It was three in the morning when the lights in the Reset Surveillance Center started flashing. Resetti's temper went off with the alarm and without having to be told, he made a beeline, or rather, scurried as fast as a mole could through its tunnel, straight to the mayor's house.

He popped up in her flower garden but was careful not to actually damage any of the flowers she had planted there. She was a finicky one when it came to her prized hybrid roses and he knew it. He slowly moved them around in little mounds of dirt as he dug the opening of his tunnel.

"Alright, listen up," he yelled, "I'm only going to say this once! ... Hmm?"

The silence that greeted him made him stop and take a look around. Usually, he'd catch her just as she was leaving home but this time, he didn't see her at all. His already lit fuse burned brighter as he waited a few more minutes for her to show up.

"One Mississippi...," he counted.

"Two Mississippi," he said as he drummed his fingers. "Three- Enough Mississippi! How long are ya' going to keep me waiting!? Ya can't delay the inevitable kid!"

He pulled himself up and out of the ground. He marched over to her front door with the intent of giving her an EXTRA lecture about punctuality! Not that she was late to anything though. He did consider that it was him who had shown up uninvited in the middle of the night.

The moment he set foot on the paved path in front of the mayor's house was when he suddenly heard it. It was music without doubt, but it was old music and more importantly, it was loud; window-rattling loud, disturbing the neighbor's four houses down loud, three-day weekend on a Sunday night loud. This did nothing to improve his foul mood. Of all the animals in town, a partying one would not be tolerated!

He figured he was going to have to nearly break down her door before anyone heard him but to his surprise, it was already open. He froze in the doorway, his heart stopping for just a moment as his mind raced to process what he was seeing. There was no party or animals. There was just the mayor.

She sat curled up on the couch in her pajamas drunkenly singing along to the music. An already empty bottle sat on the coffee table in front of her. With a glass in hand, she was working on a second and had made quite the progress. Despite the tears staining her cheeks, she greeted him happily.

"Resetti!"

She kicked her feet off the couch and bounded over to him with outstretched arms.

"Hi~!"

She sang in his face while trying to cling to him with her feet in the air. It was hard enough carrying his own weight and having hers thrown at him almost made him topple over. He set his foot down to correct his balance and began to pry her away.

"Kid, what the heck are you doing!?"

Once his arms were free to swing around, he snatched both the bottle and glass and from her hands and held it out of her reach.

"This ain't no way to conduct yourself like a decent person! I oughta tell your parents!"

He had never seen this side of the mayor before and honestly, he never wanted to see it again. She was, or had been, a decent kid in his eyes. She was always peppy and law-abiding. She had a few soft resets, repeated break-in's into the Reset Center just to hang out, and some other actions that were brought on by youthful mischief, but this was out of character as far as he knew. Even when her following temper tantrum was spot on, he could only think of how the stench of alcohol didn't suit her.

"Give it back," she screeched. "Give it back!"

"Not a chance so give up! What's even going on here!? You ain't even old enough to drink!"

"I'm twenty-three," she shouted back.

"You're what!?"

She stood on her tiptoes as she desperately tried to reach either the bottle or glass but the height difference made her actions, no matter what they were, in vain. He pushed her away again and turned a shoulder as he cradled the coveted items close to him and further away from her.

"Gimmie! Give it to me!"

"I said no! Just what part of you is an adult!? What reason do you have to act like this!?"

"It's fine," she answered defensively. "I'm fine. It's okay."

He took a closer look at her, the myriad of problems he would soon have to deal with became clearer. Her eyes were red from crying, that much was obvious. But what clued him in the most was her face. Where her smile should have been was just a tired and empty expression.

"Yeah, I'd buy a painting from that shifty fox before I buy any of what you just said."

Something about his words, his too close observation made her step back. She hugged herself and stared askance. He invited himself inside and quickly made his way over to the radio. With the music down to a reasonable volume, they could now hear each other without yelling.

"It's fine if I act like this," she said sullenly. "No one cares anyway. They shouldn't... It's fine since I'm useless, you know?"

She tried to laugh it off but her smile wouldn't stay firm.

"It's not like I'm important or anything."

Her voice cracked as she began to cry all over again. She wiped her face to hide it and wore a wide grin but it only made her act all the more pitiful.

"I haven't done anything to deserve to be happy so really, I'm just a waste... I'm sorry you had to come here. Please, you shouldn't bother... I'm sorry..."

"Now wait a minute!" He interjected as soon as he saw an opening. "That's going off the deep end, don't you think, saying all that about yourself?"

"It's fine," she repeated. "It's true and it's just how I am. I'm fine with it, really."

"It ain't fine! Ain't a word of it fine at all!"

She stood with her arms crossed, digging her nails into her arms and stared only at the floor.

"I'm sorry. I'm okay..."

He made a grumbling noise and only became louder the more she objected. He let out a huff of air and with a sigh, finally softened his gruff expression. He realized the lectures would have to wait until she were in a better state. They'd be coming for sure, he most certainly wouldn't forget to also advise her on the evils of drinking too much, but there were more important things to deal with right now.

"Look, I'll level with you kid, so long as we put the bottles away, got it? Instead, you sit down and tell me what's got you feeling this way. I dunno if I can do anything to help but trust me, talking it out will feel a whole lot better in the morning than shooting yourself in the liver. Deal?"

"Okay..."

Still with the bottle and glass in hand, he pointed her over to the couch. As she took a seat, he looked around for a shelf to put them on where they'd be well out of her reach. Not finding one high enough, he instead opted for hiding them in a cabinet for the time being.

Then it was his turn to be shy as he took a seat on the couch next to her. Even though he had grown children of his own and had been through similar routines, he had never gotten used to it. It was his wife who had done the comforting, he himself had only done the coddling. But he pushed his own discomfort aside as he thought of the current situation. The mayor wasn't one of his children but she was near enough of a nuisance to him be one. But he knew she was also alone, far from her own parents, and desperately in need of someone on her side.

"So..." he began somewhat awkwardly, "what's wrong?"

The mayor spilled out her feelings as much as her intoxication would allow.

"I don't have any impact on this world," she said in a strange moment of clarity.

"Doctors save lives and scientists discover neat stuff. Artists create things... Then there's me. I haven't... done anything to be helpful to anyone. I can't say I'm worth anything to anyone. I'm a failure, you know? At every thing I do. I failed school. I failed at holding down a job. The only reason I'm here is because Isabelle let me stay," she said in an out pour of tears before calming herself. "But I'm still... a waste of a person. That's all I am. That's all I can be."

She hugged her knees to her chest and put her head down in shame.

Resetti stayed quiet as he thought it over. He knew those feelings. He knew the pressure that created them; to be something. To make something of yourself that your parents would be proud of. To have an accomplishment that you can look back on with pride. It didn't matter what it was, so long as it was something. Some would succeed and others would fall into a vicious cycle of trying only to fail, they'd try again and fail again, and again, and again, and again. Of course they'd be encouraged to keep trying but it'd be a lie to say that each failure didn't chip away at you bit by bit.

"A waste of a person," he repeated thoughtfully.

"Kid," he said aloud as he put a hand on her shoulder. "Let me ask you an honest question. What do you think of me?"

She raised her head to look at him in confusion. Was he hitting on her or fishing for compliments? And why would he be doing either at a time like this?

"You're nice," she answered.

"I said honest," he grumbled.

"I honestly think you're nice," she said firmly. "You act mean and shout a lot but that's just cause you're old."

"A bit too honest..."

"But you really care about doing your job right and about the town. That's why you get mad when I reset, is what I think."

"In short, you think I'm good guy?"

She nodded.

"Alright. Now listen. I may not be some one you look up to but take it from me. I don't think my meeting you was a waste. I don't think you coming to this town was a waste. I don't think the air you're breathing right now is a waste and I don't think you're a waste of a person. I'm glad to have met you. And I mean you just the way you are. You're worth something to me."

She slammed her head back down to hide her face as she cried harder. His attempt to cheer her up was jut making her feel guilty about the sorry state she was currently in.

"I'm not," she protested. "You're saying that because you're nice!"

His voice rose in anger, "you think I don't mean it?"

"You do," she squeaked out, "but you're just nice!"

"You're pretty nice yourself," he retorted. "You obviously care about others if you're putting yourself down for not being helpful enough. But I know you've put a lot of work into this town. I've never seen as many villagers or as many smiles since you've moved in. Isabelle didn't let you stay here out of pity. I mean she may have fudged up the paperwork... But regardless, you being here makes people happy. Even if that don't hold water to you, it means a lot to them. Just cause it's not curing cancer or something, is it fair to say it don't mean anything?"

He waited patiently in the silence as she thought it over.

"I want to..." She began to mumble out something but trailed off. It was hard for him to hear as well since she wasn't facing him.

"Hmm?"

"I want to... do more than that." She finally lifted her head but her tears had yet to dry. Now she was looking at him for sincere advice. "I want to do more. I don't want to be someone important but I still want to be someone. I want to feel like I matter. Am I mean because I want more?"

He smiled and patted her on the back.

"You're not," was his short answer. "Nice people are in short supply these days. You just keep being you and all that will happen in due time. Whether you want to chase it or wait for it to come to you, I'll support you."

He had no idea what time it was when he finally left the mayor's house. He had seen her off to bed and hidden whatever remained of the liquor. After taking in the late night air, he finally remembered what he had originally came for. He hoped that her mood improved enough to keep her from resetting. If not, then she was surely in a deep enough sleep that she'd be unable to. He let out a sigh and muttered to himself as he returned to his tunnels. If it wasn't one thing, it was another always worrying him about this kid.

The next morning, the mayor woke up with what must have been the world's worst headache. The pain was somewhere just in-between her eyes and the sun seemed to exist only to spite her. She thanked God for the medicine that had been left at her bedside and didn't care from who or where they came from.

In her temporary state as one of the living dead, she somehow managed to at least drag herself to Brewster's.

"G'd morning, Brewster."

"Welcome."

He greeted her as calmly as always. Not even her head slumped down on the take out counter could unsettle him. He didn't even raise an eyebrow at her raspy voice that belonged to some granny far older then her.

"My usual please, to go..."

"Coo. Here you are," he said setting the tall cup of coffee down on the counter.

"Thanks."

She began to dig in her purse for her wallet but he put up his wing to stop her.

"There's no need. It's been paid for already."

"Huh?"

She questioned him with a look and he pointed to the brown cardboard sleeve around the cup. There was a message written on it in large, slanted letters.

'Have a good day at the office. You're a good kid. - Resetti.'

After reading it, she cracked an unsteady smile and then burst out into a fit of laughter. It sounded like something a dad would say when sending their child off to school, awkward but sincere. In all, it was exactly something Resetti would write. She quieted down when she discovered that the sound of her own laughter hurt her ears.

"Ow... Thank you, Brewster."

"You should lift the lid...," he said shyly.

Curious, she looked inside to see a swirl of hearts made out milk.

"I made it especially for you."

She stared at it for a bit longer and felt her eyes well up again.

"Brewster... Thank you..."

He said nothing but nodded in return. It was hard to tell his expression when he was always so stoic but she swore he smiled. She carefully took a sip before putting the lid back. Even a taste brought color to her cheeks.

She walked to Town Hall and looked out over the town. It was still early, very few if any villagers were up yet. It was sure to be just her an Isabelle for a few more hours. She thought of the tasks that awaited her and her mind drifted to last night.

"I'm a nice person..." she said softly.

She wanted to scoff at the idea but somehow couldn't muster the sarcasm. She looked back down at her coffee and read the message again in her head.

"A good kid... As if..."

Her chest tightened and her breathing began to shallow. She gritted her teeth and picked at the band. She wanted to rip it off in anger but couldn't be so mean despite how hard she was trying. That's when she noticed that there was something on the other side of it. Just under the band, there were words, blurry from the heat and steam, on the cup itself. She slipped it off and found out that the writing on the cup was a stain from the band. She gently tore it in in two and unfolded it to find out the messages continued. Some were neatly written, others were hastily scrawled, many overlapped due to the small space they had to work with.

I'll always be there for you. And you can be there for me too. That's what friends are for! - Fuchsia

I'm in your corner. Always have been, always will be. - Vladimir

When I look at you, I get the feeling I need to work a little harder. - Gaston

I've been think about you and all the fun we have together. Thank you for being my friend. -Flurry

If I don't tell you enough how grateful I am for you, here it is. Seeing you makes my day. - Zell

Even apart, I always carry you with me. - Julian

On and on, one villager after another, even those that have moved away, they all had words of how important she was to them and how they felt about her. She swallowed hard and tried to hold back her tears. She let out an odd chorus of stifled sobs.

"Ms. Mayor?"

She quickly rubbed her eyes and stood up straight. She didn't want anyone else to see her like this. She folded the cardboard band and put it in her pocket. It was fine if her fingers burned a bit.

"Good Morning, Isabelle! I was just on my way in!"

They weren't too far from the town hall. Isabelle had arrived first and seen her from the window. She watched the mayor carefully but didn't feel the need to get up until she heard her start to cry. Now she was standing in front of her trying her best to not look like she had ran for how worried she was. She offered a gentle smile and walked to stand by the mayor's side in case she was needed to lean on.

"Is everything alright, Mayor?"

"Yep!" She answered back hastily.

"I'm fine-," she stopped herself from repeating her self-ingrained response. She took a deep breath and smiled. It was small, faint, and easily broken but it was real.

"I'm... going to be okay."