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CookieBoy011 — MY PLACE s03:e38 - Snap

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Published: 2022-10-26 19:39:30 +0000 UTC; Views: 1491; Favourites: 12; Downloads: 0
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I grumbled my way through the village after another shift at The Roost.



“Kilimanjaro…” I tutted. “Who even orders that one!?”



At least this time, the quality of coffee beans I had been paid in were slightly better than usual. After a day or two of trial and error, I had managed to figure out some of the usual orders the residents always asked for. It was still ridiculous though. I mean, I get that Brewster has his policies to make the customer so comfortable that they don’t even need to explain what they want, but come on now.



I was looking forward to complaining about my day to Isabelle. I had also found a water cooler in a tree, so being able to provide the office with a FREE luxury was sure to cheer her up from the very-poorly-hidden slump she had been in for a while now.



I creaked open the front door of Town Hall and stepped inside to do my evening mayor stuff.

“I’m back!” I said and for the first time I can ever recall, my secretary didn’t greet me back.



Instead of her smiling face or the sight of her rushing around with a stack of papers in her hand, I found Isabelle with her head buried in her arms, her sobs muffled as she practically tried to sink into her desk. When she noticed me enter, she sprung up, her eyes bloodshot, and made a feeble effort to tidy up her messy hair. 



“M-Mayor!” she sniffled, “I just got overwhelmed with all the work I had… I had to take a break and… I promise to complete my tasks! I’m sorry!”



Regardless of what you might think of my social skills, you can’t deny that there’s a certain fight-or-flight level response to seeing a girl - especially one you’re fond of - visibly upset with tears in their eyes. I didn’t think about rushing over to the side of her desk, it just came manually.



“No, no, no…” I said, unconvinced by the smile she was trying to force. “Don’t start doing anything. Tell me what’s the matter.”



Isabelle wiped her tears with the sleeve of her jumper, which only served to redden them further. “I-I just took a look at all the work I have  to do and I just felt overwhelmed and I started c-crying… I have so many things to do… I’m sorry! I’ll get right back to work! You don’t need to worry!”



“Look,” I said, trying to be diplomatic in spite of how stubborn I knew she was, “if it’s too much, then you’re allowed to take a–”



“IT’S NOT TOO MUCH!” she exclaimed to my face. Her volume must have surprised her. It certainly surprised me, that’s for sure. “I want to always be reliable,” she said, sadly. “The whole town is counting on me! They all rely on me! If I stop working…”



I took the leaf containing the water cooler out of my pocket and set it up beside the wall. It’s weird how used you get to these things. I poured her a cup and gave it to her. It would do a lot better than coffee would, in any case.



I knelt down close to her, which in retrospect might have been a bit patronising, like talking to a child, but being a comforter was never in the job description and I was never qualified for it.



“It’s alright!” I said to her, “Things have been tough lately, but you’ve pushed yourself too far. Can you at least admit that? Just this once?”



Isabelle went quiet for a moment, wiped a few more tears, then sighed.

“You’re right… I have been pushing myself too far. Ever since the summer, things have been piling on top of me at such a speed I couldn’t anticipate. I thought I was ready for all of this… the coffee helped me out at the beginning, but the more I drank, the less it worked and I’ve been starting to get h-headaches from drinking so much… but I’m not the only one who’s in the same position… I know you’re also struggling to keep Place running and I’m sorry. I’m being selfish.”



Now it was my turn to sigh. For as long as I’ve known her, Isabelle’s been the only one who never blamed me for the stuff that I should be blamed for. I took advantage of that, and now look where it got us.



“You’re not the one being selfish, Isabelle,” I said, shaking my head. “I know you’re not gonna like this, but I’m telling you to take some time off. A week at least.” I tried to assert some sort of authority by declaring it a “mayoral order”. Her reaction was as expected.



“I-I-I can’t be idle… how would this even work? We… we’d get behind on our payments on our public works projects, Mayor. Main Street needs CONSTANT supervision! You can’t just put a pause on all the work. I’m your secretary and I’m supposed to do this stuff for you!”



“Who said there’s gonna be a pause?” I said with a grin. “This time, YOU are gonna leave it ALL to ME!”



The look on her face was nothing short of shock and terror.

“But… but you have all of your own work to do! AND you’re working part time now! We can’t just… How could this… Nobody else can…” She hung her head, her fluffy ears drooping sadly at either side of her head and the bells in her hair making a very depressing jingle. “Mayor… you would do that for me?”



I remembered back to when I had gotten her a seashell last year. She had called that a nice thing for me to do… for her. It wasn’t long after that I let her down. But not this time.



“Come on,” I said, “I’ll walk you to the station. You can get the next train home.”



We made the trip to the train station in silence. Still, I’d rather be there with her instead of turning the village into a metaphorical walk of shame. Her next train was a few minutes away, so there we stood. Waiting. Isabelle stood to the side, clutching herself tightly with a trembling lip. I just knew that the moment she leaves, she’ll let it all come out.



Porter was able to see everything, of course, and was unable to hold back his curiosity and concern for more than five minutes.

“Mr Mayor?” he asked, quietly. “Is everything all right?”



I looked over to Isabelle.

Hair a mess, eyes red, the weight of the whole town having made a visible imprint on her. She was a total mess and I knew that it was entirely my fault. But having taken the initiative to kick her out of town (as bad as that sounds), I knew how to respond.



“I think things will be,” I said. “I think things will be.”



Her train arrived.

I was content to give her space, but Isabelle hugged me before getting onboard. 



“Thank you,” she whispered.



And then she was gone.






~Author’s Notes~

This was an episode that I had been both excited and dreading to write ever since the season started. Isabelle is a character that I see myself reflected in and so I’ve always been able to draw from my own experiences to write her inner conflicts. I’ve never suffered a serious mental breakdown like she does here, but given how much of an exaggerated workaholic Isabelle is, a scene like this was always inevitable in my eyes. It was also a chance to further mature the Mayor, since he’s always had Isabelle as an unwavering source of praise and admiration while the other characters see him as the doofus he actually is.



Personally, I think Isabelle is strong enough to not fall victim to stuff like this, but I wanted her in My Place to grow into that character instead of starting off fully developed, if that makes any sense.

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