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"Valentine's Day is tomorrow," announced Mrs. Green,
the teacher of Early Neopian History at the Neoschool. "Be sure to make your
valentines in time. I want everyone to get one, so no one has hurt feelings."
Silver, the silver Wocky (obviously!) listened
impatiently. She waited for the lunch bell to ring. Finally, it did.
"Class dismissed," stated Mrs. Green.
The pets scrambled for the door, then for their
lockers, to deposit their books and go to the cafeteria.
Kristin, a cloud Aisha, had a locker next to
Silver. The two of them were best friends. "I hope I get a valentine," said
Kristin hopefully.
"Me too!" Silver agreed enthusiastically.
"Silver!" Kristin shouted excitedly. "Look!"
She pointed at something inside Silver's locker.
Silver's gaze followed Kristin's outstretched
paw. "It's a Valentine!" she exclaimed gleefully. She picked it up. A smile
spread across Silver's face as she read the Valentine from her Secret Admirer.
She was glad to receive at least one Valentine, but whom could this one be from?
I have to find out, she thought.
"So what does it say?" Kristin asked eagerly.
"Who is it from?"
Silver read the valentine aloud. "It says, 'Hi
Silver! What's up? I hope you have a fantastic day. Love, Your Secret Admirer.'"
"You have a Secret Admirer!" Kristin moaned
enviously. "Who could it be?"
Silver heard footsteps from behind her. She
turned around.
Joe the Gelert walked down the hallway, surrounded
by his friends. Joe was incredibly handsome. There wasn't a girl pet in the
school that didn't like him.
As Joe walked by, a thought came to Silver.
"Kristin," she whispered, her excitement mounting, "what if... what if my Valentine
is from... Joe?!"
Kristin's eyes widened, but then jealousy got
the better of her and she narrowed her eyes. She never got any valentines. "Fat
chance," she snapped rudely.
Silver stared at her. She was startled. That
wasn't how Kristin usually spoke to her.
Kristin continued huffily, "Joe is way too popular.
You wouldn't stand a chance with him. I bet he doesn't even know you exist."
Anger surged through Silver. "Well, at least
I got one card! You have none! The big ZERO!"
Now anger was burning in Kristin's eyes as well.
She glared menacingly at Silver and flounced away.
"I don't need her," Silver muttered defiantly.
"Some best friend she is. She's just jealous. I'll show her. I--"
"What?"
Silver turned around. Tom stood in front of
her. Tom was also a Wocky, a glowing Wocky. He was nice. Tom wasn't near as
handsome as Joe, but Silver did consider him a kind friend.
"Oh, Kristin's just jealous of me," she explained
bitterly.
"Because you got a valentine and she didn't?"
Tom questioned curiously.
"Yes, and I--" Silver stopped. "How... how do
you know?"
"W-w-well... e-everyone knows. There's a...
a rumor... going around… ahem… going around the school," Tom stammered, looking
slightly embarrassed.
"Oh," Silver murmured. Then, out of curiosity,
she said, "Do you know who sent it?"
"I haven't heard," Tom replied. "But, gossip
travels like a forest fire in this school. I'm sure we'll find out by tomorrow."
"Yeah, maybe," admitted Silver. She shoved the
rest of her books into her crowded locker. "Kristin won't want to sit with me
at lunch. Would you like to?"
Tom blushed slightly. "Okay. I usually sit alone.
I have no friends."
"That's not true!" Silver said, a little too
loudly. She lowered her voice when some other pets stopped to stare. "I'm your
friend." She smiled cheerfully, and together they walked to the cafeteria.
***
Kristin was sitting at a table next to Veronica. Veronica was a Uni, and she
was unbelievably vain and extremely stuck-up.
Silver couldn't help overhearing their conversation
as she stood impatiently in the lunch line of hungry pets.
"So, if you haven't heard," said Veronica smugly
to Kristin, "I'm having a super-awesome party at my NeoHome tomorrow. I wanted
to only invite the cool pets," she motioned to everyone at the table, "but my
owner said I have to invite the whole class. Ugh. Nerds included. But
it'll still be super-awesome! There will be music and decorations... and even
a dance floor!" Veronica smiled. "Maybe you'll get to dance with Joe like you
wanted!"
Silver felt another sudden rush of anger. It
would sure be rude of Kristin to dance with Joe at the party when she knew how
much Silver liked him, but Kristin wasn't Silver's friend anymore. Silver sighed
glumly and sat down next to Tom.
"Have you heard about Veronica's party?" she
demanded of Tom.
"Yeah," Tom answered, not really paying attention
as he cleaned the thick glasses he wore.
"Are you going?"
"Maybe. I really haven't decided yet," was his
reply.
"I'm going to go. Maybe I can find out who sent
me that valentine."
Tom nodded and continued chewing.
***
All everyone talked about the next day was Veronica's party. Tom did decide
to go, but only for the refreshments, as he continued to remind Silver.
After school, Silver picked out her prettiest
dress. It was emerald green and it matched her eyes. She braided her tail and
twirled in front of the mirror. "I think I'm good enough for Joe," she
said confidently. "I'm going to prove Little Miss Kristin wrong. I'm
going to dance with Joe." She added just a little touch of make-up to her face
and left for Veronica's house.
***
Tom was waiting for her at the refreshments table. "You look nice," he observed,
blushing a little.
"Thank you," Silver beamed. She half-expected
Tom to ask her to dance. When he didn't, she said awkwardly, "Ummm… I'm going
to go dance."
He nodded, and she set off looking for Joe.
Silver wasn't sure, but she thought she had seen a flicker of disappointment
in Tom's brown eyes.
Sure enough, Joe was dancing beside Kristin.
Silver walked up to him and introduced herself
boldly, "Hey, Joe! I'm Silver. Want to dance?"
Kristin turned to glower at Silver. She opened
her mouth to say something spiteful, but Joe interrupted.
"Sure, uhhh... what'd you say your name was?"
"Silver," repeated Silver fervently.
"Right, Silver. Sure, I'll dance." He turned
away from Kristin and began to dance with Silver.
Silver was grinning joyfully. She was actually
dancing with Joe, the coolest Gelert in school. But when she glanced haughtily
at Kristin, she felt an abrupt pang of guilt.
Kristin looked sad and hurt. A tear slid slowly
down her cheek and she left the party immediately.
After about five minutes, Veronica came strolling
casually over to Joe. "What's up, Joe? Are you having fun?"
"Yeah. Great party, Veronica!" congratulated
Joe.
Veronica's eyes narrowed nastily and she declared,
"I bet you'd have more fun if you danced with me."
"Really?" Joe inquired. He turned away from
Silver and started to dance next to Veronica. Veronica arrogantly tossed her
mane and smirked at Silver.
Now Silver knew how Kristin had felt. She hurried
to the exit.
Tom was waiting for her there. One glimpse at
his face told Silver that he had witnessed the whole thing. "How about we ditch
this party and go play Cheat?"
All Silver could do was nod mutely. She swallowed,
and then said, "Let's go to my house."
"All right," Tom agreed willingly. "But I have
to do something first."
"Then I'll meet you there," Silver insisted.
"No."
Silver frowned at him. "Why can't I--?"
His explanation was simple. "You need to make
up with Kristin first."
Silver sighed, and reluctantly trudged to Kristin's
NeoHome.
***
Both Silver and Kristin agreed that they were both sorry, that Joe and Veronica
were rude, and that they were still best friends. Silver invited Kristin to
come play Cheat with her and with Tom. Kristin gladly accepted.
When they arrived at Silver's house, Tom wasn't
there yet. But there was a large, rectangular package on the doorstep.
"I wonder..." Silver mused vaguely. She walked
up to it. Her name was on it.
"It's for you, Silver!" Kristin proclaimed.
"Another thing from your Secret Admirer!"
Silver avidly peeled off the shiny wrapping
paper printed with red hearts and discovered an enormous box of chocolate truffles.
"Wow!" Kristin gasped, but this time the resentful
note was missing from her voice.
Tom was sauntering down the street towards them.
Once on the doorstep with them, he questioned, "What's that?"
"It was here on the doorstep!" Silver responded
happily. "Hang on, there's a note... it says, 'Happy Valentine's Day, Silver.
Love, Your Secret Admirer.'"
Tom's mouth began to water. "A whole box of
chocolate truffles..."
"I'll share them with both of you," Silver decided
simply.
They went into the house and played round after
round of Cheat. The truffles were a big hit. It was a lot of fun. I have
such wonderful friends, Silver thought. And a Secret Admirer, she
added as an afterthought. Silver reached for another chocolate and glanced up
at Tom. Is it just me... she wondered, or is there a special sparkle
today in Tom's eyes?
The End
Author's Note:Thanks for reading, and have a Happy Valentine's Day!
:)
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