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Soon, Henrietta returned with food. Darumi and Frate were helping carry it, Darumi apparently recovered thanks to Chen Zhen's technique plus some potion Henrietta picked up off screen for the sake of convenience.

Arms holding bags and drinks, Henrietta arrived. "I-i don't know what's what," she admitted, having not looked through the bag. The group had grown since she'd left, to include, for one, Robby. With the large crowd Henrietta suddenly felt the urge to not be the only person approaching with food, where the eyes of the hungry would inevitably fall.

"S-s-s-s-so h-here you g-guys g-go."

Henrietta looked over to Luka when he spoke. She nodded. "A-a little." It was rather difficult to look through bags or find out what drink was what when you had to hold it all in paper bags. That said, she'd wait for him to take some of the load from her.

"I-i offered," she said. She'd been mostly grateful that no one had offered to tag along to help out. She didn't like attention, and the bigger the crowd the more it seemed likely. If it was a stadium of people, it wouldn't matter. However, she knew every single person present at the moment. Which meant that, at some point, someone might try to talk to her.

((I forgot that Takamaru isn't here either. Get your a** over here, you.))

Henrietta looked at Luka. He'd been almost spot on with his guess. "I-it's not that," she responded in a low voice. But that didn't matter, people were waiting for food. So, Henrietta would give Luka a quick rundown of who got what, from person to Pokemon(only those that actually asked for something, of course) before she'd begin to go through the load and pass out everything.

Once all was said and done, Henrietta retreated to the Museum, sitting within the archway of the museum, but far enough from the doors to avoid being hit when they opened. There, her Pokemon and she ate and she looked out at the group before her. Not with any real interest, not in the crowd at least, but they obscured the view of everything beyond.

The shade brought by the archway and angle of the sun left her feeling cool in the warm spring air. A perfect temperature, she thought. There wasn't a need to under or overdress for coolness or warmth respectively. You could almost wear anything you wanted, she thought. Jeans, shorts, t-shirt, tank tops, thin material hoodies. Most of the time anyways, Henrietta thought as she recalled the rain from the previous day.

Her eyes danced from one person to another. Robby who had ate so much one day it'd landed her a waitress job for a few hours to pay the bill. Salieri who was intimidating but spirited, like she could suck you up in her flow of energy and make something fun by being there. Avan who could control her Pokemon as well as she could, with a naive and amateur skill. Luka, who pressed for answers. Like it was his determination or goal, his passion, to find things out. Like an aspiring detective. Ryan, who she'd only known briefly, was a great battler. She suddenly felt self conscious with him watching her match, like if she failed and he won it would be like kicking him in the face that he'd forfeited to her. Then there was Eunmi, beautiful, fiery, protect-

Henrietta stopped herself when she felt her cheeks flare. She shook her head. She knew these people, she thought, as she looked down at her food. They ranged from acquaintances to...

Friends. She couldn't help the curl of her lips, a small smile. She looked at her Pokemon, enjoying themselves now that they'd finished their food. Darumi was rolling around with Frate, Melty was staring off into space, the flame on his head swaying as if to show his thoughts were a chaos of various subjects. Joltik sat lost in her hair, like a hair decoration.

She looked up, at the crowd again. Salieri had said this was a competition. She smiled and looked at the door with her eyes. She wouldn't, but she mused that she could reach the door first when it opened, being so close to it now.

Henrietta looked up at Luka as he approached. Her cheeks still shown a reddish tint, obvious against her pale skin. "I'm fine," she told him, her voice low so as to not draw attention from others.

"H-hum.." Henrietta was looking up at Luka as the boy pried. Like little curious fingers prying their way into someone's life. It made her uncomfortable, not just the attention but the level of it. It wasn't like some person talking to her, he was requesting a depth from her that she didn't want exposed. For someone like Henrietta, it was like asking her to be naked, and to not cover up, but maintain a conversation like that.

"N-no," she said and her eyes fell, downcast to the floor. The cool cement, cooled by the shade. Her lips parted, her smile having faded, but all she managed was another, "hum.."

Tell someone? Henrietta frowned. The thought of it would drive people away, she knew that. Growing up wasn't something she wanted to relive by recalling it, by telling people. She wanted to run away from it. Deep down she knew that. If she could get friends, get what she never had, become who she never could be, she'd be better. Without telling anyone. That's what she told herself as Luka walked away.

Afterward she stared off distantly, head tilted up to look at the arch above the gym. Until someone spoke to her, or the gym opened.