Chapter 3:
Fossils Wanted: Dead or Alive
And Rayze Learns Why He Has No Money
Saturday, March 5, 2016
I woke up
late today. I rolled out of bed in the late afternoon to greet the day, but as
I passed through D-4 on my way to Nook’s, the day greeted me first. Very
aggressively. And the day’s name was Pinky.
The girl
stopped one step away from literally strangling me. She ran right up to me, and
before I could get a word in started telling me her name and all about herself.
She must have taken my surprised disposition as a sign of confusion, because
she then started explaining, loudly and angrily, that that was how you made
friends, and that VE VERE GOING TO BE FRIENDS UNT VE VERE GOING TO LIKE EET.
I survived
that and made it to Nook’s Cranny to find it closed. A sign posted out front
mentioned remodeling. Apparently, the town had finally bought enough stuff so
that Nook could afford some renovations. I found it funny how this happened to
happen only a few days after I arrived in town. And then I considered the
alternative; that it was no coincidence, and that I was literally Nook’s only
source of income. I feel the strangest mix of sadness, pride, and bewilderment.
Returning
home, I checked my mail. Finally, I received my first batch of 6 fossils from
the Faraway Museum
While the
incomplete skeletons didn’t yield much more than gratuitous praise of my
generosity, the Egg, Amber, and Track each sent the old owl on astonishing
information dumps. If I could have kept up with him, I’m sure I would have been
fascinated. Instead, I found myself zoning out, and in doing so, I noticed that
the sweater patterns on his chest weren’t a part of a sweater at all, but
actually his feathers! Did they come that way, and fate was pushing him to the
life of a historian from birth? Did he dye them to fit his career path? Oh my
god, that means he’s naked, save the bowtie.
Afterwards,
while making my daily rounds for buried fossils and furniture hidden in trees
(read: gratuitous bee stings), I stumbled upon Tangy and Pinky at the Wishing
Well. Other than Axel and Otis, and Mable and Sable, I had never really seen
two of the villagers interact with each other. Pinky approached, giving Tangy a
friendly wave. With no words exchanged, Tangy suddenly became ungodly
depressed, and sulked off to the other side of the well. I have no answers,
only questions. I finished my routine, mailing off another five fossils. The
day time post office worker, Pelly , I found
much more pleasant to work with than the evening clerk Phyllis. I then returned
home, to await 9:00 and the moment I’d been waiting for.
Crazy Redd
had set up shop in C-4. His tent was a simple blue thing, with words at the top
that I couldn’t read. It seems like someone had crossed out whatever was
written there with a big, red X. Redd himself reminded me much of Nook. He was
an orange fox, but he too wore a purple apron, this one with a much different
looking leaf pattern on its front. He was a friendly sort, but more in the
“used car salesman” way. The villagers had mentioned his tendency to carry
around nice paintings, and I had hoped that I could find some for Blathers, but
his stock was much more dry than anticipated. In addition, it was all just as
expensive as I had heard. The first item to catch my eye was a Green Wardrobe.
Though not worth what he was asking, I did need more storage space in my house,
and decided to purchase it. I looked over, then, and found a Jade Econo-Chair.
Normally, I would have just passed on this, but yesterday I did happen upon a
Ruby Econo-Chair, and I felt a need to purchase this new one, for the sake of
completing the set. The only other item he had in stock was a Robo Clock, an
unappealing piece of furniture to say the least. But, I had already bought
everything else he had, so I figured that I might as well.
As I left,
he thanked me profusely, and then closed his tent up, placing a “Sold Out” sign
on its front. Happily, I skipped back home, much more easily given the newfound
lightness of my wallet.
Before I
made it home, I heard a ruckus at the train station. I decided to check it out,
and found someone sitting on a small cardboard box right by it. He was a white
dog, sporting thick, black eyebrows. He had one leg crossed over the other, and
resting in his lap was an old guitar. He kept his head down, focused, and
strummed a simple tune as I approached.
The pooch
introduced himself as Totakeke, also known as K.K. Slider. I had heard of him
back home; though he was still a growing artist, his work was quickly becoming
more widespread. He asked if I had any requests for him, and I was quick to ask
him to play my favorite song of his, K.K. Condor, to which he obliged. I have
to admit, it was even better live. He passed off to me a recording of the tune,
which I set into my radio before settling in to bed to write today’s log.
Sunday, March 06, 2016
I couldn’t
sleep. It was, like, 1:00 in the morning, and I was tired, but I couldn’t keep
my eyes closed. I poked my head outside to find it pouring down rain.
The hunt
was on.
I quickly
made my way down to the beach, fishing pole strapped tightly to my back.
Tonight was the night, I told myself. Tonight, I would catch that most elusive
fish. The ocean appeared to shimmer with every droplet of rain that caressed
its surface, but the shadows of the fish beneath its waves were still all too
clear to me. The small ones, I scared off. The larger ones I would cast at, and
frequently even receive a nibble or two, but would ultimately fail to catch the
hook in their scaly mouths.
Over a
dozen tries later, I finally had one on the line. It was a fighter, to be sure,
but my hard work eventually paid off, and I pulled in the rare and elusive
Coelacanth, The Living Fossil. Blathers seemed noticeably less impressed with
this fossil than he did with the others I had turned in, though.
Sunday, March 06, 2016 (Again)
It rained
all day. I decided to spend the majority of my day indoors. I did venture into
the wetness to explore the newly opened Nook n’ Go store, though. Tom did a
real number with the place, improving its stock by almost double.
Beyond
that, the day was mostly spent with my usual chores, and by tying up some loose
ends. Three new fossils came in the mail: a Trilobite, an Ammonite, and another
Dinosaur Egg. Blathers rambled on to no end about the first two, and the third
now guards my house’s entryway alongside yesterday’s spare Dinosaur Track.
Two new
bugs were added to the museum’s collection as well, one of which much to
Blathers’s dismay. The first was a bee. I had shaken five more hives out of
trees during my daily chores, and apparently my aim with the net is improving,
because I actually managed to catch three of the little buggers. Beyond that, I
did finally catch a wild cockroach. Let me just say, Blathers’s reaction to the
crusty brown thing was absolutely priceless.
The evening
was spent fishing, my hopes high given that the rain was still going strong. I
did not let myself down, either, as I reeled in countless Red Snappers, a few
Barred Knifejaws, and another two Coelacanths. Nook paid me handsomely for each
of these fish, and with the money I was able to pay off my mortgage again.
Nook told
me to expect a large basement in the morning.
Oh God,
he’s going to charge me for that too, isn’t he?
I’m trapped.
