Animal Crossing Diaries: My New Horizons

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As soon as I stepped off the dock and onto the island, I was pretty sure that I had taken the wrong flight. Weeds were everywhere, fallen branches littered the ground, and rotten fruit was lying everywhere. Mira leaned next to me and whispered "Did we get off at the wrong island, cottontail?" I honestly didn't even know. It seemed...deserted, so I guess that part was true in the package. 

"I have no idea," I said, looking around. "But I'm pretty sure this was the only flight going somewhere that wasn't a big city." When Teddy came out with us, he had the same reaction. Well, mostly. 

"Where is the gym, goorf???" He yelled, and I swear I saw birds fly away in the distance. Then, I saw three shapes walking toward us. They kinda looked like...raccoons? I rubbed my eyes, and sure enough I saw that correctly. There was one big one followed by two smaller ones, all three wearing matching coats. It was actually really cute! 

"Ah, yes yes! There you are! I am Tom Nook, and I was the one who sold you those packages. Now, if you will please follow me, we will have a meeting in the plaza about your residence here." The bigger raccoon said, looking us over. With really nothing else to do except follow, all three of us trailed behind them until we reached what could really be called a big square patch of dirt. "Here is the plaza. Now we have some things to go over." I couldn't believe this guy was just telling us the rules of this place that was literally NOTHING like the advertisement we had paid for. This dude had some nerve. "One, please feel free to sell anything you have that you don't want to Timmy and Tommy here in the tent." He gestured toward a green tent. "Two, please respect your fellow residents, especially Laura, our Island Representative. Oh, and the luggage on the other plane got lost. Now I need to go talk with Laura." I gaped. Did he just say 'Island Rep'? All I did was MOVE here! What did he mean, island rep? "Laura, please follow me." Nook beckoned me. I followed him a bit of a distance, until we were out of sight of Mira and Teddy, who were arguing with Timmy and Tommy. I felt like that was kind of a cheap move, leaving two kid raccoons to deal with two grown, angry people. "Well, Laura, congratulations on becoming the island rep! Yes, yes, it's a huge honor."  Tom said, as if he had just gifted me with 1,000,000 bells. 

"Um," I started, but he cut me off.

"Now, you need to understand that YOU are responsible for any injury, harm, or anything like that on this island, because you have bought it." 

"But I didn't-" 

"You need to make this island a habitable place, ideally a place where more villagers can move in." 

'"But!" 

"Oh, and you need to place tents for Mira and Teddy and yourself, and the payment of 200,000 bells is due right now." He said. I was in shock. 

"Okay, first, all I wanted to do was move here. I never meant to buy this island! Plus, this looks nothing like what the package described. And third, the rent was half as much on the website! 200,000 bells is way more than I even have!" I exclaimed, tears welling up in my eyes. This was all falling apart! And I hadn't even been there 10 minutes! I quickly rushed my sleeve across my eyes, hoping that Nook hadn't noticed. 

"Ah, well you see, there was a malfunction with the package. So until then, you can pay upfront with what you have and you can do some community work to pay off the rest." He said, and it seemed to pain him to part with any expected money. 

"Oh, thank you so much!" I was so relieved. I could just use my credit card and- "Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!" Panic gripped my stomach, as I realized something. I had accidentally left my wallet in my suitcase. The wallet that had all my credit cards and I.D. This was horrible. I was stuck on an island without any money or identification, and a huge debt to pay off. "I-I'm sorry." I choked out. "My wallet was in my suitcase... I c-can't pay, and I don't have my I.D-"  I broke off with a sob, and ran off. I didn't know my way around the island, but I didn't care. I wanted to get lost. I didn't want to see Tom Nook or the plaza or any landmark on this stupid island ever again. Eventually, I stopped at a small beach and looked out at the sunset. Kinda cliche, but better than just sitting in the muddy woods. I sniffed. "How did this go so wrong in the course of a few minutes?" I murmured to myself.

"Well, don't beat yourself up." I quickly stood up and looked around for the voice. I saw a girl in pink dress with a flower on it standing by the woods. I was a bit scared, because I knew I had never seen this girl before. 

"Who are you?" I asked, hoping I didn't sound rude. 

"It's only natural to feel stressed about this," She continued, ignoring my question. "It's a huge responsibility. And don't get me started on Nook's debt." She rolled her eyes. "But you've got this! You have people who care about you, and as long as you think you can do it, I'm positive you can." I smiled, and dashed at the tears that still lingered. 

"Tha-" I started to say, the stopped. The girl was gone. I shivered, but her words still felt warm. I brushed off the sand on my clothes, and started walking back toward the plaza. She was right. I just needed a little confidence.  Once I reached the plaza, I saw Mira holding... Tommy? I had to look at the small name tag on his leaf print shirt. The poor thing was crying, and his brother was trying to stop Mira and Teddy from arguing.  As I got closer, I could make out what they were saying. 

"Teddy! You've made Tommy cry!" 

"It's not my fault he doesn't know where the nearest gym is, goorf!" 

"He's a child! Besides, HE wasn't the one who advertised this place. Leave him al- Oh! Hi, cottontail!" Mira noticed me walking towards them and used her free arm to wave. I smiled at her and Teddy, and took Tommy as Timmy started crying and Mira picked him up. Aw, the little guy was so cute! 

"Hey, Tommy. It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong. In fact, you're a big help. I'll need someone to tell me about the island so I can make it the best place to live." I smiled down at him, and he sniffled and smiled up at me. I turned my attention to Mira and Teddy. "So, I know this place wasn't exactly like it was advertised, but that just means we get to form our island! I'm exciting to get to know you all, and I'm pretty sure this is going to be a big adventure for all of us. I'm not really sure what's going to happen, but I want to do this as friends. Is that okay with you?" I asked tentatively. I took their smiles as my answer.