Rave The Rich
NOT the other 'Rave'
Now For Chapter Number Thirty-Six!
@CB: Good on Sandra to set her mom straight, indeed. If I talked to my mom like she did, I'd probably get slapped. You're also right about how it was not completely successful, but that can change, right?
People liked the Harley/Max reconciliation more than any other part of this chapter, which sort of surprised me when I found that out. It got resolved quickly because the guys realized they overreacted to both situations and made it into more than what it actually was.
Jimmy and Marina's problems are far from over and appear to be (on my radar) to be the most toxic in nature, relationship wise. It will lead to another set of confrontations that might signal the end of one union. Who knows? And finally, Solana and her fellow Rangers sure do have very big goals. The only thing standing in their way might be their ability...and a ticked off Dawn, according to your thoughts. ^__^
Now for the next chapter! Enjoy and be merry!
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4127100/36/All_Roads_Lead_to_the_Grand_Festival
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this. Please do not flame.
(Chapter 36- Childhood and How to Turn a Skeptic)
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With dinner winding down for the swinging foursome in The Stuff Shop, the focus now turns to dessert. While Conway and Kenny are conservative with their choices as the former partakes in a small slice of cheesecake and the latter decides on a bowl of strawberry ice cream with sprinkles on top, Zoey and Holly treat the unofficial fourth meal just like it is their absolute last. Holly fixed for herself a large sundae with brownies, nuts and drenched in enormous globs of hot fudge and caramel. Zoey has just returned from the buffet with her third helping of peach cobbler. To wash it all down, she also has a glass of chocolate milk.
“Is the dessert good, ladies?” Conway questions.
“Yeah,” Zoey answers. “Why else would I keep coming back?”
“The law of diminishing returns makes me wonder why you haven’t grown tired of having nothing but peach cobbler.”
“I beg your pardon? The law of…what?”
“It’s the law of diminishing returns,” Holly remarks. “It’s more or less a theory that after patronizing a product or service that you initially like a number of times, you slowly begin to like the item in question less and less.” After a few seconds of staring at Holly, the two more experienced swingers collect themselves once more and nod their heads.
Kenny is especially impressed at Holly’s knowledge. In front of all the people in the booth, he elbows his girlfriend and makes the statement, “Who says knowledge isn’t sexy?”
“I sure don’t.”
“Well I can’t take full credit for that,” she admits. “Conway told me about that one day and after giving it a lot of thought, I realized that it makes a heck of a lot of sense.”
“It does, honestly, but for now I want to know something else about you…and what you know.” After taking a swig of her chocolate milk, the teen tomboy asks the older girl next door, “I want to know what moment or moments in your life led you to doing this? We’ve mentioned some reasons in abstract terms, but I really want to find out some specific reasons.”
“I see,” Holly replies while she continues to partake in her mountain of ice cream. “Well, I must tell you, this is where things get…pretty complicated and interesting all at the same time.”
“Holly, I don’t know if you understand it by now,” Kenny interjects, “but the lives which Zoey and I live are the definition of ‘complicated and interesting’. I promise you; whatever it is, we’ve likely heard it before.”
“I hope you’re not embarrassed at this juncture because if you are then I don’t think you’re ready.”
“Oh no. It’s just hard for me to imagine that…it was these small moments in time that caused me to have feelings that have not left me even after more than a decade of living a mostly straight life. I don’t want you to think that I’m ashamed of any of this but I do believe that many things should remain private.”
“That’s your right,” her soon-to-be partner claims.
“Okay Zoey and Kenny. Here goes. It is not unusual for young kids at the grammar school age to have crushes on their teachers. I suppose it did not help that most of my male teachers were older men who often reminded me of my father or grandfather. I’m sorry, but I don’t consider that look a turn on rather that look reminds me of an individual with great wisdom and someone to look up to.
“In any event, I will admit that I never had any crushes on my grade school teachers and this dates all the way back to the third grade. The crushes I did have were on my fellow students. Though they were the epitome of childhood crushes, they formed the basis of feelings that would develop later in life. Zoey and Kenny, do you remember how I told you both that most of my tween years I spent experimenting with kissing…in and out of restrooms and that was the extent of my sex life at the time like many other kids that age?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Well that experimenting almost involved girls as well.” Both Kenny and Zoey look at the oldest of the swingers with little to no surprise on their faces. Their only call is for Holly to define what ‘almost’ means. “The whole thing about me being confused had its real birth occur when I was thirteen years old. It happened when a new kid came to our city in Sinnoh with her family. Compared to my very traditionalist family brought up in a…not-so-strict Jewish and Christian household, she might have been a bad influence to most of us. But she was my age, we hit it off quite well and to tell you the truth, I have never met anyone so confident, charismatic, upstanding, and as good a role model for any girls out there as she was for her age.
“I know I should not throw out this word so cavalierly but ‘radical’ is the word that fits and describes her better than any other word. She wore tie-dye much of the time and dressed quite revolutionary for a young teen. I never personally saw anyone wear dreadlocks until I saw her. Not to sound racist or stereotypical but I’ve always associated that hairstyle with blacks and those living in the Caribbean. She was whiter than I am, though…and she was younger than me!”
“Interesting,” Kenny remarks as his dessert becomes secondary while he hangs onto Holly’s words. “Who was she?”
“Uh,” she hesitates, “that…out of respect for her I will not say her name. She died not too long after I met her.”
“Oh, man,” Zoey laments. “She had to be what? Fourteen years old when she died?”
“Yes. She lived life to the fullest and held to her feelings on certain matters until her death. In any event, for the time I got to know her she taught me so much. I learned how important it is for young people to stand on their feet when needed but at the same time show respect to us all. She didn’t do it in so many words but…the things she did and how she did them made all the difference in my mind. I admired her for her great spirit.
“We went to school together and no more than two weeks into her arrival, I hear the rumors that she played for the other team. Other friends of mine asked me to stay away from her or I might get turned gay myself.”
“Ah, youthful ignorance,” the redheaded teen says facetiously.
“I didn’t talk to her about what my friends said about her because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings but after a while, I really started to wonder if my other friends had a point or not. One day she invited me over for a sleepover and I wondered if and how I would address the matter. When I went there, I met with her parents again. They are great people and I’m happy to call them my friends even after so many years that their only daughter has passed on. That evening her parents left us to just enjoy movies, pizza and sleeping bag talk. After a while…I noticed things turning a corner in terms of the mood.
“The first thing I noticed was the…choice of entertainment. It was not so much that her parents allowed her to pick out ‘R’ rated movies but the types of movies we watched had a certain theme. I didn’t really pay attention until I actually saw the films. The first one was…a bit more light hearted in nature. It was Under the Tuscan Sun.”
“Hmm. Seems light when you think about it,” Kenny interjects. “I remember that movie from not that long ago. Mom and dad saw it together and said that it was good. They also told me that they could have done without the lesbian couple expecting a child.” After shaking his head for a moment, he then makes the claim, “That’s a personal threshold for both of them that I’m sure they did not think they would have to be faced with when they were my age. For obvious reasons their reactions were different compared to someone like me, but I think that if you asked them now, their feelings on the matters might have changed some. Who knows?”
“Well, here’s what I do know,” Holly continues, “even though I only knew her for…a year at the most, she was one of the smartest people I’ve ever met in my life. She knew that if I had any doubts or any questions about her intentions, I wouldn’t bite and would likely turn away from her in disgust.”
“Intentions, Holly?”
“If you haven’t already figured it out,” she answers, “she did have feelings for me and by the end of that night, she admitted just about everything to me. From that…warm up movie, she moved to D.E.B.S. and then she wrapped up the night with Personal Best.”
“Damn! She pulled out all of the stops if that’s the case!”
“Just listen for the rest of the story, Zoey,” Conway cautions the younger girl. As his eyes slowly start to become red, his voice waivers as he says, “You just gotta listen. I know it sounds…unconventional, but there is a lesson to be learned here.”
“By the time we got to the middle of that last film, the question came up. I kept telling her things about what my friends have been saying about her and…it’s interesting that not once did she deny anything to me or say that none of it was true, but I never out and out asked her and she never said ‘no’ to any of my assumptions. So I kept just trying to put together the clues before she told me that she really liked me and thought that I was a sweet girl. She was attracted to me. ‘Very much so’ were her words to describe the feelings.
“She went into these lengthy discussions with me and her ultimate message was that she’s been looking for a girl for a while and that there is no control of the heart. She asked me to consider us being…more than just friends. I made it clear to her that I did not know what to make of it and that I felt kind of scared thinking of her in that light. I asked her for some time to think about making a decision like that, with her and I essentially becoming girlfriends if I did say yes, and she gave me what I wanted.
“Back then, I did not know if I was in love with this girl or not,” admits the young carrot top. “It begs repeating; I admired her. I loved how she showed no fear when our fellow classmates were as cruel as they were during that time. I liked how we both learned from each other and complimented one another. What I grew to learn during our brief time together was that she was very patient with me as far as waiting for an answer to her question from the night of the sleepover. After some time, I finally decided that it was true. I did have feelings for her…but only her. That made questions about my orientation even more convoluted than I once thought. It was my idea that if I learn more about her, we can go from that stage of being more than just friends to whatever we wanted.
“I called her that day and asked her to come to my house so that I could essentially tell her that we could be girlfriends. I wasn’t too keen on the idea of being out and I wanted her to know that in this meeting.” At this moment, Holly finds it difficult to continue with her story. She visibly begins to shake and hang her head low at the upcoming portion of her true tale. “Oh my God.”
“Just tell the story, Holly,” Conway assures his girlfriend. “You can’t blame yourself for this. We’ve talked about it! This is one of the reasons why you were so conflicted, right?”
“I know,” she tearfully replies, “but I never got the chance to tell her. She walked to my house that day and I’ll never forget…the smile on her face. She just lit up our street that sunny day. Things really could have been just perfect that day. And then…I saw her walking across the street so she would be only two blocks away from my home. I faintly heard the sound of some sirens off in the distance, but I didn’t really pay attention to them until I heard a horn blare and then a crash. I saw the girl I felt I loved…flying several feet in the air and then down to the ground with a thud that just…it didn’t look good at all and I screamed louder than I’ve ever done in my life when that getaway car made a sharp turn through our neighborhood to escape the police. Witnesses at the scene say that my friend did not see the car coming until it was too late.
“I ran as quickly as I could to her and got my cell phone to call an ambulance. My folks quickly joined me and we waited for the EMTs to come. She was badly hurt, but had a pulse, which was good news. The ambulance came and we just waited. Mom, dad and a few of my siblings came along with me and we waited and waited. That’s all we could do in that situation.
“At this point, they knew that the two of us, my friend and I, quickly became good friends...but I’m sure they had no idea that we had these other feelings going through our heads. That’s the reason why I was able to get away with bawling my eyes out the entire time. I saw the accident and was…traumatized. Her parents came in after some time and we all prayed for a miracle to happen. I felt good about it for a while because we kept getting good news, but the doctors continued to operate on her and we heard the news quickly begin to get worse. She lost a lot of blood and her heart stopped. Everything went downhill very fast. We prayed so hard that afternoon, but the word came at 5:07 p.m. on June 18, 2005. She died of an abrupt loss of blood to the brain; a hemorrhage. I’m taught not to use this word, but I hate that day and I hate that time so much.
With her voice breaking, Holly makes the conclusion even after all this time to consider what her decision would be. With tears in her eyes, the oldest of the four says, “I was gonna tell her yes that day. I was ready, but I never got the chance. She got snatched from me. It could have been the start of something like…what Kelly has with May and even Ash has with Paul, but…it apparently wasn’t to be.” Pounding the table, she laments, “It’s not ****ing fair! Her parents lost a great, beautiful daughter and…out of my own goddamn selfishness; I think I might have lost at the very least a great friend and at most a partner for life. That’s why I always wonder and ask ‘what if’. That’s the reason I took this on. I had to know if I missed out or not. I don’t know. Excuse me, guys.”
“Sure,” Kenny replies with sadness. “Take your time.”
As Holly leaves to compose herself, Conway takes over the floor in her absence. “That is the story that I heard when she told me that she wanted to swing. There are a couple of other points that should be made. After the girl’s death…Holly distanced herself from the situation and seemed to go in the same path as her peers in being boy crazy and she never showed any further signs of possibly being gay. She even had boyfriends before I came along, but not once did she forget about the young girl who could have become her girlfriend almost six years ago. She wears a black armband on her right forearm in her memory. The girl was also an Academy student who specialized in the training and breeding of flying Pokémon and that’s one of the reasons why Holly has so many flyers in her arsenal. All of that is in her honor.”
“Oh, man. That’s so sad,” Zoey exclaims while trying to keep the tears out of her eyes. “No wonder she was so emotional. If I went through that much with someone at that age only to lose them so…suddenly, I’d probably lose myself in my thoughts as well.”
“Agreed,” Kenny simply answers while attempting to keep his feelings in check as well. “Man, I don’t know. I…that just—I would’ve never known that she even…”
“You never do know, Kenny. We all have very interesting stories to tell if we just listen for them.”
“What about your story, Conway?”
“Well I did promise that I would tell you guys this story,” he informs Zoey, “so here goes. It goes back to when I was just…five years old. It started back in kindergarten when a new student came to class that day. That student’s name was Paul Marin and we as the established students were expected to make his transition to our class a smooth one.
“Back then, you would have thought that the Paul at age five and the Paul from age…all the way up to seventeen were two completely different people. During that time, he was a timid, scared young boy who did not seem to…know his place. He didn’t seem to belong anywhere at all. I can understand it for a new kid to not feel like they belong somewhere, but I’ve seen new kids at every level of schooling and not once did I feel it as strongly as I did here.
“It really showed when he crossed those unspoken barriers of that age and played with girls just as often as he did the guys. Both of the sexes teased him for that tremendously and all of this happened during the first month of him being at our school. I could not count the number of times he would go to the teacher or one of the aides in tears because no one would play with him because he happened to see no problem with both boys and girls doing that.
“After a while, I got really fed up with all the undeserved teasing he got,” Conway continues. “I stood up to my fellow classmates and told them that it wasn’t cool to make fun of Paul. Some of the kids got it, and a few didn’t. That’s the way things are sometimes. When I stood up for him then, Paul wondered why I would defend him like I did. I told him that no matter what they say about you or call you, you do not deserve it. Then he asked me if I wanted to be his friend and I said yes.”
“What kind of things did the kids call him back then?”
“Oh…kids were really starting to learn the buzz words, you know?” he explains to Zoey. “Paul would hear the word ‘***’ on more than a few occasions. I mean, I could go on. You two get the idea, right? They knew the words, but they had no idea what the words meant or the effect that they had on the person they were directed to. The object was to get his goat and they learned these words from their backward parents who were behind the times and apparently could not keep those words to themselves especially with their young kids nearby. Well, in any event Paul and I became friends. We found out that we lived close to one another so we got to see a lot of each other after our time in kindergarten.
“Paul had an interesting household structure. His mother, Vivian, did a lot of work in Veilstone as a major contributor to the civil services. She was a special agent for the local police force in the city. For the time I got to know her, she was really tough. She had to be, though. Her line of work required absolutely nothing less. She could be…really tough on both of them; Paul and his brother, Reggie. When he got teased as a five-year old and cried to his mother…she would barely hug him. I never saw it happen personally, but Paul has told me time and time again that she would hug him and Reggie sometimes…just not all the time. Paul and I can count more hugs that he got from his older brother than from his mom, though.”
“What about his dad? How was he?”
“Sascha? Well, his dad was…I guess the safest word to use is different. He worked quite a bit promoting training to young fans and what not. That’s what both the Marin brothers did during much of the 1990s. He was around a lot during that time, though. He was a cool guy and I always enjoyed spending time with him when he wasn’t traveling. I always got the vibe that his sons also enjoyed being around Sascha more than they did Vivian.
“Not to say that she was mean. She wasn’t. It’s just that she had this…tough love approach that I was not always familiar with. You could say that her way of handling things was like the way Paul used to, but I’ll get to that later. Even on Friday nights, we had no school so we could really sleep in, but I can’t remember a Saturday over at Paul’s where he or I slept over and did not get up any later than eight in the morning. Things were run very uniformly in the house so nothing really stood out. It can be a good thing at times, though. Paul taught me how to be neater and organized by how he took care of his space.
“Here is the…interesting part of the story. We had sleepovers a lot of the time. Just about every night we did that, he would thank me for being a friend. I said it was no problem and I liked being around him a lot. Now, keep in mind that both of us were only five years old at the time these sleepovers happened. Paul always wanted to be around me. He was a very affectionate person during his early years. Everywhere we went during this time; he would have his arm around me and tell people that I was his buddy, and even now, I thought that was cool. Whenever we would see each other, we’d give one another a hug. Hugging led to greeting each other with kisses and keeping each other warm with our covers during the cold winter nights of 1996.
“To me, none of it seemed out of the ordinary. I did it with my folks, Jordan and Seth when he came up. Dad always says that you should give your family your love and I considered Paul right up there with my family. As the months went along, Paul’s words began to get much more serious in nature. He always wanted to make sure that I never…left him and that I’d look out for him when needed. I asked him why he felt as if he needed to know this stuff and he said…his mother was concerned about our closeness and he did not want to lose his only friend.”
“Why was she concerned?” Kenny questions as Holly comes back to the booth. “You guys were just kids!”
“Conway is telling you guys his story, now?”
“Yes, Holly,” Zoey and Kenny answer in unison.
“You okay, babe?”
“I’ll be fine. I promise.”
“Good,” he replies, leaving his girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek before continuing with his unique tale. “So, like I said, Paul’s mother had some concern about the relationship that her son and I had. I did not understand the fuss and that’s just what I said to Paul and he admitted that he did not like the strict rules of his house. My mom and dad did not really have a problem with us or I guess they didn’t notice anything wrong with it. He…talked about growing up a lot as the winter became spring and the school year came close to wrapping up. He said that the best part will be that he won’t have to follow his mother’s rules ever again. More than anything else at that time, he talked in very abstract terms about leaving—about running away and not coming back.”
“Every plan had you involved with that running away, right?”
“Yeah it did, Zoey. It was…pure bliss. That time is time I cherish like a good friend. I’ll never forget the camaraderie and closeness that the two of us shared…and how painful it ended for us. By the end of it, kindergarten was almost over. One week or so and we would have our graduation. Just before that, Paul told me that he loved me. I did not really think much about it. He told me that he loved me a lot during that school year and I did not catch on to what he really meant until he told me that this feeling was…something different. ‘Different how,’ I asked him? He just said that he gets goose bumps whenever I’m around and that he gets nervous at times, too. I never heard that from him before and it caught me off guard. I wanted to know more and he kept saying something else. ‘I don’t know what else to say,’ were the words.
“Not that long after that, Paul and his family suffered a tragedy. His mother had a massive heart attack. Because of her alleged great fitness regimen, Vivian held on for about two days until she died in her sleep. I was there at the hospital for one hour or so of those two days. Something happened between them during his mother’s last hours. After the bereavement Paul told me that he made a huge mistake and that I was being disgusting for thinking like that because it’s wrong, even if he was the one who instigated much of these emotions in me that I still have.
“We stopped being friends and thoughts of running away with him went just as quickly. He moved with his dad and big brother to a…nicer part of town, though it’s always been my theory that the family wanted to get away from it all. The house had too many memories. Paul became very cold after that time and…took after his late mom, for sure. He had that…you can’t even call it tough love, but he had it and—he later told me after getting himself back in order that his mother saw his feelings and wanted to steer him from those ideas and warned that he would not be respected unless he took power by the horns and…didn’t let things like love or emotion make him into a weakling.
“So the years passed and we grew apart for a while. We…didn’t become friends again until much later, but I always acknowledged that I knew Paul from that time. He all but ignored me during this time and we just went on about our business as Pokémon trainers. We both have had a great deal of success over our careers. Like just about all of us, we’ll hit a rough patch along the way. Paul was no different, but his losing streak from just over a year ago seemed to be compounded internally by the fact that he lived life as a closeted gay teen who attempted to show this macho attitude and have no one ever think of him as being anything less.
“A couple of things happened to him during that period. He got a chance to see Kelly and hear about his first cousin being in a successful relationship with May. That…warmed him up to the idea of doing the same, but it also caused a lot more confliction for him. Paul wanted to take ownership of all of these thoughts and decided he needed that time all to himself to get this done. He took a break from training and went on a…one might say, spiritual journey. He later said he wanted to find peace and know what that was. Whether it was God, love, family, friendship or the like, the one thing Paul wanted above all else was peace. He had not felt it for a long time and wanted to feel it so badly. Also, he was tired. Though he was one of the top trainers of this generation that did not mean anything to him! He was not happy, and he just wanted to be happy.
“He spoke to…some of the finest minds on the subject of what it means to be happy and when we reconciled, he said that of the many things people told him, power was not even among those relevant items that makes an individual happy and gives them peace. What they did mention, in fact, was that a man had to have power…but only over his own actions, which are one of the few things we can naturally control. Paul had to search for his own happiness and he did it. He volunteered himself to the different foundations for the terminally ill at their suggestion and even became a mentor and tutor to young school kids as a means of being charitable in the name of his good fortune compared to those who did not have it as well as he does.”
“What—what about his brother and father during this time?” Zoey wonders. “How did they react to this…change of sorts that he had growing up…to now?”
“They welcomed it…whatever Paul they got, they welcomed with open arms. And of the many people in the world, Paul never turned a blind eye to the concerns of his dad or his brother. I think as long as he was not destructive or overtly violent, he could be okay in their eyes.”
“But you make it sound as if he was depressed during this time and that he, like many others, went through his share of problems,” Kenny extrapolates. “It’s as if his mother putting the fear of eternal wrath upon him while on her deathbed was what it took to make him into this raging megalomaniac and that he just got worn to the cords after living so long like that.”
“That’s a great way to put how life really transpired for Paul,” the older gentleman admits while tending to his glasses. “He just got worn out. The losing streak didn’t help, but that was not the reason. He just had enough of living up to his mother’s standards even if she’s now been dead for more than a decade! So this was a complete transformation and he reached out when it meant the most. He went to Ash, apologized for everything and proved that he changed from the inside out. He even said much of what I’m telling you right now. Somehow, someway they got together and both now mentor young, aspiring trainers while they continue to live their dreams. This time, they are teammates instead of rivals.
“So, that’s why I’m here. Paul…admitted to me at a young age these feelings he had. He got scared for several reasons and regressed into the Paul many of us remember some years back. I thought about it and really loved Paul…but like a brother, you know? I was unsure, but had a backseat to his relationship with Ash and I see how well that has turned out and the great union they share. I wonder if I could have had something just like that and that’s why I’m taking part in swinging.”
“Wow,” Zoey interjects. “Those are two…really unique and powerful stories that you guys have there. I don’t know—I can’t remember hearing anything like that from the other couples we’ve swung with, right Kenny?”
“Nothing even relatively close to things like that. Often times, we get a couple that either wants to do it to please one or the other. Sometimes, one party finds out that the other is gay and wants to try it out like that. Sure we do get stories about discovery and curiosity, but few to none come with the raw psychology and thought process that yours did, Conway and Holly. I’ll be honest, I am guilty of taking a lot of these sessions as nothing more than just sex, but that’s only because I don’t go into them with the idea that I’m gonna find love coming out. ****, I don’t know about you guys but I think I’m ready to ball.”
“Yeah, we filled ourselves with fuel and now it’s time to burn it off like were a bunch of hummers,” the teen tomboy exclaims. “What do you say?”
“Well,” Holly begins, her enthusiasm from earlier returning, “I say let’s go!”
“But…before you two do that,” Kenny warns while reaching into his pockets, “I have a list to give to you two. Just go to the local drugstore and pick up all of those items. That’s part of your requirement while here to buy the condoms, lubricants and what not. Just remember to meet us back in our hotel room 835. Just knock on the door and we’ll start from there. Is that clear?”
“Okay,” Conway answers while skimming through the list. “So the two of us get these items and just go to room 835?”
“That’s it. Now, if you two want to stick around for more dessert, you’re welcome to do so. Otherwise, Kenny and I have to get the hotel room ready for your arrival.” The more experienced of the four get up from the booth of a near empty buffet and bid the novices a temporary farewell until later.
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“Solana whenever you’re ready, you may begin,” says one of the referees on the battle floor.
“All right, Plusle. Ready to show these guys that there’s nothing to this?” Her obedient and cheerful electric mouse responds positively to Solana’s idea and she lets the official know that she is ready to go. After a whistle, the clock begins and the Pokémon Ranger starts her two minute appeal. “Plusle, let’s start off with thunder wave and just let it go for now. Don’t stop until I tell you to stop.”
While the appeal takes place, a curious crowd of sorts has gathered to see the moment happen. The union is mostly a homogeneous one as all crowded around a television set backstage are Rangers in the Fiore region…with the exception of one.
“I’ll just be honest,” Dawn mentions to the four Rangers watching the Grand Festival activity, “I don’t like the choice of Plusle from Solana. I’m sure the four of you guys put together could have found another Pokémon for her that was not as limited in terms of its attack ability. Thunder Wave to start off may not be a bad idea. Who knows? I just…would not have gone this route without putting some thought into my decision.”
“Hey, like we said,” Kellyn responds, “don’t worry about Solana. If there is any one of us that can make the best of a not so advantageous situation, it’s her.”
“Guys, hold it,” Spenser interjects. “I think she’s about to make another command.”
“Now, Plusle! Use agility! Calm yourself for what you’re about to do for the crowd.”
Nodding her head for a bit, Dawn admits, “It is good to build anticipation for the appeal. Enough of a build and the judges can even raise the appeal by a point or two.”
“So are you convinced?”
“I did not say that, Jack. I only said that she…kind of grasps the object of an appeal and what you have to do for that. Just because you know that doesn’t make you some sort of master, though. Let’s just watch the end before we declare her champion. I don’t know. Call me old school for thinking like that.”
“All right, Plusle! It’s time to amaze them! Let’s see quick attack and again, don’t stop!” And very quickly, Plusle charges in several different directions as if he were charging for an exit out of the stadium. The addition of agility in order to sweeten the speed of the loveable electric type did nothing but make Solana look really professional in terms of how she chained her attacks together for maximum effect. “Now, I wanna see thunder, but keep the quick attacks coming!”
Suddenly, from up above, it seems to rain bolts of lightning down to the ground. The direct current does not have any effect of Plusle, though. As they come and strike his body, he bounces off said bolts like a pinball and spins around the ring quickly as well. Those watching can only make out a bright orb of light on stage as it moves in different directions. With only a few seconds remaining a final command of swift, which sends several stars in the air and in other areas, puts the finishing touches on the appeal as the whistle sounds to end activity on the field.
Asking Plusle to cease action and return to her, Solana takes a deep breath knowing that by just winging it and having some knowledge of attacks, she has done just what she sought out to do for her squad. Giving Plusle an embrace, she receives the cheers and applause from the crowd and bows to the thousands attending.
While those in the stadium applaud what was a unique, cool and one might argue fun appeal, the Rangers backstage wildly cheer what they rightfully saw as themselves striking it rich through Solana’s work. All four gentlemen talk about what plans they have with their money, even though the official score for the appeal still has not come up.
Still looking at the screen and the older female Ranger is one skeptic who has been turned to the thought of Solana possibly being more than just talk which mostly came from her teammates. While Kellyn, Lunick, Spenser and Jack continue to cheer and chant the name of their comrade, Dawn just looks at Solana on the stage. Slowly, a smile begins to creep onto her face as she realizes that the competition has come with an impact that she has not felt in a while.
‘Enjoy it, Rangers,’ she thinks. ‘Luck always has a way of running out. My hard work won’t fade away, though. Just you wait and see.’
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Your Thoughts?
@CB: Good on Sandra to set her mom straight, indeed. If I talked to my mom like she did, I'd probably get slapped. You're also right about how it was not completely successful, but that can change, right?
People liked the Harley/Max reconciliation more than any other part of this chapter, which sort of surprised me when I found that out. It got resolved quickly because the guys realized they overreacted to both situations and made it into more than what it actually was.
Jimmy and Marina's problems are far from over and appear to be (on my radar) to be the most toxic in nature, relationship wise. It will lead to another set of confrontations that might signal the end of one union. Who knows? And finally, Solana and her fellow Rangers sure do have very big goals. The only thing standing in their way might be their ability...and a ticked off Dawn, according to your thoughts. ^__^
Now for the next chapter! Enjoy and be merry!
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4127100/36/All_Roads_Lead_to_the_Grand_Festival
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Pokemon, a creation of one Satoshi Tajiri, and is produced domestically (in the United States) by Pokemon USA/The Pokemon Company, and internationally by Shogakukan and OLM. I personally own nothing and make nothing by writing this. Please do not flame.
(Chapter 36- Childhood and How to Turn a Skeptic)
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With dinner winding down for the swinging foursome in The Stuff Shop, the focus now turns to dessert. While Conway and Kenny are conservative with their choices as the former partakes in a small slice of cheesecake and the latter decides on a bowl of strawberry ice cream with sprinkles on top, Zoey and Holly treat the unofficial fourth meal just like it is their absolute last. Holly fixed for herself a large sundae with brownies, nuts and drenched in enormous globs of hot fudge and caramel. Zoey has just returned from the buffet with her third helping of peach cobbler. To wash it all down, she also has a glass of chocolate milk.
“Is the dessert good, ladies?” Conway questions.
“Yeah,” Zoey answers. “Why else would I keep coming back?”
“The law of diminishing returns makes me wonder why you haven’t grown tired of having nothing but peach cobbler.”
“I beg your pardon? The law of…what?”
“It’s the law of diminishing returns,” Holly remarks. “It’s more or less a theory that after patronizing a product or service that you initially like a number of times, you slowly begin to like the item in question less and less.” After a few seconds of staring at Holly, the two more experienced swingers collect themselves once more and nod their heads.
Kenny is especially impressed at Holly’s knowledge. In front of all the people in the booth, he elbows his girlfriend and makes the statement, “Who says knowledge isn’t sexy?”
“I sure don’t.”
“Well I can’t take full credit for that,” she admits. “Conway told me about that one day and after giving it a lot of thought, I realized that it makes a heck of a lot of sense.”
“It does, honestly, but for now I want to know something else about you…and what you know.” After taking a swig of her chocolate milk, the teen tomboy asks the older girl next door, “I want to know what moment or moments in your life led you to doing this? We’ve mentioned some reasons in abstract terms, but I really want to find out some specific reasons.”
“I see,” Holly replies while she continues to partake in her mountain of ice cream. “Well, I must tell you, this is where things get…pretty complicated and interesting all at the same time.”
“Holly, I don’t know if you understand it by now,” Kenny interjects, “but the lives which Zoey and I live are the definition of ‘complicated and interesting’. I promise you; whatever it is, we’ve likely heard it before.”
“I hope you’re not embarrassed at this juncture because if you are then I don’t think you’re ready.”
“Oh no. It’s just hard for me to imagine that…it was these small moments in time that caused me to have feelings that have not left me even after more than a decade of living a mostly straight life. I don’t want you to think that I’m ashamed of any of this but I do believe that many things should remain private.”
“That’s your right,” her soon-to-be partner claims.
“Okay Zoey and Kenny. Here goes. It is not unusual for young kids at the grammar school age to have crushes on their teachers. I suppose it did not help that most of my male teachers were older men who often reminded me of my father or grandfather. I’m sorry, but I don’t consider that look a turn on rather that look reminds me of an individual with great wisdom and someone to look up to.
“In any event, I will admit that I never had any crushes on my grade school teachers and this dates all the way back to the third grade. The crushes I did have were on my fellow students. Though they were the epitome of childhood crushes, they formed the basis of feelings that would develop later in life. Zoey and Kenny, do you remember how I told you both that most of my tween years I spent experimenting with kissing…in and out of restrooms and that was the extent of my sex life at the time like many other kids that age?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Well that experimenting almost involved girls as well.” Both Kenny and Zoey look at the oldest of the swingers with little to no surprise on their faces. Their only call is for Holly to define what ‘almost’ means. “The whole thing about me being confused had its real birth occur when I was thirteen years old. It happened when a new kid came to our city in Sinnoh with her family. Compared to my very traditionalist family brought up in a…not-so-strict Jewish and Christian household, she might have been a bad influence to most of us. But she was my age, we hit it off quite well and to tell you the truth, I have never met anyone so confident, charismatic, upstanding, and as good a role model for any girls out there as she was for her age.
“I know I should not throw out this word so cavalierly but ‘radical’ is the word that fits and describes her better than any other word. She wore tie-dye much of the time and dressed quite revolutionary for a young teen. I never personally saw anyone wear dreadlocks until I saw her. Not to sound racist or stereotypical but I’ve always associated that hairstyle with blacks and those living in the Caribbean. She was whiter than I am, though…and she was younger than me!”
“Interesting,” Kenny remarks as his dessert becomes secondary while he hangs onto Holly’s words. “Who was she?”
“Uh,” she hesitates, “that…out of respect for her I will not say her name. She died not too long after I met her.”
“Oh, man,” Zoey laments. “She had to be what? Fourteen years old when she died?”
“Yes. She lived life to the fullest and held to her feelings on certain matters until her death. In any event, for the time I got to know her she taught me so much. I learned how important it is for young people to stand on their feet when needed but at the same time show respect to us all. She didn’t do it in so many words but…the things she did and how she did them made all the difference in my mind. I admired her for her great spirit.
“We went to school together and no more than two weeks into her arrival, I hear the rumors that she played for the other team. Other friends of mine asked me to stay away from her or I might get turned gay myself.”
“Ah, youthful ignorance,” the redheaded teen says facetiously.
“I didn’t talk to her about what my friends said about her because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings but after a while, I really started to wonder if my other friends had a point or not. One day she invited me over for a sleepover and I wondered if and how I would address the matter. When I went there, I met with her parents again. They are great people and I’m happy to call them my friends even after so many years that their only daughter has passed on. That evening her parents left us to just enjoy movies, pizza and sleeping bag talk. After a while…I noticed things turning a corner in terms of the mood.
“The first thing I noticed was the…choice of entertainment. It was not so much that her parents allowed her to pick out ‘R’ rated movies but the types of movies we watched had a certain theme. I didn’t really pay attention until I actually saw the films. The first one was…a bit more light hearted in nature. It was Under the Tuscan Sun.”
“Hmm. Seems light when you think about it,” Kenny interjects. “I remember that movie from not that long ago. Mom and dad saw it together and said that it was good. They also told me that they could have done without the lesbian couple expecting a child.” After shaking his head for a moment, he then makes the claim, “That’s a personal threshold for both of them that I’m sure they did not think they would have to be faced with when they were my age. For obvious reasons their reactions were different compared to someone like me, but I think that if you asked them now, their feelings on the matters might have changed some. Who knows?”
“Well, here’s what I do know,” Holly continues, “even though I only knew her for…a year at the most, she was one of the smartest people I’ve ever met in my life. She knew that if I had any doubts or any questions about her intentions, I wouldn’t bite and would likely turn away from her in disgust.”
“Intentions, Holly?”
“If you haven’t already figured it out,” she answers, “she did have feelings for me and by the end of that night, she admitted just about everything to me. From that…warm up movie, she moved to D.E.B.S. and then she wrapped up the night with Personal Best.”
“Damn! She pulled out all of the stops if that’s the case!”
“Just listen for the rest of the story, Zoey,” Conway cautions the younger girl. As his eyes slowly start to become red, his voice waivers as he says, “You just gotta listen. I know it sounds…unconventional, but there is a lesson to be learned here.”
“By the time we got to the middle of that last film, the question came up. I kept telling her things about what my friends have been saying about her and…it’s interesting that not once did she deny anything to me or say that none of it was true, but I never out and out asked her and she never said ‘no’ to any of my assumptions. So I kept just trying to put together the clues before she told me that she really liked me and thought that I was a sweet girl. She was attracted to me. ‘Very much so’ were her words to describe the feelings.
“She went into these lengthy discussions with me and her ultimate message was that she’s been looking for a girl for a while and that there is no control of the heart. She asked me to consider us being…more than just friends. I made it clear to her that I did not know what to make of it and that I felt kind of scared thinking of her in that light. I asked her for some time to think about making a decision like that, with her and I essentially becoming girlfriends if I did say yes, and she gave me what I wanted.
“Back then, I did not know if I was in love with this girl or not,” admits the young carrot top. “It begs repeating; I admired her. I loved how she showed no fear when our fellow classmates were as cruel as they were during that time. I liked how we both learned from each other and complimented one another. What I grew to learn during our brief time together was that she was very patient with me as far as waiting for an answer to her question from the night of the sleepover. After some time, I finally decided that it was true. I did have feelings for her…but only her. That made questions about my orientation even more convoluted than I once thought. It was my idea that if I learn more about her, we can go from that stage of being more than just friends to whatever we wanted.
“I called her that day and asked her to come to my house so that I could essentially tell her that we could be girlfriends. I wasn’t too keen on the idea of being out and I wanted her to know that in this meeting.” At this moment, Holly finds it difficult to continue with her story. She visibly begins to shake and hang her head low at the upcoming portion of her true tale. “Oh my God.”
“Just tell the story, Holly,” Conway assures his girlfriend. “You can’t blame yourself for this. We’ve talked about it! This is one of the reasons why you were so conflicted, right?”
“I know,” she tearfully replies, “but I never got the chance to tell her. She walked to my house that day and I’ll never forget…the smile on her face. She just lit up our street that sunny day. Things really could have been just perfect that day. And then…I saw her walking across the street so she would be only two blocks away from my home. I faintly heard the sound of some sirens off in the distance, but I didn’t really pay attention to them until I heard a horn blare and then a crash. I saw the girl I felt I loved…flying several feet in the air and then down to the ground with a thud that just…it didn’t look good at all and I screamed louder than I’ve ever done in my life when that getaway car made a sharp turn through our neighborhood to escape the police. Witnesses at the scene say that my friend did not see the car coming until it was too late.
“I ran as quickly as I could to her and got my cell phone to call an ambulance. My folks quickly joined me and we waited for the EMTs to come. She was badly hurt, but had a pulse, which was good news. The ambulance came and we just waited. Mom, dad and a few of my siblings came along with me and we waited and waited. That’s all we could do in that situation.
“At this point, they knew that the two of us, my friend and I, quickly became good friends...but I’m sure they had no idea that we had these other feelings going through our heads. That’s the reason why I was able to get away with bawling my eyes out the entire time. I saw the accident and was…traumatized. Her parents came in after some time and we all prayed for a miracle to happen. I felt good about it for a while because we kept getting good news, but the doctors continued to operate on her and we heard the news quickly begin to get worse. She lost a lot of blood and her heart stopped. Everything went downhill very fast. We prayed so hard that afternoon, but the word came at 5:07 p.m. on June 18, 2005. She died of an abrupt loss of blood to the brain; a hemorrhage. I’m taught not to use this word, but I hate that day and I hate that time so much.
With her voice breaking, Holly makes the conclusion even after all this time to consider what her decision would be. With tears in her eyes, the oldest of the four says, “I was gonna tell her yes that day. I was ready, but I never got the chance. She got snatched from me. It could have been the start of something like…what Kelly has with May and even Ash has with Paul, but…it apparently wasn’t to be.” Pounding the table, she laments, “It’s not ****ing fair! Her parents lost a great, beautiful daughter and…out of my own goddamn selfishness; I think I might have lost at the very least a great friend and at most a partner for life. That’s why I always wonder and ask ‘what if’. That’s the reason I took this on. I had to know if I missed out or not. I don’t know. Excuse me, guys.”
“Sure,” Kenny replies with sadness. “Take your time.”
As Holly leaves to compose herself, Conway takes over the floor in her absence. “That is the story that I heard when she told me that she wanted to swing. There are a couple of other points that should be made. After the girl’s death…Holly distanced herself from the situation and seemed to go in the same path as her peers in being boy crazy and she never showed any further signs of possibly being gay. She even had boyfriends before I came along, but not once did she forget about the young girl who could have become her girlfriend almost six years ago. She wears a black armband on her right forearm in her memory. The girl was also an Academy student who specialized in the training and breeding of flying Pokémon and that’s one of the reasons why Holly has so many flyers in her arsenal. All of that is in her honor.”
“Oh, man. That’s so sad,” Zoey exclaims while trying to keep the tears out of her eyes. “No wonder she was so emotional. If I went through that much with someone at that age only to lose them so…suddenly, I’d probably lose myself in my thoughts as well.”
“Agreed,” Kenny simply answers while attempting to keep his feelings in check as well. “Man, I don’t know. I…that just—I would’ve never known that she even…”
“You never do know, Kenny. We all have very interesting stories to tell if we just listen for them.”
“What about your story, Conway?”
“Well I did promise that I would tell you guys this story,” he informs Zoey, “so here goes. It goes back to when I was just…five years old. It started back in kindergarten when a new student came to class that day. That student’s name was Paul Marin and we as the established students were expected to make his transition to our class a smooth one.
“Back then, you would have thought that the Paul at age five and the Paul from age…all the way up to seventeen were two completely different people. During that time, he was a timid, scared young boy who did not seem to…know his place. He didn’t seem to belong anywhere at all. I can understand it for a new kid to not feel like they belong somewhere, but I’ve seen new kids at every level of schooling and not once did I feel it as strongly as I did here.
“It really showed when he crossed those unspoken barriers of that age and played with girls just as often as he did the guys. Both of the sexes teased him for that tremendously and all of this happened during the first month of him being at our school. I could not count the number of times he would go to the teacher or one of the aides in tears because no one would play with him because he happened to see no problem with both boys and girls doing that.
“After a while, I got really fed up with all the undeserved teasing he got,” Conway continues. “I stood up to my fellow classmates and told them that it wasn’t cool to make fun of Paul. Some of the kids got it, and a few didn’t. That’s the way things are sometimes. When I stood up for him then, Paul wondered why I would defend him like I did. I told him that no matter what they say about you or call you, you do not deserve it. Then he asked me if I wanted to be his friend and I said yes.”
“What kind of things did the kids call him back then?”
“Oh…kids were really starting to learn the buzz words, you know?” he explains to Zoey. “Paul would hear the word ‘***’ on more than a few occasions. I mean, I could go on. You two get the idea, right? They knew the words, but they had no idea what the words meant or the effect that they had on the person they were directed to. The object was to get his goat and they learned these words from their backward parents who were behind the times and apparently could not keep those words to themselves especially with their young kids nearby. Well, in any event Paul and I became friends. We found out that we lived close to one another so we got to see a lot of each other after our time in kindergarten.
“Paul had an interesting household structure. His mother, Vivian, did a lot of work in Veilstone as a major contributor to the civil services. She was a special agent for the local police force in the city. For the time I got to know her, she was really tough. She had to be, though. Her line of work required absolutely nothing less. She could be…really tough on both of them; Paul and his brother, Reggie. When he got teased as a five-year old and cried to his mother…she would barely hug him. I never saw it happen personally, but Paul has told me time and time again that she would hug him and Reggie sometimes…just not all the time. Paul and I can count more hugs that he got from his older brother than from his mom, though.”
“What about his dad? How was he?”
“Sascha? Well, his dad was…I guess the safest word to use is different. He worked quite a bit promoting training to young fans and what not. That’s what both the Marin brothers did during much of the 1990s. He was around a lot during that time, though. He was a cool guy and I always enjoyed spending time with him when he wasn’t traveling. I always got the vibe that his sons also enjoyed being around Sascha more than they did Vivian.
“Not to say that she was mean. She wasn’t. It’s just that she had this…tough love approach that I was not always familiar with. You could say that her way of handling things was like the way Paul used to, but I’ll get to that later. Even on Friday nights, we had no school so we could really sleep in, but I can’t remember a Saturday over at Paul’s where he or I slept over and did not get up any later than eight in the morning. Things were run very uniformly in the house so nothing really stood out. It can be a good thing at times, though. Paul taught me how to be neater and organized by how he took care of his space.
“Here is the…interesting part of the story. We had sleepovers a lot of the time. Just about every night we did that, he would thank me for being a friend. I said it was no problem and I liked being around him a lot. Now, keep in mind that both of us were only five years old at the time these sleepovers happened. Paul always wanted to be around me. He was a very affectionate person during his early years. Everywhere we went during this time; he would have his arm around me and tell people that I was his buddy, and even now, I thought that was cool. Whenever we would see each other, we’d give one another a hug. Hugging led to greeting each other with kisses and keeping each other warm with our covers during the cold winter nights of 1996.
“To me, none of it seemed out of the ordinary. I did it with my folks, Jordan and Seth when he came up. Dad always says that you should give your family your love and I considered Paul right up there with my family. As the months went along, Paul’s words began to get much more serious in nature. He always wanted to make sure that I never…left him and that I’d look out for him when needed. I asked him why he felt as if he needed to know this stuff and he said…his mother was concerned about our closeness and he did not want to lose his only friend.”
“Why was she concerned?” Kenny questions as Holly comes back to the booth. “You guys were just kids!”
“Conway is telling you guys his story, now?”
“Yes, Holly,” Zoey and Kenny answer in unison.
“You okay, babe?”
“I’ll be fine. I promise.”
“Good,” he replies, leaving his girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek before continuing with his unique tale. “So, like I said, Paul’s mother had some concern about the relationship that her son and I had. I did not understand the fuss and that’s just what I said to Paul and he admitted that he did not like the strict rules of his house. My mom and dad did not really have a problem with us or I guess they didn’t notice anything wrong with it. He…talked about growing up a lot as the winter became spring and the school year came close to wrapping up. He said that the best part will be that he won’t have to follow his mother’s rules ever again. More than anything else at that time, he talked in very abstract terms about leaving—about running away and not coming back.”
“Every plan had you involved with that running away, right?”
“Yeah it did, Zoey. It was…pure bliss. That time is time I cherish like a good friend. I’ll never forget the camaraderie and closeness that the two of us shared…and how painful it ended for us. By the end of it, kindergarten was almost over. One week or so and we would have our graduation. Just before that, Paul told me that he loved me. I did not really think much about it. He told me that he loved me a lot during that school year and I did not catch on to what he really meant until he told me that this feeling was…something different. ‘Different how,’ I asked him? He just said that he gets goose bumps whenever I’m around and that he gets nervous at times, too. I never heard that from him before and it caught me off guard. I wanted to know more and he kept saying something else. ‘I don’t know what else to say,’ were the words.
“Not that long after that, Paul and his family suffered a tragedy. His mother had a massive heart attack. Because of her alleged great fitness regimen, Vivian held on for about two days until she died in her sleep. I was there at the hospital for one hour or so of those two days. Something happened between them during his mother’s last hours. After the bereavement Paul told me that he made a huge mistake and that I was being disgusting for thinking like that because it’s wrong, even if he was the one who instigated much of these emotions in me that I still have.
“We stopped being friends and thoughts of running away with him went just as quickly. He moved with his dad and big brother to a…nicer part of town, though it’s always been my theory that the family wanted to get away from it all. The house had too many memories. Paul became very cold after that time and…took after his late mom, for sure. He had that…you can’t even call it tough love, but he had it and—he later told me after getting himself back in order that his mother saw his feelings and wanted to steer him from those ideas and warned that he would not be respected unless he took power by the horns and…didn’t let things like love or emotion make him into a weakling.
“So the years passed and we grew apart for a while. We…didn’t become friends again until much later, but I always acknowledged that I knew Paul from that time. He all but ignored me during this time and we just went on about our business as Pokémon trainers. We both have had a great deal of success over our careers. Like just about all of us, we’ll hit a rough patch along the way. Paul was no different, but his losing streak from just over a year ago seemed to be compounded internally by the fact that he lived life as a closeted gay teen who attempted to show this macho attitude and have no one ever think of him as being anything less.
“A couple of things happened to him during that period. He got a chance to see Kelly and hear about his first cousin being in a successful relationship with May. That…warmed him up to the idea of doing the same, but it also caused a lot more confliction for him. Paul wanted to take ownership of all of these thoughts and decided he needed that time all to himself to get this done. He took a break from training and went on a…one might say, spiritual journey. He later said he wanted to find peace and know what that was. Whether it was God, love, family, friendship or the like, the one thing Paul wanted above all else was peace. He had not felt it for a long time and wanted to feel it so badly. Also, he was tired. Though he was one of the top trainers of this generation that did not mean anything to him! He was not happy, and he just wanted to be happy.
“He spoke to…some of the finest minds on the subject of what it means to be happy and when we reconciled, he said that of the many things people told him, power was not even among those relevant items that makes an individual happy and gives them peace. What they did mention, in fact, was that a man had to have power…but only over his own actions, which are one of the few things we can naturally control. Paul had to search for his own happiness and he did it. He volunteered himself to the different foundations for the terminally ill at their suggestion and even became a mentor and tutor to young school kids as a means of being charitable in the name of his good fortune compared to those who did not have it as well as he does.”
“What—what about his brother and father during this time?” Zoey wonders. “How did they react to this…change of sorts that he had growing up…to now?”
“They welcomed it…whatever Paul they got, they welcomed with open arms. And of the many people in the world, Paul never turned a blind eye to the concerns of his dad or his brother. I think as long as he was not destructive or overtly violent, he could be okay in their eyes.”
“But you make it sound as if he was depressed during this time and that he, like many others, went through his share of problems,” Kenny extrapolates. “It’s as if his mother putting the fear of eternal wrath upon him while on her deathbed was what it took to make him into this raging megalomaniac and that he just got worn to the cords after living so long like that.”
“That’s a great way to put how life really transpired for Paul,” the older gentleman admits while tending to his glasses. “He just got worn out. The losing streak didn’t help, but that was not the reason. He just had enough of living up to his mother’s standards even if she’s now been dead for more than a decade! So this was a complete transformation and he reached out when it meant the most. He went to Ash, apologized for everything and proved that he changed from the inside out. He even said much of what I’m telling you right now. Somehow, someway they got together and both now mentor young, aspiring trainers while they continue to live their dreams. This time, they are teammates instead of rivals.
“So, that’s why I’m here. Paul…admitted to me at a young age these feelings he had. He got scared for several reasons and regressed into the Paul many of us remember some years back. I thought about it and really loved Paul…but like a brother, you know? I was unsure, but had a backseat to his relationship with Ash and I see how well that has turned out and the great union they share. I wonder if I could have had something just like that and that’s why I’m taking part in swinging.”
“Wow,” Zoey interjects. “Those are two…really unique and powerful stories that you guys have there. I don’t know—I can’t remember hearing anything like that from the other couples we’ve swung with, right Kenny?”
“Nothing even relatively close to things like that. Often times, we get a couple that either wants to do it to please one or the other. Sometimes, one party finds out that the other is gay and wants to try it out like that. Sure we do get stories about discovery and curiosity, but few to none come with the raw psychology and thought process that yours did, Conway and Holly. I’ll be honest, I am guilty of taking a lot of these sessions as nothing more than just sex, but that’s only because I don’t go into them with the idea that I’m gonna find love coming out. ****, I don’t know about you guys but I think I’m ready to ball.”
“Yeah, we filled ourselves with fuel and now it’s time to burn it off like were a bunch of hummers,” the teen tomboy exclaims. “What do you say?”
“Well,” Holly begins, her enthusiasm from earlier returning, “I say let’s go!”
“But…before you two do that,” Kenny warns while reaching into his pockets, “I have a list to give to you two. Just go to the local drugstore and pick up all of those items. That’s part of your requirement while here to buy the condoms, lubricants and what not. Just remember to meet us back in our hotel room 835. Just knock on the door and we’ll start from there. Is that clear?”
“Okay,” Conway answers while skimming through the list. “So the two of us get these items and just go to room 835?”
“That’s it. Now, if you two want to stick around for more dessert, you’re welcome to do so. Otherwise, Kenny and I have to get the hotel room ready for your arrival.” The more experienced of the four get up from the booth of a near empty buffet and bid the novices a temporary farewell until later.
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“Solana whenever you’re ready, you may begin,” says one of the referees on the battle floor.
“All right, Plusle. Ready to show these guys that there’s nothing to this?” Her obedient and cheerful electric mouse responds positively to Solana’s idea and she lets the official know that she is ready to go. After a whistle, the clock begins and the Pokémon Ranger starts her two minute appeal. “Plusle, let’s start off with thunder wave and just let it go for now. Don’t stop until I tell you to stop.”
While the appeal takes place, a curious crowd of sorts has gathered to see the moment happen. The union is mostly a homogeneous one as all crowded around a television set backstage are Rangers in the Fiore region…with the exception of one.
“I’ll just be honest,” Dawn mentions to the four Rangers watching the Grand Festival activity, “I don’t like the choice of Plusle from Solana. I’m sure the four of you guys put together could have found another Pokémon for her that was not as limited in terms of its attack ability. Thunder Wave to start off may not be a bad idea. Who knows? I just…would not have gone this route without putting some thought into my decision.”
“Hey, like we said,” Kellyn responds, “don’t worry about Solana. If there is any one of us that can make the best of a not so advantageous situation, it’s her.”
“Guys, hold it,” Spenser interjects. “I think she’s about to make another command.”
“Now, Plusle! Use agility! Calm yourself for what you’re about to do for the crowd.”
Nodding her head for a bit, Dawn admits, “It is good to build anticipation for the appeal. Enough of a build and the judges can even raise the appeal by a point or two.”
“So are you convinced?”
“I did not say that, Jack. I only said that she…kind of grasps the object of an appeal and what you have to do for that. Just because you know that doesn’t make you some sort of master, though. Let’s just watch the end before we declare her champion. I don’t know. Call me old school for thinking like that.”
“All right, Plusle! It’s time to amaze them! Let’s see quick attack and again, don’t stop!” And very quickly, Plusle charges in several different directions as if he were charging for an exit out of the stadium. The addition of agility in order to sweeten the speed of the loveable electric type did nothing but make Solana look really professional in terms of how she chained her attacks together for maximum effect. “Now, I wanna see thunder, but keep the quick attacks coming!”
Suddenly, from up above, it seems to rain bolts of lightning down to the ground. The direct current does not have any effect of Plusle, though. As they come and strike his body, he bounces off said bolts like a pinball and spins around the ring quickly as well. Those watching can only make out a bright orb of light on stage as it moves in different directions. With only a few seconds remaining a final command of swift, which sends several stars in the air and in other areas, puts the finishing touches on the appeal as the whistle sounds to end activity on the field.
Asking Plusle to cease action and return to her, Solana takes a deep breath knowing that by just winging it and having some knowledge of attacks, she has done just what she sought out to do for her squad. Giving Plusle an embrace, she receives the cheers and applause from the crowd and bows to the thousands attending.
While those in the stadium applaud what was a unique, cool and one might argue fun appeal, the Rangers backstage wildly cheer what they rightfully saw as themselves striking it rich through Solana’s work. All four gentlemen talk about what plans they have with their money, even though the official score for the appeal still has not come up.
Still looking at the screen and the older female Ranger is one skeptic who has been turned to the thought of Solana possibly being more than just talk which mostly came from her teammates. While Kellyn, Lunick, Spenser and Jack continue to cheer and chant the name of their comrade, Dawn just looks at Solana on the stage. Slowly, a smile begins to creep onto her face as she realizes that the competition has come with an impact that she has not felt in a while.
‘Enjoy it, Rangers,’ she thinks. ‘Luck always has a way of running out. My hard work won’t fade away, though. Just you wait and see.’
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