The Shoyru who couldn't Fly
Part I
The Race
"On your marks…get set…GO!" yelled the umpire, hoisting his giant checkered flag in the air, and they were off. A swarm of bright colours filled the morning sky as hundreds and thousands of Shoyrus soared through the air.
Josie sat eagerly in her spectator's seat, and watched in amazement at the Shoyrus who were flying amongst the clouds. The National Neopian Shoyru Sky Marathon was Josie's favourite annual event. She had gone every year, and was always amazed at how the shoyrus could steer themselves through the sky ever so gracefully.
"Arial, the Faerie Shoyru is currently in the lead…no wait! Is Tutt the desert shoyru overtaking her? Yes! Tutt the desert Shoyru is now in first place….." the commentator's voice rang through Josie's ears. She was not surprised. Desert and Faerie Shoyrus were always in the lead. Desert shoyrus were used to flying under warm conditions, and as for faeries, they flew long distance all the time; as opposed to plushie Shoyrus who spread their wings not nearly as enough as they should, and were struggling to keep up at the rear.
Tommy, looked up at Josie, his little eyes wide with glee. "I wanna fly up with those other shoyrus too!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down in the excitement.
"Some day when you're older." Replied Josie, trying her best to put on a smile for her younger brother.
"Will you fly in the NNSSM as well when you're older too?"
"No not for me." Said Josie flatly, although every night, she had always pictured herself flapping her wings and flying amongst the clouds.
"I betcha'd be really good at it. You'd win the whole race!" Pressed Tommy. This time, the grin on Josie's face was a genuine one.
When the crowd finally exploded into cheers, Josie knew the race was over. Grabbing her brother's arm, she and Tommy gradually weaved their way through the rabble of people. "Why do we have to go so soon?" wailed the younger Shoyru. "Nobody else is leaving!"
"You'll see" replied his sister. After years of experience, Josie knew well enough that before everyone left, they would have to go through the customs. She also knew, just how long going through customs would take.
"At last." panted Josie with a satisfied smile, dumped their daypacks on the conveyer belt and walked through the metal detector arch way, as did her brother. The security officer handed them their things and gave the two youngsters a warm smile. "See ye next year!" he said to them, obviously recognizing Josie's face who attended every year.
Years ago, going through customs on your way out of a stadium would certainly have been considered utterly irrelevant and a waste of time, but as the years wore on, and the National Neopian Shoyru Sky Marathon grew larger and larger, a number of famous professional athletes began buying private properties near the Grand Stadium. Over the decades, the world of Neopia evolved to become a nasty place, and the Grand Stadium had become one of Neopia's most vulnerable targets for terrorists. Since then, taking care of the security of the Grand Stadium and its celebrity residents had become a high priority for the police.
Josie stepped out into the open and gazed back at the grand building before her. Tommy however, scowled up at his older sister. "Arial won the race! We missed her speech, and we even missed watching them get their medals!" complained Tommy. Cheering could again be heard on the inside of the stadium. At this, Tommy looked as if tears were beginning to fill his eyes. Fortunately for Josie, they did not.
"Oh come on." explained Josie. "I've been doing this for 7 years now! The winner always says the same boring old stuff about how they'd like to thank everyone for coming and their coach and that they couldn't have made it without whoever…you know…stuff like that! I took you here to enjoy the race. Not bore you with some speech." Tommy was not quite satiated with her sister's explanation, but he did stop his bugging.
"What are you looking at?" questioned Tommy, who was beginning to overcome his anger, and was now curious to know what his sister found so amusing about the building which stood before them.
"I'm waiting." Stated Josie.
"For what?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
Josie studied the beautifully carved interior design on the exterior of the stadium wall. Faerie neopets of every species had been delicately carved into the limestone, yet most of them were poogles.
"Why are there so many poogles on the wall instead of shoyrus since this stadium is for Shoyrus?" asked Tommy, who was too examining the handicraft of the wall.
"It's because", began Josie, "the stadium was built in memory of the Poogle Race Track. Long ago, poogles used to race here. On the ground of course. People used to bid for the winning poogle, and cheer them on. But gradually, people and neopets grew tired of watching poogles race. It was good at first, but when the poogle racing faze was over, the poogle racing producers were out of business. Then people came up with the idea of the NNSS Marathon, so they knocked the race track down, and built the Grand Stadium in memory of the Poogle Race Track. That's why there're so many poogles on the walls."
Josie remembered the time when she was six years old, her grandfather had told her that same story of the poogle race track. Her heart softened at the thought of her grandfather. She wanted to run all the way home to greet her grandfather who would be sitting in his study ready to tell her the history of Neopia. "No." thought Josie, fighting against her emotions. "He's gone now."
"The waiting is over." Grinned Josie, nudging toward the entrance of the Grand stadium. A long queue was quickly starting to take shape. The line stretched back a good 400 metres, and was growing rapidly. "Whoa…" breathed Tommy, nodding his head in appreciation, only just comprehending the real reason why Josie insisted on leaving so early. Josie giggled. She herself was surprised to here a giggle escape her lips. Ever since the death of her grandfather, Josie had suddenly become a serious neopet. No longer a child. She had quit joking, and laughter was rarely heard from her, but today, she felt a special warmth in her heart, a sensation which she hadn't felt in a long time.
"Let's go home." suggested Josie finally. The two of them lived in the outskirts of Faerie City, which was fairly near the Grand Stadium. This was one of the main reasons why Josie was able to visit the Shoyru Marathon every single year. She felt lucky to be able to walk to the Stadium and back in less than a day.
Josie trudged down the flossy path towards home with her little brother excitedly hovering not far above her head.
When the two shoyrus arrived at the front gate of their house, they were greeted by Julia, their older sister.
"How was the race?" she asked, opening the gate for her two siblings.
"Oh it was the best! I wanted the Pirate one to win, but he ended up coming third. Josie says that when I get older I'll be able to race as well!" exclaimed Tommy.
Josie smiled down at her brother. He was such a wild little shoyru. There was so much fire in him.
"Good to hear." replied Julia.
Josie slipped inside and walked up the stairs to her room. She stared at her reflection in the mirror and sighed. She was a purple shoyru, and specks of orange freckles nested themselves on either sides of her cheeks. Her sister was almost 21. Grace and class was written all over her. She was just the right shade of pink and was perfect in every way. Her brother Tommy was only little, but everything about him showed promise of becoming a strong neopet. He was such fun to be with.
Josie looked at her wings in the mirror. They sat limply on her back. She tried to move them. If only she could hover just one centimeter above the air she would be satisfied. When her wings failed her once again, she sighed and plonked herself onto her bed. At least her siblings could fly.
To be continued...