TGS~Chapter 2~Il Secondo

WARNING: FROM THIS POINT ON, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. MAY CONTAIN MILD SWEARING, AND TOPICS THAT MAY BE ABOVE THE PG RATING. DON’T SAY I DIDN’T WARN YAH.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Second World

Unova Region-Nacrene City

September 15th 1340

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Tony shut the door to his house, and made his way into town toward Mr. Oliver’s studio. A gentle breeze whispered through the trees, and fluffy white clouds drifted high in the sky. Nice weather. He thought as he walked down the cobblestone street. Maybe today I’ll get an outdoor assignment. He reached an older two-story building, and knocked on the door.

   “Comon’ in Tony.” Mr. Oliver’s voice came from inside the studio. “Watch the screen door.”

   “Okay.” He opened the frame with the bug net on it, and entered the building. The studio was two floors, and looked like an old barn due to the second story loft. Various pieces of artwork were spread out with a pattern: the larger, heavier works of art remained on the first floor, while lighter pieces were in the loft.

   “So I take it you completed yesterday’s assignment?” Mr. Oliver wiped the paint from his hands and descended from the first floor. Tony nodded and removed a sketchbook from his backpack. Flipping to the right page, he handed it to Mr. Oliver.

   It was a drawing of a young woman sitting on a bench. She was dressed heavily and leaning on the back of the bench, and leaves were dancing on the wind. With her closed eyes and slight smile, it looked like she was dreaming.

   “Very nice.” Mr. Oliver complimented approvingly. “Very nice.”

   “Thank you.” Tony said.

   “I’m still slightly puzzled by your drawing style though...”

   “It’s anime.” Tony explained.

   “I see...” Mr. Oliver flipped to another page, which featured a man playing a violin. “So...for your assignment today...” He stared out the east window for a long time, not saying anything.

   “Mr. Oliver...?” He blinked.

   “My apologizes, I’ve been thinking a lot recently.” He scratched his head. “Today, I want you to go to Route 3, and find something to draw. Anything at all.”

   “Okay. Thank you.” Tony accepted his pad back.

   “Antonio.” Mr. Oliver laid a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Is there something that you’d like to talk about?”

   “No.”

   “Is anything going on that’s been bothering you?”

   “No. Nothing.”

   “Are you sure?” The older man asked, and Tony nodded. “Very well. Just remember that if anything going on with you, to let me know. I’ll listen to anything you might want to say.”

   “Thank you Mr. Oliver.” Tony nodded, and made his way to the door, leaving without another word.

   “...poor boy.” Loblolly sighed, leaning against an unworked block of stone. He knew more than he would let on, but it wasn’t his right to say anything. And if Antonio didn’t want to talk about it, he really couldn’t do anything.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Instead of going through the gate to get to Route 3, Tony followed the old railroad tracks into the forest. The wind rustled through the trees, and the late-afternoon sun trickled through the branches. Tony shut his eyes, and breathed in the pine-scented air.

   “Pach, I know you’re there.” He said to the forest. There was no response. “Fine.” He began to walk, then spun around without warning. “Ha! Gotcha’!” The Squirrel Pokémon jumped in surprise at being caught, then climbed onto his backpack and chattered animatedly.

   “Pachi-Pach-Pachi-Pachi-riiii! Ri-pach-us!!” Tony found himself smiling.

    “Good to see you too.”

    “Chii...” Pach hopped to the forest floor, and began running in circles.

    “Are you coming?” Tony turned to head to the pond, and Pach immediately stopped scurrying, and looked expectantly up at Tony. He laughed, and headed toward the pond, with Pach beside him.

   At the pond, Tony sat down on a stump and removed his paper and pencils from his backpack. Pach scampered to the pond, drank some water, and began to wander around.

   Something to draw... Tony tapped the paper with his pencil. What to draw...I’ve already drawn Pach...

    “Pach.” The Pachirisu held up a berry.

    “For me?” Pach nodded, and Tony accepted the berry. “Thank you.”

    “Chi-pach!” Pach smiled happily.

   Tony placed the berry on the stump, and began to sketch the pond, trying to capture how the sunlight came through the trees, and the ripples on the water’s surface. Pach began to climb a tree, and Tony noticed a black-and-yellow flash in another tree. When Pach hopped to the ground, a female Emolga descended slowly. Before Tony could say anything, the Emolga blew a cloud of hearts at Pach. Attract. When they stuck on Pach’s fur, he looked down at them, and shook them off. The Emolga was so shocked, she fell out of the tree.

    “You know her?” Tony pointed to the Emolga, who turned red and ran away. Pach looked over, and sighed before nodding. “Oh...what do you think?” He showed the sketch of the pond to Pach.

    “Iiii!” Pach nodded in approval, but Tony shook his head.

    “It’s okay. I just prefer drawing people.” Tony shut the notebook, placed it into his backpack, and stared across the pond. Finally, he spoke. “Pach, what am I going to do?” The Pachirisu looked up at him in confusion.

    “I mean,” he slumped over, “my sister’s always locking herself in her room, Mom and Dad are always fighting, I’m a senior, and I don’t have a clue for what I want to do. On top of that, the bills are piling up, and I can’t do anything about it.”

    “Taylor and Mr. Oliver know something’s wrong, but I can’t tell them. Especially Taylor. She’d go crashing into my house if she knew something was wrong.”

    “Chi-pach-ri-iri?” Pach didn’t understand.

    “You’re so lucky Pach, to live free.”

    “Suu-ach.” He shrugged.

    “I need to go home.” Tony checked his phone, which read six fifty-seven.

    “Pach-chi!” Pach followed him through the forest to the edge of town, like a dog.

    “Pach,” Tony turned, “you know you can’t come.”

    “Pa?” Tony knelt, and the Pachirisu looked up at him pitifully.

    “My parents would get mad.”

    “Pa-Pachirisu-ri-su!”

    “Sorry Pach.” Tony apologized, and rose, but Pach began to tug on his pants. He caught Tony’s eye, and pointed up.

    “Pachi-pach-ri-ri-pach-su-ri!”

   Bobbing slowly through the sky was a balloon as green as the pine trees. The early evening light streamed past it’s five points, and gave it an unearthly quality.

    “Whoa...” He stared at it.

    “Emmm...” The Emolga was gazing up at it. “Gaaa...”

   BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZZT! Tony’s phone went off. He blinked, and pulled it from his pocket. It was an alarm, telling him to go home. He sighed, then looked up at the balloon one last time. The white-grey string dangling from it seemed to be motioning to him.

    “...” He finally managed to look away. “I guess I need to get home.” He turned to say goodbye to Pach, but the Pachirisu had disappeared, and was nowhere in sight.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Tony edged open the door to his home, and went in. Nothing had changed: his parents were still arguing in the kitchen, the bills on the entry table remained unopened, and his sister’s door was locked. He knew she was texting her friends, telling them how horrible her life was.

   He headed up the stairs to his room, wondering why his backpack was heavier than he remembered it being. Once in his room, he let his bag drop to the ground, and went over to his bed, flopped down and pulled out his phone.

    “Chi.” Tony blinked, then twisted to see Pach looking over his shoulder.

    “Pach!! What-?!” Tony caught sight of his unzipped backpack. “Did you sneak into my bag?!”

    “Chi...” Pach looked embarrassed. “Pach-a-pachi! Risu-pa-ach!”

    “Pach...” Tony sighed. “Fine. One night.” The Pachirisu’s eyes lit up.

    “Chiii! Pachi-pachi-pachi!”

    “Keep it down!” Tony warned as Pach scampered happily around his room. “You’re not supposed to be here!”

    “Pa-aa-ach!” He chattered animatedly in a quieter voice, then began to investigate everything, from the closet to the carpet. When he stuck a paw in the electrical outlet, there was a spark, and his eyes lit up.

   “Don’t.” Tony said, because the electric-type looked ready to charge up his internal electricity.

   “Pacha-pacha-pach!” Pach was disappointed, but seemed to give the outlet a look that said “later”.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   It was after eleven when Tony finally got into bed. He looked over at Pach, who had curled up at the foot of his bed, and was snoring softly. The Pacharisu was such a troublemaker, but Tony had to respect the boldness that came naturally to Pach. Some days...Tony felt like he couldn’t do anything. He sighed, and pulled up the covers, waking Pach up.

   “Pa?” He mumbled sleepily.

   “Sorry.” Tony apologized, then felt Pach get up and settle on his stomach. Seriously? He wanted to say, but Pach had yawned, curled up in a ball, and fallen asleep. Oh well. He yawned, and fell asleep.