Trini’s Band

      "Oh, get the ball yourself!" Trini the Faellie replied. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

      "Busy doing what?" Ramoose asked in a puzzled tone.

      "Rushing outside!"

      With that, Trini scampered out of the Neohome.

      Lightning struck and thunder roared. In one sudden burst, rain began to fall from high heaven. Trini re-entered the Neohome, soaked from head to paws. "So much for playing Gormball. Now, what?" She shook the water out of her fur.

      "You could always clean your room," SeaZ0ne, Ramoose's owner suggested mildly. She was sitting on a sofa in the living room, reading the latest issue of the Neopian Times.

      "Nah," Ramoose replied quickly.

      "I have a better idea," PuppyTrix, the Tonu's sister, said. The baby Gelert had just come out of the room she shared with Ramoose and Trini. "Why don't you do your homework early for a change?"

      "Aw, come on, Puppy. It's Saturday!" Ramoose whined.

      "Do you have a better idea?"

      He looked at the ceiling.

      "Well?" Puppy said impatiently. When Ramoose still didn't answer, she rolled her eyes. "Ramoose?"

      "Huh?" the Tonu replied vaguely. "Did you say something?"

      "I asked if you had a better idea."

      "Oh, that. Sorry, I was too busy counting the cracks on the ceiling."

      "And?"

      Ramoose looked confused. "Huh?"

      "Never mind."

      "Well, I'm going to make my own band," Trini said, out of the blue.

      There was complete silence.

      "Say, what?" Puppy asked slowly, after a few moments.

      "I'm gonna be the singer. Play the guitar, will you, Ramoose?" Trini asked.

      The Tonu thought for a moment. "Okay."

      "Uh, weren't you going to do your homework?" Puppy reminded.

      "What homework?" Ramoose replied. He gazed at their owner. "Being in a band sounds kind of fun. What d'you think, SeaZ0ne?"

      SeaZ0ne put down the paper. "It doesn't sound like a bad idea," she said calmly.

      "Of course, it's not," Trini said. "It's a superb idea! I'm glad I thought of it. Come on, Ramoose, we've got plenty of work to do."

      SeaZ0ne returned to her paper. Puppy let out a long-suffering sigh. She grabbed a book from the pile on the coffee table and sat on a beanbag to read. The soft pattering of the rain against the windows lulled her into contented silence.

     ******

      "Okay. So, first, we need instruments," Trini said. She scribbled "Instruments" in her notebook.

      She and Ramoose were in their room. The Tonu was sitting on his bed while Trini was sprawled on the floor.

      "I think we've got some in the toy closet," Ramoose said. He jumped off the bed and opened the closet. All the toys that were crammed inside fell out. He snatched something from the pile. "Look, Trini! It's my trusty, old orange Fuzzle."

      "Hang the Fuzzles!" Trini yelled. "Find any instruments in there?" She stood up and walked towards the toys.

      Ramoose saw the gold end of a guitar and tugged at it. "Got it!" he said triumphantly. "Hey, this is Puppy's Blue Moehawk Guitar."

      Trini wrinkled her nose. "I guess that'll do. I found a yucky pink drum that I wouldn't play. Not in a million years. Maybe we can persuade Puppy to play it for us." She held out a pink drum with a pink "U" embossed on top.

      "That's my Official Usuki Drum!" Ramoose yelled ecstatically. He dropped the guitar and took the drum from Trini. "I've been wondering where it went."

      "You own that?" Trini said incredulously. She seized it from Ramoose. "No matter. You play the guitar and Puppy will play the drum."

      Ramoose shrugged. "Okay. Puppy isn't interested, though."

      "We'll deal with her later," Trini said casually. She ticked something in her notebook. "Instruments. Check. Okay, now, what will we call our band?"

      "Lemon Sherbert Candy Cane?" Ramoose proposed thoughtfully.

      "And we would call ourselves that because?" Trini questioned him further.

      "I love Lemon Sherbert Candy Cane," he said matter-of-factly.

      "So?"

      Ramoose shrugged.

      "Any more suggestions?"

      The Tonu closed his eyes then, opened them. They were shining brightly. "I know! How about…"

      "What?" Trini asked, sounding both impatient and excited.

      "NEOCOLA!"

      "That's the dumbest name I've ever heard, Ramoose."

      "It was just a suggestion," he said defensively. "Besides, I haven't heard you suggesting anything."

      "Alright, alright," Trini said exasperatedly. "We need a name with a BANG. Something that will catch everyone's attention!" She fell silent for a few seconds. "How about Trini & Friends?"

      "Okay," Ramoose said agreeably.

     ******

      "Will the rain ever stop?" PuppyTrix asked SeaZ0ne as she helped prepare lunch.

      "I don't mind the rain," her owner replied. "It's a nice change, actually. Besides, haven't you noticed? It's so quiet. First time we've had peace and quiet ever since Trini came here. Well, unless you count that time before Christmas when she locked herself up in your room. You and Ramoose had to stay in my room for some time." SeaZ0ne smiled at the memory.

      "Yeah, well," Puppy said. "It won't be quiet for long."

      Suddenly, the Neohome trembled. The ground shook under their feet.

      "EARTHQUAKE!" SeaZ0ne yelled. She could hear a strange noise that made her shiver to the bone. It sounded like a high-pitched siren. She took Puppy by the paw.

      The Gelert said something inaudible.

      "WHAT?"

      "I SAID IT'S JUST TRINI AND RAMOOSE!"

      As if a silent signal had gone off, both Gelert and owner turned on their heels and headed for the room where the sound was coming from. With one movement, the two pounced on the door. It opened with a thud.

      Inside, there were two weirdly dressed Neopians, oblivious that the ground was shaking.

     One was a Rainbow Neopet with a hairy mane. His body was covered in a blue Bogie t-shirt that had a hole in one arm. He also had on a red Scorchio scarf, a Spotty Stripy party hat, and a mask and snorkel. The Neopet was hanging on to a Blue Moehawk Guitar, strumming its strings haphazardly.

      The other was a Faellie in a black "I Love Sloth" t-shirt that was so large, the only part of her you could see was her head. She wore a pair of cool shades over her eyes and a blue bandanna wrapped around part of her head with a tiara over it. The points of her mini Lucky Green Boots (cut to fit) peeked out from the hem of the shirt. She was screaming at the top of her voice, her words incomprehensible.

      "TRINI, RAMOOSE! STOP THIS RACKET RIGHT NOW!" SeaZ0ne screeched as loud as she could.

      Immediately, the house and the ground stopped trembling.

      "Hi, Puppy. Hi, SeaZ0ne," Trini said cheerfully. "We didn't hear you come in."

      "We couldn't hear anything, either," SeaZ0ne replied, trying to pacify herself. "What in Neopia were you two doing?"

      "I was playing the guitar and Trini was singing," Ramoose said.

      "We were making music. Wasn't it obvious?" Trini said sarcastically.

      "You call that music?" Puppy asked. "You caused an earthquake!"

      "We did?" Ramoose asked, interested. "Cool!"

      "Well, I'm afraid this is the end of your singing career, Trini. Ramoose, no more guitar playing!" SeaZ0ne lectured them. "Your, ah, music might hurt other Neopians, you know?"

      "Okay," Ramoose said with a shrug. "I didn't like playing the guitar, anyway."

      "What's wrong with my singing?" Trini griped. "My voice was positively adorable." She opened her mouth really wide and belted out another wail.

      "You've got better things to do than destroy the Neohome, Trini," Puppy said with a smile.

      "I might as well lock myself up in here and perform another experiment," the Faellie grumbled.

      "That's not what I meant," Puppy said. "Look outside. The sun's shining!"

      "Yippee!" Trini cheered. She looked around the room. Her eyes lit up when she saw a familiar object. She grabbed the Gormball from its place in the corner. "Let's play Gormball."

      "I'll go with you," Puppy said.

      "Don't go farther than the park," SeaZ0ne stated. "Oh, and be back in half an hour! Lunch will be ready by then." She headed for the kitchen.

      Trini zoomed out of the Neohome like a petpet who had never been outside before. "Come on!"

      "In a minute," Puppy replied. She looked at Ramoose. "Coming?"

      "Nah. I've got other plans."

      "If you say so," Puppy said with a shrug. "Wait for me, Trini!" She left and closed the door.

      Ramoose picked up his Official Usuki Drum and began to beat it with feeling. Sweet music filled the air.

The End

Author's Note: This is a short story crossover. Originally, this short story was supposed to have been a part of the BIG Issue 150 but it didn't make it in. ^^' Yes, I know Trini is a petpet but she talked in previous stories so she's still allowed to talk. Anyway, the characters used here are charmedhorses'. Thank you so much Charmed for creating such great characters and for letting me use them. Comments/suggestions are always welcome! ^^