Gamer To Farmer
Chapter 12: Family Arrival
A/N: I don't really have anything to address so I'm just going straight to the chapter. There's a first for everything…Oh, and Stickerbrush, how right you are. After these next two chapters, everybody will have a renenwed hatred for this woman.
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"How did you get here so fast?" I asked as I backed away from my advancing mother. It was truly an interesting matter. She and my brother had made it all the way from Canada to over here in Japan in less than twelve hours. That was practically impossible.
"A lot has happened since you left nearly a year ago. Your father has become a wealthy business man and now owns his own company. That's why he couldn't come with us. He's too busy buying some town over in Great Britain." My mother proclaimed, momentarily seeming nicer then she actually was. "He got his pilot to fly us to that ship in the company helicopter."
The crowd was busy murmuring in amazement. They were in the presence of my family and were unsure on how to handle it. Some were in a welcoming mood, willing to accept these rich travelers. The others were ready to send them packing, mostly because they had heard my stories about them.
Neil was busy overlooking the spectators. His eyes scanned the faces from beneath the white cowboy hat that he was wearing. "Bunch of redneck hicks and pansies. Not a single person of interest. Suits you perfectly." He stated with disgust as he spat on the sand.
"Watch what you say, Neil. I'm in the mood to hit you right now." I warned.
"That won't be a problem. You hit like a girl. In fact, that chick there probably hits harder then you do." Neil pointed into the crowd.
I looked to where he was pointing. There was Karen, standing in a half daze. "Then why don't you let her hit you?" I asked with a smirk.
Karen made her way through the crowd and stood before my brother. She was about ready to hit him, when my mother stepped between them. "I won't have a pathetic little girl go around abusing my son." She angrily stated as she pushed Karen back into the crowd.
The scene was beginning to look ugly almost as if a fight was about to break out between the crowd and my family. In fact my brother was taunting Zach to start something. Zach was about to hit the idiot when Mayor Thomas cleared his throat. "Everyone can go on home. We will settle this problem ourselves. No need to stay around."
The announcement worked. After a few muttered curses the beach eventually cleared. The last one to leave was Karen who flipped my brother the bird. My family was off to an amazing start, even better then that of my own. The only ones remaining on the beach were Thomas, myself, and my relatives.
Thomas placed a hand on my shoulder. "I'm going to leave you to handle this. I have to go help Barley with the preparations for the Cow Festival at his ranch today." With that, Thomas left me standing alone with my family members.
"So, you thought that you could run away to some 'paradise' and forget about us." My mother even used finger quotations for paradise. It was obvious that I was in for one hell of a problem.
"That was my plan." I stated as I began walking towards the stairs.
I could hear my mother's nagging voice following me. "Are you going to leave us here? Aren't you going to invite us to your place?"
I pretended to ignore her as I made my way into Town Square. I stopped for a moment and pointed to the path on the opposite side of the square. "The Inn's that way. It's a suiting place for tourists." I stated much to my mother's anger.
"How dare you! Insolent little brat! That is no way to treat your mother!" She nagged as she continued after me as I headed towards my farm.
I looked over my shoulder and saw her stomped after me. "You're still following me, I see. I won't give you directions to the Inn again." I was feeling a lot more confident around her now. Must be the people skills that I had gained from my confrontations with the late Tim.
We were entering into my farmyard. Homer carefully approached my mother and sniffed at her leg. She was completely oblivious to Homer until he tried to mark his territory. I was quite amused by the sight as my mother let out a horrible shriek and tried to chase after Homer. Even Neil laughed at the sight.
"Stupid mutt! Just wait till I get my hands on you. Then you will rue the day you pissed on me." Mom yelled at Homer as he ducked into the doggy door. She tried to chase after him inside, but luckily I had locked the door earlier.
As she was busy with the door, I proceeded to water my pineapple crop. Neil followed me as I made my way through the field. "What the hell are these?" He asked as he looked at one of the growing plants.
"They're pineapples. Each and every one of them. They should be ready for harvesting within the next three days. Then I'll be able to purchase a couple of upgrades around here." I explained.
Neil nodded his head in understanding. Out of everyone in my family, I got along best with him. According to the last time I talked to him, he actually had played a Harvest Moon game and liked it. He might actually prove to be of some use around the farm during his stay.
When I finished watering the last plot of pineapples Neil pulled me aside. "Brett, I have something to tell you that is very secretive. I don't want her to know." He pointed at mother, who was chasing after Homer again. Homer was obviously having fun as he joyfully pranced about the field.
"What is it?" I asked as I headed into the chicken coop. I immediately noticed that the egg in the incubator had hatched, revealing a newborn chick. Neil headed over towards the chick as I collected feed for my eight chickens. "Feel free to name that one." I stated as I watched him pick up the tiny yellow bird.
"You name all of your chickens? How do you remember all of their names?" He asked as he rubbed the chick's head carefully.
"It's quite easy. That big one in the corner is Mini Me. That one's Pecker. There's Mojo, Gouger, Comrie, Big Bird, and Fluffy." I pointed to each bird as I said its name. "Now what was it you wanted to tell me?" I asked as I placed the feed in each birds feed box. I collected the eggs and put most of them in the shipping bin. I then placed one egg in each of the incubators.
"I think I'll name this little guy Freedom. That's what I want, Brett, freedom. From her. I can't take anymore of it. Ever since you left, she has focused all of her anger on me." Neil admitted, gently placing Freedom in front of a feed box.
I nodded my head in agreement as I exited the Chicken Coop. "I understand what you mean. I might be able to pull some strings for you. Maybe you could help me around the farm." I looked around the field in search of my mother. She was nowhere to be found.
"That would be great! By the way, I didn't mean any of the things I said down at the beach. It was only an act for her." Neil apologized as he shut the door behind us.
A strange sight caused me to head towards the stream. The morning sun was just barely beginning to scatter the darkness of night. Standing at the edge of the stream were both Epona and Homer. The two of them were looking down into the water, from which horrendous sounds were being emitted. "Epona! Homer! Don't push my mother into the water again!" I ordered upon seeing the sight of my mother floundering around in the water. "At least not when I'm at home." I whispered into Epona's ear. She seemed to nod her head in agreement.
"Are you going to stand there and look stupid or are you going to give me a hand?" Mother demanded as she struggled up the slippery bank. In reply I sat down and began clapping my hands. This was turning out to be fun.
"How dare you! Just you wait till I get out of here. I am going to get you!" The woman screamed in agony.
I pulled out my set of keys. "The keys to my house attached to Epona's saddle. I'll offer you a hint, before she humiliates you any more. Don't try to ride her. She's still only a pony but she'll buck your fat butt off no problem." I attached the keys to a stirrup on the saddle.
Neil followed me as I headed towards the barn. I wasn't about to let my mother ruin my participation in the Cow Festival. "Come on Neil. Help me push Blimp over to Barley's ranch." I ordered after opening up the barn doors.
"Shouldn't we help mother?" He asked, looking back towards the creek. Homer was joyfully barking away at the figure trying desperately to climb to solid ground.
I shook my head in response. "You don't have to listen to her any more. That will take her quite some time. By then, the festival should be over and I can whistle for Epona. Then I'll help her."
I noticed Neil was looking me over with a strange look. "You sure have changed over the last year." He stated at length.
I tugged at the collar around Blimp's neck, attempting to pull her out into the morning sunlight. "I know that I have changed. I've broken my shoulder blade, witnessed a murder, and even got a girl pregnant." I summarized, leaving my brother standing in shock.
"You've got a girlfriend!?!" He asked in amazement. "So you aren't gay like mom said." I shot him an evil glare that immediately silenced him.
"I'll introduce you to her at the Festival. She probably will be there." I grunted as I pulled Blimp towards Yodel Ranch. We were just passing by the Poultry Farm when we heard a yell come from the other side of the building.
"I hate you Rick!" Popuri yelled as she came around the corner. I groaned when I saw the tears coming down off of her cheek. It was too early to be consoling Popuri. The pink haired maiden stopped herself when she spotted me leading Blimp along the path. "What a cute little cow!" Popuri exclaimed, instantly enchanted with the beast.
"What happened now?" I asked Popuri as she rubbed Blimp's forehead. She had yet to notice Neil, who was standing between Blimp and the fence.
"Nothing, really. Rick was just calling Kai a bad influence on me. I don't know why I was crying, it wasn't really all that bad. Plus, Kai isn't even close to you for being a bad influence." Popuri joked.
"Is this your girlfriend, Brett?" Neil interrupted.
Popuri let out a little shriek of surprise. "Who are you?" She asked, looking Neil up and down.
Neil tipped his hat to Popuri. "The name's Neil. What's yours, pretty lady?" The question caused Popuri to blush a bit, even though she hid her face.
"She's out of your league, Neil. You're only thirteen and she just turned eighteen." I pushed the smooth talking teen out of the way. "May I introduce my brother, Neil. Neil, this is Popuri. And no, she isn't my girlfriend. She's just a friend."
"Brother!" Popuri exclaimed. "So it was your family that arrived here this morning. Who else came?"
"Just my mother, but you don't want to meet her. She's the devil." I commented nonchalantly. "Say, we were headed to the Cow Festival. Care to tag along?"
"Don't mind if I do." Popuri smiled as we continued towards Yodel Ranch.
"From now on, call me Tint." I whispered to my brother, who shook his head in conformation.
Yodel Ranch was a mad house of activity. Barley and Thomas were directing the visiting farmers towards their spots. The residents of the town were eagerly awaiting the judging of the cows. I took one look around and was disappointed when I didn't see Elli anywhere around.
"Tint! Come on over here!" Barley called out when he spotted me. Behind him was a really big guy, who I recognized as the judge from the Cooking Festival, which I hadn't been able to compete in.
I dragged Blimp over towards Barley. Both Popuri and Neil dispersed themselves among the crowd. I was worried about what Neil would do, but had more pressing matters at hand. I pulled Blimp into her spot. "What now?" I asked.
Barley looked around the ranch, counting the number of cows. "Yup, everybody is here. We can get started with the judging." Barley announced much to the crowd's pleasure.
The Judge began strolling towards the nearest cow. He looked the creature over with the severest of scrutiny. I watched as he checked over every inch of the cow, nodding his head as he went. The Judge said a couple of words to the owner of the cow before continuing onto the next animal.
Suddenly, my world was enveloped with darkness. "Guess who!" The owner of the hands over my eyes said in a giddy voice.
I reached up and clasped the hands, bringing them down to my heart. "I thought you would never come." I said with a smile as I turned towards the love of my life. I planted a soft kiss on her lips before releasing her hands.
"Are the rumors true?" Elli asked.
"The ones about my family showing up? Yup." I replied. I looked around the ranch, trying to locate my brother. "My brother is somewhere around here." I commented.
"Really? You'll have to introduce me to them some time."
"I'm not sure if you want that." I stated thinking about what my mother would say.
"Oh, come on! They can't be that bad!" Elli complained. I gave her a look of disbelief, which caused her to go, "Oh…"
I shrugged my shoulders. "If you really want to meet them, how about dinner at the Inn tonight. You can bring Stu and I'll bring my mother and brother. What do you say?" I suggested.
"Sounds great! Oh, look sharp! The Judge is heading your way!" Elli warned before backing away from myself and Blimp. I immediately snapped to the military stance of attention.
The Judge stopped in front of me and began looking me up and down. "What kind of farmer are you?" The Judge asked with a hint of disgust evident in his voice.
"I'm a damn good one, sir!" I yelled back, much to the Judge's surprise.
The Judge hesitated for a few seconds, glaring at me. Then he looked over at Blimp. "Is that your cow?"
"Yes, sir!" Was my reply. Did I ever mention that I had spent five years in military school before my parents decided that I was normal enough for public schooling? Maybe that was where they went wrong with me. I had only thought of it as the Judge inspected over Blimp.
Judge moved back in front of me. He cleared his throat, "I'm going to tell you this straight. I don't think that you are suited to be a farmer. That cow is living proof of it. She's too young, just like you, to be involved in any quality farm. Plus, she is too fat. Better luck next year, if your farm hasn't gone under." With that the Judge headed on towards the next contestant, leaving me and the crowd shocked.
"She isn't the only thing that is too fat around here." I whispered to myself. I silently cursed when I saw the Judge turn around. He stormed back towards me and glared directly in my face. "Care to repeat what you just said?" He challenged.
"Sir! I was just commenting that my cow is not the only thing around here that could handle losing a couple hundred pounds." I retorted, loud enough to be heard by the crowd.
The Judge appeared ready to explode. He was about to say something, but decided against it and headed to the next farmer. A let out a breath of relief. Apparently, my people skills were working in top order. That would prove useful when combating my mother in a verbal battle.
The Judge had finished with the last contestant and was conversing with Barley. Barley appeared to agree on whatever the Judge had decided. Barley cleared his throat and announced, "We have reached a decision. Third place goes to Farmer Orlando from Harukasa Village! He receives the cash prize of one thousand gold pieces." The guy beside me walked forward and received his prize.
It was the Judge's turn to announce second place. "Second place gets that." The Judge pointed to the barn doors where May was leading a baby calf out. The crowd let out a round of "It's so cute!" and the likes. "Second place will also receive a thousand gold pieces. And this prize goes to Captain Tint of Mineral Town!"
The crowd cheered wildly as I headed towards the Judge and Barley. I shook hands with Barley and was about to shake the Judge's hand when he stopped me. "I wasn't judging just the cows. I was judging the farmers. A good farmer has a strong backbone, which you proved with your remark. That's why you received this prize."
"Thank you." I said as I shook his hand and collected the prize money. May had the calf cradled in her arms and carefully handed the tiny beast over to me. "I'm naming this one Cheese Puff." I declared, continuing my trend of stupid names for my animals.
I returned back to my spot, where Elli was waiting. "Congratulations!" She exclaimed as she embraced me in a hug. "I wonder who won." She commented upon releasing me.
I scanned the remaining farmers and their cows. Most of them seemed to be average, not much of a problem. But there was one farmer who stood out to me. He was wearing a white shirt beneath the coveralls. He wore a red bandana around his neck and a blue and yellow baseball cap covered his brown hair. He seemed very familiar to me, but I couldn't remember where I had seen him before. Then it hit me, just as the Judge was making the first place announcement. "First place goes to Jack from Forget-Me-Not Valley!"
"That was who it was! It was the farmer from the games! So he does exist." Jack walked forward and received his prizes. On the way back he stopped in front of me. "Better luck next festival." He commented sarcastically before returning to his cow. I could tell that this was going to form into a great rivalry.
The crowd began to disperse. "See you at dinner." Elli said as she bid farewell and headed back into town.
I finally spotted my brother. He was sitting against a fence and was engaged in deep conversation with Jessica, Evan's daughter. "Hey, Neil! We're leaving!" I yelled at him as I started to pull on the rope I had tied around Blimp's neck. I was quite surprised when I saw Jessica give my brother a kiss before she left.
Neil was blushing when he walked up to me. "You saw that, didn't you?" He asked as he straightened his hat.
"You just had to find a girl, didn't you?" I commented as we headed down the dirt path towards home.
The farm was pretty much exactly the way that we had left it. The only difference was that my mother had sat herself down at the base of my door. Apparently she had made it out of the creek. I called Epona over and removed my keys, which I tossed to Neil. "You can go let her in and make yourself comfortable. I'll take care of these two."
I took Blimp and Cheese Puff to the barn. Surprising how in one day the number of occupants at my farm increased by four. I placed some food in the feed stalls and headed back towards the house. I could hear arguing coming from inside. Apparently Neil had told mother that he wanted to stay.
I waited till the argument died down before going inside. As soon as I set foot inside my mother turned on me. In her hand she was holding the Blue Feather. She appeared really angry as she backed me into a corner. "I know what this is for! How dare you consider marriage before you even introduce the girl to me. I demand to meet this girl!"
"How bout at supper, tonight? Is that soon enough for you?"
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A/N: I decided to end here simply because this was turning into a really long chapter. Expect the next one to be about the same length.
Wow, I sure did include a lot of things in that chapter. Mom is a bleep, Neil is a ladies man, I introduced a rivalry between Jack and Tint, and have an interesting show-down planned on the horizon. Have fun waiting. Till then, Tint out.