BoReDSpic blinked his eyes open in the glare of the new morning sun beaming in through his window,he sat straight up and took a moment to scan the surroundings of his shared room.The room looked so tranquil in the morning,when the soft yellow light touched it and made it seem like it could shine on forever.Now,getting up to make his bed,Spic remembered very clearly on what he planned to do that morning.Even though it was risky.

"Big test today?"Koi inquipped thier owner,who was busily making them tigersquish pancakes,everyone was already sitting at the table and waiting for breakfeast.

"Uh-huh,"Raz repiled absently,practically throwing the steaming plates onto the table.

"Think you'll pass?"he asked another short question,just to start his usual rein of sarcasm.

She stopped to narrow her eyes on him,before picking up her backpack,"Here's hoping."

They all watched as she smiled at the rest of them fondly and made her way out the door and back to her own world.Spic used that time to get up quietly from the table and put up his plate,before sneaking back up to his room.Once there,he rolled up the newpaper under one wing and grasped the appilication form he had gotten off the internet last night in order to apply.With a nod at himself in his long black mirrior on the closet door,he started to go for the window to take off.

"Sneaking out after dinner with no approval from anyone older then you first,"came the sardonic voice he dreaded and as he turned around slowly,sure enough,there his greatest fear was.Koilembala was standing right there in the doorway.

"I was just...uh...just...mmm,"he faltered desperately.

"Trying to leave the house without permission?I couldn't agree with you more!"but something about his brother's sneery look,showed him that he didn't intend on getting Spic into any kind of trouble,almost like he was...encouraging him.

"Yes,"Spic confirmed,with an unsure nod.

"And just why would you been in such a rush to get out of here?"

"Well...Truth be told,I think I'm going to earn myself that PB I want."he started to say nervously,starting to reach up for the latch to fly out as soon as it was open.

"You?Earn it on you're own!"Koi gasped incredulously,his icy eye brows shooting up.

"You make it sound like it's an accusion."Spic finally found his voice and while coming to his own defense,proceeded to unlatch the window and get in a ready postion for take-off.

"Really determind,huh?"Koi questioned him with earnest admiration beaming in his eyes,something that was rarely shown by the short-tempered and sarcastic Bori.

"Yep!"he grinned widely and the next thing he knew,he was high in the air and off for Neopia.

The brisk wind of the morning air blew againist the small Pteri's feathery sapphire pelt,ruffling his already bristled feathers.As he flew along at a relaxed yet elated pace,with the thought inmind he could acuatally just earn his own NP and buy his dream paint brush by working some hours for some random person.Oh,how it would feel to be painted such a enriching colour!The daydreams of it all nearly blinded him and he had to swerve aburptly to miss an oncoming purple Buzz.

"Sorry."Spic called out to the him,as he whipped around to see if the Buzz was okay.

"Forget it!"the Buzz waved it off and was about resume flying before Spic called again,

"Hey,why are you in a rush?Sorry,just curious.I'm off to apply for the Herbert Hotdog substitue postion."

"Kidding?"he asked with a surprised look,as if it was the most ridulous thing he'd ever heard off.Whch by far,made Spic feel the most doubtful and uncertain he'd been in a while.

"No."he awsnered hesistantly,his bird-like face starting to frown in slight disapointment.

"Hey,"the Buzz shrugged and began scrupulously,"You go down there and do what you'd like to,kid.But don't be surprised when you find it's more then you can handle."

As the Buzz sped off in a hurry,leaving Spic to wonder,he soon saw what the mysterious Buzz had meant.When he glanced down at the Aplication grasped in his foot and then the paper,it all began to sound a lot more doubtful and professional.But that wasn't it,when the thin white whips of cloud started to be pushed away by the relentless air of morning,it was obvious by the long line he could just barely make out running from Neopian Central to the Bazare.This would be no easy task.

"Excuse me,but how long have you been waiting?"Spic asked rather impatient-looking red Kacheek that was up in front of him,tapping his foot away and grunting under his breath.

"Beats me,"the Kacheek grumbled with irratation,"Been here since last night."

"Last night!"Spic shreiked in horror,his face turning pale.

The Kacheek nodded,then kicked at some first and turned back to the pets that were behind him.So,Spic waited.It was a very long and weary hour and a half,before he was nearly entering Neopian Central and that's when he heard it.The one thing he was dreading to hear.

"Alright!ALRIGHT!Enough,you pets have been baggering me ever since that stupid ad came out!So just get lost!I'm through with this,you hear me,through!"a very blistering Herbert was yelling at the top of his lungs,his tan face a bright red and his eyes flashing angerily.

Once most of the moaning and groaning plus sighing and sniffling pets had started to flood out in thier opposite directons,the only ones left were a couple a very young pets wanting to buy a hotdog and Herbert,of course.But enough though that sudden outburst had told him to leave,he still refused to go without at least a small bit of reviewing.So,with his hopes high and mighty,the determind young Pteri made his way up to the stand and waited.

"Ahem,sir."he cleared his throat politely and slid the application on the stand,"I'd like to-"

"Yeah,yeah.You want to be my replacement!Just do what I said and take your leave,like I sid 20 seconds ago,the job offer is closed.So go home..."Herbert cut him off tiredly,starting to clean up and pick up the empty Hotdog wrappers that had gathered around here and about.

"You look really stressed,I could help you."he tried to persuade the worn out Mynci,even though he knew he was probabley just pushing his luck with trying to urge him on.

"Thanks,kid."he offered Spic a generous smile,sighing as he started to come out behind the back of the stand and untie his appron to get ready to go home to take his 1 day of the month off,"But I can't.No offense,but you're not exactly the world's largest Pteri I've ever seen."

"Don't let me size fool you!I'm very persistant and I'd be here early every day."

After seeing the honesty and commitment arousing in the determind hazel brown eyes of the small yet ambtious Pteri,Herbert only sighed again deeply and gave him a reluctant nod,but making it very clear he expected all the terms of thier agreements met and for his promise to show up every day.And when it finally came to for Spic to start less then an hour later,he could hardly believe his luck and how everything was working out so well for him.That is,it 'was' going pretty well for him until the capricious crowds of pets and owners began.

"Hello?Anyone there?I'd like to place an order!"came a gruff barking voice from the very front of the stand,it was so loud and pierecing it startled Spic as he had started to drift off.

"Oh!"he laughed a bit,standing on tip toes on the stool and looking down at a Fire Lupe.

"Great,I'll have a Veggie Hot Dog with extra veggies and tomato sause."the Lupe began to order casually,making sure his even his muzzle was raised high enough for Spic to hear.

"Coming right up,"Spic repiled with forced cheerfulness,eyeing the suscpicious-looking giant Fire Lupe just a few feet in front of him,while he set to work filling the pet's order.

A few seconds later,the Lupe was contentedly munching on a vegetable-packed Hot Dog and was padding off elsewere.With a relieved sigh,Spic watched as more eager-looking pet's and owner's lined up,ready with grinning faces and wads of wadded or wrinkled old pieces of NP they'd probabley managed to scrap up from thier old Bank accounts for this.

The next day,Spic was up and early as he had promised he would be.Today,even though he knew he had school and even though Koi had told him to not go that day because they were having a big test of thier own in Neopian History,Spic had disregarded his older brother's words completely yet regretfully.He hated to think he was missing school and not seeing his friends,but he did realize that being painted white was very important to him.He didn't,of course,know why it was.But,that White Weewoo was bringing back something.Spic didn't know what it was,but he just felt as if he were painted white,that would be all he needed.

"Up bright and early I see."Hubert inquired much more enthusastically that morning,just dropping and informing Spic he would be taking a small quick trip to Mystery Island all day.

"Yes sir."Spic repiled hurriedly,as he prepared for that day's rush.

Hubert nodded and patted him on the back,"Well,see you then!"

"Yes sir."Spic repiled hurriedly,as he prepared for that day's rush.

Hubert nodded and patted him on the back,"Well,see you then!I'm off to the Islands."

Spic didn't have time to bid his new boss a fond farewell,because he was too busy being both surprised and bewildered to see the same Fire Lupe as his very first customer.He offered the offending Lupe a friendly smile,but the Lupe's direct glare made it clear he was fooling around.So,he started to speak in a snarling and bated breath of fustration,

"I ordered...well you know.The Veggie Hot Dog the other day and that was no sausce!Thanks to you and you're very poor service detail,I broke out in a allergic reaction to what appeared to be ketchup and my owner rubbed some cream on the rash that form all over my back and-"

"What!You gave him a what..."Hubert cut the now wimpering Lupe off,coming over to look Spic directly in the eye,"The words that referred to what he just saiddon't fit in my vocabulary."

"Yeah and I'm allergic too!"the Lupe added in a more composed note of voice,the back of his fiery,flame-licked fur on his neck standing up with anger as he started to growl.

"I'll handle this,"Hubert said to him firmly,as he yanked the name-tag off Spic's uniform.

"Oh,come on!"Spic countered,doing his best nownot to sound pleading,"One little mistake?"

"Yes,I know."the Mynci agreed simpley,pointing his finger outwards.

"What about it?"

"One too many if you ask me;now leave!You had you're chance,now please take your leave."

Spic eventually gave up and started to pump his way back up into the air,he didn't know where he was going to do.But it sure was going to be better then where he had been when he got there,that was when the idea of the paper route came in mind.As he started remembering a friend of his telling him about his older sibling who did routes on his own block,the idea of doing something maybe a tiny bit more easier wouldn't be so bad.With a giddy feeling,the Pteri soared on home to where he knew he could talk his owner into letting him do this.But little did he know,things weren't going to be looking up when he returned either.

To Be Continued...