A mass of students fled the classroom. Some laughing and relieved—others carrying themselves outside with slumped shoulder.
Rika stood beside the crowd, waiting for the mob to disperse. Mumbling to herself, she packed her stuff into her backpack, which shone just as blue as her eyes.
She could hardly wait for kickboxing training tomorrow, ready to unleash all her anger on innocent civilians. But first, she would have to survive today, most importantly, the practical exam.
A grip wrapping around her waist, squeezing her tightly.
She blushed, letting out a furious scream and slammed the back of her fist behind herself, where she expected the attacker’s face. As a response, the grip loosened, accompanied by a miserable yelp.
Suddenly, Rika snapped out of her fighting stance and glanced at the floor. A familiar figure lay up to her feet, with two bumps on his head.
“You can’t just do that!” Rika yelled. “I thought you’re some creep!”
Though, thinking about it, perhaps he was precicely that. A creepy, pubescent pervert. For a 14-year-old boy, however, that could be considered normal.
Rika mustered him intendedly, then shaking her head.
No, not Mason.
The only thing this boy had space for in his mind were video games and Pokémon battles. It was the one time Rika was happy about his nerdy nature.
“Ouchy...” Mason looked at her with a pouting expression. Rika feared he would start crying any moment—nothing more annoying than a baby there was.
Sighing, Rika held out a hand to him. It served less to help him up and more as a proof that she was sorry. Although she wasn’t.
“You’re even scarier than a Hariyama sometimes…” Maison said as he rubbed his forehead. Besides the red, fist shaped stamp that adorned his face, the Chesto Berry’S indentation was just as visible.
But should she really feel bad about that? If it wasn’t for her, his Pokémon trainer journey would’ve been over before it ever began.
This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Yet, she winced as she heard herself say, “Sorry...”, which made Mason’s eyes sparkle as if he’d been waiting to hear those words for ages. He jumped up in an instance, and then—for whatever reason—smiled at Rika, tilting his head, and opening his arms wide.
Rika pretended not to understand.
“Huggies?” Mason asked in a hopeful tone, to which she only responded with grumbling noises.
As if his gesture wasn’t enough, Mason put on a begging face like an Azurill to convince her. Unfortunately for him, this only fueled Rika’s desire to punch him in the face.
“Come on~” Mason hummed, wiggling his eyebrows, “no one will see. I know, deep down, you’re a softie.”
Any other guy would’ve broken his neck by now. But Mason wasn’t man enough to make Rika lose control. Lucky for him, she considered him more as a child, or girl... maybe even a Pokémon.
She took a deep breath before emitting a drawn-out “fine,” and returned the hug.
As if to comfort her, Mason tapped her back a few times, whispering in her ear. “Thanks for saving my ass.”
“Yeah, yeah… no problem…” Rika said more than she meant it. “Just stop with the gaming sessions before important exams. Or whatever you’ve been up to.”
After releasing the hug, Mason saluted to her. “Understood, Miss!”
“You’re not taking this seriously, are you?” Rika asked desperately. “There’s still the practical part of the exam waiting for us in a couple of hours.”
“No, no, no!” Mason shook his head. “It’s just that with a friend like you, I’ve got nothing to worry about!” He laughed with a bright smile and leaned onto her. Only then did he notice Rika had stepped to the side, causing him to lose his balance. He rotated his arms in wide circles, trying to stop himself from falling.
“You better not rely on me too much,” Rika said, watching her friend stumble backward. “Who knows how long we’re gonna stay together...”
As Mason finally caught his footing again, he gave Rika a thumbs up, proud of his artistic maneuver. “Well, forever, of course!”
“I’m not sure if my psyche can handle that.”
“For that, you look pretty happy, though,” Mason smirked. And Rika flinched. He was right. She smiled, albeit only slightly. It unsettled her somehow.
“Yeah, because you’re looking so stupid!” Rika pointed at him, but started giggling unwillingly as Mason grimaced, imitating the face of a Grimer.
However, when she heard someone mimicking her voice in the distance, Rika fell silent. It wasn’t the funny kind of mimic. Rather sassy. Then followed laughter. It echoed from a small group at the end of the hall. Rika glanced over, knew immediately.
Shaniqua.
Stupid Jynx.
“What’s wrong?” Mason worried. “Are you hungry? You’re eyes always start twitching when you are.”
“Yeah, I could eat a whole human right now.”
“I know what to do about that!” Mason said, grabbing her hand. Rika’s eyes, however, remained fixated on her prey.
Lucky for Shaniqua, she had had left before Rika could beat her up.
Lucky for Rika, the practical exam offered a perfect opportunity to settle this once and for all.