New Beginning (Pearlshipping-AshxDawn)

Chapter Ten

It was Saturday and Alex, Julia, Sarah, and their friends looked around in amazement. Today was the start of the Twinleaf Festival and there were many booths lining the street, either full of snacks or fun games for people to play. Nearly the entire town was there, along with some other people from across Sinnoh.

"Here you go." Ash and Dawn said, handing their kids some money. "In case you want to get something. You'll be okay by yourselves while we go off?"

"We'll be okay." Alex said.

"We're all going to be together as a group so that we don't get lost." Julia added.

"Okay, but be careful, though." Ash said.

"Meet us back here at five." Dawn added, since it would be nearing supper time by then.

Pikachu and Piplup jumped down from Ash and Dawn's shoulders and onto Alex and Julia's shoulders. The two Pokemon wanted to have a day of fun with the kids.

Ash and Dawn said goodbye to the kids and walked off hand-in-hand and smiling.

As they walked away, Sarah was watching them and she frowned. A look of sadness and jealously appeared on her face at the sight. Since the others were all talking about what they should do first, no one noticed Sarah...except for Anthony.

"Is something wrong, Sarah?" Anthony asked, causing her to look at him quickly.

"No. There's no need to worry." Sarah replied, smiling.

Anthony looked at her, not believing her, but decided not to press the issue. He knew that the smile was forced.

"How about we just walk around and see what there is to do here?" Melissa asked.

The group agreed and they started walking around.

After walking around for a few minutes, they ran into a familiar face: Amy and her friends.

The kids were suddenly worried, they hadn't told Sarah about how Amy and her friends act towards them. The kids tried to keep Sarah out of Amy's sight, but she had already spotted her.

"Who are you? I haven't seen you before." Amy asked, looking at Sarah.

"She's our cousin from out of town." Alex said.

"She's visiting us for the weekend, so that she can see the festival." Julia added.

"So you're Julia's cousin, huh? Did your dad abandon you and your mom when you were a baby just like Julia's dad did?" Amy asked, laughter lacing her voice.

Sarah took a sharp breath and looked down as she felt tears gather in her eyes. That struck too close to home for her.

"Thought so. You and your mom were unlovable just like Julia and her mom. It must be a common thing in the Berlitz family." Amy commented, smirking at Sarah's reaction.

"Amy, leave her alone!" Julia cried.

"You have no right to say that to her! You don't know anything about her!" Alex said, glaring at Amy.

Anthony looked at Sarah and could only wonder about Sarah's reaction earlier to Ash and Dawn...and now Amy's comment. Were they connected?

"Just leave us alone." Julia said.

Amy and her friends left and the kids turned to Sarah, who was upset.

"Don't listen to her, Sarah. All she does is say hurtful things just to get a reaction from whoever it is that she's being mean to. Ignore her." Julia said, hugging her.

"Sorry, we forgot to tell you about Amy. Just forget about her and let's enjoy the festival." Alex said, looking at Sarah.

"After all, Sarah, there's so much to see and do and time is wasting. After you." Anthony said in a strange accent, causing Sarah to laugh and cheering her up.