Unknown Territory

When I was in elementary school, there was another student who was a bit odd. For this post, I'll call him Joey. He was generally hyperactive and it was common for him to cause trouble. He wasn't a big fan of rules. My group of friends didn't really accept him but he would sometimes hang around anyway.

Over the years, Joey calmed down a little. He wasn't so bad to be around at this point. It was around this time that he invited me to his house. I'm not sure why, but I accepted the offer and went.

When I got inside Joey's house, he turned his radio on to 101 KUFO, the hard rock and metal station that no longer exists. We sat down to play a round of the Pokemon trading card game. All of the cards were Joey's. I didn't bring any of my own. Because of this, he had first choice when building his deck which meant he got all of the good cards. With my weak selection of cards, I engaged Joey in battle. Things didn't look good for me, especially when he started making up rules. I'm pretty sure he specifically arranged his deck rather than shuffling it since I seem to remember him drawing six Bill cards in a row. The rules limit you to four of the same type of card. Bill cards were very useful because they allowed you to draw four cards from your deck and add them to your hand. I lost the game, of course.

I was there for a few hours so I was glad that Joey offered me some food. At least, I was glad until I saw what was available. The menu consisted of strawberry Pop Tarts, strawberry ice cream, and plain waffles. I wasn't angry and I didn't act rudely about the situation but I wasn't feeling too hungry after hearing my options. Joey partially toasted a waffle for me but I wasn't very interested so he ate it. I wonder if better food would have improved his behavior.

I don't regret going to Joey's house. It was a little weird but there was some fun to be had. My friends found it very interesting that I went over there. Joey's father drove me home and Joey came along for the ride. When we arrived at my house, Joey insisted that I borrow his martial arts video game for the Game Boy. I still have that game.