Chapter 1 – Work
Kelsea's POV – July 6
"Hello, Mayor!" says Isabelle cheerfully as I push open the door to the town hall.
"Hi, Isabelle," I say, smiling and heading over to my desk at the back. "How are you today?"
"Very good, thank you!" she says. "How about you?"
"I'm fine, thanks," I say, sitting down in my black leather chair. "Would you bring me the citizen satisfaction committee file?"
"Sure thing, Mayor," she says, rummaging around in a stack on her desk and bringing a beige folder over. She takes out a paper.
"According to the latest survey," she says, "the residents of Serenity feel that although the town is doing well, there is a lack of development in the town, making it feel just "average". They want more public works projects! However, they enjoy the cleanliness of the town and feel there is a very good amount of greenery."
"Hmm," I say. "How many Bells have been donated for our wisteria trellis near the cliff?"
"Nearly 60,000 Bells," she replies. "58,492 to be exact."
58,000 out of the 124,000 that's needed to build it. I've known for a while that my neighbours like having public works projects, so I've been trying to build a few of them lately. Donations trickle in slowly, but at least they come. I just want to help make Serenity the best and happiest town it can be. The wisteria trellis is something I would love to have. Based on the sketch Isabelle's shown me, it looks beautiful. It can only improve our town.
"Thanks," I say. "I hope we can get it built soon." I have almost enough Bells to pay it off myself, actually. One fishing trip and I can get it done. I probably should, but Carli and Jacob say I work too much as it is. I know they don't particularly like how I'm so busy sometimes, but it's my duty.
Speaking of which, Carli and Pate decided to spend a day in Oceana City today, but I decided not to go just so I could come in.
I glance out the window to see Blanche and Vivian chatting outside. Probably about the latest news in their fashion magazines. I suppose it would be nice just to have no responsibilities and spend my entire days outside with my neighbours. Not that being mayor takes up my entire day—I'm actually usually only here for a few hours a day, maybe more depending on what needs to be done—but it might be nice to have a few days (and not just holidays, but maybe regular days, too) where I can relax all day.
"Mayor?" asks Isabelle.
"Yeah?" I ask. "What can I do for you?"
"You look like you want to go outside," Isabelle says, smiling. "Would you like to take the rest of the day off?"
"Huh?" I ask. "Oh, no, that's okay. We need to work on the planning for this month's Bug-Off, don't we? And we have the Fireworks Shows to manage next month."
"Very well," she replies.
"How much do we have in the town treasury?" I ask. "We have to buy a new tent since the old one blew apart in that storm last month."
"Um…" Isabelle goes and takes out another file. "273,810 Bells. Should be more than enough."
"And we also need to buy prizes for everyone for the Bug-Off," I say. "Fifteen people, including both of us plus the villagers, we should probably get around two or three for each, and then there's Tom Nook and the Nooklings, the Able Sisters…" I count off all of the town's residents on my hands; I can never remember the exact number. The shopkeepers usually don't participate in events, but occasionally a few of them decide to take a day off.
"Mayor," Isabelle says, interrupting my thoughts. "This isn't something we need to worry about today. We have until the 15th for the Bug-Off, and don't even think about the Fireworks Shows yet. Why don't you take the day off? I mean it. We don't have much to do today."
"Are you sure?" I ask. The last thing I want is for her to be flooded with work. Besides, I opted out of a day in the City for this. It probably wasn't necessary, though. We never have much to do at all, but I can't stand feeling like I'm doing nothing. I always have a need to come in for at least an hour or more a day, even if there's nothing to be done, just in case something comes up. If we don't do anything, we busy ourselves by reading the newspaper, books, or magazines, waiting for a phone call or a resident to come in.
"Definitely," she says. I smile.
"Okay," I say. "You win. One thing before I go, though—do you have the newspaper, Isabelle?" I have a habit of checking the town rankings that get posted in it every Thursday. For the past three months, we've been ranked the fifth best town in the Oceana City District. I'm anxious to get that coveted number one spot. The top four are tough to compete with, though. I've visited the fourth place town, LeRêve, and it is beautiful. Perfect apple trees all over, the town blanketed with pink and blue roses. For a town considered "average" by the citizens, we're judged very well by the paper. Probably because not a lot of other towns are being actively developed.
"Yeah, right here!" says Isabelle, handing a bundle of papers to me. I search for a couple seconds before I find what I'm looking for. Next to the number five is the name Serenity. I'm relieved we haven't gone down, but I want to get this town higher up on the list. Maybe the wisteria trellis will help.
I'm about to set the paper down to read later and leave, but a bold headline catches my eye. I flip to another page and quickly scan an article. I'm horrified.
"Apparently, some guy from Redbrook murdered three of his neighbours!" I exclaim to Isabelle, hardly believing it. We don't generally have much crime locally, but it has been on a slight rise as of late. It doesn't usually get this far, though.
"I know, I read the article," Isabelle says sadly, shaking her head. "It's a shame how corrupt some people can be."
I nod. The killer was a human boy named Gabriel Reaume, according to the article, who was sent to a jail after a short trial. Looking at the picture, he's around my age. It's disheartening to see people do such awful deeds, especially humans. A while ago, I remember there were two human girls who got arrested for stealing Bells and valuables from some of the animals in their town. And before that, there was arson—a girl set a neighbour's house on fire and got sentenced for life. It pains me when I think about how us humans can be some of the most selfish and immoral creatures in this world. It's disgusting, that's what it is.
I'm glad Serenity isn't like these horror stories.
"See you tomorrow, Isabelle," I say in a low voice, tucking the newspaper into my pocket and making my way out of the town hall.
Hi, everyone! Welcome to my first story on here. :) It's going to be written from the POV of the four main characters, and the first of these is Mayor Kelsea! Hopefully this first chapter turned out alright.