"Wait, Brendan! Come back!" My dad shouted at me as I left the house the Friday morning before the field trip.

I had been kind of passive aggressive with my dad ever since the whole How-dare-you-walk-home-from-school-you-scum incident three days earlier. "What do you want, dad?"

"Today is the field trip, we don't have to be at school for another hour!" he told me in a happy tone, missing my not-so-subtle aggression. Or quite possibly just ignoring it.

"Oh yeah," I muttered.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me," he said in a sarcastic tone to match the one he had previously had.

Yep. Just ignoring it.

"Why don't you go see if May wants a ride to school?" my mom suggested.

"Good idea!" my dad agreed.

There was no point in arguing with them anymore. I set my backpack back down by the front door and meandered over to May's house. When I got there, I looked up at the door and stopped before ringing the doorbell. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something seemed off about me. I pressed the button and in less than a minute May was at the door.

"Brendan?!" I heard her shouting at me. I blinked my eyes a couple of times to shake myself out of my thoughts, none of which I could remember.

"Oh, sorry," I mumbled. "I zoned out."

"Right," she said, looking a little concerned. "So… why are you here?"

"Oh yeah!" I officially felt like I was back in the Hoenn region rather than in Brendan World. "My dad wanted me to ask you if you wanted a ride to school today."

She hesitated, so I put on the cheesiest and friendliest smile I could manage. I knew it would be my fault if she declined this offer.

"Are you sure it's okay?" she asked politely.

"Oh of course it is; you're our neighbor, after all," I insisted.

"May? Who is at the door?" a male voice from inside May's house called. Probably her dad.

"It's just Brendan!" May replied. "Hold on, I'll go grab my backpack."

I waited outside of her house for a few moments, trying not to zone back out to Brendan World. Unfortunately for me, Brendan World was rather fun.

"Are you… ready?" I heard May cautiously ask my unresponsive face.

"Yeah, I'm ready," I said, shaking out of it. "Let's go."

We walked over to my dad's car where my dad was waiting for us and got into the back. My backpack was already there.

"So, May, how do you like the Hoenn region thus far?" my dad asked her in an attempt to fill the silence.

"It's alright," she replied thoughtfully. "It's not as scenic as I was hoping."

"Yeah, I feel you there," my dad laughed. "When I was just sixteen- practically your age!- I can remember…"

I zoned out and I certainly hope May did too. He was probably just telling her about the time he got chased around by a wild Machoke- but here's the real plot twist- it wasn't actually wild! It was a mail carrier!

"Thank you for the ride," I heard May say to my dad as the car pulled to a stop. "And I enjoyed the Machoke story."

…Maybe I know my dad a little too well. Or maybe the universe wants to make sure that even when I manage to ignore the Machoke story, I'm still thinking of the Machoke story.

"Of course, any time!" my dad chuckled. "You're much more fun than this bump on a log."

I rolled my eyes at him and then May and I walked into school together.

"Are you excited?" Wally bombarded me as soon as I stepped foot into the classroom.

"You know it," I told him. Although I had been to the Unova region, I had never been to the Nimbasa City Amusement Park.

"Calm down, calm down!" I heard my dad saying to our class. "The busses are outside, get with your partners and follow me outside."

I looked over to Wally, who had already made eye contact with his partner and was heading over to him. I considered looking for May, but I figured she'd find me.

"Brendan?" I heard May say from behind me.

"Hey," I replied. "You ready for Unova?"

"I guess," she replied, shrugging. "Won't we have to take a boat to get there once we get to the edge of Hoenn?"

I hadn't thought about it, but now that she mentioned it, I became worried. "Boats?" I asked.

"Yeah, to cross the ocean," she explained.

Come to think of it, I hadn't read the permission slip. Why bother? My dad was the teacher, so I didn't even touch one of them. "Uh, yeah, that would make sense."

We were walking out to the busses and trying not to panic was becoming increasingly more difficult.

"Are you okay Brendan?" I heard May ask.

I decided it best to not reply. If I did, then she would be assured that no, I was certainly not okay. We sat down on the bus and my eyes immediately started darting around, trying to find my dad. When I found him, I assured May that I would be back, stood up, and walked over to his seat.

"Did you know that we were going on a boat?" I asked him.

"Yep," he told me emotionlessly.

"Dad, I can't do boats," I reminded him. "Don't you remember last time?"

"Last time?" he asked innocently. "I don't recall."

"The last time we went to Unova, actually!" I snapped. "When I got sick on the boat and you ignored me?"

"I didn't ignore you, you knew I was there on business!" he snapped back in an angry whisper. "Besides, you weren't sea sick, it was food poisoning."

"That doesn't matter, I hate boats!" I told him, my voice raising.

"Brendan, go back to your seat," my dad said seriously.

"But dad-"

"Now," he insisted.

I didn't reply, and I got the feeling that I was about as done with the conversation as he was. When I arrived at my sat again, May was in a complete daze.

I sat down, but her face remained unchanged. I considered talking to help my unease, but she looked so happy in her day dream I didn't want to rip it away from her.

I zoned out for a while, but got shocked back into reality when someone, probably Wally's partner, shouted "WE'RE AT THE DOCK!"

Instantly my stomach sank. I sunk back in my seat, but I noticed next to me that May perked out of hers.

"Do you like boats?" I asked her.

"I've never been on one, just planes," she explained briefly.

"Boats aren't very appealing," I told her as we were getting off the bus.

"Follow me to the…" I could hear my dad saying, but he got drowned out by the crowd.

"Let's go," May told me eagerly, pulling me through the crowd of people to get closer to my dad.

She pulled on my backpack so hard I thought it was going to break. Couldn't she have just held my hand or something? …Well.

I tried pushing the thought aside, and by the time I finally did, we had met up with my dad and the rest of our class.

"I've got your boarding passes, so don't worry about that," my dad assured us. "The person inside the gate will tell you where to sit, just give them your name."

Ugh. What a hassle.

I walked through the gate hesitantly.

"Brendan," I muttered.

"Seat 12 A," a man told me.

I nodded at him, but I wasn't paying attention anymore. Something felt missing. Almost like I was forgetting something. Someone?

"May?!" I looked around frantically. Not only was it a detention if I lost her, but I actually lost her! "Have you seen-" I tried to ask the man for help but he was already absorbed with my other classmates.

I pulled out my cellphone and tried to think. Where had I last seen her? I considered calling Wally, but I wouldn't be able to hear him through all the commotion. I walked over to seat 12 A in hopes that we would cross paths on the way.

No such luck, of course. When I got to my seat, I noticed that the seat next to me was empty. I was willing to bet that it was May's assigned seat. I looked around to try to take in the situation. If I were May, where would I go?

I honestly hadn't known May long enough to say. I looked around more, hoping I would see her. When I still couldn't spot her, I slumped back into my seat. I was about to get up and look again, but I stopped myself when I heard an intercom.

"Hello passengers of the Hoenn Ferry! Please review the safety guidelines posted on your chairs, and feel free to visit our deck!" it buzzed.

If I were May, who had never been on a boat before, would I tour the boat? Probably. I stood up and walked over to the sign that said "DECK" on it. It was rather close to our assigned seats, so it would make sense that she had seen it before the announcement informed the rest of the population.

I walked out of the door and the sticky air hit me immediately. I glanced around for a few moments and quickly found May.

"May!" I shouted to get her attention.

"Oh, Brendan?" she asked, clearly confused at seeing me. "You told me you didn't want to go to the deck."

"When did I say that?" I asked, about as confused as she was.

"Right before we boarded!" she explained. "I asked you, and you said something like "That's a hassle," remember?"

I said that out loud? "No, I was saying that about my dad!" I corrected her. I heaved a sigh of relief; I was so glad to have found her.

"Oh, well aren't you scared of boats?" she asked, still seeming confused.

"What do you mean?" Yeah I'm afraid of boats, what does that have anything to do with this?

"We're on the deck now," she told me slowly. "Outside the boat?"

I hadn't actually thought about it. "I was too concerned about finding you, I wasn't really thinking about it," I said while shrugging. "And I don't think I'm afraid of boats anymore."

"Well," she said as she walked over to me. "Let's go back inside."