1.31 Adolescence and the Chronicles of the Free Vacation

Jyoti grows up without any fanfair, the night of a late spring frost.

I love her face, but these braids are not going to happen.

So everything is tried out...

Seriously love this one.

Super girly option #1

This nearly won for a while.

The sporty, collegiate looks seem to work well on her.

The current Meghan <3

The young Meghan

Girly #2

The littlest Meghan

This color though!

Anyways you get the idea... I love her.

So we do this for a while.

Still eating alone.

It is before school after all, she always eats alone or with her brother before school.

Jet's doing his own thing today however.

“Don't burn that!” She calls over her shoulder as he concentrates hard on making a dessert item for breakfast.

“I won't I'm not you!” He replies too confidently.

Dustin now does two death-defying tricks in each show at the larger venues. This is his take home, it's insane.

Meghan, Malcolm or any 'other'one else has not been to a show again.

Even Dustin can get a little lonely in a place like this.

Still obsessive, I put heavy makeup on Jyo.

Then tone it the heck down.

Oh, and Pheobe is dead.

Hurray.

She loves dogs after all, not birds.

(I replay the mourn interaction three times to make sure I'm not seeing things. She celebrates each time. Ironically months later it comes up in thread as a 'thing', like it happened to all of us simmers at once. There's no patches out anymore, or I could blame EA for this. :/ Is this another Barenstein Bear alternate timeline/ universe theory moment?! My Sims never used to BE like this! T_T)

Jet has yet to come to terms with the idea that he has, indeed, burnt something. He quickly eats the evidence before his sister can tease him mercilessly about it.

He also neglected his school work today and earns some attention from his mom because of it. She begins making a concentrated effort to eat dinner or breakfast with him, or help him with his homework. Even though he enjoys getting some time with her to himself, the bad habits are in place, and his grades fluctuate on the lowest end of the spectrum. He does his homework every other day, when he has time, but never misses his art club.

Possibly sensing his daughter's melancholy (or more likely determined that his children will also enjoy direct benefits from his hard work) Dustin gives his teenage daughter a brand new muscle car. Because he would have wanted one when he was her age. That, and she's kind of sporty, and she loves the angry sound of the engine when it's being revved.

“Rock, paper- I win so go DO YOUR HOMEWORK!”

“NO!!!!”

Meghan recoils. “What the heck, Jet, don't be a brat to your mother!”

“That was unfair, so best out of three!” He argues, desperate not to have to do work right now.

“Best out of three and then you do it anyways.”

Finally he agrees, maybe the concern in her voice was the convincing factor. But in his heart he decides to do half now, and half in class tomorrow anyways. Mom's not ever going to check his work.

The next morning frost creeps back on the window pains, or at least a heavy morning fog. Their house is situated at a much higher elevation than the rest of the town save for a few neighbors, and the fog takes a longer time to creep back into the hills that become a very distant mountain range.

Older, not really more mature, but with higher levels of energy, all Jyo can think about some days is how she'd give anything to just be able to run towards the horizon and not look back for a long while.

To chase the fog into the hillside until it crunches as snow under her feet, then ascend into the mountains until only eagles are her company and the clouds are below her feet.

She has a serious case of wanderlust, but she tries to keep it buttoned up for now. Being athletic and loving the outside world as she does, sitting at a desk in school is really torturous sometimes.

She doesn't really mind now so much when the house is empty.

The entire second floor is practically hers anyways.

Because her parents are eccentric, and their happy with their first floor master suite, but still do whatever they feel like doing whenever they feel like doing it.

Dustin loves what he's built with his wife and for his children, it's the Starlight Shores Sim-nation Dream, but one day it does kind of dawn on him, that nobody really asked for any of this? He just didn't know what else to do with his money.

He's already invested heavily in the entertainment business around the Shores, he doesn't want what happened with Cupp's Back-Stage deals to happen to anyone else. The local mafia still holds a lot of power because they have a lot of money, but Dustin wants to break up their influence over the entertainment sector at least. He doubts he can keep people from turning to 'self-help' medication when they are stressed and it's easy to import, so a large part of the organization will never truly be defeated this way.

It bothers Eugene quite a bit as he runs across so many news stories that are a result of the illegal medi-traffic.

Right now though, he has to pack for his trip with Meghan back to Twinbrook. The kids have school so they're staying, and will be calling every night as well as getting visits from the Eugene or Everet to make sure they're okay. The trip is going to be for a few weeks. Meghan is meeting his brother's family, and hopefully coming to terms with her past. It's not the kind of thing that can be rushed.

Meanwhile, here are some of the kids Jyoti goes to school with.

Some whos names I never wrote down. Haden Huanna, Howard's brother, perhaps?

Alora Platt, I think she's a normal townie. Nice outfit. Love the Test of Time challenge pants.

Everet's got a year or so left before graduating. Seems like he's been a teen forever.

Jyo doesn't pay many of her classmates any mind. She likes all of them equally, or unequally, and really just makes conversation with whomever's around. As her schedule is full with after-school activities, she ends up forming a circle of friends according to class or club, without meeting anyone else.

Jet's actually got some acquaintances in her grade that she doesn't really pay any attention to.

Even if she should.

Malcolm Meir is quiet, so of course a rebellious kid like Jet can't leave him alone. Normally Jet would stay after and chat, but today he's exhausted. He stayed up trying to do homework and being too stubborn to ask for help. Instead of resolving to ask for help next time, he decides not to work on homework that late.

Darla seems kind of ancient around here, too.

Jyo never managed to make friends with the girl, not really. But she gets the feeling that they always notice each other. Maybe there's something similar there, in how both girls can have a lot of friends, but don't really need their friends? They feel like outsiders when they shouldn't, is that why? It really could be a mutual sense of jealousy though. Jyoti can just make out the faint aquamarine glow lining the edges of the fairies wings, a fairy who is never outside because she dislikes being there. Darla not only is not athletic or 'cool', she doesn't even like being a fairy, being outside, and is too disinterested in others to care about pulling pranks on them.

Jet misses the bus home after clubs and decides to walk.

He makes it most of the way there and passes out. This is what happens when you try to do your homework.

Another great reason for Jyoti to learn how to drive. This awesome metal beast is a great motivator.

Unfortunately, her parents finally took that trip they've been talking about forever, so she's been waiting for them to come back before she can start learning.

Feeling cooped up, she decides to throw a party. Her parents won't be home until Monday, and she expects to be thoroughly scolded when they get back anyways.

They have no idea that she hired a contractor to come in and remove half or their backyard to install a new pool while they were away.

So let's party!

Howard should be aging up any day now.

Jyo's a bit annoyed though. Isn't she supposed to think guys her age are cute, or something? Why do they all seem so boring and one-dimensional? She loves her parent's relationship, but they're such weird people she can't imagine them with anyone else. Is that what's it's supposed to be like?

And what does it say about her that she thinks her cousin has a pretty nice body? What a stupid thing to notice. Is it because he's rebellious, and charismatic that he stands out? Her dad, her cousin, her family members are better than the people she goes to school with so she's never going to find someone she likes romantically right?

(Everet is also easily impressed and has commitment issues, but he's had the same girlfriend for a while)

I like this girl but I didn't write her name down so no idea who she is.

Darla also comes by, Everet will dance with anything.

The only adult here scolds Jyoti, but Jyo wasn't really listening. What did the woman say? The music is too loud to hear. She thinks it's something about 'where are your parents?'

“My parents wouldn't care about something like this!” She yells back at Lindy Wright defensively. “I can do anything I want to!”

The woman watches her storm out of her own front door.

Parties are stupid, cousins are stupid, parents are stupid and so are her friend's parents. Or the neighbors, whoever that person is.

Jyo's exhausted lately anyways. All she wanted was to enjoy her youth, but she has no idea what that means. It's too cold to swim tonight, but she had a pool installed, in ground on her dad's credit, and can't even get anyone to come out and enjoy it with her.

She intends to sit and watch the stars a bit on her own with her thoughts, and falls asleep instead.

Jet, being somewhat of a smooth operator who can recognize the person trying to break up the party, gets Lindy off the phone to ask her to read him a bedtime story, or play a game, or something.

But Jyo has just gotten up form her few minutes or rest when it becomes apparent the damage has already been done.

No one can hear the man's voice as he yells through the door to be let in, but they can see the alternating red and blue lights.

Leaving her cousin to fend off the police and give everyone else a chance to escape the party, Jyo numbly decides that she's going to swim anyways. That's all she wanted to do was have a nice night with her friends, and not only was it boring and predictable and nobody was cute and nothing was fun and she's going to get in trouble, she also never got to swim.

Well, forget that. Exhausted or not she's going to have some kind of fun tonight.

Which in retrospect isn't the best idea in the dark, pool lights or no. Nobody really knew she was out here.

And while Officer-tighty-whiteys puts all his energy into yelling everyone away and calling kid's parents...

And said kids try to sneak out the back door and behind the garage without being seen...

It turns out to be a good thing that someone came back to check on her.

A familiar voice begins to echo in her head, before she ever realizes that she had just fallen unconscious.

She blinks water from her eyelashes and still can't really see, but she knows it's her annoyingly perfect cousin. Everet.

Before she can process what this means she's coughing up water and enjoying the first migraine of her young life.

She can't hear what he's saying but he's on the phone. Concerned, probably saved her life. And she doesn't even feel greatful.

Offended, obnoxious, dizzy, the next hour is a mess.

Everet stays with her, helps her to her feet, but she's pissed and has no idea why. Perfect freaking Everet.

Eventually, the dizziness has faded enough for her to stand up and threaten him. “You'd better not breath a word of this to my parents.”

Embarrassed, is that it? She feels threatened because she's never failed at anything athletic in her life, is that why she can't look him in the eyes right now?

“I already called them, Jyoti, it was an emergency. What if you hit your head in the pool, got a concussion? I didn't see what happened, so of course I called them!”

She sulks. “You always know exactly what to do, don't you?” She doesn't mean her voice to sound so bitter but it does anyway.

“Yeah, sure, whatever. Don't be pissed at me because I saved your life.”

“I am pissed. Not at you, we'll maybe a little bit at you. Okay, a lot at you. Why the hell do you always have the answer to everything? When did you ever learn CPR?! You probably even know what you're going to do with your life- you notice everything going on around you, you're freaking perfect, you're probably going to become a journalist just like your old man and be on tv with your perfect self and a different girl every day of the week like the chauvinist you are- it's so annoying!”

“So, you are pissed that I saved your life, or that I'm older than you? Or is it that I'm never going to go out that way, by drowning in a pool, in a dark backyard somewhere?” Everet's annoyed now, the tone of his voice is somewhat satisfying to Jyo's ears for the first second. He meant it to be sharp, but there's a note of concern in his tone that evolves to feel like nails on a chalkboard to her. The silence hangs over them for a while, each not knowing what to say next.

“I fucking hate you.” She growls, breaking it.

“No you don't you love me.” He says easily. “I'm better, smarter, and more mature than you are and you're pissed that you can't do better, is that it? Well here's a viral video for you, here's a blogpost and some news, we're not supposed to be the same you idiot. I'm half a generation older than you are and if I were on your level I'd probably want to shoot myself. I have people my own age to compete with. Not you, so you don't get to be upset.”

“Well I am upset. It's a freebie. And don't think I'm ever going to try to pay you back for it, either.”

He shrugs, looks away. “Alright. I won't. But I am staying here until your dad gets home.”

“You'd better not Everet, I don't need a babysitter.”

“Well you NEED SOMEONE!” He yells, she takes a step back without realizing it.

“And you think I need someone like you?” She says, walking closer, trying to make him uncomfortable.

He doesn't move. “Seriously I don't know what you're even upset about anymore.”

Jyo's not about to tell him that she has no idea either.

“If you need to sit down again we can just watch the stars for a while, like I said I'm not going anywhere until they're back, you should probably get something warm to change into though-”

That's the moment when, like a linebacker coming for a helpless football, Dustin appears out of nowhere and runs full tilt towards his daughter. “JYO!!”

But Jyo isn't listening, not at first. She's too full of her thoughts and lost in her confusion, and feeling guilty as Everet goes out of her way to smooth things over, and try to cheer her up. Usually that's her job in any situation, she's supposed to think of a joke and lighten the mood. But she's sad, upset, and doesn't know why. It makes no sense. She feels... useless.

So she tells him she's okay, she was kidding around, she's glad he was here. Whatever will make this painful moment end, whatever will make him go away.

Oh, SH--- ~ ~ !!

That's when her memory returns and she realizes that he gave her mouth to mouth to save her life. “You should go home,” she stutters. “My-dad's here now and-”

“Yeah.” He senses something has changed too, and he's not about to voice it out loud. This suddenly feels wrong, and he knows enough about girls to know exactly what's going on now. “I'll just explain to your dad what happened and...”

“You don't need anyone to watch you, I'm sorry, you really grew up, you know? You're going to be fine, so...” Everet retreats, suddenly embarrassed at her close attention. “I mean, you're old enough to swim alone, but at least let somebody know you're out here next time, okay?”

The last notes of his voice sound with their usual cadence and a hint of brotherly concern. Turning his back to her helped him not be so distracted.

He takes Dustin aside once it's clear that she's okay right now.

Jyoti stares after them, trying to clear her head. Had she gotten to be too sure of herself? She's good at sports, she loves any kind of physical challenge, her classmates consider her to be downright athletic. There's no way that someone like her would make such a stupid mistake, and yet it happened.

Without Everet intervening, would she really be dead right now?

“Thanks, for saving my life...” She says quietly, her voice trailing into the darkness. It's weird, she doesn't really like any boys, she's not sure what some of the older girls see in their gross boyfriends, or why they give up things they want to do or be for them. Still she always assumed that, some day there would be someone so enticing that she wouldn't be able to help herself but want to be around him. Someone confident in themselves who would believe in her as well. Someone who would do things she couldn't, who would make time to see how she was doing.

So far the only person who's managed to do that is her ridiculous, womanizing older cousin. Now that Everet's managed to set the bar this high, and she's not sure that she's ever going to find someone to be with. This was the worst night of her life. What a party.

Jyo sighs dramatically, completely forgetting the goal she had for the weekend and failing to recognize that it hardly mattered anymore.

She hears the clacking of her mother's heals approaching steadily from a long way away. Presumably she'd just come from waking up her sleeping brother to drill him with questions.

So it's not a surprise at all when she appears in the periphery, stomping through water at the pool's edge to confront her daughter about everything that happened while they were gone. But the thrill of it all is over for Jyoti. Had been for a long time.

She's probably being grounded, but she can't even drive yet so they can't take that away.

“You installed a POOL!?” Is the first thing her mom says.

“What? It's summer! Dad's always talking about going to the beach but we never have the time, I thought he'd like it!”

“You THOUGHT HE'D LIKE IT!” Meghan howls.

“And you had a party here.”

“Yes.”

“And you nearly DROWNED in the new pool. Have you forgotten how to swim? Did you do this for attention?”

“No- and NO! I didn't plan this! How could I plan something like that!?”

“I don't know. But I'm worried about you. Thank God we decided to come home early from our trip.” Meghan mutters under her breath.

“You didn't take us.” Jyoti says quietly. “I wanted to meet our uncle too.”

Meghan sighs. “I know we didn't take you, I'm sorry that's upsetting, but really this time-”

“This time, next time, when can we do things as a family again? I want to go places with you guys too, Jet wants too, even if all he'd do in them is read books and paint, he wanted to go. I'm sorry about the party but I wanted to have something fun happen here too.”

“Thank you for apologising but that's not going to be enough. You installed a pool, woke all the neighbors, and nearly died tonight.” Her mom's voice has that note of finality that means something bad is coming next.

“I'm having your dad take the car back. You're not ready for the responsibility.”

“No don't- I LOVE the car, I am ready, my grades are incredible, Jet's not ready, his grades SUCK!”

“What a compelling argument. Seriously, I'm going to have a lot to discuss with your father, but you are tired and we are tired so let's all get some rest.”

“Mom!”

“That face you're making is not going to make me change my mind either young lady.”

Meghan's voice softens again. “I'm so glad you're okay, don't worry us like this.”

“Okay, okay I'm sorry...”

“Maybe next time we can install a jogging track, and go hiking on the next trip?

Jyo smiles despite everything that's happened today. “Okay mom, that would be really great.”

Jet, inside, finally gets his story. Dustin saw the scene outside and thought Meghan was handling it well, so he changes his focus on their son.

Jet didn't really care about the party, it's awesome that his sister managed to get them a pool while their parents weren't home, and now there's talk of a family vacation next time. Best of all, nobody remembered to nag him about his homework. Which he hasn't been doing, at all.

“Dad, I'm glad you're home."

“Me too kid, We'll bring you guys next time.”

Jet smiles one of his rare, contented smiles at his dad. “Okay, deal.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UHHH... right, so the game has no idea that they are cousins, because back in the day I never actually made Eugene's parent's or made them related to Dustin. Ooops. Still it kind of makes sense for Jyoti's first crush or guy she noticed to be someone nearby, and for her not to want to act on it, or at the very least, to be confused by it. She really did start to drown when she was swimming, so I tossed the poses in to tell the story about it. Didn't think I'd get floating hearts for the trouble.

I personally think Everet is a tiny beefcake and I'd would play his sim in another game, I winder if I did a wishacy what his wishes would be like?