Grarrls Just Wanna Have Fun

      Turning to look at the clock, Nightingale noticed it was 10:50am. Her birthday party would be starting soon. Oh how excited she was to be having her very own birthday party! Before the pound, she had lived with a few different owners. Not one of the owners ever remembered her birthday. It wasn't that she was treated very badly. She was just a Grarrl and no one wants Grarrls. Her past owners always seemed to want another type of pet. Then one day, she was placed in the pound and no one else adopted her.

      Nightingale shook those thoughts of her past from her head. She didn't want to think about that on her birthday.

      "That's right! It's my birthday!" she exclaimed excitedly to herself.

      Once again, she looked out her window and noticed Mr. Pickles and Ms. Snowflake setting up for the party. Mr. Pickles, the pound chef, was setting the table with large amounts of food. There were all types of sandwiches, super subs and meaty dishes. For dessert, it looked like there would be cakes and pies. The grandest dessert of all was her birthday cake right in the middle of the table! There were candles on it too!

      Ms. Snowflake was putting up decorations of blue and red streamers around the tables. There was a banner hanging from a tree that said 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIGHTINGALE!".

      Nightingale took a look at the clock again. 11:14am!

      "I'd better get ready for my party!" she happily sang out.

      Moving to her dresser, she combed out her hair and placed a bright red bow in it. She was in such a festive mood now!

      "I'm pretty enough to go to a party! My party!" Nightingale stated with a giggle.

      "Nothing will ever make you pretty enough…except maybe a mask."

      Nightingale whirled around to see Jonesy with a group of his friends, standing at the door of her room.

      Jonesy was a mean disco Kyrii. He always teased Nightingale because she had been in the pound for a while now. In fact, Jonesy made life really unpleasant for her.

      "No one is coming to your party. No one cares if it's your birthday or not." Jonesy maliciously stated.

      Jonesy and his friends walked off laughing, leaving Nightingale standing there with a stunned expression.

      It was true. She didn't have any friends at the pound. She was a Grarrl. Most were either afraid of her or just didn't like to play with a pet that was so big and bulky.

      "I'm clumsy too," Nightingale thought to herself.

      Her attention was brought back to her bedroom doorway. From the staircase, she could hear voices, chattering and laughing. As the girls came closer, Nightingale could hear what Alexis and the others were talking about.

      "It will be so funny to see the look on Nightingale's face when no one comes to her party!" laughed a pink Uni named Carla.

      "Yeah, it'll be a hoot!" Alexis, a striped Shoyru, laughed back.

      The other pets in the group all nodded in agreement, as they made their comments as well.

      No longer did Nightingale feel excited about her first birthday party. In fact, she was sure she didn't even want to have a birthday party if no one cared enough to show up. She knew she was a pet without many friends, but she never thought they would ignore her or her birthday. After all, there were other birthday parties and everyone came to those.

     But, Nightingale knew that she wasn't everyone.

      Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked outside at the picnic tables. The party was there, but no one else was there.

      "Nightingale?" came the voice of Ms. Snowflake. "It's time to go to your birthday party."

      Nightingale looked at Ms. Snowflake. The moment she had anticipated for days had finally come. It was the moment she no longer wanted to have. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to Ms. Snowflake. Ms. Snowflake smiled and placed an arm around Nightingale. Together, they walked down the stairs and through the front doors, to where the party was supposed to be.

      Nightingale saw Mr. Pickles waiting at the picnic tables. As always, he had a big smile on his face. He warmly greeted Nightingale and Ms. Snowflake.

      "Are you ready for your birthday party, lass?" asked Mr. Pickles.

      "I suppose so," Nightingale answered without much enthusiasm.

      "Hey, now. You don't sound very happy for a birthday girl, "Mr. Pickles commented.

      Nightingale looked at Mr. Pickles and blurted out, "No one is coming to my birthday party!"

      Mr. Pickles smiled. "I hope that isn't the case. I have a lot of food here to feed the bunch of you."

      Nightingale gave a slight smile to him. She knew he was trying to cheer her up, but she didn't think anything would make her feel happy anymore.

      At that moment, Ms. Snowflake came over and sat down at the tables. Without looking at Nightingale, she asked if she would go around the back of the pound and bring the balloons to the table. Nightingale agreed and started walking towards the back of the pound. As she passed the front doors, she could hear the chimes of the clock. It was 12pm! Her party was supposed to be at 11:30am.

      It was true! It was all true! No one cared about her or her birthday! No one came to her party! She thought miserably to herself.

      As she rounded the corner to the back of the pound, she kept her head down. She didn't want anyone to see the tears in her eyes as the reality of the day sank in.

      "SURPRISE!!!"

      Nightingale jumped back in shock! There, in front of her, stood all the pets and staff of the pound. Carla was holding a sign that said 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY!' Some of the pets were holding balloons and some were holding presents! Nightingale didn't know what to make of all of this.

      Ms. Snowflake and Mr. Pickles came up behind her.

      "Now what would a birthday be without a surprise?" said a laughing Ms. Snowflake.

EPILOGUE

     Nightingale's birthday party was a huge success! They played games, ate a lot of really good food and she even received presents. This really did turn out to be the day she had anticipated for so long.

     She now understands that she has much to offer in friendship. She doesn't have to be the best at everything in order to have friends. She just has to be the best Nightingale she can be. She also discovered that things aren't always as they seem. Words can hurt, but just because someone says something hurtful, doesn't make their comments true.

     Nightingale is still living at the Neopian Pound. However, when you see her now, she is a more confident Grarrl, surrounded by many friends.

The End

Author's Note: This story is in honour of Grarrl Day! Thanks Gen and Pat for encouraging me to write again. I hope you enjoyed my short story. Please feel free to offer comments.