I've gotten some comments on this, so I'm going to address it now as well as the beginning of the next chapter. In the game, Jamie is only mean to your character. You never see him/her being hissy at anyone else. The point of this is that he doesn't know Alex is friends with, or is helping, Annie.
I retraced my steps to get back to the house in a daze, trying to decide how I would answer Annie's inevitable questions about meeting Jamie. If he had been an arrogant bastard or a pervert, I could have told her that easily. He had been just the opposite, unfortunately.
The house suddenly loomed in front of me, so I pulled the map out of my pocket and walked in. Ray was gone, and Annie was hopping around the kitchen cooking, no crutches in sight.
"I don't think the doctor wanted you to do that," I warned as she unbalanced and hopped into the open refrigerator.
"Hey Alex," she replied, pulling herself out. "How was your waaalk? Did you meet anyone," she paused, looking at me meaningfully, "interesting?"
"Mmm," I replied nonchalantly as I dropped onto the couch, suddenly exhausted. Annie looked at me from over her blender.
"Did you meet anyone," she paused dramatically again, "named Jamie?"
"I might have," I told her uncertainly, closing my eyes. I couldn't lie for shit. Annie sighed indignantly from across the room, and I heard her throw food into the blender.
"Isn't he just horrible! God, I hate him. Isn't he horrible?" She repeated, shaking her head slightly.
"Why do you hate him so much?" I asked, trying to avoid the question.
"Didn't you find out when you met him? Ugh."
"Well," I began, only to be cut off again.
"We can rant about his evilness together," Annie told me, smiling reassuringly.
"But-"
"Don't worry about it; you don't have to tell me. Hey get over here, dinner's ready."
I walked over to her, toting her crutches, and silently thanked God for letting me live at least another day. Annie could detect my lies a mile away, and I didn't want to have to sleep in the barn. Yet.
Annie handed me a bowl of fresh salad and poured dressing- what she had made with the blender- over it. I leaned the crutches against the counter and shook my head as she began to serve herself.
"Go sit. I'll get yours," I told her, gesturing toward the table near the TV.
"But-"
"Go," I commanded, taking the bowl from her. "You're going to break yourself more, and you're not allowed to until you tell me what I need to do." She took the crutches and swung herself to the table, mock-scowling at me as she went. I put my own salad on the counter as I scooped salad into her bowl.
"Okay," she began, lowering herself into a chair. "You're not going to have to do that much. I'll just need you to search for herbs, berries, flowers, and other random wild things that I can sell or use to cook, and I also need you to take care of the barn animals. I'll be fine watering plants, but you may need to buy seeds and help me harvest. I can also take care of the chickens myself."
"You sure?" I asked, handing her a bowl and sitting across from her, gripping my own bowl. She nodded vigorously.
"You don't understand that I can't just sit here and be helpless until my brace comes off. I can't just watch people do my work for me. You understand that, don't you?" Annie lowered her voice and fixed me with a serious look. I nodded and she took a bite of salad, satisfied.
"Where's the barn? And where should I forage?" I asked, twirling my fork around my fingers. Annie paused in her chewing and raised an eyebrow.
"You didn't even look at the map, did you?" When I didn't reply, she continued. "You just put it in your pocket, huh?" I blinked innocently and she laughed.
"I just didn't want to read your judgments and use them as my own. I promise I'll look at the map now though. I know how much work you must have put into it." Yum, food. I shoveled a few bites of lettuce into my mouth.
"I did work hard," she said defensively, pointing her fork at me 'menacingly'.
"Whatever," I said, standing. "I'm going to turn in; I'm exhausted."
"Yeah, from doing nothing. Remember to wear comfy clothes tomorrow!" I stuck my tongue out at Annie and put my empty bowl in the sink. When I got upstairs, I pulled a smaller bag including my glasses and contact stuff, shampoo, and necessary girly items, out of a suitcase and took it into the bathroom with me. I took a hot shower, put on my glasses and clean pajamas, and fell asleep before I could remember to dry my hair.
I awoke to an alarm clock buzzing in my ear at six AM, my glasses halfway across the bed.
"Morning, sleepy-head!" Annie shouted joyfully from downstairs. I groaned and rolled over to slap the alarm clock until it turned off.
"Ahayjoo," I muttered into my pillow, but Annie, who had somehow dragged herself the stairs, heard me.
"I love you too," she sang, digging in my drawers to find a pair of suitable clothes for me to wear.
"Al-leeex," she continued to sing, "you should have brought more working clothes! I'm going to have to get you some clothes." I heard her slide the stairs quickly, but she returned moments later to drop a heavy pile of fabric on my head.
"Hey!" I shot up, not wanting to be smothered. She was perched on the end of my bed, grinning at me as I glared at the pile of clothes. Her crutches were nowhere to be seen.
"Some of my old stuff," she explained, folding the clothes she had taken out of my drawers. "It might be a little too big for you, but deal. All the stuff you brought is crap."
"Thanks," I told her, narrowing my eyes. I picked up a pair of black shorts and cocked my head at it. "This is mine!"
Annie turned her head to study it. "Right. Remember those couple of months you stayed at my place to hide from your ex? You left some clothes. Like three pairs of clothes."
"Oh." I dug through the pile and pulled out three of my shirts and two pairs of shorts and sweatpants.
"You'll be able to wear that stuff, I guess," she sighed, looking toward the pile of clothes she had brought up. "Mine's still better." She went back to folding. I changed into my old clothes in the bathroom and glared at my hair- air drying made it get wavy. I put my contacts on and then double braided my hair like I normally did before walking out to find Annie.
"Are you out yet?" Annie shouted from downstairs, and I went down the stairs loudly in reply. A plate of eggs was on the table with a glass of orange juice. A backpack was also on the table. Annie was bustling around in the kitchen.
"Um," I announced when I was at the foot of the stairs.
"Eat," Annie gestured to the plate, not looking up from her cooking.
"I didn't know you liked to cook," I told her as I started to eat. "I always cooked at your place."
"Mmm," Annie replied from the inside of the refrigerator. "I just got into it," she paused to close the door, "when I moved here. If you don't eat enough when you work, you'll pass out. Hey, fill that rucksack," she stopped moving long enough to point the bag out, "with tools. I got Martha to make one for you. I think you'll probably find," she paused and dumped two strawberries into the blender, "the brush, milker, and reins to be the most useful, especially if you're going foraging. You'll have more room." I took my empty plate to the sink and dropped it in quickly, trying to stay away from the working Annie.
"You have the map?"
"Yeah," I told her as I put the map in my pocket again and picked up the rucksack. I went over to the toolbox and took out the brush, reins, and milker, putting them in the bag.
"Read the instructions about what to do for the animals. It's going to rain tomorrow, so put them inside after they've eaten."
"Okay, see you," I called, walking out and closing the door firmly behind me. Then I yawned and stretched; it was too early for me. I took the map out of my pocket and unfolded it, trailing my finger along it to find where the barn was. I sighed, seeing it all the way near the beach. Next to the barn sign Annie had drawn, it read, Look for wild grasses, herbs, and mushrooms on the way there. If you seen any wild animals, you can pick them up. I've tamed most of them pretty well.
"Okay," I said out loud, walking over the bridge. I made my way into the forest and followed it straight back until I passed the woodcutter place. There was a pasture in the property next to it, a barn, and a lot of fruit trees.
The trees, the side of the map read, were such a bad idea. I planted them before I realized that I should put the chicken coop with the barn. Now there's no room for the chicken coop here, so I bought more property and put it with my crops.
A cow, a sheep, and a horse grazed, and I took my brush out hesitantly as they all picked their heads up and looked at me. At the same time. Creepy.
I jumped the wooden-stake fence and approached the cow, Clara, the map informed me.
"Hi, um, Clara," I squeaked, approaching her from the side. The cow watched me noiselessly. I put the brush hesitantly on her side and began to brush in circles. Clara mooed happily and I sighed. "This won't be that bad." After I finished brushing the sheep, Fairy, and the horse, Tracker, I took the milker out of my rucksack and walked back over to the cow.
It's not that hard, the map read; just place it where you think it should go. I know you can figure it out yourself. There are empty milk jugs in the barn, and one outside. I found the empty jug outside and brought it back to Clara. I somehow managed to milk her correctly, and ended up with a full jug of milk. Now go inside and turn it into butter or cheese. I have machines by the wall for that. Instead, I took the reins out of my rucksack and hooked it around Clara's head. After I had led all three of the animals inside, I walked inside and took the milk out of the rucksack.
"Cheese or butter," I asked myself, walking toward the machine in the back. There was a yarn maker as well, I noticed, and a pair of shears sat atop it, along with a note. I picked the note up with my free hand. Fairy- the sheep- will be all fluffy every Thursday. Remember to put the shears back up here so the animals don't hurt themselves.
I walked over to the cheese machine and took the lid off the milk before pouring it into a slot in the machine. Moments later, cheese came out another slot. I picked it up and studied it in amazement before dropping it in the shipping bin at the other end of the barn. A large sign on the wall above it read- SHIPPING BIN! You get half the pay, so don't forget to make butter, cheese and yarn! I nodded approvingly at the sign; half the pay didn't sound so bad to me.
"Done with that," I said as I walked back into the pasture, peering at the map.
That should have taken an hour, maybe more on your first day. You can go foraging now if you want, or get my fishing rod and you can fish. I'm going to see if Ray will give you one of your own. Explore! You're free for the rest of the day! You can go meet the chickens if you want.
Following the map again, I explored around the beach, picking up a few mushrooms and toadstools as I went. When I had picked enough, I crossed another bridge and wandered around more, somehow ending up at the purple house.
I stared at Jamie's house, wondering if I should go find him or not. He had seemed really nice to me, but I'd be betraying Annie if I went. I opened the map to see what Annie had said. The asterisk at Jamie's farm led to a small corner of the map. Ew, Jamie. It read. I tried to be nice and make friends with him when I first moved here, but he just hated me. Maybe because we're rivals? I don't know. Just watch out for him, because he's not somebody you're going to want to annoy. If you want to annoy someone, annoy Dan! Another asterisk led away to another paragraph but I ignored it. Jamie and I weren't really rivals, unless there was something else Annie wasn't telling me. I walked around the house before I lost my nerve and found Jamie filling his watering can.
"Hi," I said, putting the map in my rucksack. He looked up at me and meeped a 'hi' quietly, fishing his watering can out of the water basin. His dog wandered over to me and sniffed my hand as I waited for Jamie to finish watering his crops. He watered a few squares before putting the watering can away, and walked over to me.
"Hi," he said again, "I didn't think you would come." His dog wandered back over to him and sat loyally by his feet.
"I said I would," I told him, awkwardly shrugging. "I was going to go find some flowers and stuff to sell, but I thought I'd stop by here since it was on the way."
"Oh," he nodded and blinked at me. His eyes made me kind of uneasy. An awkward silence descended, and I ended up staring at my shoes.
"So," I began, shoving my hands in my pockets.
"I'm all done with my farm work now. If you have nothing to do, you can come fishing with me. I can show you all the good spots."
"Okay, sure." Annie, Annie, Annie, Annie. "I'll go run and get my friend's fishing rod and I'll meet you back here in a few minutes," I told him, waiting for him to nod before I took off running back toward Annie's house, following the paths. I didn't want him to follow me and then see me go into Annie's house, especially if Annie was still there, because she'd see him waiting for me. I was spinning a disgusting, messy web for myself to fall into.
I returned to Jamie's farm not too much later after shipping the mushrooms, Annie's fishing rod in hand. Jamie was waiting for me in front of his house.
"Ready?" He asked as I approached.
"Mmhmm," I replied, and he started walking. I followed a few steps behind him, just in case Annie was out and about. We walked past Annie's house without talking, and still kept going.
"Where are we going?" I finally asked, my feet beginning to ache.
"The lake close to the forest summit," he replied. "You been there yet?" I didn't even know there was a forest summit.
"No. . ."
I continued to follow him until we passed through another forest and ended up at a large lake.
"Up here," he said, still walking. I winced, slowing down slightly; I hadn't walked so much in a long time. He finally stopped near the northern part of the lake, and I sat on a large boulder to massage my feet. He sent me an amused look before turning toward the lake to cast his line.
"I don't normally walk so much," I said, giving him an excuse to why I had taken my shoes off to rub my feet.
"Hn," he said, apparently enthralled with fishing. I glared at the back of his head and stared sadly at my feet. Leaving my shoes near the rock, I picked my fishing rod up from where I had dropped it on the ground and approached Jamie. I sat under a tree a few feet away from him and awkwardly tried to cast my line. The hook ended up catching in the tree, and I heard a noise suspiciously similar to a snort emerge from Jamie's direction as he began to reel his line in.
"Shut up," I muttered, standing to unhook my line. Jamie pulled his line in, towing a large fish with it. He nodded at it and put it in his rucksack calmly. I shook my head at his turned back and stared at my line, five feet above my head.
"Um," I stated, staring mournfully up at it. "Looks like I fail at fishing." When I turned to look back at Jamie, I got a faceful of hat. Jamie raised his eyebrow at me as I jumped backwards slightly, having been surprised by Jamie suddenly standing right next to me.
"Can you climb it?" He asked, gesturing toward the tree. I giggled nervously.
"I'm afraid of heights." I giggled again, sheepishly, as he stared back into the tree.
"Fine." Jamie took his hat off, left it on the ground, and began to pull himself into the tree. His shirt, coincidentally, slid up as he hung upside down for a second, and I saw a glimpse of the most amazing abs I had ever seen in my life. Immensely embarrassed, I made a high pitched squeaking noise in my throat and ducked my head to rub my reddened cheeks.
Jamie swung down from the tree, fishing line in hand, and fixed me with his emotionless look. "You okay?"
"Yes," I squeaked, and cleared my throat. Yes, I'm okay, but stop wearing that hat because you look better without it. I took the line back from him and smiled gratefully, trying to clear my mind. He was corrupting me, I figured. Jamie continued to eye me until I started to blush again. "I'm fine," I insisted, turning around breathe for a few seconds. He made me feel like I was in high school with a crush. Great.
"I think I might just watch you for awhile," I told him, starting to the bank again without my fishing rod.
"Okay."
I dangled my legs in the water and watched as Jamie expertly reeled another fish in.
"Why did you leave your farm purple after your sister left?" I asked, trying to start a comfortable conversation. There was a pause before he replied.
"She didn't leave." I waited for a longer reply, knowing he might take longer than necessary to continue. Jamie cast the line again. "A few years ago I came here to visit her. It was winter." He paused again and sighed uncharacteristically. "I had gotten in a fight with my parents and they kicked me out."
I continued to swing my legs through the water, trying to appear carefree. In reality, I was listening incredibly closely. He had never spoken so much in such a short period of time before.
"There was a blizzard one night when I was out mining. I ended up staying in the cave overnight. When I finally was able to come home a day later, she wasn't in the house. I looked for her all day. I told the mayor just before nightfall, and he sent a search party into the mountains. They wouldn't let me go with." Jamie cleared his throat then and took a deep breath. I began to wonder why he was telling me this, besides the fact that I had unintentionally brought it up.
"I stayed in the barn with the animals until two in the morning, when the mayor came to get me. They found my sister. . ." He trailed off.
"That's good, right?" I heard myself say as I stared across the lake.
"No," he replied, voice lower. "She was dead. She was caught in the blizzard and killed." I gasped inadvertently, pulling my legs out of the water and closer to my body as my head snapped toward him.
"I'm so sorry!" Jamie's jaw was set, and he continued to stare into the water, ignoring me. I stood up quickly, not knowing what to do. He turned toward me suddenly, his face blazing.
"I should have stayed at the house like she told me to. She went looking for me and ended up dead. I should have listened!" He turned his back to me, and I watched as he clenched his fists until they turned pale. I stepped closer to the tree and watched him for a few seconds before stepping toward him slowly.
"It wasn't your fault," I said softly, still approaching him.
"It was," he said decisively, letting his hands relax.
"She knew there would be a storm. It was her choice to go into it; you didn't make her." I was standing just behind him now, trying to figure out what to do.
"Sorry about all of this," he told me, back to me. He turned to face me, looking normal. "I've never really told anyone about it before." He looked off toward the side before meeting my eyes again. "I don't know why I feel so comfortable around someone I just met . . ."
"It's okay," I told him, "really. It's getting dark though, so I need to get back. Will you be okay . . .?"
"Yes," he said quickly, putting his hat back on as I grabbed my fishing rod and watched him. "See you." His quiet voice had returned as well.
"Bye," I told him, grabbing my shoes and taking off in a run. I felt bad for bringing the subject up and making him freak out like that. At least I knew it was a touchy spot though.
When I reached Annie's house I was starving. I threw open the door to find her making dinner and Ray sitting on the couch.
"Hey guys," I said as I put the fishing rod away and threw my shoes by the door. I looked down forlornly at my socks, finding them completely ripped.
"Hey! What have you been up to?" Annie asked from the kitchen. Ray waved distractedly.
"Attempting to fish. I hope you plan on feeding me," I said, changing the subject quickly.
"Of course I'll feed you!" Annie exclaimed, putting a plate full of food on the counter for me to take. "Ray, get over here!"
Ray rose obediently with a grumble, grabbed his own plate and Annie's, and sat down across from me. I smiled at him as he rubbed his eyes and yawned.
"Mmmanniedunlehmedothagan," he said after he yawned, and Annie giggled as she swung over on her crutches, dropping to her seat gracefully.
"You can catch dinner tomorrow then. How was your first day, Alex?"
"Interesting," I said slowly, examining a piece of eggplant.
"Your paycheck came today," she said, pointing to a letter on top of the TV. I perked up instantly and practically fell out of the chair to get it. Annie laughed and Ray almost choked as they watched me rip the envelope open.
"He paid me for an entire year!" I shrieked, shocked. Annie clapped.
"We're going shopping this weekend!"
"Oh great," Ray grumbled as Annie and I hopped around the room together joyfully.