Chapter 3
J.C. walked back into Alluvial city, feeling at once arrogant and unsure. She rubbed the pokeballs on her belt, as she had become so prone to do lately.
"Okay, I could either go visit my parents, or I could go visit Garret… and Isaac… my friends."
She let out a nervous laugh, and began heading toward Garret's house.
Three hours later, Isaac was lying on his front lawn dozing. When a shadow blocked out the sun, he awoke. Sitting up, smiling, he said, "Y'know, if it weren't for all those pokeballs, I'd say you looked like J.C."
"And if it…" J.C, paused, searching for something witty to say. She looked a little sad. "How's it been going since all that crap happened? Garret says that you guys haven't spoken at all."
"It's been different."
He sighed, "I'm never going to talk to him again. I can't forgive him… I know that I was a jerk. Real stuck up. I'm sorry."
J.C. helped him onto his feet.
"Do you want to see the place where…"
"Okay."
He led her behind the house and to a small patch of recently churned earth.
"When Torchic died, I told myself that I'd never be a trainer, that I couldn't handle them, and couldn't really understand them. Pokemon I mean," Isaac whispered, "Now I'm not even sure about that. I kind of feel like if I start training again, I'll be breaking a promise to Torchic."
They both stood staring down at the grave like it would tell them what to do, and, as they both expected, it did not.
"I know what you need to do," J.C. interjected, "You should come with me when I leave again. I mean, your parents were going to let you go anyway once you're legally allowed to catch pokemon. And you're not really doing anything around here. Right?" He shrugged. "Try to convince your parents to let you come with me early. For experience. And besides, it gets pretty lonely not knowing anyone out there. Please?"
Isaac smiled, "So you basically want me to be your assistant for the next nine months? Sure, I'll ask them."
"Great!"
J.C. pushed open the screen door, and they walked into the kitchen, where Mr. and Mrs. Alsup were cooking. Before they could even greet J.C., Isaac began reciting what almost sounded to be a premeditated speech.
"Mom, Dad, I've given it a lot of thought," (J.C. shifted uncomfortably), "and I think that I should go with J.C. on her journey. I know what you're going to say, and I think that you'll find it benefits all of us. I will be given the experience I need before I even begin training, and since I will be eating at pokemon centers a lot, and I can do that because I technically am a licensed pokemon trainer, you will actually financially benefit from me going. I mean, hey, you're paying the taxes to support those things in the first place. And I promise that I'll phone you every time I get to a pokemon center."
Janine and Hector seemed a little stunned.
"Umm… don't you have a job or something?" Hector asked slowly.
"No."
"Then, what have you been doing these last three months?" Janine questioned, still surprised.
"Exactly," Isaac responded resolutely.
"… Sure?" Hector said, although he definitely was not sure.
The rest of the day consisted of Isaac packing, J.C. telling him that he had packed to much, and the two of them arguing over which items were more important. J.C. eventually went home, after they agreed to leave early the next day.
When 'early the next day' came (around eleven o'clock), the two teenagers met at the town gates.
"I never imagined myself leaving this way," Isaac remarked quietly. "We're leaving without Torchic… and Garret. Things didn't really work out well. Not like I wanted."
J.C. locked her hands behind her head and smiled wistfully. "I actually invited Garret too, but he said no. I had originally planned to do one of those clichéd 'force them to be together and their friendship will come back' things. But he said no… Are you ready?"
He brightened, "Okay, let's go!"
Isaac realized, as he stepped under the archway, that he no longer knew J.C. as he had before. She was the teacher now, and he had a lot to learn.