(Rena's POV)
"And that's Ponte over there." Rhythimi pointed to a boy with puffy green hair who was standing in the lunch line.
"Okay. Noted." I nodded my head, committing that person to memory.
We were sitting at our lunch table, just Rhythimi and I. Well, her Eevee was sleeping in her lap and Mightyena was sitting next to me, stuffing his snout into my pokepuff case and raiding it---hey, wait a second!
I grabbed the pokepuff case off of the floor and stuffed it into my bag, shooting Mightyena a look of disapproval. He just sulked and curled up on the floor.
Anyways, as I was saying... Rhythimi's Eevee is ALWAYS sleeping. We're not really sure why. Although, it is pretty funny when he and Keith fall asleep together. Napping buddies for life! Anyways... Keith hasn't gotten here yet, and Mr. Kincaid asked Isaac to stay after class to work on a project of some sort. We had already bought our lunches and found a table in the cafeteria, and Rhythimi took this opportunity to tell me about other classmates. I need to know at least a little bit about everyone here so I can establish who's competition, a threat, someone I need to avoid, etc.
"So, what's special about Ponte?" I asked her, taking a perfectly round bite out of my apple.
Rhythimi set her carton of orange juice down for a moment. "He's the school's renowned 'conflicted-marshmallow-boy.' He can't decide what he wants to become: Ranger, Operator, Mechanic, or Scientist." Rhythimi explained.
I just raised an eyebrow at the strange nickname, but decided not to question it. All of a sudden, a large pack of ten or so girls came running in. They were practically pushing and shoving their way through the crowd, knocking over people like crazy. They seemed hyper excited about something, and they quickly got their lunches and sat down.
I just laughed arrogantly at their ridiculous behavior. "And who are those freaks?" I asked, beginning to munch on my sandwich.
Rhythimi just laughed. "You don't know? Those girls are Keith's 'fan club.' Although, I'm not sure why they're so obsessed with him. I mean, sure, he's insanely rich, but he's...Keith." Rhythimi gagged, and I nearly choked on my sandwich at her funny facial expression. "Anyways... They practically follow him around everywhere, take pictures, and they all have it set in their right mind that they should be the one dating the shockingly single red-head." Rhythimi explained, rolling her eyes.
This caught my attention, and I was immediately on my guard. I began profiling these girls, glancing over at their table. "Sounds like a bunch of crazy and obsessive stalkers if you ask me." I rested my elbows on the table, leaning forwards and menacingly staring over at my new-found competition.
"That's pretty much what they are!" Rhythimi laughed, not noticing my odd behavior towards Keith's fan club and how I immediately took interest in them.
My serious facade faltered, and we were both laughing really hard at our joke. But, we immediately stopped at the presence of a certain ginger-haired girl. She strutted into the cafeteria like she owned the place with that same Purrloin on her shoulders. Three girls followed close behind her, and they had some sort of pompous, regal air around them. Over all, these four girls seemed stuck up and thought they were way better than everyone else.
"And who is that girl over there, Rhythimi?" I glared at the ginger-girl, jerking my head in her direction. I wanted to be subtle and not obviously point directly at her.
"Oh." Rhythimi scrunched up her nose, disgusted by this one girl. "That's Kim Daley, the queen bee of everything mean. Those three girls behind her are what I like to call 'satellites,' because they practically orbit Kim." A shadow was cast over Rhythimi's eyes, and I felt like she was withholding something from me. "Take my advice, Rena, and avoid Kim at all costs. She's a total bitch and a bully." Rhythimi huffed, crossing her arms.
I let it slide for now. I'll ask Rhythimi about why she was acting so weird later. "I could tell." I nodded, agreeing with her. "Last night, during the test of courage, she was practically glaring at me the whole time. What was all that about? I never even did anything to her---" I cut myself off as I saw Keith enter the room, and Kim practically pounced him. She was all over him, trying to make conversation and flirt with him. "Oh..." I growled under my breath and narrowed my eyes at her, figuring it out.
"Yeah..." Rhythimi sighed, looking over at Keith and Kim. He didn't really seem interested and just kept walking over to get his lunch. Kim followed. "Kim and Keith are the two rich-kid-prodigies at this school. Keith's Dad owns a Styler manufacturing company, amongst other gadgets, and Kim's Uncle is the creator of the Poketch. They're based in Sinnoh." Rhythimi explained.
"Then why do you think she already hates me?" I asked, keeping tabs on Keith and Kim with a watchful eye.
"She probably sees you as competition for Keith." Rhythimi's voice suddenly grew much quieter. "She's after him and probably sees you as a threat of some sort." Rhythimi stared down at her tray, mindlessly stirring her yogurt with her spoon. "Kim will do anything to get Keith all to herself..." Rhythimi's voice was barely audible at this point, and I had to strain to hear her. Okay, something is definitely up.
I decided to voice my reaction amusingly to her statement to try and cheer her up. "Keith and I? An item? HAH!" I scoffed, nearly falling over laughing at Rhythimi's accusation. "No way! I don't like him!"
"Really?" Rhythimi shot me a wide-eyed expression, truly astonished. "But I thought you two---oh never mind." She grinned, pretending to zip her mouth shut.
I immediately dropped everything that I was doing and stared at her skeptically. My serious facade faded away instantly at her teasing words. "What were you about to say?" I stared at her suspiciously.
"Oh, nothing!" Rhythimi smiled innocently. "I'll tell you later! And besides...we have company." Rhythimi snarled that last part, and that's when I realized what she was talking about.
Kim, accompanied by her three satellites and Keith, came over to our table. Kim looked me up and down, then did me the great honor of bestowing her devilish smirk upon me. "Rena, was it?" She asked for my name, not really caring whether she got it right or not.
"Yes, that's my name." I stood up from my seat, and the tension increased by the second. "Rena Deveraux. And you're Kim Daley, if I'm not mistaken." I looked her up and down, just as she did with me.
Keith and Rhythimi just watched as Kim scoffed. "Wow, you actually are observant and slightly intelligent? And to think I thought so much less of you when you first got here." She smirked deviously, antagonizing me.
A vein bulged from my forehead, and Rhythimi had to place her hand on my arm. "Rena, don't..." She whispered, having a pretty good feeling about what I was going to do.
"Your uniform...it just doesn't look right." Kim wondered thoughtfully, pointing to my school uniform. "Oh, I know! It needs this!" Kim snickered, picking up a carton of cranberry juice.
In one swift movement, she threw the drink on me, soaking my uniform thoroughly. I had little time to react, so I couldn't dodge it. Keith, Kim, and her satellites laughed, amused with what she did. I just gaped at her, completely ticked off.
I lunged for her, but Rhythimi reacted quicker and struggled to restrain me. "No, Rena! Don't hit her! It's not worth expulsion!"
"Alright, I think that's enough, Kim..." Keith laughed, but he was quickly drowned out by Kim throwing more taunts at my face.
Kim inched her face closer to me and pointed to her cheek, taunting me. "Go ahead and do it. We all know that no one will be sad to see you go." She sneered, ticking me off more.
"I'm not going to hit her---" I reassured Rhythimi. "---just choke her until her eyeballs pop out!" I growled menacingly, and so did Mightyena. Mightyena had serious trouble refraining from attacking Kim; Keith's Buizel had to hold him back. And of course, Rhythimi's Eevee just slept through the whole thing.
Rhythimi put me in some weird headlock, and I was actually having a hard time getting out of it. She dragged me away from the lunch table, and our Pokemon followed. (Well, Mightyena carried the sleeping Eevee on his back...) We left the laughing Kim and Keith behind, and I couldn't help but feel like I lost a minor battle. What a bitch... I'll enact my revenge soon. Very soon.
Rhythimi pulled me into one of the bathrooms nearby and quickly grabbed a bunch of paper towels. "I'm sorry about that, Rena." Rhythimi gave me a sympathetic look, helping me get as much of the cranberry juice off as I could. "Kim is a real bitch, and I guess she's made you out to be her new victim."
"Is she not going to get in trouble for this?!" I asked in an agitated tone, blotting the juice off of my blue skirt.
"No, I'm afraid not." Rhythimi sighed, taking off my yellow tie and running it under some water. "Kim's Uncle is a major sponsor for the Ranger School, so the teachers pretty much let her get away with anything. She'd have to do something pretty serious to get expelled, let alone get in trouble at all." Rhythimi inhaled sharply, very annoyed. "You see, I was once in your shoes, so I would know."
I just stared at her, drawing back a little in shock. "What...?"
"Yeah." Rhythimi wore a sad, painfully forced smile. "You see, Keith and I have been best friends since we were five. I knew him long before I even met Isaac." Rhythimi began to explain. "And unfortunately.... We've all known Kim since then, too." She rung out the water from my yellow tie, then wore a look of disappointment when she saw that the stain still remained. "Since I was Keith's only female friend, naturally, Kim got jealous and sought out to get rid of me. Although, at the time, I didn't know that..." She trailed off, taking a seat on the edge of the sink. "Kim pretended to be my friend to get close enough to me to bring me down and embarrass me in front of Keith. She was my first girl friend, or at least...I thought she was..." Tears welled up in Rhythimi's eyes as memories of the past came flooding back. "She was as mean and diabolical back then as she is now. She manipulated me and lied to my face, pretending to be my friend JUST to hurt me. I've had issues trusting people since then..." Rhythimi looked up from the floor and flashed a bright smile at me. "But, you're different than her, so I actually trust you!"
The sound of my soul shattering sounded like a car crash. I felt a massive wave of overwhelming guilt wash over me.
I...don't even know what to say to her...
I stared into Rhythimi's eyes intensely as if I was searching for something. I was at a loss for words. I feel a little bad, because I'm about to do the same thing to her...
I then perked up and struggled to change the subject, remembering something. "Rhythimi...what were you about to say back there?" I asked her, and she froze in place.
"Well..." She started to say, running a hand through her hair. "I thought that you two liked each other! You guys would make a cute couple, you know. And I don't just tell that to any girl." She said casually, and I just dropped my jaw.
Us? A couple? Hah, no! I just have to stay close to him for the job, that's all! Speaking of, I should probably make that phone call later.
"Oh, this is just pointless!" Rhythimi threw the tie down the floor, snapping me out of my thoughts. "We're never going to get this juice out!" Rhythimi huffed, very flustered. "Let's just go back to our room and I'll let you borrow one of my spares until Janice can order you a new one." She said, grabbing my wrist and dragging me out of the bathroom and up the stairs towards our dorm room.
I just laughed at how quickly she gave up, complying and going upstairs to change.
Let's just hope I still have that card....
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It was nighttime, and Rhythimi and I were in our dorm. I rummaged through my suitcase until I found that card with the number on it, then pulled out my cell phone. Rhythimi went into the bathroom to take off her makeup, which would give me some time to make this call. I crept out onto the balcony, shutting the sliding glass door behind me. I dialed the number on my phone and held it to my ear, waiting for the person on the other line to pick up.
RING RING! RING RING!
Click!
"Hello?" A guy picked up, and I could tell by his voice that he wasn't the mystery man who hired me. He must be a subordinate of some sort. He sounds like he's in his mid-twenties.
"Hey, who is this? It's Deveraux reporting in." I spoke irritably, and I could tell that I caught the person's attention.
"Oh! Deveraux!" The guy greeted me, and he sounded a little arrogant. "The boss put me in charge of communications, so I'll be handling your reports from now on. You can just call me Ice." Ice introduced himself, and I could practically feel him smirking from the other line.
What a weird name. "So basically you're my babysitter from now on?" I groaned, slapping my forehead and slowly dragging my hand down my face. Seriously, boss? I'm an independent woman, and I don't need a babysitter.
"That would be correct, Deveraux." Ice laughed, then grew serious. "Alright, noob. What's your first report about? You wouldn't have called if something didn't happen today." Ice said, and boy was he right. I snarled at the 'noob' comment. "Oh come on. Chill, chill! I was just teasing." Ice sorta apologized.
I just rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Anyways, I ran into a beauty queen today who could mean trouble. She has her eyes on the mark and has already made it her personal mission to destroy me." I explained, and I heard Ice mutter something. He must be thinking it over.
"Do I need to arrange an...accident...for her?" Ice asked, and I knew what he was suggesting.
"Oh Arceus no!" I whisper-shouted, a little alarmed at his question. "No no, you don't need to kill her!" Yet... "Don't worry, I'll take care of her. I was just letting you know."
Kill her!? Just what kind of business does the boss run?? Sigh... Remember what he once said, Rena, and never forget.
"Rena, listen closely, and never forget this. When someone offers you a job, only ask them the necessary questions. Asking too many can get you killed."
His words came flooding back into my mind like a distant memory. After they faded, I tuned back into my phone call with Ice.
"Hmm...alright, Deveraux. I'll trust your judgement on this." Ice mused, and I sighed in relief. "Tell me her name at least. That way I can spend some time digging up some information on her that might prove useful to you." He asked.
"Kim Daley." I furrowed my brow at just the mention of her name. "Her Uncle is apparently the Poketch creator or something." I told him, getting ready to hang up.
I heard the sound of a pencil on paper, and I think he was writing it down. "Mmhmm, alright. Thanks for the report, Deveraux. I'll call you on your cell tomorrow morning with the info." Ice said, and I could tell he was about to hang up.
"Oh, wait! Ice!" I quickly spoke up, catching his attention.
"Hmm? Yes?" Ice mused, lingering a moment longer for what I was about to say.
"Umm..." I hesitated. "Thanks." I felt awkward as I thanked him, but I felt compelled to. He seems pretty nice, actually.
I'm pretty sure Ice was smiling at this point. "It was no trouble. I'll talk to you tomorrow."
Click!
I turned off my phone with a content smile and walked back into the room. I found Rhythimi waiting right there, shooting me a skeptical look.
"Rena, what were you doing out there...?" She asked me, curiously.
"Oh!" I started to speak as I hastily shoved my phone in my back pocket, making up an excuse to tell her. "I was just thinking something over." I brushed her off, and she seemed to buy it.
"Oh, okay then! Goodnight, Rena!" She smiled, climbing up the ladder to her top bunk.
I shut off the light and layed in my bed for a few minutes. I waited until I heard the soft and gentle snoring coming from both Rhythimi and Eevee. Mightyena jumped off of my bed and grabbed a small black bag out of my suitcase, bringing it over to me.
"Thanks, boy." I smiled, petting his head and taking the bag from him.
I quietly tiptoed towards my door with the bag of rash-inducing itching powder, making my way over to Kim's dorm room. Mightyena followed close behind, keeping an eye out for teachers lurking in the night. I never go anywhere without my partner and best friend. I wonder where Kim stores her makeup and clothes in her room, since everyone's is different... Oh well. I'm sure I'll figure it out.
Kim, let me offer you some advice. Never mess with someone far out of your league, bitch.
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So I think you can guess what Rena's about to do to Kim XD if it wasn't obvious, she's putting the itching powder on her clothes and in her makeup. Bwahahahaha..... that's always a fun prank to do.... Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!
Read, comment, vote, and enjoy!