Chapter Three. Somehow some of my chapter data was lost in this one and i had to find the hardcopy i printed out a while back in order to fix it. thank god for hard copies, eh?
I don't own Neopets. The OC's are mine.
Let The Classes . . . Begin
Chapter Three
First day of classes was the most hectic day I ever experienced. Even with all that time I used to spend helping mom in the clinic. Especially during the summer when most of the Battledome fights took place.
Next to finding where all my classes were, working in the clinic was nothing.
First thing I found when I woke up was that my schedule had been stuck under my door. Perhaps by one of the RA's. My roommate (whose name turned out to be Kara) had already grabbed her's and left with Callaban for breakfast. I picked up mine and looked at it.
Name: Tamara
Sex: F
Age: 13
Neopet: Lupe/Fangore
Year: 1st Time Fresh
Classes:
8:00am-9:00am Neopet Identification in room 216 of Grarrl building under instructor J. Nielson
9:10am-10:10am Neopet Health and Fitness in G16 of Gym under instructor P. Furey
10:20am-11:20am Neopet Care-taking in room 318 of Lupe building under instructor R. Watt
11:30am-12:00pm 2nd Lunch in Cafeteria under staff
12:10pm-1:10pm Neopet Training in room G17 of Gym under instructor P. Furey
1:20pm-2:20pm Neopian Laws and Procedures in room 146 of Xweetok building under instructor G. Leedy
My day wasn't exactly busy. It suited me perfectly because I preferred not to have a busy day most of the time. At least after Neopian Law class, I could spend most of the time studying for my classes.
I woke up at seven and went to the cafeteria with Fangore. Breakfast mostly consisted of fresh bacon, eggs, juice, and toast with many condiments. Fangore broke his fast over a bowl of Lupe kibble and stringed liver. As gross as it sounded and looked, Fangore rather enjoyed it and displayed his liking for it by licking his chops.
"Ready to go?" I asked, untying the lead from the stake.
"Always ready when you are." Fangore said.
I tied the halter to the heavy belt around my waist and we stalked out to the Grarrl building, up the stairs, and into room two-sixteen.
Professor Jack Nielson was a veteran neopet master. He was considerably much older than me and still getting along in years. His neopet was a green Grundo who was just as old, scarred, and battered as his master was.
Nielson started started off the lesson by giving a lecture about Grundos and then introducting himself. I jumped at his words.
"Grundos! After centuries of imprisonment by the evil, Dr. Sloth, who transformed them into his hideous servants, the Grundos have come to Neopia. They are naturally friendly and try–sometimes too hard–to be cool. They have a monstrous appetite that allows them to eat almost anything."
He rubbed his leathery chin with a calloused hand before continuing. "Good morning, students. I am Professor Jack Nielson. I have come to this school two generations ago and have taught a generation before you. When I got into the Age of Retirement, I was given the opportunity to come here and teach the younger generations how to identify neopets. It was either that or lose what was precious to me . . . Morpheus."
The Grundo gave a gurgle of satisfaction at being addressed as something precious. Nielson touched Morpheus' head between the lobbed antenna surmounting his head.
"As you can imagine, it is very hard to lose the very thing that has been with you for so long." Nielson said. "Morpheus and I share a common bond that you and your neopets soon will as well. These things take time. With that time, you both will be connected in more ways than one. Soon, you will be able to feel what each other is feeling. Know what each other knows. See as each other sees.
"This can be a blessing and a curse. In the Battledome, you can feel what you neopet is feeling. Sometimes, this drives people into insanity. Luckily for you, you won't actually be the one to send your neopets in to fight. That is up to the Neo-Masters. You just have to train them.
"I am here to teach you how to identify neopets, their characteristics, personalities, and why they are much better than any Terran animal you will ever meet." His sparkling blue eyes looked up toward someone in the back. "Yes'um?"
"What exactly is the difference between Terran and Neopian animals?" said a girl lounging in the back with a red Mynci at her side.
"Terran animals cannot commune or bond with us as Neopian animals can." Nielson answered. "Your Mynci can communicate to you and you can understand . . . is it a him or a her?"
"Her." The girl answered. "And, her name is China."
"And your's?"
"Maya." came her reply.
"Well, Maya, I hope that I have answered your question today." said Nielson.
"You have." Maya replied as she settled back into her seat. "Please continue."
With that, Nielson continued with his explanation of the Grundos. "Now, Grundos look very much alike. They are rotund little creatures because of their tendency to eat almost anything that's edible."
Morpheus growled something at Nielson that Fangore translated as, "Hey! I'm not that fat!"
"No, you're not, Morpheus. In fact, compared to other Grundos, you are quite average."
"Thank you." Fangore translated and I heard murmurs from other neopets as they translated for their m asters as well.
"Now, Grundos have a very-well developed muscle structure. Perhaps . . . that is what Dr. Sloth saw in the Grundos to make them his slaves." Morpheus growled at the name of the notorious mad scientist from long ago. Nielson ignored him and continued giving his speech. "Grundos are actually not classified as neopets seeing as how they came from a planet very distant from ours. Nobody really knows where they come from or how Dr. Sloth found them. But, after Neopian government arrested Dr. Sloth, the Grundos were put here.
"We discovered that we could commune with them. Just like we could with actual neopets. Grundos just as friendly but just as fierce in battle as most all neopets. Each one has his or her use. Grundos have theirs."
The remainder of the lesson was based on Grundo history. Nielson lectured on how to identify Grundos, their general uses, and the best way to train and maintain them. Then, he gave us the assignment (due Wednesday) on the differences between neopets and Grundos.
No sooner had Nielson dismissed class then Fangore tugged on the lead rather hard.
"Fang! Slow down! What's your hurry?" I demanded, yanking on the lead to get him to heel.
"I just want to talk to that Mynci. Come on." He said, excitedly.
"Why?"
"Because she fascinates me that's why." Fangore grumbled and I saw his golden eyes roll.
"Fang, we've got a class in eight minutes." I said.
"You're point?"
"My point is that I can't be late on my first day." I answered.
"She's headed in the direction of the gym anyway." Fangore said. "We can catch 'em."
"Why can't you wait until school's over to talk to her?" I asked.
"Because I can't that's why." Fangore said.
I rolled my eyes. Out of all the Lupes I could have communed with it had to be one with a huge sense of sarcasm. I sighed and my shoulders rolled forward into submission. "Fine." I said. "What's the girl's name anyway?" I asked.
"Maya I think it is." Fangore told me as we stepped out of the room.
I spotted her through the crowd. "Hey! Maya! Wait up?" I called.
Surprisingly, the girl stopped and turned; the Mynci sitting on her shoulder balanced by wrapping it's tail around her shoulder and down her upper-arm. They watched as Fangore and I approached.
I looked her up and down. She was not much taller than I was though a little bit older than me. She had thick, black hair tied back into a constricting ponytail She had a tan face, with dimples in her right cheek every time she smiled. Her eyes were dark brown and sparked with a sort of ferocity as she glared at me.
"How do you know my name?" Maya asked.
"You asked the question about Terran animals." I answered.
"Ah." Maya said, nodding. She seemed kind of nervous. "What do you want?" she asked.
"It's actually not what I want." I said. "It's what my Lupe wants."
"What does he want?"
"He wants to speak to your Mynci."
Maya looked down at Fangore. My companion stared back up at her, pleadingly. "He's not going to attack China is he?"
"'Course not." I answered.
With that, a conversation (which we could only understand our neopets' half of the conversation) went on between my Lupe and Maya's Mynci. I could hear Fangore giving away some information about me to China and I felt my cheeks turn red. Although, I must say I was glad that Fangore avoided the fact that I was a year too young for the Academy.
As they talked, Maya and I walked down to the gym. Then, they fell silent as Professor Furey began his lesson. He mostly discussed what his class was going to teach. Basically, he was going over some training exercises that not only tested and enhanced the strength of the neopet . . . but also developed at trust factor and a stronger between neopets and humans.
Then, we followed Maya and China to the Lupe building for our care-taking class. There, Professor Wagner went over what she was going to teach.
At lunch, Maya and I had a very long talk. For some reason, our neopets decided to be friends and–with them–us as well.
I stayed silent through most of it; allowing Maya to be open and honest with me. I nodded and gave a few comments wherever necessary while she discussed things with me. As she talked, I noticed that the spark of surprise was starting to leave her eyes.
Maya came from a semi-bad home-life and had a bad relationship with her mother. She explained that she was a twin (a fact I found interesting since twins were rare among Neopians) and her sister, Alison, was also coming to school here. She said that her mom was a single parent who raised Alison, Maya, and their younger sister (Dahlia) alone. Their father was in Tyrannia working on a neopet zoo–which was actually a rehabilitation center that my mother worked closely with.
I looked over at China who was curled up close to Fangore. "How'd you get China?" I asked.
Maya glanced over at the red Mynci. "Interesting story." she said. "This Mynci came into my dad's work with a broken tail. I was visiting my dad in Tyrannia when he asked me to feed the neos. I was feeding this Mynci when I looked up and noticed she was watching. Our eyes locked and we communed. We've been together ever since."
"Wait. You said this Mynci came in with a broken tail." I said pointing to China.
Maya nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
I stared at China, who was now dabbing at Fangore's chin with a napkin. "I seem to remember a Mynci coming into the clinic at the end of the school year. She had a broken tail. Mom said she would always have a kink in it." I held my hand out to China then stopped and looked at Maya. "May I?"
Maya nodded and coaxed the Mynci in my direction. China sat on my lap as I examined her tail. It was exactly as mom had said it would be; slightly crooked because of a fracture in the tail joints. Although the tail was naturally curled, it was twisted slightly off to one side.
"Well? What do you think?" Maya asked me.
"I think . . . I might have helped mom with your Mynci." I said.
"Really?" Maya asked.
"I think so." I said. I explained that a red Mynci had come into the clinic with a broken tail and how mom had had me hang onto it while she fixed its tail. Then, the Mynci had been sent to the rehabilitation center in Tyrannia.
"That's pretty cool." Maya said, taking China away from me.
I shrugged. To me, working as mom's assistant wasn't as cool as it used to be. I mean, sure I got to learn basic medical stuff but, I was used to it by now.
"So . . . what's your life story?" Maya asked.
I shrugged and started in on it. I told her about my family; basically about Codax and my mom–whom I primarily live with. I told her that my parents separated some time ago but were still married. Dad liked to explore ancient ruins around Neopia. He sent letters back to us occasionally but he had been gone for too long. He probably wouldn't recognize us if he saw us. I was pretty sure of that.
"So . . . are you going to the First-year mugging?" Maya asked me.
I shrugged. "Probably not." I said, looking down at my saddlebag full of homework. "I've got a lot of homework."
"Me too but that's not gonna stop me." Maya answered. "I'll be there."
I watched her. Her eyes were pleading. "I'll think about it."