Taylor Thompson
“Here you go!” Taylor said as she handed her completed battle form to one of the teachers behind the desks. The teacher glanced at it for a moment, occasionally raising an eyebrow at the strange tactics she had employed or squinting at the tiny letters she had wrote in. Finally, she pulled out a cardboard box from underneath one of the desks and, with a forceful shove, managed to pry it open, revealing a dozen of red school uniforms. Snatching one off of the top pile, she folded it and handed it to Taylor without a word. Taylor checked the size. Small. She shrugged; it was probably the lowest size they had.
Another teacher handed her a piece of paper, and Taylor walked away with it, glancing at the room number and the name of her roommate. According to the paper, she’d be stuck in the Red Dorms with an Abby-something-or-other. Truthfully, she wasn’t too happy about having another person share a dorm with her. For one thing, she liked to go out at night and explore; having to creep away without waking her roommate would be a pain. On another note, she tended to decorate her room in haunted house décor, which probably wasn’t going to be happening with another person walking around. Maybe she could just scare them out or something.
Then again, she hadn’t met her roommate yet. Until then, she’d have to give the benefit of the doubt to her dorm-mate.
A streak of lightning flashed across the sky, causing a few students nearby to shiver with fear. Taylor, however, smiled at the sound of the thunder. A perfectly ominous night… could the day get any better? She couldn’t miss out on exploring the woods nearby; not with the full moon shining so bright in the sky.
Without thinking, she walked into the creepy woods, flashing each shadow she came across with a wide grin. Taking a Poke Ball off her belt, she threw it into the air, releasing a newly rested Geist. At the sight of the menacing darkness, Geist’s eyes widened with happiness. It was just like Mt. Pyre… only with more trees.
“You know what, Geist?” Taylor began as they walked through the woods. The path they followed hadn’t been cleared in probably a few years. “I think we did pretty well today.” Geist nodded, his eyes scanning the foliage for signs of Pokémon hiding in the shadows. “I mean, we didn’t win a single match,” Taylor continued, “but, hey, I don’t think we’ve fought this hard since… ever, really.” She raised an eyebrow at Geist. “Find anything interesting?” Geist shook his head.
Suddenly, a strange light began to shine through the branches of the trees. For a moment, the duo stared at it, unsure of what to do. Finally, with a quick exchange of glances, they fled behind the nearby trees.
Three students, each wearing a different colored uniform, walked through the forest, passing through the trees as if they didn’t even exist. They were pale, unhealthily pale, with dark circles forming under their eyes. The middle one held a flashlight, which wavered back and forth, threatening to go out at any moment.
“I-I think… we’re lost…” the yellow-uniformed student whispered, her words mixing into the wind. Taylor could hear her heart thumping in her eyes. Could… could they really be… ghosts? She glanced at Geist out of the corner of her eye and frowned. He was shivering slightly, his eyes wide. Funny; he never acted so scared around Ghost-types…
The students continued walking, disappearing into the darkness. A few minutes passed in silence as Geist and Taylor watched, wondering if they would appear again. When they didn’t, Taylor hopped out of her hiding spot and ran over to the area where the students had walked. No footprints. She couldn’t believe her luck.
“Dude…” Taylor whispered, “I think that was our first encounter with a paranormal! This is amazing! Geist, you gotta come look at this! Err… well, come not look at this… you know what I mean.” No answer came. She frowned. “Aw, c’mon, Geist. You’re a freakin’ Ghost-type. How could you possibly be scared of a couple a- GAH!”
She screamed as a shivering purple cloth landed on her head. Pulling the Pokémon from her face, she dragged the shaking Geist to her shoulder. “How many times have I told you not to do that?!” She exclaimed, her voice echoed through the forest. Geist hugged her shoulder, his eyes darting around the woods. Sighing, Taylor declared, “Well, it’s late enough as is. We might as well get to our dorm before someone finds out we’re gone.”
They made their way through the woods, stumbling out of the forest and into the girl’s dorms for the Flareon house. Her bags, which she had left under a boulder to prevent getting them wet, had been completely untouched. Smiling, she snatched her bags from the ground, heaved them onto her free shoulder, and walked into the dorm.
The door closed behind her with a soft creak, and she threw her bags onto the ground beside her bead. A frown appeared on her face as she examined the room. The dorm had been divided into two separate sides; two dressers and two beds with two tables beside them, only one of which had a mirror. A closet and a bathroom sat side-by-side in the back of the dorm; the closet was already halfway full with a set of clothes Taylor was tempted to take. Only two windows lined the dorms walls: one in the front, and one on her roommate’s side of the dorm. Fortunately for her, Taylor’s side was void of most sunlight.
Taylor quickly changed into a set of dry pajamas, leaving her wet clothes hanging on a rack in the bathroom to dry overnight. Returning Geist to his Poke Ball, she threw her unpacked stuff onto the table beside her and went to bed, her mind still racing about the ghosts she had encountered…
The Next Morning…
By the time Taylor had woken up, her roommate was as good as gone. On the bright side, this gave her plenty of time to finish unpacking and setting up her room in just the perfect way. By the time she was finished, her side of the room looked as if Halloween had come early. Several bottles of unidentifiable liquid sat by her daily care products, along with a specially designed, glow-in-the-dark magnifying glass. Posters of the various “unloved” types – Darks, Ghosts, Bugs, and Poisons – hung diagonally above her bed. A cork board had managed to fit itself in the middle of the posters, and was already filled by miscellaneous papers and morbid newspapers articles. She had already plugged in a lamp and a black Ipod system – complete with a black Ipod – into a nearby wall. Finally, a selection of books sat at her bedside table, including such works as “A Ghosthunters Guide to the Galaxy” and “Ghostbusting: For Dummies.”
After a quick change and a shower, Taylor sprinted out the door, Geist following behind her sleepily. “Hurry it up, Geist!” She shouted, “We’re gonna be late for breakfast!” In the midst of all her redecorating, she had forgotten to keep track of the time.
By the time they reached the lunchroom, only a few people were still eating their breakfast. Grabbing a tray from off a shelf, she snatched the remains of pancakes, MooMooMilk, Tailow Eggs, and a few packets of Pokémon chow. Sitting down at a random table (and getting a few stares in doing so), she stared through a window and into the forest beyond, absentmindedly going through the events of the ghost’s appearance in her mind. Grabbing a bag of Pokémon food with his mouth, Geist did the same.
