A/N – So I wrote the first chapter across the span of about two months (obviously not consistently) when I got really bored. That's probably what'll happen this time. Time to write.
Waking up at 6 in the morning would obviously be a habit I need to work on breaking, but for now that part of my old life would remain a bitter reminder of what was. Oh, well, tired or not, I knew I had some work to get done today before I could journey back into town and I try and meet some more new people. Before I stepped outside, I glanced over to the television set resting opposite the door. Maybe just a little TV before starting the day would be helpful.
"How can a TV only get 3 channels?" I said rather privilegedly as I flipped to the weather station.
"A bright, sunny day greets the valley tomorrow, so be sure to get outside and enjoy it!" The weatherman seemed enthusiastic, and I could appreciate that. I, however, was not nearly as enthusiastic at the thought of cleaning up my oh-so-lovely new farm!
"No time like the present," I said as I tried to motivate myself. Well, in reality, what was I expecting? This was a farm, and pristine or not, I knew this was the life I must want. Time to get to work.
A tiring three hours it was, as the unforgiving sun beat down on me. This in combination with the variety and multitude of obstacles which impeded my progress wore me out fully. I just hadn't worked up the stamina for work this hard yet. Boy, was I out of shape. What a shame, I was actually an athlete in high school. Any chance of maintaining my physique was destroyed by the amount of time I was forced to dedicate to Joja. No, I already told myself I would stop thinking about my old life. There was nothing from it I missed, and therefore no point in recounting it.
More work ensued, and eventually I discovered a large, purple, crystallized rock. As beautiful as it was, it was in my way, and thus needed to be gotten rid of. With a swift blow from my pick axe, I-
"Ouch! What the hell?" I said as I was flung backwards back by the boulder. If this boulder wanted to play rough, well, I'd play rough right back!
"Owww!" I yelled, this time landing on my wrist and twisting it. In hindsight, not my greatest idea, trying to defeat an apparently magical boulder. Well, this rock was obviously meant to stay. Even though the pain of losing my dramatic battle with a stone was almost too much to bare, I concluded I had done enough work for the day and decided, as I do with many things, to give up.
"I really am out of shape. Oh, well." I said with disappointment. Farm work every day was sure to build up my endurance eventually.
"I should see who's about the town. I mean, who doesn't spend their Tuesday evenings hitting up every club in their town of 20 people?" I chuckled, even though I hadn't found what I had said really all that funny.
Despite my earnest joke, the town seemed as bustling as it could be.
"Maybe Alex is around?" I wondered aloud, considering he was really the only one I felt like I knew.
"Maybe he is." I jumped a bit at the sound of Alex's voice and instantly blushed. Why do I do these things?
"H-hey Alex, I was just looking, um, I mean, I wasn't really sure how to, you know, um," What was wrong with me? Usually I had at least some dorky response, but my brain felt somewhere else.
"Uh, yeah...So, whatcha doin' out here, bud?"
"I, um," I composed myself, "I was just looking for something to do. I can't just stay cooped up in my little house all day."
"Dude, I totally get that. As for myself, I never like to stay in my house for a whole day. Not only can the grandparents get annoying, but a look like mine doesn't make itself." He said and I laughed and blushed a little. Wait, why do I keep blushing?
Looking to change the subject away from his "look", I said, "Grandparents? You live with them?"
"Yeah, it's a, uh, long story..." He said as he looked at the ground. Well, I was no idiot, so I changed the subject again.
"What were you doing out?"
"Oh, just, uh, on my way to visit Haley."
"Haley? I don't think I've met her."
"Oh, well, to get the full experience I'd say you'd have to meet her yourself, but, in short, she's my girlfriend."
"Oh, nice. Well, I wouldn't want to interrupt you two. I should probably go."
"Yeah, me too, I guess. I'll see you around?"
"Unless I disappear, I should hope so." He laughed a little and walked off. Well, I was sure there was more to see than just him in this town, so I walked toward the store. This time, I kept walking and came to a bridge over a river I hadn't even known ran through town. Leaning on the railing of a bridge was a red-haired girl.
"Hey," I said as I waved, "I'm the new farmer, (m/n), what's yours?"
She glanced over quickly, but didn't respond.
"Name, I mean."
"Oh, umm. I am Penny."
Weirdo.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ms. Penny, I hope we get to know each other soon." I said, as I kept walking.
"Yeah."
I don't think I really want to get to know her.
Across the river were many more buildings, including a library and a blacksmith. I'd probably visit there later eventually, so I decided to keep exploring.
"Oh, God, no." I said. Maybe it wasn't best to keep exploring. I was greeted with the sight of a real-life, disgusting, swindling, soulless, Jojamart. I really thought I had left all signs of Joja behind. Of course, having a store on the other side of town was incomparable to living every day constrained by their ruthless shackles, but still, I was not a fan of it.
"You know, staring at grocery stores is not most people's favorite pastime." A voice came from the store. I shook myself away from my reminiscing and looked down to see a handsome, blonde, young man. ...Handsome? Where was I getting off at this? Oh, well.
"Oh, uh, sorry, haha, just got some bad memories with this place."
"I get it, man. Hey, are you the new farmer? I knew we were getting one but I wasn't sure when I'd get the pleasure of meeting him."
To accompany my inevitable blush, I replied to this, "Yeah, that's me. (m/n)'s the name. Who are you?"
"My name's Sam. It really is nice to finally meet you." For someone who works for Jojamart, this kid was nice. We walked back into town together, and hit it off surprisingly well. We talked mostly about Joja, his family, and my farm. He was a really good conversationalist and I was actually kind of sad when we got to his house.
"Well, this is my stop, I'll see you around, farmer."
"See ya, Sam."
Sam. Sam. That's an alright name. I wonder what it's short for.
My conversations with Alex and Sam managed to use up my evening, and I decided to head back home. I thought about the rock, Alex, Sam, that weird girl, and the stars. What an appropriate name, Stardew Valley, cause the amount of stars I could see out here seemed immeasurable compared to those in the cities. With the moon they lit up the sky, illuminating the valley.