Chapter 1: A New Leaf Part 1

Dear Diary,

Today turned out to be more eventful than I had anticipated! All I wanted was a chance at a new life here in Animal Town. But I never thought this would happen to me. It all happened so fast...

A rail car quick clickity-clacked across the tracks as it made it's way towards it's destination. Outside it was raining rather heavily as the person inside just sat quietly in their seat waiting nervously for the train to get her where she wanted to go.

"I hope I made the right decision..." said the passenger. The said passenger was a girl, roughly eleven years old. She had golden blonde hair, which was tied up in a simple ponytail, blue eyes, rosy cheeks and was wearing a plaid prep-school uniform dress with some brown solid colored knee high socks and matching brown pumps. Next to her was a tote bag that she considered her purse since she could never afford an actual one. She also had a brown suitcase that had seen better days. Another important fact was that this girl was an orphan.

Yet she became an orphan from the harshest of circumstances. Her mother just flat out hated her, mainly because her father had abandoned them just after the girl had been born. Her mother had blamed her for the tragedy and didn't want to take care of her at all. Then one day when she was three, her mother had had enough and threw the girl into a trash can. It was a near passerby that found her scavenging through the trash for food when everything seemed to fall apart for the young girl. Her mother was later jailed and she was put in an orphanage. The orphanage was rather overcrowded and because of her circumstances she was very shy and had a hard time trying to make friends. Fortunately she wasn't ever bullied. Well...there was one or two incidents, but they eventually found teasing her was just a short thrill and soon grew bored of her and left her alone. Apparently parents where she used to live didn't find quiet and shy girls worth adopting either. It was all the girl ever wanted. Just to be accepted. Just to find someone to love her. Yet it seemed like that dream was almost impossible. At least until the current opportunity presented itself to her.

She had found an article in the newspaper about a special area in which children her age could move into a town and live their own lives. Since she figured the orphanage would be glad to get rid of her, she applied without telling them. They later found out. She told them that she didn't think they would have cared and that she was tired of feeling like a nobody. To her surprise they just wished her off and gave her a suitcase to pack a few things and within a couple of days she was taken to the train station alone and got on the train to her new town. What surprised her was that the main train stopped between two stations and she was then transferred to the very rail car she was riding right now and was on her way to the new town. While she was still puzzled as to why she was taken off her train and moved to this one, she was still saddened by how easily the orphanage let her go. She felt like they were eager to get rid of her. They were all smiling when she boarded and smiling as they pretty much shoved her on board.

"They never liked me," said the girl with a loud sigh, "they never cared if we ate or washed or played or even did our homework. Just that we stayed out of trouble and went to bed on time. Well whatever! Now I'm on my own. Maybe I can finally make something of myself instead of just sitting in a corner of a dirty room all day just dreaming and keeping to myself."

"I see," said a voice and the girl yelped in surprise. She turned to find a blue cat in an argyle shirt looking at her with a friendly smile.

"Sorry about that," said the cat, "anyway, I have a quick question for you." The girl just looked at the cat in amazement. She had heard of animals that dressed and acted like humans, but she had never seen one up close.

"Um...ok..." she replied softly.

"It's now 11:55 a.m., March 1, 2014, correct?" The cat asked her curiously. The girl found that a strange question but checked her pocket book calendar since she didn't even have a cell phone.

"Yes it is," said the girl shyly.

"Oh good, I was just checking," said the cat, "This watch of mine. It's gets thrown off easily sometimes! I'm just gonna plop a seat across from you. Hope you don't mind of course!" The girl said nothing as the cat walked over and took a seat cross from her.

"The name is Rover by the way," said the cat, "By the way...hold it! What is your name if I might ask so kindly?" The girl just looked at her feet for a moment, clicking the heels of her pumps together before she answered rather shakily.

"R-r-roll" She flinched at the name. Mostly because it was the name the orphanage had given to her. Her mother hadn't even bothered to give her a name and if she did, she never said it to her and sadly Roll couldn't remember it because she was so young when her mother abandoned her. The orphanage had come up with it because the social worker had given her a cinnamon roll to eat and she had eaten like rather sloppily. It had been assumed she just loved cinnamon rolls and the name stuck. While the cinnamon roll thing was true, she loved them, she still didn't like being named after one. It just didn't feel like a girl's name to her. Those who asked her name often looked at her funny when she told them that her name was Roll. She had often thought of changing her name but nothing really popped into her mind as an alternate. She was embarrassed telling Rover and yet to her surprise, she noticed that Rover just gave her a friendly smile.

"Ahh, Roll it is?" he replied, "That's a fantastically great name!"

"It is?" Roll answered, rather surprised at his complement and Rover nodded.

"Yeah! You seem like a really cute girl to me!" he answered. Roll couldn't resist a shy smile. It was the first time anyone had said her name was fantastic...or cute for that matter.

"So Roll tell me," Rover continued, "Where are you headed today?" Roll wasn't used to people talking to her. She wanted to disappear but she decided to just answer his question.

"Animal Town," she answered bravely.

"Ah, Animal Town huh?" said Rover as he began to ponder to himself, "yeah...ok...I don't think I've heard of it before. I wonder where it is..." Rover continued to ponder a bit before a light bulb lit up above his head.

"Oh right, map, map, map!" said Rover as he dug into his pockets and pulled out a large folded map, "Let's take a look at the train route here...and...oh yes, here are the towns! Maybe it's this one right here!" Rover showed Roll a map of a town in which was split rather evenly by a river running through it and most of the public buildings and villagers living on the south side of the river. Roll felt something inside of her light up. She had never even seen the town and yet...she knew that was the place.

"Yeah this is the town!" said Roll with a bit more excitement than before.

"I see," said Rover cheerfully, "That is where Animal Town is located. So do you get to go to Animal Town very often?"

"Actually, I've never been there before," Roll replied.

"Oh, today is your first time there huh?" Rover continued, "That sounds like tons of fun! Care to tell me why you're going to Animal Town?" Roll found the question rather redundant since her suitcase was right next to her. Then again...he could have assumed that she was visiting or just taking a trip.

"I'm moving there," she replied.

"Oh wow!" said Rover in amazement, "That sounds pretty good to me! But you said this is your first time there right? Have you even seen your house yet?" Roll shook her head.

"I'm hoping to find one," said Roll but she was groaning inwardly. She hadn't even given that too much thought. And it was so obvious too. Where did she think she was going to stay if she didn't get herself a house?

"Ah so I guess you'll be going house hunting then," Rover replied with a smile, "I suppose it will be more fun that way."

"Yeah," said Roll rather sheepishly.

"I hope you find an awesome little house and have tons of fun your tiny little town!" said Rover.

"Me too," said Roll, but she said that to herself. Then there was a happy little chime from inside the train.

"Animal Town!" called the train engineer, "Now arriving in Animal Town!"

"Oh hey!" said Rover, "it looks like we're about to arrive in Animal Town! Thank for chatting with me. It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a train ride this much! Come to think of it...I've been riding the rails alot again lately. Haven't done this much traveling since 2002 or so...man that is weird...anyway good luck Roll."

"Thanks Rover," she answered bravely, but she was very nervous inside as the train pulled into the Animal Town station. She quietly gathered her things before she got up and stood by the exit of the train as it made a complete stop. She was ten greeted by a monkey wearing a blue suit and hat.

"This stop is for Animal Town," said a nearby monkey, "Everyone for Animal Town exit here. Eek Eek!" Roll quickly exited the train and waited by the entrance gate as the monkey quickly checked her bags for security reasons, which was done within seconds. Then he gave her the okay to leave the station and head into town. Roll just took a deep breath before she exited the train station and when she stepped into the bright spring sun. She was shocked to see two things, the rain had stopped and it was now nice and clear...as if it hadn't been raining at all and there was a rather large crowd waiting for her.

"OHMIGOSH!" shouted a blue cat excitedly, "Look who just got into town!"

"That's gotta be her right?" said a brown cat.

"We can't just stand here!" said a white wolf, "Everyone say hi!" A yellow shi-tzu was standing next to them, wearing a green and white shirt and vest with a red necktie and a navy blue knee length skirt and some bells tied into what appeared to be either a top knot or mini bun.

"Ok everyone," she directed, "Here we go...ready and...from those of us from Animal Town..."

"WELCOME!" They all shouted together. The shi-tzu approached Roll, who was still in a state of shock over what just had happened.

"Mayor, We're so happy you're finally here!" she answered. Roll's eyes shrunk in deep shock.

Mayor? Me?! Wuh?

"W-w-w-ho's this mayor you're talking about?" Roll asked, feeling rather flustered, "Surely you...you can't possibly mean me?" The yellow shi-tzu just looked at her puzzled.

"Umm..." was her only response before she smiled and began to laugh, "Oh come on! Quit joking around...you know exactly who you are!" Roll was more confused than ever.

"You told us which train you would be arriving on!" the shi-tzu continued. Roll gasped once more.

"That wasn't me!" Roll protested, feeling more confused than ever. She never said she was going to be mayor or remembered ever talking to this yellow shi-tzu about her arrival! Yet the yellow puppy would not take no for an answer.

"Oh no! You can't fool me!" she answered, not believing a word Roll said, "Things are just as you said they would be! All is well! There is no mistake! Tee-hee-hee! You're a real jokester!"

"B-b-b-but..."

"Let's continue this discussion at the town hall shall we?" the yellow shi-tzu continued, "Here is a map of Animal Town Mayor Roll." Roll just could process what was going on and completely missed the fact that the puppy even knew her name as she just took the map in defeat. She did noticed that a certain building on the map was flashing, which surprised her since it was just a typical paper map.

"That flashing spot is the town hall," the shi-tzu explained, "So let's head that way together shall we?" Roll wanted to keep protesting that she wasn't the mayor, but it was just no good as the yellow shi-tzu guided her down the center of town, across the town only bridge and then straight towards the town hall. Once they stepped inside, Roll just stood in front of what appeared to be her desk as the shi-tzu stood across from her.

"Mayor, this town hall is your base of operations," she explained, "Oh, and I completely forgot to mention that I'm on your staff too! I'm Isabelle, your secretary, and I'm here to help you in any way I can!"

"O-kay..." said Roll nervously. This was all still very overwhelming for the blonde girl.

"If I can be a bit frank," Isabelle continued, "I was rather surprised to see someone as young as you exit the train..."

"Well don't you think..."

"Our former mayor held this position for many, many years, and was quite set in his ways," said Isabelle cutting her off, "but youth is a breath of fresh air. And exactly the new image that this town needs. You're perfect for the job."

"Really?" Roll asked surprised.

"Of course," said Isabelle, "and also we need you to get started right away in your work as mayor. Therefore we must complete your resident registration. A mayor really should be a resident here!" Isabelle laughed as Roll just smiled. She had been worried about her registration and was grateful that someone was going to help her take care of it.

"So what is your name?" Isabelle asked and then realized her mistake, "Oh Roll...duh...Okay, we've covered that...and next..." Roll was about to ask how she knew her name when Isabelle made a shocked look.

"OH NO THIS IS BAD!"

"What? What's wrong?" Roll asked worried and with some panic and urgency in her tone.

"I can't believe I completely forgot something so vitally important!" Isabelle retorted as if to scold herself, "In order to register you as a resident, we need your address for the form!

"Oh no!" Roll exclaimed, "I don't even have a house! I just got here!"

"Well there aren't any vacant houses here," Isabelle pondered, "but you can build one!"

"Really?" Roll asked in surprise.

"We really should have you decide where you are going to live before we proceed!" Isabelle continued, "and here I made you come all the way to town hall for nothing. Sorry for being so flakey."

"It's okay, Isabelle," said Roll, not wanting Isabelle to be so hard on herself, "I've just been winging it so far so where do I need to go to build a house?"

"Um, on the other side of the tracks, on Main Street," said Isabelle, "is Nook's homes, which is the real estate office...this might make more sense if you take a look at your map!" Roll pulled out her map and noticed that it was flashing another icon again, this time just above the railroad tracks and behind the station.

"See the railroad tracks at the top of the map?" said Isabelle, "Head north from there to get to Main Street. Some fresh air and exercise would do you good. A trip to Main Street may be just what we both need. It'll give me a chance to stay here and continue with your registration, and you need to find Nook's Homes. Once you find a place to live, come back and visit me right away so we can complete your registration okay." Roll just sighed inwardly. She should have known that her registration wouldn't be that easy.

"Okay Isabelle," Roll conceded, "I'll see you later." Roll then just slowly made her way out of the town hall and just made a direct beeline towards Main Street. She didn't really feel like talking to anyone at the moment. Her mind was still trying to process what had just happened. She didn't have much time to think before she arrived at what was Main Street. She noticed a few shops here and there, but she really wasn't in the mood to shop at the moment. Her biggest concern was finding the location to Nook's homes. It only took her a few minutes before she saw the sign and went inside. That was when she found a brown tanooki, wearing a shirt n vest with some brown pants, busily adjusting a few displays of what appeared to be house parts when he gasped and saw her.

"Oh hello, welcome, welcome!" he answered, "You must be the new mayor, am I right?" Roll wished she could have said no, but just said shyly.

"That's me."

"Well Isabelle at the town hall told me to expect you!" he replied, "My name is Tom Nook and on behalf of the Animal Town chamber of commerce, I'm pleased to welcome you!"

Chamber of commerce? Wow...sounds very...political...and important. Roll thought to herself.

"So Roll...You're today because you want to build a house yes?" he continued.

"Yeah...I do..."

"Very good! Very good!" Tom Nook replied, "I can build one just about anywhere you want, yes. I can indeed!"

"Anywhere?" Roll asked, feeling rather excited.

"Yes, yes, within certain boundaries of course," he answered, "So have you decided on where you want to live?"

"I think so," Roll pondered an obvious uneasiness in her tone.

"Well this won't take long at all!" Tom Nook replied with a laugh, "Just take me where you want to build your new home, Roll!" Roll just let her heart be her guide as Tom Nook put on a yellow jacket before following her back towards town hall. She had picked a nice plot of land just southwest of it. Tom noticed her examining the land once they had stopped walking.

"Yes, yes! So you would like to build your house here?" he asked.

"Is...is this spot okay?" Roll asked timidly. She really didn't know what the conditions would be in order for her house location to be acceptable and she hoped where she was standing was good enough. Tom Nook looks around a second and just smiled.

"Yes, yes! There is plenty of space here to build you a house," said Tom Nook, "and it's close to the recycle shop, so it's convenient if you like changing up your home's look. We just might have to remove some plants and anything buried in order to start building. But if your OK with that, we can start right away! Just hold on a moment. Let's see...it will look something like this..." Suddenly a could appeared over the both of them and Roll found everything around her disappear for a moment. It frightened her until she noticed the whiteness clear and there before her was her house. It was a small house, but still...it was her house...her new home.

"I love it!" said Roll excitedly and she clapped her hands together and bounced on her feet a little, "Yes that would be perfect!"

"OK! It's decided then!" said Tom Nook, "it will take a bit of time to build your house, so for today, let's reserve the space for you!" Tom Nook pulled out a collection of metal stacks and some rope and marked out a rectangular area about 6 by 4 land units in size.

"There we go, yes, yes, wonderful!" said Tom Nook as he finished staking the land for development, "Ta da! And with that, this space is officially yours, Roll! Umm, including the cost of the land, materials, building costs, et cetera..." Roll groaned inwardly. She knew that was coming, but she dreaded to see what the numbers would be.

"Well the calculation is complicated, so I can't come up with it just now," said Tom Nook sheepishly, "I'll tell you the total later!"

"Okay," said Roll with much dread in her tone.

"Anyway, I'm sure you're busy since you just moved here," said Tom Nook, "Once you've taken care of other things, stop by my store again to get the bill, hm?"

"Sure," said Roll with very little enthusiasm.

"...Ah, but I suppose you still need a place to rest your head, right?" Tom Nook continued, "Give me just a second!" Within a few seconds the tanooki had set up a rather simple tent.

"Ta-ta-ta-DA!" said Tom Nook, even doing a small dance, "I'll let you borrow this tent so you have a place to sleep! I've also put up a mailbox, so you can even start receiving mail! (It's a little shabby looking though...)" Roll just smiled. To her, that yellow tent was better than the sleeping cot and room she had back at the orphanage. Plus it gave her something she never had before.

Personal space and Privacy

"I bet you rarely see a tent with a mailbox right?" Tom continued, interrupting her train of thought as he laughed. Roll couldn't help but laugh back.

"At least I have a place to live," said Roll, feeling content with the tent for the moment. Tom Nook laughed.

"Well, I'll be returning to my shop," he concluded once he stopped laughing, "so let's part ways here. Roll you need to head back to town hall, hm? Now that you know where you'll be living, you have to get registered as a resident, so talk to Isabelle. In the meantime, I'll work out the numbers. Come by my shop again later. Thanks for your business! I do appreciate it, yes, yes!" With that Tom Nook headed on his way back to main street. Roll just watched him disappear before she made her way back to town hall, which was just a few steps away from her new home.

"Oh Mayor Roll, Welcome back!" said Isabelle, "Did you find the perfect space to call home?"

"Yeah...I did," said Roll as she cupped her hands together waiting to see what else she needed to do regarding her registration.

"Wonderful! I'm very happy to hear that!" Isabelle replied, "You're in temporary housing for now right? I do hope your house is completed soon. Living in a tent can be very tiring."

I wouldn't know. I've never been camping...unless you consider sleeping in a cardboard box in an alley camping Roll thought.

"Now about your registration," said Isabelle as she proceeded back to business, "I've completed as much as I can, but there's one thing I need to know. When is your birthday?" Roll suddenly felt very uncomfortable. When was her birthday? She honestly didn't know. That was how cruel and rough her life had been. She hadn't even been told when her birthday was! She knew she had to think of something quick. If she told Isabelle she didn't know, then the horrendous round of 20 questions would come about her past and she didn't want anyone to know about that. She nervously grabbed the cloth of her skirt a few times before she remembered seeing a certificate with her name on it and it had a date on it! She guessed that must be her birthday.

"December 17," said Roll quickly and decided to just go with that.

Oh, so you're a Sagittarius as well?" Isabelle asked excitedly.

"As well?" Roll asked puzzled at her excitement.

"My birthday is also in December too, the 20th to be exact," said Isabelle, "Thank you very much for that...just let me type this up and there! Please take this!" Isabelle then handed Roll a card item, which she took and tucked into her pocket.

"That is your Town Pass Card, or TPC for short," Isabelle explained, "It's like an ID card that proves you live here in Animal Town. Your TPC is kept up to date with what you do and accomplish here and also allows you to visit other towns."

"Okay," said Roll.

"All right then..." said Isabelle but seemed like she was losing her thoughts again, "this wraps up just about everything we'll need to process your move...oh right! The last thing we'd like you to participate in is a ceremony that commemorates your arrival here as Mayor. If you look at your map again, the area with the X is the event plaza. We hold special events there every now and then and even special visitors will arrive there. We'd like for you to plant a tree in the square so it can become a great symbol for our town! Come on!" Isabelle grabbed Roll by the hand and quickly pulled her over the plaza across from the town hall.

Soon Roll found herself standing in the center of the town square. There surrounding her was the blue cat, brown cat, and white wolf from earlier this morning, but there was also another brown cat but had yellow eyes. A reddish-brown furred rabbit, another white wolf, a grey stripped cat, a white elephant, a tan alligator, yellow dog, and a white squirrel. They were all gathered around the village to watch her do something. Roll didn't like being the center of attention too much and felt very shy and quiet. She didn't want to make eye contact with anyone. Luckily Isabelle was standing across from her as the shi-tzu handed her a small sapling.

"So...please take this sapling!" Isabelle instructed, "Now plant the sapling by hand Roll and don't be afraid to get your hands dirty. Put your heart into it!" The interesting thing about Roll was that she loved dirt and mud, especially in her hands and between her toes. Yet she was a neat freak when it came to things indoors. Either way, she had no problems grabbing the soil and planting the sapling.

"Let's remember this day that on March 1st 2014," said Isabelle proudly, "Roll became the mayor of Animal Town." Everyone cheered and applauded excitedly. Roll couldn't help but blush at all the attention. Soon the crowd dispersed until it was just her and Isabelle.

"Mayor Roll, congratulations," said Isabelle, "I hope this tree grows just as strong and lively as Animal Town! All of us are looking forward the wonderful changes you have for this town! Mmm...well then. The tree has been planted, so please relax for the rest of the day! I have other tasks to attend to, so I'll head back to the town hall...So please spend the rest of the day as you like. Look around town and greet your new neighbors and if there's something you don't understand about Animal Town or just don't know what to do I can give helpful advice on living here at the town hall. Feel free to come and ask anytime Mayor! Good work today!" With that Isabelle headed towards the town hall. Roll decided to head back to her tent so she could unpack and get settled down now that she had time to breathe and get her bearings. She headed back towards her tent and allowed herself in. She was just scoping her surroundings and setting her suitcase and tote bag down she heard someone opening the entrance.

"Huh?" Roll asked stunned when she turned to see Isabelle entering.

"Hello Mayor Roll," said Isabelle, "Sorry to intrude!"

"Is something wrong?" Roll asked but she noticed Isabelle was too busy looking around her empty tent.

"Wow! So exciting!" said Isabelle, "It's just like you're camping isn't it?! It reminds me alot of my childhood!" Roll just blinked but also felt envious since the closest she ever had camping was sleeping in a trash can when she was first thrown out of her first home.

"Everyone would get all worked up, and we'd roast marshmallows and make popcorn over the fire," Isabelle continued, "We'd always burn the popcorn a bit, but you know something? That just made it extra delicious!" Roll just listened attentively, but hearing her story made her want to cry. She felt sad that she didn't have any fun memories to share herself. Roll was soon derailed of her train of thought as Isabelle continued.

"Oh no, sorry about that Roll!" said Isabelle, "guess I got carried away again. Anyway, I brought you something nice!" Isabelle reached into her pockets and gave her a red lantern.

"I thought I'd seen one somewhere, so I searched though the storage closet at the town hall," said Isabelle, "and sure enough, it was in there! I thought it'd be perfect for you, since you're sleeping in a tent."

"Just for rent right?" Roll asked.

"Oh no Mayor, it is yours to keep!" said Isabelle, "Do you mind setting it down and trying to use it for me please?" Roll just looked at the lantern as she set it in the upper right corner and turned the dial, which made the tent glow a faded shade of orange-yellow.

"Super!" said Isabelle, "since it's so old. I wasn't sure if it would work properly, but it looks like it works just fine! Well, that's all from me for today! Sorry to bother you! Enjoy the rest of your day off and try to go to bed early so you'll be ready for tomorrow!" Roll just nodded as Isabelle made her way out and Roll sat on her knees while she unpacked, but then she remembered something.

"Oh Isabelle!" she called out. The shi-tzu had just exited the tent and peeked back in.

"Is something the matter Mayor Roll?" she asked concerned.

"Umm...what's the dress code for a mayor?" she asked. She didn't want to tell Isabelle that the only dress she had was the one she was wearing. Isabelle just smiled.

"There isn't really a dress code here," said Isabelle, "Just as long as you look presentable! If you check the shop known as the Able Sisters, you'll see what kinds of clothes and dresses you can wear, even accessories! In fact, before the previous mayor left, he removed the mandatory law making villagers wear shoes and socks. He felt it unfair since it only involved human villagers. As you can see, even I am not wearing any shoes. I have them, but...never really wear them."

"So..." Roll pondered aloud as she looked at her pumps and socks, "I could do my mayor duties and be barefoot?" Isabelle chuckled.

"Pretty much," said Isabelle, "Whatever you find comfortable! Just be courteous of others to wipe your feet before entering their homes if you do. Anything else?"

"No...that was it," said Roll, "Thank you." Isabelle smiled and left the tent. There really wasn't much unpacking Roll had to do. Her suitcase just had a plain white nightshirt for bed and some essentials like her toothbrush, a small towel for washing and another for drying and a small collection of comic books she liked to read that were old and worn. Even her tote bag just had a compact mirror that had a crack in it since it was a toy one, a small purse to carry money in but was empty at the moment, and a pink pen that she kept along with a small notebook which she often wrote journal entries in. She had also managed to sneak in an old pillow from the orphanage into her suitcase so she had at least that to sleep with, but not much in terms of a blanket.

Yet while it was early march, the weather was much warmer than she was used to. She looked at her shoes and slowly took them off. She breathed a long sigh of relief before tugging off the socks. Roll felt much better as she wiggled her now bare toes so her feet could breathe. Back at the orphanage, she hardly ever wore her shoes or sock unless she was told to or when they wanted her to go outside for fresh air. She hated shoes and she hated socks even more. They always made her feet itch and they made her feet smell too. She then looked at the discarded socks and shoes. Both articles were very old since she had had the same pair for well over year. While she hardly wore then, they were donated so one could tell their age. The pumps were scratched and faded and the socks had a few small holes on them. As she stared at them, she could hear a small voice echoing behind her head.

That's all you deserve.

You don't deserve better.

You're not special!

You're useless!

Nobody loves you!

NO ONE EVER WILL!

Roll felt tears prick the edge of her eyes as she kicked her shoes and sock across the tent to the outer wall and panted heavily for a moment and let out a long loud sigh.

"I think I better go find out what I owe for this place," she said to herself, "Thought I have no idea how I will come up with the money." Roll then went towards her shoes before looking at them in disgust and kicked them once before heading out of the tent barefoot.

"I hate shoes!" she said aloud, "and that includes socks too! The orphanage always made me wear them! Now I live on my own and if I don't want to wear shoes no one is going to make me! Isabelle even told me. If I want to, I can go barefoot here, there, or anywhere I see fit!" She looked at her feet and wiggled her toes again before her anger settled and added.

"Unless I find a really cute pair," said Roll, "I still need something for rain and snow." She snorted since that meant she couldn't get rid of the brown pumps but she could at least get rid of the socks. Roll was so used to not wearing shoes and socks that her legs had adjusted to colder weather. She even once went outside on a snowy day with just her pumps and her legs weren't even cold. Well they did get cold, it wasn't until after being outside for over an hour. Same with her feet. She could walk sidewalks and other flooring barefoot on a snowy day as long as their wasn't any frost or snow on it. That was her limit. Plus winter was already over so she had plenty of time to find something to keep her legs warm.

"Leggings are pretty popular," said Roll to herself, "Plus they'll keep my legs warm and my feet can still breathe in the colder weather seasons. Hopefully I can find some..." Then she remembered Tom Nook mentioned a nearby shop called Re-tail that was not too far away from her tent. The map said the place was good for recycling so she hoped it would be a good place to discard her socks.

"Might as well check it out," said Roll as she tucked the socks into her pockets. She quietly made her way in when she saw a smaller version of Tom Nook speaking to a pink Alpaca.

"Good afternoon Timmy," said the Alpaca, "What might I do for you today?"

"Good afternoon Reese! Oh a customer brought in this tape deck to the store the other day and I wanted to see if I could sell it here," said the young tanooki.

"Oh well you can choose to sell it yourself by putting it on display or you can just sell it outright for 120 bells," said Reese.

"Outright is fine," said Timmy, "I don't need it."

"Very well," said Reese. Timmy then handed her the item and Reese gave him the bells.

"Thank you," said Reese, "Feel free to bring us any other unwanted items, you can sell them yourself or sell them to us."

"Thank you Reese, see you," said Timmy as he turned to leave and saw Roll.

"Oh hello there!" said Timmy, "You must be the new mayor I've been hearing so much about! My name is Timmy. My brother and I own a shop on Main Street called Nookling Junction so please drop by when you've got time."

"Oh ok, thank you," said Roll politely as Timmy left the shop. Then Reese turned to address her.

"Why hello there dear," said Reese, "welcome to Re-tail. This is place where we take the items you don't need and make them useful for others. We also take any items you don't want and give you bells for them as well. There are some exceptions but you'll find out about those when you bring them in."

"Really?" said Roll, "Well I have something but...they so old and worn..."

"Well let's have a look at it shall we dear?" Reese asked kindly as Roll handed her the worn out socks. Reese took a look at them and just smiled.

"We can take these off your hands for 50 bells," said Reese. Roll blinked, mainly because she didn't think she was going to get any bells for them.

"Well...thank you," said Roll as she put the coins into her purse, "If I find anything else I don't need, I'll be sure to bring them in."

"Okay dear," said Reese, "you can also sell the items yourself if you want to as well for next time and we have some items for sale if you are interested."

"Thank you," said Roll, "but I'll come back later. Right now these 50 bells are all I have."

"Well there is plenty of resources that you can find in the village to make money dear," said Reese, "Isabelle can give you the details later if you ask."

"Okay, thank you Reese," said Roll simply with a shy smile, "Good bye."

"Good bye, come again when you want to recycle!" she called out as Roll left the shop. Roll nodded and made her way to Tom Nook's shop. She just allowed herself in and approached the tanooki nervously.

"Welcome, welcome," said Tom Nook with a grin, "How may I help you?"

"I'm...here about the cost for the house," Roll asked nervously. Part of it was because she wondered if tanooki would say anything about the fact she was barefoot. Tom Nook smiled and didn't seem to notice or care about that.

"Ah, yes, yes!" he responded, "So in order for construction to begin, we will require a down payment first."

"Oh...o...ok," said Roll, feeling rather anxious, "how much is the down payment?"

"Well once the calculations are made the total amount needed for the down payment comes to..." Tom Nook paused for a second as if to added some extra tension to Roll who was curling her toes together nervously.

"10,000 bells," he answered and Roll felt her heart drop into her stomach.

"Ten-thousand?!" said Roll with a groan and Tom Nook answered.

"Yes, yes, but you should have no problem getting the funds," said Tom Nook, "there are plenty of sources in town where you can raise the funds. It is much more efficient than just part time work, yes."

"So I've heard," said Roll dreadfully.

"Well then, when you have the bells, just come and see me, yes," said Tom Nook. Roll just nodded and made her way out of the shop and groaned as she slowly made her way back to her tent. Once she was inside she slumped to her knees in defeat.

"How am I supposed to come up with ten thousand bells?!" Roll vented to herself, "Living by yourself is harder than I expected!" Roll just sighed in defeat as she just looked about her rather empty tent and looked at the lantern just glowing in the corner. By now it was later in the day and the sun was slowly setting into the horizon so it would soon be dark outside and Roll really had nothing else to do. She didn't have any money to explore the shops and she didn't feel ready to introduce herself to anyone just yet. She wanted to make friends, but she was afraid to talk to people. She had never tried to walk to up to someone before and just introduce herself. It scared her.

"I've always just kept to myself," said Roll, "and that is what I wanted to do here, but all that has changed. I walk into this town and suddenly I am made the mayor and now I have a house but have no idea how to pay the costs to it! Maybe moving here wasn't such a good idea after all." Roll just sighed quietly before changing into her nightshirt and grabbed a cloth to use as a spare blanket and her pillow. The sun had just set, but Roll just wanted to day to end and after a few hours of struggling she finally fell asleep, hoping that the night's sleep would help her decide what to do about her situation in the morning.

I knew many things were gonna change when I made the choice to move out on my own. I didn't expect this. Only my first day and I feel way over my head! What do I do...what am I going to do...

And that concludes the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed and will keep reading. Roll's journey will feature multiple adventures written in story arcs that have 3 to 4 parts each. Depending on the story, they might have even 5 or possible 6 parts. It all depends on the story, but Animal Crossing has so much content to explore and features and backstories so there's plenty to write about. Plus the story is not set to end after she lives here for year. These adventures will continue past that and eventually include Happy Home Designer. Plus some of the elements of that game will be part of Roll's story as well as dream furniture and clothing items and even customization features that alot of gamers wished were in Animal Crossing.

For the most part, I'll try to keep special characters' backstory as canon to the games as possible. I still want people to relate to their own towns and experiences when they read.

Plus any citations or references from non-Animal Crossing content will be mentioned here in the bold text.

Okay...see you next time!