Not a Goddess; Just a Girl
Chapter Three: Sheep
Authors note: Hi again! Honestly, I didn't want the 2nd chapter to turn out that way. My actually plan was to let Jill catch a serious illness, and for Jamie to be forced to take care of her in his home. But that would sound so unlike him, so I just made it simpler, and besides… It enabled me to insert a rival for Jill's affection!
Response to reviewers:
SangoxMiroku Ninjaness- Great minds do think alike! And thank you for doing so, I appreciate it!
Suri-Gasu- Hehe.. I had no idea why I missed that during checking time. Thanks for pointing that out! I promise to make this chapter a good one. Hopefully, better than the first two!
Chicken Yuki- I am so glad you read my fic. Yes, I will read your fic right away! I hope you keep reading AND writing for all of the JamieJill fans out there. You rock!
..Sorry if I didn't reply to your comment. It's just that I have nothing to say, although every review I receive is always appreciated. Thank you guys!
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"This color wouldn't look good on me" Lyla complained, as she rummaged through the available stock of yarn the junk shop had on display.
Ann shook her head in annoyance. Honestly, she disliked girls who cared too much about a certain thing, especially if it concerns appearances.
"For goddess' sake… Just pick one already, Lyla! We have other customers interested in the yarn too you know!" Ann observed the line of girls through the shop's counter and smirked.
"Gee dad, business sure is booming!" Michael nodded at her, seemingly pleased as well.
"Who knew the festival would have such a big impact on today's sales? It's a good thing you ordered early… By the way, aren't you going to reserve yourself a bundle? Won't you be joining?"
"Of course not! I can't waste any time sewing this and wearing that. It's actually a pretty stupid festival if you ask me"
Eve stepped out of the crowd holding a maroon-colored bundle of cotton, and a roll of white satin ribbons. She looked at Ann and then turned her head slightly.
"It seems to me that you're just afraid of losing, dear Ann. Not that it's a bad idea or anything… It's actually pretty wise. You wouldn't want to be caught stressing over something I would win hands down"
"Why you little…" Ann clenched her teeth in anger, and formed a fist with her hand, ready to punch the arrogant, blond vixen.
Eve haughtily giggled once more, and paid for the materials she bought.
"It looks to me like you're finally interested in joining. Hmm… I wish you luck. You'll need a TON of it, hehehe"
Michael held Ann's shoulders as he tried to calm her down… Until he had to return to the cash register, and eventually let Ann go.
"You just wait you little flirt! I'll win that contest if it's the last thing I'll do!"
As Ann screamed at Eve, the other girls who were there watched both feud and were filled with excitement shortly after the screaming fiasco ended.
"This is getting pretty interesting" Katie suggested, holding on to her black and pink bundles of yarn and cloth.
"Indeed. But still, I'm sure all of our dresses would turn out beautiful… The mayor would really have a hard time in choosing, the poor dear." Lyla said, placing her light yellow and orange folds of silk on the counter.
Nina smiled gleefully; making sure the lace she got earlier matched the pink cotton fabric. And while doing so, replied…
"I simply can't wait to see the results of all the hard work we'll be doing! You're such a genius for suggesting this festival Lyla!"
Lyla nodded and waved goodbye, peering slowly at the long line of anxious girls waiting to pay for their fabrics.
"Besides Jill, it looks like every girl in town's buying yarn and fabric from the Junk shop!" Gwen stated, rather pleased about the denim and black fabric she firmly held in her arms.
"I hear she's making her own… First she shears her farm's sheep, makes yarn out of it, and then she asks Martha to make fabric." Ellen replied, while checking the receipt for her tan and green mixed bundles of yarn and cotton.
Gina fixed her eye glasses as she clutched her sky-blue, pleaded cloth rolls.
"B-but… Won't that take too long?"
"Gina, I want that one" Dia commanded, pointing at a checkered, yellow, silk roll, while holding a bag of dark green buttons.
"Y-yes Ms.Dia! Don't strain yourself too much; I'll carry it for you!"
"I'm sure Jill's dress would turn out beautifully. She did, after all, make her own materials" Maria tranquilly concluded, straightening the folds in her gray fabric. She was also holding a packet of gold buttons, and a bundle of dark blue yarn.
Little did the girls know, Jill was too busy to even shear her sheep.
Exhausted, Jill panted repeatedly as she handed Bob the list of shipped items.
"That -pant- is all -pant- Bob" Jill confirmed, and stretched her arms wide.
"Thanks Jill, great work today. By the way, don't you think you're tiring yourself too much? You should be sewing for the festival like all the other girls in the village…"
"I promised myself I'd join… It's just; I don't have any spare time"
"Well, would you like me to help? At least until you'll get something done."
"That's very nice of you Bob, but you should be helping out Gwen rather than me. I'll be fine"
"Well, if you say so. I'll always be around though if you need any. See you tomorrow"
"Bye Bob, be careful on the way home!"
As soon as Bob left her sight, she went into her house and got out the clippers from her tool box.
"I might not have enough money for ready-made fabric, but at least I have a flock of sheep ready for at least 3 bundles of wool!"
She left her home and ran towards her ranch, dragging a worn-out rucksack behind her.
"Ouch!" A seemingly young man cried. With Jill, not too far away, running to the rescue!
"Who's there? What's wrong?"
It was Basil, holding his bleeding ankle, shrugging in pain.
"A bunch of squirrels bit my leg!"
"Squirrels? …-sigh- Grab my arm Basil, I'll get you to the clinic" Jill reached for his arms slowly, and then gently pulled him up to her side.
They both went to the clinic, but it took them a while since Basil was limping the whole trip.
"Don't worry, you don't have rabies. You're good to go"
"Whew, thanks a lot Doctor… And Jill, I'm sorry for making you bring me all the way here. Is there anything I can do for you in return?"
Jill checked her watch to find that It was already passed 7 p.m.
"Oh it's fine Basil, no need to repay me. I just REALLY need to go! Bye Doc! Bye Basil!"
"Be careful Jill, its getting dark" Alex advised, opening the door for her.
Jill left and sprinted twice as fast, while greeting people along the way.
And as she ran through the roads, she noticed Meryl crying.
"Was that Meryl? She probably got lost again… What should I do? The sheep would be sleeping by the time I get there if I helped her out… But Meryl…"
Jill sighed and decided to help Meryl out. She asked her what was wrong and as expected, she got lost again. Jill smiled and held her hand, while navigating her way through the village towards Meryl's house.
"Thank you big sister… Is there anything I can do for you? You were hurrying a while a go… I'm sorry if you missed anything important because of me…"
"No… It's nothing… I'm just glad you're safe again Meryl. Don't wander off alone again ok?"
"I promise! Take care big sister!"
Jill waved, and as soon as she lost sight of Meryl, she sat beside the river and messed with her hair vigorously.
"No more delays… Must get to the sheep… I don't care if they're sleeping!" She sat up and nodded, promising herself to never stop until she got to the ranch.
She then, began her sprint, this time 4 times faster than the sprint before.
"I'll get there by 9:30… I'll get there by 9:30…" She kept on repeating, energizing her legs each time.
But as she ran to the ranch, she ran passed a swarm of bees, which triggered their follow-the-kill instincts.
"Oh… No…" She said, as she stopped and looked behind her, only to find a hundred bees forming a skull shape to emphasize that her swollen-red, death… is fast approaching.
"Go away! I didn't mean it! I only wanted to shear my sheep! Noooo!" She screamed, as she ran 10 times faster than the sprint before. Her trail left a white cloud of dust, but she was so fast that her form was hardly even visible.
Although luckily for Jill, Jamie had sharp eyesight, and detected her little sprint from a mile away.
…Or maybe it was just the loud, frantic screaming.
"…What the"
He dodged himself out of the way, but his leg stayed somewhere along the road, as he jumped too fast for him to correctly position his body
Jill tripped on his leg, and then plunged straight into the river beside the path.
The bees then, stopped their mad-cow chase, seeing as their target got upsettingly wet.
Jill was left, shaking in exhaustion; drenched in cold, river water.
Jamie stood up and dusted his poncho, as he looked around for what remained of Jill.
As he went closer to the river, following Jill's dust clouds, he spotted her… Drenched, with a few weeds stuck in her hair, crying.
"This day's HORRIBLE! I can't stand it anymore!" She screamed, draining the very last of her energy to stand up.
Jamie's aqua-blue eyes widened and his heart sank, while looking at the girl whom meant secretly a lot to him.
"What exactly happened here?" He asked, hurrying to the crash site to help.
"All I wanted was to shear my sheep… But then Basil was bitten by a bunch of squirrels, then Meryl lost her way again, then I ran through a bunch of bees… And LOOK what happened! I'm soaking wet and my clippers probably floated away… What did I do to deserve this!?"
Jamie simply looked at her, too shocked to even utter a single word.
All he could do was help her up and offer her his poncho for warmth.
"You must be freezing… Here, you can wear this"
Jill was sniffling softly; she probably caught a cold by now.
"Th-thanks… I a-appreciate it. -sniff-"
Jill took the poncho and then wrapped it around her cold, wet body. She looked at Jamie afterwards and then smiled.
"Why are you being so nice to me? I expected a harsh insult a while ago, you know"
Jamie looked at her and then pouted, blushing as he did.
"I thought you were an optimist. I guess I was wrong"
Jill tightened the poncho around her then got her rucksack, blushing a light shade of pink.
"Nevertheless, thank you Jamie. Your poncho's pretty warm"
"You're not going to keep that! I just… Pity you, is all"
Jill nodded, and then went up the path together with Jamie. She squeezed her pigtails dry, followed by her shirt and handkerchief.
"You said you wanted to shear your sheep?"
"Yeah…"
"Don't you think it's too late for that? You'd be disturbing their slumber"
"Only for today! Besides, I really need to have some yarn… it takes a while for the yarn to be made into fabric"
Jamie shook his head, and then looked at her in a serious face.
"Just because you need it that urgently, doesn't mean you have to disturb your animals. You're being insensitive!"
Jill was taken aback by his statement, and then looked down. She understood how he felt, but in reality, she really just wanted to make yarn. It's not like they NEED the energy for the next day, unlike her.
"Thanks for the advice Jamie… I'll be more sensitive to my animals… It's just that… I hardly have time to do anything right… and I heard the junk shop sold their last bundle…"
Jamie shook his head once more, and then calmed himself down.
"If you really want yarn so badly… I have a few bundles back at my house…"
Jill's eyes widened and she immediately jumped in front of Jamie in excitement.
"…REALLY? It would mean so much to me! How much for each?"
"…N-no need for payment… If you promise to be good to your livestock, I'll give it free of charge"
"But… That's…"
"Take it or leave it"
Jill had a worried expression on her face, and then looked at him with glee.
"Alright… but I will repay you someday!"
"…Whatever"
Jill smiled, happy about Jamie's sudden act of kindness. She then, leaned beside his shoulder, and closed her eyes.
"I guess it was all worth it" She confirmed to herself, as they slowly walked together towards her house.
The whole time, Jamie was too stiff to even walk properly. He occasionally shrugged his shoulder to gesture her off, but it didn't work.
In the end, he sighed and waved goodbye, watching her go inside her home with his poncho still around her.
"What the heck was that?" He said, scratching his head in confusion.
Jamie thought how odd it was that she stayed so close to him. But honestly, he liked the attraction, savored it actually.
Jamie walked towards his house, poncho-less, Kurt heatedly watching from afar.
"You liar…" He murmured.
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Closing Remarks:
Well I hope you liked that chapter! And you guys MUST have an idea of what each girl would be wearing for the festival right? I gave hints! If you're interested, check my deviant art website (in my profile) maybe a week from now and you'll see some sketches of their dresses. Jill's dress will be sketched only after I write the last chapter.
You didn't expect Jill to hurdle into a swarm of bees and then plunge into a river, right? HAHAHA… Yeah, I get pretty random sometimes. I hope you guys look forward to the next chapter!