A Slorg's Quest: Neopian Times 950

     Professor Pinky slowly wiggled out of the pile of blankets, yawning as he went. When he was finally free of the warm entanglement he headed for his little kitchen, in dire need of some water to make his mouth feel less like he’d been chewing on a big mouthful of cotton. Professor Pinky was not a morning slorg in the least; he was barely civil until he had his morning meal!

     It had gotten quite chilly since autumn rolled in. Professor Pinky was not at all pleased by the chill in the air, despite the heat going in his little house. The floors, in particular, were not pleasing to slide across. It was one of the few downfalls of being a slorg, after all—not being able to have carpets.

     Barely awake as he was, Professor Pinky moved about entirely by routine—he went over to the little area that served as his sink. There was a clever little nozzle hooked up to a big tank that released fresh, clean water into a bin when Professor Pinky pressed against a peddle. Another con to being a slorg: no hands. The cool water went a long way to waking up Professor Pinky. After a few gulps of water, Pinky went about searching for the fresh chokato he had brought home yesterday; chokatos were Professor Pinky’s favourite food. After several minutes of looking, Professor Pinky found his chokato still in the wagon where he had left it yesterday evening.

     With the first bite of fresh, juicy chokato Professor Pinky’s mood vastly improved and continued to do so with each subsequent bite, until half the vegetable had been eaten. The slorg let out a loud, lengthy burp and sighed contentedly. He felt that he could finally deal with the day ahead.

     Professor Pinky left the veggie where it sat—he would finish it later—and exited the kitchen to check his to-do list for the day. He glided over to his little desk to look at the big calendar that covered the surface of it. He carefully looked over yesterday's list; he picked his pen up with his mouth and put a line through his last errand of the previous day’s list which he had forgotten to cross off. His eyes trailed to today’s date, and upon coming to a realization they grew to the size of dinner plates. The pen in his mouth fell to the desk with a clatter as his mouth fell agape, and his chubby little body thrummed with excitement and dread in equal measure.

     “The Neopian Times Issue nine-hundred and fifty!” Professor Pinky shouted, and zoomed to his front door.

     Oh, how could he have completely forgotten about the special issue?! He had been keyed up about it last night. It should have been the first thing on his mind the moment he woke up!

     When Professor Pinky pushed the door open, looking expectantly at the square of his little stoop, he found… nothing. His little doormat with the word welcome on it hadn’t even been moved an inch.

     “What?” Professor Pinky fretted as he looked about anxiously. “Where did it go?”

     It must have been tossed into the garden, Pinky thought to himself as he headed down the little ramp from his front door and toward the garden. Professor Pinky searched and he searched, in every single flower bed now brown and dead; behind every rock and decorative flower pot. He checked his mailbox and, with some careful manoeuvring, the roof of his house. With each place searched his dread and impatience grew. Pinky threw things about and overturned lawn decorations making a loud ruckus—and still, there was simply no Neopian Times paper to be seen.

     As Professor Pinky dug around in the hedgerow separating his house from his neighbour’s, Socks the plushie slorg couldn’t help but see what all the commotion was about.

     “Morning, Professor Pinky!” Socks said cheerily, his stitches expanded with glee. “What brings you out here so early in the morning? Is everything alright?”

     He thought it was strange that Professor Pinky would be out in the bushes in the chilly morning—and without a scarf too!

     “Yes—wait, no. Nothing is good about this morning at all!” Professor Pinky agonized, still half-buried in the bushes.

     Normally he would be glad to greet any neighbour, but some things were just a little more important. He would have to apologize to Socks later for his rudeness but for now, he had to find his missing newspaper.

     Concerned for his neighbour, Socks slinked around the hedge and up to where Pinky was in the shrubbery and patted his tail on Pinky’s back in a soothing manner.

     “My friend, everything will be alright. What’s the matter?” Socks asked.

     As much as Professor Pinky wished to completely ignore his friend, he couldn’t do such a thing when the slorg in question was right there trying to comfort him.

     “Oh, everything is falling to pieces, Socks!” Pinky whined. “My morning was turning out to be great, I even had a chokato for breakfast. But as soon as I went to go get my special newspaper, it wasn’t there.”

     “You still get the newspaper?” Socks gasped and his rubber band snapped in surprise. He thought that went out of circulation years ago!

     Well, of course, Pinky still got the newspaper! What kind of slorg would he be if he didn’t keep himself updated on the latest goings-on in Neopia? A dim slorg, that’s what. Professor Pinky pulled himself out of the hedgerow and faced Socks.

     “Of course I do!” Pinky exclaimed in disbelief. He didn’t understand why socks wouldn’t want to get the newspaper.

     “Wait, who delivers it?” Socks asked curiously. “I haven’t seen a newspaper around here in ages!”

     “You know that grumpy crokabek that flies around here sometimes? The one that on occasion knocks over Agnes’s trellis? Well, they deliver the newspaper, and that’s how they got the nickname Angry Andy.” Pinky explained.

     He didn’t mind Andy the crokabek, and if he was being honest, Agnes deserved a little comeuppance for her complaints about the neighbourhood’s holiday decorations. Despite her loud accusations, it wasn’t because she was an elderly symol that people found her disagreeable.

     “Anyway, I don’t even know if anyone got their newspapers.” Professor Pinky added defeatedly.

     He had checked a couple of houses, and though Pinky would not admit it out loud, he also looked in a couple of mailboxes—sadly there were no newspapers.

     “But did you check their trash cans too?” Socks asked, opening his trash can lid with his mouth to peer inside.

     Professor Pinky ignored Socks’ silly antics and went quiet for a moment when another thought popped into his mind.

     “There’s only one other thing I can think of doing,” Pinky told Socks, “I’ll just have to go into town and see if I can’t get a paper there.”

     Socks bounced up and down at the thought of an adventure with his friend, his plushie body releasing dust as he landed. “Can I come too!? I haven’t been to the mainland in quite some time!”

     He supposed that he couldn’t stop socks from tagging along, but he was just going to get a paper. The company was often better than no company, however. After going back into his house for his scarf, Professor Pinky, with Socks at his side, was ready to head into town.

     Their journey to Neopia Central from their homes on Roo Island was peaceful enough—Pinky struggled not to get seasick on the ferry to the mainland. Socks seemed to take the trip extremely well, maybe even too well. Professor Pinky was a little envious of his neighbour. Neither of them got stomped on or kicked accidentally, which was great, slorgs were just small enough to be missed by the larger species of the world.

     After about thirty minutes they made it across the water, where Pinky and Socks disembarked the ferry and made their way from the docks into Neopia Central. The pair circumnavigated their way to the bookshop, and when they finally arrived it was a team effort to get the big blue door open.

     “They need to make the doorknobs lower!” Professor Pinky mumbled under his breath as he stumbled over Socks to get inside. Or make a smaller door for slorgs, he added silently.

     A blue nimmo, who sat on a wooden stool, peered over his book as the doorbell chimed.

     “Ah, welcome! I’m Gerald and this is my bookshop. What brings you fine fellows in this morning?” Gerald greeted them.

     Professor Pinky, followed by Socks, glided further into the shop returning Geralds greeting.

     Socks lost all focus of their mission when he finally saw all of the pretty book jackets lined up neatly on the tall shelves pushed up against the wall.

     “Wow, what is this place? I’ve never seen anything like it!” Socks said in awe. The sheer amount of books left him to stare in wonderment while his mouth hung open.

     Professor Pinky rolled his eyes and sighed before he turned back to Gerald. Socks needed to get out more, and maybe even read an actual book for once.

     “I would like to know if you happen to have any more of the Neopian Times issue nine-hundred and fifty,” Pinky said, looking up at the shopkeeping expectantly.

     Gerald brought a hand up to his chin and rubbed it contemplatively as he hummed. “Well, I don’t know that I have that in stock, but I haven’t made a single sale on that issue today.”

     Pinky frowned. “So you don’t have the issue at all then?” He asked in complete disbelief. This was outrageous!

     “Well if it would make you feel better, I suppose I could double-check.” Gerald offered.

     Before Professor Pinky could accept Gerald’s offer Socks spoke up, interrupting him.

     “Oh, wait! Professor Pinky, I overheard Agnes say that they sell the Neopian Times in Neovia too!” Socks exclaimed loudly.

     The few Neopians in the shop glanced over towards them, an irritable expression on their faces. A yellow elephante even shushed Socks using her trunk. Pinky flushed with embarrassment.

     Gerald placed his book face down on the shelf behind him, then addressed the slorgs sympathetically, “You know, your friend is right. It may not be an easy task for you fellows, but I do know that the shopkeeper, Hilda carries both new and older issues of The Neopian Times. It would be wise to check out her shop if you don’t mind the trip to the Haunted Woods.”

     “To Neovia it is!” said Socks as he bounced around enthusiastically.

     The irritated elephante from before shushed Socks again, but this time pointing to the exit. Not that Socks was paying the elephante any mind as he practically hopped out of the shop. How Socks managed it without having any legs was a mystery to Professor Pinky.

     Professor Pinky groaned, completely mortified as he looked to Gerald and kindly said, “Thank you for your help.”

     “Sorry I couldn’t be of more use. I hope you get your newspaper! Come back soon!” Gerald said and waved him goodbye.

     Professor Pinky turned to leave, just as Gerald picked his book back. When he exited the bookshop Socks was on the other side of the path, still bouncing around with excitement. Pinky wondered how his neighbour had so much energy.

     Having faced yet another disappointing lead, Professor Pinky wasn’t looking forward to going all the way to Neovia. Despite Professor Pinky’s dour attitude about the entire ordeal, Socks was a constant ray of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy atmosphere. Pinky was glad that the other slorg was travelling with him. The oppressive, negative feelings were not as heavy with his cheery companion at his side.

     The next obstacle they had to tackle was getting to Neovia in a timely fashion. Pinky didn’t want to take all day getting to the Haunted Woods and then have to travel back to the ferry, which closed around nine o’clock. It would take them close to four hours round trip to get there and back again triple that time if they coasted there themselves.

     With some searching and asking around, and Socks’ wildly amazing good luck, they managed to find a kind Uni, who wore a spiffy suit, pulling a wagon that was willing to let them tag along. The Uni was conveniently headed for Neovia.

     The three of them set off to the Haunted Woods, Professor Pinky was thankful that he wore his scarf out on this adventure. He certainly would be chilly had he left it at home, especially considering as they got closer to the Haunted Woods, it got darker and cooler—the wind also started to pick up. Socks was too excited to even think about being cold! He wasn’t made like all of the other slorgs, he was plushie after all. Before long, Professor Pinky saw the spooky-looking trees that marked the border for the Haunted Woods.

     They passed a frightening-looking mansion with a dark group of clouds looming over the intimidating stone. Several minutes later their caravan came upon a sign with the words Haunted Fairground painted in red. When Pinky spotted a terrifying-looking clown, he made a point to shut his eyes and ignore the rest of the journey. Socks continued to babble on excitedly about the sights despite Professor Pinky fearfully ignoring everything.

     Their caravan eventually stopped at the gates to Neovia, where Pinky and Socks got off the cart.

     “Well, fellows looks like we have finally arrived! I enjoyed your company, and I hope that you find what you are looking for.” The Uni said and gave a short bow before trotting off down one of the many streets Neovia seemed to have.

     The two slorgs thanked the Uni for allowing them to tag along—it was a good thing they were so lucky and that they didn’t add much carry-on weight!

     “Well now that we’re here, where do we go?” Pinky asked, feeling a little overwhelmed by the charming, but darkened town. He had never been here before, and it seemed more like a maze than anything.

     “I don’t know,” Socks said jovially, “Guess we’ll just have to look around!”

     Pinky sighed, because of course—nothing was ever easy. Without waiting for confirmation from Pinky, Socks had already scooted down a lightly populated thoroughfare. His initial thoughts about the city being a maze turned out to be untrue. Neovia was very well kept and quite organized. Many of the tall buildings were houses, and all the businesses that were couched between residences were well marked by beautiful hanging signs bolted to the sides of the establishments. Using the process of elimination, gliding down each of the streets, they finally find the Neovian Printing Press.

     They had to deal with yet another difficult door to open, but soon Professor Pinky and Socks were able to get inside. Pinky was just glad they didn’t have to deal with a doorknob this time. The inside of the shop was warm and smelled of paper and ink. The walls were lined with shelves, there were tables with stacks of booklets, and stands had newspapers from other lands. At the front of the shop behind a counter, and standing on a ladder, was a green pteri shelving books.

     “Welcome to the Neovian Printing Press, I’m Hilda. Can I help you two find anything?” Hilda asked as she climbed down the ladder.

     Socks hopped around, he was amazed at how many places in Neopia carried and sold books.

     “My friend and I are here to see if you have the latest issue of that news thingy!”

     “Oh, you mean the Haunted Woods Reader? I have about ten left in stock, they’re sitting on the wire stand by the door.” Hilda said, pointing to said wire stand.

     Professor Pinky looked at Socks and gave an irritated sigh before turning to Hilda. “Sorry, we’re looking for the nine-hundred and fiftieth issue of The Neopian Times. Do you have any copies by chance?”

     The shopkeeper leaned on the counter and furrowed her eyebrows, “Dearies, I hope you didn’t come all this way for a recent issue. We are usually delayed by a few days in getting the mail—the post office is slower than a slugawoo! We should have gotten The Neopian Times issues about a day ago, now that I think about it.”

     Anger flooded Pinky. For all the trouble he and Socks went to to get to the mainland ended up being all for not. He was fed up with everything, and in hindsight maybe he should have reigned in his temper as he left the Neovian Printing Press. Pinky would have to remember to send apologetic letters to both Hilda and to the Neovian that had kindly pointed him and Socks to someone who could get them back to Neopia Central quickly. Pinky continued to seeth until they arrived in Neopia Central when he finally snapped, making Socks jump with a bout of unexpected angry screaming.

     He was going to The Neopian Times main headquarters to settle this once and for all.

     Finding the Art Centre was easy, Professor Pinky had come here a lot in the past before he moved to Roo Island. Entering the building brought back a lot of fond memories, and one really bad memory. Professor Pinky was too enraged to pay attention to anything beyond his goal as he glided over to the counter in the lobby of The Neopian Times HQ.

     “I would like to talk to someone about getting the nine-hundred and fiftieth issue of The Neopian Times!” Pinky demanded up at the counter.

     Socks stood by the entrance, too timid to move near Professor Pinky. He was worried he would make Pinky angrier, so he felt that it was best if he stayed out of the way for now.

     A happy chirping noise came from behind the counter, along with some shuffling of what sounded like a newspaper. Before long a Weewoo landed on top of the short, glass partition, he sat the pen that was in his mouth out on the counter. “Hello and good evening! What can I do for you?”

     Professor Pinky, still enraged by the events of the day, did a double-take at the counter in front of him. It was his nemesis, Wally the weewoo. He had a few choice words for his former feathered-friend but decided to keep them to himself.

     “Wally!? No, this is outrageous, I demand to speak to someone else about my concerns!” Pinky shouted, his small body turned a bright red. Socks had never seen his friend get so mad before—he had pulled a stitch once, but he never changed colour or yelled for that matter.

     Several years ago Professor Pinky dreamed of working for the Neopian Times, he would have even been content to work in the mailroom. The amount of love and respect the slorg had for the newspaper could not be easily measured. The one chance he had to fulfil that dream had been stolen away from him, the Times had never gotten back to Pinky about his interview. The next thing he knew his long-time friend, Wally the weewoo, had come to him saying he had gotten the job, the same one Professor Pinky had wanted. After that, Pinky swore to never speak to the double-crossing mutant kadoatie ever again.

     “Pinky, I promise you we are not withholding any articles from you. As you may recall, Fridays here are so busy for us as it is, but to make matters worse our printing press has run out of ink! We have to wait until tomorrow to release the special edition. We thought we had enough time to go forward with it today—but it’s already so late!” Wally cried, he was so stressed that several feathers fell from him as he fidgeted about.

     Having witnessed how much pressure Wally was under, Professor Pinky felt a bit sorry for him. He had no idea how difficult it was for Wally to help run the newspaper.

     “Why didn’t you just release an announcement saying that there are printing issues? Had I known that I wouldn’t have been so angry!” Pinky explained, he was considerably calmer now. “I’ve been all over Neopia trying to find a single special issue, and this entire time I could have just stayed home.”

     Wally hung his head, chastened by Pinky’s words. “I tried to get in front of the problem, but before I knew it everything was completely out of hand, and I panicked. Listen Pinky, I know you’ve been mad at me all these years, but I didn’t mean for this to happen and I didn’t do it to spite you.”

     “So the paper will come out tomorrow then?” Socks asked, sliding up to stand next to Professor Pinky.

     Pinky completely forgot the other slorg was still in the room. He felt so embarrassed that his best friend had seen him in such a mood, and it brought Pinky great shame.

     “First thing in the morning when the new shipment of ink gets in.” Wally eagerly promised.

     “Fantastic!” Socks cheered. “You’ll finally get your newspaper Pinky! This is great news!”

     “Yeah, I guess you’re right Socks,” Pinky replied softly. His expression softened, all the anger and disappointment that had built up inside finally left his little body. “I’m sorry for my rudeness, Wally. You didn’t deserve it, and you didn’t deserve it all those years ago either.”

     Wally gaped in utter surprise. “Wow, I don’t know what to say!” The weewoo was over the moon, and he ruffled his feathers with glee. “I’ve been wanting to get in contact with you, but I was too afraid that you would still be mad. I do miss our friendship!”

     “Me too,” Pinky replied honestly. He was surprised at how much better he felt.

     “Oh, wait!” Wally exclaimed suddenly. “I have something for you!”

     Before Pinky could reply Wally had already flown off. When he returned, there was a roll of paper clutched in his talons. Deftly landing back on the partition, he held the roll down toward Pinky expectantly, eyes alight with giddiness.

     “What is it?” Pinky asked curiously.

     “We were only able to print the sample copy of the nine-hundred and fiftieth issue before we discovered that there was no more ink. The colour is a little wonky in some places on account of the low ink at printing, but you should be able to read it no problem!” Wally explained and dropped the paper to the floor in front of Pinky.

     Pinky’s eyes lit up, the coveted issue that he was looking for was finally within his grasp.

     “Wally, are you sure? That’s so generous of you!” He said. Pinky was so touched by the kindness of his old friend, that he couldn’t help but shed a tear.

     Socks was ecstatic to see Pinky so moved, “When we get back home let's make sure to frame it!” He bounced about in circles around the Professor.

     With the nine-hundred and fiftieth issue in his possession, Professor Pinky and Socks bade their friend Wally goodbye, with a promise to visit again, and returned to their homes on Roo Island.

      The End.