Castelia City Lights (Pokemon Watty Awards 2015)

Chapter 2

Sixteen years later...

"Oh, Dean! Wait up!" The tall, slender woman of twenty-six practically leapt up from her desk, nearly falling over in the process due to her clumsiness.

The editor turned on his heel, staring at the woman with an uninterested look. "Yes...Aurelie?" He turned around all the way this time, facing her.

Aurelie clumsily stood up from the ground before dusting off her deep cherry pencil skirt and fixing her shoulder-length, hot-pink hair. "I was just wondering if I could be considered for that new journalist opening...?" Aurelie looked at him sincerely, holding a clipboard tightly with her delicate fingers. "It's just that... I've worked here for ten years now, and I was hoping..."

"Get to the point, Aurelie." Dean sighed, cutting her off impatiently. He pinched the bridge of his nose, looking down at the floor.

"Oh, right..." Aurelie's confidence diminished, and her timid nature began to show. "...well, I was hoping that I could be the paper's new journalist, considering my dedication to the office..."

"How long have you worked here again...?" Dean rudely cut her off again. Short on time, he kept glancing down at his watch.

Aurelie flinched with surprise, not having expected that. "...ten years, sir. It's my tenth year here as an intern."

Dean looked Aurelie up and down, then stepped over to her. "Walk with me." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, walking her through the office. "It's a shame what the cancer did to your father, Aurelie..." Aurelie flinched at how casually her father's former boss could just bring up his death like that. "...but, did I not take you in at sixteen and give you a job here? Are you saying you're ungrateful for my kindness?"

"No, sir!" Aurelie answered hastily, then quickly regretted her interruption. "I mean... Being ungrateful isn't my intention, sir... I'm extraordinarily grateful for what you've done for me! It's just that..." She stared down at the floor as she felt her nerve begin to slip away. "I think I could do so much more for the paper if I was a journalist, just like my father once was!" Aurelie quickly explained herself, trying to sound grateful and not too hasty.

"I see." Dean mused out loud, then began to slow down his pace as they approached his office. "Well, considering your dedication for the paper and your father's legacy, I don't see why not..."

"Really!?" Aurelie squealed with joy, jumping up and accidentally shrugging Dean's arm off of her. She noticed how much attention she had drawn from her coworkers in the office, then quickly quieted down. "I mean...really?" She sheepishly smiled at Dean, who in return just shook his head at her.

"Alright." Dean started to open the door to his office. "Go home and write me up a brainstormed idea of what you plan on writing for the column, then a sample piece. Meet me at my office tomorrow morning at nine sharp for a consultation, and we'll discuss your career then."

SLAM!

Aurelie completely ignored how rude Dean was to slam the door in her face just now, which abruptly had ended their conversation. This was it! She was finally going to achieve her dream!

Aurelie dashed out of the office with incredible speed, grabbing her coat and scarf from her cubicle on the way. She threw on her beige coat and snow-white scarf, stepping out onto the sidewalk in front of her workplace. She pulled out a pair of white gloves and a white hat, then flagged down a taxi cab. She pulled the wool gloves over her frozen fingers, and placed the white hat over her naturally-pink hair. She shivered at how cold this winter day was, then told the cab driver directions to her apartment. The drive lasted only ten minutes at most. Aurelie paid the man what she owed him, then quickly made her way up the stairs to her building.

"Hi, Frank!" Aurelie waved to the doorman, being her usual friendly self.

"Greetings, Ms. Stone." Frank gave a slight bow. "Aren't you home a little early...?" He inquired, then laughed when Aurelie abruptly hugged him.

"Dean is finally giving me the chance at being a journalist!" She squealed with excitement, then let go of her doorman.

Frank lightly chuckled and shook his head, then held the door open for her courteously. "Well, best of luck to you."

"Thanks!" Aurelie skipped joyfully into her building, heading straight for the elevators.

Frank shook his head at the snowy ground. "That girl... She's too innocent for this cruel world." He tore his eyes away from the ground with a sad look. "I just pray to Arceus that everything works out for her. Meeting an angel like that in this city is just about as rare as finding a Victini..."

Aurelie removed her gloves and pressed the elevator button for the sixth floor, waiting patiently for the doors to close. She lightly hummed along to the elevator music, then dashed out of the elevator as soon as she reached her destination. She rifled through her pockets until she found her keys, opening the door hastily. Aurelie took off her coat and scarf, hanging them up on the coat rack by the door.

The apartment she had lived in for the past ten years wasn't too bad, but it wasn't as luxurious as some of the other ones Castelia offered. She had beige walls and white furniture, and the occasional lamp here and there. To her left was a glass sliding door that led out to the balcony, and to the right was the kitchen with a wrap-around counter. Her bedroom was in the back, and the living room was in the front. She easily was paying 2600 dollars a month for this place.

Aurelie flopped onto the couch, then noticed her mail piled up on the glass coffee table. She would have to thank Stan the mailman later for bringing it in for her.

Aurelie skimmed through the envelopes, noticing they were all bills. "Electric bill, water bill..." She shuffled through the envelopes until she found the most important looking one. "Uh oh...looks like I'm late on my rent again." Aurelie bit her lower lip, stressing out. She got up with the bills in hand, stepping into her kitchen. She stuck them to the fridge with a magnet, then stepped back a little. "Well, with this new job, I'll finally be able to afford this place!" Aurelie squealed with delight, then dashed into her bedroom for her laptop.

She plopped herself down on her bed, repositioning her father's old laptop in her lap. She pulled up Microsoft word and got right to frantically typing.

"Now... What to write about?" Aurelie pondered it over for a moment, then an imaginary lightbulb lit up above her head. "Oh! I know just the thing!"