Scene 5: Alone

"Kari, wake up! It's time for school!" Kari woke with a jolt. She looked around her room- it must have been a dream- again. Kari climbed out of bed and began dressing for the day. It had been nearly 2 months since her mother's passing and she was still imagining things. Kari often heard her mother's voice throughout the house, even though she knew it was impossible. Fully dressed and packed for school, Kari went for breakfast. Eevee followed her down the hallway and into the kitchen. As usual, Giovanni was sitting at the table, reading his morning newspaper. He didn't even look up when Kari and Eevee passed by. Kari had gotten used to this. Ever since the funeral, Giovanni hardly ever spoke. She poured a bowl of Poke'mon food for Eevee, and went on to prepare some toast for herself. Something simple and fast, she wanted to get out of the house and to school as quick as possible. As soon as Eevee had finished, they walked back pass Giovanni and out the front door- Giovanni never once looked away from his paper. Nowadays, Kari hated being inside the house, especially when her father was around. Not only were there too many painful memories of her mother, but Giovanni's gloomy attitude was always around the house. All Kari wanted to do was escape and forget, and as long as she was home, all Kari ever felt like doing was crying.

After Celeste passed away, all Kari was able to do was cry for a week straight. She didn't go to school or even leave her room. One night, after Eevee finally convinced her to get out of bed and eat something, Kari heard a noise from down the hall. Kari snuck her way down the hall and outside her father's room where the door was ajar. She looked inside. Sitting on the bed, sat her father- he was bawling into one of her mother's old dresses. Around the room there were empty boxes, it looked as though he was packing away Celeste's belongings. Kari had never seen her father like this. Giovanni, the strongest Gym Leader of all the Kanto Region, her idol and hero, fallen to pieces. Kari never thought about how her father felt, after all, she was his wife and the love of his life. Kari had been selfish, only thinking of herself, making her father worry. Now that her mother was gone, Kari had to grow up, she had to take care of her father. After that night, Kari tried to talk to her father and tried to comfort him; however, when she tried, he snapped at her. Giovanni had never yelled at her before, Kari didn't know what to say. She figured it would be best to leave him alone.

Before she knew it, Kari had reached the schoolyard. After rushing out of the house, Kari had arrived early, again. Although there was no one around, Kari knew that it was open and led the way inside. She and Eevee made their way to her classroom. For the next couple hours, Kari and Eevee sat alone in silence, just staring out the window. Even when her classmates began to file in, or when the school bell rang signaling for the start of the day, Kari just sat there, staring outside the window. When Kari did speak, it was only to Eevee, having been given permission by her teacher. Mrs. Johannes, Kari's homeroom teacher, understood that Kari needed her best friend by her side at these times. She never even called on Kari for questions anymore- Kari would just ignore her anyway. After the first few days back at school, Kari had gotten tired of the sympathetic looks her classmates gave her. She hated hearing how "sorry" they all were. She didn't get it: Why were they "sorry"? They had done nothing, yet they were acting like they understood, when they knew nothing. Kari figured, that just like how she dealt with her father, that maybe it was best if she just ignored them all. At least this way, she could try to ignore the intense pain she was feeling.

Soon, the lunch bell rang. Kari hadn't realized how much time had passed. She looked around as her classmates unpacked their homemade lunch boxes. Up until that moment, Kari hadn't realized that she had forgotten to make herself a lunch. Her mother had always made her lunch boxes, even when Kari tried to do it on her own, it just never tasted the same. And when she did remember to prepare it, the food would just make her sad and wanting her mom back.

"Oh, hey, Kari!" She looked up. Josh Peck, a boy from her class had wandered over. Kari had gotten along with everyone in class well enough, but Josh wasn't exactly the nicest boy, or the smartest.

"Hey, where's your lunch? Did you forget it again?" Kari turned her attention back towards the window, if she ignored him, maybe he would just go away.

"Still giving the silent treatment, huh?" Kari refused to respond. After a minute of silence, Kari thought that he had walked away, "You know," Josh urged, "It's not really fair. I mean, you get to bring a Poke'mon with you to school. I mean, why do you get special treatment, anyway?" She looked around, she couldn't believe what he was saying, " 'Special treatment'..?" Kari's voice shook.

"Well, look who's talking!" Josh cackled, "Well, ya! I mean, just because you're the Gym Leader's daughter!" Kari was trembling with anger now- how could he?

"And what's with this whole, 'I'm not talking to anyone anymore,' huh? You used to be the happiest girl in class, now look at you!" Kari got out of her chair, she refused to listen to him, she'd rather be home with her gloomy father than here.

"Hey, where you going?" Josh had followed her to the door, "What, are you leaving? Well that's rude- didn't your mother teach you any manners?" Kari stopped, her hand on the door. She was so angry- before she knew it, Josh was sitting on the ground, her hand-print glowing on his face. The whole class had stopped what they were doing and turned to watch. Josh was stunned, tears began to roll down his cheeks, but Kari didn't care. She was so angry with him, "How dare you! How dare you say that!" Kari was yelling now, "You- you don't know- you don't know anything!" The door behind her opened and there was Mrs. Johannes. She stood in the doorway, looking over the scene, "Wha-what's going on here?" Before anyone could respond, Kari shoved her way past and ran off. She was surprisingly fast for a small girl, "Kari, wait!" Before Mrs. Johannes could follow, Josh burst out in tears. She turned her attention to the immediate problem.

After she had gotten the class to settle down, Mrs. Johannes recruited a couple of student assistants to search the school for Kari. By the end of the day, Kari was still no where to be found. She was worried, Mrs. Johannes knew how fragile Kari was right now. She was walking down the hallway, having just met with Josh's parents, when something caught her eye. Eevee had wandered out of the kitchens, his mouth full of food. Until now, Mrs. Johannes hadn't even noticed Eevee was also missing. she then realized that this was her answer, "Eevee!" she called out. Eevee looked over as she ran the last stretch of the hall, "Eevee, please, you have to help me! I've been looking all over for Kari. Please, you're the only one that can find her." Eevee seemed hesitant, "Please, Eevee, I just want to make sure she's alright." After a moment, Eevee seemed to deem Mrs. Johannes as trustworthy, and ran off. Mrs. Johannes followed. They passed several classrooms, exited the building, crossed the schoolyard, and eventually found themselves outside the sports shed. The door stood open and Eevee let himself in, she followed. She slowly made her way around the sporting equipment, following Eevee towards the farthest corner of the shed. Finally, she stepped over a rack of dodge balls, and found her. Kari was sitting in the corner, quiet, alone, but safe. As Eevee sauntered over, Kari looked up.

"Oh, thank goodness! I've been looking all over for you!" Mrs. Johannes kneeled down, "Let's go back, now... ok?" She offered her hand. Kari's eyes looked darker than she had ever seen them, it hurt to see her like this. For as long as she had known little Kari, she had always been so sweet and cheerful, but now... Now, Kari seemed broken. She seemed so lost. Eevee nudged Kari. She gave in and took her hand. Mrs. Johannes led her out of the dark shed and back through the school, Eevee following close behind. They walked in silence, all the way back to the classroom. Inside sat Josh and his parents. He tried not to look at her, he seemed embarrassed. Kari, didn't care. She wasn't really angry with him anymore, she just didn't care. Josh's mother started apologizing, but Kari wasn't actually listening. Kari just wanted to go home and crawl into bed- maybe if she went to sleep she would be able to forget all the pain that she was feeling.

"Kari?" Mrs. Johannes was kneeling beside her, "Did you understand what Mrs. Peck was trying to say?" She didn't respond. Mr. and Mrs. Peck exchanged looks.

"Please, Kari." Mrs. Johannes took her hand. When Kari looked up, she saw that her teacher was crying, "Please, just say something." She didn't understand, "Why...?" Mrs. Johannes looked at her, "Why are you crying? I mean, what's the point?" Mrs. Johannes didn't seem to know how to respond, " Why am I crying? Because.. Because it hurts to see you like this. I hate having to see you in so much pain, Kari." Kari pulled her hand away, "But what's the point?" Mrs. Johannes seemed confused, " ' The point'? What do you mean, 'What's the point'?" Kari looked around, then back at her teacher, "What's the point of crying? It doesn't do anything- it's pointless! Crying doesn't help anyone! It doesn't bring my mommy back!" It was taking all she had to hold back her tears. She wasn't going to show weakness- she wasn't going to cry.

"Oh, Kari." Suddenly she felt a warm embrace. She opened her eyes, stunned. Mrs. Johannes was holding her, "I know. I know it hurts, that it hurts more than anything, and I know you want to be strong- but something horrible has happened and you- you have to trust that we care for you!" ...trust? That's what her mother had said, that Poke'mon and Trainer had to fully and completely trust one another in order to become stronger. Was that it? Her mother was gone, but there was something in what Mrs. Johannes said that reminded her of her mother. All this time she thought that no one could understand how she was feeling and what she was feeling. She felt so alone. But maybe... Mrs. Johannes released her, she wiped her tears away, "I'm sorry. I'm getting all upset, but really, Kari. We're here for you, if you ever need anything." She touched her cheek, "We all are." She picked Eevee up and handed him over. Without realizing, Kari had been selfish again. She kept ignoring the one person, or rather, Poke'mon that had been by her side this whole time. He licked her face, tears began to well up in her eyes, "I'm... I'm sorry, Eevee." She hugged him. Mrs. Peck got up from her chair. She knelt down beside her and placed her hand on her shoulder, "As for your question," she looked Kari straight in the eyes, "Because if we don't cry, how are we ever going to release all the pain that's stuck in our hearts?" She smiled sadly. And that was it, Kari couldn't hold it back anymore. She was crying as if she would never stop. Mrs. Peck held her as she released all of her bottled up pain. It seemed to take forever.

Before they parted ways at the school gate, Josh turned to Kari. She could still see the mark on his face where she had slapped him earlier. He bowed his head so quickly, he almost whacked her in the head, "I'm sorry!" She was stunned, "I'm sorry, Kari, I had no idea, honest!" He looked back up and she saw that he was crying again, "I would never say anything that mean to you! I just... I just wanted to see you smile again..." He seemed to be turning red, "It's been so long since I've heard you laugh in class, I just thought..." He didn't seem to want to meet her eyes. She smiled, took a step forward, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. His eyes widened. "You better be careful," Kari giggled, "You're starting to resemble an Octillery, your face is so red!" He stumbled, "W-well! You're eyes are puffy from you crying like a baby!" She growled, "Like you're one to talk! You better watch it before I give you another smack!" They both turned away, pouting.

"But, thank you." Josh looked over his shoulder at her, "You're right, it has been a while." She smiled at him, "So, I'll see you tomorrow?" He nodded, "Ya! See ya!"

That night, Kari made dinner. She understood now: just because her mother was gone, didn't mean she could just forget. This pain was never going to disappear, but she could make herself stronger, she could fight back. She heard her father come through the front door- she went to meet him, "Welcome home, Daddy!" she said with a big smile. Giovanni seemed too surprised by her sunny attitude to respond. She laughed at the look on his face, "Dinner will be ready soon, so you should wash up!" And with that, she returned to the kitchen. Eevee jumped onto her shoulder and watched her work. As Kari turned the stew inside the pot, just as she had seen her mother do a hundred times before, Kari felt relieved. Sure, life would never be like it once was, but she couldn't just sit by and do nothing. She had big dreams, dreams that her mother helped her create, and what better way to honor her mother's memory than to try her best to make them come true? And this time, she knew that she wouldn't be going at it alone.