Tales of a Side Account

     Oh, how wrong I was.

     This was my new mother's side account. A side account is dreaded by most pets, a place where they are often forgotten, left to waste away. Oh, sure, she came back to feed us. But she never spoke a word to us. Just marched us down to the Soup Kitchen and left. That's another thing about side accounts. All you eat is soup.

     I did have siblings. A yellow Cybunny named Eurbert, or Bert for short, was my closest. He was the one who told me about the "Main Maniacs", as he called them, our siblings on the main account. He told stories about how long ago, this was the main account, and the main now was just a forgotten side .He told of how even longer ago, there was an even older account that used to be the main, but was now most likely forgotten or another side. But my favorite stories of all came from when he lived on the main account.

     Apparently, our mother was crazy for Cybunnies. I had two other Cybunny sisters I had never met, and most likely never would. Their names, DiamondClouds and Tenav. And a baby brother as well, a Lupe named Fowol. Oh, how I longed to meet them!

     "DiamondClouds was the caring, gentle, older sister," he would whisper, telling me the stories at midnight. "And Tenav was always smiling, you could never find a happier Cybunny. Fowol, being the baby, was a sweet and lovable Lupe. It's a steriotype that they hunt other Neopets nonstop, Fowol would never do that! If only you could have met them, Amber. If only...."

     "But...." I began, "Why did she send you over here?"

     "Time for bed, Amber. Goodnight."

     And the story would abruptly end. Sometimes, he told it for a bit longer, while I tried not to ask. But in the end, I always gave in, and the story would be over, just like that.

     At first, I was content just knowing what I knew about the main account. But there had to be a reason why Bert was sent here. Pets were usually moved to sides if there wasn't enough room on the main. But Bert had only told me about three pets. Wouldn't there have to be a fourth?

     On the side account, siblings came and went, adopting, trading and abandoning. I was what she called a "permie", a permanent pet. Thankfully, so was Bert. With the new addition of my older sister, a Gelert like me, Larona, we were at three permies. Our mother was spending a lot of time on here, searching for the fourth. Then, this account would be full, and little time would be spent here. I could only hope that a fourth permie would not be found, and she would stay here, forever, with us.

     But a fourth permie was found. Another Cybunny, monhke, or Monnie as she went by, came to stay with us. A painted one this time, speckled. The little attention we recieved vanished.

     The strange thing was that I had thought Bert would get along with Monnie, with both of them being Cybunnies and all. It was true that Larona and I didn't get along so well, but at least we talked on occasion. Bert didn't want any part of Monnie at all! He seemed to be avoiding her, or at least the sight of her. He wouldn't look at her, even at the dinner table. Never once did they speak to eachother.

     About a month had passed before I found out what was keeping him from Monnie. I remember exactly what happened. Early that morning, I had been running around, chasing a ping-pong ball. Usually, my morning activities consisted of chasing something until our mother arrived. The ball just happened to roll out onto the front lawn and seemed to vanish.

     "Bert!" I called. "My ping-pong ball's lost!"

     "Where did you lose it?" he responded.

     "Outside! Help me look for it!"

     Silence.

     "Bert?"

     Finally a response came. "Where outside?" He sounded....nervous.

     "Um... in the grass?"

     A split second after I said that, Bert came running downstairs in a panic.

     "NO! You'll have to find it on your own! I'm NOT HELPING! GO!"

     What a reaction to a ping-pong ball, I thought. I just decided he needed time to himself and went out to find it on my own. There it was, sitting in a clump of grass.....

     Ping-pong balls on grass.....

     Suddenly I knew, I knew right away what was up. And I knew what had to be done. I dashed back inside the house and up the stairs to find Bert. He was, of course, in his room, but with the door locked. He had never locked the door before.

     "Bert!" I yelled, banging on the door, "Open up! I need to talk to you!"

     "It's about the ping-pong ball, isn't it?"

     "Sort of.... Just open up!"

      The door opened, with no one in sight. I walked behind the door and found him sitting there, pressed up against the wall.

     "What?"

     This wasn't going to be easy, but I knew I just had to say it.

     "What's wrong with Speckled pets?"

     Bert sighed. "It's about time I told you, Amber...."

     "Back when I was on the main account, I'm sure you know about that thing going on with the faeries being turned to stone and all."

     I nodded.

     "Well, our mother was as crazy about that as she is about Cybunnies. She wanted everything she could that had to do with it. Especially the Neopets that were a big part of that story. Her favorite was Xandra. A Speckled Xweetok."

     I could see where this was going.

     "She wanted her very own Xandra. Not just off to a side, but on the main account. So that meant someone had to go. Of course, she'd never put her first Cybunny, Tenav, or a beautiful painted one, Diamond, on a side. And don't get me started on Fowol. She spent weeks searching for him, of course he was staying on the main."

     "So that means..." I began.

     "Yes, I was the one sent over here so she could have her very own precious Xandra. Don't you see, Amber? Speckled pets ruined my life!"

     "But not all Speckled pets were created to hurt you! In fact, I don't think our mother meant to mess up anything by creating her, especially not the life of her pet!"

     Bert stared at me.

     "Monnie was stuck in the pound. If anything, she'd probably been kicked out for another pet too."

     Bert was looking straight at me. "I guess you're right..."

     Eventually, Bert apologized to Monnie, and they became friends. I know I should have been happy about that, but I wasn't. Bert played with Monnie now instead of me. I know it was selfish, but I wished I had never tried to help.

     I got used to being ignored, just like I always got used to anything bad. I found happiness in the little bit of attention I recieved from Larona, and occasionly from our mother when she walked us to the Soup Kitchen. I was so happy then that I didn't even notice that we had passed the Soup Kitchen.

     Larona was the one to speak up. "The Soup Kitchen's back there," she said.

     "I know," was my mother's only response.

     Right then I knew something was up. "Where are we going?" I asked.

     "Somewhere I should have taken you a long time ago. Now, hold my hand and close your eyes. Don't you dare open them."

     Not one to argue, I did as I was told. She pulled us along until she finally stopped.

     "Wait here. Don't say anything until I get back."

     I heard her footsteps getting farther away. With my eyes still closed, I sat down. After a while, I heard footsteps again. Multiple footsteps. I heard my mother speak.

     "Wait here. Don't say anything until I get back."

     I heard the footsteps walk away once again. But after the sound of the steps faded, I heard other voices too....

     "Rosie, where are we?"

     "Hailie, we have to be quiet!"

     It wasn't long until I heard the footsteps again. More footsteps than before, I was sure.

     "Now you may open your eyes."

     Neopets, Neopets everywhere. Next to my siblings, there were two other groups of pets standing near us, one that I immediantly recognized as the Main Maniacs. The other, I assumed it was a group from the old forgotten side account. I guess it wasn't so forgotten after all.

     "Everyone, meet your brothers and sisters. Why don't we introduce ourselves? You guys can go first," she said, pointing at the other side account group.

     A green Cybunny was the first to stand up. "My name is Buneizzly, but you can call me Bune."

     Next, a yellow Cybunny that looked somewhat like Bert stood up. "I am the great, wonderful Ah-May-Zing Hailashie! But if you must, call me Hailie."

     Wow, what an introduction. Before I could comment, the next one stood up, a Faerie Gelert.

     "My name is Roseberry673. Despite the name and color, I'm a BOY." That got some giggles from the crowd. But now, it was our turn to introduce ourselves. I was first.

     "I-I'm AmberAutumn. B-but you c-can call me Amber."

     Don't judge me, I was nervous! You'd be too if you had to introduce yourself to a group of random pets who you've just been told are your siblings!

     Larona went next, with a big long introduction about how smart she was. Monnie gave a normal intro, and so did Bert. Then, it was time for the Main Maniacs...

     The Cloud Cybunny who I recognized as DiamondClouds began. "My name is DiamondClouds, but you can call me Diamond. I look forward to hanging out with you guys. I also..."

     A Red Cybunny jumped in front of her face. "My name is Tenav!" she screamed. Diamond looked slightly upset at her, but they both took their seats in the end. A baby Lupe introduced himself as Fowol. I thought his introduction was the cutest, as he simply stood up, said his name, and fell over.

     Next, a Speckled Xweetok began to speak.

     "I'm....."

     "Don't."

     That was Bert's voice. I turned to look at him.

     "Don't even say it. I know who you are."

     This was not going to end well. I looked at the Xweetok and saw fear in her eyes.

     "I know who you are."

     Don't hurt her, please, don't hurt her....

     "You're my sister."

The End