In her clumsy haste, Sandy forgot to listen for anyone in the entrance of the Merchants’ Hut. Her oversight led to a collision with...

“Watch where you’re GOING-- Sandy? What are you doing?! Knock it off!”

Sandy stumbled backwards and fell right on her tush. She wasn’t sure things could get too much worse today, but didn’t want to push her luck. “Sorry. I was just playing with Maple.”

A silence fell over the two of them, and Sandy was just sure, just absolutely convinced she could feel the contempt oozing from the other’s pores and poisoning the atmosphere. “That’s nice. Watch where you’re going next time. Or, listen where you’re.... Or, whatever you do. Do that.”

Sandy heard PK walk past her, out toward the boundary of the village. “Where are you going?”

“Out.”

Sandy’s chest started to compress, and a lump started to form in her throat and heart. She dumbly opened her mouth and did not speak.

She heard PK talk with that Dislikable Visitor and then slip away with the sound of many hooves on dirt. Sandy felt her legs all go wobbly when she tried to stand, felt warm rivulets trickle down her cheeks from those holes that, if you were normal, were supposed to help you see. A wall of thick, pungent (yet not entirely disgusting) scent hit her, and Maple was there in an instant. She quickly wiped Sandy’s cheeks with her tiny paws.

Sandy could hear and smell the activity of dozens of other Pokemon nearby (mostly Merchants--was that Rhodes, too?-- and she thought also a couple construction workers and Rescuers), but they were all simply background noise compared to her little Stunky friend.

“Sandy, stop being a liar. What’s the matter?”

Sandy made as if to look in the direction of the departed Pokemon, then stopped. Maple looked that way regardless, trying to grasp at anything that might hint at the cause of Sandy’s mysterious melancholy. All she saw was a tiny boxed carriage thing, quickly disappearing into the horizon.

Wait...

“Sandy! You better tell me what’s up with you ’n her! Stop playin’ dumb! I ain’t stupid!”

Sandy lowered her head and scrambled backwards, much like a scolded dog might do if caught in the middle of some distasteful act in the presence of its owner.

“Sandy!”

“What!”

“Just tell me what’s going on!” she demanded. With every stutter and pause from Sandy, Maple grew all the more impatient. However, being a rash little kid very much so wanting to help right now, she failed to consider that Sandy might want to be calmly talked to in a private setting instead of out in the open amongst many gazing eyes. Maple harrumphed and stomped right up to Sandy. “You’ve been acting so weird since... since our sleepover a couple weeks ago! Stop it! Just stop it!

“Why can’t you just tell me what’s going on! I’m getting tired of you being all mopey when we’re trying to play games and have fun! It’s really annoying and just... just stop!”

=========

Part 27 of "The Dates"
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