I could barely remember when I first set foot in elementary school in a small town in Maryland. In fourth grade, I was really good at the math assignments that the teacher in Maryland assigned. I had already learned the math concepts back in California. At the very least, fourth grade seemed like a nice transition. Everyone seemed to be really friendly to me. It was new to me to experience, since no one in California seemed as kind as the people in Maryland.
I liked Maryland at first. I met my childhood best friend there. It was a relative who was born and raised in Maryland. Considering how our friendship was…. Let's call him Ryan...I did want to choose a name meaning "childhood friend," but I'm not sure that's the true origin of the name "Ryan."
[Character Profile:
Player #1
Name: Ryan
Age: 10
Astrology Sun Sign: Scorpio
Gaming Interest: PokemPokémonommon)]
Ryan was a guy that I would often talk to on the phone when I was a child back in California. When moving to Maryland, I would always play with him. There were no other kids in the family around my age after all. We shared a love of PokémPokémon. He was the one who introduced me to Pokémon, and in this game, I discovered the pen name I would use for the rest of my life, perhaps. I vaguely remember choosing Fennekin among the three Kalos starters: Fennekin, Froakie, and Chespin. For some reason, a fire-type monster just appealed to me back then.
From then on, the name "Fennekin" would be shortened to "Fen," and it would become an essential name for me to use. I had fun sharing my gameplay and experiences with Ryan. I loved Pokémon in fourth and fifth grade. I also loved playing with Ryan when I was a child. I would share my childhood memories of playing snowball fights and building snowmen with him. Considering I was born in California, a place that didn't have snow at all.
Back in California, students didn't have a school bus to take them to school. Yet in Maryland, I would take the school bus to a particular stop to get to school. I would also take the school bus back home. The elementary school system would have a pickup point where kids could be picked up by their parents or guardians by car if they chose not to ride the school bus home. I remember one time I got home, but no one was there at all. I cried, trying to find a way to open the doors so I could get inside without any keys. The neighbors heard me crying and decided to take me inside their house. I would wait in the neighbors' house until my aunt and grandma came home. It was very kind of the elderly couple to allow me into their house. I recall them having a boat in their driveway as an additional fact.
I graduated from an elementary school in Maryland. Both Ryan and I attended that elementary school after all. I spent half of my fourth-grade year and all of my fifth-grade year there.
After graduating from 5th grade at the elementary School. I had started 6th grade in a middle school. It was a school where students had their own lockers and schedules. It would operate similarly to an American high school. I recall being in English class when we had a project to do later in the class. The thought of having to do that project scared me.
Thankfully, I was at Fairy Middle School for only 2-3 months before I moved back to California. So no need for me to be afraid of doing that one project in English class, haha. I believe my grandmother didn't like how dangerous the roads in Maryland were when it snowed. The roads could become icy, making it dangerous to drive through. One time on a snowy day in Maryland, I would slip on an ice plate 3 times. That icy road on the walkway was simply cold enough for a child like me to slip on multiple times. This isn't something Californians could experience unless they lived in the California mountains. There were many more forests in Maryland than in California. I remember walking back from the school bus stop to go home. There was a forest across the street, which would sometimes scare me. The forest could have anything in it after all. It was also a vast forest, where anyone could get lost.
I remember visiting New York with my mother and other family members. It was mostly boring to me back then. We mostly went to Chinatown, which isn't very exciting for me. At the very least, my mother brought me a Yoshi plushie on my trip. I wasn't sure why I'd even decided to go with my mother and the others, anyway. I would love to visit New York again someday and actually take in the full tourist experience.
[Regression Cycle has been activated:
Cause of Regression:
Moving from Maryland to California
Regression Cycle:
3rd turn → 4th turn]