Claire woke up earlier than usual. It was only 4:30 in the morning. She got up from her bed and washed her face. She was so tired that she couldn't help but drool a little in her sleep. She heated water and boiled some eggs. She turned on her tv, wanting to know what the weather was. Her TV glitched and the channels zoomed past the screen. It suddenly stopped and the screen was fuzzy.
Claire prepared breakfast for herself and ate it as quickly as she could. She then proceeded to prepare Ciel's breakfast. She headed to her bathroom and took a quick bath. She glanced at the clock. 5:25. She set Ciel's food down on the floor and dressed herself for a busy day of work. She went out into her field and tended to the rest of the wild grass.
After working for more than two hours, Claire headed back into house. She needed to rest first. She has only been living here for less than a week and they didn't really do hands-on farming back in the university. She raised her arms chest level and stared at them. This was probably the last time they were going to be that light. She could use sunblock but that didn't mean that she wouldn't get darker.
Claire was wearing a short-sleeved shirt under overalls. Her hair was tied in a ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror. She had sweat stains all over her shirt. Her ponytail was already messy and sweaty. She got a face-towel from her drawer and wiped her face and her nape. She fixed her hair and sat in front of her electric fan. Ciel started jumping on her again, so she picked him up and played with him. She hugged him and allowed him to sit on her lap. She shut her eyes and rested her head on her chair.
Knock. Knock knock. Knock.
Claire opened her eyes and set Ciel down on the floor. She went to her door and opened it. Rick and Popuri were standing outside with a third person. She opened her door wide and ushered them in. She looked at the woman she didn't know. "Hi," Claire shut the door as she spoke. "I'm Claire." The woman looked at her and smiled. "Hi, I'm Karen. I'm his friend," she pointed at Rick.
"I'm sorry for suddenly inviting someone over to your place," Rick fixed his glasses as he spoke. "I was talking to her last night and she offered to help." Karen nudged him on the side of his stomach. "Er...well, I asked her to help." Claire smiled at Rick and shook her head. "It's no problem. The more the merrier, right?"
Popuri and Karen sat on Claire's couch. "Wow!" Popuri exclaimed as she bounced on the couch. "Your couch is so...bouncy!" She giggled as her butt bounced up and down. "Popuri," Rick called out and gave her a look that made her stop bouncing. "No, it's really alright," Claire tilted her head to the side and rested her hands on her hips. "I do it all the time." Rick shook his head and tapped his foot. "Well, this is your house."
Popuri looked away, blushing. "I'm sorry, Claire." Karen looked at her as Claire walked over to Popuri and placed her hands on each of Popuri's shoulders. "It's alright! No need to apologize. Please, don't cry." Popuri faced her and smiled, eyes glistened with tears threatening to fall. Karen glanced at Rick and saw the expression on his face. He looked relieved that this new person didn't seem to get annoyed at his sister. He noticed Karen looking at him and smiled. "Claire," he walked to Claire as he spoke. "Is it alright if we start already?"
Claire nodded and headed to the door. "Let's go," Rick said.
Claire and company walked over to the chicken coop. She opened the door and stepped inside. "Wow, so this is what six years does to a chicken coop," Karen commented. She looked at the bugs crawling all over the place. Claire grabbed one of the pails and filled it with water. Rick got another and did the same. Karen and Popuri followed their actions. Soon enough, they actually started cleaning the place. Cleaning it took over three hours. At some point, Popuri screamed as something began to crawl down her back. Fortunately, it was just a strand of hair that managed to get under her shirt.
When they had all finished, Claire offered them lunch in her house. They accepted her offer and ate cheerfully with her. When they had all finished eating, Popuri offered to wash Claire's plates but Claire rejected. "It's alright, I can do it myself. You've helped a lot already." Rick looked at Karen and whispered something to her. Karen nodded. "Claire," she said, suddenly. "Would you like us to help you clean your barn? And, that thing for your horse?" Claire shook her head. "I've already cleaned most of the barn." Karen grabbed Claire's hand. "It's settled then," she headed for the door. "We help Claire with the barn, and the stable!"
Claire made an awkward smile as she passed by Rick. His response was an equally awkward smile and a shrug. They headed for the barn and started cleaning it as well. Due to Claire's work the previous night, cleaning the barn took less than an hour. They then headed for the stable and cleaned it. The stable wasn't as big as the chicken coop which is why it took them a little more than an hour and a half to finish cleaning it.
As they were about to leave, Claire bowed in front of them and thanked them wholeheartedly. As the trio walked away, Barley and May entered Claire's farm, hand in hand. Barley looked at the farm. "You've done quite a lot to this place already." May looked at her grandfather as he spoke. A man suddenly entered the farm with a sack in his hands. He gently dropped the sack to the ground, a meter away from Barley. "Good afternoon, you must be Claire. I'm Harris. I'm the constable in this town," he raised his hat to her. "And, I'm the mayor's son."
Barley patted Harris on the back. "Thank you for the help, Harris." The man nodded to him. "It was nothing," he winked at May, "anything for the citizens of Mineral Town." Harris carried the sack again. "Where do I leave this?" Barley pointed to the barn. "In the barn, beside the shipping bin on the left." He caught the look on Claire's face. "I've been here a couple of times in the past." Claire nodded. It answered the question forming in her head.
"All you have to do," he began, "is spread that all over the ground, especially in the stalls." May tugged her grandfather's hand. Barley looked at her. "We'll be going now, she has to be in the church already." Claire thanked Barley and waved at them as they left her farm. Suddenly, Rick came walking back in with his own sack.
"I forgot to bring this earlier," he said. "I'll spread it all over the floor of your coop. Chickens enjoy a little dirt every now and then. Gives them something to do when they're not feeding." Claire followed Rick into the coop and watched him spread the contents of the sack all over the floor they had just finished cleaning. "I saw Barley and May exit here," he spoke as he scattered it around, "Harris as well, and I know he had a sack with him." Rick looked at Claire, their eyes locking. "I'm sure it's for something similar. I'll help you with that, too."
Claire threw her hands up and shook her head. "No, it's alright. You've really helped enough." Rick looked back at what he was doing. "Nah, I'll help," he spread the last remnants of the bag onto the ground. "Wait, do you know how to properly do it?" Claire shook her head. "I'll teach you." Rick exited the coop and Claire followed. They entered the barn and Rick opened the sack leaning against the wall. "This one is a bit too heavy to carry," he took a scoop of its contents and showed it to Claire. "So, you get a handful, or use whatever resource you can," he scattered it on the ground, "and do this." Claire copied him and did the same. They finished the entire sack and exited the barn.
"I'll be going now," Rick waved to Claire. "Mom's waiting for me." Claire waved back to him. "Thank you very much, for everything."
"No problem!" Rick shouted back to her as he ran back home. Claire watched him as he left. She headed back to her house and pet Ciel. "Rick is very helpful."