JASH
I sighed and sat down on the steps of my grandpa's house. In front of me were freshly watered parsnips. They were simple enough and the work taking care of them was rewarding. If I woke up at six AM then I could finish watering my few crops by seven thirty AM. That allowed me time to practice my mini-harp for a few hours.
I turned around slightly and picked up my instrument. If life had gone differently I would have been in a band or had a solo career. But reality had hit me hard and all my former dreams had been dashed. Would staying in this Valley provide me new opportunities or just reinforcements of the old?
Once I began playing a classic tune, a horse started warily walking towards me. Murtagh, as I had taken to calling him, stepped out of the trees. His movements were slow as if I would hurt him. Marnie, the resident animal lover, had talked about a horse who had run away. There was a reward on this horse but I had no intention of collecting it. Who else would be such a good audience?
"I should be getting to town, Murtagh." I said with a smile. "Tomorrow? Same time?"
Murtagh neighed loudly and ran off.
Getting to town was always a strain. There had been many times that Linus had dragged my sleeping body back to my house. He always left me a note about what had happened and reminded me to be more careful. One day I would learn, but that wouldn't be anytime soon.
It was relaxing to walk by the small shops and say hi to the various residents. But my mood quickly changed once I crossed the river. For that was the location of a JojaMart. I felt sick and nearly passed out in a haze of rage.
MORRIS
Small town life was not for me. If not for the Joja Corporation, I would be far from here. The only bright spot in Pelican Town was that Jash's arrival spelled the start to my company's total take over of this place. Not only this town but others.
I glanced at the Joja Community Development Form to make myself feel better. Once Jash became a member and completed the form then it would spark a new day in Joja's history.
"What the unholy Yoba!" A masculine voice yelled.
I looked up to see Jash looking like a rabid animal. In my training I knew to remain calm as that tended to make people become reasonable once again.
"What is it, Jash?" I asked with a smile.
"How dare you take advantage of these people!" Jash yelled so everyone in the store turned to look.
"I'm sorry you feel that way. But we offer the best prices and so I hardly see why that is taking advantage of these people."
"Only because no one can match your prices without becoming homeless!"
"Can I offer you a brochure? You must not have a good understanding of Joja."
"I understand you well enough! I worked for the Joja Corporation until I saw yet another employee decayed to the bone! To the bone! I came here to get away from the likes of you!"
My blood nearly froze in my veins. The chances of Jash becoming a member had just diminished. The thought that he would be so uncivilized as to use physical violence against me made me step back. No, he wouldn't be so foolish as to do that.
I didn't risk stepping closer to him.
SAM
In my head I focused on band. I tried to pick a genre but couldn't choose any. On top of that I didn't have a drummer. Sebastian had tried the drums at one point but...he was a great guy with no rhythm. So, right now, my music career was going nowhere. It might be that I would live and die as an employee of JojaMart.
I lifted my head as I noticed someone screaming. It had been a common occurrence before but now it was a rare sight. So I stopped putting the food away and looked to see who was yelling. It wasn't a voice I was too familiar with.
"You're just going to bleed these poor people dry!" Farmer Jash continued to yell at the top of his lungs.
"You're disrupting my customers." Morris replied angrily.
"Good!" Jash yelled even louder.
I couldn't help a smile coming to my face. It was good to see Morris getting yelled out for being a horrible person. Morris glared at me and that was enough for me to get back to work. Jash had the resources to stand up to the man but I didn't.
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