The Baby Chronicles - Daycare

     "No, you cannot stay at home by yourself. You're not old enough, and you need someone to watch you while I'm at work and your siblings are at Neoschool. I'd have your Aunt watch you but she lives all the way at Mystery Island," Jessica, Bluestar's owner, said.

     "Why don't we just move there then? They have room! We have the Neopoints," she wailed, still wriggling around in Jessica's arms as they got closer and closer to the big double doors and the smiling Red Elephante greeting the owners out front.

     ~~~

     I wriggled around in Jessica's arms, trying to break free. I scratched at the back of her shirt with my puny claws, hoping she'd get hurt and put me down or something. But she didn't. She just grabbed onto me tighter, so tightly it began to hurt. I stopped struggling and just sat there, eyes closed, awaiting my horrible fate.

     "Hi, welcome to 'Happy Paws' daycare. Please take your precious Kougra right in and check in. Thanks for choosing us!" the Elephante called as we stepped inside the big room. It seemed gigantic compared to our house right on the edge of Neopia Central. And this was just where you checked in. I couldn't even begin to imagine what the actual room with all the babies would be like.

     "Hi, it's Jessica, coming to check in Bluestar," I heard my owner say, but she seemed a thousand miles away. How could she do this to me? I could watch myself! I wasn't a baby. Well, maybe I am, but that's besides the point.

     "Just sign here and Joann here will take little Bluestar in to play with all the other little pets," the Xweetok said, sounding as if he'd said that line a thousand times and would have to say it a thousand more.

     I heard a pen scratching across paper, and suddenly Jessica let go of me and let a strange Kau grab onto me and take me away.

     "Mama! Mama no! Please, I don't wanna go in there! I'll be good, I promise! Don't make me go! Please!" But she just smiled sympathetically and watched me disappear behind door number two. I began to scratch at the Kau's back, and she tapped my nose and pointed a stern finger at my face and said 'no'. I didn't even know Kaus had fingers!

     "Now little Bo here is going to be your new best buddy!" the lady said, putting me onto the ground and walking off.

     "No! Wait!" I tried to call but she was already across the room and back through the doors and into the room they'd just came from.

     I heard a chuckle behind me and I whipped around to come face to face with a baby Lutari. He seemed bigger. He was probably about two and a half years old, by the looks of it, but he still had a diaper around his rump, which meant he shouldn't be laughing.

     "You scared or something?" he asked, pointing down at me and trying to look tall and superior. "It's nothing to cry about."

     "Shut up! Why are you wearing a diaper still! You gotta be at least two years old," I yelled. He shut up quick.

     And then I noticed how big this place really was. It seemed gigantic. Bigger than the Lost Desert itself. Except much, much louder. All you could hear was a big roar, really, and there were all kinds of Neopets walking around, or crawling around, and talking and giggling and not being quiet! What ever happened to using your indoor voice?

     "Well, I guess I'm supposed to show you around," Bo said. He didn't speak another word. Just turned around and walked off. At least he wasn't crawling. I felt bad about thinking something so mean to a person after just meeting him, and I muttered 'I'm sorry', hoping it would make me feel better. It didn't.

     "Wait up!" I called, trying to catch up with him. It was more difficult than you would think. I was crawling. He was walking. He had a major advantage there. And you had to dodge a million little babies, scampering around and not caring if they were in anybody's way or not. I passed up a little baby Gnorbu crying pitifully, and I wanted to go back and comfort her but knew I'd lose Bo in all the chaos. Finally Bo stopped, turned around, and watch me scamper after him like a lost petpet. He snickered, and I just glared at him with my most evil eye. If looks could kill.

     "Alright, what was your name?"

     "Bluestar," I muttered, still angry at him for laughing at my slowness.

     "Alright, Bluestar, these are my friends. Tuff," he said, pointing towards a too-big-to-be-a-baby Lupe. "And Icuras." This time he pointed towards an Ogrin. "And this is Kreittas." She was a baby Xweetok with a little bib around her neck. She was the only one out of the bunch that didn't look like she wanted to push me into the Magma Pool. I probably should learn how to read people better.

     "What's your name, Shorty?" Icuras asked, seeming almost friendly.

     "Bluestar," I said quietly, my voice almost getting drowned out by the wails of the children all around us.

     "That's a funny name, Shorty." I was beginning to dislike him.

     "Will you call her by her name. You wouldn't like it if I called you..." Tuff stopped to think. "Boochi."

     "I am nothing like Boochi! Don't call me that," he muttered. Tuff smiled like he'd just won a gold medal for the sport of Snow-skiing.

     Tuff, the person I'd thought was the meanest by his appearance, was now my favorite member of this little 'group'. Kreittas didn't say a word, just stared at me like I had three heads.

     "You got any siblings?" Tuff asked, seeming like he actually wanted to know the answer and didn't just say that to break the awkward silence.

     "Yeah. I got two sisters and one brother."

     "What colours are they?"

     "One's Halloween, the other's Green, and the third, my brother, is Mutant."

     "Awesome! I love Halloween colored pets. If I could be Baby and Halloween, I'd jump into the Wishing Well."

     "Why would you jump into the Wishing Well?" Icuras asked.

     "Cause I'd be so happy!"

     "But why wouldn't you just jump into an actual pool? Why the Wishing Well?"

     "Just. Nevermind! I'd be really happy."

     "Sorry. It just sounded weird."

     "Lunchtime!" Kreittas said happily, jumping into the air and rushing towards two other big doors I hadn't even noticed before. Three seconds after she said that a bell rang and the Elephante who was standing at the door yelled 'Lunch!'

     I looked at Bo, like he might tell me how she did that, but he just shrugged and hopped towards the doors.

     "Come on, Bluestar! Let's go. You don't want to be late to lunch or you might get the bad food," Icuras said, grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the lunch doors.

     I felt like I was going to be trampled! So many babies all rushing towards a two doors! Why didn't they do this differently? Maybe a safer way? A way where nobody would get trampled?

     Miraculously, nobody got hurt. We got into the lunchroom and got to a table very quickly. Like all the other rooms, this one was very big. There were tables just about everywhere. I was surprised the adults could move through this room without knocking a table over.

     ~~~

     Lunch was great! We had my favorite food! Forest Fruit Baby Food with a nice Caramel Flavored Kougra Milk. Maybe this place wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

     Bo, Icuras, Tuff, Kreittas, and I all played on the gigantic jungle-gym after lunch. It was a big, indoor jungle-gym, except there were little tunnels you could crawl through and slides randomly placed all through the tunnels. Sometimes you'd get lost and you would get scared and someone would help you find your way out. I didn't even know they made stuff like that!

     "I didn't either. I guess it's made specially for these types of Daycares and stuff," Bo told me at one point during the day.

     And there was a SANDBOX! I loved sandboxes. I loved feeling the sand pour through your paws. It was pretty cool. I was beginning to forget about this morning, how I didn't even want to come through the front doors. Icuras was very nice, actually, and Tuff was probably the kindest of them all, which is really surprising. Kreittas was very quiet. The only time I'd heard her utter a single word was when she had said 'lunch-time'. She also tried her best to avoid me, which made me feel sad and not-liked. Otherwise, I'd say this was a great day.

     ~~~

     "Oh, Bluestar, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have made you go here when you were so scared. If you want I can get you a babysitter," Jessica said when she was checking me out. She grabbed me and hugged me tightly.

     "Mama, are you kidding? Why would I want a babysitter? I love daycare!"

The End