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Jamie and the Job by petbumblebee |
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“I’m sorry Jamie,” said Clara regretfully, “but I’m afraid we’ll have to go to the Soup Kitchen this morning.” “Oh! Mom do we have to? I hate soup!” replied Jamie, a blue Shoyru, miserably. “Yes, we do. I only have 37 NP left, and the Food Shop just sold out!” Jamie ran into the kitchen and pulled open the cupboard drawers, only to find bare shelves. The refrigerator had little more then a bottle of water and some expired cheese. “All right,” said Jamie, sadly. Jamie tried to remember the good old days, when Clara had an endless supply of NP. He was the most pampered pet in Neopia! Clara bought him a new toy each week, and they had the luxury of dining on exotic fruit and Neggs everyday. Then the day came. Clara, who got most of her money gambling, had lost everything in an all or nothing game. Jamie and Clara had to move out of their house, and found a dumpy, run down shack in the shoddier half of Neopia Central. Now they were constantly dropping in on the Soup Faerie, and paying daily visits to the Money Tree, even though they were rarely fast enough to grab anything good. Jamie reluctantly followed Clara down the road towards the Marketplace. As they walked by the Money Tree, Jamie happened to glance over. He saw someone drop a large sack underneath. To his excitement, no one had noticed the parcel roll behind the Tree, out of sight. Without telling Clara what he was doing, Jamie scampered over and grabbed the sack. His eyes opened wide as he realized what he had just done. He ran back to Clara, still in a haze, and presented her with the bag. “Jamie! However did you manage to grab that?” Clara asked in bewilderment. “I-I don’t know! I just saw it go behind the Tree, and before I knew it I was right there and I snatched it up!” Clara and Jamie retreated to a shadowy corner to open the bag, away from prying eyes. What sat inside amazed them. Inside they found 10,000 NP, a Gold Job Coupon, some food, and a Silver Paintbrush! “Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Clara. Jamie just sat there in astonishment, his eyes sparkling at the sight. “Oh Jamie! This is wonderful! Come, let’s put this in a safe spot before anyone steals it!” The two of them rushed toward the bank. Clara deposited all of the money, besides 100 NP, and put the remaining items into her Safety Deposit Box. Then they ran happily over to the Foods Shop. “Excuse me,” Clara asked the Chia, “is there anymore food here?” “I’m sorry Mam, but we sold out. If you would like to wait, I believe we are going to restock in a couple minutes.” Clara and Jamie patiently waited. Luckily they were first in line. They heard a loud noise behind them and turned to see a large truck pull in next to the shop. On it were the words Neopian Fresh Food Company. “That must be the delivery truck!” Clara mused. A group of Chias unloaded the truck’s goods, and pulled away. “All right Mam, what would you like to buy?” asked the shopkeeper politely. A crowd of people were beginning to gather behind Clara, eager to buy some food before the shop sold out again. Clara picked out a few items that she wanted to buy, then fought her way through the crowd with Jamie. “Whad’ya get Clara?” asked Jamie eagerly. Clara pulled out some NeoCrunch Cereal, a couple fruits, a Negg, two glasses of apple juice, and some burgers. “Now we can have a real breakfast!” exclaimed Clara happily. Jamie and Clara walked back to their house, enthusiastic for a decent meal. “Mmm!” Jamie exclaimed, rubbing his full stomach. “That was good!” Clara agreed. After their meal, Jamie proposed an idea to Clara. “Clara, I was thinking. Now that we have some money and a Job Coupon, well I was wondering if I should go to the Employment-Agency and complete a job. Maybe I could earn some more money for us!” Jamie pleaded. “Well...” thought Clara, “I don’t know. Should we use the Coupon now, or save it?” Jamie soon convinced Clara to let him go. “Don’t worry, I’ll finish that job!” said Jamie confidently. Clara walked him over to the bank. She took out the Job Coupon, and gave Jamie 5,000 NP. “Now listen to me Jamie,” she warned, “I don’t want you wasting our money on a Job that is impossible to complete. I also don’t want you doing one that isn’t worth the items you bring back. Make sure to get a good one!” “Don’t worry Mom! I know what I’m doing!” Jamie pressed. “All right! Well, good luck!” Clara said hopefully. And with that Jamie was off. He grabbed a taxi to Faerieland and soon stepped through the doors of the Agency. An Earth Faerie sat at the desk. “H-hello. Could I apply for a job?” Jamie asked timidly. “Do you have a coupon?” inquired the Faerie. Jamie handed her his Gold Coupon. The Faerie inspected it for authenticity, then said, “Follow me.” Jamie followed her over to a file cabinet. “Here is the Gold Coupon cabinet. You may browse for a job that you like. Notify me when you would like to apply for one.” Jamie flipped through the cards. Each had the items you were to find, the amount of time given to find them in, and the reward price. So far, Jamie hadn’t found a reasonable one. Then he accidentally dropped a card on the floor. He flipped it over... Find 3 Blumaroo Steaks “Yes!” he thought. This one was perfect! not only did he have an hour and 15 minutes to complete it, but the reward was 25,000 NP! Plus, Blumaroo Steaks were usually only about 1,000 NP! Jamie rushed over to the Faerie, Job Card in hand and stated that he would like to apply for that one. Lucky him, it wasn’t taken! “All right, you have to bring back 3 Blumaroo Steaks within 75 minutes. If you don’t then you get no pay check,” the Faerie then handed him a Silver Job Coupon. “What's this for?” he asked “Every time you use the coupon, it gets demoted. It’s not just a one time use. After you use the Silver Coupon then you’ll get a Red one and so on. Well, you better get moving!” Jamie pocketed the Silver Coupon and ran out of the building. He hitched another ride back to Neopia Central and went straight to the Shop Wizard. “Alakazam!!! I'm the Shop Wizard! Hello, I'm your friendly guide to on-line comparison shopping! Tell me what you want to buy and I will search through all the shops in the market to find you the best prices! I search a different section of the market each time to get more results!” “Umm...hi. I’m looking for a Blumaroo Steak,” said Jamie. “One moment!” said the Wizard. He went deep into thought, then suddenly pointed to a shop a few yards away. “There! That one has three Blumaroo Steaks for 1,100 NP each,” said the Wizard. “Thank you!” replied Jamie gratefully. He rushed into the shop. “Hello! Welcome to the Neo-Corner!” greeted the shopkeeper, a yellow Elephante. “Hi! I’d like to buy three Blumaroo steaks,” said Jamie. “I’m sorry, we only have two left. Would you still like to buy them?” Jamie looked sullen for a moment, but quickly replied yes. “That will be 2,200 NP please.” Jamie paid the shopkeeper and ran back to the Shop Wizard. “Alakazam!!! I'm the Shop Wizard! Hello, I'm your friendly guide to on-line comparison shopping! Tell me wh-” “I know! Just find me another Blumaroo Steak!” Jamie interrupted. The Shop Wizard frowned for a moment, then went into a deep trance. He pointed to a shop on the left. Before he could say anything more, Jamie was off. When he got to the shop, he asked the shopkeeper how much they sold Blumaroo Steaks for. “2,112 NP” she replied. Jamie’s mouth gaped open. He quickly ran back to the Wizard and made sure that that was the cheapest price. “Yes, it is. I’m positive.” Jamie sadly walked back to the shop and paid up. “Pheew! I got them! And I still have 45 minutes left!” he said to himself. As he was looking for a taxi to take him up to Faerieland, he heard an odd noise behind him. He turned around, but no one was there. He spun around again and came face to face with the Pant Devil! “Hssssss! What have we got hereeee? My my! Three Blumaroo Steaksssssss!” the Pant Devil hissed. “No! They’re mine! You can’t take them!” yelled Jamie. The Pant Devil tugged at the bag. Jamie tugged back. Then the bag tore open and the steaks went flying! The Pant Devil scooped one up, then flew away cackling... Jamie started to cry. He only had 30 minutes left and he needed to find another Blumaroo Steak! He only had 688 NP left! Jamie knew that he didn’t have enough to buy another Blumaroo Steak, and he didn’t want to go to Clara to ask for more NP. He didn’t know what to do. Then he had an idea. He managed to track down a taxi and told it to take him to the Haunted Woods. He figured that since Blumaroo Steak was a Spooky Food, maybe he could find it for cheap in there. He stepped out of the taxi and immediately went to the Haunted Woods Shop Wizard. “Could I have a Blumaroo Steak?” asked Jamie. The Wizard went into the same weird trance as the last Wizard, and soon pointed to a shop. “750 NP” he said. Jamie knew that he didn’t have enough NP, but maybe he could compromise. This was the cheapest Blumaroo steak he had found, and he wished he’d have come here in the first place. He stepped into the shop and asked to speak with the owner. The shopkeeper looked surprised, but disappeared into the back. Soon, a girl came out. “Yes, can I help you?” she asked politely. “Yes, you see, I’ve got 15 minutes to get a Blumaroo Steak, but all I’ve got is 688 NP. I was wondering if I could buy yours for that amount. I could pay you back later if you want!” he pleaded. But pleading was not necessary, because the girl had an understanding smile upon her face. “Of course you can! Here you are!” she said cheerfully. Amazed, Jamie handed her the money and ran off happily. He caught a ride to Faerieland and burst into the doors of the Agency. “I got them!” he declared happily. But he was met with a stony face. “W-what’s wrong?” he asked the Faerie. “You’re one minute too late,” she said. Jamie couldn’t believe it. “Sorry kid, that's the rules!” she said. “B-but! One minute! Please! I spent half of our money on this! Please! My owner is hoping for the best! I don’t want to fail her! That means that I just wasted 5,000 NP!” he broke down in a fit of tears. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up into the face of the Earth Faerie, only now she had a soft, kind look. “All right. Just this once!” she said. “Oh! Oh thank you!” Jamie cried. The Faerie took the 3 Blumaroo Steaks from him and handed him a small slip of paper. He read it... To: Jamie ----------------25,000 NP---------------- ---Pay of Faerieland Employment Agency--- “Thank you!” Jamie said again. “You're welcome,” replied the Faerie. She snapped her fingers and suddenly Jamie was back in Neopia Central. He raced home to tell Clara the good news. “Oh Jamie! I’m so proud of you!” she cried happily. Epilogue: JAMIE CONTINUED TO GO TO THE EMPLOYMENT AGENCY, BEING SUCCESSFUL IN ALMOST ALL OF HIS APPLICATIONS. SOON HE AND CLARA HAD THEIR OLD LIFE BACK. The End |
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