Jessie felt her body shiver as she collapsed on the bed. It had been a rough training session. She stretched her arms above her head and took pains to crack a few joints. As tempting as it was to continue lying there - to curl up and go to sleep - she knew she would be feeling regrets if she did. Instead, she forced herself to sit up and slowly, painfully, stretched the muscles in her arms and legs. She watched idly as a few people she knew, more that she didn't, walked into the room. They stood in small groups, whispering and talking. Most of them were complaining about the training regimen they had just suffered through. Others were complaining about the complainers.
Well, that's one thing that can be said about boot camp, thought Jessie. At least we get some conversation. She couldn't help but sigh and look around. There were a lot of new faces, most of them around her age or older. She and James had been among the youngest recruits when they first joined. James. She had told James she was going on a solo mission. It was accurate enough. They weren't supposed to share information about their training sessions. The higher ups in Team Rocket were very concerned about leaks of information. The training camps were held at different times and different places every year. Jessie bit back a smile.
She loved boot camp. She loved the structure, the workouts, the morning calls, visiting with old friends, making new ones, the training in new weapons and techniques - it was everything she ever wanted. Most of all, she loved that James and Meowth were far away and could not, would not, intrude on her for the next seven days. Oh, there was no doubt in her mind that she loved James and planned on spending the rest of her life with him, but there was something to be said for a "girls only" type of getaway. The majority of Team Rocket members were men. The Girls Only training camp was designed especially for them. As their training instructor, Cassidy Yates, told them often, "Women are women. We are not men. Let us thank whatever deity is responsible for our being that that is the case. Women cannot fight like men. We're too smart for that, anyway. We will fight like women!" The "Lady's Training" as it was called focused more on speed, rather than strength. It emphasized cunning and trickery, instead of chest thumping and head scratching. There was plenty of physical training as well, but there were thought problems and skills lessons, too. Jessie smiled. She loved this.
Today they had run a small marathon, a gauntlet, push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, some basic martial arts drills, and a variety of other exercises. Jessie had taken pains to make sure she finished around sixth or seventh in every contest. Most of the new girls had written her off as a weakling, just as Jessie planned. At the end of the week, when the training Olympiad was held, Jessie would take the lead, wow them beyond compare. Most of the old faces knew what she was doing, kept her secret, and stayed out of her way.
"Yo, Jess? Good morning? Hello?"
Jessie shook out of her revelry and looked up. She smiled and motioned for the speaker to sit down.
"Hello, Kytty. How's it going? Sorry, I was zoning out for a minute."
"Yeah," she answered, flipping her long blond ponytail over her shoulder. She had an easy southern drawl and winked at Jess. "You're either thinkin' about how you're gonna beat us all at the Olympiad, or, more likely, you're thinkin' about James, am I right?"
Jessie's blush must have been answer enough. Kytty laughed and slapped her friend on the back, nearly knocking her off the bed. "Well, don't be gettin' too distracted, or that plot of yours will blow up in yer face."
Jessie narrowed her eyes and glared at her friend. "Out of curiosity, Kytty, how are your pokémon doing?"
Kytty shrugged. "My Ponyta hasn't evolved yet, but I ain't gonna rush it."
"Don't you have like six of those?"
"More than that!" she exclaimed with a smile, "Team Rocket's been letting me continue to run my Ponyta farm on the side. Why, I just ran an auction last week that brought me in a ton of cash. Most of my Ponytas are in great condition." Kytty scratched her head and scowled. "But I tell ya, Jess. Those male Ponytas an' the European ones are a bitch to find. I spent the whole weekend lookin' for 'em. I even got my friends back home to help out." Kytty smiled at Jess. "But enough about that. How's your Ekans doin'?"
"It evolved," replied Jessie with undisguised pride. "I've got an Arbok and a Lickitung now."
"That's great! But I hadn't heard about the Lickitung. When did you get that?"
"I caught it a few weeks ago during the Girl's Day Celebration. It just walked up to me and wham," Jessie clapped her hands together for effect, "I had it in a pokéball. I fought it in the contest at the end of the day, too. I almost won," Jessie made her hands into fists, anger radiating from her, "but that brat's Psyduck was too stupid to be effected by the disabling attack. I even beat the Pikachu with it!" Jessie slumped her shoulders in defeat, but perked up again. "But James did something really sweet to make me feel better." Her eyes got all dreamy. "I think it might have been worth losing."
Kytty looked at her friend for a moment before bursting out laughing.
"What's wrong?" asked Jessie, confused.
"Girl," laughed Kytty, wiping the tears from her eyes, "you are so gone!" She reached over and grabbed Jessie left hand, nearly yanking it out of the socket. She examined it carefully before throwing it back at her with a disgruntled snort.
"Ow! What was that for?" cried Jessie, rubbing her left shoulder. Kytty crossed her arms in mock anger.
"Where's the ring? I expected you and James to be engaged by now! I can't believe that boy ain't bought you a ring yet!"
"Oh, please," Jessie said as she rolled her eyes. "James and I can't even afford to get married right now. I certainly wouldn't ask him to buy me a ring."
"Your not the one that should be asking. I thought James was always the romantic type."
"He is," answered Jessie. "It's just that, well..." Jessie closed her eyes for a moment. "I think he feels the same way I do about getting married. While you're working for Team Rocket, there's no time in your life for anything else. Can you imagine me pregnant? I could just see it. Eight months along and I'd be hoisting a bazooka around yelling, 'To protect the World From Devastation...'"
"Well, I didn't say y'all should have kids!" cried Kytty, standing up and waving her finger in Jessie's face. "But you 'ought ta make it official. Why if I were you, I'd..."
"OKAY LAAADIES! OUTSIDE AND LINED UP!"
A series of groans and complaints came from the gathered women as they headed outside as per Yates' instructions. Kytty rushed over to her bunk and started to grab her gear, hastily pulling on one shoe as she did.
"You were saying?" asked Jessie, tying her own laces.
"I was saying, if I were you, I'd marry him now, before anything bad happens. Why do you think he won't ask you?"
"I know why he won't," said Jessie, heading out the door.
"Why?"
Jessie sighed and looked back at her friend.
"He's afraid of making me the world's youngest widow."
Kytty bit her lip and watched Jessie leave. She stood by her bunk for a minute, pondering her words. A sharp yell from the instructor brought her out of her trance and she too headed outside.