Lost and Found
I started the dull day with an early awakening. Again. My alarm clock has a tendency of going off way too early in the morning. The bastard loves dicking with me.
I let out a loud yawn and scanned the room. As my eyes adjusted to my surroundings, I found myself in my gothic, cramped bedroom. The sunshine shone as much as it possibly could through the closed, crimson curtains hiding my window. The walls were black and red in a parallel kind of way.
A white bedside table stood by the head of my bed with that friggin' digital alarm clock still beeping away. I hit the stupid thing and the beeping stopped. The pounding in my head began to settle down.
I rubbed my tired eyes and got up off the bed. I stretched out my arms and legs while releasing another loud yawn.
I took another look around as I could see more of my room while standing up. My keyboard and acoustic electric guitar rested on their stands along the wall to my left. I named my guitar Barbara and my keyboard Paula, for whatever reason I don't know.
A large, shady desk stood along the red wall to my right by my white closet door, with a large, black computer chair residing by it. On this desk lay my shiny, again black, laptop with sketchbooks and stationary sprawled across it. I'm an artsy freak.
Another white door and a full-length mirror stood humbly on the wall opposite me. I walked over to the mirror and looked at my reflection. My messy brown hair stopped just below my shoulders. I was wearing a large Slipknot top that I used as a nightgown since it stopped below my thighs. My dark brown eyes were so tired. It looked like I was stoned or something.
Geez, I look like a mess. If any of those bitches from work saw my hair like-
A sudden realisation struck my head.
Work? WORK! Shit!
I spun round and ran towards my digital clock. 11:30 it said.
FUCK! I was supposed to be at work half an hour ago!
I flung open my closet door and threw on my fishnet tights, my dark denim shorts, my greyish crop top and my black platform sandals. Not the greatest combination I suppose.
I scurried around the room and found my hairbrush underneath the sketchbooks and papers on my desk. I tackled my hair until it looked at least half decent.
I took a quick second look in the mirror before I left for work. My outfit wasn't that great, but it would have to do.
I ran out the door and down the stairs into the kitchen. I pulled a dairy milk chocolate bar out of the cupboard, stuffed it in my mouth and picked up my house keys lying on the kitchen table. I shoved them in my shorts pocket and darted out the front door.
I ran across the marble porch, forgetting about the steps in front of me, and tumbled down the stairs. My head hit the pathway with a loud thud.
I heard the slam of a car door as I slowly attempted to stand up.
"Geez, Kairi, you okay?" I heard a deep, croaked voice.
I rubbed the back of my head and got back on my feet.
"That was quite a fall you had there," the voice chuckled, "Late for work again, I see."
I turned around to see my taxi driver and very old friend, Duncan Charleston. His silver hair glistened in the sunlight and he was dressed in a smart black suit.
"My, you look very smart this morning," I complimented him, "Is somethin' goin' on?"
"Yup, it's my eldest son's wedding day," he said with a cheery grin.
"Whoa, Danny and Heather's gettin' hitched?" I asked as I brushed soil off my clothes.
"Yes, it's true," he sighed as he walked back towards his blue taxi cab.
"Is everything okay?" I asked as I followed him towards the cab.
"It's not that I'm not happy for him, I mean, he's my son," he explained, "And Heather is a very lovely young girl, it's just… It doesn't feel right."
Duncan slumped onto the drivers' seat and closed the door behind him.
"But they've been together for, what, 5 years now?" I said, planting my ass on the seat beside him and slamming the car door, "And they're both in their mid-twenties. It sounds right to me."
"Yes, when you say it like that it does, but that's not it," he said as he started the car, "Despite how long they've been together, they've only been living in the same place for… about seven months now."
"Seven months?" I questioned as I strapped my seatbelt on, "If they've only been living together for seven months then why are they getting married? I mean the both of them like taking things real slow, so why rush this whole marriage thing?"
Duncan let out another sigh as he began driving the car away from the house.
"Heather's pregnant."
I felt like a lightning bolt just jolted my ass when I said that. I was so damn shocked. I mean, Heather was nice and all, but she loves how girly and thin she looks. A girl like her would hate the idea of looking fat for 9 months.
"R-really?"
"Yes, really. Although, they were having a lot of arguments recently about Danny's job. You know the way he's obsessed with being an artist, right? The more pieces he sells, they each sell for a lower price than the last one. The whole thing is going downhill, so he and Heather have been arguing about how they're going to settle they're financial problems."
"Man, and he loves painting, that's gotta be hard for him. Now, I don't mean to pry or anything but, if she's yelling at him for having little money to pay the bills, then why doesn't she get a job?"
"I asked him the same thing. The boy is stubborn. He's looking for a second job to pay the bills and take care of the baby. He wants to make her the happiest bride in the world. That's what he said to me, anyways."
"Wow, he must really love her."
"I miss the good old days when I was young and silly like him. I was known as a very handsome guy back in my day."
"Duncan, you player!"
We both laughed as we drove down the main street and into the big city.
"So, when's the wedding?" I asked once I calmed down.
"A couple hours," he replied, "It's up in the flower fields in Floaroma Town."
"Floaroma Town?" I yelled, "Are you kidding me? D, we're only leaving Twinleaf Town now, you'll never make it in time!"
"I will, don't you worry," he reassured her, "If I leave now then I can make it. Here's your stop, Madame Penrose."
I looked out the car window and saw the small restaurant I worked at with a large sign outside saying 'Thompson's'.
"Oh shit!" I yelled as I searched my pockets thoroughly, "D, I forgot my money, I am so, so sorry!"
"It's alright, it's alright, you can pay me back on Saturday," he reassured her, "Now go, your boss is probably real pissed at you this time."
"Thanks Duncan!" I said and ran inside the restaurant.
He was right. My boss really WAS pissed at me this time.
"Kairi, where the HELL have you been?" he shouted as we entered the staff room.
Some of the other employees were sitting around and drinking coffee and looked up to see what all the commotion was about.
"Look, Mr. Baker, I am so, incredibly sorry!" I said apologetically, "My alarm clock didn't-"
"Fix the damn alarm clock then!" He yelled as he slammed his huge pudgy fist on the coffee table.
I was taken aback by how big he'd gotten in only a matter of weeks. He looked like a large, chubby sumo wrestler. Not that I have anything against overweight people, it's just amazing how much he let himself go.
Wow, his divorce from Joanne has really got him down.
"Listen, Mr. Baker," I said, trying to explain, "I forgot I had work because of the shift change, my alarm clock is still messed up, I fell down the stairs on the way here, there's been so much hassle lately and-"
"That would explain why your lip is bleeding," he said, pointing at my face.
I rubbed a finger across my lip and my blood transferred onto it.
Damn. I never even noticed.
"Look, Penrose," he sighed heavily, "I know you haven't had the best lifestyle around here, but you can't use all these excuses all the time."
"But, sir-"
"I'm tired of you slacking off all the time!" he yelled, "A slacker like you isn't worth the pay. You're fired!"
"But Mr. Baker, give me second chance, please-"
"You've had enough second chances, Penrose! Now go wipe your face. I want you out of here within the hour."
He waddled out the door and shut it behind him.
I let out a heavy sigh and fell back onto the armchair beside the TV. I brushed my hand stressfully through my hair and thought about how much I messed up and how I was gonna fix this mess.
Great. There are barely any good jobs in the area with decent pay. What the hell do I do now?
"Hey, Kairi."
I looked up and my eyes lay upon a very adorable creature. It was Tony Marelli, one of the waiters at the restaurant. He's a couple years older than me, about 17 I think.
He had black, scruffy hair and lightly tanned skin with a small row of dark freckles across the bridge of his nose. He had grey eyes with a hint of blue around the rims and he wore an innocent smile on his face.
He was wearing his uniform, black pants with a white shirt with the first couple buttons open, revealing part of his chest.
"Hey Tony," I sighed, "You know Penny will be pissed if she saw you talkin' to me."
"I'm not dating the girl so her opinion doesn't matter," he said, "She's a real pain in the ass. Oh, here you go."
He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to me.
I thanked him and dabbed the blood on my lips with it.
"No wonder you fell down the stairs, you're a clumsy idiot!" he teased, "Besides, those aren't the kind of shoes you wear to work, you know."
"Hey, can't blame a girl for wanting to look nice!" I giggled.
"That's the first thing we've ever agreed on, Rosie," said an irritatingly familiar voice.
Enter Penelope Sanders. We went to middle school together and she used to steal lunch money off kids, but she always got caught red-handed, so I bestowed her with the name Penny Pickpocket. She's a 16 year old rich kid and a total daddy's girl. This little tart came through the door wearing a ridiculously short denim skirt, a pale green boob tube and the pinkest and tallest platform high-heels I've ever seen. A pair of large, golden hoops hung from her ears and her face was an orange, carrot colour compared to her pale skin. Why she would steal stuff when her dad would buy her anything? I have no idea.
Okay, I know I threw all this crap on and barely gave a thought about how bad I'd look, but come on, girl, do you have NO style whatsoever?
"Hey, Tony!" she said in that horrible high pitched voice, running over to him and clinging onto his right arm, "So, I hear little Rosie got fired this morning! What a shame! Rosie I feel so sorry for you! I mean, you're poor enough already and now you're out of a job?"
"At least I earn my money," I said, giving her the evil eyes, "I'm not a spoiled little parasite who lives off her dad's cash like you."
"I beg your pardon?" she yapped, "You're the one who's the vermin here!"
"C'mon, Penny, just calm down," Tony said, "Kairi just lost her job today; give her a break, will ya?"
Penny stared at him with her mouth hanging open, which put a very cheeky grin on my face.
"Well, I better go clear out my locker," I said as I opened the door, "Oh, and Penny?"
She turned to look at me with a scowl on her face.
"There is a limit to this thieving, Pen. I mean, I know it's embarrassing to ask you dad to get you condoms, but you can't just take his, ya know."
Tony sniggered and Penny hit the back of his head, totally pissed off.
I walked out the door with an even greater smile on my face.
God. I never knew getting fired from this place would be this much fun!
I practically skipped down to my locker after that, which was near the back door. I didn't have very much inside my locker, just my uniform, my name tag and a picture of me when I was a kid.
In the picture I sat on a swing with a huge smile on my face. I was wearing a little black and red tartan dress with little black sandals dangling from my feet. My hair was a dirty blonde colour, totally different from my hair colour now. I was about 5 years old in that picture.
I slowly peeled the tape off the corners of the photograph and held it in front of me. I was so young, so carefree back then, despite my troubles.
A sad feeling flowed through me as I stared at the photograph. My chest felt a little heavy and my eyes started welling up. I rubbed them and took a few moments to compose myself. I folded up the photograph and placed it in my free shorts' pocket. I took out my uniform and set it in a pile on the bench behind me with my name tag resting on top of it.
I flicked a stray hair out of my face and made my exit out the back door, shutting it quietly behind me.
Vermin, huh? With my history, you would think that, wouldn't you? Frickin' parasite.
I wondered around the town, observing my surroundings. The shops and stalls were all open and selling lots of ice-creams and snow cones and cold drinks.
No wonder sales are going crazy; it's hot as hell out here.
The sun's rays heated up my back and shoulders as I walked through the town and into the park.
Kids were playing in the play park, arguing about whom would put the little red flag on the sandcastles, standing on the swings and flying down the slides backwards.
Damn, I miss the good old days. Geez, I sound like a grandma or somethin'!
After venturing through the park and I saw a narrow path going through the forest. It was the shortcut I took to get home since my house was so high up on the hills behind the town square.
A light breeze kissed my cheeks and cast through my hair. The trees were very tall and the branches were spread out in all different directions, forming an archway down the path.
It felt really uncomfortable walking up the path while wearing those big shoes, so I took them off and carried them as I marched barefoot back home.
The warm soil toasted my small feet as I hiked towards the hill. The rustling of leaves and the whisper of the wind danced in my ears, but was interrupted by a strange sound. It was like a high- pitched groan. Like a puppy was yelping or something.
I shrugged and walked on, but I stopped yet again after hearing the sound once more.
I followed the sound to an old oak tree with roots that had grown over the pathway. I looked through the bushes around the tree and then looked behind it.
Behind that large tree was a very young Chimchar. It groaned in pain as it clutched its head. It had bruises all over his face and down its arms. It must've fought with some of the Bug Pokémon in the forest.
"Hey there, little guy," I greeted it calmly, "What you doin' all the way out here?"
The Chimchar looked at me with a scared expression on its face. It closed its eyes after letting a tear fall down its hurt cheek.
"Hey, I'm not that scary, am I?" I said quietly, getting in my knees in front of it, "Did some other mean Pokémon hurt you out there, little guy?"
I didn't think a Pokémon could understand humans that well, but the frightened young chimp wiped its eyes and nodded.
It looked up at me with a sad frown as I patted its head.
"Don't worry about a thing, little man," I said, smiling at it, "I'm no meanie. I'm a nice person. I'm Kairi Penrose. Pleased to meet you!"
I held out my hand to it, trying to help it get up on its feet.
It stared at my hand and then stared back at me nervously.
"It's alright; you're safe now," I reassured it, "Let's get you cleaned up first. Then we'll go out and find your home. How's that sound?"
The chimp gazed at me for a moment with uncertainty in its eyes. After a few seconds or so, it stretched out its hand and grabbed mine. I lifted it up and carried it in my arms as I retraced my steps back to the town square.
The Chimchar stirred and tried to get comfortable. I held it tighter and told it that everything was going to be okay.
After a while, the little chimp fell sound asleep.
Adorable little tyke. I've got a good feeling that you'll become a real strong Pokémon one day.
This is the first Pokemon story I've ever written so I apologise for some gramatical errors, and the story is a bit... meh. I'm making up every character that appears in this and the story will follow similar lines to the Pokemon games, but I will change many details to make it more original. I hope you enjoy it!