It Pays to Be a Pteri

     It was even warmer than she thought, which was perfect for a Pteri like herself. Keliza had refused to stick even a feather out the window because of the pouring rain all week. Why on earth would anyone want to have their preening go to waste? Keliza held her envelope of neopoints very tightly between her toes, ran clumsily a little bit, and began flying down the path to the main Neopia Central Shops. The wind felt great, and her wings hadn't gotten this much exercise in a while. Keliza could already see the Main Shops and the top of the Neolodge and Auction House in the distance. There were other Pteris flying around, and she thought she could also see some Eyries.

      As Keliza came closer to the Shops she could see a long line of Neopets at the Rainbow Pool all with a paintbrush in hand (or wing) waiting to be painted. Keliza remembered how excited she was when she got her brown paint brush from the Trading Post. Another look at the Rainbow Pool and Keliza saw a ROYAL Quiggle in line! How on earth could someone want to be painted again after getting the Royal treatment, Keliza wanted to know. Some people were just unappreciative that way. Not Keliza though. No way. Keliza decided that her first stop would be the Money Tree. She had been here many times before, but always to try and snatch something before other Neopets did. She decided that she would donate today. Keliza counted out 800 neopoints and placed them at the base of the tree. She saw a peasant Kacheek draped in rags make a grab for them, but he was pushed by one of the meanest, ugliest, and most ignorant Skeiths that Keliza had ever seen.

      "Move aside there, Kacheeky! Me a Skeith. We pwn. You don't. Goodbye."

     He snatched the points that Keliza had placed there as the poor Kacheek wiped the extra dirt off of his clothes.

      "Hey! You NEVER push someone down like that! Apologize!!"

     Keliza knew instantly that she probably should have just let the Skeith go as soon as he turned around to face her. He walked over and came within an inch of her face. His breath was warm and reeked of metal.

      "You got a problem, wittle Pteri?"

      "No, I just thought that it was ignorant of you to push someone down like that! That Kacheek is less than half your size and can't you see he is poor? He could use those neopoints to buy some food or something!! And please learn to talk properly. The last time I read The Neopian Encyclopedia Volume U-Z, 'wittle' was not a word, and your breath is stinky. Might I suggest some toothpaste? Or should I say 'toofpaste' because you can't talk properly?"

     The Kacheek placed his hand over his mouth. He obviously couldn't believe how brave Keliza was being. Keliza herself couldn't believe her nerve. This Skeith didn't look very smart though. He was looking at her with a "HUH, what did you say?" kind of look on his mean face.

      "Well, wittle Pteri, I called you wittle because you are wittle. You Pteris are annoying. You always strut around pretending to be better than everyone. Um…also, what difference does it make who gets the neopoints? I got here first! The runt over here (he jerked his head toward the Kacheek who was still on the ground) got here after me. What's your answer to that? HUH?"

      People were starting to stare now. Some Usuls with lollypops ready to donate were just standing gaping at Keliza, and a family of all green Blumaroos was looking concerned.

      "My answer to that…" said Keliza, coming up to her full height, "…is you're mean! Pteris do not strut. Nor do they pretend to be 'better' than everyone! The point is this Kacheek would have gotten to the neopoints first had you not pushed him. He is lucky he didn't get hurt. Apologize and give him his points!!"

      "THESE ARE MY NEOPOINTS!" The Skeith was actually yelling right now and a Scorchio from the crowd ran up in case he lunged at Keliza.

      "I GOT THE POINTS FIRST; THEY'RE MINE, THE RUNT LOST-THE END. WHAT ARE YOU MAKING SUCH A BIG DEAL FOR? THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF DONATIONS TO THE MONEY TREE ALL OF THE TIME. HE CAN JUST GRAB SOMEONE ELSE'S!"

      "I did actually know that there are a lot of donations, but you pushed him. Apologize."

      "I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE. I'M LEAVING. I'M GOING TO THE BAZAAR TO BUY SOME HOT DOGS FROM THAT MYNCI GUY."

      "His name is Hubert. I won't let you go until you apologize. I-"

     Before Keliza could finish, the Skeith lazily walked away followed by a yellow Moehog carrying a basket.

      Keliza hadn't noticed the Moehog in the crowd. It looked like he was following the Skeith almost as if he were a servant. Keliza was appalled.

      Keliza opened her mouth to call after the Skeith but the Kacheek finally spoke.

      "It's okay. I'm used to getting picked on by Skeiths and Grarrls. It doesn't matter. I was just hoping to buy something today. You are a nice Pteri. No one has every stuck up for me like that."

     The crowd was calmer now. The Usuls placed their lollipops at the base of the tree and the Blumaroo family had gone. Keliza was stunned by how squeaky the Kacheek's voice was and how he trembled as if he were cold on this eighty degree day.

      "It was no problem sticking up for you. I just don't like how Skeiths are sometimes. One time a Skeith in Mystery Island tried to sell me half a coconut shell for 10,000 neopoints, I-"

      Keliza stopped because the Kacheek's eyes had gotten very wide.

      "I've never had that many neopoints before," he said.

      "I'm sorry that neopoints are hard to come by for you. That is another reason I stuck up for you. You deserve the points much better than that Skeith did. I'm Keliza, by the way. What is your name?"

      "I'm Tom."

      "That is a nice name. It is a lot more normal than my name. A lot of people have trouble pronouncing it. It has an 'E' sounding 'I'."

      The Kacheek just blinked up at her. Keliza felt bad for him. He didn't seem like he was happy at all.

      "Tom, would you like to go to the Plaza or something?" she asked.

      "Yes. That would be really nice."

     Keliza and Tom walked together down the street toward the Plaza. Keliza waved happily to the Usuls who she saw at the Money Tree. They were in between the Post Office and the Pharmacy when Keliza saw a large, gleaming Pteri in the sky. It was the Golden Pteri! He was one of the most well-liked Pteris in all of Neopia because of his kind habit of dropping neopoints to well-deserving Pteris below.

      Keliza became more excited by the second as he flew directly toward her and Tom. He had a bag full of neopoints that he dropped looking down right at her. Keliza stretched out her wings just as she heard thumping in the distance. She closed her eyes, for she somehow knew that it was the Skeith that she had made Neofriends with earlier.

      "ME WANT MONEY!" he bellowed obnoxiously. He made a grab for the neopoints, and Keliza sighed in frustration. Could he possibly get even more neopoints today? But as she looked at the Skeith she saw that for some reason he couldn't get a grip on the bag of points. He threw his hands up and jumped up lazily trying to get a hold of them, but for some reason his hands just clenched thin air.

      Keliza knew why! He was a Skeith. Only Pteris could catch neopoints from the Golden Pteri. With as much courage as she had, Keliza flew right over the Skeith's head, and grabbed the points with her feet. The Skeith gave another one of his "HUH?" looks and made an angry gesture toward Keliza trying to grab at her. Suddenly, the Golden Pteri swooped down cawing and squawking to distract the Skeith. Giving yet another one of his "HUH?" looks, the Skeith followed the Golden Pteri now, mysteriously missing his maize colored tail feathers.

      This gave enough time for Keliza to escape. She flew down and picked Tom up by his shirt and with one foot grabbing the neopoints, and the other holding Tom, she took off in the opposite direction.

      Keliza landed when she knew the Skeith was far away. He was just too lazy to follow them. They were in the Bazaar near the Health Food Shop.

      "That was cool," said Tom, and he was actually smiling right now.

      "I'm glad you enjoyed it," said Keliza, and she smiled back. She knew how to make Tom even happier.

      "I want you to keep these neopoints."

      Tom's face broke into an even bigger grin, and he hugged Keliza.

      "Thank you, Keliza!! I don't know what to buy first! You are such a nice Pteri. I want to be friends."

      "We can Neomail each other when we have the time. Speaking of time, though, my siblings are probably wondering where I am. The sun is setting."

      "That's okay, I need to go home now anyway, but first, I think I'll have a hot dog from Hubert's," said Tom.

      Keliza waved goodbye to Tom, and took off again toward her Neohome on Guild Street. She knew that her siblings were going to wonder why she didn't come home with any of the plushies or stamps that she said that she was going to buy, but she knew that they would love the story that she was going to tell them. Some Neopets were strong like Elephantes. Some Neopets were brave like Lupes. Some Neopets could swim like Quiggles. Usuls and Xweetoks could make wonderful tree Neohomes. Pteris were special, though. There were masters of flying (especially on the Championships on the 8th Day of the Month of Storing). Pteris were also very smart and masters of making Lavaberry leaf nests. Pteris could also navigate well when it was time to migrate to Mystery Island or Tyrannia for the holidays. And no one could make better Apple or Worm recipes quite like a Pteri. And of course, as Keliza had proven, you can get neopoints randomly given to you from the Golden Pteri. It pays to be a Pteri!

The End