A little bag of chocolate crinkled as one of Lina's paws reached for it; the other reaching to turn up the volume of the TV. She was watching the season finale of one of her favorite murder-mystery shows. Of course right at the reveal, something was happening outside. Maybe later she'd see what it was. But not right now when it was so close to the end.

She ate the chocolate, semi-conscience about how she was leaning closer and closer to the TV. She was so close to seeing how it ended, who had ultimately planned the whole thing from the beginning. Her eyes darted from the dog, the eagle, and the bunny. And just as the dashing investigator was about to say who did it…

"Lina!" Light spilled into the room, causing the little bear to accidentally turn off the TV and spill her bag of chocolates. She turned around to see a squirrel—Peanut; and she looked like she had just ran here from the other side of town. "Come quick! The new mayor's here!"

"What?" Lina asked, quickly getting up. Well, let's hope she can catch a rerun.

Peanut nodded, gesturing for Lina to follow her. "Come on! They're gonna be arriving at the Train Station any minute now!"

And with that, the squirrel had disappeared again. Lina hoped she didn't have chocolate smeared on her face as she followed her.

For a moment Lina thought that Peanut was lying to her; that maybe the whole town decided to prank her so then she couldn't see the ending of the season finale. Then she could see—and hear—everyone gathered by the Train Station. They really were getting a new mayor.

About a year and a half ago, the old mayor Tortimer resigned; and a year before that the town was completely redone. Soon after the old mayor retired, Pelly announced a new secretary for the future mayor, then left to go tend to the Post Office. That new secretary was a dog named Isabelle; who had since been running the town until the mayor came. Most of the time Lina had forgotten they were even without a mayor. Then again, everything was more or less the same as it always has been.

Now back in the present, Lina debated whether she should've actually come. Isabelle was trying to calm the town of excited villagers, and everyone seemed to be impatiently waiting for the train to finally come. And in the corner, closer to railroads, she even saw Tom Nook and his sons—along with two of the Able sisters, Mable and Labelle, and surprisingly even Blathers—there, too; each one of them eagerly waiting for the train.

Did…did the rest of the town really need a mayor this bad? It never seemed like a problem before. Or was Lina just completely oblivious to it before? Still, it seemed as the crowd's enthusiasm was rubbing off on her.

"Who do you think it would be?" One of the other villagers asked.

"I hope that whoever they are is as fashionable as I am!" Another replied.

"Look! It's the train!" Shouted a third, followed by several "what?" and "where?"-s.

Lina tried to get a good view from her short perspective, but being the last one there meant her view was very limited. When the train reached the station, the whole town seemed to go quiet; with only a few whispers that dared to remain.

And finally, a figure stepped out. A boy; definitely taller than Lina, although that wasn't a very hard task to accomplish, and was somewhat thin. His eyes were black, and his hair was dark brown and looked a little bit like a mess. And at first, he didn't seem too fazed about the animals that awaited his arrival.

Of course, until Isabelle nodded and everyone—besides Lina, it seemed—popped a party popper. "Welcome, Mayor!" The dog greeted, smiling.

There was a bit of silence, as if the boy had to decide what to say. "Wait—what?" Was his first, notably ungraceful, reply.

"You're our new mayor," Isabelle replied, looking a little confused. "We were told of your arrival. As you can see, the whole town came out to greet you."

"Yes, but—I'm not your new mayor." The boy replied, seeming just as confused. "I just—"

"You're just nervous!" Isabelle claimed, though Lina wasn't sure if it was to keep herself from freaking out or everyone else who had been waiting. "Come with me to the Town Hall; I'll help you become a registered resident here."

"Um…okay then." The boy said, glancing over at all of the animals that had come to watch him arrive, before following Isabelle to the Town Hall.