Champion's Confidant

On Friends

"Twenty more tips for taming curly hair..."

She sighed, flipping the page.

A few days had passed since the night she caught Ash camping in a tree, and Chloe was sitting on her bed, reading yet another fashion magazine in an attempt to learn how to do more with her wild hair.

"Yamper! Yamper!"

"Eivui! Ei ei ei!"

Yamper and Eevee were both watching the roomba go around her room from Chloe's bed as well, curious as to what the device was for.

As she turned yet another page, suddenly her phone began vibrating on the desk and lighting up. Thinking it might be an emergency of some kind, she scrambled out of bed and checked it.

Incoming Call from: Ash.

Quickly, she accepted the call and put the phone to her ear. "Hello? Ash?"

"Oh!" Ash sounded somewhat surprised. "Hey, Chloe! Are you busy?"

She glanced over at Yamper and Eevee both looking like they were going to jump on the roomba. "Not really. What's up?"

"I just needed to talk to someone about something, and Goh's kinda busy, and you said I could call you so-"

"Alright, alright," she said, trying to limit his rambling. "What's up?"

There's a pause.

"Is there some way we could meet up somewhere? It might be a while and I guess it's easier to talk when I can see the other person."

She furrowed her brow, not that he could see it. "We could video call."

"Chloeeee! C'mon!"

A sigh. "Alright, we can meet at the Sugiya restaurant that's near my house. Do you know where that is?"

"I sure do!" came his cheerful voice. "I've stopped a few times..."

"Alright. I'll see you soon, then."

And with that she hung up and began heading downstairs. Her father was reading something on his tablet, and her mother was drawing something in the corner, her focus intense. It was only Parker, who was groaning after having apparently been absolutely obliterated in the game he was playing, who noticed her appearance downstairs. "Hey, Chloe! Where are you headed?"

"I'm going out to meet..." There was a sudden hesitation in her tone, but she shook it off. "...a friend. They need to talk to me about something, and I figured I'd meet them at the Sugiya nearby."

"Sugiya sounds amazing!" Parker said. "Can I come?"

Chloe rolled her eyes, responding in monotone. "No."

"If her friend has called her up to ask to talk someplace like that, it's probably none of our business," Chloe's mother explained from the drawing table, working on an illustration. "That said... if you could bring us some dinner home, I might be able to finish this tonight if I don't have to stop and cook."

Professor Cerise took a drink from his cup of tea. "That sounds great to me, too! Do you mind, Chloe?"

"Not at all!" she responded, cheerfully. Her parents were not asking a lot of questions, but they probably figured that she was the responsible one of their two children. "Send me a text with everyone's orders! I'm not sure how long I'll be but I'll make sure to bring it home!"

"Thanks, Chloe!" came the chorus as the three of them returned to their various tasks.

With a smile on her lips, she spun out of the house, with Yamper and Eevee following behind as she walked down the street. It wasn't long until she came to the bright yellow-and-red sign for the Sugiya restaurant, famed for its 24 hour service and topped rice bowls. It was something she didn't go to very often, but it had a nice relaxed atmosphere, one where hopefully Ash could get whatever he had on his mind out.