only six classes per day.

The staff lady looked at me like I'd just confessed that I was an alien or something. Then she got stern and told me that all sophomores at Veilstone High were expected to be able to math at a pre-cal level and that seven was the minimum number of classes that freshman and sophomores could take. But the thing that ticked me off was the fact that she implied that film wasn't a serious class and that it shouldn't require much effort for me. So that pretty much meant I was stuck with pre-Cal and six other (really hard) classes per day

When I left the office, I was feeling pretty down. But Akira was waiting for me. He handed me a bottle of some kind of berry juice from Esmeralda. It turned out Akira and the twins thought I might need a pick me up from the registrar's office where they said all the normal people had trouble getting anything done there. I was on my way out of the door when I spotted Carina, Alicio, and Miguela. Carina looked like she was sizing me up and while she didn't have an evil look on her face, she still gave me a really bad feeling.


So ends another entry. I apologize if it was a bit well, blah, but it's a sign of stuff to come, I promise. Buuuuuuut, if this were a fiction story I'd totally make up more interesting stuff ^^

OOC: Yay! My 1000th post ^^

 

[Satoren]

If Carmen does write a diray irl, would it be similar to the manner place here? Anyway, a diary-style chronicle of events is rather quirky, and its a fresh look at a story compared to others that offer long paragraphs of melodrama. Here, its fun, lihgt-hearted and overall enjoyable. I commend thee for the idea, Carmen.

 

[Secad MS]

Carmen, this is amazing! I love the friendship between Quinn and Akira. I wonder what he's going to do with those emails...

I can't wait to read more of Veilstone Diaries!

Moar mean girls, please? *Gives cute kitty face*

 

[Pheonix]

This is an awesome Mean Girls nod! I love the personal interaction between all the characters and am intrigued by some of the dualities you have going on here. Great format to present the stories to!

 

[Psycho Monkey]

Another brilliant chapter from one of Pokecharms's best writers. With every chapter your "outcast" characters become more and more likeable and the popular kids live up more and more to their stereotype; unfriendly because they are insecure and inwardly pathetic. Atleast that's my take on them.

For some reason Akira reminds me alot of myself. I guess it's because we're both wierd environmentalists.

Congrats on 1000 posts (although now you're at 1005). Keep writting this amazing 'diary' and your post count will go higher! ;D

 

[Carmen Lopez]

Ah

@RX: I don't actually write a diary irl (I never had the self-discipline to keep up with one) but if I did, it probably would actually alternate between how Quinn writes and how Miguela writes. And thanks for the commendation...err I mean for commending me ^^;

@Secad: As long as Carina is involved, there likely will be meaness

And thanks to everyone for reading and not shooting me!

 

[Carmen Lopez]

OOC: As a small note, Carina's sister's name is given a Spanish pronunciation—as in the second a is more like ah instead the a as in cat.


Friday…it's Friday.

Even at Veilstone, Fridays were looked forward to. Friday afternoons and the weekends were the time to go shopping for new things to brag about on Monday. It was like a way of showing your status; we couldn't do it through expensive clothing (except maybe accessories and coats but that was it) so we had to find other means. I fully admit to that's what we did. Yesterday I accepted an invitation from Carina to go shopping with her and her mom after school today, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to it.

Not that shopping with Carina wasn't normally fun, but it was going to be awful today—I could feel it. For one, Carina was still seething over losing the number one spot to Akira. The second reason? Her mom is a serious piece of work. My own mother, who was known for being really sweet and generous, really disliked Mrs. Ramona Diaz (she didn't hate anyone). Alicio told me his mom didn't like her either. I wondered if she was bringing Amanda along. In addition to the work the little girl had to do, she was also a pageant beauty queen—something Carina also did at her age.

My day started off well enough. Dad was away on a business trip in Jubilife City, so it was Mom who made the omelets this morning and they were delicious. On the way to school, I helped two handsome Pokémon trainers find their way to the Pokémon Center. One of the trainers had a gorgeous Leafeon that I had to admire. I could picture the Pokémon alternately being tough and yet graceful. The usual crowd was out at this time of the morning so besides the trainers, nothing of consequence happened.

Alicio and I figured Carina would still be tense today, and we were right. We found her in a lounge sending yet another email to Akira. Those test scores really got to her badly; that day she fanatically vowed to redouble her study efforts to reclaim the number one spot for the next test. To be perfectly honest, she was scaring me, but I told myself that she could handle it. We set up a few more study sessions because she also insisted that Alicio and I should also study a bit more.

"I still can't believe that foreigner hippie got first place," Carina ranted.

"Apparently he's smarter than we thought," Alicio said. "He's serious competition."

"Yes, he is," I said. "He seems so laidback and he doesn't exactly seem like the studious type."

"Of course he doesn't!" Carina said, her voice rising. "He comes waltzing in from wherever that hole of a place he came from, he doesn't even bother to fit in, and he considers this all a joke! I hate him! I'll show him if it's the last thing I do!"

Alicio and I were looking at her with wide eyed expressions.

"And what the heck are you two looking at?" Carina lashed out at us. "I hope you'd feel the same way seeing as this is the school's reputation we're talking about!"

We assured her that we felt the same way as we headed off to homeroom to start our school day. Carina didn't take one look at Akira in any of the classes we had with him, but Quinn did manage to raise Carina's ire because she hung around Akira and she also wasn't living up to standards. I didn't know what Carina's next move was; all I know is Quinn better be on her guard from now on. I gave her the coat but I wasn't about to jeopardize my friendship with Carina just for her. But I was used to Carina's enthusiasm for school—that didn't make my day take a turn.

No…my day didn't start to go crazy until Current Affairs. We were talking about the current debate over an interregional trade agreement. Akira had very strong opinions about it. Once again he was going to start a debate but I found it much harder for me to stay quiet this time. Akira was really starting to irk me when he did stuff like that.

"Sinnoh had the greatest amount of natural resources and also the greatest amount of wealth," Akira argued. "All I'm saying is that with trade—

Our Current Affairs teacher, Mr. Larson, cut him off. "Mr. Yamakage, Sinnoh already trades with the other regions and this would-be agreement—

"Yeah, and the imbalance of trade is huge," Akira countered back. "Sinnoh can flood the market with fossil fuels and get a lot of money from its precious gems. Not to mention this region is also an industrial powerhouse. Seriously, all I'm saying is to spread some of the wealth around."

The class was dead silent. I rolled my eyes at the fact that my teacher didn't come up with the obvious comeback to that. Finally I couldn't remain silent anymore. I cleared my throat to get Akira's attention. Carina glanced over at me with a very "what do you think you're doing" expression, while Alicio, and Quinn as well, just looked curious. Akira looked at me expectantly—waiting for a rebuttal to his perfect argument

"Are you serious?" I asked Akira. "Spread the wealth around? You're acting like the other regions are dirt poor! I can understand spreading the natural resources, but manufactured goods? That sounds really fishy to me."

And that's how that started. I don't think Current Affairs had ever been that interesting to anyone before. The most of the class looked on like they were watching a physical fight. Carina looked as though the debate she was watching was beneath her. She folded her arms and sucked her teeth. A few people in class who wanted her approval copied her disinterest, but she paid them no attention.

Pretty soon, the debate got really personal.

"Look Miguela," Akira said. "I know you've probably never left your little bubble so you can't possibly understand—

My heart was already beating hard but now I was seeing red. "Don't you dare patronize me you little freak! If you don't want to be here, you can always go back to your little lonely piece of real estate in the ocean!"

Akira's eyes flashed. "I'd expect nothing less from a spoiled brat like you."

I was rendered speechless. Believe it or not, that cut me deep. I knew full well I acted like a spoiled brat, but that was only the façade. I wasn't really a spoiled brat—that was all an act, but Akira nor anyone else was to know that. It really hurt because I don't like being called something I'm not…but it wasn't like I could refute him without giving him more ammunition; there was the façade to keep up after all. Just when I was about to come with something to say, the bell rang. Thinking he'd won our debate, Akira smirked at me and with Quinn he walked away. Carina was on me in an instant.

"Uh, what the heck do you think you're doing?" she asked me, her voice was filled with ice. "That is not how we do it here and you know it."

I had nothing to say to her. "It won't happen again," I mumbled.

"Sheesh, what is with you?" Carina said viciously.

"You know, that debate was pretty cool," said Alicio quietly once Carina had stormed away.

"Thanks," I said, surprised. Alicio was never one to talk much, but he did seem more supportive of me, well, he took Carina's side less rather. "I hope you have fun shopping with her and her mom."

I shook my head and we went our separate ways for our next classes. Now I really wasn't looking forward to the shopping trip. Being on Carina's bad side wasn't the place to be whatsoever, so I would work hard to show her I hadn't gone soft. We had Biology and SAT Prep together so between those two classes, Carina, Alicio, and I went on a website known as the Black Hole named so for the simple fact that if you ended up a victim of the things said there, you wish you could jump in a black hole and die.

It was a place that some alumni of Veilstone High had created while they were still at school. Basically it was to call out people who weren't living up to standards. It filled our imaginations because we were barred from posting anything: only juniors and seniors could have that exclusive privilege. That was one of the reasons we couldn't wait to become upperclassmen.

We snickered and laughed at the embarrassing photos, the lurid rumors and everything in between. The father of a girl named Justina Vega had lost his job and her family was drowning in debt and conflict. It was clear that one her close friends had stabbed her in the back because some of the things that were written were very personal. Carina, Alicio, and I lapped it up, not caring that this girl who could be any of us was walking the halls of this school right now…

The end of the day came far too fast and the next thing I knew, it was zero hour.

"Did you bring a change of clothes?" Carina asked impatiently.

"Yes, they're in a shopping bag in my locker," I replied.

We both headed off to a bathroom to change. Carina had decided to look sleek in simple gray tunic with a baby blue belt at the waist, black stockings, and wedge heels with blue accents. She put on elbow length black gloves, a black trench coat and bold silver jewelry to complete the look. I also went urban chic in imported boot cut jeans, a red sweater, and brown leather boots. And to complete my look, I had to put on the awesome comfortable brown leather coat I treated myself to.

"Nice outfit," Carina said, noting the jacket as we were walking. "How much did you pay?"

Yes, what you spent on your clothes was just as important as what you had on. "Let's see. It was $1000 for the coat, $150 for the sweater, $350 for the jeans, and $500 for the boots," I told her.

"Pretty good," said Carina nodding. She casually pulled out a bottle of juice. "Now we're supposed to be meeting my mom at this boutique in about twenty minutes." She looked around. "And oh joy, the driver is late. Just wait till I tell—

She stopped short and inhaled sharply. Her demeanor turned hostile in heartbeat as she caught sight of the woman up ahead. The woman's hair was the same color as Carina's, only it was wavy rather than curly. She had the same gray eyes as Carina. This was my first time seeing Carina's older sister in almost a year—and Carina was not happy to see her. The look on her face as she glared at her sister could've burned a hole in the asphalt.

I wanted Salisha to run away, but no, she walked towards us. She was wearing a hot pink tunic over black jeans and pink heels and carrying a big metallic silver bag. I noticed an all white Pokéball around her neck. Carina looked nothing short of appalled.

"Little sister!" Salisha exclaimed. "It's so good to see you!"

Carina just looked wary. She said nothing to her. If it was cold before, it was nothing compared to how cold the atmosphere around the three of us had turned.

"Look, I know you're not happy to see me—

"Understatement of the century," Carina shot at her sister.

"Just hear me out okay," Salisha said, suddenly serious. "I'll just cut the chase. Are you stressed out any?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine," Carina said coldly.

At this point I started wondering if anyone would notice if I just disappeared because that's exactly what I wanted to do right now. I guess I should be fortunate that the area was currently deserted.

"Carina, I know the minimum number of classes is seven," Salisha said urgently. "And when I called to check on you last week, Mom gloated that you were taking nine and doing all kinds of activities! You're not fine!"

"Yes. I am. I can handle it just fine. I'm not you remember?" Carina leered.

Salisha sighed. "Little sister please, just listen!"

But Carina was done. Her anger had risen to the boiling point just that fast. She spoke quietly, but her voice was deadly. "Salisha get away from me now. And stop calling me your sister! I don't want anyone associating us together."

Salisha looked at her sister with fear in her eyes. "Carina, you know I'll always be there for you, but you have to let me help." She reached out and touched her sister's hand—a big mistake.

"Don't touch me!" Carina said as she violently pushed her sister away. Her gray eyes burned with anger. She opened the bottle of juice she was holding and before Salisha could react, Carina threw it in her face where. Purple liquid dripped off her and ran into her hair.

For a minute Salisha was silent. "All right little sister," she finally said, slight defeated. "Just know that I'll always be there for you." She took a handkerchief from her purse and wiped the juice from her face before walking away.

"I cannot believe the nerve her!" Carina said loudly. "I hope I never see her again."

I was really at a loss for words at a moment so I just let Carina rant on. They back story behind that incident would've made a great drama, but that's for another entry on a later day. At long last, a luxurious black car drove up. Carina and I climbed inside where the driver looked absolutely terrified of Carina. She tried to apologize for being late but Carina just roughly told her to shut up talking. We rode to the boutique in absolute silence. I vaguely wondered if it was too late to cancel this trip.

When we finally arrived, Carina had some words for the driver. "Oh and I'll be sure to tell Mother about your being late. Please believe it'll be coming out of your pay. Have a nice day!"

She slammed the door once she and I had gotten out and the driver drove off. We were now in one of the most exclusive shopping districts in Veilstone—perhaps all of Sinnoh: Luna Crest Row. Some of the most famous designers had boutiques here. The one we were standing in front of happened to be a dress shop for little girls: "La Casa de Muñecas. That pretty much meant that Ramona had brought Amanda along. The place was designed so that while the display window was fully visible, the shoppers had absolute privacy.

"Finally you made it!" said Ramona impatiently once they were admitted in the shop. "It took you two long enough!"

"I apologize Mother," said Carina. "The driver was being an idiot."

"An idiot you say? I'll fire her when we get home," said Ramona indifferently. "And for GOODNESS sakes, Amanda! Hold still!" Ramona snapped at the little girl. Amanda was getting fitted for a dress for her next pageant and she kept fidgeting.

"I'm trying, Mommy!" Amanda whined. "But my legs are tired! Can't I just sit down for one minute?"

"No," said Ramona as she examined her face in a mirror. Ramona was an imposing woman. She was a tall woman who stood about 5'9 with straight waist length hair. Her clothes, hair, nails, and skin were always flawless just like the huge mansion she lived in. Carina always talked about how supportive her mother was of her and Amanda's school careers.

"And guess who I saw today, Mother," said Carina as she sat down in a chair. "Salisha."

"Gah, I'd hoped that girl had moved away from Veilstone," Ramona said still examining herself in the mirror. "That stupid idiot. But let's not talk about her now. I don't want to spoil my mood."

It was probably shocking for someone else to hear Ramona talk about her own daughter like that but I was pretty much used to it.

"Ah, Miguela," said Ramona, finally looking up from the mirror. "You look nice today. How much was the outfit?"

See? I told you cost was important. I gave her the same run down that I gave Carina when she started asking about my family.

"And does your mom still work at that little store?"

"Yes, and it's doing very we—

"Eh," said Ramona. "I'll never understand why people work when they don't have to. I mean, your father makes enough money to support you without her having to work. That is, your father still has his high paying job, right?"

"Yes," I began. "And she says she works beca—

"Your mom and I could be better friends if she'd just change her lifestyle," Ramona interrupted. "She could come with me for spa treatments, trips to Valor Lakefront, shopping in Canalave—all that stuff and often too. We could even help each other with child-rearing. But all she does is work in that store. What a waste."

Carina laughed. "Why are you looking like that, Miguela? It's true! In addition to being more supportive of your schoolwork, you could also talk her into quitting. It would also help her social standing."

"Yeah, maybe," I said awkwardly. To be honest, my mother didn't really work all that much. And most of what she made went into a savings account because she was always saying "You never know…" But there was no getting that through to Ramona. Her husband and children's father was one of the richest people I knew and she spent his money like it was going out of style.

"Carina, what other activities do you have to do today?" Ramona asked.

"I have homework to do, and then there are the etiquette classes for the debutante ball—oh did I tell you Miguela? I'm not doing the school's dance this year. Thanks to my father, I was invited to a Debutante Ball that's happening at the same time. Not to mention my escort will be the son of one of his associates!"

"That sounds amazing," I said. I wasn't quite jealous, but I at the same time I rather was.

"I know," said Carina. "It really is a shame you can't go. Oh well. But back to what I was saying. After the etiquette classes, I'll do more studying and start looking online for dresses. Tomorrow I have even more things to do since it's Saturday."

"Right, that reminds me," said Ramona. "I need to find more things for this one to do," she said as she pointed at Amanda who looked close to tears. "She needs to develop another skill that will help her win in pageants."

"You could always try the violin," Carina suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea to me," her mother agreed. "Violin lessons it is. And Carina, do make sure you put more effort into your studying," she added suddenly critical. "You need to get first place in that next test. Do I make myself crystal clear?"

"Yes, mother, I'll work harder," said Carina, determined.

"You'd better."

After that, Carina and her mother began talking more about school and the debutante ball. I was disappointed in myself because for the first time, I was bored. And I was never bored when I was shopping with Carina. And I had no idea what was wrong with me, because I usually lapped these conversations up to learn how to better myself. I was going to be spending my Saturday working in the store, studying, and that was pretty much it. That was pretty much how my Saturdays went anyway.

"MIGUELA!" I heard Ramona shout. "We're ready to go. Stop daydreaming already."

"Yes ma'am," I said as I rose from my chair. Carina shot me a "what the heck do you think you're doing" look.

"And I expect that dress to be ready next week," Ramona demanded the dressmaker. "Got that?"

"Yes," said the dressmaker as she headed to the back.

"Mommy…"said Amanda cautiously. "Can we go to the candy store?"

Her mother looked at her like she was crazy. "My goodness, Amanda, are you serious? No, you can't have candy! You're watching your figure remember?"

"Oh…right," said Amanda miserably.

"And stop looking so mopey," she added as she grabbed her by the arm.

"Ow, okay, okay, I'll stop looking mopey!" Amanda said. Then she proceeded to put on that vapid, fake pageant smile.

"That's more like it," Ramona said as she finally let her daughter go. "Why must I have to tell everyone what to do all the time? Sheesh!"

I think we hit ten of the boutiques during our shopping bout. Everything was passing by in a blur to me so I didn't remember all the details. But the most vivid thing that happened was Carina and Ramona throwing a tantrum in one boutique after the owner refused to sell Carina a purse that was reserved for someone else. Amanda cowered behind me the entire time. That's when it hit me. This was all Akira's fault! If he hadn't called me a spoiled brat, I could've been able to go into full Miguela mode and enjoy myself.

Five hours later, we were finally done. I had picked up a couple of things I liked, including a dress and was now carrying around a few shopping bags. Carina and Ramona were satisfied with their shopping trip and quickly planned another. Amanda was now close to dying and I really couldn't blame her. I couldn't wait to get home, but first I took a walk through a park on the way home to clear my head because it currently felt like a jumbled mess. I was barely watching where I was going so it came as no surprise when I crashed into someone.

"Oh, it's you," said a voice disdainfully. It was Akira who was carrying a reusable grocery bag. "I see you just got back from another trip to the mall," he said indicating my shopping bags. "I bet you don't do anything that actually helps someone else, do you?"

I think I rivaled Carina in how fast my anger rose. "Shut up, Akira," I growled as I tried to walk away from him.

He smirked. "A spoiled brat through and through."

At that I completely blew up. "I said SHUT UP! You don't know anything about me, jerk!" Without thinking I shoved him with my one free hand. Immediately I regretted it.

Akira rubbed his chest. "Wow, you really do have a soul," he said amazed. "That's really interesting…" He turned to walk away. "Well, the Pokémon need this stuff so I need to get going. I'll see you tomorrow!" he said, waving. It was like he was pleased that he'd been shoved.

I on the other hand was still pretty ticked so I stalked off in a huff. This walk through the park was supposed to calm me down, not rile me up even more! At that point all I wanted to do was to go home and do nothing. Akira really was irritating; why couldn't he have stayed in Hoenn anyway? Just as I was about to exit the gates of the park, I crashed into someone else and they incurred my anger.

"Watch where you're go—oh!" It was the old man and his Lucario Ali who I had met on Tuesday. "I'm so sorry!" I said apologetically.

"That's quite all right," chuckled the old man. "But you seem to be in such a tizzy. Don't be so angry; the night sky is beautiful tonight."

I looked skyward and saw the star filled sky and agreed with the man. "It really is beautiful. And by the way, you never told me your name."

"My name?" the man said. "That's slightly irrelevant. You can just call me the wanderer because I never stay still."

"Heh," I said. Ali was looking at me with a child like curiosity. It was funny how no one had to tell me she was younger than her human, but just as old as he was when it came to wisdom.

"But you have to be getting home now," the man said.

"Yes, I do" I said, nodding. "I guess I'll…see you around."

"Maybe, maybe not," said the old man cryptically. "No one really knows…"

With one last wave, I was off to home once more. I was a lot calmer and back into Gail mode after bumping into Ali and the wanderer. I looked down at my shopping bag and saw how intricate they were. It was amazing how much effort someone put into these bags only to have most people through them away. I never did though because my mom, my sister and I could always find a use for them.

At long last, I was at my building. If I wasn't so tired I would've taken the stairs, but instead I waited for the elevator. Relief coursed through me as I entered my house and dropped my shopping bags beside the door. My mom was out to dinner with some friends and my sister was spending the night at a friend's house so I was alone. I quickly changed into a sweat suit for comfort. My plan of doing nothing wasn't very productive so I decided to do some reading for English.

I warmed up some leftover pizza and was just about to get comfortable on the living room sofa when I heard a knock at the door. Ugh…why did I have leave my comfort spot? I lumbered my way to the door and opened it. But there was no one there. I was shocked to see a Pokémon egg there and my heart stopped when I saw that it was hatching.

 

[Pheonix]

Wow, character conflict ftw! I love how this is turning out, and I was considering doing a copy edit of this, but then it hit me that a diary entry shouldn't be perfect. Great character interaction and you start to bring up a few questions about the characters you introduce that might never be answered! XD

You have a wonderful flare for describing fashion, it makes me wonder if it is one of your interests or if it took research to pull off all these tasty descriptors. Either way, I can't wait to see what/how Miguela/Gail is eventually going to have to deal with the conflicting personalities that she puts forth, and I imagine that whatever is in the egg will help with it. Can't wait to see what other wrenches our friends Akira and Quinn can throw into the high and mighty of Veilstone High!

 

[112% Elusive]

Nice carmen!

Hatching pokemon egg, I guess Riolu! Or Ralts, yeah.

nice writing though, and awesome as always.
I'm not going to say anything else, for fear of sounding like a broken record.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

@Pheonix, it's a mix of things^^

Sometimes I look at pictures of celebrities or other things on Yahoo images, other times it's my imagination (or fantasy outfits). But I also draw influence from my friends and classmates at school. I go to a college located right in the middle of a city and a great number of people are really fashionable or have their own unique style.

 

[Secad MS]

"Mommy…"said Amanda cautiously. "Can we go to the candy store?"

Her mother looked at her like she was crazy. "My goodness, Amanda, are you serious? No, you can't have candy! You're watching your figure remember?"

"Oh…right," said Amanda miserably.

That's a little scary... O_o Isn't she nine or something?

I like how we see a little past the facade in this chapter. It is good to see the conflicts in Miguela's family, too. It adds depth to her character.

I wonder what the egg shall be...I'm thinking Eevee for some reason.

 

[Plapti]

Sorry for not commenting earlier, but I just caught up in the reading, and I must say that I like it. Your way of presenting the ideas and thoughts of a person is amazing, especially through a diary. It's quite a good read. Quite nice.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

That's a little scary... O_o Isn't she nine or something?

She's seven just like Quinn's sister. But yeah, I've heard of girls that young starting to worry about their figures (and lol no, I wasn't one of them: I could down half a large pizza by myself at seven). It definitely disturbed me too that seven year olds would be worried about that stuff.

 

[Secad MS]

Ah. My memory failed me when I made that post. I just remembered she was fairly young.

It's all this sexulization of little children happening in contempoary society. In addition, the obesity epidemic and the portrayals of uber-thin women and uber-buff men in advertising doesn't help either.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

OOC: Transition!

Akira Yamakage

Geeze…Sinnoh weather really sucks. I've been inside for twenty minutes and I'm still trying to get warm. Why did it have to be this cold in September anyway? I jacked the thermostat up to eighty-eight as I went to give my uncle the stuff to make Pokémon food. Normally, that was my job, but after all the crap I went through at school, both my aunt and uncle forced me to take some time to myself. I really didn't mind taking care of the Pokémon because that helped me relax more than anything else, but this little break would give me some time to do something I've needed to do all week: talk to my friends back home.

Now I did have to give Sinnoh credit where credit's due for a few things, like my laptop for instance. It was pretty good for the earth as far as laptops went. It was really light weight from the materials it was made of and the battery lasted a very long time, so it needed charging fewer times. And now that the vast majority of Veilstone High School is turning out to be pricks, this laptop was now my lifeline. All I wanted was to talk to some people who weren't so uptight; I was fairly sure the negative energy at Veilstone wouldn't mess with my inner balance, but one could never be too sure…

I logged on the IM program and found three of my best friends online. No one believed that I was actually there, which led to Britain throwing a virtual hammer to see if it was really me. It really felt good to be able to talk to some familiar people and while it didn't help my home-sickness, it was still fun. Yep, I was about to settle down to some green tea and chatting, when someone started banging on the door. I brb'd and went for the door.

Here's how my aunt and uncle's daycare works. A lot of Veilstone residents (many more than I thought) have Pokémon as companions who they're often unwilling to leave alone when they're gone to work, school, etc. And so, they take them to various places across the city, including this one. The Pokémon get to socialize and (when I get home from school) I get to spend time with them and learn more about Pokémon.

We also take care of three Pokémon that were abandoned on the streets who are unable to be released back into the wild: a Chatot that was no longer able to fly thanks to some disgusting people that abused him. Despite all he went through, he still was sweet and playful. It still pisses me off that someone could do that to a Pokémon; a Swinub that can't effectively use any of her attacks anymore and was probably abandoned by some trainer. Her sense of smell isn't diminished in the slightest; and then there's Scyther…We aren't sure what happened to him, but he's emotionally disturbed and trusting of no one other than my aunt and uncle. I'm still working on gaining his trust.

The person kept knocking and knocking. I yelled that I was coming but that didn't stop whoever was at the door. It was rather strange that someone would be coming this late to pick up their Pokémon. When I finally snatched open the door, I was surprised at who it was. I smiled.

"Fancy seeing you here, Miguela," I said wryly.

She had a blanketed bundle in her arms and looked out of breath and nothing short of frantic, but when she saw it was me she looked even more scared. Somehow I don't think I was supposed to see her in this vulnerable state. "Wait, what are you doing here?" she said in spite of herself.

"I live and work here," I said, winking just to frustrate her more. "And I should be asking YOU that."

"It hatched outside my front door! I don't know what to do!" said Miguela who looked like she was struggling with herself.

Puzzled, I reached out and shifted the blankets and I couldn't believe it. "It's a Riolu! Do you know how rare these Pokémon are? And you just happen to find one hatching outside your front door?" The Pokémon was sleeping peacefully in Miguela's arms.

"Yes! That's my problem! What if someone poached it?" Miguela asked.

"You may not want to talk too loudly," I said as I went behind the counter to get the ID gun. "You'll wake him."

"Fat chance of that," Miguela said. "If he can sleep through me running here, some people yelling, and a police siren, he can sleep through anything. And how did you know he was a boy?"

"An ancient Yamakage secret," I said shrugging. Then her eyes grew wide.

"What are you going to do with that thing!?" she said, pointing at the ID gun, which I had to admit looked a little lethal.

"Relax, Miguela," I said calmly. "It's only to see if Riolu here was poached. "If you have a Pokémon egg, you're advised to get it marked, rather like a Pokéball marks a captured Pokémon." I clicked the gun and it projected a harmless, green beam of light. It would show up red on Riolu if he was stolen, and it would remain green if he was legit. "Congratulations, your Riolu isn't stolen," I said brightly. "You're free to go!" I laughed to myself when I saw the look on her face.

"Wha-MY Riolu?" Miguela sputtered. "I don't know anything about taking care of a baby Pokémon!"

"You can learn," I told her. "Well, when Riolu wakes up I imagine he'll be hungry, and I doubt he'll be able to handle solid food right now. In that case you'll need to feed him some formula. I could give you some because we make our own here."

Miguela still looked a bit shocked. "Oh…all right." Riolu began to stir and yawn as he woke up.

"Riiiiolu," he said cheerfully as he looked at Miguela. Then his stomach made a loud grow. "Oluuuuuu," he moaned hungrily. Miguela looked at me for some kind of direction.

"I'll be right back…" I said. As I walked back to get the formula, I had to smile because I knew for a fact that Riolu was going to turn Miguela's life upside down and in a good way—I just hoped she would accept the Pokémon. I took a bottle down and filled it up with homemade formula. For extra measure, I took some berries with me.

"Baaack," I announced when I returned. Miguela had put Riolu on the ground and he was tottering around exploring things. I could tell she secretly adored him. She was pulling at her collar uncomfortably and I realized I had still had the thermostat up to eighty-eight, but I didn't bother to turn it down because it just got comfortable to me. "I brought these berries to see what flavor Riolu likes best and I can flavor the formula."

Riolu sniffed the air, smelled the berries, and rushed over. I was right in thinking he couldn't eat solid food yet because he couldn't handle the Cheri Berry he'd picked out even though it was soft. He frowned until I picked up the berry and squeezed the berry over his formula. The red juice ran into the bottle which gave the liquid a slightly red tint.

"Hm, so that means he likes spicy food," I said. "Would you like to do the honors?" I asked as I handed the bottle to Miguela.

She looked confused for a moment before realization dawned on her. "Oh! You mean feeding him? But…all right," she said. Miguela beckoned Riolu to her and he came went into her arms. "Um, I've never bottle fed a Pokémon before," she said, but it didn't take her long to get used to it. Riolu pretty much inhaled the formula.

"It won't take him long to be able eat solid food," I told her. "As in, it'll only take about a week and a half."

Miguela looked up at me. "How do you know so much about Pokémon?"

"Taking care of Pokémon is something I really care about," I said, and looking at the expression on her face, "I never wanted to be a Pokémon trainer because it's really not me, but my sister is a Pokémon Ranger."

"Cool," Miguela said quietly. She turned her attention back to Riolu and I had to work hard to keep from laughing. Even now she was trying to look cool and collected and was failing miserably. She really was enjoying Riolu and was hiding it. I'll add that to my list of missions—find out what on in the world she was hiding. Riolu gently drifted back to sleep again with his stomach full. But suddenly Miguela looked alarmed. "Wait! I have school! I don't have time to take care of a Pokémon!"

And just when I thought she was getting somewhere. "Are you serious? Is school the only thing you think about?" I asked harshly.

"No! I-I mean, it's just r-really important to me," Miguela said, losing her composure. "But really I can't keep him!"

"But you want to!" I countered. "You really like him and you know it! So then why not? If you don't want to leave him alone during the day you can always leave him in a daycare like this."

Miguela shook her head. "I do like him, but he'd be nothing but a distraction."

"Hopeless," I said. "Well, hand him over."

"What do you mean?" she said quickly. "It's Friday so I could have him for the weekend and give him back Sunday!"

Then it was my turn to shake my head. Her hopelessness was annoying me now. "No way. I don't want him to get any more attached to you than he already is and then you just abandon him. Sorry but I can't let you do that." I had seen it happen too many times before—people abandoning Pokémon and emotionally scarring them and I wasn't going to let it happen to Riolu.

"I mean, I can just think about it and—

"If you decide to give him up, he'll be gone by tomorrow afternoon," I told her.

"I-what?" Miguela said.

"You know this city reveres Lucario, so Riolu are in really high demand and they are super rare," I so kindly informed her. "Someone will come and scoop him up in no time."

"Wow…"said Miguela as she glanced at the sleeping Riolu in her arms.

"And you really don't want to give him up, right?" I asked.

She took a deep breath and became determined. "I think we'll stay together for now," Miguela said. "And if, if I stink at this, he should stay with you."

"Nah, you'll be fine," I said cheerfully. I reached out and touched her shoulder; she glanced at her shoulder and raised an eyebrow. I quickly withdrew my hand and there was this awkward silence. "Soooooo, I'll just give you this formula and the berries and you can go."

"Right," said Miguela.

I gave her enough stuff to last her the entire weekend and I promised to email her the recipe to the formula to see if she could make it herself. But that wasn't the end of it because Miguela had one last thing to say to me.

"And by the way Akira," she began. "Don't tell anyone about this, all right?"

At those words, I'm pretty sure I had a "you've got to be kidding me" look on my face. I threw my hands up. "You know what? I'm not even going to bother tonight. I'll see you later."

Miguela looked like she wanted to say something but decided against it. With one look at the Riolu, she waved goodnight and left.

"You handled that pretty well," I heard my aunt Yume say as she came into the room. Yume had taken her long black hair down from the ponytail which meant she was done with her "official" work and was now on her own time. "I almost had déjà vu there with what you said to that girl. Machi (my mother, her sister) was nearly in the exact same situation—only she was meaner," Yume laughed.

"So she's always been more, uh, militant than me?" I asked.

"Pretty much," she said. "Not that you're exactly a push-over yourself. I hear everyone say how laid back you are, but they don't know the real you."

"I'm laid back about some things," I said. "But yeah, other things, not so much."

Just then, Yume's partner Pokémon Ronin (a Mightyena) entered the room carrying a basket in his mouth.

"Had enough work today, Ronin?" Yume asked him.

Rather than being tired Ronin growled in an energetic sort of way. I had always loved Ronin and considered him part of the family. And indeed Yume and Ronin had grown up together—almost like brother and sister. He was a huge help to running the daycare.

"Well, since you aren't tired and I'm not tired," said Yume as she gave Ronin a playful noogie. "Why don't we go jogging together?"

Ronin barked saying he was game. He put down his basket and promptly opened the door and ran out of it. (OOC: Yes, Ronin can open doors)

"Hey! Wait for me!" Yume said as she ran after him. "And Akira don't forget to turn down the thermostat!" she yelled back.

I laughed as I watched them but my smile faded to something like "here we go again" as Ryoma and Izumi, my Treecko and Ralts respectively, came tumbling in the room.

"Do I even want to know what happened?" I asked as I noticed Izumi had a piece of duct tape across her small mouth. Izumi was screeching at the top of her lungs with tears in her eyes.

Whether I actually wanted to know or not, Ryoma didn't care, because he was telling me anyway. The conversation went something like this: Treecko! Treecko! Treeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeecko! (at this point Ryoma gestured furious with his hands) Treecko, Treecko, Treecko! (he made a hand gestured indicating talking) and then he recreated tearing off tape and holding Izumi down to put the tape on her mouth. And then he pointed at the bruise on his head.

"Let me get this straight," I said. "You guys were watching TV and Izumi wouldn't stop talking." Ryoma nodded. "And you took it upon yourself to stop her from talking with the duct tape. Aaaaand that's when she used telekinesis to hit you in the head with the remote."

"Treecko!" Ryoma said nodding. He furiously pointed at Izumi which told me he wanted her punished.

"Okay, no Ryoma, just no," I said as I removed the duct tape from Izumi's mouth. "This is just further proof that TV rots your brain. You don't tape someone's mouth shut when you want them to be quiet, you know."

Ryoma folded his arms and looked at me ("yeah, yeah, yeah" was what he was likely saying.) Izumi looked pretty pleased that Ryoma was shot down, but I had to burst her bubble too.

"And for goodness sakes, Izumi, you don't hit people with TV remotes either, unless it's a freak emergency," I told her as I treated Ryoma's bruise. "Seriously, you two need to look on the mellower side of life."

This time, both Pokémon looked at me like I was crazy. I chuckled as I went back to my laptop with Ryoma and Izumi following. Both Pokémon were both pretty young. I found it highly ironic that Ryoma and Izumi were both a bit neurotic when Ralts and Treecko were known for being calm and peaceful. I got two oddballs but I loved them to death.

My laptop screen had turned black and my green tea was cold in all the time I was gone. I rubbed my finger across the mouse pad to bring my laptop back to life, and took a sip of the green tea which I liked better cold anyway. It was a bit surprising to see my friends were still there—particularly Britain whose attention span was shorter than a Diglett. I imagined how warm it must be in Hoenn right now and how cold it was in Sinnoh which only made the home-sickness worse.

While I was chatting, I checked my usual websites to see if anything interesting was happening. I got a few emails and messages from people back in Hoenn and a random assignment a teacher had decided to give us for the weekend. There wasn't anything from anyone from Sinnoh (besides teachers anyway), but I bet that was only because Quinn didn't have a computer…oh wait, I lied. Here's yet another message from Carina Diaz. Seriously speaking, this girl was scaring me.

She again was threatening to tell the "authorities" that I had cheated on that first test and once AGAIN she was telling me that she would be first place on the next test (which would be Monday). Heh, I would have to disappoint her. As arrogant as this will probably sound, she wouldn't be getting first place on this test, the next one, or the one after that—at least she wouldn't if I had my way. I had something to prove to this school and I was going to do just that. Man…sometimes I scare myself with my determination.

Siiiiigh, truth be told, I was bored out of my mind right now (and anyone reading this would probably notice), because all of my work—school and with Pokémon—had ended for the day. But I didn't really feel like doing anything right now. Mission three: find my niche in Veilstone so I'm not sitting here on a Friday night doing pretty much nothing. I threw a sharp look at Ryoma who was threatening to strangle Izumi for humming. That niche would probably have something to do with Pokémon. I turned to the internet once more and began my search there.

 

[Pheonix]

...

I absolutely love Akira now! It is great to see someone outside the family get a peak at a less covered up Gail. And Izumi totally reminds me of Alysandra from my fic XD Totally being a little brat and thinking she is all innocent :3

All in all, another excellent entry into the series. I wait with baited breath for the next one! ^_^

 

[Secad MS]

Heh, Pokemon watching television. I've never thought of that, for some reason.

This chapter is amazing. We finally get to see inside Akira's head, find out more about his family, and discover a caring side of Miguela, who hatches a Riolu, of course. I have a feeling it came from that Lucario seen earlier in the story.

 

[Plapti]

Enjoyed the latest chapter, it was highly amusing. Love Akira's personality in this chapter. It reminds me of myself in someways. Someways that I don't how they relate to me.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

OOC: A short entry by Quinn ^^

W00t! It was finally the weekend! And it couldn't come fast enough. Yesterday my mom had surprised my sister and me by telling us that she got paid at the end of her first week as some kind of goodwill bonus…yeah I didn't quite know what that was either. But I do know that it means we can go shopping for some essentials. ^^
Knowing my mother and sister would be able to sleep late on Saturday made me regret that detention more than ever. They gave me an option of having the detention in the morning or in the afternoon, and I picked morning so it wouldn't interfere with my plans too much—and I could go ahead and get the stupid thing out of way. I picked the earliest time available to do it: seven a.m.

I still had to drag myself out of the bed 6:00 though which really, very, super hard for me. Three hours detention wasn't exactly the best motivator. I put on my uniform and gathered together the homework I was going to do during that time. I figured since it was Saturday, most of the coffee shops wouldn't be packed, so I could get breakfast at one of them. As I walked, I made a mental list of what I wanted to get: a hat, gloves, scarf, and boots, and a new bag. Yep, that was it. And I would likely be able to buy the first three together. Because I had a uniform, I could hold off on getting new clothes. Mom also told me to make sure I had money on my card so we could take the trolley later.

Despite the fact that I had a three hour detention staring me in the face, I was looking forward to the day. But…as I got closer to school I saw students there. Oh joy (rolls eyes). It turns out that these students had club meetings and (to my utmost horror) classes. Yes, you heard right. VOLUNTARY SATURDAY CLASSES. I'm serious when I say these people have lost their ever-loving minds @_@. Alas, I was disappointed to see students in the area even if they ignored me in the deli shop I went too. I hastily ordered a sandwich and ate it in record time. It turns out the students weren't ignoring me so much; they stared at me as I practically inhaled the sandwich so I slowed down.

I couldn't put my finger on what was so different about the food in Sinnoh, but it was different nonetheless. It made me miss home and the food from the farm a lot—I knew that much. Perhaps it was because the food was a bit spicier here. Meh. I just ate the sandwich and left the shop before I was late for detention…which would probably land me with another detention. I glanced at the other students as I left and saw that many of them had what they called "extra-caffeinated" coffee and powerful energy drinks to give them a boost. I didn't think I'd see anything like it until I got to college.

I finally dragged myself in the door to school (my detention was being held in my homeroom classroom). To be honest, I'm wondering if I should even write about that because it was absolutely. Boring. Out. Of. This. World. It was basically just me doing my homework. That's all. Nothing else. Nada. In fact, I thought the clock had stopped a few times, but that was probably only because I kept looking at it. I was the only one there because apparently the students of Veilstone were too perfect to be caught anywhere near detention. So it was just me, and a lowly teacher's assistant who was on duty that day. He glared at me over the top of his book for getting detention which required him to be there.

One hour passed…I wanted to run out of the room and never return.

Two hours passed…I wanted to cry

Three hours passed…I wanted to die ._.

Finally the TA set me free to go about my day. Yipee! I made sure to add the rest of the money I had to the card and I was ready to go home! But guess who I should see on my way out of the door: Carina. She was wearing this awesome turquoise trench (it nearly made me turquoise…err green with envy) over her uniform and a huge silvery bag. I had hoped to slip out before she noticed but no such luck for me.

Carina: Hmm…well you're not here for classes or clubs. You got yourself in detention.
Me: …. *I look down at my feet
Carina: Really, you should do us and the rest of this school a favor and go to a different school.

I felt her reach out and grab hold snatch my head up so I was looking her in the face. She was about two inches taller than me already, and her boots gave her an additional two inches.

Me: Let go of me! (It didn't help that it came out kinda weak.)
Carina: Hmph. You should be honored I'd even be willing to touch you, you dirty little—

I jerked away from her, her last word stinging me. (OOC: yes, it's the blank, I could bring myself to type it, it's not a swear word though). She looked at her hand as though she was just forced to pet a dead rat and she didn't even want to wipe her hands on her clothes. Instead, she pulled hand sanitizer out of her giant bag.

Carina: *Smirks I'll be gone now—before I catch whatever it is that makes you so gross. Just think about what I said, okay? (Evil….)

She walked away, leaving me feeling super insecure. I've never felt so dirty in my entire life. I rushed out of the door and into the cold as quickly as I could. What I needed at that moment was chocolate and I needed a coffee shop for that. It was truly amazing how Carina could just ruin my day and I knew I would have to do something about it someday…someday

 

[Pheonix]

Love it! Although I was kinda hoping she could have hooked up with Akira at the daycare place for a job. XD Anyways, love it and can't wait to see what else happens to our wonderful underdog in this brave new unrelenting world she has been forced into. ^_^

 

[Secad MS]

We finally get to see some of Quinn's family life. In my opinion, I think your Veilstone is sort of like New York City.

Geez, non-mandatory Saturday school that students actually go to?! I wish my classmates in high school had that sort of motivation. *sigh* I wish American education was like Japan's...

I wonder how far the bullying shall go with Carina and Co. Shall there possibly be a fight?

 

[Plapti]

That's short? So what's long then?

Either way, quite amusing to read as usual. Very amusing to read. It seems to make my day a tad better.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

OOC: Apologies for taking so long...

Mmm…Sunday morning. These were always lazy at my house and I loved it. The noises of the city were far removed from me as I saw the sun shine through my eyelids. Sure, I'd study later on, but I was in no hurry to get up. I was just going to lie in bed and enjoy my morning. Siiigh…

"RIOLU!"

WHAM!

CRASH!

Plop! Thud, thud, thud!

My eyes flew open as I sat up straight. I immediately looked to my right to see my desk on the ground. Riolu had completely bent one of the legs of my desk in half with a flying kick. Everything had slid and crashed to the floor including my laptop and all my books. Riolu was looking at me with these innocent eyes, yet was happy to see me awake.

"Riolu," I sighed. "The next time you want me to get up, a simple nudge will do."

Riolu smiled and ran out of my door. Akira had warned me that most baby fighting type Pokémon had a lot of energy, and he was so right. My desk wasn't the only casualty of his energy; he'd managed to knock down my body length mirror (thankfully he didn't break it), he broke a fountain in my sister's room, and completely ransacked my closet. I seriously considered daycare now so he'd have an outlet for his boundless energy.

I got up and followed Riolu to kitchen. He was sitting in one of the chairs waiting for me to feed him. My entire family had fallen in love with Riolu and thought he was the cutest thing. Okay, so he was, I admit it. My sister especially liked him and wanted to dress him in Pokémon clothes she made herself. That was where I drew the line. If my sister got her quasi-fashion designer hands on him, it wouldn't be a pretty sight.

"Oh, Gail, I'm so thrilled you decided to keep Riolu," Mom said happily.

"Yes, Mom, I know. You've said it about fifty times already," I sighed.

"But it's good to see you doing something beside working and studying," she continued. "Now the next step is to get you to hang out with friends besides when you study."

"Mom, please," I said as I went to get Riolu's formula.

Randi, who was on the phone at the time, gave me a mocking look. "And what are you on the phone about in the morning," I asked her.

"Just talking about how I'm running for freshman homecoming court," she answered. "But you don't know anything about that, do you?"

"No, we're not about that kind of school spirit," I said while I was feeding Riolu. Dad had fixed omelets for the entire family. My sister was the one who inherited his cooking talent. Too bad she was often too lazy to put it to good use. She continued to talk on the phone as she stuffed her mouth with food.

"So, (some gibberish I couldn't understand) if I run for (more gibberish), do you, like, (swallow, take another bite) have a good chance of winning?"

"You know, I'm surprised she understood any of that," I said as Riolu burped (and it was the cutest burp ever!)

"We understand each other like that," Randi said as she gave me thumbs up. She told her friend bye and hung up the phone. "Oh right, I never did ask how your shopping trip with witch-girl went."

"Stop calling her witch-girl," I snapped. "How would you like it if I insulted your best friend?"

"I'll stop calling her that when she stops being a witch-girl," Randi shot back.

"Look, Randi—

"Why can't you see she's evil?"

"She's NOT evil!"

"Is too!"

"Randi, seriously, stop it! She's really a good person!"

"What the heck is your definition of a good person? She's an uptight overachiever, who prob—

Riolu looked back and forth between us like he was watching a tennis match completely unperturbed. "Girls, girls," Dad said. "It's Sunday morning. Let's just relax, shall we."

I sat back in my chair, fuming. Carina was cold, very intelligent, beautiful, and sophisticated and I was fortunate and grateful to be her best friend.

"But really, Gail," Mom said. "Carina gives me ominous vibes, too. Maybe she's not someone you should be around."

"Mom!" I groaned. "Not you too!"

Thus was my life. The more I tried to convince them that Carina was really cool, the more they disagreed with me. Finally after realizing that my words alone wouldn't convince them, I gave it up. I truly thought one day they would see for themselves. We had to put aside our arguments because we were pretty much spending the day together until Randi left to hang out with some friends. Then Mom and I would be together.

Our first order of business was going to the park with Riolu to let off his extra energy. And wow, did he have a lot of extra energy. He was able to run about three laps around the park without even slowing down. Everyone complimented me on Riolu and several people asked to take pictures of him. Not that he minded the attention at all. He happily posed and played with the other Pokémon. It was shocking to see the huge difference between the temperaments of Riolu and its evolution Lucario—not that my Riolu was likely to evolve. My mom, sister, and I had a great time, and it was here that Mom suggested that I name him.

"Well, let's see," I said. "What would be a good name for a Riolu? I know! I'll call him Lucas!"

"That was fast," said my mother smiling. "Lucas it is."

Riolu was overjoyed at getting a name and let us know by running around the park again. Yes, we had to stop and rest for about thirty minutes before we could leave the park for our next destination which was the Pokémon department store. Mostly it was Pokémon trainers that came here and I had never been in before. We were on the hunt for a Pokémon bed for Lucas so we needed him to test them out to see which one was right for me. He happily obliged by jumping on the beds to test them; we had to stop him and fast before he broke something.

Lucas made me smile with his bouncing off the walls cheerfulness. In fact, I don't even remember the last time something made me smile this much. Lucas eventually picked out a simple blue bed with the firmest mattress I had ever seen. Firm as in you could bounce a coin off of it. Oh well, to each his own I guess. Oh, and I also bought a practice dummy for Lucas to keep him from practicing on our (but mostly my) furniture.

Mom, Randi, and I were going to spend the next part of the day working in the store. I always liked doing that because I was surrounded by the sweet aromas. Lucas, after insisting on running nearly the whole way, had finally expended all his energy and was now asleep in my arms. I put him under a blanket in the back room to let him rest for a while as we took yet another break.

"That's the most exercise I've had in a very long time," Mom panted.

"Yeah, I can totally make this my exercise routine," Randi wheezed. "It'll be good for when I run for homecoming court. Do you object, Gail?"

"No," I said as I collapsed into a chair. "If you can keep up with him, more power to you."

My mom did the usual "house-keeping" things around the store like making sure everything was in order. Dania, who I liked to call Mom's second in command, was very organized which in turn made Mom's job a lot easier. She had the day off to visit some family. I breathed in the smell of the candles, oils, lotions, and perfumes as I gazed at the neat shelves filled with all kinds of soaps, skin care products, and make-up products. The stuff wasn't just for beauty or superficiality; some of it gave relief to itchy skin, severe acne, and anything else you could think of.

"Now that I can breathe, I'm heading out," Randi said.

"Byyyyyye dear!" said my Mom cheerfully. I cringed a little on the inside because I knew she wished I was out with friends too. "Oh, Gail, you never finished this morning. How did your shopping trip go? You never went into detail about it."

As much as I hated to, I decided to be honest with her. "It would've been better if her mom hadn't come."

"Oh dear," said Mom as she picked up a folder and read the contents inside. "Ramona came along? I feel so sorry for you."

"She feels even sorrier for you," I said. I regretted even uttering those words.

Mom stood up straight and put her hand on her hip. "What's this? Now why would she feel sorry for me?" She didn't sound angry or irritable—she was genuinely curious. "Was it about working and not staying home?"

"Yeah," I sighed.

"Well, next time just tell her I do things my way, and she can do things her way," my Mom said firmly.

I looked out the window and frowned. "You can tell her yourself."

Carina and Ramona were strolling up to the shop carrying shopping bags from another shopping spree. They looked amazing—like they should've been in a magazine. This time Amanda wasn't with them. Suddenly I had a sick feeling in my stomach. What if they found out about Lucas? I had to warn Mom!

"Mom, Mom, you can't mention Lucas at all," I hissed.

"What? Why not? she asked.

"I can't explain now! Just don't!" I said desperately. I prayed with all my heart that Lucas wouldn't wake up…

A wind chime-time like tune played as the Carina opened the door. She and her mom swept into the store like a strong wind. As they looked around the store, it felt like they were judging us and our lives. I heard Ramona said "how quaint" as she picked up one of the bottles of scented massage oil. One look into Carina's eyes, and when I realized there weren't any customers, I knew what was coming.

"You're working today," Carina stated.

"Yes," I said as I traced the floor tile with my eyes.

"It looks more like you're doing nothing," said Carina coldly. "And while you're sitting here doing nothing, you could've gone with Mother and me, or at the very least you could be studying."

I didn't need to see my mom's face to know that she was probably rolling her eyes. And why did I feel like the parent and my mom was the child? I felt ashamed under Carina's critical gaze—like I wasn't doing enough in my life. Lucas, the time and the park, and the time at the store seemed far away now. I was under Carina's spotlight. She didn't say anything but she didn't have to; the disapproval in her eyes was enough.

"So Marisol," Ramona said haughtily to my mother. "We should make this a mother-daughter date together, so close up this…shop and come with us."

"No Ramona," Mom refused her cheerfully.

I could tell both Carina and her mom were taken aback by the firm, yet polite refusal. And they also looked a bit offended. I was trying to get my mom's attention, to tell her know to at least offer to spend time with her on another occasion. But I couldn't do it without giving myself away; and so I had to sit there and burn with humiliation.

Ramona raised an eyebrow. "Well, we came all this way, so don't you think you should at least have the manners to invite us in your house and treat us to drinks."

But Mom only smiled. "As you can see, I'm working right now. So once again, No Ramona."

"Fine then," said Ramona looking angry that she'd just been refused twice. "I was only trying to give us an opportunity to talk together and for me to give you advice. Carina tells me that you're not as supportive as you should be of Miguela's academic career as you should. I hear you even suggested she go to school inferior to Veilstone."

"Ramona, please forgive me for being blunt, but really," Mom explained. "We have different ways of being "supportive" of our children. No, I didn't want her going to Veilstone and I still don't, but I let her make that decision. And I stood behind her. Wouldn't you call that being supportive?"

I really wished my mom hadn't said anything. The disapproval in Carina's eyes only deepened as she looked from me to Mom. I was still hoping against hope that Lucas was still sleeping soundly in the backroom. Carina would think he was nothing but a huge distraction—not that she was wrong. But for some unexplained reason, I was already very attached to him. Carina shifted her purse and spoke.

"Come over to my house tonight," she told, not asked me. "We can study and you can spend the night. We can also talk more…"

I desperately looked at Mom. This was the time for her to speak up and say it was a school night and I needed to be home, but nooooooo. "It's her decision," Mom shrugged. "I know she won't be getting into any trouble."

So once again Carina's spotlight was on me. I really didn't want to go because it would mean being separated from Lucas (I wouldn't even get to see how he slept in his bed!), but there was no way I could refuse. The only way I could do that would be if I had a good reason—which I didn't. I nodded and told her I'd be there after I was done at the store.

"Good," said Ramona arrogantly. "At least you're smarter than your mother, Miguela."

Without another word, she and Carina (and their shopping bags) swept from the store in a huff. Mom sighed.

"Honestly, the nerve of that woman!" she said. "Were does she get off telling me how to raise my kids?"

"I'm glad you didn't say that while she was here," I snapped.

"Oh honestly," Mom said. She didn't sound annoyed, only slightly incredulous. "You do realize that "being supportive" to Ramona means making sure you're over-scheduled and hounding you about grades then being cold when you don't meet her expectations. It's made even worse because it's Ramona and she doesn't really do anything!"

"But she's really involved!" I countered back. "You should see how she is with Amanda."

"I feel the most sorry for that little girl," Mom said. "I imagine she wasn't with them because she was at some lesson. But yes, I do feel Ramona is way too hard on her children and I think you already know that."

"Mom!" I exclaimed. "If you'd just put some effort into getting into their world, you'd realize that Ramona and Carina are the epitome of success! She isn't too hard on them at all. You know, maybe it wouldn't hurt if you were more like Carina's mother!"

I quickly shut my mouth; I knew I had crossed the line then. Maybe she'd ground me and make me stay home after all…that wouldn't be such a bad thing as I could stay with Lucas. But my mom surprised me by just shaking her head.

"You're not sounding like Gail at all, but I promise you this: one day you'll see what I'm talking about," she told me. "I know you don't like to hear it but that's the truth."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. I was still in Miguela mode and I realized it was getting harder to keep my two selves apart. But that went out of my head when I heard a small voice.

"Riolu?" Lucas was timidly poking his head out of the door, as if to check to see if the coast was clear. I could tell he was uneasy but I just wasn't sure why.

"Oh, you're awake!" I said as I rushed to him. His anxious expression turned to happiness he jumped into my arms.

"He's probably been up for sometime," Mom said calmly.

"But…if that's the case, why didn't he come?" I asked, but the answer dawned on me as soon as I asked the question. Riolu could sense emotion better than most beings could and he could tell when he wasn't wanted. Perhaps Carina and her mother made him uneasy…I pushed that from my head and hugged Lucas before going to feed him.

After that, customers started coming in and every person seemed enchanted by him. Fortunately for me, the constant coming and going of people was a big enough distraction for Lucas that he didn't tear the place apart with his crazy hyperness. He was adorable as he smiled at everyone like the blue and black fuzz ball that he was. It was going to be hard to leave him when I went to Carina's and I had half a mind to call her back to cancel.

I really liked working in the store and watching the customers. They came in all shapes and sizes, but mostly they were women. With Lucas in arms, I suggested products to people, showed them where stuff was and occasionally just chatted with people. I caught a couple of boys (probably trainers) staring at Lucas through the window; they quickly walked away when I smiled and waved. It turned out that Mom wasn't done surprising me. After she closed up the store (we closed early on Sunday), she asked me if I knew who Quinn Ross was.

"I know who she is," I said cautiously. "Why?"

"Because she just applied to work here," said my mom happily.

"What!" I said shocked. I couldn't imagine what it Carina would think if Quinn worked here. "Wait, you're not thinking of hiring her, are you?"

"Actually yes," Mom replied. "Both Dania and Randi noted here that she seemed different than most Veilstone High students, and so naturally that got me curious."

"Mom, listen to me," I said as Lucas listened as urgently as I probably sounded. "Quinn does not fit in at our school whatsoever and you'd be doing her a favor by sending her elsewhere!"

"Oh?" Mom said smiling—not a good sign. "That just makes me more intrigued. I'll just call her tonight and set up an interview!"

I groaned and said nothing. Great, if Quinn got hired that would make two things I'd have to hide from Carina. Suddenly Lucas jumped out of my arms to examine some scented oil in a flower shaped bottle. However he tripped and fell into the table causing the bottle to fall and break over his head.

"Lucas!" I cried as I ran over to him. "Are you all right?"

"Luuuu," he said slightly bemused. Then he jumped into my arms again, so I knew he was fine. I cleaned up the glass and dried Lucas off, but there was no getting rid of the scent of the oil. He was going to smell like lavender for the rest of the day…not that I was complaining.

My mom laughed at the hilarity of the accident and said Lucas would be a popular in the store. I sighed. Now I really didn't want to leave him. He could calm me down like nothing else because again because of his cheerfulness. But at the same time, it scared me; when I went to Carina's house, my mind would still be here with him. It would be a struggle to fully become Miguela.

Too soon it was time for me to leave Lucas. He happily helped me pack my things and I promised he would have fun with Randi who had returned home at this point. Even so, he did seem a bit sad that he wasn't coming with me which of course broke my heart. The urge to cancel on Carina was rising exponentially now, but I pushed it away.

"I'll see you tomorrow afternoon, okay Lucas?" I said. "

"Riolu!" he said brightly which didn't entirely hide the sadness in his eyes.

"All right, I'll be going now," I told him as I got up to leave. Lucas followed me to the dining room where my family was blissfully having dinner. I did something I subconsciously told myself I wouldn't ever do: I went into Miguela mode at home, with no one from school present.

"Are you about to leave?" Dad asked me.

"Yes," I said coolly. Lucas responded to my icy demeanor by stiffening. Why did he have to make me feel even guiltier than I already did? Everyone at the table was taken aback by my sudden change in demeanor.

"Brrr…chilly," said Randi snidely. "I never though I'd see this side of you at home, Gail. Oh, I mean Miguela."

"Leave me alone," I said as I handed Lucas off to her. With one last half-wave at Lucas and the rest of my family, I left my house. The last thing I heard was Mom saying something and everyone laughing.

I know a lot people think that large cities were unsafe for kids to wander around in, but that was just a stereotype and in no way the case for every part of a Veilstone. Sure, there were places you shouldn't go but most areas were safe. Instead of taking a trolley, I had to take a cab to Carina's house which was deep within the wealthiest neighborhood in Veilstone City. I watched the expensive high rises and tall buildings fade to gigantic villas and mansions as we wound our way through the hills of the city.

We were effectively now looking down on the city which looked gorgeous as usual. I looked in the direction of my house and imagined what Lucas was doing with my sister—I just dearly hope she wasn't trying to dress him up. Carina's house wasn't far now and it certainly wasn't hard to miss due to the fact that it was the biggest in the neighborhood…I sighed as we finally pulled up to the drive way. I paid the cab driver and walked up the walkway.

The house was absolutely amazing, opulent, and very imposing. Ramona was very proud of it and often hosted sophisticated parties there. My mom was invited to nearly all of them but she never went—yet another reason why Ramona acted the way she did toward my mom. But now the house was quiet. I had been to Carina's house plenty of times before; Carina always insisted that we go to her house to study because she said my house wasn't good for studying. I rang the doorbell and waited for someone to let me in.

A maid who I'd never seen before answered the door. The Diaz Family employed a team of maids and butlers, but it was a revolving door; Ramona routinely hired and fired them for any reason you could imagine. The only constant employee was a woman named Ana who acted as Ramona's personal assistant. As it just so happened, she was who Ramona was screaming for as I entered the house.

"ANA! Where is that jewelry I told you to pick up?" she yelled.

Ana, who had short blonde hair, came rushing out of the hallway to meet Ramona as she came down the stairs. "I'm sorry ma'am! The man said they wouldn't be ready until—

"And I care about that because? Get on the phone now and you make sure to have that jewelry before midnight," Ramona said coldly. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am," said Ana and she rushed off again. She had been around Ramona long enough to know not to question any of her orders. My mom often wondered why Ana stayed.

"Now I'm going to make sure Amanda's speech for her next pageant is above the standard." She caught sight of me. "Take her upstairs!" she barked at the maid as she stalked off to another part of the house.

The maid told me Carina was in her room as she escorted me there. "Miss Diaz!" she said. "Your guest is here."

Carina was seated at her desk at her laptop. "Well, it took you long enough! Let's get started," Carina said crossly. Her room was massive with its own bathroom, fireplace, walk in closet, and a connection to a balcony. As I walked over to her, I realized she was talking to Alicio over the webcam built into her laptop. From the sound of it, she was interrogating him.

"Hey Miguela," said Alicio.

"Hey yourself," I replied.

Carina cleared her throat. "Miguela, it seems like your mom wasn't the only rude one today. Alicio's mom refused to come with us too, but unlike Marisol, Lena (Alicio's mom) didn't even try to come up with a better excuse than ‘she had to prepare for later.'"

Alicio shrugged. "She's pregnant so maybe it's the mood swings. I don't know."

As I listened carefully, the webcam was picking up noises beyond his door; it sounded like his family was having some people over. While I knew very little about Alicio's family, my parents was pretty friendly with his. Just then Alicio's bedroom door flew open and a child rushed in—his seven-year-old brother to be exact. Francisco, or just Frankie, looked a lot like his older brother with their golden eyes. He also had long black hair that went to the middle of his back; he was often mistaken for a girl because of it.

"Alicio, Alicio! Come look at this ATV Dad bought!" he pretty much shouted as he climbed all over his brother.

"Get off of me," said Alicio as he shoved Frankie aside playfully. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Oooooh…" Frankie said as he got about three inches from the webcam. "HI CARINA! Hey! Why didn't Amanda come to the park today? Maria and me—

"Maria and I," Alicio corrected.

"Yeah, Maria and I needed a third person to play games with! So why didn't she come? Huh?"

Carina rolled her eyes. "She had violin and etiquette lessons today."

"But she's always doing something," complained Frankie. "Can't she just—

"Enough Frankie," scolded Alicio as he pulled his brother away from the webcam by his shirt collar. "Go back downstairs."

"Fine, fine," he said before running out of Alicio's room.

"We can get started now," Carina said. "Now we should focus on what we learned in Pre-Cal on Friday because I'm sure it's going to be on that test tomorrow. But before we start, how much have you two been studying?"

Alicio spoke first. "Since I knew all this was going on," he said indicating all the noise behind him. "I did all my studying earlier." Was it my imagination or did he want to be here even less than I did?

I was afraid this would happen; bored out of my skull, my mind began to wonder back to my house, my family, and with Lucas…Part of me was wondering if I could somehow secretly send a text to my mom and have her order me to come home so Carina wouldn't get suspicious. As convoluted as it sounded, I was seriously considering it—that's how much I wanted to be at home. But Carina's fingers snapping in front of my face brought me back to reality.

"HELLO? Is there something in your empty head?" Carina said heatedly.

"Oh, w-what did you say?" I stammered.

Carina sighed. "How much did you study today?"

"I haven't today, but I did all day yesterday!" I answered.

Before Carina could say another word, Frankie burst into Alicio's room again. "Alicio, Alicio! Mom wants you!"

"Um, be right back," said Alicio awkwardly, but Carina had had enough and was ticked.

"You know what?" Carina said angrily. "Don't come back; we'll see you tomorrow." Alicio tried to say something else but Carina closed down her webcam. "Sheesh, his family is so annoying," she said through clenched teeth. "I can't stand them, especially his mother. What woman gets pregnant when her kids are in high school anyway?"

Truthfully, I didn't think Carina had the right to say that, but I wasn't going to piss her off anymore than she already was.

"Come on, let's get started on some practice tests," Carina grumbled. "And by the way, we'll talk about a project I'm working on later as well…"

I pulled out my laptop and pulled up the SAT Prep website. Alicio was lucky; he got to be with his family and have a good time. My heart wasn't in this at all—rather it as back at home with Lucas. Did he miss me? Gah! I had to snap myself out of it! But then my phone began to vibrate in a rhythm that told me I had an e-mail. "How is Riolu?" was the message from Akira—I couldn't help smiling to myself. "He's fine! I named him Lucas!" I wrote back. I wanted to tell Akira all about Lucas but that would have to wait till tomorrow…when Carina wasn't around. Yes, it would take me a while before I really, truly understood….


OOC: Is everyone as annoyed by Carina as I am? Sheesh!

 

[Pheonix]

SQUEEEEE!!!! Lucas is sooo cute! ^^

I think you captured an energetic baby pokemon really well! And the Diaz family really needs to have some sense slapped into them. >< At least Amanda is still young enough to want to still be a kid. I can't wait till their world explodes into happy fun time >:3

Keep up the great work here! I absolutely love how these Diaries work with your writing style. I eagerly await to hear what happens next to our intrepid young high school smarties. ^^

 

[Secad MS]

How ka-ute! Lucas is sweet. I wonder when he shall get a ball, or shall he stay a sort of pet?

There's Pokemon clothes?! Do they make them species-by-species, or something?! That would get rather expensive. Then again, I'm sure their family could afford it.

Ergh, mom fight. I hate those, but you wrote it wonderfully, Reina!

 

[Psycho Monkey]

If I haven't told you this already Carmen, you're a genius. If I have told you, then you're still a genius.

Lucas is just so adorable I could hug him. I hope that the power of cuteness can defeat Miguela and show Gail the true meaning of life.

I think Alicio also has some good in him, but like Gail doesn't want his 'friends' to see. Maybe if we get an entry from his perspective we can see what he really thinks.