"Well, girls' rooms are this way," Rhythmi beckoned to Summer. She followed, and Rhythmi started to talk.

"It's nice to have another girl at school. More than half of the students here are boys, so there's not that many of us."

"How many exactly?" asked Summer.

"Thirteen out of twenty students." Rhythmi looked thoughtful for a moment. "Actually, now with you here, that would be thirteen out of twenty-one."

"Hmm. I guess most of the guys here are interested in being Rangers then."

"There are only four of them who are planning to be Rangers."

Summer raised a brow. "Really? Only four?"

"Yep," Rhythmi responded. "Four Pokémon Rangers, three for Operators, four Mechanics, and my friend Isaac, who's a scientist."

Summer counted the numbers silently. "That's only twelve."

"The thirteenth is Ponte, but he keeps going back and forth between what he wants to do. That's why most of the people here call him the 'Conflicted Marshmallow Boy.'"

Before Summer could ask about the marshmallow part, the two of them reached a door.

"Here's the girls' dorm," Rhythmi opened the door.

Summer peeked inside and crinkled her nose when she saw the wallpaper. "A little too pink for my taste."

"Not a big fan of the color?" Rhythmi asked as they entered the room.

Summer shrugged. "Eh, I can take it or leave it."

Taking in the room, Summer saw that the walls were lined with six pairs of bunk beds, three on each side. At the end of each side were a couple of dressers.

"So... what bed isn't taken?"

"The top part of my bunk bed isn't taken yet," Rhythmi grinned. "Feel free to take it if you want."

"Coolie."

"All the way from Sinnoh? Geez, that's so far from here."

"I heard that the Sinnoh region's one of those places with Gym Leaders," one of the girls said. "Did you ever meet one of them?"

"Once," Summer answered. "My older sister's a Pokémon trainer, and she took me with her to watch her do a gym battle with our town's Gym Leader."

All of the students in the commons widened their eyes. Summer was telling them about herself, and they all seemed interested in how other people in the world did things. She had thought that they wouldn't have liked the idea of Pokémon trainers, Poké Balls, gym battles, and the like, but they apparently didn't mind it at all.

"That must have been so awesome to see," said one of the boys.

Summer shrugged. "It was a little. I don't like the battling stuff for myself, but I guess it works for those who do it."

"It's still cool all the same," another boy said.

"Hey, where's the new kid?" called out a loud voice from the staircase.

"Sounds like Keith found out about you," Rhythmi said as she grinned.

Summer looked towards the staircase. The next moment, she saw the guy from earlier.

Keith saw Rhythmi and ran up to her. "Hey Rhyth, have you seen the new kid yet?"

"That would be me: the girl whose arm you hurt earlier," Summer waved from her seat. Keith turned to her, and Summer gave him a smile. "Hello again."

Rhythmi looked back and forth from Summer to Keith. "Wait, you've met Keith already?"

Summer turned to Rhythmi. "Sort of. He was chasing a Bidoof, didn't notice Miss April and me, ran past us, bumped my arm, and didn't know he did it."

"That sounds like him all right," Rhythmi muttered.

"Miss April told me that you were planning on being a Pokémon Ranger," Keith said. "That true, new kid?"

"Uh, yeah." Summer raised a brow. 'What's up with calling me 'new kid'? Why doesn't he just ask what my name is?

"How long did it take you to capture the Pikachu? Ten minutes? Twenty?"

Summer shrugged. "I dunno; four seconds, give or take."

The other students gaped at Summer. "If it was actually four seconds, then that's a new record!" one of the girls exclaimed.

Keith crossed his arms. "I doubt it was four seconds. You're just saying that."

Summer rolled her eyes. "Look, all I know is that it was pretty fast. If you want to know how long it really took, ask Miss April or Mr. Kaplan."

"I plan to." And with that, Keith ran to the stairs and out of sight.

Summer sounded annoyed as she looked at Rhythmi and griped, "Miss April told me that he's a lot more polite than he seems, but so far, I don't see it."

"Keith's kind of competitive, so he sometimes forgets his manners when coming face to face with someone who might be better than he is. But once he gets to know you a little more, then he'll show his nice side."

"What, are you friends with him or something?"

"Yep. One of my best friends."

"That's sort of hard to believe considering how he's been acting," said Summer.

Rhythmi chuckled. "Trust me, it's believable. Hey, since curfew isn't for a while, why don't I show you the rest of the school? You don't want to be lost on your first day."

Summer looked up at the clock, reading 8:51. Curfew was at nine thirty, lights out at ten, so there was enough time to go without getting in trouble. "Okay."

"All right! Now let's start a quick Rhythmi's Tour of Wonder and Excitement!" She grabbed Summer's hand and led her downstairs. "Coming down from the commons, the direction to the library is to the right. You'll usually find Keith there when it's not class time so that he can take a quick nap, and one will just about always see Isaac."

"Who's Isaac, exactly?" asked Summer. "You mentioned before that he's here to be a scientist, but other than that..."

"He's another friend of mine and has a genius IQ. Because of that, he doesn't have to be in class."

"Then why..."

"...is he still here?" Rhythmi finished. "Isaac's been working on something pretty big for the past two years, and it's something required for graduation."

"What's required?" Summer asked.

"In order to graduate, a Ranger School student has to prove that they're ready in whatever occupancy they're doing. Like for you, you'd have to show many spectacular captures during the school year or over a three year period."

Rhythmi opened the door to the library. "Our library has lots of subjects like the Ranger Union, the history of all the different regions, encyclopedias on all the discovered Pokémon in the world, and lots of other stuff. It could take you years to read all of them. Isaac's tried, and he's only done half of them."

"It would definitely take me years to read them all; I'm a slow reader," Summer looked around at all of the shelves and snapping a picture with her camera. Near the back of the room, she spotted a blonde haired boy pointing at the air in front of him and making odd hand motions. Summer tapped Rhythmi on the shoulder. "Is that Isaac?"

Rhythmi looked to where Summer was pointing. "Yeah, that's him. Must be doing a math problem 'cause he only does that when trying to solve a complicated one. I'll introduce you to him tomorrow; he gets a little testy when anyone interrupts."

The two girls left the library, and Rhythmi led the way in the opposite direction. "This way is the staff room. The teachers hang around there when classes aren't going on. If you want to talk to the principal, he's always in there."

"You mean Mr. Splend...dof...dif...dificious...splendif..." Summer stumbled over the principal's last name. She knew what it was but couldn't quite say it.

"Just call him Mr. Lamont. His last name is way too hard to pronounce, so he told us to call him by his first."

"Sort of like how Miss April's last name is Powers and prefers to be called by her first name?" Summer asked.

"A little, I guess." Now Rhythmi motioned for Summer to follow her down the hallway. "Down here are the classrooms. Our room, Miss April's classroom, is on our right. To the left is Mr. Kincaid's class. I don't like him that much. Get on his bad side, and he'll try to get you in detention every chance he can get. Keith's been on his radar since day one."

'I have no doubt about that.'

"If you're in the hallway and he's around, don't run. 'No running in the halls' is his catchphrase. And try not to breathe through the nose at the same time; he wears tons of hairspray, and it can make you cough like crazy."

Summer crinkled her nose. "Just great. I've hated that crap for years."

"I used to use hairspray myself up until two years ago. That's when I first met Kincaid, and I stopped using it altogether."

Now Rhythmi and Summer stepped through the school doors and outside. "Out here is the Training Room where gym class and Fundamentals of Rangers is held," Rhythmi pointed to the building where Summer had taken her entrance exam. "Everybody does gym, although Ranger students' gym class is a bit more rigorous. Fundamentals are strictly for Rangers, and you guys practice what you'll do on the field."

"I can't wait," Summer smiled and took a picture of the schoolyard.

"And now our final stop: Ascen—"

"No, wait!"

The girls turned and saw multiple Bidoof running in different directions. Janice ran behind one, clearly running out of breath. "Oh, dear! I cannot run as well as I used to." She looked up and spotted Rhythmi and Summer near the school doors. "Oh, girls! Please help me out with my Bidoof!"

Rhythmi turned to Summer. "Let's see those Ranger skills of yours. I think Capturing them will be just the thing to calm them down."

Summer looked all around the schoolyard, Janice's Bidoof running with scared looks on their faces. "You've got it." But just as she was about to run toward a Bidoof, someone pulled on her mid-long brown hair. "Ow!!" She spun around and came face to face with Keith, an innocent smile on his face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?! You don't just pull on somebody's hair like that! How old are ya, six?"

Keith laughed. "You're off by about ten years there, sweetheart." He pointed at Summer, then at himself. "You, me, Capture contest race on Janice's Bidoof right now. Whoever Captures the most wins."

Summer crinkled her nose. "I don't give a damn about some ridiculous  Capture contest. Help with the Bidoof and call it a contest if you want!" With that statement, she handed Rhythmi her camera and ran toward a Bidoof near the Training Room building.

"Now that's a feisty spirit," Keith grinned and ran to a Bidoof in the opposite direction.

Rhythmi rolled her eyes. "Oh, great; not again."

"Capture complete!" Summer announced proudly.

The group of three Bidoof blinked and stared up at Summer. "Go back to Janice now." She pointed to the middle of the schoolyard, where Janice and Rhythmi stood with several other Bidoof.

"Capture complete!" Keith shouted from the other side of the yard. He looked to the middle as well and sent his captured Bidoof towards Janice's direction.

"That's all of them, guys!" Rhythmi called to Summer and Keith. They nodded and came up to Rhythmi, Janice, and her Bidoof.

"So, how many did I manage to Capture?" Keith asked, crossing his arms and grinning cockily.

Rhythmi tried to refrain from laughing. It was too easy sometimes to pop Keith's bubble, especially when he thought he could win so easily. "You got (giggle) four."

Keith frowned at his friend. Rhythmi didn't giggle that much; laughed yes, but not giggle. Whenever she did, that meant she had some news that he wouldn't like. Then he remembered what she had said. "Four of Janice's Bidoof out of her nine... which means that Summer caught five!!"

"A-ha! I knew that you remembered what our new classmates' name is," Rhythmi pointed an accusatory finger at Keith. "You and your dumb jokes..."

Keith blushed red, but then he went back to his usual grin and looked at Summer. "I'll admit that you're pretty good for someone who just learned about this stuff. I'd rate your captures 65 out of 100. The next time we have a Capture contest, I'll definitely win."

Summer rolled her eyes. "Like I said before, I didn't consider it a contest; you did. To me, when helping somebody out with their Pokémon, it is not a good time to play a game."

"I wasn't playing a game," said Keith, crossing his arms. "Capture contests are for perfecting your skills as a Ranger."

Summer copied Keith and crossed her arms. "Then why did you say, 'The next time we have a Capture contest, I'll win?' That seems like its game to you, Red."

Keith snorted. "Yeah, there's an original nickname."

"Thanks for your help, kids," Janice interrupted. She bent down to a Bidoof with a blue scarf around its' neck. "I'm so sorry I stepped on your tail, Buddy. I'll make it up to you by making your Poké Puffs a little spicier than usual, okay?"

Buddy, the Bidoof, jumped up and rubbed his head against Janice's leg. "Bidoof! Bid bid bidoof!"

Janice checked her watch. "Eleven minutes until curfew. If there's anything that you three have to finish up with, you'd better do it quickly."

"Okay. Thanks, Janice." The kids waved to the caretaker as she and her Bidoof went inside.

Rhythmi turned to Summer. "We'd better hurry up to our last stop."

"Ascension Square, I bet," Keith said.

"Duh."

"Where is this Ascension Square?" Summer asked.

"Down by the docks," Rhythmi and Keith said at the same time. The two friends looked at each other and laughed. 

"Might as well come with you," Keith said.

Rhythmi shrugged. "I guess that's okay. Even if I said no, you'd follow us anyway."

Keith grinned craftily. "You know me so well, Rhyth."

"I should; we've been best friends for almost ten years now." 

The three power-walked to the east side of the schoolyard. Summer, behind Rhythmi and Keith, spoke up. "Are you sure this last part can't wait 'til tomorrow? To be frank, I'd rather not get in trouble on my first night here."

"Not to worry, Summy. So long as we go fast like this, we won't get in trouble."

"Do not call me that, Keith," Summer frowned angrily. "My parents call me that, and I can barely tolerate it from them."

Keith walked backward to look at her, his hands behind his head and a grin on his face. However, the grin disappeared once he saw the look in Summer's eyes. Her electric blue eyes stared at him rather coldly, her pupils slit like a Persian's. "Okay, I won't call you that," he said.

Summer could tell by the tone of his voice that the redhead meant it. She could also tell from the lack of Keith's usual grin that she had had that look in her eyes.

Rhythmi had heard the tone of Keith's voice as well and was quite surprised. It wasn't that often when he was serious about not calling someone a name they didn't like. "Um... here it is!"

Keith faced forward, and Summer looked around the small square yard they had come to. A giant rock statue, shaped like the Ranger insignia on the top, stood next to the staircase. Summer took out her camera from her jeans pocket and snapped quick pictures of the trees, the rocky cliff behind the statue, and the docks nearby. When she took a picture of the statue, she took her time taking it, focusing on it from a good angle, and making sure it looked 100% good. It took several snaps before she was satisfied.

"That is the Pledge Stone," Rhythmi noticed Summer's many pictures of the statue. "Mr. Lamont says that if you make a pledge in front of it, and you're with your friends, it's bound to come true."

"That sounds amazing," Summer said, putting her camera away and staring at the Pledge Stone.

"You bet it is. If the Pledge Stone weren't so far away from the school, I'd probably spend my naps near here instead of the library," said Keith, having gotten over Summer's evil eye expression.

"And thus ends our quick, but fun, Rhythmi's Tour of Wonder and Excitement! We hope you have enjoyed this tour. If you wish to tip your tour guide, please do so now."

They all cracked up at her joke. A bell from the school went off at that moment of hilarity, making Rhythmi and Keith lookup.

"That's the five-minute warning bell," said Rhythmi. "We'd better hurry back."

"Last one there's a Slowpoke!" Summer shouted and took off.

"Cheater!" yelled Keith, running after the brunette.

"No fair running ahead! I'm shorter than you guys!" Rhythmi whined but laughed nonetheless.

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Word count: 2712