Reality Bytes
Chapter 3
"The Day After"
30th Day of Running,Y8
(March 30th of 2006)
As I began to focus my eyes my memory began to catch up with me. "Not this shit again." The best sleep I have ever had just happened to end up being on a cloud, how cliché? My body ached, my head spun and the adrenaline from last nights encounter had stopped. It was time to assess the damage done. As I gave my self a quick once over, I noticed my new little friend start to creep up to me, its big blue eyes gleaming. He smiled and I could see his tiny fangs. "Hi." I spoke to it, "…now what?" I could now see the Water Faerie's true self. The tail through me off at first but I could now see what type of being she actually was. How odd. "A Mermaid?" I hadn't meant to say it out loud. She gave me a strange look. "Hello, Bettie Sue." How did she know my name? "I am a Water Faerie." She smirked. "Neopia is full of many different beings. You will come to meet them with time." She began to explain how the world was structured. She let me know where I would be welcomed and where I would be harassed. After I had a general understanding of this new world I was politely asked to leave. The Healing Springs was very busy.
I noticed a difference today. At night there were far less people and now the streets were flooded. I could see that the Baby Korbat was doing much better. As I walked, he hovered behind me. I stopped suddenly and turned around. "Do you intend on following me wherever I go? If you do, I'll need to know your name." I paused. "Do you have a name?" It looked at me blankly. I sighed deeply. "Okay, then I'll call you Little Rocky Horror. Do you like it?" He nodded. At the very least I knew that he had understood me and that was all I needed to know for now. We traveled back to Neopia Central. It was overpopulated but it was also the best place to start out. I even met a few newbies there. I felt more comfortable and I was more eager to explore.
I stood in front of a massive tree. "What's all this about?" Everyone was hurring about, some with arms full of items and others trying to move their way deeper into the commotion. "The Money Tree." I heard someone yell at me as they made their way to the tree's overgrown roots. I now understood. I tried my luck at it, nothing. I tried again, out of luck. I was too late someone else had already taken the item I was grasping for. Most of what was there were useless items, others were not and those were the ones being the taken the quickest. I managed to position myself in front of the tree. I tried once more, success! I took my item and began to make my way through the crowd. It had taken me a few tries but I had finally picked up a t-shirt which I had so badly needed. I began to unfold the gift, it read: "I Survived the Haunted Woods" How ironic.
I tore off my bloodied T and threw on the new one that I had just found. I made my way to the Neopian Bank and setup a bank account. The ghost had stolen 80 of my neopoints and I was now looking for a way to earn money. I decided to look for work. I entered a shop to ask if they were hiring. "No, I'm sorry the Petpet Shop already has a shopkeeper. We're not looking to hire anyone right now." I was surprised to see who spoke. It was a neopet. She looked a bit like a squirrel with her golden colored fur. She had two rather large ears which stuck straight up into the air and a long tail which curled up into itself. This was an Usul, which I soon later found out. As I was about to leave I met a woman. She introduced me to herself as Mad old Mrs. Williams. We began to talk a bit and she told me she was looking for some help. She needed someone to keep an eye on her Petpets while she was away. I agreed.
I followed her to where she lived. "This is my Neohome, please make yourself comfortable." She left the room and I sat down on an oversized couch. Her home was small and well kept. She came back with a few small creatures. These were not much different than regular neopets but I could tell that there was a slight difference. I tried to speak to one, but it replied in gibberish. "Petpets are not good at conversation. All they do is act like fools and utter nonsense. These are not attached to pets yet so they may be a handful." I was confused yet again. "Attached?" I asked. "Yes. Petpets come in a variety of species similar to the Neopets. What a Neopet is to you, a Petpet is to your Neopet." I now felt guilty for not having one for my new Neopet. "So they're pets for your Neopets?" She gave a quick chuckle and left the house.