AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, this is my first fanfiction, so please tell me how I did. Sorry that this chapter isn't really about Harvest Moon. The next one will be.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harvest Moon (duh) or any of the characters, except for the ones I made up.
Chapter 1
Cassandra followed her "new friend" off the bus. Recently she had found out that her dad's friend from work had a daughter who was, like Cassandra, in the 3rd grade class at the local elementary school. So this meant that while their fathers went fishing, she got to spend the day with Brittney, a way-too-happy-and-giggly blonde girl who always hopped around like the world was her personal trampoline.
"Come ON Cassandra! You're like a snail, you walk so slowly," Brittney said, giggling as always.
Cassandra the snail groaned, and walked a teeny bit faster up the driveway.
"My name isn't Ca-SAND-ra. It's Ca-sah-ndra, with a long 'a', like in awesome, or lava, or olive." Olive didn't have an 'a' in it, but it made the same sound, and Cassandra doubted that Brittney would notice.
She didn't. She skipped up to the door, opened it, and both girls entered the house to the smell of baking cookies. Cassandra inhaled deeply. Her house never smelled like this anymore. A woman, Brittney's mom, came out of the kitchen.
"Hi girls, how was school?" she asked. From her homey clothing and her soft voice, Cassandra could tell that she was 100x more laid back than Brittney, which wasn't too hard. Brittney bounced up to her mom and gave her a big hug and kiss, which made Cassandra a little sad.
"School was awesome Mommy!"
"As always," her mother said, chuckling. "Tell you what; dinner will be ready in 30 minutes, why don't you guys go play while I finish up?"
"Okey Dokey!" Brittney ran down the hall, with Cassandra trailing behind. Once they were in her room, Brittney closed the door and catapulted onto her bed. Cassandra sat down stiffly, and looked around the room. It wasn't much like hers, which had the walls almost totally covered with posters from her favorite video games. This room was much more pink and frilly.
"Soooooo…" Brittney said. "What's your favorite color?"
"Green," Cassandra said flatly. She was hoping to get through this afternoon with as little conversation as possible.
"Ooh, that's a pretty color! My favorite color is pink, as you can see." She waved her arms, gesturing towards, well, everything. "What's your favorite book?"
"I don't read. I play video games." It was true. Name almost any video game, she had played them and won.
"Oh, I don't play many games."
Of course you don't, Cassandra thought.
"But, there is one game that I totally love! I play it all the time!" She reached into the drawer of the bedside table. Cassandra thought of what games Brittney could possibly be playing. My Little Horsey maybe. Or something even lamer. Brittney pulled out a Nintendo DS (pink, of course), and a little game card.
Harvest Moon DS Cute. Cassandra leaned toward Brittney, trying to seem unimpressed while watching closely. The game started up, and tinkly music chimed as the title screen loaded. Ironically, the blonde avatar was the spit and image of Brittney. Cassandra watched intently as Brittney watered crops, talked to little elf-thingies, and took care of farm animals. Maybe this game was more interesting than she had thought. When Brittney went to talk to some girl named 'Muffy', Cassandra yelled excitedly-
"Oh, she reminds me of Princess Peach!"
Brittney grinned. "You play Mario?"
"Oh yes, Peach and I-"
Luckily, she caught herself. You don't just go around announcing that you often hang out with Princess Peach. People look at you funny.
"Um, Peach is my favorite character," she said, fingering her necklace.
Right as she said this, Brittney's mom called from the kitchen.
"Girls, dinner's ready!"
They ran to the kitchen, Cassandra actually keeping up with Brittney this time. Cassandra wolfed the food down, not only because it was delicious, but also so that she could see more of this game, Harvest Moon. And after they were done, she got her wish. Brittney played until the battery on her DS ran out, and then the girls talked about the game, more than Cassandra thought she would ever talk with anyone. When her dad came to pick her up, she was actually disappointed.
"What is this?" her dad asked. "What magic have you used to bewitch my anti-social daughter?"
Brittney whispered to her, "Harvest Moon," and they both laughed, which was yet another new experience for Cassandra. As soon as she was in the car, Cassandra asked her dad, "Can we go to the game store?"
"Another new game?" he said, shaking his head. "Didn't you just get a new one two weeks ago?"
"But Daddy, I already finished that one, and this is the awesomest game ever!"
"You say that every time! Where did you even hear about this game?"
"Brittney has it!"
"Oho, the truth finally comes out! Now I know why you like her." He scratched his head. "Well, I suppose for the sake of your friendship, you can get it."
"Yes!" Cassandra said. She was excited now, but she had no idea what was waiting for her inside the game.
