Gilbert the Poogle: Part Four

      "A penny for your thoughts," the well-meaning faerie said. Much to her surprise, he friend did not reply to her question, only drooping his head low as a response. Ruby immediately knew what he meant.

      "I have an idea, Gilbert," she began slowly, cautiously. Taking a deep breath, she continued. "I've been thinking about it since yesterday night, after I saw how disillusioned you looked. You know how I'm a faerie? And you know how bottled faeries are in heavy demand these days, and the prices are going sky-high, so…you know what I mean?"

      Gilbert was immensely puzzled.

      "What I'm saying is, you can always capture me and put me in a bottle again." As the thought sunk into his head the Poogle's eyes widened in shock as he stopped in his tracks to take a good look at his friend. Ruby was seemed to be glowing especially bright now, a blinding red sparkle of self-sacrifice. Even as Ruby was small, Gilbert could clearly make out the drop of tear that had rolled down her pixie-like face. "You can if you want to, Gilbert. I mean, what are friends for? In fact I'm all ready for it already. You just need a bottle and-"

      "NO!" Gilbert shouted, interrupting the faerie's teary speech. "No way will I ever sell my friend. You're my best friend, Ruby. You were the first one to come to my help, unconditionally, when I told you my problem. Even Penny didn't do that, only leaving me to solve it on my own." Gilbert's large eyes brimmed with tears as he spoke. The idea was simply too much for him. "Never will I do that. Ever."

      "But you can always resell me for a hefty sum…you need it, Gilbert-" Ruby was already sobbing uncontrollably by now.

      "No. No, I'll never do that to you, Ruby. You hate life in a bottle. How can I capture you and put make you endure such suffering when I know you hate it? It would be so wrong." He steeled himself and tried to take control over his flowing indignation and firm determination. "Listen. I would rather remain a Poogle the rest of my life if I had to sell you away for the Neopoints. The morphing potion would be worthless, anyway, if I had to exchange your poor life for it."

      At the promise Ruby broke into a grateful smile.

      Exchanging looks of assurance, Gilbert looked at Ruby in the eye. For a moment, the confidence and determination to protect his friend from all harm overwhelmed him. It was an uplifting sense of joy to have such a friend who was brimming and overflowing with altruistic values, and whom he could be a defender unto.

      The faerie, heaving a sigh of relief, flew forward as they continued in their journey home, resting in the comfort that her friend was, and will always be, true to her. And as she turned to slip a look of adoration at Gilbert, their glances mingled, smiling, and both felt gladly heartened and warm on the inside, having reaffirmed the impregnability and everlasting strength of their concrete friendship.

     ***

      They had walked on for only a few minutes when they came upon the Cheat! game room front door. Gilbert and Ruby burst into peals of laughter as they recalled the incident the previous day, when they were literally threw out of the game room. Though humiliated at that point in time, the two had now came to accept it as part of their adventurous life and, in fact, had started to think that the occasion was quite hilarious indeed.

      "Are we going in to try our hands at it again?" Ruby inquired, although she already knew the answer.

      As a reply the Poogle shook his head violently. Just as they were about to leave, Ruby spotted a familiar figure walking hurriedly into the game room. The silhouette of the hunchbacked Neopian gave its identity away. It was the old Ruki they met at the Money Tree the week before.

      "Hey, look, Gilbert," Ruby whispered into his big Poogle ears. "That's the old Neopet whom we met, remember?" Gilbert squinted at her as she disappeared behind the doors of the Cheat! game room, just in time for him to make out the tattered clothes she was donning.

      "What's she doing here? Isn't she supposed to be really poor? Where did she get all that Neopoints to play in there?" As soon as the question left his lips, the Poogle realised the answer. "Let's follow her in. I won't let her spend Neopoints, which we gave to her, on this game. That would be like making us of our sympathy." Nodding, his faerie friend followed him in as he pushed open the big wooden door.

      The Cheat! game room was not very big. Housing a badly organised series of game tables which represented the different levels one could go through, the room was hardly large enough to swing a cat in and thus Gilbert could see, at one glance, where the old Neopet was heading. Settling at the first table which consisted of Capara, Little Timmy and Branston, she plonked a bagful of 350 Neopoints onto the table. Incensed, Gilbert glared at the bag of Neopoints which was rightfully his. Even though they were standing near the door, the two friends could hear Branston's sarcastic tone of voice as he mocked the old Neopet, "Ooh, it's Shalia. You brought more Neopoints for us? Aren't you afraid you'll lose…again?"

      The old Ruki stuck her nose in the air as she snapped, "With these Neopoints I can try seven whole times. I don't believe I will not win even a single time with that kind of high possibility. Just you watch."

      Gilbert was about to charge forward and snatch the bag from the table, when Ruby halted him. Hovering in front of Poogle who was red with infuriation, she said, "Wait a minute. We'll see what happens before we make a scene. My instincts tell me this is not as simple as it seems." Breathing heavily, Gilbert agreed and sat at a nearby bench, his eyes staring fixatedly at the table.

      Shalia turned out to be a terrible player at Cheat!. For she could not even tell when the most the most obvious signals of a cheat went on atop the table. Branston and Capara exchanged devious smiles as they lied right under her nose, while Little Timmy looked on with a sympathetic and worried gaze at Shalia, as if on the verge of stopping her.

      Time after time she lost, but game after game she continued playing, unwilling to submit to the fact that she was simply a bad player. Each time, she conveniently reached into the bag for another fifty Neopoints and threw it on the table callously, her eyes unable to leave the pack of cards in her hand. She seemed to be addicted, obsessed even, with the game.

      Soon, she was left with her last fifty Neopoints. Not even hesitating for a second thought, she emptied the bag onto the table, while the Capara looked on with much avarice as she rubbed her paws together excitedly. It was going to be an easy 350 Neopoints earned.

      Just then, Little Timmy the Tuskaninny stood up and pulled Shalia aside. From where they were seated, Gilbert and Ruby could clearly hear their conversation, though they did not mean to eavesdrop.

      "Grandaunt! That would be your last 50 Neopoints!" Little Timmy warned anxiously. "You have to stop this addiction!"

      "Stop? I don't see myself stopping, Timmy," Shalia was calm, but firm. "I know you mean well, but you know how I am like. Blame it all on this pair of greedy hands. Once I start playing, I will never be able to stop…unless I run out of Neopoints to spend."

      "No. This is getting out of hand. You have lost the Neopoints you ever had ever since you started playing Cheat!. Who knows what you might do next, just to satisfy your craving? You have to quit this unhealthy obsession. It's very scary the way you throw perfectly good Neopoints into it."

      The old Neopet was looked down at her feet, feeling guilty and ashamed of her irrepressible addiction. Sheepishly, she said, "Alright, Timmy. I guess I shall listen to you for once. I'm quitting this game-but I need time."

      At that a wide smile appeared on the Tuskaninny's face, having the vow of his grandaunt to curb her addiction. Just then, Shalia noticed the Poogle and faerie, who had been overhearing everything.

      "It's you!" she exclaimed.

      "Oh, the one who caused all that din here the other day!" Little Timmy added. Shalia turned to him, surprised, and said, "Why, you know the two of them as well?"

      An exchange of their separate experiences with Gilbert revealed that both of them had met the Poogle on different occasions. Shalia's face creased with wrinkles as she grinned warmly at the two.

      "The last I heard you were having some monetary trouble, weren't you?" Gilbert and Ruby nodded furiously, and briefly explained the situation to her. "Well, it's time I reciprocated your kindness, young Neopet." Nudging Timmy, she whispered something inaudible to him. The Tuskaninny was reluctant at first, but agreed after much deliberation. After all, it was a change of activity from his boring routine of playing Cheat! all day long, and as he had always felt, he needed some extra spice in his life, to help a fellow Neopian who needed his assistance in any way. This was probably it.

      "Shalia is my grandaunt, so whoever is her friend is mine too!" Little Timmy the Tuskaninny exclaimed. Turning towards his Cheat! mates, he announced, "My friend, this Poogle, here, has some financial trouble. Shall we all pitch in and help him out?"

      Branston and Capara instantly recognised Gilbert, and both screamed furiously, "You again?! What trouble are you trying to cause this time?" They were extremely reluctant to lend a helping hand to the Poogle who wrecked their game, and thus it was difficult for Little Timmy to try and convince them to lend a hand. However, his efforts paid off, as they finally agreed, "only on account of Little Timmy". Capara even pointed out, despite her dislike for Gilbert, that, "After that incident we did get some much-needed media coverage since this Cheat! business started to decline a year ago."

      The Cheat! players roped in so many of their fellow Cheat! mates that, in the end, even the aloof Sceptre and the unwilling Brucey B pitched in their share. Gilbert and Ruby were, of course, extremely touched and glad that such assistance was bestowed upon them. Combining the Neopoints that the Cheat! players amassed with their own Neopoint earned playing games, Gilbert and Ruby were finally able to raise enough Neopoints for the Red Scorchio Morphing Potion. Finally!

To be continued...