Peace, Love, & Misfortune
Chapter 1:
Stupidity
If I had to see another snow storm this year, I swear I was gonna scream! Grey could hear my frustration the second he picked up the phone.
"Pissed at the snow again Jill?" He asked with a laugh. I saw nothing funny about the matter, but as my best friend, it was his job to tease me. Me and my misfortunes.
"It's just that I can't grow anything in this blasted weather!" I was staring out at the fallen flakes that fluttered to the ground. I wanted it to be summer again so bad!
"It's ok Jill, I know the real reason you're freaking out." He sounded a little upset at the matter. There was a brief moment of awkward silence that I just had to break.
"It's the only time I get to seem him Gray…." I hesitated a little. He wasn't the best guy around.
"I know," He sighed, "Sorry Jilly, I have to get back to work before gramps yells at me again." His humor didn't stay away for long. I giggled.
"Alright!"
"Oh and Jill, don't waste the whole day dreaming." He chuckled as he hung up.
"Very funny!" I said after he was gone. I guess that was my queue to get out of bed. I got ready for the day just like I always did. I pulled my red shirt out of the dirty pile and slipped it on. Next I pulled a few rice balls out of the fridge and headed to the door, just to be stopped by the mayor.
"Good morning Jill," He greeted me warmly; "I just thought I'd come by and remind you that the Starry Night Festival will be held tomorrow." I had forgotten that all together!
"Oh thanks for the reminder Mayor." I smiled. Maybe if I was lucky he would be there too.
"I look forward to seeing you and Gray there." I should have seen this coming. Everyone in town was under the impression that Gray and I were a couple.
"Mayor, how many times do I have to say that Gray and I are just friends, before the rumors stop?"
"Oh really?" he sounded surprised, "Well then I guess going to the festival would be depressing since no one loves you… wait that came out wrong."
"Ya think!" and I thought the snow was pissing me off. "Well excuse me Mayor, but I have work to do." I stomped by him with my hoe swung over my shoulder.
"My apologies Jill." He said as he practically booked it off my property.
"Yeah that's what I thought." I murmured as I walked over to the barn. I've been living in Forget-Me-Not-Valley for 3 seasons now. A lot of the villagers are really nice, but others, like the Mayor, get on my nerves. The worst thing about this place was having to leave my friends- err, well friend back in Mineral Town. Gray had a job there so he couldn't come with me when I inherited this stinking farm. He came down a lot for work though, so I was ok being apart for a while. I was practically raised by his family, since my mother passed away when I was little and my father was always so busy with farm life. He couldn't handle me so he left me in the care of Gray's grandfather, Saibara. Gray and I spent a lot of time together because of it. When my father passed away one winter, it was my turn to carry on the farming legacy. Yippee for me…
I walked into the barn and closed the door behind me, just to be swarmed by an ocean of fluff. My sheep were going crazy because of the snow. I couldn't let them out though or they'd surely freeze. I finally made it passed them in one piece. Getting out again would be the hard part. Now for the really hard part, it was time to milk my cow. Her name was Bell and she absolutely hates me. Milking her was almost impossible, but she had amazing milk and she won a blue ribbon at the cow festival, so getting rid of her was out of the question. I approached her slowly, but I could see her glaring at me from the corner of her eye. This was gonna be one of those days.
"Hey there Bell," I greeted her softly. She tuned her body towards me, tempting me to get close. She was gonna hurt me, I could see it in her eyes. I just had to get it over with and fast. I knelt down next to her and started the process with, surprisingly, little fuss from her. I finally had a bottle full when she decided to get nasty. With her hind legs, she tried to kick me. I stumbled back, careful not to drop or spill the bottle. I hit the wall causing all my tools to fall on the ground, one knocking the bottle from my hand and all over me. I was furious. I walked towards Bell in a fit of rage, when my misfortune, or stupidity, took control causing me to walk into a rake on the ground. It flew up, smacking me in between the eyes and giving me a bloody nose. The animals were in an up roar of, what I was sure, was laughter. I had had my fill of animals for the day, so I left the barn without another word. It was time to change my milk and blood covered shirt and to wash my face.
I walked into my house dripping blood. Sometimes I hated being a farmer. I washed my face and changed into a dirty blue shirt from the dirty pile. I really needed to do laundry soon.
"I'm going to town ," I smiled at my black cat. Her emerald green eyes sparkled as she purred. "I'll be back in a few hours." The clock already read 2:46pm. I had wasted half the day on that stupid cow. I sighed as I left the house and headed down the road. Little Hugh was running through town again with his dad. Those two never stopped, even in the snow.
"Hey Jill, looking for someone?" I knew that voice. "It must be me right?" Rock approached me with his player smile on. My guess was that he had just got done hitting on some poor girl and now it was my turn.
"Hi Rock," I greeted him with a roll of my eyes. "And what do I owe to this greeting?"
"Oh you know, the usual. Say, have you been asked to the Starry Night Festival yet? If not, let me grace you with my offer." What a cocky son of a gun. Rock was one of those people in town that I didn't want too much to do with. His big headiness matched his ego perfectly. He was an annoying acquaintance.
"Sorry Rock," I started, knowing what I was going to say, "I actually know someone who really wants to go with you. I don't wanna be rude and take that away. As much as I hate to say it," I was being so sarcastic, but he probably didn't catch on, "it's not me. Try asking Lumina. I hear she really wants to go with you." He looked surprised that my answer was 'no', but at the same time, pleased that there was still a girl who wanted the ladies man. He left rudely without another word. "Your welcome!" I called after him. "Jeeze, rude much. Whatever." I mumbled as he kept walking away. "Dig site here I come." I pranced over there in a flash. Passing by Celia and Marlin who both wore a very light blush. Probably from something each other said. Those two were so cute.
I entered the dig site then. Carter and Flora both gave me a friendly smile as I went straight to work digging. I was a regular here; it was the easiest way to get stuff he liked.
"How's Gray doing Jill?" Carter asked.
"Oh he's good. Probably itching to get back here tomorrow." This place was Gray's favorite place to be. He's just weird like that. I giggled to myself. "Finally," I whispered, "something useful." I slipped it into my bag and headed to the exit. I had about two hours till it was dark.
I stepped out of the dig site and was surprised to see that it had stopped snowing. "Yes!" I jumped into the air. This meant he would be here in three hours! I ran down the path in an excited hurry until I made it to the valley's entrance. I plopped down right next to one of the windmills and was ready to wait. The snow on the ground was extremely cold, but I didn't care. I pulled out the treasure I had dug up at the dig site and began cleaning it. He really likes necklaces, so I had to make sure it was presentable. The hours ticked by slowly, but surely. It was just about 10:00pm when someone came walking down the path from Mineral Town.
"Oh no! He's early!" I whispered cleaning the necklace rapidly. I stood up and ran over to him. I closed my eyes and shoved the necklace out to him, still cupped in my hands. "Here you go Skye! A present from me to you. I hope you like it!" I could feel my face turn beet red.
"It's nice Jill, but there's just one problem, I'm not your phantom."
"Huh?" I looked up to see Gray standing in front of me with a judging look in his brown eyes. His reddish brown hair looked like a mess under his usual baseball cap. He was holding my necklace like it was a worm. "Gray? What are you doing here?"
"I have tomorrow off, remember? You're the one who told me to come down on my days off so I could spend the night. I'm sorry I got in the way of your ritual."
"It's not a ritual!" I was getting mad now.
"Excuse me children. Your in my way."
"Huh?" I looked up to see my prince with silver hair and golden eyes approach us. "Oh Skye! Excuse me actually." I got out of his way and pushed Gray away as well. "I have a gift for you Skye. I found it and thought you might like it." I snatched the necklace from Gray and gave it to Skye.
"My, my Jill. You do like to spoil me don't you? How many gifts is this now? At least 20? Well thank you and might I say that you look lovely in the light of the moon." His words made my pulse jump like crazy. I could feel it in my face and I couldn't help, but giggle like a moron. Gray tapped me on the shoulder then and whispered in my ear.
"Uh Jill… I hate to ruin your moment, but did you happen to sit in the snow at all?" I nodded and I realized what he meant. My behind was soaked. I was an even brighter color red now and Skye must have noticed because he simply chuckled and headed on his way. I was so embarrassed. "Come on Jill. Let's get you out of the cold before you catch a chill." Gray guided me back to my house. "Tonight couldn't have gone any worse." I mumbled to myself as I laid in my bed. Gray was on the floor like he always was. I hoped tomorrow would be better, but with my luck, this was just the beginning.