Chapter Twelve: The Swimming
Festival
A/N: Chapter Twelve…
Over the next few days Dawn went about with
her daily life. She found herself running into Karen a
little bit. Each time Dawn saw her, she looked sad.
Dawn eventually got enough money to buy
another cow, and also bought a rug for her house and
added a bathroom to her kitchen.
Dawn became better friends with the
townspeople too. The elders were pretty nice, and
Elli and Maria were good friends, though not as close
as Popuri and Ann.
The days wore on. Ann and Cliff got closer
together, and so did Gray and Popuri. The two
couples were often seen hanging around together.
Evenings were the time for Jack and Dawn.
They'd work all day, and then on most nights they'd
wander the town or go and get some beer at the
bar/inn.
The days wore on even more. Dawn soon
became rich(well, you know, by farmer standards)—
she had four corn plants and five tomato plants, plus
foraging every day did turn into lots of money also.
Finally, the 23rd came. The Mayor was waiting
outside Dawn's house and told her about the
Swimming Festival.
"Will you please enter?"
"Okay," Dawn replied uneasily. "How many
people are entering?"
"Well," replied the Mayor, "there's you, Ann,
Jack, Harris, Cliff, Kai, Rick, and Gray participating.
(Jeff's too out of shape, tee hee ^.^) We sure would
like to have more girls…Oh well. Well, we'll expect
you there!" He left.
Dawn worked on the farm for the rest of the
day and then at night wandered along the beach,
looking at the shiny stones on the shore with the
starlight glinting off from them. There was no moon
tonight.
Dawn jumped when she heard someone say,
"Dawn?"
Dawn whirled around. Popuri was there with a
bottle, and looked surprised to see Dawn there.
"What're you doing here?" they both said
curiously.
Popuri smiled. "I'm collecting Moonlight
Stones. Want to help?"
"Sure." Dawn and Popuri hunted around on
the beach for the shiny stones.
When they collected quite a few, Popuri said,
"That's enough," and put them in the bottle.
"What are they for anyway?" Dawn asked
interestedly. The bright white, shining stones were
very pretty in the starlight.
"I'll tell you once you've been in Flower Bud
Village a little longer," Popuri said, smiling secretly.
Dawn frowned. "Okay then…"
Dawn and Popuri walked back to their homes
for the night.
***
The next morning, Dawn tended to her crops
and to Bessie, then slipped on her bikini. She hadn't
expected to go swimming at all in her new house, so
she had just grabbed a bathing suit for an
emergency—she didn't think she'd have had to wear
a BIKINI.
Dawn shuddered, took a deep breath and
closed her eyes, and looked in the mirror.
She actually looked nice in a bikini, though she
didn't admit that to herself. She put her hair up in a
bun for the swimming, grabbed a towel and sandals,
and set off to the beach.
She met Ann at the entrance to the farm. Ann
was wearing a one-piece yellow suit, and her eyes
popped and her mouth dropped open at the sight of
Dawn.
"DAWN!" she hissed. "WHERE DID YOU GET
THAT?!?"
"I didn't expect to go swimming at all," she said
quickly. "If I had known I would've brought a one-
piece—"
"You look GREAT!!" Ann yelped, smiling at her.
"Oooooooh, Jack'll flip for you even MORE now!" She
linked and arm in Dawn's and they walked down to
the beach, Ann excitedly talking about the swimming
festival.
When they got there, there was a small crowd
waiting for all the contestants. All the guys' eyes
couldn't leave the extremely embarrassed Dawn as
she and Ann walked down to where the other
contestants all were (Jack, Harris, Cliff, Kai, Rick, and
Gray).
They all lined up. Jack was on Dawn's left,
and Ann was on her right. All the other guys were
down Jack's left side.
Jack grinned at Dawn, and he couldn't help
looking Dawn up and down at least five times. Dawn
blushed furiously.
"I didn't want to wear a bikini," Dawn said, at
the same time Jack said, "I didn't expect a tomboy to
wear something like THAT."
Jack grinned reassuringly at Dawn. "It's okay,"
he told her. "Wearing a bikini isn't a crime." When
Dawn said nothing, Jack laughed. "Oh come on! You
don't look bad at all! You look BEAUTIFUL!"
Dawn smiled shyly. Then the Mayor said that
they were starting.
"You should all know the rules…You swim to
the flag over there—" He pointed to the buoy with the
flag attached, somewhat 100 feet off the shore. "Th
first to reach it and stand up on the reef wins 10,000G
and the Invincible Katori!"
The Invincible Katori was a statue of a pig.
Dawn arched an eyebrow.
"It's supposed to bring luck," Ann whispered to
her as Jack laughed at her facial expression.
"Get into your ready positions!" shouted the
Mayor. All the competitors lined up along the shore,
in a stance as if they were about to start running.
"On your mark…Get set…"
Dawn casually glanced around at the other
competitors. They were all focused and either glaring
at each other or muttering, "God, what the hell am I
doing trying to swim?" Dawn was happy that she was
pretty good at swimming.
"GO!" Everyone jumped in the water (Dawn
included, of course). They all started swimming
frantically.
Pretty soon it became obvious who were good
swimmers. Kai, Jack, Dawn, and Cliff were all way up
front, and everyone else was scattered far behind
those four. Ann wasn't that far back, but she had
slowed because a fish had bitten her ankle and she
had stopped and sworn loudly, and still was.
Jack and Kai were slowly pulling ahead of Cliff
and Dawn. Dawn's arms were starting to get tired,
but then she remembered Kai and how rude and
mean he was and how he used her. She got so angry
that she started swimming furiously fast, and quickly
pulled up to Jack and Kai, and then slowly got ahead
of them…
With a BUMP, Dawn reached the reef first by
seconds. She stood up shakily and waved her arms
in the air, squeaking, "I WON! YAY!"
Jack grinned at her, and Dawn pulled him up
on the reef and bounced around, hugging him and still
squeaking. Kai threw them both a dark look as Cliff
and Ann then climbed on to the reef, and then the
other three reached the reef, huffing and puffing and
muttering things like, "I KNEW I shouldn't've swam,"
or "DAMN I'm out of shape."
Jack grinned at Dawn. "Congratulations!"
Between Ann's yelps of pain when she tried to walk
and yells at Cliff for nagging at her, Ann said, "Good
job, Dawn!" and between Cliff's mutters of worry at all
the blood on Ann's ankle and snaps at her for not
watching where she swam, Cliff said, "What're you
going to do with the money?"
"Thanks guys! And I'm not sure yet…" Dawn
frowned in thought, and then smiled around at her
friends.
***
Much later, Jack, Dawn, Ann, Cliff, and
surprisingly Popuri were at the bar. Popuri had gotten
in a fight with her mother (dun dun DUUUUN!) and
decided to go to the bar since her mom kicked her out
of the house for a little while. (Hehehe…) They were
celebrating with beer and talking about various stuff.
Popuri and Dawn gossiped about Karen. Ann
was arguing with Jack (or rather, yelling at Jack, who
was cowering in his seat at the yelling girl who was
normally so nice to him) about the swimming
competition and about the fish that bit her. ("SO YOU
AGREE WITH CLIFF? THAT I SHOULD'VE
WATCHED WHERE I WAS GOING AND MAKE
SURE I LOST?!?" "Yes! I mean no! NO!") Cliff was
laughing despite himself at their argument and talking
a little bit with Popuri and Dawn on the subject of
Karen.
After a long while of just hanging out, they all
went home. (Popuri fortunately wasn't drunk so she
could confront her mom about their fight and get a
place to sleep.) Jack walked Dawn home, and they
kissed as they said goodnight.
The next day was Jack's birthday. What am I
supposed to do for Jack?!?!? Dawn thought frantically
the instant she woke up.
A/N: Hope you like that chapter! By the
way…what SHOULD I do for Jack's birthday? If
you've got ideas please post them in the reviews!
Festival
A/N: Chapter Twelve…
Over the next few days Dawn went about with
her daily life. She found herself running into Karen a
little bit. Each time Dawn saw her, she looked sad.
Dawn eventually got enough money to buy
another cow, and also bought a rug for her house and
added a bathroom to her kitchen.
Dawn became better friends with the
townspeople too. The elders were pretty nice, and
Elli and Maria were good friends, though not as close
as Popuri and Ann.
The days wore on. Ann and Cliff got closer
together, and so did Gray and Popuri. The two
couples were often seen hanging around together.
Evenings were the time for Jack and Dawn.
They'd work all day, and then on most nights they'd
wander the town or go and get some beer at the
bar/inn.
The days wore on even more. Dawn soon
became rich(well, you know, by farmer standards)—
she had four corn plants and five tomato plants, plus
foraging every day did turn into lots of money also.
Finally, the 23rd came. The Mayor was waiting
outside Dawn's house and told her about the
Swimming Festival.
"Will you please enter?"
"Okay," Dawn replied uneasily. "How many
people are entering?"
"Well," replied the Mayor, "there's you, Ann,
Jack, Harris, Cliff, Kai, Rick, and Gray participating.
(Jeff's too out of shape, tee hee ^.^) We sure would
like to have more girls…Oh well. Well, we'll expect
you there!" He left.
Dawn worked on the farm for the rest of the
day and then at night wandered along the beach,
looking at the shiny stones on the shore with the
starlight glinting off from them. There was no moon
tonight.
Dawn jumped when she heard someone say,
"Dawn?"
Dawn whirled around. Popuri was there with a
bottle, and looked surprised to see Dawn there.
"What're you doing here?" they both said
curiously.
Popuri smiled. "I'm collecting Moonlight
Stones. Want to help?"
"Sure." Dawn and Popuri hunted around on
the beach for the shiny stones.
When they collected quite a few, Popuri said,
"That's enough," and put them in the bottle.
"What are they for anyway?" Dawn asked
interestedly. The bright white, shining stones were
very pretty in the starlight.
"I'll tell you once you've been in Flower Bud
Village a little longer," Popuri said, smiling secretly.
Dawn frowned. "Okay then…"
Dawn and Popuri walked back to their homes
for the night.
***
The next morning, Dawn tended to her crops
and to Bessie, then slipped on her bikini. She hadn't
expected to go swimming at all in her new house, so
she had just grabbed a bathing suit for an
emergency—she didn't think she'd have had to wear
a BIKINI.
Dawn shuddered, took a deep breath and
closed her eyes, and looked in the mirror.
She actually looked nice in a bikini, though she
didn't admit that to herself. She put her hair up in a
bun for the swimming, grabbed a towel and sandals,
and set off to the beach.
She met Ann at the entrance to the farm. Ann
was wearing a one-piece yellow suit, and her eyes
popped and her mouth dropped open at the sight of
Dawn.
"DAWN!" she hissed. "WHERE DID YOU GET
THAT?!?"
"I didn't expect to go swimming at all," she said
quickly. "If I had known I would've brought a one-
piece—"
"You look GREAT!!" Ann yelped, smiling at her.
"Oooooooh, Jack'll flip for you even MORE now!" She
linked and arm in Dawn's and they walked down to
the beach, Ann excitedly talking about the swimming
festival.
When they got there, there was a small crowd
waiting for all the contestants. All the guys' eyes
couldn't leave the extremely embarrassed Dawn as
she and Ann walked down to where the other
contestants all were (Jack, Harris, Cliff, Kai, Rick, and
Gray).
They all lined up. Jack was on Dawn's left,
and Ann was on her right. All the other guys were
down Jack's left side.
Jack grinned at Dawn, and he couldn't help
looking Dawn up and down at least five times. Dawn
blushed furiously.
"I didn't want to wear a bikini," Dawn said, at
the same time Jack said, "I didn't expect a tomboy to
wear something like THAT."
Jack grinned reassuringly at Dawn. "It's okay,"
he told her. "Wearing a bikini isn't a crime." When
Dawn said nothing, Jack laughed. "Oh come on! You
don't look bad at all! You look BEAUTIFUL!"
Dawn smiled shyly. Then the Mayor said that
they were starting.
"You should all know the rules…You swim to
the flag over there—" He pointed to the buoy with the
flag attached, somewhat 100 feet off the shore. "Th
first to reach it and stand up on the reef wins 10,000G
and the Invincible Katori!"
The Invincible Katori was a statue of a pig.
Dawn arched an eyebrow.
"It's supposed to bring luck," Ann whispered to
her as Jack laughed at her facial expression.
"Get into your ready positions!" shouted the
Mayor. All the competitors lined up along the shore,
in a stance as if they were about to start running.
"On your mark…Get set…"
Dawn casually glanced around at the other
competitors. They were all focused and either glaring
at each other or muttering, "God, what the hell am I
doing trying to swim?" Dawn was happy that she was
pretty good at swimming.
"GO!" Everyone jumped in the water (Dawn
included, of course). They all started swimming
frantically.
Pretty soon it became obvious who were good
swimmers. Kai, Jack, Dawn, and Cliff were all way up
front, and everyone else was scattered far behind
those four. Ann wasn't that far back, but she had
slowed because a fish had bitten her ankle and she
had stopped and sworn loudly, and still was.
Jack and Kai were slowly pulling ahead of Cliff
and Dawn. Dawn's arms were starting to get tired,
but then she remembered Kai and how rude and
mean he was and how he used her. She got so angry
that she started swimming furiously fast, and quickly
pulled up to Jack and Kai, and then slowly got ahead
of them…
With a BUMP, Dawn reached the reef first by
seconds. She stood up shakily and waved her arms
in the air, squeaking, "I WON! YAY!"
Jack grinned at her, and Dawn pulled him up
on the reef and bounced around, hugging him and still
squeaking. Kai threw them both a dark look as Cliff
and Ann then climbed on to the reef, and then the
other three reached the reef, huffing and puffing and
muttering things like, "I KNEW I shouldn't've swam,"
or "DAMN I'm out of shape."
Jack grinned at Dawn. "Congratulations!"
Between Ann's yelps of pain when she tried to walk
and yells at Cliff for nagging at her, Ann said, "Good
job, Dawn!" and between Cliff's mutters of worry at all
the blood on Ann's ankle and snaps at her for not
watching where she swam, Cliff said, "What're you
going to do with the money?"
"Thanks guys! And I'm not sure yet…" Dawn
frowned in thought, and then smiled around at her
friends.
***
Much later, Jack, Dawn, Ann, Cliff, and
surprisingly Popuri were at the bar. Popuri had gotten
in a fight with her mother (dun dun DUUUUN!) and
decided to go to the bar since her mom kicked her out
of the house for a little while. (Hehehe…) They were
celebrating with beer and talking about various stuff.
Popuri and Dawn gossiped about Karen. Ann
was arguing with Jack (or rather, yelling at Jack, who
was cowering in his seat at the yelling girl who was
normally so nice to him) about the swimming
competition and about the fish that bit her. ("SO YOU
AGREE WITH CLIFF? THAT I SHOULD'VE
WATCHED WHERE I WAS GOING AND MAKE
SURE I LOST?!?" "Yes! I mean no! NO!") Cliff was
laughing despite himself at their argument and talking
a little bit with Popuri and Dawn on the subject of
Karen.
After a long while of just hanging out, they all
went home. (Popuri fortunately wasn't drunk so she
could confront her mom about their fight and get a
place to sleep.) Jack walked Dawn home, and they
kissed as they said goodnight.
The next day was Jack's birthday. What am I
supposed to do for Jack?!?!? Dawn thought frantically
the instant she woke up.
A/N: Hope you like that chapter! By the
way…what SHOULD I do for Jack's birthday? If
you've got ideas please post them in the reviews!