"Happy Monday!" Julia sang in my ear.

"Julia, I told you. Don't talk to me unless you got a reason," I say back.

"But I do have a reason Vaughn! I'm wishing you a happy Monday!" she chirped.

I don't respond but made sure she saw me roll my eyes. Hopefully, Julia could take a hint. But I guess that blonde was too dumb to even do that. She just kept talking and talking. Good Goddess, will she ever stop?

"So, Vaughn, did you hear?" Julia blabbed.

"You're finally getting a personality transplant?" I ask.

"There's no need to be rude." Julia said folding her arms and sticking her nose in the air like she always did when I make sarcastic remarks. "No. I'm not getting a personality transplant. I'm talking about the new farmer!"

"Who cares?" I sigh and plop myself down in a chair. As far as I see it, it's just another person to get in my way. I'm not exactly what they call a "people person," you know.

"The whole town's buzzing about her!" Julia continued. I have to admit, my ears did perk up a bit when Julia mentioned the new farmer was a "her," but I made sure to show no sign of interest.

"Her name's Chelsea and she's from the city and she just got here but I don't know why she's here, and, oh I wonder if-"

"Julia..." I say cutting her off. "How long have you been obsessed with this girl?"

"You're not funny, Vaughn," Julia retorted. "You might THINK you are, but you're not."

I just shrug and pull my hat over my face. Mirabelle hates it when I do that. Thankfully, she wasn't here to scold me. Where was she anyway? "Julia?" I start to say. "Where's your mom?"

"If you must know," she replied, obviously still annoyed at my remarks, "she's over on Sprout Island. Why?"

"No reason," I say getting up from my chair and head for the door. No Mirabelle means no work.

"Where are you going, Vaughn?" Julia asked.

"Just for a walk," I say through gritted teeth.

"Oooh! I wanna come!" Julia piped.

"No!" I practically yell. "Look, I just want to be alone, okay?"

"But... but you're always alone..." Julia frowned.

"Just how I like it," I say heading out the door.

On my way walk, I found myself thinking about the new girl. Hopefully, she was different from the other girls on the islands. All of them made me want to go jump off the pier. All except Sabrina, who, I hate to say, bored me to tears, and that's saying something. Even I have standards.

As I pass the cafe, I overhear Mirabelle ranting to Felicia about something.

"She cursed! Right in front of all of us! Typical city girl! I tried to forget it but the way she talked to Chen and me! Why, you would think we were a bunch of idiots!" she complained as Felicia shook her head in disapproval.

I chuckled softly. This Chelsea girl sounded very interesting. Maybe she would be fun to argue with.

"Vaughn!"

Mother of the Goddess, what now? I whip my head around to see Sabrina running towards me. Damn it.

"Hello, Vaughn! Isn't today wonderful? I love Spring." she smiled.

"Don't bother me," I say and continue walking.

"So I heard tomorrow was your birthday..." Sabrina started twirling her black hair around her finger.

"Yep," I sigh, wishing for the millionth time that I actually carried a gun at my belt. Why wouldn't she just go away?

"Well, I was wondering if-,"

"I have to pee," I blurted out and started toward the cafe, hoping to the Goddess Sabrina wouldn't follow me. I didn't actually have to pee, I was just that desperate to end that conversation.

Inside the cafe, I take my usual seat in the corner and order a mug of warm milk. Childish, I know, but the taste of warm milk brought back good memories from my childhood. Leaning back in my chair, I pull my hat over my face and close my eyes.

My thoughts of wondering if I forgot to feed the chickens and whether Mirabelle would kill me if I did were interrupted by the sound of a bell tinkling followed by a squawk. That could only mean one thing: Denny was here.

"Hey, Vaughn," he greeted, confirming my hypothesis.

I open my eyes and give him a small nod.

He chuckled. "Still a man of few words, I see."

I roll my eyes as he takes a seat by the counter. That fisherman always teases me. I don't get it. I do my best to keep to myself and not bother anyone, but everyone ends up talking to me anyway. Usually I say something rude or sarcastic, but I almost always let what Denny says slide. He's the closest thing to a friend I've got.

A couple minutes later, a steaming mug of milk sat in front of me. I take a small sip and feel my body relax. My job is actually pretty stressful, despite what others say, especially in the Winter. I say a silent thank you to the Harvest Goddess that that awful season was finally over.

As soon as I drain my cup, the cafe door opened. Oh, please don't be Sabrina I think. It wasn't her, thank goodness, but a girl I had never seen before. She wore a red bandanna over her chestnut hair Denny-style and a pair of the biggest rubber boots I had ever seen. In a nutshell, she was very pretty.

Her blue eyes scanned the cafe, making her look like a lost puppy. She suddenly locked eyes with me and started to make her way to my table. Can't say I was disappointed when she introduced herself to me.

She gave a small wave. "Um... Hi. I'm Chelsea. I'm new in town and I'm just trying to get to know everyone..." she trailed off.

"Vaughn," I say holding out my hand for her to shake. "So you're the lady runnin' the ranch?"

She returned my handshake and replied "Yep. It's a lot of work."

"I'll bet."

Silence fell over us like a blanket. I was used to silence, but it was apparently making Chelsea uncomfortable. She sighed loudly, cleared her throat, and said "Well. Vaughn, was it? I'll see you around. Later."

"Ok," I say. Making first contact with Chelsea was harder than I thought it would be. Oh well. At least she didn't make me want to jump off the pier.

OkOk, I actually have a plot for this so it will go somewhere! Ok! how was the first chapter? I feel likeI captured Vaughn's personality well. Ok, reviews please! I would love your input!