Thud! Bump! "Oww!" complained Michelle forgetting that her voice came out as a male's. The suitcase which she had set next to her fell to the floor and her head flew forward against the seat in front of her. The train had made a rough stop but at least it looked like it was her stop.
The sun was now bright and it shone on a simple wooden sign signifying that this station belonged to Loria. She didn't know what they hit to make everything in the train jolt but it sure was lucky. She would have missed the stop if it hadn't been for it.
She picked her bag off the floor and brushed it off. At the same time, her legs swung over the seat and landed firmly on the floor bringing her body to a stand. As she approached the exit, she felt a certain sickness. Michelle had lived with her parents all her life and now she would be on her own. To top it off, she would be living on her own as a male.
"Eek eek! Welcome," said a brown monkey once she boarded off the train.
"Uh, thanks," she said. "How do I get a house here?"
"Just leave this building and turn to your right. The town hall is in the corner and Isabelle well help ya' there! Eek eek."
"Thank you," she replied and followed his directions out the door. A rush of fresh air brought a chilly wind that carried the forest smells of trees and dirt. Strangely, it smelled good. It was calming. Another thing was the city, or perhaps town, itself. It was so small. Paths failed to mark the way so she'd have s lot of exploring to do. No cars beeped. People didn't scream. Bird tweets filled the air. It was perfect here.
Michelle walked to her left where she saw a building in the distant. Even though it was small, it was probably bigger than the train station so it most likely was the town hall. The buildings and all in her home city were just so much bigger. It stunned her.
With a slight twist of the knob, the door opened and she entered.
"No!" yelled a feminine voice. Michelle furrowed her eyebrows and walked closer to the desk were a tan-colored dog crawled on the floor to collect a mess of papers. "I'm already having a bad day and it's only nine in the morning!" she groaned.
"Umm...," Michelle sounded causing the dog to jolt up.
"Oh! Hi there! I'm so sorry about that. I hope you weren't waiting long!" she walked up to the desk to properly talk to Michelle. "I'm Isabelle. You don't look familiar, so I am mayor Tortimer's assistant. How may I help you?"
"I, uh, I'm Chris, short for Christopher. I wanted to move here and someone referred me to the town hall," she explained.
"Oh, perfect! A new resident! Welcome Chris! Here's a map of the town and if you go to that building which is north of the train tracks. You can talk to Mr. Tom Nook for your home! Good luck!" She said handing him the map and pointing to his next destination.
Michelle took the map and looked it over. There were only ten residents. That was extremely small compared to the city. Her gaze landed on the building the tan dog referred her to. Dang. She was referred to another place. She hoped she would end it there. She wasn't in the mood to walk in circles.
"Thanks!" She yelled as she walked out the door. Her voice made her wince more. It was so deep. And even as a male's voice, she still hated it just as much as her own.
Next destination! She followed her new instructions and came across the building. The little shopping center was charming. Everything they could ever need was there, nothing extra. She walked inside and was instantly greeted by a raccoon.
"Ah, hello! Isabelle told me about you. Need a house? I'll get you that. Did you have in mind where you wanted to live?" He asked hardly giving Michelle a chance to reply.
"Hi, uh, no I don't. Do I have to choose or can I get it random?" She asked. She didn't care where she lived as long as she had a home.
"Yes, yes. How does this location look?" He pointed at her map. It was a blank spot not too far from the southwestern beach. It was pretty isolated. The other residents would have to walk a little to get to her. Perfection.
"Perfect!"
"Alright. For now I'll set a tent since you need to pay your loans and you need a roof. It will be a cost of 10,000 bells. Just pay it in the post office. Have a nice day!" He explained walking out to go set up the base of her new home.
Wow. That was a big cost. A bit too much. Where would she get the money and that Tom Nook didn't even give her the chance to talk. Rude.
She sighed and headed towards the door. However, the door smacked her in the face before she could reach for the knob.
"Oww, oww, oww," she said rubbing her forehead with her hand.
"Ahh! I'm sorry! I'm usually the only one walking in and out of here I didn't expect you! Are you okay?" spoke a male this time.
Michelle nodded and rubbed her head one last time before opening her eyes. Her eyes free wide for a second. He was a human. So she wasn't the only one in town. A weirder thing was she felt like she had seen him somewhere. Those blue eyes were very familiar.
"Umm?" The male spoke. I didn't hurt you too bad did I? He asked.
"Oh sorry!" She quickly apologized. Apparently she had been dazed by the fact that a human boy was right in front of her. "Yes, I'm fine."
"Okay, good. That's a relief. You're new here aren't you? My name's Jaden. Nice to meet you," he said shaking Michelle's hand.
"Yea, umm, my name is Mi-CHRIS! Sorry, short for Christopher." Luckily she caught herself saying her actual name before she finished.
"Good to have you Chris. You just got your home, huh? Here, as an apology and welcoming gift, I'll give you the bells to get your home built. We all lived through that madness," he laughed.
"Oh you don't have to do that!"
"But I want to."
"Okay but only as a loan."
"That's not a gift!"
"It's perfect, thanks."
He sighed. "Very well then, here," he said handing a bag of 10,000 bells. Michelle grabbed it. It was not all too heavy, surprisingly. How convenient.
"Here, lemme help you pay it off," said Jaden walking out. Michelle followed him into the building next door. A small white machine waited at the side. "Just walk up to it and choose to pay it off."
Michelle did as instructed. Yes! Now she wouldn't have to live in a dingy old tent until she got the funds. "Thank you," she said with a slight smile. People in the city weren't this nice. She hated talking to them all. People in rural towns were probably so much kinder and humble.
"Don't mention it. Now Nook should be back in his shop. Go talk to him to get your house built bigger. I'll see you later Chris," he said and he walked out the door. Michelle looked at the machine and back the door. What a crazy life. But she continued her way to Tom Nook.
"You paid that off fast! Well I'll get your house built asap. If you want a bigger home, you need to pay the loan off for this home. Have a nice day!" Tom said not letting Michelle talk again. He sure had energy.
She walked out and went towards her home and to her surprise it was already built. She went inside the small building to find it even smaller on the interior. Luckily, there was a bed and light. On top of the bed lay a note.
"Sorry again about earlier. Take these furniture pieces without a loan! I had these lying around and you'll need somewhere to sleep. See you later!
-Jaden "
How nice.
It was still early in the morning but Michelle was tired. Long trip and longer day. She went to the bed although it only took a few steps and drifted off the sleep leaving the bag to fall on the floor.
