BROKE

It was a sunny Saturday in Pleasantview, and Beau Broke was spending it cleaning house and babysitting his rambunctious little brothers. Brandi and Benjamin both had work, and depended on Beau to take care of Henry and Carter.


Beau understood that his parents would rather he watch the kids than the nanny; money was tight with all the home improvements. He didn’t mind babysitting his brothers, but he desperately wished for some free time to go out and explore the town, maybe even meet some girls. As a family sim, Beau had been wanting his first kiss and a girlfriend for a very long time.


When Henry grew into a teenager, some responsibility was lifted off Beau’s shoulders. Before Beau could even ask permission to go out, Henry suggested the brothers go clubbing. Henry, a new romance Sim, was even more excited to meet ladies than Beau. So on Friday night, the boys found themselves at a very dead Club Dante. Henry pouted as he watched Beau play pin ball. “Dude, this place is lame. There’s only a bunch of old guys here. Let’s leave.”


Beau ignored his brother as the little red pin ball was lost in the depths of the machine. “Oh man! I almost beat the high score!”
Henry sighed, slightly embarrassed by his brother's obsession with the game. “C’mon Beau, we came here for girls, remember? There are no girls here so let’s go!”
Beau gave in reluctantly. “Okay, okay. You’re right. But let’s just wait a little longer and see if anyone else comes. It’s still early!” Henry groaned dramatically and followed Beau onto the dance floor.


Much to Henry’s horror, Beau began to dance spastically the moment he heard the music begin to play. The teen smiled brightly while flailing his limbs around, unaware of his lack of rhythm. “You’re crazy!”, Henry gestured and mouthed over the loud music. He desperately wanted to leave; Club Dante was not all it was cracked up to be.


Before Beau could respond, he lost his footing and fell onto the hard, tile floor in an undignified fashion. Henry closed his eyes and shook his head in embarrassment while a cute, young girl laughed and pointed from afar.
“Beau! Get up! There’s a girl over there!” Henry said through gritted teeth. Beau’s cheeks turned bright red as he got back up on his feet


The doe eyed teen made her way onto the dance floor, heading straight for Henry. She began to dance with him playfully and Henry went along with it, forgetting all about his shamed brother. “Hey! I’m Tabitha, Tabitha Burb. What’s your name?”


Henry tried to play it cool like a romance Sim should, but found himself rather taken aback by Tabitha’s beauty. “Nice to meet you, I’m Henry. Burb, huh? You wouldn’t happen to be related to a Lucy, would you?”
Beau nudged his brother, suddenly jealous. “Henry! I’m still here!”
Henry ignored Beau, continuing his conversation with Tabitha. They shouted over the club music. “My brother, Dustin Broke, goes to school with a girl named Lucy Burb.”


Tabitha’s eyes lit up and she flashed Henry a big smile. “That’s my sister! Your brother is engaged to my cousin, Angela!”
Henry laughed. “So he is! Wow, cool! Small world!” Tabitha and Henry talked and danced for hours, leaving Beau alone and very unhappy.


Beau turned his back on the couple bitterly and continued his own wild dancing, hoping more girls would show up at the club. They never did, and Beau soon realized he was completely alone on the dance floor. “Oh c’mon, Henry! Some wing man you are!” Beau grumbled and set off to find his brother.


It didn’t take long; Beau turned the corner and found Henry and Tabitha making out on the club lounge couch. “Uhhh…”, he said uncomfortably. After the initial awkwardness wore off, Beau grew angry. Henry had only been a teen for a couple days and already had more girls than Beau. “He was supposed to help me”, Beau thought to himself.


Hoping to ruin the moment, Beau called out to his brother while waving obnoxiously. “Yoo hoo! Henry! I’m leaving!”
Henry couldn’t here Beau over the music and stayed sitting with Tabitha in his lap. Beau gave up, and eventually ended up leaving the club alone and hurt.

DREAMER

Eden Dreamer was watching television in the living room when her Aunt Destiny strode in carrying a newspaper. Eden smiled at the teen and kicked her legs restlessly. She was tired of cartoons and happy to have a distraction. “Whatcha doing with that newspaper, Destiny?” She waited for a response.


Destiny helped herself to a seat. “I’m job hunting. Hopefully there’s something good in here.” She shook out the newspaper and began to unfold it while smiling optimistically.
“Oh.” Eden said with a nod while searching her brain for more questions to ask. “Well…what kind of job are you looking for?”


Destiny scanned the help wanted section carefully. “Well, believe it or not, I want to go into architecture like Cass and Darren. I’m hoping I can get into that special after school apprenticeship.”
Eden cocked her head, puzzled. “Why don’t you just have Mom or Dad get you into the apprenticeship where they work? Wouldn’t that be easier?”
Destiny frowned. “Well since I’m not actually their daughter…it doesn’t work like that. I actually have to apply for the apprenticeship.”
“Oh.” Eden wished she hadn’t asked the question. She was indeed aware of the sore spot in the family caused by Destiny not really being Cassandra and Darren’s child. After finding no construction related jobs listed, Destiny sighed and crumbled up the newspaper. She was now not only annoyed with Eden, but the job prospects in Pleasantview as well.


Destiny moped into the kitchen and threw the newspaper into the garbage can. “I’m never going to become an architect”, the teen mumbled to herself.
“An architect, you say?” Destiny jumped at the sound of Waylon Menon’s voice, her guardians’ coworker.
“Waylon! You scared me! Did you come home with Darren today?” He had been around the house before, a familiar face to Destiny.
Waylon chuckled at Destiny’s startled appearance. “Yeah. We’re supposed to go out for dinner. He wanted to stop here and get something. What were you saying though, just a minute ago?”


Destiny brought her hand to her hip and began to wave it in the air sassily. “I said I’m never going to be an architect! I want to do what you, Darren, and Cassie do but there are no job openings. I can’t even get into the company apprenticeship. Of course if Eden wants to enter the business when she’s older, she’ll get in before you can say favoritism.”
Waylon laughed. “Do I sense a little jealously?”
“No!”, Destiny declared scowling.


Waylon laughed again; he found Destiny quite amusing. “I can get you into the apprenticeship.” He couldn’t; he lied.
Destiny beamed and clasped her hands together girlishly. “Really?!” She flashed Waylon a big smile.
“Yeah! Easy! I’ll just talk to the boss tomorrow.”


Destiny grinned goofily, unable to contain her excitement. She didn't think to ask just how Waylon could pull strings so easily. “Oh Waylon, you’re the best! I could kiss you right now!” She blushed violently and covered her face, instantly realizing what she said. “I’m so sorry.”
Waylon smiled dangerously at the girl. “Don’t be. I wouldn’t mind kissing a pretty girl like you.”


“What the hell is going on in here?” Darren appeared in the doorway, catching both Destiny and Waylon by surprise. They both blinked at Darren in fear. He stormed over to the pair.
Destiny could see the fury in his eyes. Embarrassed and terrified, she pleaded with her brother in law. “Darren, please! We were just talking! He was trying to help!”


Darren ignored the girl; he shoved Waylon away from her. “What are you thinking?! She’s a kid!”
Waylon was dumbfounded. “I wasn’t…we weren’t…I’m sorry, man!”
Darren kept fuming, not accepting any excuses. “Get out of my house before I do something I regret.” Waylon quickly scampered away, happy to avoid Darren’s wrath.


Once Waylon left and Destiny heard him shut the door, she turned on Darren. “Are you crazy?! What was that? The first guy who talks to me and you shove him?!”
Darren was shocked at Destiny’s reaction. “What?! I was helping you! That guy is a creep; you’re lucky I was here. He’s too old for you, Destiny!”


Destiny made a disgusted noise. “Oh please! He was just going to get me a job. Besides, I don’t need your help! You’re not my dad!”
With that, Destiny ran upstairs to her room leaving Darren stunned and slightly hurt.


Destiny stayed in her room for the rest of the night, refusing to talk to anyone. Later, Darren started dinner and Cassandra was forced to talk to him rather than Destiny about the earlier events. He explained everything to his wife sadly. “Wow. I’m sure glad you were the one to find them. I might’ve beat Waylon with his wrench and buried him under the daisies.”
Darren only smirked at his wife’s comment, still hurt from Destiny’s words. You’re not my father.


Cassandra easily picked up on her husband’s mood. “Don’t beat yourself up, Darren. We didn’t know Waylon was such a skunk; it’s not your fault.”
Darren sighed. “It’s not that. I could care less about that scum bag. We’ve made Destiny feel like an outsider in this family. She knows we’re not really her Mom and Dad, even though it feels like we are to her and us. We love her like she’s our daughter. Despite it all, she’s hurting. I don’t know what to do. Have her call us Mom and Dad?”


Cassandra wrinkled her nose. “No way. That may be easy for you to say because you too aren’t really related. You adopted her, but I am her sister. She should’ve been mine, but that’s not how fate wanted it. We’ve been clear on our family dynamics from the get go. We didn’t want to lie to her Darren, remember?”
Darren nodded grimly then turned. “I know. Still, I think we’ve been too clear.”

PLEASANT

In the Pleasant household, Mary-Sue and Daniel continued on with their lives after their argument like nothing ever happened. Although, they did not show each other affection and rarely spoke. If they did exchange any words, they were always about Felix. When it came time for Felix’s birthday, the small family gathered in their kitchen for a humble celebration.


Mary-Sue held Felix, who looked more like her grandson than son, in front of his cake as the toddler attempted to blow out his blue candles. Mary-Sue chuckled at the boy. “Happy birthday, sweetie! I bet you can’t wait to taste this cake!”


Mary-Sue set Felix down on the floor and stood next to her husband to begin cheering. Little Felix stood up on his wobbly legs and soon transformed into a happy, healthy child.


Mary-Sue and Daniel were surprised to see what a happy child indeed Felix turned out to be. Like a ray of sunshine, he brightened the day of everyone he met. “Good morning, Miss bus driver! How are you?” The bus driver blinked, surprised to see such a polite, cheerful young boy.
“Well...I’m fine thank you.” The bus driver couldn’t help but smile at Felix.
“That’s good! I’m so glad!” Felix flashed the bus driver another bright smile and took his seat.


In the days that followed, a rather sorrowful event took place that deeply saddened even cheerful Felix. Mary-Sue received a call from the hospital informing her that her adoptive mother, Coral Oldie, had died peacefully in her sleep. Although expected, the news was painful to the Pleasant family.


Mary-Sue cried softly while standing in front of her parents’ graves. The funeral had ended, and most the guests had left. The grave was adorned with flowers left by Lilith and Angela. “It really is beautiful here”, Mary-Sue said through her tears. “Mom would have loved all the flowers.”
Daniel watched his wife uncomfortably, not knowing what to say. He wanted to put his arm around Mary-Sue and tell her everything would be okay, but he didn’t think she’d appreciate that. “I bet you’re right”, Daniel said awkwardly. He had never been close to either Coral or Herb.


Before either Mary-Sue or Daniel could say another word, Felix began to cry much louder and harder than he had all day. Mary-Sue wiped her own tears and knelt down to her son’s aide. She rubbed his back soothingly and let the boy cry. Felix had been very close to Coral; she'd helped raise him.


“I miss Grandma so much. I wish I could have visited her more,” Felix mumbled through his sobs.
Mary-Sue embraced her son tighter. “There there, darling. Grandma knows how much you love her. She’s with Grandpa now, she’s happy. You know she missed him very much. You'll see her again someday.”
Felix sniffled, comforted by the thought of his grandparents dancing together in the clouds. “Yeah. You’re right,” he said calmly. After everyone said their goodbyes and cried themselves dry, the Pleasant family headed home. They were ready to shed their black garb and resume enjoying life.

SIM STATE UNIVERSITY

Lucy Burb furrowed her eyebrows, trying desperately to concentrate on her book. She had been spending a lot of time with Alex lately, but he just wasn’t falling for her. Although she was disappointed by his lack of affection, she loved being around him and helping him with his research. Still, her cousins and their significant others made it very hard to be satisfied with friendship.


“Could you four get a room?” Lucy couldn’t take it anymore. Angela and Dustin ignored her bitter, yet playful words.
Lilith smirked at her cousin. “What’s wrong Lonely Lucy? Ol' Alex still not cracking?” Dirk laughed at his wife’s quip. Fed up, Lucy shot Lilith a dirty loook, slammed her book shut, and stomped off to Alex’s dorm.


Aren’t you cold?”, Alex asked Lucy curiously. After she came to his dorm, Alex led her outside to the telescope.
Lucy smiled and shrugged. “Nah. It’s better than standing around watching you hog the telescope.”
“I’m sorry,” Alex said, “I have to be the one in charge of the telescope. You don’t know what we’re looking for.”
Lucy pouted. “Yeah yeah, I’m just the assistant. But the only reason I don’t know is because you refuse to tell me!” Lucy had been helping her crush with science experiments and research for months, ignorant of the purpose behind their work.


Alex chuckled mysteriously. “All in good time, my dear.”
Lucy pouted for a moment, then jumped up to stand by Alex.
“This is dumb!”, she declared. “I’m telling you right now Alexander Goth, if you don’t explain to me what it is we have been doing I’m not helping you anymore! Why the heck are we outside in the freezing cold, in the middle of the night, looking at the sky?!”


“It is that important to you, huh?” Alex didn’t remove his eye from the telescope.
“Yes!” Alexander weighed his options. If he revealed the method to his madness, Lucy may not understand. She may call him crazy, or reveal his work to outsiders. That would also mean they would be equals, and the experiment would no longer be Alex’s.
However, if he refused to tell her he may lose a very good assistant as well as a dear friend.


Alex stepped away from the telescope and faced Lucy. “Fine, I will tell you. You must swear to secrecy though, complete confidentiality.”
Lucy beamed, suprised her little fit worked. “I swear!” For the next several minutes, Alex explained what he knew of the mystery behind his mother, Bella Goth.


Lucy listened carefully with wide eyes. “One day she was at home, the next day she was gone without a trace. My father went mad, ranting about spaceships and aliens. The town believed she had been murdered, and blamed various neighbors for numerous reasons. Years passed, my whole family aged. Then suddenly, she returned. She had no idea of the time lapse, and her body did not show any aging. It was quite amazing, actually. She and my father conceived another child, and her body began to show rapid deterioration. Physically, she couldn't handle the pregnancy. It was as if the baby, my sister Destiny, sucked the life out of her. She ended up passing away shortly after giving birth. My father returned to his maddened ways and my elder sister hated him for it. I don’t agree with her though. I don’t think my father was mad. I want to, in a sense, avenge my mother’s death as well as clear my father’s name. I want to find the extra terrestrials that took my mother and prove their existence to the world.”


Alexander stood still, watching for Lucy’s reaction. He was quite pleased with himself. “Wow”, Lucy breathed. She thought a moment and cleared her head, growing skeptical. “That’s all good and fine, but doesn’t it seem more logical that your father was really mad, and that perhaps your mom just skipped out for a couple years then came back and needed a cover?”


Alex frowned and returned to his telescope.“Perhaps. It is logical. But I refuse to believe that. So, are you going to help me track these UFO flight patterns or not?”
Lucy threw her hands up in the air in defeat; she smiled. “Well Alex, if you believe, I believe. I’ll stick by your side until we find those aliens and right all the wrongs.”
Alex smiled, his heart warmed by Lucy’s spirit. “Thank you, Lucy. You’re a terrific friend.”
Lucy winced and half smiled at Alex. “Thanks, Alex. So are you.”