Lightning-Dono: Gosh, this is going quite well! Sorry for making Jack a violent freak, but I think he's got it in him under all of that nice-guy, smart cover-up. ;

I tried to make this chapter humorous to lighten up the mood, but I don't think I succeeded. o.o; Oh, well.

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"Hey!" Won shouted at me, waving a basket of goods into my face as I jogged by.

"What?"

"Do you want to buy something? I've got TONS of things...And it's all apples."

I gave him a wary look as I continued to keep up the paced jog.

"Do you have any products that don't have the word 'apple' in them?" I queried, feeling the urge to punch Won away with my already clenched fists.

"Well, apples are the lightest things that I can carry because I'm too lazy to carry anything heavier."

I blinked twice and rushed off.

"Won, I don't have time to chat today! I have something important to do!"

Most unfortunately, Won was older and taller. Which also meant that he had longer legs and he was able to catch up to me. And to my dismay, he waved that wretched basket infront of my face again, with that ever-hopeful look preserved on his face.

"Please buy something? No one likes me!" He whined in a most pitiful way. I supposed that it was only a kind act to buy an item from him--he was quite an unsuccessful businessman who didn't generally have the most superlative reputation around.

"Okay, but just this once," I said impatiently, giving in. I withdrew my wallet from my pocket and fished through it. "How much?"

"I forgot all the names. I'll just sell you this regular apple for 200 Gold."

My eye twitched at this unmistakable rip-off.

"Forget it," I said simply, dropping my wallet back into the fathomless depths of my large pocket and ran off.

Luckily, Won decided not to be a nuisance and headed off to bother another innocent passerby.

I promptly arrived at the Mayor's house, panting. I leaned over and supported the weight of my upper body upon my knee as I stopped to catch my breath.

Soon after, I rang the doorbell. He was possibly the only person in the whole of Mineral Town that even had the time and money to install a doorbell. Gotz refuses to do them as he's had a very disastrous experience with electricity. Ever since that day when Gotz was nearly killed by installing electric lights into the home of Elli's grandmother, he resolved that he would just stick to the simplistic ways of 'back then'.

"Come in," the Mayor's deep, but welcoming voice said. He let out a piercing whistle and started to whistle out a familiar tune. I flinched a bit, hearing the shrill, high-pitched sound.

I let myself in and found that the Mayor was sitting alone in a big, velvet chair that was a stunning shade of blue that remarkably resembled the many shades of blue that the ocean held mixed together.

"Why, hello, Rick." Apparently everyone knew my name now. When I had first come to Mineral Town as a toddler so my dad could inherit the Chicken Farm, everyone called me 'that blonde-haired youth'. Now everyone knew my name was Rick. I had surely come a long way.

"Hello, Mayor. Would you mind telling me where Officer Harris might be?"

"I wouldn't mind. He's doing his daily rounds. He should be somewhere on the road between Barley's place and Manna's house right now."

This was slightly disappointing, as that road was quite long and while I was trying to catch up to him, he'd be moving further away.

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

"N-No. Nothing. I just thought we'd chat."

The Mayor sighed depressingly.

"I thought that you'd want to see me. No one has visited me in quite a while."

This struck me as odd, as I had always assumed that with the ranking of mayor, you'd think people would be showering him with gifts and company. I guess all of this fine luxury was another shield between him and the outside world.

"I...I never knew."

"Well, everyone thinks being the head of this town is easy. But not many people have problems that they feel comfortable running to me with. I understand why you didn't know." He nodded like a wise elder who had led generations and generations of people through hardships and pain. "People are always jealous sometimes that I'm so wealthy. But money can only be counted to a certain measure...I still thirst for the scarce respect I rarely get." He picked a ball of yarn off the floor by his chair and tossed it from one hand to the other.

"You like to knit?" I asked incredulously. I didn't mean to make it sound quite so rude, but it was hard to imagine a man of his age sitting down in a chair and knitting like an aged woman.

"Something wrong with that?" He asked, removing his hat to reveal a shining bald spot. "I never cared much for all of those new-fangeled things your generation has come up with. I prefer the old life."

Sometimes I wondered why he even bothered installing a doorbell. With his attitude right now he might as well be living as an Amish.

Without warning, the door opened and in walked Officer Harris, who seemed astounded to see me standing by the Mayor like an old friend.

"Why, it's a pleasure to see you, Rick."

"You, too. Officer?"

The officer removed his cap and placed it firmly on the hard, cedar table.

"Yes?"

"I need to talk to you about something."

He sat down, acting a lot like he hadn't heard a thing. It was a strange sight--a police officer sitting on the floor, rubbing his legs.

"That was quite an exercise!" He yawned. "I got chased by Ann's new dog all the way down the street!" He grinned excitedly. "Ooh, am I going to give it a beating the next time with my almighty stick!" He unsheathed a black stick from his belt and brought it down, hard, on the hardwood floor. The Mayor turned his head so fast I was afraid it might somehow whiz off his neck and land somewhere else.

"Oh, Harris! What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?!" He demanded, unraveling the ball of yarn slowly with his pudgy fingers.

"Sorry, Mayor," he apologized, placing the stick back into it's designated place on his belt. "I was just demonstrating."

"Hmph," the Mayor huffed, turning his head.

"So, old chap, what is it that you needed to talk to me about?" He got up and started stretching.

"I'd prefer that we take a walk while doing it. Sitting down might make me a bit too panicky."

The officer sighed, as though trying to earn my sympathy. It didn't really work, to tell the truth.

"Fine, fine...It'll only be a second." He hurried off to some room, shut the door, and I heard strange sounds. Like fabric rubbing against each other.

A couple of minutes later, he emerged energetically from the room with shorts and a Hawaiian shirt on.

"I'm all set and ready to go!" He announced like a young child. No one would've suspected it was him with this attire and his playful attitude.

We were walking past the Hospital when out came Karen, clutching her side with a slightly pained expression painted on her face. Had she been waiting next to the window waiting for the perfect time to launch an attack on me? Or had she just decided to take a small walk right when we passed by? Talk about strange coincidences.

"Rick, I have something to tell you!"

"Not right now," I pleaded, glancing up at the officer who was whistling merrily.

"It's really important...I'll be sent to a help center tomorrow night in Ore City. But the thing is...I really don't want to."

I felt dizzy all of a sudden, like I had been drugged. Too many things were happening to me at the same time. Or rather, to different people and it just worried me. Why did I always have this great need to take charge of things that weren't my business?

"We'll talk about it later," I moaned. "But I need to do something right now."

"See you later, then." She waved sullenly at me and walked back into the Hospital.

"You see, officer, there's something Jack's been doing that's been bothering me for a while..." The 'a while' part was kind of a lie--I had only known of it this afternoon. Then again, time settings didn't matter at this time.

"So, what's that rascal up to now?"

"He's been harassing Ann. Kind of. I mean, he's been trying to kiss her when she doesn't want him to."

The officer had been nodding pleasantly until I reached this part. "Why?"

"How should I know? I was over at his place this afternoon and we were by the window chatting-,"

"The minor details aren't needed. Just tell me how it happened. And how he did it," he added as an afterthought.

"Well, Ann someone got onto the pasture and she was sitting on one of the cows. He ran out and started dragging her into a kiss." I shuddered at the savageness of Jack's actions. Ann must've been traumatized.

"And what did you do about it?"

I suppressed a weak laugh. What I did wasn't really of any importance.

"I ran out and kind of...made him slip. Then he attacked...er...tackled me. Then he told me what he did wasn't any of my business and that I should leave. So I left and ran to the Mayor's house."

The officer paused for a second, trying to think of something to say. I was hoping he wasn't going to say Jack's behavior wasn't appropriate because any sensible person would know that it wasn't. Although, from the looks of it, Officer Harris wasn't generally the most sensible person out there. Everyone turned their heads to look at him and his bright, tropical-colored shirt. The contrast was great because the sky was overcast.

"I'll have to talk to Doug about this. It was-,"

"But what can Doug do?" I let out an anguished cry. Ann wasn't of very great significance in my life, but she had been so kind to me during our days of primary school. Sometimes I wished Cliff were still here, because if Jack hadn't teased him to death, Ann would be with him. And knowing Cliff, he was probably the best person for her. No one deserved what Ann was getting from Jack right now.

"He'll take care of it. Anyhow, it was nice talking to you today. I'll go to the restaurant and tell Doug. It's all okay when you've told me, Rick." He winked at me, although his eyes still carried that troubled look.

As soon as I got home, the phone rang. I picked it up unenthusiastically and said, "Hello?" I was never too big a fan of phones. I preferred talking to someone face-to-face.

"Hi, Rick! I was afraid that you wouldn't pick up the phone. It's me. Karen."

Was this girl psychic or something?

"I just got home," I told her, sitting down on the hard, wooden chair by the phone.

"Great. I caught you, then. What do you think we should do about this? Tomorrow night they'll be putting me on some plane to Ore City."

"Isn't Ore City a sister community to Mineral Town?" I wound the phone cord around my finger. I always needed something to do, despite the fact that I was talking on the phone about something that might determine my future love life.

"I'm not sure, but seriously, I do NOT want to go!" She put so much emphasis on the word 'not' that I had to hold the phone away from my ear.

"Okay, okay. Who's the coordinator of all this?"

"What?"

"The person who wants to put you on a plane and send you to Ore City?"

"Elli, Tim, my mom, and my dad recommended that place."

"I'll take to them. Soften them up to you a little. I think I have an idea." I smiled inwardly. I did have a fairly good plan.

"I hope it works," she answered, a hint of thoughtfulness in her voice. "I'll talk to you later. I need to go take some pills that I'm on. It'll help the new liver tissue heal in."

I could almost imagine Karen making a face at the pills awaiting her.

"Good. Bye, Karen!"

"Bye."

I hung up and rubbed my hands together.

"So, who was that?" A voice from the staircase asked. I turned to face my father, who had obviously been eavesdropping on my conversation. In this situation, I couldn't say "Nobody" because he must've heard me say 'Karen'.

"It was Karen."

"And who might that be?"

The 'nosey-trait' must've run throughout my whole family. He was just another victim of this inherited trait.

"A friend of mine," I said shortly, getting up and heading into the kitchen. To my dismay, he followed me into the kitchen and leaned on the counter with one elbow, continuing looking at me searchingly.

"A girl?"

I suddenly became very irritated. As I pulled out my glass of water, I spilled half of it on the floor because my hand was shaking.

I had always been told that I was sometimes quite the hothead, but I never felt this way about one of my parents before. Then again, my father was still kind of like a guest to me still.

I wondered how many boys out there were named Karen.

"Yes, she's a girl. And now, if you'll excuse me..." I walked out the kitchen, past him. He looked at me in that horrible, 'I-was-mistreated' way. "Oh, stop it," I muttered, feeling the guilt make it's way into my heart.