 | Prologue
After another day of failure, after James and Meowth were asleep, I turned on my computer to check my e-mail. Usually, only the Boss, who had given us the computer in the first place, e-mailed me to remind us that we were screw-ups and had yet to catch the Pikachu for him. I was very surprised to see an e-mail that wasn't from boss@trbase.com. Opening the e-mail, I tried with no luck to think of anyone else who might possibly have a reason to e-mail me. But I never could have guessed what it said:
Hi, Jessie! I haven't seen you in such a long time! How are you? We really shouldn't have lost touch with each other. Having one missing sister is bad enough...
Missing sister? I wondered. Who has a missing sister? It was only then that I paid attention to the e-mail address it was sent from, other than the fact that it wasn't my boss. What it actually said was iceprincess@indigoplateau.com.
It couldn't be! I hadn't seen my sister in four years! And she was my only sister! I read on:
... You're probably wondering what I'm talking about. Make sure you're sitting down before you read this! Dad didn't die 14 years ago. After that accident, he had amnesia and had lost all his identification. While he was recovering in the hospital, he met a widowed nurse, and they got married and had a daughter- our long lost sister. This Christmas, I was hoping we could all get together and finally meet her. But, sadly, Dad and her mother really died when she was 2. Let me know what you think,
Lorelei.
Chapter 1
On December 23rd, I found myself driving my car down the highway, back to Sunnytown where I'd grown up. I had just made the stupidest excuse to James and Meowth about why I had to leave for Christmas. I knew they were mad at me, but this was something I had to do alone.
Confronting my past has never been easy for me. But after a few more e-mails and some calls to Lorelei, I found myself doing it. We were going back to our old house, since it was empty now, and Mom had left it to Lorelei when she died. I realized that Mom's funeral 4 years ago had been the last time I'd seen my sister. Would she be different? Of course she will, I thought, she's so famous, and how can that not change someone. She had become a member of the Elite Four, and she was so much more successful than me. I needed to think up a good lie fast, before my little sister looks down on me.
My little sister. It's the strangest thing to say when you've been the little sister for almost 18 years. I was really starting to look forward to meeting her, even if my famous older sister and old town were a bit intimidating. Lorelei had told me that she was 10, almost 11. That's how old I was when I ran away from home, but that's another story that I'd prefer not to get into. I wondered what she would be like, and if she'd look at all like me or Lorelei, even though the two of us looked nothing alike.
Suddenly, I noticed two of the twirps standing by the side of the road. They were holding a sign that said, "We'll sing for you if you'll drive us to Pallet." It caught my attention because, A) It was so pathetic it was hilarious, and B) I wondered where the girl was, since only the two guys were there. Right behind them was a sign that said, "Sunnytown, next exit," so a plan formulated itself in my mind.
I pulled over, rolled down the window, and yelled, "Hey, twirps, I'll drive you to Pallet if you give me the Pikachu."
"Okay!" The older twirp, Brock I think his name is, yelled. He dropped the sign, grabbed his bag and the Pikachu, and got ready to hop in.
"NO!" Ash, the twirpiest twirp, yelled, "It's two days before Christmas! Don't you guys ever stop?"
"Nope. Where's your other twirpy friend?"
As Ash frantically looked around, afraid that I'd somehow grabbed Pikachu, Brock said, "Misty? She's visiting her sisters, but Ash's Mom is making us walk! Can we have a drive or not?"
"You can have a ride if I can have Pikachu."
"No way!" Ash yelled.
"Come on, Ash!" Brock said, "We're going to freeze out here! And she is kind of hot when she's not trying to steal from us!"
Not knowing whether to be flattered or insulted, I rolled down my window and sped away as the twirps argued over whether or not I was trying to steal. What had I been thinking?
It wasn't long before I was pulling up to the little house I'd grown up in. The lights were on inside and a brand new blue car was in the driveway, so I knew Lorelei was home already. I sat out in the driveway for a minute, fixing my lipstick, wondering what to say to my sister, and practicing fake happiness before I finally went inside. Lorelei was waiting for me at the door.
"Jessie! How are you?" She exclaimed, hugging me. If she knew that Id been sitting there in the car for awhile, she didnt show it.
"Lorelei! It's great to see you again!" I said, hugging her back.
I looked around the kitchen, where the front door leads, and saw that it had completely changed. There was new furniture and appliances that actually worked, and the place actually looked livable. "This place looks great!" I said.
"Thanks!" Lorelei said, "Misty should be here soon, but she had to bug her other sisters to drive her over here."
"Misty?" I asked, "Is she our sister?" That name sounded awfully familiar!
There was a knock at the door, and Lorelei ran to answer it. It was Misty, and from what I heard when she was talking to Lorelei, the voice sounded familiar, too. But since I was all worried about what could happen on this visit, I couldn't think properly.
I would find out soon enough, anyway. Lorelei told her to come in, and then introduced us, "Misty, this is Jessie. Jessie, this is Misty."
I was shocked and speechless. It was the twirp with the togepi! "She's our sister?!" I blurted out in disbelief.
Lorelei tried to cover up for my outburst, "Yes! Isn't it amazing, we finally get to meet her!"
Misty looked back and forth between Lorelei and me, also in disbelief. I guess I don't blame her, since I wouldn't believe that a screw-up like me could have a sister like that, either.
"Why don't we order a pizza?" Lorelei suggested, "What do you like on your pizza, Misty?"
"Pepperonis good, " Misty said, "If that's okay with you guys."
"Sure," I said. Even if it was Misty's idea, pepperoni pizza was food, and since James spends our money on Majicarps, I don't eat too often. Lorelei called the pizza place, we showed Misty around the house (which didn't take long, since it's so small) and then we sat down in the living room.
"Do you still have Ekans, Jessie?" Lorelei asked.
"It evolved into Arbok," I said, "And I caught a likitung."
"That's great!" Lorelei said, "How about you, Misty? Do you have any pokemon?"
"Yes," Misty said, "I have a togepi and lots of water pokemon. My other sisters run the Cerulean City gym."
"Tell me this is a cruel joke!" I said. Misty knew what I meant, but Lorelei gave me a funny look. I was actually talking about Misty being my sister, but since I didn't want them to know, I mumbled something about the pizza being late and me being hungry.
After we ate, talked some more, and made plans to get a Christmas tree and do some last-minute shopping, we went to sleep around midnight. Misty had to move in with me and Lorelei, since the only other room had been locked up since Mom died. Even though Lorelei and Misty got to sleep, I couldn't. I still didn't believe that Misty was my sister. But then, just as I rolled over, something hit my eyes, like a glare or reflection. I knew it was coming from the dresser, between my bed and Misty's, so I sat up and looked at what was on top, expecting a watch or something. It was a necklace, and I thought it was mine at first. I was about to kill the little twirp for stealing it until I realized that mine was still around my neck where it had always been, and this one had a different colour of stone. The chain had little diamonds on it (fake?) just like mine, only the heart-shaped jewel was an emerald rather than the ruby I had. Lorelei had one with a sapphire, and Mom had told me once that they were passed down through my dad's family.
The twirp really was my sister! This was sure to be the worst Christmas ever!
Chapter 2
I woke up very early on Christmas Eve. Normally, I wouldn't have gotten out of bed that early, but I wanted some time alone to think. I was in a really strange situation, and both Misty and Lorelei were still asleep.
I got dressed, then I headed for the kitchen, warmed up some pizza in our brand-new microwave, and ate it for breakfast. Then, I went to the bathroom to put on my makeup. I honestly hadn't heard anyone get up, so when I came out and saw Misty in the living room, it was quite a shock.
"Misty!" I exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"
"Just looking at the pictures," She said. Our living room has pictures all over it. It always has, but now they were framed nicely like we hadn't been able to afford before. There's only one taken by a professional photographer, and that was back when Dad was still here and we had some money. The others were taken with a neighbor's old camera that was given to us when she got a new one.
"Is that my dad?" Misty asked, pointing to our professional family photo.
"Yeah," I said, but I wanted to tell her that he was my dad.
"Oh, look!" She exclaimed, "It's baby Ekans and Lapras!" She picked up a picture of Lorelei and me playing with our new pokemon. I was 5 and she was 7.
"Who's this?" She asked, holding up a picture of an elderly lady.
"My grandmother," I said, "She was the one who gave us Ekans and Lapras for Christmas."
"I have a grandmother?!" Misty exclaimed, "I've never had a grandmother before, only sisters."
"Half-sisters," I corrected. I wasn't letting her in that easily, "And no. Grandma died when I was 6."
"Oh," She said, sounding upset. But she quickly found another picture and asked, "Is that you?"
"Yes, it's my first birthday," I said. She grabbed another one.
"And who are they? I mean, I know that's you and Lorelei, but who are the other girls? Our cousins?"
I took the picture from her and looked at it. "No. This is my former friend Cassidy, and that's Erika the gym leader. You know Cassidy, don't you? She works on Team Rocket with Butch? And Lorelei met Erika at a pokemon tournament. I guess I was probably about 8 here."
"Is this Lorelei after the pokemon tournament?" Misty asked, pointing to a picture of Lorelei and Lapras with a huge trophy.
"Different tournament," I explained, "Even though they had the same outcome. That was about a year earlier. There were only two rules: you had to be under 12 to enter, and you had to use the same pokemon in one-pokemon battles for the whole tournament. We both entered, and she beat me in the finals." As soon as it was out of my mouth, I asked
myself why I told her, dropping the picture on the end table, and leaving the room.
But Misty followed me into the kitchen, "You got into the finals? That's second place! That's still good!"
I was surprised that she was saying something nice to me. I thought she would have laughed at me for losing. But I still said, "Well, sometimes second best isn't good enough! I don't want to talk about it!" Second best was what I'd been my whole life. Lorelei was better than me at everything imaginable, from Pokemon to school. Judging from how many times Team Rocket had blasted off, I was about to become third best.
"I know what it's like, you know!" She said, "Having successful older sisters. I can't stand Lily, Violet, and Daisy!"
"It's not that I can't stand her!" I snapped, "If you must know we used to be really close. Why are you being so nice to me?" I know I wouldn't be nice to me if I were her!
Misty was saved from having to answer by Lorelei coming into the kitchen and saying, "Good morning everyone!" She didn't know about my little... conflict with the twirps, and I didn't plan on telling her.
After Lorelei and Misty ate, we went out to get a Christmas tree. The day before we'd kind of talked ourselves out, so for a while in the car, we just sat there. I didn't know what to say to a pokemon master and my enemy, even if they were my sisters, and Misty obviously didn't either. But Lorelei was determined to make conversation.
"Where do you work, Jessie?" She asked.
That was the one topic Id hoped to avoid. I hoped she couldn't see me sweating, because I sure was. The pause seemed like an eternity as I tried to think of something interesting but that also made a lot of money. "I'm a lawyer," I lied, "Right now, I'm working on a Pikachu murder trial." The second part wasn't a complete lie. I am working on a Pikachu case, and many times, it had almost killed James, Meowth, and me. The thought of James and Meowth brought on a pang of guilt. Yes, I do have feelings, I just don't always show them. "How are things at the Indigo Plateau?" I asked to cover up.
"Okay," Lorelei said, "Getting a bit boring, though. I mean, I've been doing the same thing for the last 3 years, and as the first member, I get so many challengers. Most of them aren't even very good. Do you help your sisters with their gym, Misty?"
"No, not very much anymore," She said, "I don't live with them. I travel around with my friends, training pokemon."
"Anymore?" Lorelei asked.
"I couldn't stand them," Misty, who was sitting in the back seat (I was in the front) said, kicking the back of my chair, "So I ran away."
"How come you went back then?" I asked. I couldn't help it. She was hitting way to close to home with the running away business. "They did drive you here, didn't they?"
I could see that Lorelei was watching in the rearview mirror (she was driving), also wanting to hear this. Misty said, "They knew I was gone before I left. I even told them.
But they hate me so much that they don't care!" Both Lorelei and I had nothing to say. We knew it all too well.
We got a Christmas tree, even if it was pretty small. There were no good ones left, as can be expected on Christmas Eve. After that, we went to the mall, looking for something to buy each other, now that we'd met. The mall was packed, but we split up anyway, agreeing to meet in front of the department store in an hour.
I wandered around for 45 minutes, hoping to see something. The crowds were annoying, especially a man who was yelling, "Who wants to buy my Majicarps?" How could anyone think with all that racket? All I could think about was the time James bought a Majicarp with an advance on both of our paychecks, and that made me feel guilty for leaving my friends again. Who would want a dumb, ugly, water pokemon who evolves into gyarados anyway?
Then, I realized what I'd said. Misty trained water pokemon, and Lorelei was looking for something to make her job more interesting. Majicarps may be crappy, but gyarados is strong, and ice is frozen water. I did realize that I could be helping my own undoing, but Misty and Lorelei both loved pokemon, so I figured it was as good a present as any.
I hid the pokeballs in my purse, and went to meet my... sisters. Misty was already there, sitting on a bench. She had one bag and was also hugging (not wearing) her lumpy coat. "Where are your bags?" She asked, "Didn't you buy anything?"
"Why does it matter?" I snapped. After fighting crowds, I had no patience for her. "What's under your coat?"
"Something," She said, "Did you finish your shopping?"
"Yes. Did you?"
"Yeah. But I don't think Lorelei will like my present."
"You're present enough for her. Just what she's always wanted is a sister who isn't a complete and total screw-up." We just looked at each other for a minute. I knew she wasn't saying everything, just like I wasn't. I didn't know whether to give up and be nice, or continue the Team Rocket-Team Twirp war. Fortunately, Lorelei saved us from having to decide. She chose that moment to show up, and then we went home to wrap our presents. This was definitely the strangest Christmas ever!
Home For The Holidays Part 2 |