Rosie the Plushie: Part One

     “Drink up, Rosie! We have a big day ahead of us!” the Kau said to her motionless toy.

     “Don’t you think you should come inside now, Sammy? It’s getting awfully bright; you could burn!” A bright yellow Acara yelled from inside.

     “Uh, so much for that. Don’t worry, Rosie, we’ll have time to play tomorrow when we get to Brightvale,” Sammy promised as she tipped the pebbles from the tea cups and ran inside with her things.

     “Why do you talk to that? It’s just a toy, you know,” a Blue Kacheek said, peering through Sammy’s bedroom door.

     “Go away, Jack! Mum said you’re not allowed in my room!” Sammy yelled, throwing one of her less loved toys at the door.

     “Don’t worry about him, Rosie. He’s my stupid brother, you’ll learn. Now go play with the others. I think dinner is here. Hubert’s Hotdogs tonight!” Sammy said eagerly as she ran out her door and down the stairs.

     The family sat and ate their dinners, chatting excitedly about their move to Brightvale after living in Neopia Central for so long.

     Jack thought it would be more fun to tease his little sister.

     “When we get there, maybe we should hire someone to be friends with Sammy. She only has pretend, toy friends,” he mocked.

     “I do so have friends! I would just never let them meet you!” she defended, throwing what was left of her hotdog at the Kacheek.

     “Oh, you’ll pay for that!” Jack warned.

     “Both of you, stop it! And Sammy, to your room, now! You know we don’t throw food in this house. What are we, a pack of wild Noils?” said their mother as Sammy furiously walked up the stairs, purposefully making loud stomping sounds with every step.

     “I hate him! He always gets me into trouble!” Sammy complained, holding Rosie up at eye level.

     “He started it, after all. What was I supposed to do?” The weary Kau slowly dozed off, still complaining to the toy.

     - - -

    Jack tiptoed out of his room. It was late, and all of the lights were off. Slowly he snuck towards Sammy’s door and pushed it open. It creaked loudly; Jack froze as the sleeping Kau stirred in her sleep. He tiptoed farther into her room.

     “Ouch!” he said aloud, stubbing his toe on the foot of her bed. He froze again as Sammy rolled over onto her other side, revealing exactly what he was after, Rosie.

     He gently lifted the toy from between her hoofs and quickly scurried off downstairs, careful not to stub his toe again.

     Down into the basement he went. It was filled with boxes ready for the move the next morning. He looked around for a while, trying to find an appropriate hiding place, but all the boxes were sealed. He saw a vent, and after a little while of struggling he managed to pull it open. He threw in the plushie and ran back up to his bed. The evil smirk never left his face.

     - - -

      “Are you ready to go, kids?” the yellow Acara called through the house. It was early, the moon was still visible, and sunlight had not yet graced Neopia for another day. Both Jack and Sammy got up slowly and eventually found their way outside, rubbing their eyes and yawning loudly.

     “We’ve got to go, the new owners have arrived,” she explained.

     “But mum, what about Rosie! She wasn’t in my room this morning, and I swear I didn’t pack her away,” Sammy replied in distress.

     “Don’t you worry, your father got all the bits and pieces while you were still sleeping, I’m sure you’ll find her when we get there.”

     And with that they left, leaving their old home behind and venturing off to a new world. Only, they left someone behind.

     ***

     “Here we are, Elly! I know it’s not Faerieland, but it’s better than that tiny Roo Island,” a tall, white Blumaroo said.

     “It’s not that bad I guess. But it smells funny. Get my stuff,” a Faerie Cybunny ordered, with her arms crossed and a rather unamused look on her face.

     The Blumaroo paused for a second before the snooty Cybunny glared at him, then he went back outside to get her things.

     “I guess I should look around then,” Elly said to no one in particular as she headed toward the kitchen.

     “Rather small. Good thing I’ll be spending no time in here anyway,” she said as she scanned the room, dragging a single finger over the bench top.

     She headed upstairs to Sammy’s old room and examined it.

     “Too small,” she said as she slammed the door.

     “Honey, I figured you might want a bigger room, so I put all your stuff in the master,” said the Blumaroo. He was looking slightly scared as he waited for a reaction. Elly merely nodded and sat on the large bed, gesturing for him to leave with her paws.

     - - -

     “Hm, it’s dreadfully dark down here,” the Blumaroo said to himself as he fumbled around the basement, searching for a light switch.

     “Ah, there we go,” he said as the light flickered on. He slowly walked over to the vent, with a puzzled look on his face.

     “What have we got here?” he said as he cautiously pulled open the vent. He pulled out the Kau Plushie and a smile formed across his face.

     Elly was sorting through her things. Her room was now all bright and filled with her stuff, and a smile broadened on her previously sullen face. Then there was a knocking at her door.

     “Knock knock, it’s me again! I found something for you; I think you’ll like it!” the Blumaroo explained, knowing there was probably no other way of getting Elly to open the door.

     “What is it now, Father?” she said, attempting to be scornful.

     “It’s a plushie; it’s in great condition!” he said as the door gradually opened.

     He held it out and let the Cybunny examine it before she snatched it away and closed the door in his face.

     Elly, though she didn’t show it, was quite appreciative. This was a toy she had been saving up for, for what seemed an exceptionally long time for someone who generally gets whatever they want, whenever they want it.

     She took Rosie with her everywhere, for once she didn’t even care what her friends thought, she finally had one of her most wanted toys in all of Neopia!

     Though she loved the toy, she wasn’t the most careful with her things. Rosie often got left on park benches, at the coffee shop, at her friend’s houses or even floating in the Rainbow Pool. The only way she found her way home was with the address written on her stomach in a jet black permanent marker.

     By now, poor Rosie even had a few threads pulled and bits of stuffing poking out.

     Sammy took much better care of her much loved plush.

     - - -

      “Welcome, friends, to the toy shop! If you need help with anything, feel free to ask,” an overly-happy shop assistant said to his new possible customers.

     The pair looked around the shop for a while before the Cybunny froze. Her arms had dropped, Rosie tumbling to the floor.

     “Father, it’s a- a Baby Uni Plushie! I simply must have it! Just think about how nice I was to you for the last week! These rarely come in stock and—“

     “Fine!” the Blumaroo interrupted, handing some neopoints to the assistant.

     The two left the store, and once again, Rosie had been left behind.

     ***

     It had been a long day at the Toy Shop, but it was late and practically all the staff had left to go home to their families. There was but one assistant left, working overtime just so he had enough neopoints to survive.

     “What’s this here?” the scrawny Gelert said to himself as he swept the blue tiles.

     “You don’t belong here? No price tag... I guess that means you’re lost,” he said to the toy, picking it up and dusting off the dirt from the cold floor.

     The Gelert took Rosie home and threw her into a toy box of odds and ends. He had no children himself, but he was middle-aged, and a lot of his friends often brought their children over. He missed the days that they could watch the Altador Cup on Neovision with a few friends, without hiring a babysitter.

     There was a knocking at the door. The Gelert had dozed off during a repeat of “When Boochi Strikes”. The noise startled him, but he hastily got up and opened the door, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

      “Gary! Hey, how’s it goin’, mate? Here, take Chloe,” a gangly Lupe said, pushing a little Baby Aisha to his chest and forcing his way through the half open door.

     “Um, hey, Rob. What are you doing here so late?” Gary asked, plonking Chloe in front of the open toy box.

     “Thought I’d come see you, mate, you know, have a bit of male bonding time,” he replied.

     “And you brought the kid,” Gary mumbled to himself before he sighed and sat down on the old, tattered sofa.

     They talked for just over an hour before Rob had to take Chloe home; it was her bed time.

     “Chloe, you have to put that back. It’s not yours,” Rob said, trying to pull Rosie from the baby. Turns out she was quite strong.

     As Rob continuously pulled, Chloe began to cry, not releasing her grip on the less-than-perfect plush.

     “Don’t worry about it; she can keep it,” Gary said, obviously just trying to be rid of the noisy, unwanted company. He just wanted to sleep.

     And with that, Rob thanked Gary with an embarrassed sigh and they left, leaving this sad Gelert to wallow in his own misery.

     ***

     It began to rain as Rob walked home, holding Chloe high up on his shoulders. He had a worried look on his face as he sped home, trying not to drop the girl.

     Chloe simply sat and played with her new toy, occasionally yawning and trying to force her eyes open.

     “I’m home,” called Rob as he pushed the door open. He was balancing Chloe up in one hand and holding the key in the other.

     “Where have you been? It’s so late!” yelled a Kacheek, snatching Chloe from the astonished Lupe’s arms.

     “I was at Gary’s. He gave Chloe a toy,” he explained, ending with a smile, but the Kacheek only seemed to get even more irritated.

     “Uh! You can’t just go accepting toys from people. It’s not new, so that means it’s old and could be holding diseases! Do you want Chloe getting Neopox now, do you? She could spread it to all of us, and then what would we do? You couldn’t work and I couldn’t do the things I do,” she said, ripping the toy from Chloe’s arms. Unfortunately, the kid’s going to be a major Battledomer when she grows up, and instead of ripping the toy from her hands, Rosie’s head ended up in her hand, while her body was still held by the –now crying– baby.

     “Uh, take her, please! I’m going to get rid of this piece of junk. Now it’s torn and everything, and Chloe is upset. Why did you have to go and make my day even worse?” the Kacheek said, slamming the door in Rob’s face as she stomped outside.

     “Why am I always the bad guy,” the Kacheek rambled on to herself as she threw the broken toy into a dumpster and headed back home to face her crying child.

To be continued...