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The sun rises high above Neopia, breaking through the night's
darkness. In a brick NeoHome in central Neopia a teenage girl stirs in her Zen
bed. Suddenly her eyes open as she remembers, It's her birthday!
SeaZone has been playing Neopets for around
two years and today is her fifteenth birthday. What fun she has on Neopets,
talking with friends and playing with her pets. She begins to wonder what her
pets have planned for her special day.
Her pets, Ramoose_ a rainbow Tonu, and PuppyTrix
a baby Gelert, had remained suspiciously quiet on the subject of SeaZone's birthday
and she had played along.
Meanwhile, Ramoose_ and PuppyTrix were conspiring.
"When are you picking it up?" PuppyTrix asked
Ramoose_ as she tried to stuff a big bouquet of balloons into the small closet
they shared.
"I need a distraction," he said. "Can you come
up with something so I can sneak out of the house?"
"I'll try," said PuppyTrix resignedly. "But
you know how hard she can be to get rid of."
"Good ol' SeaZone. Where's the NP? I'm going
to need it."
"It's in this drawer," PuppyTrix said, opening
a drawer of their dresser. "There should be just enough. Come and get it before
you leave today."
"Will do."
Just then SeaZone, who had by then gotten up
and around called, "Ramoose_! PuppyTrix! What are you guys up to?"
PuppyTrix closed the dresser drawer and slid
the closet door back into place, hiding the balloons. "Coming!" called Ramoose_
flashing PuppyTrix a mischievous smile, who returned it.
Breakfast that morning was unusually uneventful
and SeaZone began to wonder if her pets really had anything planned. But then
again, she scolded herself, how could they forget? They remember everything!
Ramoose_ excused himself from the table and took
his dishes to the sink where he carefully scrubbed off the left over food. He
shot PuppyTrix an urgent look, who quickly understood.
"Hey, SeaZone!" she said. "I'm having some trouble
with my garden… the carrots just won't sprout. Would you mind taking a look
at them with me?"
"Sure," said SeaZone, a bit glumly.
Ramoose_ hurriedly set his dishes on the counter
and raced off to their room as the two brought their dishes over to the sink.
Once there, he pulled open the dresser drawer
and grabbed the sack of Neopoints he and his sister had carefully saved. He
then made sure SeaZone and PuppyTrix were in the garden before scrambling out
of the front door, slamming it behind him, and rushing through the streets of
Neopia, his hooves clacking all the way.
Back at the NeoHome, SeaZone's disappointment
was growing stronger as the day went on. She tried to ward off the feeling,
Just because they forgot my birthday doesn't mean they don't love me, she thought
Maybe it just slipped their mind. But the feeling remained.
Seazone tried to keep herself busy, but quickly
ran out of things to do. Thinking maybe PuppyTrix would have an idea she headed
toward the young Gelert's room. As she pulled the door open PuppyTrix gave out
a loud yelp and rushed to the gap.
"What are you doing?" she exclaimed!
"I thought we could go do something together…
maybe take a tour of Mystery Island. You love Mystery Island!" explained SeaZone.
"Nope. Can't. Too busy," said PuppyTrix dismissively.
"Well, then… have you seen Ramoose_?"
"Uh… he… um…" stammered PuppyTrix.
"Really?" said SeaZone sarcastically. "Well
if you see him tell him I'm looking for him."
PuppyTrix nodded and then quickly shut her door.
Inside, the already small room was strewn with party materials. Streamers waiting
to be hung, balloons floating at the ceiling and on the floor a piece of paper
with crayons sprawled across it. The covers of the twin beds Ramoose_ and PuppyTrix
slept in were tousled and near to falling off of their beds.
PuppyTrix let out a sigh. So far things were
going according to plan. SeaZone seemed genuinely depressed and all PuppyTrix
had to do was keep her from finding out their secret.
Ramoose_ quietly snuck back into the NeoHome
by way of the back door. Walking on the tip of his hooves so as not to draw
attention to himself, he tried with little success to avoid stepping on the
flowers surrounding the NeoHome. Now flattened beneath his hooves, the sunny
yellow flowers contradicted the deep red of the aged brick. In his arms was
a brightly wrapped box and from inside came a high-pitched squeak.
"Shhh," said Ramoose_ popping the lid to peer
inside. "You have to keep quite until we get to our room!"
Making sure the hall was clear he shuffled to
the doorway where he knocked and said, "Pup I've got it. Let me in!"
PuppyTrix quickly opened the door and shooed
Ramoose_ in.
Once inside Ramoose_ set the box on his bed and
PuppyTrix hurried over to peek inside at the little critter.
"Aw! It's so cute!" she exclaimed.
"Sure is!" said Ramoose_, looking around the
room. "What do you need help with?"
"Well," said PuppyTrix thoughtfully. "Can you
watch everything while I go over to SweetePlum's to pick up the cake?"
He nodded.
"Alright. I'll be as fast as I can," and with
that PuppyTrix went scampering out of the house to their next-door neighbors.
Next door, SweetePlum a red Uni who had been
kind enough to keep the cake Ramoose_ and PuppyTrix had made for SeaZone's birthday
welcomed PuppyTrix in.
Contrary to the simple style of SeaZone's NeoHome,
the NeoHome SweetePlum lived in was lavishly decorated, with rich colors and
vases of flowers on practically every surface.
"How's it going?" asked SweetePlum.
"Good so far. Your owner's still going to drop
by to distract SeaZone at four right?"
She nodded.
"Okay, great!" PuppyTrix removed the cake from
SweetePlum's refrigerator and headed back toward the front door. "I'll see you
at the party!"
With that she carefully walked back to their
NeoHome.
Promptly at four o'clock in the afternoon, Diviup,
SweetePlum's owner rang their doorbell.
"I'll get it!" called SeaZone, who was still
upset about her birthday.
When she opened the door and saw Diviup standing
there her spirits lifted. "Hey! Good to see you!" she exclaimed.
"Good to see you too," said Diviup. "Would you
like to take a walk with me?"
"I'd love to!" said SeaZone, looking forward
to taking her mind off of her birthday.
While SeaZone was out Ramoose_ and PuppyTrix
got to work. They hung streamers and filled the living room so that it was a
sea of balloons. The table was covered with a colorful cloth and plates were
set at each place with the large cake reading 'Happy Birthday SeaZone!' as the
centerpiece.
Slowly friends of SeaZone began trickling in,
placing their presents in a corner of the room, creating a large heap of colorful
wrappings.
After everything was ready, Ramoose_ and PuppyTrix
told the guests to hide and then found hiding spaces for themselves.
They heard the doorknob turn and saw SeaZone
enter with Diviup. All at once they jumped up and exclaimed, "Happy Birthday
SeaZone!"
Startled, SeaZone took a step back and then beamed.
"I knew you guys hadn't forgotten!" she exclaimed, enveloping Ramoose_ and PuppyTrix
in a giant bear hug.
"Sure you did," they said sarcastically.
She laughed.
As the party wound down to a close, Ramoose_
and PuppyTrix went to their room and emerged holding the box between them.
"This is for you," they said, handing it to
SeaZone.
"Aw. You guys!" she said.
The box squealed and she gently opened the lid
to see a small Faellie looking up at her.
SeaZone remained speechless, in awe over the
thought her pets had given to her birthday. And a Faellie! She had always wanted
a Faellie! But how had they come up with the Neopoints?
Brimming with happiness she just held her family
and though, What a great birthday!
The End
Author's Note: A BIG thank you for reading my story! If this was published
in The Neopian Times I am surely overjoyed and would love to hear any comments
you have to share. Please realize that all characters are fictional. This story
was inspired by a friend's recent birthday.
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