"Before I Turn this Tassel," written by Freedom Fighter Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of the characters associated with the show. All names and likenesses are copyrighted by Nintendo, 4Kids Entertainment, and anyone else who had a hand in creating the show. ====== Chapter Seven - On Overdrive (12.05.02) Wednesday, May 29th, 2002... "What level does Pineco evolve at?" "Level 26." Inside the Pokémon Tech Reference Library... "Name the two types of Pokémon a steel Pokémon has an advantage over." "Fire-types and fighting-types." Among the scores of students finishing final projects and studying for final exams... "What is the attack known as Perish Song designed to do?" "To honor the fall of a fellow Pokémon." Were Angela and Giselle. And Angela seemed to be very confused at the answers she was getting from her friend. She decided to try one more... "How many Pokémon can a trainer carry at one time?" "As many as his or her arms can hold." Angela shot Giselle an odd glance. "Are you even listening to me, because you got every single question wrong." Giselle snapped out of her trance. "What?!" "Oh, that's just great!" a voice shouted. The two girls turned to the next table over, where a 14 year-old guy was fuming as he tore up his notes and stomped away. "Hey Philip, I thought you said she was supposed to be a genius..." the guy yelled across the room. Ignoring the teen, Giselle turned to make sure she was hearing Angela right. "What do you mean I got them all wrong?" Angela counted off the correct answers as she gave them. "Pineco evolves at Level 31, steel Pokémon are strong against ice-types and rock-types, Perish Song makes both current Pokémon faint three turns after it is activated, unless the affected Pokémon are recalled before then, and you can only hold six Pokémon at once." Giselle was shocked, but she tried desperately to make up an excuse. "I was just testing you, that's all." But Angela had already pinpointed the real reason. "It's him, isn't it?" Giselle's face became red. "Don't GO there!" "If you feel that way about him, you shouldn't have let him leave this morning." "I let him leave this morning because he wanted to go. Why should I try to stop him? It's his life." "True, but he may not have considered leaving without your advice." "Which I never intended to give in the first place! I told you, I'm not going to fall for a man twice my age. I wouldn't feel comfortable." "But you'd feel comfortable with someone your age," Angela smirked slyly. "Someone like..." "Joe, right? I think you should know that we're not officially together." "You talked for the guy how long the other day?" "About an hour. Why?" "A girl only spends that long on the phone if she's talking to her parents, her girlfriends, or... her significant other." "Stop insinuating that I like Joe!" "Why? Because you know it's true?" Giselle didn't respond. "Girl, this whole 'hiding your feelings' idea of yours won't work! Especially with finals starting on Monday. How do you expect to concentrate when you've got those two guys running through your mind?" "I can manage. I'll prove I can manage." "Stop kidding yourself, Giselle. Look, I'll make the decision easy for you." "I don't need your help..." "Ronaldo's gone, off to who knows where, and you don't if he'll be back. But Joe's coming to you because he missed you and wants to see you graduate. Now, which guy do you think cares about you more, huh?" "I see your point. But don't expect me to fall head over heels for Joe when he gets here for the ceremony next week." "Okay, whatever you want." "Can we get back to studying now? I do have a reputation to keep up, you know." ====== The rest of Wednesday went without a hitch, as did Thursday. Friday looked as if it would also be uneventful, as Giselle exited her last class as a Pokémon Tech student that afternoon. She was actually glad that the semester was finally over. For her, it meant that no one would bother her because they'd be too busy trying to study for their finals. Which suited her well, because she was quite melancholy on this particular day as she cradled a textbook in her arms and twirled around with it. "I've never felt this free before," Giselle said aloud, smiling as she turned to the clock tower that stood at the main entrance leading onto campus. "Just four exams stand between me and graduating as Tech's first female valedictorian!" Giselle stopped to let a small breeze of wind blow through her hair. She didn't care much about the other students at the moment, who just walked around her. "The world of Pokémon is calling me," she uttered softly. "This time next week, every trainer in the world will see how good the students of Pokémon Tech can really be!" "Then I guess I'd better warn my friends then," a voice shouted through the crowd. Giselle looked around, curious to see where the voice had come from. And then, through a break in the crowd, she found the source. Needless to say, she was surprised to see him. "Joe? Is that really you?" It was indeed Joe, as he made his way through the moving herd of students either going to their next class or heading back to their rooms to start studying, and stopped right in front of her. "I almost didn't recognize you," Giselle said to Joe, smirking. "You actually fixed your hair today." "It's the only way I'd be sure that you'd remember me," Joe said, nervously. "How could I ever forget you? We're friends for life. Remember?" "Yeah, I remember. Gee, you look much different than before." "What do you mean?" Giselle twirled around to give Joe a chance to see her whole figure. "I haven't grown that much in three years. Girls usually have their spurts before boys, and I had mine just before you left. You, on the other hand..." "You probably would've thought of me as another guy just trying to pick you up." "Who's to say you're not trying to pick me up now?" Joe blushed as he began to twiddle his fingers. "Well... I um..." "Well," Giselle began, going into lecture mode, "if you want to impress me, you've got to show me a good time. So... where are you going to take me first?" "But... uh... shouldn't you be..." "Studying? I've been studying all week, Joe! I need a break!" "But I don't know any good places around here to go." "Nonsense! There are plenty of places to hang out at. Let me just go back to my room to drop my things off, and then we'll head out." "You serious? You and... m-me?" Giselle put her hands on her hips. "You've missed me ever since you left Tech, haven't you?" Too nervous to say anything, Joe just nodded affirmatively. "Well, here's your chance to prove it. Otherwise, you wouldn't have come here a whole week early!" "Okay then. Lead the way, Giselle." ====== For the rest of the day, Giselle and Joe saw the sights... what few there were... just off of campus. From a nearby shopping center to a local wild Pokémon preserve to Tech's own Hall of Fame Museum they went, enjoying each other's company despite odd glances from some people. As night fell, Giselle and Joe returned to campus, where they enjoyed a late dinner of instant ramen... in her room. "I had a fun time today," Joe said as he sucked in a spoonful of soup water. "Where are your manners?" Giselle asked him as she glared at him. "You know better than that!" "Sorry," Joe apologized before grinning like a cheshire cat. "I guess being on the road alone for so long has affected my eating habits." "No duh," Giselle confirmed as she placed the cup of soup on top of the microwave. "You're not going to finish it?" Joe asked as Giselle got up and walked up to her desk. "I've got to get back to studying," she said as looked for one of her textbooks. "Already? Don't you have the weekend to relax?" Giselle shook her head. "My first exam's at eleven in the morning." Joe began to freak out. "What? I thought exams didn't start 'til Monday!" "Not anymore. We're the first class to have exams start the day after classes end. Written exams start tomorrow and go until Tuesday, and then practicals are Wednesday and Thursday." "Why did they change it?" "They wanted an extra exam day because a lot of people in last year's expert class complained about being overwhelmed for having exams five straight days. And plus, they wanted to leave Friday open for make-ups and calculating grades. I heard that seven students didn't even know if they were graduating or not until the ceremony actually started last year." Joe got up out of his seat and placed his cup next to Giselle. "If that's the case, I'd better go." "Where are you staying?" "At a motel a few miles out of Cerulean City. Why?" Giselle jumped up out of her seat. "You're not going anywhere, Joe!" "Why not? I have to go!" "It's already dark outside. I'm not letting you walk to Cerulean City this late at night." "But I'm staying with a friend..." "So? Call him and tell him you can't make it back! Besides, you can sleep in my bed." That really freaked Joe out. "What? Giselle, I know we haven't seen each other in three years, but we still don't even know each other that well!" Giselle blinked in confusion. "What are you blabbering about now, Joe? There's nothing wrong with you sleeping in my bed." "Giselle! Don't you think it's odd for us to be sleeping together?" "I'm not sleeping in the bed WITH you! You're sleeping in the bed alone!" "It's your bed, Giselle. You should be sleeping in it!" "Stop arguing with me, Joe! I'm not going to use it anyway. I'm going to pull an all-nighter tonight." Joe breathed a sigh of relief. "So that's why you want me to sleep in your bed." "If you honestly think I was THAT much in love with you, you need to have your head examined." Joe laughed his mistake off. "Hey, people make honest mistakes." "I don't." "That's because you're... well, you're just Giselle." Giselle looked at Joe and smiled. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." ====== The following morning, Giselle and Joe walked out of North Hall. They hugged each other goodbye as they prepared to go their separate ways... for the time being. "Good luck on your exams," Joe said wishfully. "Don't forget me while you're exploring the sights in Cerulean," Giselle told him. "I won't. If you need anything, you can call my friend's house and leave a message." Giselle smirked. "Trust me, Joe. I won't need your help." "I'll trust you on that." "See you on Wednesday then." The two waved farewell as Giselle trotted off to her first exam, while Joe headed off campus and back towards Cerulean City. Little did either of them know that a pair of violet eyes was watching them from a second floor North Hall window... ****** Preview of Chapter 8: "The Final Test" - Final exam week begins in earnest, but has Giselle prepared thoroughly enough? - Is Joe really thinking of Giselle as he tours Cerulean by himself? - And why has someone on campus shown interest in our two favorite Tech students? Intrigued? Stay tuned as we approach the finale! And don't forget to come back for another new installment of "Before I Turn This Tassel" next Thursday!