Sunlight filtered in through the lavender colored curtain, illuminating a small girl's porcelain face. A small Chikorita hopped up onto the desk her head was laying on and nudged her face. The girl groaned and moved her orange hair away from her face. "Not now Alta..." she mumbled.
The Chikorita huffed before nudging her again. This time, the girl sat up and eased her violet eyes open. "What do you want?" she sighed, running a hand through her hair. Her eyes slowly moved from the computer on her desk to the clock next to her. The time stood out like a beacon of hopelessness. "I'm going to be late!" she screamed and jumped up.
She ran around her dirty room, searching for her backpack anxiously and muttering to herself under her breath. Alta dragged the knapsack up to her with a look that seemed to say, "Looking for this?"
"Thanks," Lila replied as she grabbed her laptop, Pokedex, and camera, throwing them into the mint green backpack. She pulled on some clothes and threw another pair into the bag along with two sketchbooks and her emergency art supply kit. As she was racing downstairs, she passed her parents' room, not surprised to see her mom still asleep in her bed. "Mom! Wake up!" Lila exclaimed as Alta jumped up on her shoulder. "I'm about to go."
She raced into the kitchen, nearly running into her little sister. "Hey, Kara."
Kara smiled up at her older sister, clutching her Totodile stuffed animal to her chest. "I'm gonna miss you, sis."
Lila smiled and kissed the top of Kara's head, "I'll call and write. Don't worry."
Her dad walked up, pancakes stacked up on a plate in his hands. "Wow, you're all grown up. I think your mom has a present for you, so don't leave untils he gets up."
Lila let out an annoyed groan the moment her mother walked in, a sleepy . The older woman frowned at her daughter as she grabbed a pancake off of her husband's plate. "Am I really that late of a sleeper, Li?"
"Yes," everyone answered simultaneously.
Ode Sheldon rolled her eyes, "I've got a present for you."
She gestured for Lila to follow her and the young girl followed her mother into her office. It was the first time Lila had stepped into the elaborately decorated room. Ode walked over to her desk and pulled out a small pouch. Lila recognized it immediately. "Mom, I can't..."
Ode shook her head and walked up to Lila, wrapping it around her waist. "This was where I put my Pokeballs when I was your age. I want you to have it. Plus, I also put some antidotes and water and money in it. You're going to need it."
Lila touched the pouch carefully. It felt natural beside her. She looked up at her mom with misty eyes, "I'll miss you."
Ode pulled Lila into a hug, "I'll miss you too."
Lila ran back into the kitchen and grabbed a pancake off of her dad's plate. "Bye!" she yelled before racing out of the house.
As she was approaching her and her friends' meeting place, Alta bounced excitedly on her shoulder. When she was close enough, she saw Jodi's Cyndaquil. "It's so cute!" she squealed.