A/N - Yeehaw! Thanks for the great reviews! I'm one of those annoying people who constantly doubts their abilities. However, I CAN take criticism, so if you got any, bring it on!

Fairy Friend - I knew there was someone who was missing from "thanks for the inspiration" notes last time. I really liked "Shelly's World". It was the first fanfic I ever read.

Greenfrie - I'm not sure, really. At the beginning of the game, you call MT Realty, but they never tell you where that is.

My Very Own Landfill - I Mean, Farm

I watched as the sun sunk below the water. I loved sunsets. I didn't like the ice cold that came afterwards, so I hurried to my room on the boat as soon as the sun hit the water. I sat on the bed and looked around. I couldn't believe I was heading to a farm. The past few days seemed to have passed by so fast.

I had decided that everything I should take would fit into two suitcases. If I thought I could live without it, I gave it away. Josh, the paperboy, cried when I told him I was leaving. His parents were sending him to some sort of camp for kids who wanted to play baseball, but needed some help. I gave a silent sigh of relief when I heard that. At least he was going to get some help before he started throwing baseballs around. I had found an old ball and glove that I used to use when I was his age, and they were still in great condition. I told him he could have them. He asked me to sign them, so he'd something to remember me by.

I laid my head on my pillow and sat back up quickly when I felt something poke me in the head. I pulled the pillow up. My diary. I had forgotten about it. I usually have nothing to write in these things, but when I found this, I couldn't resist buying it. Not only had it been on sale, but the cover was dark green and velvety. I opened it up and searched for a pen.

Well, here I am, on a boat. Who would have thought? Thank goodness I haven't gotten sea sick! I wasn't sure if I would or not. I've never been on a boat before. What can I say about it? It's…a boat. I like walking around on deck and seeing nothing but ocean all around me. I wonder if there is a beach in Mineral Town. Now that I think about it, I don't anything about it. I forgot to look it up online and my lap top is packed anyway. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. Well, time for bed. That blasted ship horn blows way too loud, too early in the morning for me.

-- Claire

That seemed like a good start. I slid the diary back under my pillow , in a more comfortable spot and settled in to sleep.

The Next Morning - Mineral Town

I stood on the dock and surveyed my surroundings. I couldn't believe there was an actual beach here. Awesome! There were two buildings here. One had a sign in front that read "Kai's Beach Shack - Open only in summer." The other building didn't have a sign, but I figured that I would find out what it was soon enough.

"Hello, there!" someone said. I turned to see a short man walking toward me. "Are you Claire?" he asked. I nodded. "Nice to meet you. I'm Mayor Thomas. I've come to show you to your farm." He picked up one of my suitcases and said, "Follow me."

We walked away from the beach. "This is Rose Square." Thomas said. We turned left. Thomas continued his tour guide speech. "This first building on the left is Barley's farm. If you need a cow or sheep, he's your man. The place next to his is the Chicken Farm. Lillia runs it with her children and you can buy chickens from them. On your right here, is the Blacksmith Shop. You can get your tools upgraded and get other equipment you need for your animals." We turned left after the chicken farm. "And this here is your farm."

I took one look and almost passed out. It was horrible! It looked like a landfill! Heather didn't tell me about this.

"Are you sure this isn't the dump?" I asked. Thomas started cracking up.

"You believed the ad, too?" He was practically hysterical. I crossed my arms and gave him my best dirty look.

"Yes, I did."

Thomas tried to stop laughing and gave me a pitied look. "You're not the only one. Many people have come to look at this farm and end up leaving right away."

"Well, I can't do that," I told him. "I quit my job in the city and I have no where else to go. And if you don't stop laughing, I'm going to punch you in that big nose of yours!" That sobered him up pretty quick.

"Ok, ok, I shouldn't have laughed. I know it looks bad now, but with a little work, you could make it prosperous again." He gave me a pleading look. Talk about guilt trip. I could tell he wanted to someone to live on this…thing. I sighed.

"Ok, ok, I'll give it a try."

That cheered him up. "Just let me know if you need anything! You might to take a walk around town today, and meet some people."

"Fine." I waved good-bye and headed for the farmhouse. Partway there, I heard a small "yip". I turned to see the cutest sheltie dog ever. She was all fuzzy and had black and silver speckles amongst her brown fur. "Where did you come from?" I asked smiling. She let out a short bark. "I guess you came with the farm, huh?" Her tail wagged furiously. I stooped to pet her and she licked my face. I laughed. "You need a name. Hmmm. How about….Kelsey?" She barked her approval and I had a new friend. "Come on, Kelsey, let's go check out the house."

I looked around the house. It was kind of nice. Kelsey gave me look that clearly said, This place is a dump. "It's not that bad." I told her. I swear I saw her roll her eyes. She jumped on the bed, heaved a deep, doggie sigh, and fell asleep. "Some help you are," I grumbled. The house was small, and was in need of a little dusting, and painting, and the outside needed a bomb. Maybe someone here could help me. Or, maybe the Cleaning Fairies would do it while I slept. Keep dreaming, Claire, I told myself. At the end of the bed, I spotted a chest. I opened it up to see tools. An axe, hammer, sickle, hoe, and watering can. I took everything out and put it in my backpack. Might as well take everything for now. I started to ask Kelsey to come with me, but I heard a contented doggie snore and decided to leave her alone.

I opened my door and almost ran into a fist. I screamed so loud, I'm sure they heard me in the next town. Kelsey freaked and hid under the bed. The person on the other side of the door held up his hands like he thought he was about to be arrested.

"I was just getting ready to knock," he said. "I didn't mean to scare you. You're not going to have a heart attack, are you?" He looked worried. I took a few deep breaths and shook my head. He looked relieved. "I'm Zach," he said, holding out his hand. I shook it.

"I'm Claire."

"I came to tell you about shipping. Follow me." He led me to a tall box next to my crummy field. And I do mean crummy. Weeds and rocks and tree stumps were scattered everywhere. It looked like it belonged in an old horror movie. The Thing that Lived in the Farm Field. I turned my attention to Zach.

"This is your shipping box," he explained. "Put anything you want to sell in here, before 5 p.m., and I'll pick it up and pay you then. I don't work on holidays, though. There is also one of these each in the chicken coop and the barn."

"Where do I get stuff to sell?" I asked. Nobody was going to pay for weeds.

"You can find wild grass near Mother's Hill and the Hot Springs. You can also buy seeds at the store. The Poultry Farm sells chickens and Yodel Farm sells sheep and cows. Near the Goddess Spring, there's a mine you can dig in for ores."

"Okay. Thanks."

"Just let me know if you have any other questions!" he said, waving as he left. Oh, I had other questions all right. Like did he have any gasoline and matches so I could set fire to this place and start over? Or, how about some dynamite? Never mind, you can handle it, I told myself. Compared to Customer Service, this would be easy. "Okay," I said, out loud. "First things first. I need to go shopping. I need some animals. I also need to stop talking to myself." I was glad no one was around to hear me. I didn't want them to think some nutcase had moved in.

Suddenly, I remembered that I didn't know where anything was. I walked back in the house to see if there was a map somewhere. Meanwhile, Kelsey had come out from under the bed, and was engaged in a furious fight with a tennis ball that she had found. It must have said something nasty to her, because she jumped on it and bit like it had insulted her mother. I don't know where she found it, but I wasn't goint to try to take it away from her. She'd probably bite my hand off. I just rolled my eyes and continued my search. Bingo! There was a map that had been folded up on the bookcase. Now I wouldn't get lost. At least I hoped I wouldn't.

The new Chapter 2. After reading another fanfic, I saw that each chapter could use so many letters and I figured Chapter 3 was too long, so I combined some of it with Chapter 2.