The old bus hissed as it pulled up to the bus stop. "Looks like this is our last stop" the driver said before jumping off the bus. Kiera was the only passenger on the bus, her heart racing. Maybe this isn't such a good idea... Maybe father was right. Kiera made her way off the bus and took a look around. The valley is so much quieter than the city. Birds chirped in the distance, bugs whizzed by, otherwise silence. I could get back on the bus now and nobody would notice. The thought crossed her mind but when looking at the bus the driver was gone and the engine was smoking. Well never mind then. "Why hello there!" A voice beamed behind Kiera. She whipped around to see mayor Lewis standing there with a pretty middle-aged woman. "You must be Kiera, welcome to Pelican town. Oh dear, looks like nobody's taking the bus to the city anytime soon" "Hello, it's nice to meet you two, I'm guessing you're mayor Lewis. Forgive me but I don't seem to know who you are." Kiera inquired towards the woman. She smiled and responded "No worries, I'm Robin, the town's carpenter. Mayor Lewis asked me to join him in welcoming you to our humble town." Kiera felt relief that so far the two residents she's met have been kinder to her than any of Joja Corp's lackeys. "Well now that we all have been introduced, how about I show you your new home." Mayor Lewis winked at Kiera. "Follow me."

Trees spread out as far as the eye could see. Pebbles and boulders scattered through the fields. Wild grass had sprouted in large patches around the ponds. Branches were strewn about the place here and there. If this had been an overgrown forest it would've been beautiful. As a farm...not so much. "Well here she is." Mayor Lewis introduced the farm as if it hadn't been neglected for months. "Oh...um...it's, uh." Kiera started. "It's a dump." Robin finished for Kiera. "Lewis how do expect someone with no farming experience to get this place out of the gutters?" Robin asked Lewis, as if Kiera wasn't standing next to her. "Okay first off Robin, you're being incredibly rude. Second Kiera can handle this easily, it just takes a little bit of elbow grease and some help from her neighbors." Lewis had stated confidently. Just then his phone went off. "Hello this is mayor Lewis. Oh governor, hello. What? No this is a perfect time to talk about the luau. Robin could you finish up for me? Great thanks. What? Yes I'm still here." Lewis walked away hurriedly before Robin or Kiera could make a peep. Robin rolled her eyes and sighed. "Hey, listen I was kind of being rude before. I live right up the road. Feel free to come visit me if you have any questions or need any help." Robin smiled at Kiera politely. "Actually, I do have one question." Kiera started "Where should I even begin?" Everything was happening so fast, and there was so much to do. "Here, why don't you go introduce yourself to everyone, and get more comfortable with your surroundings." Robin handed Kiera a list of names. Each person's name had a place located next to it. "If you can't find them at their location, try going to the saloon after five. It gets pretty lively on Friday nights." She finished. Robin squeezed Kiera's shoulder gently before walking towards the mountains. Any confidence I had about being able to do this just went out the window. Kiera looked down at her list and then towards town. Guess I better get started.

Robin's list was pretty easy to follow. Everyone was where the list said they would be, we'll almost everyone. Hmmm one person left and he wasn't at the saloon when I was there earlier, he wasn't at Marnie's either. I guess I should try the saloon again. It was after five so maybe he'd show up now. Kiera entered the bustling saloon. This is totally different from a couple of hours ago. "Hey Kiera, have a drink with us." Kiera looked to her left to see Elliot and Leah calling her over. Kiera was relieved, Elliot and Leah were very kind and helpful. She sat on the stool next to Elliot. "How's the introductions going?" Leah mused. "Pretty good, I actually only have one person left to meet." Kiera answered pleased with her progress. "Oh? Who is it? Maybe we can help you meet them." Elliot inquired. "Lets see, his name's Shane." Kiera answered. "...oh..." Elliot and Leah replied glancing at each other. "What? Your guy's demeanor just did a 360." Kiera asked with concern. "No...it's just that Shane's...well he's...you know..." Leah started. "Know what?" Kiera pursued becoming more and more worried. "He's...not the friendliest of people..." Elliot finished. Great. You know what they say "save the best for last." "He's over there." Elliot said nodding towards the other side of the bar. Kiera glanced across the bar to see her last introduction.

There he stood, beer in his right hand, eyes glassy. His hair was shaggy, his face hadn't been shaved today. His clothes were disheveled, and messy. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. Oh boy. I thought this task was going to be easy. Wrong. "Well, here goes nothing." Kiera slammed down the rest of her drink before making her way towards Shane. Her heart was beating a thousand beats a minute. (Or what felt like it). Please don't be a jerk. Please don't be a jerk. Kiera had made it to her destination,(far too quickly for her liking). She was standing next to Shane, his stare hadn't moved away from the wall once. "Um, hi I'm Kiera, I'm the new farmer." She began. "Yeah...? And...? You want a medal or something...?" Shane asked, his gaze still glued to the wall. "Um... haha... no... Y-you see m-..." "Alright, listen up." Shane's eyes darkened, they finally released their grip on the wall to meet Kiera's. "I could literally give two shits about who you are. I don't give a fuck about you or your crummy farm. Do me a favor and leave me the fuck alone." Shane's eyes returned to the wall. Kiera's eyes began to water. Words were dangerous right now. It's best to just nod and leave. Kiera made her way to the door her face flushed, tears rolling down her face. Leah stormed after her, while Elliot decided to storm over to Shane. "You know, Shane, Leah and I are the artists in the town, but you, you're a real piece of work." Shane's eyes snapped to Elliot's. "You have five seconds to get the fuck out of my face, Fabio, before I make you get out of my face." He snarled. "How vulgar." Elliot responded in disgust before heading towards the door.

Outside Kiera was wiping her tears while Leah comforted her. "You okay?" Leah asked. "Yeah, it's dumb you guys warned me about him. What did I expect?" Kiera sniffed. "Not that. That was harsh, even for Shane." Leah reassured her. "I should've went with you and smacked him in the face." Leah joked. Kiera giggled at the thought of Leah's petite self fighting Shane. "Hey, you doing alright?" Elliot asked. Finally catching up to them. "Yeah. I feel better now." Kiera answered. "Don't let him get to you. Pam and him are in competition for the village drunk...and he's in first place." Elliot joked. "At least Pam was nice to me. " Kiera laughed. Elliot and Leah joined in the laughter. "Come on we'll walk home." Leah insisted.

Man, what a first day. This town seems like a good place to start fresh. Everyone seems to take care of each other... well... almost everyone. What was that Shane guy's problem? I was just being nice. What a jerk, better stay away from him. Kiera stared at the stars through the hole in her ceiling before drifting to sleep.