Author's Note: After a couple of months (about five) of writer's block (for Harvest Moon at least) or a hiatus or whatever you would like to call it, I finally came up with an idea. I hope you guys like it, and if you don't... uh... just smile and nod. Yeah, just like that!
I also noticed that my title is incorrect; Mineral Town is supposed to be for Playstation, while Flowerbud Village is Harvest Moon 64 (the one I play), but... I've gone deep enough with it already. Today is Monday, August 22nd, 2005 and I'm updating all my stories.
Ruby Red in Mineral Town
The Announcement
(Ann's POV)
"Cotton candy! Get your cotton candy here!"
"How would you like a refreshing glass of lemonade to cool off on this beautiful summer day?"
"Treat yourself with cakes, cookies and pies! And don't forget to wash it down with a cool glass of fresh milk!"
"Anyone want a bottle? A pair of sheep clippers? A cow milker!" Rick waved his merchandise in the air desperately.
I rolled my eyes. "Give it a rest, Rick. If you couldn't sell them before, you're not going to sell them now."
Rick shook his head confidently. "That's where you're wrong Ann. These people will buy anything if they think they need it." He cleared his throat. "Sheep shears on sale! Last pair on the island! Get 'em while you still can!" Sure enough, a group of brainless adults hurried over to snatch the product before an inevitable death that would precede if they did not own it.
The vendors were certainly doing well. They'll set up shop here in the town's square whenever they think a lot of people will be willing to spend large amounts of cash. There were a lot more vendors then there usually is during, say, a festival. Sam the Salesman was here, selling his usual defected or misleading products. Jeff and Elli had a bakery corner. May and her grandmother were selling lemonade. Lillia and Basil were selling flowers, seeds and fruit. Even Rick was trying to mooch off our town's naivety.
But what everyone was really supposed to be here for hadn't begun just yet. The mayor was going to address the public in a few minutes on what he called 'the most important thing to ever happen to our island'. But that's just an opinion.
"Hi Ann!" Karen waved to me from the produce shipper's stand, a cone of cotton candy in her hand. "How are you enjoying the festivities?"
"You mean the crowds of impulse buyers that will pay for anything that's shiny?" I grabbed a clump of her pink crystals and popped them into my mouth. "I find it amusing." The two of us strolled down the merchant stands until we found Elli, Maria and Popuri.
"C'mon Elli," Popuri begged. "You're our friend. Aren't we your friends?"
"Of course you guys are my friends. But you're still not getting a free slice of cake."
"Hey guys," I greeted them. "How's the bakery stand doing today?"
Elli grinned. "Other than Popuri, surprisingly well." She turned and gave Jeff a grin, who in return blushed furiously. He quickly turned away and ducked under the table to fetch more cookies. I wonder if Elli knows about how Jeff feels about her...
"Ooh, pink!" Popuri bounced over to Karen, compelled by her friend's cotton candy.
"So," I began loudly. "Why do you think the mayor called us down?"
"Probably just to tell us about the dangers of too much television," Elli rolled her eyes. "Or the fear of genetically modified foods, even though our town doesn't even have enough money to even do THAT."
Just then, the mayor stepped up to the podium by the water fountain and tapped on his microphone. "E...excuse me... testing... testing..." the speakers gave off some feedback, causing a collective groan around the square.
"Sorry," he smiled sheepishly at the throng of citizens. "Anyway, I've called you all down here for a very special reason." And he began to go off in a tangent, a habit of his. After talking about why town should use solar power instead of hydro power (what an idiot), he finally got to the point. "Over the years, I've noticed that our island isn't as financially stable as it used to be..." Okay, off on a tangent again. "...So I propose that we shoot a low budget film on this island."
The reaction was mixed. Most of it was good, with the exception of one person.
"You're crazy, Thomas!" Rick shouted from his table, his attempt to make people notice him. My cousin isn't someone you would want to affiliate with. He's part loner, part lazy, part desolate and a whole lot of annoying. But I have to put up with it, because he's still my cousin.
The mayor sneered at him condescendingly at his position on the podium, but didn't dignify his outburst with any kind of comment. "Now, over a many rainy days, I've written my fair share of plays and stories. One, which I would call a romantic masterpiece, if I do say so myself, will be the base of our film. We're looking for actors and actresses, so I hope you all come to the audition, which will take place tomorrow at the towns square from ten a.m. to three p.m. The judges then will make decisions and post a list of the recipients of each role beside the fountain, right behind me." He pointed behind him, then observed the crowd with interest. "We're especially looking for a young man and a young woman to play the leads."
I pretty much tuned out from there. "A movie!" I squealed. "This is so exciting!"
"Yeah!" Karen's eyes were lit up. "And we get to star in it too!"
"But..." Popuri began with a tone of resentment. "There is only one lead... and five of us." We eyed each other suspiciously.
Maria shook her head immediately. "No... I'm not auditioning." Surprise surprise! "I'm helping behind the scenes, that's all."
"Yeah, I don't want to be the lead," Elli told us, absentmindedly nibbling on a peanut butter cookie (A/N: I love 'em!). "I want to be a small character, like... one of the lead character's sister or something smaller than that."
"Well, I want to be the lead," Popuri declared.
"Me too," Karen and I said in unison.
"Uh oh..." Elli murmured uncomfortably.
"Well, you know," Popuri shrugged casually. "It's all up to the people who will be auditioning us to choose who they think is best."
"Yeah," I drawled. "But... who do you think is going to play the lead male?"
The five of us stood rooted to the ground, shocked.
"I hope it's Jack," Karen said with not a single sign of modesty. "He'd look good on me."
Maria grimaced a little bit. "Don't worry. What my dad said about it being a masterpiece is a huge exaggeration to say the least. I've read the script, and it's not that steamy."
I gawked. "You've read the script? What's in it!"
"Well... I can't tell you..." Maria blushed. She quickly excused herself, probably to stop the damage before it could start. Peer pressure is a beautiful thing!
"I better start practicing for the audition," Karen decided once the crowds started dissipating and the stands were being packed up. "See you guys later."
"Yeah, I should practice too," Popuri agreed once Karen had left. "Bye." And she was gone.
"Don't you want to practice too?" Elli looked me up and down.
"Nah," I waved my hand dismissively. "I've had plenty of practice." However, I didn't tell them that my 'practice' were things like pretending to have fun when we were kids while playing 'Princess' or feigning interest when Karen would drone on and on about her parents and how she hated working at the vineyard. "I'll help you and Jeff clean up."
"Thanks," Elli smiled appreciatively. And we both ended up getting that free slice of cake that Popuri had opted for so much just a few moments ago.
"You want to practice for the parts together?" Elli offered. "We can have actual dialogue then."
"Sure, okay," that sounded like a good idea. But the thought of auditioning in front of a panel of judges didn't faze me out at all. In fact, it gave me a surge of adredilene. I couldn't wait for tomorrow to come.
Author's Note: Gasp I... finally... have... a new story! I'm so proud! Hee hee! I'm not sure if I spelled adrediline correctly... adredelene... adredeline... whatever. And please PLEASE review and tell me what you think! Thanks a whole bunch!