Claire's POV

"Your farm looks like shit."

I turned around to find Gray standing behind me. He looked so stupid in his hat and coveralls – like some kind of baseball-playing toddler. He was holding my upgraded axe in one hand, and a chunk of silver in the other.

I glared at him.

"Here's your stupid axe." Gray tossed it on the ground, and then held out the chunk of silver. "And take this – we didn't need it."

"Thanks." I spat, turning away to continue tilling my field. It did look like shit, but I wasn't about to admit it.

I heard the silver hit the ground with a small thump.

"You know," The jerk added. "You're doing it all wrong."

"I don't tell you how to do your job." I turned again, and he was smirking. "Don't tell me how to do mine."

"Whatever." Gray laughed, and I heard his footsteps lead away from my farm.

Why was it that I had to put up with his crap every stinking day? He was always so rude to me! I didn't even want to go to the blacksmith's shop anymore incase I'd run into him. I always had to wait until the afternoon, when he would go to the library and pretend to read. He probably didn't even know how to read.

I set down the hoe I was using and looked around. I had been working hard all Spring, and I had nothing to show for it in the Summer. The pineapple seeds I planted had barely even sprouted, and the season would be over soon.

Gray was right, but I would never admit it. It's funny how he could dish out all these insults, but couldn't take the heat if anyone brought up his forging skills. I still remember the first day I met him. The moron had managed to screw up a necklace, and couldn't figure out what was wrong with it.

I walked through the door to find a frightening scene.

"Tell me what's wrong with it!" Gray yelled at his grandfather.

"The answer is inside of you! You have much to learn!" Saibara snapped back.

"Um," I said quietly, tapping the younger man on the shoulder. "Hi."

He spun around. "What are you looking at? If you have nothing –" The red-haired man spat.

His face matched his hair color. I had never seen someone so angry before.

"Gray! How dare you speak to a customer like that!" Saibara's head was about to spin completely around.

"So… sorry." Gray pulled his hat over his eyes, but I could still his scowl. "I didn't mean to be rude. My grandfather was giving me a hard time."

I was still in shock at his outburst. No one had ever spoken to me that way, and it wasn't sitting well with me. I wanted to teach this jerk a lesson.

"He never approves of any of my work. I'm ready to quit." He whined.

"It's called training." I growled, scowling at him.

Gray stared at me, shocked. I don't know what he said next, because I was already out the door.

I didn't go back for weeks. But with my tools being as weak as they were, it was holding back progress on my farm. I could barely pay any of my bills. It took me all day to clear even the smallest area of my field, and by then it was too dark to try and find things to collect in the forest for shipping. I needed to upgrade my tools.

One day, with reluctance, I shoved some tools into my rucksack, along with all the silver ores I could find, and lugged it to the blacksmith shop. When I walked in, there was a girl with long black hair talking to Gray in behind the counter. It looked as if she was holding his hand.

I rolled my eyes. The idiot had probably chopped his finger off when he wasn't paying attention. The girl was bandaging his bloody hand. I ignored whatever was happening back there. I turned my attention back to the front counter.

Saibara welcomed me, and I unpacked my bag onto the counter.

"I was wondering if I could get these tools upgraded?" I smiled at him.

The old man nodded. "It'll take three days. Will you be paying upfront?"

The raven-haired girl breezed past me, and I looked over at Gray. He was smiling like a complete moron while cradling his bandaged hand.

I looked back at his grandfather and grimaced. "I'll have to put it on my tab."

Saibara nodded. "Alright! Now out of here! I'm busy working."

And with that he ushered me out of the store.

I later learned that that girl was Mary, the librarian. And it was clear to me that Gray was positively smitten with her. Every single day at one o'clock, I would see him walking up the road from my farm to the library. Goddess only knows how long he stayed. Seeing him head up the road was my cue to head to the mines, where I would look for ores to deliver to Saibara. The old man was always thrilled, saying that I was more aware of the precision and delicateness that it took to mine a good ore than Gray ever was.

Or ever will be, I thought bitterly.

On Mondays I took extra care to go nowhere near the blacksmith shop. I could never predict if Gray would be there or not, since the library was closed. I found it best to avoid him at all cost. Therefore, I considered Mondays to be my day off as well. Sometimes I would go to the Hot Springs, and on really warm days, I'd visit the beach. All was well.

For about a year.