The First Step

CHAPTER THREE: PART I - JACOB

As the plane ascends further into the sky, a grin forms on my face, as I realize that we have escaped England, and we are now headed for a place where the two of us can really relax. 

And even if it is just for a few weeks, we could possibly meet a lot of new friends, see a lot of different things and have lifelong connections to Kanto itself. 

I feel incredibly lucky to be going on a journey which not many will ever be able to go on in their lives, and to think, people don't even think that this is real. That Pokémon is real. That all of the regions, sights and places are drawn, programmed or coded.

It will feel strange, when we get there.

To be in a place which many have considered a utopia, a dreamland.

I feel really sentimental about the entire idea of this trip, because this has been my childhood dream for numerous years. I remember when I was only ten, I used to play the Pokémon games, traded the cards and watched the anime religiously. That was my life for a few summers, and even when Pokémon died out in my friend group as they had moved onto other things, I still kept it rolling. 

Ezekiel used to do the same, and before his family moved away in an attempt to start fresh, we both were deemed 'those Pokémon kids' and even though many made fun of us, we didn't really care. We just loved Pokémon. 

We breathed it for years, racked up thousands of hours on the video games and idolized the characters more than anything else in the world. And that is something that no-one can take away from us. 

I am awoken from my trance by a familiar pinging noise, and I look over to Ezekiel, who is sitting in the opposite row of seats to me. He pulls out his phone, and he stares at the small screen in from a look which I can distinguish as a look of utter fear and disgust.         

He looks up at me, before mouthing "There's a text from my dad."

He throws his phone towards me, and I catch it just before it falls to the ground. Indeed, it is a text from Ezekiel's dad:

Where are you? You have been gone for five days, Ezekiel. Me and mum are really angry. The fact that you try to run from us is absolutely disgusting, and you seriously should be ashamed of yourself, young man. Moses keeps saying he heard something from you, but it has to be completely fake. How come you want to say something to your younger brother, but not your own parents?

The point is: WHY DID YOU RUN?

You need to own up and explain yourself.

I throw his phone back to him, and I mouth "Block them both."

"They have no common sense."

"We ran for good reason."

With that, I hear two pings, and he whispers "Blocked."

I give him a thumbs up, and I pull out my own phone, just to check the weather and watch a bit of YouTube.

A few minutes later, we both hear a trolley being pushed, and we see a lady coming towards us with a trolley of food. When she gets to us, she smiles brightly, organizing food quickly. We both ask for a few snacks, and we pick a few chocolate bars before she walks away happily. 

As the woman is walking away, Ezekiel whispers to me "I met a girl a few days ago, and I think I like her."

"Wait, what?"

"I met a girl."

I'm not sure what to say, but I am definitely jealous. I've been trying to get a girl for years, but it seems that to this day girls don't like nerds. It's common, but I would have at least thought that by now people would have paid more attention to people like me and Ezekiel.