-Chapter Two-

::The Party::

I finally caught the Arowana!

It was hard to catch, but I did it. Now I knew why Nook pays 10,000 Bells for one; so hard to catch. Once I had the orange fish hooked, reeling it in was a pain. They also fight hard too; he went under a few bridges a few times trying to get unhooked.

I was all the way on the east side of Hillsboro Island. Nook's shop was on the west side. I would have to make a run for it before this fish died.

All I could hear for a few minutes was the sound of my feet crunching dead leaves and clattering off the bridges as I ran for Nook's shop. I ran past one of my neighbors, Whitney, who was in her front yard watering her prize flowers. She had blue roses, black roses, and some other colorful flowers I saw. I told myself I'd get some of those soon.

I needed to get this fish some water. I could feel it thrashing around in my deep pocket. Nook's shop was only a hundred yards ahead, 100 feet, 20 feet, and I was there. I was about to bolt through the door until this fat owl came out of the shop.

"Oh ho! So you must be the new human boy that everyone is talking about, eh? I've heard a lot about you so far."

"Yes, yes, that's great. Now if you don't mind, I have to get this fish some water before it dies."

The owl moved aside and let me through. But he followed me back into the shop. Wasn't he just leaving? I didn't care. I needed to get this fish some water.

In the corner of the room, there was a fish tank on display for sale. Oh well, I thought. It would have to do. I dumped the fish into the tank and it seemed to enjoy itself; fresh oxygen and water is better than my pocket.

I turned around to go find Nook, when the owl went "Oh ho! That's an Arowana! A very rare fish indeed! These fish are very hard to find and give an excellent fight when hooked, eh? They also taste very well. That is probably why you brought it here…" He had a saddened expression on his face after that. "Well anyways, I'm Blathers. I run the museum at the other end of the Island. We have a few sections, with a few donations in each. I have set up a Painting display room, a Gyroid display, a fossil display, a bug display, and a fish display, and a nice Café lounge. We also have a nice observatory so visitors can view the stars. Of course with the fish we keep them alive and happy. Donations are always accepted for display. That Arowana you have would make a very nice addition to our small display…but I understand that Nook here is probably paying a hefty price for that fish. It's okay."

Blathers turned to leave, but I called out "Hey! You can have my fish. I'll be glad to donate it"; which is not exactly true. 10,000 Bells would be pretty nice to have. But then again, I just want to be friends with everyone for now. Enemies aren't necessarily a good thing.

"Oh thank you! Thank you! Your donation is greatly appreciated! We will forever be in your debt."

Blathers seemed to pull a bucket out of nowhere, and scooped up some water and the fish out of the tank and then again thanked me. He was heading back to the museum; I guess he lived there or something. I decided to follow; you know, check things out a little. Maybe get something in the Café and view the place around a little. Museums are always cool to me.

So I made another friend.

Oh how I love free meals. I was getting another one that night.

When I had got to the museum with Blathers, he placed the fish right into the tank, along with some other fish. The Arowana checked its surroundings and swam to the top where there was a bright green lily pad and ate a tiny insect. It swam back down to the bottom and floated around with the other fish. I then realized how beautiful it looked glowing bright orange in the water. I'm now glad I hadn't sold it to Nook and chose it to live happily in a tank for everyone to see such a rare creature.

Everything else here was cool too. The bug room had butterflies and dragonflies all over the place, along with crickets and beetles and all sorts of interesting creatures. The fossil room was pretty cool too. A large T' Rex was reaching its way towards the ceiling in fossil stage, a few fossilized eggs were scattered around, and so were parts of other dinosaurs.

I was looking at some interesting Paintings on display, wondering how these artists' had enough time and dedication to make such wonderful art when I bumped into Elvis.

Elvis is a male lion, with a large face. Muscles rip through his body; you can tell that this is a powerful animal. He also wore a little crown on the top of his head, dignifying richness and royalty. He told me about how he saw the Arowana that I had caught on display, and offered to get me a cappuccino in the Café lounge. Can't say no to something like that.

That pigeon wasn't kidding when he said that his cappuccino was 'The Best Cappuccino in the World'. He even added this world-famous 'pigeon milk' to the drink. It was probably pigeon crap, but if it is, that stuff is magical because it tastes great. Wasn't too hot, or too cold. Just perfect.

While I was sipping on heaven, Elvis told me a lot about the town, and himself. I found out that his family was always rich, down to his great ancestors. A long time ago his ancestors were royalty on some faraway island, and the blood has been passed down ever since. That's why he wore a crown on his head. He said that he would visit other towns sometimes and buy paintings to donate to the museum; all the Paintings came from Elvis. He told me about a few townspeople; Wolfgang, Roscoe, Apollo, and a few others whom names I can't remember right now. He also said every Saturday night in the Café a dog named K.K. Slider played his guitar and took requests to play. Today was a Friday, so I told him I'd check him out tomorrow night.

The cappuccino was almost gone, and I could tell the conversation was also. Just as I was about to leave Elvis said "Hey, I'm having a get-together party tonight for the whole Island, and you can come if you want. It starts at eight."

"You don't have to ask me twice."

This would be great, I thought. Free food and I get to know the people living on the Island a little better. Hopefully everything would go great tonight.

Hopefully.

My new clock that I found in the recycling bin that sat on my cardboard box read 7:38; I would have to get moving soon.

I finished putting on my black collared shirt and stepped outside to check my reflection in the water.

A handsome boy of fourteen looked back at me from the water. He was wearing a black collared shirt that said in green letters Lazy Days where a shirt pocket would go. A white undershirt was under that, so you could see it a little bit, pretty stylish. And blue jean shorts and a black hat topped off the appearance; I was ready for the party.

My house was on the west side of the Island, Elvis's on the far northeast. I figured it would take me ten minutes just to walk straight across, but that's no fun. I took the beach instead; it wove its way all around the Island.

Sunsets are beautiful; I realized this walking on that beach. The whole Island was surrounded by water and it seemed to glow in the sunlight. The sun painted rays of color across the clouds, turning them purple with little pink clouds scattered here and there. The sky turned a lighter blue on the west mixed with the black sky on the east. A giant cloud covered the sun, but not all the way, so it was one of those suns where you could look right at it and see the perfect circle of the sun, but not hurt your eyes. A little white flash appeared across the sky; a shooting star. I didn't bother wishing. Wishing usually doesn't come true for me.

I was nearing Elvis's house now. He told me where it was, but I haven't seen it yet. He told me that once you got close enough, you couldn't miss it. Elvis wasn't lying.

This house was huge. More like a mansion than an Island house. It was three stories high with rooms leading off to other rooms on all sides and had a turquoise roof. I couldn't wait to see what they looked like inside.

I knocked on the door that was taller than my house and Elvis opened it. He was wearing a nice buttoned down shirt and styled jeans, and of course the small crown; this lion knew style.

"Well if it isn't Nate. You look handsome tonight. Welcome." And he led me in.

My mouth dropped in shock as I entered.

This house was utterly gorgeous.

Warmth and wonderful food smells greeted me as I entered the house. A large gold chandelier with crystals hung down from the ceiling, casting light and shadows across the main room. The high quality floor tile was a yellow-orange, and the deep red walls matched perfectly with this. Dark brown leather furniture such as large sofas and chairs were placed around, to accompany many people. Rich brown wood furniture resembling cabinets and armoires were around the main room also. A large 60" flat panel TV was mounted on the wall, with a large leather sofa in front of that. Animals from the Island were talking, holding glasses of juice in their hands, enjoying themselves. Everything looked simply amazing. I hoped to have a house like this one day.

"Wow Elvis. Your house is beautiful."

"Thanks Nate. I worked very hard on it. Now make yourself at home and talk with some of the animals while I finish dinner."

I looked at all the animals. Every one of them was dressed up, just like me and Elvis. They knew this was a good party.

Everyone was here; and I mean everyone. Kapp'n was here; the Mayor, Tortimer; Joey, the yellow duck; Alfonso, the brown alligator; a teddy bear looking animal called Stitches; Whitney, the white wolf; Wolfgang, a dark blue wolf; Blathers, the owl from the museum; Celeste, Blather's sister who ran the Observatory at the museum; O' Hare, this brown rabbit with gold hair; Roscoe, a shady looking black horse; Apollo, a bald eagle; the two guards who guarded The Gates and who were also the police; and last but not least, K.K. Slider. Everyone was here, except Nook and the Town Hall girls. I guess they had to get up early in the morning. Tonight would be a fun night though, to meet everyone.

I decided to talk to Alfonso first, talk to someone I knew. We began talking, while Alfonso led me to the punch table. There, I met K.K. Slider and him and I began to talk for a while. He's a little awkward; he talks really fast and always carries around his guitar. But other than that, he's cool. I always liked music, especially guitars. So K.K. and I were off to a great start.

Elvis came out after my conversation with K.K. He made an announcement.

"Ahem, if I may have your undivided attention everyone. Great. Now, I have a riddle for all of you. It may trick some of you, it may not. But you'll find out the answer soon enough. Now the riddle is 'What is the most beautiful sound in the world?' Hm? Anyone have an answer?"

K.K. Slider was the first to speak up. "It is by far the guitar; nothing sounds better than a guitar. I would know."

"Are you crazy?" said Whitney. "It is the harp. It is the most romantic sound on the planet."

"No you guys have it all wrong" spoke Joey. "It is the rain. Rain is the best sound, and the most relaxing."

"Well, so far every one of you is wrong. But you'll find out the answer tonight." He then turned back into the kitchen and went back to work.

Instantly, the whole room began to buzz with chatter about what the answer might be. Nobody knew, and I honestly didn't know either. Guess we would have to find out.

Elvis didn't show up for the next hour, he was probably cooking. But that was fine with me; I got to know everyone that lived in the town.

Stitches is a little shy at first, but talks a lot once you get to know him. He's been named Stitches ever since he was born because of his irregular colors on his body, almost like stitching patterns. Roscoe is alright, but he tends to be quiet more often. He's an all black horse, and naturally shady looking, so that's not always a good thing. O' Hare is a little on the awkward side; he changes subjects a lot. As for the gray-bearded Tortimer, he's just old. He likes to tell stories about his childhood a lot, and some are surprisingly interesting. He carries around cane to help him walk everywhere. But other than those minor details, the animals are pretty cool.

I didn't get a chance to talk to Whitney and Wolfgang that much; they were in a deep conversation sitting on one of the couches. I felt a little romance being brewed between the two, since they were both wolves. An Island couple in the making, how sweet.

By now it was 10:30. Surely the food would be ready by now. Obviously it wasn't.

Now its 11. A few of the animals were getting agitated. Great, that's what I needed. Stuck in a room with two angry wolves.

I looked outside and pressed my nose to the cold glass; it was really dark outside. Really dark. Just the lights by The Gates and a few from the other houses were all the light that there was on this tiny desolate Island. But other than that, it was pitch black. Different from the city.

It was almost 11:20 and Wolfgang was about to blow the kitchen door down when Elvis opened it up clanging some dishes. They made a tingling sound, and everyone stared at him; we wanted to know what had taken so long.

"The answer to the riddle is that the best sound in the world is clanging dishes when you are terribly hungry. Har har har har har!"

Everyone groaned. But I laughed inside my head, because I knew he was so right.

"You may now eat."

Oh I was stuffed. I thought I never ate so much food in my life.

The food was delicious. As soon as Elvis laid down all the platters of steaming food on a long table with a white tablecloth on it, everyone attacked the plates and began piling food. And man was that good.

We were all done eating now, and we were just relaxing on the sofas, letting our body's relax from the cramming of food down our esophagi. We talked about how the riddle had tricked us all. That lasted a while. It was nearing 1 a.m. when everyone decided to go home.

We were all piling out of the mansion, Elvis saying his goodbyes, Wolfgang and Whitney walking out arm in arm. He shook each of our hands as we passed by, saying what a pleasure it was to have such nice animals and a human living on such a wonderful Island. Joey and I decided to walk out together. Joey told me he'd stay with me to my house, since my house came before his.

As we were walking across the Island, I couldn't help wonder how dark it seemed. The alleys in the city at night weren't this dark; there was always some form of light. But here, besides the moon, there was nothing. Just pitch black. I only knew my way around because Joey has lived here for a while and knew his way.

Have you ever got that feeling where you just think that you're being watched? Well, it scares the crap out of me. I'm sure it was just because of the dark, but my heart rate began to quicken. I seemed more alert, my ears listening to every crunch of a leaf that we walked over. My eyes, seeing every tiny shadow cast by a tree. My body was tense, and Joey felt this.

"Hey, hey buddy. You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah…I'm fine Joey. Just a little dark that's all."

"Oh, that's okay. You'll get used to the dark after a while. Nothing to be afraid of here."

Did a shadow just hide behind that tree? I was sure of it. Maybe it was my imagination. It looked like another figure. A human figure. Maybe my mind was seeing things. Maybe not. Yes, that had to be it. My mind was playing tricks on me that was all. Whatever it was, I'm terrified right now. Ah, finally. My house was showing up in the distance, the candle inside casting light to the windows. Joey and I walked a little faster now, and I got to my door. We said our goodbyes, and I went inside my little house and locked the door.

Light was good. Light was very good. It allowed a human to see, and that's what humans depended on most; their eyesight. I was happy to be in my house, as small as it was. Here, I was safe from whatever imaginary thing my brain conjured.

I was lying on my side in my bed, thinking about the fun party, about whether to go fishing or fossil hunting tomorrow when I heard Joey scream.

I sat up in bed, my body alert and tense. Was that Joey? Yes, it had to be Joey. He screamed on the first day I appeared, and he just screamed the same way. It was Joey. Was he hurt? I didn't know. There was only one way to find out.

Petrified as I was, I slipped my shoes back on my feet and stepped outside into the night.

Where had the scream come from? I couldn't remember. My heart was beating a million miles a second. Wait, his house was on the left of mine. So that means he was heading that way. I started off to my left.

Every leaf was heard, every rustle of the wind was listened to, every shadow was glanced at; nothing was unnoticed in the darkness of the night.

Where was Joey? In the little light that the moon had provided, I could not see anything. I had heard about these things called Pitfall Seeds at the party; when you fell in one, you fell into this hole, and it took some time to get out. In the night he might have fell into one and gotten hurt, I wouldn't know. I just needed to find Joey. Where was he?!

I was about to turn around, retracing my steps and take a wider area to look when I heard a voice.

"Nate…help me…take it out. Before I die, please, take it out."

It was Joey's voice.

I stared in disbelief, it wasn't possible.

Five feet away from me lay Joey on the ground. The grass surrounding him was stained with a dark red liquid; blood. I didn't think it was possible to see that much blood at once. It seemed like gallons and gallons of it.

In his stomach, an axe was wedged right in the middle of his stomach, the other end sticking out of the other side. It was sickening; I couldn't keep looking at it. I decided to look at Joey's face instead.

"Joey…what happened?" My eyes were wide with horror; I had no clue what to do. I'm just a fourteen year old kid! What do I know?!

"Just take it out first. I'll explain after." He could barely speak. Each word he spoke sounded like it took every once of strength in his body just to make a sound.

I just stared at Joey, not sure what to do.

"Nate…please."

I wrapped my hands on the handle of the axe and pulled away from his body. It wouldn't move at first. I tried again. It wouldn't budge. I tried one last time and the axe slid loose from Joey's body. It was sickening. I tried to hold myself from regurgitating that night's meal.

"Thank you Nate…" He was dying. I could tell. The way he was acting, talking, I could just tell.

"Joey…what happened to you?"

"It was...them…Jas…man…hock…ask…axe..."

I couldn't understand what Joey was saying. Them? Jas? Hock ask? What was he saying?

"Joey, I don't understand."

With his last once of strength Joey lifted his head and stared at me with his beady eyes. I felt so bad for Joey; there was nothing I could do, nothing anybody could do, except to be there with him.

I crouched down and pet Joey's side, to make him feel loved as he died. I knew seconds remained.

Joey tried to speak but no words came out. It was hard for him to speak, it just had to be. Finally, he managed a whisper.

"Just tell the others…that I said…it wasn't you…that it was him." That was all that Joey had said before he had closed his eyes.

I couldn't believe it. Joey was dead. How can Joey be dead? How? Why?

So now here I am, standing over a dead duck, clutching a bloody axe in my right hand and the two wolves decide to take their midnight love stroll right past me.

Whitney stared at me in shock. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

I started to talk fast. "It's not what you think! It wasn't me! I left my house because I heard Joey scream and I found him here! It's not what you think!"

"I told that old tortoise Tortimer that we shouldn't allow a human here. And look what happens." Whitney was still staring at me in shock as she spoke.

"I told you! It wasn't m-" But before I could finish, Wolfgang hit me on the side of my head. I fell onto the ground and vaguely remember both of them howling and screaming "The human boy killed the duck!" before blackness took over my body.

I awoke to voices, many voices. Animal voices. My head was throbbing on the right side, probably swollen. Wolfgang must have hit me harder than I thought. But I didn't dare open my eyes. Just listened.

"…wasn't him! He's innocent I tell you! It's not like him!"

"How are you going to tell me otherwise? He was standing over him at 2 in the morning with an axe in his hand! Of course it was him!"

"Will you all shut up? We don't know if it was him or not yet. When he wakes up we'll question him and found out."

"I still think it was him. He's a traitor I tell you! He's one of them! We must get the boy off of the Island before others are killed!"

"No, it's not him. It can't be. He's normal, the others did this."

With my head injured and my body tired, I just needed to sleep.

"We'll ask him after Joey's ceremony."

That was all I heard before sleep swarmed my body.