“I’m very sorry for my behavior!”

  I stared at the bowing teenager, completely lost.

  “Huh?” I said eloquently.

  His eyes flickered up to my face, then quickly darted back to the ground.

  “I said I’m sorry!”

  “Jeez kid, you don’t have to be so loud. There’s people watching.”

  Kevin puffed up for a second. “I’m not a kid-”

  Then he stopped himself, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly while he straightened back up.

  “I’m not a kid. Please stop calling me that.”

  I narrowed my eyes as I stared at him.

  “Okay, are you a Ditto or a Zorua?”

  “What?”

  “Because I barely know Kevin, like we’ve only met three or four times, and I’m pretty sure he would never apologize like that.”

  “I’m me! I’m not a Pokémon, even you should be able to tell that!”

  “Okay then.” I leaned back in my chair and took another sip of my coffee. “Why should I accept your apology?”

  The kid, he may have been a legal adult here but he was still just a kid to me, floundered for a second.

  “Because… I apologized?”

  “Nope.” I made an X with my hands. “That’s not an answer. You can’t just apologize and expect the other person to be cool with everything. How do I know you’re being sincere? You shouldn’t apologize for something unless you really mean it, and that you’re not going to keep doing it.

  “If you can’t do that, then it’s not really an apology, is it? It’s just something you're doing to ease a guilty conscience.”

  “No, I mean it!”

  “Then prove it. What are you sorry for? What are you going to do to fix it?’

  When did I become a counselor for troubled kids?

  Thankfully, Kevin seemed to be getting the lesson, and he sat back with a frown on his face. Instead of just reacting or throwing out some shonen-manga villain lines, he actually looked like he was thinking about things.

  “I’m not…” He started, then grimaced. “I’m not good with people.”

  I raised an eyebrow and let him keep talking.

  “I get Pokémon. It’s easy to understand them, to know what they want and what they don’t like doing. But people… I just can’t do it. I can’t read their faces or their body language, and everybody else seems to be getting it but I can’t.

  My dad really wants me to be a full-time Pokémon Trainer, but I don’t see the point. Pokémon like to fight, sure, but not for Badges or for clout, they like to do it because it makes them stronger, because it’s fun.”

  “Okay?”

  “So since I don’t get people, I guess I… overcorrect. I looked at what the kids in my class were watching to try and see how they were talking with each other.”

  I sighed.

  “It was an anime, wasn’t it?”

  “Huh? Yeah it was animated, most of the good stuff on TV is, why?”

  Oh god. He actually learned communication skills from shonen shows.

  “Nevermind. Keep going.”

  “But even though I watched the shows it didn’t seem like it was actually helping. Not much, anyways. I could talk with people better, but I don’t think they ever really got it, you know?”

  “So why are you telling me all this?”

  He looked frustrated, running a hand through his hair as he tried to articulate something.

  “Because… because you’re not like everybody else! They just see me mimicking the stuff on TV and they play along with it. You’re the only person who actually sat down and tried to talk with me. And… I called you ugly and old because I thought you were like everybody else, and just didn’t care about me or anything else. So… I’m sorry. And I’m sorry that I got mad and stormed off yesterday.”

  I blinked again. That was actually a real attempt at self reflection.

  “Why did you storm off?”

  “Because he doesn’t get it!” Kevin almost shouted, waving his hand wildly. “He’s never had his dad be disappointed in him because he came in second at a Junior Battling League competition! He doesn’t know what it’s like!”

  “Do you know that?”

  The question caught Kevin completely off guard, and he floundered for a second.

  “Huh?”

  “What do you actually know about Lucas? Do you know what his home-life was like?”

  “Well… no.”

  “Do you know what his father is like?”

  Kevin had moved from “confused” to “sullen.”

  “No.”

  “Do you know-”

  “I get it, okay? I don’t know what his life is like. But that doesn’t give him the excuse to-”

  It was my turn to cut him off.

  “So how would you expect Lucas to know what your life is like?”

  More than anything that caught the kid off-guard, and he stared at me for a long minute, mouth hanging open like a Magikarp.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  I took a self-satisfied sip of my latte.

  “Have you ever actually had a conversation with Lucas? A real one, not just shouting phrases you heard on TV at him, a conversation like the one we’re having now?”

  He didn’t answer, but he didn’t really need to. I already knew the answer.

  “Listen Kevin, I’m going to tell you a truth about the world that took me a while to understand. I’m not that old, but I’ve had plenty of experience being an outcast, okay? Here it is: People don’t really think about other people.”

  I saw the confusion on his face, and raised my hand to stop him before he asked a question.

  “It’s not fair, but it’s true. Most of the time, people are absorbed in their own thoughts and experiences, and rarely take the time to consider somebody else’s point of view. It’s not inherently a bad thing, but neither is it a good thing. It’s just something that we as humans do. What do you think about Lucas?”

  “He’s a privileged jerk.”

  “Uh huh. And do you know what he thinks about you?”

  “No, why would I?”

  “Kevin’s a jerk.” I said, recalling Lucas’ words. “Always has been a jerk, and always will be a jerk.”

  Normally I wouldn’t tell somebody what another person said about them behind their back like this, but this was probably going to be a good learning experience for both Lucas and Kevin.

  And judging by the expression on Kevin’s face, it seemed to be working.

  The boy seemed to be hurt to hear that Lucas thought of him as a jerk, and he kept flipping between looking like he was going to sulk, and wanting to lash out.

  “Now, was that rude of him? Yes. But you gotta ask yourself, and I mean seriously reflect on your actions - does he have a reason to think that. Imagine what you’ve said to him over the past couple of years or so, and imagine what it would be like for somebody else to say that to you.”

  Kevin’s expression turned thoughtful, then dismayed.

  “I would think that he was a jerk.” Kevin said quietly.

  “Exactly. The two of you are just talking past each other at this point.”

  “But… what can I do?”

  I shrugged. “It sounds easy, but it’s actually really hard.”

  “I can do it.”

  “Are you sure? Only those people who are actually capable of self-reflection can make this step to becoming a better person.”

  A fire lit in his eyes, and I sighed.

  It figured that the best way to motivate somebody in this world was to appeal to their sense of getting stronger and improving themselves.

  Damn shonen logic.

  “Yeah! I can do it!”

  “Okay then. It might be the hardest thing you’ll ever do.”

  Kevin leaned forwards eagerly.

  “You need to take all of that, what you just told me.”

  “Uh huh.”

  “And you need to talk to Lucas. Actually talk, clear the air, and see if there’s any way the two of you can move beyond the past.”

  The expression on his face was a mixture of disappointment and horror, and I took another sip of my drink. It was going to be a long day, I could tell.

  /^\

  “Kevin.”

  “Lucas.”

  The two boys were glowering at each other, and I sighed.

  “Kevin.” I nudged the kid next to me. “Don’t be a jerk.”

  He muttered, but didn’t say anything else.

  “Ha!” Lucas crowed.

  “And you!” I pointed to him, and he had the gall to look shocked. “Be nice.”

  “What? I’m nice!”

  Ignoring him for now, I turned to Kevin. “Alright, do your thing.”

  Kevin paused and took a long, long second to collect his thoughts.

  Then he turned his head so as to not look directly at Lucas and muttered.

  “...sorry.”

  “Huh? What did you say?”

  I grimaced and put my face in my hands. Lucas was genuinely asking what he said, Kevin had muttered pretty quietly after all, but his tone was…

  “I said I’m sorry!” Kevin shouted back, face turning red.

  This has to stop sooner rather than later. “Enough.”

  The two stopped to stare at me wide eyed.

  “Lucas - Kevin was trying to apologize to you. Kevin - Lucas didn’t hear what you said. He wasn’t trying to make fun of you for apologizing.”

  Both boys flushed, and looked down at the ground.

  “...Sorry.” Lucas said.

  “Yeah. Me too.”

  “Great!” I clapped once. “Now that that misunderstanding is out of the way; Lucas, Kevin has something to tell you. I want you to listen closely, and actually hear what he’s saying. Don’t jump to any kind of conclusions.”

  Lucas’ face settled into a more serious expression as he nodded at me.

  He’s dropping his silly facade, good.

  “Kevin, I want you to tell Lucas what you were telling me. The only way to resolve this is by talking to each other, okay? Just… be honest.”

  They stood there a little awkwardly, until I shooed them towards a private part of the training fields.

  “Go. Talk. Figure this out.”

  The two boys hesitantly walked away, and I rubbed my temples as Ted walked up with Silver napping in the hood of his coat.

  “What’s going on?”

  I sighed and rubbed my temples. “Lucas thinks that Kevin’s a jerk. Kevin thinks Lucas is a jerk. Kevin came to me and apologized for being rude to me, and I managed to turn it around so he should apologize to Lucas.”

  “You turned it around on him?”

  “Listen, I’m an adult and they’re both kids. No, don’t say that they’re legally adults because they’re Trainers - they’re kids.”

  Ted closed his mouth before he said anything, and nodded reluctantly.

  “I’m just here to get them to talk to each other.” I shrugged. “I’m not doing anything more than that, I don’t know Kevin and it’s not my place to give any kind of grand life advice. They can sort it out, or not.”

  He eyed me for a second. “You’re a good person, Alina.”

  I shrugged awkwardly, a bit uncomfortable. “I just don’t want kids to keep showing up while I’m trying to get a coffee to talk to me about their life problems. If they learn and grow as people… that’s a nice bonus.”

  Ted laughed, startling Silver who batted at the back of his head, and I sighed.

  “Mayfly needs some practice dodging Fire-type moves, want to get some practice with Kōjin in?”

  I looked over at the two boys talking out of earshot. It looked like an incredibly awkward conversation, but at least there was no shouting or fighting.

  “Yeah.” I sighed again. “Sure, why not.”

  In the end, Lucas and Kevin ended up having a Battle anyway. This was still the Pokémon world after all, and apparently one of the best ways to communicate your feelings was through a Battle.

  I didn’t get it at all, but Ted told me that this kind of thing was relatively normal.

  When the Battle ended, things were still a little tense, but neither of them were as hostile as they were before. Kevin ended up winning again, his Azumarill was just too effective against Lucas’ Pokémon, but this time instead of gloating, he just simply shook Lucas’ hand.

  It would probably be a while before things were truly settled between the two of them, and they might never become close friends, but at least things were looking up.

  /^\

  “...Thank you.” Kevin said as the sun was setting over the training grounds. “You really helped me.”

  The four of us were all standing around watching our breath plume in the cold evening air, and I was looking forward to a nice warm meal once we returned to our hotel.

  “Yeah, no problem.”

  I was just glad that I wouldn’t have to be involved for much longer.

  Then Kevin stepped forwards, turning back to the three of us, and my heart began to sink at the expression on his face.

  “But there’s still something I need to do before I lose my nerve.”

  I had no idea what was happening.

  He took a deep breath, and bowed deeply, hands straight at his sides as his entire torso dipped past ninety degrees.

  “I like you!” He shouted, and I felt my heart freeze.

  Oh god. Oh no. He was confessing. I thought this thing only happened in romance anime.

  “Snowpoint City is having an Ice Festival in a couple of days! Will you do me the honors of attending it with me?”

  “No.” I said. “Hell no. Ew. No no no. You’re a kid for god’s sake-”

  “What?” Kevin looked up in confusion, and then a brief look of disgust crossed his face. “Ew, no, not you.”

  His gaze turned to a stunned Lucas.

  “Would you please go with me?”