"Alright, I got it!"
A boy a few years younger than myself was hopping up and down in a dance of joy with a Pokéball cupped in his hand. I was going out on a limb and guessing that he had just caught something. Sure, I was no trainer and had never even caught a Pokémon before in my life, but in a world full of such creatures, trainers were a dime a dozen. And this guy—with a pack strapped to his shoulders and a bright-eyed Pikachu down at his feet—was most definitely a trainer.
But I know that all of this isn't what you want to hear yet. You're probably saying to yourself: Remy, we're not interested in the captivating saga of kids who hide in bushes and stalk people, we want to know the good stuff! Oh, how impatient you are. But if you must know, I'll back it up a step and let you in on a little secret.
I know what you're thinking. My recollection back to my sixteenth year led me from one movie night mishap to an awkward creep into Knox's bedroom. It might surprise you to hear that what happened next…was nothing at all. We fell asleep quickly, albeit a bit uneasily, and by the time I awoke he was already in the yard starting his morning work-out. That, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is the solemn truth.
And while that memory isn't as exciting as it could be, what was happening in the present was. Looking out through a gap between two berry bushes, I watched three strangers huddled around the smallest boy. One other was a girl, the other a young man, but all three of them were faces I didn't recognize.
"Did you hear something?" the pretty red-haired girl said to the others. My heard dropped to my toes the second her eyes wandered near me, inspecting the bushes with a scrutinizing eye. How could she have heard me?
I swiftly jumped behind the nearest tree and stood with my back up flat against it like a plank of wood, somehow hoping that I would camouflage myself like a lizard.
"I didn't hear anything, Misty," a boy's voice spoke up in a dry tone. "Sure you're not hallucinating?"
"No, I heard it too." The second male said this time. I could hear their footsteps becoming louder and then fainter as they paced around the clearing looking for the source of the sounds. If I had any luck whatsoever, it would be a wild Pokémon or even another trainer—just anything but me. Maybe it was foolish of me to be so afraid. After all, they were just kids. But after hearing stories of Pokémon used to rob, beat, and even murder innocent bystanders, I wasn't going to take my chances.
Remy O'Dell, the weak little rich girl, was defenseless yet again.
XxxX
"Can you say, 'Knox'?"
"…Nnn…nnn…hn."
"Knox."
"Nnnn…"
"Kn-ox."
"Hrm."
It was a hopeless endeavor, you might say, trying to teach Knox to speak. How could it be that he understood every word I said, but when it came to actually reciting the English alphabet, he couldn't get a sound out?
I dropped my head onto my chest, trying to ignore the pounding headache growing inside my skull. We had been sitting here on the floor for over an hour, and still Knox couldn't even say his name. I guess Pokémon just weren't meant to speak like humans did.
Just then, high-heeled footsteps approached. "Still trying to teach him how to talk?" my mother said as she passed, adjusting the bun atop her head as she prepared for yet another night out. She gave a high-pitched giggle. "Emily, darling, it won't work. It never has."
"Remy…" I whispered under my breath with a glaring eye. "It's Remy…"
She didn't hear me. She grabbed up her purse from the coffee table and leaned down between Knox and I with a red-lipped smile, her cheeks flushed red as though she had started her little night-at-the-bar early. "All I'm saying is, he's a little slower than we are." She patted Knox on the head, much to his displeasure. "You can't try to teach him something that his little brain can't comprehend. It'll just make him blow right up to smithereens." As though he were a precious household pet, she pinched Knox's cheek between her long gold-painted nails and blew a kiss in my direction before staggering downstairs.
"There's food in the fridge." She called out. "And if you need anything, just get ahold of the neighbors. Alright, Jenny? Au revoir!"
The door slammed behind them and for the first time that day, the house went still and silent. Contrary to the peace outside, on the inside, my head was a thunderstorm. I wasn't upset that mother had forgotten my name yet again—being the one who gave it to me, she often had a habit of letting it slip her mind. No, it was something else; the way she treated Knox like an animal was beyond forgivable.
"Remy."
"What do you want?"
I shouldn't have snapped. I knew that from the very second the words came out of my mouth, but it was far too late by then. The realization hit me like a ton of metaphorical bricks.
"…What did you just say?" I whimpered in a small voice, reaching out and touching Knox's wrist with rapt attention. His cheeks were turning a deep shade of pink.
"Remy?"
He said my name. Of all things in the big, wide universe, he said my name out loud to me all on his own. There he went surprising me again, the ingenious Pokémon. Knox could say my name.
I was delighted, not just for him but for my own personal victory. It's a selfish thing to think, I know, but arrogance is just another fault of mankind that I wasn't immune to. But as one part of me wanted nothing but to rub it into my mother's face that she was wrong, the biggest part of me had never been so proud of the hitmonchan sitting in front of me.
I grabbed Knox's shoulders and hugged him tightly. "You did it!" I squealed with happiness as I pressed the sides of his red-cheeked face. "Oh Knoxxy, I'm so happy!" Practically toppling him over, I threw myself into his lap and squeezed him like a giant stuffed animal. He gasped for breath in a moment of surprise. But after a second or two, I felt his strong arms circle around my waist and hug me back.
Mother and father never held me; that much I remember of my childhood. That emotional neglect didn't turn me into a serial killer nor did it turn me into a sniffling cry-baby, but I can tell you truthfully that every hug I received was like a precious gift. Knox's hugs were perfect. Perhaps it's just because he's the only one to have ever shown me real affection, but when he embraced me, I never wanted to let him go. I could squeeze and squeeze until the end of the world and never give a damn, because I was with my best friend.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, lend me your ears one more time. Not only that, but lend me your hearts. No one person can understand the many mysteries of love or how love is shared. My feeble attempt is only to explain that everything Knox and I shared was a mutual agreement between minds and souls. Perhaps we are a different race, even a different species, but our ideas flow the same.
We are only two bodies among billions.
The clock was just striking seven. Outside a pair of large bay windows, the sun was setting beautifully over the gold and crimson trees. It was all so quiet and sweet. And amidst the perfection of it all, Knox and I shared an utterly imperfect kiss. With our faces at awkward angles and our hands unsure of where to settle themselves, his thin lips met my plump ones for a quick instant before pulling apart. It was like juggling fire. We were both too afraid to hold out a second longer for fear of getting burned.
I giggled shyly with red-hot cheeks, brushing my hair behind my ear simply as something to do. I had nothing planned to say—no heartfelt words or a change of conversation, not even a single thing. But I suppose that just makes two of us.
Like I said before, words aren't always necessary.
XxxX
One second, I was standing still as stone behind a tree. Then, the next, I found myself face-first in the dirt. My body was hurting all over from the shock. First, I heard a tiny spark and then before I had a chance to even move an inch, bam; on the ground I went, twitching like a robot thrown in a swimming pool.
"Ash, why'd you do that?"
"I thought maybe it was Team Rocket."
I had no idea what they were talking about, but I didn't give a fuck at this point. Still aching from head to toe, I lifted my head up with a struggle and followed the legs of three strangers standing above me. A curious little Pikachu peered over its masters shoulder with cheeks still sparking.
"You know," the red-haired girl said thoughtfully.
"Somehow I doubt she's with Team Rocket."