Juggling Life: Part One

     That's right. I'm ones of those stupid owners who take on the young, tiny, screaming, stressful and yet adorable baby neopets. Not as in a neopets that's been painted baby. I mean my neopet is only one month old.

      On top of being a new owner, I also run a tea business. To be honest I barely make any money from the tea business, now I'm up against Juppie Gardens. Shortly after they arrived, my National Neopian Bank statement made me want to cry, but now that I have Mina, my teeny- tiny Cybunny in my life. My whole life seems better now.

      Juppie Gardens is this new, modern, soulless tea shop that sprang up a few months ago. It's been stealing all my customers. I used to be the only tea shop on the Island.

     I despise the shop, the manager and the staff. I especially hate the manager. She's this vain Usul who wears far too much make-up and thinks she's higher than everyone else. She even changed her name to Princess Juppie. Yeah, I know, it's ridiculous! Juppie Gardens used to be her father's business that originally was set up in Neopia Central. Now, she turned it into the monster of a shop it has become.

     How do I know so much? Research. I wish I never said that now. It kind of sounds like I'm stalking her.

      Anyway, I'm Drippey and welcome to my world!

      ***

     "Waaaaah." Baby Mina really seems to love screaming today. Drool was spattered on her bib and her rattle was on the floor abandoned.

     "Girl, what you want me to do with this baby?" Tom, a blue Wocky, who worked at my shop, shouted to me from the counter.

      "Make her be quite!" I shouted. "Owww." I walked into a shelf and a stream of coffee tins fell on my head. I bent down to clear them up, but then thought I might as well get Tom to do it, later. I quickly shook the coffee beans from my hair and walked out of the stock room.

      "How do I switch this thing off?" Tom asked. He actually seemed serious.

     "Give her here." I took her out his arms and gently rocked her. Instantly, she went silent. It's like this little magic power I have, with all crying babies. If I was a faerie, that would be my power. Or being invisible. That would be fun! I wonder what I would do if I was invisible. Or could I just paint myself, with an invisible paint brush. I have always wondered whether a human could be painted with a neopets paintbrush. Oh, sorry, I'm getting off the point, again.

      "That's how you treat a baby. As a person, not a robot!" I told him sternly. Boys, what do they know about babies? I shook my head at that thought.

     "Stop shaking your head at me!" Tom said. He seemed to not like it when I disapproved.

      I put her on an arm chair. She snuggled up and fell asleep. Naaaaaw. She's sooo cute!

     "I like it when she does that," Tom said.

     "When she does what?" I asked.

     "Sleeps."

     "Why? That kinda sounds creepy." I was getting a bit protective, now.

     "No, it's because she's finally quiet. She's been crying all morning!" Tom picked up a broom and started sweeping the aged, wooden floorboards. "It was just getting a bit... you know." He trailed off. He obviously didn't want to say my neopet was annoying.

     "A bit what?" I asked. I tried to sound threatening, just to scare him. I even put on my street face. It's the face I use when I pass the market. Then the people trying to get you to but their stuff won't bother you. "You were a baby, once. I bet you cried all the time too! How do you think your owner felt about that, huh?"

     "Why are you putting on your street face?" Tom asked.

     "How do you know about my street face?"

     "You do it every time we pass the market."

     Am I really that easy to read? I wanted to take the broom from him, and, then, snap it over his head. Maybe pour some Kau Milk over him too. Then out him out in the hot sun, and it would curdle on him. Yeah, that would be a really good April fools joke.

      I think someone actually did that, when I was in school. It was either Kaus Milk or glue. Either way it was still gross.

     I was about to go get the Kau Milk, but Beryl hobbled in. She comes in every day. Sometimes she's the only customer we have.

     "Hey, Beryl, what do you want today?" Tom asked.

     She answered him with a hard stare. "What you playing at, boy?" When it's really, really, warm out, she gets cranky at all males. Seeing as we live on Mystery Island, it's basically all the time.

      When she goes down to the market, all the stall holders run away and leave their daughters to deal with her. She still shouts at them and calls them cowards. I don't go to the market with her any more. Last time she picked up a vase and threatened to throw it at them. Someone called defenders of Neopia in, it was all very embarrassing.

      No one was hurt, but she did get banned from the market for a few months. She had to get me to do all her shopping.

      "Uh... I... Um, sorry. I have to make a stock list." His cheeks reddened and he proceeded to back out to the stock room. Hopefully, now, he'd clean up the coffee murder scene I created earlier.

      "Lord, it's warm today! An ol' Lenny like me shouldn't have to be out in this!" She flopped into the chair next to Mina.

     "You don't, Beryl. You're here by choice." I sat in the chair opposite her.

     "Hey, human, don't go giving me that attitude! Now get me an islandberry tea would you? I'm so thirsty." I put Mina in a more comfy position on her chair. "I would prefer to get it sometime this year! And don't forget my 10% discount."

      I ignored her rudeness; she must have been joking.

      When I went behind the counter to get stuff for tea, I glanced into the stock room. Tom was there cleaning up the coffee. Yay! I really couldn't be bothered to do it later.

     We sat down and had a chat, sipped tea. I told her about the day me and Mina spent at the beach. I showed her the picture of Mina making her first sand castle.

      Well, technically, that wasn't her first sand castle. It's just the first one crumbled and turned into a pile of soggy sand.

      Then, the second one got washed away by the tide.

      The third one had a crab in it. The crab crawled out and the whole thing collapsed. But after another seven times. We managed to make one that worked, so I took a picture, and said it was Mina's first ever sandcastle. I wouldn't want people thinking she was a failure!

      I heard a large commotion and I saw what seemed like half the island had tumbled in through the door.

     "Oh, brilliant! Just as I thought we could get some peace and quiet," Beryl exclaimed.

      "Well, at least I might make some money!" I said cheerily.

     "I suppose," Beryl said bitterly.

      I wondered why we had so many customers today. Then I realised Juppie Gardens was probably closed today. We only ever get customers when they're closed.

     I went over to the counter to start serving. Tom came out of the store room. He nervously glanced at Beryl. She stared at him back so he lowered his gaze.

     "What happened in the store room?" I guessed he had found the coffee then. "There was loads of coffee everywhere."

      "Probably that spyder thing we had ages ago is back." He never clears up the mess that I make so the lie was necessary.

     The spyder thing was scary, though. There was a whole nest of them! We only managed to get rid of them by letting a load of parrots into the shop. They ate them all in about five minutes. It took ages to get them back outside, but it beats paying a professional to do it.

      A Bruce holding a map in his hand came and tapped me on the shoulder. I noticed he was wearing a rather bright shirt that said, "I love Mystery Island" on it. He was also holing an "I got lost on Mystery Island Magnet". I didn't think he could get any more "touristy", but then he said:

     "Excuse me, is this where I can buy tombola tickets?"

     It was obviously going to be a long, long day...

To be continued...