COUSINS
Chapter 8: The Famous Fishing Tournament

The train station speakers turned on after the town bell rang at 6:00 AM on Sunday morning. Pelly's roaring voice was emitted over the train station speakers as she broadcast the beginning of the hugely-anticipated June Fishing Tournament season. It was held at the Veltron pond twice a year and its founder, Chip the Beaver, was infatuated with bass; they were the only fish permitted in the competition.

Pelly announced, "Good morning! It's June 3rd and the first official day of the June Fishing Tourney! All participants should make their way to the pond, where president Chip will be awaiting to commence the event. You will gain fishing status for the day's entirety and are welcome to rejoin at any given time. Please remember that this is a competition and anything goes! Good luck to everybody!" The speakers turned off as the pelican muttered a curse under her breath for unknown reasons.

Olive had been awake for half an hour and was finishing a cup of coffee at the kitchen sink. She watched as some of the townspeople exited their houses and walked toward the pond whilst reminiscing about the previous two days, both of which she had spent with Penny and Vesta. On Saturday they had agreed to help organize an upcoming event to be hosted by the Farway Museum and went to Violet Meadows to have a picnic and share stories. It lightly rained overnight, but nobody seemed to notice.

"...Good morning?"

It took a few seconds for Olive to register the voice behind her. She spun around to see Cupcake partially-dressed and holding an empty ashtray that had been suspiciously positioned on the pink bear's nightstand before they had went to bed the previous evening. Because it was uncommon for Cupcake to wake up at an early hour, she was unable to gain consciousness and almost stumbled into the table. Olive sat her in one of the chairs.

"Why are you up at such an ungodly hour?" Cupcake asked, but she knew that she would regret it the second she had asked.

Olive snorted sardonically. "Nine-to-five. That's been my schedule for more than three years now. Did you honestly believe I was just going to let you get away easily with that one? I'll be leaving within the next half hour, so while you adjust to this early-bird schedule, I'll pour you a decaf and make some strawberry pancakes. The ingredients were imported from home, believe it or not." She returned her attention to the window and the outside world.

Five minutes later, Cheri entered the kitchen cheerily. She was also partly dressed, but had taken the time to comb her hair and wash her face, which water was dripping off. She was wearing a deep maroon blouse (Olive and Cupcake presumed it was a clever retort at her red fur) and military-like jeans. She seated herself in the kitchen's farthest corner and placed a newspaper on the table as she greeted her cousins a good morning.

"Both of you should still be sleeping, especially you, Cupcake. What's with the change in heart today? The tourney?" Olive asked as she placed three large mugs of coffee on the table. Cheri and Cupcake grabbed their cups, but didn't answer their cousin, who stared at them peculiarly.

"Okay," spoke Cupcake. She consumed her entire drink in one gulp and wiped her lips. "There's this obnoxious law that states if one has lived in Veltron for less than six months, they'll eventually be forced to work approximately twelve hours on any given day within that time period. As it turns out, today's my day, which is bothersome because I really wanted to go to the Fishing Tourney like the rest of you."

Cheri flipped to the newspaper's second page. "That's your luck," she teased sincerely whilst reading the headline Bargaining and his distant relatives. "Dizzy invited me to go with him since his previous fishing buddy moved away, and I said yes. He wanted to get there at 7:00, but if Olive's leaving earlier, I guess I'll go with her—hey, did you know Tom Nook's second cousin is getting married in the capital today?" She began reading the article.

At 6:30, Cupcake left the house swiftly because she was already late for work. Cheri and Olive darted off in the opposite direction toward the pond in Acre C-5, which was very crowded for the time of day. Butch, the dog the cousins had invited to dinner in May, was sitting on the pier with a fishing pole that extended over the entire pond, and Mathilda and Susanna Ester were standing side-by-side next to Butch, gossiping about Lady Cleo's new bonnet. Another local, Punchy, a metre and a half tall cat, was also fishing, though he looked somewhat bored. It appeared that Butch was the only animal who was motivated to win.

The tournament's founder, Chip, was standing next to a large coach that had many banners on it. He wore a fluffy blue vest over a plainer white t-shirt. His long khaki pants almost blended in with the grass beneath him and his brunette locks were shocking to the girls; they had never seen a male with such hair before. They chose to ignore his amusing style and introduced themselves to him.

"We're relatively new in town," Olive said. "My cousin and I would like to participate in this season's tourney, but we don't know—"

Olive was interrupted by Chip's sudden alertness. "Why, of course! Because I am the most critical animal in this rather delicious tourney, it is my job to assist you in any way possible, and provide you with the rules! To begin, you must enter your names at the front desk, which is this very remarkable carriage-like structure. Secondly, you fish! That will take you as long as it must, because I only accept bass in this scrumptious event! Unfortunately for you, I do not supply fishing rods; that's your own responsibility. After you catch a bass, please return here and offer it to me with all excitement and haste! Remember, the biggest fish by dusk will be crowned victorious!" He applauded several times and caught his breath.

While they had found Chip entertaining, neither Cheri or Olive assumed he was good-natured. It was likely that he would take their fish regardless of whether it was the largest catch of the day or not. They also considered his personality slightly vexing and somewhat eccentric.

"Bass are most commonly found in the river and upstream," Chip continued. "On record, the largest catch in Veltron was seventy-eight centimetres, but if you're lucky, perhaps you'll haul in an even bigger fish! Remember, bass only! If you successfully win one of the weekly summer tourneys, then you will qualify for the Champion Tourney, held on June's final Sunday! In this competition, a magnificent prize awaits you, that is, if you're triumphant! Otherwise, all my pity will rain down on you! And that's the general overview of this mouth-watering contest! Prizes will be sent via mail. Is everything clear now?"

A gentle nod came from Olive, but Cheri thoughtfully asked, "There are five Sundays this June. Let's say there were only four Sundays? What would you do? Would the previous three winners be permitted?"

The beaver shook his head rapidly and clasped his hands on shoulders. "Hell, no! That would be less fish for me! When four Sundays fall in the months of June or November, a normal tourney is held during the final week instead of a champion round. It makes it easier for me." He wiped his brow. "I believe you now know everything; are you ready to begin fishing? Take these wristbands." He gave the bears wristbands that indicated their inclusion in the competition and then turned his attention to another animal who was approaching him with a fairly large bass. He measured it and announced loudly, "Thirty centimetres! A very big catch for this time of the morning!"

Cheri and Olive scouted out in different directions. Cheri wandered upstream and peered in the river every few seconds to find wiggling shadows swim away as she noticed them. The majority were relatively small and she ignored them, walking slowly. One of the residents that she had yet to introduce herself to, Pate, a purple duck with a quick temper, was serenly fishing half-asleep on the river's opposite side, gripping the pole very tightly. A can of worms sat next to her; Cheri wondered if that method still worked since it seemed overrated. More shadows appeared in the water, but they swam away too quickly for the red bear. She sighed.

On the other hand, Olive walked downstream, following the river back to their house. As she pulled up a bluegill from the water, she noticed that a band of tourists were wearing the wristbands that Chip had distributed to them, which bewildered her. Although some of the animals looked as though they wanted to partake in the Fishing Tourney, they stayed close with the group as their guide, an orange-haired eagle—his nametag read Buzz—directed them to the ocean along the beach acres.

"...Of course, I said no since that'd go against my code of honour—not that I've already broken it—but at the same time I felt provoked by the superstitious intentions. He was very intimidating and had an impeccable, yet indescribable aura about him. So I thought it'd be best to—"

"Good morning!" interrupted Cheri, sitting next to where Mathilda and Susanna Ester were fishing. "Isn't it beautiful today? Mathilda, I've heard some very sneaky stuff about you. After you bought that spectacular gown I've been hearing about, apparently you paid Mr. Tom Nook a visit and spat all over his wares! You've got a lot of free time on your hands, don't you? But is this gossip as true as the blue ocean? Don't lie to me now!" Her sudden demeanor was unexplainable.

The two girlfriends looked at each other and unexpectedly began hysterically laughing. Cheri was not surprised by their abruptness, and instead joined in on their uncontrollable chuckle. Mathilda sensed the bear's persistence in irritating them and rose from the ground slowly, her laughter long gone. She said, "I think you need to take your medication. Since it's early, you must've left the house forgetfully. That's not healthy, Cheri." She raised an eyebrow.

Susanna Ester snapped her fingers thoughtfully. "On the contrary, the two of us never bother with poorly-dressed folk. You should be categorized as a very ordinary person, one who's so bland. If you get the opportunity to spiff yourself up or do something with that humiliating haircut, we might consider you one of the worthy animals. Currently, you're miles away. Now, yes Cheri, we all know that you've been wanting to be accepted, but it's not gonna happen today... you can get back to fishing, we're done with you."

"No, no!" Mathilda howled. "Sue, please stop being a vicious pest. Why now allow this small-headed bear to fish with us? It would be useful for someone like her to pick up some fashion pointers and someone like us to have a hoot. Not that we just did, pardon." They laughed again.

At this point, Cheri had already moved farther south in her cousin's direction. She had thrown her fishing pole in the river after noticing the biggest lunker that morning; however, the bear was uncertain whether it would set a record for the morning hours. After struggling with the line for thirty seconds, Cheri pulled up a bass that she presumed was approximately thirty centimetres, which was the length of an everyday ruler sold at Tom Nook's and other variety stores and markets. Before it escaped, she took a bucket out of her pocket, which she placed it in. As the fish died, Cheri pondered about the prize she would receive if she set a record.

As fast as her feet carried her, Cheri made her way to Chip, who was chewing on a string of wheat and mumbling random catch phrases to himself. Without hesitance, she handed him the fish and called out, "Look what I found! Tell me that this is a killer winner or else I'll go bonkers." She smiled unrealistically.

Chip's eyes glowed at the sight of the fish. "Who! What! When! Where! Why! How!" he screamed. "No lollygagging! No lazy musings! This looks like the year's biggest fish! I haven't seen such a lip smacking bass in the longest of times that I longed for before the year began! Now let me just measure this defined beauty before he becomes all mine, mine, mine! Ooh, what a lunker!" He continued rambling as he retrieved the measuring tape. "Ah, it's twenty-seven centimetres, something of eleven inches. It's a morning record and now all mine!"

Cheri applauded herself. "I am the leader? That's great!"

"However, I've seen much larger at this hour before," lamented Chip. "Whatever, of course, because I'm ready to eat. Your name will be announced on the loudspeakers if your fish is overtaken by a greater. Take this prize, a birdhouse, and enjoy it while I enjoy this big boy, who's sure not to enjoy what I'm about to do to him!" The beaver hurriedly raced behind the carriage and began frying the bass over a campfire he had constructed earlier.

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The Fishing Tourney concluded at 6:00 PM. The town bell rang six times and another announcement blared throughout the town.

"The weekly June Fishing Tourney is officially adjourned for today. The president, Chip, will post the results and the winner's name on the Acre B-3 bulletin board in approximately ten minutes' time. The next competition will be held on June 10th and the same rules will apply. Thank you for participating in this week's tourney and have yourselves a good night. Don't forget that Veltron will be hosting this year's Gallery Pleau Week."

The bulletin board's information results stunned everybody; Cheri hadn't won the competition. Instead it was Olive. Chip had written a very flashy message on the bulletin board: Congratulations to Olive for catching a fifty-four centimetre fish! You have won the first official June Fishing Tourney!

Cheri looked at her cousin. "Wow, sometimes you can do more than pull magic out of your hat!" she exclaimed. "Of course, it's very frustrating for someone like me. But I won't be in next week's competition; this thing's more work than getting Cupcake out of bed so early. Heh."

"Yeah!" Olive laughed.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: This chapter was enjoyable to write since I introduced a new writing-style into the content. I hope you liked it!