[b][u][color=f49ac2][h3][center]~Melody Hemlock~[/center][/h3][/color][/u][/b]

Got too happy too quickly? Melody nodded solemnly. Okay, okay— that made sense. [color=f49ac2]“I get it,”[/color] she said. [color=f49ac2]“I’m happy too!”[/color]

She really was, actually. She had her Mareep, she had her Best-Friend-Forever, and heck, she was about to start her Pokemon journey! So, yup, she was pretty happy.

Anyway, so she’d somehow managed to start talking to both the people she’d wanted to talk to, at the same time! How convenient.

[color=f49ac2]“Anyway, yeah, I’m Melody! Great to meet you guys,”[/color] she said. [color=f49ac2]“What about you two? What’re your names?”[/color]

The shy girl’s Houndoor had growled at her. Melody didn’t think she liked that, really: what exactly had she done to merit that? Nothing, that’s what. 

Still, she squashed down her indignant feelings, and hugged her Mareep closer to herself. After the initial static shock, which really hadn’t been too bad, it turned out that her Mareep was really very huggable. Cuddly! And also, impossibly cute… 

It was staring up at her with big brown eyes. She wanted to squeal. And it’s fur was just… so soft…

She wondered how she was supposed to tell whether it was a boy or a girl. Wait.

[i]Wait a second.[/i]

She raised the Mareep up and flipped it over. 

Ooookay. Definitely a boy. 

What should she name it? Wait— memories of middle school science classes came back to her like a flood, which was strange, because those particular memories were usually locked away in a deep, dark box at the back of her mind.

[color=f49ac2]“Tesla?”[/color] she mused aloud. [color=f49ac2]“Yeah, Tesla. I’ll call him Tesla!”[/color]

She glanced away, over to Abigail, who’d just finished picking out her own Pokemon. A serious-looking boy had just finished choosing a rather cute Chikorita, who seemed rather pleased to see him. He'd been giving Melody weird looks all day, actually.

But Melody didn't care about that. She cared about [i]Abigail. [/i]She hadn’t chosen the Tyrogue, like Melody had thought she would, or even the starters or the Eevee. It looked like she’d gone for the Nidoran-M.

She bit her lip. She’d made a mistake, then… but that was okay. It just meant that she hadn’t understood her new Best-Friend-Forever well enough yet. She didn’t like that, but it just meant that she’d have to pay more attention and try harder next time.

She wanted to go over and talk to Abigail, and show her how cute Tesla was, but… she was already in the middle of a conversation with these two. It wouldn’t be polite to just up and leave, would it? 

Still, she waved at the other girl over her shoulder, giving her a smile. Maybe she’d come join the conversation?

Melody fidgeted. She hoped so. She really hoped so.