The Gnorbu Who Lost All His Wool

     But inside his Neohome, Norman the Gnorbu didn’t quite feel the same.

     He looked at his reflection in the mirror and, to his horror, pulled out another chunk of his once-luscious shiny, brown mane.

     Years ago, Norman was a Brown Gnorbu with the deepest, richest hair. It was a chocolatey brown so striking that his other Gnorbu comrades looked upon him in jealousy. Nowadays, something was not quite right. His hair and mane were thinning, leaving bald spots all across his body. His eyes were yellowing and, most days, he awoke in puddles of drool. Not only that, Norman hated to admit it, but he was starting to stink. No amount of deodorant or cologne could cover it up. When he walked down the street, Flightning Bugs would follow him in droves. Even his so-called friends would make faces at the putrid stink that emanated from him. He was at a loss for what to do.

     “I’m hideous and… and gross!” he cried, Krawk tears rolling down his cheeks. “No wonder my friends haven’t returned my calls lately.”

     Norman’s eyes drifted down to the bright seafoam green Bar of Soap that sat on his sink, giving him an idea.

     “That’s it! I know who can help me!”

     The Gnorbu threw on his winter jacket, using the hood to cover his mane and face, and headed out the door.

     ***

     “Oh, what a super wonderful day! Welcome to the Grooming Parlour,” the pretty and perky Red Usul Shopkeeper babbled. “Can I interest you in anything?”

     She turned towards the door where Norman had just entered and gasped, dropping the tint brush she had just been using to colour her client’s hair.

     “I-I’m sorry, maybe I shouldn’t have come here,” the Gnorbu said, suddenly embarrassed as all eyes in the salon turned to look at him. He went to pull his hood back up, tighter around his neck.

     “No, no. How clumsy of me!” the Usul gushed, brushing her bangs out of her eyes and picking up the brush nonchalantly. “Of course everyone is welcome at the Grooming Parlour!”

     There was an awkward silence as Norman’s stench started to waft through the room in an invisible cloud. One by one, all of the customers either covered or crinkled their noses in disgust. The Shopkeeper was the last one to notice and, when she did, she couldn’t muster the strength to save face.

     “Um, e-excuse me. Why don’t you go under the dryer over there?” she said to the client in her chair as she gulped back a gag. “I… I think I'm going to be sick.”

     In her pink high heels, she darted for the back of the store, causing a cascade of chaos to ensue. The Neopians who were receiving services or shopping retail darted out the door and the rest of the Grooming Parlour employees followed clumsily, nearly clawing at one another to get out.

     Once the crowd had dispersed, Norman snuck out the back door in order to avoid further embarrassment and left a few Neopoints on the checkout counter for the trouble he had caused.

     With a sigh, he trotted down the streets of the Neopian Bazaar and back towards the main shops.

     As he crested the hill, he saw the majestic Money Tree towering over the town square and beyond it…

     “That’s it! Maybe a new paint job will fix this!” Norman cried, picking up speed. The wind whipped his cheeks as he ran, taking his tears of disappointment with it.

     He made it to the Rainbow Pool, out of breath. With a heaving pant, he looked over the edge and into the water. The reflection that stared back at him made him shudder.

     “I… I look disfigured,” Norman said as he shook his head, hoping to wake up from this nightmare.

     “If you look disfigured, honey, I’m a monster,” Norman heard a sultry voice say from behind him.

     He turned around to see a Hissi with two heads. Her scales were sickly green and muddy brown, appearing almost mouldy or diseased. The Gnorbu screamed, falling backwards.

     The Hissi laughed and swivelled her two heads in a serpentine manner. The four eyes staring back at Norman were a haunting emerald green that nearly put him in a trance.

     “Told you,” she said with a wink.

     “Sorry for my reaction. Y-You just startled me,” the Gnorbu responded, trying to maintain his composure.

     “I’ve been startling people my whole life,” the Hissi said, flicking her tongue. She held out the tip of her tail. Norman took it and hoisted himself upright.

     “Thanks,” he said bashfully. “So… You don’t mind looking the way you look?”

     “Mind it? Baby, I don’t mind it, I love it!”

     “H-How?”

     “On every Neopian who lays eyes on me, I leave an impression. What more could I want?” the Hissi laughed. “Besides, don’t you know there’s a whole entire day to celebrate what we are?”

     “What do you mean?”

     “Mutant Day, sugar. All of Neopia celebrates our kind, whether they like us or not.”

     “Mutant? I-I’m not Mutant. I’m just a Brown Gnorbu,” Norman reassured her, shaking his head incredulously.

     “Are you sure about that?”

     Norman paused for a moment, turning back to the Rainbow Pool to stare back at his reflection. The sunken, yellowing eyes that stared back at him told him that the Hissi was right.

     “B-But I haven’t taken any transmogrification potions or anything. How could this have happened?” A tear rolled down his bald cheek.

     “Destiny has a funny way of finding us all someday,” she said, patting Norman on the shoulder with her tail before going in for a handshake. “My name is Ivy.”

     “I’m Norman,” he responded with a half-hearted smile.

     “Come with me. I’ve got something to show you.”

     ***

     A few days later, the Mutant Day parade flooded the streets of Neopia Central in a grotesque display. There were floats covered in slime and muck, and some even had horrifying decorations or tableaus meant to shock or scare the audience. Some platforms featured sewage pipes, toxic waste, haunted houses, cemeteries, and more. Mutant Neopets and Neopets dressed as Mutants were atop the floats, throwing candy and other spooky treats to the Neopians on the sidelines enjoying the parade.

     Near the end of the procession was a float that featured what appeared to be a sludge-filled version of the Rainbow Pool. Instead of its usual rainbow, it was like a fountain of greens and browns and purples that filled a fake pool with a bunch of Mutant Neopets inside.

     Among them were Ivy and Norman, who were smiling and throwing Almost Gummy Rats at the kids who were cheering for their float as it passed. The pair watched as two young Blumaroos fought over a pink Strawberry Rat and laughed.

     “Hey, I guess it’s not so bad being Mutant after all,” the Gnorbu shouted over the sounds of the crowd.

     “You’re right, it ain’t!” echoed a Mutant Xweetok behind him. They shared a snaggletooth grin as their float rolled off into the sunset.

     The End.