3. Where the Ryman house had stood just a few days before, when they had left for their holiday, there was just a huge dark hole in the ground. And a randomly floating floor tile. Even the conservatory was gone. Gardener: *What kind of people do I work for here?!*
4. Allen: “I think our house exploded.” Gina: “D’ya think? We have another house somewhere though, right?” Alvin: “… Not exactly.” Rick: “But houses don’t just explode do they? How can this have happened?” Mia: “… I think I have déjà vu about this somehow…”
5. They were all in shock and could have stood there staring for some time, but Alvin knew he needed to get the kids out of there. “Mia, take your brothers and sister to school, there’s nothing you can do here. I’ll stay and sort out what I can. It’ll all be okay.” He was pretty sure he didn’t sound convincing. Mia: “Good idea. And, if you need any help, me and Rick will be back at one. It’ll be fine.” He managed to return her hopeful smile as she lead the children away, right until they walked out of sight.
6. Then he fell to his knees, despair bubbling up inside. Their house had exploded! What could he possibly do?! And they’d spent nearly all of their money on holiday on massages, exotic food and so many clothes – and he hadn’t even received the bill for the hotel yet! That was going to be over eleven-grand on its own! They were essentially completely broke! It was true that the kids had numerous relatives through Nicola who might help them out, but none of their houses were big enough for 5 people and he couldn’t possibly ask them for money… They were completely screwed. And there was nothing he could do about it. And whatever was left on the ground was burning his bare knees. He’d have to find something…
7. Out of desperation and the still present sense of curiosity Alvin climbed down into the chasm – it was much deeper than he was tall and so oddly formed. And Alvin may have been a top-level scientist but even he couldn’t tell what was affecting the ground of the area. What could have possibly caused this? A gas leak and explosion? But that didn’t make sense… Why was there a floor tile just floating about a part of the hole?! How was that even possible? And why was the floor now melting the soles of his sandals?! Normally he’d have loved to investigate and find out the answers to these questions, but he had no time for that now.
8. Scrambling out of the hole before his sandals disappeared completely, Alvin started up Birch’s old chocolate-making machine. Four quid a box was hardly going to rebuild their house, but anything he could get he would take by this point. And to continue his luck of that day it started to rain heavily. It was just as well the machine was waterproof.
9. Mia returned home a few hours later to much of the same scene she’d left – though now minus whatever could be sold for a decent amount of money, including the front path. She supposed a small part of her had been hoping to come home to find a full house once again, but knew that that was unrealistic really. Her Dad would fix it all soon, but he wasn’t Supersim! A few days of camping or whatever and then they’d soon be back to normal.
10. Some people were less impressed, however. “… Aren’t the Rymans meant to be rich and everything? They don’t even have a house… Which would be nice now that it’s raining!”
11. Luckily the rain stopped in time for them to go to bed rather than keeping them awake by drumming on their tents. All they had now were three tents between the five of them, a tiny bathroom containing a toilet and shower and a mini fridge, as well as a handful of things left over from the presumed explosion like the chocolate maker. It was also fortunate that Mia had already accumulated a decent amount of cooking skill as Alvin was too busy earning money to cook and Rick was pretty much clueless in that area, so everyone lived off the fairly nice cereal and salad she prepared.
12. Indeed, Alvin barely slept from day to day, spending all his time on the chocolate machine. Going to sleep wasn’t really an option in any case, given how anxious he consistently was over giving his children a better life and supporting them. This did mean that Alvin was often too distracted to pay his children any real attention even when Allen brought home an A+, but some of the older family members might have pointed out that this was little different to how he had been not so long ago anyway.
13. They could still get attention elsewhere however as not everyone was preoccupied with money and appearances – Allen made a best friend at school who wasn’t put off in the slightest by their lack of a house.
14. Rick too was in luck when he saw an old friend jogging past the house. R: “Hey Callista!” C: “Rick? I didn’t know you lived here! Well, uh…” R: “Yeah, we’re living in tents; our house exploded.” C: “Ohhh, right. Sorry. Is it difficult living in tents?” R: “Not really, though it might get worse in Winter when it’s cold. How are you these days?” C: “Oh, you know, I’m good. Just high school work and everything…”
16. Meanwhile Alvin was pried away from the chocolate machine for a more profitable pursuit – actually going to work again. He hadn’t had work since the holiday but he was very eager to get back to it; if he could work all day until he could afford a proper house again he would have done so.
17. Although Alvin had been hoping to support them enough on his own so that the kids could focus on school, it wasn’t really working, so Mia started looking for a job for Rick – she would have found one herself but they thought she was better cut out for looking after the kids and making chocolates than Rick was, so he would go out while she stayed home, at least until the kids became teenagers themselves. If the problems lasted that long.
18. And so Mia took up her father’s place of standing forever at the chocolate machine, despite it being a Friday night when her friends were out having fun. She couldn’t make as much as Alvin could with his experience, but every little would help them by this point – they were still nowhere near paying their hotel bill from the holiday.
19. She was, naturally, still available to make brunch the next day though, as Alvin hadn’t returned from work again yet – he must have found a way to work overtime for the weekend, which was good news, even if the kids got less time to spend with him.
20. The kids didn’t seem to mind too badly – Allen and Gina spent the whole day pillow fighting and playing. A: “Ah! Oooh, I feel dizzy Gina…” G: “Haha, stop being such a wimp Ally! You hit like a girl! You must be able to hit better than that!” A: “I can, but I need to be able to see straight first! I think I’m gonna go sit down…” G: “Wimp! Come on, catch me if you can!” A: “Ugh, okay! I’m gonna get you though!”
21. Rick wished he was a child who could have done the same, but no, he’d had to go out to work all day. At least he was home and could relax now.
22. R: “Hey kids, can I have a coming-home hug!” G: “Ewww, no! You have older-brother cooties!” R: “… Doesn’t Allen have those?” G: “Hmm. Meh, he’s okay. Better than you!” R: “Gee, thanks Gina. Is Dad home yet Al?” A: “Nope. Mia thinks he’ll come home soon though, he’s almost been gone a whole day.” R: “Yeah, I ‘spect he will then.”
23. The kids, with nothing better to do, continued to play into the night. A: “Do you really think I don’t have older-brother cooties?” G: “Maybe just a few. Maybe it depends on how old you are. But Rick has more than Calvin, so maybe Rick is just weird. But don’t go thinking you can hug me all the time!” A: “I don- Hey wait. Did you hear that sound?” G: “I don’t think so. What was it?” A: “I think it might be Dad! Come on!” G: “But I didn’t hear a car-!”
24. Allen was right about who it was, in the worst way possible. Gina even cried for once.
25. Numerous miles away people were living happier lives as Calvin finally really felt like he’d properly fallen for his girlfriend DJ. Things couldn’t have been better, even if he hadn’t heard from his family since the holiday.
26. Until he randomly got a distraught phone call from Gina of all people. “…Oh, hi Gina… Woah, woah, calm down – what’s happened? … Right. I see. Um, could you- could you put Mia on the phone? … Don’t worry, things will be okay, we’ll sort them all out. We’ll handle it.”
27. The next day Rick didn’t have to work so he stayed home with Allen and Gina as Mia travelled out to see Calvin at university – he couldn’t leave campus himself when it was so close to exams. Mia had managed to be strong at home where she was now the eldest and head of the household, but back with her elder brother the strong façade came down and the two hugged for a very long time as she struggled not to cry.* *[Cousin Brendan just had fun jumping in puddles in the background…]
28. Calvin had a surprise for her, however. C: “This is why I called you out here. This present contains the deeds to two businesses I bought with all the money we’ve amassed here. I would just give you the money itself, but most of it isn’t really ours… You can be the manager, I know you’re more interested in that than I am.” M: “Oh wow, thank you. But I’m just a teenager! I can’t own full businesses yet!” C: “Yeah, I guess you’re right, but keep the deeds for now, you can own them later. In the mean time I can employ Rick and any of the rest of you who are old enough and just pay you as much as I can get away with.” M: “Is that legal?” C: “Let’s hope so, eh?”
29. Mia stuck around the dorm and took the chance to have a cooked meal for a little while after Calvin left for a lecture. University looked wonderful – just looking around Mia could see all the probably wonderful people she could be making friends with over four years – but she knew she was never going to be able to go now. Maybe if their Dad was still alive… But Gina was especially still so young, Mia couldn’t go away and have a nice, fun life just like that. It was okay for Calvin, he’d be graduating pretty soon so he might as well stay, but whether any of the rest of them would get to experience the fun of university was now highly unlikely.
30. And so Mia took a job in one of her brother’s businesses, getting paid over nine-hundred per half-day, which was an outrageous level of pay for a fairly unskilled teenager, but it seemed to be okay so long as Calvin paid everyone he employed in that way and since he was only employing Mia (Rick left his own job) that didn’t matter.
31. With far more money coming in this way they were able to replace their thin tents with more of an actual building – two bedrooms, one for the girls and one for the boys. But even before doing this they still couldn’t afford to pay the hotel bill and it was getting closer and closer to the due date with pretty much no progress…
32. But life went on as it had to – people went to school and made friends, too busy to allow proper time for grief or despair and they took what little happiness they could get wherever they could get it.
33. In fact Rick was having a few problems of an entirely different nature – girl problems. He had a bit of an unofficial relationship going on with Callista, but he’d also drawn the attention of Jane Huffman, who was very pretty and attractive and so he wasn’t sure which one he really definitely wanted. He could have fun with both of them to a certain extent, but he also thought that he’d quite like a large family, so picking one of them – the right one – would be very important. But which one to choose really?
34. The girls had fewer problems in that respect – Gina stayed well clear of the boys generally and Mia was mostly too busy nowadays to be flirting with all the guys following her around school. She also tended to be slightly oblivious as to whether her guy friends wished they could be more than that to her. But this meant they had more time for sisterly bonding, so long as Gina would allow it. Since Alvin had died Gina had softened up a little to all her siblings. At school she could sometimes still be aggressive towards other children, but she seemed to have learned to appreciate family members, much to all of their relief.
35. Speaking of family times, it was finally time for another teenager as Allen’s birthday rolled around. Most of the guests were Rick’s friends from school (including both potential girlfriends…) as he wanted to throw the party, but Calvin managed to get home to help celebrate too.
36. Where Rick had turned out a lot like Calvin, Allen was much more like Mia; friends were the key aspect of his life. He also liked his food – so much that he wanted to dedicate his life to creating it as a celebrity chef.
37. Allen got an early start on his love life – hoping it would be less complicated than his brother’s – with his old best friend from primary school who had also grown up at about the same time. They seemed to be a good match.
38. G: “… Calvin?” C: “Yes?” G: “You remind me of Daddy.” C: “I know. I remind me of him too.” G: “I miss him. Can we get him back somehow? Like with magic or something?” C: “I don’t think so sweetheart. How- Do you know how… it happened anyway?” G: “No. We just found his grave outside. He went to work and we didn’t see him again.” Calvin wished he could help Gina, but part of him wondered whether, after losing their Mum and the house and with the debt, maybe… it was what he wanted. And they couldn’t mess with that. Or at least no more than he felt they should mess with death at all.
39. Other people weren’t having such distressing thoughts as another weekend provided Mia with more chance for a social life, which Zach Landry was extremely happy to partake of. Mia had a way of making people feel happier – especially guys, who were mostly pleased by simply getting some of her attention, even when she was bundled up in Winter wear rather than her rather short shorts.
40. Most of the weekend was once again spent with family members however, finding some way of having fun since there was very little to do in what was essentially just a field.
41. Once sufficient fun was had, Mia started teaching Allen how to use the chocolate maker so he could learn to cook in preparation for being a chef, though this frequently lead to chocolate leaking or overflowing on to the ground – sometimes because of Allen’s lack of skill, but also due to now ancient cheese still blocking some of the tubes which seemed nigh on impossible to remove.
42. With two teenagers now being overpaid by their elder brother another extension could be afforded, just in time for a further drop in temperature accompanied by snow.
43. It was all very well for Mia, Rick and Allen to go out and freeze while doing things in the snow, but they could never risk Gina being taken away by social services, so – much to her frustration – she was forced to stay inside and read instead of going out to play.
44. They were all quite protective of her though, even the ones she wasn’t quite as close to, with Rick tucking her in at night (after she’d fallen asleep), making sure she was warm and comfortable. They may have lost both parents, but they’d managed to stay a strong family unit nonetheless.
45. Still a very cramped family unit, though. Just because Rick and Allen could freeze outside without being taken away by social services didn’t mean they wanted to, but the only alternative was to do things inside where there wasn’t much space, which meant practically sitting on top of each other.
46. Mia had it a little better after they bought a cheap easel from which she could sell paintings to raise more money and have a little fun into the bargain.* *[Déjà vu back to the first generation, anyone?]
47. There were still a few chores around though, like weeding the graves, which Mia tended to do when she was in a bored and contemplative mood. She could just about remember her Grandma, not really her Granddad, but she had to wonder where it all started going wrong. Had things been wrong for them? Wrong from the start? Or was this all something new, happening only to them? Or was it just her parents and finished now they were gone? Was she going to die suddenly one day? Or maybe it was all just a coincidence that she was reading too much into. She just wished she knew.
48. R: “IT’S REPO TIME! Heh-heh-heh, I love my job! Now what do these lazy slackers need the most…? Hang on, is this place all there is?”
49. “Ugh, never mind. It’s not worth stealing from such pathetic people as you lot. Stupid slackers with their lack of things worth taking…” ~~~~~End of 9A~~~~~ This guy told the household to get a job – yeah, two of them have them already and the other doesn’t so that the fourth doesn’t get taken away, thank you very much! Still, with genetics and personality like that, I could so marry him in!
50. Now for spare-of-spare-of-spare updates! (Regardless of how ridiculous this may be!) This is the first member of generation 4, as I call it, Janice Andrews – granddaughter of the lovely Sean (who we find any excuse to get into pictures while we still can) and daughter of infallibly good witch Tiana and her husband Jihoon. Stats – Sagittarius: 0 neat, 6 outgoing, 9 active, 10 playful, 1 nice. Seriously, where do our deserved nice points keep going?
51. Next up is Janice’s cousin Roxanne Raymond, adopted daughter of May and Brandi. I wish I could say that May is a wonderful mother, but… Adopting kids is just a very celebrity thing to do and Brandi loves them so she’s gone with it. And Roxanne is very adorable as a toddler so it’s all good. Stats – Cancer: 6, 3, 6, 4, 6
52. As well as having a new daughter to occasionally pay attention to, May has also achieved her dream of becoming a famous Rock God with snazzy outfit and guitar to match. Finally, another properly famous family member since Birch (if you don’t count Sean and Opal’s infamy as criminal masterminds…)!
53. Down the Jayapalan side of the family (Marina’s grandkids) atrociously evil warlock Seth’s had twins Karen and Laura who are cute as buttons and look almost identical except Karen has brown eyes and Laura has dark blue. Squee. Karen’s stats – Scorpio: 7, 6, 9, 6, 3 Laura’s stats – Virgo: 10, 3, 10, 4, 8
54. In less squee-worthy news Seth’s younger brother Brendan has graduated and moved back in with his parents with his ‘casual’ girlfriend Diane joining him. Much to Marina and Nery’s disappointment there will be NO talk of marriage. Ever. Or else.
55. And finally – after a dream date DJ brought Calvin a rather expensive present. Most notable since it’s a Pancake-Tek TV and she left it on pancake day. … Well, I found it funny anyway! :p
