The Unlikely Hero

      Me, I don't "got it" in either category. I never do my homework. What's the point? All it'll get me is a nice certificate and maybe a chance at a job other than "Dung Cleaner" in Meri Acres Farm, but who needs a job when you're awesome at games? And then all my classmates think I'm just stupid. Maybe I am. Anyone can just take out their portable search engine, key in "Nikko" and see my intelligence is dim-witted. I don't mind, because my policy is "Never believe the yellow box." The other Neopets hang on its every word. So that's why I don't have many friends in my life.

      My life has never been much good. I was abandoned as a Red Shoyru when I was less than an hour old and adopted by my current owner. For the avatar, I guess, because he never acts like he loves me. When he finally gets his hands on a Bottled Faerie to bless me it'll be back to the pound with you, young Nikko lad.

      I think we'll both be happier when I leave. Lately he's been really strict and on my case. He's not happy with my schoolwork; I think it embarrasses him. Of course I always lie about the grades I get, but he finds out anyway at those owner-teacher conferences. Then when I come home the conversation goes something like this…

      Him: I see you received another failing grade.

      Me: *says nothing*

      Him: I expect more from you, Nikko.

      Me: *says nothing, yet again*

      Him: No allowance for you for a month.

      Me: *thinking: So what? All I get is 50 Neopoints a week anyway.*

      Him: *sighing* Go to your room.

      And I do, gladly. I love my room, with all its posters of Jeran and the comfy Fungus Ball Bean Bag. My ceiling has a painting of a field of grazing Kau on it and I like to lie and stare at it, I forget all my problems and become the incredible, heroic Kau Herder, fearlessly fighting off Dr. Sloth and his evil minions-

      "Nikko! Nikko!" the teacher cried, snapping me out of my daze.

      I looked up.

      "What is the Lab Ray?"

      I shrugged. "Dunno."

      The class snickered. My cheeks turned a bit redder. The history teacher sighed and called on Maria.

      "The Lab Ray is a machine that one can gain access to only after collecting all nine pieces of the Secret Laboratory Map. The Lab Ray has the power to change a pet's gender, species, color, or its stats," the Faerie Acara replied, her wings flapping and twinkling.

      Snob, I thought angrily. Maria thought she was the greatest thing to ever come to Neopia just because she's all rich, and she looks down on poorer, unpainted Neopets. She and her friends enjoyed teasing and insulting these Neopets (like me, for example. I was their favorite target.)

      Maria smirked at me from across the room.

      I felt sick. I knew she'd come and get me after school. I laid my head on the desk for the rest of the day.

      Rrrring! In Neoschool, everything depended on the bell. It controlled what everyone did, and now it was telling us "Go home, see you tomorrow." (Like we wanted to come back!) Anyway, I burst through the double-doors and flew straight up. I hovered over the school and suddenly I heard "GET HIM!" Obviously it was Maria and her friends, two twin Pink Pteris who were also very conceited. Maria's translucent wings glittered in the blinding sun and her big blue eyes flashed as she grinned. She was pretty, in a scary sort of way.

      "Get him!" she screeched again, and no one had to tell me now was a good time to leave. I flew low, pulling my wings right up against my body as I wove through the horde of Neopets. Behind me, I could hear Maria smashing into people. Now it was my turn to smirk, because I had finally found something I was better than her at (mainly because I was always practicing when others were doing homework.) I swerved into a dark alley after five minutes of trying to elude her and sat against the moldy brick wall, breathing heavily. I hugged my knees and buried my head in my arms.

      Suddenly I heard a shuffling noise behind me. I turned. Just a scruffy Yullie. They were everywhere. Then I heard another noise, one that sounded like someone had tripped over a trash can. I stood up. "Who's there?" My voice trembled. A dark shape emerged from the shadows.

      My first thought was, Oh no, Doctor Sloth's come to recruit me! Then I thought, No way, stop being so stupid, Nikko. Like Doctor Sloth hangs out in alleyways! My heart still felt like it was going to pop out of my mouth! But then I realized I recognized the figure, a Striped Lupe from my history class. A good guy. He hadn't laughed at me when I hadn't known the answer.

      "It's just Greg," the Lupe said. When I didn't say anything, he said, "Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

      "No," I replied.

      "Doesn't matter. I know it anyway. So hah. Nikko." Greg smiled. "I was just wondering if you wanted to come to my house to study for that big test we have the day after tomorrow."

      "No," I said, backing away. "You don't want to be friends with me."

      "Yeah, I do," he said calmly. He was obviously very confident.

      "YOU DON'T! GET IT? I'M TOO STUPID AND I HAVE THE PERSONALITY OF A PILE OF DUNG!" I screamed. There. I had said it, and saying it meant I was accepting it. I started to cry.

      I took to the sky, leaving the Lupe to watch me vanish behind the buildings.

      I went straight to my room once I got home, ignoring my owner's calls of "Walk, don't fly!" and then his sighs and mutters of "Why me?" I slammed the door shut behind me, pulled out my book, and sat down on my bean bag chair to study. Something I had never used the bean bag for.

      The thing was, I had totally forgotten about the test, and normally that would be like "No big deal, who cares?" But this was like the big whammy, the ruler of all exams, and one more failing grade and my owner threatened to ground me for a long time, and that meant no more flying, and I don't think I could take that.

      So I tried to study, I tried to focus, but it wasn't my fault that my thoughts kept slipping away to Greg! I mean, why would he want to be my friend? He was too nice, and, like I said before, I was too- Tears filled my eyes and I couldn't bring myself to say the dreaded word- "stupid." Diverting my thoughts from that sensitive area, I thought, If I were him, I wouldn't give a pile of dung to be friends with me!

      I shook my head to try and focus again. But I couldn't concentrate on the section we had to read, titled Neopia's Economy, and I couldn't take in all the numbers that dotted the page. I gave up, threw my textbook at the wall in frustration, slipped under my covers and went to sleep.

      I dreaded going to school. I dreaded seeing Greg's face, his kind brown eyes. He'd ask me to go to his house again, and I'd make a scene and it wouldn't help my popularity, which was already lower than that of a pile of dung. (You might've noticed I love the words "pile of dung," they're useful for describing a lot of things in my life.) But there was no avoiding it.

      Wouldn't you know it, Greg was waiting right on the steps for me.

      "Nikko," he said, grabbing my wing as I tried walking right by.

      I slipped my wing from his grip. I hated it when people pulled on them. "What?" I demanded.

      "You have to come study with me. No offense, but without me, you'll fail. And your owner won't be happy," he said gently, looking into my eyes.

      I looked at him with hard eyes. He got As. I got Fs. He was right. I had no choice. And with him helping, I had a good chance of scoring high, although I hated to admit it.

      "Fine. I'll meet you here after school," I said flatly, not at all happy.

      Greg grinned as he disappeared into the crowd.

      Why is it that whenever you're looking forward to something, the hands on the Techo Clock move achingly slow, and vice versa? Well, time zoomed by and before I knew it, I was walking to Greg's house. I didn't say anything, but Greg, he couldn't keep his mouth shut! I mean, it was really annoying! Thankfully his Neohome wasn't far away.

      "Here we are," Greg announced.

      I gazed at the three-story Neohome in front of me with wonder. It was much bigger than my house. The lawn was beautifully decorated, with a Tropical Delight Pond that made me want to go and drink the sweet smelling liquid in it.

      "Come on." Greg grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the well-kept garden.

      He threw open the door. "Mom, I'm home!" he yelled. Then he stepped in the foyer.

      I'm like, Oh great Fyora! The foyer was very, very grand. A long, marble spiral staircase extended up to the third floor. Detailed paintings that looked very expensive hung on the walls. A life size model of the Brain Tree grew in the center of the room, and I walked over it to knock my hand on it. I nearly had a heart attack when one of its eyes creaked open and it winked at me.

      Greg laughed. "Oh, look, here's my owner now. Her name is Mel." He hugged her owner, who had long, curly blonde hair and was wearing a flowing silk dress.

      "Hi, Greg. And this must be your friend, Nikko!" She pulled me into a hug. She smelled nice. I had never been hugged before, and it felt really good, to my surprise. "You two have fun!" She smiled a perfect smile, all of her pearly teeth showing.

      Greg grabbed my hand. "My room's on the second floor." He started running up the staircase, but I wrenched my hand free, flapped my wings and flew up. Greg laughed and watched me. Haha, I thought.

      We went in Greg's room. As he started getting out his books, I looked at his room. He obviously adored Neggs, and ones of different shapes and colors adorned the shelves hanging on all four walls of his room. That collection must have cost a fortune, I thought. This guy must be loaded!

      Greg saw my astonished look and blushed. "Let's get started," he suggested.

     So we quizzed each other and quizzed each other, on the Stockmarket and other things about the economy. After two hours, we laid down our books because Greg said we deserved a break.

      I grinned; I was in a great mood. Greg seemed to like me, and I thought I had done well on the quizzes. We would ace the test, I was sure of it. Anyway, we were sitting around, talking, when we heard the large oak doors pull open.

      "My sister. Have to say hi or my owner gets mad. You know how owners are." He rolled his eyes and ran downstairs.

      I tapped my foot impatiently. After a while I decided I couldn't take it anymore and I crept to the gold banister. I poked my head through the rail and looked down. I could see partly into the dining room, where Greg and his owner were sitting at a table.

      "Mom, can I go now?" Greg whined. "Nikko is waiting!"

      "Wait until your sister is done."

      With a grumble, Greg folded his arms and looked to the other end of the table, which I couldn't see because it was behind a wall. Another voice started speaking. It sounded very familiar.

      "And then the teacher told me I was her best and favorite student and she gave me a candy," the voice finished in a snotty voice that sounded oddly familiar from somewhere, but I couldn't quite place it.

      "Congratulations, honey!" the owner cried.

     "Oh rapture. Now can I leave?" Greg asked.

     "Sure. You two run along and play."

     Greg was the first out of the dining room. I struggled to pull my head out of the banister before he saw me. Oh Fyora. My head was too big. Why me? Suddenly Greg's sister walked (or strutted, I should say) from the kitchen. I gasped sharply.

     It was Maria.

     With great effort that originated from anger, I wrenched my head from between the bars, ignoring the pain. I tucked my wings low and whizzed out the door. "Wait!" I heard Greg shout. But I didn't.

     Tears of anger trickled down my face and hardened as the cold, thin air chilled them. I flew higher and higher, until I could practically see all of Neopia. Greg had tricked me! He was probably just like his sister. He wanted to lull me into a false sense of security so I told him my secrets and then he could spread them around like Maria! What a fool I had been to fall for his scam. I should have known not to trust anyone but myself.

     My anger gave way to sadness as I flew through my open window and flopped on my bed. I went to sleep, the only escape from such hurt.

     I woke up early the next morning, feeling refreshed, and, well, knowledgeable. As much as I hated to admit it, Greg's studying had helped me a lot. Greg. A sliver of pain cut my heart, but I tried to ignore it. I plastered a fake smile on my face, grabbed my lunch bag, said goodbye to my owner, and flew out the door.

     By the time I reached school, I was a wreck. My stomach was tossing and turning as I waited in anxiety for the gigantic test. Right now, it mattered more to me if I passed the test than if Mystery Island sunk. Worst of all, the exam would be taken in the first class of the day!

     The bell rang. I took a deep breath and walked inside my classroom. I sat at my desk, the one near the window, and closed my eyes as the teacher gave the instructions. You know, the usual, "Don't open this test until told to do so, Snotty Pens are not allowed because they will smudge your paper…" I didn't hear any of it. I was too busy trying to avoid a look from Greg. Right now I couldn't bear to see his face. I was too freaked.

     The teacher started passing out the thick packets. My stomach contracted.

     "1… 2… 3… Begin."

     I picked up my pencil and started working.

     Two days later, the teacher said to us, "You will now receive the results of the test. Most did very well, but there were some exceptions."

     My heart sank. "There were some exceptions" was the teacher's way of saying "Nikko, you failed."

     She walked around the room, passing out our answer sheets. I bit my pencil nervously. She laid a paper on my desk. I took a deep breath and willed myself to pry open my eyes and take a look. The wind was knocked out of me when I saw my grade.

     A.

     "Hey, Greg," I said quietly. I was standing at the front of the school that afternoon, in the shade of the tall Zeenana tree.

     Greg looked at me. His face was expressionless, but I could see he was expecting an apology or something by looking deep into his eyes.

     I pulled my hands from behind me. In them sat a Negg. A regular one. All I could afford. "I know you have it in your collection already but… It's the thought that counts." I took a deep breath. "Look… I'm really sorry about… what happened at your house," I said, blushing. "Just because Maria is your sister doesn't mean you're bad."

     He was silent for a moment. "I hate her too, you know," he finally said.

     I felt like a fool. "Anyway, I passed my test," I continued. "I know you did, because you always get straight As-"

     Greg stared at me.

     "Er, thanks. My owner will be very happy," I said. (And I was right, as I later found out. He was so proud he decided to keep me.) "Friends?" I extended my hand.

     He broke into a grin. "Sure." He shook my hand.

     I smiled back. No longer would I be known as Nikko the Stupid, for my intelligence had gone up after taking the test. I'd be known as Nikko the Great, Hero and Defender of Neopia.

     Yeah right.

The End

Author's Note: Lol, different writing style... :P Comments?