What Matter's Most

Same but Different

K.K. stepped out of his camper and felt the cold wind hit his face. It stopped raining a while ago, and K.K. and Shrunk managed to arrive at Animal Village safely. The smell of pine leaves filled the air and he could hear the sound of rushing water from the river in the distance. Yes, this was Animal Village. He took a deep breath and opened the back of the camper to grab his guitar. Shrunk was on his phone, probably calling his wife so Totakeke decided to not bother him. After K.K. grabbed his stuff he started to make his way over to the Town Hall. As he was walking many of the villagers seemed shocked and excited to see him. Some said hello while others stayed quiet and were too embarrassed to talk. Either way, Totakeke was nice to every animal that came up to greet him. 

He soon arrived and was about to enter the Town Hall but suddenly stopped in his tracks, just as Shrunk caught up with him. 

"You alright, K.K.?" Shrunk asked waving his arm in front of Totakeke's face to get his attention.

K.K. shook his head and chuckled. "Uhh yeah, I'm fine. How bout you? Was that your wife who was calling?"

Shrunk nodded, "Yeah, she just wanted to know if I made it here safely. But anyway why are you nervous to enter the Town Hall?" Shrunk asked. K.K.'s eyes narrowed as he turned to look at his friend.

 "Who said I was nervous?" K.K. asked. Shrunk rolled his eyes.

 "Oh please, I know you. You were about to enter but then you hesitated." Shrunk paused for a moment, "She works here, doesn't she?"

K.K. didn't say anything. He didn't know why but he was nervous. It just had been so long since K.K. had seen her, and he wasn't even sure on what to say when he did. Totakeke bit his lip and watched silently as Shrunk opened the Town Hall's door. His heart stopped as he expected to see Isabelle. But instead, the two animals were greeted by the mayor, and K.K. couldn't help but let out a breath of relief.

"Ahh if it isn't the one and only K.K. Slider, it is very nice to meet you." The mayor said as he got up and shook the young dog's hand. "And you must be Dr. Shrunk am I right? It is very nice to meet you too." The two animals smiled at each other as the mayor went to grab some paperwork. 

"The festival starts tonight at seven." The mayor said handing K.K. a pen, "I just need you to fill this out real quick Mr. Slider to state that you will be performing for tonight's show." Totakeke did as he was told and handed the papers back to the mayor after the signed them. But before he left he took one more glance around the room and smiled. He still couldn't believe that Isabelle worked here. When they were younger she never showed any signs of wanting to work with the mayor. After all, K.K. did remember that Isabelle had graduated in engineering at nineteen different universities. Shrunk placed his hand on K.K.'s shoulder, signaling him that they should leave and the two animals walked out of the Town Hall.

"Sooo, are you nervous about tonight?" Shrunk asked. K.K. shrugged.

"I mean I guess, I'm always a little bit nervous before I perform. But I dig this town and I know the people. I'm sure I'll be fine." K.K. said. Shrunk only nodded. He was worried about his friend. When they first met he always seemed so confident and outgoing with his music. But lately, he couldn't help but feel as though something was off. Shrunk didn't think about it too much though. He was probably just really tired or stressed out. Or at least Shrunk was.

The two walked in silence and started heading back to their camper. As they walked through the town, they saw all the lights and decorations around the plaza. The place looked great and smelled of many delicious foods. Shrunk was definitely excited but when he looked over at K.K. the musician just seemed worried. Shrunk frowned but didn't say anything.