𝗔𝗖𝗡𝗛: 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘

10: freshening up

a/n: sorry for dying for like 3 months lol

I heard the sound of birds chirping and the waterfall near me. I was so sleepy and weak, my eyes were heavy. I rubbed my eyes and turned around to the other side of the sleeping cot. I remembered where I was, and the conversation I had with Cherry. She comforted me, taught me some useful life lessons and really prepared me for the day. I've never felt better!

I wanted to leave the tiny tent and explore my new island world, but I wanted to relax and sleep a bit more.

I heard footsteps in the grass coming closer. Great! Someone to disturb my nap.

"Y/N!" A voice shouted joyously.

Oh great, Tom was here to get me to do a task at 5 AM. Wait, I didn't know what time it was.

"Are you in there? Oh, I hope I haven't woken you abruptly." Tom said.

"Ah, but I do wish to discuss something with you. Yes, yes! I'll be here when you're ready."

Ugh, I guess I didn't have much of a choice except to get up and speak to him. I stretched, fixed my hair, and got out.

Tom stood outside the bright yellow rubber tent. "Ah, there you are. I hope you had a pleasant nap. Or, well... I suppose it was a bit more than a nap, wasn't it? It's a brand new day!" Tom remarked.

"I slept that long?" I asked. I estimated it was... What, 2 AM when Cherry and I talked? And I thought it was 6 AM!

"Oh ho ho! Yes, it's quite normal to be exhausted from such a long trip, and a major life event!" Tom chuckled. "Speaking of whichー I do have a few more

things that you might find useful as you adjust to life in our little paradise!"

Tom pulled out a green block from his pocket. He handed it to me, and.. it was a PHONE! I stood there in shock. Did Cherry tell him? This was a miracle!

"It's your very own NookPhone!"

A- a what phone? Did he really name the phone after his last name, Tom Nook?

"I had these made especially for island residents. Could you turn it on for me, Hm?"

I turned it on, and an animated leaf popped out onto the screen. It had cute cartoony apps.

"Say, have you ever used a smartphone before?"

...Was that question a joke?

"Yeah, I have one of my own! But.. I couldn't find it anywhere." I replied.

"Very good! Then this should be a breeze for you! Oh, my apologies about your older phone being lost. Not to worry, I think you'll find this phone much more useful than the phone you already had." He smirked.

"Oh!— I have one more thing for you." Tom exclaimed. He handed me a sheet of paper. "It's your itemized bill!"

Really? A bill? ALREADY? Maybe this dude is a money hungry scammer..

"So, this includes everything—airfare, accommodations, labor, tax.. and of course your NookPhone, hm?"

How was I gonna pay this off? I just got here, and I don't even know if we have a currency!

"Bringing your grand total of... 49,800 bells!"

What now? B-bells? 50K of them? What are bells? Actual bells? This dude was scamming me... We're alone on this tiny island, we couldn't have lived moneyless?

Nook stared at me creepily, like he wanted to kill my entire family and my pets. He suddenly stopped and realized that I had no 'bells' or whatever it was. "Ah, I'm so sorry! How couldn't I have thought of this!?— Well, no need to worry! I was prepared for exactly this type of sticky-situation." Tom declared. "For the getaway package, you can pay your fees with miles instead of bells. I call this extremely helpful service... The Nook Mileage Program!"

What? Miles? Did he mean that in like, running miles? Do I have to run?

"Nook...Mileage? What's that?" I asked.

"Well, It's quite extraordinary, if I do say so myself. With the Nook Miles Program, You can earn miles by simply living your life here on Evergreen! Basically, the more you enjoy your island life, the more Nook Miles you earn!"

Oh, Cool! No running!

"Plus, you can use them to pay back your move-in fees, and much more!" He declared. "Now, since all your move-in fees for now cost 49,800 bells, with this service, you can pay it off with 5,000 miles! Would you believe it?" Tom cheered.

Cool! This doesn't seem so bad.

"There are more details on your NookPhone, Just open the Nook Miles app! I'll leave you to explore your new phone, but I would once again like to heartily congratulate you on your arrival! I'm so happy to have you as a resident of Evergreen and a client of Nook Inc!" Tom smiled at me and left back into the Nook Inc tent.

My new life is underway... I can do whatever I want. WOO-HOO!

I turned on my phone and opened the Nook Miles app.

So this is what he was talking about! Seems pretty cool!

I explored the wonders of the island, touching overgrown weeds, looking at yellow and white butterflies, Admiring cherry trees, and breathing the fresh natural air. It felt so good to be in nature.

I turned around and saw Resident Services, Which really was a green tent. I stepped inside and saw Tom and his nephews.

Tom told me all about new features I could use on my new phone that I never would've had on my old one. Maybe he was right about the NookPhone being better than my old one!

He told me about DIY recipes. It was a little card with instructions and materials written on them, like if you want a simple fishing rod you need 5 tree branches. He gave me a few simple recipes like a flimsy net to catch bugs and a flimsy axe recipe.

I ran around the island catching bugs and fish. It was so fun, I've never felt more free!

I ran into .

"Hey, Y/N! Thanks again for finding that spot. I've got something for you, li'l bear!" He cheered. handed me an orange and blue outdoor hat. "This outdoor hat is perfect for Evergreen!" I thanked him and wore it. It was a cute touch! "Oh, Tom Nook gave me a fee earlier today. I joined this island to train my muscles, not to loose my money! Let me tell you something... I have no bells!" He said in shock. "Woah, He gave me a bill too! I have none either!" I addmited.

"Not to worry though!" assured me. "Let me tell you one of my secrets... You see all those overgrown weeds lyin' around, li'l bear? Timmy and Tommy are accepting weeds, and in return they'll hand you over some bells!" chimed. "Now, I gotta go back to my weed picking buisness! See ya, li'l bear!"

Oh, cool! This place was untouched, so of course nature was growing everywhere. I could fix it up by picking some weeds!

After wondering around a while, I later then saw Cherry.

"What's up, Y/N? That pep talk we had yesterday was great, I'm glad you're feeling better now." She chimed.

"It was great, Thank you so much Cherry! I'm super grateful to have an animal friend like you here." I smiled. "No, thank you! Speaking of thanking, This morning I was thinking of how I should thank you for being so sweet to me on this trip. While I looked around I saw a ton of weeds! And I suddenly got the idea to make a leaf umbrella, using a few weeds!" She handed me a DIY leaf umbrella recipe. I thanked her and went back to Resident Services to craft it.