In a lush meadow far away, a Cybunny and a Lupe were
sitting together. Laughing and talking with each other, the world seemed perfect
for the girl Cybunny and the handsome boy Lupe. Ah, it was bliss. It was paradise,
heaven, and a dream come true! It was-
"Tia!" Miss White snapped angrily. "Ready to
come back from LaLa Land?"
Tia's classmates snickered.
Tia, the Blue Cybunny, stopped dreaming and
nodded. Her face turned scarlet. "Yes, Miss White," she mumbled.
"Good," said the teacher. She eyed Tia suspiciously,
and then went back to explaining fractions.
Tia exchanged a glance with her best friend,
Holly, the Christmas Wocky. Holly's look said, "Caught day dreaming again!"
When the bell finally rang, Tia was the first
pet to the door. Anxious to get away from Miss White's evil glare, Tia rushed
to her locker.
Holly joined her there. "I can't believe you
were day dreaming again!" said practical Holly. "You have got to grow up and
pay attention!"
"Sorry," Tia muttered as she fumbled with her
books.
Curiosity got the best of Holly. Again. "What
where you day dreaming about anyway?" Holly asked.
A dreamy look replaced the embarrassed one on
Tia's face. "Nick and I were in a meadow together," she sighed wistfully.
"Nick?" Holly repeated. "The handsome Lupe from
our class? Get real, Tia. He's popular. He'd never notice you." At the hurt
look on Tia's face, Holly added, "Or me."
"Hey, I can dream, can't I?" Tia argued defensively.
"Sure you can dream, just not in class. Anyway,
it'll never happen. Never."
Sometimes Tia wished that Holly wasn't so practical.
It got annoying after a while.
"Maybe we'll never sit in a meadow together,"
admitted Tia sheepishly, "but that doesn't mean I can't at least get him to
notice me."
"How are you going to do that?"
Tia thought hard for a moment. Then, as if a
light bulb had been placed over her head, she had an idea. "I've got it! You
know the fundraiser coming up?"
Holly nodded cautiously.
The fundraiser was to earn Neopoints to improve
the Neoschool. Each student was required to do 2 hours of work over the weekend
and earn Neopoints.
"I know what I can do!" Tia exclaimed excitedly.
"While everyone else is doing a measly 2 hours of work, I'll do 5! Nick will
be bound to notice me, the Cybunny who dared to care."
"Well…" Holly thought aloud. "That might work…"
"Might? It HAS to work! Then Nick will see what
a fantastic volunteer I am. He'll notice me, and then we can sit in a meadow
togeth-
"Sorry to interrupt your day dream," Holly said,
"but are you really going to work for 5 hours? And what are you going to do
anyway?"
"Of course I'll do 5 hours of work! If Nick
notices me, it'll be totally worth it. And I know what I can do, too. I can
babysit! I've got tons of experience from working at Funshine Farm!"
Funshine Farm was the Day Care that Tia's family
owned. While owners worked hard in their shops to earn a living and older pets
went to school, Tia's owner watched the little ones at their Day Care. Tia's
family was quite poor, and Funshine Farm was their only source of Neopoints.
"Whatever," Holly muttered. She stacked up her
books and prepared for her next class. "I'm going to rake yards, but if you
want to babysit for 5 hours, go ahead." Then, in her most practical, let's-get-going
voice, Holly said, "Now hurry up. We'll be late for Science class!"
***
Posters of Nick the Lupe were plastered on every square inch of Tia's bedroom.
Tia's favorite had Nick on it (of course!), and then Tia taped a picture of
herself next to it. Big, proud letters proclaimed, "Mrs. Nick Lupe!"
Tia jumped backward to land on her bed. Her
"Mrs. Nick Lupe" poster was on the ceiling, so Tia could dream about Nick while
she fell asleep.
"Tia!" a shouting voice chased Tia's fantasies
away.
Tia's owner entered the bedroom. "Tia, you have
a phone call."
Tia jumped up. "Nick! Is it from Nick?"
"You mean that Lupe you have such a crush on?"
Tia's owner looked around the room and rolled her eyes. "Don't you think is
a little much, Tia? Aren't you a little too obsessed with him?"
"No talk! I can't keep Nick waiting!" And with
that, Tia, scampered down the stairs. She snatched up the telephone receiver
and said breathlessly, "Hello?"
"Hello Tia."
Tia's heart sank. It wasn't Nick at all. It
was Christine, a neighbor, who had twin pets.
"Tia, are you there?"
"Yes, I'm here," Tia replied, trying not to
sound as disappointed as she felt.
"All right then. Listen, Tia, I need to go out
of town for a few hours this Sunday, and Funshine Farm isn't open on Sundays.
Am I right?"
"You are."
Christine continued. "Anyway, do you think you
could babysit the twins, Tommy and Tamara?"
Finally, Tia saw her opportunity. She could
babysit Tommy and Tamara for 5 hours and be the star of the fundraiser!
Tia asked hopefully, "How long would you need
me to watch them?"
"Five hours."
With enormous effort, Tia swallowed her whoop
for joy. "I would be happy to babysit Tommy and Tamara on Sunday."
"Excellent!" Christine answered. "I'll bring
them over at about 9:00 and I'll come back for them around 2:30."
"Sounds like a plan! I can't wait to see Tommy
and Tamara. They're so cute!" Tia thanked Christine, hung up, and did a victory
dance.
To be continued...
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