I blew it.
My secret had been revealed, and in front of an audience of 20 pairs of eyes staring right at me. Everyone knew that I was turning into a furry fake rodent Pokemon. My ears drooped in shame.
The teacher quickly took the phone and dialed 911. Normally I would only be able to hear her voice, but with my new sensitive ears I could hear the other end as well. At least that was kinda cool.
"911, what's your emergency?" the operator questioned.
"I have a student here, his name is Tom, and he has a pair of pointed, yellow ears with black tips" The teacher said, panic evident in her voice.
"Yellow ears with black tips? Very odd" She replied.
"Yeah, I know! It almost looks like a Pikachu's ears!" Then she almost whispered "I think he has the virus." She continued, putting major emphasis on "the virus".
"Oh my god." the operator responded. "An ambulance is coming right away".
"Thank you". The teacher replied, before hanging up the phone. "Tom, you're going to the hospital" she said, in a suprisingly casual voice.
I was horrified! If I went to the hospital now i'd probably never get out! I'd be spending my last days of humanity subject to tests, instead of living it up. And my parents would find out too, who knows how they'd react? Would they disown me and leave me to my own devices? And what about my brothers? Have people found out about them too? I pondered these questions in my mind. However before I could try finding answers two people wearing protective suits walked into the room, it looked like something out of E.T.
"Come with us". The one on the left said.
"But I don't want my parents to find out! I want to live my life normall" I cried.
"Don't worry," the one on the right said "You're going to be okay". "And yes, we did tell your parents, but don't worry. They are sympathetic about it". I gave a sigh of relief at that, I was really getting worried.
"Where's my brothers?" I asked. "They have the disease too!"
"They haven't been sent down yet, I don't think they've revealed the changes yet. But your parents will probably know soon enough." The one on the left said.
They then led me to the ambulance. Even if I knew my parents weren't mad at me, I was still really scared about what might happen to me, I hoped I would be able to go home, and more importantly, that there was a cure for this disease and I could be turned back to normal. We got in the ambulance and drove to the hospital. The ride was very quiet, but I noticed more changes. First, the fur now covered my entire torso, and was reaching my legs as well, I felt fur on my cheeks, which I assumed was red, and my feet felt funny, I assumed they had become Pikachu paws. Soon enough, I'll be a full Pikachu... I sighed.
We arrived at the hospital, and the second I got out my parents ran up to me and gave me a big hug, I returned the embrace.
"It's okay, everything's gonna be okay". My dad assured. "Haven't you always said you wanted Pikachus to be real?" He questioned.
"Yes, but I never wanted to BE one!" I replied.
"I know, I know." He replied. "Tom, I know how scary this must be for you, gradually losing your body to something that doesn't exist" he continued.
"But remember" my mom added, "Even if you will soon be just a furry rodent, we'll still love you" she stated.
"Thank you" I said. "And i'll still love you, too." I said, getting choked up at that last line.
This tender moment was broken up, however, by a doctor. "Come inside" she said. "I'll tell you everything you need to know about what's going on".
She led us through the hallways, and looking through the rooms, I was surprised to see many people suffering the same fate. One boy had the tail and ears of an Eevee, as well as brown fur, another had the wings and tail of a Lugia as well as white feathers with blue plates on his back and even a small muzzle, there was a girl who had the face and scales of a Magikarp (Well, at least my situation could've been worse...), someone who almost looked like a complete Charizard, except the proportions were still human... I was very surprised at all this, but at the same time comforted, knowing that there were others in my situation.
We came to a stop in a typical doctor's office, sterile and very white, and I took a seat on the chair. She instructed me to take off my hoodie and shirt, and I did so, showing my fur-covered chest, pointed ears, and lightning bolt tail. "Yes, This looks like PokeItis". She concluded. "However, we still need to do some tests to-" I cut her off.
"HELLO? Isn't the fact I have yellow fur, a lightning bolt shaped tail, floppy, black-tipped ears, and rosy red cheeks ENOUGH?"
"Well, I guess so." She replied.
"So how did all this happen?" I asked.
"You know the "Fantasy Realizer Device"?" She asked.
I nodded. It was big in the news a few months ago but quickly got lost in the wave of other news.
"Well, someone tried using that device to bring Pokemon into the real world. However, it malfunctioned, and created a virus infused with Pokemon DNA. Being infected causes the person to gradually change into whatever Pokemon the disease brought. It seems to have got into the water supply." She continued "Thankfully, while the virus changes the person's body, the mind remains intact" I was at least relieved at that.
"So how can Tom live his life now? There's no way he can still do what he does as a Pikachu!" My mom asked.
"He can still go to school and all, lots of others with the virus do. Though, some changes will have to be made. He'll need special seats to accomodate his reduced size, and probably won't be able to write. He also will be taken out of Gym and Orchestra class, since he will be put at a disadvantage."
Well, I didn't like Gym class anyway so... "Anyway, I think you can go home now. Do you have any final questions?"
"Yes." My dad stated. "First, will he still be able to talk? Or will he just say "PIKA PIKA" over and over? Though that would be pretty cute." I shot a glare at him.
"He will still be able to speak normally, his voice may be a tad higher pitched than normal though."
"Second, how long until he fully becomes a Pikachu?"
"By this point? By Sunday morning, only around 36 hours from now".
"Third and finally, is there a cure? Or will he be stuck like this?"
The doctor was hesistant for a while, but then she said: "Tom, leave the room right now, we need to speak in private."
"Um, okay". I slowly left the room. I didn't know what she was going to say but i'm sure it wasn't good. I tried eavesdropping but didn't hear anything, even with my sentitive ears.
After about 5 minutes, they were done talking, and we went home. The car ride home was in silence, which furthered my fears of bad news from the doc. If there was no cure, how would I live my life? How could I fulfill my dreams of being a famous musician as a Pikachu? How would I get a girlfriend? How would I drive a car? How would i start a family? How would I browse dank memes on the Internet? I held out hope, and so remained silent.
However, once we pulled into the driveway I broke the silence.
"I just want to let you know that Scott and Matt have the disease too, Scott will be a Raichu and Matt a Pichu". I stated surprisingly casual.
"Okay, we'll be sure to tell them what the doctor told us." My dad stated. He sounded almost emotionless when I said that, but his facial expression showed sorrow. I knew what was coming. But i gathered my breath, and asked.
"I-is there a c-cure?" I stated, trying to hold back tears. My dad turned around and put his hands on my shoulders.
"I'm sorry, son, but there's no cure. They are working on one as hard as they can, but for now you'll just be stuck as a Pikachu". He said, somberly.
And that was it. There was no cure, no way to save my life from being just a fictional rodent, albiet one who talks and goes to school. My entire future was gone, wiped away from one drink from the water fountain. A tear rolled down my cheek, followed by another. A sob escaped from my lips. I tried holding it back but it was no use. I ran upstairs and into my room, slamming the door.