Setting Sail
Julie looked out the rolled-down passenger seat window early one evening while the vehicle's radio ran ads, scanning passing vehicles, moving buildings, and busy sidewalks that increased exponentially as they neared Castelia Central. She held Midnight...
The Next Level
"Do you know what the answer to number three is?" Alyssa looked at Julie with attentive green eyes. She was sitting at the bottom of her bed. "Did you even try looking yourself? You asked me the same thing for one and two." Julie stared at...
Guilty Thoughts
1:30 p.m. Julie was finally done with her classes, exhausted from the constant note-taking and writing she'd been doing all day. She hadn't seen Midnight between periods, but he was now sitting by her locker again. Julie grinned at the sight of him...
The World and Onward
**One month later.** **~** Julie sat in the passenger seat of Anna's jeep one afternoon, driving through Central Castelia. She looked out the window at the general city bustle, her cheek resting against the panel. Anna glanced at her and stopped...
Rebirth Day
Two weeks had passed; today was Rebirth Day. 1 p.m. Julie slipped into leggings, afterward putting on her white jacket with pink sleeves and zipping it up with her gloved hand. Alyssa was in a thicker jacket and jeans she'd pulled from where she...
Train to Saffron
**One week later.** **~** It was a not-so-sunny afternoon in Central Goldenrod filled with the usual hustle and bustle. Julie, Alyssa, Midnight, and crowds of other passengers stood on the indoor platform before the magnet train's tracks, awaiting...
Warmth in Reunion
The cruise dragged when it did and didn't when it didn't, from good meals and sunlight to boredom and water-watching. Julie and Midnight felt better when they left the room at least once every two days. They'd run into Jamie and Aria individually twice...
Dismal Days
Midnight opened his eyes to the faintest hint of daylight present in the sky as dawn approached. It was populated partly with thick leaden clouds over a grayish-blue backdrop. Silhouettes of steep mountains sat hundreds of miles out, and wingull dotted...
Ease & Bonding
Julie rubbed her face with a damp washcloth over the restroom sink early the next morning, finishing her routine. She wore socks, pajama pants, and a tee. She hung the cloth up to dry and grabbed her antis, opening the bottle and shaking a pill into...
An Ocean's View
The following morning was bright and positive, the stark opposite of yesterday, but it was exactly what Julie needed. She was in the shower, blowing an upcoming lunch out of proportion. "One hour... You don't know these people at all... and you agreed...
First Night
Today was it, the last Friday Julie would ever be at this school again. The prior week was one of realization, that she was going to move on with her life and that she had to find out what to do with it. Julie wasn't much of a tough trainer type. She...
Midnight Shower
The following day played out as casually as possible. Everyone lazed about after Rebirth Day. Julie's mother had slept off and on, Julie and Alyssa played games and continued where they'd left off from 'The World's Greatest Tropic,' and Midnight...