"Holy Miltank! It hasn't even been half a day, and you managed to acquire yourself a Z-Ring!? Way to go, Jason...!" Kiawe exclaimed, his eyes blazing after he entered the cafeteria and spotted Jason, Lillie, and the icy Stella eating alongside Ren, Runa, and Gooey.
"Good morning, Kiawe. And yeah, I had a fortuitous encounter with Tapu Koko yesterday afternoon," Jason revealed, causing Kiawe's eyes to burn with even greater intensity as he struck a fist-pumping pose and shouted, "You're too awesome, man! Do you have any idea what it means to receive a Z-Ring from an Island Guardian!?"
"I do," Jason confirmed, tempering Kiawe's excitement as he appended, "But I have no intention of becoming a Kahuna. That's a path for someone like Hau to walk."
"Come on, man. Seriously?" Kiawe asked, exhaling a sigh before taking a seat across from Jason, positioning himself next to Stella as he asserted, "Becoming an Island Kahuna is an immense honor. It comes with a lot of responsibilities, but you would have the respect and support of everyone on Melemele Island."
Before Jason could respond, Kiawe turned to Lillie and Stella in turn, his smile returning as he raised his right hand and said, "Alola, Lillie. And Alola to you, too, Stella."
"Alola~!" Lillie responded, presenting a radiant smile that prompted Runa to perk up as well.
"Alola..." Stella appended with a frown. At the same time, she scooted a few centimeters away from Kiawe, ostensibly put off by his enthusiasm or the fact that he was constantly shirtless.
"What's up? Do I smell bad after my morning deliveries?" Kiawe asked, raising his left arm slightly to give his pit a tentative sniff. In response, Stella's expression crumpled into a look of disgust. And though she did her best to maintain it, even Lillie's smile became strained.
"Whelp! Looks like I need to make a quick pit stop to freshen up! We'll talk more when I get back...!" Kiawe decided, rising quickly with his hands on the table.
"Alright, see ya," Jason responded, raising his right hand slightly as Kiawe turned and jogged away.
'He's like a male version of Iris...' Jason thought, exhaling from his nose. He didn't like ending conversations halfway or leaving himself unable to respond to an argument, but he swallowed his discomfort and returned to listening to Lillie and Stella discussing Alola culture. Stella had moved to Alola from the Unova Region just two months prior, so there was much she didn't know, and even less she had experienced. Lillie was similarly lacking in the latter, but as she had lived in Alola her entire life, dreaming of attending various annual events in person, there were countless things she would like them to experience together...
...
..
.
As more and more students arrived at the cafeteria to enjoy a school-provided breakfast, Jason found himself in the unenviable position of a burgeoning school celebrity. The combination of Ren's appearance and ability to speak, his Tapu Koko-gifted Z-Ring, his and Lillie's engagement, and his general appearance caused people to gravitate toward his table like metal pulled to a magnet. Kiawe was only gone for a few minutes, but by the time he returned, there was no room for him to sit.
tnktnktnktnk
'Thank the Gods...' Jason sighed internally, outwardly maintaining a smile as he rose and expressed, "It was nice meeting and talking to everyone. Good luck with your first day of classes."
"Aww, but we barely got to talk..."
"Not fair! I didn't get a chance to touch Ren's paw pads...!"
"Dex! Add my number to Jason's contacts...!"
"Haha..."
Though he appreciated the fanfare, Jason couldn't help but exhale an awkward laugh as he ushered Ren away from the group of girls trying to befriend her. Thankfully, Kiawe and Hau had come over to help bus their trays earlier, so he was able to break away from the group as they hurried to bus their own.
"You look exhausted~" Lillie teased, waiting for Jason, Ren, and Dex at the cafeteria's main entrance and exit. With her were the other girls from his class: Mallow, Lana, Selene, and Stella. So as Jason approached, he first affirmed, "Definitely..." with a tired smile before passing his gaze over the four girls and appending, "And Alola to the rest of you. Thank you for looking after Lillie and Runa yesterday afternoon..."
"Alola~!" Mallow replied, modeling her usual radiant smile as she happily chimed, "And, hey, that's what friends are for."
"Nn...Alola..." Lana appended, offering a less energetic but sincere smile as she handed Ren a hard, bone-shaped treat.
"Jason? Can I eat this...?" Ren asked, accepting the treat but looking up at Jason for confirmation on whether she could eat it.
"Go ahead. Lana is someone you can trust," Jason affirmed, causing Ren to perk up and Lana to stare at him with a curious head tilt.
"Alola, Jason~" Selene interjected, presenting a smartphone with a tiny Rowlet charm, adding, "I didn't get the chance yesterday. We should add each other to the other's contacts."
"Oh! That's a great idea~!" Mallow pealed, clapping the tips of her fingers together.
Prompted by Selene, everyone but Lillie pulled out their phones to trade contact info with Jason and Dex. By that point, most of the students in the cafeteria were beginning to file out, so Jason moved with everyone to the side until Kiawe, Hau, Elio, and Sophocles joined up with them. Then, in two distinct groups, split between boys and girls, they made their way to class...
...
..
.
"Alola, everyone! Though it's only been a day, I'm pleased to see that everyone made it back! Are you all excited for your first official day of classes!?" exclaimed Professor Kukui, smiling broadly as he stood at his teacher's podium and surveyed the class.
"Yeah! Let's do this...!"
Though it was clear to the rest of the Class that Professor Kukui wasn't expecting a response, Kiawe couldn't contain his excitement, compelling him to erupt from his desk and pump his fists.
"Nice! I see that the spirit of Wela Volcano is alive and well in the current generation...!" Professor Kukui exclaimed, giving Kiawe a dynamic thumbs up before smoothly continuing where he left off, revealing, "On that note, we're going to be kicking today and every other normal day off with some old-fashioned, Alola-brand Radio Calisthenics. If you have gym clothes aside from what you're wearing now, you have five minutes to change. Everyone else, line up at the back of the class, facing outward. Then you can either partner up or coordinate with your Pokémon to stretch."
'It's a good thing I went through that exposure training...' thought Jason, rising from his desk and maintaining a neutral expression as all of the girls in his class, sans Lana, stood up and began changing. The latter migrated with him and the other boys to the back of the class, where she promptly approached him.
"Hey. Can you help me stretch...?" Lana asked, catching Jason more than a little off guard.
"I can. But wouldn't it be better to wait for another girl...?" Jason asked, prompting Lana to stare at him confusedly.
"You look like you would be good at helping people stretch, though. You have big hands. Just look," Lana stated, raising Jason's hands and resting her own against his for comparison.
'Did I miss something...?' Jason asked himself, looking to Ren for a way out. Unfortunately, she was already in the midst of a deep stretch with her legs split, her chest to the floor, and her arms stretched as far as her anatomy would allow.
"What's up? Do the two of you need help stretching?" Kiawe questioned, bent forward with Hau on his back.
Before Jason could respond, Lana turned her back to him, bent her arms at the elbows, and said, "Come on..." while glancing back at him over her left shoulder.
"..."
Though he was reluctant, Jason turned his back to Lana and allowed her to slip her arms through his. He couldn't fathom how she would help him in turn, given the difference in their sizes, but once she had her arms fixed in position, he bent forward, raising her feet from the ground and helping her stretch her back.
'She's absurdly light...' Jason noted, closing his eyes and exhaling faintly from his nose. Fortunately, by the time he set her back down, Kiawe was waiting to help him stretch his back. Meanwhile, Hau readily stepped in to aid Lana with her next stretch, kneeling behind her and pressing down on her shoulders to help her emulate Ren.
'Once again, I'm the odd one out...' Jason sighed internally, allowing his body to go slack as Kiawe stretched and caused his back to issue a few faint pops.
"Oh? Someone needs to work on their flexibility," Kiawe noted, his voice tinged with humor as he tightened his hold on Jason's arms and popped his back deliberately. A suppressed groan emanated from Jason's throat, but once he was back on his feet, he felt markedly more limber...
...
..
.
Following fifteen minutes of radio calisthenics, led by Professor Kukui, Jason and his classmates were given ten minutes to cool down, clean up, or change before their first period, starting at 8:30 AM. From there, things were like a proper school, their first three periods being Pokémon Biology and Ecology, Regional History, and Pokémon Moves and Type Matchups—instructed by Professor Oak, an enthusiastic, green-haired woman named Mahealani, and Professor Kukui. After that, starting at 11:30 AM, they had ten minutes of cleaning and fifty minutes for lunch.
"I really wasn't expecting to see your niece as one of our instructors, Hau. Doesn't Kahuna Halu usually teach Regional History...?" Kiawe questioned, leading the conversation among the boys.
"Yeah, that's right," Hau confirmed with a nod. Then, taking a bite of the doughy, burger-sized malasada he had brought in place of a conventional lunch, he revealed, "But Grandpa has been suuuper busy lately. I've tried asking him and the other adults why, but they keep telling me to focus on my studies and preparing for my Island Challenge."
"Do you think it has anything to do with that incident that occurred on Treasure Island?" Mallow asked, inserting herself into the conversation and, as a result, roping in the rest of the girls.
"I heard that there was a never-before-seen Pokémon that went on a rampage," Lana contributed.
"A never-before-seen Pokémon? Did they say what it looked like? Or maybe what Typings it was...?" Selene questioned, her slate grey eyes gleaming with intrigue.
"I don't know about any of that, but I did receive an advisory not to fly within twenty kilometers of Treasure Island while I was out performing my deliveries..." Kiawe revealed, crossing his arms, tilting his head back, and cupping his chin thoughtfully.
"It's a shame we haven't completed our Island Challenges. Wouldn't it be super exciting to investigate these kinds of things ourselves?" Hau posed, his eyes just as shimmery as Selene's.
"Don't go getting any ideas. You and your Pikachu are much too weak to go searching for trouble..." Stella stated, her brows furrowed and her tone slightly standoffish.
"Hey, now, that's not very nice," Hau countered, maintaining his seemingly perpetual smile as he argued, "And haven't you heard the saying that you can never truly know what you and your Pokémon are capable of without putting your skills to the test? That's half the reason the Island Challenge and Trials exist."
"Sure...you might not know what you're capable of without putting it to the test, but you can at least prepare before doing so..." Stella contended, passing her gaze over everyone present as she added, "We should focus on our studies and improving as much as we can while we're here at the Pokémon School. Taking risks and leaping headfirst into danger can come after we've become licensed Trainers..."
With Stella meeting and holding his gaze near the end of her warning, Jason got the peculiar impression that she was warning him, specifically. Immediately after, however, she averted her eyes, donned her black-and-icy-blue headphones, and effectively checked out of the conversation to focus on her meal—a neatly-arranged bento with white rice, what looked like miso soup, and tiny sausages that had been sliced at one end to look like tiny red octopi...
'She might be a plant like Jenni and Xandayah...' Jason determined, his suspicion aroused, but his expression a friendly, unassuming smile as he turned his attention to Kiawe. He and Elio were alike in that they primarily listened to others speak. Neither was especially introverted, but at least in Jason's case, he had difficulty talking for the sake of talking. He was a great listener, but unless a conversation served a clear purpose, he preferred to avoid being in the driver's seat...
...
..
.