Chapter One: Nook's Expectations
The human arrived on the train with the bare minimum: a bag of photos and just a bit of money in hand. It sat down at the only available seat – across from a burnt orange cat.
"Greetings!" the cat chattered. "My name is Dennis. What is your name?"
"My name is Elaine," she answered.
"Ooh, that's a beautiful name!' Dennis responded.
"Oh, thank you!" she answered.
The cat purred. "So, where are you going?"
"I'm headed to Cattington Falls," Elaine replied.
"REALLY?" The cat's eyes popped. "I know someone there who can set you right up with a house and a nice job." Before Elaine could stop him, he had disappeared behind the boxcar door. She could see him chattering on the phone. When he returned, he was aglow with news. "That was Tom Nook. He's the owner of Nook's Cranny, and he'll set you up with a house when you get there."
The train's horn blares and the train roars to a stop.
"OK, bye now," Dennis says, as Elaine heads out of the train, thinking, How did I get into this?
Okay, so by the time Nook had set her up with a small house with an orange roof and a work plan, she felt even worse about the whole situation. She began to wish she had not sat by that cat. But here was Nook now, with some new instructions.
Elaine worked all the rest of that day. Just as darkness approached, Nook told her to come back in the morning and start on a new job. Then he sent her off.
That next morning, Elaine returned. She did the various jobs that were asked of her, and when she had finished – with still a lot of money to pay back for the house! - Nook sent her off to ask the neighbors if they needed any work done. (He seemed to think it would do her a great good.)
Elaine knocked on the door of the first house she found – a pretty pink one with a rose garden. She entered, and the animal she saw inside was a pig. She walked up to it.
"Oh!" the pig squeaked in fright. "Hello, my name is Umbra. Who are you, sweetums?"
"I'm Elaine," Elaine answered. "Do you need anything?"
Umbra shook her head no and waddled away. Elaine moved onto the next house, but before she arrived she realized that she badly wanted to go home and eat. Besides, if Nook really wanted her to run some impressive errands, she had to build up her energy. She turned back and ran to her little house by the train station. Soon she was inside and enjoying a nice peach.