Forget It
Chapter 4: …Normal, I guess

Jill stretched in her bed. It had been a few days since the incident with Skye. Even thinking of him made her angry…

She felt her left arm gently. There were only a couple layers of cloth on the wound now because it was healing quickly. She didn't even need Lumina's sling any more.

Jill stumbled over to her front door, checking her watch. The black digital numbers read 6:00 AM. She groaned. "Farming is so tough," she muttered to herself.

She walked outside and checked the turnips she had planted. To her surprise, they were already ripe. The brunette picked them up one by one and placed them in her bag. When she was done, she surveyed her land.

She had been working hard, even though one arm was out of commission. The entire field was clear, except for a peach tree in the center. Jill smiled, content, and sat on the grass. Muffin ran up to her and began licking her enthusiastically.

"Muffin!" she laughed. "What, do you want to walk around with me today?" The puppy yipped and ran back to the house. A slinky black figure approached the girl.

"Well, good morning, Syrup. You look gorgeous, my kitty." Syrup mewed and climbed up Jill's arm, taking her accustomed place around the girl's neck.

"That would be the cue to leave, I'm supposing." The kitten brushed her whiskers against Jill's neck as a reply. Giggling, the teen walked off her farm.

She saw what seemed to be a parade of people walking towards the path to Mineral Town. There was Grant, whose daughter Kate stayed with Nina most of the day. Chris and Wally, parents of Hugh, were on their way to work as well. Muffy was headed to the Goddess Spring. She did every morning, unless it was her day off.

"Seems to be an uneventful day, huh, Syrup?" Jill asked her kitten. She got no response, not even a twitching ear. "Let's go find Flora and Carter, okay?" This got a response. The kitty mewed, and her fur prickled a bit. "What's wrong with you?" The teen shook her head and walked to the mine.

"Oh, Jill. It's good to see you. Did you come to dig?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, I did." Jill looked around, searching for her wavy-haired friend. "Where's Flora?"

"Oh, she's doing some excavating in the mine… By the way, Jill… There are a lot of valuable artifacts buried at this site. If you find something unusual, let me know."

"No problem…" Jill walked closer to Carter, just a bit. "What's that? It's so pretty."

"Hm? Oh, my necklace?" Jill nodded. "This is indeed an artifact, once worn by an ancient tribe. Yes, it's quite special to me. Remarkable, isn't it?"

"Very very cool." Jill smiled at the older man.

"Yeah, I think so too. You've got a great eye for artifacts, Jill. Why don't you join me and help out around here?" Carter gestured with his arm, referring to the entire mine.

"I'm sorry, but I have to keep farming."

"Oh… That's too bad. Well, think it over."

Flora finally walked out of the mine. "I'm pretty much done in here."

"Oh, Flora!" Carter seemed quite surprised when his partner emerged from the cave. "Good work. Will you help me over here, next?"

"Ok!" Flora eagerly walked towards Carter's work space.

"Don't forget, Jill. You can dig wherever you like."

Jill smiled and left the cave. "Oh, Syrup. He's so kind and generous! Do you think I should work with him."

The kitten growled. "You're right. Farming is what I need to be doing, not getting lovey-dovey over a handsome archaeologist." Syrup mewed, satisfied with her owner.

"Sheesh, I'm starting to think that you really understand me. What am I, crazy?" The teen laughed, walking over the creaky bridge and up towards the Goddess Pond.

"Oh, Muffy, hi."

"Hello, Jill." The blond wasn't even trying to disguise her disgust.

The teen bit her lip, trying to think of something relatively polite to say. "Um… Have you heard of a Phantom Skye?"

"Isn't he like a thief or something?"

"Yeah, he stole something from Lumina a few days ago. He's a huge flirt."

Muffy snorted. "I'm surprised you two aren't engaged already."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jill asked defensively.

"You city-girls are all alike. You fall for the first person who kisses your hand."

"I do NOT! I want to punch his face in if I see him again."

"Yeah, sure."

Jill stomped off towards her farmhouse and spent the rest of the day sulking.