Riddle driving me up the wall!!

[ScurrilousPrune]

OK, I might have a pattern, but I don't know if it's right. (math is my worst subject). I'll work on it tomorrow after work. I have all the 2s in a proper pattern. I need to do the 1s and 3s. I know the answer too, but I don't know how to get it just yet. The Neopets site also doesn't tell you how to get the answer. (My sister has an account).

[ScurrilousPrune]

OK I got this, I had to break it up to line it up, but I don't know if the pattern is correct:

Welcome Yurbles to the Swashbuckling Academy
Pattern:
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n
2 3 3 1 2 1 3 f 2 1 2 1 2 3

o p q r s t u v w x y z
3 1 2 1 3 8 2 1 3 1 2 1



Message:

w e l c o m e y u r b l e s
3 2 1 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 3 1 2 3


t o t h e
8 3 8 f 2

s w a s h b u c k l i n g
3 3 2 3 f 3 2 3 2 1 2 3 3


a c a d e m y
2 3 2 1 2 2 2

Unfortunately, it's not right. It adds up to more than 80, which is the correct amount.

[Allanv]

it's a stupid Neopet riddle, where each letter has a value equal to the number of neopet species that start with that letter..

[Punked Out Comp]

Here's this weeks riddle.

Three people check into a hotel. They pay £30 to the manager and go to their room. The manager suddenly remembers that the room rate is £25 and gives £5 to the bellboy to return to the people. On the way to the room the bellboy reasons that £5 would be difficult to share among three people so he pockets £2 and gives £1 to each person. Now each person paid £10 and got back £1. So they paid £9 each, totalling £27. The bellboy has £2, totalling £29. Where is the missing £1?

I'm pretty sure I know the answer, it's not as hard as the other one.
Anyone else want to give it a shot?

EDIT: That's not the riddle, thats the brain teaser.

[HAL9000]

That one is simply using an incorrect order of operations for math.... you do multiplication and division first, addition and subtraction last... in this riddle, you have taken the $5 away first, then divided.

[Punked Out Comp]

Yea, It's pretty stupid. I bet you some ppl would have tried it over and over again though and gone crazy. A good brain teaser shouldn't give you false information, just confusing.