*~Anything But Ordinary~*
*~Chapter One – First Day ~*

***

Misty smiled up at the front of the class. "Why don't you tell us a little about yourself, Misty?" Mrs. Finne suggested.

"Well, okay." Her voice was soft and melodic, sounding shy yet sure of herself at the same time. He knew it was an oxymoron, but Ash didn't care. It was the only thing he could use to describe it.

"I was born in Cerulean City, and I have three older sisters. I love to swim, and I am a water pokemon trainer. Umm. hmm, what else? Oh, and I hope to be friends with as many people as I possibly can!" She ended her mild speech, and the class clapped for her. "Okay then, good job, Ms. Waterflower. Please take a seat behind Alyssa Minden. Ms. Minden, please raise your hand."

A girl three seats over from Ash with blonde hair and chocolate-brown eyes raised her hand. Misty walked down between the desks and took her seat.

"Hi!" greeted Alyssa, turning around to face Misty when the teacher wasn't looking. "Hey," Misty replied.

Alyssa saw that the teacher was starting to turn around, so she got straight to the point.

"Wanna come hang with us at first break? I mean as in me and my friends."

"Sure." Alyssa turned around just in time as the teacher faced away from the chalkboard and to the class.

"So, what is the answer to the question in your texts? Mr. Ketchum?"

Misty looked around the class, wondering who 'Mr. Ketchum' was. She wanted to try and find out everyone's name as quick as she could.

Misty saw a boy with spiky black hair wearing a red cap on his head, wearing jeans and a burgundy shirt, shrug his shoulders and say "I dunno."

Mrs. Finne said "Well, Mr. Ketchum, if you were paying attention, do you think you would have known the answer?"

"Probably," he replied.

"Well then," she crossed her arms over her chest and stared him down, "Maybe that will give you an idea of what to do for the rest of this class, then, won't it, Mr. Ketchum?"

Ash wanted to say something back to her, but bit his tongue at the last second. He didn't want to get sent to the office this early in the morning. Again. He just ignored the question as Mrs. Finne turned towards the black board once more, explaining the answer to the problem.

Ash turned his attention to the new girl a few rows across from him. Her aquamarine eyes were gazing intently on the blackboard, trying to comprehend what was being written on there, since she hadn't done this at her previous school. He smiled. Ah, new kids were always fun to pick on. He then turned his attention back on the black board as well, figuring he'd have to listen in on at least a few classes in order to get a passing grade.

Thankfully, the class went by quickly, and they were allowed on their break. Ash caught up with Brock and Tracey in the hallway by their lockers. Their break was 10 minutes long, but you had to stay inside the building. You got to go outside for a while at lunch.

"Hi Brock, Trace."

Brock and Tracey turned around and said hi as well. "You see the new girl?" Ash asked.

"Did I ever." said Brock, switching into PG mode. (Pretty Girl.) He clasped his hands together in front of his face. "Her long, flowing hair is the colour of the blazing sun, her eyes of the raging sea. Her name sounds so-"

"BROCK!" Ash and Tracey yelled at the same time. Ignoring them, Brock twirled in circles around the lockers, bumping into a few guys. He crossed the path of Gina, a young girl in the grade above them. "Ah! Gina, how lovely it is to see you. can I do anything for you? Would you like me to carry your books? Which class are you heading to, I could walk you to it!"

Tracey and Ash sighed. "It's just like when we were traveling, every girl he sees that wasn't over 25, he'd instantly fall in love with." They watched Brock pretty much stalk poor Gina all the way to her locker, and they chuckled. "And he wonders why no one will go out with him."

Just then, a girl appeared behind them. "Heya Ash!" she greeted, hugging him. This was Sydney, Ash's current girlfriend. "Hi," he replied, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. She smiled at him, and said "Where's Brock?" Ash laughed, his arm around her waist, nodding his head in Brock's direction. "He's trying to have a conversation with Gina." "I don't think it's working, though," Tracey said, completing Ash's sentence.

Their conversation was cut off abruptly when they heard something from behind them. "Hey there, Ashy-boy."

Ash turned around to see Gary, his long-time rival from ever since he could remember. "Shut up, Gary. Don't you have friends you can bug? Oops, sorry, I guess not." He turned around again, facing his friends with his back to Gary.

"You better watch your mouth there, Ashy-boy. You don't wanna get grounded by mommy again, do you?"

At this point in time, Ash severely wished that he had his Pikachu here with him at this time. 'She'd give him a jolt to remember,' he thought. He sighed. Pokemon weren't allowed on school property during school hours. They supposedly 'disrupted the learning of others'.

"I'd rather be grounded than spend another second with you, ass hole." (ooh, now that's gonna bring it to a PG!)

Ash turned around and headed down the hallway, Tracey and Sydney in tow. Sydney glanced back at the fuming Gary and smiled. She then walked up to her boyfriend and friend, heading to their next class.

***

Misty looked around at all of the unfamiliar faces. She had just met five other girls and three guys. She looked ay Alyssa, one of the few of who she could remember the name of. There was also Michelle, Roxy, and the other three she couldn't remember. She could remember all of the guys because there weren't very many of them. Aaron, Taylor, and Gary.

Michelle had long, brown hair, and blue eyes, a darker blue than her own. She wore a high mini-skirt with a very tight pink top to go with it. She shuddered. Misty was still too much of a tomboy to wear pink.

Roxy was a bit tamer in the clothing department. She wore flared black jeans and a navy shirt that shimmered in the light. Her reddish blonde hair fell down to her shoulders and no further.

Aaron had deep brown hair with blonde tips, spiked up and held with gel. His clothes were the normal for a guy, baggy jeans accompanied by a baggy shirt.

Taylor looked a lot like Aaron, except that his hair was all brown with natural golden highlights. They wore the same style of baggy jeans, and Taylor wore a blue Exco shirt with it.

Gary was a little different. He wore khaki pants and a light green t-shirt that wasn't so baggy as the others, showing off his upper and lower arm muscles. He, too, had brown hair, and it was spiked just like the others. Before she knew it, Gary had walked off with Aaron and Taylor following close behind.

"Hey Misty, do ya wanna hang with us all the time?" Alyssa asked, motioning to her group.

"Sure," supplied Misty. "After all, I did say that I wanted to be friends with as many people as possible."

Alyssa smiled. "That's true!"

Before Misty could say anything else, a boy walked past them, right through the middle of their group. 'Wasn't he that 'Mr. Ketchum' guy in my class?' "Hey Lyss," Misty asked Alyssa. Lyss was her nick name. "Yeah?" she asked, turning around from watching the guy walk off, seemingly in an even worse mood than in the morning. "Who was that guy? I heard the teacher call him 'Mr. Ketchum'."

"Oh, that'd be Ash. He and Gary are like the best pokemon trainers in the school. And both of them are so hot, don't you think?"

Misty blinked. "Uh. sure, whatever." She felt a blush appear on her cheeks from her newfound friend talking about someone that way.

Alyssa sighed. "They've both got girlfriends already, though. It's so hard to go out with Ash, he says no to practically everyone. I think he's only gone out with like 3 people ever since he came in grade nine." She shook her head. "But Gary's got a new girlfriend every week. That's why a lot more go after him, because they know they've got a better chance."

Misty absorbed all of this information that Alyssa was telling her. She had to remember so many things about so many people, she thought she'd never get all of this straight.

The bell rang, signaling them to get to their next class.

"What d'ya got next, hun?" Michelle asked Misty. She rustled in her red bag for a bit, finally pulling out a sheet of paper with her schedule.

"History," she replied.

"Really? Then you can go with Gary, that's what he's got next, too." She flagged him down from the other end of the hall. "GARY!"

He approached the group of girls, saying "What can I do for you, ladies?"

Alyssa sighed. "Shut up and take Misty to her history class."

"Tsk tsk tsk. so rude there, Lyss."

She put her hands on her hips, saying "Do you want to be late for class, Mr. Oak?" Gary shook his head 'no'.

"Then I suggest you HURRY UP!"

She yelled the last part, pushing him down the hall roughly, and gently leading Misty after him. She growled at him, then turned to Misty, smiling, and said "Have fun, sweetie!" She then disappeared into the sea of bustling teenagers.

Misty followed closely behind Gary, not wanting to get lost. They had walked for a bit, then Gary stopped. Misty almost bumped into him. Gary was walking towards a small group of people, walking down the hall as well. She recognized one as Ash, his hat standing out amongst the other heads.

"Hey Ashy-boy, I think we've got some unfinished business!" he yelled, and Misty back away slowly.

Ash turned around and glared at the brown-haired boy. "What do you want?? I told you already that I don't wanna see your damn face again!!"

Misty took another step back, bringing up against a locker. "Uh. Gary?" she squeaked. He ignored her, yelling above PG-13 rated phrases at Ash.

They continued going at it for a few more minutes, and finally Misty had enough. If she didn't find her way to history in two seconds, she was going to be late. "EXCUSE ME?!" she yelled, causing both young men to stop and stare at her.

Proud of herself for getting their attention, she said "I don't know about you, but I'd actually like to get to my history class. on time!!" She walked in between them, pushing the two away from each other's throats. "So one of you is going to take me to the history classroom-NOW!"

Brock conveniently came up in front of Misty and said "Fair maiden, I would be honoured to take your hand and lead you to your history classroom. May I have the pleasure of escorting you?"

Misty looked at him strangely. "Uhh. sure, thanks." Misty and Brock started walking down the hall, leaving Ash and Gary to stare each other down. Deciding he didn't want to ruin his reputation with the teachers, Gary stormed off down the hall a good distance behind Brock and Misty. Ash sighed and walked off, rejoining Tracey, and heading to his own class. 'I swear, one of these days.'

***

History went by in a breeze. Besides Gary and Ash acting like jerks in the hallway, Misty had quite a good time meeting other people in the other class. Then Misty thought about that Brock guy. She had only made it to the door when she heard him call "Oh, Melissa! How nice to see you again." Misty heard the girl sigh, and she heard the footsteps of Brock following her down the hallway, saying "But I haven't talked to you inn 15 minutes! Come back, sweetie!"

She giggled at the memory. Then her stomach growled and interrupted her. 'Oh gosh. I guess I'm hungry.' She made her way to the cafeteria, stood in the line and got her food, and tried to look for an empty seat. "Hey Misty! Over here!"

She saw Alyssa waving her hands above the crowd, signaling to an empty seat beside her. Misty smiled, she did have a seat after all. She raised the food tray above her head so she wouldn't spill in, and waddled sideways through the narrow aisles. When she finally got to Alyssa, she saw someone now occupying the seat beside her. "Lyss?" she asked. "Wasn't this seat for me?"

Alyssa sighed. "It was, except that Aaron got here first. Sorry, hun." Misty put on a fake smile. "It's okay," she said, and ventured off in search of another seat.

"Oh, Misty!! Don't fret, Brock has saved you a seat!" Brock shot his hand in the air, beckoning her over. She figured, 'Why not?' and sat down beside him. Brock immediately took her hand and asked "Is there anything I can get you? Do you need help eating? Here, let me hold your fork." Misty quickly snatched the fork away from him and said "I'm fine, thanks." Thankfully, another girl walked past, by the name of Lyndsay, and Brock immediately railed after her.

Misty sighed. Why would Alyssa do that to her? She though she was her friend! 'I guess I'll give her the benefit of the doubt and talk to her about it.' She leaned her head on one fist, elbow on the table, and began to peck at her food. All of the commotion today was starting to tire her out. After all, your first day in a new school isn't easy.

Ash, who was one seat away from rock previously, now sat beside Misty. He noticed her depressed demeanor, and wondered if he should ask her about it or not. It just felt. strange to see her sad. 'I'm probably pitying her for being the new girl,' he thought. He then decided that he'd be nice to her for her first day and see if he could help.

"Anything wrong?" he asked.

Misty jumped. She hadn't even noticed someone else sitting beside her. She then relaxed, but tensed up again upon seeing who it was. "I'm fine," she said.

Ash looked at her strangely, but then said 'If you say so."

"ASH KETCHUM! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Ash looked up to see a fuming Sydney glaring at him. "What do you mean, 'what am I doing'? It's lunch time, what do you think I'm doing!?"

"I think you're flirting with the new girl!" she accused, hands on her hips.

Ash gagged. Flirting? This is what she considered flirting? "Syd, I'm not flirting! Brock had her come sit here, she had no where else to sit-"

Ash never even got to finish his sentence when she stalked off, carrying her food tray, to the furthest table away from his, her green pants swishing the whole way.

Misty felt bad about what just happened. It was all because of her sitting there that this happened. 'But she was a little accusing, wasn't she? I mean, he was just sitting beside me.' Misty looked up at Ash and said "So, that was your girlfriend?"

"Yeah," he replied.

"Sorry," she said.

Ash ignored her apology. Ah well, he could make amends with Sydney later. Right now, all he wanted to do was eat!

***

The end of the day finally came. Misty was eager to get home and see her pokemon. She thought about them; Staryu, Goldeen, Horsea, Poliwag. She missed them all. Yes, she even missed her lame Psyduck that did nothing but act stupid and complain about his headache. Then she thought about her newest pokemon, one of which she caught just a little while ago. Pikachu, who she nick named Sparky.

(A/N: Yes, this is exactly like the pokemon Richie has, but Richie isn't in this fic, and I love Sparky too much to leave him out, so Misty owns him, kay?)

She still considered herself a water trainer, though, because she didn't use Sparky for battling. He was more of a companion, not a battling tool.

She found herself almost out of the school when she heard two voices of which she faintly recognized. She carefully peered around the corridor, careful not to interrupt their conversation. She recognized Gary right away, he was just about the only guy in the school who didn't wear jeans, but the other one she wasn't too sure on at the moment.

She had cherry red hair, and she wore deep green flared pants. Misty thought. 'Now where did I see deep green pants today?' Then it clicked. 'Sydney! But what would she be doing here with Gary?' Her eyes widened as she saw Gary step closer to Sydney and place his hands on her hips. They talked in hushed tones, Sydney giggling every once and a while. They got closer and closer. Misty was really starting to get worried. This was Ash's girlfriend, here! With his rival! She gasped as their lips touched. Hearing the gasp, Sydney shot her eyes open. Misty ducked behind the wall, holding her breath, hoping she never saw anything.

Misty rushed down the rest of the hall and out the door before they came looking for her, which she though they surely would do. She ran and ran all the way home, getting lost a couple of times. Finally standing safely at her doorstep, she put her hands on her knees and gasped for breath. How in the world was she supposed to break this to a guy she barely even knew?

Gary and Sydney broke apart, both slightly winded. She thought about the figure she saw spying on them. Smiling evilly, she just hoped that Misty would tell Ash the following day. 'This should be fun,' Sydney thought, broadening her smirk.