It had been an awfully long time since anything remotely interesting had happened on Roo Island, and the oft cheery monarch was beginning to fear he'd soon feel something of an apathetic disposition.

Well, that certainly wouldn't do.

Could I go and invent a new game?

It had been ages since he'd done that but never had he released anything so popular as Dice-A-Roo...

Am I a one-hit-wonder?

His heart began to ache, followed by tension in his head.

...

Am I a going through my mid-life crisis?

Ah, that had to be it! He'd read about many Neopets feeling generally unfulfilled and dare even melancholy around his age. The Blumaroo never thought it would occur to him, but, well, clearly here he was.

And all those Neopets he'd read about solved their crises by doing three simple things.

Well, it was time to change his hair, his clothes, and his career.

"Clearly," he said aloud to no one in particular, "that is THE only solution."

And he knew just where to start...

He happily greeted several of the other passengers while on the ferry, and did speak with several of them. They told him tales of their favorite games and their most memorable high scores within his game room. He smiled and listened intently, but he still just didn't feel his full heart into it.

"Oh how I miss the joy of the games." He thought to himself.

Well, he was certain once his plan was in effect, he would feel his happy disposition once more, and when the ferry landed, he bid the civilians adieu and made his way to the shopping district. Once there, he headed to his first destination, the Uni's Clothing Shop.

"Welcome to Uni's Clothing!" The faboo Uni said upon hearing the ring of the door open, "What can I..."

The shopkeeper stopped suddenly when they realized that King Roo had entered their humble store.

"Oh my, to what do I owe the pleasure of Neopian Royalty this day?" She said, giving a slight bow.

"Ms...." King Roo began, but then stopped for a moment.

"You can call me Faboo, most do." She replied.

"Ms Faboo." King Roo said, "I am in need of a makeover. And since you appear to be one of the most fashionable Neopians in the world, I humbly beg for your assistance in changing my look and outlook."

Her eyes gleamed through her star-shaped sunglasses.

"Leave it to me!" Faboo said, "I have just the thing in mind, a new ensemble I've been wanting to try out. Follow me to the back..."

"Here! I think this will do!" Faboo cooed, shoving an outfit into the King's hands. "Why don't you go try these on in the dressing room?" she asked, but it was more of a demand than a question as she shoved the regal Blumaroo into dressing room.

King Roo snapped back into reality finally and took a look at what the fashionista had placed into his palms. Oh dear. This... This can't be right. She handed him a bright pink, sequined jumpsuit with fringe hanging from the sleeves. On the back, colored sequins spelled out the words "Hot Stuff" in the neatest cursive.

The King had second thoughts but thought to himself. Well, she is the most fashion-forward Neopian around. Surely she knows what she's doing.

King Roo shamefully stepped into the jumpsuit and without looking in the mirror, stepped out of the dressing room for Faboo to see.

"EEEEE!" the Uni squealed, clutching her hooves to her chest. "It looks wonderful on you, your majesty! Oh, let me just ring you up! Actually, no. Forget that," she continued, "it's on the house!"

Well, that certainly is sweet, the King thought to himself, now if only it were on somebody else altogether.

King Roo bowed to Ms. Faboo and bid her farewell before stepping out into Neopia Central dressed as a pink disco ball.

Hmm, now that that is over with, it is time for the second step. It is time to change my hair, he thought as he noticed several Neopians giggle to themselves and point in his general direction. Without a word or any acknowledgement of the townsfolk, King Roo made his way down the path to the Grooming Parlor...

Regardless.

“Good afternoon, Miss,” he addressed the flustered Usul, waving at the other onlookers, including--oh my, it truly was him--”I seek an immediate and drastic change in appearance.”

“Of course, Your Majesty, that is my specialty! Do sit here, and browse through these styles--let me know as soon as you’ve picked one you like in there.”

The Zafara in the next seat over chuckled, and King Roo did not know whether luck or misfortune would befall him. The owner of that chuckle just so happened to be Chadrick Woolsworth Tuffington the Fourth, who was also the owner of the title, Neopia's Most Charming, for three years, according to the Neopian Times. If there was anyone who could give him substantial advice on changing his hair and his clothes, it was that Zafara. King Roo could worry about his career later.

“You’re not going to find anything in there--that lady’s a bit more avant-garde than even I would like!”

King Roo flipped open the book, and sure enough, the hair and fur styles were awfully garish, but one looked rather tame--a design in his extremely short Blumaroo fur roughly the shape of a die.

“I don’t know, this one doesn’t look too bad.” He held out the book towards Chadley.

Chadley inhaled sharply. “No disrespect, Your Highness, but you’ve got a lot to learn, so I’ll let you in on a little secret.”

The king narrowed his eyes, but was intrigued all the same. Master Chadley had that air of charisma about him that worked in such a way that most insults were at least a little dulled. “Go on,” he conceded.

"Take a look at what I've got on. My fur's green, and I can't quite change that at the moment, but I'm wearing red, brown, and black, right on top of green. Every designer in the world would ordinarily laugh, but the thing is, I don't care."

“Thing is, it’s not what you wear, but how you wear it. You gotta have confidence! You gotta have style! And most importantly, you gotta have the will.” He leaned back into his dome-shaped hair dryer.

“Have you yet selected a fur style, Your Majesty?” Having finished with a customer, the Usul of the Grooming Parlour returned to her royal client. “What can I do for you?”

Confidence. Style. The will.

King Roo took a deep breath and pointed to a design...

"This one here," King Roo said confidently, though he felt remarkably uncertain of himself at that moment.

How bad could it be, picking at random? he thought to himself. It's basically like a game of chance, choosing without looking. And I love games of chance. It's not like I'd do any better if I picked one I really liked, since I'm not terribly stylish. I need something different, something drastic...

"Are you sure you want that one?" the Usul said incredulously, snapping King Roo out of his musings.

"Yes, quite sure," King Roo said without glancing at the glossy image. He smiled haughtily, as only a king could.

"Of course, Your Majesty," the Usul replied hastily. "I'll get right on it." The Usul scurried off to gather supplies.

King Roo sneaked a glance at Chadley, hoping to gauge his reaction, but all he could see was that the Zafara had what looked like a slightly smug expression underneath that giant smile. The king sighed inwardly, becoming more and more nervous about what he had gotten himself into.

***

An hour later, King Roo exited the Grooming Parlour sporting his new lime-green mohawk, much like the Moehogs wore, but a bit shorter. Chadley had been surprisingly supportive of the king's choice. Well, once he was able to control his hysterical laughter, anyway.

Still shaking his head in disbelief over his rash style choices, King Roo walked briskly toward the main shops, hoping for a place to hide while he tried to regroup. He found a flat rock near the Money Tree and sat down heavily.

Well, things haven't gone the way I expected so far, he thought. What kind of career can I have now, looking like this?

After a few minutes of rumination, the Blumaroo still had no direction, so he decided to walk over to the Wishing Well. He had no need for any items, but he hoped the ritual would help him gain some clarity.

A few minutes later, King Roo was standing at the edge of the Wishing Well with a fistful of Neopoints when he sensed someone at his side.

Chadley.

"Hello again, Your Majesty," Chadley said winningly. "Listen, I couldn't help but notice how down you seemed back at the Grooming Parlour, and I felt like I had to help you work out whatever's bothering you. What do you say?"

How did Chadley manage to keep that charming smile on his face and still sound so earnest? The Blumaroo decided to confide in Chadley, because quite honestly, he was getting desperate.

"Well, Chadley, I've been feeling down, so I thought I'd change my style and find a new career to help perk me up." King Roo hesitated, unsure of what to say next.

Chadley's brilliant smile somehow grew even larger when he heard the Blumaroo's glum explanation. "Really?" he squeaked, nearly squealed with glee. "I know the perfect thing to help you!"

"Er... Floss? Dice-a-Roo?" The King hadn't realized just how narrow-scoped his mind was.

Chadley's smile was unwavering. "No." With a brief show of jazz hands, he finished, "Modeling."

The Blumaroo couldn't quite stifle his gaping. "Modeling?"

"Come on, King, you already have the hair and clothes to certainly make a statement on the runway." Chadley folded his arms in such a convincingly charismatic manner King Roo became almost intimidated. "And it's not all just for show, either."

"Huh?" The King frowned. The idea of showing himself off like this in front of so many Neopets was... frankly, frightening. What else was it going to entail?

"You don't get voted 'Most Charming' for three years straight just by being a pretty face... though that certainly does help." Chadley flashed his smile again. "You need to be out there, interact with the masses, the crowds, the children."

Ah, children... seeing their smiling faces is one of the reasons I went into games in the first pl--

Suddenly, the Zafara grabbed King Roo's paw.

Well, King Roo had hoped to the Wishing Well for direction -- it looked like he'd get pulled somewhere regardless of whether he wanted to go along with it.

"The Neopian Times is hosting their monthly runway-photoshoot this evening, and this month it's on the Roo Island beaches. I had come to the Wishing Well, as I always do before such these events, to wish that I look my absolutely most stunning!" He pumped his free fist in the air. "You being here was an added bonus."

"But what if I--"

"It'll be great! You can show off your new look, have yourself be covered by the press, and start your new life looking fabulous, signing autographs, and setting trends, just like yours truly. You'll talk with crowds who admired you once as a game designer and now as a fashion icon."

The "game designer" quip pained his chest. But... Fashion icon.

Admittedly he liked the sound of that.

Swallowing what doubts he had towards this whole endeavor -- and there were a lot of them -- he let Chadley drag him back to the Roo Island ferry...

"Pizzazz?" muttered King Roo, only half-listening to Chadley as he contemplated what was to come.

"Oh, yes, the Neopets loves a bit of pizzazz. Maybe some jazz hands? OOOOH, or maybe a cheeky wink to the crowd? You know, whoever kitted you out had a keen sense of fashion. Those sequins really will glitter in the spotlight. Though it seems a bit tight... You need to work out, Your Majesty! Three times round the ferry, go, go, go!"

King Roo was pushed forwards by the eager Zafara, who had no idea of the level of attention His Royal Highness was paying to him.

"Oh, no, I don't think I'm quite up to running around the ship just now, thank you, Chadley," protested the Blumaroo.

"Now, now, King, it's for you, not me! You need to look FABULOUS on that catwalk!"

How could King Roo ever say no to that charming smile?

***

"Don't forget the three P's!" hissed Chadely. "We're with you all the way!"

A rainbow Acara swished her way back from the catwalk showered in roses. "You'll do great," she whispered to King Roo, before walking off.

"Your Majesty?" asked the stage director, a nervous-looking purple Xweetok. "You're up next."

"Go for it!" squealed Chadley.

King Roo stepped onto the platform and struck a pose. The crowd's reaction was immediate...

All was silent. Several cameras had flashed at the sight of the Blumaroo, but no one knew what to make of him. For what felt like an eternity, the next few seconds crashed by as King Roo tried to gain his composure and figure out what he should do.

"Pizzazz.", He told himself boldly, taking his first steps out.

He stepped into what looked like a luxurious walkway littered with lights and glittering gems scattered along the way. He remembered to wink and to give some jazz hands as he made his way to the front of the walkway. The crowd didn't know what to make of the sight. King Roo? A Model? However, by the time he gained his confidence and made his first spin around the end of the walkway, the crowd was already cheering.

"King Roo! King Roo!", The crowd exclaimed, already loving the majestic sight of the Blumaroo as he made his way through to the other end of the walkway. A long Shoyru nearly fainted in the midst of the crowd.

After only a few moments, King Roo made his way back to the Xweetok and smiled.

"That was exhilarating!", King Roo exclaimed proudly.

"What are you waiting for?", The Xweetok asked curiously, "They love you! They want more! Go back out there and give them a show they'll remember!"

With a nod of his head and a swallow in his throat, King Roo turned around and made his way again towards the crowd which erupted into cheers.

The End.