CHAPTER 2

We kept working, raking up loose dirt and clearing out rocks and leaves. The sun beat down, but the breeze made it bearable. Adam, of course, complained every five minutes.

"Man, I didn't come here to get a workout," he groaned, tossing a small rock aside.

"You came here to help, and this is helping," I shot back, wiping sweat off my forehead.

"Yeah, yeah. So, what are we planting first?"

"I was thinking potatoes. They're easy to grow."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Easy? You sure about that? You barely knew what a watering can was five minutes ago."

I scowled. "I knew what it was! I just forgot the name for a second!"

"Uh-huh." He smirked. "Anyway, you got potato seeds or something?"

I shook my head. "You don't plant seeds. You use actual potatoes."

Adam blinked. "Wait, for real?"

"Yeah. You cut a potato into pieces, make sure each one has an 'eye,' then plant them. Simple."

Adam crossed his arms, giving me a skeptical look. "And you just know this how?"

"I looked it up," I admitted.

He let out a low whistle. "Damn. Someone's actually committed."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course, I am."

Adam laughed. "Alright, alright. You got me interested. Let's plant some potatoes."

I grinned, running to grab the potatoes from the house. Maybe this gardening thing wasn't going to be so bad after all.

I hurried inside, heading straight for the kitchen. As I opened the pantry, I spotted a small bag of potatoes sitting near the onions. Perfect. I grabbed a few and inspected them. Some already had little sprouts growing out of the eyes—those would work best.

As I turned to leave, I heard a voice behind me.

"What are you doing now?"

I sighed, gripping the potatoes tighter before turning around. My sister stood there, arms crossed, looking unimpressed as usual.

"Getting potatoes," I said, stating the obvious.

She raised an eyebrow. "For what? You suddenly craving mashed potatoes after rolling around in the dirt all morning?"

I ignored the jab. "For planting."

She stared at me like I had just said the dumbest thing in the world. "You're planting… potatoes?"

"Yes."

"You do realize we can just buy them from the store, right?"

I sighed. "It's not about that."

"Then what is it about?"

I hesitated for a second before shrugging. "I just wanna see if I can do it."

She stared at me for a moment, then shook her head. "Whatever. Just don't mess up Mom's garden."

"I won't," I muttered, pushing past her and heading back outside.

Adam was still there, now sitting on the grass and scrolling through his phone. When he saw me, he held up his screen. "Did you know potatoes were the first vegetable grown in space?"

I squinted at him. "You looked that up?"

"Yeah. Figured if I'm gonna help with this, I might as well know some fun facts." He grinned. "I also found out that if you grow them wrong, they can be toxic."

I froze. "Wait, what?"

He burst out laughing. "Relax! I'm messing with you. Kind of. They can be toxic if they turn green, but I doubt you'll mess up that badly."

"Very reassuring," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

Adam got up, brushing dirt off his jeans. "Alright, let's do this."

We knelt down, digging small holes in the soft dirt. I carefully placed a potato piece in each hole, covering them lightly with soil. Adam, surprisingly, was taking it seriously, making sure the spacing was even.

"So, how long until we see anything?" he asked.

"Couple of weeks, I think."

He groaned. "Ugh, patience. My greatest weakness."

I chuckled. "That explains a lot."

As we finished up, I sat back and looked at our work. It wasn't much—just a small patch of dirt with buried potato pieces—but it felt good. Like I was actually doing something.

Adam stretched, groaning. "Alright, Gardener, what's next?"

I smirked. "Watering them."

"Great," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Let's see if we can find you a proper watering can before you start using a bucket like a caveman."

I laughed, standing up. Maybe having Adam here wasn't such a bad idea.

We walked toward the garage, Adam already peeking inside.

"You sure there's no watering can in here?" he asked, moving random boxes around.

"I already checked," I said, crossing my arms. "Unless one magically appeared in the last twenty minutes, we're out of luck."

Adam hummed, pulling out a dusty plastic container. "Then what's this?"

I squinted at it. "That's an old gasoline can."

"Oh." He dropped it instantly. "Yeah, let's not use that unless you want mutant potatoes."

I chuckled. "Told you we don't have one."

He sighed dramatically. "Fine, then what's the plan, genius?"

I looked around and spotted a large empty soda bottle on one of the shelves. I grabbed it, turning it over in my hands. "I can poke holes in the cap and make a DIY watering can."

Adam blinked. "Huh. Not a bad idea."

I grinned. "You sound surprised."

"I am," he admitted. "I expected you to just throw water at the dirt and call it a day."

I scoffed. "I'm not that bad."

"Debatable," he muttered, but I ignored him.

We found a nail and carefully poked small holes in the bottle cap. After filling it with water from the bucket, I tilted it over the potatoes. Water drizzled out, soaking the soil evenly.

"Well, damn," Adam said, watching. "That actually works."

"Of course, it does." I finished watering and stood up, wiping my hands on my jeans.

Adam stretched. "Alright, mission accomplished. Anything else, or am I free to go?"

I looked at the small garden, then at him. "...You wanna help plant something else?"

He groaned. "I knew you'd rope me into more work."

I smirked. "C'mon, we still have onions, carrots, beans—"

"Stop, stop." He held up his hands. "Fine. One more thing. Then I'm officially done being your farmhand for the day."

"Deal," I said, already thinking about what to plant next.

Maybe gardening wasn't so bad after all.

I glanced back at the list of things I could plant. Carrots seemed like a good next step—they didn't take up much space, and I had plenty of them in the kitchen. 

"Alright, we're planting carrots next," I announced. 

Adam groaned. "Why couldn't you pick something cool, like—actually, I don't know what counts as a 'cool' plant." 

I smirked. "Exactly. Now shut up and help me dig." 

We started loosening the soil again, making small trenches for the carrot seeds. The dirt was softer here, probably because I had already cleared this part earlier. 

"Wait," Adam said, pausing. "You're telling me we're not just shoving whole carrots in the ground like we did with the potatoes?" 

I snorted. "No, dude, you plant the seeds." 

Adam narrowed his eyes. "And where do these magical carrot seeds come from?" 

"From carrots." 

"...We're about to pull seeds out of a carrot?" 

I sighed. "No, you have to let a carrot grow flowers first, and then you get seeds. But we don't have time for that, so we're using store-bought seeds." 

"Ah, so you're cheating," Adam teased. 

I rolled my eyes, pulling out the packet of seeds I grabbed from the kitchen. "If I was cheating, I'd just buy the carrots and be done with it." 

Adam chuckled. "Fair enough." 

We sprinkled the tiny seeds into the trenches and covered them with a thin layer of soil. I used my DIY watering bottle to lightly dampen the area. 

Adam dusted off his hands. "Alright, that's two things planted. Can I be dismissed now, or are you gonna trick me into planting a whole farm?" 

I laughed. "No, you're free to go… for now." 

He eyed me suspiciously. "I feel like I just signed myself up for future forced labor." 

"Maybe." I grinned. 

He sighed dramatically and stretched. "Alright, well, if I suddenly develop a green thumb, I'll blame you." 

I watched as he grabbed his phone and started heading toward the gate. "See you later, Gardener," he called out before disappearing down the street. 

I shook my head, looking back at my small garden. Two crops planted. Not a bad start. 

The sun was lower now, casting golden light over the dirt. A warm breeze passed through, rustling the leaves of the nearby trees. I took a deep breath, feeling oddly accomplished. 

Maybe this was just a small thing, but it was mine. And I was going to see it through.

I sat down on the ground near the garden, just taking it all in. The dirt beneath me was still warm from the sun, and the air smelled like fresh earth and the faint scent of grass. For a moment, everything felt peaceful—like I had actually done something worthwhile. 

I glanced over at the potatoes and carrots, trying to picture what they'd look like when they finally sprouted. The idea of growing something from nothing, watching it come to life, was kind of cool, even if it was just a small patch in my backyard. 

My phone buzzed in my pocket, pulling me out of my thoughts. I pulled it out and saw a text from Adam. 

🍀Adam 🍀: 

Hey, I was thinking. Want me to come back tomorrow and help with the rest of the garden? 

I stared at the screen, surprised. I didn't expect him to offer help again. 

Me: 

You serious? You don't have to. 

🍀Adam 🍀: 

Nah, I'm bored. Plus, if I don't help, I'll just end up playing video games all day. At least this way I can pretend I'm being productive. 

I smiled to myself, shaking my head. He was an idiot, but at least he was a willing idiot. 

Me: 

Alright, you're on. Come by around noon? 

🍀Adam 🍀: 

Sure thing. Later, Gardener. 

I chuckled to myself as I put my phone away, already thinking about what we could plant next. Beans? Sweet potatoes? I didn't want to overwhelm myself, but I was starting to get excited about this whole gardening thing. 

I leaned back and closed my eyes for a moment, letting the breeze cool me down. Tomorrow, we'd work on the rest of the garden, and maybe—just maybe—this was the beginning of something I could actually enjoy. 

I stood up, brushing the dirt off my hands, and took one last look at the small garden patch. 

Yeah. It was something small. But for once, I felt like I was doing something that mattered. And I was going to keep it up.