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The Yurble Next Door


by violinoutoftune

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"Oh, he's so cute!"

     Fluff, Fran, and Kumoil were standing with their owner, Violin, on a nice sunny Friday morning in Neopia Central. They were looking over the white fence that separated the lots, to the new Neohome that had just been built. Their new neighbors, a teenage girl and her little green Yurble, were planting flowers in their garden.

      "He's so adorable!" Violin, a dark-brown haired teenager wearing jeans and a T-shirt said again. "But, of course, all Yurbles are!" She stopped looking at the Yurble to glance down at her ridiculous sundial watch.

      "Oh, no!" she gasped. "I'm going to be late for the Daily Dung Discourse at the guild again." Looking at her pets she said:

      "Sorry, guys! I'm going to have to go now. I'll be back just before dinner. You can find something in the kitchen for lunch, right?" And with that she ran down the street, flapping her arms and lamenting how much trouble she would be in for being late.

      "Weird thing, owners," Fran, a red Grundo mused.

      "I'll say!" remarked Fluff, the red Usul present. "She's absolutely crazy about that new pet. I wouldn't be surprised if she even adopted one of those Herbals, or Gurgles, or whatever they're called."

      "Yurble," Fran corrected. "And I was talking about how she looked running down the street like that."

      "Oh…"

      "Anyway," Fran continued, "I sure hope she doesn't adopt one of those things! She'll forget all about us!"

      "Yeah!" said the green chubby Chia, named Kumoil. "We can't let that happen!"

      "And it's all because of that Yurble next door," Fran said, placing her hands on her hips. "If he wasn't there, Violin wouldn't be so obsessed with them."

      "Grr…" Fluff looked over at the Yurble planting flowers and giggling with his owner. The girl hugged him affectionately. "That makes me so... so sick!" the Usul said. "I wish I could just throw that Yurble off Terror Mountain!"

      "Now, Fluff," Fran cautioned, "let's not get too violent!"

      "Why not?" Kumoil asked dumbly. In an attempt to show his strength, he gave a grunt and flexed his arm muscles, which were hardly anything but fat.

      "Because the Neopian Times will never accept a story about Yurbles being thrown off mountain tops," Fran answered.

      "Hmm… Good point," said Fluff. "So maybe we could just embarrass him in front of his owner!"

      "You have an idea?"

      "Yep!" Fluff answered. "Here's what we do…"

 ***

Yuro the green Yurble had just finished eating a delicious lunch that his owner, Anna, had made, and was now walking outside to play with his Red Bouncy Ball. As he picked up the ball he screamed in shock. Underneath was a Spyder crawling away.

      "Yuro?! Are you alright?" Anna called from within the Neohome.

      "Yeah! I'm fine!" Yuro called back. He didn't want Anna to find out that he had been scared by just a tiny Spyder. But it sounded like someone else had heard that scream, as well. The green Yurble heard giggling coming from the other side of the white fence. He went over to investigate, only to see a row of large green bushes.

      "That's odd," Yuro said to himself. "I didn't know bushes could laugh. Heh, I guess we learn something new everyday!" Then he continued playing with his bouncy ball on the other side of the yard, away from the giggling bushes.

***

"Et ur foot out ove i outh!" Fluff screamed.

      "That's not my foot in your mouth! It's Kumoil's!" Fran said.

      "I on't care ooze it is! Et it out!" Three pets spilled out of their hiding place in the shrub and on top of each other on the grass. Kumoil's foot was in Fluff's mouth while the Usul's tail was wrapped around the green Chia, efficiently suffocating him. Meanwhile, Fran's long red Grundo antennas were being pulled out of her head by Fluff in her anger and panic. After a few minutes, and a couple of bruises, everyone was sitting on the grass catching their breath.

      "Well, that went well." Fran exclaimed.

      "Yeah!" Kumoil agreed, missing the sarcasm in Fran's voice. "It was fun, fun, fun!"

      "Fran was being sarcastic, Kumoil," Fluff said, exasperated by his stupidity. "Anyway," she continued, "next time let's not hide in the bush. Chia feet taste awful!"

      "Well, next time I don't what to be half suffocated by Fluff's tail!" Kumoil said, his color gradually turning back from blue to his natural green as he took in fresh air.

      "What do you mean next time?" Fran asked. "We scared that Yurble, what else do you want us to do?"

      "No, that was just a test run!" Fluff explained. "This time I have a better plan! But we'll need a few things!"

***

"Ready, aim, FIRE!"

      BING! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! SPLAT!

      "Oops! It hit the brick wall. Try again!"

      An hour had past and the three pets again stood by the white fence. Fran was just getting ready to shoot her slingshot for the tenth time using the ammo handed to her by Kumoil. Fluff was gazing though a pair of Neopian Philharmonic Glasses. But instead of watching musicians perform from the nosebleed section of the Tyrannian Concert Hall, she was watching dung fly through the neighbors' open windows and land on their brand new floor.

      BING! WHOOOOOOOSH! PLOP!

      "That one made it, Fran!" Fluff said. "So, that should be four piles of dung in there. Just one more and then we'll be done!"

      "Good!" the Grundo said, getting handed another pile of dung from Kumoil. "This stuff is disgusting!" She pulled back on her specially-altered-for-mushy-substances slingshot and let it go.

      BING! WHOOOOOOO-

      "Oh, it's going way too high!"

      -OOOOSHH! SQUAWK!

      "Um, you hit a Pawkeet, try again!"

***

"Yuro!" Anna called. She had just stepped in a pile of dung that was in the hallway. It wouldn't have been that bad, if she had not been barefooted. But she had been barefooted, and was now furious.

      "Yuro! Get over here!" his owner called again.

      "What?" Yuro asked, walking into the hallway. There were five small piles of dung on the glossy floor, and in one of them was his owner's foot.

      "Did you do this?" Anna asked angrily.

      "No!" Yuro said in defense. "I had nothing to do with it. I'm as clueless as to how it got there as you are!"

      "Alright," the girl sighed and removed her foot from the filthy substance, "I believe you. It was probably just one of those stupid Weewoos that got in through the open windows and decided to have an accident."

      "Yeah, that's possible," Yuro agreed, though he thought it was a little farfetched to be true. Sure, Weewoos were dumb and disgusting, but not that disgusting!

      "Anyway," continued Anna, "you pick up this stuff while I go wash my foot. Oh, and close the windows."

      The human then hopped awkwardly on one foot out of the hall and into the bathroom. Yuro was about close the windows, when Anna bounced back in.

      "On second thought," she said, "keep the windows open. It stinks in here."

      "Okay."

     Anna then hopped back into the bathroom while Yuro set about to clean up the dung. He tried to find a shovel in the garden shed, but was unsuccessful. He thought of perhaps using a broom and a dustpan, but realized he would then have to clean them up afterwards. He'd have to use something he could just throw away. And then he saw it. A few copies of The Neopian Times were laying in a pile in the living room. He used the paper to cautiously scoop up the dung, making sure his paws and fur never touched the nasty stuff. Soon he had all of the unpleasantness on one copy of the Neopian Times, and held it like he was carrying a tray full of Rotten Omelettes, only much, much worse.

     "Now what do I do?" he said aloud. He couldn't just toss the stuff in the trash can. The smell needed to get out of the house. So without thinking twice about it, the green Yurble flung the newspaper, dung and all, out the window.

     "There," he said, resting his hands on his hips, "that ought to do it."

     A moment later he heard a muffled "Yelp!" and then a quiet "Ewww!"

     "Those bushes…" he whispered with wide eyes, and then fled to the safety of his room.

***

"Well the Daily Dung Discourse didn't go very well today." Violin had just returned home to see her three pets waiting for her in the living room.

     "You see," Violin went on, "somebody stole the dung. So nobody had much fun."

     "So what have you guys been up to here?" she asked. In their silence she sniffed the air.

     "You all are so… clean," the girl said. She bent down to the Chia and sniffed in. "Even Kumoil!" she said, disbelieving. "Okay, what have you guys been up to today?"

     "Um, learning new hygiene habits?" Kumoil offered, giving his most delightful smile.

     "Right," Violin said, not believing and not quite caring. "Well anyway, it's a good thing that you all are clean, because we're having guests come over for dinner tonight!"

     "Who?" said her three pets in unison.

     "Oh, just our new neighbors from next door," Violin answered.

     "Oh, no!" said Fluff.

     "What's wrong?" Violin asked her.

     "Um, it's just that I forgot to do something upstairs!" Fluff said and then ran up the stairs. Violin looked at the other two pets, confused.

     "You know, I forget to do something, as well," the Grundo said, and ran up after Fluff.

     "Let me guess," Violin turned to Kumoil, "you forgot to do something, too."

     "Nope!" the green Chia answered. "But I'll go upstairs anyway!" And with that, he flew up the stairs behind Fluff and Fran, leaving Violin below, shaking her head.

     ***

"Ha! This is perfect!" Fluff said, hopping up onto her bed.

     "What's so perfect?" Kumoil asked.

     "Don't you see? Now we can really make that Yurble look bad. Right in front of Violin, too!" Fluff explained.

     "I dunno, Fluff," Fran said, "we played enough jokes on that Yurble already. Let's just leave him alone. If something goes wrong and Violin catches us-"

     "She won't!" the Usul cut in. "Because we'll make sure nothing goes wrong. And remember Fran, you said that you wouldn't be surprised if she didn't adopt one of those things!"

     "Yeah, but that was just… well. Look Fluff, we got our laugh already, isn't that enough?"

     "I'm with Fran on this one," Kumoil put in.

     "Guys," Fluff said, "this isn't about getting a laugh. This is about our future! Do we want Violin getting a Yurble and forgetting about us? NO!"

     "Well…" Fran said, "I guess we can do something mean at dinner. But that's it! After tonight we'll not do any more of this! Agreed?"

     "Agreed!" Fluff said.

     "Now let's shake on it!" Fran and Fluff shook hands, then Kumoil chimed in:

     "All for one and five for me!"

     "Five what for you?" Fluff asked.

     "Servings of dinner, of course!" They laughed, and set about to do their meanest deed yet.

***

Ten minutes later, three knocks sounded from the front door. The neighbors had arrived!

      "Let them in!" Violin called from the kitchen to her pets in the hallway. Fluff went up to the door to answer it.

      "Remember guys," she told Fran and Kumoil, "pretend like nothing is wrong, but do everything we planned." She then turned the door knob and opened it to see the green Yurble and his owner. She gave them her best smile and led them into the dining room with Fran and Kumoil following behind. Once there, Yuro and Anna took their seats. Fluff and Fran then excused themselves, saying the needed to go help Violin in the kitchen while Kumoil stayed back to entertain the guests.

      Violin was just walking out of the kitchen holding a Cheese Pizza as Fluff and Fran entered.

      "Oh!" she said. "Would you two bring the drinks? They're on the counter."

      The Usul and Grundo went over to where the cans of Neocola sat. Once Violin was out of earshot Fluff asked:

      "So, did Kumoil put that Mootix on the Yurble?"

      "I think so," Fran replied.

     "Good. Where's the Hot Tyrannian Pepper?

     "Here!" Fran said, taking it off one of the shelves. "Which can should I put it in?"

      "This one," Fluff said and Fran popped the can open and dropped the pepper into it.

     "I'll carry it and give it to the Yurble." Fluff said, two Neocolas in one hand, and the extra powerful one in the other. Fran also took three.

     "Ha! I can't wait to see his reaction to this dynamite!" Fluff said to Fran, as they started to walk out of the kitchen.

      Back in the dining room, everyone was already eating the pizza.

      "Well, finally!" Violin said, as Fluff and Fran gave everyone a can of Neocola, the one with the pepper being set down in front of Yuro.

      "Fran, Fluff? Do you think you could go get some more napkins?" Violin asked. The two returned to the kitchen.

      "Hey, your can is already open!" Kumoil said, picking up Yuro's Neocola and exchanging it with a different one. "Here, this one's germ-free!"

      "Uh, thank you," Yuro murmured.

     Soon Fran and Fluff returned with the greatly needed napkins and Violin started with non-stop talk.

     "I'm really glad you guys could come over. I think it's great to have friends outside of your own family! And so I was thinking today: "Why, not start with the people right next door?" And of course, that was just the novel idea! I mean we'll be seeing each other all the time since you're just a yard away and like it just makes sense, doesn't it? You know, some people live next door to someone for years, and they never even say hello to each other! Now, perhaps sometimes you wouldn't want to know who lives next door to you. Like, it might be Sloth himself! But you'd never really know until you meet them, huh? But I think all of us should be friends, though! I mean, we can like practically look through our second story window and see into your bathroom! And if you can do that, you can be friends! Er, not that we do! I mean you just moved in, and the window is stained glass, very pretty by the way, so of course we can't see in… Ha, ha!"

     At this point Violin started laughing and snorted loudly for no apparent reason while her pets shifted uncomfortably in their chairs. The jaws of the guests were frozen open; partly from shock, partly from disgust. When Violin's snorting subsided she continued:

     "Heh, I just remembered, we don't even HAVE windows! Ha!" Violin snorted some more… "Yes, we'll definitely have to check out that shop in Brightvale. Anyway, we could still see in if we climbed up on our roof! Then, you know, we could throw stuff at your window and scare you! Now THAT would be fun! Of course if you're not for scares, we won't do it. But you could like always scare us. I LOVE a good scare! You know… Aaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!"

     Violin's shrill scream cracked the ice of the guest's jaws, allowing them to close their mouths.

     "There's something crawling in my hair!" Violin shouted as she jumped off her seat and danced around the room. "Help! Help! HELP!"

     Kumoil and Yuro broke out laughing while Fran rushed over and removed a green Mootix from her owner's dark brown hair.

     "How'd that get in here?" Violin asked, angry and humiliated. Fran just shrugged and went to throw it out in the garden. Upon returning, everything was amazingly dull. Violin had stopped her chatter out of embarrassment, and Kumoil's and Yuro's laughter had abated, so now everyone was simply looking down at their plates as they ate their pizza in an uncomfortable silence. That silence would have gone on forever, but that all changed when Fluff took a sip of her Neocola.

     With that one sip the Usul's mouth became as hot as the Mystery Island Volcano. And this volcano wasn't going to swallow all that heat down into it's deep inners - it was going to explode! Without warning, it spewed it's lava across the table and all over Violin's face. Kumoil and Yuro fell out of their chairs laughing. Fran and Anna looked as stunned as Violin did, wiping the Neocola off her face with a napkin. Meanwhile, Fluff was stuffing pizza into her mouth to try to extinguish the flames of the pepper. But it didn't help! And soon, everyone at the table was laughing at her. Ashamed, she ran out of the room. Violin then excused herself, and quietly asked Fran to show their guests to the door.

***

Violin found Fluff laying on her bed with tears streaming down her face.

      "Go away!" Fluff moaned, but the teenager stayed.

      "I'm sorry for laughing," she said. "It was really wrong of me, though it was kind of funny." Violin snorted a little.

      "Oh, just go away!" Fluff said again.

      "But don't you want to talk about this?" Violin asked, genuinely concerned. "I'm all ears. And something tells me there is more to this than just the Neocola."

     Fluff waited awhile and then finally spoke:

      "I've acted really selfishly today," she admitted. "Well, actually downright bad."

      "What did you do?" Violin asked, gently.

      Without looking up at her owner, Fluff told her all the mean things they had done that day.

      "I see…" Violin said when Fluff had finished. "No… actually I don't see. I don't understand why you all would do things like that. Why?"

      "Because we thought that you might get a Yurble, because you like them so much, and… I dunno. It was just a way to make me feel better. It was a way to vent my anger."

      "You think I want to get a Yurble?" Violin asked. The Usul looked up.

      "Well," she said, smiling a little, "I did until you asked that question." Violin shook her head.

      "I don't want to get a Yurble! How did you get a crazy idea like that?"

      "Um, maybe because you're so obsessed with them," Fluff said.

      "I'm not obsessed with Yurbles!" Violin said. "Well, maybe I was obsessed with them. But not anymore! Now it's the new Rukis! They just totally rock!"

      "So, you're going to get a Ruki now…" Fluff began crying again.

      "Oh, no, Fluff!" Violin said, hugging the Usul. "Now I know what's been bothering you. You think I'm going to get another pet and not love you anymore, is that it?"

     Fluff sniffed and nodded.

     "Well, I'll tell you something!" Violin said, wiping the tears from Fluff's eyes. "I am not going to adopt a Yurble and I am not going to adopt a Ruki. I'm actually not even thinking of adopting a fourth pet anytime soon! And if I eventually do get a fourth pet, I'll still love you just as much." Violin hugged Fluff again, and was surprised to find her own eyes filling up with tears. "I'll always love you Fluff, no matter what."

     A little "Ahem" came from the door. Violin and Fluff broke out of their hug to see Kumoil and Fran standing in the doorway.

     "And I'll always love you guys, too!" Violin said. Kumoil and Fran ran over to join in a family hug.

     "I'll try my hardest to split my heart in three pieces," Violin said, "one third for each of you!"

     "So you're not mad at us?" Kumoil asked.

     "Oh, sure," Violin said. "I'm absolutely furious at you!" They looked up and her and she laughed. "No, but I forgive you. You had good reason for being worried. I'm sorry that I've been a little weird lately. And I'm sorry if I talk too much. Do you forgive me?"

     "Yes, we forgive you," Fran said.

     "Good, but I think you guys need to forgive someone else, as well."

***

The next day, Fluff, Fran, and Kumoil explained to Yuro and Anna what they had done, and apologized for it.

      "We accept your apology," Yuro said. "I'm just a bit disappointed that bushes can't really talk."

      "Talking bushes?" Fluff grinned. "And I thought we were weird!"

      And that was the start of a surprisingly beautiful friendship. Neighbors as friends -- what a novel idea! It'd make a good book, huh?

The End

 
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