Chapter 2

I walk along the brick ground of the train station, bathed in sunlight. I walk down the brick steps that is under a large overhang, and stop. Something approaches me. I think it's a raccoon, but there's a possibility it could be a tanooki. "Excuse me!" He calls out. "Hey, hey! Hey, you there! Yes, you!" He walks up to me. He has a caring, but agitated look in his eyes, and he wears only a blue apron with a white leaf stitched on the middle. "Would your name happen to be Decco?" He asks.

I nod.

"Good, good! I just now had a phone call about you, hm?"

I nod once again. I'm very nervous, talking to somebody who's gonna sell me a house.

"Whew! I'm glad I made it here in time to meet your train!" He exclaims while wheezing slightly. "I'm afraid I'm not in the best shape of my life… But I ramble! My name is Tom Nook. I, uh, run the store here in town. I'm quite pleased to meet you, yes?" I nod my head, I guess you could say it was a 'likewise' nod.

Nook continues. "Something strikes me as odd though, my young friend. Moving to a town before settling on a place to live… Why, it's the craziest thing I have ever heard of! Madness! Absolute madness, hm?"

He then begins to laugh uncontrollably. I could already see what kind of guy he was. I thought of telling him to stuff it, but I didn't want to come out immediately as a bad person. I may then just leave, and I'd be stuck - not that'd be the first time!

"Whatever…" I mumble.

"Woah ho! Ho ho! Ah, ahem. Pardon me, I beg you! That just struck my funny bone! Now, don't you worry! It may be small, but I have a house you can move into right away! It should more than suit your needs, hm? I can show it to you now, so come along! Let's scuttle!"

He turns around and walks forward, me following behind. We walk through some white picket fences, and there are four houses. Small size, but strongly built. They even came with their own red mailboxes!

"Here we are!" He says. "Not too shabby, hm? I can heartily recommend any of these houses! Take your pick! Feel free to take a look inside. Really. I don't mind. Not in the least. After all, the doors don't have any locks."

That last sentence scared me. But in a small village, what could go wrong? I stepped to the one on my right - or the left one if you were looking at it from the front. It had a nice wooden door and a bright red roof. I twist the handle, open the door and walk inside, closing the door behind me.

The floor is cobblestone, and the walls are made of uneven sizes of bricks. They were that color of green that was just unappealing. In the front, right corner, there was a box, with a book and a red pencil on it's cover. I walked over and flipped through it. Although blank, this journal would come in useful. I turn around. Behind me is a large blue… tape player? No, tape deck! I walked over and pressed down the play button. I had to force it a bit, and it clicked in place with a "THUNK" Nothing. I pressed the eject button, which opened the tray to the left next to the large speaker on the right. Pressing this button also snapped the play button back to it's original position. Empty. I shut the tray, and adjust it's antenna. I checked my phone, pulling it out of my back right pocket. My service was gone. Not as in 'no service', gone as in somebody canceled my plan. My father. Great. Again, peachy. I sighed, put my phone away, and walked back outside into the blinding sunlight.

"Well? What do you think? How was it, hm?" Nook asks. A lecture is another word for it. I adjust my horn hat.

"I like it!"

"You're quite sure? Here is the one you want?"

"Here is good!"

"Very well! It's decided then! That house now belongs to you, Decco!" A feeling of hope and excitement fills within me. "What a happy day for you, I'm certain!" Tom says. "I'll tell you what-I'll even throw in the radio in there free of charge!" I could've sworn I heard him mumble, "I could never sell that thing at the shop…" He then told me the rundown of my house. He explained that my house didn't have any furniture, and that I'd have to do that job myself. He also suggested popping into other neighbor’s homes to get ideas for my own interior designs.

"Oh… Yes. That weird thing over by the door there… That would be your personal Gyroid assistant!" He explained. I look over at it. The only way I can describe it is one of those clay haniwa. "If visitors stop by when you're not around, this Gyroid will meet and greet them, hm? It truly is a must have! You can teach it messages, and the little fellow will repeat them to visitors!" He also explains that you could also leave items with it, to give and or sell to visitors. He also warns, and I quote "BE SURE TO ABSOLUTELY SPEAK TO YOUR GYROID BEFORE BED!"For that is the only was to 'save' what I did that day, apparently.

"Now then," He states, "With fees and closing costs, the house comes to… nineteen thousand, eight-hundred bells!" And just like that, all of my hope and excitement died. That was a sucker-punch to the gut. I took out my wallet, only to be greeted by my only one thousand bells. I sighed, and gave him all I had. He looked at it, and said, "Yes, that would be… not nearly enough!!! You only have one thousand bells?!? You're joking with me, yes?" But my look said it all. And he knew it. "Why, you're so short I can't help but laugh!" And that's what he preceded to do. Laugh his butt off. "You know what happens to people who don't have money, don't you? I'll tell you. They can't buy a house!" He must have seen how hopeless I am, because he said "But… you still need a place to stay, don't you? Hmm… A thorny situation. Yes, rather thorny."

"What ab-"

"Then here's what we'll do! You can work part-time at my shop to pay off the rest! Yes, that's acceptable! Splendid! We're all set! This will work wonderfully! Now then, you'll have to come to my shop later to work. You can find my shop in Acre A-1. You can't miss it. At least, MOST people can't miss it. If you have trouble, check the map by the station, yes?"

I nodded. I was too tired to argue now. It will work. The situation had been solved.

"I'm heading back there now, so I'll be waiting for you. I'd ask you to be quick about coming, yes?"

I nodded once more. And with that, he left. As I saw him walking away, I muttered, "What did I get myself into?"