Alia yawned as she reached across her bed, smacking her alarm clock until its interruption to her sleep finally ceased. She yawned, stretching, as she let her eyes drift open. She smiled as she looked around her small bedroom; the walls were covered with posters, mostly from her childhood, mostly of Pokémon. She looked over each shelf, every surface, eyes glowing with pride for her collection, the love of her life. She has started collecting Pokémon figures when she was young, six- or seven-years-old, along with the rest of her peers. However, as time progressed and others lost interest, it was there, in her room, that she found comfort. Occasionally, she would still play with the figures, the cards, gaze at the posters, but the games were one of few constants in her life. One she was certain she'd never give up, no matter what the cost.
Alia stretched again as she pulled off her covers, swinging her legs off the side of her bed and onto the softly carpeted floor. Her steps were quick and light as she moved between her closet and dressers, gathering the clothes needed for the impending day. She rolled her eyes as she thought about the teasing she'd receive from her classmates, the teasing she received nearly every day, from one person or another.
She dismissed the thought as she shuffled toward the bathroom. Once inside, she locked the door and watched her reflection in the mirror. Her hazel eyes looking oddly animated, her jaw length dark brown hair falling into place for once, her skin smooth and nearly perfect. She shook her head, thinking it only her mind playing tricks, as it so often did lately. As she stripped from her pajamas, an oversized cotton tee-shirt and loose sweat pants, she looked down at herself. Her small breasts were nothing to marvel over, but she did have the curves that other girls so desperately sought after. She was comfortable with her body, something few other girls at age sixteen could say. Shaking her head again, she turned on the shower, letting it warm for mere seconds before stepping under the still-heating blast. She washed herself thoroughly, as she always did, the turned the water to cold. She smiled contently as the water temperature steadily decreased, letting the cool spray wash over her. Just as quickly as she turned off the warmth, the turned off the cold, grabbing her towel off of the toilet lid and wrapping it around her. She dried and dressed without a second thought and scrubbed the towel through her hair.
Satisfied with the completion of her morning routine, she began whistling the original Pokémon theme song as she trotted down the stairs. The smell of waffles enveloped her as soon as she lit the last step. She smiled, turning toward the kitchen, and her mother. She shook her head as her mother, now in her early 40's, danced around the kitchen listening to "Stacy's Mom" by Fountain of Wayne. Looking up from her bowl of waffle batter, she smiled sheepishly at Alia.
"I always knew I should have named you Stacy. I mean, seriously, I got it goin' on, don't you think?" She teased. Alia sat down and stole a slice of bacon, tossing a small piece at her mother. Her reward was a playful glare and a laugh. She loved making her mom laugh, it was one of few things that always made the world a more friendly place. Alia joined in the laughter, then began singing along. Once the song finished, her mother turned the music down to barely a whisper and sat next to her as the food finished cooking.
"So, Alia, I was thinking…" Her mother began. Alia rolled her eyes, something interesting always followed those words.
"Thinking what?" She turned, smirked as a light blush covered her mother's face, disappearing as quickly as it had shown itself.
"Well, I was thinking that we could get away for a while. Just the two of us." Alia coughed, nearly choking on her bacon. The timer for the waffles dinged, saving her from having to reply. However, once their plates were full, the topic surfaced again.
"So? What do you think about leaving for a while?" her mother tried again. Alia thought about it for a moment. Getting away would be nice, she reasoned to herself. She simply nodded her head as she took a bite of her food.
"Great! The travel arrangements are already made and my bag is already packed and ready, we can leave whenever you'd like!" her mom squealed with delight. Alia coughed again and shot her mom a wary glance.
"What do you mean the arrangements are already made? How long have you been planning this? Where are we going?" A thousand questions bombarded her mind as she tried to come to terms with what was happening. Her mother smiled sheepishly and continued eating.
"Well, I figured you could use some time away from school," Her mother started around a mouthful, shrugging. "so last night I went online and found somewhere we could go, somewhere I think you'll…"she paused, searching for the word, "somewhere you'll fit in." she nodded, obviously satisfied with her word choice. Alia stared at her in disbelief.
"Mom, I think you need help. Like…mental help…seriously. it's January, I can't exactly just pack up and leave school." She stared at her mom in disbelief. Her mom just laughed again, shaking her head.
"How did I know that school would be the cause of my admission to the insane asylum?" she smiled coyly, sending them both into a fit of laughter. "Which is why, my dear Alia, I bought you this." She jumped up from her seat and raced to the coat closet, pulling out a colorfully wrapped package. She walked back over to the kitchen and held it out toward a dumbfounded Alia. Alia reached out and cautiously took the package, looking from it, to her mother, then back at it.
"Mom, my birthday isn't for another three months, you shouldn't have." She set the package down on the table and began tearing the wrapping paper off of it. She stared at the present as the paper was removed, revealing an unmarked box. "Thanks…you shouldn't have?" She looked at her mother, who was gesturing for her to open it. Alia hesitantly complied, slowly pulling out a brand new lap top. Slowly, she opened it, looking over the keyboard and screen. "Mom, it's, well it's –"
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Her mother smiled, rewarded with an awe-stricken nod.
"So…what exactly are you proposing? I still have a year and a half left of school."
"Online school. I know how hard it is for you with your peers, and I figured you could use a break. You can finish all you classes online while we're on vacation. You can even finish your art classes," her mother rushed on, "the place we're staying has Wi-Fi and a scanner, so you can email all of your art assignments in without missing much of anything. Your computer has a web-cam so you can talk to your teachers if you need to. Oh, Alia, please say yes, I can't stand you going through any more shit at school. This way, you can still graduate on-time, but you can relax a little while you do it. Please say yes, honey. I think it'll be good for you."
Alia stared at her as if she'd lost her mind. Which she obviously has. She thought with a laugh. "Okay" she sighed, "I'm sold, when do we leave?" Her mother laughed and bounced up and down, unable to contain her excitement.
"Pack your bags, I'll call us a cab!" and without another word, her mother sprung off toward her home-office.
Alia couldn't help but laugh as she watched the woman whom had raised her. They had their moments, but which mother-daughter pair didn't? She smiled as she ran upstairs to pack her bags, wondering what lie in store.
Alia was in the process of attempting to zip her final bag when a horn blared from outside. Her mother had briefly told her to bring one of everything, then ran off again. She pushed herself up from her spot on the floor, grabbed her "Ash Ketchum - Kanto" hat from her bedpost, and trotted down the stairs, dragging her bags after her. Once she laid eyes on her mother's five bags, she felt less bad about her own four, plus carry-on and backpack. Her mother smiled a charming smile as the taxi driver began helping them haul their luggage outside.
Alia gasped when she saw the taxi design. She tried to find her voice to express her amazement, but for some reason, it wouldn't cooperate. All of the starter Pokémon were displayed on the side of the van. She shook her head, trying to clear the possibility of this being a dream out of her head. It failed.
As the last of their bags were loaded, Alia climbed into the vehicle, taking a seat in the far back, her mother followed her and sat next to her. "What do you think?" her mother practically squealed.
"I think I'm having a very wonderful dream, and I don't want to wake up." Alia replied, clearly in a daze. The driver hopped into the front seat, and without a word, began to drive. Only then was Alia snapped out of her nostalgia. "Wait, does he even know where we're going?" Alia asked, glancing at her mother.
"Oh, yes. He does, indeed." Alia raised an eyebrow at her mother's reply, but let it slide, instead enjoying the view as they drove. Even though the sun was shining, the temperature of their northern Montana home rarely reached thirty now. The snow had been late this year, only starting a few days ago, but not stopping since. It created a surreal view, one only seen often in movies or on Hallmark cards.
Before she knew it, they were pulling up to the small airport about an hour from their town. The airport was used mainly for food transportation during the harvest months, and rarely transported passengers, but with her mother being one of the prominent farmers in the area, she had a way of pulling strings. She looked around, finding a small plane. It probably carried no more than five or six people at a time, but Alia couldn't complain, at least she was getting away from everything for a little while. She looked over at her mom, who was already out of the taxi and helping the driver move their luggage from the van to the plane. It took her a minute to realize that that plane too, had Pokémon covering its exterior. What the hell is going on here? This must all just be a dream, I mean, who would paint Pokémon all over their plane? She thought as she shook her head. Well, who except me? She smiled to herself as she got out of the van.
Her mother ran over to her, hugging her tightly. "Isn't it wonderful, Alia?" She smiled as she ran back toward the plane, motioning for Alia to follow her. She watched as her mother and a man she'd never seen before exchanged a quick handshake as she walked up to them.
"Alia, this is Mr. Stevenson, our pilot." Her mother informed her. Alia shook his hand as she looked him over. Mr. Stevenson was a short, plump man, looking to be in his early sixties. A pair of thick, wire-frame glasses sat half way down his nose, covering the portion of his gray-blue eyes left uncovered by his bushy eyebrows. While his handshake was soft, his hands themselves were rough from work. His smile was dazzling and kind, and his laugh reminded her of a grandfather. She smiled back at him and released his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Stevenson." She said as she nodded slightly in respect. "Will you tell me where we're going? For some reason, my mother has chosen to keep it a secret." He laughed a hearty laugh and shook his head.
"Sorry Miss Alia, I've been sworn to secrecy. You'll just have to hold on a little while longer, you'll find out for yourself soon enough." And with that, he smiled and turned away, opening the door to the plane for them and setting a small foot-stool down in front of it. "Now, if there's no more questions, I say we be leaving. We don't want to miss anything where we're going, now do we?" He shot a sly glance at her mother, who laughed in return.
"Alright, I give. I'll wait to see where we're going. Or submit all further questions in writing." Alia shot a playful glare at her mother, grabbed her backpack, and boarded the plane.
Once Alia was out of sight, Mr. Stevenson turned, looking at her mother. "She's quite a handful, Marie. She's got spunk, I like that. I think she'll do well where you're taking her."
"Oh, I sure hope so. I think she'll like it, once she gets used to it. Alia really is a sweet girl, she's just never quite fit in here. I think this change will be exactly what she needs to find herself." At that moment, Alia poked her head through the door, putting the conversation to a halt.
"You guys coming, or do I have to fly this plane to wherever on my own?" She laughed and retreated back inside. Both Marie and Mr. Stevenson laughed lightly before following her and beginning their flight.