Behind the Doors of Another Class: Part Two

     "Hey, this doesn't taste that bad, try it!" exclaimed Angel, taking a big bite. "Tastes like…like…who cares? At least it's not fish pops, like we had yesterday. Fluffy, why don't you spill what happened in the advanced section? Don't tell me you aced it there too?"

     Fluffy nodded. "But the best part was, I have two new friends! Their names are Muriel and Sarah…they were nice to me!" She shoved her fork into the Mashed Eye Potato.

     "Where are these new friends of yours? You should have invited them to sit with us!" said Glitter. "The cafeteria isn't that big, we can spot anyone from here!"

     Fluffy looked around. At last she spotted a familiar-looking rainbow Kyrii and her equally familiar companion, a starry Ixi. They were sitting on a large table, talking and laughing with other pets. Most of them were painted in beautiful yet expensive colors.

     "Muriel and Sarah?" Sweet repeated. He stared into his sister's eyes. "Don't you know who they are? They're like, the most popular pets here!"

     "They're as mean as they're well-known," added Glitter solemnly. "I was turned down a seat on the popular pupils' table just because they found out my owner has less than a million in the bank. And their favorite pastime is gossip, followed by cutting classes, and teasing anyone new, weird, rejected, and…exceptionally intelligent."

     Fluffy glanced at her new friends, who were giggling with the rest of the famous Neopets. Muriel and Sarah looked over at Fluffy and waved. Then they turned back and continued their laughter.

     "Aw, they aren't that bad," said Fluffy with a shrug.

     "You didn't hear about the one about Zeus? He was smarter than you were, sis. Then when that green Lenny got into their class, that Ixi and Kyrii used him. As in, they used him to do their homework, get them out of detention, and stuff like that," said Sweet in a low voice. "If I were you, Fluffy, I'd either steer clear or watch out for their tricks."

     The quad stood up and gave back their empty plates and trays, and then threw away their trash. While walking outside the cafeteria, Fluffy shook her head.

     "Oh if they really were planning to do such things to me, then why are they being hospitable during my first class? Muriel and Sarah would have taken me down the very first time they saw me!" Fluffy countered.

     "For a genius sister, you sure are unaware of what's going to happen to you soon," sighed Angel. "Well, good luck on your next class. We'll see if you're still alive after that."

     "Very funny," said the white Aisha as she made her way towards her locker. Her two new friends pushed towards her.

     "Hey, what's up, girl?" asked Muriel with a mischievous grin.

     Fluffy smiled. "Oh, not much. My siblings were just yapping away about how nasty and mean you are. Of course, I didn't believe them."

     Sarah put an arm around Fluffy. "Nice work, sis," she droned. "Some people here aren't as trustworthy as others, especially those who spread lies about others. Come on, we'll walk you to the classroom."

     Sweet, Glitter and Angel looked on as Fluffy turned her head to stick out her tongue at them all.

     "She's doomed, and she has no idea what she's doing," complained Glitter. "Smart siblings always fail on the subject of social life."

     ***

     "You were named as the student with the best penmanship in your batch, weren't you?" asked Sarah. "See, we need to have a signature on this letter exempting both of us from detention. Unfortunately Muriel's owner forgot to sign it. Can you do it for us?"

     "I don't know," said Fluffy uneasily. "Isn't that lying?"

     Muriel chuckled. "Come on, I know you want to pay us back after being your friends, am I right, or am I right?" she asked.

     Fluffy scratched her head, pulled the cover off her pen and signed the letter, which the pair took to Mr. Snippy. He nodded, and both of her new friends jumped for joy.

     "We'll never regret this!" said Muriel happily, as they returned to their respective places. "For that, you deserve a nice seat with the popular ones! Starting tomorrow, you're moving from your usual boring table-to our exciting table!"

     Fluffy's eyes glittered. "You-you mean it? Oh, wow! I'm actually going to be one of you guys! Thanks! This is one thing I really won't forget, or regret!"

     And the white Aisha wore a big smile during the rest of the day…especially when she got another perfect quiz. While she came up to the front to explain her answer to #4, Muriel and Sarah leaned over and began whispering.

     "She's good, chum. She's really, really good," said the Ixi delightedly.

     "I know, Sarah. Fluffy will be a particularly easy one to trick. I can't believe that someone of her intellect would actually fall for our scheme!" The Kyrii cackled with glee, and her friend joined in as well. When they saw Fluffy make her way back to her seat, they stopped and righted themselves.

     "That was…" began Sarah.

     "…A very interesting explanation you made there!" continued Muriel, shooting another look at the Ixi.

     ***

     "I'm telling you guys, they aren't that bad!" yelled Fluffy. The quad was now making their way back to their Neohome, and still talking about their Aisha sister's new friends.

     Sweet laughed. "Well, appearances and first impressions can be deceiving, you know. When we adopted Angel, we thought he was going to be a pain, right? But it turns out that he can be very reliable and trustworthy…not a pain at all! As for your new problems-I mean friends-they'll make you think that they can be trusted. Wait a few more days and they'll be rearing their ugly, sibling-deceiving heads!" He smashed his fist into his other paw.

     "I'm another example of what he said, Fluffy," said Glitter, flapping her beautiful wings. "Everyone thinks I'm part of the popular clique, but in reality, I'm just like anyone else!"

     Before Fluffy could say anything else, Angel knocked on the door and Kat opened it.

     "So how was your first day in your new class?" asked Kat curiously, closing the door behind the last Neopet.

     "It was wonderful!" crowed Fluffy. "I met new friends who were really nice to me, and they want me to sit beside them tomorrow, during lunch! They belong to the popular group in school! Neat, huh?"

     "Yeah, neat if you want to be tricked by a couple of regular troublemakers!" retorted Sweet, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Kat, she won't believe us when we try to warn her! You see, those two are luring our sister into their trap! They're the kind of students who ask others to do their homework! Remember Zeus, Kat? Don't you remember? We know you do!"

     Glitter and Angel both nodded together. "Fluffy's new 'friends' are out to get any smart Neopet they know, so they can turn those poor saps into slaves! Now they're going to do the same thing with Fluffy! We care about her, and we don't want her reputation to be torn in half like some grubby piece of paper!" screamed Glitter.

     Everyone fell silent and looked at the faerie Acara. "Well, that's possible, isn't it?" she added, a pained look in her eyes.

     Kat sighed, and got the four pets to sit onto the sofa. Then she stood before them all. "Guys, it's not bad to have friends who care about you, but when you meet someone for the first time, you have to be careful. Sometimes it takes several days, or perhaps a week or two for you to start trusting that person you met. Fluffy, I'm not saying that you should stop seeing those two girls, but I am telling you to steer clear of any tricks they may have up their sleeves. Of course, if you have any problems, you can always count on me-and your brothers and sister-to guide you. Or, if you really can't take it anymore, I can always ask your new teacher to take you back to Miss Ford. And as for you three, I'm counting on you to keep an eye on your sister…if those two turn out to be bad influences chances are Fluffy may be lured to follow their lead," she said knowledgeably.

     Fluffy stood up too, and yelled, "Look, I know they're okay! I don't need to be bossed around! Neopia is free, and I am free to make any friends I want, and think whatever I want! Why does everyone have to meddle in my affairs when I can clearly handle them myself? You may think that way about Muriel and Sarah, but you know what I think? If it wasn't for them, I'd still be wandering about aimlessly in the advanced section!" She stomped up the stairs to her room, and everyone else heard a door slam.

     "This is going to be harder than I thought," mused Kat. Sweet, Angel and Glitter all agreed and nodded.

To be continued...