Moving Day

     Jimmy looked back inside his Neohome as it was cluttered with half-filled boxes and stray furniture trinkets. Packing the boxes were his two roommates of the past three years, Harvey and Bastian.

     "Whose Anubis Lamp is this?" asked Harvey, a yellow Blumaroo.

     "That's mine," replied Bastian. "Just put it in the box with the mirror, please," the red Peophin added.

     Harvey then looked at the green sofa sitting in the center of the room.

     "We still need to decide who gets the couch," he suggested.

      "Well, I'll be traveling around the Lost Desert for the next year, so I won't be needing a sofa," answered a spirited Bastian. "You or Jimmy can have it."

     Back to looking out the window once again, Jimmy blankly replied, "I don't care."

     Harvey shrugged. "I guess I'll take it then. It'll fit perfectly in my new house anyway," he said. He continued, "I can't wait for you guys to come and visit. Roo Island is such a fun place! Plus, I can give both of you free Merry Go Round rides anytime you want."

     "It'll probably be a while until I can get out there," Bastian said with a wondrous smile. "I'll be busy learning all about the sacred history of the lands of the Lost Desert."

     "How about you, Jimmy? When will you have a chance to visit me?" Harvey asked.

     Jimmy was still looking out the window, lost in his own thoughts. He was not nearly as excited about moving as his two roommates.

     A part of him realized it was about time. The trio had spent three long years together and now his friends had bigger and better things to do -- new chapters of their lives to move on to. Harvey would be returning to his beautiful homeland to a fun job as operater of the famous Roo Island Merry Go Round, and Bastian had the exciting opportunity to join a yearlong tour of his favorite land in all of Neopia.

     But unlike his roommates, Jimmy had no set plans and did not know what his future held, and he wasn't ready for things to change so soon. He was happy with the way things were going and wished they could just stay the same.

     So as he continued gazing out the window overlooking the garden, the Quiggle was trying to come up with a plan to keep living the life he had grown so fond of over the last three years. That was when it hit him – maybe if he did something to remind them all of some of the best times they had together as roommates, they wouldn't want to leave either! It may not have been the most elaborate plan, but it was worth a shot Jimmy thought.

     "Jimmy?" Harvey continued, waiting for a response to his inquiry.

     Snapping out of it, Jimmy quickly responded, "Oh, yes... of course! I'll visit you as soon as I can." But really, Jimmy was only thinking about the things he could do that would make Harvey and Bastian want to stay, as he was running out of time. They would be all packed up by tomorrow, so Jimmy had merely one day to capture years worth of memories and merriment.

     As Harvey and Bastian continued their own packing, Jimmy set out to find items to help him recreate the best times they had together in that house. Desperate, he quickly rummaged about the Neohome hoping to find something that would inspire him.

     He then looked back outside at the Neogarden at the Kookith Paddling Pool in the yard. With a smile on his face, he went outside in the gloomy weather to begin splashing around in the little pool.

     "Hey guys! Come on out!" he called out as enthusiastically as possible, trying to make it seem like he was having the time of his life.

     "Jim, what are you doing? It looks like it's about to rain!" Bastian called back.

     The Quiggle didn't care, as he continued frolicking in the padding pool. "Don't worry, it's fine!" Then at that moment, a crash of thunder roared across the sky and Jimmy jumped as high as he could and darted inside towards shelter.

     "Never mind," the relieved Quiggle said, panting.

     But he was not ready to give up yet. The next thing the he spotted was a dusty Moehawk Speaker in the corner of the living room. Hoping to recreate the experience of seeing the their first concert together of their favorite band, Jimmy and turned the speaker up as loud as he could as it blasted Moehawk's hit song.

     The Quiggle bounced around the floor of the room, thrashing his head while Harvey and Bastian looked in embarrassment. "Hey guys, remember that epic Moehawk concert we went to? Wasn't that great?"

     Bastian covered his ears in agony. "Turn it off!" he groaned.

     "We still have that thing?" a perplexed Harvey asked.

      Distraught, Jimmy quickly turned the music off. "Sorry, I just wanted to have some fun." Jimmy frowned.

     "I can't believe we ever liked that band," Bastian lamented.

     "I know! It's all about Gruundo now!" Harvey said.

     "No way. That's just noise. I only listen to classic music music, like the Neopian Philharmonic," Bastian said.

     Harvey rolled his eyes. "Oh look at me, I'm too sophisticated for normal music," he mockingly replied.

     Bastian shook his head in aggravation. "One of these days you'll come to appreciate it, you'll see!"

     With his will shattered, Jimmy sulked in the corner. He still loved Moehawk, why didn't his friends? He had not realized how much they had changed. He began to winder if they really should be going their own ways. But still, he was not ready to abandon hope just yet.

     He continued searching for something else to recapture the best of their friendship. He cycled through a seemingly endless pool of junk. Old books, busted piñatas, Neocheckers – nothing that the Quiggle felt would recreate the fond memories he had.

     Then Jimmy found his Official Slushie Slinger Machine in the back of the kitchen cupboard. Remembering how much they all enjoyed drinking the cool, refreshing beverage of the Altador Cup together, the Quiggle decided to make their favorite slushies - a Zeenana Slushie for Harvey, a Chokato Slushie for Bastian, and a Jumbleberry Slushie for himself.

     Re-entering the living room with a tray full of the colorful beverages, Jimmy asked, "How about a break, guys?"

     "You made slushies? Awesome!" Harvey expressed in excitement.

     "Thanks, Jimmy!" Bastian followed.

     The three friends each grabbed their respective slushies and took a seat on the sofa for a break in the midst of all the hectic packing, taking up what could be some of their final moments together as roommates.

     Bastian took a big gulp of his chocolaty Chokato Slushie and looked back at his cup. "Remember the last time we all had slushies together? During the Altador Cup?" the Peophin asked.

     Harvey winced at the memory as his face turned pink. "Yeah, you threw your slushie in my face!"

     As he let out a big chuckle, Bastian sympathized, "Sorry about that, you just got me so mad!"

     "I was the one who should have been mad! You threw a slushie at me!" Harvey shouted.

     "You were the one that said the Lost Desert didn't stand a hairy snowball's chance at winning!"

     "Well, I can't help it if they are awful!"

     "Right... Tell me again, who won that year?" Bastian tauntingly retorted.

     Jimmy watched as Harvey's face turned from a bright pink to a burning red. He wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or anger, maybe both. But either way, the Quiggle saw what was about to happen from a mile a way and was sure to stay clear of the Blumaroo's path as he grasped his Zeenana Slushie and poured it right over Bastian's head.

     "There. Now we're even," Harvey said, with a satisfactory grin.

     The shivering Peophin got up, wiping the icy green slushie off his mane, and reciprocated by attempting to hurl his slushie back at Harvey only to accidentally hit Jimmy instead.

     Harvey then lunged towards the Peophin and the two were caught in a wrestling match as Jimmy looked in anguish over the mess he had caused. His futile attempts to make his friends want to stay together only made things worse, and the Quiggle was left disappointed and cold.

      But then, all Jimmy heard was roaring laughter from his two friends..

     "You know, I'm really going to miss this," Bastian said.

     "Me too," Harvey agreed.

     "It won't be the same after we move out. Even if we see each other, it'll be different," Bastian added.

     Comforted by the revelation that his friends were also distraught about the move, Jimmy finally began to feel a lot better. "I know. I guess it's time, though. We all have to make changes," he said.

     "We don't necessarily have to change... We're just growing up," Harvey noted.

     Jimmy may have still felt fearful and unprepared for where the future was taking him, but he came to the realization that it was okay. He did not know where he would be going next, but from the last three years he knew he would have two friends that would be there for him through thick or thin.

     So finally, Jimmy began to pack his things, while also planning his future ahead.

The End