Hroondeel's Notes

Wow…three reviews in a day…this story is getting pretty popular…I had to do so much editing in this chapter! Sorry for the wait!

"Rejection is…go ask Mary about that! I don't know!"

-Karen

The next day…6:00 AM, Wednesday

Must eat…must find food…Aha! A rice ball leftover! I tossed the whole thing in my mouth happily, feeling satisfied. Now, I snatched the gem, and ran outside.

"Hey, are you the new farm girl?"

"Kyaaah!" What was this guy doing here!

"I guess that's a yes. My name's Zack, and I am the shipper for this town." He was pretty tall and muscular, and had a towel lain on his shoulders. I guess it's hard work to be a shipper.

I nodded, still a little paralyzed from my surprise.

"See this shipment box here?" he motioned to the wooden box by my field, "You ship things with it. You just throw something in the box, and I'll come pick it up at 5 o' clock PM and give you credit for it."

"O-okay…" I said, putting my foot on the box… It still sounded confusing…

10:00, Wednesday, going into the blacksmith's shop

I opened the door, gem in my rucksack, and was surprised Gray was alone.

"Hey, Gray!" I chirped.

"I don't know you." He said, and walked away. Of course he does!

"Yes you do!" I said, blocking him.

"No…I don't!" he said, and shoved me away. Ow…that hurt…I got up quickly, to prove him I had no broken bones. I ran in front of him again eagerly.

"Please get out of my way." He said, and I could tell he was getting mad. I backed off for a second, thinking what should I do…. Ah! A friendly conversation! That's a great way to make friends!

"How come your grandpa isn't here?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"That's none of your business!" he snapped. What did I say?

"Does someone need…a hug?" I said sneakily, as at my old house, everyone knew my hugs were choking.

"N-no!"

"Fine then…tell me why your grandpa isn't here, or I'll hug you!" I said, putting my hands on my hips in triumph.

"Fine! He's gone to the festival, and he won't let me go! That's the usual crap anyway, so don't try to do anything about it!" I blinked. His grandpa…doesn't let him go to a festival? I want to go! And I bet Gray does too, except he won't tell me at. I snatched his arm, and started dragging him along with me.

"What-what are you doing!'

"I'm taking you to the festival!"

"My grandpa told me not to go!" He said, trying to pull away as we exited the shop. Ah! I know! Karen said something about some festival in Rose Square!

"I'll deal with that! You need to have some fun, you know!" I said, pulling him along.

"I-I can walk you know!"

"I know, but you'll probably turn back to the shop!" He became quiet. Finally, I turned on the corner to go to Rose Square. When we entered, everyone's eyes came on us.

"GRAAAY!" A familiar voice cried, storming towards us. "HOW DARE YOU…"

"See? What did I tell you?" Gray cried at me.

"No worries, no trouble…" I said cheerily, knowing perfectly well what to do.

"I am so busted! It's all th- OW!" He stopped, as I had hit him lightly on the head with my hammer.

"Shh! Let me concentrate!" He became quiet. The people around us had gone very silent, and they probably felt sorry for Gray. Haha! Not anymore! I pulled a confident look on my face and put my hands on my hips.

"GRAY! HOW DARE YOU LEAVE THE SHOP! I TOLD YOU NOT TO!" he then turned his eyes on me.

"And what's that girl doing here? She was here yesterday!" he then started giving a lecture to Gray, occasionally mentioning me, but I didn't hear a word…

"And you see, this what you ge-…" he said, taking out a big stick from his bag, and fear showed in Gray's eyes. I had to do it now!

POOF!

Paper flew all around us, and Gray and his grandpa, Saibara's mouths were wide open in shock. In my hand was a paper blower; I always had at least one in my sleeve, especially for emergencies. For a minute, there was complete silence as paper in bright colors cascaded around us.

Then, someone in the crowd starting laughing, followed by everyone erupting in loud laughter. Saibara merely blinked, then let out a chuckle.

"Well, Gray…You've sure found a nice girl." He said, and walked away to his friends. Gray blinked, and muttered, "Thanks." Before running off to a girl with dark hair and glasses. Wait…he has friends! He seemed so much of a loner…. I'm glad he has friends, he seemed like such a loner to me… Maybe I should go introduce myself? But I'd already made such a big entrance anyway, tee-hee. Oh well!

"Hi! I'm Shelly!" Gray blushed and looked away. The girl smiled shyly at me.

"Hello, I'm Mary. Pleased to meet you." I looked from her to Gray, back and forth.

"Heyy, are you Gray's girlfriend?" I asked Mary slyly. She turned red, and adjusted her glasses. Gray turned a deep shade of pink, stammering.

"No…I'm not…" Mary managed to stutter. I blinked in confusion. Had I started on a wrong topic? What is it with social skills and me!

"Anyways, I work at the library, and I love books." Mary said, trying to change the subject. I nodded cheerily; afraid I'd say something wrong again. I examined the atmosphere around me. A few horses were being pat by two kids, and a racetrack was in the center of the square.

"What is this festival anyways?" I asked, sure that that was nothing bad.

"It's the spring horse racing." Mary answered, "I'm going to place my bet soon. You should too." And with that, she took off to a table many people were crowding around, leaving Gray and I alone.

"Er…I…" he hastily scurried after her, blushing a deep scarlet for some reason. Damn! I can't do anything right! Before I could say or do something, a loud booming voice announced, "LET THE SPRING HORSE RACING BEGIN!"

Dumb ending, I know. I'm very surprised at this story's sudden popularity…you people not advertising it or something, lol? But that's a good thing. Keep up the reviews! I love 'em!