A Lot of Love and a Little Luck

     "I'm going to try and buy some things worth reselling. I'll be back by five. There are some cold leftovers in the fridge; warm 'em up if you get hungry. Bye!" she called, then headed out the door, moving so fast she barely shut it behind her. I sighed, another average day. Walking over to the fridge, I opened to check what was inside, and to my surprise, there were Omelettes. Actually, I lied, I wasn't surprised at all. I closed the fridge and left the kitchen as I began to debate what I should do that day.

     This was another average day, for an average Yellow Ruki and his owner in Neopia Central. My brothers were out at the Lab Ray... at least, I think they were my brothers. You never knew, while they were being Labbed. And Fearie left me home while she went to see if she could get a good deal on anything, to resell it. Also known as sniping. She didn't do too good, let me tell you... some days she'd come home with a pile of items, but most she couldn't sell for half the price she bought them for. So you see, we usually ended up on the short end of the stick.

     Oh, and the Lab Ray - Well, we got that a while back, when they were cheaper, and it wasn't easy. Fearie had a lot of help from her friends. Times were a little different back then, but now, not so much. It was kind of hard getting by, and months were usually tight.

     I wanted to change that.

     I walked over to the coat rack and pulled off a Brown Winter Scarf, then wrapped it around my neck. You never knew if you'd end up in Terror Mountain, right? Then I picked up a pouch, much like Fearie's, only smaller. These were my spending Neopoints. I didn't have a place to strap them to, like Fearie, so I held onto them. I began walking out the door, when suddenly, something crashed into the back of my head, and sent me flying to the floor. The second I recovered, I turned around to see Mei, my Carmariller, hovering in the air with a smile on her face.

     Mei was an awfully cute little thing. Fearie was out sniping when she got her at the Faerieland Petpet shop for a mere sixteen thousand Neopoints. All right, maybe not so mere... but it was compared to what she could have sold Mei for, which was at least thirty five thousand Neopoints. But no, she fell in love with Mei, and couldn't sell her, so she gave her to me. Of course, I wasn't too happy with the fact she didn't sell Mei... I mean, would you be? Your owner just blew your month's rent on a PETPET, for crying out loud! But, eventually, I found myself growing used to the little thing. And now, I couldn't sell her if I tried.

     After I recovered from the crash, I got up and rubbed my head, while pondering how such a little thing could send me flying to the ground. I shook my head. Some things are better left unknown.

     "Alright, Mei, you want to come with me today?" I asked, smiling at the Carmariller. She cooed and nodded, then flew onto my shoulder and perched there. I was stuck with her for the day.

     So we walked out the door and headed down the street. All the while, I stared up at the sky, wondering what I should do today.

     "How about we start by getting some food?" I asked Mei, who smiled and nodded in reply. So, we headed to the Neopian Food Shop. I bought a Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich, which I held onto. I figured I would be out all day. I needed to save my food for lunch.

     Then I found myself walking down the street and pondering what to do, again. Sandwich in one hand, coin purse in the other, and a Carmariller on my shoulder. As I walked, a breeze whistled past me, the kind that chills you to the bone. See? I needed my scarf after all. But that's not the only thing. The breeze shook a poster off of the fence beside me and it landed right in front of me. I picked it up curiously. On it was a large picture of a Turdle, and above that, it read:

     "Meridell Turdle Racing! Try your luck! You could come home a rich man!

     "North east of the Meridell Castle!"

     I felt a smile tug at my face. I never really was one for gambling, but maybe, I would just try once. So I decided, I'd go to Meridell. I quickly tried to put the poster back on the fence, and it seemed stuck there, but when I walked off, it fell back off... Oh well, it wasn't really my problem.

    Mei and I headed to Meridell. It was a fairly easy walk, despite the fact I hadn't been to Meridell, and I managed to lose the path five or six times...

     But we made it. There was no mistaking it. The castle towered over everything else. I might have stared at it for ten minutes, but Mei quickly grew bored and began to tug at my scarf. It was probably a good thing she did, or I might have stared at the castle all day.

     I looked around, and saw many things, like the Food Shop, the Petpet Shop, Kiss the Mortog, and Shapeshifter game. The shopkeepers were yelling, advertising their goods and wares, while eager Neopets and owners flocked around to buy them. I was getting a headache, and getting tired of trying to find the Turdle Racing. It seemed hopeless, through all the crowds. But eventually, I heard it.

     "Turdle Racing! Step right up!" a cheery looking Scorchio called. I felt a smile grow big on my face. I looked over at the Turdle Racing area. It wasn't much. Just a stand, where the Scorchio stood and took the pay, then behind that, was a big target-like dirt patch in the ground. The racing area. Five Turdles were lined up, they all looked tired, worn out.

     "I'll have a go," I said eagerly, setting the coin pouch on the counter. The Scorchio looked at the pouch, then spilling the Neopoints out he began to count. I flinched, I just put all of my savings down on the counter without hesitation. Well, maybe I would win.

     "This is one thousand, five hundred Neopoints. That's the maximum bet! Would you like to view the Turdles first?" he asked, handing my empty pouch back. I nodded eagerly. The Scorchio led me to where the Turdles were. He pointed to them in turn, naming them. Five was Nutty, four was Squelchy, three was Smelly, two was Poopy, and one was Stinky.

     "Interesting... names," I said as I looked them over.

     "Would you like to feed them? It increases your chances of winning," the Scorchio said to me.

     "But I don't... oh wait, yes, I do," I replied, remembering my sandwich. Despite the growling of my gut, I opened the packing around the sandwich and began to break parts of it off for the Turdles, who were now eagerly lined up at my feet in attempt to get a bite. They all got a bite, except for Four, Squelchy. He was in the back, trying to find a way to get to the bits of food, but all the other Turdles were blocking every path.

     While the other four were occupied, I stepped over them and beside Squelchy. When I looked down to see if I had any sandwich left, I noticed that I only had the portion I had left for myself in my hand. The other three quarters of the Sandwich was already fed to the others. But I handed the last to Squelchy anyway, who gobbled it down so fast I was sure he would choke.

     "This one. I'd like to bet on this one," I said as I watched him search for crumbs.

     "I wouldn't suggest that, sir. He's had a bad case of the Sneezles lately... Are you sure?" the Scorchio warned, but I nodded. He shrugged, then picked up the Turdles and placed them in the center. I was told to get on the side and watch, so I did. I found myself wondering what I had done. Fearie would kill me if I lost. Not literally, but, let's say I'd wish I was dead and leave it at that.

     So it started, with a loud whistle from the Scorchio. The Turdles all began to scramble. Number one and two were off the fastest. Five was dead asleep first. And three wasn't far behind. I looked for Four, but he must have been somewhere in the commotion. Just when I thought One had won, he stopped. Then Two stopped as well. I glanced around eagerly. Maybe I still had a chance. Then I saw Three not far behind Two and One, still going strong. Then I panicked and began looking for Four. I didn't like what I saw. There, still in the center, he was dead asleep. Three was sure to win, or so I thought.

     Mei fluttered down off my shoulder and landed beside the ring, then began calling to Turdle Four in a series of coos and chimes. Cute noises. It must have been Petpet talk. I watched eagerly. At first, nothing, but then I saw Turdle Four's eyes open and my face lit up. Mei continued to cheer, and I continued to watch. But I looked back to Turdle Three, who was just feet from the end.

     To my dismay, Turdle Four got off to a slow start. But Turdle Three was becoming weary and began to slow down. Mei continued to cheer Turdle Four on, and the more she cheered, the faster he went. I was shocked to see that in seconds he was right there beside Turdle Three! They were so close to the end. Turdle Three about touched the finish circle, but then stopped, dead asleep, right there! And Turdle Four hit the end. I couldn't believe my eyes, but when I knew it was true, I jumped so high it'd make a Blumaroo look silly.

     The Scorchio looked at me with disbelief. Turdle Four was their worst Turdle, yet there he was, at the finish line. The Scorchio walked over to his stand and rummaged up nine-thousand Neopoints, and handed them to me in a large bag. I took them with a smile, then walked over to Mei and picked her up.

     "I couldn't have won without you," I said, and she cooed in thanks.

     After that, I visited Turdle Four every day... always bringing a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich and one thousand, five hundred Neopoints. And every day, I'd walk home with a bag full of Neopoints. It took a lot of love, trust, and a pinch of luck - but Fearie and I weren't doing too bad anymore. As a matter of fact, you could say we were doing pretty good, seeing as we moved into a mansion, and we never, ever ate Omelettes again.

The End

My first submission to the NT. I hope you enjoyed ^___^!