Usuki Singing Stars #15: I Scream for YBIC!

     Brayden looked up at his sister and cooed, "Bwaga." Then he went back to playing with his blocks.

     Patricia sighed deeply as she stared at the ticket she was holding. Yes Boy Ice Cream was one of the biggest boy bands in Neopia, and they were going to hold a special concert in Neopia Central! The band consisted of three Shoyrus: one red, one blue and one yellow. Out of the trio, Patricia liked the blue one the most. She and her friends Scary and Sparkles had each written a letter to the Tyrannian Concert Hall and five hundred neopoints in hopes of receiving tickets through the mail-and with her friends receiving their tickets the day before, Patricia was ecstatic when she received her ticket today, which meant she could go to the concert with her friends after all.

     This has got to be the best day ever! Patricia thought eagerly. In one day, I would be jamming with-

     "Patricia, can you help me set the table for dinner?" Ms. Winston called from the kitchen.

     "Coming!" said Patricia. After clutching her ticket one last time, the faerie Shoyru placed it on the living room table and left the room. Her brother Brayden crawled eagerly towards the edge of his playpen and looked up at the table.

     "Kablaga!" the baby Shoyru said happily. He jumped up and down as he smiled widely at the pretty pink piece of paper above him.

     When Patricia returned to the living room, she looked at her ticket again and squealed. After noticing Brayden jumping up and down, she picked him up and gave him a hug before placing him on the carpet. "Tomorrow, I get to see my favourite Neopian boy band!" she said happily. "Now if only I could find my Yes Boy Ice Cream T-shirt for the concert."

     Brayden crawled over to his teddy bear while his older sister continued to dance happily around the living room.

     ***

     As soon as she opened the front door the next day, Patricia was bombarded with screams and squeals as her friends Sparkles and Scary ran inside for their pre-concert meet up.

     "YES BOY ICE CREAM! YES BOY ICE CREAM!" Sparkles exclaimed as she entered Patricia's neohome. "Just three more hours, you guys!"

     Scary nodded with agreement. "Finally, the Yes Boy band of my dreams has decided to play a concert in Neopia Central. I knew my threatening letters to their manager would pay off someday."

     Patricia gave her friend a weird look. But then she smiled and showed them her official Yes Boy Ice Cream T-shirt. "I'm so going to wear this tonight! I finally found it in the laundry room and my mom washed it today so I could wear it to the concert!"

     "Oh, how cute!" said Sparkles. The pink Bruce showed off the Yes Boy Ice Cream hat she was wearing. "Don't I look extra chic? I was going to wear my T-shirt, but then I decided that this hat would make me really stand out."

     Scary gave her a smirk. "Dream on," scoffed the purple Bruce. "And besides, pink Yes Boy Ice Cream merchandise went out of style years ago."

     "But everything they have is still pink," Sparkles insisted.

     "For now," said Scary. "But I bet they'll pick a less eye-blinding colour to use for their future concerts."

     "Um, guys, shouldn't we be heading to the Money Tree to find a good place to view the band?" asked Patricia.

     Sparkles nodded and pulled out her ticket from her purse. After Scary retrieved hers from her purse, Sparkles said, "Where's your ticket, Pat?"

     "It's on the living room table," said Patricia.

     Scary looked over at the table and shook her head. "I don't see anything."

     Patricia turned behind her and gasped. "MY ticket!" she exclaimed at the top of her lungs. "Where did it go? It was there all day today and now it's GONE!!!" Frantic, the faerie Shoyru looked under and around the mahogany table for a glimpse of the bright pink ticket she had left on its surface. While she crawled around the table for a third try, her baby brother Brayden crawled up towards her and smiled.

     "Gwataba!" the baby Shoyru said happily.

     "Not right now, Brayden," Patricia insisted. After her search was done, Patricia headed to the sofa and looked around, under, and even underneath the cushions in an attempt to find her missing ticket. "It's not here! Guys, can you help me? PLEASE??"

     Groaning, Scary and Sparkles went upstairs to inspect their friend's bedroom. After rummaging through the room over and over again, the two Bruces went downstairs and confirmed that the ticket was not where they thought it would be. "To think we even went through your ridiculously tacky closet for clues!" Scary groaned.

     "Um... thanks, Scary," said Patricia.

     "Maybe your mother placed it somewhere for safe keeping?" Sparkles suggested.

     Scary glared at Brayden and said, "I wouldn't be surprised if that baby ate it."

     Patricia shook her head at the accusation and ordered her friends to help with the search. After two and a half long hours of searching every room and cranny of the Winstons' neohome, the three girls plopped onto the living room rug and sighed with anguish. "Well... it looks like... my ticket... vanished..." Patricia said as she gasped for air.

     "Are you sure the Pant Devil didn't break in and take your ticket?" asked Sparkles.

     Patricia shook her head. "No, he only likes to take our copies of the Neopian Times from our doorstep."

     "Well, I'm leaving," Scary said as she got up. "There's no way I'm going to miss the concert of a lifetime just to hang out with somebody who stupidly lost her ticket."

     Sparkles got up and stretched her arms. "But we can't leave Pat all alone!" she insisted.

     "Sure we can," said Scary. "She wouldn't mind being alone while we're out having fun, right, Pat?"

     Patricia sighed and said, "Oh, okay, you two go ahead. I'll just stay here and re-read my Yes Boy Ice Cream fan manual while you guys have the time of your lives."

     "You're such a great friend," Sparkles said as she went out the front door. "We'll tell you everything that happened when we come back!"

     After saying goodbye to her friends, who were still really exhausted from their search for the misplaced ticket, Patricia sat beside Brayden and watched as the baby Shoyru made a tower with three of his building blocks.

     Oh well, I'm sure I'll be able to read all about that concert in the Neopian Times next week, Patricia thought as she played paddy-cake with Brayden. But what ever happened to my ticket will always remain a mystery...

     ***

     When the concert had ended, Patricia was pleased when Scary and Sparkles arrived at her neohome to tell her everything they saw. Hearing their descriptions of the opening acts, the multi-coloured lights, and the roaring cheers of the crowd made Patricia feel envious of her friends. "But did you guys ever find out the names of each Shoyru?" she asked Sparkles.

     "I think one was named Gary," said Sparkles. "But then again, it could have been the name of this Elephante who kept pushing towards me."

     "We also got these cool posters," Scary said as she showed Patricia her pink poster. "Supposedly the colour pink has not died down in fashion yet, but hopefully they'll understand the radiance of a much better colour, like purple."

     Sparkles shook her head. "So, what did you do all night Pat?" she wondered.

     "Oh, I just hung out at home and played with Brayden," said Patricia, trying to sound content.

     "Ah," said Sparkles. "It's still a shame that you couldn't come with us, though. I'm sure you would have loved to receive a second Yes Boy Ice Cream poster like us."

     "Yeah it's such a shame," said Scary. "But guess who's going to come next month? The Blue Kacheek Group announced that they will be performing at the plaza!! Can you believe it?"

     "They were also one of the opening acts," Sparkles pointed out. "Scary and I are going to get tickets tomorrow. Want to come?"

     Patricia shook her head. "I don't think I'd want to receive any more tickets for a while," she admitted.

     Scary shrugged her shoulders. "It's your loss."

     After saying goodbye to her friends, Patricia took Brayden upstairs and placed him in his crib. As soon as he saw his older sister close his bedroom door, Brayden reached into the pocket of his pajamas and smiled at the ripped remains of Patricia's concert ticket.

     "Tabagoo," Brayden said satisfyingly as he placed the tatter pieces of paper underneath his pillow and fell asleep, pleased that his plans had worked so well.

The End