Anyway here’s a Pokemon drabble i wrote for rp purposes. Context: younger Oleana at boarding school, tw for blood and poorly written bullies.
-----------------------------------------------------
Break time in boarding schools wasn’t any different than other schools, Oleana imagined. The bell rang, signifying class was over and the students were off, be it to head back to their rooms for a little R&R or to go have a seat, and chat in the courtyard by the fountain or wherever they saw fit. Oleana always preferred sitting far off, away from the others. She never chatted with the other girls.
She didn't get along well with others. It wasn't that she entirely disliked everyone around, but others had found her calm and dull demeanor off-putting, or even creepy. She couldn't help it, rather, she didn't see a reason to even try. Mr. Rose had spoken his concerns to her in the rare days when the two were together and had asked her to make an attempt to gain friends. She agreed at the time, but it all seemed to not be worth the trouble. After all, her grades well exceeded his expectations, and her teachers were more than happy to state this fact to the man when he arrived for his visits. Besides, only a few of the professors had shown a mild concern in Oleana's lack of expression, but never enough to talk to her about it. She caused no trouble after all. Surely this meant she was just a normal, well-behaved child.
Break was one of the few times Oleana didn't spend alone. It was the same every day: she'd slowly walk out behind everyone, and silently move past the fountain and beyond the grassy field to stop and sit by the edge of the woods where she would release her best friend from it's Pokeball. Trubbish always erupted from the ball with a smile and a loud squeal of joy. It was one of the only few things that could get the newly thirteen-year-old to smile.
The girl sat on the grass, her legs extended so Trubbish could take its usual spot in her lap. Her arms wrapped tight around its plastic-like body and she would rest her chin in between Trubbish's 'ears'. She would then gaze lazily at the almost bleak, castle-like structure of the school. Dark, grey clouds loomed overhead.
Like most children, she saw school as dull. The classes were all easy, and even when she was praised for her high grades and ability to quickly grasp just about anything, she didn't show much excitement for it. She had flown through primary school so quickly and with such flying colors, she was urged to be sent to Secondary, and the higher classes at that. That was the only time she seemed happy about it because Mr. Rose had expressed just how proud he was of her.
She adored Mr. Rose, that was no secret to anyone. At the time when they first met, only a couple of years prior, she didn't quite understand what had happened. One moment, she was sitting in the dump with Trubbish, toying with a discarded battery that she managed to repair and restored its charge. She explained to Trubbish that it could be used to power a broken string of lights for their little 'clubhouse' she had crafted from the discarded items she often scavenged for before Mr. Rose approached them. He only had one question for her, as he knelt down to be eye level and greet them with that warm smile.
"How did you do that?"
Then, he was at her home. Speaking to her parents whom she thought nothing of. They weren't cruel people, nor were they loving either. They were distant, and food was scarce. Oleana never asked for much, and in turn, she never received it.
That all changed so quickly and so drastically from then on out. She had been whisked away to a whole new life of nice clothes, doctor visits and promises of her and her family never wanting for anything ever again. He was a kind man and a man of his word.
Unfortunately, he was also a very busy man. He had expressed how happy he was to have Oleana with him, but he couldn't always be there, but assured her she would be in the best of schools, and looked forward to seeing her excel...and here she was.
She didn't like the idea of being separated from the only adult to look at her and see more than a disgusting child so soon, but she knew better than to argue. She had been given a gift, one in which she could never repay. She'd do anything he asked. He wanted to see her do great in school, so she did. She still fondly remembered being called to the office one day, Mr. Rose standing there with a wide smile before he wrapped her in a tight hug, congratulating her on moving through the primary classes so quickly and that he was so "proud" of her.
It was the closest she had ever come to crying out of joy.
She continued to hold Trubbish as the faintest form of a smile began to curl at the edges of her lips, but was quickly shaken out of her daze when she heard Trubbish growl. Something which the creature hardly ever did unless there was something dangerous.
"Trubbish...?"
Her voice soft as she looked down, and pulled her head back to gently pat the creature on the top of its head. It had turned in her grip, looking far off somewhere else. Its eyes were narrowed and it's glass-like teeth were bared like fangs. Oleana turned to see what had upset her friend so deeply, to see two other girls standing in a nearby area in front of the woods. Laughing loud amongst themselves.
Trubbish hissed and snarled and writhed its way out of Oleana's grip. She stood to her feet and the pokemon stayed close by her legs. She was never one to butt into anyone else's business, but whatever the two girls had been doing had deeply upset her Trubbish, and in turn, had put a deep-seated worry in Oleana.
She thought of ignoring them and looked back to the school with an empty gaze, but something inside of her chest disagreed with the notion, and she gave in.
The school was built on the edge of a woodland, and for the most part, the girls were obviously forbidden from entering the most tree dense area. This particular spot, the girls had chosen, had stopped right before the trees. A small area was hidden by the shade of the trees that had overlooked a murky spot of water that could barely be classified as a pond.
Trubbish continued its low growl and stayed close to Oleana as the young girl approached the others. She was a small girl, and her footsteps light, so the other teens didn't hear her when she had arrived at the scene.
The tallest of the girls had deep chestnut-colored hair and she stood closest to the pond. A large stick was in her hand and she reared it back before she shoved it violently into the water. It met resistance and was drawn back just as quickly as it was stabbed in. The pair burst into a fit of laughter as something violently splashed in the water.
Oleana's eyes narrowed as a feebas flopped and scrambled in the shallows. It's already tattered fins had looked more rough than usual, and the triangular dorsal fin on its head looked as if it were about to be ripped in two by just the slightest of movement.
"They really are bloody ugly aren't they?"
The second girl had asked, her smile beamed with her orange hair and icy blue eyes. Oleana didn't know her name and didn't really want to know it. The brunette only laughed in agreement before she raised the stick again.
"Stop it."
Oleana was by no means, a loud child. She hardly ever spoke as it was, but just then, her voice had found a certain cold sternness that caused the pair to freeze as if a teacher had cornered them. The brunette turned first, and Oleana recognized this one.
Claire was her name, she thought. One of the taller teenagers, and an older one. Either fifteen or sixteen. She was pretty, with her large-amber colored eyes, and freckles were strewn across her face. She was well-liked by most, but not at all.
She had tried to speak to Oleana once before but had been put off by how unimpressed Oleana had been. While Oleana herself couldn't be classified as ugly, she certainly didn't put in the work Claire had put into her own appearance. Oleana was far shorter than her, her blonde wavy hair stopped just above her shoulders. She looked almost homely compared to the two before her.
They all wore the same uniform, a deep burgundy blazer with a dreadful plaid skirt that had the same color. Though they clearly wore it better.
"Rubbish girl!"
Claire's voice was smooth and she sang out like she had greeted an old friend. The insult did nothing to Oleana and she only responded with an empty gaze. It wasn't the first time she heard the insult, and she was sure it wouldn't be the last. They could have at least come up with something different by now.
Oleana's (lack of) reaction only seemed to irritate Claire, whose eyes soon found Trubbish, who continued to growl despite hiding behind Oleana's legs. She elbowed the red-head who followed her friend’s gaze to the pokemon and they both made disgusted faces.
"Ya gotta lotta nerve, tryna tell us what to do."
The red-head spoke and gave Oleana a nasty smirk. Oleana had to resist an eye roll.
"Just leave it alone."
Oleana's tone was cold and demanding, and she looked back to the injured feebas who seemed to be grateful for it's few moments of reprieve and had started to finally relax in the shallow water it had somehow made its home.
Claire then let out an ugly laugh from deep in her belly.
"Figures. The trash lover feels bad for trash pokemon."
That time, Oleana did roll her eyes. It was a high-end school, naturally, it was going to have the stereotypical bully that judged lesser pokemon. She didn't notice, but Claire had caught the eye roll and had begun to speak, only to be cut off as Oleana walked away towards the pond.
She squatted down by the edge of the pond and lowered a hand into the water to reach for the feebas. There was a small second of hesitation before the fish pokemon began to move forward, almost eager to let the girl touch it. Before it could get close enough, Oleana felt a sharp pain in her shoulder and was on the ground.
Claire, clearly offended by Oleana's actions, had dug her nails into Oleana's shoulder and ripped her away from the pond to throw her on the ground like a rag doll. Mud splattered her entire right side as she hit the damp area with a thud. A sharp pain shot through Oleana's elbow as she landed on it, but she made no noise to show this. She was stunned and turned her head at the girls, disbelief on her face as she looked at them laughing heartily at her.
"Go back to the dump ya crawled from!"
Oleana was not new to taking a spill. She couldn't recall how many times she had fallen in the dump, climbing the hills of garbage to scavenge for something or anything that appeared to be useful...but she had never been pushed down. Just the sheer shock of it all had kept her on the ground as she stared in awe at the two teens who only continued to laugh. Oleana's fingers began to curl into a fist around the damp earth beneath her, as a burning sour feeling formed in her stomach. Her lips formed into a scowl and her jaw tensed.
Then she heard a growl, and her attention snapped back to Trubbish. It had moved towards Claire and before Oleana could say no, it happened.
Anyone in Claire's position would have done it. It must have hurt, being nipped by glass teeth on the ankle. In a gut reaction, it caused her to kick Trubbish right in the face. Trubbish made a noise that was a mix between a puppy crying in pain mixed with a gurgle. It rolled back and covered it’s face with its tentacle-like arms and covered it's mouth as it trembled and whined in pain.
Later, when Oleana recalled the events for the guidance counselor, she'd say she didn't remember what had happened next. She would say one second she saw Trubbish curled up and whining, and the next there was nothing but white light. She'd tell her she didn't remember how quickly she got to her feet, or when she threw the first punch. She did, however, remember the noise it made when her fist connected with Claire's nose. It was a wet and loud crack.
Oleana wasn't an angry child. Why would she have been? She had been given it all. A best friend that was a Pokemon, a man who was worshipped like a king who saved her from an awful life so she could live the spoiled life of a princess. She had the smarts to breeze by schoolwork and the drive to work hard and earn the life she had been so generously given. What did it matter that her real parents didn't even think twice about letting her go? What did it matter that she was unsupervised nearly all the time and went to play in an actual GARBAGE DUMP all by herself? What did it matter that she would disappear for days at a time, only to come home beaten and bruised, covered in cuts and filth and grime, only for that to be ignored as well? Not even to be asked what had happened to her? What did it matter that the only being who showed her any kindness before Mr. Rose was a sentient bag of trash? At least a garbage pokemon wasn't trashy enough to pick on a weaker being whose sole purpose was just to exist in a SHALLOW POND WHERE IT HARMED NO ONE.
What did it matter? She wasn't angry. At all. Not even in the least.
She didn't remember the second punch. Or the third. Or the fourth.
She didn't know which one she heard the second crack on, but she also heard a muffled scream. She remembered a hand grabbed her wrist and she remembered being lifted up as one teacher wrapped their arms around her waist to yank her off of Claire, who rolled to one side as she covered her face. Oleana remembered the blood that dripped through Claire's fingers.
Her heart pounded heavily against her chest, and her breath was heaving. One of the teachers shouted her name as she held her in the air, as another kept her wrists up. Oleana was trembling. Her ears rang. She looked around at them, wide-eyed and confused. A small crowd had formed around them. The red-head far off and mouth covered in horror as other teachers scrambled to get Claire to her feet.
When the teachers sat her down again, she still shook but looked for Trubbish. She was quick to put the pokemon back in its ball before her wrist was grabbed and she was being practically dragged across the field and back to the school.
"What happened!?"
"Why would you do this!?"
"This kind of behavior is absolutely NOT tolerated at this school!!"
All empty words to Oleana as her arm ached in the woman's tight grip. Stunned gazes and hushed whispers greeted her as the other students watched on in a mix of horror and amusement. She looked to her hand as she was dragged along, a thick red stain of blood on her knuckles. Her heart pounded once more before her eyes glazed over and she fell back into that cold, emotionless presence she was known for.
She wouldn't say anything more after the guidance counselor asked her to recall the incident, but the expression that the woman held would haunt her for several years down the road. Genuine, actual concern for not only the girl Oleana had assaulted but for Oleana herself.
"Emotional numbness is a sign of distress, or that you're undergoing a tremendous amount of stress...or anger."
She wasn't angry. That was ridiculous. She wasn't stressed. Her life was perfect now.
The counselor sighed when she was greeted with silence. She'd explain Claire's nose had obviously been broken and may require surgery. She'd explain that the girl’s parents were sure to be quite angry about it.
"I've already called Mr. Rose, but I hope you are aware that this is a very serious matter."
That had caught Oleana's attention. Her mouth went dry and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. How could she have forgotten so quickly?
The counselor seemed to notice how pale the girl had gotten.
"He said it's going to be okay, Oleana-"
Of course, he did, he could fix anything...but it brought no comfort. The girl hung her head in shame, almost afraid of the disappointment she would have to inevitably face.
