A/N: So this is my first fic and a story I've had in my head for over a year now. Half of this chapter was written back then, and the other half I finished now, so if there's anything off in the middle that doesn't flow well, I apologize. ^^;; It's a bit short, but I plan for future chapters to be much longer. Let me know what you think. c:
When the call had come in a week ago, Molly Porter had hardly thought it relevant. Her brother's need for a farmhand was of no concern to her, and she had continued to leisurely flip through her magazine, not even raising her head or perking her ears as her parents chattered excitedly over speakerphone to their newlywed son.
Now that he had gotten his farm off the ground and had a family to provide for, he was going to expand business, he had explained with boyish enthusiasm. He needed an extra worker, but the town he lived in was small, and no one was available for the job. "If you know of anyone willing, give me a call," was what he'd said and with that and a few reassuring words that he and his wife were well, he had hung up.
The call wasn't supposed to mean anything to her, and yet, the auburn-haired girl now sat among bales of hay in the back of a horse-drawn wagon, her feet hanging over the edge as she stared blankly at the dirt path that passed beneath them. Her brother sat somewhere nearby, his head of tousled chestnut hair cushioned by a block of hay. They had remained like this for some time now, the elder of the siblings chatting casually with the wagon's driver, a sturdily built brown-haired man, while Molly said nothing. This wasn't supposed to happen. Kasey's farm had nothing to do with her. Why was she here? It wasn't fair.
She pouted, eyebrows furrowing as the events of the last week began to replay in her head once more. Words like "immature" and "irresponsible" echoed through her memories, accompanied by frowning faces and shaking heads. They didn't understand. Many people her age had little idea where they were headed. Surely, her parents couldn't think she was the only one. The fact they had deemed her a lazy, noncontributing member of society was ridiculous. Even if it were true (Which it wasn't!), what made them think toiling away on her brother's stupid farm would help her get any closer to finding her… calling?
Yes, that was it! This was what her family simply didn't understand. The one-year high school graduate had failed to apply for colleges or get a job, not because she was lazy, but because she had yet to discover her passion. Playing around in the dirt of some farm field wasn't going to help.
With an exasperated groan, the young girl leaned back to lie down among the hay, feet still dangling off the back of the wagon. "You all right, Moll?" her brother inquired, breaking off his conversation with the husky wagon driver to address her. She offered a grunt in return, still too aggravated by the situation to give a proper reply. Perhaps hoping to defuse the tension, the wagon driver—She was sure Kasey had called him Cain—spoke next, his tone good-natured.
"My daughter, Renee, is about your age, you know," he began, and there was a strange pleasantness to his voice. Though she could not see him from her current position, Molly was sure he was smiling. "She wanted to come along and meet you, but there was a lot of work to do in the stables today. We run Horn Ranch." An awkward pause followed, and Molly felt suddenly ashamed of her attitude. Her frustration demanded that she continue her moping, but Cain's friendly, even manner of speaking was difficult to ignore without guilt. "Oh," was all she finally managed, but the man seemed to find this answer acceptable and continued.
"Castanet doesn't get a lot of newcomers, so she was pretty excited when word got out Kasey's younger sister would be comin' in. The town loves your brother, here." At this, Cain turned his head and nodded toward the younger man, who seemed slightly embarrassed but smiled appreciatively. Molly rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Their driver's geniality was making it difficult to stay mad, and it was mildly irking.
Out of habit, she reached for the slim, purple flip phone in her pocket, staring at the screen and fiddling with the buttons though she knew it was pointless. She had lost all reception ten minutes ago. That was the other despicable thing about being shipped off to the middle of nowhere. In an instant, she had been cut off from all her friends and the outside world. She'd barely had time to warn anyone of her sudden disappearance, and the closest thing to a goodbye party she'd had was a few close friends rushing over to her house to see her off and scribble down addresses. Who even wrote letters anymore in this day and age?
"I think you'd get along with Renee. She's a nice girl," Kasey spoke up. He offered his sister a weak smile, catching her gaze as she sat upright again and slipped the phone back into her pocket. There was a silent apology in his eyes and, with a slightly irritable sigh, Molly grudgingly accepted it, bringing her legs back onto the wagon and turning her body so her back no longer faced him. Kasey and Cain had ganged up on her with their… niceness. There had to be a rule against that.
"Why don't you stop by the ranch for a bit before you go?" Cain suggested. A few specks that Molly assumed to be buildings had become visible in the distance. "I'm sure Renee's finished her work by now, and my wife, Hanna, would like to meet you too." Great. More nice people to make her feel bad. The girl mumbled a polite agreement, and the wagon fell into silence as its passengers all began to watch their approaching destination on the horizon.
It was another ten minutes before the distant specks grew into a large wooden barn and windmill and a plump woman with straw-colored hair waved from the end of the dirt path. She hurried over, loosely tied hair bouncing after her as she turned to call behind her, "They're back, dear."
A younger girl with bobbed brown hair soon followed, and as the wagon came to a halt at the gates of Horn ranch, Molly inwardly groaned. Yes, just as she'd thought. These people wore smiles twice as big as Cain's. It was really hard to keep up the stubborn act when all of Castanet had clearly conspired to... to... change her mind. Or something.
Greetings were exchanged all around, but Molly simply offered a polite smile and nod in return. She hopped out the back of the wagon after her brother and lingered a few feet away from the group as they walked toward a house, arms crossed and kicking at the dirt. It took her a moment to realize she had not succeeded in isolating herself.
"Hey"
Molly jumped slightly. The brown-haired girl had fallen behind the others to come to a slow and steady pace beside her. "I'm Renee." The smile on her face was disarming, and Molly sighed, defeated. She wasn't going to win this fight today, so there was no point dragging this girl into her pity party.
"Molly," she replied, letting her crossed arms fall to the side and the other girl brightened. "You know, we actually met once before at Kasey's wedding," Renee grinned. "I remember because Luna wouldn't shut up about your dress. She tried to design one like it to sell in the shop."
Molly blinked. Now that she thought about it, the girl's face was vaguely familiar, but it was still fuzzy. The wedding had been a blur of introductions, and it now occurred to her that the people of Castanet were more likely to remember her than she was to remember any of them.
"Oh, um... Sorry I don't really remember..." she mumbled, then hastily added, "But your friend... She really liked my dress?" She smiled sheepishly, caught between her irritable mood and pride in her taste. The short pink and blue garment had been her senior prom dress, and she adored its puffy, tiered skirt. It reminded her of cotton candy.
Renee jumped at the conversation hook and nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Luna's family owns Sonata Tailoring, and she's always looking for new ideas. She'll probably ask you about it when she sees you."
The small talk continued as they walked through the front door of the house, and Molly felt her annoyance dwindling away. Renee seemed like a nice girl, and she put her at ease. However, that didn't change anything. Castanet was not her home and farming was not her calling.
Nothing would make this okay with her.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews would be greatly appreciated. c: Also, though I know it's a bit early to be asking, I'd be interested in hearing opinions on which characters you'd like to see more of in the story. This is a slice of life story, so there's room to include everyone to some degree, but who would you like to focus on more? I've already got some of my own ideas planned out of course, but I'd love to try to cater to readers as well if possible. ^^ Personally, I love coming up with ideas for Renee because I always felt like, aside from liking animals and fishing and being a generally nice person, she wasn't given that much of a personality in the games. I'm excited to develop her more in future chapters!