Some Things Never Change

Chapter 2

By Arina Ketchum


April 16

Dear Diary,

Mom and Dad are fighting more than ever nowadays. They haven't been speaking to one another since Dad forgot it was their wedding anniversary two nights ago. Mom hadn't forgotten, and when Dad came home late and slightly tipsy, she was naturally upset with him. I'm really scared they might get divorced. My friend Anna's parents did that, and she hasn't seen her dad in over two years. I don't want that to happen in the Ketchum residence. I don't think I could stand going without seeing my mom or dad if they got divorced.

On a positive note, I leave on my Pokemon journey in a few days. My parents tell me this is how they met. My dad was starting out on his journey and my mom was taking a break from being the gym leader at Cerulean City. My dad and his Pikachu got chased down by a bunch of Spearows, and he "borrowed" my mom's bike to get away from them and ended up trashing the bike. Mom followed him all the way to the Pokemon League to pay for the bike and then he proposed after he became Pokemon Master. How romantic!

I turn ten tomorrow, and instead of a party, I'm spending the day at a training session with Professor Oak to get ready for my journey. I don't know which Pokemon I'll choose. Charmander sounds good, but then so do Bulbasaur and Squirtle.

I guess we'll find out tomorrow which one I get!

I sighed as I closed my diary and rested my chin on it. My parents, Ash and Misty Ketchum, were legends in the Pokemon training world. Dad had become the youngest Pokemon Master at the age of twenty, and Mom was the Cerulean City Gym Leader. You would think, with all the bickering they did, they would be the last two people to get married.

Their fighting scared me, but what could I do? Most of their bickering was over the big stuff, like the overdue credit card payments and stuff like that. Stuff that I couldn't hope to even help with.

I had been lying on my bed for the past hour, but it was now nearing five o'clock. Time I got dinner started. I sat down at my vanity, and brushed my long dark blue hair and pulled it into a ponytail before heading downstairs.

Mom and Dad currently ran the Pallet Town Gym and were home by six-thirty. Dinner was already on the table when they came in. I excused myself, saying I wasn't hungry, so they could be alone. I spied on them from the staircase for a few minutes as they sat down to eat. I only heard the clanking of silverware against dinnerware, and the occasional murmur from either of them, but that was it. The silence was far worse than the shouting - at least then they were communicating.

I crept back up to my room, so they wouldn't hear I was sitting on the steps. Now I was slightly depressed. This isn't how I wanted to leave home. But when I flicked on my t.v. and saw the Pokemon League Tournament Finals were on, my spirits brightened. It's hard to imagine my dad any younger competing in the Pokemon League. No one yet had ever been able to break his record of becoming the world's youngest Pokemon Master. I'm very proud to be Ash Ketchum's daughter. At the same time, however, a voice drifts through my head, asking, "How can you follow in someone's footsteps when they've accomplished so much?"

At nine o'clock, as I was standing on my bed and yelling at a trainer on the t.v. for using Vulpix's Firespin as his first attack move against a Nidorino, my dad came into my room after knocking on my door. "Hi honey."

"Hi Dad!" I jumped up and hugged him.

"Want to take a walk with me?"

"Sure! Let me comb my hair and I'll meet you outside."

"Bring a jacket too, it's chilly out tonight." Dad said as he left.

I had been playing with my hair while watching t.v., absentmindedly braiding it and twirling it around my finger.

I turned off the t.v. and grabbed my brush. I had been going through some family photos earlier in the week to see if I could take one or two with me on my journey. I wanted to attempt Mom's old ponytail, even though her hair was much shorter than mine was. I pulled as much to the side as I could, and snapped a ponytail holder in. Satisfied, I grabbed my jacket and ran downstairs. Dad was waiting for me outside at the bottom of the wood steps, and got this funny look on his face when he saw my hair.

"What?" I asked, "Is it falling out?" Instinctively I touched my hair.

Dad shook his head. "No, you just look like your mom when we were about your age." he explained as we began to walk down the street. He changed the subject. "Your training session with Gary - Professor Oak is tomorrow, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"You think you're ready to become a Pokemon trainer?" Dad stopped and faced me.

I looked Dad straight in the eye. "I've never wanted to do anything so badly in my entire life. I know I'm ready."

Dad smiled broadly. "That's my girl." he put his arm around my shoulders and held me close as we walked. It was comforting to know he supported me. Mom did not think I was ready. She had begged me to stay in school for at least two more years, but the thought of facing another two years of torture in math classes made me nauseous. Better for me to come home a Pokemon master than a failure in school. We walked past an ice cream shop and Dad treated me to a double dip of chocolate ice cream on a sugar cone. He had a milkshake. As we sat outside the shop on a painted wooden bench, Dad asked, "So have you decided who your starter will be?"

I shook my head, then took a lick off the top of my ice cream. "I still haven't decided. Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle, all sound terrific."

"I understand. I didn't know how I could decide either."

"You didn't have to, you got Pikachu instead."

Neither of us said anything for a while, until I got up the nerve to ask, "Why - why do you and Mom fight so much?"

Dad leaned back and closed his eyes. "It's difficult to explain."

"You and Mom aren't getting a divorce, are you?" I asked timidly.

"I hope not." Dad answered stoically.

He hoped not?! What did that mean?

"We're going through a tough time right now, Arina, but it's nothing you that you should worry about, ok?" he asked when he saw the concern on my face.

I slumped back into my seat, my ice cream looking less and less appealing now. "Sure." It always seemed like we were going through a tough time.

"Arina, please don't be upset. I promise you, whatever happens, your mother and I will always love you, no matter what."

That's reassuring, I thought angrily. I threw the rest of my ice cream away. "Let's go home," I muttered.

We walk home in silence. I walked a few steps behind Dad now, fuming. How could they be doing this? They can't get along for my sake?! The minute I leave, they'll be signing the divorce papers! But if I don't leave...

"I'm not going." I stamped my foot and stopped dead in my tracks. Dad turned to face me, his face full of surprise. "I won't go. You'll get a divorce from Mom if I leave, and I'll never see you again!"

"Arina, where did you get that crazy idea from?" Dad looked totally bewildered. I only burst into tears.

"Oh boy." Dad pulled me into his arms and I stood there and cried; I don't care if I did look like a baby. "Arina, I know Mom and I have been fighting a lot lately, but basically, that's what we've been doing since we first met."

"You have?" I lifted my tear-stained face to see his expression. He was wearing the "dead-serious" one, which meant he wasn't trying to just cheer me up.

"Yes." Dad nodded and put a hand on my head. "This has put a real strain on you, I see that now, and I'm sorry. Mom and I will talk tonight."

"Promise?" I begged.

"Promise." Dad smiled down at me. He handed me one of the little napkins he'd saved from the ice cream place to dry my eyes.

I felt a teensy bit better, and when we reached our front door, Dad pulled something out of his jacket. "This always brought me good luck on my trip and I know it'll do the same for you, Arina." Dad said as he handed me his Pokemon League cap. For years, this had been Dad's favorite memento (besides Mom) from his training days.

I was speechless. "Dad, are you sure? I know this is your favorite thing -"

Dad shook his head, his spiky black hair only slightly moving. "I'm passing it onto you. And one day, you'll pass it on to your child."

I pulled my ponytail out and popped the cap on my head. It was a little big, the inside rim falling just under my eyebrows, but I could adjust it later.

Dad smiled. "Now let's get inside, you've got a big day ahead of you."

Mom was watching the last of the tournaments on t.v. when we came in, her arms crossed in front of her, probably making a mental list of what each trainer was doing wrong. She glanced at me and got the same funny look Dad did when he saw my hairstyle earlier. But then she smiled and said, "So, your father actually gave up his hallowed Pokemon cap, eh?"

"Yep, it's going to get me all of those Pokemon, even Mewtwo." I know I was showing off; I had about a one in a zillion chance of catching a Mewtwo. I saw Mom grimace, but then she said, "All right, Miss Pokemon Master, off to bed with you."

"Yes, gym leader of Cerulean City!" I saluted Mom and marched towards the stairs.

"What was that surprised look I saw on your face when we came in?" I heard Dad ask Mom as I passed through the kitchen.

"Oh, nothing. Just when I saw Arina with that hat on, it reminded me of how much she looks and acts like you."

Satisfied that some kind of truce had been called between my parents, I went upstairs to bed.

End Chapter 2