3. You need to see Katie. As soon as possible,” Gwen concluded.
“Katie- What?!”
“Jaymie… Trust me on this.”
4 DAYS EARILER
4. “Thanks for coming.” The witch behind him took one look at
him and shook her head.
“The pleasure is all mine, Knightley.” She gazed at the back of
his ruffled blonde hair.
5. Lucinda De Lune kept a neutral face, it was so hard to hold in
the excitement and anticipation that had been gradually
building up since Knightly had called her. He never called her.
6. She turned and wandered toward the single portrait on the
bare, white walls.
“Is this the girl?” Lucinda didn’t wait for a response, “She’s a
pretty little thing. But then again, Dream Walkers usually are.”
7. When Lucinda turned, Knightley was already behind her. She
continued, “Dream Walkers. I never thought I would see
another in my lifetime.” Knightley nodded, “Yes, Katie’s a really
special-” He trailed off, as the witch threw her hands in the air.
“Katie?” Lucinda grinned at the informal title. Not Subject A or
B, but Katie.
8. “It’s not- She’s not-” Knightley stuttered quickly.
“You didn’t. No, actually you did. You fell in love. How adorable!
Son of the head of NWAM in love with the Dream Walker
protégé!” She rambled on, as Knightley remained silently, not
denying any of Lucinda’s assumptions.
9. “I want you to turn her.” Knightley interjected abruptly.
Lucinda’s eyes light up, “Oh this is perfect! Her powers will
strengthen, I need someone to mentor…” She trailed
off, “Um, was this request cleared with the board?” Knightley’s
face darkened and he pointed at her.
“Has that ever stopped you before?”
10. “Good point,” She replied as Knightley sat at the desk, fingers
flying. She glanced over at the address on the screen.
“Here’s where she lives.”
11. “Have you got it?” Knightley asked as they stood by the door.
Lucinda clapped her hands in response.
“Truthfully, I’ve always wanted to do something like this. Oh,
this will be such fun!” She cried, “But wait.”
12. “This white is really getting to me, Sweetie.” And with
that, Lucinda waved her wand in a full circle, chanting quietly.
13. “SO much better,” She sighed, her innocent smile radiating
throughout the room.
“Well, bye now Knightley,” Lucinda smartly walked out of the
room, through the cold, unfeeling hallways, snatching a
broomstick from the wall.
14. “Great seeing you!” Lucinda finally called out as she mounted
her broom and flew upward. She finally vanished into the
sapphire blue sky in a glittering burst of sparkles.
15. Knightley smiled slightly as he watched her go, and he sincerely
hoped that he had made the right decision.
16. He did love her, after all, and he hoped that she would stay safe
with the new targets on her back.
17. Mei Yu and Xue Li snapped their heads up in shock as the first
boom of thunder sounded. A thin stream of lightening trickled
down from the sky and in a shower of sickly green sparkles
appeared an old woman, a diabolical leer smeared onto her
face.
18. Xue Li screamed and leapt backward, covering her ears with her
hands in an effort to shut out the alarming cracks of thunder.
Rain pelted the sidewalk with a barrage of icy droplets.
19. Mei Yu pressed her hands together and wailed, staring at the
horrid elder who was surveying her surroundings. She couldn’t
look away no matter how disturbing the image was.
20. All went silent for a moment, and Xue Li slowly lowered her
hands from her ears. She looked back to the witch, but was
even more frightened at what she saw. Her high pitched shriek
filled the air.
21. “One’s enough for now,” The witch cackled gleefully, a hand
placed firmly around Mei Yu’s neck. Mei Yu struggled, but the
old lady was unusually strong. She began twirling her wand to
summon a portal.
22. Suddenly, she was thrown backward by an unbelievably strong
force, and in the instant she lifted her hand to her chest, the
young child bolted, and hurried with her sister down the
sidewalk. The witch looked up and into the cold, unforgiving
eyes of Katie AquamarineLily.
23. “What?” The witch cried in disbelief, “A Dream Walker?” She
had no chance to react, shock was evident. Katie reached
forward and placed the palm of her hand on the witch’s
forehead.
24. The girls exchanged a look of confusion as the witch vanished as
well as the lightening, and their adoptive mother walked calmly
toward them.
25. Wordlessly, she gave each of her daughters a warm hug.
“I am so sorry. I promised to keep you safe, and I will until the
end of time,” Katie finally whispered.
26. When the girls got home, Katie sat them down on the couch
and began to tell them about their heritage, the line of royalty
that ended with them.
27. “Mommy, why did the evil lady call you a Dream Walker?” Xue
Li gazed up, her grey almond shaped eyes narrowed ever so
slightly, not with distrust, but trying to take in all the
information she had learned in the single hour.
28. “Yeah Mommy, why?” Mei Yu chimed in, leaning forward. Katie
sighed and rubbed her tired head before she finally opened her
mouth to speak.
29. “Well my dears, I have a special gift. I don’t really know all
about it yet, but I know that help is on the way. He promised me
that last time I saw him,” Katie answered, wistful as she
mentioned Knightley before carelessly plopping down in a chair.
30. “Mommy who is he-” Xue Li was cut off as a column of golden
light appeared and the shape of a slender blonde woman slowly
came into view.
31. “Mommy! The evil witches are back!” came the shrill cries of
the twins as they clutched their hearts in fear.
32. “Oooh. Magivestigium always leaves me a bit light headed…”
Lucinda trailed off as she noticed the two young princesses
cowering by the couch.
“Don’t be frightened sweetheart!”
33. Finally, Lucinda cleared her throat and stepped
forward, “Knightley sent me,” Katie’s eyes grew as wide as
saucers, “And he asked me to give him a little favor.”
34. As quick as a rabbit, Lucinda leapt backward and began twirling
her wand rapidly before Katie could even react.
“Magus Mutatio, Magus Mutatio, Magus Mutatio,” She
chanted.
35. Instants later, Katie was dressed from head to toe in white
garments and a scowl was written on her face. Lucinda was
oblivious to it, and she was smiling widely.
36. Soon however, she noticed the horrified look on Katie’s face.
“What’s wrong?” Lucinda asked, confused as why to someone
would not enjoy being a witch.
“You turned me into the everything my daughters are terrified
of.”
37. “Oh, good point.” Lucinda noticed Xue Li peeking through
covered eyes and waved slightly.
38. “That may take some getting used to…” Mei Yu was failing her
arms and making an incoherent noise.
39. Lucinda sat down slowly as the princesses rushed off to bed.
They were eager to be anywhere but there, hoping this was all
a bad dream.
40. “Knightley told you to do this to me?” Katie bit her lip as she
tried to imagine her kind hearted and slightly impatient lover
doing something to cause her suffering. She couldn’t.
41. “Yes dear, but wait, don’t give me that look. Trust me, it’s for
the better. Let me tell you how I first became a witch, five years
ago.”
42. “I had just moved into my new apartment. It was kind of
strange that I got such a remarkably good price for such a huge
complex, but I brushed that thought away.”
43. “Later that day, I went out of the main gates to fetch my mail.
To my surprise, an elderly lady, no, not like the one who
attacked your girls, this one had a white hat, she was on the
good side, as am I.”
44. “A younger witch joined as well. Together, they informed me
that I had been chosen out of hundreds for join their coven.
They had arranged for me to move to Neoseekera for this
reason.”
45. “I supposed them explaining the process to me helped, but I still
wasn’t ready for what happened next,”
46. “Just like with your, sparkles enveloped me, and I rose into the
air. When I landed, I wore the robes you are wearing now, and I
became a good witch.”
47. After telling her story, Lucinda lead Katie outside and they
practiced some wand exercises.
“Nice job Katie! You’re a natural!”
48. Before Katie knew it, five hours had passed and Lucinda had to
fly, literally.
“Nice working with you dear! And you should check the
dragon!” came Lucinda’s parting words.
49. Katie walked into the house, and after changing back into her
normal clothes, she approached the dragon on the coffee table.
She cautiously reached out a hand toward the dragon.
50. When she pulled her hand back, she was on the astral plain.
She blinked in surprise, then when she held the familiar
footsteps behind her, she spun around.
51. Even without the black ninja robes, she knew it was him.
Knightley’s eyes still shone with the familiar combination of
happiness and annoyance, just how she liked it.
52. Before Knightley could comprehend what was happening, Katie
launched herself clumsily into his arm, wrapping her hands
around her neck.
53. When she finally pulled away, she reached out and grasped his
hand. His eyebrows were raised with surprise at the unusually
warm welcome, but it occurred to him that he hadn’t seen her
in a year. Time passed differently…
54. Knightley digested that information, but when he looked up
again, he was not met with an excited smile as he expected.
Katie looked like she was going to be sick, and her lips were a
firm line.
55. “You left me. You left us. For a year. A whole year! What the hell
Knightley! You can’t just leave me like that, when I’m worried
sick, and you never sent any sign at all-”
56. Knightly cut her off as he pulled her close.
“I’m here now. And I will never leave like that again.”
“Truthfully, I’ve always known that this would be hard. I just
wish I had a piece of you each and every day.” Katie
responded, much quieter.
57. “As you wish.” came Knightley’s short reply, before he
continued, “And you must go to Three Lakes to seek the
Guardian.”
“What do you-” Katie began to ask, when she stopped. He was
already gone.
58. “Knightley! Knightley!” Katie cried. “Knightley,” She finally
whispered and fell into nothingness, tears forming at the edges
of her deep brown eyes.
~-~-~-~-~
59. Xue Li and Mei Yu yanked open the huge drawers to their
dressers. They reached in and grabbed an assortment of
clothes.
60. “You girls packed yet?” Katie called impatiently from the hall.
Before she could add something else, her stomach rolled again.
“Ugh. If I didn’t know better, I’d think I was…” She trailed
off, something dawning on her. She was pregnant.
62. Tim Waverly opened the door to his bedroom, still dressed in
his work clothes from his late night shift. He was meet with a
surprise in the form of-
“Evangilenne?”
63. “What ever happened to ‘Honey, I’m home’?” came Eve’s
comment as she lay sprawled on the bed, foot in a pillow.
64. “What ever happened to it’s three in the morning, you should
be asleep?” Tim countered with a raised eyebrow as he sat on
the bed frame.
65. “God Tim, you sound like my mother,” Evangilenne said as she
came to sit on the other side of the frame, making a pouty face
at Timothy.
“Sounds like a sensible lady.”
66. “Tiiiim!” Eve cried, pulling him up, “I hate these late night shifts!
I never see you, you sleep so late when you work at night!” Tim
gave her a smile.
67. “Don’t worry about me babe,” He answered easily, “This is just
until I can land a permanent job at the hospital. Now go to bed!
I’ll be up in a sec, I’m gonna grab a bite to eat downstairs.”
68. As Tim left their room and walked toward the stairs, he had to
stop and admire the deeds lining the walls. One for each of
Evangilenne’s businesses.
69. The next morning, Tim was back in his uniform, ready for work
in an hour. He was shoveling some leftover pancake into his
mouth as he heard Eve stomping down the stairs.
70. “Thought you were going to get out of a goodbye kiss?” Eve
asked as she slid into the seat across from his. She leaned
across the table and gave him a sweet kiss.
71. “Go get ‘em Tiger,” She smiled as he pushed back his chair.
“Love you Eve, have fun at your dinner party.” Eve sighed and
shook her head.
“That’s tomorrow Hot Stuff.”
~-~-~-~-~
72. Star was perched on the cool granite counter top, feeling very
sorry for herself. She hadn’t gotten much attention lately, with
Evangilenne fussing over Tim every second.
73. Looks like it hasn’t done him much good though, Star thought as
she watched him dozing off face first in the chili. She crept over
to the unwatched bowl of the warm food, and helped herself.
74. “Naughty Kitty!” came Eve’s voice from behind her. Star leapt
down from the counter, and hissing, went to find something
else to eat.
75. Evangilenne shook her head, then rushed to her fiancé's side.
“Tim! Wake up!” She leaned forward and kissed his head.
“Get more sleep Sweetie.”
76. That night, Tim didn’t have work, so Eve made it her personal
task to make sure he got some much needed sleep. She
reached over and brushed a stray hair from his face with a
smile.
77. “Hi there Kitty! You’re gonna make a good friend for Star! Yes
you are!” Eve cooed, stroking the newest addition to the
family.
78. However, it seemed like Star didn’t share Eve’s enthusiasm for
the new housemate. She ignored him more than anything else.
79. Tim was wrapped up in his book, a informative textbook about
the human body. The chattering of teeth forced him to look up.
80. Evangilenne stood in front of him, bundled up, but pale as a
ghost. Her eyes had lost their spark, and she looked helpless.
81. Tim hurried up to her, and picked her up easily. She seemed
lighter as well, maybe in all of the nursing she was doing for him
and his odd work hours, she forgotten to take care of herself.
82. “Wha-” Eve weakly sat up in bed, confused and disoriented.
Sun light shone through the windows, and right in front of her
was Tim, a true doctor.
“We’re going to the Pancake Palace.”
83. “Wow,” Tim breathed as he saw the Pancake Palace, truly a
palace. He hadn’t realized all of the work Eve had put into it
while he was at work. They started working right away.
84. Tim took off a few days of work so he could work at Eve’s
business. It was slow at first, the restaurant being a new
establishment.
85. However, it wasn’t about the money, Evangilenne was elated to
be spending time with Tim, who was not exhausted out of his
mind. They would lay under the stars and relax for the first
time in a long while.
86. Slowly, business began to take off. The Pancake Palace was
beyond busy, and new and old faces alike joined together for a
warm batch of pancakes.
87. Just as Evangilenne closed shop for the day, she heard Tim
behind her.
“You gotta sec Eve?” He asked easily.
88. She turned quickly and almost spilled the coffee in Tim’s right
hand.
“You bought coffee for me?” Eve asked in astonishment.
“Yup. Vanilla Hazelnut, extra foam.”
89. “Tim, this coffee is heaven on earth!” Evangilenne moaned with
delight after taking a sip.
“I try.” Tim grinned and pushed a clipboard toward Eve.
90. “I think we should hire a manager. That way, we can focus on
your next business and make it better than ever!” Tim cried
with excitement.
91. “Wow Tim, you’re really getting into this!” Evangilenne smiled,
“Truthfully, I’ve always thought that you didn’t like my
businesses.” The shocked look on Tim’s face told Eve how
wrong she was.
92. “You’re hired! Congrats, you’re the new manager! Call me if you
have any trouble!” Eve shoved a pair of keys into the young
lady’s hands and ran to the car on the curb.
93. “Why. Won’t. This. Stain. Come. Out.” Eve scrubbed furiously at
a tricky spot of cake mix on the counter. She was in the kitchen
of her new store, the Cakery.
94. “Yay! Done! All cleaned up!” Eve dropped the sponge
unceremoniously on the dark countertop, then turned and
found herself in Tim’s arms.
“I’m proud of you,” Tim smiled, “Proud of all of your hard work,
and I love you.” Eve silenced him with a kiss.
~-~-~-~-~
95. “Hello! I’m Kalia Physco. I, or should I say we,” She gestured at
her round belly, “Are the head of the Neoseekera Welcoming
Committee. It’s always wonderful to have new families join us.”
She held out a slender hand, and Emily Salmanca promptly
shook it.
96. “My goodness, all of you are so kind! I can already tell that we
will enjoy living here,” Emily brushed a stray red tendril of hair
out of her face, “Well, I am Emily Salmanca.”
97. “Mom! Where’s my box of books?” Max called from the second
level of the front yard. Emily glanced up and gestured slightly at
the young boy.
“There’s my son Max… Max, this is Mrs. Physco, it’s sitting right
by the desk!” Max nodded and turned to leave, but not before
he called over his should, “Nice to meet you! Thanks Mom!”
98. Emily then lead Kalia up to her newly build home. They
stepped through the front door and Kalia saw Max scamper
upstairs holding a huge box. Through the doorway, a toddler
with her mother’s fiery red hair became visible.
“This is my daughter, Alexa,” Emily introduced, then smiled as
Alexa cooed at her name.
99. Emily peeked into the door to a bare office where a man was
typing quickly on the computer. She closed the door slightly
and quietly, and then turned back to Kalia.
“My husband David. He just got a new job right in the
Intelligence line of work, but at the moment he’s working from
home.” Emily sat simply and then gestured toward the couch.
100. Kalia sat down on the newly bought couch, and glanced around
the almost bare room.
“Yes, we don’t have much right now, we were formally living in
an apartment in Pleasant View, and just about all of the
furniture belonged to the landlord. And I must say, Neoseekera
already seems so much nicer,” Emily explained.
101. “It’s a wonderful place to raise a family,” added Kalia. Emily
tilted her head thoughtfully.
“So this baby isn’t your first?” Kalia shook her head and laughed.
“No, I had octuplets, four girls and four boys, and it’s been
confirmed that I am currently pregnant with twins,” Kalia
beamed.
102. “Ten kids, wow. And David and I though four would be pushing
it!” Emily cried in amazement.
“Well, many people have a lot of kids here. There are currently
three other pregnant women here as well… I just was
confirmed about an old friend of mine, even though she’s not
showing yet. Oh dear, I must be going,” Kalia said her goodbyes.
103. “Ten kids, wow,” Emily said quietly to herself. She walked back
into the Family Room and saw her husband settling down on a
normal computer, he was done with work for the day.
104. “Who was that, Em?” David glanced up as the computer began
to hum to life.
“A member of the welcoming committee, Kalia Physco,” Emily
said as she walked by, “She has ten kids! Imagine that.”
105. Emily bent down toward her daughter and Alexa shied
away, giggling.
“Now Lexi, sweetie, you know you need a bath,” Emily chided.
“No Baf! No Baf!” She cried and Emily stood up.
“Fine. Later though,” Emily silently scolded herself for being
such a pushover.
106. David settled down in front of his daughter on his way to the
exercise machine, now dressed in workout clothes.
“Hi Lexi. You have to be better for Mommy, okay?” He asked
calmly, watching his daughter carefully.
“’K Daddy, I be good.” David smiled and stood up.
“Good girl Lexi.”
107. Max was perched on the couch, jittery with excitement. He had
started school two days ago, and was instantly popular. All of his
new friends, who had lived in Neoseekera their whole lives, were
immensely curious about Max’s old life. One girl in particular caught
Max’s eye. Reasonably quiet, but had a hidden fiery attitude.
Apparently, she was part of the richest family in Neoseekera.
108. In fact, Max was so interested in her, he had invited her over. And
to his surprise, and maybe even hers, she had said yes.
“Hello Max,” Vivienne looked calming at her with her piercing
golden eyes, cascades of pale blonde hair lining her face.
“Um, hi Vivie. Uh, this is my house…” Max trailed off.
“Oh yes. It is slightly small for my taste, but,” She smiled.
109. “Oh. Yeah, maybe compared to what you’re used to…” Max
began to rethink asking a girl as popular and wealthy as Vivie
over.
“No, no. You’re getting the wrong idea. I am used to large
manors, but you have one of the largest and loveliest homes in
Neoseekera. It’s more comfortable then mine at least.”
110. “What do you mean, Vivienne?” Max asked, confused.
“Please just call me Vivie. And my house is very large, true, but
it is very unfriendly. I am afraid to sit on the couch, because I
might ruin the Peruvian leather. My parents are at work
constantly, my father at the NeoTV, and my mother at some
elite party downtown,” She finished sadly.
111. Emily, who had been standing at the end of the hall behind
Vivienne, heard the whole story, and her heart ached. Finally,
she stepped forward.
“Hello! You must be Vivienne Hunt?” The little girl nodded, and
Mrs. Salmanca bent down and hugged her, “Welcome to our
house Vivienne. Make yourself at home.”
112. “Thank you Mrs. Salmanca,” Vivie smiled as she sat down at the
Mahjong game board, her backpack neatly tucked away in the
corner. Emily nodded and left the room.
113. “Wow Max, your mom’s very kind,” Vivie said quietly, staring
intently at her game piece. Max shrugged.
“I guess so, but don’t feel bad.” Vivienne looked up sharply.
“How did you know?” She asked quickly. Max returned her gaze
sadly, “It’s written all over your face.”
114. “Hm,” Vivie said, and placed her row of tiles, “I won!” Max
looked at the game piece in astonishment.
“You tricked me! You acted all sad and stuff to distract me!”
Max laughed in disbelief.
“Well I am my mother’s daughter,” Vivienne said with a grimace
that went unnoticed by Max.
115. “Save the rematch for later!” Emily called out, “Have a bite to
eat!” The two kids looked at each other and then scrambled off
their seats.
“Race you!” Max yelled as they clambered to beat one other
into the Dining Room where the plate of food was waiting.
116. With full bellies, the children wandered back to the waiting
Mahjong board. Before Max could sit down however, a tall,
well-dressed figure appeared in the doorway. Vivienne looked
up and immediantly frowned at him.
117. “Vivienne, come on, we need to get you back home; your
mother and I are going to a gala and we need you to stay with
Mr. Smith,” Malcolm urged hurriedly.
“Ugh Daddy,” Vivie frowned as she turned to Max, “Sorry Max. I
would rather be here anyway.”
118. “I had really fantastic time though!” She beamed, and Max was
struck by how pretty she was with a smile lighting up her
unusual features.
“Me too, Vivie,” Max grinned, happy he could please Vivienne.
119. Her father spun on his heels and began to confidently stride out
of the room, Vivienne trailing half-heartedly behind him. Emily
peeked her head out of the Living Room and smiled at the pair.
“It was nice meeting you Mr. Landgraab, bye Vivienne, thank
you for coming today.”
120. As Vivienne departed into the chilly night, she smiled as she
remembered the hospitality of Mrs. Salmanca as well as Max.
Max… She was going to pay more attention to him from now
on… Much more.
121. Max, perched up on a pile of phonebooks glanced down at his
father.
“Hey Dad?” Max asked slowly, and when David looked up he
continued, “How do you know when you like a girl?” His dad
grinned at him.
“You think about her all the time, you love spending time with her.”
122. “Talking about me?” Emily teased as she walked over to the
chessboard where her boys were sitting.
“Of course I am, Em,” David grinned cheekily at his wife. Max
groaned at their sweetness.
“Get a room guys!” He ducked his head and made a face.
123. “Max, sweetie, someday you’re going to meet a girl, and start a
family, and your kids will be telling you to get a room. Put
yourself in our shoes,” Emily smiled, her silver eyes glistening.
“Or maybe I already met her,” Max whispered so quietly that
neither parent heard him.
~-~-~-~-~
124. “Excellent work, Max!” cried Emily as Max held up a report card
with high marks on it. Max beamed back at the eager tone of
his mother.
“Oh, sweetie, you know Mrs. Physco?” Max nodded, “She’s
bringing one of her boys over.”
125. “Why not Derek or Zane or Nate?” Gavin whined to his
mother, “You know I had plans.” Kalia rolled her eyes.
“Your brothers all have detention along with the rest of their
gym class. And Gavin, Silver doesn’t count as plans. You’re with
her everyday. You’ll like Max.” Kalia responded firmly as she
guided Gavin to the Salmanca Household.
126. “Kalia!” Emily hurried down the wooden stairs surprisingly fast
for a woman wearing stiletto heels. She looked over at the
bored looking boy, “And you must be Gavin! Welcome! My son
Max is right over there with his father, but he just got the new
SimG7 gaming system.” At that, Gavin’s eyes lite up.
“Whoa. That just came out yesterday!”
127. Gavin looked over to where a boy his age was giving a man who
had just gotten out of the car a hug. He scampered over to Max.
“Hey, I’m Gavin!” Max raised an eyebrow at his enthusiasm.
“The SimG7 is in the living room,” was all that Max said in
response. The two boys hurried into the house as their mothers
smiled at one another and followed.
128. “It’s so nice to be free of my kids everyone once in awhile,”
Kalia sighed happily as she dealed cards, the quiet beeping of a
game system in the background a constant reminder that Gavin
and Max were still there. Emily and David laughed in response.
“Greg has been working late recently, there are a lot of new
homes being build in Neoseekera,” Kalia continued.
129. “Ha. Well, you’re welcome here anytime,” Emily offered, “Or if
you and Greg want the evening off, you can surely leave the
kids with us.” Kalia laughed a bit a that last part.
“Emily, we’ve been through more babysitters than we can
count. Apparently, eight kids becomes a little much to
handle, especially when they’re all complete opposites.”
130. “I’m sure that we could manage,” Emily insisted, “I would love
for you to have some time to yourself.” Kalia shook her head
slowly.
“That’s what school is for. Seven whole hours of peace and
quiet. Though I admit, I do start to miss the chaos every now
and again,” Kalia replied.
131. “We only have Max in school, and every time he leaves, it’s as
silent as a winter night. I can’t even imagine how hard eight is!”
David finished, and all of the adults laughed. Just as they
finished their card game, Kalia got a text from her husband who
had just come home to an empty house.
“I must be going, but thank you for the lovely time.”
132. “Thanks for letting me play with your game station, err, you,”
Gavin corrected quickly. Max laughed.
“It’s fine. And good luck with that Silver girl. I’ve seen her
around in school and she is really pretty,” Max said, then
noticed Gavin’s scowl at the last part, “And totally not my type,”
He finished, and Gavin relaxed visibly.
133. “Brie?” Max asked the girl sitting cross-legged in front of
him, “Anything wrong?” He noted her expression, not usually
her cheery smile that she had become so well known for.
134. “Oh, you know,” She replied vaguely, picking at a cuticle on her
finger. Max furrowed his eyebrows.
“No, Brielle, I really don’t.” Brie glanced up in surprise at her
title.
135. “Wow Max. You’re the first person to call me by my real name
in like, forever,” Brie said with a surprised expression. Max
shrugged.
“Well, you never seemed to really enjoy being called cheese,”
Brielle nodded at that, “And you have a really pretty name that
no one uses.”
136. “That’s sweet Max,” Brielle beamed at him, “I like it when you
call me Brielle.” Max grinned back and inched toward her.
“So what’s wrong?” He became serious at that.
Brie ran her hand through her hair, and Max looked closer at
the dark ebony coloured curls. She really was pretty, he thought
to himself. There was a cute bunch of freckles lining her nose.
137. “Oh, well, um, there’s this guy…” Brielle started, and she tilted
her head to the side, a hopeful expression on her face. Max
silently urged her on, holding his breath.
“And I really, really like him, but I think he likes this other girl,”
Brie continued, her voice almost a whisper.
138. Max smiled at her uncomfortably.
“Brielle, any guy would be lucky to have a girl like you,” Max
replied to her. She blushed just as her phone buzzed,
interrupting the moment. She glanced at it, and then frowned
and stood up.
“I have to go home for dinner, Max.” He nodded.
139. “Thanks Max,” Brie smiled sweetly at him and batted her
eyelashes, “Truthfully, I’ve always thought you were awesome,”
Brie said, then blushed. Max had no words so he stuck out a
hand, and laughing nervously, Brie shook it.
“Bye Max, see you in school,” She finished, and then left.
~-~-~-~-~
140. Emily was sitting on the exercise machine when the first bout of
nausea struck. Her stomach felt tight, and Em’s breath became
shallow and labored. Slowly, she pushed herself up, from the
seat, one hand on her pained stomach.
141. She felt horribly sick, and was sweaty from her exercise session.
Emily’s silver bracelet jingled nervously on her thin wrist as she
held her hand in front of her face. She leaned her head forward
as she began to gag on air. Finally, she mustered up the strength
to run to the bathroom.
142. On her hands and knees, the cool hardwood floor kept her
balance and she lurched forward, holding her face over the
pristine porcelain toilet. When she was finished, she stumbled
out of the room and down the hall.
143. “Em? Emily? Emily!” David shouted as he stared the sickly green
water, wondering where his wife was. He ran into each room on
the ground floor, calling her name. Finally, he hurried up the
stairs to and continued the process.
144. Finally, he ran into their bedroom, and saw Emily laying in bed, fast
asleep. The plain covers were pulled up to her chin, and she seemed
pale in comparison to the covers. David suddenly recalled a similar
event three years ago, when Alexa was born. He walked forward and
lightly placed his hand on her stomach.
“You’re pregnant,” He said simply, and then walked out of the room.
145. Later that evening, Emily crawled out of bed. Her stomach had
thankfully settled, and she felt much better. However, she
raised a thin, red eyebrow as she noticed the tightness of her
baggy, satin pajamas around her belly.
146. She slowly began to stretch her aching body, lifting her left leg
up, and then her right, and arching her back. She knew
now, especially now, that she had to stay limber and loose.
~-~-~-~-~
147. “Huh? Wha-?” a drowsy Emily slowly pushed herself up, and
looked around bleary eyed. Max glanced over as his mother
woke up.
“Hey Mom. You wandered down here at six and then you laid
down on the couch and was out like a light,” Emily nodded and
sat back into the plush, cream couch.
148. Emily opened her mouth wide and yawned loudly, releasing all
of the tension in her. She turned toward her son.
“Max, I’m-” She started before he cut her off.
“Pregnant, yeah Mom, that’s obvious enough,” He finished for
her, giving her a ‘do-you-think-I’m-a-moron-?’ look. Emily just
smiled at his unfazed reaction and relaxed.
149. David picked up Alexa and swayed back and forth slowly, as she
smiled happily and looked at him.
“You’re going to be a big sister soon,” He said softly. Lexi’s eyes
lit up with excitement.
“Bab-beh!” squealed Alexa as she grasped the collar of her
father’s white t-shirt when he started to place her back down.
150. “Oh, yes. I’m definitely pregnant,” Emily said aloud as she felt
the undeniable kicking from her stomach, just as she had felt
with Max and Alexa. She lightly placed a hand on her stomach.
“Names, names, names.” Emily recited thoughtfully.
151. “What in the world are you doing, David?” Emily asked in
astonishment as she entered the kitchen.
“Cooking for you.” He said, gesturing toward the plate of food in
his hand.
“Sweetie, you told me you burn cereal,” Emily reminded him.
“I lied. I’ve actually went to culinary food for five years.”
152. “David! Why would you keep such a delicious secret from me?”
“I love you Emily.” David announced suddenly. Emily put down
her fork and gazed into David’s light blue eyes.
“Truthfully, I’ve always known that,” She laughed.
~-~-~-~-~
153. “You’re crazy,” Gwen gasped as she stared at the blonde girl
with identical deep blues eyes.
“You wish clone,” I smirked at my former Simself.
“What the- What did you say your name was again? Caroline?”
“Caroline Gwen actually. And I’m going to ask you again to
please leave and never come back. Ever.” I added.
154. Gwen rolled her eyes, “And I beat you’re going to tell me that
that girl with Rya is her ‘real’ self.” I threw back my head and
laughed.
“Nice try but that’s my sister Rosalie,” I smiled innocently at
Gwen, “And I will ask you again nicely to please leave.”
155. “Me? Leave? Listen Crazy, I’ll give you five minutes to get the
hell off my property or I’m calling the cops.” I crossed my arms
and frowned the nuisance in front of me. I honestly didn’t
expect her to be this much of a bother. I probably added too
many Outgoing Points.
156. “So who are you supposed to be?” Rya sneered at my sister.
“Well not you obviously. I’m much too pretty to be you,” Rosalie
smirked at Rya, “And by the way, Elmo is so out. Hello Kitty’s
where it’s at.” Rya clenched her fists in response.
157. “Listen, I won’t ask you again. There are updates that need
writing.” Gwen cried angrily.
“Well duh. Why do you think I’m here? That’s my job, Gwen,” I
tried to explain to her.
158. “Honestly, it was a mistake to make you first. You don’t even
look that much like me! I guess that’s what I get for making a
sim at ten o’clock at night,” I sighed and shrugged my shoulders.
I don’t quite know what I was trying to accomplish by that, but
it only seemed to get her angrier.
159. “Alright, I tried reasoning nicely, but you didn’t listen. You’re
history, Gwen,” I snapped my fingers, and my annoying
exSimSelf vanished along with Rya.
160. “Caroline…” Rosalie gave me a critical look, “You couldn’t just
erase their memories? You had to erase them?” I shrugged
easily.
“They were ticking me off, Rosie. You know that’s my pet
peeve.”
161. “Forget it Caroline, so what’s next?” Rosalie shook her head and
started over.
“Hm, I think I wanna get a puppy. And name him, Percy,”
Caroline said thoughtfully.
162. “Caroline, you’ve got to follow the rules. You need to set all of
the house to Spring First by playing them all. There are people
who want updates you know.”
163. “Rosalie, since when do I follow the rules? I’m Caroline Gwen
for Pete’s sake. I know what I’m doing. And truthfully, I’ve
always been this much of a procrastinator. So there.”
~-~-~-~-~
