Chapter 3

Lanna's Plan

Mark wakes up to another warm Summer day in Sunny Island. He opens his window to see the bright blue cloudless sky. The fair weather brightens his mood and motivates him to do his best at the farm. He can tell that Chelsea, who also runs a farm, will enjoy the pleasant weather as well.

Just like clockwork, he goes to the bathroom and prepares himself for the day. After showering and getting changed into his farming clothes, Mark heads out to the farm, and begins to work. As usual, he starts with his animals and then his crops. He is grateful to his wonderful stones that makes his job much faster and easier.

After he is done with his daily chores, he checks the time, and sees that it's about time to start cooking. Seeing that Chelsea enjoys his cooking, he plans to continue making the same fish recipe for her. However, he does intend to find out what else Chelsea likes and try to learn how to cook new recipes for her. He then picks up his tools, and marches over to his house, so he can begin.

“Hi Mark!” Lanna's voice cried out from the distance. As soon as he hears her voice, he freezes in place and drops his tools out of shock. He turns around and looks over to the entrance of the farm. At first, he feels that he might have imagined hearing Lanna's voice. However, there she is, walking towards him with her usual aqua green dress, walking boots, and the frilly barret resting on her head.

As she walks toward him, his heart beats ridiculously fast. He feels nervous seeing her so suddenly, this is the first time that he is aware of that Lanna has entered his farm. Because Mark has been working, he is a bit dirty and he smells like barn animals. He only wishes that Lanna had given him a fair warning that she was coming over, he does feel a bit embarrassed that he is dirty.

Lanna stands in front of him, and gives him a warm smile. Even though Mark has spoken to Lanna many times before, he feels nervous and lost for words at that moment. But he knows that just saying nothing would be rude, so he says, “hi Lanna. What can I do for you today?”

Lanna tilts her head a bit, and smiles for Mark. But deep inside, she is smirking fiendishly, knowing that she already has Mark at the palm of her hand like putty. “Hey Mark, how are you doing? Have you finished your work for the day?”

Mark nods, but he is so nervous, that he couldn't say anything. So Lanna continues, “I have some free time today, so I was wondering if you want to go on that date you keep asking me out to.”

Mark's eyes pop open, and his left eye twitches out of shock. Just as he had given up hope that Lanna would ever accept his invitation to a date, she comes over and asks him out instead. He pinches himself, thinking that this may be a dream. But he does feel the pinch, so he knows that this is real.

Lanna stands there waiting for an answer. He wants to accept her offer, but he also knows that he planned to be somewhere. “Um, you mean now?” he asked sheepishly. “I would like to, but I kinda have something to do right now, so. . .”

Suddenly, an artery bulges on Lanna's forehead. Her calming smile turns into a frown that seems life threatening. She steps forward and yells, “Are you turning me down!?”

Mark sweats nervously and peacefully gives in. “Who me? No, of course not. I would never turn you down.”

Lanna's frown turns into a smile once again, which relieves Mark. She then grabs his arm and drags him out of the farm saying, “okay then, lets go to Luke's diner. We can have something to eat, then we can talk for a bit.”

As Mark is being dragged out of the farm, he says, “wait Lanna, can't this wait a few minutes. I have to wash up, and change clothes, and make a phone call.”

“Oh don't worry too much about it, you look fine,” answered Lanna.

“But. . . What about that other thing that I had to do. I need to let someone know that I'm going to be late.” continued Mark.

Lanna turns away and smirks. She is fully aware that Mark is talking about making and delivering lunch to Chelsea. “Oh, I'm sure you can do that later. After all, it's not like I have a lot of free time on my hands, so lets seize the moment!”

Mark sighs and peacefully gives in. He knows that Lanna normally never has any spare time to go out with him. He'll have to come up with a good excuse and go over to Chelsea's farm later.

After some time, Lanna and Mark arrives at Luke's diner. Luke says, “Welcome to my diner, can I take your-” He becomes as stiff as a board as soon as he sees Mark and Lanna entering the diner together. Just as Mark was earlier, Luke is too shocked for words.

As Mark looks at Luke's shocked expression, he scratches the back of his head and says, “Hi there Luke. Can I have a table for two?”

Luke quickly rushes over and pushes Mark to the back saying, “excuse me Lanna, I'll need to borrow Mark for a moment.”

As soon as they are out of hearing range, Luke asks, “Mark, what is going on here?”

Mark answers, “believe it or not, we're on a date.”

Luke nearly faints from shock. Just the other day, he told her to just give up on her. The next day, Lanna came bursting into his diner looking for him. Now Mark and Lanna are walking into the diner together as a couple. There is no measure on how surprised he is. “You're on a date with the village's pop idol?” asked Luke. “How the hell did you manage to do that? Even Lloyd, Lanna's biggest fan can't get her to talk to him, let alone date him.”

“I don't know how it happened,” admitted Mark. “She just came to my farm, and she asked me out. She wouldn't take no for an answer either.”

“You're kidding!” whispered Luke.

Mark then clasps his hands together, and says, “Luke, I'm begging you. Make sure that this date goes well. Whatever she wants, make it as best as you possibly can!”

Luke pats Mark on the shoulder and says, “stop it! You don't have to beg. I got you covered.”

Mark thanks him, and they join back with Lanna. Luke then takes them to a special table he reserves for young couples to have a good time. As they sit together, Mark quickly notices the other guests staring at them, he can even hear some whispering. His face turns red in embarrassment, last thing he needs is for the other guests to make Lanna feel uncomfortable.

Lanna pays no mind to the other guests. She places a napkin on her lap, and waits for the menu. After Luke hands her the menu, Lanna asks, “Mark, you don't mind if I order anything I want, would you?”

“Of course I don't mind. Go ahead and help yourself.” insisted Mark.

Lanna smiles, and giggles at how she already has Mark enslaved to her. Luke then walks over to Lanna and asks, “may I take your order?”

Lanna takes a moment to look at the menu and says, “I'll have the lobster special, the special tuna sushi, the herb baked salmon, and some yam pudding. But only a little bit of pudding, I'm on a diet.”

“Very well,” said Luke. He then walks over to Mark and whispers, “are you sure you can afford all this? She's ordering the most expensive items on the menu!”

“Don't worry, I'll manage somehow,” Mark whispers back. He then orders some spaghetti. Luke then goes to the back to cook their order.

Some time later, Lanna finishes her entire order. Not even a sliver of fish was left over on the plate. As she dabs her lips with a towelette, Mark comments, “wow, that's some appetite you have.”

Lanna places the towelette on the table and replies, “well, I was a bit hungry. You see, I didn't get to eat much yesterday.”

After hearing that, Mark hangs his head in shame. He usually makes her lunch every day, but he didn't make her any the day before. Seeing that she has caught him in a vulnerable moment, she begins her plan. “So Mark, what happened to you yesterday. You didn't come to see me at all.” she asked.

Mark scratches the back of his head trying to find the right words to say. “Well, you see. . . I had to go see a friend yesterday. I guess I sort of lost track of time.”

Lanna knows that he's trying to hide something. Luckily, she knows all about how Mark went over to Chelsea's farm and gave away the lunch he normally gives her. So she pretends that she doesn't know anything, and asks, “this friend you're talking about, is she a girl?”

Mark looks away for a moment, and says, “umm, yes she is. She's a farmer just like me, so I was giving her some advice. She is new at the job, so. . .”

Mark then looks at Lanna, and notices her looking sad. He sees a teardrop rolling down her cheek as well. Mark panics and asks, “Lanna, what's wrong!? Why are you so sad!?”

Lanna looks away and says, “Mark, you're so cruel! You always said that you liked me, but now you're seeing another girl behind my back.”

Mark panics even more, and says, “wait Lanna! Don't get the wrong idea! We just met, I am not seeing her!”

Lanna continues, “don't worry, I understand. You don't like me anymore because I never have enough free time. After all, that's why you went to go see her, and completely forgot about me. I bet you even made lunch for her.”

Mark sighs. He knows she's right. He felt that Lanna would never go out with him, so he had given up on her to see Chelsea. He tilts his head down in shame and says, “Lanna, I'm sorry. I really do like you, and I would like us to be good friends.”

Lanna looks back at him with her eyes glowing like crystal beads. “You really mean that Mark?” He nods. “So, does that mean you'll continue to make me lunches from now on?”

Mark nods twice and says, “Yeah, just like before.”

Lanna smiles. She then stands up quickly and says, “okay, date's over!”

“Already?” asked Mark shocked by her sudden outburst.

Lanna nods proudly and says, “yes, I have to get back to work now. Thank you so much for lunch Mark!” She then walks out of the diner saying, “I'll see you tomorrow at the usual time!”

As she leaves, Mark continues to sit there, unsure of what to do. In a way, he felt cheated, but on the other hand, he feels happy. He then stands up, and cheers out loud, “Yahoo!! I actually went on a date with Lanna! I actually did it!” Everyone else in the diner stares at him, but do nothing to rain on his parade.

Outside the diner, Lanna giggles at how well her plan went. She then pulls out a small bottle of alligator tears and says, “I can't believe it, Mark fell for it! He is so gullible, it's almost too funny. I'll have to thank my manager for those acting classes, because it sure came in handy.”

Mark does go over to Chelsea's farm later that day. However, there wasn't enough time for Mark to cook something for her, so he brought something he ordered from the diner. Paying for all the food left him flat broke, but he is too happy to care. The next day, Lanna walks around in her usual spot to get some fresh air. She checks the time, and sees that it's about time that Mark arrives with her lunch. For Lanna, this is a moment of truth to see if her plan has worked or failed.

A moment later, Mark arrives and says, “hey Lanna, sorry I made you wait.”

Lanna looks at Mark and says, “oh, hi Mark. I'm glad you came!”

Mark then pulls out a lunch box from his backpack, and says, “I made this for you, I hope you'll accept it.”

Lanna takes the lunch, and says, “Thank you Mark, your fish and yam pudding are always the best!”

Mark blushes and says, “I really enjoyed our little date yesterday. Maybe we can do it again sometime?”

“Maybe.” said Lanna.

Mark then waves and says, “well, I have to get going, see you later!”

Lanna nods, and Mark leaves. She is happy that her plan was a success. After a moment, she notices something odd. Normally, Mark would go directly to the diner to get something for himself to eat. But this time, Mark is heading to the jungle, the direction where Chelsea's farm is.

Curious to know what's going on, Lanna yells out, “Mark, where are you going!?”

Mark turns around and says, “I'm going to make a delivery to the other farm!” He then pulls out a second lunch from his rucksack and shows it to Lanna.

Shock strikes Lanna like a bolt of lightning. Her plan of getting Mark to make her lunch was a total success, but she was not counting on Mark to make lunch for Chelsea as well. She doesn't know why, but she feels bothered by this.

“I'll have to get going, I don't want to be late. See you later!” said Mark as he was about to leave.

“Mark wait!” cried Lanna stopping Mark on his tracks. She then walks up to him, and takes a good look at the second lunch. She then looks up at him and says, “You know Mark. . . Today I'm feeling really hungry.”

“Oh, is that so?” said Mark as he stares at the second boxed lunch.

Lanna continues, “Yeah, I'm REALLY hungry. Hungry enough, that I can eat. . . Two lunches today.”

“Um. . .” Mark then looks at the second lunch again. He wants to give it to her, but he made it especially for Chelsea. He doesn't have enough money to go out and buy an extra lunch at the diner for either of them. “Well, you see. . . I made this lunch for my friend, so. . .”

Lanna then snatches the second lunch, and says, “Don't worry so much about your friend. I'm sure she can manage to find something to eat on her own. I, on the other hand, need the energy to do my work.”

Mark wants to protest, but Lanna has already stolen Chelsea's lunch. At that point, he feels that there isn't anything he could do about it. Lanna then walks behind Mark, and shoves him towards the direction of the diner and says, “everything is going to work out fine! Just go to the diner and get something to eat. I'll see you tomorrow!”

Mark scratches his head and says, “Well, if you say so. I'll see you tomorrow then!”

Mark then walks off towards the diner. There wasn't anything he could do, arguing with Lanna was futile. After he is out if sight, Lanna broods angrily and yells to herself, “I can't believe it! That two timer! He's only allowed to make lunch for me, not Chelsea too! This is no good, Mark is probably going to make three lunches from now on to make sure that he has enough for that girl!”

She then looks at the two lunches in her hands and sighs. “Honestly, what am I going to do with a second lunch anyway? I can't possibly eat both of them myself, I already ate too much yesterday.”

After staring at the lunches for a moment, she the looks over towards the direction of Chelsea's farm. She smirks as she develops a new plan. “Well, looks like it's time for Plan B. If Mark doesn't want to give up on Chelsea, I'll have Chelsea give up on him instead!”