TRA

Part 1.7

*sparks danced above the fire and flew up into the air. Jennifer sat at the fire with a big gray army blanket around her. She watched the small orange sparkles disappear after they nearly reached the top of the trees. She smiled and pulled the blanket up*

Vulpix: Vohlllpi. *a Vulpix nudged at her side. She smiled and patted it. Vulpix closed its eyes. It's ears twitched and it's eyes sprang open. It looked behind Jennifer. Jennifer turned around. It was James*

James: *looking up into the dark, purple-clouded sky* Did I really sleep that long? Hmm.

Jen: It's nearly 8.

James: 8 in the morning?! Whoa, I do sleep-.

Jen: It's 8 in the evening, kumquat!

James: *looking at his watch* It is. *Jennifer fell over*

James: I do believe we haven't met.

Jen: Hmm? *Looking at Vulpix* Oh. This is my beautiful Vulpix. Vulpix, this is James.

Vulpix: Vohll. Vohlpi!

James: Hi. Your favorite Pokémon?

Jen: Yes. How did you know?

James: I can tell. It looks very attached to you.

Jen: It is. We've been together for as long as I can remember....*she spread her arms out wide* ...about this long. *Now James fell over*

James: I thought you were going to go into a flash back!

Jen: Well, ok. If I really have to...*flash back* I always loved fire Pokémon. As a child I dreamed of having one of my own. Then one day, I was wandering around the garden, looking for somewhere to build a little house.*Young Jennifer walked around some trees with a cart filled with planks of wood*

Y Jen: (This will be perfect! Jess and I can camp out here, maybe even live out here!) *She tripped on a rock* Oof! Ow. *She looked at the rock she tripped on* Hey... *she had a closer look at it* (...this rock is weird.) It has red makings on it. Oh! (Am I bleeding?!) *She looked at her leg and foot* (No, it's not blood...)*she picked up the rock* It's warm. Ow! *She quickly threw the rock and nursed her hand* It got hot! *She looked back at the rock, pulled down the bottom of her right eye and stuck her tongue out* Stupid rock. Huh? *Two cream-coloured Pokémon were looking at the hot rock* (Those are Ninetails!) *The Ninetails looked at her. One quickly picked up the rock in it's mouth and carried it off. They dove back into the bush* Hey wait! I want to be your friend! *She started following them. Soon, she went to far and got lost* Oh no. Where am I? *She looked about and her lip started trembling* I'm scared. *She looked about. It was getting darker* Hello? Someone? Anyone? Hello? *She soon noticed the orange glow of a fire near by* (Maybe they can help me back home. And maybe they have some food!) *She made her way to the fire but stopped. She looked and saw the two Ninetails she saw earlier, and a few more. There were also some Vulpix. This time, she decided to stay quiet. The Ninetails were picking up strange rocks like the one she tripped on. One by one, they placed a rock in front of each Vulpix. Then, a burst of fire came from the rocks and covered the Vulpix. When the fire settled down, the Vulpix were now Ninetails, except for one. This Vulpix just stood there, head turned away from the rock. It was a young one, with only three tails. The biggest Ninetails (Jennifer assumed it was the head of the pack) walked over to it. It started talking with it. The Vulpix shook its head and replied. The Ninetails spoke again, only louder. The Vulpix called out, just as loud as the Ninetails. The Ninetails spoke just a bit softer. The Vulpix nodded, and the Ninetails pack left the Vulpix alone. One turned back, but turned around again, and used a Sand-Attack to put out the fire. Once they were out of site, the Vulpix sighed and crawled near the still hot coals of the fire* (It didn't want to evolve) *Jennifer walked up to the Vulpix* Vulpix. You don't want to evolve? *The Vulpix looked up at her, scared at first, but calmed later, once it knew she wasn't going to hurt her. The Vulpix nodded* Well, don't worry about them. They can't force you to evolve. I think you're perfect the way you are right now. A Vulpix can be just as good as a Ninetails without evolving. *The Vulpix looked at her and nodded* Come on! You don't need them. How about we be friends? *The Vulpix looked worried* Well, what were you planning to do tonight? Sit about in the cold? Listen, I'm kinda lost, and I don't want to sit about in the cold tonight. Let's say we help each other out of here. Then we can get you some dinner and a warm bed. *The Vulpix took no time to think about it. It nodded it's head enthusiastically* Great! Now let's get out of here.

Jen: And we found our way back. *She hugged the Vulpix* And Vulpix still hasn't changed!

Vulpix: Vohllpi!

James: What I don't understand, is why Vulpix had only three tails when they were making it evolve.

Jen: Hmmm. I haven't thought of that. Maybe it was advanced for its age.

James: Or maybe it had high expectations. *Jennifer looked at him*

Jen: High expectations? You mean, it's parents wanted it to evolve sooner than the others to make it better than the rest. *She looked at the Vulpix* Isn't that right, Vulpix?

Vulpix: *it looked up at them and nodded* Vohlll...

Jen: Poor Vulpix. I never knew... *she shivered as a cool breeze passed through. She pulled up her blanket and cuddled Vulpix*

James: ...

Jen: *she looked over at him* What's wrong, James?

James: ...why did you leave?

Jen: ...James... *Vulpix noticed the silence and hopped off her lap*

James: Was that the reason you left?

Jen: What reason?

James: Having high expectations from your parents. A responsibility. Just like Vulpix.

Jen: ... ...well, actually... Yes I did. I've never thought about that until now.

James: What were they? I mean, it is Ok for me to-?

Jen: Sure. We trust each other, right?

James: *nodding and smiling* Mmm-hmm.

Jen: At least a bit of reflecting on the past can keep our minds off this cold. *She shivered again, to prove her point* Now, where can I start...hmm...a long time ago, my dad took me to his work. *Flashback*

Dad: *walking along a steel grid above several machines, with a small girl holding his hand* Someday, you will become a major part of this scheme, even own it.

Y.Jen: All of this?

Dad: All of it. *He sat her up on one of the railings* You'll grow up to be a very smart daughter. A big asset to this company.

Y.Jen: *swinging her legs and giggling* What's that?

Dad: *laughing* It means that you can make things happen. What ever you say, goes. Understand?

Y.Jen: Uh-huh!

Dad: That's it! Once you learn the tricks of the trade, nothing will stop you! *He swung her around and brought her back down to the grid. They held each other's hands and walked off again*

Y.Jen: Can I even get lollies whenever I want to?!

Dad: Of course!

James: So, what was this company exactly?

Jen: A very important one. This company was Zapdos-Power.

James: WHA-??!! Your dad was the head of Zapdos-Power?

Jen: The biggest electric power company in the world!

James: You would've had more money than me!!

Jen: Probably. Let me continue... Anyway, my dad pushed me into all of these classes. I spent the whole year learning about ohms and frequencies and volts and all that sort of stuff. I just couldn't do it! Well, my dad thought that the best way to learn things, is if I experience it for myself.

James: Oh, no. Here's trouble.*Return to flashback. Jennifer is now a lot older. She's standing in front of a switchboard scratching her head*

Y.Jen: Oooh, now. What do I do with...*looks at a huge book in her hand* ...the manual should say it....umm....where the hell do I look?! It's not even indexed!! Arrggghhh! *Throws the book* Stupid-*it smashes the switchboard* Oh, no! Uh, hey you! *She calls out*

Worker: Yes?

Y.Jen: Dad says that you have to work here now. Ohkaybuhbyenowseeyalater! *She dashes off*

Worker: Uh, hey! But wait! Oh well. *He turns to the switchboard* WHAT THU-?!?!?! Ohh maaan!

Dad: Let's see how my little princess is going. *He walks up to the confused worker* !!!! What is the meaning of this?!

Worker: B-But, sir, I-!

Dad: I don't want to hear it. I see Jennifer tried to take responsibility, and called someone else to take care of things for her while she was gone. Unfortunately she trusted in the wrong person. I will make sure you are dealt with.

Worker: B-B-but she-!

Dad: Don't blame MY daughter for YOUR own mistakes! Leave NOW! *Boy, he's really p'eed off*

Worker: *realizing further chat back will just hurt him* Yes sir...*he walked off hopeless. Later, he was carrying a box of his things out to his car. As he walked down the hall he saw Jennifer. Jennifer looked at him and waved, but he just gave her the dirtiest look ever, and that really disturbed her*

James: Just as I thought, trouble.

Jen: Tell me about it! Eventually, it came back to haunt me, in a very, very icky way, literally. *Return to flashback* I was working at a fast food burger restaurant, you know, the usual "quick money" kinda stuff.

BugerBoy1: Hey! Can we get someone up here? I need to take care of a little birthday party accident. Can you take over, Jen?

Y.Jen: *Wearing huge gloves and holding a pair of tongs, she was trying to fish a box of cookies out of the deep fry* Sure. (Anything to get me away from that hot, stinky...) Hello, sir. How are, you....*her voice trailed off*

Worker: As a matter of fact, not that well.

Y.Jen: Ahh, well, that's no goooooood. Can I take your ord-.

Worker: I think you've taken enough from me already! *People in the line were starting to stare, even those working at the burger joint. He raised his voice* Where is the manager?!? *Soon the manager came to his aid*

Manager: Is there a problem, sir?

Worker: Yes. With you! *He pointed to the manager* Who in there right minds would hire someone like her?

Manager: Are you causing problems, Jennifer?

Y.Jen: No! He-!

Worker: This girl will blame her mistakes on someone else! She did it to me, and I got fired!

Manager: Is this true, Jennifer?

Y.Jen: Well, uh, um, kinda... *the manager just stared at her* Ah, does this mean...I'm*she pointed to herself*...*he nodded* Right. *She looked around her. Everyone was looking. She quietly walked behind the counter, picked up her bag and walked out the door, leaving behind a pimple-faced teen, a sobbing 5 year old with a balloon, and an old woman, shaking her finger at her.*

Old Woman: Shame. Shame!

*Then everyone resumed his or her normal lives, well, except for the old lady, since the finger shaking was really a spazm. : P*

*End Flashback*

Jen: And that was the end of my working days. Everyone knew. Even my father. He found out eventually. *She shivered again and sniffed. She hoped it was just the start of a cold*

James: How horrible. Not able to get a job...

Jen: *rubbing her arms* I thought I was going to end up living on the streets. *Rubbing her hands together* I can't stand to think how I'd cope sleeping out on nights like these.

James: There used to be so many nights like this a few years back when I was traveling with Jessie...here. *he patted the spot next to him. Jennifer slid over. It wasn't that far away from where she was sitting. James took his blanket and wrapped it around the both of them* Is that better?

Jen: Ahhhh....so warm...*she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes* Much better.

James: So, when did you decide that you were leaving?

Jen: *she sighed* It was the day when I knew my father had found out about my mistake at the power plant. I ran up into my room, pretty cheesed off at them because they just blamed me for something that wasn't my fault. Ugh, that's a different story. Anyway, that gave me a hint that they did find out. When I got to my room, I looked about for my diary. It wasn't where I had left it last. One of the entries was about my little slip up. They had to have read it. Dad would've thought I was a failure. Of course, because he knew, there was no way I could get a job, and it may even hurt dad's business if he got me a job there. So, I ran away, because I knew they wouldn't want me hanging around. ...it was so childish and stupid of me but I can't change it now.

James: That is terrible...So coming here would've been a big decision for you. The risks you would've been taking...

Jen: ...that's true...I did...(No. No, I don't want to believe it. No. I can't...No...) ...no. *she started shivering again. James noticed it and wrapped his arms around her* (No.) I'm not cold. I'm just...a little shaky. *She sniffed*

James: What's wrong. Please tell me. *He held her closer*

Jen: ...I'm...(Jessie was right.) ...I don't know.

James: Oh. All that talking must have worn you out.

Jen: ... *she turned her head away and fought back the tears* (I can't let this get to me. If I quit, if I give up, I'm just weak.)

James: If I knew this would upset you I wouldn't have asked you to tell me.

Jen: No, it's ok. You didn't know. I've just been thinking of the kind of things that are upsetting me.

James: You're always thinking about something. What is it... Oh, ah, sorry. You don't have to-.

Jen: *she looked up and shook her head* You'll know about it someday. I won't even have to tell you. I'm sure you'll find out for yourself. *She was looking back at James and he did the same. James smiled at her. Jennifer then knew how much he really cared. He listened all though her story. He comforted her. Maybe it was too late.*

Jen: *suddenly she reached out for James and cried. She knew it wouldn't do any good, but it was too much to think about*

James: (Why did I have to ask her those questions? I didn't know, but I should've thought about it before I said anything) *he sighed and held her* I'm really sorry. I didn't know it would get you so upset. *He spoke in a more softer tone* ...I don't like seeing you when you're sad, or upset, or when you're crying... *he continued his normal tone of voice* I'll be careful of what I say in the future, I promise.

Jen: Thank you, James. You've been too kind. * She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. She could still be his friend. James was a great person. Why anyone like him would join Team Rocket? She saw why Jessie was still James' friend after so many years. Jennifer felt sleepy. Or maybe it was the tears in her eyes that made them heavy. Or maybe it's the delirious warmth and being held in her friends arms, making her so comfortable she just wants to stay there forever. Whatever it was, she liked it here. She wished she didn't have to go back to work. She hated it. She felt like dozing off right here and now. It was early, but heck, they had to leave tomorrow anyway. Jennifer wondered if James would let her keep the Sneasle. (Nah, he caught it. It wouldn't be fair.) What were they having for breakfast tomorrow morning? She yawned. She was tired. Pulling the blanket up an bit more, she thought about Jessie, and what she was doing. (Hmmmm....so tired....) Well, at least she saw Jessie and James during her summon. She missed them and thought about them all the time back at home. All that time she missed with her cousin...did James even know they were cousins? Probably not. (Oh well, I'll tell him in the morning.) She was too tired to get-(no. Oh no. That wasn't, wasn't it? It can't be. Why would he-? He would. Damn it.... He has.) Her train of thought was interrupted right before she was about to fall asleep. James placed his lips on her forehead and kissed her. So long ago, she wanted this to happen on a night like this one, but now, why did she fear it?