Three Rubber Bands

by Karisma Jestler

Mandy, the daughter of Kappa and Claire, leaves home to try to set her life straight. Haunted by a dark past that still holds her back from the present, Mandy finds herself circling around the new group of people that welcome her with open arms. But do the open arms scare her as much as the dark past?

1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Third Farmer

I tilted my head back against the hard padding of the bus; I hated how much people stared at my green hair. It wasn't like I wanted to be born with it. There was nothing I could ever do about it. Every time I tried dying it the color always seemed to fade in just three weeks then that idiotic color green would replace it. I hate it. Truly I hate it.

I unclenched my fist and felt the blood return to my now bluish fingers. And no my skin is not blue. I am not some alien that has green hair and blue skin. I have green hair and green eyes.

My mother used to say that my hair and eyes are what set me apart from the norm. But I don't think she ever realized that I just once, just once, wanted to fit in. Try being shunned most of your life, because the kids thought you were an alien because of your hair. I… I was just lonely.

From that I kind of got a nasty anger problem. Not like I wanted one. It just seemed my fuse ended up a lot shorter than all the other people on this stupid useless pile of shit earth.

.3.3.3. -Deep breathes, deep breaths, bunnies and unicorns- .8.9.10… That's some stupid exorcise my psychiatrist told me to do when I start getting mad, or the rubber band thing. On my left hand rest a three rubber bands. Pull the first if the numbers didn't work. Pull two if I start to think about murder. And the last… is for the suicide. I don't want to talk about that one right now.

I gripped my blue backpack closer to my stomach and slide further into my chair. I just wanted to be in Echo Village as fast as possible.

I was reading the newspaper one day in the café that I used to like to regularly go to. There was an ad that told of a small piece of property. It was too small to be considered a farm, although two surrounded it. How do I know? I went last week I went to see if it was actually a scam. Why check if a scam?

You see my mom, Claire; she was scammed when she first moved to my hometown of Mineral town. She hated it at first, farming I mean, but she soon learned to love it and in time met my dad. Ok don't laugh but he was the Kappa living the Harvest Goddess' pond on Mother's hill. So they did the whole shindig, marrying I mean and having sex, but he was never around very much. He still spent time on the farm but it felt as though he didn't want to be around me. It was like he only came around three times a year to see my mother. They would embrace speak quietly then that was that until around dinnertime when he would leave and pat my head.

You know what's funny, I actually didn't know who he was for the first ten years of my life, until finally asked to his face who he was. My mother was so mad at me that day, he left early. I don't think I was ever as embarrassed as I was then on that day.

I rolled to my side and gazed out the window and tried to picture what I would do with my little plot of land. Maybe I could make it a luscious garden teeming with flowers from all over the world or maybe it could just be a small grove of fruit trees that I could make a small profit on. I could even own some bees if I do that. My honey would be the best all around! Or it would fail miserably. Like all my projects and I would end up selling the land, just like the town did, for dirt-cheap and crawl back to my mom's house.

Jolting me from my deep thought experience I dumb foundly stared up at the bus driver.

"Look Missy how long are you going to stay on here? I want to go home. Get off." He jerked his thumb to the front of the bus where the frosted winter air whistled through the half opened doors.

I slowly stood up. He was starting off on the wrong foot. 1.2.3-

"How long are you gonna take? Really hurry it up!" .8.9.10. –Deep breathes, deep breaths-

I gripped my backpack in my hands and walked past him. "Sorry for the wait." I forced a really bad smile.

The bus driver signed, an unnecessary sigh, right into my face, push all of his disgusting garlic breath into my nostrils. I could feel my face repulse into disgust. I stepped quickly past him.

I flicked up the first rubber band. It ripped at the scabbing wound on my wrist.

I quietly walked past the empty rows of seats and to the front of the bus. As I walked the bus driver's fat lard compressed the rickety bus as the wheels and tires cried out in pain from his grotesque compression. Flick rubber band one twice in a row.

I was at the end of the line and stood in between the doors and the bus driver's seat. He grunted at me with his garlic breath and I handed over the fifteen dollars. I barfed a bit in my mouth as his grubby hands slipped past my own.

Quickly pulling away, I practically ran out of the bus and into the fresh fallen snow.

…

It was the first snow the season. There was still a small layer of grass peeking up from behind the white matter.

I smiled as some tickled the tips of my nose. Just recently I cut my hair and the cold winter wind on the back of my neck, made my obnoxious green hair stand on end. I tightened my black scarf and dug my mittened hands deeper into the chasms that I called pockets.

The bus station was a good three miles away from the town and there was a lot of grazing fields and forest to pass first.

I trudged through the slowly deepening snow. I kept my head down to allow my hair to get the brunt of the force. Until I suddenly came to a fork in the road. I squinted to see the sign. It read; Echo Village ←, Zephyr Town →. Turning to the left I headed for the village. I was suddenly thrown into a world of pine and oak trees.

It felt like a gingerbread house would suddenly appear if I turned a corner. It was so different from the first time I went to Echo village. Everything was brown and crisp from the fall air and only a touch of frost nipped my nose. But for now it was blizzard weather and I was not in the mood to walk in the dark in a blizzard alone in the middle of a forest I am not accustomed to. Mother hills one thing, but this forest is another.

I lifted my head and blinked past the snow that was just beginning to crust my eyelashes. Off in the distance a small light was swinging back and forth. Instantly I sprinted towards it. Even though the snow tried to block me I was much more focused on getting to the light than falling into a snow hole.

I passed a small empty farm with only a chicken coop and a barely standing house and a vast field that seemed to overlook the entire valley that I had just climbed up. I sighed, as the swinging light that had once propelled me into running s towards it was just a lamp hanging over the entrance to a small village.

"I guess I could just stay at the inn tonight and figure out where the hell I am tomorrow." I spoke to myself. I hated the thought that I might have made a wrong turn in the road to Echo Village but that was all I assume.

I trudged over to the inn that was tucked neatly in the corner of a small plateau overlooking the town. As soon as I stepped into the warm oven like room I instantly recognized the inn. This was Echo Village. The ornate wood paneling and rustic lodge feel welcomed me once again into the quiet town. The older Norwegian man and his son stood at the desk. Well, more or less, the middle-aged man was helping his son with some type of homework.

I walked up the desk, snow covering my clothes and my backpack-soaking wet. I can't even imagine what my hair looked like. I had it in a hat before I first led the farm this morning but I sort of remember the wind blowing it anyway. I stood at the counter and watched the father and son. They were totally engrossed in why they were doing; the father who was so aware of his surroundings seemed to of not of noticed my precise. I was a nonentity to them. I could just feel they unmistakable bonding flow through the room. They really did treasure themselves.

I coughed. "Excuse me?"

They looked up. The Norwegian man stared at me almost at a loss for who I was. But the son easily connected my face to a name.

"Miss Waterman! Did you just come in on the last bus?"

"Yeah.. I thought I got lost in some other town. This place really looks different in the snow."

"Yes this place really does look different with each season. That's one of the reasons why Niko and I came back." Hossan spoke with clarity and an easing gentleness that seemed to calm my anger from the bus driver.

"That's wonderful, that you officially moved back. Dunhill told me that I should come to you for the keys..."

"Oh yes the keys!" Hossan bent down below, under counter and handed me a small rusted pair of keys. Well just one key. On the top of the key there was a small-embroidered lion sitting in the middle of a grassy field. I stared at the key for quite some time before the innkeeper coughed, breaking the silence.

"Oh! Sorry!" I blushed, I couldn't believe he saw me zone out like that.

"Don't worry about it. At first I was fascinated by that key as well. I did some research to find out why they have that done to them, and it seems that the old owner adored lions, everything was centered on them. From the way he planted his field to his rugs underneath his feet was in the shape or had lions on them…"

The innkeeper rambled on and on about how he researched and wanted to write a biography about the old farmer but the man never consented. It was odd as I slowly began to glance around the inn lounge. The rugs and everything were perfect. Clean down to the very atom. Or more like clean down to the particle. The pictures didn't even have that nostalgic, sentimental layer of dust that suggested their years of love and forget. It was odd the way this inn looked. Almost like the president of the country was about to walk right through the doors I had just walked through minutes before.

"... So what do you think for a title of it Miss Waterman?" Hossan caught me off guard. I was so off in my own world that I hadn't listened to his little ramble.

"I think the best recurring theme would be the best for the title. You know the book Catcher in the Rye?" He nodded. "Well that book is all about Holden's wanting to protect innocence and his metaphor in that novel is the catcher in the rye… an old fable that he remembers when he sees his innocent sister." I wasn't really paying attention, but I'm pretty good with thinking one the spot.

"I see very interesting." He nods and closes his eyes almost like the 'Thinker'. But as I looked over at his young son, Niko, he stared hard and cold into my eyes. I shuttered back and smiled. That kid never really liked me. I never really like myself either kid.

"Well I must be going Hossan, Niko." I bowed to them and turned my back.

As I left the inn I heard the two call 'goodbye's to me. I shoved the key into my black coat pocket and braced the blizzard.

The snow flicked my hair around my face, causing my vision to be slightly skewed as I followed the poorly plowed streets. I crossed a small interesting and glanced at a newly built building that hadn't been there when I was last here, the tailors'. It was tailored (hah you guys see what I did there?) with a soft blue and white strips that covered the bottom half of the building. There were small snowdrop garlands draped over the two windows. An equally sweet royal purple overhang covered the door and the same color adorned the roof. I quickly pasted it; I didn't have time to examine the buildings in town. It was nearing midnight and I still needed to get to my new house.

I dashed, or as fast of a run as possible, to my house. Its' entrance was tucked in a very small corner of the town's west side. A small wooden gate showed its' precise in the town. As I approached it I looked up at the top of the gate and saw a small lion carved into the wood. I smiled and opened the gate.

The snow was so deep that I had to take small steps to ensure I wouldn't fall over. The house was shoved in the far left upper corner of the land. By the time I got there I was so soaked through that I could feel my body falling apart from tiredness. I pulled out the lion key and opened my door to my new home.

It was a three level house. Yeah I bet you all think I got the best house of a lifetime, but I beg to differ. The first floor split into three rooms; kitchen, mudroom, and bathroom. A small staircase stuck out in front of the door as a tight hallway pushed the boundaries of tight. The kitchen took up most of the first floor, while the bathroom cornered the back of the house. The hallway split the first floor in half a tiny back door was on the opposite end.

I shrugged off my wet backpack and slipped off my emerald green rain boots. I dropped my bag to the floor and unzipped my black down jacket. I hung it up on the carved coat rack and snatched up my backpack once again, but I didn't put it on. I mean who want to have a wetback on the back of their nice clean, warm, not-wet clothes? I walked up the stairs. The second floor was only two rooms. One was the living room and the other was the second bedroom. I didn't stop on the second floor; I just really wanted to go to bed.

Finally I got to the third floor. It only consisted of a large bedroom and a tiny bathroom tucked into the corner of the lofty room. The room was huge. The ceiling almost went all the way up to the roof, but a small crawl space of an attic stopped it. A large queen size bed sat in the middle of the room. A fluffy down comforter lay on top of the bed. A large Chester drawer stood on the right side of the bed. Later on I'd probably change the room, but I was too damn tired to do anything that night except strip and throw on my ex-boyfriend's old shirt. I know I shouldn't have left my dripping wet clothes on the slightly clean floors, but it was midnight and I had had enough for that day.

…

I rolled off my too-large-for-me bed and on to the freezing cold floor. Even if this house was heated, Dunhill even showed me the furnace, I still didn't believe him. I grumbled to myself as I opened one of my puss green eyes. The blizzard from last night had ended and left a fresh layer of frost covering my window that overlooked my property.

I cradled myself in the down blanket and shuffled down the three flights of stairs and into the kitchen. I opened up the pantry expecting to grab a bag of coffee beans, only to find none. I sighed and opened the fridge, expecting to find some eggs. I sighed again and opened the breadbox, expecting to find some toast. And then it hit me. I have absolutely no food.

My furniture and other clothes would be coming in about two days and I was left, in a house, in a town, where I didn't know if they had a grocery store or even a restaurant that would be open at this time in the morning.

I grumbled to myself and slammed the breadbox door. Snatching up my blanket I once again climbed the three flights of stairs to the top floor. Once in my room I threw the blanket I had used to cover myself on to the bed again and trudged over to my bag. I had brought my toiletries just in case and a good thing too. I grabbed the shampoo and soap bar and headed for the bathroom.

I striping, I let the hot water soak my skin and open my pores. I washed my skin with the minty soap my mother loves to make and scrubbed the lavender shampoo into my green locks.

As I let the bubbles fall from my body, I closed my eyes and let my decision seep in. I was finally independent of my mom and had almost severed all ties with my so-called father. To be truthful I'm not totally convinced he really is my dad. But I like to keep that hidden.

I turned off the water and dried my body. My slightly tanned skin was beginning to fade from the winter in exposure. I rubbed the last bit of sleep from my eyes and left the bathroom. The sun was now fully in the sky and by the small hanging clock on the wall, it read 8 o'clock. The restaurant must be open.

I dressed in my only other outfit; jeans, soft orange sweater and a white button down shirt. It was pretty much what I wore all the time. Nothing more nothing less. I trudged down the stairs and threw my black coat over all of my clothes. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my coat and fished out my leather wallet. It's not like the usually womanly wallet. It's a deep brown leather wallet, with a small name that was engraved on the inseam with the name Lionel Gaffer. I had bought it last I had come to the village. To check if it was a scam, I mean. I bought it at the Zephyr Town Bazaar.

But back to the main story, I left my property and headed off into the town. I glanced at my small wristwatch and found it was 10:30 AM. I smiled to myself, realizing that most of the shops that usually were open on that day were open for already a half an hour.

I tightened my scarf and passed the closed tailor shop. I headed into the main part of town, for most of the shops were situated in that area.

As soon as I stepped out of the quiet west side of town, I was thrown into the hustle and bustle of Echo Village. The roads were paved, the trees had most of the snow brushed off their leaves, and a lot of the stores were open. I sucked up a bit of snot that ran out of my nose and headed over to the restaurant that lay near the inn.

It was a large yellow building. There were only two floors, but it felt just as big as my own. A large sign hung on the front of the building that said Chez Clement. I walked through the sliding doors and was immediately welcomed by a bubbly waitress. Not that many customers were in, so the waitress led me over to the counter. I don't really care. But I usually like to eat alone.

"What can I get you to drink?" The bubbly waitress smiled a perfectly white smile.

"I'll have ah… do you have some herbal tea, with a bit of honey. My throat is hurting."

"Wonderful! I'll be right back!" The waitress disappeared behind the swinging kitchen doors.

I sighed and rested my head on my hands. I still had to go to the general store, stock up on food, and then start planning out my small farm. I think Dunhill wanted to meet up with me somewhere, but I really have no idea. I twirled a lock of my wavy green hair around my finger. As I slowly brought the finger and piece of hair in front of my eyes, I saw that my nails were getting long. You see most girls in the town didn't really have to work on a farm everyday of their life, so they had long elegant nails. While emerald Emily over here had the short nails that had a thick layer of dirt and grime under them. The only way to get the dirt out was to leave them short.

"Excuse me Ma'am?" The bubbly waitress from before set down the tea. I smiled and pulled the steaming cup closer.

"Yes?"

"Are you ready to order?"

"Yeah. Can I have the grits with butter and maple syrup."

"Can do!" The waitress scribbled down my order and clipped it to a rotating circle that connected to the kitchen. As she turned back to me, I was too engrossed in my tea that I didn't see her pull up a small stool and watch me.

"I'm glad you like the tea." She smiled at me, as I jumped a bit from her words.

"Yeah, this always wakes me up."

"I usually prefer coffee-oh-lait but on days like this tea really is the best."

"Yeah."

We were quiet for sometime, during that time she brought out my grits, which I consumed at a fast pace.

About halfway through the grits, the waitress perked right up again.

"Are you new around here?"

"Yeah… how'd you know?"

"I'm a waitress at the local restaurant. How could I not know?"

"True true." I nodded.

"So what's your name? I'm Felicity!" She was practically shining.

"Mandy. Mandy Waterman." Did I mention that I hate my name? I really truly hate it. I never had the courage to tell my mom that I hate it, but I did ask why she named me such a dumb name one time.

My mom and I were waving good-bye to my father at the end of my twelfth birthday when it crossed my mind. Like any kid I innocently wanted to know why mom named what she did. Her reason? Her favorite dead dog. Well, my nickname. My full name is Madeline Waterman, but Mandy for short. I really don't know why she chose this name, but from that point on it bothered me some much more than usual. I feel almost the urge to tell everyone to call me Maddy instead… but it would just be too weird. That's why I hate the name. I want to change it, but my stupid frickin past holds me down.

"Oh! Your Waterman?" Felicity leaned forward, pressing her very large chest against the counter.

"Yes…" I was hesitant on what she wanted with me.

"Your the new farmer taking over the Breaka Farm! You got a great house. You're soooo lucky, Rach wanted to buy your property, but Dunhill insisted that someone else had already reserved it."

"Who's Rach?" I was afraid to ask.

"Who's Rachel!? You don't Know RACHEL?!"

"No…." Felicity pressed even more forward as I leaned even more back.

"She's one of our town farmers. She helped revitalize the town. You know rebuilding the buildings and stuff. The other farmer is - speak of the devil! HENNY!" Felicity screamed over my shoulder to someone. I jumped at her loud voice and spun around on my chair to face the second farmer.

He was dressed in overalls and an army jacket. His jungle boots were covered in mud and slush, probably from his farm. Overall he was quite dirty. But despite his appearance his smile was just as bright as Felicity's.

"Henny this is Mandy. Mandy this is Henny. The second farmer." Felicity pointed out.

I stared at him as he tried to hold his smile. I guess I could have said something.

"The name's Henry, but as you can guess the people around here call me Henny. Nice to meet you Mandy. I hope we can have tons of fun together." He rested his hands on his hips and gave another blinding grin.

"Yes nice to meet you to. I'm taking over the Breaka Farm near the west end so I'd love some help if you would give me some." I stuck out my hand, I didn't want to leave the poor kid hanging.

"I wouldn't count on him if I were you Girly. Henny once left his animals out all night long!" A blonde stepped out of the bathroom and walked gracefully over to our forming ground.

She took my hand in hers, "Rachel Goldman of Goldman farm, or laterally known as Echo town farm. I'm the first farmer."

Hello Everyone! This idea has been on my head for a good month so i finally decided to post it... This is a whole new ship for me so don't hate on me... Review! Always looking for suggestions! And just want to tell ya'll that i have a new forum so come on down, its called My Large World! I hope you all will also read my other stories!