[centre][img]https://i.imgur.com/rKEOjO3.png[/img][/centre] The night before the opening ceremony, a restless young woman found herself unable to sleep. Yet, it wasn’t excitement that kept the small girl’s eyes open despite an aching desire to close. No, rather, one need only look towards the countless brightly colored wrappers lining the once pristine and lavish bedroom’s floor. Sugary sweets and artificial treats had given her an unfortunately timed burst of energy. When she should be calmly resting before what could very well be one of the biggest days of her short life, Valerie was… Ready. To. Rip. By the stroke of midnight, the small girl was out of bed and pacing, exploring her new “nest” as she had taken to calling it. Sleep was out of the question, obviously. Well...for her. The girl found herself gazing at the bed with utter disdain and, to be frank, a splash of envy. Laying sprawled out in the center, taking far more than its fair share of mattress real estate, was a bloated blob of fat and fur. Her “partner”, Munchlax. It wasn’t fair. Val crossed to her sleek mahogany desk and found a pencil laying across it. She picked it up, fiddling with it while she stared daggers at the snoozing slob. It wasn’t FAIR. She pressed her thumb against the writing instrument absentmindedly, yearning for that sweet, satisfying snap. No luck. It WASN’T FAIR! She found herself gnawing on the pencil, but black thoughts overcame her. No time to worry about potential dental damage, there was INJUSTICE at foot. AND IT WASN’T FAIR!!! It was HIS stupid idea to have a snack or two before bed. HE insisted on it! HE’S the one who kept dragging packages towards her. HE ate the Litleo’s share of the junk food feast. SO WHY WASN’T HE THE ONE SUFFERING?!! It. Was’t. Fair. In her silent nest, illuminated only by brief moments of moonlight peeking out from behind the clouds, Valerie stood still, eyes trained on her slumbering PokePal. The gears in her head began to crank, and with each pass, a mischievous grin began to sprawl across her face. Quietly - ever so quietly - Valerie made her way across the room, careful not to make a sound. She approached the bed and gently grabbed the covers and bedsheet. Once she was sure of her grip, the girl gave the Munchlax one final smile before enacting her grand plan to right the wrong she saw before her. With all the gusto she could manage, Valerie pulled and tugged and ripped at the fabric… ...which didn’t even budge. She struggled and struggled, trying her damnedest to expose the big lug to the elements but...no dice. Val grunted and cursed, putting her back into trying to dislodge the damn things… And… Munchlax, in its deep slumber, rolled. Which was at the perfect time to cause the sheets that Valerie was so desperately trying to remove to finally slip out from underneath him. Unfortunately for Valerie, who had not exactly thought her plan through in her sleep-deprived sugar-fueled mania, the momentum she was putting into the fabric carried through, causing her to be fall backwards with her next tug, trying out out muscle a resistance that was no longer there. She landed on her butt with a thud. Silence filled the space where her grunts and groans had once been. She had all the time in the world to reflect on her actions. … A toot came from the bed as Munchlax, still fast asleep, passed a little snoozy-time gas. Defeated and starting to experience a sugar crash, Valerie wrapped herself in the covers and sheets and curled up on the floor, secure in her cocoon of shame. [hr] Early the next morning, Valerie was up. She hurried to get ready, taking what might have been the world’s fastest shower and dressing herself in a blur. She managed to get her top on, but didn’t notice that it was inside out. Her jean shorts were at least buttoned and zipped properly, but she couldn’t manage to find a pair of matching socks - not that she looked that hard for them anyway. She was running late. She had to hurry. Who cares if one sock stopped at her ankle while the other one claimed towards the knee? Once she met the bare minimum of “dressed”, it was time to accessorize. Val slipped on her bear slippers, creepy necklace, and goggles before forcing a still-sleeping Munchlax into his ball and leaving the room. He would be a bit miffed at her later, but to be fair, he wasn’t exactly in her good graces at the moment. She doubled back in and crossed back to her desk before quickly sprawling out her name in red crayon across a flimsy little nametag and affixing it sloppily to her shirt with a safety pin, unaware of the sticky back. Valerie tore across the campus, reaching speeds she didn’t know were possible for someone like her. She didn’t see a single soul on her way, which was...terrifying. Was she really that late? She didn’t quite care if she made a poor first impression: it was more that...well...to be honest, she didn’t want to miss the opportunity to snoop on her classmate’s Pokemon. Missing an opportunity to see so many different ‘mons from all across the world? Valerie would rather die. And die she almost did once she finally made it to the amphitheatre only to find its doors unmoving - locked from the inside. She tugged and tugged, desperately trying to find some purchase, but there was no luck. She had missed it. Woe to her… ...that is, what she thought in the brief moments before the door opened and a tired face peered out, looking downright perplexed. The man, a hard looking guy in his mid-forties by her estimate, asked what she was doing there so early. Then it clicked. Why she hadn’t seen a single person on her trip. Why it was so hard to see the path in front of her. Why it was so damn dark… Valerie checked her phone for the time. 5:46am. … She apologized to the man and turned around, ready to make the walk of shame back to her dorm room when he asked if, since she was already here, if she wouldn’t mind lending a hand setting up. Val silently blessed her janitorial guardian angel and eagerly took him up on the offer. So when, some time later, her classmates began to flood into the rather spacious amphitheater, Valerie was already squarely in her assigned seating area. She had the perfect opportunity - a front row seat, even - to see all the wonderful Pokemon accompanying their trainers as they came in. But, as a consequence of her poor life choices and lack of planning, the poor girl found herself unable to keep her eyes open for even a few moments after plopping down in her chair. She zoinked out, finally catching up on some much-needed Z’s. Even the entrance of her somewhat rowdy classmates weren’t enough to rouse the slumbering Ms. Cypress, who sat sprawled out in her chair like a hot mess. The commotion was enough to rouse Munchlax from his sleep, however, as when the fuss over the cute dog ‘mon began, he burst from his ball, eager to see what all the hubbub was over. Just in time to see the clumsy classmate tumble into the confident one. Which Munchlax found funny enough to belly laugh at. It was the small things in life, no? [hr] [hider=Other] PP=1 Team: Munchlax [/hider]