#sdv abby
(Submitted by @goodluxray)
The last of my Stardew Valley AO3 reposts! This was first a Luau Festival prompt, but next my take on a backstory for Sebastian’s line: “One year Sam put a pound of anchovies in the potluck soup. Ever wondered why Sam leads the town in community service hours?” Personally I like to imagine this story taking place the first summer after Sebastian’s 18th birthday.
Title:Luau Mayhem
Word Count:1,598
Summary: Someone sabotaged the soup! While the governor is being treated at the clinic, Lewis hopes to find out who did it.
The good news: the Luau was stopped abruptly.
The bad news: the mayor was furious.
Sebastian watched as the visiting governor writhed in pain and began to swell upon tasting the potluck soup. His half-sister Maru and Doctor Harvey quickly rushed him to the clinic to treat him, while everyone else who was still on the beach when they left were forced to help with cleaning up the event, all while Mayor Lewis pulled people aside one by one and interrogated them behind the run-down cabin.
Sebastian had wandered all around the beach, picking up litter in an effort to stay low enough on Lewis’s radar that the true culprit would be found before he could reach him. He noticed Abigail doing the same thing. Sam, however, was holding his toddler brother while his mom helped with taking down the decorations. Unfortunately, Sebastian’s efforts were in vain. His desire to hide away from the festival brought him high on the pecking order, and despite Sebastian’s pretending to not hear him as he picked up trash from the ground and rounded behind groups of people, Lewis only got angrier and started shouting his name to the point that everyone else was watching too.
Reluctantly, he followed Lewis behind the cabin. Thankfully his mom didn’t try to clear his name, and trusted that Sebastian could clear his own. Or she thought that he may have done it? Whatever.
Lewis pulled a small notebook from his pocket and clicked a pen. He glared into Sebastian’s eyes, willing them to be intimidating. Joke’s on Lewis; he stopped being intimidating a decade ago.
“Good day, Sebastian.”
“It wasn’t me, old man. And if you have any other questions, just get to the point already.”
Lewis huffed, but flipped through his notebook.
“Right then. So, at what time did you arrive at the Luau?” he asked.
“Same time as my family did, I don’t know. Nine in the morning?”
Lewis hummed as he jotted a note in his book. Probably to keep track of people’s alibis. Ridiculous. “And who did you… hang out… with?”
“No one. I walked on the dock and sat behind the Fish Shop the whole time.”
“Uh huh,” he said skeptically. “Did you ever go back to the beach for refreshments?”
“Twice. Once for some crab cakes and punch, the second time when the governor tried the soup.”
Lewis raised his eyebrow. “Where were you when the governor tried the soup?”
“Edge of the beach, right next to the dock.”
“And how close did you get to the cooking pot?”
“Never touched it.”
“Hmm…” Lewis thought aloud again. “Recite to me the events surrounding when the governor tried the soup. Start at about when you heard me announce the time for soup.”
Lewis was looking for something specific. There was no way he could find it in Sebastian; Sebastian was sure of it. “Alright. I was sitting on the dock when you called for everyone to come in. I sat up, extinguished my cigarette, and walked onto the beach. You said something about hoping everyone put in high-quality ingredients.”
“I’m going to interrupt you–”
“Just get to the point.”
“What did your family put in the communal soup?”
“I believe Mom and Demetrius gathered some of his extra mushroom specimens and added them to the soup.”
“Have you seen what anyone else added to the soup?”
“No sir, I was sitting at the dock, like I’ve said a few times already. Are you already getting forgetful, old man?”
“I’m the one asking the questions here!” Lewis thundered. He glanced into his notebook. “Now, where was I…?” He ignored Sebastian raising his eyebrow. “As you were with the story.”
“Fine. After the last call for putting in ingredients, you took a ladle, filled a bowl, and passed it to the governor. You saw the look on his face, right?” Sebastian couldn’t help but to smirk here. “His face twisted up like he tasted something rank, and so he spilled the broth back into his bowl until he found a fish in his giant spoon. It was the funniest thing I saw all summer.”
“What kind of fish?”
“I heard a buncha folks say it was an anchovy. I never saw it up close though; I was away at the edge of the beach.”
Lewis wrote some notes, and scanned over them.
“Am I clear to go now?”
“One minute.” Lewis wrote for another minute, then finally passed a note to Sebastian. Sebastian raised his eyebrows, appalled. The fine read:
On this day, the 11th of Summer, Sebastian has been sentenced to 15 hours of community service, to be completed by next week, as consequence for putting one pound of anchovies into the potluck soup at the Luau festival.
“Excuse me?”
“I’ve looked over my notes, and you’re the most suspect.” Lewis said matter-of-factly.
“With what proof?”
“You have no witnesses to say where you were, for one.”
“Abby was also on the docks! She’s seen me go to be alone.”
“You have no idea what else was added to the soup.”
“Because I don’t snoop around asking people what they put in.”
“And finally, that empty tin of anchovies in your hand!”
Sebastian was furious. “I was helping pick up the litter on the beach!” He shouted indignantly. “And I can’t give you fifteen hours in the next week. I have a big project to finish up by then.”
“Then you should have thought of that before you put the anchovies in the soup.”
“I never put anchovies in the soup!”
“Mayor Lewis!” The two turned to see Sam walking over with a very guilty look on his face. “It was me. Leave Sebastian out of it, I acted alone.”
“Don’t tell lies to get your own friends out of trouble.”
“It’s not a lie! I have my receipt from Joja Mart right here.” Sam fished his hand in his pocket and handed Lewis a crumpled up Joja blue receipt. Sure enough, it recorded the transaction under Sam’s name.
Lewis grunted. If Sebastian was only suspecting that Lewis had it out for him before, this only confirmed it. He glanced to Sebastian, then to Sam, then took back Sebastian’s fine for community service, and wrote on it again. This time, he crossed out Sebastian’s name and wrote down Sam’s in its place.
“Don’t forget the hours reduction for coming out clean,” Sam said with a muted smug smile. Lewis grimaced as he crossed out 15 hours and wrote 10 in its place.
“Fine. Sam, I expect to see you on the front steps of my manor at eight o’clock sharp in the morning.”
“I’ll be there, sir!”
Lewis huffed. But now that the culprit has been found, he decided his attention was better spent going over to the clinic to check on his beloved governor. And at that point, the beach was already cleaned up. The sun hadn’t even begun setting. Sebastian dared glance at his watch. It was only 2:30 PM.
Sam let the fullness of his cheeky grin shine. “Good work, Sebastian!”
“Hey, you too. Great timing.”
Sebastian suddenly became aware of Abigail walking up to them from behind. “I can’t believe it worked!” she squealed.
For Sebastian especially, the Luau was easily his least favorite town festival. Not only was it always planned on the hottest day of the year, which often was cloudless, but everyone was expected to spend nine to twelve hours sweltering outside on the beach next to a giant cooking fire, all to worship was usually a barely mediocre soup. The best part, though no one ever said so aloud, was Gus’s appetizers. He’d make so many, anyone could easily fill themselves without ever touching the soup.
“Thanks for suggesting to hang on to the receipt, Abby.” Sam said. “Lewis nearly booked Seb anyway despite having no evidence.”
“I honestly thought that he’d accuse me. He’s been looking at me funny ever since I started dying my hair.”
“I’m not surprised.” Sebastian shrugged. “I swear, the old man’s been out to get me ever since I started smoking in public.” He shook his head. “Makes me feel less sorry about this.”
“Yeah. I’m glad you figured out Governor’s aller–”
Sebastian shushed him.
It was pure luck that he was just outside Lewis’s manor when he overheard him talking on the phone with the governor a week ago. But it was Sam’s idea to use the governor’s fish allergy to end the Luau festival early. As long as they don’t mention the allergy itself, they can play off the incident as an honest prank gone wrong rather than malicious. Everyone knew that the vegetarian-friendly requirement Lewis recently established for the soup was suggested by the governor’s wife and not the governor himself. The governor had been seen on several occasions stopping at the Stardrop Saloon during his travels to enjoy a large steak or an occasional crab cake before making his way back home.
“Ten hours later for ten hours now? I’ll take it!” Sam cheered. Sebastian was just relieved his friend the saboteur volunteered to take the fall from him. “Maybe this time Lewis will finally have me start building a skate park.”
Abigail laughed and turned toward the bridge to town. “So, my place, guys?”
Sebastian and Sam nodded, and together, they nabbed more of Gus’s appetizers and made their way to the General Store. With so much more day ahead of them, finally they could enjoy their own Luau traditions of snacks, video games, and movies, all under an air-conditioned roof.
