The Luckiest Unlucky Blumaroo

      Unsurprisingly, Dice-a-roo was Dicearoo the Blumaroo’s favourite game. It had all started when she was very young, on her first trip to Roo Island. From the moment that little red die first spun out of her hand and rolled across the table with a musical clatter, she was hooked.

      Posters of the chance game plastered her bedroom walls, piles of books about it were stacked on her shelves, and she was constantly, painfully stepping on tiny, colourful novelty dice that seemed to materialise out of nowhere. At every opportunity, Dicearoo begged a group trip to Roo Island from her friends, not to listen to poems and stories in the main square, nor to paddle in the calm waters of the seashore or stroll through the Games Room, and not even visit the musical Merry Go Round! As soon as her foot hit the dock, Dice would bound off in the direction of the tournament hall to line up for a chance to roll the Dice-a-Roo die.

      One afternoon, after a solid hour of dice-rolling fun, Dice and some of her friends were relaxing in the coffee shop, showing off the items they’d won.

      Their friendly waitress, serving their drinks from a large silver platter, joined in the conversation. “So how many times have you all won the jackpot?”

      Dicearoo’s friends began to shout out over the top of one another.

      “I won for the fifth time today!”

      “Aww, I’ve only won four times!”

      “I’ve won seven times!”

      “Yeah? Well I’ve won six times, but with the jackpot multiplier every time!”

      Their waitress laughed and congratulated them, but as she served Dice a cappuccino piled high with whipped cream and sprinkles, she noticed the look of dismay on the little Blumaroo’s face. “What’s wrong, kid? Haven’t you taken a spin on the Merry Go Round yet? You look sadder than a sack of Snoogies!”

      Dice shook her head. “Well, it’s just that I’ve never actually won a game of Dice-a-Roo before…”

      All her friends stopped sipping their drinks and stared at her. “You play Dice-a-Roo more than anyone I know, Dice,” one of her friends began slowly, “How is it possible that you’ve never won?”

      Dicearoo sniffed and a tear dripped into her coffee. “I thought it was really hard to win,” she replied, “I didn’t realise how often everyone won! Everyone except me, I guess…”

      The waitress patted her shoulder gently. “Hey, it’s not that easy to win. I know lots of pets who haven’t won! Although most of them have never played either…” Her sentence trailed off and she quickly patted Dice’s shoulder again before hurrying back toward the kitchen with her platter in her hand.

      “I think I’m going to go for a walk,” Dice stood up abruptly, leaving her drink untouched and exiting the store without a backward glance.

      As she strolled across the island toward the tournament hall, Dice wondered how she could possibly have never won a single jackpot. She visited Roo Island almost daily, and never got bored of the game as quickly as other pets. And she had been named after the very game itself! Yet throughout all those years of playing the jackpot hadn’t seemed important, and it had never really occurred to her that she’d never won it. After walking a while, she plonked herself down on a wooden bench near the empty Blumaroll stand and pulled a tattered copy of King Roo’s Dice out of her bag, flipping through its pages aimlessly. As she skimmed the story of the origin of her favourite game, a shadow fell across her and she looked up, squinting at the glare of the sunlight. The silhouette of a Blumaroo, its features made indistinct by the blinding light, waved at her. As the figure moved aside to sit beside her, Dice realised who it was.

      “Y-You’re King Roo!”

      The Blumaroo king grinned at her. “Last time I checked! And who are you, little Blumaroo?”

      “My name is Dicearoo,” Dice replied shyly. “It’s such an honour to meet you. But what are you doing out here, Your Majesty? Shouldn’t you be watching over games of Dice-a-Roo?”

      The king smiled at her name, but then shook his head. “Just call me Roo, little Blum,” he chuckled, “And truth be told, I left some of my royal advisers in charge. See, I fear that the seemingly-endless charm of Dice-a-Roo may be wearing off...” His smiled faded slightly.

      “But Your- I mean, Roo,” Dice said, “How can that be possible? When you discovered the game you vowed that Dice-a-Roo would mean you’re never bored again!”

      Roo shrugged his shoulders. “It’s not so much that I’m getting bored of it, little Blum,” he replied, “But more so it’s that I feel that the pets of Neopia are beginning to tire of it. Haven’t you noticed that the lines are growing shorter? That more and more pets seem to be satisfied only with leaving with the jackpot, rather than with basking in the spirit of possibility and fun of the game? They come to my island most often to visit the Games Room, where they have a huge range of games that they’d much rather play than my little old dice game.”

      “Oh, Roo!” Dice watched as the king’s face fell, “I think I know what you mean… The prizes and jackpot seem to be the only reason most of my friends are playing. It’s all they were talking about today!”

      Roo nodded sadly. “Exactly.”

      “Well,” Dice began, “If it makes you feel better, I honestly don’t play it for the jackpot. I play it because it’s colourful and fun and always exciting! I’ve, um, never actually won the jackpot, and until today I never minded either!”

      The king’s sparkling grin reappeared. “You shouldn’t mind that at all,” he said, “Why, I wish there were more young Blums like you out there!”

      Dice blushed and returned the king’s smile.

      “You know,” Roo said, “I think that you’re exactly the kind of Blum I’d like to have around my kingdom. Would you like to come and visit the castle for a while? You could take a tour and then head over to the tournament and encourage other pets to see the joy the game can bring!”

      Dice almost dropped her book out of shock. A chance to take a tour of the castle where Dice-a-Roo began and work behind the scenes in the Dice-a-Roo tournament hall? It sounded like a dream come true!

      “Only if you’re interested, of course…” Roo trailed off.

      “I’m definitely interested!” Dice said loudly, clutching her book to her chest in excitement.

      The king stood and offered his hand. “Excellent! How about we get started right away?”

      Dice quickly stuffed the book into her bag and jumped to her feet, shaking his hand. “Absolutely!”

      Later that day, after a fascinating and detailed tour of the beautiful pale blue palace that King Roo called home, Dice was given a small tent near the tournament hall where she sat nervously, waiting for players to come and greet her.

      After a few minutes a large orange Grarrl lumbered over to her and squinted with beady eyes. “Who are you?”

      Dice smiled slightly. “Um, I’m Dicearoo-”

      “I’m about to play a game of you!” The Grarrl burst into laughter and slapped his knee.

      Dice giggled. “Yeah, I was actually named after Dice-a-Roo, and you’d think it would have brought me some luck!”

      She began to explain to the Grarrl how she had come to be sitting there, and he listened with interest. As she explained, more pets gathered around to listen as well. She told them about her love of Dice-a-Roo, the history behind the game, the friends she had made while playing it and her most memorable games.

      “… And ten minutes later I was still stuck on the red die, so I just decided to give up. Then, of course, the little Apple Chia next to me hit the jackpot in six rolls!”

      The crowd laughed, and Dice felt a thrill run through her. The pets around her were all chatting happily with one another. They weren’t rushing to get through their daily Dice-a-Roo games just to see if they’d score the jackpot, but instead stood around in the sunshine together, swapping stories and jokes, and wandering into the hall together to cheer each other on.

      A short time later, after the crowd had grown even bigger, King Roo bounded out of the castle gates to check on Dice. “Wow, I haven’t seen this many pets around the tournament hall in a long time!”

      Dice gave a quick wave to the two Pteris she’d been talking to and followed the king away from the crowd. “Yes, everyone is really getting into it! Roo, thank you for an amazing day, this has been so much fun!”

      Roo gazed out over the crowd and clapped his hands gleefully. “It’s been my pleasure, little Blum. I only hope that this sense of community stays as strong as you seem to be making it. And of course I hope to see you around the castle again. You’re welcome to visit any time!”

      “Thank you, Roo,” Dice grinned at the happy king.

      “Only, I do still feel bad about you never having won a jackpot,” the king added, “You really do deserve it the most!”

      “It’s okay,” Dice smiled, “I don’t need win the jackpot to love Dice-a-Roo. The game has given me a chance to meet other pets and make new friends and have fun! That means more to me than any jackpot or trophy.”

      The king gave a happy little jump and laughed. “You’re quite the impressive little Blumaroo, Dice!”

      … And of course, later that day, to the sound of the loudest cheer that Roo Island had ever heard, who should win the jackpot and golden trophy but the impressive little Blumaroo herself!

      The End.