Kalora Academy: The New Girl

      She had by now resigned herself to the fate of forever being in and out of the pound, and to the fact that she'd never belong anywhere. She sighed again, only to have Dr. Death snap at her to be quiet.

      She turned over on her lumpy mattress when she realized that Magenta was talking to someone.

      "Ah, yes, your headmaster came by and told us about that. Come, she's this way," the pink Uni was saying. Prilla wondered what lucky neopet was getting to leave. It won't be me, she thought sadly. Not with my rep.

      Much to her surprise, Magenta walked right over to her cell. There was a striped Lupess in a business suite with her.

      "Priscilla," Magenta said, opening the cell door, "this is Mrs. Merriam Walker, a teacher at the Kalora Academy. She would like to talk about getting you a scholarship."

      Prilla's ears perked up as she sat on her mattress and straightened the grey dress that was the pound uniform. Her? A scholarship? No way. "What kind of school is it?" she asked.

      Mrs. Walker smiled. "I thought you'd ask that, so I brought this pamphlet. You can look over it and decide whether you want to come or not. Tell me tomorrow, ok?"

      Prilla took the pamphlet and nodded. When Magenta and Mrs. Walker had left, the Xweetok opened it. She had never been very good in school, but this seemed like just what she needed. There would be normal classes, geometry, social studies, and the like, but there were also optional classes like Tyrannian, swimming, and gymnastics. Prilla had taken gymnastics once and loved it. Best of all, there were dorms, which she'd share with another girl. No more attic rooms! No more rooms she'd leave in a week. No more pound! She decided she wanted to go.

      The next day she told Mrs. Walker she wanted to go. The striped Lupess smiled. "Well, then we'd best be on our way."

      Prilla gathered her few possessions as Mrs. Walker filled out the necessary paperwork. She held her breath. Please let this work! Please!

      "Prilla!" Mrs. Walker called. "It's time to go!"

      She took one more deep breath straightened her dress skirt. She would have to send the dress back as soon as she could. She couldn't wait to wear the white blouse and navy blue skirt that was the school uniform instead.

      As she walked out, Dr. Death sneered, "I won't keep your cell warm, 32621." Prilla shuddered as she heard the message. She hated her pound number. She tried to shrug it off. She wouldn't be coming back. She hoped.

      "Here we are," Mrs. Walker said as the two of them walked up to the academy. Prilla looked up at the large two story building and the three buildings surrounding it. Each of the windows in the main building led to a classroom, where, undoubtedly, some class of hers would be held. The lawns outside were swarming with neopets of all shapes and sizes.

      "That building is the main school," Mrs. Walker explained. "Most of the classes are held there. The short building behind it is where all phys. ed. classes are held. The buildings to the right and to the left are the dormitories. You'll want to go to the right, that's the girl's dorm, and your room is 84B. You'll be bunking with my daughter, Emily. If you need any help, just ask her. You all set?"

      Prilla nodded excitedly. My new life is about to begin, she thought to herself as Mrs. Walker headed to the main building. No longer did she have to be little miss mess-up. She just had to take her first steps.

      She took those steps... and promptly tripped over her own paws, accidentally ramming into a faerie Uni, spilling the Uni's drink on the lawn.

      "I'm so sorry," Prilla said, helping the Uni up. "It was an accident, really-"

      "My frappe mocha-chino!" the Uni interrupted. "You klutz! Watch where you're going!"

      "I'm sorry," Prilla said, blushing deeply. "I there's anything I can do-"

      "You know what you can do," the Uni said, still ticked, "get out now. We don't need any more wanna-bes taking up space around here around here, right girls?" Two other girls, a royal girl Usul and desert Peophin, nodded.

      "Well, I don't see either of the Angelina wanna-bes leaving," a yellow Cybunny said, standing beside Prilla.

      "This coming from the teacher's daughter," the Uni sneered. "The only reason you're here is it was cheaper for your mom to send you to her school instead of military school."

      "Ah, sticks and stones," the Cybunny said, making a face. Turning to Prilla, she smiled. "Come on. You don't need to deal with those girls."

      Prilla turned to follow the Cybunny, as the Uni and her followers strutted off. "Thanks for the help," she said.

      "Don't worry about it," the Cybunny said. "Angelina and her cronies never like any of the new girls. By the way, my name's Emily. Emily Walker."

      "Oh," Prilla said, "I think I'm your roommate. I'm Priscilla."

      "Nice to meet you," Emily said. "I hope this isn't a personal question, but why don't you have a last name."

      Prilla sighed. This always came up. "I never knew my parents. I was abandoned."

      Realizing she had caused a tense moment, Emily grabbed Prilla's hand and tried to change the subject. "Come on," she said. "Some of my friends and I are going to look over our class assignments at the library. Wanna come?"

      Prilla smiled, glad to be included. "Sure."

      When they had met up with the others, a blue Zafara named Kat and a red Gelert named Lucy, they immediately delved into class schedules.

      "I can't believe it!" Lucy cried in distress. "I got Ms. Aliman for homeroom again! She has a face that would scare Kass himself and she hates kids! I'll be doomed to D's all year! How about you Kat?"

      "I got Emily's mom," the Zafara said.

      "Same here," Emily said. "Prilla?"

      "I have Mr. Kinner," she looked up. "What's he like?"

      "Way cool," Kat said. "He's super nice and always has something fun planned. You're sooo lucky!"

      "Though he seems sad sometimes," Lucy said absentmindedly. "Especially when we ask him about when he attended."

      "Don't worry." Emily grinned. "You'll love Uncle Peter."

      "He's your uncle?" Prilla asked. "You sure have a lot of relations here."

      "My Mom, Uncle Peter, and Aunt Elizabeth all attended Kalora when they were kids. Now they teach," Emily explained.

      "What class does your Aunt teach?" When Emily looked troubled, Prilla realized she shouldn't have asked. "I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?"

      "Nah, it's okay," Emily said with a half smile. "Aunt Elizabeth was my Mom's sister and Uncle Peter's wife. She and my cousin, who had just been born, died before Mom adopted me. I wouldn't mention them in class if I was you."

      Prilla nodded, and, after a anxious moment, Lucy asked, "So, who wants dinner? I know this diner nearby where we can get good food cheap." There was unanimous agreement, and the four headed out.

      That night, as Peter Kinner was preparing his classroom, there was a slight knock on the door. "Come in," the blue Lupe called automatically. He already knew it would be the new student, a Xweetok.

      "I'm just here to make sure that you know I'm in your class tomorrow," the Xweetok said.

      "Yes, of course, Priscilla. It is Priscilla, right?" He got up to shake his new student's hand, but paused in shock when he saw her.

      "Yeah, it Priscilla, but most people call me Prilla." Prilla reached out, but when Mr. Kinner didn't respond, she just assumed she did something wrong. "Well, goodnight."

      "Yes, goodnight," he said, snapping out of his shock.

      When the girl had gone, Peter pulled a small photograph off of his desk. In the picture, a green Lupess smiled out, and in her arms lay a baby Lupe with uniquely colored eyes. Her right eye was as blue as both of Peter's, but her left eye was as green as her mother's. Just like the Priscilla.

      He couldn't help but hope... but no, his daughter was long dead. It was just a coincidence. It had to be.

      That night, as Prilla set up her plain bed, Emily questioned her about her opinion of the school. "So, what about the pool. Pretty sweet, huh?"

      Prilla smiled. "Yep. I won't be in it much, though. I'm not much of a swimmer."

      "Then you gotta take a swim class," Emily called. "There's nothing like a nice long swim after a long day of classes."

      "That would conflict with gymnastics." Prilla smiled at the thought of her favorite hobby. "There's no way I'm giving that up."

      "Then I'll teach you." The yellow Cybunny tied up her hair before jumping into her Taelia bed. "It'll be fun."

      Prilla smiled. "I'll have to take you up on that. See you tomorrow."

      As she settled into bed, the pink Xweetok was sure of something she hadn't been sure of in a long time. She was sure this was where she belonged.

The End