The Food Shop Owner's Goal

     "Don't be shy!" the yellow Chia said with a smile. "No need to be, am I right?"

     "Uh.." The Aisha looked up at the comforting gaze of the Food Shop's owner. She swallowed and offered him a small, nervous smile of her own.

     "Okay, little miss," the Chia said, grinning. "I'll go get your burger like you ordered." He hurried into the storage room in the back of the Food Shop, and he came back with a small bag with one burger inside of it.

     "Thank you," the Aisha said so lowly that only the Chia could hear her. She took the burger.

     "Oh, that's quite okay, little miss!" the Chia said loudly and happily. "It's what I do, and this thing is what I like to do!"

     The Aisha looked startled at how loud the Chia was, and zoomed out of the Food Shop without even retrieving her change which the Chia held in his hand. He sighed.

     The Aisha had come to the Food Shop frequently, always ordering a burger when she did. He had tried to warm up to her every time he saw the shy Aisha, but it wasn't so easy. Sometimes she wouldn't even look at him at her visits to his shop. But there was no need to be thinking that now; he had customers waiting for him!

     He looked at his next customer in line. It was a red Lupe who looked very hungry.

     "Hello!" he greeted the Lupe. "How may I help you today, sir? Your usual; a large neocola with fries and a sandwich?"

     "Yes, that sounds just about right," the Lupe answered with a toothy grin.

     "Coming right your way!" the Chia cried joyfully. He scurried about and soon the Lupe's order was filled and the Neopet had left the shop with a content smile on his lips.

     The Lupe was a regular at the Food Shop. He came every day with the same hungry look on his face, but he always left very satisfied.

     The customers who came to his shop were usually his regulars. When he had a new shopper at his shop he'd ask questions about them, and soon they became friendly enough with the Chia.

     Except for the Aisha.

     The Aisha was different. She was so shy, and she only spoke in whispers. The first time the Chia had met her, he had scared her so much with his loud voice that she ran out of the shop, forgetting her burger that the Chia had made for her. The Chia's only goal in life was to get the Aisha to warm up to him and be friendly like the other customers. He couldn't blame her that she was shy, but she barely even looked at him in the eye!

     For the rest of the day the Chia worked hard while thinking of ideas to get the Aisha to like him.

     The next day the Aisha stopped at the shop again. She anxiously crept up to the yellow Chia to order her sandwich.

     "Hello, little miss!" called the Chia when he saw her. She froze where she was. "Please, don't be shy! You forgot your change from last time, by the way," he said, handing her thirty-five gold coins. "Make yourself at home!"

     Why won't he just leave me alone? the Aisha said to herself. The Chia saw her hesitance to order, so he just got her usual order, a burger with fries.

     "Thank you," the Aisha whispered as he handed her the sandwich. "But how did you know I wanted a burger?"

     "It's your usual, isn't it?" The Chia smiled warmly. The Aisha looked at him and gave him a large grin. It wasn't a fake one like usual; it was a friendly one which made the Chia think only of good thoughts.

     "Here," the Aisha said lowly as she handed the yellow Chia one hundred neopoints. "Keep the change." And she left.

     By the end of the day, the Chia felt a little triumphant.

     The next day was a bright, sunny day. The Chia at the Food Shop hoped that the red Aisha'd come back today. She did after about thirty customers had stopped by to have some food at the Food Shop.

     "Hello," she said, a little bit louder than she usually was when she saw the Chia.

     "Hey, hey, hey!" exclaimed the yellow Chia with a huge grin. He was glad the Aisha was here. "Look who's here! My favourite customer!"

     The Aisha just stared at the Chia. Am I really his favorite customer? she wondered. The thought pleased her very much.

     "My usual, please," she said. The Chia had already gotten her order ready.

     "Thank you," the Aisha said, and handed the yellow Chia her pay.

     "You're quite welcome, little miss." The Chia grinned.

     As she went to leave, she turned around to the Chia, smiled, and said, "My name isn't Little Miss, you know."

     "Oh?" The Chia faced the red Aisha who was about to leave. "What is it, then?"

     "It's Apple," the Aisha responded and sped out of the shop.

     By the end of that day, the Chia was so pleased with himself that he went to bed with the biggest smile he'd ever had.

     The yellow Chia slowly put up the 'Open' sign up in his shop's window. The Aisha hadn't come by the shop in two days and he was feeling a little dejected when he entered his small shop.

     But later on in the day, the red Aisha came in the shop with a sullen expression on her face. He was delighted when he saw her, but wasn't so sure of her frown on her face.

     "What's wrong, Apple?" he said, trying out her name. It had a nice ring to it even though it was the name of a fruit that he ate every day. And to use an apple as a name in a sentence; it was too cool!

     But the news that Apple had was not too cool.

     "I'd like to have a burger, please," Apple said half-heartedly.

     "No, not until you tell me what's wrong," he said firmly.

     Apple sighed. "Fine," she said. "I'm moving to Mystery Island. I'll have to move away from all of my friends here in Neopia Central!"

     The Chia's mouth went dry. "But you're my favorite customer!" he cried. "You make me happy whenever I see you!"

     "I do?" Apple looked a little shocked, but nonetheless pleased at this news.

     "Yes, you can't move far away!" The Chia felt like shouting his problems into the skies.

     "I have to," the sad Apple said. "My mom says it's for the best." She was a little surprised she was talking to the most unlikely person she'd want to talk to about the subject of moving, but he was such a good listener, and he was one of the older Neopets that actually agreed that she shouldn't move to Mystery Island.

     "Mystery Island is not the best place," the Chia said. "It's full of a lot of nasty surprises!"

     Apple looked at the Chia and raised an eyebrow. "You think I need reminding that Mystery Island's near a spooky lost city?" she said. "No, I don't."

     "I just don't think you should go," the Chia said. "I'd miss seeing your smiles!"

     "I only met you for only a couple of hours in all," Apple said. "Why do you take me as a wonderful Neopet?"

     "It just seems that you're more special than some Neopets," the Chia said seriously. "You just can't leave!"

     Apple just shook her head. "My mom said there's no changing her mind. I'm leaving tomorrow, and I'll be forced to go." She looked at the Chia again. She had always favored the Food Shop in Neopia Central. It was so neat and tidy, but the first time she saw the Chia, she liked him just a teensy bit before he heard his loud voice. She sighed and said, "May I have my burger now, please? This'll be my last meal from my favourite shop in Neopia Central, and I'd like to enjoy it."

     "This is your favourite shop?" the Chia said, pleased. "I'm glad to hear that." He handed Apple a burger. "I'm going to miss your visits. That must sound strange to you, Apple, because you're right. In all, I've only known you for a couple hours or so."

     "No," Apple said, taking the burger from the Chia's yellow hands, "it actually doesn't sound strange to me anymore. Some people just judge Neopians once they see them. You first judged me as a friendly Neopian, which pleases me very much."

     "But you seemed to be so shy when I first met you," the Chia said. "And now you're telling me of your problems. I think that's a miracle."

     "Well," Apple said, chewing pieces of her burger when she sat down at a chair in the Food Shop, "I was scared of your loud voice when I first met you. I thought you were crazy when I first heard you, but I fell in love with the food here that I couldn't help but come back here every few days."

     The Chia chuckled. "I'm going to miss you. You once were the only reason why I came here with a smile every day. My goal was to make you friendly towards me."

     "That's sort of funny," Apple said. "I'm friendly towards you now. Looks like you'll have to find another goal."

     "Yeah." The Chia scratched his head. "What could that be?"

     "I don't know." The Aisha stood up. "Nice meeting you," she said, holding out her hand.

     The Chia looked at it, smiled, and shook it.

     "Nice meeting you, too."

The End

This is just the beginning! I'm going to make stories of the Health Shop Quiggle, etc. I hoped you liked this one!