Why Lily

      “Miley!” Shevi called to her owner. “Are the clocks busted?”

     Miley appeared in the doorway with a box of pizza in her hand. “No, they’re not broken,” Miley told her understandingly. “What do you say to sharing some pizza while we wait?”

     Shevi lunged for a piece and shoved it into her mouth. Miley and Shevi looked at each other and burst out laughing. They hugged and played Yes Boy Ice-Cream songs on Shevi’s guitar for the rest of the night. That was what life was like before Lily came.

     The next morning Shevi awoke to find a pot of hot cocoa on her bedside table. She poured herself a cup and saw a note next to the pot. It said, “Going out to town. Love, Miley.” The note was written in curvy letters with the i’s dotted with hearts. Shevi drank the rest of the delicious hot cocoa and spent a while watching the clock and playing her guitar.

     About two hours later Shevi heard the kitchen door open. “SHEVI!” she heard Miley call. “I”M HOME!!!!”

     Shevi raced down the stairs, bursting to tell Miley that she had found the exact number of hours, minutes, and seconds until the concert. She heard Miley talking to someone and said, “That’s odd.” Actually she only had a chance to say, “That’s o...” before she stopped short. There, in front of her beloved owner, was a young yellow Lupe.

     Miley saw her and smiled at what she thought was a look of excitement. “Shevi,” she said, gesturing at the Lupe, “this is your new sister!”

     Shevi could not believe her eyes or ears. She heard herself saying a weak “Hi” to the stranger. “Miley has to be joking,” she thought.

     “Hi!” the newcomer said cheerfully, “I’m Lily Autumn. You must be Shevi; I’m so happy to meet you!”

     “Wish I could say the same,” Shevi muttered. Lily just continued to smile and look curiously at everything. Miley, however, had heard Shevi and had a worried and stressed look on her face.

     “Lily, could you excuse us for a sec?” Miley asked, biting her lip and twisting her hair with her fingers. Lily nodded and Miley went with Shevi to a corner.

     “How could you?!” Shevi started on Miley. “Why is she here? Why Lily?”

     Miley stared at Shevi. “Look, when I went out today, I met her and she was just so sweet. I thought you would be happy to have a little sister,” she said with frustration in her voice. “I told her all about you and she listened, commenting on how cool she thought you were. Just give her a chance, okay?”

     Shevi nodded but didn’t mean it. How could she give a chance to someone who was invading her and Miley’s relationship? She walked back over to where Miley and Lily were.

     “Let me show you to your room,” Miley said to Lily. Luckily Lily wasn’t going to be sharing a room with Shevi.

     After being shown her room, Miley decided that they should go shopping in Neopia Central.

     “Oooh, this is so awesome!” Lily said about almost everything she saw. Shevi soon learned that that was how Lily was. She was sweet and nice but Shevi saw none of that. She only saw her as a “Miley-Stealer”.

     “Oooh! Let’s head over to the Plushie Shop and get you some plushies!” Miley said to Lily. “Do you want any, Shev?”

     “No, I don’t want any plushies,” Shevi said gloomily, although she really did want some. They headed in and Lily came out with LOADS of adorable plushies. Miley called them “Welcoming gifts” but Shevi saw them as “I-like-you-better-than-Shevi gifts”.

     When they got home Shevi raced up to her room before Lily could ask her if she wanted to join her in playing with her plushies. Shevi sat on her bed, playing unenthusiastically with her petpet, Aria.

     “I love sunshine and rainbows and flowers and plushies and annoying Shevi and stealing Miley,” Shevi said, imitating Lily. She petted Aria, feeling sorry for herself. She could hear Miley and “The Miley-Stealer” playing with plushies in Lily’s room. Shevi almost felt an urge to join them but made sure to push that urge out of her mind.

     “They probably don’t want me there anyway,” Shevi said to herself. “They probably are talking about how wonderful it is that I’m not there.” Shevi stayed in her room until Miley called her. She went reluctantly into Lily’s room.

     “Let’s go to Kelp tonight!” Miley announced. “In celebration of Lily coming here!” This was greeted by a very enthusiastic cheer and a hug from Lily and a fake cheer from Shevi. She would normally have loved to go to the Kelp had it not been for “The Miley-Stealer”.

     At the restaurant Miley and Lily chatted animatedly while Shevi just poked her food.

     “...and we are all going to a Yes Boy Ice-Cream concert tomorrow!” Miley was saying to Lily.

     Shevi looked at Miley in disbelief. She had totally forgotten about the concert and now “The Miley-Stealer” was coming along with them. “Oooh!” Lily squealed. “They’re my FAVORITE band!” Lily then turned to Shevi. “So what do you like?”

     Shevi’s anger rose high inside of her. “You want to know what I like?” Shevi said angrily. “I like having Miley all to myself, I like going to concerts just with Miley, and you know what I don’t like? I DON’T LIKE YOU!!!!!!”

     Lily’s face looked like someone had just kicked her right in the stomach. Her eyes filled with tears and she burst out crying. She ran from the table and right into the bathroom.

     “You better apologize or no concert!” Miley snapped furiously. She gave Shevi an awful look and ran right after Lily. Shevi felt an awful feeling in her stomach. Lily had never done anything to her and now she had made her miserable. Miley came back with Lily but hadn’t been able to help much and she was still crying.

     When they were home, Lily ran up to her room, still crying. Miley was about to go up after her, but Shevi gave her a look that said, “I’ll take care of this.”

     Shevi opened Lily’s door. Lily didn’t look up.

     “Lily,” Shevi said softly, “I don’t mean what I said and I’m sorry I said it. I don’t deserve to go to the concert. I was jealous of you and I’m sorry.” She turned to walk out of the room when she felt a paw on her shoulder. Then Lily was hugging her and saying, “I forgive you, I forgive you, I forgive you!”

     “You-you do?” Shevi said, shocked.

     Lily laughed and said, “I think you are the best big sister ever! I could never not forgive you!”

     Shevi smiled at her little sister. “You’re the best little sister ever!”

     The next night Miley, Shevi, and Lily were dancing to at the Yes Boy Ice-Cream concert. Shevi looked at Lily dancing a sweet little dance and knew that was why Lily.

The End