To Be Different

by Featherdusty

I knew I was different. I was a freak. A mutant. I was sitting in the Neopian Pound with no hope whatsoever. I was not always this way though.

I was born a normal Techo. My owner loved me and I was well taken care of. Then as time passed my owner became obsessed with find the laboratory treasure maps. I was equally excited, but when my owner finally found all the pieces he took my older brother with him instead of me. When they came back that night my brother had a new rainbow coat. My owner was tired so she went to sleep. That night I couldn't sleep. I wanted a new coat so badly that I took the pieces of the treasure map and went to find the laboratory. I didn't care if I was disobeying. I would have such a nice coat that everyone would marvel at me. When I got there I saw a big ray gun. An old Chia was standing near by.

"The red button will activate it, and it is true, the ray gun will change your coat. Be warned though, it might change more than that," he said with his low creepy voice.

I took no interest in his warning. I walked right up to that ray gun and pressed the button. There was suddenly a bright light and I was knocked out. When I woke up I felt groggy. I could barely see properly and I ached all over. As I walked towards my house everyone was staring at me. I just thought that they were admiring my new coat. Boy was I wrong.

"Get away from me you monster!" screamed my owner.

"It's me! Popio_Jr!" I yelled. Why couldn't he recognize me? As he continued screaming at me, the whole neighborhood started screaming. "I just me! Popio_Jr!" As I ran away from the screaming crowd I came upon a lake. I looked at my reflection and it was horrifying. I had turned into a mutant. I quickly ran to the laboratory. "Change me back!" I wailed.

"No can do. You might change back into a normal Techo, but you could also turn into a more horrifying creature!" said the old Chia.

I was so scared. I didn't know what to do so I went to my owner. With time he found out that I was really Popio_Jr. At first I thought that with a little adjusting everything will become normal again. Unfortunately my owner started to drift apart from me. He would always play with my brother and when guests came over he would hide me. He also stopped training me. I was always alone. Then one day my owner came and said he'd like to have a walk with me. I was thrilled. As we strolled along I felt so happy. It was just like old times. We walked for a long time when we took a different path to pet central. To my horror we started walking to the Neopian pound.

"You're not going to put me in there are you?" I asked nervously. When he didn't respond, I knew that this was the destination for me. "Please don't put me in there!" I begged over and over and over again. He didn't even look me in the eyes. My owner handed me over to Dr. Death. "Please don't hurt me!" I said to the doctor.

"You are a disgrace to Techos everywhere! And do you know what? No one will EVER adopt you!" He said menacingly.

That's where I am now. In the cold cage. My roommate is very aggressive and scares me. While all the other pets try to look cute or pitiful. I just curled up into a ball never wanting to be seen again. I believed Dr. Death's words. No one would want a mutant. Especially one like me. It seemed like years, but who counts time in the pound. Some people would look at me pitifully, but most looked at me with disgust. I was very confused at the same time. I wanted to be free, but I was scared of people because I thought they would abandon me. Then the fateful day arrived. I was in the corner of my cage half-sleeping when it happened. A huge Gelert came into the pound. To me it was like a giant. I could feel its immense power. It scared me.

"Oh, you poor thing," said the Gelert's owner. "We will take this one!"

What! They were adopting me. Normally a NeoPet would be ecstatic. Sadly I was too insecure. I just knew that the owner was going to abandon me sooner or later and I was terrified of the Gelert.

"Hi! I'm Ecline! I'm going to be your big brother!" the Gelert, Ecline, said joyfully. "Want to play tag with me!"

I was careful to trust NeoPets. I decided to look at Ecline's profile. He was a 60 day old Spotted Gelert. All his status was extremely high. He must have the perfect life. I was exactly the opposite of him. I watched him chase butterflies without a worry in the world. I wished I could be that happy.

Later that afternoon I was fed the first good meal in a long time. Then Ecline took me out to meet his friends. I knew this was going to be a disaster.

"Ewwww! What type of brother is that! It looks more like a PetPet!" said the blue Gelert.

"Sybia_01245!! Be nice to him!" yelled Ecline.

"Isn't he dangerous! He won't make me a mutant will he?" said the blue Peophin.

"Peophin210!" Stop teasing Po J!" said Ecline exasperatedly. PO J was the nickname he gave to me. The rest of the afternoon was the same. All of Ecline's friends teased me and refused to play with Ecline and me. At the end of the day we went home all worn out. I was extremely upset. In fact I was so upset I became sick with the Neopox.

"Oh, poor PO J!" said featherdusty, my owner. "Let's go buy some neopox pizza." We went to the shop wizard and it was 3000 NP! "Oh my!" said featherdusty. "Well, don't worry PO J! We just won't buy that codestone, you are much more important."

Ecline and featherdusty went outside to play while I ate my pizza and thought things out. I had to run away. The streets were the best place for a mutant like me. The reason for running away was simple, I was causing misery. Ecline was losing his friends because of me and featherdusty was wasting money on me. I would probably be sent to the pound anyway. Better to run away.

I left the next morning. I lay low on the streets, avoiding all eye contact. I slunk around until I found a deserted alley. I hid behind some garbage cans and rested for the night. When I woke up I saw a most horrific sight. This blob of a NeoPet was standing in front of me. To my right was a monster with a its brain sticking out and to my right was ghostly pet.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I screamed. "Help Me!!!!!"

"Move away awaaaaaaaay everyone!" yelled a voice.

I turned my head practically 360 degrees. I felt so relieved to see a familiar creature. It was a Striped Jetsam. It had earrings pierced all over its fins and scars all over its body. At least it wasn't a monster. I huddled into the corner of the alley as the Jetsam approached me.

"Don't be afraid. We're friends. I'm Lila1299294. We are the foundation of RP," she said in a very calming tone.

"I…don't understand?" I said nervously. "What are all these creatures? What is RP? Where am I? What are you going to do with me? Wh-"

"Just hold it there buster. Stop asking all those questions at once. First of all, the 'creatures' are just like you, normal NeoPets that have been transformed and don't call them that because it's offending. RP stands for runaway pets. All of these pets are pets that have been abused by their owners just because they look different. You are on top of our hideaway right now and we are here to welcome you to our club because you look like you need help. Now first things first. What's your name and what's your story?" she said quickly in one breath.

"Well," I say still trying to understand what she just said, "I'm Popio_Jr, but I'm used to being called PO J. I used to be a normal Techo until…" I unraveled my story throughout the night. All of the other NeoPets paid 100% attention to me. I poured out every little detail of what had happened. When I was done, everyone sat and thought my story through.

"Are you and Idiot!!!" screamed Lila. "How could you-

"What were you thinking!" screamed the Kacheek. "Are you c-"

Then they all started to badmouth me. There was so much noise all around me I couldn't grasp what they were all trying to say. My head started to spin from the commotion.

"QUIET!!!!!!!!" I screamed in frustration. "What are you trying to tell me?"

"Let me get this straight. You ran away because you think you are hurting your owner and brother," she asked coldly.

"Yes," I replied.

"You are so silly!" she yelled. "They care for you. That is why the did those things for you! People like that will not abandon you! You are very lucky, so if I were you I would go straight back to that nice home of yours. I only help the needy, not the foolish."

"But-but,-" I stammered.

"No buts," said Lila firmly. "Sorry to be harsh, but you were lucky enough to get a good home that all of us here dream for. I wouldn't give that up for anything.

I finally understood. I walked out slowly with my head lowered in shame. That was the last I saw of the RP

Needless to say, I went back to featherdusty and no, they didn't send me to the pound. I am very grateful to life now and try to live a normal happy life. I have come to love my family and look up to Ecline. I have made friends and am now just your average Techo. We adopted a new baby sister and she is constantly annoying me. It's just your average family. If you ask me if I am afraid that I will be sent to the pound, my answer would honestly be no.

To all the NeoPets out there, being different is not a crime and should be respected all the same. No NeoPet deserves to be in the pound. If you have a home and are unhappy, then think about all those NeoPets less fortunate than you.

The End