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

Chapter 21

For the first 20 minutes of first period, Timothy and Electchu stayed out in the hall. Timothy sat against the wall hugging his legs while trying to figure out how Sordward, Shielbert, Guzma, and Matori found out about his scheme. Electchu sat beside him, wishing it could comfort him or help him figure out how their enemies discovered their plan. It was also worried about Oshawott and Yamper, thinking about the helpless states they were in in the picture Alexa showed Timothy and Electchu.

Eventually, Timothy went back to heading to the main office to deliver the form to Oleana for no reason other than to avoid being seen by a student or staff member passing by. He knew he would have to face the music of everyone finding out he hadn't moved and expressed their contempt, but he wanted to delay the inevitable as much as possible.

When Timothy and Electchu entered the main office, they found Oleana more drained than usual. She was typing on her computer while six piles of paperwork covered her desk. The trash bin next to Oleana's desk was overflowing with empty coffee cups, yet it didn't appear the coffee affected Oleana. Timothy awkwardly cleared his throat to catch Oleana's attention. She was surprised by his appearance for a moment before giving him a bitter glare.

"Well, look who it is. Mr. I'm-gonna-piss-of-the-principal-and-vice-principal-and-make-life-a-living-hell-for-everyone," Oleana said. "Come to gloat on your achievement before moving, did you?"

"Uh, no. Actually, I'm not moving," Timothy said. "I came here with a form my parents signed to let you know I'm going to continue attending school."

"Continue? I think you've done enough in one week. Thank you very much," Oleana said coldly. "You may not know this, but adults can struggle to make ends meet. I've been working my butt off, waiting for the principal and vice principal to give me a raise. They assured me that the school budget should be bigger next year, in which case I'll get a raise for all my hard work, and now I and the rest of the staff will get paid less. If I were you, Mr. Durbin, I'd convince your parents to transfer you to another school. In fact, I'd tear your form apart and have security throw you out of here if we had any."

"Look, Ms. Oleana, I'm really sorry," Timothy said. "All I wanted was to get Superintendent Rose to reject the Pokemon Baccer program so Principal Sordward and Vice Principal Shielbert would give Professor Magnolia her land back. I swear, it never crossed my mind that Superintendent Rose would shrink the school's budget, affecting everyone, including your salary. I feel awful for what I've done."

"Pikachu," Electchu said.

"Heh. Well, if it's any consolation, you actually didn't get Superintendent Rose to shrink the school's budget," Oleana said.

"What? How do you know?" Timothy asked.

"Superintendent Rose only told me to tell the principal and vice principal that the Pokemon Baccer program is rejected," Oleana said. "I think he decided to shrink the budget later after reviewing further issues and told Mr. Sordward and Mr. Shielbert. Far as I'm concerned, you got what you wanted, and the rest is their own fault."

"Wait, that doesn't make any sense," Timothy said. "If Superintendent Rose shrank the school's budget, then what happened to the money Principal Sordward and Vice Principal Shielbert were going to use to -?"

Timothy's eyes widened as something clicked in his mind. He looked down and rubbed his chin, trying to think of other explanations for what Sordward and Shielbert could be up to. Electchu tilted its head, and Oleana raised her eyebrow as they watched Timothy. Finally, Timothy's face grew grave, and he stepped closer to Oleana's desk to be only a couple of feet away from her.

"Ms. Oleana, I don't think Superintendent Rose shrank the budget. Principal Sordward and Vice Principal Shielbert are taking the school's entire budget for themselves," Timothy said.