Walking out of the Green Ranch and on her way to the mountain for a
break, she passed by the Harvest Farm which had recently been abandoned
since the death of the kind old man who'd been running it, and then passed
down to his grandson who was supposed to be restoring it. Ann didn't catch
sight of the grandson, Jack, but she did find Bright, the pony she'd given
him just last spring. Surprisingly, he'd grown very big. She imagined that,
if trained, Bright could one day be just like Cliff. She thought she might
pay a visit to encourage him to race Bright in the fall, even though Gray
would probably be really upset about that. Still, if a horse that came from
Green Farm won the Local Horse Race, who knows what would be said about
their farm.
"Hey!!" Ann hollered when she saw Jack, who had just taken a break from ploughing the fields. Right now she didn't mind the fact that he didn't have many animals yet, because it pleased her enough to see him busying himself and apparently taking the work seriously. She would have wanted to tell her father and brother, but she privately knew that they doubted someone from a big city could restore a farm.
Jack wore a blue cap like her brother's but he turned it backwards so that the shadow fell on the ground behind his shoes. He wore overalls and carried a white handkerchief that dangled from his pocket. He waved to Ann silently, then came up to her.
"What can I do for you?" he asked in an adolescent's voice. He was only about a head taller than she was, and she had to squint in the sunlight to see his face. Jack was still thin and he had beads of sweat on his face. He still hadn't gotten used to the work around here and Ann thought he looked like such a character.
"Bright sure has grown big," she announced her observation.
"Yeah." What else could he have possibly said?
"You seem to be off to a good start. Why don't you gallop him sometimes? Horses really like that and it's good training for the Local Horse Race in the fall." Ann was not shy and rocked back and forth on her heels, tucking her hands into the pockets of her baggy overalls. She was wondering exactly what he was thinking, from the way he was looking down at her face and her eyes. It felt weird to be watched like this. It was as if he could read a secret that she'd been trying with all her might to hide. She hoped that he wasn't having the feeling of "I know you're better than me but I'm still going to try to talk to you like an equal".
"Really? Well, I'll do that." Jack had brown eyes, just like the color of his hair. His bangs hung down and fell into his eyes and he had a habit of brushing them out occasionally. The poor guy didn't seem to have a clue, but Ann thought he was okay nonetheless because of the keen interest he seemed to show in Bright.
"Make sure you brush him everyday and give him exercise a lot. He really is a good horse." Ann's eyes met his again and she felt strange somehow. There was no telling just what he would turn out to be. "Well, I'll come see you again soon, okay? Bye!" she said politely and gave him a light punch on the shoulder before pivoting and walking out the gate to his farm.
I wonder what I did was right, Ann thought to herself, still feeling quite strange and pondering her tomboyish self and the awkward ways in which she tried to be nice. Her red and yellow tennis shoes sifted through the untilled soil, kicking up dull brown clouds that disappeared into the early summer air. She stuffed her little white hands into the pockets of her overalls and kept her eyes on her steps as she walked parallel with Jack's picket fence, unaware that she was walking in the wrong direction and back toward Green Ranch. Suddenly her thoughts drifted onto going into the village to buy a few things instead of watching birds in the mountain and then she saw a flash of brown. Her bottom hit the ground hard and her palms burned as the gritty soil made friction against her skin.
Ann looked up and saw a young man perhaps slightly older than Jack. A sadistic smile spread across his handsome face and blond bangs fell into his sharp, midnight eyes. The rest of his hair was a dark cinder brown and pulled back into a neat ponytail. His walking gait was confident and seemingly-tough, considering the way he carried his fists. A crude knife hung from his brown vest and it made Ann's eyes widen. He looked like a poacher.
"You ought to watch where you're going!" exclaimed the strawberry- blonde, getting to her feet and brushing the dust off her overalls in a masculine way. Subconsciously she smoothened back her tousled hair and returned to the boyish way of stuffing her hands into her pockets.
"What a way to say 'excuse me'," the character smirked with his eyebrows in a strange challenging position.
"Any gentleman in Flower Bud Village ought to know to yield to a lady. Obviously you're new around here," Ann said in defense.
"What lady?" he teased her, stretching out his muscular arms in a casual way and then hooking his thumbs through the belt loops of his brown cargo pants. Ann didn't like the way his eyes skimmed over her, and she knew that he spotted how the only feminine thing about her was the gold necklace of her mother's. "Surely a lady would at least say 'excuse me'." She was really starting to hate his sarcasm now, and she struggled to see the goodness behind his teasing her so much. This guy reminded her of Gray without his kind "big-brother-ness".
"Now that's being unkind," Ann's face turned angry. "I hope you're just a lost and confused tourist and not planning to stay in Flower Bud Village, because if you are, then you're really going to have to learn the ways around here!"
"I was only teasing you," replied the man, deciding it was best to walk away from this funny, rough, yet oddly-charming girl he'd remember as long as he was here. "I've got important things to do now. By the way, my name's Cliff." He began to walk around her and head toward Moon Mountain.
"Cliff?" Ann nearly choked. Contrary to what she'd been meditating on for a while, a bomb dropped to the bottom of her heart and exploded. Her connotation of that name was now completely ruined. She didn't notice that she was wincing and she turned around to face him with a pained look on her face, but all she saw was his backside as he walked away.
Feeling like she was having a heart attack, Ann clenched a fist to her chest and squeezed the little gold charm as if trying to break it, then she walked into Flower Bud Village to buy a new brush for the sheep and hopefully get her mind off that weird guy.
"Hey!!" Ann hollered when she saw Jack, who had just taken a break from ploughing the fields. Right now she didn't mind the fact that he didn't have many animals yet, because it pleased her enough to see him busying himself and apparently taking the work seriously. She would have wanted to tell her father and brother, but she privately knew that they doubted someone from a big city could restore a farm.
Jack wore a blue cap like her brother's but he turned it backwards so that the shadow fell on the ground behind his shoes. He wore overalls and carried a white handkerchief that dangled from his pocket. He waved to Ann silently, then came up to her.
"What can I do for you?" he asked in an adolescent's voice. He was only about a head taller than she was, and she had to squint in the sunlight to see his face. Jack was still thin and he had beads of sweat on his face. He still hadn't gotten used to the work around here and Ann thought he looked like such a character.
"Bright sure has grown big," she announced her observation.
"Yeah." What else could he have possibly said?
"You seem to be off to a good start. Why don't you gallop him sometimes? Horses really like that and it's good training for the Local Horse Race in the fall." Ann was not shy and rocked back and forth on her heels, tucking her hands into the pockets of her baggy overalls. She was wondering exactly what he was thinking, from the way he was looking down at her face and her eyes. It felt weird to be watched like this. It was as if he could read a secret that she'd been trying with all her might to hide. She hoped that he wasn't having the feeling of "I know you're better than me but I'm still going to try to talk to you like an equal".
"Really? Well, I'll do that." Jack had brown eyes, just like the color of his hair. His bangs hung down and fell into his eyes and he had a habit of brushing them out occasionally. The poor guy didn't seem to have a clue, but Ann thought he was okay nonetheless because of the keen interest he seemed to show in Bright.
"Make sure you brush him everyday and give him exercise a lot. He really is a good horse." Ann's eyes met his again and she felt strange somehow. There was no telling just what he would turn out to be. "Well, I'll come see you again soon, okay? Bye!" she said politely and gave him a light punch on the shoulder before pivoting and walking out the gate to his farm.
I wonder what I did was right, Ann thought to herself, still feeling quite strange and pondering her tomboyish self and the awkward ways in which she tried to be nice. Her red and yellow tennis shoes sifted through the untilled soil, kicking up dull brown clouds that disappeared into the early summer air. She stuffed her little white hands into the pockets of her overalls and kept her eyes on her steps as she walked parallel with Jack's picket fence, unaware that she was walking in the wrong direction and back toward Green Ranch. Suddenly her thoughts drifted onto going into the village to buy a few things instead of watching birds in the mountain and then she saw a flash of brown. Her bottom hit the ground hard and her palms burned as the gritty soil made friction against her skin.
Ann looked up and saw a young man perhaps slightly older than Jack. A sadistic smile spread across his handsome face and blond bangs fell into his sharp, midnight eyes. The rest of his hair was a dark cinder brown and pulled back into a neat ponytail. His walking gait was confident and seemingly-tough, considering the way he carried his fists. A crude knife hung from his brown vest and it made Ann's eyes widen. He looked like a poacher.
"You ought to watch where you're going!" exclaimed the strawberry- blonde, getting to her feet and brushing the dust off her overalls in a masculine way. Subconsciously she smoothened back her tousled hair and returned to the boyish way of stuffing her hands into her pockets.
"What a way to say 'excuse me'," the character smirked with his eyebrows in a strange challenging position.
"Any gentleman in Flower Bud Village ought to know to yield to a lady. Obviously you're new around here," Ann said in defense.
"What lady?" he teased her, stretching out his muscular arms in a casual way and then hooking his thumbs through the belt loops of his brown cargo pants. Ann didn't like the way his eyes skimmed over her, and she knew that he spotted how the only feminine thing about her was the gold necklace of her mother's. "Surely a lady would at least say 'excuse me'." She was really starting to hate his sarcasm now, and she struggled to see the goodness behind his teasing her so much. This guy reminded her of Gray without his kind "big-brother-ness".
"Now that's being unkind," Ann's face turned angry. "I hope you're just a lost and confused tourist and not planning to stay in Flower Bud Village, because if you are, then you're really going to have to learn the ways around here!"
"I was only teasing you," replied the man, deciding it was best to walk away from this funny, rough, yet oddly-charming girl he'd remember as long as he was here. "I've got important things to do now. By the way, my name's Cliff." He began to walk around her and head toward Moon Mountain.
"Cliff?" Ann nearly choked. Contrary to what she'd been meditating on for a while, a bomb dropped to the bottom of her heart and exploded. Her connotation of that name was now completely ruined. She didn't notice that she was wincing and she turned around to face him with a pained look on her face, but all she saw was his backside as he walked away.
Feeling like she was having a heart attack, Ann clenched a fist to her chest and squeezed the little gold charm as if trying to break it, then she walked into Flower Bud Village to buy a new brush for the sheep and hopefully get her mind off that weird guy.