NEW LEAF
PART 2: THE NEW MAYOR
The train pulls up to the station. I notice a flag resting next to a clock, the image of a tree painted onto it. The next thing I notice is a monkey seated in a small booth. He looks almost too similar to the conductor. I stand in front of the double doors, my palms sweaty with anxiety. This is it, the start of my new life.
The double doors open after the train comes to a halt. I get out and the booth monkey speaks up loudly, "This stop for Quietown! Everyone for Quietown, exit here!" He ends with an "eek eek," as if to ensure I know he is a monkey. I walk toward the station exit, feeling like my chest is about to burst.
When I emerge into the town, the first thing that hits me is the amazingly pure air. Just that told me that this may be the place I've been longing for. The next thing that hits me is that it looks like all the villagers are gathered around the station, looking straight at me. The fact that they look so eager shows that maybe they don't get many visitors.
The first villager speaks up in almost a whisper,
ROSIE: Look! I think he finally arrived!
The villager looks like a female cat with cerulean fur. Her eyes are huge, just like the cat on the train, and she seems to carry an almost peppy personality. She wears a shirt segmented in pink, purple, magenta, and biege diamonds. The second villager, who is a lot shorter and appears to be a squirrel with her long, curved tail, is the next who speaks.
PECAN: I bet that's the guy!
Why are they all speaking so quietly? The squirrel has somewhat large eyes as well with a hint of eyeshadow, plum-colored. She is wearing a red checkered shirt. I could almost say appears snooty. The next villager after the squirrel speaks up.
ROSCOE: All right. We should say 'hi' or something.
That would probably be a good thing considering your hushed conversation is making me feel a little uneasy. The villager is a rather tall, black-furred horse with striking red eyes. His shirt is in the design of a black-white checkerboard. His look leads me to believe he's a little on the cranky side.
The last villager looks a lot more primped than everyone else and has apparel that resembles a more 'official' business look. She has the appearance of a dog with yellow fur, her hair tied up to a bun by a red strip with jingling bells attached to it. Her clothes consist of a green checkered vest with a white top and a neatly-tied red ribbon below her collar. She also wears a navy-blue skirt. Something about her makes her stand out amongst all the other villagers, which surprised me considering there's a plethora of strangely-colored bipedal animals in front of me. She speaks up exuberantly, showing her cheery personality.
ISABELLE: Ok, everyone! Here we go…ready? And…From those of us in Quietown…
Everyone shouts out a hefty "WELCOME!" in unison. I rear back, amazed at the whole situation and how welcoming the townspeople are. The yellow dog walks up to me, a very jovial look on her face.
ISABELLE: Mayor! We're so happy you're finally here!
Mayor? My heart feels like it just got dipped in an ice bath. I'm not a mayor, nor do I remember agreeing to take up such a responsibility. I ask her who this "mayor" is. The excitement from the dog's face disappears almost instantly. She looks downward, appearing almost as confused as me. She then laughs heartily.
ISABELLE: Oh, come on! Quit joking around. You know exactly who you are! You told us which train you'd be arriving on!
It's clear whoever the mayor of this town was supposed to be somehow got SWAPPED with me. I tell her it wasn't me.
ISABELLE: Oh no! You can't fool me! Things are just as you said they'd be! All is well. There's no mistake!
I start to almost feel sorry for her. She looks skittish, like her whole plan was crumbling down over her. Surely being a mayor in such a small town wouldn't really be that hard?
ISABELLE: Tee hee! You're a real jokester! Well, let's continue this discussion at the town hall, shall we? Here's a map of Quietown for your reference, Mayor Mark.
Oh my God. Mark is a name I pulled from my head! Is it pure coincidence that I guessed my actual name? But then how do they know my name anyway? Okay, forget it. Just forget all that. This is a dream.
ISABELLE: That flashing spot there is the town hall, so let's head that way together, shall we?
Oh right, so the purple house is definitely the town hall. That having been done with, I go to the town hall with the yellow dog while the townspeople disperse.
The inside of the hall is quite nice and fancy-looking, which is what I would expect from any town hall. The dog mentions this is my base of operations and that she is on staff here. She introduces herself.
ISABELLE: I'm Isabelle, your secretary, and I'm here to help you in any way I can. But if I may be frank, I was surprised to see someone as young as you step off the train.
Her mentioning of my young look makes me wonder why she remained insistent that I was to be the mayor. She talks about how their former mayor held his position for many years and then mentions someone as young as me being a 'breath of fresh air' and exactly the new image their town needs. It seems like she threw a curve ball there in order to set my youngness aside. Isabelle is really trying hard to help her plan remain smooth-sailing.
Isabelle goes on and says I need to get started on work as the mayor right away. I wouldn't expect any less. I wonder how they even operated without one. How long were they without a mayor anyhow? The yellow dog then states the first thing I have to do is become a resident of the town. That seems pretty simple and straightforward.
She suddenly goes hysterical, cursing herself.
ISABELLE: I can't believe I completely forgot something so vitally important! In order to register you as a town resident, we need your address for the form!
It's strange that not even I have really thought about this, but with all the crazy stuff that went on in such a short amount of time, I can't blame myself for letting my mind wander.
Isabelle suggests that I can build a temporary home, probably a tent. She offers to help me find a place to live before I can proceed and directs me to Tom Nook of 'Nook's Homes,' a real-estate office. The office is located in the Main Street, which she points out is above the railroad tracks on the map. She turns out to be very apologetic for bringing me here for nothing, but I didn't take offense to it. If things turned out TOO organized, I might've just gone crazy right there and then.