A Gangee is my Best Friend

     Ina glared at me and shook her head. "For the last time, no! You're not getting a Petpet until your next birthday. No more about this, okay?"

     I huffed and looked away from her. My birthday was in five months. How could I possibly wait that long?

     Ina looked away too. For a moment, I thought I saw a look of sorrow in her eyes. I knew why.

     Just last week, we had moved from our lovely home in Neopia Central to a rather rickety and falling apart house in the Haunted Woods. Ina thought it would be nice to live somewhere else since her, my little brother, Jared, and I had lived there for seven years.

     But when she met a few other pets and went to a few shops, she had decided that she didn't like it here after all.

     I've never wanted to move. Everything in Neopia Central was a dream, and of all the years I've been there, I've made lots of friends. The shops were wonderful, and I've even made friends with the Toy Shop shopkeeper, but this...

     The Haunted Woods is creepy, of course. Sometimes I like the silence, but in a while, it seems really scary. The pets around here aren't very friendly, and my school is beyond creepy. Everyone there is either a ghost pet, or a Halloween one. I mean, I really stand out from the crowd, me, an innocent faerie Cybunny!

     "Lina, can you hold the bags for me?" Ina asked, the grim frown still plastered on her face. "I need to carry the lamp." She held up a very spooky Meepit Lamp in her hands and trotted inside the house.

     I stared down inside the bags. Yuck! Spooky food! A single eyeball stared up at me blankly. I shuddered and walked into the old, falling apart house. Very creepy and smelly.

     Setting them down at the table, I thought about school. I needed a friend. Just one. It didn't matter to me what kind, just as long as they were nice and friendly, and didn't care what I looked like.

     That's when I thought about Petpets. Oh, how I wanted one so! Jared had one, how come I couldn't have one? Besides, I'm older than him!

     My brother, a skunk Bori, is spoiled. He's had that spunky little Gallion of his since he was born! Oh, how that bothered me!

     I've always dreamed of having a Faellie, or a Harris. Something that fitted my color, the way I looked.

     "Yeah!"

     I turned around and saw Jared streak in, holding a stick of meat in his right paw. Buster, his Gallion, tried desperately to snatch the meat.

     I rolled my eyes. "Jared, quit teasing Buster." But my brother simply ignored me, as usual, and bolted to a dump of a living room.

     I glared at his direction and sighed. Boy, did I really want a Petpet!

     "Lina," I whirled around and saw Ina at the kitchen door, looking tired. "It's time for dinner. What do you want to eat tonight?"

     I thought about all the spooky food she had bought today. None of them I liked. I wanted something from the Food Shop in Neopia Central, but I knew she didn't have any at the moment. "Not hungry," I mumbled, barely looking up. After saying this, I turned around and flew upstairs, into my room, and slammed the door.

      * * * * *

     I stared out the window, feeling miserable. It was 11:30 P.M., but I wasn't feeling the least bit sleepy.

     I sat up and rubbed my eyes. My room was familiar, I was glad about. All my plushies were there, my Snorkle Beanbag, my posters, my bed...

     My stomach roared. I didn't eat, and I was starving. Ina and Jared had already fallen asleep, so I quietly slipped out of bed and opened the door just enough for me to squeeze through.

     I heard Jared snoring loudly in the next room. Trying not to giggle, I quickly crept past his room and was about to pass by Ina's when I realized something.

     I had wings, right? I could fly and not walk out of place! Silly me.

     Flying as silent as a whisper, I finally managed to land softly in the kitchen, the cold floor piercing my feet.

     I was about to open one of the cabinets when I sound made me stop. A fast, scratching sound. My eyes slowly turned to the front door, which was locked for the night.

     My mind went wild. Who was there anyway? A chill shot up my spine, and I suddenly felt numb. We were in the Haunted Woods. Anything scary and frightening could attack us at our home.

     The scratching grew rapid. In fact, it got so loud that Jared or Ina could have easily awakened! Not wanting that to happen, I started toward the door, but stopped. What if whatever was outside would hurt me? Or steal something in the house, or kidnap me?

     I shuddered. But the scratching got so loud, that I forced myself to look outside the window near the door.

     Paws trembling and knees like jelly, I slowly moved the curtains and peered out. What I saw made me gasp.

     Huh?

     What was it? It looked really unfamiliar. I thought for sure that it was a Petpet, because it was small. It had long ears, very, very large black eyes, and fur that was pink, like a Meepit's. It was scratching at the door. I could even hear it whimpering.

     "What?" I shook my head and looked out the window again. It was still there.

     Was I dreaming? But it was there. It wasn't a dream. It was real.

     The little creature turned its head and stared at me with large, sad eyes. It seemed lost, or abandoned. I began to feel pity for it. It sure didn't look like it would cause any harm. I could probably let it in and take care of it for a while, then release it when it was healthy or ready to go out again.

     But what about Ina? If she found out, I would be in huge trouble, and be watched for the rest of my life!

     But my kind heart won over, and I reluctantly let the creature in.

      * * * * *

     My eyes shot open. It was a cold, gloomy day. Common weather for the Haunted Woods.

     Yawning hugely, I suddenly remembered the creature. Last night, I had given the little guy a little bit of Buster's food, and then let him sleep on my bed. But where was he?

     I stared at the empty spot where he had been before. Where could he have gone?

     What if Ina had discovered...

     I threw off my blanket and streaked out the door. Heart pounding, I arrived at Ina's bedroom door, seeing that it was open a crack. The little creature could have easily gone through there!

     I opened the door and burst inside. What I saw made me cry out in embarrassment.

     The creature was on Ina's bed, chewing on the corner of the blanket!

     I went over, yanked the blanket out of his mouth and nearly cried when I saw that it was already in shreds.

     I glanced fearfully at Ina, who had opened her eyes. "Huh?" She straightened up, saw the creature, and screamed. "WHAT IS THAT THING?!"

     I grabbed the creature and hugged him against my chest. "It's a Petpet! He was scratching at the front door last night, and I let him in."

     Ina glared at me. "How many times do I have to tell you? No Petpets until your birthday!" She stared at the creature, which was now trembling with fear at the sound of Ina's angry voice. "Is it a boy, or a girl?"

     "A boy," I answered.

     "Hey, cool! Is that a Gangee?"

     Ina and I both looked back and saw Jared standing at the door, smiling. "A Gangee! Wow, those are cool Petpets!" He ran over and grinned.

     "Excuse me?" I looked down at the creature. "Did you say a Gangee, Jared?"

     He nodded. "Yeah. Didn't you hear? They just discovered a new Petpet three days ago. Wow, you've got a rare one there, sis!"

     Ina looked at me questionably. "Lina..."

     I bit my lip. "Yeah, I know. You don't want me to keep him."

     She shook her head. My heart beat faster. Did she finally decide that I could have a Petpet?

     "I'm not saying that you can keep him officially, but I'll let you keep him for three days and see how that turns out. Then, I will decide if you can keep him or not." She raised her eyebrows. "Okay?"

     A warm smile spread across my face. "Yeah! Sure!"

     So, for two whole days, I've played with that little Gangee for hours, chasing him around the yard after school, constantly giving him treats so that he wouldn't chew the furniture, and letting him sleep on my belly at night. He was a dream Petpet, and I couldn't resist those large, black eyes. Later, I gave him a name, Nippy, because he loved to chew things, especially Ina's slippers!

     But on the third day, I decided to take a quick walk in the woods, not too far away from home, after tackling a hard set of homework. Nippy wanted to go with me, so I let him.

     "Be safe!" I heard Ina call after I bounced down the steps.

     I barely even heard her. I was already in the woods. Nippy stuck by my side the whole way, being protective of me when he heard even a small sound.

     "Nippy, please, just relax." I laughed.

     When he didn't answer with his usual chatter, I looked down and felt panic fill my heart.

     Nippy was gone!

     "Nippy? Nippy! Where are you?"

     I heard a familiar reply. Tense muscles relaxing, I saw that he was just several feet away from me. He seemed to be very alert.

     "Nippy! Oh, you scared me!" I rushed over to his side and picked him up. "What's gotten into you? You always stuck with me and never ran away..."

     Nippy stared at me with his large, black eyes. He pointed to a long row of bushes and chattered anxiously. "What?" I asked impatiently.

     He chattered urgently and pointed again. That's when I saw.

     One by one, the bushes moved.

     Nippy continued to chatter loudly. I continued to watch when a small head popped out from one of the bushes, followed by tons more.

     "Oh..." I stared in awe. They were all Gangees! A whole family of them! Were they Nippy's family?

     Nippy hopped out from my grasp and looked at me longingly. "This...this is your family, huh Nippy?" I whispered. Nippy nodded and went over to them. Instantly, the whole place was filled with the sounds of chattering.

     I felt tears sting my eyes. Is this the end of me ever having a Petpet?

     I went over to Nippy. The chattering stopped. The place grew quiet. Nippy hugged my legs. "It's time to say good-bye?" Tears started pouring out my eyes now. "No, please, I can't let you go! You're the only best friend I have here!"

     Nippy continued to hug my legs and stared lovingly at me. "I can't leave you," I sobbed, wiping the tears from my eyes.

     He chattered and pointed to his family. I understood now. He had a family too. A family to look after. I tried to think of me put in his place. What if I was taken away from my family?

     Suddenly, a large Gangee stepped out. He looked almost exactly like Nippy, but had ears that were in worse shape; the ends were torn.

     The Gangee stopped, glanced at me, and then chattered to Nippy. Nippy chattered back, as if discussing something.

     After a few minutes, Nippy finally turned to me and chattered something. I blinked in confusion.

     Nippy chattered again. "You want me to visit you?" I guessed, eyes wide. Nippy nodded and hugged my legs again. I knew that was it.

     I felt happy all over again. I would visit Nippy every day after school. No problem!

     "But how can I tell you apart from the others?" I glanced at the sea of pink Gangees. "They all look the same!"

     Nippy squeaked and showed me one of his ears. There was a mark. A mark that looked like a star.

     I grinned and hugged him. "Yeah, I'll look for you! I'll know exactly which one is you!" I was overflowing with happiness.

     It was perfect! Nippy was my best friend.

     Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

The End