Fortune gulped. "There's something serious you needed to discuss?" she asked
nervously.
"Yes, there is!" said Mrs. Neggwin angrily. "You never pay attention in class!
You are always staring out the window, daydreaming about something or other!
And I will not stand for this. I am here to teach. And refusing to learn is
not acceptable in my Neopian History classroom. You'd better shape up soon,
Fortune, or suspension will be your fate!"
Fortune was startled at how vehement Mrs. Neggwin sounded. She truly believed
her teacher would suspend her in the blink of an eye.
"Well, um, I guess I'll try to pay more attention," she muttered.
"That's better," said Mrs. Neggwin shrilly. "I apologise for losing my composure.
It's simply that I despise it when students don't learn. Well, now, run along.
Go off to lunch."
Still slightly shocked, Fortune got up, picked up her lunchbox, and then walked
off to the cafeteria. She sat down next to Begonia and Ryella. Saskia and their
friends Cariona the white Lupe and Sorelia the purple Chia sat across from them.
She had a Taco Hot Dog, a Cherry Neocola, and some Earth Faerie Brownies. She
was starved. She took a big bite of her Taco Hot Dog.
"Mmmm," she said, her mouth full of meat and bread.
For about two minutes, Fortune concentrated solely on filling her empty stomach.
But then she heard Begonia say something that made her listen more closely.
"Well, I'm gonna beg Mum to take me up to Terror Mountain, so I can visit the
Snowager and try to get a rare item. I can't wait!" Begonia was telling Sorelia.
"What?" Fortune interrupted excitedly. "The Snowager? I thought you didn't
know when he slept!"
"Well, Cariona and Sorelia's owner found out, and yesterday, she and Sorelia
went and got a scratchcard!" Saskia informed Fortune.
"Sounds great!" she exclaimed. Suddenly she remembered something. "But wait
a sec... Mum hates Terror Mountain, especially the Ice Caves, and that's where
the Snowager is," she reminded Begonia.
"That's true," said Ryella sadly. "I remember... Mum'll take us to Mystery
Island, Tyrannia, even the Haunted Wood... but never Terror Mountain."
"Yeah," said Begonia somewhat angrily. "Why doesn't she like Winter World?
There's nothing wrong with it! Well, I've always wanted to go to the Snowager,
and now I have the chance. I won't let Mum stop me. When she goes shopping,
I'll sneak out. Yeah, that's sounds about right." Her expression had changed
from irritated to somewhat pleased.
"Won't Annie kill you if you go somewhere without her?" asked Sorelia.
"Yeah, didn't she say no pet of hers would disobey her?" questioned Cariona.
"Oh yeah... I remember. She said if we couldn't respect her enough to follow
her really important rules, then we would have a new home in the pound. And
not going anywhere without an owner is her most important rule," said Ryella,
looking slightly queasy. "I never want to leave Mum," she said with feeling.
"Well, me neither," said Begonia. "But I think Mum is too nice to put us up
for adoption."
"I hope you're right," said Fortune anxiously.
***
Later that day, when all of the Gelert sisters got home, Annie went off shopping,
for items such as food, books, toys, and battle items. She was even thinking
about getting a PetPets for them. That was when Begonia made her move. She strode
out the door with a smile and said, "Good-bye, sisters! I'll be off! Have fun
boring yourselves to death while I am going to find a free treasure!"
"You know, Begonia, I really don't think this is a good idea," said Saskia
disapprovingly.
"Well, I really don't care what you think," she replied rudely. "You're in
no position to tell me what to do!"
"Yes, I know that, but it's my opinion."
"Well, whatever. I'm going now."
And then she left. About an half hour later, Begonia came back, with a look
of satisfaction on her face, and a fancy Battledome item in her hand.
"Look at this!" she exclaimed ecstatically. "The Rod of Nova! One of the rarest
battle items ever! Won't Mum be pleased!"
"Pleased about what?" Begonia, Saskia, Ryella, and Fortune whirled around.
Standing in the doorway was Annie, her arms full of groceries.
"Hi, Mum," said Begonia calmly. "I was just going outside to check the mail
and look what I found on the ground!"
"The Rod of Nova!" marveled their Mum. "Amazing! Well, we'll definitely beat
Candace and Cariona next week!"
Annie and Candace (Cariona and Sorelia's owner) were good friends, as were
their daughters. Every week, they had a friendly match in the Battledome.
"Well, girls, supper will be ready in about a half hour. Go on up and play,
or watch TV. Oh, and I picked up a couple things for you all at the PetPet Shop."
Annie grinned as she opened her largest parcel. Inside were four PetPets, a
Babaa, an Eustabee, a Mallard, and a Mongmong. Saskia claimed the Eustabee,
Ryella wanted the Babaa, and Begonia just loved the Mallard. Fortune was glad
to get the Mongmong. She had secretly always wanted one, and since they supposed
to bring good luck, she named it Lucky.
"Thanks, Mum!" she said happily. "I've always wanted a PetPet." Her sisters
immediately chorused an absentminded "Thanks!" as they thought up names for
their PetPets.
Ryella coined her Babaa Shelly, Begonia called her pet Fern, and Saskia named
the Eustabee Lovable. They played with Lucky, Fern, Shelly, and Lovable until
dinner. Though Fortune and her sisters disliked that Begonia had snuck out and
broken the rules, they had to admit that finding an item as rare as the Rod
of Nova was perfectly fabulous. Begonia was so excited about the Rod that she
went to the Snowager every day after that for quite some time.
Some days Begonia got a simple, cheap item, like a Key Ring. Other days she
got Plushies or grooming items. Sometimes she got Snowballs, or other battle
things. Sometimes she got nothing at all. And sometimes the Snowager awoke,
and she had to stop by the Healing Springs in Faerieland before she got home.
And it seemed as if Annie knew nothing of her daughter's adventures while she
placidly shopped. But one day, that all changed...
To be continued... | 
