A/N: Thanks to everyone for their comments. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I was sick through August, September, and October. My grandmother came to visit from Arizona Sept. - Oct., AND I went on my first cruise in November. I started this chapter in early August and I'm just now getting done. I hope it's okay.

All Around the Town

Leaving Kelsey to teach the tennis ball a lesson, I walked off of my property and turned right. I had decided to stop at the Poultry Farm first and get a chicken or two. The only thing I knew about chickens was how to eat them, but I figured someone would give me few pointers. I walked to the door and knocked. The building actually looked like a house, so I felt funny about just walking in. Since I was from the city, I knew the consequences of just waltzing into someone's house. One of two things would happen. The owner would be on the other side of the door, wielding a baseball bat, or someone would be grabbing you and advising that "you have the right to remain silent." While I hadn't seen any evidence of police officers so far, it did occur to me that the residents could have wild dogs trained to eat unsuspecting trespassers.

The door opened, and I was greeted by a girl who looked like she was about my age. She had long, fluffy pink hair, and a bright smile. While pink wasn't exactly my favorite color, I thought it looked nice on her.

"Hi!" she chirped. "I'm Popuri Chicklis. Come on in."

She held open the door for me. Oh, man. She was perkier than Heather. For some reason, though, I didn't bother me.

"You must be new here." I nodded.

"I'm Claire Miller. I just bought the farm." I started laughing and so did she.

"You're funny," she said. "Which is definitely good. The last person that came here was so crabby, Mayor Thomas was thinking of making up some sort of law to get rid of her. Luckily, she left first. So, what can I do for you?"

"I want to buy a couple of chickens. I don't know anything about them, but I'd like to get some anyways."

"That's okay, I can teach you. My brother, Rick, can help you out, too; when he's not at his girlfriend's house. Her name's Karen and her family runs the grocery store."

"I need to go there next," I said.

"I have an idea!" she said, looking thrilled. "Buy your chickens and Rick can take them to your house, while I show you around town."

"Okay!" I agreed, relieved. The thought of walking around and possibly getting lost (trust me, with me, anything is possible) did not sound like fun. Popuri led me to a counter. A young woman, with the same color hair as Popuri's, was standing behind the counter.

"Mom, this is Claire. She just moved on to the farm. Claire, this is my mother, Lillia."

"Nice to meet you," Lillia said, smiling. I shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, too."

"Did you come to buy some chickens?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am. I'll take two for now."

"The chickens like it if you name them," she suggested.

"Milla and Cassie," I said, having no idea where those names came from. They had just popped into my head.

"Mom, can you have Rick deliver them to her when he gets back? I'm going to show her around town."

"I'll do that. And I'll have him give you some feed to get you started."

"Thanks, Lillia. I really appreciate it."

"Have fun, girls," Lillia said, as we left the house.

Popuri pointed to the house directly across from hers. "That's the blacksmith shop. Saibara Smith and his grandson, Gray, work there." We turned right headed down the road. "This is Yodel Farm," she said, stopping at a house on the right. "Barley Yodel and his granddaughter, May, live here. Do you want to stop here before we go on?"

"Yes," I answered. "I want to get a cow and a sheep." A little girl with black pigtails was running around in the yard, being chased by a little boy. "They're cute," I said.

"That's Barley's granddaughter, May. The little boy is Stu. His sister, Elli, is a nurse at the Clinic." Boy, did I have a lot of names to remember! It would be easier to remember them all after I met them.

Popuri led me inside.

"Mornin' Barley," she said.

"Well, hello there, young lady," Barley answered. "Who's that with you?"

"This is Claire," Popuri answered, introducing us. "She moved onto the farm. She wants some animals."

"Well, one of each for now," I said.

"Do you have any grass planted yet?" he asked.

"Do weeds count?" I joked. He laughed.

"I can give you some feed until you get some grown," he offered.

"That would be great!"

"Okay, let's go look at some animals."

We walked out to the barn. May and Stu were inside, playing hide and seek.

"Hi. Who are you?" Stu stopped his counting and ran over to us.

"I'm Claire," I answered, smiling. He's such a cutie!

"I'm Stu. Do you live here? I've never seen you here before."

"I just moved to the farm," I explained.

"Cool! Are you getting animals? Can I come over sometime and see them?"

"Sure," I answered. "You can come over anytime you want."

"Hey, can I come too?" A little face appeared from around an empty stall. It was May. She must have been hiding in the hay. There were pieces stuck in her hair.

"Yes, you can come too," I said, smiling.

"Yay!" they both yelled at the same time.

"Run along now," Barley said. "Claire needs to pick some animals."

They ran outside, May yelling, "You can't catch me!" I watched them for a few seconds. I loved kids and these two were sweet.

"I know which ones I want," I told Barley. "I picked them out while Stu was interrogating me." I pointed out a light brown cow with white spots, and a sheep with a black face and feet. "I'll take those two."

"I'll have them delivered and send some food for them, too."

"Thanks Barley," I said. We went back into the house and I paid him. I only had enough money left for a few bags of seeds now, but that was okay. I had really wanted some animals as soon as possible.

Popuri and I left Yodel Farm and walked down the road to the right. A few feet away, we came to a big, open area. "This is Rose Square," Popuri explained. "We have all of our festivals here."

"Festivals?"

"Yeah. The 18th of Spring is the Horse Races. That's fun. You can make bets. If you win, you get medals to trade in for prizes."

"Who races?"

"Anyone can, as long as you have a grown-up horse." I had never actually been on horse before. I had petted a few and even had one try to eat my shirt. Besides, I didn't even have a horse yet. Popuri pointed to her right. "The beach is that way. Zack lives there and in the Summer, Kai comes to visit."

"Kai?"

"He spends his summers here and has a little lodge where he sells food." I swear I saw her cheeks turn pink. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. Yep, she had that look alright.

"What?" she asked, noticing the look I was giving her. I grinned.

"I think someone may have crush on Kai," I teased.

"Maybe just a little one," she agreed. We passed another turn off on our left. "The Inn and Aja Winery is that way," she said. "We can stop there on the way back, if you want."

"That sounds good." I saw a building up ahead.

"That's the church," Popuri said. "Pastor Carter is very nice. And he helps Elli and Barley look after May and Stu." I glanced at the church and saw someone walking toward the doors. We had turned the corner by that time, but I was staring so hard at the boy walking in to the church, that I ran smack into a pole. I hit it so hard, I actually saw stars.

"Are you alright!" Popuri ran to help me stand up.

Note to self: Watch where you're going, I thought.

"You hit your head. Let me see," Popuri demanded. I pushed my bangs out of the way. "You're starting to get a bruise," she said, worriedly. "Luckily, the Clinic is right next to the church." She took my arm and led me toward the Clinic.

"Who was that?" I asked. He was beautiful. He had long, brown hair pulled back, dressed in some sort of animal skin looking clothes.

"That was Cliff," Popuri said, sounding amused. "He's new here, too." Hopefully he hadn't seen my unlucky moment.

Dear Diary,

Well, I did it. I managed to something embarrassing in my first few hours here. I ran into a pole. I was staring at a guy. The good news is, he didn't see me, and the bad news is that I have a bruise on my forehead the size of an orange. OK, so that last part was exaggerated. But it does look big. At least I can brush my bangs over it.

The Doctor, Tim, gave me something for my headache. It was a liquid of some sort, and so far, it's working great. He gave me a couple extra, just in case my headache came back. Elli, his nurse, had called over to the Inn and ordered lunch. When the doctor released me, she invited me and Popuri to eat lunch with her and the girl who brought the food. Her name is Ann. She has long, red hair that she wears in a braid and she wears blue jean overalls. Smart girl. They're the most comfortable clothes ever. At least in my opinion.

I had a good time at the Clinic today, and Ann told me to come by the Inn when I get a chance. Dr. Tim thought I should take the rest of the day off (even though I didn't actually do any real work), so, Popuri walked back home with me. I think she was worried that I would pass out or something. She helped me feed my animals, then said she would come by tomorrow to show me around the rest of the town. I think I'll go to bed early, so I'll be ready for tomorrow.

-- Claire

Finally, I'm done. Small case of writer's block. The above mentioned incident is loosely based on a true story. My family and I were in Annapolis, and the Naval Academy guys were out in their dress whites. I was checking them out, and my dad got my attention just in time. I turned to look in front of me and stopped inches from a street lamp. Of course, my family laughed themselves silly, and now, a few years later, it is funny. I wanted to use that for the story; it was just that I wasn't sure how to end the chapter. P.S. - Suggestions are VERY welcome!