Chapter 9: The S.S. Anne Sets Sail
Time seem to go by quickly as the car traveled down the road to meet the S.S. Anne. It seemed like no time at all until Brock pulled the car into the dock parking lot and stopped.
When Misty felt the car come to a stop, she instantly snapped back into the real world. "What's going on, Brock?" she asked.
"We're here at the dock, Misty. You should wake Ash so we can get checked through and board. I don't think he wants to stay in the car for seven days." Brock grinned.
Misty glanced at Ash, who was still asleep with his head resting on her shoulder, and smiled. "Hey. Wake up, Ash. We're here." she whispered in Ash's ear. Ash opened his eyes and smiled at Misty, giving her a passionate kiss that left her breathless and made Brock and Tracey blush and look away.
"What was that for?" Misty laughed as she caught her breath. Ash had caught her totally off guard.
"Well, am I not allowed to kiss the woman that I love? I kissed you because I love you more than anything else in this world and I want you to know that every day." Ash said, pretending to be hurt.
"Of course you are, my love. I will never doubt that you love me. I was just not expecting that." Misty smiled as she wrapped her arms around Ash.
"Okay, you lovebirds. You can make out after we check in and get on the ship which we may miss if we don't get moving." Tracey said, a faint hint of exasperation in his voice. Brock just rolled his eyes and laughed.
At this point, Misty, Ash, Brock, Tracey and Pikachu gathered their things and walked across the parking lot and into the building where they would show their tickets and get their clearance before boarding the S.S. Anne. Tracey had earlier put Marill back in her Pokeball so she could take a nap.
Once they got inside, the line was very long at the registration desk and Misty was getting very antsy to get on the ship and see it. Ash noticed her excitement and anticipation and wrapped his arms around her and gave her a great bear hug.
"Calm down, Mist. I know that you're as excited as I am but, no offense, you look like you have a colony of ants in your shorts." Ash said lovingly to his girlfriend.
"I know. It is hard to calm down when I am so excited. I have been looking forward to this for such a long time. Hey, we're next!" Misty exclaimed as she noticed that they were almost ready to board the S.S. Anne. Brock and Tracey just look at each other and sighed.
As they walked up the ramp to the S.S. Anne, a photographer was standing there and took a picture of them. Brock and Tracey gave each other bunny ears and stuck their tongues out while Ash and Misty wrapped their arms around each other and Pikachu stood on Ash's head and made his favorite victory pose. Then they walked up the gangplank and onto the ship. When they got inside, the four friends all gasped.
"Wow!" they all said at once. The ship was more exquisite than it had been the first time around. The group just stood there in awe for a long time.
"So, what should we do first?" Ash broke the silence after several minutes.
"I think we should go and look at our room. Then we can go exploring and maybe look for some food." Misty said and got a unanimous agreement for her suggestion.
When Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey reached the room that they were going to be sharing, the awestruck feeling started all over again. They were staying in a very nice, comfortable looking room that had four bunks in it.
"This looks like a great place to stay for the next seven days." Misty smiled.
"Yeah. I could get used to a comfortable room like this." Ash agreed.
"I get call on the top bunk!" Brock yelled.
"No way, man. It's mine!" Tracey screamed back.
Ash and Misty just stood there and laughed as they watched their two friends fight and argue over sleeping arrangements and it took them both back to their younger days when they used to fight about stupid things.
"Hey, Mist. Do you remember all of the times when Brock or Tracey were always trying to split up our stupid arguments?" Ash laughed.
"Yep. I sure do. Now it looks like the roles are reversed big time."
"Hey, Pikachu." Ash regarded the small electric Pokemon on his shoulder.
"Pi, Pikapi?" (What, Ash?) Pikachu asked eagerly.
"Would you like to do what you have been wanting to ever since we were on the plane?" Ash smiled and carefully lifted Pikachu onto the floor.
"Pika!" (Yeah!)
"Well then let it rip, little buddy." Ash laughed as Pikachu screamed and let fly with a strong charge of electricity that sent Tracey and Brock sprawling to the floor, sputtering. Then suddenly they both began laughing and leaned on each other for support as they slowly got to their feet.
"What, may I ask, is so funny?" Misty asked, knowing the answer all too well.
"It just reminded me of when you two used to argue so much and I used to have to use Pikachu to make you knock it off." Brock said as soon as he recovered enough to speak.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Tracey laughed as he patted Pikachu on the head. "Say Brock, I have an idea."
"What's on your mind, Trace." Brock asked.
"Instead of fighting, why don't we each take one of the top bunks." Tracey paused for a moment to glance at the couple standing in the doorway holding hands and smiling. "Something tells me Ash and Misty won't really care." Tracey smiled and nudged Brock in the arm.
"Good idea. I'm sorry about arguing with you, man."
"Don't worry about it. All is forgiven as far as I'm concerned." Tracey said as he took Brock's outstretched hand and shook it.
"Well now that you guys have made up do you think that we can go and get some food. I'm starving." Ash said as Pikachu excitedly jumped up and down on his head at the mention of the word food.
As soon as everyone was ready, they walked up on deck in search of something to eat. It didn't take them very long to find a pizza joint on one of the main decks and they were soon sitting at a table overlooking the sea and chomping down pizza and enjoying the view. After they finished eating, the friends took a walk and started exploring what the ship had.
While they were walking around an announcement came over the ship's PA system and said that there was an activity meeting in the lounge in ten minutes. It seemed like a good idea to figure out what exactly they wanted to do in port the next day and also to kill time until the ship was supposed to set sail.
The meeting was very informative and gave them several ideas of what they could do in port. There were shops and markets and there was also a beautiful white beach that had parasailing and banana boat rides. After the meeting was over all of the passengers had to attend a lifeboat drill before the ship took to the water at noon.
After going back to their room to get their life jackets, Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey hurried to their lifeboat station and sat there until they were told that it was okay to leave. They quickly realized how stupid they looked in the life jackets and made a big joke out of it.
"Hey, guys. Get together over here so I can make a quick sketch of you and that way we can always remember how utterly ridiculous this looks." Tracey laughed.
Ash, Misty and Brock stood close together and made the peace sign while Pikachu stood on his head between them. Tracey pulled out his sketch pad and his pencil and made a sketch of the three right behind the page of the one he had secretly done on the plane. A little while later the all clear was given and the four young adventurers put their life jackets away and went up to the top decks to watch the ship set sail. It was the most exciting thing that any of them had ever seen.
When the ship was in the open ocean, the friends stood admiring the view for a few minutes and then went back inside and began to walk around again. Time seemed to fly by while they were exploring and before any of them knew it, it was time to go to the dining room for dinner. After enjoying a nice dinner and seeing a wonderful show in the lounge, they decided to go to the disco and party there for a while.
The disco was very crowded and a fun place to celebrate the launching of the ship. Ash and Misty danced together all night while Tracey drew numerous sketches of them. Brock, as always, ran around chasing after girls and making a total fool of himself. They were all having a great time but all good things must come to an end and soon it was after midnight and the disco closed for the night. So Ash, Misty, Brock, and Tracey left the now quiet disco and went back to their room to settle in for the night.
Once they were back in their room and had changed clothes, the four tired young friends looked forward to settling down after all of the day's excitement and getting some rest for the next day. So after turning on the television they got ready for bed. Brock and Tracey each climbed up and flopped onto one of the upper bunks while Ash stretched out on the bed underneath Brock's and Misty sank down next to him as Pikachu curled up at the foot of the bed. Ash pulled Misty into his arms and gave her a long kiss.
"Hmm. Something is weird here." Misty said quietly.
"Since when is my kissing you categorized as something weird?" Ash asked, sounding slightly hurt.
"I didn't mean that. I love it when you kiss me. But I don't hear something that normally follows." Misty paused for a moment. "Listen."
Ash listened with Misty for a moment and then began quietly laughing. "I realize what you mean now, Mist. It is weird at that." He whispered as he leaned over Misty and off of the bed to look around the room and noticed that the only sounds in the room were the voices on the television. The long, eventful, exhausting day had taken its toll on Brock and Tracey and now they were both peacefully quiet, having taken a one way ticket to dreamland.
"I guess they really tired themselves out goofing off back at the disco earlier. Oh well, at least we won't have to listen to them make stupid comments about us kissing." Misty whispered as Ash nodded his agreement and smiled. After watching television for about thirty more minutes, Ash began to feel sleepy and, as his eyes started to get heavy, he decided that maybe he and Misty should get some sleep.
"You finished watching this, hon?" Ash asked quietly.
"Yeah, I guess so. How about you?"
"I was through watching it a few minutes ago when I started falling asleep." Ash yawned as he picked up the remote control and clicked off the television.
"Goodnight, Ash." Misty whispered as she gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek and moment later fell asleep.
"Night, Mist. See you in the morning, I love you." Ash replied. He then wrapped his arms around Misty, closed his eyes and slipped into a restful sleep with his true love by his side and his loyal Pikachu at his feet.
Time seem to go by quickly as the car traveled down the road to meet the S.S. Anne. It seemed like no time at all until Brock pulled the car into the dock parking lot and stopped.
When Misty felt the car come to a stop, she instantly snapped back into the real world. "What's going on, Brock?" she asked.
"We're here at the dock, Misty. You should wake Ash so we can get checked through and board. I don't think he wants to stay in the car for seven days." Brock grinned.
Misty glanced at Ash, who was still asleep with his head resting on her shoulder, and smiled. "Hey. Wake up, Ash. We're here." she whispered in Ash's ear. Ash opened his eyes and smiled at Misty, giving her a passionate kiss that left her breathless and made Brock and Tracey blush and look away.
"What was that for?" Misty laughed as she caught her breath. Ash had caught her totally off guard.
"Well, am I not allowed to kiss the woman that I love? I kissed you because I love you more than anything else in this world and I want you to know that every day." Ash said, pretending to be hurt.
"Of course you are, my love. I will never doubt that you love me. I was just not expecting that." Misty smiled as she wrapped her arms around Ash.
"Okay, you lovebirds. You can make out after we check in and get on the ship which we may miss if we don't get moving." Tracey said, a faint hint of exasperation in his voice. Brock just rolled his eyes and laughed.
At this point, Misty, Ash, Brock, Tracey and Pikachu gathered their things and walked across the parking lot and into the building where they would show their tickets and get their clearance before boarding the S.S. Anne. Tracey had earlier put Marill back in her Pokeball so she could take a nap.
Once they got inside, the line was very long at the registration desk and Misty was getting very antsy to get on the ship and see it. Ash noticed her excitement and anticipation and wrapped his arms around her and gave her a great bear hug.
"Calm down, Mist. I know that you're as excited as I am but, no offense, you look like you have a colony of ants in your shorts." Ash said lovingly to his girlfriend.
"I know. It is hard to calm down when I am so excited. I have been looking forward to this for such a long time. Hey, we're next!" Misty exclaimed as she noticed that they were almost ready to board the S.S. Anne. Brock and Tracey just look at each other and sighed.
As they walked up the ramp to the S.S. Anne, a photographer was standing there and took a picture of them. Brock and Tracey gave each other bunny ears and stuck their tongues out while Ash and Misty wrapped their arms around each other and Pikachu stood on Ash's head and made his favorite victory pose. Then they walked up the gangplank and onto the ship. When they got inside, the four friends all gasped.
"Wow!" they all said at once. The ship was more exquisite than it had been the first time around. The group just stood there in awe for a long time.
"So, what should we do first?" Ash broke the silence after several minutes.
"I think we should go and look at our room. Then we can go exploring and maybe look for some food." Misty said and got a unanimous agreement for her suggestion.
When Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey reached the room that they were going to be sharing, the awestruck feeling started all over again. They were staying in a very nice, comfortable looking room that had four bunks in it.
"This looks like a great place to stay for the next seven days." Misty smiled.
"Yeah. I could get used to a comfortable room like this." Ash agreed.
"I get call on the top bunk!" Brock yelled.
"No way, man. It's mine!" Tracey screamed back.
Ash and Misty just stood there and laughed as they watched their two friends fight and argue over sleeping arrangements and it took them both back to their younger days when they used to fight about stupid things.
"Hey, Mist. Do you remember all of the times when Brock or Tracey were always trying to split up our stupid arguments?" Ash laughed.
"Yep. I sure do. Now it looks like the roles are reversed big time."
"Hey, Pikachu." Ash regarded the small electric Pokemon on his shoulder.
"Pi, Pikapi?" (What, Ash?) Pikachu asked eagerly.
"Would you like to do what you have been wanting to ever since we were on the plane?" Ash smiled and carefully lifted Pikachu onto the floor.
"Pika!" (Yeah!)
"Well then let it rip, little buddy." Ash laughed as Pikachu screamed and let fly with a strong charge of electricity that sent Tracey and Brock sprawling to the floor, sputtering. Then suddenly they both began laughing and leaned on each other for support as they slowly got to their feet.
"What, may I ask, is so funny?" Misty asked, knowing the answer all too well.
"It just reminded me of when you two used to argue so much and I used to have to use Pikachu to make you knock it off." Brock said as soon as he recovered enough to speak.
"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing." Tracey laughed as he patted Pikachu on the head. "Say Brock, I have an idea."
"What's on your mind, Trace." Brock asked.
"Instead of fighting, why don't we each take one of the top bunks." Tracey paused for a moment to glance at the couple standing in the doorway holding hands and smiling. "Something tells me Ash and Misty won't really care." Tracey smiled and nudged Brock in the arm.
"Good idea. I'm sorry about arguing with you, man."
"Don't worry about it. All is forgiven as far as I'm concerned." Tracey said as he took Brock's outstretched hand and shook it.
"Well now that you guys have made up do you think that we can go and get some food. I'm starving." Ash said as Pikachu excitedly jumped up and down on his head at the mention of the word food.
As soon as everyone was ready, they walked up on deck in search of something to eat. It didn't take them very long to find a pizza joint on one of the main decks and they were soon sitting at a table overlooking the sea and chomping down pizza and enjoying the view. After they finished eating, the friends took a walk and started exploring what the ship had.
While they were walking around an announcement came over the ship's PA system and said that there was an activity meeting in the lounge in ten minutes. It seemed like a good idea to figure out what exactly they wanted to do in port the next day and also to kill time until the ship was supposed to set sail.
The meeting was very informative and gave them several ideas of what they could do in port. There were shops and markets and there was also a beautiful white beach that had parasailing and banana boat rides. After the meeting was over all of the passengers had to attend a lifeboat drill before the ship took to the water at noon.
After going back to their room to get their life jackets, Ash, Misty, Brock and Tracey hurried to their lifeboat station and sat there until they were told that it was okay to leave. They quickly realized how stupid they looked in the life jackets and made a big joke out of it.
"Hey, guys. Get together over here so I can make a quick sketch of you and that way we can always remember how utterly ridiculous this looks." Tracey laughed.
Ash, Misty and Brock stood close together and made the peace sign while Pikachu stood on his head between them. Tracey pulled out his sketch pad and his pencil and made a sketch of the three right behind the page of the one he had secretly done on the plane. A little while later the all clear was given and the four young adventurers put their life jackets away and went up to the top decks to watch the ship set sail. It was the most exciting thing that any of them had ever seen.
When the ship was in the open ocean, the friends stood admiring the view for a few minutes and then went back inside and began to walk around again. Time seemed to fly by while they were exploring and before any of them knew it, it was time to go to the dining room for dinner. After enjoying a nice dinner and seeing a wonderful show in the lounge, they decided to go to the disco and party there for a while.
The disco was very crowded and a fun place to celebrate the launching of the ship. Ash and Misty danced together all night while Tracey drew numerous sketches of them. Brock, as always, ran around chasing after girls and making a total fool of himself. They were all having a great time but all good things must come to an end and soon it was after midnight and the disco closed for the night. So Ash, Misty, Brock, and Tracey left the now quiet disco and went back to their room to settle in for the night.
Once they were back in their room and had changed clothes, the four tired young friends looked forward to settling down after all of the day's excitement and getting some rest for the next day. So after turning on the television they got ready for bed. Brock and Tracey each climbed up and flopped onto one of the upper bunks while Ash stretched out on the bed underneath Brock's and Misty sank down next to him as Pikachu curled up at the foot of the bed. Ash pulled Misty into his arms and gave her a long kiss.
"Hmm. Something is weird here." Misty said quietly.
"Since when is my kissing you categorized as something weird?" Ash asked, sounding slightly hurt.
"I didn't mean that. I love it when you kiss me. But I don't hear something that normally follows." Misty paused for a moment. "Listen."
Ash listened with Misty for a moment and then began quietly laughing. "I realize what you mean now, Mist. It is weird at that." He whispered as he leaned over Misty and off of the bed to look around the room and noticed that the only sounds in the room were the voices on the television. The long, eventful, exhausting day had taken its toll on Brock and Tracey and now they were both peacefully quiet, having taken a one way ticket to dreamland.
"I guess they really tired themselves out goofing off back at the disco earlier. Oh well, at least we won't have to listen to them make stupid comments about us kissing." Misty whispered as Ash nodded his agreement and smiled. After watching television for about thirty more minutes, Ash began to feel sleepy and, as his eyes started to get heavy, he decided that maybe he and Misty should get some sleep.
"You finished watching this, hon?" Ash asked quietly.
"Yeah, I guess so. How about you?"
"I was through watching it a few minutes ago when I started falling asleep." Ash yawned as he picked up the remote control and clicked off the television.
"Goodnight, Ash." Misty whispered as she gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek and moment later fell asleep.
"Night, Mist. See you in the morning, I love you." Ash replied. He then wrapped his arms around Misty, closed his eyes and slipped into a restful sleep with his true love by his side and his loyal Pikachu at his feet.