|
What a lovely day, Nerissa, a brown Grundo,
thought sadly as she looked out the car window. How could such a day be so beautiful
when her life was just turned upside down?
“I’m sure you’ll make friends there in no time…”
Ms. Cupcake was going on to say.
Nerissa wasn’t so sure about that. She didn’t
really make friends anywhere. She was very shy and really didn’t speak to anyone
unless she had to. When she was required to speak, usually they would laugh
at her. They would tease her and say she talked funny and then run off in another
direction. It hurt her to be teased so much. But she was used to it… even if
she didn’t like it. Although she did understand Neopian, she could only speak
in her language. So she learned at an early age, to keep her mouth shut as much
as possible.
“You’ll be sharing your room with two other girls.
Blossom, an island Usul and Whine, a blue Wocky...” Ms. Cupcake was explaining.
Leaning her head against the window, Nerissa
started to think about home. Not home in Neopia, but her real home, in space.
She was very little when they left their home planet. So she didn’t remember
much about it. Mostly, she knew of her planet from various stories and legends
she had heard. She began to feel such a homesickness for the place that she
knew no one would laugh at her.
“Here we are!” Ms. Cupcake cheerfully went on.
Nerissa stepped out of the car and looked towards
the building. She saw a big sign that said ‘Neopian Pound’. She couldn’t believe
it. She was really here. She was an ‘abandoned’ pet.
She let her gaze move over the grounds. It was
mostly a grassy area with some trees and a road. The road that had brought her
to this place. Hearing the sounds of excitement, she looked over to her right
and noticed several other pets playing a game of chase. A little farther up
was a playground where many more pets were swinging on swings, sliding on slides
and building sandcastles in the sandbox. Every where she looked, she saw how
happy everyone seemed to be. Everyone except her.
Feeling Ms. Cupcake place an arm around her,
Nerissa allowed herself to be lead towards the steps. That’s when she noticed
a man and woman standing there. They were looking at her and smiling.
“Nerissa,” Ms. Cupcake said. “This is Mr. Shankly
and Ms. Pop Tart. They are the directors of the Neopian Pound.”
“We’re pleased to have you with us, Nerissa,”
Mr. Shankly said warmly. Ms. Pop Tart just continued to smile.
Knowing very well that she was expected to respond,
she took a deep breath and in a very soft voice she replied, “knahT uoy.”
An hour later, Nerissa was sitting on her bed,
looking around her new room. The others were in classes. However, they were
at recess when she saw them. Ms. Pop Tart had mentioned this to her during the
tour of the pound.
She thought of the recreation room where all
the pets spent their free time. It had tables where you could play games, colouring
in books and painting pictures. There was also a TV area where shows or videos
could be seen. And it was a place where friends could go to play together. Nerissa
didn’t have any friends. So she pretty much knew that she wouldn’t be spending
a lot of time in there. There was also a library, a kitchen, a dining room and
the school rooms.
Nerissa was startled out of her thoughts by the
bell signaling lunch. Soon Ms. O'Lara, one of the staff, would be down to get
her and bring her to the dining room. She could hear giggling and footsteps
out in the hall. After lunch they would have a recess and then begin afternoon
classes. She was happy that she didn’t have to start school until tomorrow.
But that didn’t ease the fears of the moment. She had to go into a room full
of people just waiting to laugh at her.
Nerissa looked to the door, where Ms. O'Lara
was just entering.
“Are you ready for some lunch?” Ms. O'Lara looked
to be friendly enough. But Nerissa knew all too well that it didn’t mean she
wouldn’t be laughed at. So she just nodded and followed Ms. O'Lara to the dinning
room.
As they neared, she could hear the happy voices,
chattering and laughing. Nerissa wished she could just turn around and run!
She couldn’t go into the dining room with everyone there! What if she ran out
of the building and down the road?! She would be free of this place and away
from all the others! But she knew in her heart that this was a silly idea. She
had no place else to go.
Upon entering the room, the chatter lowered and
then came to stop. Everyone was looking in her direction. Ms. O'Lara just kept
walking towards a table while Nerissa followed. She was seated next to a yellow
Kiko. The chattering began again and Nerissa was soon forgotten.
The actual meal looked very interesting to Nerissa.
She realized that she was really hungry. She hadn’t been able to eat very much.
Not since… well, not since she was given the news of the changes in her life.
She also realized that the food was not close enough for her to reach it. Oh,
no! She had to ask for the food to be passed! She wanted to cry! She didn’t
know what to do!
A voice to her left came to her rescue.
“Did you want the sandwiches?” the sweet voice
of an Usul asked.
Nerissa gratefully nodded and smiled her thanks.
She had taken a sandwich and began to eat it. While eating, she listened to
the various conversations going on at her table.
“Hey Sammy!” called the yellow Kiko.
A speckled Bruce with a full mouth answered,
“What Krafty? Are we gonna play chase?”
“I just got a new toy!” a little green Blumaroo
said to a white Chia. “We can play with it outside!”
“Oh I HATE math! Why must we do this class after
lunch?” complained an Eyrie.
“Who’s the new kid?” a skunk Kacheek asked. Nerissa’s
attention was drawn to this comment. She waited for a response, but couldn’t
hear what was said over the noise.
It didn’t take long for her to finish her sandwich.
In fact, thanks to this little Usul passing her all kinds of food, she became
bloated!
All too soon, lunch was over and it was time
to go out to the playground. As far as Nerissa could tell, there was no way
out of this. She admitted that she had been lucky so far. She really hadn’t
had to speak yet. But when the time came for her to talk, she knew any chance
of friendship was gone! So she waited until almost everyone had left the dining
area.
Ms. Pop Tart spotted Nerissa remaining at the
table. She walked over to her and said gently, “Nerissa, it’s time to go out
to the playground. I understand it can be difficult to be the new pet in the
pound. But you need to try.”
Nerissa silently scolded herself for staying
so long inside. Now she was in a situation where she was forced to respond to
Ms. Pop Tart.
“Sey, .sM poP traT.”
Outside in the sunlight, the beautiful day wasn’t
lost on Nerissa. She still thought it was odd to have such a nice day on the
worst day of her life. What would it be like, years from now, when she looked
back on this day?
Slowly she made her way over to the playground.
So many pets in one place! She stood by the sandbox and looked over the scene.
She did notice the slide again. She had never been on a slide. What would it
be like to go down a slide, she wondered?
“You can go on it if you want,” said a familiar
voice. The little Usul was beside her. “I’m Blossom and I’m an island Usul.”
Vaguely, Nerissa remembered Ms. Amanda mentioning
an Usul to her. She just smiled in response to Blossom. Maybe if she didn’t
talk, she could make friends with her! Blossom took her by the hand and lead
her to the slide. Without thinking, Nerissa began climbing up the steps.
“HEY! What do you think you’re doing? Wait your
turn!” yelled a red Mynci. Nerissa froze to the spot. She didn’t realize that
there was a line for the slide.
“m’I yrros,” she said softly as she backed down
the steps.
“What?!” laughed the Mynci. “Hey Joel, we have
another space cadet here!” Joel, a shadow Gelert came over making comments and
laughing.
By this time, other pets came over to see what
all the commotion was about as well. Nerissa’s worst fears were realized! They
were laughing at her! Tears formed in her eyes. Try as hard as she might, she
couldn’t stop herself from crying.
“That’s pretty funny coming from a guy who hangs
by his tail, Harry!” said a sarcastically, loud voice. Surprised at someone
taking her defense, she turned to see who it was. Blossom was standing there
with her paws on her hips. And now, everyone was laughing again. But this time,
they were laughing at Harry!
Blossom grabbed Nerissa’s hand, leading her away
from the crowd. “You can come over here and play dolls with us.” Blossom said
with a huff in her voice. “Boys can be so silly sometimes!” The rest of the
recess was spent with her new friend, Blossom.
Later that evening, Nerissa, Blossom and Whine,
whom she met after classes were over, were seated in the rec room. Tonight was
a special night because Mr. Shankly had rented a video for everyone to watch!
There was also going to be popcorn! To her own surprise, Nerissa was looking
forward to the evening and the popcorn. Soon the movie started and the special
treat was going around. Nerissa never had popcorn before and she really wanted
to try some. But the popcorn wasn’t anywhere around her. So she thought that
maybe Blossom would help her get some. But she knew she had to ask for it. How
could she speak after what happened today on the playground? It was true that
Blossom stood up for her. So maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if she did ask Blossom
for some popcorn. The smell of the popcorn was wonderful! OK, she’d do it!
Taking a deep breath, she whispered, “yaM I evah
emos nrocpop?”
In response, Blossom smiled and passed her the
bowl of popcorn. Nerissa had her first taste and thought that this was the most
wonderful food in the whole universe! She again turned to Blossom and whispered,
“knahT uoy!”
“er’uoY emolew assireN,” was the reply from Blossom.
Shocked at the use of her own language, she dropped her pawful of popcorn!
When the movie ended, Nerissa turned to her friend.
Forgetting about her shyness, she asked, “woH od uoy wonk ym egaugnal?
Blossom gave a sly smile and stated, “I was originally
a Grundo.”
As the girls walked back to their room, Nerissa
thought that this wasn’t the worst day after all.
EPILOGUE
Nerissa had managed to overcome most of her shyness.
In fact, she could be quite the talker when the mood strikes her. Through her
classes and friends, she learned to speak Neopian. She also came to understand
what a wonderful gift it was to be able to speak two languages. For as long
as she remained at the pound, she used that gift to help welcome new pets on
their first days.
The End
Author’s Note: I hope you enjoyed my story. Please feel free to offer comments. | 
