An Invisible Quiggle Seeing Himself

     His entire family was invisible, so he understood why they all wanted him to stay the way he was. He also understood that every neopet should be treated the same, no matter their paint color, although he knew that wasn't always the case. It was hard to be courteous to someone others couldn't even see. Luckily, it was different at home. Keeko and his family had a way to communicate so they knew the other was there. His father would wear a patterned scarf that complemented his green trousers, and he would always be curled up right in front of the fireplace. His mother always wore her striped pink and white dress that flowed down to her webbed feet and shone in the glittering light. And his brother, Matrix, always sported a cap that supported his favorite Altador Cup team, Darigan Citadel.

     Keeko, though, was still having trouble finding his own look. He experimented with a multitude of different styles, including sporty and classy, but he just didn't feel right in anything he wore. In the end he would show up to school in a ratty T-shirt and rain boots. And it was that very same outfit he was wearing as he trudged out to recess. He went instinctively to his normal resting place at the benches that overlooked the yooyuball field. He picked up his favorite book, the Quiggle Joke Book, and started reading. He couldn't help notice, though, the roars of laughter coming from the neopets playing yooyuball. The only roar coming from Keeko, though, was the roar of jealousy that he could feel rising up inside of him. All he wanted was to be was normal, just like everybody else. All he wanted to do was be able to play yooyuball with his fellow classmates. He just wanted to fit in.

     Eventually, the school bell rang again, and the neopets lined up to go back to Mr. Turner's classroom. And after a couple more hours of learning about shapes and stars and Shenkuu, the bell that signaled the end of the school day rang.

     Instead of going home, though, Keeko decided to make a detour to a local shop in Neopian Bazaar, Uni's Clothing. As he stood in the doorway taking in all of the different shirts, pants, and accessories the store had to offer, he was confident that he would be able to find something to his liking. This would surely be the way to being noticed at school. The Uni that ran the store quickly welcomed him, and pointed out that today was Half Price Day, and if there was anything she could help him with, she would surely be around to assist. Feeling even more confident after that encounter, Keeko quickly started making his way through the displays of clothes.

     He piled shirt after shirt and plenty of trousers, scarves, and boots into his arms, and he knew he was bound to find something he liked. However, even after countless wardrobe changes and looks into the mirror inside the dressing room, Keeko was disappointed to find out that the only thing that he fancied was a purple T-shirt with the words "I Love My Mutant Symol" sprayed in green across the chest, which looked vastly similar to every other shirt that he owned. In fact, he was almost positive he had the same exact shirt in black currently hanging in his closest. Nonetheless, Keeko slowly walked up to the Uni that had so graciously helped him, and laid down his neopoints on the counter with a solemn look on his face. She asked him if that was the only thing that he would like to purchase, and with a heavy heart, he responded with a quiet yes.

     But what the Uni said next astonished him. She exclaimed how she absolutely loved the shirt, and that it would fit his wardrobe and personality perfectly! As she hurried to bag his shirt and collect his change, Keeko wondered if maybe a baggy T-shirt and plain black pair of pants was what was perfect for him. With that new thought, Keeko confidently thanked the Uni and strolled out of the store.

     His house, which was located a little bit away in Meridell, was booming as he opened the door. His father was proudly playing the piano as his mother and brother danced all around the living room with their laughter filling up the room. Normally, he would climb up the stairs to his room and read a book, but this time, he proudly joined his mother and brother as they all gracefully paraded and danced around the room. This moment was the first time that Keeko truly felt a part of his family. It didn't matter that they were invisible, in fact they could have been Baby, Darigan, even Biscuit for all he cared, they were still one family. That night, Keeko went to bed with a smile.

     As he woke up the next morning, he jumped out of bed, threw on his new T-shirt he bought the day earlier, and ran downstairs to quickly scarf down some Neocrunch cereal. As he ran outside to his bike, he heard the birds chirping, he felt the sun warming his skin, and saw his family waving goodbye to him. As he biked towards Brightvale where his school was located, he couldn't help but feel that his life was going to change today.

     As Mr. Turner went through the first part of that day's lecture, Keeko couldn't sit still. The idea of recess loomed in the far distance and he couldn't focus on the history of the Battle of Meridell long enough to keep him preoccupied. Finally, the sound of the bell rang loudly throughout the classroom, and Keeko jumped out of his chair, held on tightly to his books, and ran outside the classroom.

     As he left the classroom in a hurry, he ran to and opened his locker and hastily threw all of his items, even his usual reading book, into the empty spaces. He then followed the rest of his classmates as they headed into the gleaming sun for recess.

     Most of the students quickly ran to the yooyuball field and started forming their usual teams. Keeko shuffled over to the lines of awaiting players and waited to be picked. Name after name was called, and Keeko wasn't one of them. His confidence was dwindling fast and he was regretting not just sitting and watching from afar. Did they not notice him? Did they not want him to play? Did they not like him? As he started to slowly step away, one of the team captains, a large Darigan Grarrl roared the name Keeko, and motioned over to his side of the field. Keeko was astonished. More than astonished, he was flabbergasted. Someone actually noticed him! Someone actually wanted him to be on their team! He hopped over to the team captain and awaited instructions.

     The Grarrl, whose name was Jawlandor, rattled off the list of rules and then started placing people in appropriate positions. The Usuki Usul next to him took the goalie spot, the Red Skeith and the Faerie Eyrie took the two spots on defense, and Jawlandor took the first spot on offense. Jawlandor then turned right to Keeko, stopped, and looked at him intensely. Keeko froze, his eyes filled with fear, and his hands stared shaking. But Jawlandor surprised everyone, especially Keeko, when he said that he wanted Keeko to take the open offensive spot next to him.

     Keeko couldn't help but be confused. The Usul had her speed, the Skeith had his size, the Eyrie had his ability to fly, and Jawlandor had his strength. What did he have? He figured he would have just sat the bench and cheered on his fellow teammates, and maybe fetch them water in between plays. He never thought that he would be in the front of the action, alongside the best yooyuball player in his grade. Jawlandor noticed his hesitant behavior and said something that changed Keeko's life. He explained how Keeko could easily sneak up behind someone to grab the ball to score because he was invisible. Most importantly, though, he said that the fact Keeko was invisible was the best trait he could have hoped for in a fellow player.

     At that moment, Keeko realized three life changing ideas. One, that no matter how the game turned out, no matter how many goals he scored, or no matter how well he played, he was important. The other was that his color was what made him special and unique, not what made him an outcast. He also realized that before he could have been seen by others, he had to have been seen by himself first. With that, he hustled out to his spot, and got ready to play.

The End