To Steal the Heart of a Thief {Pokemon Ranger Fanfiction} (Pokemon Watty Awards 2015)

Chapter 5: The Mean Girl

(Rena's POV)

"And that's Ponte over there." Rhythimi pointed to a boy with puffy green hair who was standing in the lunch line.

"Okay. Noted." I nodded my head, committing that person to memory.

We were sitting at our lunch table, just Rhythimi and I. Well, her Eevee was sleeping in her lap and Mightyena was sitting next to me, stuffing his snout into my pokepuff case and raiding it---hey, wait a second!

I grabbed the pokepuff case off of the floor and stuffed it into my bag, shooting Mightyena a look of disapproval. He just sulked and curled up on the floor.

Anyways, as I was saying... Rhythimi's Eevee is ALWAYS sleeping. We're not really sure why. Although, it is pretty funny when he and Keith fall asleep together. Napping buddies for life! Anyways... Keith hasn't gotten here yet, and Mr. Kincaid asked Isaac to stay after class to work on a project of some sort. We had already bought our lunches and found a table in the cafeteria, and Rhythimi took this opportunity to tell me about other classmates. I need to know at least a little bit about everyone here so I can establish who's competition, a threat, someone I need to avoid, etc.

"So, what's special about Ponte?" I asked her, taking a perfectly round bite out of my apple.

Rhythimi set her carton of orange juice down for a moment. "He's the school's renowned 'conflicted-marshmallow-boy.' He can't decide what he wants to become: Ranger, Operator, Mechanic, or Scientist." Rhythimi explained.

I just raised an eyebrow at the strange nickname, but decided not to question it. All of a sudden, a large pack of ten or so girls came running in. They were practically pushing and shoving their way through the crowd, knocking over people like crazy. They seemed hyper excited about something, and they quickly got their lunches and sat down.

I just laughed arrogantly at their ridiculous behavior. "And who are those freaks?" I asked, beginning to munch on my sandwich.

Rhythimi just laughed. "You don't know? Those girls are Keith's 'fan club.' Although, I'm not sure why they're so obsessed with him. I mean, sure, he's insanely rich, but he's...Keith." Rhythimi gagged, and I nearly choked on my sandwich at her funny facial expression. "Anyways... They practically follow him around everywhere, take pictures, and they all have it set in their right mind that they should be the one dating the shockingly single red-head." Rhythimi explained, rolling her eyes.

This caught my attention, and I was immediately on my guard. I began profiling these girls, glancing over at their table. "Sounds like a bunch of crazy and obsessive stalkers if you ask me." I rested my elbows on the table, leaning forwards and menacingly staring over at my new-found competition.

"That's pretty much what they are!" Rhythimi laughed, not noticing my odd behavior towards Keith's fan club and how I immediately took interest in them.

My serious facade faltered, and we were both laughing really hard at our joke. But, we immediately stopped at the presence of a certain ginger-haired girl. She strutted into the cafeteria like she owned the place with that same Purrloin on her shoulders. Three girls followed close behind her, and they had some sort of pompous, regal air around them. Over all, these four girls seemed stuck up and thought they were way better than everyone else.

"And who is that girl over there, Rhythimi?" I glared at the ginger-girl, jerking my head in her direction. I wanted to be subtle and not obviously point directly at her.

"Oh." Rhythimi scrunched up her nose, disgusted by this one girl. "That's Kim Daley, the queen bee of everything mean. Those three girls behind her are what I like to call 'satellites,' because they practically orbit Kim." A shadow was cast over Rhythimi's eyes, and I felt like she was withholding something from me. "Take my advice, Rena, and avoid Kim at all costs. She's a total bitch and a bully." Rhythimi huffed, crossing her arms.