 In Search Of A Trophy
by pixiegirl667
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*Ding-dong* Gearrin heard the doorbell, straightened his hat, and rushed to answer the door. "Hello! Are you looking for me, uh, Gearrin?" The Neopet Spotlight Judge said, "Er, no, um, we would like to talk to Sugar_Uni1?"
"Oh. She's in the, um, kitchen," Gearrin said, face falling. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gearrin sometimes wished he lived in a different family. His owner was a Cheat! Champion, Sugar_Uni1 was a now 2-timer Neopet Spotlight winner, and Rainey_girl and her Gikerot, Gikky had recently won the Petpet Spotlight. He was the outsider, the non-winner, the one adopted from the pound. Not to mention that he was painted Snow and couldn't go to the Lost Desert with his family. "Why do I try?" he whispered to himself. "I never win anyway." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
His Biyako, Biffya heard him (Biffya had especially sharp hearing.) and said, "Are you done being sorry for yourself? 'Cause you could've spent that whole time playing... pleeeeeaaaaaase????"
"Okay...." Gearrin said, thinking that it might help him take his mind off of things. He took out his brand new Kassegat Jig Saw Puzzle which he had recently gotten from the Snowager's Cave when he snuck in while his owner was getting neggs from the Neggery. He was especially proud of that, but apparently it was so common that some 'pets went in every day and came out unharmed and with a rare item. He had only gone in once, the time where he got the Kassegat Jig Saw Puzzle. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gearrin tried to have fun, but his mind was still stuck on how big of a loser he was. "Oh, whatever! Go play games and win stuff and leave me!" Biffya sniffed. Gearrin chuckled at his Biyako's melodramatic attitude. "You know I take you wherever I go! You're my one and only Petpet, after all." he said. "But first, before we go to the Games Room, let's grab a snack." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The two each grabbed an Ummagine from the fruit bowl in the living room because Gearrin's owner had won the Fruit Machine A LOT! They chomped on them as they headed to the Games Room. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - When they arrived at the Games Room, they checked out all of the contests. Lenny Conundrum? Nope! Gearrin simply COULD NOT figure out the question! Pet Spotlight? Gearrin didn't think that losing would help him win. Petpet Spotlight.... Gearrin thought about it.... started to draw Biffya, and then promptly quit. And then he ran into the Caption Contest. "Hmmm...." he thought. "This has got to be easier!" And then he saw the number of funny captions already submitted.
"Okay... let's see... no Story Telling, I suck at writing, also no Neopian Times (yes, he counted that as a contest), um, what else is there?"
A bored Biffya said, "Just go sign up for Better Than You and be done with it! All you have to do is play a game and I can go take my nap... finally!"
"Okay..." said Gearrin suspiciously. He didn't think that it was possible for such an easy competition to exist... He headed inside. Such an easy competition DID exist! That week's challenge game was Destruct-O-Match III, which he was okay at. But he was determined to win a trophy so he wouldn't be the outsider in his family, so he could be a winner! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - And it was NOT that easy! Actually it was really hard!! His first try, he only got about 900 points, far from his 2,770 goal! And he could only send his score a total of three times. He played and played and played and played and played. When it was lunchtime, he did not notice until his owner came and tapped him on the shoulder. "Aaaaah!" By then he was wound up so tightly that he was sensitive to every touch, even a light tap. His owner said, "You have to come home, it's lunchtime, and remember the Chia Pops!" Gearrin loved Chia Pops. "Okay!" he said willingly. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - After lunch, which was a Sandwich, Orange Juice, and of course, a Chia Pop, in his favorite flavor, sherbet lemon (They lived on Terror Mountain so they had lots of Chia Pops. But isn't it weird that his owner goes to the Fruit Machine in the Lost Desert even though it's far away from Terror Mountain?). Then Gearrin headed back to the Games Room, this time without his Biyako, who was taking a nap. - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Three hours passed, and Gearrin was SURE that everybody had already passed 2,770, but when he looked at the scoreboard, only 3 people had done so! He could still get a gold trophy!! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1000 games later: "Argghhhhh!!!!" he yelled, not realizing his owner was there. His owner said, "Having trouble?" Gearrin was conflicted. If he told his owner, she could help him, but if he told her, it wouldn't be HIS trophy wholly. Yes or no? Yes or no? Yes or no? His mind bounced wildly between the two options. "I wish I didn't have to make a decision!" he thought. "Oh, whatever, I'll never get it anyway!" He said, "YesI'mtryingtobeattheBetterThanYou." And then he sighed in relief and continued playing Destruct-O-Match III. His owner looked over Gearrin's shoulder and said, "Use your power-ups!" And something flashed in Gearrin's mind. It was a lightbulb moment. He didn't know what the rocks at the bottom of the screen did and now he knew that they were power-ups! Soon, his score went up to 2500 and then 2600 and 2700..... - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
And then, on his 1021st attempt, he achieved a score of 2800, which he promptly sent out. That night, he received a Neomail saying:
Congratulations on winning Better Than You! You have received Tiered Rocks, 20,000 NP, and a spiffy gold trophy!
TNT
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gearrin was overjoyed! He asked his owner if he could be painted something else, maybe Fire, or Royalboy? And his owner said yes! Gearrin was happier than delighted, happier than the time when he went on the Roo Island Merry-Go-Round (before he was painted Snow). Biffya, Sugar_Uni1, Rainey_girl, and his owner, were also very happy for him. He was so happy that he didn't notice cranky Mrs. Acara being cranky, and he felt so happy he even ventured into the Snowager's Cave again to get something special for Sugar_Uni1. And after he was painted Royalboy, he went to Meridell and completed one of Illusen's quests. And he was literally happy forever!
The End
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