So… Begins Chapter 3...
-x-
The other day, Natalie asked me how I learned how to use my tools so quickly. I told her I was a quick learner, but that wasn't all of it.
"So Chelsea, how did it go using the tools?" The little Harvest Sprite known as Noe asked me as I was sitting on the grass that afternoon.
"I couldn't even pick up them up. Way to heavy for these poor aching bones." I raised my arms to find them fall again to my sides.
I would've told them during dinner, but I don't think they would have believed me…
-x-
Chelsea's POV
I adjusted quickly to my new life and was glad that I was a quick learner and adjusted to things easily. The only thing that does disturb me now is the racking on the door that Taro does with his rod sometimes and how I have to bathe in the river where I would normally refill my watering can, which was on the west side of my ranch. I'd have to wake really early to bathe.
It's already been a week and a few days since then. Natalie and Elliot don't come by as much as they did for the first few days since I don't really need the help as much, but Natalie comes by to chat with me. Taro's been giving me a few ideas about going around and shipping some grass and herbs we can find throughout the island and other things, Felicia finally got a boat to come by and now she's looking for some other certain people that she said could help out the ranch really well.
As for me, I've been doing my own thing. I was able to buy more seeds from Chen since he put them up for sale, but he gives me a discount now since I don't have much money in my pockets. I told him he didn't have to do that, but he bribed me saying that it was for the sake of the money. And Gannon, well, he doesn't give discounts, but he told me I look pretty handsome which made me laugh.
I picked up my watering can and checked to see if there was any water left. The water splashed around in the can loudly which told me there wasn't much. Leaving the house, I began to jog down toward the river. I looked across the field to see there was still so much that was still littered with weeds and branches and stones. I didn't know how long it would take to take care of that.
As I trotted up to the edge of the water, something caught the sight of my eye which made my insides twist and flip. There dangled my bra that Natalie lent me, dangling by a weak looking branch that poked out from the water. I immediately dropped my watering can and backpack and crashed into the water hysterically as if it was the end of the world. The water wasn't very high so it probably looked like I was prancing in the water and enjoying the valuable free time, but I knew there was some certain person on the island who wouldn't like that…
And lo and behold, he just had to appear at the precise moment.
"Braden!" Taro's voice bellowed. I instantly froze, the bra raised up to my face as I freaked. I turned to find my backpack sitting nearby the edge of the water which was quite for away from me. And I realized that going for it and stuffing the valuable into my backpack would not work since the old man was seen within the premises.
He looked down at me in the water as he trotted up to the side where my watering can and backpack were. "What are you doing there?"
I clenched on the bra which I hid behind my back. "Uhh… you know…" I looked around trying to find some excuse and found that a fish was nibbling on the strap of the bra behind me. "Uh, I was .. FISHING! Yeah.. Fishing…" I smiled sheepishly hoping he would fall for the terrible lie.
"I see… I'm quite surprised since I came by here today to give you a fishing pole."
"A fishing pole?" I repeated. Wow, what a coincidence.. Heh.
He pulled out the fishing pole from behind him and said, "Aye, indeed. I thought it would be of some good use to you and here I find you fishing with your bare hands. Good, very good."
I jerked the bra strap from the nibbling fish and seized the little critter into my hands. "Oh, hey. Look at that, I caught one."
I saw him look at me with amusement. "You must be skilled with fish. Come and get your new fishing pole."
"What?"
"Wade over here and get yer' fishing pole, lad. Do you expect me to go into the water?" He asked incredulously.
"Well, no…" I knew that the bra was still in my other hand and I couldn't stuff it in my shirt since it was tucked in. Gosh..
I slowly waded through the water, finding my steps and making sure I wouldn't fall. As I neared the edge, I suggested, "How about I just give you this fish. I'm sure Felicia could cook up something with this."
"Very well." He agreed with my thought.
I gave him the fish and received the pole in return, but boy did it feel like forever. I never thought a man could be any slower.
"Now, I shall leave, but you better hurry and finish watering your crops. They will need the water."
"Oh, yeah. I know…" I smiled.
He nodded and began to leave.
"Oh, and thank you for the fishing pole! I will surely use it!" I said.
I was pretty sure he heard me since he raised his wooden rod in the air in response of my gratitude. I looked at both of my hands, a fishing pole in one, my bra in the other…
How in the world could I forget my bra? I sighed, praying that it wouldn't happen again. It could remove ten years of my beloved life…
I stuffed my bra into my backpack and was surprised to find that I could put my fishing pole in there too. Wonderful! I have a Mary Poppins backpack, able to stuff so many things. I laughed and joked, reminiscing about the old movie as I refilled my watering can.
All there was for me to do at the moment was… water the plants and tend to the field with the weeds and junk. Then I could go foraging and talk with the other townspeople. There really wasn't much to do…
I tried my best to make my … chores last for once.. But each seemed to have ended quickly. Now I was playing with Charlie at the beach.
"Big brother?" The boy began.
"Yes?" Answering quite happily since Charlie began to give the feel of a younger brother to me, except for the fact that he called me big brother.
"What is all that green stuff on that big rock?" He asked pointing to a huge rocked that sat at the far end of the beach. "It looks gross.."
"I don't know." I walked over there and saw that it was seaweed that covered the rock. I began picking some, but realized I had nothing to put it in.
"Ew.. Seaweed." I heard Charlie say from the other side of the rock.
"Um, Charlie. Do you have some sort of uhh.. Container?" I asked holding a bunch of seaweed in my hands.
"I have a bottle… will that work?" He asked.
"Yeah.." I took the bottle from his hands and pushed down the slippery seaweed into the hold. I nearly cried as I noticed that I dropped some.
"What are you going to do with it?" He asked curiously, eyeing at the green bottle as we began to leave the beach.
"Probably going to ship it. I can make money out of it!" I laughed proudly to myself with the thought of money, but slowly ended to a stop as my mind slowly began to think again
Money was basically everything, wasn't it? I worked so hard in the city, having a day job and doing other things during the night. I basically didn't have a life of my own, only having the interest of money in mind. But though it was something, it was also the something that broke my mom and dad apart…huh..
"Braden?" I heard a soft tone snap me out of my thoughts and turned to see Chen standing outside his door. "Is there something wrong?"
I waved my free hand toward him. "No, everything is fine."
He didn't seemed content with my answer and I knew those fatherly instincts clicked on. I soon noticed that there were tons of crates outside his house.
"What are those for?" I pointed to them, seeing that Charlie had noticed before me as he was examining them closely.
"Ah, yes. Felicia told me it was the shipment I had ordered some earlier. " Chen answered. "Would you mind helping me put them into my shop? "
I nodded and found myself get to work quickly. I could tell you that there was actually something I learned about myself while being here. I was unusually stronger and faster than I expected. I guess all those various jobs in the city got me this way.
After a while, I heard Chen say, "My, Braden, you work so seriously."
I placed a box down on the ground and wiped off some sweat that accumulated on my forehead. Taking off my hat, I felt the air cool my head as I responded. "When I was in the city, I was a workaholic, having so many jobs.."
"Like?"
I began numbering my jobs. "Milk delivering, working at a shop, teaching and tutoring, stocking in the supermarket, baby sitter, and doing any other job I could find. But mostly in the city, I did delivery service and service work."
"Phew, thank goodness you're a decent child.." Chen wandered away
"What?" I asked in confusion. Probably he meant that I was decent for being such a hard worker or something… Or am I wrong?
…. But I really did a lot for money, but it didn't do much to keep my family together..
I shook it off, knowing if I kept thinking about it I'd probably end up bawling or something, but it's been years since I cried over it so I doubt I could let it happen again.
The Next Morning…
"My name is Mirabelle and this is my daughter, Julia." The plump woman said, showing a hand to a young lady next to her.
I looked at both as I introduced myself carefully, examining who they are and what they were here for.
The plump woman seemed nice and she had eyes that were as blue like glass. And her hair was short and she wore a blue dress that had a red shirt under it. Her daughter had the same hair color and eyes, like a much younger or should I say my age version of her mother. She wore a blue tied shirt, a white one under that with matching boots and a dark blue skirt with a black belt.
Julia smiled at me. "It's very nice to meet you." I would've panicked right now if I hadn't convinced myself that she blushed slightly.
"Ah, it's very nice to meet the both of you as well. And you say that you are opening an animal shop?" I said moving along.
"Yes, we hope to be of good service to your ranch. Also come visit us sometime, too. I'm sure my daughter would love the company." Mirabelle smiled.
"Mom! You shouldn't say that!" She whispered.
"Well, you must admit that this boy doesn't look that bad, Julia. I mean look at that face!" Her mother continued.
I sweat dropped, keeping a laugh to myself. How much I would love to tell them I'm a girl…
"Ah, Braden, I think we should go now and stop bothering you." Julia insisted.
"Oh," I said, thinking to be polite. "No, you two are no bother at all. Please come again sometime and I'll be sure to visit." I smiled knowing how it would look like since I looked in a mirror. It looked pretty handsome when I looked at it.
She blushed. "Oh, I see. Well then, see you around!" She waved good-bye.
I saw her mother wave also as the door shut behind them.
"NNNOOOO…" I took off my hat and began whacking my face. "Curse my handsome face!" I couldn't convince this time that I didn't see her blush.. Great. A good first impression on a girl like that could mean lots of things…
But either way, there was more people on the island and I would have met them either way.
Suddenly, I heard my front door open again to see Julia poke her head through.
"Yes?" I wondered what she wanted.
"Um, Braden… I should tell you that there is this guy."
"Okay…What about this guy?" I beckoned her inside and she did so.
Once she stood nearby she continued. "His name is Vaughn."
"Vaughn?" I paused, wondering if I heard of him somewhere. "Never heard of him around here."
"Yeah. My mom and I don't know when he's coming so mind me asking if you look out for him?" She asked with a little hint of hope.
"Sure. What does he look like?"
"Mmm… He has grayish, silver hair, really stern looking, and… dressed up like a cowboy-ish sort of way."
"I don't think that will be too hard to find." I've never heard of a cowboy with silver hair before, but seeing that I lived in the city for oh… 99 percent of my life, I could understand what I've missed since then.
She nodded, turning for her leave. "He also doesn't really say much. Anyway, that's all I want to say. Oh," She turned around and looked at me. "I'm sorry about how my mother acted earlier. She sorta gets like that sometime. It's totally embarrassing.." She chuckled. "Well, I better go. Bye!"
She quickly scurried out my door. I actually found it quite cute, referring to see that I'm actually a girl.
Anyway, another thing in my to-do list… Find a person… no… a cowboy to be exact, named…
-x-
Vaughn's POV
"Vaughn!" I heard a sailor call out.
Rolling my eyes, I continued grazing through the horse's chocolate colored mane. "What?"
"The ship has been cleared so you can start bringing them animals in." I saw him look at all the cattle and the crates full of chickens. "No pigs?"
"To much of a fuss if I had them." Taking the rope, I began leading the horse to the dock. Judging by how it was reacting to the shifting waves, I concluded that the guy didn't like water. Setting my hand on its head and stroking it gently seemed to have calmed it for the better.
It was going be some time until we reach that island that Aunt Mirabelle was talking about. And what's worst is that I didn't tell them when I was coming. I don't see why they had to move to an island though… It was now going to be a hassle moving and transferring these animals. Especially since it's over the sea. I'll get over it sometime… or not.
I watched as the crates of chickens were being stacked against each other and wondered if the chickens would be alright stacked up on each other. I'll know if they make a huge fuss, then do something about. As I held a lamb in my arms and watched its parents jump into the ship, I thought about what would happen if one of these animals were to die on board.
Goddess, would I be annoyed..
At least all of them were onboard now. I didn't like how the ship rocked. I didn't like how the waves bothered the animals. I also didn't like how the sailors were talking about a cowboy was on board a ship. There was I didn't like… which also included what I wearing.
It's not like I wanted to wear these clothes. I sat down as I entered my room, pulling off my hat and ruffling my hair. Hmm.. My hair is longer…I should cut it soon. I began striping myself down, taking off the black jacket, undoing my belt, taking off my shirt and son on, so forth.
It would be best to turn in for the night. No storms were forecasted so I'm sure the animals will be okay and when I wake up to the morning glories, we'll finally reach this Sunny Island and meet this new rancher that Mirabelle and Julia speak of…
The Next Morning…Way Early Morning
I found the shoreline to be bleak. Already I see an abandoned shack, but there wasn't much to expect since.. Well, this island just started. To my surprise, the animals were pretty easy to move along with… or more that we just all decided to play follow the leader and I happened to be the said leader.
As I walked along, the horse followed after me, then followed the rest, except for the chickens which were still on board the ship, being unloaded. The main part of the island wasn't that great itself. I saw the shop the two women were talking about that was opened by a popular tradesman in the city and the carpenter's place they also spoke of. I guessed that the place with a mill and big space next to it was where Mirabelle and Julia decided to stay.
I lead the animals through the back fence and segregated them, making it easier for the ladies to handle. I also made sure they were all okay and not like… damaged. Closing the fence behind me, it would be best to let them all sleep and have my time of peace and quiet roaming around the island.
I slowly followed each trail up to where they lead… no where. Except the one leading south led to the beach. While I was there, I told the sailors that they should go and put the crates of the feathery delights at. Then there was the trail leading north which led who knows where. But just to have more unnecessary entertainment, let's go up there anyways.
As I strolled in, I figured it was the said ranch that I heard of. Something about a legendary rancher used to be taking care of this place. I walked up to the edge of the littered field, but in the open space that was cleared with planted crops, there was something that caught my eye and interest.
I began to walk slowly passed the rows of crops to find a small body laying on the ground. I would've turned and walked away, but the thing that stopped me was that there was no breathing coming from the body.
It didn't rise or fall like I would think a breathing body would. And plus, why would a rancher be foolish enough to sleep outside on a cold night.. Unless..
I instantly went down on my knees and turned over the dead body to check out his face. I listened silently for breathing and realized that the young man was having trouble breathing. Setting him down, I began to unbutton his shirt, loosening it down so he could breathe better, but I quickly came to a stop once I reached the fourth or fifth button.
Chelsea's POV
I didn't know why, but my head ached so badly. But I was unusually warm and slowly opened my eyes to find covers over me. I guess I was in bed… but wait? Wasn't I in my field? I slowly peeked through my covers to find a cowboy sitting on a chair nearby with his hat over his face.
WAIT. Why exactly is there a cowboy in my house? … WAIT. Cowboy = the Vaughn dude that Julia was talking about…Yeah, it has to be him since this guy has silver-ish hair.. Oh Yeah.. Found him alright… Here.. In my house..
WAIT… I felt unusually loose.. Looking down at my chest I found that three of my buttons were only loosened … WAIT. My Hair? .. Oh, it's still in place… WAIT!
"Gah!" I instantly sat up and heaved in air. "What happened?"
"I don't know…" Vaughn answered me. He took his hat off his face with his hand and set it back on his head. He looked at me with surprisingly violet looking eyes. "I found you in the fields, between your crops. You must've passed out or something."
Out of no where, my stomach roared and we both clearly heard it.
"Umm…"
"Yeah…" He shook his head, but released his gaze on me to something else where. "The name is Vaughn. I'm an -"
"COWBOY!" I answered for him, subconsciously pointing at him.
He raised his hand and pushed my hand downwards. "No.. not that. An Animal-dealer. I'm also related to Mirabelle and Julia here so…"
"Ah.. I see.." I eyed at him. "Then why do you dress up like a cowboy?"
"Why does a guy like you need to know?"
I coughed at his response. "Well, I'm just saying…" I heard his foot stamp on the ground and found him standing up.
"Next time, take better care of yourself. See ya." He began walking to my door.
"Oh, wait!"
"What?" He snapped.
I blinked, trying to remember my name. "My name is Braden.. Just to let you know… "
"Uh-huh.." The door closed behind him and at that moment I yelled with my normal tone,
"What's his problem? Sheesh…" I ruffled my hair and let my head fall back to my pillow, but instead, it met with the wall.
Outside the door; Vaughn's POV
I heard him yell, not really making out what he was saying. Actually,,, more like what.. she …was saying. As I began to walk out of the ranch area, I chuckled to myself.
A girl? Disguising herself as a guy? Unbelievable…
I found myself chuckling more as I thought about the incident that just happened within minutes.
-x-
As I unbuttoned the fourth or fifth button, my hands suddenly came to a stop as my eyes sent a message to my brain that came out as,
"Oh my goddess, he's a girl…" I still found my hands holding on to her shirt and immediately let go, falling back. The image rolled over my head once again and I shook it off, ignoring it.
Thinking things like those end up wrong, Vaughn. So don't even think about it
Well, overall, I was busy thinking about how this girl was crazy enough to pass out in her fields. What was she thinking?
I slowly grasped on her shirt beginning to button them back up again, looking else where, but heard some cracking noise that made my senses go alert. It could be a wild animal, a wild dog. I picked up the lifeless body bridal style and quickly ran for her house.
As I shut the door behind me, I thought about how the wild dogs didn't find her during the night. She surely is one lucky one tonight…. Letting me to take care of her and all those animals waiting out there.
I sighed and set her down on her bed, deciding to forget to button up the rest of her shirt. As I covered her up with the covers, I finally figured what was making it hard for her to breathe. That chest protector. Now, if only she wasn't a girl… no, doing it for a guy wouldn't be as innocent either. Goddess, this was frustrating.
But I knew that chest protector had to be loosened or else she would still have a hard time breathing. But I had enough manners enough knowing that a guy shouldn't invade such privacy.
In the end I came to the decision of unloosening it for her. I moved the covers and rolled her over to her back. Lifting her shirt I saw where the protector was tied, but… how was I supposed to unloosen it anyway? My mind was running faster than I ever thought it could go. I unclipped the lock and slowly began unzipping it, but didn't unzip it all the way. I quickly rolled her over and covered her with the blankets.
-x-
I coughed, concluding my rambling thought. I was NEVER to do that again, but since I am an animal-dealer.. I would have to meet up with her.. A lot. Great. I guess I should keep quiet about it for a while. It would quiet entertainment for me anyway..
I found myself in front of Aunt Mirabelle's shop and noticed the door was unlocked. Entering in, I immediately heard my name.
"Vaughn!" Both women called out to me and I watched as they looked at each other.
I knew Aunt Mirabelle was studying me, or more like studying my clothes. "Ah! You're wearing the clothes I told you to wear! I always knew that Vaughn was such an obedient boy." She laughed.
"Well, it's good to see you." Julia smiled. "Was the trip hard?:
I looked at her with a cocked brow and she giggled.
"Yup, this is Vaughn alright. Always having trouble with the water." She beckoned me toward a different side of their shop which looked to be their house.
I don't know why I had to end up with them, but they surely knew me well….
Chelsea's POV
"Ah… I feel so much better." I mumbled. I really didn't understand why girls feel so much better when they're clean, but the feeling felt great. The incident early this morning didn't allow me to have much sleep at all, but either way I was wide awake.
I slipped on some overalls and wore a red flannel shirt under. I picked up my newly found by Natalie yellow bandana and wrapped it around my neck. She also lent me an extra comb which came in handy. I put up my hair in its special tie and covered my head with my hat, this time backwards with the bill pointing back. Some of my hair poked out in that hole like my cousin's hair did so I felt somewhat special.
I raised my hands for the final check. I began drumming my chest and found it to be neatly flat. "Good," I imitated Taro. "Very Good, Indeed." I didn't know why, but when I woke up, I found my chest protector to be already unzipped. I'm pretty sure Vaughn didn't do anything, seeing that he looked… decent, but I couldn't really trust that.
So since I already finished my chores… I will visit Julia and Mirabelle like I said, but … there shall also be interrogation time. I cackled playfully as I left my home heading south to Mirabelle's shop… which was at the left from where I was facing. I slowly walked up to the door, not really knowing what to do now.
Entering this door could mean lots of things. A woman who wants me to "woo" her daughter, a daughter whom I've made a first good impression too, and a man who could have possibly done something, but looks too much of a decent person to have not. So frustrating…
I opened the door and greeted as I saw the woman standing behind the counter. "Hello, Mirabelle."
"Oh, Braden. It's good to see you." She chuckled. "And what brings you here today?"
"Just giving that visit like I told you and Julia I would." I wanted to pat myself on the back since I finally mastered the ways of speaking like men.
"My, a young man who knows how to keep his words. How wonderful." She smiled. "If you're looking for Julia, then she's on the other side of the shop. Also, Vaughn.. He came in early today so if you would like to meet him as well. It would be good if you two were to be close friends, you know."
"You don't say…" I chuckled, but grimaced mentally. Here we come, Vaughn… be prepared for the worst…. Well, not really.
I walked over to where Mirabelle had said and looked over to find Julia sitting at a table with Vaughn across from her. His back was facing me, but Julia's direction was toward me and she spotted me first.
"Hey, Braden! Come join us for some tea." She invited, moving another chair to the table. Vaughn didn't seem to care.
"Thank you, Julia." I leisurely walked over and sat down next to her. She seemed quite content with that as she poured me a cup.
"Here for that visit you told us about yesterday?" She asked quietly, sipping on her tea.
"Yep, just like I said." I stared down at my tea wondering how I should hold it. Was there a certain way that men held it? Oh, dear. If I were to hold it wrong and they notice, then all my work is futile. I seized the handle in one hand that brought the edge to my lips, sipping softly as I felt the hot tea roll in my mouth. I slowly set it down, frowning.
"Is something wrong?" She asked me worriedly, judging by her face.
I stuck out my tongue. "I Bwurnth mwy thongue."
Julia began to laugh and Vaughn snorted.
I withdrew my tongue and asked leaning forward. "Is he sleeping?" Julia leaned forward on her chair as well. "I really don't know." Both of us silently stared at him for a while.
"What are you two staring at?" We suddenly heard him say.
Both of us slowly slid to the back of our chairs.
"Um, Braden. Have you met Vaughn yet?" She asked, sipping on her tea once again.
"Yeah, early this morning. Really early in the morning." I noticed he seemed to roll his eyes and I looked at him. "Do you have something to say about it?" It looked as if he was thinking deeply about his answer which made me think also. What was he to say? It couldn't be possible he already figured me out right?
"I have absolutely no comment other than that you have to start being careful." He stood up and knocked me on my head. "I'm going out for some fresh air." He quickly left the room.
"Is he always like that?" I asked quietly.
"He's a lot like that since he's not that sociable. It would be good if he were to have more friends." Her eyes lighted up. "Say, Braden?"
"Yeah?" I wondered what she wanted. But I could probably guess.
"Would you mind being that friend? He may not like it, but if he were to have a new best friend.. Other than me, it would be cool if it were you instead. Mom and I have been wanting Vaughn to make new friends, but it doesn't seem to be happening on his terms alone." She seemed hopeful about it.
A person like me couldn't say no, right? No matter how much I would like to say, "Oh, that sounds like a bad idea." or "I don't think I'm the right person to ask." My big mouth decided to blurt,
"Sure, why shouldn't I anyway?" I chugged down my tea and said, "I should go and not bother you any more. I'll be sure to visit again though." She waved good-bye to me as I thanked her for the tea. Saying good-bye to Mirabelle was harder, but I managed.
Just when I was planning to avoid him, I ended up taking on the job to get …closer to him. Being a young man is something….
-x-x-x-x-x-
Yes you may celebrate. Vaughn made an unexpected arrival… EARLIER than I expected. NOW… where's my favorite fisherman?
