You Can't Get Away From Omelettes

I drummed my pen on my desk, staring straight at the star-shaped stained glass window. After a few seconds I had to turn away, as the sun was almost blinding me. I then looked into the mirror on my light pink desk, but the mirror reflected the light. With extremely sore eyes, I concentrated on the papers in front of me, shifting on the bean bag chair I was sitting on. I wrote a few more lines with a flourish, straightened the papers into a pile, and tied them up with string. I carefully covered the bundle with brown paper and tied on a neat address label.

     "I hope this gets published in the Neopian Times," I thought aloud. You NT writers will understand how frustrating it is to get your story or article published.

     I stepped out into the patch of weeds my pets and I fondly called our garden. It was a fabulous sunset, sunbeams danced around the trees and houses. I hurried to the Neomail box, very aware that my pets would be home from Neoschool soon. I slipped the parcel in the red pillar box and ran like the wind back to my home. I ran so fast I wasn't looking where I was going; as a result I banged straight into a brown Uni galloping towards my door. A red notebook and ballpoint pen went flying.

     "Ow! Hi, Monty," I greeted him once I had recovered my breath. Monty was my eldest pet, he was always gentle with his siblings and very loyal to me. "How was Neoschool?" I asked. "And where's Dawn and Checkers?" Dawn was my middle pet, a smart golden Uni. Checkers was the baby of the family, bright, positive, and imaginative.

     "They'll be here soon, something about asking Dawn's friend Mist to dinner tomorrow. Neoschool was pretty average," answered Monty as he stood up.

     "That would be nice," I commented as I climbed to my feet. "I haven't seen Mist for a while,"

     Mist was a purple Lupess and a good friend of Dawn's. Before Dawn started going to Neoschool, she'd come over often to play, now she saw Dawn at Neoschool and came over infrequently, if at all. I must admit I missed her.

     We headed inside quickly, just in time to see Dawn arriving with Checkers through the window. They both rushed in and dumped their pens and notebooks on my desk.

     "Hello Pony!" greeted the two in unison. Pun unintended.

     "Hello Dawn, hi Checkers," I replied. "And please don't clutter my desk."

     "Sorry," they answered instantly. They scooped up their belongings as well as you can with hooves, and raced to their room with Monty.

     While they washed their hooves and faces, I turned my attention to our evening meal. I'm not much of a shopper, I tend to get crushed in restocks. Because of that our rations normally consisted of omelettes and jelly.

     "Hmm, only omelettes. Not much to go on," I mumbled to myself after I had hunted through my pantry for a few minutes.

     "Still, it'll have to do, even if it is the third time in a row,"

     I scooped them onto plates and placed them on the square bamboo table.

     "Dinner's ready!" I bellowed at the top of my voice.

     My pets stepped inside the room massaging their ears.

     "Ow, Pony! Do you really have to shout like that?" asked a pained looking Dawn.

     I made no reply; instead I watched Monty sample the carrot-and-pea omelette.

     "It's a bit off," he stated. The rest of us tasted it and gave the same verdict.

     "I'll got see what the neighbors have got, " I decided aloud, then stepped out into the night.

     Unfortunately, all the neighbors had was four day old green pepper omelette. I gave it a miss and we starved for the night.

     As I tucked Checkers in bed that night (he still demanded it despite the fact that Dawn said it was babyish), he asked quietly : "Can you cook, Pony?"

     "Well, sort of," I answered doubtfully.

     "Oh, Pony?" Dawn asked quietly.

     "Yes?"

     "Mist, you know, my friend, she says she's free for dinner tomorrow night. May she come?"

     "Say please."

     "May she please come?"

     "Yes, she may," I laughed. "How is she?"

     "She's fine. Is it okay if she brings Homer?"

     "Homer? Who's he?"

     "Mist's petpet, a Warf."

     I giggled, then tucked Dawn in.

     "Goodnight!"

     I switched the lamp off and left the room, shutting the door softly behind me.

     Suddenly, I had an inspiration. You know the type, the sort that you have only a few times in your lifetime. I seem to have them more often than that. This particular inspiration was to cook. After all, Dawn had mentioned that Mist was coming to dinner tomorrow! I could cook a meal for when she came over.

     I banged hard on my friend's wooden door. The lock clicked quietly and the door opened wide, almost blinding me with the light.

     "Hi Jamie!" I hugged her.

     "Hi Pony! What do you need?" she asked when I had released her.

     "Got any cookbooks?" I replied simply.

     "Sure, just a second," she answered, then disappeared. A few minutes later she returned.

     "Will this do?" she asked, passing me a copy of Krawk Pot Recipes.

     "Thanks, it'll be great!" I accepted the thick hardback book.

     "What are you planning to do with it anyway?" she asked curiously.

     "I'm going to cook dinner when Dawn's friend comes tomorrow."

     "What, you mean you're actually going to go to the shops and buy some food, then come home and cook it?" asked an incredulous Jamie.

     "Yup! Why are you so worried?"

     "Uh, need I remind you that last time you went to a restock you were in the Neopia Central Hospital for a week?"

     "See you later!" I replied, choosing to ignore her last comment. Later I regretted that choice.

     "Bye! Try not to get too bruised."

     First thing next morning, I walked down Cairn Close to the Neopia Central shops. It was the busiest I've ever seen it. Pets and owners rushed backwards and forwards, creating a dazzling rainbow of colors. The sun was shining, the Pteris were singing, and I thought my plan was going to go swimmingly. I was wrong. It went more like flailingly.

     My first stop was the National Neopian. That was also the first queue of my day. I had planned to zip in, get some Neopoints out, then dash around the main shops and buy everything I needed for the recipe I had chosen. I soon saw it wasn't going to happen that way.

     At least the bank was orderly. After I had taken some NP out of my account, gasping at how low my savings were, I attempted to buy some tomatoes at the Health Food shop. That was a mistake.

     Barely escaping with my life (okay, I'm exaggerating, but I was very bruised), I queued to look at the notice board. Queue number two. I found a mall that advertised low prices on organic foods, so I trekked over to the marketplace and visited the mall in question. Doesn't Neopia have any truth in advertising laws?

     "Do you have any organic tomatoes?" I asked in a friendly way.

     "No," replied the pink Meerca shopkeeper curtly.

     "Well, do you have any organic broccoli?"

     "Yes."

     "Well, how much is it?" I asked, feeling very frustrated.

     "2000 NP."

     "What?!" I think I must have leapt in the air with shock.

     "I said, 2000 NP," repeated the Meerca, seeming almost as frustrated as I was.

     "But the advert on the Notice Board said that you had cheap prices on organic foods!"

     "We've changed our policy since then."

     I sighed, then turned around and headed for the door, deciding to try the Shop Wizard.

     I hiked over to the marketplace, aching all over, then queued for half-an-hour to get into the big blue tent.

     The small yellow Jubjub informed me that a certain shop was selling tomatoes and other organic foods for under 200 NP each. I thanked him and trudged slowly over. After visiting that shop, I was able to return home with everything I needed (and a few bruises I didn't need).

     On the way home I stopped at a shop that had some weird colored lotion that the shopkeeper said would heal anything. It was only 330 NP, so I purchased it. Big mistake. Once I got home and tried it on my bruises, I found it only smelt funny.

     When I attempted to retrieve my money at the mall, I returned home without it and a few extra bruises. Ow.

     I laid out my purchases on the kitchen bench. And with that, I began to cook. I chopped vegetables, cracked eggs, heated peach bread, and set the table with candles and my Tombola silverware set.

     Mist, Monty, Dawn, and Checkers smiled at me over the table.

     "Mmm, something smells great!" remarked Mist in a friendly way.

     "I can't stand the suspense anymore! Please, tell us what it is!" begged Dawn.

     "Well, okay," I relented. "Anyone for vegetable omelette?"

The End