Disclaimer: Pokémon belongs to Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, Satoshi Tajiri, etc. The characters Giovanni and Madame Boss (On'na Boss) belong to them, as do the Pokémon Meowth and Rhyhorn. Anyone else not mentioned in this disclaimer are MINE.
After a long couple of hours or so out shopping, Cassandra finally arrived back at my apartment. It seemed to me that she bought more than just a pair of shoes for me. I was surprised she could even walk up the stairs to the door with all that she had piled up in her arms. There were probably at least seven bags.
"How do you women do it?" I asked her as I walked over to her to help carry in the parcels a-plenty.
"Wh-what do you mean by that, Gio?" she inquired in return. She and I set the bags on the floor.
"You went out in search of a pair of shoes for me, and come back with so much more! How do women take a simple task and make it that much more complex?"
"Well, if you simply must know, I figured that to go with your shoes, you'd need some new athletic socks. Of course, if you're going to go running here in the city, you'd probably need more than just shorts and a t-shirt, so I went to find you a track suit to go with your shoes. I then noticed that it was a 2-for-1 sale, so I bought you a second suit – first was brown, the other blue – and then I saw this nice digital watch that had a timer-stopwatch thing in it. Thought that'd be useful for you, so I got that, too. Then, I remembered that the track suit I had was shrinking so that it came up above my ankles, so I thought I'd get a new track suit for myself. Remembering the sale, I couldn't resist getting two. Then, I thought that the bright sun reflecting off of all the windows here might make it hard for us to see, so I bought us a couple of hats with good sized brims – a white one for me and a gray one for you – and I found a couple pedometers so we could keep track with our steps. And then --"
"Cassandra, enough! If you keep trying to explain, your face'll turn blue!" I warned her, kind of laughing at her rambling.
"Well, you asked, so I answered. One thing leads to another. Simple as that," she stated rather matter-of-fact-ly. "So, where's Sue?"
"Ah.... Funny you should ask.... You see.... Ah......" I stammered. It was difficult to explain that I had to somehow, from scratch, come up with a litter box for Sue. I then noticed that Cassandra was giving me a rather incredulous look.
"Giovanni, where is she? Where is my Meowth, Sue?" She was uncharacteristically serious concerning that Cat Pokémon. She began tapping her foot and crossed her arms. "Come on, where is she?"
I simply told her, "Bathroom," and pointed toward the half-bath. She strolled over there, frustrated somewhat.
"Is... is that sand coming from the bottom of the door?" she inquired, noticing a few remnants of my attempt at creating a place for Sue to, well, relieve herself.
"Ah, well, you see...." I began. She simply sighed, opened the door, and... I don't think my ears will ever recover from that squeal.
"GIOVANNI OF VIRIDIAN CITY, WHAT ON EARTH IS THIS?!?!?!" Cassandra screamed at me. She had every reason to.
You see, I had tried to put together a litter box for Sue. A litter box is simply sand in a box, right? And, being a Ground-type specialist, I devised a plan to make one using the move Sandstorm. So, I called my Rhyhorn out and had it use that move into a plastic container lid that I could spare. Needless to say, it got messy. Sand blew everywhere in that tiny half-bath. I tried cleaning it as best as I could, but I ran out of vacuum bags... At least I managed to fill the box!
"Well, I –" I began, trying to explain myself, but Cassandra was having none of it. She scooped up Sue in her arms, who was trying to pick the sand from her fur. She then turned to me, her face red as a Kingler. I knew that she was about to explode on me, so I stopped to let her.
"Don't even bother trying to explain! Whatever it is you did, don't do it again! This is just ridiculous! All this sand everywhere! Sue's probably awful sore at you for this! And, frankly, so am I! Sue and I are leaving! Have a nice day, Giovanni!" she screamed. Then, with her Pokémon in tow, she left the apartment, slamming the door.
For the longest time, I just sat there. In the middle of my floor. My carpeted, sand-ridden floor. Staring at my doorway. As I did many times in my life before, I felt miserable; but this time, I knew it really was my fault.
"Cassandra, I'm sorry," I whispered, hoping that, somehow, she heard. I hoped with all my heart that she'd come back...
Knock knock knock
Is that.... I thought to myself. I stood, opened the door, and...
"Hey, Gio. Kinda forgot my part in what I bought. Can I come in to get it?" Cassandra asked me, somewhat sheepishly. She was blushing a little as she smiled ever so slightly.
"Sure," I replied, stepping back so she could discern what bags were hers. She walked in, but didn't grab the bags right off. She just stared at the floor and a little to the right, as if she were trying to hide her face from mine.
"Gio, I..." she started. She stopped and sighed for a second. "I'm sorry."
"You're sorry? I should be the one to apologize. I was the one who --" I began, but Cassandra stopped me before I said more.
"No, you're not to blame. You were just trying to be helpful. Trying to accommodate for your guest. I thought your attempt might have hurt her, so I kind of blew up. But, as soon as we got home, I realized that Sue was fine, just a little dirty..." She paused for a few seconds. Finally, she looked up at me. I could tell she was trying to hold back tears. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have... I just..."
"Say no more. It's all right. All is forgiven," I told her, reassuring her that I wasn't mad at her. Hearing this, she looked at me with a wide beautiful smile.
"Thank you!" she exclaimed, and she kind of leaped at me, resulting in an embrace. My arms were at my sides, raised out of shock. I can honestly say I knew not what to do. I hadn't been hugged in... well, too far for me to try to count. So, I did the only thing I thought to, and hugged her back, wrapping my arms around her back as she held to my neck and shoulders. I then noticed my left shoulder getting wet. She was crying. To try and comfort her, I held her tighter. But then, she let go and kind of pushed me away a little with this shocked look on her face, a few tears still coming down her cheeks. It seemed that she was trying to say something, but no words were coming from her mouth. She then stopped trying to speak... and moved her hands from my shoulders to my face. Sort of cupping it between her hands. Then... she began to move in. Nearing her face towards mine. I soon realized that she was about to try and kiss me...
Don't get such stupid ideas in your head, twerp. No girl in her right mind would ever dare kiss you, or hug you, or even LOVE you. You are an unlovable... horrid... annoying little BRAT!!
"No! I can't!" I exclaimed, the words of my mother ringing in my head, tormenting me with every second. I grabbed Cassandra's wrists and pushed them down to her sides. She was shocked. As was I. Her eyes welled up again, those cerulean pools blurred in front of me. She took up her bags and ran out the door, sobbing.
"CASSANDRA!" I called after her. But, it was no use. She tore down the street out of sight. I closed the door, meandered over to my piano bench, sat down, and slammed my forehead into the keys with a resounding "clang". I completely and totally messed up. I really am stupid. Aren't I, mother?