Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon
Description: During a critical comma in his life, Jezz Morgan-Kapule unfurls the journal in which he recorded his life experiences. He narrates the story of his life, including how he became friends and family with the daughter of Ash Ketchum, Amber Ketchum, and the son of the notorious antiheroes Jessie and James, Jay Morgan, and how they led him to his own self-discovery.
Chapter Description: Rita outlines her first relationship with Jezz. Told from Rita's perspective.
The Journal
Chapter #18: Meeting Rita (Extra #5)
"Sing to me and I will forgive you
For taking my heart in the suitcase you packed
Sing to me like the lights didn't blind you
Like you blinded me when I heard your voice in a dream."
Smash Cast
Jezz wanted me to write for his journal. I don't think he realized how much I didn't want to do this (at first), though I said it multiple times. One night he came to my house and I foolishly let him inside. It didn't take long for him to bring it up.
After asking, he dorkily smiled, tapped his toes, and rested his green eyes on mine. I was captivated by his ogling, shy grin, and once-black hair fading back to red and blue.
I surrendered.
"This means the world to me," he said as he hugged me Jay-style.
I half returned the hug; I was sweaty from working out my baby was screaming at the top of his lungs. I wasn't in the mood for anything but water and a nap.
"You owe me a favor," I told him, eyeing Quin. "You have to watch Quin for me. And you aren't allowed to complain about it."
Jezz released me from our hug. He gave me this face like my conditions made him sick to his stomach."…I suppose I can ask Jay, Valentino, and Amb for assistance…when must I take the challenge?"
"I wanna go out for pizza tomorrow night."
"But…Amb and I were planning on doing…stuff…."
"Other than what you usually do?"
"Not precisely, but…I must pay more attention to Amb. I've been inconsiderate…I think. Everything between us has been generic lately. I need to sweep her off her feet before someone else does."
"But I have a burning desire for pizza. Oh well, I guess I don't really have to write in your journal…It's not like we've been hanging out much lately anyway. I can fade into the background of your life and you wouldn't notice."
"Rita!"
"I just want a night out. I don't know why I ever agreed to have a baby. I should've adopted a teenager instead."
"I'll watch Quin twice, sometime next week and/or the week after, to make up for rain-dating you."
"Fine. What should I write?"
"You and Annie, your family, Pokémon, anything about yourself you wouldn't mind others reading."
"This is supposed to be about you. Why would I talk about myself?"
"My life isn't just about me. Write whatever comes naturally. It doesn't have to be long. A thousand words will suffice."
"A thousand words? Shit Jezz, I am not a writer."
"That's not much. I want to show you off. The journal wouldn't be complete without you."
He looked desperate. Perhaps he thought I'd reject him. I've never done that before and I wasn't going to start—not my fault he's fun to tease.
"I'll give you a thousand words, give or take, as long as you babysit for me three times," I wagered.
"We agreed to twice," he replied.
"Before you said 'a thousand words'."
"That's fair…in theory. You can just ask someone else to watch your kid. It doesn't have to be me."
"You'll enjoy yourself. It'll take adjusting, and you will be in pain, but in the end, you'll find it fulfilling."
He gulped nervously but I wasn't going to resign. With Amb as his future wife, Jezz needs to learn how to interact with children.
"The only thing I know about babies is that I don't know anything about them," Jezz confessed.
"If I can pretend to write, you can pretend to parent. Plus, this will be good entertainment for me. I'll ask Lily and Maya to spy and give me reports to see how you're doing."
"How many hours must I spend watching him?"
"Four should suffice."
"I can handle four hours. Just over an hour each time. No big deal."
"No, dumbass, I mean four hours per session. Twelve hours total, as a minimum."
He huffed and puffed, but then looked to the side again and chuckled like he discovered a way to get through this. He looked back to me and nodded.
"If that what it takes for you to write this for me, then I'll do it," he decided.
I grabbed his hand and shook it dramatically. "Pleasure doing business with you."
He took back his hand. "Yeah, sure. Send your writing to my personal email."
"When do you need it?"
"As soon as possible, but as long as you get it done within the next six weeks, I'll be able to get it in before primary edits."
"Great. See you later. No, wait, don't leave yet—watch Quin while I take a shower."
I ran up the stairs before Jezz could attempt to stop me. I knew he wouldn't leave Quin alone after I told him not to. He hasn't changed that much. I can still wrap him around my fingers when I need to.
XO
When I first met 'Jamie', he was a shaky androgynous eight-year-old with black hair and eyes that looked half blue and half green—like he either had mutant genes or had stolen colored-contact lenses from the party store up the street. Jamie talked in this strong accent that I couldn't quite place, and he was so polite that it made me nauseous.
I wondered about his past often. He seemed so nervous around authority figures—and there were only so many reasons as to why that may be.
Not that I counted as 'authority'. I wasn't yet a teenager when I became his mentor.
Jamie was my sixth mentee. I decided early into our relationship that he'd be my favorite.
Mentors and mentees met in an official meeting room twice per week—at a minimum. I generally visited my mentees every day.
Jamie came to our first meeting five minutes early. He sat in the chair with his hand folded. When I entered, he stood and bowed.
"Thank you oh so very much for meeting with me," he said in that interesting accent.
"No prob. You can sit down unless you'd rather stand," I said as I plopped into the closest chair.
"Oh, yes, my apologies, Miss Rita."
The 'Miss', the bowing, the 'my apologies'…I needed it to stop. Scolding him even in the gentlest ways wouldn't help. I wish I knew what would.
Jamie anxiously yet gracefully stumbled into a chair. I offered him a piece of gum.
"It's cinnamon flavored. Good for your teeth," I said.
"Thank you oh so very much," he said as he accepted.
I watched him pop it in his mouth while I returned the packet to my pocket. He looked repulsed, but he kept chewing.
"Jamie, spit it out of you don't like it," I said.
He gave me a pathetic glance before spitting the gum into a tissue.
"I'm so very sorry. It was burning my mouth…please forgive me," he said, bowing.
"It's just gum," I replied. "I don't care if you don't like it."
He looked surprised. "Oh, thank you."
"…So, about the reason you're here. I wanna know how you're doing."
"Doing what?"
"Just 'doing'…like, I know I have seen you a lot, but now's our chance to talk one-on-one with total privacy. You can tell me anything, and I have to keep it a secret unless you confess to breaking or planning to break one of the rules. Any concerns? Complaints?"
"I could never complain. I love this place so very much. Everyone is kind. The teachers don't scold me, the children don't make fun. I feel special."
"You are special, Jamie. Really special, I can tell."
Jamie looked like he was about to cry. He didn't though, not really."That is so very kind. No one ever called me special until this moment."
"No one? After eight years? You've been hanging out with the wrong crowd."
"I had no choice."
"It's different now. The good news about your old family…they're not getting custody. You're staying with us. Case closed this morning."
Jamie glowed and trickles of tears escaped. "I'm so happy."
Something so simple meant the world to him.
"How's Maple?" I asked.
"I love Maple but she and I don't have a lot in common. She likes dress-up and painting. I like soccer and writing in my journal. We both like to read, but not the same types of books."
"Do you want to switch roommates? It's okay if you do. We don't have to tell Maple it was your idea."
"I definitely do not want to switch roommates."
He sounded very firm and sure of himself. That is why I needed from this kid: self-assurance.
"We should go to the soccer store and get you some equipment," I said.
"I haven't any money," he responded.
"I have money."
"I can't use your money, Miss Rita. That would be rude and unfair."
"It's my money; don't tell me what to do with it."
"My apologies."
I sighed. He flinched.
"Playing soccer will help you build your confidence. You are wicked smart, attractive, and talented. I want you to own that," I said.
"That is amazingly kind of you to offer and to say about me," he replied.
"It's no big deal. Learn to expect more from people."
He looked puzzled but nodded and smiled nonetheless.
"I'll do my best," he promised.
Jamie opened up a to me more than I ever expected him too. Maple ended up leaving, and I noticed a depression starting to grow inside. We met with a psychotherapist together (he wanted me to come) and he got diagnosed with clinical depression. I was really hard to get him to go to the meeting, and hard to convince him to take the medication, but eventually, he did it. I watched as he cheered up. We played soccer together and hung out often.
A few weeks later, we weened Jamie off the medication, he stayed well. No major episodes, he just needed a boost in order to get out of a slump. We got closer and closer, until one day I came to his room and found it empty.
The cleats I got him were on the desk. He left a note explaining how he felt he needed to run away.
I became listless. I listened to the radio and breezed the headlines daily to see if he'd pop up. Weeks turned into months and months turned into years, and I had no choice but to accept that he was gone.
We weren't estranged forever, because we did eventually reunite, under odd circumstances. And when we did, I noticed that he had become a different person. He had become Jezz.
I'll let Jezz tell the rest.
XO
+ Inspiration and Aesthetic for this chapter is the epilogue of Heroine—Jezz's first introduction—Rita's reflections/dreams from Alola Trials, and the song 'I Heard Your Voice in a Dream' by the Cast of SMASH.
+ Next chapter Jamie leaves Spectrum and the Hales are introduced.