A Change in Heart: Part One

      She tip-toed across the cold tile floor and opened the pizza box. The Wocky was about to snatch the last piece of pepperoni pizza, when she heard her brother enter the kitchen. He was a blue Wocky, but Mimi soon turned back to the pizza.

      "Hey Matt," she said, picking up the slice.

      "Look at that!" he screamed, pointing out the window. Mimi looked, but saw nothing but the grassy backyard. When her eyes returned to the pizza, she saw that her brother had stolen the piece right out of her paw. She shot him an angry glare in response.

      "Matt! I was going to eat that…" Angrily, Mimi chased after her brother, who had run to the other corner of the kitchen.

      "You aren't now," he said through a loud, annoying giggle.

      Just as she got close to Matt, he jumped on the table and began to eat the pizza. "Ha ha," he muttered through a cheesy mouthful of pizza. A piece of pepperoni fell out of his mouth and onto the table. "You can have it if you want," he offered. Mimi's ears rang with his annoying laughter.

      Determined not to have her brother ruin a perfectly good afternoon, the pink Wocky selected another slice (Nice Iced Pizza) and scampered off to the Living Room. All of a sudden, she slipped on something and fell to the ground with a thud.

      "Ouch!" she screamed, rubbing her sore back. "What did I slip- MATT!" Mimi had discovered her brother's skateboard, and instantly knew what happened. He had, once again, forgotten to put it away, and the poor Wocky had slipped on it, once again.

           Her brother laughed again and ran off to his room. Mimi scraped up her pizza, which had landed face-down on the dirty floor, and threw it away. She wasn't in the mood for pizza anymore.

      Fairly frustrated, Mimi trudged up to the room she shared with her older sister Lesley. Her petpet, Snuggles the Snowbunny, greeted her as she opened the door. She smiled at the furry critter and tried not to think about her brother. She cuddled up with Snuggles on her bed.

      Just as she was getting comfortable, she was disrupted again. "Mimi," chirped Marsha's familiar voice. "Get down here. You have some explaining to do." The Wocky sighed. How could she be in trouble this time?

      Mimi gave Snuggles a hug and left him in his petpet bed. Slowly, she walked back out the door and down the stairs. There, she saw Marsha, who wore an angry look.

      "The kitchen is a MESS!" she yelled, furiously. "And who did I leave with a box of left-over pizza? Mimi, I can't believe you! I go down to the Food Shop to get something for dinner, and I get back to this. What do you have to say for yourself?"

      The Wocky looked around the kitchen, a little surprised. There was a saucy mess on the table that Matt had left, and there was pink icing where her pizza had fallen, but there were also three pieces of toast, some spilled Neocola, and a chocolate ice cream cone on the floor. Matt!, she thought, boiling with fury.

      "Well?" demanded Marsha, still pink-faced.

      "I didn't do it," spat Mimi before she realized how much it sounded like she was bending the truth. "I really didn't this time!"

      The blond-haired girl rolled her eyes. "Of course. You didn't do it when Snuggles got loose and attacked Matt during his bath. You didn't do it when Lesley woke up sticky-taped to her bedroom wall. So you definitely didn't do it this time, right?" she said sarcastically.

      Guiltily, Mimi thought back to those to experiences. She hadn't meant to lose control of Snuggles, and Matt deserved it, too. And Lesley had been showing off about her A+ report card, and deserved to be sticky-taped to the wall as well. But, this time, Mimi really wasn't to blame.

      "It was Matt," said the Wocky truthfully.

      Marsha eyed her pet suspiciously. "I didn't leave Matt with the pizza. I left you with the pizza. Is there more to this story you wish to tell me."

      Mimi sighed and told her owner about how Matt had taken her pizza and eaten it messily, and left his skateboard where she could trip on it. "He must have made a mess when I went upstairs," she finished.

      The girl sighed. "I'll have a word with him, then." Marsha looked as if she still didn't quite believe her Wocky.

      With a grunt, Mimi returned upstairs. As soon as she opened the door, she frowned, for Lesley had taken over.

      Lesley was a gorgeous faerie Wocky. She wore a pair of thick glasses, and growled when her sister opened the door. Lesley was sitting on her bed, and picked up her backpack. Although Neoschool was out, Lesley did not part with her beloved backpack.

      "Hi," muttered Mimi, out of manners. She was still annoyed with Matt, and wasn't in the mood for an argument. Unfortunately for her, her sister thought otherwise.

      "Oh, hi," she snarled, digging her paws through her backpack in search of something. When she found it, she pulled it out. "Just looking at some of my best work. Let's see…the book report that got an A+++, yes, it was three pluses! And the math quiz that I got 100%, and found a mistake! And it was an official quiz, too. Made by some professors!"

      Mimi turned away from her braggy sister. But Lesley didn't stop at that. "Oh, look. Here's a picture of the day I got elected class president. And here's one of when I won the school-wide art contest. And-"

      "Quit being so full of yourself," warned Mimi. She had picked Snuggles up from his petpet bed and was stroking him. "It's getting extremely annoying, you snob. Yeah, you're the best, but you never stop bragging!"

      "At least I have something to brag about," she retorted. She put away her backpack, and slowly walked to Dolly's bed.

      Dolly was Lesley's Mazzew. Ever since Mimi had gotten Snuggles, the two petpets had been sworn enemies. Dolly climbed up Lesley's paw and cuddled with her owner. As Mimi snarled with disgust, Snuggles hopped out of her arms. He waddled over to the other petpet, cautiously. As he approached Dolly, Lesley kicked him away.

      "Get that furball away from my precious," howled Lesley. "Dolly doesn't like to deal with scum like that." Outraged, the pink Wocky comforted her Snowbunny.

      "Don't you touch Snuggles," she warned. Her eyes were red and angry, but her sister didn't care.

      "Come on, Dolly. You don't want to deal with something like that. And please, Mimi, can do something about the racket she makes? She squeaks and squeals all night. Me and Dolly can't get to sleep, because of her."

      Mimi wasn't listening. With Snuggles wrapped in her arms, she promptly got up off her bed and left the room. She kicked the door close behind her and made a loud banging noise. Downstairs in the living room, Marsha winced.

      "Keep it down," she called. However, Mimi hadn't heard her.

     --

      "I'm sick of it," complained Mimi, as she walked into the backyard. She let Snuggles down on the grass, and he frolicked in the sun. "They all are so annoying. Matt never stops bugging me. Lesley never stops bragging. And Marsha always blames me!"

      Almost as if he had understood her, Snuggles squeaked.

      "At least you understand me, Snuggles!" she said, scooping up her Snowbunny. "You love me and care about me, and you'd never do anything to make me upset. Right?" Snuggles snorted, and Mimi took that as a 'yes.'

      "Dinner, Mimi!" called Marsha, interrupting Mimi. With a sigh, she picked her petpet up again and returned to the kitchen.

      "Maybe dinner will help," she thought aloud. She was wrong.

     --

      In a few minutes, Mimi, Lesley, Matt, and Marsha all gathered around the dinning table. Marsha had brought fresh Neggs from the food shop, sliced them, and grilled them to perfection. She had also bought bread, and had toasted it to go along with the Neggs.

      "Enjoy," she said, quite proud of her fine cooking job. She served herself a piece of toast and a Negg slice, and folded the Negg into the toast to make a sandwich. She winked at her three Wockies as she took a large bite. "Yum."

      Lesley did the same and smiled at her family. "So, how was everyone's day?" she asked politely.

      "It was BORING!" hollered Matt, as he piled three Neggs on his plate, and shoved another in his mouth. "It was BORING, and BORING, and even more BORING!"

      Marsha placed her Negg sandwich down and frowned. "Sorry, dear. What would you like to do tomorrow that's more fun?"

      Matt seemed delighted that he could choose what the family did tomorrow. "I want to go to….THE LOST DESERT!" he screamed, banging his fists on the table.

      "That doesn't sound so bad," commented Lesley, as she munched her dinner. "Lost Desert is supposed to be lovely in the summer. I think it's a great idea!" The faerie Wocky beamed at Matt. Although he was an annoying pest, Lesley always thought he was adorable.

      "Then the Lost Desert it is!" declared Marsha as she grabbed another piece of toast. The family ate in silence, but soon, Marsha realized that Mimi had barely touched the Neggs and toast.

      "Mimi?" she asked. All eyes turned to the pink Wocky. "Are you feeling alright?" Suddenly, all the anger Mimi had felt all day came out.

      "No," she said, softly. "No, I'm not. I'm sick of this family. I'm sick of Matt and his pesky pranks. I'm sick of Lesley and her A's, and of Dolly, too. And most of all, I'm sick of you, Marsha! The way you always listen to Matt. The way you always blame me."

      Marsha was turning as pink as Mimi as her Wocky yelled, "And I don't want to go to the Lost Desert tomorrow. You can't make me!" Hearing this, Matt began banging his fists on the table again.

      "We're going!" he declared, stubbornly.

      "No we're not!"

      "Yes we are!" hollered Marsha, Lesley, and Matt, all in unison.

      "Mimi, just because you don't want to go, doesn't mean Lesley and Matt have to stick around here. You can stay home, then."

      That was not what Mimi had wanted to hear. "You'd just leave me?" she asked sadly. As hot tears began to pour down to cheeks, she stood up from the table and ran to her room.

      "That's my room, too!" moaned Lesley, but Marsha silenced her, and left Mimi to her angry tears.

To be continued...