Today was the big day. Annie was going to finally move into her own home and begin work on the farm. Over the past few days, she had spent her time doing chores for Eda and seeing more of the town. She met quite a few of the residents, but not all, having chosen to tackle the task of presenting herself to her neighbors slowly. Meeting every single person in the span of just three or four days would have been exhausting, no matter how small Oak Tree Town was.
Veronica arrived at Eda's house to retrieve Annie and introduce the new farmer to the place where she'd be living and working from now on.
"Here it is! There's some basic furnishings inside for you," Veronica pointed in the direction of the little house, "It is an older home, so it may need fixing up. Shall we go inside?"
On that, Annie could agree. Once inside, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly took a week to prepare. The house looked like it hadn't been given a single repair since about 1930. The furniture Veronica provided was, thankfully, newer than the house. At least that was a plus.
Annie avoided voicing her inner thoughts so as not to insult the Guild Master. "Thank you Veronica, It'll be good for now. But I think I'll have to speak to Gunther about giving it a bit of TLC..."
"Yes, I thought you might. I'm sure he'll be glad to help you turn it into a more suitable home. Well, I'll be taking my leave now. I look forward to seeing you turn this land into a magnificent farm. Good day!"
Her first farm day had turned into a long one. Just tilling the fields nearly wore Annie out, but she managed to plant and water some turnips, a staple of springtime crops, without passing out.
Iris had been right about Annie's thoughts. Throughout her work, the young farmer's mind repeatedly found itself stuck on Klaus. What was he like? What's his profession? And, her least favorite, does he have a girlfriend, or even a wife? No, no. Iris would have said something if he was already spoken for ...right? Annie didn't have much experience in the world of romance. The nineteen year-old had had a few 'boyfriends' before, but they hardly could have been considered serious relationships. Only flings that just about everyone has during high school. A sigh escaped the farmer's lips, and she turned back to her work.
"I'm exhausted and starving. That's not an ideal state for a farmer to be in..." Annie spoke aloud to herself, something that had become a habit when she was alone. She recalled that she saw a sign for a restaurant near the guild. Why not treat herself to a nice meal to end her first day of farm work?
Annie strolled to the restaurant, begging it to be open. The trek from her farm to the center of the town was a lengthy one, and not a trip she wanted to waste. "Okay," she muttered all but silently as she caught her breath outside of the restaurant, "move getting a horse to the top of the to-do list."
The brunette entered the building, eager to satisfy her growling stomach. The first thing she caught sight of was the man standing at the counter. He had two young girls before him, who were clearly more interested in the cute boy who runs the place than the cuisine itself. It was obvious to Annie that he was irritated, but keeping a cool, friendly demeanor so he wouldn't come off as rude. The girls looked too young for him to be interested. Maybe sixteen and seventeen, whereas he was likely in his early to mid twenties. Annie remembered being sixteen, when any handsome face instantly became a new crush. And, heh, not much had changed since then.
Annie patiently waited in line, though she couldn't help but eavesdrop on the girls talking to the restaurant employee. But it doesn't count as eavesdropping if you're right there, right?
"So you lived here with your grandfather?" the girl with long blonde hair asked in that typical excited, flirty teenager way. At that age, you don't quite have a knack for subtlety in how you say things yet.
"Yeah, I did. I try to run things how he did, with his recipes," he replied in a friendly way, but not like someone who was keen on extending this conversation longer than necessary.
"Awww, that's so sweet, Raeger!" The other girl, a redhead, exclaimed.
"Erm, thank you. If you wouldn't mind ordering now, there's a line forming..." Raeger spotted Annie waiting behind the teens.
Just then, the restaurant's door swung open again. "Hiya Raeger!" Fritz greeted in a jolly fashion, "Ooh, surrounded by ladies yet again! Man, you just can't keep 'em away, can ya!"
The pair of teen girls blushed, seeing they had been "figured out", and politely excused themselves to leave the restaurant.
"Gee, thanks a lot Fritz. They were just about to order," Raeger's tone was somewhat scolding, but no one could get too angry at the ever-optimistic Fritz.
"Aw, I didn't say anything that wasn't true!" Fritz nudged Annie with his elbow, "This guy's constantly got pretty girls hangin' off him. Doesn't leave any for those of us unpopular guys! Girls even come from out of town, just to confess their love to ol' Raeger." Fritz cupped his hands next to his cheek and pretended to fawn over Raeger, causing the chef to let out an annoyed huff.
Annie giggled behind her hand. She could see why Raeger would be popular with the ladies, even if Klaus clouded her vision as of late.
Raeger couldn't exactly deny what Fritz had said about him. It was true, a portion of his clientele were girls that came to the restaurant mainly to see him. It got to the point that he'd gained a reputation as a playboy, which he did not care for. Sure, he'd had a few girlfriends, but not what he considered to be a substantial amount.
"Don't talk like that, you'll drive her away too," Raeger went back to business and turned his attention to Annie, "Can I help you, miss?"
Annie ordered a dinner and moved toward a table to wait for her meal.
"Mind if I sit with ya?" Fritz followed Annie.
"Of course not, please do," the brunette farmer replied, happy to have company.
"So how ya liking Oak Tree Town's people so far? Anyone caught your eye?" Fritz questioned, raising his eyebrows in a teasing manner.
Annie glanced behind Fritz at Raeger, who was intently focused on his cooking, and she smiled, knowing that's who Fritz was suggesting she might have a crush on. "No Fritz," Annie smirked then sipped her drink.
Fritz' eyes widened in feigned shock. He leaned forward and whispered to Annie, "You mean to tell me... you're immune to Raeger's charms?! Impossible!" Fritz made Annie laugh, something was getting very good at.
"Well, there may be someone else I have my eye on..." Annie played coy, looking up at the chandelier above them.
"Who is it? You gotta tell me! I am your best friend, after all."
Fritz' last sentence gave Annie that warm feeling, the kind only the unconditionally nice type of people can give you. They had become fast friends since Annie moved to town, although Fritz was getting a little ahead of himself saying they were best friends already.
"Wanna know my secret? Promise not to tell?" Annie's voice was playful. Fritz gave an excited nod in response. Annie held a pensive expression just long enough to build her companion's curiosity, then continued, "Mmm... I'd better not. A lady has to have her secrets, you know."
"Aw, c'mon that wasn't fair. Messing with me like that," Fritz frowned for a moment, but quickly reverted back to his usual cheerful demeanor. Nothing seemed to bother him for long. "Well I'll find out soon enough, just you wait! After all, there's only like four or five single guys in this town. It won't be hard to narrow it down."
Four or five? That may not have seemed like much to Fritz, but Annie thought she had moved to a sleepy old town that contained mostly older married couples. She was surprised by this revelation. That many single young people is a lot for a town in the middle of nowhere.
"Is there really that many? Who are they?" Annie wasn't just asking because she wanted to know who potential suitors could be, she was genuinely curious about these people who were spending their youth in a small town, like she was.
"Let's see... there's Raeger, you've met. I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a girlfriend right now, but who knows with that guy. Klaus, Mistel... I guess technically I'd count," Fritz chuckled, sure he wasn't the one who Annie was crushing on. He wanted a girlfriend, but he never suspected any girls of liking him. "Oh yeah, and Nadi. He's the guy who does landscaping for Elise. Not too friendly all the time, though."
"Huh, a lot of young people around, eh?" Annie mused.
"Yeah, I guess so. It's nice here, for people who don't like a loud, boring city life."
"Ha, I can understand that feeling. The city isn't as glamorous as it seems when you aren't there. But it sounds like you know that already."
"Ick, I visited once. That was plenty! Who could stand the smell of car fuel 24/7?" Fritz' disgust with the city showed on his facial expression.
"I don't think anyone can..." Annie said, beginning to get lost in thought about the life she left behind. It had been more fast-paced than life in Oak Tree Town, but it got to be mundane doing the same office job day after day. And Fritz was right, it did smell like fuel. Constantly.
Annie snapped out of her thoughts when Raeger arrived at the table with their meal. She and Fritz continued friendly conversation as they ate, then parted ways to return to their individual farms for the evening. Annie ended her night happily. She'd found a good friend in Fritz.
Author's Note:
I hope those of you reading are enjoying the story so far. I know Nadi doesn't arrive until later in the game, but I wanted to have him already here, for convenience. Thank you for reading, and thank you to you who reviewed! I appreciate it!