III
"29! Ooh, yeah! Gimme them bonus stars, baby!" I exclaimed in victory, while playing my new game, "Super Mario Advance 2." It was a really awesome game, and I played it almost nonstop. It was so cool that now you could be either Mario OR Luigi. And I had just finished Soda Lake, which is a pain-in-the-butt level, what with all the Torpedo Teds and all. Next stop: Star Road!
"Paul! Dinner!" came a cry from the kitchen.
"Aw, man!" I moaned, "All right, I'm coming!" I reluctantly shut off my GBA and got washed up. Scant moments later, I was seated at the dinner table. Tacos! My favorite!
Dinner proceeded pretty much in silence, as Mom had "Jeopardy" on and kept shushing us. During the commercial, I decided to bring up the events of the day.
"You know, the strangest things have been happening to me today."
"Really?" said Dad, "Like what?"
"Well, first, about three or four different people today asked me about the same Pokemon."
"Which one?" asked Dad, pretending to be interested. Though I talked with him about video games, I knew he didn't give two flying pieces of baklava.
"It's called Wobbuffet. He's this one Pokemon that can't attack on its own. It absorbs damage, then pays it back double using counter-attacks."
"Oh, that's cool." Said Dad, again, B.S.-ing me.
"But so many people asked me about it today. John, Donald, the lady at The Break… it's like he's a new craze."
"Well, maybe people think he's cool." Said Mom, chiming in.
"Believe me, he's not." I said. "And also today, I kept seeing this little shadowy animal that kept darting around everywhere."
Mom rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure."
"No, I'm serious! And then when I got close to it, it yelled 'Chuuu' and ran away!"
"You're probably just imagining things."
"I'm telling you, I saw a Pikachu!"
"Uh-huh, sure you did. Now quiet, it's Final Jeopardy." Thus ended the dinner conversation.
Later that evening, I was back in my room listening to WABC and playing "Pokemon Crystal" when I suddenly became alert. I lowered the radio and turned my GBA volume down. I thought I heard rustling in the bushes. I looked out my window, which overlooks a Rhododendron bush, but saw nothing. I told myself it was just the wind. I got back into playing position, when I heard it again. This time I opened the window and stuck my head out. Listening intently, I could just make out a faint chattering in the bush, going "chaa. Pik…chu, chu." This time, I knew it was a Pikachu, and I was going to get it!
I threw on my jacket and hat and bolted out the back door. Once in the front yard, I got down on my stomach and inched my way slowly to the bush. Suddenly, a faint yellow light started emanating from the bush, growing steadily brighter.
"No way!" I cried, "Pokemon aren't real! This is absurd!" Suddenly the light went out, and I could hear or see no more from the bush. I stayed out there for a little while longer, trying to figure out if I had seen a really big firefly, or if I was just going insane. Finally, I stuck my hand in the bush, but felt nothing.
"Damn it." I muttered, going back inside. I knew what I had seen.
Just as I walked in the back door, the phone rang. I picked it up. "Y'ello?"
"Hi, Paul."
"Oh, hi Donald." Great. Here was someone who would believe me!
"What are you doing right now?" he asked.
"Well, you're not going to believe this, but I saw a Pikachu on my front lawn."
Silence. "Are you kidding me?"
"No, sir! I saw this yellow light coming from a bush, and I heard it chattering."
"Hmm… That sounds like what I saw today."
"You saw it, too?!" I asked in disbelief.
"Well, I saw something like it. I saw light coming from the back of my house, and then it disappeared. But I didn't hear no chattering or anything."
"Isn't this cool? There's a Pikachu loose in Dunellen!"
"Hey, I got a great idea…" he said, "Why don't we try to catch it? Then he could be our pet!"
"Yeah! That would be so awesome!" I cried. "Tell you what… Meet me in front of my house in ten minutes, and we'll go hunting for it."
"Excellent."
"And bring rubber gloves, if the cartoon has taught us anything."
"Gotcha. I'll be there." He said, and hung up.
"29! Ooh, yeah! Gimme them bonus stars, baby!" I exclaimed in victory, while playing my new game, "Super Mario Advance 2." It was a really awesome game, and I played it almost nonstop. It was so cool that now you could be either Mario OR Luigi. And I had just finished Soda Lake, which is a pain-in-the-butt level, what with all the Torpedo Teds and all. Next stop: Star Road!
"Paul! Dinner!" came a cry from the kitchen.
"Aw, man!" I moaned, "All right, I'm coming!" I reluctantly shut off my GBA and got washed up. Scant moments later, I was seated at the dinner table. Tacos! My favorite!
Dinner proceeded pretty much in silence, as Mom had "Jeopardy" on and kept shushing us. During the commercial, I decided to bring up the events of the day.
"You know, the strangest things have been happening to me today."
"Really?" said Dad, "Like what?"
"Well, first, about three or four different people today asked me about the same Pokemon."
"Which one?" asked Dad, pretending to be interested. Though I talked with him about video games, I knew he didn't give two flying pieces of baklava.
"It's called Wobbuffet. He's this one Pokemon that can't attack on its own. It absorbs damage, then pays it back double using counter-attacks."
"Oh, that's cool." Said Dad, again, B.S.-ing me.
"But so many people asked me about it today. John, Donald, the lady at The Break… it's like he's a new craze."
"Well, maybe people think he's cool." Said Mom, chiming in.
"Believe me, he's not." I said. "And also today, I kept seeing this little shadowy animal that kept darting around everywhere."
Mom rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure."
"No, I'm serious! And then when I got close to it, it yelled 'Chuuu' and ran away!"
"You're probably just imagining things."
"I'm telling you, I saw a Pikachu!"
"Uh-huh, sure you did. Now quiet, it's Final Jeopardy." Thus ended the dinner conversation.
Later that evening, I was back in my room listening to WABC and playing "Pokemon Crystal" when I suddenly became alert. I lowered the radio and turned my GBA volume down. I thought I heard rustling in the bushes. I looked out my window, which overlooks a Rhododendron bush, but saw nothing. I told myself it was just the wind. I got back into playing position, when I heard it again. This time I opened the window and stuck my head out. Listening intently, I could just make out a faint chattering in the bush, going "chaa. Pik…chu, chu." This time, I knew it was a Pikachu, and I was going to get it!
I threw on my jacket and hat and bolted out the back door. Once in the front yard, I got down on my stomach and inched my way slowly to the bush. Suddenly, a faint yellow light started emanating from the bush, growing steadily brighter.
"No way!" I cried, "Pokemon aren't real! This is absurd!" Suddenly the light went out, and I could hear or see no more from the bush. I stayed out there for a little while longer, trying to figure out if I had seen a really big firefly, or if I was just going insane. Finally, I stuck my hand in the bush, but felt nothing.
"Damn it." I muttered, going back inside. I knew what I had seen.
Just as I walked in the back door, the phone rang. I picked it up. "Y'ello?"
"Hi, Paul."
"Oh, hi Donald." Great. Here was someone who would believe me!
"What are you doing right now?" he asked.
"Well, you're not going to believe this, but I saw a Pikachu on my front lawn."
Silence. "Are you kidding me?"
"No, sir! I saw this yellow light coming from a bush, and I heard it chattering."
"Hmm… That sounds like what I saw today."
"You saw it, too?!" I asked in disbelief.
"Well, I saw something like it. I saw light coming from the back of my house, and then it disappeared. But I didn't hear no chattering or anything."
"Isn't this cool? There's a Pikachu loose in Dunellen!"
"Hey, I got a great idea…" he said, "Why don't we try to catch it? Then he could be our pet!"
"Yeah! That would be so awesome!" I cried. "Tell you what… Meet me in front of my house in ten minutes, and we'll go hunting for it."
"Excellent."
"And bring rubber gloves, if the cartoon has taught us anything."
"Gotcha. I'll be there." He said, and hung up.