"Fitzy! Fitzgerald I know you're in there!"
It must have looked awkward. Crouched down on the ground, my left arm hidden away inside the wooden nesting box I had chosen to be my next victim. My ear was pressed up against the wood, listening for the gentle crooning of the chicken that was sitting inside.
Yogurt and Moose were staring at me with their curious little eyes from some distance away. I assumed that they found it all terribly entertaining, because it was the same scenario every morning. After I finished watering my crops, I would tend to my well loved chickens, collecting the eggs and spilling out the mixture of bird seed and hay they ate ritually.
Sometimes, I would take the time and sit with them, talking to the birds like a crazy old lady or something. But there was always a struggle getting Fitzgerald out. My newest chook was not a morning person, or maybe she just didn't like me.
I felt a sharp pain rush through my index finger, and I knew that I had just been pecked. I pulled my arm out of the box and looked in, giving the ruffled chicken in the back corner a sharp glare. "Were you this evil before I got you? I should have named you Vaughn." I hissed at it, and finally got up onto my feet again.
Ha, I made myself laugh at my own sad joke, though I could see the similarities between my chook and the man. I'd try again later, because there was no point trying to lift up an angry chicken.
Dusting off the little bits of hay that stuck to my jeans, I finally left the chicken coop and shut the door tight. Most people probably would have let their chickens out for the day, but I was uneasy. I had seen wild dogs running around lately, and I didn't want to take the chance.
I yawned, stretching my arms up above my head and taking the time to just soak up the sun. I'd fallen in love with the sunny weather that the seasons brought on the Islands, no matter how temperamental it sometimes seemed. Over the course of a year, I'd developed myself a nice tan, which was quite the improvement on the pasty girl I once was.
As I started to walk away from my farm, I wondered if I needed to go see Denny and apologise for the night before. I hadn't acted that badly, but it was probably best to say sorry. I didn't like saying sorry, it involved admitting that you were wrong and that you should probably never do it again. Sometimes it was necessary, but I hated to apologise when there was nothing to be sorry for. That's why I didn't get those people that say sorry every second word. It got on my nerves a bit.
Huh? Where was I? Oh, right, I needed chicken feed. I think… did I? I was having trouble keeping track. My chickens were beasts. Or maybe Fitzgerald ate it all and felt to sick to move in the morning. That would make sense.
"Oi, where you goin'?" Someone called out, forcing me to look away from my feet. It was Natalie, Elliot's younger sister. She had a mouth on her, and wasn't afraid to use it. Perhaps she needed to plan something that would involve embarrassing her brother further. I loved doing that.
"Mirabelle's. Chicken Food… Breakfast." I answered, unable to form articulated sentences. What? I was hungry.
"Oh… right. So, what were you doing last night?" She asked, walking up over to me, arms crossed over her chest. Her short, dark red hair shone in the sunlight, matched by the curious sparkle in her brown eyes.
"I was hanging out with the guys, you know? Playing poker, drinking beer, doing manly stuff." I answered, folding my arms in a triumphant stance of some sort.
"You know, sometimes you scare me with your obsession of being like a guy. Seriously, you're taking being a tomboy to a whole new level with this. Why don't you take a break and hang with the girls for once? We kind of miss you." I looked at her, wondering if that was actually what she wanted to tell me.
Knowing her, there was probably far more to it, and in a matter of seconds she was going to go right ahead and tell me. She still managed to get me thinking though. I had been spending a lot of time growing my relationships with the guys in town, so I guess that was putting stress on what I already had with the girls. I probably should spend some time with them.
"Anyway! So did Pierre say anything about me?" Yeah, there it was. The ulterior motive.
"Nope. Why do you ask?" I played it off, brushing my hair out of my face. She huffed, annoyed with my response. I knew she had a thing for the boy-gourmet. I found it odd… I would have never expected her to be into people who looked ten years younger than they actually were. But she was, so I couldn't judge her.
"Come on Chelsea! Don't give me that!" She snapped, stomping her foot on the ground. She seemed to be on the verge of a tantrum, so I raised my hands up in defence.
"Hey! I'm sorry that I can't give you what you want. He didn't say anything."
"Fine… But don't talk to me again until you have info for me."
"Oh, that's nice of you. You really know how to make someone feel like they aren't being used at all." I said, rolling my eyes. I knew she didn't mean it. At least, I hope she didn't. She was just temperamental like that.
"Get lost. Go get your chicken food or whatever." She trudged off, seemingly upset over my inability to give her the information she wanted. Even if I never got a word out of Pierre, it wouldn't have made a difference. He had a thing for her too. It seemed like everyone would eventually make the perfect couple. There was no such thing as love triangles, or complicated love. When one person liked someone, it was generally reciprocated. I just seemed to have missed out on the loop. I really didn't mind though, I wasn't looking for love.
So I continued on my merry little way, a bit of a skip in my step. I was hungry, and I knew food was waiting at the other end. Mirabelle was such a good cook, and what was even better is that she just laughed and handed me a plate when I stood there drooling.
I opened the door to the shop, swinging myself through by the knob. "Mirabelle! Julia! Food!" I called out, finding the front desk empty of the plump, cheery lady who ran the store. I walked right into the kitchen, because I could smell the food. I was hoping it was bacon and eggs.
"Julia. I love you. Now can you feed me?" I said, batting my eyelashes at her.
Julia was a beautiful blonde, with a passion for her work with animals. She was such a fun loving girl, it was hard not to like her. And we were both similar in age, so I guess that always helped. She turned around to look at me, and laughed at my failed attempt to flatter her.
"I don't even know why you bother to ask anymore. You're here every morning. It's like you're part of the family, there's no point leaving out the extra serving anymore." She mused, scraping a few pieces of bacon from the pan and setting it out on a plate, repeating the process with the eggs. "You have to wait for the toast."
I made no objections and grabbed the plate right off her, as well as a knife and fork. I sat myself down at the table, and for the first time realised that the two of us weren't alone.
"Oh, hi Pokey."
Vaughn looked at me funny, unable to interpret my words. It just seemed to make him even more annoyed that he usually was. "What?"
"Pokey." I repeated, my mouth full of egg. "Like, Poker Face. Get it?" He frowned, and continued to ignore me. I just snickered and continued to stuff my face.
"So, other than food, you need anything in particular?" Julia asked me, busying herself around the kitchen and serving out more plates for breakfast.
"Uh, yeah. I need more chicken feed." I muttered, far more interested in my food than talking business at the moment.
"You over feed your chickens. They're fat." She giggled, taking a seat beside me. I just smiled at her, setting my fork down for a short period of time.
"A fat chicken is a happy chicken, isn't that right, Pokey?" No reply. I didn't expect it anyway. Deep down, he probably was thinking that I tortured my chooks or something. "Well, in most cases anyway. Fitzy seems to hate me or something. She's always sitting in her nesting box, brooding away. I tried to get her out this morning, but it only seemed to make her even more aggressive."
Vaughn scoffed, he must have found the whole thing amusing. He was a chicken whisperer after all. "I can understand why she doesn't like you. You're annoying."
"Thanks for the compliments. You're quite the charmer yourself, Pokey." He glared at me, and I smiled back at him with adoration in my eyes. He was so attractive when he glared at you like that. I picked up my fork again, appreciating the arrival of a long awaited piece of toast. I buttered it, and bit into it hungrily. What can I say, I wasn't the most delicate eater in the world.
"You just need to let her warm up to you a bit, Chels. You've only had her a couple of weeks." Julia suggested, tucking into her own breakfast now.
I looked over at her and shrugged. "I guess. But Yogurt and Moose were so quick to love. I just assumed most chickens were like that." I sighed, feeling depressed over my lack of communication with Fitzgerald. Maybe she didn't like the name she had received from me.
"Your animals have idiotic names. It's abuse." Vaughn muttered quietly, I didn't think I was meant to hear.
"It isn't abuse. It's cute." I stated, picking at the scraps on my plate. I would have picked it up and licked it, but that wasn't very lady like, now was it. "Anyway, so, I was thinking… You said you didn't want anything last night, but I assumed you were lying. I plan on taking you out to lunch some time. A big strong man like you needs to eat, right?"
"No. Leave me alone."
"Don't be like that Pokey. I'm a very good stalker, so if you keep on denying me I'll just hunt you down and force you." I smiled at his relatively disturbed expression.
"It's true. She spends too much time with Shea." Julia commented, with a hint of humour in her voice. Though, she seemed just a little bit disturbed as well. "I'd just say yes and get it over with."
"No. And stop calling me Pokey. It's Vaughn." He said, and stood up to leave.
"Are you going to be me and storm off like a short tempered child?" He left without another word. I took his unfinished plate of food, having no qualms pulling it my way and finishing it for him. Besides, it'd be a waste of food. "Where's Mirabelle anyway?"
"She's out with Felicia. They hardly get time to talk to each other, since mum's always running the shop and Felicia is busy taking care of three people all the time. She needs to take more time off. I can handle things around here." Julia sighed, twirling her fork around her strip of bacon.
She was always so concerned for her mother's wellbeing. I guess, when it's just been you and your mum for so long, you really do need to look out for each other. And I'm sure that they both mutually appreciated it, even if it seemed a little odd from the outside.
I loved my own parents, but I guess the dynamic would always be different. Back when I was growing up, I had always wanted to become a vet, and my parents constantly encouraged me to do my best at school. But, when it came down to the wire, I fled, and became your average bummed out young adult, looking for work and taking the lazy route through college to get a mediocre job in the future.
Still, my parents never gave up on me, even if they were a little disappointed when I told them I was going to leave town to start a new life. It was just a coincidence that I ended up on a deserted island, finally getting the opportunity to work with animals on a farm.
"Say, do you think you could get Vaughn to deliver my order for me? I need to go find Denny later, and apologise." I stuck my tongue out like a child, and Julia giggled softly.
"Alright, I'll tell him. Just promise me that you won't tie him up to a poll and force feed him dinner or anything." I look appalled, but I couldn't hold the fake expression too long, before it started to crack away to form a smile.
"I don't think I could deal with the constant glaring I would receive." Licking my fingers, I glanced out the window impulsively. The clouds were gathering, dark and glum. Such a change in weather. "Well, I best be off. Don't want to get caught in a storm." I stood, waved her goodbye, and mentioned I'd put a down payment for the feed on the front desk on my way out.
Now set on a path towards the beach, I continued to keep a good watch on the sky, as well as making sure I didn't trip over my own feet on the cobblestone path.
When my feet met the loose thickets that led down to the sand, I leapt through them, misplacing my foot and landing on my back, tumbling down the slope and bringing all the sand down with me. "Oof." Standing up, I rubbed my sore backside for a moment, temporarily ignoring the sound of Denny's laughter. So he'd seen. Oh goodie.
Or not? I looked over in the direction of his house. He was talking with Vaughn. He was the only one who was amused by their conversation, by the looks of it. I jumped from one spot to the next, trying to keep my balance as my boots sunk into the sand suddenly. Finally, only a few meters away, I waved like a maniac and waited for them to come to me. Always getting the job half done.
"Pokey eh? I like it, Chels." Denny commented, much to a moody Vaughn's dismay.
"I know! Hopefully it will stick, and soon everybody in town will be calling him that." I rose my hands up in the air, signifying 'everyone'. "Oh, by the way… Sorry about last night."
Denny scratched his head through his bandanna. "What? Oh, don't worry about it. I think we were all annoyed at him for his blunt denials."
Vaughn was just standing there, a little way away from the two of us. It was like he wasn't even there, what with the way we were talking about him in third person all of a sudden.
"Really? Good. I know I wasn't being an idiot then." I grinned, proving the fact that I wasn't an idiot, to be completely false. "Do you want to come to my house tonight for dinner? I'll cook a fish dish or something. You might get stuck in the rain, by the looks of it." I tilted my head up, grimacing at the clouds. They ruined everything social-wise. At least they did well for my crop.
"Actually, I'm going to the Diner with Lanna tonight. Sorry Chelsea." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, evidently nervous about his little date with the one hit wonder. I shrugged it off, though I couldn't help but be a little disappointed.
"It's okay. We can do it another time. You're catching the fish though." I laughed, and tilted my body to the side to get a better look at the intimidating cowboy. "Pokey, you're going to be forced to deliver chicken feed to my door later. Just warning you. Oh…And I won't tie you to a poll and force feed you. I promise Julia." He looked at me, annoyed. I could never be embarrassed by these things. I just found it easier to say it out loud before somebody heard it along the grape vine.
I hugged Denny goodbye and went back to the farm. That night, Vaughn dumped my delivery in front of my door without even telling me. I didn't mind, I just wished he hadn't put it right in front of my door and caused me to trip over the pile on my way out the next day.
You never can expect courtesy from a moody man.
A/N: Aaaannnd, that's it. I know it's probably a little bit of a random chapter, but, there is some good news. Next chapter should be the beginning of the actual story, with an actual plot. Hopefully.
Anyway, I think I've figured out that my update schedule will probably be on a Sunday/Monday regime, but it might not be so clean cut for a while. I have a bunch of assignments I should be doing, as well as my School Certificate Exam at the end of the year.
We're reading To Kill A Mocking Bird in English now. Someone said 'Tequila Mocking Bird'. It was pretty funny at the time…but now I feel sad that I even bothered mentioning it. *cough*
Well! You probably didn't read any of that, didja? That's okay, I don't expect you to
Bye!
Oh, and in the future, an OC of mine might make an appearance. She will be…a femme fatale? Ooo sus.
