It was a beautiful morning in Neopia Central. It was around 7:00 am. The sun
was just rising over the grassy hills that were moist from the morning dew.
The houses of Rainbow Lane were beginning to stir as pets and their owners were
beginning to awake.
“Beep, beep, beep!” went the alarm clock on the dresser. Cleo’s eyes slowly
opened as she turned off the alarm.
“Cleo, are you up!” yelled a voice from downstairs.
“I’m getting there!” called Cleo as she climbed out of bed. Cleopatra_2000
was a red, female Kougra with good stats for her age. She was also the oldest
of the family.
She descended the steps and headed toward the kitchen where she could smell
breakfast cooking. She walked into the kitchen and sat down. A young female
turned around and smiled at Cleo.
“So, what do you want for breakfast?” asked the girl. Her nickname was Smileygirl1
but people called her Lauren. Lauren was the owner of Cleopatra_2000. She had
dark brown hair and dark hazel eyes. Her skin was a light tan colour. She was
around the age of 12 but looked as though she was 13.
“Eggs and streaky bacon would be fine," Cleo said as she went to the fridge
to pour herself a glass of milk. “By the way, where are my sisters?” she asked.
“They should be down any minute now,” Lauren said as she was putting Cleo’s
eggs and bacon on a plate. A few seconds later, they heard the soft thump of
footsteps coming down the stairwell. From the stairwell emerged three young
pets.
“About time you three got up,” Lauren said as she handed Cleo’s breakfast
to her. “What were you doing last night?” asked Lauren with a questionable look.
“We were out shopping," Ty said as she and her sisters, Destiney and Celest,
sat down at the table. Destineys_Child was a blue, female Cybunny and was the
second oldest in the family. Celestial_Star_2001 was a red, female Usul and
was the second youngest of the family. Tyenah was a blue, female Lupe and was
the youngest of the family.
“We were buying Cleo her birthday present,” said Destiney as she helped herself
to some cocoa Neocrunch cereal. Cleo’s eyes widened when she heard this.
“Oh really,” Cleo said with interest. “Is it something that I have always wanted?”
“We’re not telling you,” Celest said with a sly grin. “It’ll spoil the surprise!”
“All right but next time tell me where you’re going. Now, what do you want
for breakfast?” Lauren asked smiling.
“Hot cakes for me," Tyenah said as she was searching The Neopian Times for
stories that were worth reading.
“I would like a breakfast croissant with orange juice," Celest said as she
was looking over Tyenah’s shoulder to see what she was reading.
Cleo watched as Lauren walked around the kitchen gathering ingredients for
Ty’s and Celest’s breakfasts. She quickly finished so she could help her.
After about fifteen minutes, everyone was eating. Lauren sat down at the table
as Cleo brought her breakfast.
“Thank you Cleo," Lauren said as she took a bite of hot cakes. She paused for
a moment and then said, “You haven’t told me what you wanted for your birthday
Cleo. Your party’s today and I need to go shopping for a gift.”
“Let me think," Cleo said. She put her head in her paws and closed her eyes.
It was a few minutes before she answered. “I would like a paint brush.” Lauren
was caught completely off guard.
“A paint brush eh?” she said as she took a sip of her coffee. “What kind of
paint brush would you like?”
“I don’t want white because it’s too plain. Faerie is way to expensive, and
shadowed would make me look like one of those panther things.”
“What about Christmas?” Lauren suggested with great thought.
“That would be fine but I don’t want to have to wear a Santa hat with holly
around my tail all the time. I need something that’s stylish and new. But what?”
Cleo said as she wrinkled her forehead in thought.
Celest, who had been listening to their conversation, looked up from the paper
and said, “What about desert? It’s becoming the most popular paint brush and
now Kougras can be painted with it.”
Cleo’s eyes widened and her mouth slowly turned into a smile. “You’re brilliant
Celest!” said Cleo gleefully. “That’s what I want to be painted. I want to be
painted desert!”
Lauren looked at Cleo with a slight frown. “Cleo, I don’t have enough Neopoints
to buy you a Desert Paint Brush.”
“Desert Paint Brushes are really expensive," Ty said in a kind voice. “I would
love to have a Fire Paint Brush but those cost more than Desert Paint Brushes.
Fire Paint Brushes cost at least 70k and Desert Paint Brushes cost at least
50k. ” Ty sighed heavily after she said this. She always dreamed of being painted
fire but it had never came true.
“The paint brushes that you two want are cheap compared to the one I want.
I would love to own a Faerie Paint Brush but those cost at least a 100k! The
only way that I’ll get one is if we win the Neopian Lottery and become millionaires!”
Destiney said shrilly. Her dream was to fly. Whenever she saw a NeoPet that
was painted faerie, she would always surge with envy.
Celest glared at them and rolled her eyes. She always did this when she was
about to make a smart remark.
“You three always want the most fashionable and expensive items that you can
find. I on the other hand would settle for cheaper things. I would like a Skunk
Paint Brush and that only costs 23k," Celest boasted proudly. Destiney, Cleo,
and Ty all scowled at Celest.
Lauren, who was listening, gave a sigh and shook her head. She knew that all
of her pets wanted to be painted, but she couldn’t afford it. She gazed at the
clock up on the wall. It was 7:45.
“Oh my!” she gasped setting down her coffee cup. “The bus will be here any
second! You should go and get your things.”
With that, the four pets got their bags, checked to see if all their homework
was there, and went back into the kitchen to grab their lunch bags. They then
dashed out the door just in time to catch the bus. They clambered on and headed
for the back. They all sat down in the last row and continued the conversation
they had had at breakfast. Then a voice from the row in front of them spoke.
“What’s up guys?” said a male voice. All of their heads turned to where the
voice was coming from. Poking his head around his seat was Kayaindi, a male
white Kougra. His owner was Setsn also know as Syd. Syd was one of Lauren’s
friends.
“Hey Kay,” they all said. His brother, PTPTB2S, accompanied Kay. PTPTB2S, a
spotted Pteri, was also known as Petetree.
“Happy birthday Cleo,” said Kay and Pete in unison with smiles. Kay and Pete
had known Cleo and her sisters since they were born. They were invited to Cleo’s
party and had been seen shopping at the Magic Shop earlier that week.
Cleo smiled at them. She tried to hide her disappointment about not being able
to be painted desert, but Kay saw right through her.
“Okay, something’s up. What’s going on?” said Kay with a worried voice.
“Oh, nothing,” lied Cleo. She didn’t want Kay involved in her little predicament.
Kay raised one eyebrow at here so she had to spill the truth.
“All right, if you must know, I want a Desert Paint Brush for my birthday but
Lauren can’t afford it," Cleo said with her eyes lowered. Kay looked at
Pete. They never had the thought that Cleo wanted to be painted. They started
to think about what to do. Then Kay’s face flickered with excitement.
“Hey, if Lauren can’t afford the brush, then she can surely get Fountain Passes
for the Rainbow Fountain!” Cleo’s eyes widened as she smiled at Kay.
“You know what, I think that’s a brilliant idea! I’ve got to send a Neomail
to Lauren right now!” she said as she rummaged through her bag. She pulled out
a laptop computer and began to type a message to Lauren.
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Lauren,
Kay had a wonderful idea. If you can’t afford the Desert Paint Brush,
why not get Fountain Passes for the Rainbow Fountain!
Cleo
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Cleo smiled as she finished the note and pushed the send button.
After that, they began to talk about what was going to happen at her birthday
party. After a few minutes, the bus slowed to a stop in front of Griffin Junior
High. The school was named after the male, fire Lupe who always loved to help
pets and especially Chias. They all clambered out of the bus and headed into
the school.
To be continued...
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