An Overactive Imagination
By Arizima
Chapter Four
AN: Okay, in this one, more stuff will happen, so it's gonna be long. Also, in this chapter, my last name is mentioned, so I will mark it out with *****, ok?
Normal words Narrative (It's all in Past Tense though)
"Quotes" Speech
Carrots Narrative Thought (Yes, the main character thinks in English. Most of the time.)
When I came down to breakfast the next morning, Professor Cypress seemed very tense.
" What is it?" I asked nervously, after chugging half of my orange juice.
" Well, there has to be a league official present at your exam, who is also the one who grades it. I got one to supervise your exam after you went to bed last night, and…."
" And?"
" You were assigned Jordan Greider. The strictest of all the league officials that grade exams."
" Oh. No biggie." She arched an eyebrow at me.
" What do you mean, 'no biggie'? You've only had five days to prepare for this, and further more, you have the strictest grader possible!"
" Well, I'll be really careful, okay?"
" Furthermore, the test is timed. If your pencil isn't on the desk and your hands on your lap by the time it ends, he'll fail you."
" That's okay. I test fast and well, even when I'm being careful." I said, starting to brag.
After all, my intelligence's the only thing I have to be proud of, and I'm darn proud of it. Wait, I created all these characters and stuff…. Okay, so my creativity and intelligence are the only two things I have to be proud of, and I'm darn proud of them.
" I just hope you know what you're getting yourself into…." I shrugged and started to wolf down my cereal. Then, Professor Cypress sent me off to the couch in the living room to digest or something. Soon after, I heard her start to pace up and down the hall, mumbling to herself. I was getting pretty sleepy, when the sound of the doorbell resonated throughout the house. Professor Cypress rushed off to the front hall.
" Oh, Mr. Greider, it's wonderful that you've arrived!" I heard a male voice say curtly,
" Indeed. Where is the child?"
" She's waiting in the living—"
" Hardly a good place to take a test. How about your lab?"
" Of course, Mr. Greider."
Hang on a sec…. Mr. Greider? Is he related to my CX partner!?
" Chrissy, come here!"
" You call her by her first name? Hardly proper discipline, I would think. You're not related." I hopped off the couch and walked over to the front hall. Standing with Professor Cypress was a brown-and-gray-haired, slightly wrinkly dude, standing stiffly and wearing a suit. He was carrying a briefcase, too.
" Hiya." I said, plastering a smile on my face. Mr. Greider turned his stone gaze on me, scowling at the orange juice stain on my shirt.
" 'Hiya'? Is that how you address a league official?" I heard him mutter under his breath, " Kids these days…." I got the hint at once.
" My apologies, sir. I'm sure you don't really want to be here, so can you just give me my exam and get it over with?"
" Indeed. Professor Cypress, lead the way." Professor Cypress gulped, nodded, and headed off down the hall toward the bathroom. She stepped into a closet or something next to it, but when I came in, I saw that it wasn't really a closet. It was a little room next to an elevator with glass (clear plastic?) doors.
Aw, man. I hate elevators. Still, I should of expected this. I DID design the darn thing, after all. I sighed, kept my mouth shut, and went into the elevator, grabbing the handrail at once. Mr. Greider stepped in, and then Professor Cypress pushed one of the three buttons in the elevator; the one with the green equilateral triangle pointing down. There was also a button with a green equilateral triangle pointed up, and one with the word "EMERGENCY" in international orange on it. The elevator began going down as my stomach started its weird-feeling thing. The elevator stopped after a couple of minutes, went up a few inches, and the doors opened. There was a long hallway which led to a large room with a pool in it on one end, and a bunch of laboratory-looking doors. Kinda like the ones in the movie Jurassic Park.
" Well, here we are," Professor Cypress said.
" Great. Where do I take my test?"
" Over here should be good. It's a room I've prepared for trainers to take the league exam." Professor Cypress went over to a door, and opened it. The room inside was about the size of a classroom, with a few normal-sized desks, some chairs, and a big desk. I went over and sat in the front-most desk. I just feel normal when I'm sitting in the front.
" Well then, you may go sit over there in your desk. I'll take it from here." Mr. Greider sat down in the desk behind me and opened his briefcase. He handed me one of those "state-test" packets, a piece of lined paper with some words at the top, a scantron, two number two pencils, and a white nylon eraser (which is my favorite type of eraser EVER). He also put an electronic timer on his desk.
" You have one hour and thirty minutes to take the multiple choice section of the exam. You may write on the exam packet, but not on the exam answer sheet. You may open the exam packet by running your pencil along the seal. If you decide to change an answer, erase it thoroughly. Mark only one answer for each question. You may begin." I heard an electronic beep, then opened my packet. I began to work my way through a bunch of multiple-choice questions about Pokémon, survival skills, league rules, Pokéballs, and other stuff like that. Really easy stuff. I would have had it done in forty minutes, probably, if I wasn't being so careful. But I finished it in an hour, then I did something I'd never done before—check through my work. I was almost done, when Mr. Greider said,
" You have one minute to close the packet, put down your pencil, turn your answer sheet over, and put your hands in your lap before the test is over. If these requirements are not met, this test will not be valid." I growled softly under my breath, but obeyed him. The second my hands touched my jeans, I heard a bunch of electronic beeps, then another beep of a different tone which stopped them. I glanced over at Professor Cypress. She had a book balanced in her lap, and was looking over at me and Mr. Greider. He collected my packet and scantron and sat them on his desk. "Very good. You will have a fifteen minute rest period." I sighed and collapsed in my chair, leaning my head against my arms on the desk. The minutes flew by all too soon, for now he was saying something. I was kinda zoned out, but I heard most of what he was saying.
" …turn to the essay portion of the test. If you need definitions of the words in the resolution, say so now. This is the only help you will get. You only have the front and back of your paper to write on. It would be preferable, that, if you see that you are running out of room, to conclude your essay. You have one hour and thirty minutes. You may begin." I heard another electronic beep, grabbed the other pencil, and started reading the resolution.
" Resolve: When in conflict, a Pokémon's strength should be valued above a Pokémon's happiness. Please state whether you agree with the resolution or not, and state your reasons. You may only agree or disagree; you cannot write both," I whispered to myself.
Oh, gee, that's easy. I've had a resolution like that in Debate class…. Only it was academic freedom and community standards. Heh. I shook my head and started trying to think of an introduction. Ah hah!
" I disagree with the resolution because…" I began verbally as I wrote it, then, I was on a roll. My handwriting got smaller and smaller because I realized I had more to say, but I did eventually finish.
I sighed and cracked my knuckles a few times, then shook my hands.
I hate writer's cramp. I relaxed against the back of my chair.
" Are you finished already? You still have twenty minutes left." Mr. Greider said.
" No, I'm gonna read it over again." I glanced over at Professor Cypress. Her gaze was intently focused on her book, but her eyes weren't moving. What, is she nervous or something? Why? Does she think it's an insult to her teaching abilities if I don't pass? I shrugged to myself and read over my essay a few times, until I heard an electronic beep.
" You now have thirty seconds to finish your current thought."
What current thought? I'm done! I sighed and handed him my stuff. He picked up my essay and my scantron, and took them over to Professor Cypress's desk.
" Excuse me, Professor Cypress, but I must grade this. May I use your computer?" She nodded and walked over by me, slipping her book in a pocket on her lab coat. " Well, you will be informed of your results within the hour. Until then, please do not leave the lab, but please do leave the room." We left, and Professor Cypress grabbed my arm and led me toward the "pool room". She had me sit down on a bench thing, and sat down next to me.
" Well, what did you think of the test?"
" It was easy. I don't see what the big deal is, but then again, I'm really good at state tests, too."
" Easy? You understand that most people have trouble with that test?"
" Um, yeah, I guess. Hey, intelligence is my strong point." I shrugged, sounding to sound humble and modest but failing miserably.
" Indeed."
" Hey, that's Mr. Greider's trademark word!" She blinked.
" What do you mean, 'trade—"
" Oh, never mind. No one ever laughs at my jokes. I'm going to the bathroom. Where is it?"
" There's a bathroom just over there." Professor Cypress pointed toward a door near the hall. I nodded, went, and came back. No need to make a big deal of going to the bathroom. I went over to the edge of the pool, and looked down. There were a bunch of Water Pokémon swimming around happily. Some were napping, too. There were shutter things on the walls around me, I guessed they hid the water outside the windows. I sighed and sat down next to the pool, staring off into space. You know, when you're half-staring, and you can see, but you don't really see anything?
" Chrissy, are you okay?" Professor Cypress asked, after a few minutes.
" Yeah, I just zoned out." I said, snapping back into reality. I heard footsteps, and then, Mr. Greider was standing in the doorway.
" Congratulations, Ms. *****. You've passed your exam and will receive your license when you start your journey tomorrow."
How'd he know my last name? Oh, wait, I filled it out on the packet and the scantron.
" Oh. Well, my expectations have been met, then. What's my exact grade?" I said, glad to not be disappointed, and also glad not to be stuck in this lab for a year until I could take the exam again.
" Ninety-eight percent. I'll have to take a picture of you, now, for your license."
" Ninety-eight percent!?" Professor Cypress said, her face looking like a mix of ecstasy and shock.
" Yes. She was one hundred percent correct on the scantron, and ninety-six percent acceptable on the essay. That averages to ninety-eight percent."
" COOL!" I cried.
" If you'll stand against the wall, I can take your picture, send it to the league, and we can get this over with." I nodded, and went over to lean against the wall. Mr. Greider raised the digital camera to his eye.
" One, two, three. Okay." He said as the flash went off, and I rubbed my eyes to get the spots floating around in front of them to go away. He headed back to the testing room, and Professor Cypress and I followed him.
" You know, that ninety-eight percent makes you the highest score that Futir town's had for three years. Additionally, you'll get to pick your Pokémon first tomorrow." She whispered to me.
" Oh, well, that's good." I said as Mr. Greider hooked up a cord on the camera to the USB port on Professor Cypress's computer. He clicked and typed some, and then disconnected the camera.
" Right, can we go back up now?" I said, and suddenly, my stomach gave a very odd growl. " Eh, I think it's time for lunch or something."
" Very well." He headed out of the room and to the elevator. When we were all in, Professor Cypress pushed the 'UP' button. I clung to the handrail until we got there, and then hopped out at once.
" Well, then, Ms. *****, your license will be mailed to Professor Cypress by tomorrow morning, in time for your journey. I wish you luck. Goodbye." With that, he headed for the front door, and left. Professor Cypress and I looked at each other for a few moments.
" Well, now what do we do?" I asked. Suddenly, Professor Cypress stuck out her hand. I shook it.
" Congratulations, Chrissy. You told me you could do it, and I guess you were right." She said.
" Oh, um, well, thanks. Can we get lunch now?" She smiled.
" Sure. Since you did so well on the test, I think we'll have a treat. Is pizza alright?"
" PIZZA!? Okay!" I yelped happily. Professor Cypress smirked to herself, asked what toppings I wanted, and headed for the kitchen to make the call. I paced back and forth, waiting for the pizza (er, pizzas) to arrive. The doorbell rang, and I opened it to see a guy holding a big cloth box thing with the logo of…. Domino's?
Why do they have Domino's in the Pokémon world? I wondered. Instead, I yelled,
" Professor Cypress! Pizza's here!" I smiled apologetically at the guy. Professor Cypress rushed out, the guy gave her the pizzas, and she handed him some weird-looking coins while I sat on a chair in the hallway. Eventually, she thanked him and closed the door, and he headed out across the bridge.
" Here we go. Come on, to the kitchen." We soon we settled in, and I was munching on a slice of cheese pizza while Professor Cypress munched on a slice of pizza, not quite with "everything on it." When we were done, we put the leftovers in the refrigerator. Just then, I realized something.
" Hey, Professor? Thanks. When I first popped up here, ya listened to an unbelievable story, took me in, and helped me become a trainer and all that stuff. You're a nicer person than I madeja out to be."
" I, er, well, thanks. Come on, you need to pack." I nodded, and Professor Cypress went over to her room, soon coming back with a lavender backpack that was pretty big, as well as a bright red sleeping bag.
" Go get some clothes and things from your room. I'll pack some food and other things for you." She said, as she tied the sleeping bag to the top of the backpack. I went over to the guest room and grabbed some clothes and grooming accessories (y'know, brush, shampoo, soap, the works) that Professor Cypress had bought me. I also grabbed a towel and a white baseball cap, just in case, and brought them over to the living room where I had started out in the this crazy world.
" You really need that much clothes? You just need one set for each season." Professor Cypress said when she saw my huge bundle.
" In my world, we change clothes everyday, I don't know about you,"
" Well, in this world, there are microscopic chips sewn in clothes designed for trainers that store dry, very efficient, antibacterial soap, which release the soap when they detect that you've taken it off over an hour ago. It's as good as washing the shirt, and quicker for trainers."
" Oh." Professor Cypress sighed.
" Pick out a t-shirt, a vest or jacket, a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, shorts, you know, one of each." I nodded and sorted them out. I had to be careful, these were the clothes I was going to be wearing every day. Eventually, I chose a t-shirt that was green on the top and blue on the bottom, separated by a thin, black zigzag line, another bright red shirt, an orange vest (kinda like the one Brock wears, except his is green), some jeans, shorts, and a silver-colored turtleneck, as well as "special" clothes and necessaryclothes.
" There. I'm gonna wear those tomorrow," I said, pointing to the green/blue t-shirt, the vest, and the jeans.
" Nice choice." Professor Cypress pointed to a small pile of those just-add-water meals. " There's your food until you get some more. I got you some fruit and vegetables too, though, and some Pokéchow." She put those in the biggest pocket, along with most of my clothes. She put my special clothes, some stuff that helps to make food, and grooming accessories in the second pocket, and then… er, "survival stuff" in the third pocket. Then, she pointed to these weird "net" things on either side of the now bulky backpack.
" Those are for carrying water bottles. I'll help you get some tomorrow morning, fresh out of the refrigerator." I nodded. " The last pocket will carry anything you want to keep in there. Pokéballs, your Pokédex, your debit card, anything you want."
" Debit card?"
" Yes, debit card. It's actually called a trainer's debit card, but it just holds your money, when you get one, that is. The league will give you some money, too."
" Neatsies."
" 'Neatsies'?" Professor Cypress said skeptically.
" Sorry. Wouldja prefer 'Coolio'? Or 'Kewl'?"
" Fine, whatever." She said, exasperated with me. I sighed back, and lifted the backpack on my shoulders. Surprisingly, it wasn't too heavy. About the same weight as a backpack with a binder and a textbook in it. I put it down and looked through the third pocket, and saw some weird-looking thermometer thing in it.
" Hey, what's this?" I asked, pulling it out.
" It's a fire thermometer. It measures the temperature of a fire, so you can follow the directions when you cook food."
" They have campfire directions?"
" Yes. The particular brand of dehydrated food I gave you was a brand name called "Travel Buffet." Companies make food especially designed to be easy to cook while traveling. Most trainers can't afford to travel in an RV, can they?"
" Nope, I guess not." I picked up my backpack again. " Is that everything I need?"
" I hope so."
" So, who else is starting their journey tomorrow?"
" Seventeen other trainers."
" Seventeen!?" I gasped.
" Yes. Luckily, I have seven of each type of Starter Pokémon, which adds up to twenty-one, so everyone should be able to get the Starter they want. Oh, you need to know what the Starters are, don't you?"
" No, they're Burkey, Otta, and… Sedlaf? Weedni?" I forgot the Grass starter's name, I've changed it so much….
" Voilaef."
" Oh, okay. Well, I'm gonna go put my backpack up and chill for a while."
" Well, would you like a little fresh air? There's a park near the lake, you know." I stopped.
" Does it have a children's recreational facility?"
" Children's recrea…. Oh, you mean playground? Of course. A big one."
" YAY!" I ran to the guest room, unceremoniously dropped my backpack on the bed, and ran back. " Where is it? Where is it!?" I said, running in place. Professor Cypress laughed.
" Hold your Ponytas, I'll come with you," she said, heading for the door.
AN: Well, it was getting too long, so I decided to end it, and that seemed like a good place. Sorry if this chapter is boring, the next one's gonna be a lot better.
Disclaimer: Pokémon and all related insignia, except for the insignia I created, belong to their respective owners. Please, lawyers of Nintendo and associated companies, do not sue me; I am just having fun, am making no money, and besides, this is free advertising for you. Thanks.
Message to American Nintendo people (the Japanese Nintendo people are not at fault here): Oh yeah, you Nintendo guys need to fix your cute widdle folders, particularly the one with the Grass Starters and evolutions. It says Bulbasaur and evo's are Grass types, when they're Grass/Poison types.
Claimer: Myself, and anything I've created, belong to me and me alone. To use them, you must meet three requirements:
1: You ask my permission. (yakkety@hotmail.com)
2: You give me credit.
3: You don't make money off of it. (Well, the Nintendo guys can, if they give me a cut of it. 8-P)
Thanks, guys! Bye! *wave wave*