Claire yawned groggily, listening to the twittery little birds outside the window. The only window, she realized, and it looked out onto the miserable, sad excuse for a doghouse. She wouldn't have made the meanest dog in the world sleep in that thing. Little rays of sunshine managed to pierce their way through the greasy panes, illuminating the hardwood flooring of her new home.
It was pretty homely, that was for sure.
Feeling very sorry for herself, she wriggled out of the ragged blanket and sheets. Claire'd always had ridiculously bad morning hair, so she figured if she wanted to make a decent impression on her new neighbours, she had to clean up a bit first. Looking around, she realized something that made her heart sink even further into the pits of oblivion.
"Oh, no way," groaned Claire. "No... no bathroom?" How would she shower? Would she have to do her business in the woods? She hardly had the money to start renovating, and even installing a toilet would drain her revenues completely. That brought her mind to an even more unpleasant thought. She'd been so desperate to get out of her apartment that she hadn't considered how she was even going to make a living. It seemed obvious, now that she thought about it, but she wasn't exactly enjoying the prospect. How did the saying go? Something about working like a farmer in the heat...
Claire collapsed on the bed again, staring up at the ceiling and wallowing in her own self-pity. When several minutes had gone by, she reluctantly got up again and opened up the small bag containing some of her belongings from the city. She pulled out her overalls and a plaid, cuffed shirt. It wasn't eye candy, but she guessed she might as well look the part. Next came a brush, which she impatiently yanked through her hair, and a small wallet with enough cash for a few days' worth of food. After that was a wooden hand mirror. She raised it to examine her face. Claire decided she looked tired and cranky and rather out of sorts. She put the mirror down.
When she was dressed, she turned her head towards the TV. She doubted the reception would be much good out in the sticks, but nevertheless she grabbed a cushion from beside the table and dragged it over. Claire flipped the TV's switch to the "on" position, and after fiddling with the rabbit ears a bit, was greeted by the chipper voice of a weather reporter. "Tomorrow we have heavy rain," she cooed annoyingly, "tapering off into light showers in the afternoon!" Claire hastily changed the channel. She went through lots of fuzzy static before landing on what appeared to be a news show. A man read out the seasonal festivals that would occur in Mineral Town—a horse race on the 18th, then a cooking festival on the 22nd. Claire was beginning to realize that the channels here were very Mineral Town-centric. She pressed the 'next' button a few more times.
Next was a show dedicated to farmers (like her, she supposed). It was rather patronizing, with puppets and lots of bright pink hair. The last channel seemed to be a variety thing, and today there was a post-New Year's special about pounding mochi. She'd forgotten it was New Year's recently. No one to celebrate it with.
Her suspicions of poor reception confirmed, Claire got up, stretching, and made her way to the door. She pulled it open and something on the doormat suddenly caught her eye. She stared at the panting, tail-wagging lump of fur as it stared back at her, blinking.
"Oh," exclaimed Claire. "I hadn't realized this place came with a dog." There was the doghouse as evidence, of course, but it wasn't exactly new-looking. She knelt down and scratched it behind its floppy ears, and it licked her hand in response. "Let's call you Toby," she decided. When she was much younger, she'd had a pet turtle named Toby—at least, until her older sister had set him loose in the local pond. She smiled at the puppy, who had caught sight or smell of a grasshopper and was now darting off after it, barking madly. Maybe this farm thing wouldn't be so bad, decided Claire. Not if she had a friend.
A/N:
It's a step up from her cockroach, that's for sure. Although who knows how she'll feed the thing if she barely has the money to feed herself.
What will Claire's first venture into the town be like? Will she be welcomed or laughed at? Her luck hasn't been great so far, but maybe the locals won't be too bad! Find out in Chapter 4!