Pokémon Mars

Chapter 58: New Recruit

As Nyx's Holy Book was squashed under Zorua's snacks, Racer's return ticket to Earth was ripped and crumpled under the grooming tools for his only Pokémon, Furfrou. He actually meant to throw it away. He would never use it, especially if Nyx was in love with someone else, or so he thought. On the morning his flight was due to depart, he couldn't get to the tour bus stop fast enough.

Most tourists had enough of Mars by the time they returned. If they all admitted that on social media, the tours wouldn't have been so popular, but they preferred to portray their lives as constantly happy and exciting. Racer didn't care. He just wanted to go home. As he sat in the bus shelter, staring at the reflection of the blob of blue dye he couldn't quite scrub off his forehead, he realised something even more shocking than his desperation to return to Earth: he had learned his lesson. He owed more apologies than he could count.

He glanced impatiently at his watch. Another tourist arrived. A family with three children dragged their suitcases there. The wheels of the approaching bus rumbled through a pothole. Racer stood. Most tourists were picked up at their hotels, so the bus was almost full already, but the driver counted his passengers to find that one was missing. She was supposed to be at the hotel. The driver assumed she stayed elsewhere and chose to go to the bus stop, but she wasn't there, either. He called her. She overslept and was now delayed by the embarrassment of doing the 'walk of shame' to the bus.

The driver let everyone out to stretch their legs and buy more snacks and souvenirs at the nearby store. Racer tapped his foot. He stood by the door, but the driver shut it.

'Is that her?'

A woman in a carnival costume approached. It certainly looked like she was doing the 'walk of shame,' but Racer knew it wasn't the missing passenger. It was Courtney.

'Please, Sir.'

He tapped the driver on the shoulder.

'My legs hurt. Please let me in.'

The driver asked someone to stand up in the bus shelter so Racer could sit there instead.

'Sir! Please! I also need the toilet!'

'No problem. The Wail-Mart over there has toilets.'

'Please! That's quite a walk! I'm unfit!'

'Sorry, mate. We can't use the toilet when the bus is stationary anyway.'

The tap on Racer's shoulder wasn't really a tap. It was an aggressive prod.

'Good morning.'

He couldn't shout that he spotted Courtney. She would tell everyone that he was Racer Sycamore.

'I'm sorry, dear. The bus will be departing any minute now. I must go.'

'Oh, don't worry,' the driver said, 'Take your time. We're waiting for a missing passenger.'

Courtney seized Racer by the scruff of the neck and yanked his head back so she could whisper.

'I don't know where you think you're going, but–'

'Dear, please. I can't stay here forever. Don't pain me by begging me to stay. Please!'

'Shut up. You'll never get back to Earth without a straitjacket. And then you'll be going straight to jail.'

'I'd like to do so on my own terms...'

'Well, you can't, because I'll tell on you. Come back and do the job you agreed to do. Now!'

'Let go of me!'

The driver glanced at them again, but he assumed they were a couple reluctant to part.