Another chapter just for you. What do you think?
BTW, I don't own anything having to do with Harvest Moon, besides Mimi.
Incase you missed my warning last chapter, this story contains drug and alchohol references, and sexually explicit scenes. This will contain yuri and some yoai. But later. Not yet...
A Free Afternoon
It was a couple days before Jack and Mimi grew accustom to farm life. With help from Takakura, they fell into a set schedule. Jack would wake at 6:00 a.m. He would put the animals outside, brush the bovine, and the horse, and milk Daisy. That would take about an hour. Next, he would water the plants and tend the trees. Last, he would feed the chickens and gather their eggs. That together would also take about an hour. At around 7:30, Mimi woke up and prepared breakfast.
They had discussed taking turns with these chores, but Mimi wouldn't dare touch Daisy's udders or kneel in the dirt, and Jack couldn't cook to save his life. So, to avoid complications, they stuck to the routine they had developed.
It took them three days to return the farm to its original shape. Their father seemed to neglect whatever he decided wasn't all that important to his economic stature. He kept his orchard and animals in tip top shape, but his smaller fields and poultry suffered. So, his children took the time to give regard to what needed fixing.
They began with the chicken coop. Jack and Takakura repaired the shingles on the roof, and Mimi gave it a new coat of paint. Next, Jack and Takakura carefully weeded the smaller fields while Mimi straightened up the storage shed, with had fallen into disarray. In the end, the newbie farmers were thoroughly pleased with themselves.
Four days after they had first arrived, Jack and Mimi were just finishing breakfast when they realized they had nothing important to do that afternoon. They paused as they set their dishes in the sink, looking at each other thoughtfully.
"Jack, does this mean we can go meet the neighbors?" Mimi asked her older brother.
"Yeah, I guess it does," Jack replied, a small smile spreading across his face. Ever since he and Mimi had read their father's letter, they had been anxious to find out if his guide was right.
They quickly washed the dishes and Mimi changed out of her pajamas into a pair blue jeans and a pink t-shirt with the Superman symbol displayed in red sequins. Jack was already dressed in faded jeans covered with dirt and grass stains, and a blue t-shirt. He wore his favorite green baseball cap backwards.
He and Mimi left the house, basking in the spring time sun. They grinned at each other, feeling good about their decision to stay. They started to leave the farm, when Takakura intercepted them.
"You two be careful, alright?" he said quietly. It hadn't taken Mimi and Jack very long to realize Takakura took the time to say only what was absolutely necessary. They had learned to heed his words.
"Yes, sir," they replied in unison before taking off.
As soon as they stepped off their property, Jack caught his sister by the shoulder, "I'm going to let you do as you please, but be good. I don't want to hear that anything bad has happened to you."
"No problem!" she grinned and made her way toward the beach.
Jack scratched his head, not exactly sure where to go. But before he could make a decision, a group of men came over to him. He identified them as Rock, Daryl, Gustafa, and Cody.
"Yo, little dude," called Gustafa as he and his companions approached, "You wanna buy some weed? Ours is much better than what they got in the city." The others nodded and mumbled in agreement.
"No thanks," Jack said, putting his hands into his pockets, "I'm not into that."
The group laughed. "Wuss! Pussy!" they jeered.
Gustafa pulled a dime back out of his coat and waved it in Jack's face, "You know you want it."
Jack took a step back, "Leave me alone."
"What's the matter? Scared of a little pot?" Rock drawled. The other's laughed again.
"Leave him alone," said a new voice.
They all turned to see Hugh, arms crossed over his chest, frowning forebodingly.
Gustafa sneered at him, "Back off, little boy."
"No."
The men looked at each other, at a loss. After a time, Gustafa stalked off, with his cronies in tow.
Hugh relaxed, letting his arms dropped to his sides and grinned at Jack, "Don't let them force that stuff on you. All you have to do is act fierce and they'll go away. They're a pretty timid bunch."
Jack laughed embarrassedly, "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."
"How about you come over to my place?" Hugh offered, "If you're planning on getting to know everyone, you might as well start with my folks. They're pretty decent. Hell, compared to those guys, they're saints."
"Sounds good to me."
Mimi ran all the way to the beach, the wind whipping her long auburn hair into her face. She was no wimp, she could handle herself. She didn't need Jack or Takakura to worry about her. All she wanted to do was go and hang out by the ocean. She'd never seen the ocean before.
She slowed to a halt, just far enough from the waves so her black and white high tops wouldn't get wet. She crouched down, shifting the sand through her fingers, taking in the exact feel and texture. She smiled at the blue sky above her.
"Hey girly," said a snide, snickering voice.
Mimi looked over her shoulder and saw Kassey and Patrick coming down from the direction of Cody's trailer. She stood up quickly, remembering her father's warning against the twins. They stopped in front of her, looking up the 5 inches that separated them from the girl.
"You wanna play with some fireworks?" one asked. Mimi couldn't tell the difference between the two.
"It'll be fun," cackled the other.
"Uh...no thanks," Mimi mumbled, taking a step back.
"Don't go," they said in unison, sounding incredibly creepy, "We just want to get to know you. It'll be so much fun."
Mimi, who was feeling pretty freaked out, took another step back, "No, really. I'd...uh...better go. Jack probably needs...something."
"Stay and play!" they cried.
Mimi turned and ran.
"Mom? I'm home!"
Chris stepped out of the kitchen, cleaning her hands with a dish towel. She didn't look very paranoid to Jack, but he was beginning to believe anything was possible in this place. She smiled at the two boys standing in the doorway.
"Hello dear. Oh, hello Jack! I was wondering when you and your sister were going to come and say hi."
Jack smiled politely, "We had to get settled first. We really couldn't wait to come and meet everyone."
"That's lovely. I sure you'll do wonders with you father's farm. He was such a good man, rest his soul," she made the sign of the cross, tapping her forehead, her chest, and on both shoulders with her index finger. Shaking her head, she returned to the kitchen.
"Mom's an avid Christian," explained Hugh to a slightly confused Jack.
"Would you two like a snack?" Chris called from the kitchen.
"Yes, please," Jack said.
He and Hugh entered the kitchen. When Jack sat down at the counter, he could have sworn he saw Chris shoot him a very dirty look. But whether she had or not, it was gone in an instant. Jack shifted uncomfortably. Hetried not to thinkabout what his father had said about Chris in his letter.
Thwack!
Mimi reeled backwards. She had just come into contact with something very, very large.
She looked up. Carter stood above her, all imposing.
"Watch where you're going," he rumbled.
"Uh...so sorry," Mimi stuttered. Carter was much bigger than she had expected. He towered over her, casting a dark shadow over her lithe form.
"Wait...is you Avery's kid?"
"Yes."
"Then you'd better come with me," he bellowed, grabbing her wrist, dragging her away from the Turtle Pond by which she had smashed into him.
"But...but, I have to get back to my brother! I can't...I mean, I don't have time to do anything. I need to collect the eggs, or milk the cow, or-"
"Avery always helped in the dig site. I know you will do just the same. And since you're so young, you'll probably do a better job than he did," Carter said, completely ignoring the struggling girl.
"No, I can't..." she moaned.
"Jack, where the hell are you? Save me, dammit!" she cried in her mind. Today was not her day.
"Jack, would like some cheese and crackers?"
"I'd love some."
Hugh smiled nervously. His mom was acting civilized, but he knew the longer she act civilized, the worse the attack would be. He winced every time she and Jack exchanged a good word. He had to get his new friend out, and quick. It was a mistake to bring him in the first place. He had been pretty sure his mom was out shopping. He mentally slapped himself. And he had no idea where his dad was...
Jack munched on his cheese and crackers, feeling rather pleased. It was his first day out on the town, and he had already made a good impression on Chris and Hugh. Of course, he hadn't forgotten his run in with the druggies, but he would deal with that problem later. Right now, he was enjoying himself.
Chris was having trouble steadying her hands, which were shaking almost violently. Why had her son brought this dirty creature into her home? He probably does more drugs than those terrible druggies. She would bet her best china he was growing his own marijuana on his farm right now. But still, at least Hugh had brought the boy. She would have gone mad if that girl had shown up on her doorstep. She was probably already the leader of The Girls. She wouldn't put it past her.
"I couldn't trust their father. Why should his children be any different?" she thought ferociously.
"Hey, Jack," said Hugh, "Where's your sister?"
"Oh, she's out and about. Last I saw, she was heading for the beach," Jack said after he had swallowed a bite of cracker.
"We should go to the beach too," suggested Hugh, "It's very nice, even this early in Spring."
"Alright," Jack wiped his face with a napkin, "Thank you very much for the snack, ma'am," he added, to Chris.
"Anytime," she replied, a bit curtly.
Jack paused momentarily, just barely noticing the cold note in her voice. But instead of worrying about it, he followed Hugh out the door.
"Here we are," roared Carter, "Home, sweet home." He half shoved, half dragged Mimi down the steps into the cold dig site. She shivered in her baby tee, looking around. All she could see was holes, dirt, and more holes. Flora was off in a corner, working meticulously at a small section of earth.
She glanced up, "Oh, hi. You're Avery's daughter, right?"
Mimi, who was now shaking from both fear and cold, nodded weakly.
"Why don't you come over here and give me a hand," Flora said, waving the younger girl over.
Mimi staggered over, and was about to collapse when she remember that her jeans were new, and expensive. Seeming to read her thoughts, Flora pushed a fairly clean looking mat over to her.
"Sit on that. It's a lot cleaner than the ground"
"You ladies have fun," boomed Carter, "I'm going to go take a nap."
Once she was positive the archeologist was gone, Mimi sat down and let out the breath she had been holding since Carter had first grabbed her, back by the Turtle Pond.
Flora patted the younger girl on the back, "Sorry about him. He gets carried away very easily. Work with me for a little bit, until he's asleep, then you can sneak out."
"He's kinda scary," Mimi whispered.
"Don't worry. He's usually to drunk to do anything dangerous."
Mimi watched in silence as Flora dusted off what looked to be a large rock. She was glad Carter was gone, and Flora was with her, but she was still unhappy. She'd give anything to be back at the farm with Jack.
After a time, Flora put down her little shovel, and turned to Mimi, "Can you do me a favor?"
Mimi was a bit taken aback, "Like what?"
"I have been meaning to talk with Wally for a while now, but his wife and son are always around. I only want to have a private conversation with him. If you could keep Chris and Hugh preoccupied for me, I'd greatly appreciate it."
Mimi thought about it. It didn't seem like to much, although her father had mentioned Chris being paranoid. But, if Jack helped her, Mimi was almost positive she could pull it off.
"Sure, I'll help."
"Thank you so much," cried Flora, hugging the younger girl, "You don't know how much this means to me."
Mimi blushed slightly, "It's no problem."
Flora pulled away, "You can go home now. Carter should be asleep. How about I meet you in the Blue Bar tonight at 6:00?"
"Sounds good to me," Mimi replied, standing up and stretching. As she hurried from the dig site, glanced at her watch. It read 1:00.
"It's only 1:00?" she thought, "Is this day ever going to end?"
Jack and Hugh were just stepping outside when they noticed Mimi jogging over the bridge, waving madly. They waited for her to come over. She stopped in front of them, doubled over, panting.
When at last she caught her breath, she said, "Jack, can we go back to the house? I have something I want to talk to you about."
"Sure thing, sis," he replied, suddenly worried. Had something happened to her?
He turned to Hugh and said, "Can we go to the beach some other time? I need to take Mimi home."
"Yeah, it's no problem," said Hugh, "It was nice to meet you."
"We'll have to get together tomorrow," Jack added. He waved good-bye to his new friend before taking his sister's hand and leading her back to their farm.
Sitting on the queen sized bed, Mimi recounted her afternoon adventure to her older brother. Jack felt terrible for leaving his sister alone. He was glad she was a strong person; anyone else would have been in hysterics.
"So now, I need to meet Flora at the Blue Bar in five hours so I can help her see Wally," the young girl finished.
"How about I give you a hand? I've already gotten to know Hugh and Chris," Jack offered. He felt obligated at to help at this point. He wasn't about to let his little sister go out alone in this place again.
"Would you? That'd make it so much easier. Thanks," Mimi looked relieved. She gave her brother a hug.
"No problem," he said, gently rubbing her back. He pulled away, looking her in the eyes, "I have to go collect the eggs. You want to help?"
"Ok."
This chapter required a bit research. I don't know much about drugs, or paranoia. Thankfully, I've got the Urban Dictionary and Googleto help me.
Reveiw, please! I could really use the feedback.
