Aliens in Twinbrook: A Strangers in a Sim Land story

[MarianT]

WEEK FOUR - CERISE

     "$80,000! What...? How...?" Cerise was nearly speechless.
     "I made some good investments," Wei said modestly.
     "I'll say," said Cerise. "Wow!" She would have given Wei a hug, but he had already gotten his laptop out and turned it on. "We could move to a bigger house," she said.
     "That's what I was thinking," said Wei. "That house on Poker Flats Road, that one you've always liked, is empty. Hang on a minute." He turned back to his computer. "Done!" he said triumphantly. "Now it's ours."

     The house was beautiful. It was much like their old one but with three times more floor space. It was close to the water without actually being in the water: much as Cerise enjoyed listening to the lapping of water underneath the house, as time wore on, she had worried more about whether the support columns were rotting. Here she could have the water sounds and the knowledge that the support columns were on firm ground. There was so much she loved about the place. It had previously belonged to an artist, so there were big windows in the studio -- now the children's bedroom, although she and Wei might trade with them, Hope's eyes being sensitive to sunlight. Neither child was artistic, but they might have fun with the easel.
     Cerise loved the kitchen, which was sophisticated but serviceable, with plenty of counter space and appliances that didn't make her food taste worse. She loved the fact that the four of them could eat together at the same table. She loved the laundry area. She loved the huge bookcase and her new computer, but what she loved most was the sofa. Elegant and comfortable, it was a couch potato's dream.



     And there was still plenty of money left over. Myron was taking a class in fishing -- his goal in life was to have a perfect specimen of every fish that floated in Twinbrook's streams and ponds. Hope didn't know what she wanted, except to stay indoors. Cerise felt bad about that because she knew that Hope had inherited the eye condition from her side of the family. It had been a common disorder back home. Hope was taking a class in writing to help with her grades at school. And she herself intended to go take a cooking class as soon as Wei got home.
     Which reminded her, where was Wei? She dialed his cell phone number. "Where are you?" she asked.
     "I ran into Azura at the library, and she invited me to her party," he said. "The Knacks are here, too and Justin Kayes."
     "Just in case, what?" asked Cerise.
     "That's his name," said Wei. "Anyway, Nick says you should come, too."
     "I can't," said Cerise. "The kids aren't back from their classes yet."
     "Hey Cerise!" Azura shouted into the phone. "Come on over. Tim and I both got promotions, and we're having a paaar-ty!" Cerise could hear loud music in the background. Then the phone went dead.
     Cerise sat down heavily on the couch. Wei probably felt he was entitled to a little fun after buying them a new house -- the house she'd always wanted. She just wished he was having fun here rather than over at Azura's.
     It was so quiet. She could turn on the brand new television, but then she remembered her unfinished novel, begun before she'd had Myron and Hope, before she'd met Wei even. She sat down at her new computer and began to type.

     










 

[Natsuko]

Congrats to Cerise to gaining 80,000 simoleans!
ooh, I like the new house!

[MarianT]

WEEK FOUR -- AZURA



     They hadn't moved as far upland as Azura would have wanted, but the new house was a definite improvement, if only because Carmen didn't have to sleep in the living room or the basement. It was really quite pretty sometimes, like at sunrise or sunset, when the sky was all pink and lavender. "Your hair is the color of sunrise," Tim had said to her before they married. She had thought then that he had the soul of a poet. The poetry still showed up in his music.
     They had moved into the house that Cerise and Wei used to have. Azura hadn't told Cerise about the move yet, because she could be so touchy. She was still upset about the party, even though Azura had told her that Wei had spent most of his time on the computer.
     Carmen was growing up. Overnight, it seemed, he had changed from a cheerful little toddler to a sober and serious boy. He was not much impressed by the house -- someday, he told her, he would live in a splendid palace. Azura was rather hurt by his words, not least because he expressed a sentiment that she had often felt herself before they moved. Had she complained to Tim about the shack they were living in? She couldn't remember, but she thought it likely she had made her feelings known. She resolved not to complain any more, not about the house, not about work, not about the other band members. Carmen was doing well in school; she and Tim were making progress in the music industry, so life was good. She had even had access to a master class in piano lately, and she was improving her performance on the guitar, too.

[MarianT]

WEEK FIVE -- IVY

     "So where did this come from?" Ivy asked Carla, pointing at the Egyptian vase with the papyrus fronds.
     "Isn't it pretty?" said Carla. "You can find all kinds of stuff at the consignment shop."



   
     "And is that where you found this?"
     "Honestly, Mom...I've got homework to do."
     "Honestly, where did this come from?" said Ivy. "I'm asking because Sofia Carlton is pretty sure you took one of their rugs."
     "Now how would I steal such a big thing?" protested Carla.
     "And how did you know it was a big rug?" asked Ivy.
     Carla took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm a klepto. I guess it comes from Dad's side of the family since you wouldn't be so bent out of shape about it if I inherited it from you."
     "Honey, you don't need to steal," said Ivy. "You've got all kinds of talent -- there's your sculpting and your art. Taking things is just going to get you into trouble."
     "I do need to steal," said Carla. "It's like wanting a drink. But it's okay -- I only steal from vampires."
     "Stealing's wrong, no matter who you steal from."
     "But I thought you said we were at war with the vampires."
     Ivy sighed. It was a Wednesday night -- she had work tomorrow, the girls had school, and she still had the garden to tend. Still, this talk with Carla was more important.
     "Where I come from, vampires are a scourge," she said. "They drain the energy from your aura, the color from your skin, the happiness from life. But I don't know whether they work the same way here. To be honest, most of the natives look to me as if they've already been harvested by vampires, but that's just my opinion. Maybe they're pale because they don't get enough sunlight.
     "Anyway, this is a different world, and there are only a handful of us. If we were to get involved in a war, we would probably be wiped out. Depending on how these vampires behave, maybe we can make peace with them, or maybe your grandchildren will fight them. But I don't want you stealing from anyone, let alone someone who could hurt you as much as a vampire."
     "Okay, I guess I see your point," said Carla. "But what should I do if the compulsion to take something comes over me?"
     "Resist it," said Ivy. "That's what most people do with compulsions."
     "I'll try," Carla said doubtfully.
     "And if you can't resist, then return whatever you took the next day."

     

[MarianT]

WEEK FIVE

     Cerise couldn't believe how beautiful her two teenagers had become. Myron, with his guitar playing, was bound to be a hit with all the girls -- at least all the ones who didn't mind the smell of fish. Myron's ambition was to have an aquarium filled with his favorite fish, and his favorite fish were all of them. But Hope was a stunner. She complained about having to wear glasses, but Cerise didn't think they looked bad at all. She also complained about her hair. Cerise wished she'd inherited her own violet locks, but all she could say was that Hope could change her hair to any color and style she wanted once she graduated from high school.



     All their teenage offspring were turning out well. Azura's son Carmen was a little too solemn for Cerise's taste, but she couldn't deny that he was good-looking. Azura said he wanted to become a secret agent when he grew up. James Bond was his role model, and he already had his first tuxedo.



     Ivy's daughter Delores was probably the prettiest of the bunch, and Ivy said she was a real help around the house, fixing the toilet and the shower more competently than Ivy herself. She was good about doing her homework, too.



     But then there was Carla. Now that she'd graduated from high school, Ivy said she was spending all her time with Sinbad Rotter's gang. Ivy had talked to her about how important it was to maintain a good reputation, but Carla shrugged that off. People already knew that she came from the wrong side of Twinbrook's tracks. If they were going to disapprove of her because her parents weren't married and her mother didn't look like everyone else, she didn't see how she was going to change that, so she might as well do what she enjoyed.
     Ivy's greatest fear was that she would get thrown in jail. "People aren't going to press charges when a teenager walks off with a vase or two," she warned Carla repeatedly. "It's different when you're an adult, and you're breaking into their house in the middle of the night."

[Natsuko]

Oooh, Ivy is pretty!
Great update, -wink-

[MarianT]

WEEK SIX

     It was something none of them had expected to happen.
     "Really, we should have thought of it," said Ivy. "I mean, we knew we'd be having boy babies as well as girl babies."
     "But what if their children turn out purple?" moaned Azura.
     "I don't think that's likely," said Cerise. "And besides, purple is rather a nice color." She patted her violet hair.
     "Maybe you two are having hissy fits over nothing," said Ivy. "They're only teenagers. It could just be puppy love."



     "You're right," said Azura. "Carmen's much too young to be getting serious. And if you look at the expression on his face -- he's obviously pretty doubtful about the whole thing."   



      Ivy giggled. "Yeah, he looks really doubtful."
     "Oh my," said Cerise. "They do seem to grow up quickly here."



     "Awww," the three of them chorused. "He's asking her to go steady."
     "You're sure they can't have children while they're still in high school?" Cerise asked anxiously. "Because I really want Hope to finish her education. She's so bright, it would be a shame if she had to drop out."
     "According to the orientation videos, the beings here don't become mature enough to have children until they're done with school," said Azura.
     "Yeah, well there's lots of things the orientation videos got wrong," said Ivy. "Like the vampires."
     "What vampires?" Cerise and Azura screeched.
     Ivy turned bright green. "I guess I forgot to tell you. I had an encounter with one soon after we landed."
     "You should have told us immediately," said Cerise. "We should have gotten in touch with headquarters."
     "Well, there were other things going on," said Ivy, "and I wasn't absolutely sure. He might have just been a creepy old man. But then Carla told me one of the kids at school had vampire blood...Anyway, by that time, I thought you knew already."
     "Ivy--" Cerise began.
     "And we don't know it's the same bunch from our world. They might be quite peaceful."
     "Never trust anything with fangs," said Azura. "Did he have fangs?"
      Cerise interrupted them by rapping on the window. "You two come in here right now."
     "Now, Cerise," said Azura, "they weren't doing anything. You'll embarrass them."
     "It's just that Hope can't stay outside for longer than half an hour," said Cerise. "The sunlight hurts her eyes."
     "Mm-hmm," Azura and Ivy said together.

[TheChronicR]

Heh, what do they have against vampires? They just want to suck your blood.

I'm glad that teens can't get pregnant in Sims. I hate teen pregnancies in real life. However, it doesn't matter that much than the thing that the update was awesome! Well done.

[MarianT]

I figure someone's going to become a vampire eventually -- not one of my original 3, but a child or grandchild. As people say about one of Chekhov's plays (I think it's The Cherry Orchard), if you show a gun on stage in Act One, you figure someone's going to use it in Act Three.

[MarianT]

WEEK SEVEN

     It's the phone call every parent dreads. The time on Ivy's cell phone was 2 a.m. Not a good time for it to ring.
     "Hello, Mom?" said Carla. "First of all, I'm okay."
     A dozen scary scenarios raced through Ivy's mind. "Where are you?" she managed to squeak out.
     "I'm in a secure environment," Carla said.
     Ivy's mind didn't work too well at two in the morning. "You're calling to tell me you're safe?" she said, bewildered.
     "No, I'm calling to tell you I'm in jail," said Carla. "But I am safe here."   



     "Why?" said Ivy. "What did you do?"
     "I didn't do anything," said Carla. "It's a big mistake. But don't worry, a friend of mine has a lawyer who will sort it all out. I'll probably be home for breakfast. I just called because I didn't want you to worry."
     She rang off, and Ivy sank down on the bed, her knees suddenly shaky. Jail. Her little girl was in jail. She wanted to cry on somebody's shoulder, but there wasn't anyone she could call at two in the morning. Not for the first time, she felt a spurt of anger with Lincoln. If he'd married her instead of weaseling out of the relationship by claiming he had "commitment issues," he'd be here for her right now. For that matter, if he'd married her, maybe Carla wouldn't have this compulsion to steal things. Ivy's theory was that Carla was trying to fill the hole in her heart that had been caused by Lincoln's rejection of them all, but Carla herself said it was just kleptomania and no big deal.
     Ivy lay down, but she couldn't go back to sleep. Even at the best of times, a good night's sleep was hard to come by. It seemed like the older she got, the more aches and pains she developed. She was very much tempted to cook up some rejuvenating fluid, but she and Azura and Cerise had been strictly forbidden to import any new technology into this world. They were supposed to grow old and die like everyone else in Twinbrook.
    These were depressing thoughts. She tried to come up with something more cheerful. Maybe Carla would meet a nice policeman in jail who would help her reform her ways. She could always hope. Anyone would be better than that Jones-Brown boy. Besides having a vampire parent, he was just plain ugly. Not that physical appearance mattered much. In fact, before becoming a prospective grandmother, Ivy would have said that physical appearance didn't matter at all. What was really important was...
     Ivy drifted back to sleep.

[TheChronicR]

See, I always told them simmies - kleptomania is nothing but a straight way to jail (or a way to earn a little money every now and then).

Oh, and Marian, why don't you put a link to the story in your signature? That way you'll get more readers. It's your decision, of course, though. Awesome update anyways!

[MarianT]

That's a good idea -- but I haven't figured out how to do a signature yet.  I'll go to the profile section and start there.

[TheChronicR]

That's a good idea -- but I haven't figured out how to do a signature yet.  I'll go to the profile section and start there.

Good luck. If you need any help, just PM me.

[MarianT]

WEEK SEVEN

Obituary -- Today Twinbrook lost one of its most famous residents. Wei Keane Rouge passed from this world to the next at the age of 98. A whiz with computers, Wei was in his favorite place when the Grim Reaper came for him. Known for being a hard worker, he retired from High Products as a Division Head. He leaves behind his wife Cerise, son Myron, and daughter Hope. In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to Simlish as a Second Language.



     Hope couldn't stop crying. She had known her father was getting old, that he had already lived beyond his expected life span, but she had wanted him to stay alive just a little bit longer. Just long enough to see her graduate, to see her wedding, to see his first grandchild. Mom had got a birthday cake for her, and they'd had a little party, but it just wasn't the same.



     She didn't know how she felt. Part of her was miserable because her father was gone. The other part was happy and excited about the start of her new life. She had bought a house with the money Wei left her. She had decided on a career as a chef. And best of all, in only two days, she and Carmen would be getting married. They would have the wedding at his house, and then he would move in with her. Thinking about it made her smile. Until she remembered her dad, and then she started crying again. They'd planted daisies by his tombstone.

[Alieana4518]

Oh no! Oh well. RIP Wei Keane. Poor Hope! I can't wait for the wedding!