CHAPTER 1

He looked surprised, speechless to be caught. He felt himself blushing to the roots of his hair as he tried to search for some words to use as an excuse. The girl, who he still hasn't known the name of, was just smiling at him, expecting an answer. His face turned into a frown, not liking what's happening right now. He did not like being stared at, just like now. The blonde had those sapphire blue orbs gazing at him expectantly. Those eyes were like his, though the feelings being conveyed were different.

"So, what's your name, sir? Well, I'm just new here, and I would love to make some acquaintances." she said, a bright smile seen on her face.

"The name's Gray." he replied, glancing anywhere but at her.

Her smiled widened, her blue eyes gleaming in joy. "That's a great name, I think. Mine is Claire, and I'm obviously the new farmer here. I'm very pleased to make you as an acquaintance."

"Yeah." he muttered, lowering down his cap to cover his embarassed face.

Claire, as what she introduced to him, soon realized that she has some work to start,and gave her goodbyes. "So... I guess I need to clear the farm from this debris and weeds," she sighed. "Just feel free to come here if you need some help. I gotta go, need to overcome this first challenge. Bye, Gray." she walked away.

He watched her figure enter the house before he left. The girl seemed to have a strange aura around her, an aura that seemed to have invited him to come there and know her. He tried to shrug off that thought, and chose to go back to the inn, to get some rest.

Ann's loud and cheery voice boomed against his eardrums as he entered the doors of her father's inn. "Welcome back, Gray! I guess you came back at lot more earlier today. It's just 2:30 pm, you see."

"Yeah." he said nonchalantly, uninterested to what the girl has been saying. "I'm going upstairs."

"You're not gonna order anything? Aww c'mon..." the orange-haired girl then wore a sullen expression. "Just a piece of an apple pie. Or even just a glass of a grape juice."

"No, thanks. I'm not hungry." then he went upstairs.

He laid down on his bed, quite satisfied that he's having a time for himself. As soon as he closed his eyes, everything that happened today played again in his mind. Starting from what happened at the blacksmith's. Yeah, the accident. He hated how his grandfather always say that he's careless, that he's not really learning. That he's small-minded. He hated that the old geezer always seemed to find faults in his work. He sometimes just wanted to shout out that they're not the same, that he's just his apprentice, that he's still a novice. He hated that he's always treated like he's a nothing. He's doing his best to learn, but it appears to amount to nothing. And it makes him feel so frustrated.

Then that girl in the farm. Claire, if he remembers. She's so weird. Really weird. Because even though she knew what might happen if she took over, she still did it. She accepted the work. It's like she's not afraid. What if she's not able to make the farm successful? What if she fails? It's like those questions were nothing for her. She has lots of courage to take it. Unlike him. Always worried and anxious that he might do something that would make him look like a good-for-nothing young lad.

Then the fact that he was caught by her, it made him so ashamed. It wasn't like he was stalking the girl, but what if she looks at it like that? It doesn't seem to be, though. The way she smiled that time, it was so genuine. Maybe she's just like that. Maybe she's not the type who easily suspects a person. And it's not like he's been doing something bad. He was just curious and bothered by the atmosphere he felt, so he decided to check it out and find what could be thing that invited him to go there.

He heaved out a sigh, as he sat up again, Indian-style. He removed his cap, and messed his corn yellow hair quite a bit. He then laid down again, arms splaying out as he stared at the ceiling. What is it about the girl that makes him so curious about her? Why does he feel that he wanted to know her more? Is it because of their differences? Is it because she seems to be more courageous than him?

And again, he found himself wondering again. How did she do that? It's pretty hard to manage a run-down farm, especially when most people are expecting you to make it successful. There are also many hindrances. Is she not afraid of failing? Is she not afraid of making mistakes? Maybe yes, she isn't, because maybe she never felt belittled. Maybe it's because she never experienced being looked down and treated like she can not do anything good.

"O-oh, you're here now." Cliff, his shy roommate, and his friend, said, surprising him.

I didn't notice the time. The blond thought. It's already turning five.

"Y-yeah." he answered, wearing his cap again.

The brown-haired lad went to his own bed, not bothering to make another comment that would make their conversation longer. Gray then went back to his thoughts again. Did he really spend too much time just thinking about how he felt small and how weird the Claire girl can be? He really did not notice the time. Was he musing so much about those?

He went downstairs, as he saw Ann again. The girl has been always full of energy, and is always wearing a bright smile on her face. He glanced at her for a while, then went to the counters, to ask for a glass of water. He has gotten used here, and compared to his life in the city, living here is much more simple. But it doesn't ease his pain, though. Having a grandfather like his was a huge burden to him. He was expecting him to do a very good job even during the start of his apprenticeship. That's why the lad always end up getting reprimanded by the strict old man, because of those mistakes and accidents that he did not do intentionally.

He went back upstairs, avoiding to meet his dear grandfather. He knew that the old man goes here every night to have a glass of wine. And he did not like it when he sees him relaxing while he struggle hard. It's like, just because he's an expert, he can take some breaks, while him, because he's still amateurish, he needs to strive more, to struggle even in his thoughts. Well yes, it's true that the blacksmith is closed on Thursdays, but it doesn't really give him enough rest. His grandpa would still give him loads of work and would still be hard on him. And that makes him feel so exhausted.

Reaching the room he shared with Cliff, and during summer with Kai, he sighed.

This really has been a long, and a weird day.