Kids Teaching Kids (Quest/Private)

A pink-haired girl waltzed into the classroom and exclaimed something, though Forrest didn't pay attention to what she said. He grimaced at the high pitch and loud volume of her voice. She must give Mrs. Sayuri a lot of trouble, he thought, his hands clamming up at the idea of having to deal with such an obnoxious student.

He'd been that obnoxious student, and he knew all too well that dealing with them was an absolute bitch. He took a deep breath. He could handle this. He signed up for it. Forrest glanced over at Ember, who sighed. Sorry, buddy, but I had to drag you along. Besides, experiences like this will help you get over your shyness, he thought.

The pink-haired girl waved and gave Forrest her name, and he smiled at her. He appreciated her outgoing nature, another thing they seemed to have in common. He watched her plop an Igglybuff next to Ember, who scooted away from the pink Pokemon. Forrest rolled his eyes: Ember couldn't possibly be afraid of that little puffball, could he?

When Forrest looked back at the girl, she'd written her name up on the chalkboard with a heart and said something about working hard. He cleared his throat and erased her name from the board, then said, "It's nice to meet you, Lori, but I'm sure my colleague will be here soon, so please take a seat with the rest of the class."

Forrest almost laughed at the young girl when she puffed out her cheeks, looking way too much like her Pokemon to be at all credible. "Monkey see, monkey do," he mumbled, hoping she'd follow the Igglybuff's lead in taking a nap or something. Clearly this kid didn't go to bed on time last night.

When Lori called him an "overgrown tree", he couldn't hold himself back any longer. He burst into laughter. Eventually, he had to place a hand on his stomach and force himself to quiet down, because his abdomen started cramping up. "Overgrown tree. That was a good one, I'll give you that. But seriously, go sit down. There's no way you're my assistant, kid, and I don't want to have to call Mrs. Sayuri on you. I'm only here for a few hours, so don't make my job any more difficult than it has to be."

Forrest raised an eyebrow at Lori when she stated that her shortness was--blah, blah, blah. "I'm not treating you like a little because you're short. I'm treating you like a little kid because you're acting like one, but..." he trailed off and crossed his arms, examining the girl. He glanced at the other children in the classroom, then back at her, and shrugged. "Alright, I guess you do look a bit older than the other students, but how old could you possibly be? And why would Mrs. Sayuri hire a child to teach other kids? Are you sure you haven't just walked into the wrong classroom?"

Ember finally calmed himself enough to settle down. He hoped to get a little nap in before Forrest inevitably called for his help in teaching the kids about Pokemon. Right as he drifted off, he felt something move close to him, a presence nearby that he didn't like. Having forgotten where he was, his internal alarm blared, fear overriding logic. His back burst into flames and a little squeal escaped his mouth. "(You scared me)," he said to the Igglybuff when he glanced over at her.