Dreamers: Becoming a Star

     "Why?" a pink Aisha retorted. He always messed with her, Akeka, who had enough bad luck today anyway. She watched him grab a handful of Points from her sack of four thousand, leaving her with only two thousand five hundred. She saw him jump over stones of pure blackness as he ran away into the night, stopping only to stick his tongue out at her. She did the same back to him.

     Akeka's day couldn't have been worse, even if she tried to make it even more horrible. First, she went to school, ended up in the wrong class, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and anger at herself for forgetting she was in fifth grade now. Next, on her way out the school, she stepped in four pure white puddles of rain. Then, she got mugged from the Tax Beast. She felt as if she had taken a swim into a never ending pool of sorrow and pain, trying to swim to the exit but stuck in a whirlpool of embarrassment. She only wished to be famous.

     "But wait... Being a celebrity has its faults too! Just look at how Lisha got separated from her brother Jeran!"Akeka said, although she felt like taking it back. She finally said, "I'm going to be the first Pink Aisha in history to become a hero!" She yelled it loud, like Neopia would die if she didn't shout. Akeka took a step back, and ran towards home, trudging through rain and sleet that caked her face. It had only just begun.

      * * *

     When she got home, Akeka was greeted with the familiar happier faces of the family, and a Faerie Cybunny smiled at her. Her name was Fallalie. Fallalie was one of the more cheerful types. Pink and blue wings flourished her back, as her blue trim ruffled her face. "Hello, welcome back, Akeka!" Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle as bright as the sun itself.

     Another part of the family, Mayik, a Baby Gelert, whose collar was just replaced with a cute, baby blue one, wrinkled her face at Akeka. "Who are you?" Akeka wasn't herself, the clean, spotless Neopet. She was a muddy mess. On her way home, she guessed, Akeka ran through a few mud puddles, and might not have noticed it as she was running fast.

     "That's Akeka, Mayik. She's just all muddy from the walk-sorry,-run home. I'll warm her up a bath, and she can settle in. I'm making dinner now, Akeka, and until your bath is ready, which it should be now, you can sit down. Alisca, could you take Akeka to the bathroom?" Fallalie looked over at the Strawberry Poogle, who, upon hearing her name, sat up instantly. Alisca walked out of the room, and then came back in, a bath towel in hand. "Ready?" she asked quietly.

     Akeka, who had to really listen to hear what Alisca had said, because she said it quietly, went with her sister through the kitchen door. She got into the bath, splashed water onto her face playfully, and dried herself off. She went back downstairs and looked at what her sister had made for her. Yuck, Akeka thought, steamed asparagus! She didn't like asparagus that much. She gazed blearily at the food. "Um, Fallalie? Can you change my dinner? You know I don't like asparagus. You can save all of it for Adam." As she said this, Alisca, Mayik, and Fallalie were sitting down to eat.

     "I know, Akeka, that's Mayik's dinner." Mayik sat down at the table, grimacing at Akeka as she passed. "Your dinner's right over... Hang on, where'd it go? I know I put it on the table...

     "I found it! Mayik screeched. She was holding their vibrant tablecloth and looking at something. "It's under here!"

     "Um. Why is it there?" Fallalie asked dizzily, "It just was on the table... Anyway, sorry, Akeka, it looks like I need to prepare more food for you... It's going to be awhile... Sorry!"

     Upon hearing this, stifling a sniffle, Akeka stormed off into her room. As she went up the steep stairs, she muttered to herself, "I'll show them... I'll show them that I can do it! I can be somebody! I just know I can!!" And with that, she slammed the door to her room.

      * * *

     Akeka didn't come out of her room for awhile, till Alisca came up. Alisca was the more quiet pet in the family. Although, she had a knack for solving problems too. "What's wrong, buddy? I haven't seen you in awhile."

     "Everything." Akeka moped simply. "Everything's wrong. I went to the wrong class. The Tax Beast robbed me again. I hit several mud puddles coming home. I was shivering. My sister doesn't know who I am, and now my dinner's ruined."

     "Well, it can't get worse now, right?"

     "AKEKA! I CAN'T MAKE YOU ANYTHING! WE'RE OUT OF FOOD! SORRY!" Fallalie yelled up to Akeka, almost in reply to Alisca's question.

     "IT... JUST... DID!" Akeka said, repressing her anger, her knuckles turning white with anger, "Now I have no food, and I didn't eat much at lunch today!" Akeka was practically screaming now. What ELSE could go wrong? she asked herself. She already had the worst day in Neopet history! Nothing could happen that was worse!

     "Umm... Akeka!" Alisca said, pointing to a spot in the Neopian Times, "I think you may be famous!"

     "WHAT???" Akeka shot back at her. She didn't feel like jokes tonight, she wasn't in the mood at all. She hoped Alisca understood that.

     "I'm serious! Look at this headline!"

     "Well, it still doesn't--" Akeka gasped and stopped herself from talking at once. For she saw it too. "Alisca, you're a genius!!!"

      * * *

     "Ah, nothing like living like a star!" Akeka said blissfully one afternoon. "That headline made me famous! Who would have thought it?"

     A few weeks ago, Alisca had seen the newspaper headline. It made Akeka famous, for that particular headline head read "Neopet Records Book Accepting Submissions." She and her sisters entered the contest, and the prize was getting into the most famous book, The "Neopets Record Book." There were many categories within the book itself.

          And Akeka won for having the worst day in Neopet history.

     There are many good things about being a star, Akeka thought to herself, and I'm just starting to figure them out! I'm so glad I kept that newspaper in my own room! If that weren't there, I wouldn't have been a star! She sipped her lemonade. This isn't so bad, she thought again. I could get used to this!

     Everyone in her class didn't laugh at Akeka anymore; she was in the most famous book ever! They were all her friends now! Wherever she walked, neopets turned their heads. She was a superstar!

     After she won, the Tax Beast never taxed her, she never got stuck in the rain, and her dinner was never lost! She felt good.

      And she felt that she finally found the exit out of the pool.

The End