Many boring hours later, (crossword puzzles and word searches kept her busy and away from the Wii for a while) Alley finally found her way to escape.

"Alley, down for your nap. You need more sleep for your body to fight off the virus."

Okay, virus may be an understatement. But the nurses were always considerate and tried not to use the word disease too much.It often freaked out the patients.

"Okay, um, good night." Alley turned off her bedside lamp. She never really knew what to say when she took a nap. Good night? Was that really the only thing she could say? It was only the afternoon, and...things like this just got poor Alley confused to no end.

A good 30 minutes had passed and Alley knew her time had come to make her escape to Isle. Carefully, she placed the Animal Crossing disc into the Wii and braced herself. She couldn't help smiling on the way down.

She landed on the bridge once more. This time, however, she decided to take a look at her house. Maybe she'd get some decorating ideas.

I'm sure Maple could give me a few pointers, she thought, since she's so laid-back.

Boy, was Alley's house small. There was barely any room to walk around in, and there were cobwebs in the corners. Barely any sun shone through the glass of the grimy windows, and she was convinced Tom Nook had given her the most run-down house in the whole town.

She was right in the middle of thinking these very thoughts when she heard a knock at the door.

"Oh; come in!"

"Alley?" a familiar voice called out. "It's Bones." He walked through the doorway with a shy smile on his face. "Oh, good. You're home."

"Oh, Bones! I haven't seen you in a while." Alley threw her arms around him unexpectedly, causing the white dog to blush. Alley hadn't noticed he was holding something in his paws.

"Um, this is for you," he said shyly, handing it to her. "Kind of like...a 'welcome to town' present. A housewarming gift."

Alley's cheeks tinted pink. "Bones, you didn't have to," she said with a smile.

"I did. I really did."

Carefully, she unwrapped the red ribbon and white paper, and the present inside was none other than a GracieGrace-brand low table. She didn't know how lavish GracieGrace furniture was, but she figured by the design and packaging that it must have been expensive.

"Oh, Bones...this is beautiful! Where did you get it? Not Tom Nook's, right? Or..."

"I bought it in the city. GracieGrace, to be exact. Do you like it?"

"I love it! Thank you, Bones!" Alley gave him another quick hug and placed the furniture in the center of the room.

She felt something dash across her feet, and when she looked down, she saw a cockroach running about the room.

"Eeeek! B-Bones, a roach! Kill it! Kill it!" She's usually against killing bugs, except if one had touched her.

"Where, Alley? Whe-gyah! Um, I-I'll get it!"

Alley shielded her eyes, cringing while Bones carefully grabbed the pest and placed it outside.

"Um, it's gone! Ick, that was gross."

"Did you kill it?"

"No; I placed it outside."

"Oh, well, that's just as good. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Nook's empty houses like these usually have some bugs squirming around. It's pretty nasty."

"So no one really wants to live in these houses?" Alley asked.

"Well, Isle is such a quiet town, I guess no one's ever heard of it, really. Hey, wanna go fishing? It's a waste of a nice day to stay indoors."

"Sure! But I'll need money for a rod, won't I?"

"I'll show you how to make Bells."

When they were outside Nookington's, Bones shook a pear tree and the fruit came falling down.

"Here. If you shake fruit trees and let the fruit fall, you can sell them and buy whatever you like. They're worth a hundred Bells each."

"Oh, okay." However, Alley just couldn't resist...

"Mmmm! These are so good!" she said, laughing. They had such a crunch to them; they were so fresh and ripe and juicy!

Bones nodded, smiling. "I know. They are, right?" He took one and popped it into his mouth as well.

"Yum," he said, "these are when they're ripest out of the whole year."

"Wow. We don't have fruit like this in Virginia."

Alley purchased her very first fishing rod and she and Bones walked down to the river.

"Once you understand river fishing," he informed her, "ocean fishing is no problem."

"Oh! I see a fish in the water!"

"Cast your rod!"

She followed his orders and ended reeling in a guppy. "Aww," she gushed, "it's cute!"

"Wow. A guppy! Those are pretty rare. You have a natural skill."

Alley giggled and placed the tiny creature in her pocket. She'll put it in her house later as a pet, she had decided.

Suddenly, all of Isle went dark for a split second, then became re-enlightened.

"What was that?" Alley asked nervously.

"I don't know, but it was weird...," Bones said, confused.

"Is everyone okay?" someone shouted from across the field. Alley saw that Copper, one of the guard dogs, was running towards them. "Are you two all right?" he asked when he neared them.

"We're okay," Bones told him. "But what just happened?"

Copper's next words filled Alley with terror.

"Someone turned off the Wii."