Johnny's Story: Part One

I don't know what time it was. All I knew was that it was very late. All the lights in Neopia were turned off and only a few Neopets roamed the streets. A small shower started and then the rain started to get heavier. I was getting drenched, but I didn't notice. I was too busy thinking and feeling sorry for myself.

     My name is Johnny. I'm a blue Shoyru. I was adopted when I was very little by Maria. My previous owner couldn't take care of me anymore and asked Maria (who was his friend) to take me in. A few years or so later, my little sister, Carrie (a Yellow Acara) was born. I loved her like she was my real sister. But Maria didn't love me as much as Carrie. She treated me horribly, but Carrie only saw the sweet side of Maria. That is, until the day everything changed.

     One day Carrie and I were running home from school, trying to escape the storm that was much like the one I was caught in right now. Maria was outside crying her eyes out. She then broke the news to us. She had gambled and lost everything. All our hard earned money, our beautiful house. It was all gone. Obviously I was furious, but Carrie just stood there, stunned.

     So Maria took us to live with her cousin Sherry. Carrie fit in quite nicely, but I just wasn't happy. I liked Sherry and everything, but Maria acted as if everything was fine - but everything was just awful. I was just staying there for Carrie's sake. But then we had an argument and I just left. I couldn't help it, I was so angry. Now I'm here, wandering around in the rain, having no idea what to do.

     I looked around and spotted the book store. The lights were on and only the shadow of the Nimmo who worked there could be seen. I figured I could fake looking through some books before the owner kicked me out. Oh well, it would give me enough time to get warm and dry. Maybe the storm would pass.

     I looked left and right before I started to cross the street. There were still some late bikers. I was almost to the book store when a green bike came roaring down the street, heading straight for me. I tried to run, but my legs tangled together and I fell to the ground. I managed to move most of my body away as the Scorchio on the bike yelled "Watch it!" The wheels ran right over my left wing. I yelled out with pain and I lay on the ground, the rain beating down on the broken part of my body.

     After awhile I finally heaved myself up. I wandered across the rest of the street and opened the door to the book store. The Nimmo took one glance at me and was about to shoo me out. But then he saw my wing and his eyes grew wide with concern.

     "Are you ok?" he asked. I just shrugged and walked right past him. I went to the corner of the room where there were a few comfortable chairs and tables for reading. The owner sometimes let little children sit and read for awhile if they weren't purchasing anything.

     I slumped into a purple chair, making sure not to lean into my broken wing. I suddenly remembered something and I quickly checked the side of my body. It was still there. A small black pouch strung around my neck. I opened it and saw that all the pieces of the vase were there. When Carrie and I had had our argument I had accidentally broken the vase that she had made for me. One day, I'd put it back together.

     I closed the pouch again and stood up. I suddenly felt dizzy and fell back on to my wing. I yelled with pain and the Nimmo came running to me, a long white cloth in his hands.

     "We are going to wrap this around your wing right now!" the Nimmo said in a very panicky voice. He seized me and started to wrap and wrap and wrap and wrap.

     I winced as he started to get a little tougher. He started to ask me questions. Like, why was I out so late? And where was my owner? And how did I break my wing? I chose to mumble answers or to not answer at all. The Nimmo finally gave up trying to engage conversation.

     "There," the owner of the book store said proudly. "Just don't touch it for a few weeks and it'll heal right up." He examined my face. I swear I saw him wince when he saw all the scratches and dirt stains smeared across my cheeks. Well, what does he expect? A clean shiny Shoyru who just stumbled through a storm? I don't think so.

     An awkward silence fell over us for a few minutes. I finally cleared my throat and rose to my feet. My wing felt heavy with all the bandaging but I managed to balance myself. I turned to look at the Nimmo who had an expected look on his face.

     "Well," I said hesitantly. "Thanks for… the bandages and stuff." I started to walk away when he called for me to stop. I slowly turned around.

     He walked over to me and reached over to grab a book off the shelf. He pressed the book into my hands. "It's the first and only copy ever made," he whispered. "Read it and keep it forever."

     "Thank you," I said politely. It was a very small book so I managed to shove it into my pouch. I shook his hand and then quickly left the store.

     The storm had ended, but the ground was still wet and slippery. I shivered and rubbed my arms with my frozen hands. I wondered where I should stay for the night. I looked around hoping the answer would come to me. I spotted the Neolodge in the distance. I wonder…

     I reached into my pouch and felt around until I reached the thing I was looking for. I quickly pulled out a couple of Neopoints and my face fell. There in my hand were only 42 Neopoints.

     I closed my hand and dropped the Neopoints into my pouch. I wondered where I should go. Then I spotted something that made my problems a lot easier. The Art Centre! The Coffee Shop was open 24/7. I quickly started to run, making sure not to slip on the wet ground.

     When I opened the door it made a tinkling sound. Ms. Shoyru, the owner of the Coffee Shop, smiled at me.

     "Hello, Johnny," she greeted me pleasantly. "Out so late?"

     I nodded and blushed. I had a little bit of a crush on Ms. Shoyru. I walked over to the counter and sat down on a spinning chair.

     "What'll it be?" Ms. Shoyru asked me.

     My face fell. "Er… I don't have any Neopoints on me right now," I admitted. "I was just wondering if I could stay here for the night."

     The whole Coffee Shop was empty except for me, Ms. Shoyru, and a Techo in a lab coat who sat beside me, sipping a Thornberry Java with Cream.

     Ms. Shoyru smiled kindly at me. "Well, you look like you could use a drink. This one's on the house."

     She reached underneath the counter to grab a cup, but then she frowned. "Oh dear, I don't seem to have any clean cups left," she said. "I'll be right back." She smiled at me and quickly disappeared behind two swinging doors. Then she poked her head back out and said, "Johnny, you're welcome to stay for the night." She grinned and then disappeared again.

     I sat there, twirling around in my chair. The Techo beside me raised his eyebrows as he watched me twirl. He coughed.

     I glanced over at him. He looked awfully familiar, but I was too exhausted from walking and dizzy from twirling on my chair to remember.

     "Hello," I said, grinning lopsidedly at him. He grunted in response. I was hoping to get some Neopoints off of him. I felt guilty about getting a free hot drink from Ms. Shoyru.

     He raised his eyebrows at me as I looked around, trying to figure out where I could sleep for the night.

     "You got no place to stay?" he asked gruffly.

     I shrugged my shoulders. "I guess not."

     I remembered being told to never talk to strangers, but my head wasn't working properly. I shouldn't have spun around on the chair. I felt like I was going to throw up.

     "Well, I got a great place for you to stay," the Techo said, grinning. "Want to come check it out? I'm going to drop by there after my coffee."

     My smile practically covered my entire face. "Wow, sir, that would be great!"

     The Techo nodded. "Yes, it is." He grinned. There was something about his grin that I wouldn't like, but I wasn't thinking. Ms. Shoyru appeared again holding a cup of hot chocolate.

     "Drink up!" she said cheerily.

     I took it from Ms. Shoyru and thanked her. I started to gulp it down. It burned my tongue but I didn't care. It felt so good to be drinking something. Maybe I was drinking too fast. Or maybe it had been all that twirling. But suddenly I was out cold and everything went black.

To be continued...