The Usuki Singing Stars #1: The Fan Letter Mishap

Dear Usuki Singing Stars,

     How are you? I know you get dozens of letters every day by other fans, but I really hope you read this one. I know...

     Where am I going with this? Patricia thought as she crumbled up the piece of paper and threw it away from her. She then picked up her pencil and began to write again on a fresh piece of paper.

     Dear Usuki Singing Stars,

     What’s up? My name is Patricia

     “Nah,” Patricia mumbled as she crumbled up the piece of paper and threw it away from her. She sighed as she closed her eyes. She had been writing all day. It was dark now, so Patricia knew she had to take a rest. But how could she? She was trying to write a fan letter to the biggest band in Neopia: The Usuki Singing Stars!

     “If only they would write back,” Patricia sighed as she opened her eyes. The only reason Patricia wanted to write to the band was because someone she knew actually got a response from her fan letter! It was only a short ‘Hello’, but no one cared. It was signed by a Usuki Singing Star, which was the only thing that mattered.

     Patricia stared at the fresh piece of paper that was in front of her. She felt dizzy sitting at her desk. She had skipped her afternoon snack so she could write a perfect letter. But how perfect was a fan letter supposed to be? Patricia couldn’t remember what the other girl wrote in hers, but according to her, it must have been great. Patricia sighed as she stared at her over-flowing trash can. She didn’t remember how many letters she attempted to write, or why she even threw them away. What mattered was that she wanted a response from ANY Usuki Singing Star.

     Suddenly, she heard a giggle.

     “Who’s there?” Patricia moaned as she rubbed her eyes. She then turned her head to her bedroom’s doorway. No one was there.

     Patricia shook her head as she held her pencil and tried to write one more time.

     “Pat’s trying again,” a little voice giggled. It was Patricia’s little brother, Alan. Alan giggled as he spied on his sister. He was spying on her all day, and giggled whenever he saw his sister crumble one of her dozen letters.

     “I’m glad she missed snack time. Thanks to her, I got to eat an extra cookie!” Alan cheered quietly. He then got up on his tip-toes as he tried to peer closer at Patricia. He tried getting closer and closer until, Slam! Patricia turned around immediately. She sighed and shook her head as Alan laughed on the floor.

     “What do you want?” Patricia asked as she rubbed her forehead. “Didn’t you read the sign on my door? It said ‘No little brothers allowed!’ on it.”

     “You know I can’t read.” Alan grinned as he got up on his feet. “Besides, I want to help!”

     “You do?” Patricia asked. She was shocked as Alan nodded quickly. She couldn’t believe that her little brother wanted to help her, especially since Alan could only scribble letters.

     “I want to help you draw!” Alan said happily.

     “I’m not drawing, I’m writing,” Patricia explained. “I’m writing a letter to-”

     “The Blue Kacheek Group,” Alan cheered. “I love them! They’re the best band ever!”

     “No,” Patricia sighed. “The Usuki Singing Stars. You remember them, right?”

     Alan shook his head. “Aren’t they just a pack of Usuki dolls that you broke?” he asked.

     Patricia sighed as she shooed the blue Shoyru out of her room. She still felt a bit dizzy. Alan just stared at her.

     “Well, who are they, then?” Alan asked.

     It was then and there that Patricia got an idea. She didn’t have time to answer Alan’s question, since what was on her mind was an idea that could help her.

     “Tell Mom I’m going out,” Patricia told Alan as she grabbed her sun hat.

     “Why?” Alan moaned. “I want to go too!”

     “You can come next time,” Patricia promised as she ran out of the house. She knew she wasn’t going to keep her promise to Alan, but she didn’t want Alan to tag along with her. She knew there were three Neopians that could help her with her fan letter, since she couldn’t write it herself.

     ****

     “Anyone see Pat today?” Scary, the purple Bruce, asked. Her friends shook their heads

     “I think Pat might be a little late today,” Sparkles said as she sipped her smoothie. The three friends, and Patricia, usually liked meeting at the Smoothie Shop. They enjoyed drinking their smoothies while they talked. But today, Patricia was a bit late.

     “Maybe she had to baby sit Alan at the last minute,” Lola suggested as she stared out the window, waiting to see Patricia.

     “I wouldn’t be surprised if Sloth came and abducted her,” Scary scoffed.

     “That’s what you said last week,” Sparkles told Scary. “And at the end, it turned out that Pat just forgot her purse.”

     “Well, it could have happened,” Scary said as she took a second sip out of her smoothie. “But if she forgot her purse again, I’m not paying for her again!”

     “Hey,” Lola cried out, “I think that’s Pat!” She then got up on her chair and stared at a Faerie Shoyru that had entered the shop. Scary and Sparkles turned around as well.

     “That’s not Pat,” Scary sighed. “I mean for one thing, Pat does NOT have any facial hair.”

     “And she’s not that tall,” Sparkles added. The pink Bruce sighed as she stared at more people coming in. She then pointed to a smaller Faerie Shoyru and said, “That’s Pat right there.”

     “Hi guys,” Pat huffed as she sat down. “Sorry I’m late. I had to find a piece of paper that didn’t have any scribbles or stuff on it.”

     “Sure,” Scary said. “I do hope, though, that you brought your own neopoints this time.”

     “I did,” Patricia said as she reached into her purse and pulled out the coins. She then brought out her piece of paper and her pen and handed them to her friends. “I need help writing a fan letter,” Patricia explained. Her friends just stared at her.

     “Okay, who is it for this time?” Scary asked as she crossed her arms. “Remember the last time we helped you write a letter... which was for Yes Boy Ice Cream.”

     “Yes Boy Ice Cream,” Sparkles and Lola sighed. They were both die-hard fans of this famous Shoyru boy band. Scary and Patricia sighed as well. Yes Boy Ice Cream was one of their favourite bands as well.

     “Are you still waiting for a reply?” Lola sighed.

     Patricia nodded. “But this time it’s for a different band,” Patricia explained as she handed her pen to Sparkles. “It’s for the Usuki Singing Stars!” she said happily. Her friends stared at her in disbelief. The Usuki Singing Stars were three Usuls from Neopia Central who decided to form an all girl band and take the name of their favourite Usuki dolls. Everyone in Neopia loved them, including Patricia and her friends.

     “Well, I guess we can help this time,” Sparkles said as she stared at the pen.

     “But I think we should all write it together,” Lola said happily. Scary just glared at her.

     “If we all write it together, then Patricia wouldn’t be the only one who’ll get credit,” Scary pointed out. “And didn’t you already write a letter, Lola?”

     Lola nodded. The yellow Cybunny then sank in her chair, hoping no one else would yell at her.

     “Well, I don’t see why you guys can’t tell me what to say,” Patricia suggested. “I’ll write the letter and you guys can tell me what to say. How’s that?”

     “A great idea,” Lola piped up. Sparkles and Scary nodded in agreement.

     “So, does anyone else want a smoothie?” Scary asked. Everyone shook their heads.

     “Don’t worry, we can have juice at my house,” Patricia suggested as the girls left the shop. As they walked, each girl had an idea as to what Patricia should add in the letter.

     I hope they’ll respond, Patricia thought. It’ll mean the world of Neopia to me if they at last wrote back with a reply!

     ***

     Dear Usuki Singing Stars,

     My name is Patricia

     “What is this?” Scary asked. “This is nothing! It looks like Lola wrote it.”

     ”But I did,” Lola admitted. “I told Pat to write that and-”

     “Of course you did,” Scary said as she grabbed the pen from Patricia and started to scribble out the introduction. “There, now we can add my name in it,” she said in satisfaction.

     “Your name,” Sparkles gasped as she sipped her orange juice. “Whatever happened to Pat?”

     “I’m sure she can live by herself,” Scary said quickly. “Besides, I just want a mention in it.”

     “And how big of a mention,” Sparkles asked. “Like, the whole page?”

     “Perhaps,” Scary admitted. Sparkles just shook her head at Scary.

     “What Pat needs is flattery,” Sparkles suggested as she grabbed the pen from Scary. “Everyone knows that the Usuki Singing Stars adore flattery. If they don’t see any flattery, then they won’t read the letter!”

     “You say that about every band!” Scary argued. “Besides, can’t we just have one paragraph that’s just about me?”

     As the two Bruces argued, Patricia shook her head. This was exactly what had happen with the Yes Boy Ice Cream letter! Everyone had their own idea, and each one, except Lola, argued about which idea was better. Patricia hoped for a miracle, which came by rather quickly.

     “Mom said to stop fighting right now!” Alan shouted loudly. Patricia smiled. She was glad, for once, for Alan’s disruption.

     “Come on, guys, let’s go home,” Lola suggested.

     “Why? You don’t live with us,” Scary snarled. Sparkles just sighed as she grabbed Scary’s wrist and dragged her out of the room.

     “Bye, Pat,” Sparkles said. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”

     “Bye!” Patricia waved as her friends left the house. She then turned to her bedroom clock.

     It’s almost dinner time, Patricia thought. Maybe I can finish my letter tomorrow instead.

     As she left, she didn’t notice that Alan was still in her room. He giggled as he climbed into Patricia’s desk chair and stared at the letter. He didn’t know what it said, but he didn’t care.

     “This letter won’t be sent with all of these scribbles!” Alan said as he crumbled up the piece of paper and threw it into Patricia's wastebasket. He then picked up the pen and began to write on a new piece of paper. He stopped writing when he heard their mother calling his name for dinner. He then quickly placed the scribbled letter into a pink envelope that was on the desk and licked it. He giggled as he jumped off the chair, taking the letter with him.

     I can’t wait to see the look on Pat’s face when she gets a reply from this! Alan grinned. She’ll want to thank me for this, that’s for sure. Maybe with a new teddy...

     ***

     “Hey guys,” Patricia moaned as she walked into the Smoothie Shop.

     The girls gasped as they saw Patricia walk inside and sat down, laying her head on the table.

     “So, did you finish your letter?” Sparkles asked as she offered her smoothie to Patricia. Patricia moaned.

     “I’ll take that as a yes!” Scary cheered. “So Pat, did you mention me?”

     Again, Patricia moaned. Lola looked at Patricia with a concerned look on her face.

     “Girls,” she said in a worried tone, “I think Pat didn’t finish her letter. She looks like she didn’t sleep, either!”

     “That’s preposterous,” Scary declared. She then glared hard at Patricia and sighed. “Drool,” she pointed out as she pointed to the puddle of drool that was forming on the table. “A sign Pat hasn’t slept at all.”

     “Maybe she was waiting for a reply,” Sparkles suggested, but Lola shook her head.

     “Come on, girls, we got to put Pat back in bed,” Lola said as she hopped off her chair. Sparkles and Scary looked at each other before they hopped off their chairs and approached Patricia’s. With just one swivel, Patricia fell helplessly on the floor. Scary then grabbed her hot smoothie and threw it on Patricia’s face. The heat woke her up instantly!

     “Thanks, Scary,” Patricia groaned as she wiped her face with a tissue Lola handed to her. She then walked out of the shop with her friends and headed home.

     “I just couldn’t do it,” Patricia sighed. “I never knew how hard it was to-”

     “Pat!” Alan yelled. Patricia groaned as Alan ran up to her. She then gasped when she saw her little brother holding a glittery, blue envelope in his right hand.

     “This came in the mail today!” Alan grinned as he handed the envelope to his older sister. “I wrote the letter to those Usuls you like, and they wrote back!”

     “You what! They did?” Patricia was surprised and confused at the same time. She then took the envelope from Alan and opened it. Her friends crowded around her anxiously.

     “Dear... Portia? Who is Portia?” Patricia asked Alan.

     Alan shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. I wrote ‘Patricia’ on the letter.”

     “Just keep reading, Pat,” Sparkles said excitedly. Her friends nodded as Patricia continued to read the letter out loud. While she read, Patricia got really confused. In response to Alan’s letter, apparently, the Usuki Singing Stars had asked how her new Warf was doing and what life was like in Moltara. The end of the letter was signed by all three Usuki Singing Stars: Sarah, Maxy and Ann.

     “Well, that was thrilling,” Scary said as Patricia folded the scented piece of paper. “Who would have thought Alan, of all Neopians, would actually get a reply from the Usuki Singing Stars!” She laughed as she said the last sentence.

     “I think it was nice of him to do that,” Lola whispered as Scary laughed harder.

     “I guess so,” Patricia said as she watched Alan shooting hoops by himself. This was the nicest thing that little pest ever did for me, she thought to herself as she smiled. But from now on: I am SO done with writing fan letters!

The End