*Cue opening song ‘Let’s Get It Started’ by Black Eyed Peas*
Year 1, December
It was time for the language lesson to begin and Miss Whitney the teacher had an announcement to make. “Good news!” she said cheerfully. “A friend of mine is getting married!”
Her students were surprised at the news and gave out words of happiness and encouragement.
“That’s great news, miss!”
“Congratulations!”
“Additional words of congrats, miss!”
“…That’s why we’re having a test today!” Miss Whitney said enthusiastically. That brought total displeasure to the students.
“Again!? That’s twice in one month!”
“What!? That’s not fair!”
“You gotta be kidding me!”
“Additional words of protest, Miss!”
“Shut up!” Miss Whitney snapped sternly. She got a bunch of test papers out of her folder and placed them on her desk, tapping them down until the level of each sheet was even.
“Taking her frustrations out, huh?” whispered one of the students.
“Yep,” whispered another. “But what can we do?”
After the test was taken and class was finished, it was time for lunch. Club presidents Marley and Rui opened a flowers club. Their clubroom had a number of flowers, all of them different by colour and appearances. It also had a number of books about them.
Some of their friends from various classes, a few other students they didn’t know and a teacher turned up because they were interested in it and other reasons. Some were there to admire the beauty of the flowers, some were using the club for their science projects and other studies, some only turned up for other reasons of which was to Marley’s dismay. She saw Ken inside the room, standing next to one of the tables, looking at Rui. She narrowed her eyes towards him while a glint sparkled slightly in one of them. “Excuse me,” she said bitterly towards them while everyone was checking out the flowers. “What are you doing here?”
“Er… just checking out the flowers,” Ken said.
Marley shook her head, not fooling for that lie. “Don’t bother lying to me. I can see that you’re after Rui and you’re using this club for a reason. You want to show her that you have something in common with, which you don’t, and then ask her out, is that true?”
Ken slightly blushed as he turned towards Rui who overheard the whole thing, looking back at him with surprised eyes. “Well, er… I wanted to see if I can, like, y’know, get to know the flowers so that I can have something common with her.”
“Is something alright over here?” asked a woman’s voice, catching their attention. She had pale skin with brown and long dark green hair that reached down to her lower back.
“Ms. Sabrina,” Rui said, feeling awkward of this situation.
“Don’t worry, Miss,” Marley said, holding her hand up. “I got everything under control. I was about to make a decision whether or not he’s allowed to join.”
Sabrina looked towards and saw how calm and confident she was by looking at her body language. She checked her watch. “I must go. I’m sure that you’ll make a wise, calculating decision,” she said as she took her leave.
As soon as she left the room, Marley quickly turned her attention back to Ken. “No,” she said.
Ken was shocked by that decision. “What!? That was quick!?” he complained. “Don’t I at least get a trial!?”
“Er…” Rui said. “It’s fine by me but…”
Marley held her hand up again. “Unlike you and me, he doesn’t care about nature or the flowers,” she said. “They live and breathe like you and me. He’s only here to ask you out as usual. I don’t think he got the message ever since he asked you out for the first time.”
“Come on! At least give me a chance!” Ken cried, catching everyone’s attention. “I won’t cause any trouble around here and I’ll learn a lot… a few… a couple of things about flowers, I promise!”
Marley smiled at his desire to be part of the flowers club, just to be with Rui. “Okay, I’ll set you a test,” she said.
“We never done tests before,” Rui whispered into her ear.
“First time for everything,” she whispered back before talking to Ken again. “Excuse me while I choose two flowers.”
She walked over to one of the nearby table picked up two random flowerpot filled plants. One of them was a red flower with black dots in various parts of its petals and some black pollen while the other was a blue violet with yellow pollen.
“One of the flowers I have chosen was planted by me and the other was planted by Rui,” she said while everyone observed what was going on. Rui felt uncomfortable of what her friend was doing; yet she didn’t bicker a word. “If you can guess which one is Rui’s then you can join the club. After all, if you really like her then you should be able to tell which one’s which.”
“Eh? I never had to do this when I first joined,” said one of the club members behind her.
Ignoring the people talking in the background, Ken looked down on the flowers, judging them by their appearance. “(Rui’s flower obviously is the better looking one),” he thought to himself when he looked at the blue violet. He lowered his head down towards it and took a big sniff. He felt a huge sensation in his body after that. “Oh, yeah!” he yelled. “That smelt great like some top quality perfume! This one must be Rui’s!”
“Aren’t you going to try the other one?” Marley asked with narrowed eyes.
“Of course I’m gonna!”
“Er… Marley,” Rui said, trying to explain. “I…”
Marley calmly held her hand up, stopping her friend saying another word while Ken took a whiff of the red flower. “Hey, wait a minute! This flower smells just as beautiful! Sure, it’s a different but still beautiful!” Ken exclaimed excitedly before he sniffed the red flower again. “I can’t tell which is which!” he cried.
He carried on sniffing the flowers, trying to identify which one was Rui’s. His face was becoming completely red, his skin was covered in his own sweat, and his mind was racing, all courtesy of the flowers. “Er… Ken?” Rui said nervously, trying to stop him.
“I ca-a-an’t…!” Ken screamed before passing out and collapsing to the floor much to the shock of the club members. With a small smirk, Marley picked up the flowers and placed them back on the other table… where it was labelled, ‘Do not sniff these flowers’.
“Marley… I know that you know that I don’t like the guy. You want to keep him away from me and I appreciate that but you didn’t have to go that far,” Rui said, scared of Marley’s maliciousness towards Ken.
“I was afraid that he may cause a scene in this room or anywhere else,” Marley said. “It was obvious that he would go to any length to go dating with you but for the wrong reasons. He was willing to go to that level. So was I.”
Marley looked at the motionless Ken lying on his back with concern in her eyes. “So, what can we do with him? I hope he’s not…”
“He’s only stunned and can’t feel a thing but He’ll wake up in half-an-hour or so,” Marley said simply.
“So, which flower was Rui’s?” asked one of the club members.
“Neither, they were both mine,” Marley answered, much to the member’s surprise.
“Hey hey! Marley! Rui! Everybody!” yelled an enthusiastic and excited voice, catching everyone’s attention, apart from Ken who was still unconscious. It was Barry standing by the door. “The New Yorker is opening up a karaoke party next week to celebrate the upcoming holiday season!” he shouted before noticing Ken lying motionlessly on the floor. “Hey, what’s he doing there?” he asked in puzzlement.
Suddenly, Kim rushed into the room and saw his taller brother on the floor, much to his annoyance. “That dufus!” he shouted angrily. “He’s supposed to be getting some stuff for our homework!”
Half an hour later, as Marley predicted, Ken woke up from his unconsciousness. He found himself sitting on a chair with a blanket over him. He was still in the room where the club was being except no one was here. “Well, that was surreal,” he said to himself groggily, remembering the challenge Marley set for him.
“Shoot! I forgot my book!” a girl’s voice as she ran back into the room. She saw him sitting in the chair, looking at her. “Oh, hi!” she said.
“Hi,” Ken replied casually. “Do you know where the class presidents are?”
“Oh, they just left. They’re getting ready for the next lesson. You should get there too.”
“I see,” Ken said looking down, wondering if he actually got accepted.
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” the girl said optimistically with a smile. “You don’t have to know anything about flowers, even I don’t know anything about them. I’m sure they accepted you as a club member. Everyone’s welcome.”
Ken smiled in response. “Thanks,” he said. “What’s your name?”
“Sakura. I’ll catch you later.”
With that, she left the room in a hurry. Ken got up from his seat and placed the blanket on one of the tables before making his exit, where students and teachers made their way to their classrooms. Along the way, she saw Marley placing a poster on a notice board. “Hey, Marley,” he said, catching her attention.
“What?” she asked, turning her head towards him.
“I wanna say that there are no hard feelings between us. I appreciate your decisions.”
“No problem,” Marley replied as she finished placing the poster on the notice board and walked away. Ken took a look at the poster, which he read out, ‘The Flower Club. Everyone is welcome but the following people are banned: Ken Invincible and Mr. Brawly’.
After a few seconds of reading that note, he sighed and lowered his head down in shame and defeat.
A week later, during the language lesson, Ms. Whitney had some news to say to her students. “Guess what, I went to the wedding the other day,” she said happily.
“Oh crud…” murmured one of the students. “Another sudden test.” The others didn’t say anything in protest but they had a feeling of what was coming as well.
Miss Whitney let out a small chortle. Then her laughter became bigger and louder, scaring everyone in the room. Soon, she stopped laughing and showed off a small shrug and arrogant smirk. “Idiots are always in a rush,” she said smugly. “Remember that, kids.”
The kids couldn’t help but give her an awkward stare.
A couple of hours later after school, a large number of people came to the New Yorker for the karaoke party. Wes, Rui, Dawn, Zoey, Marley, Wally, Brendan and Barry walked towards their favourite restaurant. “It’s all karaoke, baby!” Barry yelled excitedly.
“Yes, you’ve been saying for the last five minutes, Barry,” Brendan said moodily. “And it’s not getting me annoyed.”
“Karaoke, baby!” Barry yelled at his friend’s face.
“Okay, I was wrong,” Brendan said getting very annoyed.
Barry tapped his hand on Brendan’s stomach; letting out a small laugh in triumph.
“So, Wes,” Rui said, looking up to her ‘knight in shining armour’. “What kind of music do you like?”
“Well, mainly pop and rock,” Wes replied simply. “But there are other songs that I like too.”
“Hey, I like pop a lot as well,” Rui replied, happy that she and Wes had something in common. “Can you sing?”
“Well… I don’t know. I never sang to anyone before.”
Upon their entry, they saw a large number of people sitting at different tables and a small stage set up at the corner of the large room with microphones and a TV screen that displays the lyrics to various songs. The people were either having a chat, enjoying their drinks and snacks or enjoy listening to a person singing one of the songs.
Not only that, they saw their other friends and rivals from another class, consisted of Ash, Pikachu, Misty, May, Drew, and Macey. “Hey, guys!” they cried when they saw them coming in. “Come sit with us!”
To Barry’s dismay, he saw the Invincible Pokemon Brothers sitting on another table. “Hey!” Barry shouted, pointing towards Kim. “You were banned from this place!”
Kim couldn’t help but stand up from his seat and rush towards him, getting up to his face. “Hello, Einstein! I was only banned for a month, remember?” he shouted.
Realisation came into the blond’s mind. “Oh yeah,” he said dully before getting into his loudmouth attitude again. “I challenge you to a singing contest, pal! We both sing a duet, and people get to choose whose singing is better, got it!?”
“You’re on!” Kim shouted.
Brendan sighed in frustration. “Here they go again,” he said. “It’s going to be a shame knowing those two.”
“I’m off to get some drinks,” May said as she got off from her seat. “Does anybody want some?”
Every one of her friends ordered their drinks and milkshakes before she made her way to the counter. She was met with wavy purple hair that reached down to his shoulder blades, dressed in a restaurant uniform with a badge marked ‘Harley’. “And I thought I was doing something for charity,” he muttered before noticing May walking up to him. He quickly put on a happy face. “Why, hello! Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas to you to,” she replied politely. “Can I order…”
After she ordered a number of drinks, Harley had a small favour to ask. “Very good, miss,” he said. “But before I go, I was wondering if you’d like a slice of my homemade cookies first?” He walked over to one part of the kitchen and a small of them, all of which were shaped like pokemon, back to her. “Bon appetite.”
“Sure they look good,” May said picking out one of them before she started munching on it, tasting it. She showed a little dissatisfaction towards them after she swallowed it. “It was a little too hard to get your teeth into,” she said.
A vain began to throb at the back of Harley’s head, despite still showing a calm, happy face. “And they’re not the best wheat ones I’ve ever tasted,” she continued.
“(Chocolate)!” he thought angrily. “(How can you not taste the chocolate)!?”
“And I don’t think the texture’s okay with me,” she said, finishing off her opinions.
“I see,” Harley said replied happily, despite having some evil thoughts on this girl. “Thanks for the review and I’ll keep everything in mind. I’ll go and get your drinks.”
“Thank you!” May replied happily when Harley turned away.
“(You’re not welcome).”
No longer than a couple of minutes later Harley returned, this time with a number of drinks on a tray and still with smile on his face. “Here are your drinks,” he said. Have a nice time.”
“Thanks, you too,” May said as she picked up the drinks before walking, leaving Harley with an evil smirk on his face. As she made her way back, she and everyone else saw Barry and Kim singing and dancing together on stage in the spirit of competition against each other, without looking the screen.
She’ll make you take your clothes off
And go dancing in the rain
She’ll make you live her crazy life
But she’ll take away you pain
Like a bullet through your brain
Upside, inside, out
She’s livin’ la vida loca
She’ll push and pull you down
Livin’ la vida loca
Her lips are devil red
And her skin’s a colour mocha
She will wear you out
Livin’ la vida loca
She’s livin’ la vida loca
Livin’ la vida loca
Livin’ la vida loca
After the song ended, Barry and Kim quickly posed in front of their audience and they applauded, appreciating their performance, although they didn’t have the best voices around and that they were slightly out of tune. They quickly rushed to their friends, asking them who was better. Each person said they were equally good but when they asked Kim’s brothers, they said that Kim was the better singer, which led to another of Barry’s and Kim’s quarrel. “Hey! That’s not fair!” Barry shouted. “They’re only saying that because they’re your brothers!”
“Hey! They’re the most honest you’ll ever meet!” Kim shouted. “They think I’m better than you! Always have been! Always will be!”
“Yeah! Not as the next guy I’m gonna ask!” Barry exclaimed, turning towards his friend. “Hey, Brendan! What do you think?”
Brendan looked blankly at the menu placed on the table. “I’d disqualify you both,” he said dully.
Everyone let out a small sigh or moan over Brendan’s silly comment over the two rivals’ argument while May took a small slurp of her drink with a straw. Suddenly, she felt this hot and spicy feeling on her tongue. Tears started to form in her eyes because of this painful feeling in her mouth as she placed her hands on it and let out a muffled scream by instinct, catching everyone’s attention.
“Hot! Hot!” she screamed. “Someone give me something cold!”
“Here!” Drew said quickly as he handed him his milkshake.
May quickly grabbed his drink and drank as much as she could to stop the spiciness that was hurting her tongue. Apparently, she almost drank of his milkshake. She looked around and saw everyone staring in shock. She realised that she had just caused a scene by her screaming and blushed with embarrassment. “Um… sorry,” she said sheepishly.
“You okay?” Drew asked, with small hint of concern in his voice.
“Yeah, thanks.”
“Hey, what was in that?” Ash asked.
“Something really spicy,” May replied panting heavily. “I think it was chilli.”
“Chilli, huh?” Barry asked. “Kim! I bet you can’t drink this entire cup in one go!”
“I bet you can’t either!” Kim shouted back.
“Whatever,” Brendan said. “But first, someone ought to complain about the drinks.”
Sometime later, while Barry was getting the drinks, which now had two milkshakes for May and Drew, and two chilli sauces for Kim and himself, Zoey was taking her turn singing one of her favourite songs. She was singing it in a voice that everyone enjoyed while looking at the screen that was displaying the words.
Accidentally,
I’m in love, I’m in love
I’m in love, I’m in love
I’m in love, I’m in love
Accidentally,
I’m in love, I’m in love
I’m in love, I’m in love
I’m in love, I’m in love
C’mon! C’mon!
Spin a little tighter!
C’mon! C’mon!
And the world’s a little brighter!
C’mon! C’mon!
Just get yourself inside your love!
I’m in love
After the last strum of the guitar, as part of the music background, everyone applauded. Not only for her great singing and but for her guts for standing up on stage as well. She smiled, blushing with embarrassment as she walked off the stage. “You did great out there, Zoey-san!” Dawn cried, standing in front of her. She was the next person to go up on stage.
“You really think so?” Zoey asked stopping in front of her, placing her hand on the back of her head, still blushing with a smile. “Thanks. Knock them out, Dawn.”
Dawn ran towards her, holding her hand out. Zoey held her hand out as well and they slapped each other’s, resulting this as a high five in friendship and encouragement. But to Dawn, this probably meant to her than that. “(She touched my hand),” she thought happily with bliss.
“Here you go guys,” Barry said delivering the drinks. Everyone noticed the black eye on his face.
“Barry? Black eye?” Ash asked.
“Oh, I was smooth talking with this lady under a mistletoe… and then her boyfriend came.”
Everyone shook their heads, sighing and moaning in slight disgust over his flirting ways.
“So, Wally,” Marley asked. “Are you going to sing anything? Everyone else has.”
“Um… I don’t listen to music much,” Wally confessed before looking through the songbook. “And I don’t know much of these songs,” he said before putting it away and then pressing the tips of his fingers while blushing. Besides, I… can’t sing well… and… now… I’m talking too much.”
“My turn is coming up next,” Wes said. “You wanna sing a duet?”
Wally looked at Wes in a surprised way. “Are you sure?” he asked. “I don’t want to put you off.”
“It’s okay. If you want, I’ll do most of the singing and when we do the chorus we can sing it together. How about that?”
Wally was still unsure whether to take up on his friend’s offer or not. “Well, um…”
“Go for it, Wally!” Barry said encouragingly. “Everyone sang their songs and you have to too! It’s the law!”
Wally became startled when Barry said ‘Law’. Brendan gave Barry a dull look. “Pay him no attention, Wally,” he said. “Of course, you’re not going to jail or anything.”
“C’mon, Wally!” Rui said excitedly. “I’m sure you and Wes can put a great performance!”
“Yeah! Wally! Wally! Wally!” Barry chanted. Everyone on the same table followed.
Wally blushed deep red while smiling. “Alright! I’ll do it!” he cried. “So, Wes, what shall we sing?”
“Hey, blonds!” Kim said, taunting his rival while Wes and Wall choose a song. “You wanna dare me to drink this chilli sauce in one go!?”
“Only if you dare me!” Barry taunted back, beckoning him to do it as they grasped hold of their drinks, while everyone else became scared of might happen next. “On the count of three,” he said. “One… two… three!”
They both lifted their drinks up to their mouths and…
“AAAAAAAGGHHHHH!”
Their screams of pain were so loud that people outside the restaurant could hear them.
Back inside, Wes and Wally walked up on stage, grabbing a microphone each as they prepared to sing a song to the crowd. The song started with some slow music in the background with Wes nodding to the tune with a smile while Wally nervously gaped at the audience before looking at the screen that was about to show the lyrics. Soon, Wes started to sing without looking at the screen.
I want love, but it’s impossible
A man like me, so irresponsible
A man like me is dead in places
Other men feel liberated
I can’t love, shot full of holes
Don't feel nothin’, I just feel cold
Don't feel nothin’, just old scars
Toughening up around my heart
But I want love, just a different kind…
Wally quickly joined in for the chorus…
I want love, won't break me down
Won't brick me up, won’t fence me in
I want a love, that don't mean a thing
That’s the love I want, I want love
Almost everyone couldn’t help but notice the one thing special about one of those two singers as Wes continued on to sing the second verse…
I want love on my own terms
After everything I've ever learned
Me, I carry too much baggage
Oh, man, I’ve seen so much traffic
But I want love, just a different kind…
Wally quickly joined in again…
I want love, won't break me down
Won't brick me up, won't fence me in
I want a love, that don't mean a thing
That's the love I want, I want love
So bring it on, I've been bruised
Don't give me love that's clean and smooth
I’m ready for the rougher stuff
No sweet romance, I've had enough
As part of the song, the two teens had to stop singing for a moment. Wes kept his focus on the music while enjoy listening to it while Wally couldn’t help but notice that most of the female crowd looking at Wes in a lustful way. Soon, it was time for Wes to start singing again and Wally had to follow up with the chorus…
A man like me, so irresponsible
A man like me is dead in places
Other men feel liberated
But I want love, just a different kind…
Wally quickly sang alongside his friend once again, still had this awkward feeling about the way the girls at his partner…
I want love, won’t break me down
Won’t brick me up, won’t fence me in
I want a love, that don’t mean a thing
That’s the love I want, I want love
I want love, just a different kind
I want love, won’t break me down
Won’t brick me up, won’t fence me in
I want a love, that don’t mean a thing
That’s the love I want, I want love
When the song came to an end, everyone stood from their seats and excitedly applauded towards the two, mainly Wes for his brilliant singing. “They loved you out here, Wally,” Wes said.
“No way!” Wally said in disbelief. “I saw a bunch of girls staring at you.”
Suddenly, a lot of the girls began screaming at Wes, much to his shock. “I told ya,” Wally said, also in shock.
“I’ll give to you!!” one of the girls screamed.
Back at the table where Brendan and the others were, with an exception of Marley, their eyes widened with shock and amazement. She moved her head close to Rui’s ear and whispered, “You’d give him some, huh?”
Rui cringed and blushed at the thought while Wally and Wes struggled to get through the crowd, back to their table. “You did great, you guys,” May said.
“You were very brave, Wally-kun,” Dawn said while Wally let out a sigh of relief. “But you were amazing, Wes-san!”
“Yeah! I thought you sounded like that guy from Pennyback!” Misty complimented.
Wes couldn’t help but blush at every positive word they said, trying to say something in return. “It was nothing really,” he said coolly, rubbing his head.
“You should become a singer!” Rui said excitedly.
Wes’s blush became deeper. “Y… you sure?” he asked.
“Well, whatever you’re a great singer or not, you can’t beat my Ashy in a singing contest!” Macey beamed as he gave Ash a huge hug.
“Please!” Misty said, shaking her head. “Didn’t you listen to him sing ‘What I Go To School For’? It was terrible.”
“Well, I always said that singing is not my specialty,” Ash replied sheepishly.
“Shut it, fishbowl head!” Macey shouted towards Misty. “You have no taste in music!”
“What did you say!?” Misty snarled.
“Guys! Pipe down!” Ash said, trying to calm the girls down.
While they argued, Marley looked at Wally with a small smile while he looked back. “What?” he asked curiously.
“Great job, Wally,” she replied giving him a wink. That wink sent an awkward shiver up Wally’s spine. His face displayed a fearful look, which made her let out a small giggle.
It was time for one last song and one of the guests sang one of the Christmas classics while everyone danced to the music.
Are you hanging up a stocking on your wall?
Are you hoping that the snow will start to fall?
Do you ride on down the hillside in a buggy you have made?
When you land upon your head then you’ve been slayed
So here it is merry Christmas
Everybody's having fun
Look to the future now
It's only just begun
So here it is merry Christmas
Everybody's having fun
“It’s Chri-i-i-i-i-i-i-s-s-s-s-t-t-m-m-a-a-s-s-s-s-s-s!!” Barry yelled excitedly, surprising every one of his friends and guests of this karaoke party.
Look to the future now
It's only just begun
It has been a good couple of months since they started their high school years and they still have a lot to learn. For our friends at Goldenrod High, their futures have just begun.
“MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY!”
*Cue ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’ by Cyndi Lauper*
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Next episode:
Wes: My name is Wes Colosseum. I’m a student from Goldenrod High but you guys already know that. It’s true that I have been retained from last year after I missed out a lot… but there other reasons why. I just hope my friends don’t find about this group of people. See you next episode.
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More coming! ^^ What’cha think?