The Mystery at Usukiland

     Evie Dance, the Paranormal Time Detective (PTD for short), was TV’s hottest crime fighter. No matter where or when the crime happened – or will happen – she showed up to save the day. Polly wanted to be just like her – minus the time machine – and was even planning on becoming a police officer. Right now, though, she really wanted this specific Usuki Doll as a reminder to always be on the lookout and to always fight for what’s right.

     When Polly got to Usukiland, there wasn’t a single line outside and the door was propped open with a green hand truck. She knew the shopkeeper Usulla hated breezes, but thought nothing of it since it was a hot day today. Polly headed for the door, noticing a truck idling outside the store. A Mystery Island Skeith unloaded some unmarked boxes and took them to the loading dock beside the store. She hoped there were a few extra orders of the PTD Usuki Doll in there.

     Inside was a nightmare. Usulla never let more than 20 people in the store at one time because she didn’t want anyone ruining the merchandise, but the place was packed and the shopkeeper was nowhere in sight! The store was always a lot to take in, with every Usuki item ever made sold there in pink shelves against the pink walls that went all the way to the pink ceiling, but the bubblegum scent usually diffused into the air couldn’t mask the odour of too many crazed fans rushing to buy the latest releases.

     “Um, actually, the Fair Maiden Usuki Doll was released in Year 7,” one gruff voice came from a group of Tuskaninnies hanging around the water cooler. They didn’t look like they were in a rush to buy anything, but they were sweating buckets.

     While straggling behind a throng of people making their way to the nook that held the latest releases, Polly took a gander at the community bulletin board and saw a sticky note that read ‘arrival at 7AM’ placed on a blank spot. Did Usulla really come in to work that early to stock the shop?

     “O.M.G, did the Triple Threat Usuki already sell out?” a Pastel Vandagyre asked from the direction of the nook. “Like, I just got here!”

     Polly would’ve looked at the bulletin board longer, but she really wanted to see if she was lucky this week. She ducked past some Neopians in front of her who looked like they were just browsing and went straight to the nook to search the latest releases, ignoring the older and taller Lennies there. Her heart sank more and more as she searched high and low, almost giving up until a haphazardly placed Gamer Girl Usuki caught her attention. Right behind it, knocked onto its side with its iconic deerstalker cap peeking out, was the PTD Usuki Doll in its mint condition box. She didn’t hesitate to grab it before making a beeline straight to the cash register where a huge crowd was forming.

     “Has anyone seen Usulla recently?” An Usul dressed as a musketeer called out, but the Blue Blumaroo was nowhere in sight.

     “I haven’t seen her at all,” a Pirate Krawk said. “And I was the first one here.”

     “So who let you in?” the Usul asked, stroking his goatee.

     “No one. The door was open!

     “So you just walked in?”

     “The. Door. Was. Open,” he stressed, emphatically tapping on the Janitor Usuki Doll box in his hand.

     Polly ignored their conversation and moved closer to the checkout counter, taking a peek over the side to see a shipment log attached to a clipboard on the desk. There was Usulla’s signature under the received column; she couldn’t see what was in the shipment from this angle, but it looked like everything that was expected had arrived.

     Her phone chimed in her pocket and she took it out, carefully cradling the box with the PTD doll against her chest in case someone tried to grab it from her. A wig fell down from a display on a shelf above her but she ignored it, instead checking her email to find that the Usuki Doll Fan Club had just sent out a newsletter. The headline mentioned something about the new Rulers of Neopia blind box series so she opened it to see that they were scheduled to be on sale...now!

     The clock on the wall showed 9AM but there was no sign of Usulla, the blind boxes, any promo material, or even the pair of Retro Roller Usul Roller Skates that were kept on display behind the desk. Polly quickly looked at the wig on the ground beside her, picking it up to see it was from the Supreme Faerie Queen collection. The price tag made her wince, but that wasn’t what caught her eye – it was the fact that as a new item it wasn’t on display on the shelf near the ceiling for everyone in the store to see.

     Behind them, the front door slammed shut. Polly glanced over to see that the hand truck was gone from the front. She then remembered the sticky note that she saw about an arrival at 7AM. An empty display case meant a new showcase. Of course! Usulla was busy with the newest products! But where was she now? With a gasp she remembered the Skeith that was unloading boxes when she came in.

     “She’s in the loading dock,” Polly shouted, gently putting down the PTD Usuki doll somewhere safe and promising herself that she’d be back for it later.

     Polly didn’t think anyone would care, but once she started to make her way to the front of the store everyone else started to follow. And so they ran in one chaotic horde out of the store and toward the loading dock to see what the big deal was about. She hesitated outside the store when she saw that the truck was already gone but soon trailed behind the rest of the customers to the loading dock. Polly pushed her way to the front when the crowd stopped moving, feeling it was her right to be one of the first to know what Usulla was up to, but didn’t notice anything at first except piles and piles of boxes, some knocked over. That didn’t sound like something Usulla would do, treating boxes poorly, so she looked for anything strange.

     She thought everyone would go crazy and grab a box for themselves before hightailing it out of there, but they just started to move the boxes aside. She didn’t notice anything except the boxes, but a cry for help sounded out beneath them and when she saw a pair of Retro Roller Usul Roller Skates sticking out from under them she knew what had happened: Usulla had fallen over trying to get today’s order in quickly.

     “She’s under those boxes,” Polly shouted to everyone. A line started to form and they passed box after box down towards the stock room so that they could make space here and start unload there. Eventually, Usulla was saved and she struggled to her feet with a huge smile. Steadying herself on those finicky roller skates, she called out to everyone, “Thanks for the help, guys! Let’s finish up here and all go inside to see the latest product! Today’s discount will also apply to the new releases!”

     Everyone slowly made their way back into the store, eagerly chatting with each other about which Ruler they wanted to get in their blind box, but Polly hung back and entered last. As exciting as the latest release was, she came here today to get one thing and she was going to see it to the end. She hurried with anticipation to where she put her item before leaving the store, grateful to see that it was still there. Pleased with her deductive skills today, she winked at the Paranormal Time Detective Usuki Doll and said the signature catchphrase from the show with her own twist tacked on the end.

     “All in a day’s work for Polly Graph.”

     The End.