Cleo then grabbed Joobie’s present and opened it. Inside were all the colours
of lipstick, blush, eye shadow, and short hairbrushes. Everyone knew that Joobie
was going to buy Cleo grooming items. Cleo thanked Joobie and put on some dark
red lipstick so that it matched her fur.
Cleo picked up Parkaya’s gift and opened it. Inside were Beginners Curses
and Intermediate Curses. These scrolls came from Sutek’s Scrolls, a shop in
the Lost Desert.
“Wow! This is neat! Thanks Parkaya!” said Cleo as she gave Parkaya a bear
hug. Cleo loved to read and it was hard to find curses from the Lost Desert.
Cleo grabbed the gift that was from her sisters. She opened it and inside were
a jeweled collar, red bandana, beautiful golden ring, and a Fun in the Sun Usuki.
“Awesome! You guys must have used all your Neopoints to buy all this!” Cleo
said with a smile. Ty, Celest, and Destiney grinned back at her.
“Well, we actually have around 300 Neopoints left,” Ty said with a bit of sarcasm.
Cleo rolled her eyes and grabbed the next present.
Cleo got books, food, clothes, makeup, Usukis, trading cards, Neopoints, Battledome
items, and magic items. All the presents had been opened except for one. This
one was from Lauren.
“Before you open it Cleo, I have two more things. They’re for Ty and Celest,”
said Lauren as she went into the kitchen. She came back out carrying two more
gifts. She placed them on the gift table and beckoned for Ty and Celest to come
over. Ty and Celest walked to the table, both looking confused.
“Time for the unveiling,” said Kay as he looked at Cleo. Cleo, Ty, and Celest
grinned and tore away the wrappings of their gifts. Under the paper there were
medium-sized boxes. They slowly opened the boxes. A low humming sound could
be heard from inside them. The whole room held it’s breath as the three pets
looked inside. Cleo’s, Ty’s, and Celest’s jaw’s dropped at what they saw.
Inside each of the boxes, was a paint brush. Cleo, Ty, and Celest pulled out
the paint brushes and stared at them. Celest had received a Skunk Paint Brush,
Ty had a Fire Paint Brush, and Cleo had a Desert Paint Brush. The whole room
gasped as they gazed at the paint brushes. Bewildered, they turned toward Lauren.
“B-but I thought you said you couldn’t afford paint brushes!” stammered Cleo
with her mouth open. Lauren looked quite pleased with herself and grinned.
“I did say that I couldn’t afford the paint brushes Cleo, but then I found
this cheap shop. There I found a Desert Paint Brush that cost 40k. Without thinking,
I bought it. I began to look around the shop for other cheap items when I came
across a Fire Paint Brush. The Fire Paint Brush cost 50k so I bought it instantly.
I then went to the Auction House to see what they were auctioning off. It turned
out that there was a Skunk Paint Brush for sale. I made a bid for 20k and won.
I came home, wrapped the presents, hid Ty’s and Celest’s presents, and placed
your gift on the table.” Lauren took a deep breath after she said this. Everyone
looked at each other, mouths hanging to the floor.
“So that’s what you had in the bag!” Pete said in triumph, breaking the silence.
“Yes Pete, that’s what I had in the bag. Now that you guys know what the present
is, I suggest we go to the Rainbow Pool,” said Lauren with a smile. Ty, Celest,
and Cleo gave the paint brushes back to Lauren. She put the paint brushes in
a bag and opened the front door. Everyone walked out the door and down the street.
Lauren lived five minutes away from the Rainbow Pool. Everyone was chattering
excitedly but not as excitedly as Cleo, Ty, and Celest who kept thanking Lauren
over and over again.
“I don’t believe it! We’re finally going to get painted! Thanks Lauren!” said
Cleo who was jumping with delight.
“You’re welcome you guys," Lauren said with a grin. They kept walking down
the road until someone shouted.
“Hey! There’s the Rainbow Pool!” shouted Sweet. Everyone looked and saw the
Rainbow Pool dead ahead. Everybody began to walk a little faster. Ty broke into
a run and Cleo had to chase her down to stop her. Within the next minute, they
had reached the Rainbow Pool.
“So, who wants to go first?” asked Lauren holding up the bag that contained
the paint brushes.
“I will!” said Celest as she bounded forward. Lauren smiled and pulled out
the Skunk Paint Brush. Celest jumped into the water sending a wave washing up
the bank. Lauren took off her shoes and socks and stepped into the water. She
walked over to Celest and began to paint her.
Celest’s fur changed from light tan, to gray, then to black. A white stripe
appeared, starting at her nose and ending at the tip of her tail. The ruffle
of fur that was around her neck changed to an olive green colour and so did the
bows around her tail and ears. Lauren stopped painting and the paint brush disappeared
with a pop. Celest looked into the water and a smile spread across her face.
“All right! I like it!” said Celest with a toothy grin. She walked out of
the water and stepped onto the bank.
“Okay, who’s next?” asked Lauren looking at Ty and Cleo.
“I want to go next,” said Ty as she stepped into the water. Lauren took out
the Fire Paint Brush and walked to Ty. She began to move the brush all over
her.
Ty’s fur turned to a smoky black and her muzzle, stomach, and the tip of her
tail turned to an ash gray. Red and yellow flames appeared, licking her legs,
tail, and ears. A stripe of flames appeared at the tip of her nose to the back
of her head and her eye colour changed to yellow. Lauren finished painting and
just like the Skunk Paint Brush, the Fire Paint Brush disappeared. Ty started
to strut around, twisting and turning, showing off her new look.
“I got one question. How can this look be so cool yet so hot?” Ty said as
she stepped out of the pool. A few pets shook their heads. Ty loved to try to
make hotshot comments even though some of them sounded stupid.
“Well Cleo, looks like you’re the only one left,” said Lauren as she pulled
out the Desert Paint Brush. Cleo stepped into the pool and stood still. Lauren
walked over and began to paint.
Cleo’s fur turned from red into a light tan colour. Her once black stripes changed
into light blue stripes. The area around her eyes, ears and muzzle turned into
a cream colour. Bangles formed around her front legs and neck. A golden ring
formed around her head and a golden snake was protruding from the front of it.
Lauren stopped painting and the paint brush disappeared. Cleo looked at her
reflection and let out a sigh of satisfaction.
“Well, what do you think?” asked Cleo with misty sort of voice.
“You look great Cleo,” said Lauren as she hugged her. Cleo smiled and they
stepped out of the pool. At that moment, everyone rushed toward Cleo, Ty, and
Celest. They made compliments and said their congratulations. After a few minutes,
they stepped away to allow them to have breathing room. Cleo got a good look
of the crowd and found Destiney.
Destiney didn’t look her usual cheerful self. On the contrary, she looked rather
disappointed and sad. Cleo pointed this out to Ty, Celest, and Lauren. They
made their way over to Destiney and sat down next to her.
“What’s wrong Destiney?” asked Ty as she put a paw on Destiney's back. Destiney
looked up at them and they saw a tear run down her face.
“It’s just that, well, you guys get knew flashy coats but I don’t. I know Faerie
Paint Brushes are really expensive but it’s not fair!” said Destiney as she
burst into tears. Lauren, Cleo, Ty, and Celest looked at each other.
“It’s all right Destiney. I’ll get you a Faerie Paint Brush someday,” said
Lauren in a soothing voice. Destiney stopped crying and looked up. Tears were
still streaming down her face but she smiled.
“You really think so?” asked Destiney in a high voice. Lauren smiled.
“Positive. Don’t worry Destiney, I’ll get you the paint brush somehow,” said
Lauren as she stood up. “Let’s go home.”
They began to walk home win the air suddenly turned cold. A light breeze began
to blow and they turned around. A mist was forming off the left side of the
Rainbow Pool. Out of the mist walked none other than Jacko the Phantom Painter.
He walked up to Lauren and gave her a paint brush. He smiled and then disappeared.
Everyone looked in awe at each other. It was a very special and very rare event
for Jacko to give someone a paint brush. Lauren looked at the paint brush she
was given and nearly fainted.
The paint brush that Lauren was holding was unmistakably a Faerie Paint Brush.
Lauren looked at it as though it weren’t real. Everyone’s jaw dropped. A Faerie
Paint Brush is the rarest paint brush anyone could receive from Jacko. Cleo,
who was gawking at the paint brush, snapped out of her gaze.
“Hey Destiney, now you can be painted faerie!” said Cleo excitedly. Destiney
turned toward Cleo and she had an open smile. Lauren shook herself out of the
shock of being handed a Faerie Paint Brush by Jacko and looked at Destiney.
“Come on Destiney,” said Lauren as she stepped into the water. Destiney walked
forward and stepped into the water and walked over to Lauren. Lauren began to
stroke the paint brush over Destiney.
Destiney’s snow-white fur changed to light purple. The ruffle of fur around
her neck changed to a powder blue colour and pink hearts were beginning to form
on it. The insides of her ears and her eyes changed to a glossy sky blue colour.
Glossy sky blue wings were beginning to protrude from her back and light purple
designs were etching across them. Lauren lifted the brush from Destiney’s back
and it disappeared with a pop. Destiney leapt onto Lauren and began to thank
her. Lauren was laughing and she hugged Destiney.
“You’re welcome Destiney now try out your wings. Let’s see how well you can
fly," Lauren said as she let go of Destiney. Destiney began to flap her wings
and she began to hover. Ripples were beginning to form in the water below with
every beat of her wings. She flew over the water and landed on the ground. Cheers
exploded from the crowd and they ran toward Destiney. Some stood back and admired
her new look while others ran up to her and felt her wings. After five minutes,
Lauren walked up and told everyone to back away. Cleo, Celest, Ty, and Lauren
walked up to Destiney. They had a group hug and then they began to walk home.
Everyone said good-bye and they began to walk home.
“Well, today sure was interesting," Celest said as they walked home. “Who’d
have thought that we were going to get painted today?”
“Tell me about it. That was one neat surprise Lauren. I still can’t believe
you spent all those Neopoints on paint brushes. Thanks for buying them” said
Ty, smiling at Lauren.
“For the twenty millionth time Ty, you’re welcome," Lauren said chuckling.
“What I can’t believe is that Jacko gave Lauren a Faerie Paint Brush!” said
Destiney hovering three feet off the ground.
“I know. The chances of getting a Faerie Paint Brush from Jacko are like one
in a billion,” Cleo said grinning at Destiney. Destiney caught her eye and grinned
back.
They reached home about four minutes later. When they opened the door, they
found the living room a mess. Wrapping paper lay strewn across the floor. Coke
cans and bowls were placed here and there and food littered the floor.
“Ugh! What a mess!” exclaimed Celest looking at the room with disgust.
“Well, I guess we need to clean up,” sighed Lauren as she went into the kitchen
and came back with five trash bags. Everyone took one and they began to pick
up the room. Within ten minutes the trash bags were filled. Lauren went to the
cleaning closet and came back with a vacuum cleaner. She began to vacuum the
carpet as Cleo, Celest, Destiney, and Ty picked up the bowls on the tables and
put them into the kitchen. After thirty minutes, the living room was back to
its original state.
“Well, it’s 9:30 so you have thirty minutes till you have to go to bed,” said
Lauren as she glanced at the clock. Cleo, Celest, Destiney, and Ty walked upstairs
and into the game room. They began to watch television and played video games
like Ice Caves. Before they knew it, thirty minutes had passed and Lauren walked
into the room.
“Okay you guys, it’s time for bed. You can watch television but go to sleep.”
Cleo, Celest, Destiney, and Ty walked to their bedrooms and said goodnight to
each other.
Cleo closed the door of her bedroom and climbed into bed. Siberia also climbed
onto Cleo’s bed and curled up in the blankets. Cleo smiled at her and she closed
her eyes in thought. This has been one exciting day. I can’t believe that I
got a Desert Paint Brush for my birthday. I wonder what I’ll get next year,
maybe a Hidden Tower Item. Cleo grinned at the thought as she drifted off to
sleep.
The End
Author's Note: I hope you liked the story. All the characters are real except
for Mrs. Scornia. I will be writing more stories like this one so keep watching
The Neopian Times. Neomail me for questions or ideas for upcoming stories. Thank
you. | 
