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Untitled Document
Tarren was unique. Wherever he went, he was told that, and
he was never sick of it. Everyday his owner reminded him. So did her friends.
And the pets passing in the street. And... everyone. For Tarren was no normal
JubJub. While his brother, an older JubJub, had two black eyes like normal JubJubs,
Tarren's were sky blue. His owner, a kind little girl named Emily, always said
they looked as if they went on for eternity. She called them eyes of eternity.
So there he was, the little yellow JubJub with
the lustrous eyes, bouncing gleefully on his owner's lap. She smiled lovingly
and chatted with him, her face reflecting the mirth of her young Neopet. The
little JubJub giggled as she tickled him in the fur. On the other side of the
room leaning against the wall casually with a look of disgust portrayed on his
countenance, was another JubJub. He glared at Tarren, the object of their owner's
affection. Violent streaks of turquoise gilded his royal blue fur. The electric
JubJub simply glowered at them.
"Pathetic," he spat, narrowing his eyes in revulsion.
"Simply pathetic."
"Okay Tarren, be a good boy while I load the
dishwasher. After we can go out for ice cream together, how does that sound?"
Emily asked as she smiled. Tarren nodded enthusiastically. "And you can come
too, Max, how does that sound?" The electric JubJub just growled a response
as the teenage girl left the room.
Tarren giggled as he bounced up and down on the
plush sofa cushions, his sky blue eyes twinkling in the lamp light. Max scowled
some more. "Yeah, snuggle up to mommy. It's sickening, really. The way you're
always giggling and laughing with her."
Tarren stopped bouncing and stared at him, his
forlorn blue eyes shimmering as tears welled up. "You're just jealous because
she likes me more than you!" he exclaimed. His young voice was plagued with
bemusement.
Max laughed. "As if. You're the new one, Emily
has to shower you with emotion. But the way you're acting. The only reason everyone
showers you with affection is because they fall madly in love with those
freakish eyes of yours, but they'll all get tired of it eventually. Pretty soon
you'll have to learn you can't coast through life on looks alone. You have to
work for what you want."
The only reason he's angry is because he wants
my pretty eyes, Terren thought bitterly. If Max had my pretty eyes then
he wouldn't mind being noticed once in a while.
"Hey, here's an idea," Max said as a sly grin
developed on his fluffy face. "Why don't you play outside with your friends?
Oh yeah, I remember, you don't have any--"
"I have friends!" the yellow JubJub shouted back
at his older brother. "I just... uh... I just don't want to play with them,
that's all!"
"Admit it, you have no friends. You'd rather
be admired by our owner than meet friends your age who probably wouldn't care
if you had screwed up eyes," Max laughed.
The tears in Tarren's eyes because flow down
his cheek, leaving a damp imprint on his fur. As Emily returned to the room,
she saw the sky blue eyes of her adorable yellow JubJub starting to tear up.
"Max! Apologise to your brother!" she snapped.
"But you didn't even hear what happe--"
"I don't care! You shouldn't treat your little
brother like that! Now apologise!"
Max growled and shook his head before storming
off to his room. Emily looked into the sparkling blue eyes of her little JubJub.
"It's alright," she whispered soothingly. "He's just a little... envious, I
suppose, of your captivating eyes. Your have eyes of eternity." The ends of
Tarren's mouth turned up a bit into a smile. He always liked it when she said
that. "Now come on, let's go out for ice cream."
***
Tarren and Emily chatted on their way to the Food Shop, where they were going
to pick up some ice cream. Tarren always loved talking to Emily; she always
had nice things to say... unlike Max. Admit it, you have no friends.
Max's harsh words reverberated in his head. Pretty soon you'll have to learn
you can't coast through life on looks alone. What did he know anyway?
"Oh Charles, look at that adorable JubJub!"
an elderly Pteri chirped as she and her companion looked deep into Terren's
eyes.
"I can almost imagine clouds floating in his
eyes, like the sky!" the other elderly Pteri laughed. "Spectacular!"
Tarren giggled. How could Max not be jealous?
Everyone thought he was amazing JubJub. Max only wished he had eyes that went
on for eternity like he did.
The two continued down the road together. Suddenly,
as the passed the theatre, a whole hoard of Neopets exited, talking cheerily
about the film they saw. In the confusion, the swarm of pets surrounded them,
cutting them off from each other.
"Emily! Emily!" Terren shouted.
Throughout the confusion, Tarren swore he heard
his name being called back to him, but too many Neopets surrounded him to be
sure. He fought to find his owner, but there was a risk of being trampled by
the taller pets. Finally he ran across the street, and then turned to see Emily.
She wasn't there.
The yellow JubJub leaned against the side of
a brick building. His owner wasn't anyway in sight. Tears began well up in his
eyes again. He looked up at the passing pets with his shimmering sky blue eyes.
The sun's reflection made them shine. But nobody noticed his eyes. They simply
passed him.
"Why aren't they helping me?" the JubJub whimpered,
as the tears began to flow onto his fur, dampening it once more.
He whimpered extra loudly as the elderly Pteri
couple passed again. Neither of them seemed to notice.
He remembered what Max had said that morning.
The only reason everyone showers you with affection is because they fall
madly in love with those freakish eyes of yours, but they'll all get tired of
it eventually. "They're... all... mean!" he cried, as the tears continued
to flow down his fur. Max was mean. The passing pets were mean. Everyone was
against him!
Pretty soon you'll have to learn you can't
coast through life on looks alone. Terren cried some more. He didn't budge
from his spot against the building. The pets who passed shot aggravated stares
at him, wanting to get away from the screaming JubJub as fast as possible.
You have to work for what you want. More
memories of what Max had said swirled around in his mind. "He... j-just... said
that... t-to be... m-m-m-meeeean!" he wailed. Max was wrong! He didn't have
to... he could get by with help... he...
And then it hit him. All those taunts Max had
given him, all those times Max had told him to stop relying on others. He was
right. His brother was completely right.
Tarren got up off his feet, shook the dirt out
of his fur, and started to run. He scampered across the street through the crowd.
"Excuse me! I need to find my owner... sorry," he said as he pushed past them.
Suddenly, he saw her. Standing there, right outside of the theatre, looking
around anxiously.
"Emily!" he shouted.
She turned her head and saw her little Neopet
running over to him. "Tarren!"
Terren jumped into her arms. He had found her...
all on his own.
***
The door shut behind them as they returned to their NeoHome later on that
day. Max was standing there, staring at them.
"Have fun?" he laughed. "Got mommy to buy you
some ice cream?"
Tarren didn't start crying, but instead he looked
his brother in the eyes. "Thank-you," he murmured.
Max cocked an eyebrow. "For what?"
"For trying to help me! You taught me that I
couldn't rely completely on others to get through life. I had to work for what
I wanted. You were right," Tarren replied.
The electric JubJub wrinkled his face in confusion,
but he understood. Tarren could've swore his brother was smiling. "You know
what? You're not so bad. For a shrimp, that is."
"And you're not so bad... for an evil bully,
that is," Terren replied with a giggle.
The marvels of brotherly love.
The End
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