[center][h3][i]The night before...[/i][/h3][/center] A pair of headphones soars through the air, clattering against the far wall of the tiny dining room. "[i]Bitch![/i]" The cry is sharp as a young woman straightens from her ducked position, hands grasping for the nearest projectile. She finds an open textbook and hurls it at her twin sister. Remi dives behind the high back of a chair as the book smacks against the wall. Her Pikachu, Tack, lets out an angry chirp before jumping off of Remi's shoulder and onto the table. Tack charges at Kara, electricity sparking from the pouches on its cheeks. Just as he pounces though, an unseen force pushes him back, skidding across the table until he flies off the edge with a yelp. Kara's Meowstic holds Tack against the wall with its psychic abilities, its eyes glowing blue. Kara dashes around the table. Remi's eyes widen and she scrambles to the other side. The sisters stare each other down, anger heating the air between them. Remi's eyes flick to look over Kara's shoulder, towards the door, and she straightens with a start. [color=lightpink]"Dad,"[/color] she says in a guilty voice. Kara's eyes widens and she snaps her head around to look behind her. In a smooth motion, Remi jumps over the table to tackle Kara to the ground. The two wrestle there, pulling and scratching, as their Pokémon snipe at each other. [color=lightpink]"You're just bitter you weren't chosen!"[/color] Remi grits out as she tries to push her sister's face into the floor. "I'm bitter you [i]cheated[/i]!" Kara spat. She shoves her elbow into Remi's gut with a grunt. Remi flinches away, giving the opportunity Kara needed to switch their positions. The next thing she knows, Remi is flat on the ground, Kara sitting on top of her and pulling at her hair. "Everyone knows, Remi! Like you would [i]ever[/i] be good enough to -" In the back of Remi's mind, she registers the sound of the door opening. In the next moment there's a flash of red, and thick vines are tearing the girls away from each other. "[i]One day![/i]" their father booms. Remi and Kara are still glaring at each other, chests heaving. "You two have one last day together! You can't go a [i]day[/i] without trying to kill each other?" [color=lightpink]"It's been like three days since we've tried to kill each other,"[/color] Remi says. [color=lightpink]"We're past due."[/color] "[i]Remi.[/i]" Their father stands still for a moment. Then he sighs, rubbing his hand over his face. His Tangrowth drops them. Remi stumbles as she lands off balance, but manages to catch herself. They stand there in a swelling silence, until inevitably... [color=lightpink]"She started it."[/color] "[i]Liar![/i]" "Enough!" their father tries to shout over the re-escalating fight. Remi and Kara try to lunge at each other again, only for the Tangrowth to snatch them up. They wriggle in the air, trying to get at each other. "She doesn't deserve to go!" "Girls -" [color=lightpink]"I earned my spot, [i]Kara[/i], it's not my fault you didn't make the cut!"[/color] "[i]Remi,[/i]" their father tries to cut in again, but Remi can't hear him anymore. [color=lightpink]"I'm so [i]sick[/i] of you always acting like you're better than me! But you and everyone else at that stupid school can hang, because I qualified [i]on my own[/i]! Because I'm [i]more[/i] than good enough. And I don't need to buy some stupid little dragon to show off to everyone and prove how special I am -"[/color] Kara's eyes widen as she latches onto a new plan of attack. "You've [i]always[/i] been jealous of me! You need my clothes, my [i]school[/i] - now poor little Remi's sad she doesn't have a dragon of her own?" Kara stops struggling in the air to give her sister a mocking smile. "You couldn't handle it. It'd be too [i]hard[/i], and you'd get [i]bored[/i], and you'd [i]give up[/i] like you always do!" [color=lightpink]"Thunder shock!"[/color] "Psybeam!" "[i]That's it![/i]" The Tangrowth drops the girls to the ground, vines shooting out to block the attacks midair. Their father fumes. "Both of you, to your rooms!" he thunders. His eyes shoot to Remi and she can't help but flinch away. "You're not going." Remi stares at him, stunned. [color=lightpink]"...What?"[/color] He doesn't repeat himself. "It doesn't matter how [i]good[/i] you are. You don't deserve to go." Out of the corner of her eye, Remi sees Kara start to smirk. Remi can feel the burn of tears building behind her eyes. "You need to grow up." His eyes cut to Kara. Remi wants to feel satisfied when she sees her twin flinch, but she's too numb. "[i]Both[/i] of you. Go to your rooms." He looks back to Remi. "Unpack." He pulls out his Tangrowth's Pokeball. There's another flash of red as the Pokémon disappears. Then, without looking at either of his daughters, he marches out of the room. Remi and Kara don't move as they listen to his heavy steps down the hall to his bedroom. They hear his door slam shut. [hr] Remi's eyes are puffy and red as she lays on her bed, Tack curled against her. It's well past midnight. Shame swirls in the pit of her stomach. She's so stupid. She'd been ecstatic when she'd found out that she'd qualified. And [i]proud[/i]. That Kara hadn't had been icing on the cake. But then she'd had to go and pick a fight... Remi groans, bringing the heels of her palms to press into her eyes. Tack nuzzles closer into her side. [i][color=lightpink]I was so close to getting out of here...[/color][/i] The night replays again and again in her mind. The fight with Kara. The anger she'd felt. Her father's decision. The worst part would be when school started on Monday and all her classmates found out she hadn't gone on the trip to Alola. They'd all stare and whisper, and think that every rumor they'd heard about her cheating had been [i]true[/i]. Kara would only confirm it to them. She can see it in her mind's eye, her twin sister smirking at her from across the hall as she whisper's into a friend's ear. That stupid little dragon that can't even [i]do[/i] anything yet would be floating over her shoulder. Remi grits her teeth, another tear flowing down her cheek to drip onto the mattress of her bed. [i][color=lightpink]Idiot.[/color][/i] Remi's hands drop from her eyes to land heavily on the mattress. Remi stares up at her ceiling. Then she sits up so fast that Tack startles awake beside her. Still sniffling, Remi swings her legs over the side of the bed and forces herself to stand. Tack looks up to her, a question in his eyes. [color=lightpink]"We're going to Alola."[/color] Then Remi is a flurry of motion, hurrying to stuff her bag full of rumpled clothes that she'd only just put away. Tack darts around the room, grabbing things that he knows she'll need, and then the bag is zipped, Tack is on her shoulder, and Remi is out the door. She creeps down the hallway past her father's room... then she pauses at Kara's door. Her sister's words echo through her head. Then Remi grabs the doorknob and carefully opens Kara's door. Her eyes scan the room. Remi tiptoes her way to the immaculately organized desk, Tack giving a confused chirp in her ear. Remi hesitates. Then she snatches up the Luxury Ball on the desk. She freezes and looks to see Kara still sleeping soundly, her Meowstic curled at the foot of her bed. Before she can second guess herself, Remi creeps back out of Kara's room, and into the night. [hr] Remi is drifting off to sleep in the airport's waiting area when the incessant buzzing of her phohne finally wakes her up. She opens bleary eyes to see it's already well into the morning. Then she startles awake, eyes going wide. She hears Tack chirping in surprise at his second rude awakening. [i][color=lightpink]Tell me I didn't sleep through it![/color][/i] Remi clambers for her phone. Then she sees the time and breathes a sigh of relief. She's only 15 minutes late, which, really, the chaperone probably expected. She pauses though when she sees a barage of texts, missed calls, and voicemails from her father and Kara. Remi slips the phone back in her pocket. Looking down at Tack, she rubs down his fur. [color=lightpink]"Time to go,"[/color] she whispers. She helps Tack climb up to her shoulder and then they head to the designated meeting spot. The small group isn't hard to find. The chaperone gives her a look at being late, but none of her classmates acknowledge her more than a passing glance. She thinks she sees one kid raise an eyebrow at her. Whatever. [color=lightpink][i]One stupid plane ride, and then I'm on my own.[/i][/color] A giddy smile finds its way to her lips at the thought. Her phone buzzes again in her pocket. Remi hesitates. Then she steels herself. She pulls her phone out to look down at the cluttered screen. Her father just texted her, but she can't bring herself to hear what he has to say, yet. Instead, she goes to her sister's text messages and scrolls down to the most recent ones. [indent][i][sub]Sis 7:41 AM[/sub] REMI[/i][/indent] [indent][i][sub]Sis 7:41 AM[/sub] YOU TOOK IT????[/i][/indent] [indent][i][sub]Sis 7:41 AM[/sub] THIS BETTER BE A JOKE[/i][/indent] [indent][i][sub]Sis 7:42 AM[/sub] REMI!!!!!![/i][/indent] [indent][i][sub]Sis 7:42 AM[/sub] YOUR DEAD[/i][/indent] Remi smirks down at the texts, imagining the tantrum Kara must be throwing. She types a reply. [indent][i][sub]You 8:19 AM[/sub] [color=lightpink]*you're[/color][/i][/indent] Immediately a thought bubble pops on the screen, but before Kara can finish typing, Remi turns off her phone. [color=lightpink]"Whoops, sorry, no devices on the plane,"[/color] Remi hums to herself. Putting her phone away, she looks up again at their little group. Electricity thrums through her and Remi gives a little bounce on her toes. She looks to the chaperone, eager for them to finally [i]go.[/i] [color=lightpink][i]I'm doing this. I [u]earned[/u] it.[/i][/color] Remi can't stop the small, excited smile on her face. [color=lightpink][i]I'm going to kick so much ass.[/i][/color]