Bullies, Schemes, and Pokemon Pheromones: A Sonia x OC story

Chapter 12

Timothy, Coovers, Sonia, Electchu, Oshawott, and Yamper continued to laugh during the train ride to Motostoke. Coovers and Sonia reenacted the prank call, with Sonia pretending to be Luke using a silly low voice. Timothy laughed at everything their friends quoted and praised his friends for their work. All the while, he was holding on to his backpack, where Luke's freezing coil was stuffed between his textbooks and notebooks.

During Pokemon Biology, Coovers and Erin glanced at each other while Coovers was writing notes. Erin still looked away bashfully as soon as she laid eyes on Coovers, yet she smiled throughout Mr. Jacq's lecture, relieved to see Coovers and his partner fully recovered. Timothy and Sonia smiled at each other, happy things were looking great for their best friend and his dreams. Simultaneously, Timothy was glad that Erin was so invested in Coovers for the sake of his plan.

At the end of first period, everyone but Coovers put their stuff away and exited the classroom. Timothy waited to make sure Mr. Jacq had left the classroom for his free period from teaching before turning to Coovers to give him a wink. Coovers grinned and gave Timothy a thumbs-up before grabbing a lab bottle from the counter behind his seat. Timothy, Sonia, Electchu, and Yamper exited the classroom while Erin collected her things at Mr. Jacq's desk. Coovers waited until he, Erin, Oshawott, and Piplup were left and dropped the lab bottle. The bottle landed on the floor and broke into pieces, startling Erin and Piplup.

"I'm okay," Coovers said with his hands up.

Erin sighed with her hand on her chest and said, "You startled me. What happened?"

"I, uh, was getting up and didn't see the bottle behind me, and I guess I knocked it off the counter when I turned around," Coovers lied.

"Oh, I see," Erin said. "You need to be careful with lab equipment. They're very expensive, and Mr. Jacq's budget was cut drastically for this year."

"Oh my goodness, I had no idea," Coovers said.

"It's no big deal. You didn't know," Erin said. "Anyway, you better get to your next class."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I insist I help you clean this up," Coovers said.

Erin smiled and nodded before grabbing Mr. Jacq's small trash bin next to his desk and two pairs of gloves from the lab equipment cabinet. She and Piplup walked over to Coovers and Oshawott, and the students knelt down with Erin, putting on a pair of gloves and giving Coovers the other pair. They carefully picked up the pieces of the lab bottle while Piplup and Oshawott held up the trash bin.

While they picked the pieces, Timothy snuck back into the classroom while Sonia, Electchu, and Yamper waited outside as the lookout. Timothy carefully opened the chemical cabinet and, with his backpack already open, grabbed several bottles of pheromones and stuffed them into his backpack. Coovers looked up as he grabbed two pieces of the bottle and smiled as he watched Timothy tip toe out of the classroom until Erin cleared her throat to grab his attention.

"How are you and Oshawott feeling?" Erin asked.

"Good as new, thank you," Coovers said. "Although, it helps that you were there to help me recover while Nurse Joy took care of Oshawott. That was very sweet of you."

Erin tinted and looked away, playing with her hair.

"I-it's no problem. I just did what anyone would do," she said.

"All due respect, my lady, I think we both know that's not true," Coovers said with a flirtatious smile. "Timothy told me how everyone laughed at me and Oshawott, and you were the only one apart from him who thought to help. Far as I'm concerned, dear maiden, your kindness is as unmatched as your beauty."