One for the Plushies

      Zezzer held one of his paws out and pushed open the door. The shopkeeper looked up. "May I help you?" she asked, amused.

      "Erm," Zezzer stammered, "I'd like to buy a plushie."

      "Certainly," said the shopkeeper, "follow me."

      Zezzer first made sure that all his neopoints were safe in his MSPP back pack. Following the shopkeeper, he zipped his back pack up. "Here we are," the shopkeeper nudged Zezzer. He looked up and gasped. There were shelves and shelves of colorful plushies.

      "Wow," whispered Zezzer.

      The shopkeeper smiled. "Yes, it is rather amazing, isn't it?"

      Zezzer walked toward a Checkered Kiko Plushie. "How much is this?" he asked.

      "1,363 neopoints."

      Zezzer opened up his MSPP back pack. He carefully took out the sack of neopoints. Opening it, he carefully started counting the gold coins.

      He had 1,600 neopoints saved in his little brown sack.

      "I'll buy the Checkered Kiko Plushie," Zezzer replied after counting all of his money.

      "But I'd like to ask if you had any plushie that sells for 237 neopoints? Or perhaps a bit less than that; I'd like to stop by the Chocolate Factory after to get a small treat."

      "I don't think we do," the shopkeeper mumbled. "But," she started, "I think that you should save up your neopoints so that you can buy something truly marvellous."

      "Ok," said Zezzer happily. "I'd like to add a special plushie into my collection. I just hope I can manage to keep my neopoints in my sack and not into the paws of other shopkeepers!"

      "You do know that you can haggle with the shopkeepers to bring the price down, right? That way you can save a little money."

      "Wow! I never knew that. Let's see, I'll offer 1,300 neopoints for the plushie? Is that enough?"

      "It is," the shopkeeper replied, putting the small Checkered Kiko Plushie into a small Toy Shop bag. Handing the bag over to Zezzer, she said, "I hope you'll enjoy your plushie. Remember to come back on Half Price Day! You can buy all the plushies you'd like for half the price!"

      "I will," called Zezzer, taking the bag. He was halfway out the door when he knew what plushie he'd like to buy when he saved up. "A Starry Lupe Plushie," he whispered to himself.

      Zezzer opened his bag and took the small plushie out. He held it in his paws and hugged it. "You'll be safe with me, little plushie," he muttered to it.

      Putting the plushie in the bag, Zezzer walked over to the National Neopian Bank to see how much money he had in his account.

      He opened the door and looked around. It was deserted except for a Meerca sitting in one of the armchairs, snoring. "Hello?" said Zezzer uncertainly.

      A shadow came out of the back door. Zezzer moved backwards, one of his paws on the doorknob, ready to open if the shadow was an intruder.

      "I'm not dangerous." The shadow stepped into the dim light. "I'm the banker."

      Zezzer saw that it was the Skeith banker, but in poor condition. His tie and suit had mismatched patches all over. His briefcase was nearly in pieces.

      "Yes, how may I help you, sir?" the banker asked. He put his briefcase on the bank counter and stepped behind it. "Name?"

      "Zezzer."

      "Sir, your bank account contains," the banker paused, "15,934 neopoints."

      "Ok," said Zezzer. He unzipped his backpack again and took out the familiar brown sack. "I'd like to deposit this into my account. It contains 300 neopoints."

      "Very well," the banker replied. "Your account now contains 16,234 neopoints. Would you like to withdraw any neopoints, sir?"

      "No thank you. Wait a moment," Zezzer paused. He remembered the shopkeeper's remark about Half Price Day. "Sir, do you know what day Half Price Day is on?"

      "I certainly do. It's the third of every month."

      "What day is today?"

      "The second day of Hiding."

      "I'd like to withdraw 3000 neopoints, please."

      "Very well. Here you go." The banker took Zezzer's sack from the counter and piled some coins in it.

      Zezzer muttered a happy thank you and ran out of the bank. He ran to the entrance of the Neolodge. He found the door to the stairs and opened it. He ran up the three flights of stairs. When Zezzer arrived on floor three, he quickly took out his room key and stuck it in the keyhole of his door. He opened the door and slammed it, putting the precious sack of neopoints on his dresser. He settled into an armchair and took out his Checkered Kiko Plushie. "Soon, you'll have a nice Starry Lupe Plushie to play with," he whispered to it. Zezzer fell asleep.

      Zezzer woke up to find the sun shining in his eyes. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. He placed the Checkered Kiko Plushie in the bag to keep it safe. Almost running to the bathroom, Zezzer brushed his teeth quickly. Wiping his mouth with a towel, he ran to his dresser and grabbed the sack of neopoints and a chocolate bar.

      Munching on the chocolate bar, Zezzer ran down the stairs as quickly as he could. Panting, he threw open the door and ran out of the hotel's front door. He rushed for the Bazaar.

      Zezzer quickly threw the candy bar wrapper into a nearby trash can and opened the Toy Shop's door. It was deserted. He rang the bell on the counter until the Lupe shouted, "All right, all right, I'm here!"

      She came out of the back door, her paws full of toys. "Hello there, young Lupe," she started, "I see you've discovered Half Price Day! How may I help you?"

      "Erm, do you happen to have a Starry Lupe Plushie in stock? Today's Half Price Day so it should sell for around 1,684 neopoints!"

      "My, my, you sure did your work! Yes, we do have a Starry Lupe Plushie in stock. Yes, I'll sell it to you for 1,684 neopoints unless you'd like to haggle."

      "No, that's fine." Zezzer opened his sack and counted out 1,684 neopoints. "Here you go," he said to the shopkeeper.

      The shopkeeper was taking out the most extraordinary plushie under the glass. It was Zezzer's Starry Lupe Plushie. "Since you're the first one to buy something on Half Price Day, you get a special bag." The shopkeeper took out several bags. "Which one would you like?"

      Zezzer quickly looked at the bags quickly, searching for the right one. He found the bag of his own. "I'd like that bag, please," pointing to the last bag.

      "Ah, I had a feeling you'd pick that." She placed the other bags on the counter, and opening the bag, she placed the little Starry Lupe Plushie in the Starry Lupe Plushie bag.

      Zezzer happily took the bag from the shopkeeper. "Thank you so much!" Running out of the door, the shopkeeper smiled. "Little does he know about that little plushie."

      Zezzer soon found out. Back in his hotel room, he played with it. He fell to the floor. He crawled slowly to his dresser and managed to get up and look at himself in the mirror. He wasn't a Green Lupe anymore. Zezzer saw a Starry Lupe looking back at him. "It was a magical plushie!" he whispered with much excitement in his voice.

The End

Thank you altbass for giving me the idea for the story!