So… crops equal money, right? I don't think I'd put one thing in that weird wooden money-making box yet. That was my next step, then, 'cause I was never going to win the battle against those stupid trees.

Downtown was probably the place to go no matter what, so I headed for there.

And to be honest, thanks to my uncanny ability to be dramatic, my heart was racing along the way. I mean, what if today would be the day I met my spouse? What sort of heart-throbbing romance would await me?

…Or friendship? Yeah, friendship! What sort of riveting conversation would spark an instant connection? Would I meet someone, and we would both be like "You're my best friend now."? I'd always heard legends of that sort of occurrence and had dreamt about it for years.

As I pretty much suspected, there were several people moving around and going about their days. There was a purple-haired lady walking out of what appeared to be a Pierre's General Store; that's probably where I wanted to start. There was a yellow-haired dude some yards away playing some sort of handheld game, while a black-haired dude watched; one of them was probably going to end up being my best shot at true love. Already, so many thoughts showing up in my mind.

I headed into the general store and bought some seeds, simple as that. The guy running the store, Pierre, seemed nice enough. He helped the town give me a good vibe right off the bat; even if I made nary an acquaintance here, this place still had an overall feeling of camaraderie going for it, and that was already an enormous help to me.

I went home, went inside and located the hoe, and got those seeds planted. I'd bought a bit of a variety. I'd never heard of a parsnip before, so I wondered what that was going to look like. Tulips would probably make good cash, as would this flower called a "blue jazz." They seemed to grow pretty quickly, too. Huh. Maybe making a living here would be a cinch!

But what to do now? Introduce myself to everyone? Like an extrovert?

HA.

…Maybe exploration was more my style. I started with downtown, because quite frankly, all the trees and shit scared me.

It was then that I learned there was a medical clinic right next to the general store. It scared me a bit that this was all there was for healthcare in this town. Being raised in ANYWHERE but the countryside, I was completely used to being raised in cities with big hospitals, so this was new.

And then, there was a saloon. A saloon was a bar, though, right? And what was I, 20?

"What are you starin' for?" asked an older woman with bushy yellow hair, as I stood, staring at the building, trying to get it to tell me if I was old enough to enter.

In reply, I simply asked. "Is this a 21+ establishment?"

"Nah," the woman told me. "Gus… good man… he sells food, too. There's also arcade games and pool in there. Knock yourself out."

I was in there in mere seconds, playing Junimo Kart. And I. Was. Addicted. It might have been the physics of it all, but making that little apple creature's minecart jump over gaps and hearing metal clank in a certain way was extremely satisfying.

You know what wasn't, though? Losing. Starting all over from the beginning of the GAME.

…Oh, and also discovering I had someone looking over my shoulder the whole time. In retrospect, though, this was real cool, but… i-it was like… ah, I don't have a good simile, but it didn't feel great at first. It was the purple-haired girl I'd seen before.

Once she saw me, she panicked a bit.

"I-I'm sorry," she said. "I-I was bored, and you were doing real good."

It was here that I went from "doesn't feel good" to "feels amazing" and replied "No no no, it's perfectly alright!"

I then noticed that the possible soul- *ahem* the yellow-haired dude and the black-haired dude were playing pool at the billiards table right by us.

"I don't think I've seen Sam win once," the girl told me. "He's… not that great at pool, but insists he'll beat Sebastian one day."

I gave a little "Hm" and nodded, then watched the two boys play. The girl joined me.

At that point, there were literally only bold balls on the table (I smell a sex joke here, but that's not important). I noticed after a bit that the black-haired dude was literally only going for the 8 ball, and the yellow-haired dude was going for every other ball. The closest he got to sinking one was when he almost sank the 8 ball. And that is how I learned who Sam and Sebastian were.

Being the stupid romantic I was, I studied them both closely. Sebastian was definitely the more quiet, collected one, while Sam definitely said more and seemed more upbeat. Sebastian looked to be the better candidate out of these two, so eventually, I focused more on him. And, I mean, he said words… just not as many, and not as boldly. They were cool and calculated, more… not dramatic, but… ah, I dunno the word. So far, he seemed real cool.

Pretty quickly, the 8 ball was sunk, and Sebastian won what I presumed to be the umpteenth game.

"One day," said Sam, starting to gather the balls from the pockets. "One day, you're going down!"

"Yeah," said Sebastian. "The day it rains Junimos."

They both started gathering the balls and putting them back in their case. It seemed pretty clear that they were done for the day.

I noticed I felt a bit heavy and checked my watch. Night. They were done for the night. It was freakin' midnight. I could feel it, I was going to pass out on the ground again if I didn't get back home quickly, and I sure as fuck could not afford that again.

Almost in a whisper, I told the purple-haired girl "It was, uh, nice to meet you. Have a good night." I then took off. I didn't really get to see the expression on her face, I was so determined to get home.

I was a certain distance away from the saloon, though, before what sounded like Sam's voice shouted "Hey!"

For a second, I disregarded it. Then, I realized I could have forgotten something, stopped, and turned around. All I saw was Sam standing by the door, looking at me.

"I'm glad to see you're okay," he told me.

"What?" I asked.

Sam flinched a bit before replying "Er… never mind."

He didn't move. I looked at my watch again. 12:20.

"Hey, listen, I really gotta go," I said. "I'm gonna pass out, I can feel it. Last time I passed out on the ground, some medical team brought me inside and billed me for it. I can't afford that again."

"That sucks," said Sam. "…Hey, could I at least get your name?"

"It's Rachael," I said. "Did I pick this up correctly? You're Sam, right?"

"Yup!" said Sam.

"Cool," I said, turning back toward home. "I'll see you around!" I waved and set off.

Thankfully, I got to bed before I could crash. I looked at my watch again, and it was 1am. Alright, so 1am was fine.

That was the first mystery, and the only one I was thinking of at the time. How far, time-wise, could I go each day?

The second, which I didn't realize until I was prepping myself for the day the next morning, was what the fuck Sam meant by "I'm glad you're okay." Did he see me pass out somehow?! Ah, geez… that's what I needed. People looking at my unconscious body.

Author's note: So, regarding when I said "A few details will be different from what's canon." …I should elaborate.

In fanfics past, I adhered to the book verbatim. Telephone calls, notes, interactions… I relayed them word for word. I won't be doing that this time around, possibly ever again. I know this is not how the farmer and Sam meet, but it's the way this farmer and Sam first met formally. I… don't even know if this sort of thing actually bothers anyone, but I could imagine why it would. I don't even know if you've got what I'm on about. If not, don't mind me.