The next morning I woke up at 6am, without the nightmare happening again. I
decided that that day would be the best day to go to the Safari Zone, and
the following day we could challenge Koga for our Soulbadges. I knew Vera
liked sleeping in, so I didn't wake her up until 7:30. I thought that was
pretty generous, considering I was getting lonely without anyone to talk
to.
"Rise and shine!" I said, cheerfully. "Ohhhh. What time is it?" She asked, grumpy. She wasn't a morning person.
"7:30. Time for breakfast."
"You have GOT to be kidding."
"Nope! Come on!" I said, pulling her out of bed. It was the only way to get her to do anything before midday.
"Okay, okay, okay."
I pulled her to the table the nurses had set up for us, with pancakes, and Ocra tea. It was going to be the first time she tried the tea. I was worried she wouldn't like it. I sat at my end and started eating and drinking - I was famished, after over an hour without food.
"What's this green stuff?" She asked, somewhat grumpily.
"Ocra tea. My favourite." I said, after swallowing my mouthful. I wondered whether I should heed Chris' advice then, but I decided against it, due to Vera never being too stimulating at conversation before midday.
"Wow! This is delicious!" "Yeah, I know." I agreed, relieved she liked it. We continued eating, and drinking. Vera had drunk about ten mugs of tea before she had revived. Caffeine is the only thing apart from time that made her civil.
"So, what're we doing today?"
"Safari Zone!"
"I heard it's expensive." She said. Just my luck, the subject of money being brought up. I tried to skirt around it.
"My treat."
"Big surprise there. You're so rich it's not funny."
As much as I loved her, I really dreaded statements about my family's wealth.
"Hey, money's not everything."
"Okay then, genius, what is?"
I hesitated. My first urge was to tell her the truth. To say that, to me, she was everything. I reminded myself that she wasn't in the best mental state to hear it. I quickly thought of a cover up.
"Health."
"Money can buy health!"
"Can't."
"Can too."
"Can't."
"Alright, alright, it can't." She admitted, somewhat tiredly. I grinned.
"You're right."
Soon we were ready for the Safari Zone, after putting on our casual clothing. Another thing I liked about Vera was that she never really cared about how she looked. I didn't really know why; as far as I'd known before I met her, girls always obsessed over their hair, and fingernails, and makeup. Girls had been labelled incredibly slow at getting ready to do anything that involved going out in public. Vera just wore jeans, and a t- shirt (not always a clean one, either). I wondered why a girl as gorgeous as her wouldn't want to obsess over her appearance. Eventually, I stopped wondering. The reason didn't matter. It was just another of her numerous admirable qualities. I'm rambling again. I was telling you about the time I took Vera to the Safari Zone. I payed for two four-hour sessions, and we entered the huge park. It was amazing. The thing that struck me the most that it was so big. I couldn't believe someone devoted that much land to housing pokémon.
"Whoa, it's big." I said to break the uncomfortable silence. "Yeah. Lots of pokémon are meant to live here." "Too bad we can't use our own pokémon to capture them. Just bait and rocks."
"I didn't see bait."
"It's in the bag, look." I said, opening the bag that was slung over my shoulder, which was full of bait, and had 20 Safari Balls in it. The warden had given us each one.
"Oh, okay. Let's go out and catch some pokémon!"
"Who says we have to catch pokémon?" I said, grinning slyly. I have no idea what I meant, or even why I said it. Vera assures me that I did say it. Personally, I think it's a figment of her imagination. But back then, I was so dependant on my friends' 'help', that I would've done pretty much anything.
"Huh?"
"Don't worry. Let's catch some!"
"Yeah! Let's get 'em!" She said, as we went into the long grass. The grass was so thick that I couldn't see Vera after about two seconds. "Cael?" She said, worried. "I'm right here." I reassured her.
"I can't see you."
"I can't, either." I said, blindly searching for her hand. When I found it, she sounded worried.
"Is that you?" She said. I guess she was worried I might be someone else; she'd told me about a time, when she was younger, that she got kidnapped. "Yeah, we won't lose each other this way." "How do we catch pokémon in grass like this?"
"I dunno. Perhaps we could find a clearing?"
We started looking for a clearing, and then I heard Vera scream, as her hand relaxed, and I heard a thump.
"Hello??" I asked. I was worried someone might've hit her over the head or something.
"Marrow! Marrowak!" A Marowak. I felt incredibly angry at it, for hurting Vera. I pushed the grass out the way, and saw her, lying there, unconscious.
"Vera, wake up." I said, bending over, and shaking her slightly. It had no effect. I looked around, and heard the grass rustling - the Marowak. I decided to catch it. Because it hurt Vera, and it'd have to be pretty powerful to knock a human unconscious.
"Hey! Wait! I'm gonna catch you!" I yelled, chasing after the Marowak. After what seemed like forever, I reached the edge of the grassy area. There was a lake, where the Marowak was drinking. I threw a few pellets of bait at it, and the pokémon started eating. I threw a Safari Ball at it. Of course, the pokémon just knocked it away with its tail. I grabbed a rock from the ground, and threw it. I hit the Marowak, which ran off again. I followed it, getting tired by now. It ran into another grassy area. I had no idea how to capture it, but I knew I had to.
Eventually, I caught up to it. Only because it was eating a pile of bait someone must have left behind. I threw a few rocks at it. The food seemed to be more important to the Marowak than the fact I was hitting (well, mostly missing) it with rocks, though. I watched for a while more, not sure whether I was meant to throw more bait, or more rocks, or try a Safari Ball. What I did know was that I didn't want to make any mistakes. The Marowak had plenty of bait, which it was eating, so I decided to use a Safari Ball. I had to be careful; if I ran out of Safari Balls, I'd have to leave the Safari Zone. And no way did I want to leave Vera unconscious by herself. I threw the ball, and held my breath. The Marowak disappeared into it. I grinned, and picked it up in triumph. I proudly looked at the ball in my hands, glad to have finally caught the Marowak.
Then the ball started shaking violently, so much so that I dropped it. The Marowak came out of the ball again. I said the worst word I knew, which was drat, under my breath as the Marowak ran off. I'd almost given up on catching it; whether it hurt Vera or not, it didn't seem worth chasing after it so much. And what would happen if she woke up to find me gone? It's too late for that now, I reminded myself, it'll take forever to find her. You may as well capture the Marowak; perhaps it'll impress her that you caught it. I was sure that catching the Marowak would have to be a good thing. I chased after it, again. Eventually, I caught up to the Marowak, which was sitting against a log, eating some bait. I threw quite a bit more bait toward it, hoping that it'd be enough to keep the pokémon there. I watched as it sniffed the dark yellow pellets, and started eating them. What got me was why a Marowak would want to eat so much bait. I picked up a handful of pebbles, and started throwing them at it. Only one of them hit, and that hit its foot - I was never a very good aim. I threw a few more, and I eventually managed to hit it, right in the eye. It cried out in pain. For a moment, I was scared it would decide to run off again. But not this Marowak; it rubbed its eye, not looking too happy with me. I decided this could be my last chance at capturing it. I grabbed a Safari Ball, and threw it. I watched the Marowak disappear into the pokéball. I gritted my teeth, as I watched the Safari Ball shake violently on the ground. I didn't want to pick it up again, not after what happened the first time. I waited a full five minutes after the Safari Ball stopped shaking, nervously walking up to it, and picking up the Safari Ball. I was grinning to myself, glad to have caught myself a Marowak. I suddenly realised that it was the first pokémon I'd ever caught. I turned the ball over in my hands, almost surprised with myself. I'd always had pokémon that had been bought from breeders. Even Haaj was from a breeder. Sure, I captured him, but Vera really did all the work. Vera! I'd completely forgotten about her. She'd probably be ready to kill me. I put the Marowak's pokéball into my bag, and started looking around for a way out of the grass.
Eventually, I found myself in a large clearing, one with a rest house in it. I had no idea how I was going to find Vera. I walked toward the Safari Zone exit, thinking she might have decided to wait there. I couldn't see her, so she must still have been fainted in the grass. Or perhaps she went on to capture pokémon without me. I hoped that she hadn't done that, and I started walking through the grass, calling out her name. I didn't receive an answer. She was either really, really angry with me, or still unconscious. The latter option was growing less and less likely. As I was contemplating my apology in my mind, I tripped over a rock. Getting up, and dusting myself off, I realised it wasn't a rock I tripped over; it was a leg. And it was attached to a body. Vera's, of course. I breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't woken up to see I wasn't there. But, then again, she was still unconscious. Which could not be a good thing. I decided to go to the rest stop I'd seen earlier, to get help. I had no idea what to do to someone who was fainted. I thought mouth-to-mouth resuscitation might work, but I didn't know how to give it. And it was meant for people who had trouble breathing, wasn't it? I was about to go to the rest house, when I remembered that, if Vera woke up, she'd find herself alone, and might get angry with me like I'd feared. I took off my backpack, which I took everywhere with me, and grabbed a notepad, and a pen. I wrote a note, just one saying that I'd gone off to the rest house for help, and if she woke up to stay where she was, and give me a yell. I ripped it off the pad, which I put back, along with the pen, into my backpack. I took some tape from another pocket, and taped it to Vera's shirt. She'd almost defiantly find it that way.
I ran to the rest house, and opened the door. It was completely empty except for a few vending machines, which made me realise I was incredibly thirsty. I put a few coins into it, and pressed the button for a Cuno-Cola, which I opened, and took a sip from. I looked at the can, which had a picture of an Articuno on it. Not a real one, of course. I personally didn't think the legendary pokémon existed at all. I finished the drink, and put it in the bin, and looked at the machines in front of me. I considered getting something for Vera, but decided not to. I knew she liked sushi, and Ocra tea, and pancakes, but I had no idea which snack-food to get her. It would be better not to get her something than get her something she detested. I waited at the rest stop for another ten minutes, hoping someone would arrive. No one did, so I left. Vera would have to be awake by now. And she probably wouldn't be too angry, either. I hoped. After a long, annoying search, I came across her again. She was still unconscious. And I had no idea what to do about it. I looked at my watch. Three hours she'd been like that. That was a long, long time to be unconscious. I decided to name my Marowak Nyassa. I forget what it means now, though. I wondered if I was wrong about mouth-to-mouth only being useful when people can't breathe. Perhaps I was hoping more than wondering, though. I'd taken the note off her; there was no point in leaving it there, because I wasn't going to leave until she woke up.
I soon decided that mouth-to-mouth couldn't hurt. I was nervously leaning over her, when, suddenly, she opened her eyes.
"Darn," I joked. "I was just gonna give you mouth to mouth."
"What happened?" She asked, blinking a few times, and squinting at me.
"A Marowak hit you, and you got knocked out."
"I didn't see a Marowak. Did you scare it off or something?"
"No." I said, grinning, because I'd done something useful. "I caught it!" "I thought you didn't train wild pokémon?" Well, so much for being impressed.
"Well, Nyassa gave you a pretty bit hit. And she doesn't seem to be on too high a level." "So you caught her just because she was strong?' "And because she hurt you." I took a breath, hoping I wasn't going too red. Now would be a nice time to tell her. "I real-"
I didn't get any further than that. The loudspeaker interrupted me, telling me and Vera that it was time to leave the Safari Zone. Vera was confused. I guess she didn't think almost three and a half hours had past since she became unconscious. I helped her up, and led her toward the exit. I gave the warden Nyassa's pokéball, our bait, and remaining Safari Balls, and received Vera's pokémon, and mine. As I was handing her over her pokéballs, she decided to ask me a question.
"How long was I unconscious for?"
"Uh, a little less than three and a half hours."
"What were you doing for that long?"
I hesitated. Did I really want to tell her the truth? Of course I did. I'd just leave out a few details. "Well, I caught Nyassa. That took about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Then I went to check on you, you were still out, then I went to the rest stop, waited there a while, then I came back to you, and then I decided that mouth-to-mouth might work, but then you woke up."
"WATER is what you use on fainted people. You use mouth-to-mouth if they can't breathe, dimwit." Whoa, she was angry. Perhaps getting hit by the Marowak gave her concussion? I felt terrible. I knew I shouldn't've added the bit about mouth-to-mouth. She seemed to have calmed down when she continued, though. "But I guess your heart was in the right place."
"Yeah, it was."
"But you owe me dinner."
"Hey! I always buy the food!" "But tonight will be no exception, will it?"
"Darn," I said, not really meaning it, though. Buying dinner was something that I could do to reverse any damage I did, Vera-wise. Of course, I didn't think I'd done much damage, except with the mouth-to-mouth remark. As we walked to the pokémon centre, I was thinking. Mostly about when I was going to tell Vera. The loudspeaker foiled my attempt at the Safari Zone. I thought about telling her then, but decided against it; she might still be mad. She always had a temper. Which was only a bad thing when it was directed at me. It was much better than what I'd heard about most girls, anyway. Being passive and not wanting to get a centimetre out of line for fear of breaking their nails, or smudging their makeup, or something. Vera didn't use makeup. In my opinion, she didn't need it, anyway. I'm rambling again. I decided to tell her during dinner. I'd buy her sushi, and some tea. She liked both of them. I was in a curry mood, myself. Curry's my favourite food, especially hot ones. Like Indian curry. Or Thai. Anything, really.
To my annoyance, the pokémon centre was full. Except for our table, which the nurses kept clear for us. We sat down, ordered our food, and some tea. We were silent for a while. I was rustling up the nerve to tell Vera about. you know. I took a deep breath, and tried to calm my stomach. I had to look tough.
"Uh, Vera?" I said, trying not to sound nervous. I don't think I succeeded, though. "Yeah?" She asked, not seeming to understand the seriousness of the situation. I took another deep breath, but my lip, and tried to say the words.
"I really, really. uh." I couldn't say it. I could feel my face going bright red, to match my hair. "I really think you should try curry some time." I finished, lamely. "I don't really like hot stuff. Not even wasabi in sushi."
I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief - she didn't seem to have realised I wasn't really planning to ask about curry. I was saved from discussing the subject further by our meals arriving. I started eating my curry, which wasn't hot enough, really. I made a mental note to ask for some chilli next time. When I'd finished, I sat and watched Vera eat her sushi. It always took her forever to finish the stuff. Personally, I don't see what's so nice about raw fish and seaweed. But, each to their own, I guess. I was enjoying the silence, just looking at her. That sounds so pathetic. Back then, I guess I was pathetic.
"What are we doing tomorrow?" She asked to break our silence.
"I think we should challenge Koga, the gym leader."
"What type of pokémon does he use?"
"Sleep, confusion, and poison." "Huh? Poison's the only type there."
"I meant pokémon that can cause sleep, confusion, or poison."
"Oh." She paused. "I think I'll go to bed, getting knocked out really takes a lot out of you." "Okay." I agreed, wondering if she was just looking for an excuse to get away from me. "I'll go to bed soon; I've got a few things to take care of first."
Vera mumbled something, and then went off to bed. I took out my faithful phone, and rung up Kenny's mobile. He was the only one of my friends who hadn't given me 'advice'. Chris' advice didn't get me anywhere; I just couldn't admit my feelings. I wasn't like Vera, she was so confident. I got nervous way too easily. I was reluctant to phone him; he was always the weird one, who thought differently. But the others hadn't been right, well, they might've been, but it wasn't working for me. My thoughts were interrupted by Kenny's voice.
"Lo."
"Hey, Kenny, it's Cae."
"Cae! Great to hear from ya. Word's been goin' around that you've got a travelling buddy of the female persuasion. Chris and Jase told me. How'd it go?"
"No good." "Too bad. What'd they tell you to do?"
"Be sensitive, and be direct, and be agreeable."
"Cael, I don't mean to speak badly of them, but that advice is about as useless as a leaf stone on an Eevee."
"What do you mean? It makes sense."
"Cae, Cae, Cae. What are we going to do with you? Firstly, why are you following their advice?"
"To get her to like me, duh."
"You've just given yourself the real answer."
I was confused. "What?"
"You want her to like you. Note the word you. You don't want her to like Jase or Chris, do you?"
"Of course not." "Then why are you following THEIR advice?"
He'd lost me. "What?"
"Cael, this is the only advice you'll ever need. Be yourself. If she doesn't like you for who you are, then what's the point in trying to make her like you for who you aren't."
Okay, call me stupid, but I had no idea what he meant. "I don't follow you."
"Just be you. If you want to keep the girl for more than ten minutes, she'll have to like you, not what you learnt off your friends, right?"
It finally snapped. I had to not follow any advice. If I acted the way that made sense to me, Vera would like me for who I was, not for who I was pretending to be. That's what he was trying to say.
"Right. But what if she doesn't like me?"
"If she doesn't like you for who you are, then that's her problem. Cael, you're a nice person, even if you are gullible, and naïve." "Thanks, Kenny. You sure it'll work?"
"No, but it makes more sense than the junk the other guys were telling you to do. In fact, you're probably together, as far as she's concerned. It's not always kissing and declarations of love. The fact you've been travelling around together this long has to mean something. To her, I mean." "Thanks heaps, Kenny. I'd better get to bed now. Goodnight." "Night, Cae." He said, and I hung up the phone. The thought that we might actually be 'together' in her opinion was something I had going for me. Tomorrow would be the start of a new era for me. I hoped it would be a good one.
"Rise and shine!" I said, cheerfully. "Ohhhh. What time is it?" She asked, grumpy. She wasn't a morning person.
"7:30. Time for breakfast."
"You have GOT to be kidding."
"Nope! Come on!" I said, pulling her out of bed. It was the only way to get her to do anything before midday.
"Okay, okay, okay."
I pulled her to the table the nurses had set up for us, with pancakes, and Ocra tea. It was going to be the first time she tried the tea. I was worried she wouldn't like it. I sat at my end and started eating and drinking - I was famished, after over an hour without food.
"What's this green stuff?" She asked, somewhat grumpily.
"Ocra tea. My favourite." I said, after swallowing my mouthful. I wondered whether I should heed Chris' advice then, but I decided against it, due to Vera never being too stimulating at conversation before midday.
"Wow! This is delicious!" "Yeah, I know." I agreed, relieved she liked it. We continued eating, and drinking. Vera had drunk about ten mugs of tea before she had revived. Caffeine is the only thing apart from time that made her civil.
"So, what're we doing today?"
"Safari Zone!"
"I heard it's expensive." She said. Just my luck, the subject of money being brought up. I tried to skirt around it.
"My treat."
"Big surprise there. You're so rich it's not funny."
As much as I loved her, I really dreaded statements about my family's wealth.
"Hey, money's not everything."
"Okay then, genius, what is?"
I hesitated. My first urge was to tell her the truth. To say that, to me, she was everything. I reminded myself that she wasn't in the best mental state to hear it. I quickly thought of a cover up.
"Health."
"Money can buy health!"
"Can't."
"Can too."
"Can't."
"Alright, alright, it can't." She admitted, somewhat tiredly. I grinned.
"You're right."
Soon we were ready for the Safari Zone, after putting on our casual clothing. Another thing I liked about Vera was that she never really cared about how she looked. I didn't really know why; as far as I'd known before I met her, girls always obsessed over their hair, and fingernails, and makeup. Girls had been labelled incredibly slow at getting ready to do anything that involved going out in public. Vera just wore jeans, and a t- shirt (not always a clean one, either). I wondered why a girl as gorgeous as her wouldn't want to obsess over her appearance. Eventually, I stopped wondering. The reason didn't matter. It was just another of her numerous admirable qualities. I'm rambling again. I was telling you about the time I took Vera to the Safari Zone. I payed for two four-hour sessions, and we entered the huge park. It was amazing. The thing that struck me the most that it was so big. I couldn't believe someone devoted that much land to housing pokémon.
"Whoa, it's big." I said to break the uncomfortable silence. "Yeah. Lots of pokémon are meant to live here." "Too bad we can't use our own pokémon to capture them. Just bait and rocks."
"I didn't see bait."
"It's in the bag, look." I said, opening the bag that was slung over my shoulder, which was full of bait, and had 20 Safari Balls in it. The warden had given us each one.
"Oh, okay. Let's go out and catch some pokémon!"
"Who says we have to catch pokémon?" I said, grinning slyly. I have no idea what I meant, or even why I said it. Vera assures me that I did say it. Personally, I think it's a figment of her imagination. But back then, I was so dependant on my friends' 'help', that I would've done pretty much anything.
"Huh?"
"Don't worry. Let's catch some!"
"Yeah! Let's get 'em!" She said, as we went into the long grass. The grass was so thick that I couldn't see Vera after about two seconds. "Cael?" She said, worried. "I'm right here." I reassured her.
"I can't see you."
"I can't, either." I said, blindly searching for her hand. When I found it, she sounded worried.
"Is that you?" She said. I guess she was worried I might be someone else; she'd told me about a time, when she was younger, that she got kidnapped. "Yeah, we won't lose each other this way." "How do we catch pokémon in grass like this?"
"I dunno. Perhaps we could find a clearing?"
We started looking for a clearing, and then I heard Vera scream, as her hand relaxed, and I heard a thump.
"Hello??" I asked. I was worried someone might've hit her over the head or something.
"Marrow! Marrowak!" A Marowak. I felt incredibly angry at it, for hurting Vera. I pushed the grass out the way, and saw her, lying there, unconscious.
"Vera, wake up." I said, bending over, and shaking her slightly. It had no effect. I looked around, and heard the grass rustling - the Marowak. I decided to catch it. Because it hurt Vera, and it'd have to be pretty powerful to knock a human unconscious.
"Hey! Wait! I'm gonna catch you!" I yelled, chasing after the Marowak. After what seemed like forever, I reached the edge of the grassy area. There was a lake, where the Marowak was drinking. I threw a few pellets of bait at it, and the pokémon started eating. I threw a Safari Ball at it. Of course, the pokémon just knocked it away with its tail. I grabbed a rock from the ground, and threw it. I hit the Marowak, which ran off again. I followed it, getting tired by now. It ran into another grassy area. I had no idea how to capture it, but I knew I had to.
Eventually, I caught up to it. Only because it was eating a pile of bait someone must have left behind. I threw a few rocks at it. The food seemed to be more important to the Marowak than the fact I was hitting (well, mostly missing) it with rocks, though. I watched for a while more, not sure whether I was meant to throw more bait, or more rocks, or try a Safari Ball. What I did know was that I didn't want to make any mistakes. The Marowak had plenty of bait, which it was eating, so I decided to use a Safari Ball. I had to be careful; if I ran out of Safari Balls, I'd have to leave the Safari Zone. And no way did I want to leave Vera unconscious by herself. I threw the ball, and held my breath. The Marowak disappeared into it. I grinned, and picked it up in triumph. I proudly looked at the ball in my hands, glad to have finally caught the Marowak.
Then the ball started shaking violently, so much so that I dropped it. The Marowak came out of the ball again. I said the worst word I knew, which was drat, under my breath as the Marowak ran off. I'd almost given up on catching it; whether it hurt Vera or not, it didn't seem worth chasing after it so much. And what would happen if she woke up to find me gone? It's too late for that now, I reminded myself, it'll take forever to find her. You may as well capture the Marowak; perhaps it'll impress her that you caught it. I was sure that catching the Marowak would have to be a good thing. I chased after it, again. Eventually, I caught up to the Marowak, which was sitting against a log, eating some bait. I threw quite a bit more bait toward it, hoping that it'd be enough to keep the pokémon there. I watched as it sniffed the dark yellow pellets, and started eating them. What got me was why a Marowak would want to eat so much bait. I picked up a handful of pebbles, and started throwing them at it. Only one of them hit, and that hit its foot - I was never a very good aim. I threw a few more, and I eventually managed to hit it, right in the eye. It cried out in pain. For a moment, I was scared it would decide to run off again. But not this Marowak; it rubbed its eye, not looking too happy with me. I decided this could be my last chance at capturing it. I grabbed a Safari Ball, and threw it. I watched the Marowak disappear into the pokéball. I gritted my teeth, as I watched the Safari Ball shake violently on the ground. I didn't want to pick it up again, not after what happened the first time. I waited a full five minutes after the Safari Ball stopped shaking, nervously walking up to it, and picking up the Safari Ball. I was grinning to myself, glad to have caught myself a Marowak. I suddenly realised that it was the first pokémon I'd ever caught. I turned the ball over in my hands, almost surprised with myself. I'd always had pokémon that had been bought from breeders. Even Haaj was from a breeder. Sure, I captured him, but Vera really did all the work. Vera! I'd completely forgotten about her. She'd probably be ready to kill me. I put the Marowak's pokéball into my bag, and started looking around for a way out of the grass.
Eventually, I found myself in a large clearing, one with a rest house in it. I had no idea how I was going to find Vera. I walked toward the Safari Zone exit, thinking she might have decided to wait there. I couldn't see her, so she must still have been fainted in the grass. Or perhaps she went on to capture pokémon without me. I hoped that she hadn't done that, and I started walking through the grass, calling out her name. I didn't receive an answer. She was either really, really angry with me, or still unconscious. The latter option was growing less and less likely. As I was contemplating my apology in my mind, I tripped over a rock. Getting up, and dusting myself off, I realised it wasn't a rock I tripped over; it was a leg. And it was attached to a body. Vera's, of course. I breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't woken up to see I wasn't there. But, then again, she was still unconscious. Which could not be a good thing. I decided to go to the rest stop I'd seen earlier, to get help. I had no idea what to do to someone who was fainted. I thought mouth-to-mouth resuscitation might work, but I didn't know how to give it. And it was meant for people who had trouble breathing, wasn't it? I was about to go to the rest house, when I remembered that, if Vera woke up, she'd find herself alone, and might get angry with me like I'd feared. I took off my backpack, which I took everywhere with me, and grabbed a notepad, and a pen. I wrote a note, just one saying that I'd gone off to the rest house for help, and if she woke up to stay where she was, and give me a yell. I ripped it off the pad, which I put back, along with the pen, into my backpack. I took some tape from another pocket, and taped it to Vera's shirt. She'd almost defiantly find it that way.
I ran to the rest house, and opened the door. It was completely empty except for a few vending machines, which made me realise I was incredibly thirsty. I put a few coins into it, and pressed the button for a Cuno-Cola, which I opened, and took a sip from. I looked at the can, which had a picture of an Articuno on it. Not a real one, of course. I personally didn't think the legendary pokémon existed at all. I finished the drink, and put it in the bin, and looked at the machines in front of me. I considered getting something for Vera, but decided not to. I knew she liked sushi, and Ocra tea, and pancakes, but I had no idea which snack-food to get her. It would be better not to get her something than get her something she detested. I waited at the rest stop for another ten minutes, hoping someone would arrive. No one did, so I left. Vera would have to be awake by now. And she probably wouldn't be too angry, either. I hoped. After a long, annoying search, I came across her again. She was still unconscious. And I had no idea what to do about it. I looked at my watch. Three hours she'd been like that. That was a long, long time to be unconscious. I decided to name my Marowak Nyassa. I forget what it means now, though. I wondered if I was wrong about mouth-to-mouth only being useful when people can't breathe. Perhaps I was hoping more than wondering, though. I'd taken the note off her; there was no point in leaving it there, because I wasn't going to leave until she woke up.
I soon decided that mouth-to-mouth couldn't hurt. I was nervously leaning over her, when, suddenly, she opened her eyes.
"Darn," I joked. "I was just gonna give you mouth to mouth."
"What happened?" She asked, blinking a few times, and squinting at me.
"A Marowak hit you, and you got knocked out."
"I didn't see a Marowak. Did you scare it off or something?"
"No." I said, grinning, because I'd done something useful. "I caught it!" "I thought you didn't train wild pokémon?" Well, so much for being impressed.
"Well, Nyassa gave you a pretty bit hit. And she doesn't seem to be on too high a level." "So you caught her just because she was strong?' "And because she hurt you." I took a breath, hoping I wasn't going too red. Now would be a nice time to tell her. "I real-"
I didn't get any further than that. The loudspeaker interrupted me, telling me and Vera that it was time to leave the Safari Zone. Vera was confused. I guess she didn't think almost three and a half hours had past since she became unconscious. I helped her up, and led her toward the exit. I gave the warden Nyassa's pokéball, our bait, and remaining Safari Balls, and received Vera's pokémon, and mine. As I was handing her over her pokéballs, she decided to ask me a question.
"How long was I unconscious for?"
"Uh, a little less than three and a half hours."
"What were you doing for that long?"
I hesitated. Did I really want to tell her the truth? Of course I did. I'd just leave out a few details. "Well, I caught Nyassa. That took about an hour, maybe an hour and a half. Then I went to check on you, you were still out, then I went to the rest stop, waited there a while, then I came back to you, and then I decided that mouth-to-mouth might work, but then you woke up."
"WATER is what you use on fainted people. You use mouth-to-mouth if they can't breathe, dimwit." Whoa, she was angry. Perhaps getting hit by the Marowak gave her concussion? I felt terrible. I knew I shouldn't've added the bit about mouth-to-mouth. She seemed to have calmed down when she continued, though. "But I guess your heart was in the right place."
"Yeah, it was."
"But you owe me dinner."
"Hey! I always buy the food!" "But tonight will be no exception, will it?"
"Darn," I said, not really meaning it, though. Buying dinner was something that I could do to reverse any damage I did, Vera-wise. Of course, I didn't think I'd done much damage, except with the mouth-to-mouth remark. As we walked to the pokémon centre, I was thinking. Mostly about when I was going to tell Vera. The loudspeaker foiled my attempt at the Safari Zone. I thought about telling her then, but decided against it; she might still be mad. She always had a temper. Which was only a bad thing when it was directed at me. It was much better than what I'd heard about most girls, anyway. Being passive and not wanting to get a centimetre out of line for fear of breaking their nails, or smudging their makeup, or something. Vera didn't use makeup. In my opinion, she didn't need it, anyway. I'm rambling again. I decided to tell her during dinner. I'd buy her sushi, and some tea. She liked both of them. I was in a curry mood, myself. Curry's my favourite food, especially hot ones. Like Indian curry. Or Thai. Anything, really.
To my annoyance, the pokémon centre was full. Except for our table, which the nurses kept clear for us. We sat down, ordered our food, and some tea. We were silent for a while. I was rustling up the nerve to tell Vera about. you know. I took a deep breath, and tried to calm my stomach. I had to look tough.
"Uh, Vera?" I said, trying not to sound nervous. I don't think I succeeded, though. "Yeah?" She asked, not seeming to understand the seriousness of the situation. I took another deep breath, but my lip, and tried to say the words.
"I really, really. uh." I couldn't say it. I could feel my face going bright red, to match my hair. "I really think you should try curry some time." I finished, lamely. "I don't really like hot stuff. Not even wasabi in sushi."
I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief - she didn't seem to have realised I wasn't really planning to ask about curry. I was saved from discussing the subject further by our meals arriving. I started eating my curry, which wasn't hot enough, really. I made a mental note to ask for some chilli next time. When I'd finished, I sat and watched Vera eat her sushi. It always took her forever to finish the stuff. Personally, I don't see what's so nice about raw fish and seaweed. But, each to their own, I guess. I was enjoying the silence, just looking at her. That sounds so pathetic. Back then, I guess I was pathetic.
"What are we doing tomorrow?" She asked to break our silence.
"I think we should challenge Koga, the gym leader."
"What type of pokémon does he use?"
"Sleep, confusion, and poison." "Huh? Poison's the only type there."
"I meant pokémon that can cause sleep, confusion, or poison."
"Oh." She paused. "I think I'll go to bed, getting knocked out really takes a lot out of you." "Okay." I agreed, wondering if she was just looking for an excuse to get away from me. "I'll go to bed soon; I've got a few things to take care of first."
Vera mumbled something, and then went off to bed. I took out my faithful phone, and rung up Kenny's mobile. He was the only one of my friends who hadn't given me 'advice'. Chris' advice didn't get me anywhere; I just couldn't admit my feelings. I wasn't like Vera, she was so confident. I got nervous way too easily. I was reluctant to phone him; he was always the weird one, who thought differently. But the others hadn't been right, well, they might've been, but it wasn't working for me. My thoughts were interrupted by Kenny's voice.
"Lo."
"Hey, Kenny, it's Cae."
"Cae! Great to hear from ya. Word's been goin' around that you've got a travelling buddy of the female persuasion. Chris and Jase told me. How'd it go?"
"No good." "Too bad. What'd they tell you to do?"
"Be sensitive, and be direct, and be agreeable."
"Cael, I don't mean to speak badly of them, but that advice is about as useless as a leaf stone on an Eevee."
"What do you mean? It makes sense."
"Cae, Cae, Cae. What are we going to do with you? Firstly, why are you following their advice?"
"To get her to like me, duh."
"You've just given yourself the real answer."
I was confused. "What?"
"You want her to like you. Note the word you. You don't want her to like Jase or Chris, do you?"
"Of course not." "Then why are you following THEIR advice?"
He'd lost me. "What?"
"Cael, this is the only advice you'll ever need. Be yourself. If she doesn't like you for who you are, then what's the point in trying to make her like you for who you aren't."
Okay, call me stupid, but I had no idea what he meant. "I don't follow you."
"Just be you. If you want to keep the girl for more than ten minutes, she'll have to like you, not what you learnt off your friends, right?"
It finally snapped. I had to not follow any advice. If I acted the way that made sense to me, Vera would like me for who I was, not for who I was pretending to be. That's what he was trying to say.
"Right. But what if she doesn't like me?"
"If she doesn't like you for who you are, then that's her problem. Cael, you're a nice person, even if you are gullible, and naïve." "Thanks, Kenny. You sure it'll work?"
"No, but it makes more sense than the junk the other guys were telling you to do. In fact, you're probably together, as far as she's concerned. It's not always kissing and declarations of love. The fact you've been travelling around together this long has to mean something. To her, I mean." "Thanks heaps, Kenny. I'd better get to bed now. Goodnight." "Night, Cae." He said, and I hung up the phone. The thought that we might actually be 'together' in her opinion was something I had going for me. Tomorrow would be the start of a new era for me. I hoped it would be a good one.