II
"See ya later, Scott." I said as I exited Boyhood Dreams.
"Alright, man."
Boyhood Dreams is Dunellen's Comic Book shop, and besides comics, they sell stuff for "Dungeons and Dragons," "Legend of the 5 Rings," and of course, "Magic" cards. As I walked up Washington Avenue, I tore open the two Booster Packs I had bought from the Odyssey expansion. I got some good cards…nothing spectacular. The Rares from Odyssey really suck. I also got a "Chatter of the Squirrel," "Firebolt," and other assorted spells and creatures. My weakness when I play is that I don't have exceptionally good card combos or creatures. So my strategy is to use tons of direct damage and attack with the creatures I do have before my opponent can get a decent defense up.
I crossed the street, still looking at my cards, and suddenly I looked up. My vision isn't the world's sharpest, but I thought I saw some kind of animal in the park located right on Washington Ave. It was all black, like a cat. But then it zoomed behind a rock and was gone. I stood on the sidewalk a moment longer, to see if it would re-appear, but it didn't. I dismissed it as a trick my eyes played on me. I started off again toward home, and just as I started walking, I thought I saw the thing peek out from behind a bush, but when I turned, it vanished once again. Boy, I tell ya, some pretty crazy things happen to me!
At home, I decided to play "Magic" against myself, so as to test out my new cards. I decided to use my "One-two Punch" deck against the deck I put my new cards into. Just as I cast an "Elephant Ambush," the phone rang.
"Y'ello?" (Homer Simpson style.)
"Hey, Pauly-boy!"
"Oh, hi Tommy." I said. Tommy Hornermann was my best friend for as long as I could remember. We talked about everything, ranging from girls to the "If you had 3 wishes…" question. "What's up?"
"Nothing much." He said. "How come you weren't at Magic yesterday?"
"I had to go shopping with my mother. I wanted to go, but nooooo! 'You have to go shopping,' Mother said!"
"Very nice, Paul."
"But I DID just get back from buying some new cards."
"What's the rare?" he asked.
"Um, 'Seize The Day,' I think."
"Hmm. Any good cards?"
"I got a 'Firebolt,'" I told him, "And 'Chatter of the Squirrel.'"
"You must have misheard me. I said, 'any GOOD cards?'"
I laughed. "Well, according to you, I NEVER get any good cards."
"Which is true," he said. "I told you never to buy any cards from Odyssey."
"They've got good cards in Odyssey," I said, "They're just ultra rare, that's all."
"That's why you don't buy packs from Odyssey! Buy packs from Apocalypse, or Prophecy."
"Whatever." I said. "I don't need to be told which cards to buy."
"But maybe you do."
"No, I don't. I think I know what I'm doing."
"You also think 'Pokemon' is a cool game," he pointed out.
"Pokemon IS a good game!"
"I rest my case." He said with an air of satisfaction.
"Speaking of Pokemon…" I began…
"Oh, God, here we go."
"I was walking in town today, and I could have sworn I saw a black shadow in Washington Park."
"Well, most shadows ARE black, Paul." Was the reply.
"No, no… this was different. It was almost like some kind of animal, because it moved around and hid behind a rock."
There was a brief silence. "Ya-huh. Sure, Paul. I think you've been playing a little too much Pokemon."
"No, I'm serious! There was this little black thing that ran around the park!"
"Whatever you say, Paul. I knew one day 'Pokemon' would go to your head."
"Fine," I said, "Don't believe me."
"OK, I won't."
"But I know what I saw."
"ANYway, guess what game I got for my computer?" he asked.
"What?"
"Final Fantasy X."
"Really? That's impossible because FFX is for Playstation 2."
"Dude, it's called a rom…"
"Where the hell did you get FFX on the net?"
"I found this 'Warez' site that sells roms for PS2 and Dreamcast." He said.
"You mean you BOUGHT it?" I cried in disbelief.
"Yep. I'm a dirty criminal."
"Indeed you are." I told him. "Well, I gotta run. I've gotta do some more planning for my book."
"Book?" he said, "What book?"
"Oh, didn't you know? I'm writing a story where I get taken to the world of Pokemon."
"(click)"
Later that day, I was playing "Pokemon," when Mother asked me to go for milk. So I reluctantly put down my Game Boy and stepped out (once again) into the frigid January late-afternoon.
The store wasn't far, so I took my time walking down Madison Avenue. Madison wasn't an extremely busy street; in Monopoly it would probably be "Red" or "Yellow." As I walked, I was looking at the ground, which I usually do out of habit, and then I suddenly looked up. I drew in a sharp breath. A little ways down the street, hiding behind a parking meter, was a small, black animal, crouching close to the ground.
I approached it very slowly, trying not to startle it. Then, in a flash, it zoomed behind the next parking meter. I followed it, and then it zoomed behind the NEXT parking meter. Still I followed it, and when I got close, it stayed still for a moment, then with a cry of "Chuuuuuu!" it took off in a flash.
Did my ears deceive me? It said "chu!" As in Pikachu. "No," I told myself, "Don't be silly. Pikachu is just a video game character." But the more I tried to find an explanation, the more I started to believe that something strange was going on. First, about three people asked me about Wobbuffet, then I see and hear a strange animal, (Pikachu?)… Something was definitely up. But rather than stew on that the whole time, I figured I'd better get on with the errand. Things would surely explain themselves later.
As I continued up Madison, I was unaware of the small, mouse-like creature watching me silently from behind a garbage can.
"See ya later, Scott." I said as I exited Boyhood Dreams.
"Alright, man."
Boyhood Dreams is Dunellen's Comic Book shop, and besides comics, they sell stuff for "Dungeons and Dragons," "Legend of the 5 Rings," and of course, "Magic" cards. As I walked up Washington Avenue, I tore open the two Booster Packs I had bought from the Odyssey expansion. I got some good cards…nothing spectacular. The Rares from Odyssey really suck. I also got a "Chatter of the Squirrel," "Firebolt," and other assorted spells and creatures. My weakness when I play is that I don't have exceptionally good card combos or creatures. So my strategy is to use tons of direct damage and attack with the creatures I do have before my opponent can get a decent defense up.
I crossed the street, still looking at my cards, and suddenly I looked up. My vision isn't the world's sharpest, but I thought I saw some kind of animal in the park located right on Washington Ave. It was all black, like a cat. But then it zoomed behind a rock and was gone. I stood on the sidewalk a moment longer, to see if it would re-appear, but it didn't. I dismissed it as a trick my eyes played on me. I started off again toward home, and just as I started walking, I thought I saw the thing peek out from behind a bush, but when I turned, it vanished once again. Boy, I tell ya, some pretty crazy things happen to me!
At home, I decided to play "Magic" against myself, so as to test out my new cards. I decided to use my "One-two Punch" deck against the deck I put my new cards into. Just as I cast an "Elephant Ambush," the phone rang.
"Y'ello?" (Homer Simpson style.)
"Hey, Pauly-boy!"
"Oh, hi Tommy." I said. Tommy Hornermann was my best friend for as long as I could remember. We talked about everything, ranging from girls to the "If you had 3 wishes…" question. "What's up?"
"Nothing much." He said. "How come you weren't at Magic yesterday?"
"I had to go shopping with my mother. I wanted to go, but nooooo! 'You have to go shopping,' Mother said!"
"Very nice, Paul."
"But I DID just get back from buying some new cards."
"What's the rare?" he asked.
"Um, 'Seize The Day,' I think."
"Hmm. Any good cards?"
"I got a 'Firebolt,'" I told him, "And 'Chatter of the Squirrel.'"
"You must have misheard me. I said, 'any GOOD cards?'"
I laughed. "Well, according to you, I NEVER get any good cards."
"Which is true," he said. "I told you never to buy any cards from Odyssey."
"They've got good cards in Odyssey," I said, "They're just ultra rare, that's all."
"That's why you don't buy packs from Odyssey! Buy packs from Apocalypse, or Prophecy."
"Whatever." I said. "I don't need to be told which cards to buy."
"But maybe you do."
"No, I don't. I think I know what I'm doing."
"You also think 'Pokemon' is a cool game," he pointed out.
"Pokemon IS a good game!"
"I rest my case." He said with an air of satisfaction.
"Speaking of Pokemon…" I began…
"Oh, God, here we go."
"I was walking in town today, and I could have sworn I saw a black shadow in Washington Park."
"Well, most shadows ARE black, Paul." Was the reply.
"No, no… this was different. It was almost like some kind of animal, because it moved around and hid behind a rock."
There was a brief silence. "Ya-huh. Sure, Paul. I think you've been playing a little too much Pokemon."
"No, I'm serious! There was this little black thing that ran around the park!"
"Whatever you say, Paul. I knew one day 'Pokemon' would go to your head."
"Fine," I said, "Don't believe me."
"OK, I won't."
"But I know what I saw."
"ANYway, guess what game I got for my computer?" he asked.
"What?"
"Final Fantasy X."
"Really? That's impossible because FFX is for Playstation 2."
"Dude, it's called a rom…"
"Where the hell did you get FFX on the net?"
"I found this 'Warez' site that sells roms for PS2 and Dreamcast." He said.
"You mean you BOUGHT it?" I cried in disbelief.
"Yep. I'm a dirty criminal."
"Indeed you are." I told him. "Well, I gotta run. I've gotta do some more planning for my book."
"Book?" he said, "What book?"
"Oh, didn't you know? I'm writing a story where I get taken to the world of Pokemon."
"(click)"
Later that day, I was playing "Pokemon," when Mother asked me to go for milk. So I reluctantly put down my Game Boy and stepped out (once again) into the frigid January late-afternoon.
The store wasn't far, so I took my time walking down Madison Avenue. Madison wasn't an extremely busy street; in Monopoly it would probably be "Red" or "Yellow." As I walked, I was looking at the ground, which I usually do out of habit, and then I suddenly looked up. I drew in a sharp breath. A little ways down the street, hiding behind a parking meter, was a small, black animal, crouching close to the ground.
I approached it very slowly, trying not to startle it. Then, in a flash, it zoomed behind the next parking meter. I followed it, and then it zoomed behind the NEXT parking meter. Still I followed it, and when I got close, it stayed still for a moment, then with a cry of "Chuuuuuu!" it took off in a flash.
Did my ears deceive me? It said "chu!" As in Pikachu. "No," I told myself, "Don't be silly. Pikachu is just a video game character." But the more I tried to find an explanation, the more I started to believe that something strange was going on. First, about three people asked me about Wobbuffet, then I see and hear a strange animal, (Pikachu?)… Something was definitely up. But rather than stew on that the whole time, I figured I'd better get on with the errand. Things would surely explain themselves later.
As I continued up Madison, I was unaware of the small, mouse-like creature watching me silently from behind a garbage can.