The Big Win Read online

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  Copyright © 2021 by Hollan Publishing, Inc.

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  Cover design by Kai Texel

  Cover artwork by Grace Sandford

  Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-6528-3

  E-Book ISBN: 978-1-5107-6578-8

  Printed in the United States of America

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1: MINOR CATASTROPHES

  CHAPTER 2: GONE FISHING

  CHAPTER 3: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND

  CHAPTER 4: BIRTHDAY PLANS

  CHAPTER 5: HOUSEWARMING PARTY

  CHAPTER 6: GRAND OPENING

  CHAPTER 7: THE COACH

  CHAPTER 8: ANOTHER ESCAPE

  CHAPTER 9: CONSTRUCTION

  CHAPTER 10: TIME TRAVEL

  CHAPTER 11: LOST AND FOUND

  CHAPTER 12: TRICKS OR CHEATS

  CHAPTER 13: DECISIONS

  CHAPTER 14: THE CONTEST

  CHAPTER 15: COUNTING WHAT YOU CAUGHT

  CHAPTER 16: NIGHT FISHING

  CHAPTER 17: CELEBRATIONS

  CHAPTER 18: ANOTHER YEAR OLDER

  CHAPTER 1

  MINOR CATASTROPHES

  It was exactly two weeks until the birthday of Alana’s good friend, Lars the pig. Alana was counting down the days, because she was secretly planning a big surprise party for Lars along with their other friends, Happy the hamster and Carl the chicken. Although Lars’s birthday was still a few weeks away, Alana was giving him a colorful hammock she had purchased from Tick and Tock’s shop. She believed if she gave him an early birthday present today, he’d never suspect she was planning anything for his birthday, especially not a surprise party.

  Alana carried the hammock and headed toward Lars’s house. She wanted to place the hammock between the large apple trees on the side of his home. As she approached Lars’s house, she passed by her raccoon friends Tick and Tock outside the shop. They were chatting with a hedgehog who stood in front of a cart full of clothing. Sometimes it was weird being the only person on an island full of animals.

  “Alana,” Tick called out, “come here.”

  Alana walked over. “Hi, I can’t stay long. I wanted to give Lars this colorful hammock.”

  “You’re a good friend,” Tock said with a smile.

  “Before you go, I wanted you to meet my friend Avis. She sells clothes that you might like,” Tick said, pointing to Avis’s cart, which was filled with pastel T-shirts, knit hats, floral dresses, blue jeans, and an assortment of shorts.

  Alana took a closer look at the clothes. “I love this shirt,” Alana said as she pointed to a pink shirt hanging on the side of the cart. “How much is it?”

  “Five hundred bells,” Avis said.

  Alana pulled five hundred bells from her pocket and handed it to Avis. “I’d like to buy the shirt.”

  “Do you want to try it on first? If you do, you can go into Tick and Tock’s shop and see how it fits,” suggested Avis.

  “Good idea,” Alana said, then paused. “You know, I also want to try on the blue dress. It’s my friend Lars’s birthday in a couple of weeks and we are planning a surprise party, and this would be the perfect dress to wear to the party.”

  Tick said, “You have to stop mentioning the surprise party or it won’t be a surprise for long.”

  Alana laughed. She couldn’t help mentioning the party. In fact, she had been avoiding Lars because she thought she’d let it slip, and she knew Lars had noticed. Alana hoped giving Lars the hammock would make up for avoiding him for the past few weeks. She walked into the shop and tried on the dress. She looked at herself in the mirror. The dress fit perfectly, and she had a pink floral hair clip that she thought would look great with it. Alana headed over to Avis with the two garments in hand. “I will take both of them,” she said with a smile.

  Avis thanked her and said, “I’m hoping to open a shop on Furtopia. Once I do, I will have all sorts of dresses, pants, and many accessories at my tailor shop.”

  “Wow!” Alana exclaimed. She imagined stopping by the shop to purchase new clothes. “I hope the store opens soon.”

  “Me too,” Avis said. “Nice meeting you.”

  As Alana continued on to Lars’s house with the colorful hammock in hand, Happy stopped her.

  “Did you hear the news?” Happy asked.

  “What news? I haven’t heard anything new,” Alana replied.

  “Oh good! I love being the first to break a story.” Happy clapped her hands with excitement. “There’s going to be a new store opening on Furtopia. A clothing store run by the sweetest hedgehog named Avis. I believe she wants to open it with her twin sister Tavis.”

  Alana didn’t have the heart to tell Happy that she already knew about the shop, but she didn’t know about the twin sister.

  “That’s so exciting,” Alana said. “You can get a new outfit there for Lars’s party.”

  “Yes, and so can you!”

  Alana didn’t want to lie, so she said, “I actually just bought something for Lars’s party from Avis’s cart.”

  “Then you did know about the shop?” Happy questioned.

  “Well, kind of. I didn’t know she had a twin sister or that the store is actually going to open,” Alana explained.

  “I’m just so glad it will open soon,” said Happy. “I love shopping. I’m already in the middle of crafting a large wardrobe for all the clothes I’m going to buy from the new shop.”

  “I can’t wait to see it,” said Alana.

  “Why don’t you come over for dinner tonight?”

  Alana accepted the dinner invitation and then excused herself and sprinted toward Lars’s house. When she reached the house, she saw Lars lying on a colorful hammock, sipping a glass of cherry juice. She quickly hid the hammock she was carrying.

  “Lars,” Alana remarked, “I love the new hammock.”

  “Thank you. My friend Janey gave it to me.” Lars sat up and the hammock swung, making him almost fall to the ground. He steadied himself and climbed out of the hammock.

  “Janey?” questioned Alana.

  Lars said, “Yes, she’s an old friend. She is visiting Furtopia.”

  Janey walked out of Lars’s house. She was a purple cat with pink ears. She wore a red dress with large white flowers stitched on it.

  “Nice to meet you,” Janey said and hugged Alana.

  “It’s also nice to meet you.” Alana wanted to say that she had heard all about Janey, but she hadn’t. Lars had never mentioned her.

  “Lars wants to show me around Furtopia. Do you want to join us?” Janey asked Alana.


  “I’d love that. I’m not sure if Lars mentioned this, but I’m the island manager.”

  “He didn’t, but that sounds like a cool job,” Janey said as Lars led them to the beach.

  “The last island I lived on was totally inadequate,” Lars said as he pointed out the flowers and cherry trees. “I’m so glad that I moved to Furtopia. It was the best decision I ever made.”

  Janey pointed at the garden and pond by the museum. “This is truly a charming island. I’d love to check out the museum.”

  “It’s wonderful,” said Lars. “Feathers the owl runs the museum and he is so knowledgeable.”

  Feathers walked down the steps of the majestic museum and called to his friends. “Would you like to come in? I am working on a new exhibit I’d love for you to see.”

  “Yes,” Alana said, and the group joined Feathers on the steps.

  Feathers was so excited and spoke so fast that the group had a hard time understanding him. He led them to an empty tank. “I want to have a shark tank,” he said.

  “That would be awesome,” said Alana. “How will you get sharks?”

  “I’ve caught sharks before. In fact, I have one with me,” Janey said. She pulled a shark out of her pocket and handed it to Feathers. “I’d love to donate it to this exhibit and place the first shark in the shark tank.”

  “This is amazing!” exclaimed Feathers. “I’m sorry I was so distracted by my new exhibit that I didn’t properly introduce myself. My name is Feathers, and you are?”

  “I’m Janey and I’m moving to Furtopia,” she said.

  “Janey is my best friend,” explained Lars. “I’ve known her for years. I’m so glad she decided to move to Furtopia. I know she is going to be happy here.”

  Alana was upset. She thought Janey was just visiting Furtopia and now it turns out that Janey is going to stay. Since Lars moved to Furtopia, Alana had spent every day with him, and she thought of him as her best friend. She didn’t want Janey moving here and taking away her best friend. She didn’t know what do to, so she smiled and said, “If you’re staying, I guess we should pick out a house for you.”

  CHAPTER 2

  GONE FISHING

  Alana walked along the shore with Lars and Janey. Janey paused by the coconut tree.

  “Coconuts.” Janey smiled. “I love coconuts.” She shook the tree and picked the coconut that dropped on the ground, offering some to Lars, but not to Alana. Lars didn’t seem to notice.

  “Isn’t this island lovely?” Lars asked. “I’m so glad you’re moving here.”

  “Me too,” Janey said.

  “Aren’t you going to miss the place you lived in before?” Alana questioned.

  “Ever since Lars left ages ago to explore other islands, it’s been so boring. I don’t think I’ll miss it. I can already tell that I love Furtopia. I just have to figure out the best spot to build my home,” Janey said, staring out at the sea.

  Happy was jogging by and stopped to introduce herself to Janey. Janey stood staring at the sea as she spoke to Happy. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry I’m distracted. I love to fish, and I noticed a school of fish swimming beneath the surface. I want to go fishing.”

  Janey pulled out her fishing rod and cast the reel into the sea. Within seconds, she had caught three sea bass. Alana didn’t even know someone could catch a fish that quickly. Janey was an expert.

  “Wow,” Alana exclaimed, “you can really fish. I’m impressed.”

  “The water is crowded with fish today, so it’s not as impressive as it looks. Do you have a rod on you? If so, you should join me.”

  Alana pulled out her old fishing rod, the one that she had used to get a koi fish that was on display at the museum. Although Alana had caught a koi and a coelacanth, she was still learning how to fish, and she hadn’t caught many. Alana watched as Janey reeled in fish after fish from her line, while she, herself, didn’t catch a single one.

  “I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. I’m still a bit new at this,” Alana said. “Janey, can you help me?”

  Janey put down her fishing rod and helped Alana. “Why don’t you move the rod to the right?”

  Alana moved the rod to the right, and she felt a tug. She reeled in a sea bass. “Thanks,” Alana said. Perhaps having Janey on Furtopia wouldn’t be as bad as she had imagined.

  Janey said, “In two weeks, my friend D. J. is hosting a series of fishing tournaments on various islands. I was thinking of asking him to host one on Furtopia. Isn’t that a great idea?”

  Alana thought about the last contest she had participated in, when she had become fixated on Furtopia winning the Prettiest Island Award. Furtopia won and the prize was a private J. J. Swooner concert. The concert was magical and memorable, but the process of preparing for the contest had turned Alana into a hyper-focused person who didn’t have time for anything else but trying to win the contest. Ever since Furtopia was awarded the Prettiest Island Award, Alana had been more relaxed. She spent time crafting, planting, and spending lazy days with her friends. She wasn’t sure she wanted to participate in this fishing tournament, because she worried she’d go back to her old ways.

  “I’m not sure Furtopia is the right place for the tournament,” Alana explained. “I don’t think anybody would sign up.”

  “Are you crazy? I’d sign up! That fishing tournament sounds like the best idea ever!” Happy exclaimed. “I love fishing!”

  Carl walked over to the beach. “Hi guys. Are you fishing?”

  “Yes,” said Janey as she introduced herself. “I was just telling Alana about a fishing tournament that is happening on Furtopia in a few weeks.”

  “Really? I’d sign up,” Carl remarked with a yawn. “I don’t mind fishing because it doesn’t require too much movement.”

  Alana wasn’t sure how the fishing tournament went from a possibility to an actual event. She felt as if Janey was trying to take over Furtopia. Didn’t Janey realize that Alana was the manager of the island? Didn’t Janey realize that Lars was her best friend?

  “My friend D. J. will be so excited to host the tournament here,” said Janey.

  “What are the prizes?” asked Alana.

  “You win trophies and you can also sell the fish you caught to either D. J. or a shop owner on the island, and they will give you lots of bells for the winning fish,” Janey replied.

  Happy grabbed Alana’s arm. “Oh my gosh! Think of all the clothes we can buy from Avis and Tavis’s shop with those bells. We will be the most fashionable folks on Furtopia. Maybe we can buy matching outfits. Isn’t that a great idea, Alana?”

  Alana needed more bells. She wanted to splurge when the new tailor shop opened, so she agreed to participate in the contest.

  “This is awesome! Let’s practice now,” Janey suggested. “In the tournament, we are timed and whoever catches the most fish within the allotted time is declared the winner.”

  “A practice contest? I’m in!” Happy got out her rod.

  Lars and Carl took out their rods too. Janey asked, “Is everybody ready?”

  Everyone cast their reels and Janey called out, “One. Two. Three. Go!”

  Alana watched as her friends caught fish after fish, while she couldn’t even seem to get a nibble. When she finally felt a tug, she reeled it in and found an old clock on her hook. She put it in the sand. When the contest was over, everybody gathered and enthusiastically showed off their piles of fish. Alana had the smallest pile of the bunch. She had caught three fish and an old broken clock.

  “Does the clock count?” she joked.

  “No,” Janey replied coldly, as she counted everyone’s catches and declared herself the winner.

  “We should sell these fish to Tick and Tock,” Happy suggested. “Then we can go to Avis’s cart and buy some clothes.”

  Everyone chatted about their best strategies for catching the most fish. Lars had come in second place and was explaining that he likes to walk along the shoreline when he fishes because when you move spo
ts, you catch more fish.

  Carl remarked, “I think moving is overrated. I just stay in one place and it works out fine. I only caught one less fish than you did.”

  Happy added, “I don’t care if I win the contest. I just want to get bells, so I can buy clothes. I am almost done with the new wardrobe that I am building by myself and I can’t wait to fill it.”

  “Wow, you’re building your own wardrobe? I’d love to see it,” Janey said.

  “You can come over to my house after we go to the shop,” Happy suggested.

  “I’d love to, but I have to find a place to build a home,” Janey explained.

  “Build one next to mine. We can be neighbors,” Happy told her.

  “Maybe I will,” Janey said.

  “I’m so glad you’ve decided to move to our island,” Happy said. “I bet we’re going to be best friends. We should buy matching outfits from Avis’s cart.”

  Alana trailed behind as she listened to her friends talk. She carried her three fish and the old broken clock, and when she took a detour and went home instead of to Tick and Tock’s shop, nobody seemed to notice.

  CHAPTER 3

  THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISLAND

  Where did you go?” Lars asked as he climbed the stairs to Alana’s porch.

  Alana was surprised they had come to visit. She had watched Lars and Janey walk away after the fishing practice and not even look back to see where she was, and Alana wasn’t ready to talk to them. After she left them, she had spent the afternoon on her porch swing listening to J. J. Swooner songs on her tape deck.

  “I love J. J. Swooner,” Janey remarked.

  Alana didn’t reply, just hummed along to the song.

  “What happened to you?” Lars asked.

  She couldn’t continue with the silent treatment. She was too mature for those tactics, so she confessed, “I didn’t really have anything to sell. I’m not that great at fishing.”

  “You have a few weeks to prepare for the tournament,” Janey said.

  “I’m not signing up.”

  “Alana, you have to sign up. I told my friend D. J. I have everyone onboard,” Janey explained.

  “Well you don’t have me,” Alana said, raising the volume on her tape deck to drown out Janey’s voice.