WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6

There I was, seated upright in my usual spot at the breakfast table. My parents always reminded me to keep my back straight, that my future self would thank me for practicing excellent posture now. Or so they said - who knew if that was really true, or if my human body mattered at all?

"Makoto," my dad told me, "please pass the berries."

Once I'd finished scooping some berries onto my plate, I passed the berry bowl over to my father. He was about to serve himself when my mother brought it up.

"Honey, did you see that creature in the alleyway last night?" she asked my dad.

My heart skipped a beat, but I didn't let myself get too worried. After all, there were any number of creatures she might be talking about right now. I just so happened to be one of the possibilities.

"No, I didn't," my father replied. "Anna, are you sure you're alright?"

"I am, Todd," my mother insisted. "I'm pretty certain I wasn't hallucinating the wild Pokémon in the street. That's not the sort of thing you notice if it's not real!"

"How do you know?" I blurted out, not realizing my mistake at first.

Why did I have to speak up? I opened my big fat mouth, and now it's going to land me in hot water!

"Some things, Makoto" my mother replied, seemingly staring right into my soul, "are just plain obvious. Like a mother's intuition - when you were sick that one time as a baby, I knew immediately that something was off."

"Maybe you did," I pointed out. "But we all see things that aren't there sometimes."

Great. Now I've just dug deeper. The best-case scenario is that my mother thinks she's going crazy, and I don't want to see her get locked away in some loony bin.

"I don't know," my mom repeated. "This looked pretty damn real to me!"

"Anna," my father told her, "we are eating breakfast. It's best not to get too heated over the most important meal of the day."

"It's just…that creature ended up in our house. And I don't know about you, Todd, but I don't like the thought of such vermin invading our home! Shouldn't we have household autonomy or whatever they call it?"

My stomach dropped like a freight elevator whose chains had been cut. I couldn't be sure yet, but something told me that this conversation had just entered the Danger Zone.

"What Pokémon species was it?" my dad asked. "Did it eat our garbage?"

"It didn't," my mom replied. "At least, I don't think it did. The green and blue bins are still overflowing with trash. It doesn't make sense."

"Well, pests can do lots of other things too," my father pointed out. "They don't always eat trash."

"No, but Todd, you should have seen this guy! It was a Furret, and he was in our house!"

My muscles seized up, and I was almost prepared to make a run for it right there. But that would hardly be productive, since my parents would know for sure that I was hiding something if I did this.

Suddenly I didn't feel like eating another bite. The berries on my plate might as well have been made of brightly colored cement, because I knew that's exactly how they would settle in my stomach.

"Okay, Anna, relax" my dad insisted. "It's not the end of the world!"

"But Todd, we have a lot of stuff in this house. Wouldn't it be horrible if something happened to us because we couldn't keep a stray Furret out of it?"

That's what they're calling me. A pest. A stray. Not "Makoto", or "our son." Just someone who shouldn't be here. Of course, they don't know that they're talking about me yet.

"We shouldn't panic, but it is alarming, I will grant you" my father replied. "If you're that worried, we could set up a trap or something to catch it."

My stomach seized up yet again, and I had to hold a hand over my mouth so that I didn't cough up what I'd just eaten.

"But what if it's not there anymore? Todd, that Furret could be anywhere! He could be munching on someone else's garbage and wreaking havoc all over town! And if we don't do what we can to stop it, we're not being good neighbors!"

"Fine, fine" my dad said with a sigh. "I'll phone the exterminator later. They'll have some plan to deal with the Furret. In the meantime, try not to worry too much, Anna."

Tears were flooding my mother's eyes by now, and she used her napkin to dab them away. "It's just…sniff…I don't want anyone to…sniff…get hurt."

"We will get to the bottom of this, Anna. I promise."

By this time I was barely breathing as I glanced between my parents and viewed their conversation from my front-row seat. My hands were clenched into fists, and I could practically hear Jeff Psyduck's agitation.

"Sorry that you had to listen to that, Makoto," my father said with a sad smile. "You know that I love both of you to the ends of the planet…".

"I know."

"...and that we'd both do anything for you."

I accepted a hug apiece from both of my parents, but I shuddered to think of what they'd be saying about me if they knew that I'd been that Furret. The same Mom and Dad who were currently singing my praises for being myself would likely be furious instead.

You don't know the truth, I thought bitterly. And if you did, you wouldn't feel the way you do. But please, go on pretending that everything is normal and awesome.

As I politely excused myself from the table to ready my supplies for school, I let the words my parents had used sink in. It was absorbed through my skin like some toxic gas they use in wartime, and the knowledge of what language they'd selected made me want to faint.

Exterminator.

I knew what that word meant, of course. But did they?

DA Woods: You believed that your parents wanted to exterminate you?

Mr. Mutsamudu: Well, they did. Both of them said so with their own vocal cords.

DA Woods: They just wanted to make sure their home was free of pests. Can you at least sympathize with that?

Mr. Mutsamudu: Yes. But -

DA Woods: You're going to introduce a qualifier here, aren't you?

Mr. Mutsamudu: I've got no choice. Even if they didn't know it, they were talking about killing me. And that's not something you ever want to hear from your parents, no matter how clueless they are about what it really means.

A few minutes later, I sat upright again, but this time it was in a far stiffer seat. Which made sense, of course; the subway's chairs were built to maximize space, not for comfort or even safety. But that didn't make it any more fun.

There were whispers all around me - many of them. For all I knew, though, they were probably just talking about everyday gossip that didn't really pertain to me. It was better for my mental health if I paid it no mind, right?

I sighed. Already I'd been saddled with so much homework that I felt like that ancient mythical character tasked with holding up the sky. And more was sure to come today, whether I liked it or not.

My time would likely be best spent reading one of the textbook chapters I'd been assigned, but 18-year-olds aren't always the best at time management. I found myself scrolling through my phone, clicking on the first shiny objects that materialized in front of my eyes.

It almost felt as though Mr. Barnes was staring over my shoulder, monitoring every article I read. This would be a gross violation of my civil liberties, of course, but I wouldn't have put something like that past him.

But my history teacher was not on the subway. Or if he was, he wasn't in the same car as me. So I opened the Sinnoh Times and looked at the front page - anything worth reading would surely be headline news, so I elected not to delve too deeply into its pages.

The first headline that sprang out like a jack-in-the-box clown was this: Tuesday Derailment on Pastoria Metro's Magenta Line Results In Injuries, Delays.

"A derailment?" I exclaimed, which startled Jeff to no small degree. This exclamation had the same effect on several other passengers, each of whom gave me intense glares.

"Again?" Jeff asked in a tone filled with dread.

"No, it's the same one" I mumbled quickly, trying to defuse the bomb that was my Psyduck's emotional state. Make no mistake, though: A lump rose in my throat as I looked at the headline again.

"I don't understand," I continued. "This never happens. This is the sort of thing that's confined to movies."

A couple of the other passengers gave me pitying looks. To be clear, this is something that I'd experienced a lot - I just wasn't prepared for such an immense volume of them from people whom I didn't know.

However, I tried to ignore the stares and focus on two things: One, making sure I got off at the right stop for school. And two, reading the article.

SINNOH TIMES - WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 202X

At approximately 6:59 AM Tuesday, a call was dispatched to the emergency authorities in Pastoria City from a source whom has told the Times they wish to remain anonymous. As such, this source's name is not published here.

According to the unnamed individual, referred to here as "X", they were waiting at a station on the Magenta Line of the Pastoria Subway when the ground started shaking.

"I didn't know what was going on" X told the Times. "I figured it must have been an earthquake at first. We get those here often, but they're not normally so noticeable because the city's infrastructure is so good."

However, seconds later, the train came barreling into the station, where its course took an unexpected turn. The following is what X said.

"Right before my eyes, the train was engulfed in what I thought was steam at first. But no, it was smoke. And one of the cars lurched to the side as it entered the station. It wasn't normal - I mean, I thought maybe it was leaning a bit more than usual, but soon it completely keeled over, and there was glass everywhere!"

The station in question, Station 23 on the Magenta Line, remains closed for repairs. The Magenta Line as a whole has been shut down, but the authorities are optimistic about its reopening in the near future.

"I have the utmost confidence in our ability to resume service along the Magenta Line" Peter Kirkland, the CEO of Pastoria City's Transportation Corporation (PCTC), told the Times in a statement. "I regret that we weren't able to prevent this accident from occurring, and our condolences go to the victims and their families. That being said, if there is one thing Pastoria City is known for, it is our efficiency."

During "Mayor Pete's" press conference, it was noticed that there was a streak of red in Mr. Kirkland's hair (which is typically black.) When asked about this, Mr. Kirkland dodged the question.

"Maybe it's just a trick of the light" Mr. Kirkland, 45, told the Times. "In fact, it definitely is. My hair is black, not red. But does it matter?"

When asked about the identities of the victims, Mr. Kirkland asserted that he was unable to give concrete details about their names and ages at this time. However, Sinnoh Times reporters have been able to confirm that there were five people killed (two minors and three adults), as well as thirty-four people injured seriously enough to require hospital treatment. The conditions of the survivors, as well as their names, are not known at press time.

"That's horrible" I mouthed, scanning the article. "Jeff, five people died."

"Someone's going to have to pay for this," said a familiar voice.

I swiveled in the voice's direction to find that it was none other than Tim Morse, better known as "Tiny Tim" to the cool boys at school.

"No shit" I panted. "Tim, five people died. This just…this isn't okay."

"Of course it isn't, Makoto," Tim replied. He didn't even say anything like Fancy meeting you here, which was a mark of just how serious this situation was.

"How could something like this be allowed to happen?" I asked rhetorically. "I thought the subway was safe!"

This could have just been my perception, but I could have sworn that TIm gripped the handlebar more tightly in that split second, as if he expected our own train to tip over at any moment.

"The thing is, Makoto," Tim replied, "nobody thinks it's going to happen to them. Everybody thinks that train derailments are the sort of thing that happens to someone else."

I sighed. "I guess you're right. We're all 'someone else' to someone else."

"Right," Tim muttered. "That being said, I'm sure there's going to be an investigation into the incident. I mean, five people died. There hadn't been a fatal accident on one of these trains for…what was it, almost sixty years?"

"Until yesterday" I sighed.

"Yep. Anyway, how is Jeff holding up?"

My Psyduck was sitting cross-legged on one of the cold, hard chairs of the subway car. He appeared to be cross-eyed as well as he stared off into space.

"I mean, it looks like he's doing fine" I lied. "We'll both be fine."

"If you say so, Makoto. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

At that moment, I found myself wondering if Jeff would accidentally cause someone else on the train to levitate. If nothing else, that would confirm to Tim that it was I who'd done it to Corey on the night of the festival.

Speaking of September Fourth, there was something else about it that would shock Tim if he found out. Which is exactly why I had to steer the conversation away from these very choppy waters.

"Second day of school," I said. "How do you feel about your classes?"

We talked aimlessly about topics related to schoolwork, and for a few precious minutes, I could have deluded myself into thinking that we were just two ordinary students. We were just living our lives as high school seniors, complaining about cafeteria food, talking about plans for the weekend, etc. You know, the usual suspects.

But in reality, only one of us was an "ordinary student." And it wasn't me.

"Are you going to ask that girl out?" Tim enquired as we were climbing up the steps from the subway station.

Oh, great. Here we go again.

"Not sure" I said. "You know, maybe…".

An excited glint lit up Tim's eyes. "Maybe? You're considering it?"

Why did I have to admit that? I might get mocked beyond belief for saying it!

"I mean…" I trailed off. There was no going back now - better not to sound wishy-washy about it.

"I get it," Tim muttered. "It's a big decision. Anyway, Makoto, good luck with your classes today."

"Thanks" I replied with an eye roll. "I'm definitely gonna need it."

Tim went off…somewhere. Either he was going to hang out with Colin and Doug, or he was going to go to class. It wasn't my business which of the two was true.

That conversation could have gone a lot worse, I realized. How in the world would I have admitted that I can become a Pokémon now? I really dodged a bullet!

But I wouldn't just need to dodge a bullet. Pretty soon, I was convinced, my life would become akin to one of those "bullet hell" video games where the screen is just teeming with projectiles and you can barely catch your breath. I had the mental stamina to avoid them now by keeping the secret, but would that still be true later in the year?

Oh well. I had more pressing concerns, like making sure I got to class on time. And that wouldn't happen if I got accosted by Principal Lenwood right now; in that case, I'd only fall deeper into the hole.

For the most part, my morning was uneventful. Well, as uneventful as a school day can realistically be when you've just acquired a power that few would believe existed.

That all changed when lunchtime arrived.

I'd been through the first four periods of the day, and I already felt exhausted. The strain of having focused on academic subjects for so long (or at least, having tried to) was getting to me, and I was relieved to have some time to myself.

Oddly enough, though, I wasn't hungry. The thought of putting food in my stomach didn't appeal to me one bit.

"Hey, where are you going, Mutsamudu?" I heard a familiar booming voice announce.

"I don't want to talk to you right now, McBride," I snarled. "I just don't."

"Well, you could've fooled me," Corey muttered. "Mutsamudu, I still haven't forgotten what happened at the - ".

I didn't need to hear his last word, simply because I knew exactly what it would be. There was another reason not to stick around, too; you can probably figure out what that is.

Okay, so where will I spend my lunch period instead? If I don't eat, I'll have to find some other way to spend my time…

Don't ask me why, but the thought of being surrounded by colorful plants appealed to me that day. That's when I remembered that there was a Gardening Club; indeed, Pastoria High had many events to spice up student life. It was a shame that I hadn't availed myself of these options very often, but there was little I could do about that now.

So I made my way to the roof of one of the academic buildings. There was technically an elevator, but it was reserved for those who, for one reason or another, couldn't take the stairs. Besides, I reveled in the physical activity of ascending the stairwell - it helped take my mind off of everything.

For some reason, my palms began to perspire as I negotiated the hallway.

There was no reason to be nervous - of that, I was virtually certain. If anything, I'd come here to calm down. But that didn't stop my heart from racing as I neared the door to the roof deck, where the Gardening Club met.

Jeff was not with me. Knowing what I know now, maybe he would have helped calm my nerves enough to make the coming meeting more fruitful. (Or at least, less of an utter failure.)

I slid open the door and stepped out into the bright midday sunlight. Since I wasn't wearing my sunglasses, I had to shield my forehead from the intense rays.

Kneeling over a set of marigolds and digging into the soil, there was a girl. She had moderately long, flowing blonde hair, and she wore a pith helmet to protect her head from the UV radiation. Set on the ground next to her was a lunch box.

"Uh…hey" I mouthed.

The girl's concentration did not waver from her project, and why would I have expected it to? My tone had been barely more than a whisper.

Instead, she kept working on the marigolds as though nothing else in the world mattered. She did not glance upward until she had finished planting a set of them.

"Hey, just so you know," I began, "you should at least bring hand sanitizer with you if youre eating while gardening. It's not healthy to eat with unwashed, grimy hands - you don't want to get sick this early in the semester."

And then she turned to face me, and my heart skipped a beat.

The girl was unmistakably Hayley Hawkeye. It did not matter that she'd never told me her name; it did not matter that I'd only seen a single static image of her. Every feature of her face matched up perfectly with my mental photograph of the girl Colin obsessed over.

And she was kneeling right in front of me!

"Good afternoon" Hayley said, but she didn't seem too thrilled.

"Uh…" I mouthed. Suddenly, any words I'd rehearsed for a moment like this escaped my mind. My stomach's lining vanished, to be replaced by a million Butterfree flapping their wings and making me feel nauseous.

Hayley chuckled sadly. "Did you not expect to find me here? Sorry about that."

"No, it's fine. I - ".

I'm actually really happy you're here. I've wanted to meet you ever since yesterday. And now I get the chance to do just that!

She raised her eyebrows. "What brings you here? I've never seen you at the Gardening Club. Didn't think you had much interest in gardening."

"I, ah… just wanted some peace and quiet" I told her. "Thought the garden… would be peaceful."

"Well, it is," Hayley stated. "That's one reason I like to come here every day during the lunch period. Helps me cope with the academic pressure."

"Maybe it does," I said blankly.

"Well, you don't know me as well as I do. But I've heard some things about you."

My stomach fluttered. "Yes? What have…what have you heard?"

"They always tell me you're very shy," Hayley muttered. "And they say you tend to keep to yourself a lot. Maybe that's because you're shy."

I laughed nervously. "Yeah, that's true."

"Then again," Hayley continued, "it's probably better not to judge people solely by their reputations. If there's only one thing I've learned in life, it's that."

"Thanks" I mumbled. "I appreciate that."

"No problem. But I will say…".

"What's your name?" I enquired. Of course, I knew her name, but she didn't know that I knew it. Better not to creep her out by letting her know that, in fact, I'd been half-obsessing over her for the last 24 hours.

The girl frowned. "Hayley. Hayley Hawkeye. I know, it's a corny name."

I gave her what can only be described as a shit-eating grin. "I think it's…I think it's really cool. Has a great ring to it."

"Well, thank you" Hayley replied, though she didn't really sound grateful. "I know your name, at least I think I do…Makoto Mutsamudu?"

I nodded, taking a bow. "That's me."

"You don't need to bow for me," she said. "In fact, it kinda pisses me off when people act so formal around me. For Arceus' sake, I'm just a regular person!"

"Sorry" I said. "It's just the way I do things."

"I know" Hayley responded. "Or at least, I've heard. Lots of rumors about you have floated around the last few months, and I've had the misfortune of needing to listen to those who spread them."

Oh, great. Rumors. The girl of Colin's dreams has been having conversations with those who spread rumors about me!

Although Hayley insisted she had no role in spreading these rumors, her admission that these rumors existed felt like a betrayal of the highest order.

It shouldn't be a betrayal. She seems not to like the rumors! Way to hear only part of her statement, Makoto!

"Well, what do they…say about me?" I stammered. Quite frankly, finding out the truth might cost me everything, but I didn't want to remain in the dark either.

"They say you're really weird. That you might be a bit…different from the others. Maybe your brain works differently?"

I snorted awkwardly. "There's, ah…doesn't everyone's brain work a bit differently from everyone else's? That's what makes us unique, you know?"

"Oh, Makoto" Hayley replied with a shrug that suggested the following: You just don't understand.

"So how is gardening going?" I asked in an effort to act natural.

Hayley visibly flinched at that question. I guess I must have been staring pretty hard at her, because the next thing she said was this:

"I mean, why do you care? It's just a hobby of mine. And you just met me."

"Uh…" I trailed off. Couldn't I do something right here?

"Figured it's the best question to ask first in a social situation, didn't you?" Hayley asked with a smirk.

"I guess…I guess so" I sighed.

"Well, it gets lonely here sometimes. City life's rough for those who like gardening, you know? There's just not a lot of space to do something like this."

The question was on the tip of my tongue. All I had to do was ask Hayley if she wanted company. I wouldn't even have to play my trump card (that being the Furret mask) in order to gain an audience with her. And my other form could remain a surreal dream that was just that - a dream.

And yet…the thought of asking her if I could be of assistance was very difficult to stomach. I knew what needed to be done, but I did not have the courage that it would take to do it.

Hayley frowned. "These marigolds aren't going to plant themselves. I'd better get back to work."

"Wait…" I began. But I couldn't bring myself to finish that thought.

"You should probably get ready for class, Makoto. The bell's going to ring any minute now, and you'd better not be late."

She was right, of course. A quick glance at my phone screen told me that I had five minutes until the lunch break ended.

"Are you going to class too?" I asked.

Hayley nodded. "I'm still a student here, aren't I? Even if I've taken on the burden of caring for the plants too."

I frowned. "I thought…I thought you enjoyed it?"

"Oh, I do," Hayley replied. "But that doesn't mean it isn't tiring sometimes. Still, perhaps burden is the wrong word."

"So you agree with me on something."

In response, she winked at me.

Maybe this encounter hadn't been a complete waste of time after all. Yeah, I might have made a fool of myself to no small degree, but at least Hayley hadn't dismissed me out of hand.

In fact, this year might not be so unbearable after all. With Jeff by my side, I could manage it.

That's the story I told myself. But then, we all entertain fantasies; the monk is one prayer away from achieving enlightenment, the gambler is one spin of the roulette wheel away from winning big, the PokéTuber is one video away from going viral. Who's to say I wasn't one day away from my life taking a turn for the better?

I've gotten one miracle already. Maybe I have another in the quiver. And that quiver belongs to Cupid.

Wait, what does that mean, anyway?