The Avinroos' Rooms

     No, strike that. She was REALLY agitated.

     It was that special time of the year again, that one week in the Month of Storing in which her parents would drop her off at the house of her game-crazy cousins, Aristotle and Abigail Avinroo, and spend the week dragged into their little competition to see who was truly the "Games Master" of Neopia. Personally, the young Cybunny had no real interest in games, preferring to spend her time in the fashion utopia that was the NC Mall, but for this one week of the year, she could put aside her craving for the latest wigs and shoes in order to "entertain" her cousins in their favorite activity.

     However, this year seemed to be her breaking point. The moment she arrived, she was promptly ignored, the arrogant Blumaroo and stubborn Aisha locked in some sort of battle of wits with a board game version of Meepit vs. Feepit. When she tried to get the two to even acknowledge her arrival, they told her to hush, unable to really be disturbed to welcome in their visiting cousin.

     "Ugh! I can't believe you two! Every year, it's the same thing! Why can't you guys, for one week, ever stop fighting over these stupid games!?" Lulu yelled, fighting back the urge to rip the game from under their hands, "I mean, you two haven't even said hi to me!"

     "Hi. Now be quiet, Lulu! I'm going to prove once and for all that I, with my superior intellect, am still the greatest Games Master in all of Neopia!" Aristotle exclaimed, ignoring his sister's eyeroll.

     "I'd like to see you still prove that when I kick your butt, Aristotle," Abigail stated, a smirk stretching across her lips as her brother visibly grimaced.

     "It's AAA! Stop calling me that!"

     "Aristotle, Aristotle!"

     Lulu sighed as the two began to verbally fight, the game now going forgotten in the clash of wits. Running a paw through her red hair, she left the room, hoping to find some sort of peace in the Avinroo madhouse. She grabbed her bags from beside the front door and headed to the guest room, mentally betting herself that she had a lot of dust and Spyders to clean up.

     "I hate coming here every year. Those two can't get their heads out of controllers and high scores long enough to pay attention to their guests!" Lulu grumbled, stomping her way down into the basement. "Next year, I'll tell Mum to leave me home!"

     Flicking on the light, she descended the last of the stairs and quirked her brow at the strangely designed doors on either side of her. "Hmm? Are these Aristotle and Abigail's rooms? I don't remember them being so... decorative... the last time I was here," she said curiously, dropping her bag against the staircase before moving closer to the door on her left.

      She could tell that it was Aristotle's room, judging by the egotistical AAA name-block and the random game bumper stickers plastered all over it. She stepped on the carpet, falling back at the 8-bit sounds that came from the glowing buttons under her feet. "Oi... he even got a game controller carpet... how crazy can you be?" the Cybunny muttered, turning the doorknob and opening the door.

     She had to admit, this was the first time she had truly gone inside her cousins' rooms, preferring to spend most of her time in the guest room with her fashion magazines and designer's art books and ignoring the "cries of victory" from the den. However, in her boredom and curious nature, she couldn't resist peeking behind the distinctly designed doors, wondering what else the Avinroo siblings could be interested in. At least, when they weren't acting like complete children over who actually won Destruct-o-Match III.

     Fumbling her paw against the wall, Lulu found the light switch and lit up the dark room. For a moment, she stood flabbergasted at the amount of game memorabilia that line every square inch of the room. "Geez... he really is obsessed with games. There's something here from every game known to Neopian!" she said with a bit of awe in her voice as she slowly walked into the room.

     She ducked past floating Space Fungi, moved around rotting food and spilled Neocola, and ignored the spaceship-shaped bed with sheets falling to the floor as she looked around. There were shelves covered in trophies and a big-screen television with every game system she'd ever seen, and some she hadn't, beneath it with cords neatly tucked around them. In one corner was his hand-designed floating chair, collecting dust and cobwebs for a long time of not being used.

     Lulu ruffled up her nose at the sights before her, fighting back the urge to clean up the disaster zone before her. However, she knew how Aristotle would act if one thing was out of place, and hence decided to leave it alone.

     "I'll make a mental note to give him a broom and dustpan for his Christmas gift," she mumbled, stepping over a piece of rotten cheese as she made her way out, turning off the light before finally shutting the door.

     Across from his room was Abigail's room, covered in flowers and stringed lights with a carpet of synthetic grass. Lulu smiled; at least one of her cousins could be considered normal! Ignoring the Faerie Slingshot replica that hung from the door, she turned the knob and peered inside, again fumbling to find the light switch in order to see.

     The Cybunny couldn't believe how incredibly girly Abigail was, especially when considering her very boyish, competitive spirit. Lining the walls were shelves full of Usuki dolls, a collection Lulu was sure would rival that of Lawyerbot, along with random photos and drawings the young Aisha did herself. She almost laughed at the idea of most of the drawings being of Aristotle admitting defeat to Abigail as the Games Master.

     Moving around strewn about books and pillows, Lulu made her way to Abigail's bed, finding it neat and properly made compared to that of Aristotle's. Her nightstand was covered in candles, some new and some nearly burned to the stump, all surrounding a clipped photo of the infamous thief-turned-hero Hanso. Lulu grinned, a thought forming in her head, as she noticed the lipsticked Xs and Os that were made across the glass.

     "Ooo, someone had a crush, someone has a crush!" Lulu sing-songed. "I totally have blackmail material now, Abigail! Now the next time I want you to get me the latest issue of Neopian Fashion Weekly, I can remind you of this!"

     Her paws innocently behind her back and a smile of satisfaction stretched across her face, she skipped out of Abigail's room, turning around to turn off the light and closing the door. Grabbing her bags, she made her way to the guest room, flipping on the light and was beyond pleased to find it cleaned and well-maintained, no doubt by Abigail. She placed her bags on the bed, opening them to unpack the few daily essentials she needed before placing them under the bed.

     "Y'know... I think in some ways, I'm a little too hard on them," Lulu pondered. "Yeah, Aristotle is a little crazy and his ego is extremely inflated, but really, he's like a little kid with how much he loves his games. And Abigail is a pretty girly-girl when she's not busy challenging him to competitions. I guess, in retrospect, they are pretty normal."

     "You cheated!" came Abigail's voice from upstairs.

     "Did not! I'm obviously much smarter and more talented than you are, so you naturally lost!" followed Aristotle in an arrogant fashion.

     With a sigh and smile, Lulu grabbed a magazine from one of her bags and made her way out of the room. "I guess I should act as the referee. Just for one week, I think I'll participate in their games," she said, closing the door before making her way up the stairs just in time to watch her cousins roll across the floor.

     "Ow, ow! Don't pull my hair!"

     "Oi..."

The End