Chapter Text
Chapter 1
The One with The Conductor
The wheels of the vehicle screeches, and the bus halts to a stop.
Claudine inwardly groans. She has been travelling all night for ten hours straight. Now, she’s nursing a massive headache. She knows her hair is huge a mess and that she is in dire need of a shower.
“Passengers to Starlight Valley! Get off the bus now.” The bellowing voice of the conductor pierces through Claudine’s ears. She haughtily glares at the man. “You’re Starlight Valley, right?” He waits for Claudine to nod before continuing, “Ma’am I’m gonna have to ask you to hurry.”
There are only five people in this damn bus. I’m sure they can wait!
Claudine scrambles for her purse and luggage before hastily exiting the isle. She gives the bus one more good look. What a sight for a couple of sore eyes. There were only four other passengers remaining, all still asleep. Claudine reminds herself that instead of taking the bus, she should drive here next time. She hears the conductor clear his throat.
“Look, Starlight Valley, are ya getting off or not?”
She flinches. There was something odd about this man’s voice that Claudine couldn’t name. “Right, sorry.” Claudine mumbles before stepping out of the air-conditioned vehicle which reeked of cheap, citrusy air-fresheners.
The conductor grumbles in response and helps her with her luggage.
Once all her belongings are out of the bus, Claudine is met with… nothing. Where the hell is the bus stop!? The only thing she sees is a broken, wooden sign that says, “Hello Starlight Valley is this way”. She stares in disbelief. Claudine forces herself out of her stupor and frantically knocks on the bus doors.
“Hey, you!” She taps at the transparent doors, a finger pointed at the conductor. “Are you sure I’m in the right place? Where’s the bus stop?”
The bus doors open, and the questionable (?) conductor lazily peeks at her.
“Well?” She stomps her foot on the dirt road, which causes a small puff of smoke to materialize below her knees. She immediately regrets it.
The man gives her a confused expression. “That’s Starlight Valley, right there. I dunno what you’re talkin ‘bout.”
Claudine looks at him, completely mortified. She regards his appearance carefully. He’s wearing an overused jumper that’s a couple sizes too big for his body, and underneath that is a green checkered flannel shirt. A large dirty brown cap was covering half of his face, and she could vaguely make out his expression. Claudine rolls her eyes.
Typical locals.
She pulls out a crumpled document from her purse. The words on the document are a little hard to see due to the lack of light, but she’s read the paragraph over a hundred times. She knows what’s written on it. “I’m supposed to inherit a farm. It says here it’s full of ‘lush green grass as far as the eye can see and fertile land capable of growing crops native to the country’—and I don’t see anything.” She drops her hands and stares at the man expectantly.
Claudine hears a disgusted snort come out of his lips. “A farm? That’s the best part yet! Shoot, I dunno ‘bout your farm, this entire place is full’a farm!” He sputters a jumble of sentences that Claudine can’t quite understand. “—but you don’t look like you’ve worked a day in your life, Starlight Valley.” Is all she manages to catch before—wait. What did he just say?
“Excuse me? I’m sorry, but do you have any idea who you’re talking to right now?” She jabs a finger at his direction. The nerve of this person! Fuming, Claudine decides she’s going to report this man to his superiors.
“Yeah, you one of ‘em big city folks thinkin’ you’s can handle life out here. I never seen you ‘round here before and we knows everybody! It’s a small town! But I wish you luck though, cuz’ you gon’need it.” With that, the doors close, and she catches one last whiff of that cheap, citrus smell. The engine of the bus roars back to life, leaving a large puff of dark smoke in its wake; a mixture of the engine’s and the dirt road envelopes Claudine’s field of vision. She makes an effort to cover her nose, but she still hacks in a good portion of the dirt anyway.
“I’m going to report you to your superiors!” She screams in the middle of nowhere. The gall! Claudine indignantly puffs and takes the first step towards the direction the broken sign is pointing at. She hears a sickening squish the moment her foot makes contact with the dirt path. She looks down, and she fights the urge to scream a second time.
Her Prada heels stepped on a large bug. At least, she hoped it was a bug.
EEP!
The sun was starting to rise, small streaks of yellow were faintly dusting Claudine’s cheek bones. For any normal person, a sunrise would be a delight. But for Claudine, it simply added insult to injury; the added heat, making her sweat tenfold.
She had been walking for nearly thirty minutes now and the thick, humid air of summer was beginning to make itself known. She’s resorted to tying her beautiful golden locks, despite her inward protests. Both her hands were occupied with large Prada branded trolleys, pink of course. Panting, she stopped to fumble with her purse and pulled out a giant pair of sunglasses along with the sunhat she purchased specifically for this endeavor.
With her hands on her hips, she resorted to looking around. She had been staring at the same freaking mountain for thirty minutes, and she thinks she’s still in the same clearing she’s been on since she stepped out of that damned bus.
Am I lost? That’s impossible!
Claudine tries her phone, but she’s met with no cell service.
Of course.
At the corner of her eye however, she sees a small hut—it was more of a shed, really but it was a mere speck compared to the mountains and wooden fences around her peripheral vision. Claudine isn’t sure, but she thinks there is a person sitting down underneath the roof of the shed.
Please let that be a human being!
She grabs her belongings and, with the few remaining will power she has left, takes off towards the shed. The nearer she gets, the more the person’s silhouette becomes clear. It was a female. Finally!
“Hello!?” Claudine’s voice is scratchy and she’s sure she sounds more like a dying goose than a high-paid actress, but to hell with it. “Hey! Can you help me!?”
The woman visibly flinches at Claudine’s voice. She stands up from her stool and eyes Claudine warily. She’s sporting oddly shaped pigtails, which makes her blonde hair look like… Claudine doesn’t know how to describe it, but she’ll settle for the word bananas. She’s awfully tall, as well. Claudine is suddenly having second thoughts about this.
She hesitantly slows to a stop in front of the local and politely clears her throat. “Good morning. I’m sorry. I’ve been walking for half an hour now, and I was hoping you could tell me where I am.” Claudine straightens her posture and she hopes she’s wearing a nice expression.
The stranger stares at her. It’s making Claudine feel uncomfortable.
“Or maybe not.” Claudine quickly mutters before gathering her belongings once more. Halfway mid step however, the woman’s voice stops her.
“Oh! Wait a second, might you be Claudine Saijou?”
Claudine freezes and she fumbles for a response. “I-I-yes! Yes, that’s me. Claudine Saijou.” She can feel her face splitting into a grin. It’s nice to know that even in remote areas like these she is still recognized. She is a famous actress after all. The Claudine Saijou.
“My name is Nana, it’s nice to meet you!” The woman, Nana, beams at her. She reaches for her hand and politely shakes it. Her hands are terribly calloused, Claudine notes. “You’re very late though! I’ve been waiting for you for almost an hour now.” Nana reaches for Claudine’s luggage, to which she is eternally grateful for.
“Oh. I didn’t know someone was going to pick me up.” This was news to Claudine. The document didn’t mention anything about an escort. It wasn’t an unwelcomed development, however.
“Did the bus break down? It was supposed to drop you here.” Nana begins walking away from the shed, and motions for Claudine to follow.
“I’m sorry?” This was news to Claudine.
“This is the Starlight Valley bus stop. See?” She stops to point at the large sign indicating the fact. It was written in red bold text.
Claudine blanches. How could I have missed that sign!? She fumes, the beginning of a hissy fit erupting from her lips. “Merde! I knew it! There was something off about that conductor! I should have strangled him when I had the chance!” So, it was the conductor’s fault that she was in this mess in the first place!
Nana stares at her funny. “Conductor? The bus doesn’t have a conductor.” She’s looking at Claudine as if she’s sprouted two heads. “That’s strange…” Nana continues to walk forward, and Claudine struggles to keep up.
“What are you talking about? Tall guy, dresses like a slob, wears a freaky cap that covers half his face, and has a funny accent.” Claudine emphasizes that last bit by copying the conductor’s accent. “I couldn’t even understand half the stuff he was saying.”
“A funny accent…” Nana drags out her words, and her face scrunches up. She’s muttering to herself—Claudine can’t catch a word she’s saying, until, “—unless… oooh boy.” Nana abruptly stops, causing Claudine to bump on the taller girl’s shoulder.
“What?” Her voice comes out harsher than intended.
The woman pales, and suddenly she is wearing a sheepish grin. “Oh! I-It’s nothing!” Nana’s posture stiffens, and she begins to quicken her pace. “T-They probably hired a new conductor! I don’t really get out of town much, s-s-so I wouldn’t know. We could ask Junna later—I-I mean, she wouldn’t know anything either! We really don’t get out of town much.” She’s an absolute mess. Claudine, being in the performing arts industry, knows exactly how to spot a liar. Although, it doesn’t take a professional actress to see through Nana’s blatant lies. Claudine decides to humor her for now.
“Newly hired or not, I’ll be sure to report him. It’s very unbecoming of an employee. He was rude, and he’s done a poor job at being a conductor.”
“Say…” Nana carefully treads, “Are you sure it was a he?”
Claudine pauses; the question caught her off guard. She crinkles her nose before hesitantly replying, “Yes, I am?”
Nana makes the most unusual sound Claudine has ever heard a human being make. She’s not sure how to describe it. “We should probably get going! The entire town is eager to meet you, you know! We don’t get a lot of new comers around here, so you might be taken off-guard with how welcoming they are…” Nana nervously laughs. “Don’t worry though, everyone in town is very nice!” Her faux enthusiasm falters, “…except for one.”
Claudine doesn’t know how to respond to the other blonde’s odd behavior. Claudine has a neutral mask in place, something she can pull off effortlessly. “I have reason to believe you’re referring to the conductor?” She says in a flat tone.
“The conductor! Um,” Claudine thinks Nana might be short-circuiting, “—I’ll be sure to let everyone in town know about her—I mean, his actions.”
“Trust me, as will I.”