Liar, Liar | Pokémon Fanfiction

02 | A Bad, Bad Idea

"Are you depressed now because your best friend dumped you for her new man?"

"Shut up, Claire."

"Sorry... I guess."

I bite rather aggressively into my granola bar as I side-eye my younger sister. She ignores me as she continues eating her cereal, unbothered by the metaphorical daggers I'm flinging her way. Claire has always been tactless in her words; if she thought of something, she said it outright. It's both a blessing and a curse. Today, however, it's the latter. The last thing I need is salt rubbed in my wounds at 6:30 in the morning.

"Watch your language," Dad scolds as he enters the kitchen, apparently only having caught the last bits of our exchange. Like a zombie, he hobbles to the coffee machine and pours himself a big cup of joe. He's always grumpy like this on Mondays.

"Sorry," I say, worrying for Dad's health as he pours heaping tablespoons of sugar into his drink. "Claire was bugging me about Juliette."

He sighs and gives my sister a half-hearted Stern Dad Look™ that would've been a lot more effective had he allotted himself more time to sleep. "Claire, don't joke around like that. You know Lyla's hurt by what happened yesterday."

"I said I was sorry," Claire says around a mouthful of Champion Crunch. Growlithe sits at her feet wagging his tail in hopes she'll drop some food for him. I sigh when she sneaks him a handful of cereal; he's going to become such a fat but happy Pokémon.

"It's whatever," I say. "I think I'm going to talk to her about it today."

"She might've realized she was wrong this weekend and wants to make things right," Dad offers, trying to cheer me up as he notices my frown.

I fake a smile to trick him into thinking I'm optimistic about this situation. "Maybe." I doubt it, but they don't need to know that. "I have to head off."

"Be careful heading out," Dad says, pressing a kiss against my head as I hug him. "Don't have too much fun in your last days at school."

"I won't," I assure, this time telling the truth. "Bye, Claire. Bye, Growlithe."

"Bye."

"Arf!"

Growlithe follows me outside only to sit down when I open the gate. His head tilts as I slip through it, and I give him a little wave. He barks again and wags his tail. What a good boy.

The warm, gentle wind stirs my bangs as I traverse the familiar roads leading to Cherrygrove Academy. In the distance, I can hear the crashing of waves lapping at the shores; it was nice of the architects to build the school near the beach. It's so early in the morning that the blue sky has traces of pink and gold lingering in its clouds. Some citizens are already outside with their small Pokémon to get an early start on the day's chores. As I wait on one corner for the red light to turn green, I watch a cute old lady water her flowers alongside a smiling Sunflora. The scene makes me grin.

For a moment in time, I forget my woes. I show up to school half an hour early and head to the library to my locker to gather my books for the day. With practiced ease, I unlatch my lock and shift through my things. Once I shut it, I jump.

A classmate stands on the other side of where my locker door with her an impish smirk stretched across her face. "Good morning," she greets.

"Arceus, Skylar, you scared me half to death," I say, wiping away imaginary sweat off my forehead. Inside, though, my guard is raised. Skylar, my diligent vice president of the Newspaper Club and manager of the class' social media, is obviously talking to me for one reason and one reason only. "What's up?"