A Rambunctious Kacheek's Culinary Plight

      The alluring elegance of the establishment emitted the feeling of bliss. The restaurant, simply named "Kelp", was rumored to be one of Neopia's finest eateries. On the basis of its eclectic appearance, it certainly lived up to its reputation. Music washed around the room, produced by a live band. This beautiful sound was relaxing and classy at the same time.

      Smiling, Chessella the Pastel Draik hugged her sister. "Happy birthday, Angie. We're eating here to celebrate your birthday."

      "Thanks," answered Angie. "I appreciate it."

      Ella opened the menu. "This Ocean Platter sure looks good," she commented. "The menu describes it as 'a delectable blend of Maraquan delights for you to sample.' " She looked up at her sisters. "I'll order that, and I'll let each of you try a little piece."

      "Yum," grinned Maldice, another one of Ella's sisters.

      "Not as tasty as chocolate," groaned Walda, Ella's little sister.

      Ella turned to Walda. "If you finish your main course, I'll buy you a chocolate dessert. Otherwise, you won't get a treat."

      "Okay," grumbled Walda. "I'll order the Stramberry Sausages."

      Then the waitress, a Maraquan Uni, swam over to the table. "Are you ready to order?" she asked.

      "Yes," replied Ella. "I'll have the Ocean Platter..."

      The food came in a timely manner. Ella eagerly took a bite. "This is delicious!" she exclaimed.

      "Where's my piece?" asked Maldice. "You promised."

      "Sure," replied Ella. She gave each sister a piece of fish.

      "I don't want fish!" growled Walda indignantly. "Where's my chocolate?!"

      "You may have it after you eat your meat," replied Ella. Walda reluctantly raised the fork to her mouth.

      The four sisters quickly finished their meals. Then the Uni returned. "Would anyone like dessert?"

      "CHOCOLATE!" yelled Walda. The other customers turned around and stared at her.

      "One Triple Chocolate Shell, please," Ella told the waitress.

      "Okay. Anything else?"

      Angie and Maldice shook their heads. "I'm stuffed," commented Maldice.

      "That dessert will be coming right up." Then the waitress swam away.

      The Uni returned and placed the Triple Chocolate Shell in front of Walda. "YUM!" screamed Walda. She immediately started to devour the treat.

      "Walda!" snapped Ella. "You're eating with your hands!" Ella handed Walda a fork. "Where are your table manners?!"

      Carried away by chocolatey bliss, Walda completely ignored her sister. The dessert disappeared quickly. Then Walda jumped out of her seat and began running around the restaurant, bumping into customers and waitresses alike.

      "Another sugar rush," groaned Maldice, burying her head in her hands. "Ella, when will you learn?"

      "She won't eat the main course unless I promise to buy her a dessert later!" answered Ella frantically. Then she saw the Maraquan Uni knocked over onto the floor, covered in food and drinks. The platter and more pieces of food were lying beside her.

      Ella ran over to the Uni's side. "I'm terribly sorry!" she exclaimed. "Walda is just a child. I'm trying to teach her improved manners. Here, I'll help you up."

      The Uni stood up. "That... blasted... Kacheek..."

      Then Ella noticed a few customers complaining at the front desk. "What's the holdup?" one growled. "We ordered our food an hour ago!"

      "It's ready right now," replied the manager, a stern-looking Red Jetsam. "The waitress is bringing it." Then the manager saw the Uni covered in food. "Oh, my!" he exclaimed. "What happened here?!"

      "That silly kid bumped into me while I was carrying the platter," grumbled the waitress. "The freshly made food is now... on the FLOOR." She sighed.

      The group of unhappy customers started to shout. "We waited an HOUR, and now some reckless BABY knocks our food onto the floor?!" one of them screamed. "This is crazy! C'mon, guys. We're leaving!" The group stomped out the door.

      The manager scowled. "Whose rambunctious child IS THIS?!" he asked desperately.

      "Uh, mine, sir," replied Ella timidly, raising her hand.

      "Pay your bill and GET OUT!" snapped the manager. "I won't tolerate this insanity."

      CRASH!!!

      Ella turned around. To her horror, Walda had just knocked over a glass statue and shattered it into a million pieces. "Walda!" sobbed Ella. "You horrible little brat! Let's go!" Then Ella grabbed Walda by the collar of her dress.

      The manager threw his arms up into the air desperately. Then he glared at Ella. "It will cost 200,000 Neopoints to replace that statue," he told her. "I will add that to your bill."

      Ella groaned, crying with embarrassment. She set a bag of Neopoints down on the counter. Then the four sisters rushed out the door.

      The four sisters returned to their Neohome. "She ruined my birthday," Angie commented despondently.

      "I know," answered Ella. "I'm really sorry."

      Exhausted, Angie and Maldice promptly went to sleep. Walda was jumping on the bed, still wound up. "WALDA!" screamed Ella. "You disgusting little beast! You are GROUNDED! Also, you must reimburse me for the cost of the statue."

      Walda stopped bouncing and stared at Ella blankly. "I don't have that kind of money!" she replied.

      "Well, you're going to get a job," Ella told her.

      Walda groaned. "Where should I work?" she asked.

      "You're going to apply for a waitress position at the Golden Dubloon. It's a restaurant on Krawk Island."

      "Sure," replied Walda nonchalantly. "However, I doubt they'll hire me. I'm just a little kid, after all."

      The next day, Ella dropped Walda off at the Golden Dubloon. "Hey, kid," a waiter greeted Walda. "Table fer one?"

      "No, I'm here to apply for a job," she replied.

      The waiter burst out laughing. Then he told her, "Whether yer a kid or an adult, we desperately need more employees. Let me take ye to our manager."

      Walda followed him to the manager's office. A gruff-looking Pirate Lupe opened the door. "What is it?" he asked.

      "Job applicant," answered the waiter.

      "Hire him," demanded the Lupe without even looking at Walda.

      "Tis a lass," stated the waiter.

      "I don't care. Hire her. We need employees."

      "Yes, sir."

      Later on, Walda arrived at the Golden Dubloon for her first day of work. "Ye understand how to wait on tables, right?" asked the manager.

      "Yes, sir," replied Walda.

      "Okay. Here, wear this bandana."

      Walda put it on. "Ye lookin' sharp!" exclaimed the Lupe. "Just like a proper pirate."

      Then Walda approached the first table. "Good afternoon," she greeted them. "I am Walda, and I will be your waitress today. What would you like to drink?"

      "I want a Land Lubber!" demanded a Pirate Moehog. "NOW!"

      Walda was taken aback. Nevertheless, she wrote the order down. Then she turned to a disheveled-looking Pirate Skeith. "For you, sir?"

      "Hogshead," he answered. "Make it snappy!"

      She took the remaining orders. A few minutes later, she brought back the drinks. "Here you go. Are you ready to order—"

      Several of the Neopets were pounding on the table. "CHUG, CHUG, CHUUUUUUGGG!" they chanted. To Walda's amazement, the Skeith drank the entire Hogshead in a single gulp. Then he let out a loud, disgusting belch.

      The other Neopets laughed obnoxiously. "Gimme another Hogshead!" demanded the Skeith.

      Walda sighed. "Sure. Are you guys ready to order?"

      "Bilge Rat Madeira!" replied the Moehog. "NOW!"

      "I want a Headless Horsefish!" snapped the Skeith. "I want it FAST!"

      Walda wrote down the remaining orders, then gave them to the kitchen. She turned to the manager. "These customers are TERRIBLE!" she moaned. "They're so unbelievably rude!"

      "I know," answered the Lupe. "Now go wait on Table Six."

      Walda approached the table and saw two small children on the floor. They were wrestling very aggressively. She turned to their mother. "Good afternoon. My name is Walda, and I will be serving you today. What would you like to drink?"

      "Raspberry Pop," she replied, a clear lack of enthusiasm in her voice.

      "Anything else?"

      "Water fer the two brats."

      "Sure."

      Walda returned to the kitchen and retrieved the main course dishes from the other group. Then she brought them over to the unsightly customers. "Enjoy," she told them.

      "WHERE'S ME HOGSHEAD?!" demanded the Skeith, pounding on the table.

      "I'll go get it," replied Walda. She brought back the Hogshead.

      Then Walda returned to the other table, ignoring the screams of "CHUG, CHUG, CHUUUUUUGGG!". "Here are your beverages. Are you ready to order?"

      "Sure thing. I'll take a Baby Bloater fer meself and two of Loretta Fontaine's Perfect Pizza fer the beasts."

      "Coming right up."

      The first group of Neopets had left without giving a tip. Based on their rudeness, Walda expected that. She started to walk toward the other table with the main course dishes. However, the two children bumped into her, and the platter fell onto the floor. Sure enough, Walda was covered in food.

      "Ye disrespectful little brats!" yelled the mother. "Now the kitchen has to redo our order!" She sighed, shaking her head.

      Walda returned to the kitchen and told the cooks the bad news. Later on, she brought the new food to the table. She noticed that the two kids had picked the ruined food off of the floor. They were throwing the pieces at each other. She sighed as a piece of pizza hit her in the head.

      "Enjoy," she told them. They gobbled their food, then departed without giving a tip.

      Walda returned to the kitchen and drank a lot of water. Then the manager approached her and clapped his paws. "Walda!" he exclaimed. "Ye shift is over. Here's ye pay: Ten Dubloons." He placed the shiny coin into her hand.

      "What's this?" she asked quizzically.

      "Dubloons. Ye can use them to buy things on Krawk Island."

      Walda hid her disappointment. She felt despondent because she needed Neopoints to repay Ella, yet she had been paid in Dubloons. "Thank you," she stated, biting her tongue. She started to walk away.

      "Hey, kid," the Lupe began. "I feel bad for ye because the customers were so rude. They didn't even tip ye, either. Therefore, I'll treat ye to a beverage on the house. Anything except fer Hogshead."

      Walda smiled. "Grape Pop, please," she requested.

      He handed for a bottle. "May I please save it for later?" she asked. "I'm not thirsty right now."

      "Sure thing, kid," he told her.

      Soon afterward, Ella picked Walda up. Ella noticed the Grape Pop in Walda's hands. "What's that?" she asked.

      "It was free," replied Walda. Then she recounted the dreadful events of the day. Ella tried not to laugh. "Now you know how it feels to be covered in food, compliments of some annoying brat," she told Walda.

      Walda was about to open her Grape Pop when Ella stopped her. "Hold on," stated Ella. "If you sell that on the Trading Post, you'll be able to pay me back in full."

      Walda's eyes lit up. "Really?" she smiled. "Then I'm quitting this lousy job!" She tore off her bandana and stomped on it.

      Ella laughed. "I'm glad everything turned out alright," she commented.

      The Grape Pop soon sold, and Walda was able to repay Ella. Walda also had some Neopoints leftover. Although Ella forbade the purchase of more chocolate, Walda was satisfied with the new toys that she bought for herself. She spent hours and hours playing with them instead of suffering through that horrible job. Walda could do nothing but grin because her money woes were resolved, and she had new toys. Ella and Walda spent many happy days playing with them. Undoubtedly, this ordeal had brought the two sisters closer together.

      The End.