Chapter 6: So I Herd You Liek Kontezts... ?
Chapter 6: So I Herd U Liek Kontezts... ?
... ... ...
...It would appear that meeting so many of the Regions' Gym Leaders and Elites have taken its toll on the boys...
...Well, more so Mickey than Billy...
...I suppose meeting Volkner at such a prime estate while having just been hired caused some concern to the letter...
...But...Still...
...Thank whatever gods allowed it that I didn't have to be the one to have told them that he'd be joining the Contest fray as well...
… … …
Mr. Fox led everyone into the next room of the mansion; the kitchen. I looked amazing. Really modern with touches of old Louisianian themed contraband. The table was long, at least three full dining tables wide, and was set up with bowls of fruit and shiny silverware. The flowers that were added also gave it a nice touch; the boys were awe-stricken.
"Miss. Lenoire?" Fox called with a cuff around his mouth. "You in here, darlin’?"
"Oh!" a soft, beautiful voice sounded from the next room. "Is that you, John?"
"Yes ma’am! Come on in here, sweetheart! I’ve got some people I want you to meet…"
Miss Lenoire peeked her round head in from the corner, and circled around to fit the tray of coffee she was holding into the room. "Well who are these two, Johnathan?" she asked passing warm smiles between them. "Did you found some poor orphan children off the street?"
…Their smiles faded into small scowls.
Mr. Fox, or Johnathan from what they’d heard, began to chuckle lightly. Elesa continued on with her songs, and Juan cracked a faint smile as he observed the two "orphaned children".
"No, no." Fox said. "These are my two new employees!"
Miss Lenoire’s light blue eyes sparkled. "Aww! But they’re so young! You sure they’ll work out?"
"Oh, I’m sure they’ll do just fine." Fox said as he cheerfully patted Billy on the back. Their expressions didn’t change for a while. No matter how sweet and adorable the young woman appeared, it was still insulting to refer to them in such a way.
"How about serving us all some of your fine southern cuisine?"
Miss Lenoire fixed the hairpiece back into her golden blonde bun and nodded cutely. She turned to enter back into the kitchen once more, the train to her silken white summer dress flying across the room to keep up with her nimble movements.
Mr. Fox gestured Juan and Elesa to the chairs at the head of the long wooden table, then addressed the boys to sit as well. Mickey sat on Billy’s right at the head of the table, then Juan took the third seat next to him. Mr. Fox sat on the right side of the table, Elesa taking the first chair across from Billy.
The room grew silent as Elesa finally turned off her music and returned Klinklang to it’s Pokeball. She looked at him and smiled warmly, making him blush. It soon occurred to Billy though that the cause of the gesture may have been from the fact that she had two smaller earphones playing in her ear.
Miss Lenoire re-emerged a few minutes after, a delectable spread in tow. It silenced the mindless chatter that everyone started, as they all mostly commented on her cooking.
"Ah, Miss Lenoire!" Mr. Fox said happily as he clasped his two plump hands together. "I do always enjoy your brand of cooking ma’am!"
Miss Lenoire beamed embarrassingly as she wiped her messy hand on her blue blouse. The colors meshed nicely enough where you could hardly tell she had done so, but it was still in bad tastes to Mickey.
"Why thank you, Johnathan…" she said with a flushed expression. Fox removed his hat and bowed his head to her solemnly. "Well how’s about I start passing out the spread, then?"
Fox turned to the boys as he pulled out his cell phone. He merely pressed one button and placed it back into his left pocket before he spoke. "You’re both gonna enjoy Simone’s cooking something special, I tell you…" he said with a flustered grin and batted eyes towards "Simone".
Billy and Mickey shared a quick look between themselves and nodded with no further question.
Seems like somebodies gotta love-life huh, Mickey? Billy whispered past Mr. Fox’s glare.
Mickey nodded in response.
Yeah… It’s making me sick…
they both began to snicker as people began to file in the room and take their seats.
Mr. Fox stood and held up the clean wine glass in front of him as Miss Lenoire placed his meal down in front of him. "Mmm! My absolute favorite!" he said as he stared down at the steaming hot plate of seafood. After he batted another look at her, he directed his glass to gesture at the two boys.
"Everyone!" he proclaimed loudly so his voice could reach the end of the table.
No one seems to care too much that he just stood up on the table… Mickey said as he slowly picked up his glass as well.
Miss Lenoire began pouring a bubbly golden substance into Mr. Fox’s glass. "Oh, thank you, darlin!" he said. "I’d like you all to meet your two new co-workers!" Mr. Fox sniffed his nose at Billy, who caught on and stood automatically. "This here is Billy, he’s going to be our new coordinator here in Sinnoh!"
A voice chimed in as they sat down next to Mr. Fox. "Yeah?" they asked, voice stoic and uncaring. "And who’s the pipsqueak?"
Mickey’s frustration rose as he stood and slammed his fists on the table. "I am not a bloody
‘pipsqueak’" he spat at the word as he eyeballed the blonde menace. "…you blimey twit!"
The blonde spiky haired kid rolled his eyes and turned his gaze towards the other end of the table. "
Tsk, tsk, tsk…" he started. "Temper, temper…He’s a live wire, Fox…"
Mickey snarled as Fox lowered his glass from sipping on it slightly. "Now, now, Volkner…" he said addressing the boy and his smug expression. "Let’s all be civil," he passed a look at Mickey as well, who sat once he’d caught on. Billy did the same. "Now this here is Mickey, he’s gonna be filling in the quota we need for the League this year…"
To this, "Volkner" finally addressed Mickey with a surprised glare. "
What?!" he yelled as a girl about his age sat next to him. "
He’s entering the League too?!"
Mr. Fox rolled his eyes at the question. He took another small sip and answered. "Volkner, now you can’t expect me to enter just ten Trainer’s in this year can you?" Volkner’s eyes never left Mickey, and vice-versa. "Like I said, we have a quota…" he gave Billy and Mickey expectant glares respectively. "And these two are gonna fill ‘em…"
Billy turned to Mickey just after receiving his food, but Mickey was too busy meeting eyes with Volkner to respond. Instead, Billy addressed Mr. Fox.
"So…your saying, we’re both coordinators…
and we’re going to enter the League?" he asked.
Fox nodded. "That’s right. I’ve seen your potential, son. You’re going to definitely go far while being under me." Staring at Mickey, he finished. "
Both of you are…"
"Now let’s all get along here and act civilized around one another, okay?"
Everyone murmured their understandings from all across the room.
"Alright then!" he said hopping down from the table and retreating into his chair. "Let’s eat!"
Volkner scoffed and turned to his plate of food, which he began to scarf down angrily.
Mickey did the same as he averted his gaze to his food.
What’s it to him if I enter the League or not!? Mickey thought angrily as he bit into a random chunk of his meal.
Just then, something amazing hit the two. Billy and Mickey’s tastebuds felt as if they’d been played around with by an expert high school marching band. Mickey’s face lit up with a blush, as Billy sank lightly into his chair with a relieving sigh. Uncontrollably, they both began eating wildly, stuffing their palettes with another bite before almost gagging on the fine cuisine.
"…What was it that you said you wanted to be, son?" Mr. Fox asked from his position across the table.
Mickey looked up from his food with a stuffed mouth. After he swallowed hard, he attempted to answer the question, only to choke on the poorly chewed remnants of it. A swift array of coughs and gags sounded next, then Juan roughly pounded Mickey in the back. Juan just somehow knew the boy wasn’t actually in danger; the food just refused going down was the problem…
Billy watched Mickey drink huge gulps of the juice Mrs. Lenoire left out for them and answered for with with sly giggles. "Well Mr. Fox," he said. "
I want to be an Pokemon Coordinator."
He gestured over to Mickey, his eyes bugled out from almost dying at the dinner table. "Whereas my friend here wants to complete the League and challenge the Champion…"
Mr. Fox looked impressed by this. "’Complete the League’, eh?" he said. "Well how many Badges have you collected?"
Mickey gasped for air as the food slipped down and landed hard in his stomach.
Well that’s gonna be hard to digest…Mickey thought with an distasteful look. He wiped away the tear in his right eye, then affixed his glasses back onto his face before responding.
"…Thanks, Juan…" he said with a flash of his hand.
Juan didn’t respond, he merely rolled his eyes at nothing.
Mickey reached onto the floor and grabbed his bag, pulling out the same Badge Case he’d shown to the Gym Leader of Sootopolis. The set gleamed and sparkled as he showed it to Fox.
"I have a lot of Badges, sir." He said as he flipped to the badges he’d earned from Hoenn first. He turned the case around to show them to Mr. Fox, and everyone seemed impressed as they looked. "I’ve already gotten all the Badges from Hoenn and 3 from when I was in Johto too!" Mickey flipped to the slide in Kanto.
"But…" he said sadly. "I don’t have
any from this region…"
Elesa looked highly impressed, as did Volkner, but he tried his damn near hardest not to show it. Mickey saw the twitch that Volkner let off as he feigned a stoic appearance, making him grow a huge satisfied grin.
"That’s why we both came here!" Billy said wiping his mouth with his sleeve, receiving a glance from Mr. Fox. "Oh! Uhm…"
"All Billy here needs is one more ribbon and he can enter the grand festival. I need two more, just like I need two more Badges. One from here, and the other from Candace in Snowpoint City…" He shot a quick look to Volkner as he spoke about his particular city.
"I need six more badges…" Billy shamefully said. "I haven’t really been too active in Sinnoh." He pulled out his red Badge Case from his pocket and it opened up with a chime. "The only two I have are the Cobble Badge from Maylene in Veilstone, and the Relic Badge from Fantina in Hearthome…"
"…After meeting Fantina," Mickey continued. "Billy got more into Contests" With a passing glance from the corner of his eye, Mickey finished. "…and
beauty pageants…" Mickey said through gritted teeth, making Billy sink into his chair again.
Mr. Fox listened intently on the ensuing conversation, then looked to Volkner for his response, getting nothing of the sort. "Well Volkner?" he said, attempting to force it out. "You up for a Gym Battle? He only needs two more…"
Volkner finished his food and dropped his spoon to the table with a hard metallic clang. Without a word he stood up from the table and exited the Dining Room.
To shun an awkward moment away, the girl that sat on his left spoke up. "Sorry about Volkner," she said with a shrug. "He tends to get like that around the new guys. It was actually strange to see him speak up like that, though."
She flexed her arm around in her chair and smiled with a giggle, "I remember you two, believe it or not! Haha, it wasn't that long ago now that I think about it..."
That’s what she calls it? Mickey thought recalling the bubbly girls words. Then, it struck him.
Wait, did she just say…?
"Hey!" Billy yelled pointing to her and her bright red hair. "I
do remember you!"
Mickey thought she looked familiar, especially with the small flaming symbol on her dark black t-shirt. He just couldn’t quite place where he knew her from.
Billy nudged Mickey with his shoulder before speaking again. "You’re Flannery! Flannery from Lavaridge Town!"
Flannery blushed and scratched the back of her head. "Come on!" she laughed. "Remember? I told you not to be so formal with me!"
She and Billy shared a reminiscent laugh as it came back to Mickey who she was.
Flannery noticed Mickey’s confused expression and spoke to him over the idle chatter from different Trainers across the table. "Still don’t remember me, huh?" she asked as she observed him staring at the Heat Badge.
She playfully nudged Billy as she walked over to them. "Hiya, Juan!" she playfully said, knowing of his quiet, appertained demeanor.
Juan waved a slight hello in return to the fellow Gym Leader of Hoenn, but that was all he was going to allow himself to do.
With a giggle, Flannery turned back to Mickey and Billy. "Maybe
this will jog your memory:…" she said, affixing her posture to a more boasted and regal form. Billy knew right off hand what she was about to do, and mimicked her position as he stood next to her.
They both bent down, Flannery’s hair flipping over her head resembling a wild blaze, then they started making rock star noises with their tongues out in irregular proportions. It was amusing to Billy, remembering how when they first met it was at an Pokemon Contest in Hoenn. Then Mickey remembered how Flannery was the lead guitarist for a band out in Hoenn, the Burning Slugma.
When it all flooded back, even though he cursed at himself for forgetting something like that, Mickey stood up with the duo and mocked their actions happily. This went on for about a minute or so, all three mumbling the same tunes to one of Flannery’s rock songs, until Mr. Fox gave them all an uninterested look causing Mickey to regain his composure and take his seat again.
Billy and Flannery caught on to this and quickly scurried over to take theirs as well. Then, Mr. Fox continued.
Mickey shot one last look at Flannery before something that had been ailing him sparked up again. "Mr. Fox?" he asked getting his attention back. "Why do you have all these Gym Leaders and Elites around like this? Why aren’t they in their Regions doing all of their duties?"
Mr. Fox’s eyes narrowed as he scrambled for an answer. He noticed Juan shy away to another conversation with two more adult Trainers across from him, and quickly assumed he was on his own.
"Well Mickey, " he said reluctantly as Flannery flipped on her Pokedex and began typing away. "Sometimes, I schedule different times to have different Leaders come over. It helps to keep everyone up-to-date so that I can further along my plans…"
"What plans?" Billy asked as he nonchalantly played around in the rest of his undesired food.
Fox pretended not to hear the question as he turned to Mickey once more.
"Well, I guess Volkner isn’t gonna give you that battle just yet, Mickey…" he said dropping a napkin from his mouth. "But how’s about you two enter the upcomin’ Contest here in Sunyshore?"
Billy’s blue eyes sparkled brightly. "Contest!?" he beamed. "
Here?"
Fox nodded happily at Billy’s enthusiasm, but that didn’t mean Juan and Mickey were slightly intrigued as well.
"That’s right, it’s scheduled for tomorrow at the new Contest Hall. I’m sure you two’ll make the dead line if you sign up today..."
Flannery closed up her Pokedex with an agreeable nod. "He’s right, the dead-line is today at 6 o’clock. It’s only…" she took a reluctant peek at her watch. "…3:15 now!"
"Excellent!" Mr. Fox yelled out. "I’ll have Paul drive you over in a few minutes!" Until then…" he looked over at Billy’s messy white sleeve and gave him an weakish glare. "You two might want to clean yourselves up a bit. Miss Lenoire’ll take your plates if your finished…"
With a nod, and an embarrassed grin from Billy, the boys stood and dismissed themselves from the table…
"Hey, Billy…" Mickey said.
"Yeah? What is it?"
"Why is it that whenever we bring up something about our jobs, Mr. Fox keeps ignoring us?"
Billy thought about this for a second, and then laughed quietly. "We only asked about our jobs like…
one time, Mickey" he said, obviously not keeping count. "And plus, he probably just didn’t hear me that time! My head was down, you know?"
Mickey wasn’t satisfied, but remained silent as they walked past the many different Trainers to exit the dining room. "Yeah…" he said. "I guess your right…" even though he wasn’t. "I’ll be upstairs in the bathroom, getting ready. You should probably do the same…"
________________________
ALRIGHT! Chapter 6 is done!
But I have a slight side-plot that I'm going to place inside of here!
To sort of..."TEST"...my descriptive skills as of late, I'm going to have the boys enter a Pokemon Contest. Maybe then you all can see if my skills have improved or not..