Moments of Magic

Sauntering on Saturday

"Hey, Luna, wanna see my Pokemon team?" I asked Luna as we took our seats in a travelling bus.

"Sure." Luna smiled as she got out her iPod Touch. A week has passed since the Hollywood Ball dance, and the entire middle school was on a bus bound for Hershey, Pennsylvania because they were taking part in a music competition. And why the entire middle school? Well, since my school is really small (and there were five seventh grade girls that year), all students have to take part in classes that would be electives in any other middle school like Art, Foreign Languages, and Band. It was an overnight trip, and the next day, we would hang around Hershey Park all day.

The bus ride to Hershey was uneventful. Luna and I listened to music on her iPod Touch, most of it Beatles stuff. She's got good taste. When we arrived at the competition site, we performed in front of the judges. It was a bore, really. All I remember was playing the glockenspiel and zoning out.

At around 5:00, we had dinner at a pizza place. Afterwards, we took off for our hotel...or rather, a cheap motel. I was to be rooming with Luna, Rachel, and Cathy. The minute we entered our room, Rachel and Cathy started whining.

The room was pukey orange from ceiling to floor. There was a dull desk right next to the TV, which was situated on some metal cart. Opposite the entrance, there was a transparent sliding door.

"Hey, let's go outside." Rachel suggested. But the outdoors wasn't much better, either. It reeked of cow manure, and the sidewalks were full of dirt and gruel. After walking around barefoot for a good five minutes, my feet looked like that of Bilbo Baggin's.

That night, nothing much happened, unless you count Dani, Isabella, and Brittany having to move rooms because they found blood on their bedsheets and Luna and Cathy fangirling over Daniel Radcliffe. When next morning came, I got up early and took a shower. Before long, we were bound for Hershey Park. Everyone cheered when we arrived.

Before going on any rides, the chaperones had us split into groups. The majority of the kids went with Ms. Fuse, while Luna and I went with Ms. W, the band teacher. She was a southern lady with a boyish haircut.

"Ready to roll?" Ms. W asked.

"Yep!" We all chorused.

So we spent the day riding on low-intensity rides. At the end of it all, I was so pooped and tried to doze off on Ms. W's shoulder. It didn't work. Ms. W giggled, took a selfie of the moment, and posted it on Facebook. Suddenly, it began to rain. Ms. W and I made a run for the bus. It was like my first cross country meet, except that I didn't have to run through a forest this time.

"There's the bus!" I shouted when the bus was in sight. I didn't stop to catch my breath until I reached my destination. My hair and shirt were completely drenched, so I went inside the bathroom to change.

"Did you change?" Isabella asked when she saw me.

"Yeah."

"Did you change out here?"

"No."

Why would I strip off my clothes in front of my classmates? Especially in front of sixth grade boys. I got out my Nintendo 2DS and began Pokemoning away.

"Hey, Mia, you play Pokemon?" Tom asked an hour into the voyage home.

"Yeah. What version do you play? I play Alpha Sapphire."

"Same here. You wanna battle?"

"Yeah, sure. Lemme get my stuff straight. Just warning you, Tom, I've only got six badges."

Shit! What the hell did I just do? I'm about to face off against Tom, who probably has level 100 Pokemon. My level 40 Pokemon won't fare well against Tom's Superman team! Then again, I've never had a real life trainer battle, so this was gonna be fun.

"Are you ready?" Tom asked after a while.

"Yeah."

"Just so you know, all of our Pokemon will be level 50 during this battle just to make it fair."

"Good."

So our battle began. It was really fun, but I totally got crushed. At one point, Tom questioned the nickname I had given my Latias, which was Luka. Call me childish, but I always nickname my Pokemon. It's fun, really.

"Nice job, Tom!" I complimented right after.

"Can I fight?" Andy asked. He and his buddy, Jack, were watching the battle on Tom's 3DS.

"You play Pokemon too?"

"Yeah."

Soon, I found myself in another battle, this time with Andy. This time, I won, but I nearly lost. I couldn't believe it. There were actually some Pokefans in the middle school. Some people think Pokemon is childish, but it doesn't matter to me. The game itself is very addicting, even though it's the same story every SINGLE time.

"So...we're friends?" I asked after moments of silence.

"Yeah, guess so." Tom said.

"You could say that." Andy shrugged.

At that time, I thought I had found my clique, but I just kept hanging out with Luna, even in my eighth grade year. I don't know why, though. Maybe it's just me. At my old school, Amy was the one person I would frequently spend time with. We still do to this day. Anyway, it doesn't matter to me. If I've got friends, then that's all I need in order to survive school.

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Author's Note: I'm practically done with my seventh grade year. Oh, wait, I've gotta document one last chapter. Okay, guys, I'll be honest with you. I felt awkward when I wrote this. It's not that I don't like talking about myself. Believe me, I actually do. It's just that I want to challenge myself as a writer. I can't stick to one genre. I gotta branch out, you know, try something new. That's what they all say.

I was wondering, do you like amusement parks? If so, what are your favorite rides?