Bored…..

My work for the day was already finished and evidently Vaughn wasn't staying at the island 24/7.

To make it worse, Mirabelle had a family issue she had to settle and I couldn't get the chickens for my coop.

I sighed. Of course somehow I managed to find myself back on my stable roof like it's some kinda frickin boredom magnet.

"Chelsea!" I looked down at a bobbing pink head.

Slipping half off and holding on tight to the roof I dangled upside down just in front of her.

" What's up Nat?"

She yelped and flung up a bag.

I flinched as what I assumed would have been my groceries splattered over onto the stable walls.

"What the hell Natalie!" I yelled.

" Whose fault do you think that is!"

I glared and she shirked back.

" Anyway, why are you up on the stable roof again?" She asked annoyance tingeing her voice.

"I'm bored."

"Anything new?" She snidely replied.

I sighed and jumped down.

Sticking the landing I stood up straight and brushed off the dirt that flared up onto my caprice on the impact.

"You're a real damn ball of sunshine ain't you?" I snapped.

She rolled her eyes.

" You know they say smoke and idiots like high places."

"Then I must be smoke 'cause I sure as hell ain't no idiot compared to someone who just splashed milk and eggs onto a stable wall."

We stared each other down than cracked up like two fools.

"So I hear you met Julia's cousin? How'd it go?" She said. Visually becoming smaller as she settled down.

" Oh you know, I stripped him stark naked and threw his clothes into the river."

" YOU DID NOT!" She yelled taken back.

" No dip, dipshit ."

She slapped me on the arm in reply. It stung. Bad.

I grabbed my arm.

"Ow! Easy. I need these to work!"

She pinched up her nose," Then don't scare me like that! I thought one of you two would turn up face down in the ocean, because you did something stupid," she pitched up her voice her making an irritating imitation of me. "in a quest to cure boredom, again!"

I snickered " I wouldn't do something like that…"

Monotonously she answered, " You striped a man in the city. Don't think I would have forgotten a story like that."

I cringed. She threw me in the river in her shock at that one

. "Okay, Okay, so I wouldn't do that to somebody who had spurs on their boots, and looked like a person who would be carrying a pocket knife for just in case purposes."

" Speaking of which don't you still do that?" She asked.

I shrugged " Hey, trade of a southern city slicker."

"Whatever, so how'd your meeting really go?" She asked.

" I tackled him from the roof of this stable."

"Chelsea! Seriously! Quite joking!" She sighed.

" Actually, I'm serious."

Her eyes bulged out her reply before she said it. " CHELSEA! WHY?!"

I did that I don't know shrug that everyone I'm sure is very familiar with and also at one point been very irritated with. This was Natalie's irritated moment. "Seriously! Why?" She said frustrated.

"I couldn't see his face." I sniffed out.

"So you tackle him? From a roof? Are you a steroid induced football player or something?"

I chuckled.

She grew red in rage, it looked weird with her pink hair, "Chelsea!"

"Okay, okay. Sorry. I won't ever do it again. To anyone"

She cooled it a little.

"Promise?"

I crossed my fingers behind my back, "Promise."

She sighed, "Whatever, I have to go back to get you more groceries. Comin' with?"

I glomped onto her, " Yes! Yes! A thousand times yes! I've been staring at clouds for an hour!"

She pushed me off, "What the hell were you thinking? Why didn't you just bother someone like you always do?"

I shrugged, "People were busy."

She heaved out a sigh.

"You could have helped someone out."

"They weren't that busy."

Shaking her head she turned around and started walking, "you coming or what?"

I followed her.

"So if aliens decided to abduct you what would you do?" I asked as we walked.

"I'd ask if they knew you. Seriously where do you get those stupid questions from?"

"The Harvest Goddess sends them to me saying 'you must ask these questions or else they will really happen and that person will be unprepared.'"

Natalie glared at me, "Are you high?"

I laughed, "Is that a suggestion?"

She slapped me on the arm again, "Do it and I drop a box of your groceries on your head."

I laughed rubbing my arm, "it's a joke! Don't kill me, the island needs me!"

"I'll be glad to take over in that case" She smirked playfully.

I put my hand over my mouth and widened my eyes dramatically, " Don't kill me, I'm too young, please!"

We laughed.

Taro grunted his disapproval as I nearly ran over him in our joking nature.

We flinched. Dude, we need to make him wear a bell.

" Chelsea it's good to see you. Natalie you have the rest of the day off so why are you down here?" Taro asked.

I reacted with the only way I knew how at the time, the only way I could come up with in my boredom induced stupidity. The only smart and logical thing I could come up with at the time.

I pointed and threw someone under the bus.

"Natalie threw my groceries at my stable wall."

Okay, I know. But I never said it was the most mature thing did I?

Natalie glared at me, Taro glared at Natalie, I had my hands behind my back trying not to whistle suspiciously.

"Natalie." Taro chided.

"She scared the crap out of me by hanging upside down!" She defended.

"Again?" I flinched at the oncoming lecture I knew so well to be coming, "You need to stop doing such reckless things, you're our rancher and the island needs you. What do you think would happen if you were injured because you fell off the roof?"

Okay, this may or may not been at least the fourth time this has happened, but still…

"Do you understand?" In a bobble doll-like fashion, I nodded my head eagerly up and down in reply.

He sighed, "Good, now would you like to grab your groceries for this month? I'm sure there would be more than enough produce for you."

I grinned, he grinned, we all grinned.

Well actually, not really. Technically, I grinned , Taro smiled, and Natalie just looked relieved she wasn't in trouble. Details.

"So what's the news on your chickens?" Taro queried. I heaved out a heavy sigh and looked at him in puppy dog eyes, "You mean the non-existent ones I want so bad?"

He looked at me in pity filled eyes, "Why? What's wrong?"

I shook my head lightly, "Mirabelle had a family emergency and couldn't be on the island long enough to pass off the chickens and their care items. Julia had to go with her to. The note on their door said they shouldn't be back for at least a week. Something about a second cousins baby. Nothing serious" Taro patted me on the back.

"Cheer up. You'll be a lot more excited when they do arrive if you wait a bit in the first place."

I looked at him, "Taro I've never gone a month without any pets before all this. Half the year's gone by and I don't even have a mouse on the farm to change that."

Natalie shrugged, "If you wanted mice than you shouldn't be so clean, your house would be flocked with them if you had it as messy as Denny's"

"Hey now! That was uncalled for!" Denny cried out coming up to us with two fishing rods and a bucket full of fish.

I smiled. "Good day?"

He turned to me, a huge smile plastered on his face. "The best this season! Maybe even this year!" He did a light fist pump at that.

"Have any live unwanted catch I could keep?" I asked.

He screwed up his eyebrows at me confused, "Unwanted catch?"

"You know, frogs or turtles? Things of that like."

He became even more confused at this and turned to Taro and Natalie , eyes questioning. Natalie stepped forward. "She's having animal withdrawal symptoms."

"That bad huh?" He said.

I groaned, "I think druggies have it easier."

He laughed, "Unless you start getting jittery and having strokes, that's not likely. Tell you what, I caught a black rat snake and a box turtle in the fish net, and I saw a bull frog under the dock. You can have the snake and turtle and if that's not satisfying enough for now, I'll help you find the croaker."

I hugged him. "Thank you! I'll take the snake and turtle, frogs are heavy eaters and need lots of space so I'll just leave him be." He nodded his head and set his bucket down.

"How big is the snake?" Taro asked. Denny thought about it. "About two feet long, they're constrictors so no venom."

Taro turned to me, one eyebrow raised, " You'll keep a snake where farm birds are kept?" I gave him a reassuring smile, "Don't worry about it. Rat snakes won't try eating anything bigger than a finch unless they're incredibly hungry, he'll be kept in an appropriate cage in my house, they're not known to pass on diseases, all snakes are sanitary animals, and I know how to predator proof cages, fences, and barns."

He closed his eyes and nodded understanding, "and how will you feed them? No one around here is willing to open a reptile and amphibian pet store." I smiled, "I'll catch fish now and then for the turtle and get mice, bugs and rats from Denny's house. Not like he'll notice with the amount in there."

"Hey!"He yelled.

Natalie and I laughed. He pouted, "See if I'll do nice things for you again." His parrot squawked agreeance.

We talked a little more until I started getting bored. So I went back to my farm to figure out the next thing I could do.

In the end I just watched clouds till I could go to bed.

As I laid down in my bed to get to sleep, I heard a familiar howl I never expected to hear again.

My dogs alive and well, and he's on this island.

I went to bed with a big grin that night.