Chapter 5

The first day of Summer has arrived, and all the residents of Mineral Town are preparing for the Summer heat. To celebrate the arrival of Summer, Mineral Town has prepared a festival in the beach to give its residents a break from their jobs and socialize. This is Jack and Claire’s first Summer in Mineral Town, and they can’t wait to take the day off and spend time with their neighbors.

At around noon, Jack and Claire arrive at the Mineral Town beach. Everyone else is already there playing all types of beach games or sunbathing. Even people from other nearby villages are visiting to enjoy the beach in Mineral Town. Some people also brought their pets to play along with everyone else. It is a great sight to watch the quiet town turn active for once and have a good time.

Jack and Claire had already changed into their swimsuits. Jack is wearing a pair of swim trunks while wearing his usual signature hat and a matching pair of sandals. Claire has a yellow one-piece bathing suit and sandals that matches her golden long hair. Each of them is carrying their own parasol and a sack with all types of beach items to keep them entertained. The Summer breeze is hot, the beach is crowded, and everyone is having a great time already.

“Looks like we’re the last ones here,” said Jack as he shields his eyes from the sun.

Claire nods in agreement, “we did have to make sure the seeds are watered and the animals are fed, so it makes sense. Where are you setting up?”

Jack points of the group of young men and answers, “I’m hanging out with the guys. I don’t chill with them too often, so it’s a good time to catch up. What about you?”

“I’m going to sit with them,” answered Claire as she points at a group with Karen, Elli, Ann, and Mary.

They both nod at each other, then go their separate ways. Jack sets up his parasol near the other Mineral Town young men. Claire approaches the four young ladies and asks, “mind if I join you?”

“Of course Claire, set yourself up anywhere you like,” answered Karen.

Once she puts her stuff down, Claire jabs the parasol into the sand and opens it to give her plenty of shade. She then takes a beach towel out of her bag and lays it under the parasol. Once she is comfortable, she begins to rub suntan lotion on herself. As she rubs the lotion on her arms, she notices the other girls staring at her with a suspicious grin. There is nobody else in her direction, so Claire wonders why everyone is looking at her.

“What’s up, everything okay,” asked Claire as she rubs lotion on her legs.

“Actually, we were talking about Jack before you got here,” answered Karen. “We’re all a little jealous that you get to live with him. Meanwhile we rarely get to see him at all.”

“Trust me, you’re not missing much. I tend to pay him no mind and pretend he’s not around as much as possible. That little introvert is nothing special. He’s dull and boring like an old man. Besides always working, he just reads books and minds his own business.”

Just as she finishes rubbing lotion on herself, she quickly notices the other four girls crowding around her as if she is telling a story to a bunch of kids. Their eyes filled with anticipation for anything else Claire has to say. Claire begins to freak out and shout, “what do you all want from me?”

“Come on! Tell us more about Jack! We all have a huge crush on him,” said Ann.

“But that’s all I know about him! He’s not that interesting,” answered Claire.

“Says you,” replied Karen. “I bet you’ve seen all sides of Jack that we can only dream of! We all know you sleep in the same room, which means you probably seen him naked. Tell us, is he huge?”

Claire’s face turns beet red in embarrassment. She looks away and answers, “I have seen no such thing! We just work together, that’s all.”

“You are so square Claire! I look forward to seeing him come to my family’s store shopping for crop seeds. I can’t help but to fantasize about him by the register. I mean, he’s so handsome,” said Karen.

“Don’t forget, he’s smart too,” said Mary.

“He’s so hardworking. I would give anything for us to clean one of our rooms. . . Alone,” said Ann.

“And of course, we all can’t forget that he’s so healthy,” said Elli.

As Elli daydreams about Jack, Karen, Ann, Mary, and Claire stare at her awkwardly. Claire leans over to Karen and asks, “hey, what’s her deal anyway? That was mega weird.”

“Don’t mind her. Elli lost her parents when she was just a kid. Because of that, she became obsessed with health. The rest of us just ignores her when she gets like this,” answers Karen.

Claire nods, then sits back down. She then says, “well, I have no idea why you all like him so much. I admit that he can be kinda cute when he’s not being a jerk, but he would make a shitty boyfriend. He’s too quiet, very insensitive, boring as hell, and he’s a real slob. I feel bad for any girl who ends up dating him. I mean there’s-”

“You’re one to talk,” interrupted Ann. “You talk a lot of shit, but you still live with him. Just you and him living in sin.”

“Hey, I don’t have a choice,” argued Claire.

“I bet you’re saying all those mean things about Jack because you want him all for yourself, you sleezy bitch,” said Karen.

“That’s so unfair, I want to live with him too,” said Mary.

“Yeah, who knew you were such a cold-hearted harpy,” said Ann.

“And so unhealthy,” said Elli.

Karen, Ann, and Mary leer at Elli with an irritated stare. Meanwhile Claire is trying to figure out how to calm the other girls before they gang up and beat her up for something outside of her control. Nothing she can say will convince them that she has no interest in Jack, and she doesn’t even like living with him. She just wants to find a way to buy Jack’s half of the farm and send him packing to another village. Her other plan is to have Jack date someone and live somewhere else, but he’s too introverted and rarely leaves the farm. All Claire can do is sigh stressfully and try to figure something out. Until then, she will have to deal with the harem of women to like him.

“What’s going on over here,” said the voice of Popuri. Even though Claire is not the biggest fan of her, she is glad that Popuri is here to divert some of the attention off herself.

Claire looks over to Popuri, and her jaw immediately drops as she watches her walk towards them. Unlike the other girls who are dressed very modestly with one piece bathing suits, Popuri is wearing a seductive two-piece pink bikini that could almost pass as underwear. Her hips and bust is barely covered and jiggling uncontrollably, clearly to attract attention. Her long pink hair is tied into double buns on the side of her head. Her legs have plenty of curves with beach water running down over them. Claire can clearly see that she is dressed this way to get Jack’s attention.

Claire then takes a look at herself and covers up with shame. Her chest and hips are flat and almost look childish next to Popuri. Only her long blonde hair makes her look like an attractive woman. If her hair was short, she could pass as a boy. Claire then looks at the other girls. All of them are also modestly flat compared to Popuri, but none of them feel as insecure since they grew up together.

Popuri takes off her sunglasses and says, “oh hi Claire. I’m glad that you could make it. How’s the farm doing?”

“It’s fine, thank you very much,” grumbled Claire as she refuses to make eye contact.

Popuri bites the end of her sunglasses as she asks, “if you’re here, does that mean Jack is here too?”

Claire nods, “yeah, he’s at the other side of the beach with the rest of the boys.”

Popuri looks at the direction Claire points to. “I don’t see the boys, just poor Jack sitting alone.”

Claire looks over to Jack and finds him sitting alone. “What’s weird, where did everyone else go,” she whispered.

Popuri smiles fiendishly as she continues, “I can’t bear to watch my good friend Jack sit alone by himself. I think I’m going to sit with him.” She then puts her sunglasses back on and says, “see you girls. I’m off to hang out with Jack!”

As Popuri walks towards Jack, her hops shake seductively trying to get his attention. Claire then takes a sigh of relief and says, “wow, she is a bit too much at times. Now that she’s gone, how about we play some beach games and-” Suddenly Claire notices that the other girls are also gone.

A quick turn of her head reveals that Karen, Ann, Elli, and Mary are all following Popuri to Jack’s direction. “Hey, I wanna hang out with Jack too,” whined Ann.

“No fair Popuri! You live right next door to Jack. Let us have a fair chance at him too,” cried Karen.

“Where are you all going? Come back here,” shouted Claire. She then quickly gives up and lays down on her towel. “You know what, screw them. It’s quiet now and I could use a break. I can enjoy the beach all by myself.”

Claire then closes her eyes and tries to drift off to a long-deserved nap. It doesn’t take long before she can feel that she’s not alone anymore. She slowly opens her eyes and finds Rick standing in front of her. “Hey, what’s up Claire,” he says.

“Oh hi Rick. Everything okay?”

“Well. . . I kinda noticed that you were sitting here all by yourself. . . So I was wondering if I can. . . You know. . . Keep you company.”

“Um, sure.”

Rick takes a seat next to Claire. She cringes as she notices that he’s sitting a bit too close. While she has nothing against Rick, he is not her type. Having him sit so close makes her feel slightly uncomfortable.

“So tell me, how do you like the beach,” he asks.

“It’s fine I guess.”

“Well I think this beach is an egg-cellent place to hang out in the summer.”

Claire laughs sheepishly as she sarcastically answers, “egg puns huh? How cute.”

Without them noticing, Gray walks up with a cold glare. Rick trembles nervously as soon as he notices Gray standing in front of him with his UMA hat blocking the sun off his face making him look menacingly cold. “Beat it whimp,” said Gray in a threatening tone.

Rick wastes no time running away as if his life depended on it. Once Rick is out of sight, Gray gives Claire a warm smile and takes a seat next to her. “Pay Rick no mind, he’s got too many daddy issues. So what you’ve been up to? You don’t come by the forge too often. I would like it if you did,” flirted Gray.

Once again Claire laughs sheepishly as she answers, “well you know. Jack does all the farming. I just take care of the animals. My tools don’t need to be upgraded like Jack’s does.”

“You should come by anyway. I bet I can craft you a necklace that matches your pretty blue eyes.”

Cliff then runs up to Gray and shouts, “Gray quick! You have to go back to the forge! Saibara is looking for you, and he looks hopping mad!”

“Shit! I must have forgotten to turn off the furnace again. The old man is going to kill me!” Gray then stand up and runs out of the beach.

Once Gray left, Cliff takes a seat next to Claire and says, “So Claire, how’s everything? Having fun?”

“I guess,” answered Claire sarcastically.

“That’s good. I brought you a gift!” Cliff then hands her a bunch of grapes. As Claire stares at the grapes wondering why he gifted her some fruit, Cliff continues, “sorry. I know it’s weird, but I tried to get you some wine. Duke and Manna won’t let me take any without paying for it.”

Doctor Trent rushes over to Cliff carrying a syringe. Cliff cringes as the doctor says, “hey Cliff. You haven’t been keeping your appointments recently. You know that everyone in Mineral Town needs to be vaccinated. Not to worry, I can give you a shot right here.”

Cliff runs off shouting, “you know that I am afraid of needles!”

Doctor Trent takes a seat next to Claire and says, “I hope you don’t mind keeping you company. How’s your health? You know, everyone should drink plenty of water now that Summer is here.”

“Oh wow, you really are like a male version of Elli,” joked Claire.

Zack rushes to Doctor Trent carrying a puppy and shouts, “doctor, doctor, you need to hurry! Jeff’s stomach started hurting and he collapsed at Rose Square. He isn’t gonna make it if you don’t go to him right now!”

“It’s my time to shine,” said Doctor Trent as he gets up and runs out of the beach.

Once the doctor is out of sight, Zack gives Claire a huge creepy smile and sits next to her. He then pats his puppy and says, “I heard you love animals. So I adopted a puppy of my own. Isn’t she cute. Maybe you could swing by my place sometime and let our dogs get to know each other.”

“It sure is,” said Claire. Inside her mind she is thinking, “is this old man really flirting with me? He’s old enough to be my dad!”

A frisbee unexpectedly flies past Zack and his Puppy. The puppy breaks free and chases it. “Hey, where you going? Come back here! I need you to help me get a date,” shouted Zack as he chases the puppy.

“Creepy,” said Claire.

Won then takes his turn to sit next to Claire. “Hello Claire. You’re looking very pretty today. May I rub some suntan lotion on your back?”

Claire cringes as she scoots away from Won. Zack then comes back and grabs Won shouting, “what do you think you’re doing short stuff?”

“Hey, I may be short, but I am still young! Unlike you!”

Doctor Trent then taps on Zack’s shoulder, “you lied to me. Jeff is at the beach and he’s perfectly fine!”

One by one, the other Mineral Town men come back and start yelling at each other trying to decide who gets to spend time with Claire at the beach. The cluster of young men yelling and screaming at each other start to freak Claire out. She steps away in case someone decides to throw the first punch and start a brawl at the beach. “Wow, things were weird before, but now it’s just creepy at this point. No wonder all the girls like Jack so much,” she whispered.

As the men continue to argue, they get interrupted by Mayor Thomas who is shouting through a megaphone, “attention everyone! The Annual Summer Swimming Race will begin shortly. Anyone who is participating should report to the water right away. Anyone may enter! I repeat: The Annual Summer Swimming Race will begin shortly!”

The men look at each other as they all get the same idea. “Well, well. Looks like we’ll have to settle this like grown men! Whoever wins this year’s swimming race will get to ask Claire out on a date! No hard feelings,” said Gray.

“You’re on,” everyone else answered.

“Hey, don’t I get a say in this,” asked Claire.

Everyone runs off to participate in the race leaving Claire behind. Not a single guy heard anything Claire had to say. She grunts angrily and says, “the nerve of those guys, deciding who gets to date me like if I was a piece of meat. I’ll show them! I’ll win the race myself and show them I am not a prize to be won!” She then marches herself to the beach tying her hair up in a bun in preparation to swim.

At the beach, everyone is doing warm-up exercises to prepare for the race. All the Mineral Town Men are competing for Claire’s affection while Claire is fighting for herself. Even if she doesn’t win, she plans to give it her all and show them she is not a damsel in distress. She wants to show that she is strong, capable, and independent, unlike the other girls in town.

“Hey Claire,” greeted Jack.

Claire jumps back in shock and shouts, “Jack? What are you doing here? Are you competing for me too?”

“What are you talking about?” answered Jack. He then points at Popuri, Karen, Elli, Ann, and Mary saying, “the girls all convinced me to join in. This has nothing to do with you.”

Claire looks at the group of girls who are holding up a banner saying, “Go Jack Go!”

“Where did they even get that? Seriously, everyone here is a wierdo,” Claire whispered.

Soon enough, the race is about to start. Everyone lines up at the water ready to go. They are determined to win for their own personal reasons. All the girls are standing at the pier chanting Jack’s name. Claire is the only girl competing. She is intimidated, but sure she can win against the guys.

Thomas pulls out the megaphone once again and says, “looks like we have a full house today. We even have our lovely lady farmer racing too! I can see the determination in everyone’s eyes so let’s have a fun race this year! Since we have some newcomers to the event, I wouldn’t be doing my job as Mayor if I didn’t read the rules. Over yonder there is a rock sticking out of the water with a flag on it. Whoever can swim there and grab the flag first is declared the winner. Please swim safely. No rough play! Does everyone understand?”

Everyone nods. Thomas then pulls out his starting pistol and shouts, “ready! Set!” Once the trigger is pulled, everyone jumps into the water and starts swimming as fast as they can.

From the pier, Thomas begins to commentate, “oh wow, I have never seen such action before in Mineral Town history. We have such a great start with everyone swimming so furiously. So much spirit and vigor, this could be anyone’s race! It looks like Jack and Claire are creeping ahead slowly, such talent from our newest residents!

“I can’t believe it, people are dropping out of the race one by one! First is Zack, then Won. Poor Cliff and Rick are next to feel the burn and give up. Doctor Trent is out too, I guess he should take his own health advice and work out. Gray gave it his all, but he can’t compete with Jack or Claire. Looks like it’s down to the newcomers to take the trophy!

“Oh no, it looks like Claire is starting to get tired and slowing down. Everyone else already left the water, but Claire is pushing ahead trying desperately to keep up with Jack. Oh no, looks like Claire got a cramp and is struggling in the deeper water! Someone better save her before she drowns!”

Hearing what Thomas said, Jack looks back and sees Claire struggling to stay afloat. He turns around to help swimming as fast as he can. She sinks, but Jack dives down grabbing her arm. Soon enough, Jack pops his head out of the water and brings Claire up. She’s unconscious but alive. Everyone cheers as Jack swims back to shore carrying Claire on his back.

On the sand, Jack lays Claire on her back. He checks her vitals; he feels a heartbeat but no breathing. He quickly starts doing some chest compressions, then gives her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Claire then spits out a mouthful of sea water on to Jack’s face.

After coughing a few times, she pushes Jack away and stands up shouting, “what the hell are you doing? Did you steal a kiss from me?”

“What am I doing? I saved your life! You were drowning, you’d be dead if I didn’t do that!”

Claire grunts angrily and says, “listen buster! I was fine out there. And besides, I would rather be dead than-”

“Claire” shouted Popuri, Karen, Elli, Ann, and Mary rushing to Jack’s aid. They all surround Claire pointing an accusing finger at her.

“Stop bullying Jack,” shouted Karen.

“Yeah, he saved your life for crying out loud! Show some gratitude,” shouted Popuri.

“Why are you all on his side? He kissed me,” shouted Claire.

“Yeah right, we saw the whole thing. I bet you were pretending to drown so Jack could lay his silky lips on you,” said Ann.

Mary begins to fantasize and says, “I wish Jack would save me too, like a hero in one of my books. Or like a sleeping princess waiting for the kiss of a handsome prince.”

“Me too, so stop being so mean to him,” said Karen.

“Not to mention ungrateful,” said Ann.

“And dramatic,” said Mary.

“And so unhealthy,” said Elli.

“SHUT UP ELLI,” shouted Popuri, Karen, Ann, and Mary.

Soon after that, the festival is over and everyone returns home. As Jack and Claire walk back home, she takes a look at Jack and blushes a bit. She knows that she was a bit harsh on Jack. He saved her life, but she refuses to thank him. She has no idea why, but she remains quiet as long as Jack is not asking for gratitude.

She feels that this changes nothing. In her mind, Jack must have saved her so she would feel obligated to hand over her half of the farm. She’ll have to find another way to repay Jack. For now, she’ll just have to continue living in the farm with him working hard until she can figure something out.