Pokemon High School

Chapter 14: Closing In

Huh. Somehow did most of this in half an hour. Granted, it IS a shorter chapter, but give me credit where it's due! I wanted to get this done before 7:00, because I have stuff to do, but wow... I got done way faster than expected. Anyway, to make this short and sweet, enjoy the chapter and don't forget to leave questions. The end is drawing near, my friends.

Also, the Gravity Falls reference was SO worth adding in. Anyone else watching Wierdmageddon Part 3 today?

Ash awoke yet again to a beeping alarm clock and the sparks of Pikachu flying around him. "I'm up!" The boy yelled, throwing the sheets over his partner out of panic. Ash laughed as he threw the sheets off of Pikachu, who jumped onto his master's shoulder. Time for school again. Then it was gonna be fun, no doubt about it.

Ash put on a black hoodie as he went out toward the road. It was strangely cold today, but that was the least of his concerns. He hurried on to school and sat down at the table everyone commonly gathered at. Gary, Leaf, and Misty walked up a few minutes later.

"Hey Ash! Excited for tomorrow?" Misty chirped. Ash nodded; it's only natural to be excited for your birthday.

"You got any idea of what you want?" Leaf asked. Ash leaned back for a second. "Not a clue," he sighed.

"A Thunder Stone, perhaps?" Gary said, smirking at Pikachu. The yellow Pokemon growled at him as May and Drew sat down.

"So... tired..." May whined, dropping her head on the table with a loud bang. Strangely, she didn't seem to notice. Drew tried to comfort her by patting her back, which didn't seem to help any.

"What's wrong with her?" Ash asked, concern in his voice.

"I tried watching a full marathon of a cartoon without stopping..." May groaned, "but I didn't know it lasted for three full days. And they're just replaying episodes!" She cried with a tired voice.

"Hm? What show?" Leaf asked.

"Gravity Fa-" May was cut off by her lack of sleep. She slumped over and hit her head on the table again, still unaware of any pain.

"And I thought Misty had a thick skull!" Gary laughed. He stopped when Misty smacked the back of his head. "I could say the same to you!" The redhead yelled at him.

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At lunch, everyone was chatting as usual. Dawn looked around and was surprised. Serena wasn't there.

"Where is Serena?" Dawn asked, wanting an answer.

Lyra took a sip of her water and looked at Dawn with a smirk. "Oh, she said she was gonna be pretty late today. Something about going into town."

Dawn was surprised. There was no mention of this yesterday. Why didn't she say anything.

Yesterday. Dawn's face flushed with anger about it. Really, it was a mix of anger and embarrassment. Why did Serena do that? And who was the guy she was interested in? So many questions...

The blunette snapped back into reality when she heard Lyra calling her name. "Hey, you wanna go to the park later?" Lyra asked.

Dawn was used to this; Lyra was always up for going on a walk. Unfortunately, today wouldn't work out too well. 

"Sorry, I have cheerleading tryouts this afternoon," Dawn said, scratching her cheek.

"Oh..." Lyra muttered, looking at the doorway. "Will tomorrow work then?"

Dawn shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

A few minutes later, Serena Yvonne walked through the doorway. Except this wasn't Serena Yvonne. She had much shorter hair, a new hat, and a pink dress with a red vest, as opposed to her gray-with-red-skirt look.

Serena sat down as everyone's jaws dropped. Except for Lyra, strangely.

"What?" Serena asked.

"You changed!" May cried, still extremely sleep-deprived.

Serena giggled. "A little."

Leaf leaned toward her with a smug look. "Trying to catch someone's attention, eh?" She motioned her head toward the boy's table.

Serena smiled and glanced at Dawn, who was still in shock. "Not quite."

"So why the change?" Misty asked.

Serena giggled once more. "I have my reasons."

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After school, Serena approached Ash quickly.

"Hey Ash, I was wondering-"

Ash stepped back in surprise. "Wha-What happened?"

Serena laughed. "I got a makeover. You like it?"

Ash looked up and down, nodding without a word. Pikachu laughed at his master.

"Anyway, Ash, I was wondering if you wanted to go for a walk tomorrow in the park."

Ash glanced around and folded his arms. "But tomorrow's my birthday! I was gonna be home!"

Serena put her hand on his shoulder. "Oh, it won't be long. You game?"

Ash looked at her and grinned. "Fine, but it better not take long."

Ash hurried off while Serena stood on the sidewalk. Lyra walked up from behind her and gave her a push on the back. "Are we clear?" Lyra asked.

Serena turned and gave a thumbs up. "Yep. Phase One complete."

Lyra shook her head. "Was the makeover really necessary?"

Serena put her foot down in offense. "Excuse me? Of course. Otherwise, I may not have moved on so easily!"

Lyra shrugged. "4:30, got it?"

Serena nodded. This was going to be interesting.