Disclaimer:

Well, here's another one. Not much to say, except that I own no one in this story and I hope you all like it!

Chapter 4

Carmen buried her face deeper into her pillow and groaned loudly, the sound coming out as a muffle. She turned over on her back frustrated and stared angrily at the ceiling. The rings around her eyes seemed to darken every second. She groaned again and turned on her side. The window caught her eye, as she turned on her stomach. A faint smile appeared on her face as she stared outside. It was gorgeous outside. The rain had stopped and the sun shone so brightly, you wouldn't have known there was ever a storm. She groaned one more time before sliding out of the bed. She changed into a rugby shirt and went downstairs. Once she got down the stairs she quickly opened the door. She breathed in deeply and practically ran out of the house.

"I guess this is a good way to start the day." She said aloud with a yawn. "But, this doesn't solve my problem…"

She stopped in front of Hugh's house and tapped lightly on the door. There wasn't an answer. She banged harder on the door and waited. She heard the sound of footsteps lag slowly to the door. The door swung open and Hugh stood in the door, exhaustion shone all over his face. He looked sleepily at her.

"Hey Hugh." She greeted, smiling. "Did I wake you?"

He shook his head lazily and sighed. "Just woke up….." he yawned. "What brings you here?"

She shuffled her feet a bit and looked at the ground. "I was kind of hoping I could ask for advice…." He looked a little surprised and pointed a hoof at himself.

"Me? You want to ask me for advice?" he asked, a slight chuckle in his voice.

"Yeah….if it's not too much to ask…" she looked up at him hopefully. He smiled and moved to the side, out of the doorway.

"Come inside." He gestured to the door. She nodded happily and went inside.

When she went inside, she felt herself step in something sticky. She looked down and saw to her horror that she had stepped in a half eaten piece of pizza. She grimaced and looked back up. The floor was engulfed in a pile of clothes and pizza boxes. The fossil placed in the back was draped with shirts. Carmen looked around the house in awe.

"I'm really sorry for the mess." He rubbed his head, embarrassed.

"I-It's okay." She stammered, smiling weakly. He grinned and walked up to her.

"So, what was it you wanted help with?"

"Well….you know I'm not working for Tom Nook anymore right?" she looked down shyly.

He nodded. "Congratulations."

"Yeah, thanks….." she nodded. "But, there is also a down side to that…."

"Hm? What's that?" he blinked, leaning curiously.

"Well…..the money that I earned from working with him…" she began, fiddling with her fingers. "He put into paying off my house….so I'm out of money at the moment."

"Ouch, that is pretty bad." He rubbed his chin, staring up at the ceiling. "Hmm…."

Carmen watched patiently as Hugh sat on the bed thinking. He scratched his head and played with a stray string on the blanket. He gasped every once in awhile, his face brightened. But, he would grunt and quickly throw the idea in the depths of his mind. A small sigh came from Carmen and she tapped her foot lightly. Then, suddenly Hugh clapped his hoofs together and he grinned at Carmen.

"I have an idea." He smiled victoriously.

"What? What is it?" she asked urgently. He closed his eyes and pride spread over his face.

He smirked and turned to her. "You can do some jobs throughout the town."

"Oh……." Her face fell, sweat dropping. He hopped from the bed and walked up to her.

"It's perfect! The animals in this town become very generous when you help em' out."

Carmen pondered this for a moment.

"Go ahead and try it out!" he said eagerly, pushing Carmen to the door. "I guarantee it will solve your money problem."

"Well…if you say so…" she looked at him warily, gripping the doorknob. "Wish me luck.."

Hugh grinned wildly and waved as she left out of the house. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her dress and started to walk. Her eyes drifted up to the sky as she walked and she slowed her pace a little.

"I hope he's right about this…" she sighed staring sadly down at the ground . "Well…I don't have anything to lose." She tugged at the insides of her empty pockets and shook her head.

She walked in front of Marina's house and knocked lightly on the door. The door swung open suddenly and Marina appeared in the doorway with a frantic look on her face. Carmen hopped back a little, startled by her sudden appearance.

"Oh! It's you Carmen." Marina sighed softy, composing her face the best she could. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I just wanted to ask you something…" she trailed off. "Are you okay?"

Marina rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Oh yes I'm fine…I woke up a little late you see and I have a lot to do today."

"Do…do you need any help?" Carmen asked hesitantly, staring at Marina's haggard appearance.

"Oh, that would be great!" she clasped her tentacles together. "Wait here a moment." She disappeared back into the house.

Carmen waited silently for her to get back, fidgeting her fingers nervously. After a few seconds passed by, Marina came rushing back with a box in her hands. The box was wrapped in white gift wrapping paper and a huge red ribbon wrapped around.

"Could you please give this to Queenie for me, try to get it to her in about thirty minutes okay?" she held out the box.

"Um…sure leave it to me." Carmen smiled weakly as she took the box. Relief swept over Marina's face and she giggled happily.

"I know I don't have to tell you this, but please don't open that package." She pointed a tentacle at the box. "Thank you so much Carmen!"

"No problem Marina." She smiled and turned to walk away. "I'll be back!" Carmen tucked the box under her arm and started to run.

Carmen stopped running after a few minutes and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. She noticed a small boulder nearby and let out a sigh of relief, already making her way over to it.

"Phew…" she flopped down on the rock. "I guess I could've settled with walking." She placed the package beside her and stared up into the sky. "A small break won't hurt…"

"Wait…." She frowned a bit and stood up. "I'll probably end up falling asleep again…" she sighed and picked up the box. "I'll rest later…" she sighed and started to run again.

After a few more minutes of running, Carmen finally made it in front of Queenie's house. She put her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She shook her head a little and tiredly walked up to her door. She knocked on the door lightly and sighed sleepily. The door opened after a few more knocks.

"Yes?" Queenie poked her head out the door and looked at Carmen. Her eyes widened a bit. "Oh dear…you look a little more ragged than usual Carmen."

"I'm…sorry…" Carmen panted irritably and pulled the box from under her arm. "Here…this is…from Marina…" Queenie looked curiously down at the box and took it from her hesitantly.

"Hm…well at least you managed to keep the gift in one piece." She put a wing over her beak and laughed heartily. She pulled the bow from the box and opened it.

"Oh…a cloudy shirt…how nice." She pulled the cloud printed shirt out of the box with a blank expression. "Well…give my thanks to Marina…but also tell her that she needs to improve her taste a tad."

….right…I'll get right on it." Carmen glared at the ground. "Good to see you again…" she started away from the house.

"You too darling, please try to fix yourself up better next time though!" Queenie called after her. "It's not very attractive!"

Carmen put a hand up as she walked away and started over a bridge.

"What a conceited…" she shook away the thought and stared down at her reflection in the water. "Oh well…" she began jogging towards Marina's house.

When she finally reached Marina house, she leaned back against the door and dropped her head. She managed to turn herself to face the door and placed her forehead against it. Suddenly, the door flew open and Carmen stumbled into the house, hitting her head violently on the floor.

"Oh!" Marina gasped and kneeled down beside. "Are you okay?!"

Carmen lay there motionlessly. "Yes…I'm fine…" she mumbled, pushing herself. "I gave Queenie the package…"

Marina clapped her tentacles together. "Thank you Carmen!" she helped her up. "How'd she like it?"

"She thought it was lovely…" she lied. "I'm glad I could help." Carmen sighed and walked out the door.

"Wait! I have to give you something to say thank you." Marina dug into her pockets and handed her five hundred bells. "Here!"

Carmen blinked down at the money, and then looked back at Marina. "Th-Thank you Marina." Her eyes shimmered happily.

"Oh, this is nothing." She rubbed the back of her head. "I wish I could give you more."

"No, this is good." Carmen shook her head smiling. "Thanks again." She grinned and ran back towards her house.

"See you later!" Marina waved before walking back into her own house.

Carmen giggled happily as she ran, staring up into the now night sky. She looked down at the bells and squeezed them in her hands. She smiled cheerfully to herself and ran in her house, her heart filled with hope.

Aurthoress's Note

Ahahahaaaaa...well, this took a lot longer than I wanted it to..mostly because of my laziness. Curse you laziness...anyway, I hope this chapter was to your liking, but I still need to work on the too much dialogue thing. I'll try to do better next time...maybe..depends on my mood lol.