6.47 High and Dry

#sims3challenge #sims3legacy #sims3story #thesims3

"Mom, please talk to Dad!" Victoria begged. "I'm really sorry I skipped school, and I'll never do it again, but he just won't let me off the hook!"



"Victoria, your father and I agreed on this punishment together," Andria said. "You destroyed our trust in you, and we need some sign that you learned something."



"Edmund was ground for like a day, and you helped him convince Dad to let him off the hook," Victoria said with a scowl. "Why are you treating me so different."

"Edmund lost track of time at the library," Andria pointed out. "You skipped school, sneaked away, and scared us all day."



Just then Edmund walked by to grab a snack.



"You don't have to rub it in," Victoria said.

"I didn't say anything!" Edmund protested.



Victoria stalked off to her bedroom to sulk some more.

"You and Dad really are being kind of rough on Vickie," Edmund said. "She doesn't have a mean bone in her body."



"You're not an adult yet, kiddo," Andria retorted. "Don't push it."



At the Sawyer Sample house, Sawyer appreciated his newfound silence. It was much easier to keep up with his medical journals.



Gamora had started some kind of correspondence course.



She told Sawyer that it was Advanced Quantum Physics, which she couldn't get in Elementary School. But she seemed awfully eager to see the modules when they came in the mail. Even a bit.... sinister?



She went in and tucked the lesson module under her bed. The title read Making Mayhem, Advanced Course. Hmmmm.

When he wasn't dancing, Winston spent a lot of time at Archimedes Books and Scrolls.

It was the best place to sell his cupcakes. He was starting to get a reputation.

Meanwhile, Victoria became a model child.

She cleaned the dishes, even the really gross ones.

She took out the garbage.



She tidied up the yard.

"The house looks great," Dylan said when he found her outside. "Thanks you for all the cleaning."



"Don't you think I've been responsible these last few days," Victoria asked. "Maybe even trustworthy?"



Dylan thought about it. "I don't think I'd go so far as trustworthy," he said. "Keep trying."



"This stinks," Victoria said under her breath and stormed back into the house.

Brendan Mai followed Gamora home from school one day. She couldn't stand the kids in her class. They were so, well childish. But she knew she had to at least pretend to be friendly.



She came up with a good use for him: combat practice!

Edmund barely noticed the antics. He was deep in contemplation of winter as a metaphor for the chill of the modern soul.





In addition to being grounded, Victoria's school-skipping stunt had dumped her grades in the toilet. She'd missed a pop quiz and an in-class essay, and she'd been docked extra points as punishment for truancy. Now her solid B average had turned into a D.



Her life was now going to school, coming home, and homework. She did all the extra credit she could wheedle out of the teachers.

Even without the punishment from her parents, the consequences for skipping school were worse than she had imagined.



The first snow fell, covering yards and sidewalks in a white blanket.

On his way home from school, Edmund got a call he wasn't expecting.

"Judy? I think you have the wrong number. This is Edmund. I'm not sure Vickie is allowed to take personal phone calls right now, though."

"Actually," Judith said awkwardly, "I was calling for you. Would you be interested in maybe going to dinner sometime?"

"Uh, sure! I'd love to!"



Judith suggested The Round Table. She apparently liked very nice restaurants. So did Edmund.



It turned out they had a lot more than that in common. It seemed like their conversation covered the world.



Judith went on a rant about how nasty Edmund's schoolmates were being toward him.

"They're just afraid of you!" Judith said. "You and your family have a kind of power that nobody's seen here in generations. So what do they do? They shut it down! It makes me crazy."



"Wow. I didn't realize you felt so strongly," Edmund said, flustered.

"Sorry," Judith said, blushing. "I got a little carried away there."

"Would you like to go to dinner now?"

"I'd be delighted!"

They had a wonderful time. So wonderful that Edmund wondered guiltily... what about Joy?

That evening, Edmund was still feeling anxious. How did he end up with two nice, attractive girls interested in him?

He found himself complaining about all sorts of things as he picked at his dinner. "The problem with people these days is that they don't clean up after themselves! The world is like a garbage dump."



"Tell us what you really feel," Victoria said. "Is there a girl you want to date or something?"

Edmund opened his mouth, let it hang for a moment, and closed it. Victoria could see right through him. But Judith was Victoria's best friend. The last thing he wanted to do was say anything to his sister.

"Nothing," he said glumly.



"Get a good night's rest, and we can clean the house from top to bottom tomorrow," Dylan said. His eyes were twinkling with anticipation. Suddenly, Edmund didn't care so much if things were dirty.



Victoria rose with a weary sigh. "Don't worry. I'll clean the table."



Everyone headed upstairs, and she forced herself to fill the dishwasher. Her whole life was work, and it seemed like nothing would get better.



In the morning, while she was getting ready for school, Dylan knocked on her door. "Vickie? Do you have a moment?"

"Hi Dad," Victoria said. "Come on in. Can I do something for you?" She forced a smile.



"I know you've been trying very hard to prove yourself," Dylan said. "Your mother and I have pushed you further than we intended to."

Victoria felt tears well up in her eyes. "I know I betrayed your trust!" she said. "I didn't think anyone would notice if I skipped out just once. Now I don't know how to make it better!"



"You made a bad decision," Dylan said. "I hope you understand how bad it was. Missing a day of school doesn't matter so much in the long run, but it sets a precedent that can reflect on your character for your entire life."

"I understand, Dad," Victoria said. "I really do."



"I believe you," Dylan said. "You're off the hook. Your grounding is over."

Victoria's eyes widened. "Do you mean it?" she squealed.

"I do," Dylan said.



"Thank you so much, Daddy!" Victoria cried and threw herself into his arms. "You won't regret it!"

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Wow, the game was HARD on Victoria. Edmund got off the hook the first time he asked, and he didn't do anything. I had Victoria do all kinds of chores, and still both her parents rejected her pleas to be let off the hook. I was about to give up and direct one of them to forgive her. Then Dylan got up in the morning and went and let her off the hook autonomously. It was so cute.

Judith called and asked Dylan out on a date! Now his romantic life gets complicated.

I have to say that Gamora's Dislikes Children trait is kind of annoying at this stage. She gets a negative moodlet from being around children, but it doesn't affect her behavior. She still talks and has fun with children autonomously. Not very well thought-out. I assume she'll get more child-negative behavior once she stops BEING a child.

Two more posts!!