Chapter 9
Summer Time
Life continued eventlessly for the rest of spring. Every day, I'd talk to Joe, Alex, Blue, and at the end of the day I'd stop by Jamie's ranch. Jamie would say the same thing every day, like he was trying to make me understand something he couldn't say out loud. "If you don't protect yourself… you can't protect others around you, or those you love." Then I'd hand him the jam, and he'd smirk and say something sarcastic. Nowadays, I didn't even get mad when he insulted me, I just laughed, and he'd laugh along. Soon enough, it was Summer.
--First Day of Summer—
I woke up to find myself drenched in sweat. "EW!?" I exclaimed, waking up Cooper. Cooper barked anxiously, and I gave him some grapes from the fridge. It was so hot I felt like I was going to blow up if I didn't get some water soon. I glanced at the calendar, and it was the first day of summer! Today was my birthday, but I hadn't told anyone, so I didn't expect any presents. Good, I didn't want people looking after me anymore. I smiled, and looked at the upcoming festivals. In order, the festivals were "3rd of Summer : Beach festival, 7th of Summer : Star Festival, 15th of Summer: Firefly Festival, and 24th of Summer Fireworks festival." They all sounded pretty fun, but especially the star festival caught my eye. It seemed like you had to go with someone… I wondered if anyone would ask me.
--Triple Dare—
I walked around Hank's ranch that day, skipping happily, when I ran into Joe. "Hayyy, Jazz, how are you?" he asked cheerily, and smiled. I yawned and stretched, "Hiii, Joe. How are the fish biting?" "Great! How are you?" "I'm alright. I think Jamie is warming up to me!" I said cheerfully, and looked back at his ranch. Joe's smile faded the slightest bit. Joe looked distressed, but added, "You look cute today." He scratched his head, embarrassed, and I blushed. I hoped he didn't get the wrong impression… My life was too complicated to start dating. "Hey Robin, you up for a dare?" he asked, smirking. "Uh, depends." I said , unsure. "I triple dare you to steal Jamie's hat for… let's say 5 minutes and I'll give you…" he shuffled through his bag, "1,000 g." My smile lit up. "I need 1,000 G more to build a barn! OKAY! This is a big help, Joe, thanks so much!" I said, and hugged him. He smiled, and waved his hand at me. "Go!" he said.
--Ow?--
I ran to Jamie's ranch, and he was petting Calvin. I bit my lip, and ran up to him I'd catch him by surprise! I walked up to him, and poked him on the back. "Hiya, Jamie!" I said, a little more spring in my step than usual. "Hmph... You sound… happy," "Yep, so, how about I sell you this really cool hat?" He stared at me suspiciously. "Cool hat? …Where?" I snatched his hat, and ran, counting in my head. 1…2…3… "H-hey!" he said, as soon as I snatched it, and started sprinting after me. 6… 7… 8… "Gotta run faster!" I said, and sprinted past the 'Blue Sky Ranch'. "Give it back now!!!" he yelled, scaring the animals. 11… 12… 13… "Come on, you have to work for it!" "Jasmine, give it BACK!!" he screamed. I stopped in my tracks, smiling, and he ran right into me, and we smashed into each other, knocking each other onto the ground. "Ow." He said, on the ground, next to me. I looked around and we were in the forest. Hm, I didn't realize we'd gone that far. "Why'd you stop?!" he asked, rubbing his head. "You remembered my name!" I said, proudly. "Hmph… Just give me my hat back, now." I smiled. "And what if I say no?" He smirked, and snatched his hat back. Twenty seconds short. "Damn!" I said. He looked at me curiously, "You're very odd, you know." I shrugged. "Oh well, I gotta go…" I smiled, got up, and waved. "Bye, you annoying little girl," he said jokingly. But as I smiled back to him he was looking up at the sky. He looked like he was trying to figure something out.