The Valentine’s Day Which Was Plagued by a Villain

      At an elementary school in Neopia Central, Valentine's Day was a joyous occasion for the young Neopets involved. The children were only interested in guzzling candy, carelessly tossing aside the Valentine's Day cards given to them by their classmates. Walda the Baby Kacheek was obsessed with chocolate, so she was gobbling it down furiously. For a moment, she sensed nothing except for the smooth, sweet taste that would have been cloying for other Neopets.

      Then the teacher turned off the lights to get everyone's attention. "Class," she began, "it's time for recess." The children rushed out the door excitedly, abandoning the sugary stockpiles which they had been guarding fiercely. The teacher followed the stampede.

      Walda, however, had decided to stay behind—she had an idea. The other students' candy was sitting on their desks, just waiting to be eaten. Filled with avarice, she started to wolf down everyone else's chocolate, blissfully hopping from desk to desk.

      She had eliminated all of the chocolate in about ten minutes. Therefore, she had to settle for the other types of candy, which vanished in another ten minutes. When the other students returned from recess, they stared at Walda with aghast expressions on their faces. Consumed by a sugar rush, she was sprinting around the room, dancing atop the vast heaps of candy wrappers that littered the floor.

      The other students started to grumble. One of them, a Baby Grarrl, was particularly overwhelmed by rage. "NO!" he shouted. " You wouldn't DARE!" You did NOT eat everyone else's candy! You selfish little beast!” Nevertheless, Walda ignored him, since she had traveled off to her own little world.

      Roaring furiously, the Grarrl lunged at Walda, which got her attention, of course. Whining with fear, she dashed to the other side of the room and jumped out the open window. Luckily for her, the Grarrl was too big to fit through the opening. She rushed away as he clawed at the glass.

      Walda had landed in the schoolyard, which featured tons of enticing playground equipment. She started to head toward the swings, but then she smelled more chocolate. Sniffing like a wolf, she tried to track down the source. Then she noticed the store of her dreams: a GIANT CHOCOLATE FACTORY!!!

      Consumed by pure joy, she sprinted toward the building. She rushed through the double doors, paying no attention to the other customers. In her haste, she bumped into someone. Walda bounced off of their knee and fell on the floor.

      She looked upwards, only to be greeted by a vicious, glaring face. "Uhhhh...." she stammered. Intimidated by the faerie's ferocity, she started to tremble. "Uhhhh... Sorry, miss!"

      The faerie scowled. "You should be sorry!" she snarled. "Watch where you're going, you clown!"

      Petrified, Walda began to sob. "I-I'm sorry. How can I make it up to you?"

      The faerie stomped her foot. "Some blockhead failed my quest yesterday. He was supposed to bring me Rainbow Candy Floss, but he couldn't find it." She rolled her eyes. "He said I didn't give him enough time. Excuses, excuses." The faerie shook her head. "Find me a Rainbow Candy Floss in the next sixteen minutes and forty seconds, or you'll fall to the same ugly fate as he did. I'll be over at the Toy Shop, looking for an item which some other fool forgot!" Then she stormed away.

      One of the other shoppers approached Walda. "That Jhudora is a nasty piece of work," he complained. "Anyway, that quest she gave you is nearly impossible for anyone, let alone a child. Your only hope is to stay here, since there is a tiny chance that a Rainbow Candy Floss could stock. I'll stay here with you, since a child should not be running around town unattended. Do your parents know you're here?"

      “No,” answered Walda. “I ran away from school because another student attacked me.”

      “Okay, I’ll summon help,” promised the client. “Hopefully they’ll get here soon.”

      Walda had been waiting in the Chocolate Factory for about five minutes, resisting the urge to devour chocolate which she couldn’t pay for. Then a new stock came in. The shelves were refilled with delicious goodies.

      Then Walda heard someone calling her name. She turned around and faced the Shopkeeper. “Hey, kid…” he began, “were you looking for Rainbow Candy Floss?”

      “Yes!” she exclaimed. “Do you have it?!”

      “Luckily for you, yes. It only comes in once in a blue moon.”

      “I’ll take it!” However, then Walda frowned. “I don’t have any money, though.”

      The other shopper had been listening excitedly. “I’ll pay for it,” he told the shopkeeper. “A child’s safety is priceless.”

      “Thank you, sir!” exclaimed Walda. Then the pair rushed over to the Toy Shop to find Jhudora.

      Walda made her way through the crowd, taking care not to bump into anyone else. She found Jhudora at the counter, scolding the shopkeeper. “What do you mean, you don’t have a Dark Faerie Doll?!” she snarled. “I’ve been looking for it for three weeks!”

      “I-I’m very sorry, ma’am,” answered the Shopkeeper. “I’ll try to find it as soon as possible.”

      “I’ll be back!” snapped Jhudora. She began to storm away, but then she saw Walda. “Did you find it?” she asked.

      “Yes!” exclaimed Walda, handing over the candy floss.

      The faerie stared at it for a minute. “You got lucky this time,” she grumbled. “I was looking forward to punishing you.” Then she walked away.

      The other shopper shook his head. “She didn’t even thank you,” he pointed out. “Anyway, it’s time to find your parents. I wish that the help would get here soon—“

      “Walda! Walda!”

      The Kacheek turned and saw her sister, Chessella, rushing toward her. Ella picked Walda up and hugged her. “I’m so glad you’re alright!” she exclaimed.

      Ella set Walda back on the floor. “What happened?” asked Ella. “The school contacted me and told me that you ran away.”

      Walda recounted the events of the day to her sister. Ella turned to the other shopper and told him, “Thank you so much for helping her. Jhudora is such a rotten villain.” Ella shuddered. “Here is payment for the Rainbow Candy Floss.” Then she turned to Walda. “We’re going back to the Chocolate Factory, young lady!”

      “YES!!!” cheered Walda.

      “We are not buying any more chocolate for you,” Ella told her sternly. “Instead, we are going to replace all the candy that you stole from your classmates. Tomorrow, you will apologize and hand out the treats. I will come with you to ensure that you don’t eat them all on the way to school. Also, I will be garnishing your allowance until the treats are paid for.”

      Walda frowned. “Alright,” she sighed as she followed Ella back to the Chocolate Factory.

      As Ella was buying tons of chocolate, Walda reflected on the events of the day. She was so relieved because she had escaped Jhudora’s wrath. However, she had felt very frightened, both when the Grarrl attacked her and when the faerie threatened her. Furthermore, Walda was disappointed because she was going to lose her allowance for a while. Shaking her head, she doubted that the bliss of her classmates’ candy was worth the subsequent trouble.

      The End.