Chapter 1.21

Chapter 1.21- Your Butt is Sparkling

                Layla and Galen are nearly inseparable. They walk about the house side by side, sit and talk to the other for hours (though, they don’t listen to the other very well yet,) and refuse to even eat without the other one.

                Lately though, the pair has taken up a battle standard in favor of the family getting a pet. Specifically, a dog. The passion with which they constantly beg for a dog has rippled through the entire house. Phedra won't stay in the room if they start, and Helen is ready to pull her hair out if she hears "Dawg! Wan' a DAWG! Wan' Barfer!" from either of the twins again.

                So when the stray shows up at their door, scratching and whining Helen takes it for granted that putting up with the mess of a dog could possibly get the twins off of her back for two seconds. The twins tunnel vision with the intent of getting a pet has even gone so far as naming it. “Barfer.” Galen can never get the k in ‘bark’ out correctly, and inserts an ‘f’ instead. Layla just copies her brother’s name for the dog.

                It’s only when Helen gets the dog properly in the house (after being brushed and getting an immediate bath) that she realizes exactly what she’s done.

                “I’ve let a dog into my house,” She whispers to herself. “Oh, my PlumbBob. OOOOH, My PlumbBob, what have I done?”

                She had no idea that Buck had been in the laundry room, or even that he came out after hearing an echoing bark from the great room.

                “Princess?” His voice is sharper than usual. “Why is there a strange dog in the house?”

                At first, Helen has no answer for him. To be honest, she knows that she deserves anything he’d have to say to her. For years now he’d asked her for a dog only to be treated to a tirade on how filthy the things were. On how much money they cost, on how they needed attention, and shots, and could bite people, and could get fleas. And now she’s brought one into their home without even letting him know.

                “It’s here so that Galen and Layla will quit begging for a dog,” Helen decides direct honesty is her best course.

                Helen strode off briskly after saying it. She wasn’t ready to face Buck just yet, knowing that he would be a little hurt that she’d let a dog in for the kids, but not for him.

                Buck, however, was simply concerned that they didn’t know of the dog’s origins. What if he bit one of the kids? What if his old owners were mean and the dog was aggressive?

                “Buck?” Helen interrupted his frightening himself. “I’m sorry I didn’t let you get one sooner.”

                That was all Buck needed to hear. Barfer would stay.

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                Once again, it’s birthday time in the little house. Helen can hardly wait to have all the kids at school so that she can finally devote more time to her photography again. It felt like there had been a toddler in the house for the last forever. Cyrus leaving toddlerhood behind happened so long ago that Helen doubts her own memories of it. They’ve become hazy and indistinct through the years.

                Galen is the older of the two by a few minutes, and gets his turn first.

                Sparkles!

                Helen gasps aloud. She remembered William looking so much like Galen. Memories flood her mind, and for a few minutes she stands still in the middle of the room trying not to cry.

                Galen ignores his mother completely, there’s a rather large cake in front of him he’d like to dive into.

                Layla’s excitement to join her brother is so extreme she almost knocks Helen over trying to blow her candles out. (Ignore the plate of cake Helen is squishing into her butt. Glitchy glitchy glitch)

                Buck can’t believe his baby girl is about to be off to school. The kids have all grown up far too fast.

                Layla grabs a slice of her own cake and goes to join her older siblings around the table.

                Galen is off to grab another slice of cake, as is Helen. Otherwise, for the first time, the entire family is gathered around the table. With Cyrus halfway through his teen years already, this phenomenon surely won’t happen for much longer. It thrills Helen that she has a few years of this at least.

                “So, Ms. Jeffs is the new geography teacher,” Cyrus tells Buck. “I’ve never had a teacher as boring as she is! How can the Olmec and Triple Alliance wars pre-thirteenth century-”

                “-Hey!” Layla interrupts Cyrus’ flow. “Hey! Spoiler Alert! Please! It’s my birthday and I’d rather be learning in school! Not at the table. Besides, how can I concentrate with cake in front of me? What if you drop test answers that I need to know? I’ll forget them just because it’s my birthday!”

                Buck tries to stop the quarrel before it begins. “You all know that once, your mom-”

                “-I’m going to have to get the best grades in geography if I’m going to travel the world when I get older. Mrs. Jeffs will be no match for me. I’ll be the teacher of the class by the time I’m through. Then I’ll graduate, and celebrate on an island.” This time, it was Phedra who interrupted.

                Galen couldn’t follow the conversation any longer and just gave up, focusing on his cake instead.

                Helen joined the others just as Layla finished her cake and went to play.

                The table sat in silence for a few moments. Finally, Cyrus couldn’t resist anymore.

                “You know what Fay?” he asked. “If you want to go to an island when you graduate, I’ll help you get there.”

                ‘With a one-way ticket!’ Cyrus added in his head only.

                Phedra was just pleased that Cyrus would help her get where she wanted to go.

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                Galen may not have been able to follow the conversation when his siblings were talking about spoiling teachers on islands with geography, but there was a specific topic that he had a bit of tunnel vision about.

                “The criminals don’t have to wear masks when they are online,” Galen was fascinated by computers. “Their online identities are totally a secret, so why would they feel the need to wear a mask? It’s all on computers! So one day I’m going to go online and fight the criminals with my computer. But I’ll be official and do it with the-”

                “Yo, Galen?” Phedra can hold it in anymore. “You know that Mom hates technology, right?”

                “Hates it with a passion, man,” Cyrus adds, not even bothering to look up from his book. “I remember the fight Mom and Dad had when he brought in the-”

                “-Mom will never,” Phedra interrupts again. “And I mean NEVER, let a computer come into this house while she is alive.”

                “And Mom hates technology so much,” Phedra continues. “I bet that even if you moved to another house in town that she wouldn’t let you get a computer if she was alive.”

                Galen contemplates this for a moment. The attempt at deep though making him frown.

                “In fact, you’d be better off living on an island that hasn’t even been discovered yet,” Phedra pushes on.

                Cyrus finally looks up.

                “Fay?” Exasperation in his tone. “How on Sim Planet can he live somewhere that hasn’t been discovered yet? Isn’t that the point of undiscovered?”

                “He can discover it, and go live there on his own,” Phedra is totally nonplussed. “That’s the only way Mom won’t find him if he gets a computer.”

                Turning quickly and totally in her seat she startles both the boys. “But you have to tell me so I can visit it while I travel the world. I’ll even learn to fly a plane so that I won’t have to tell anyone else, so they won’t tell Mom.”

                Galen’s eyes flit between Phedra and Cyrus. Seeing Cyrus shake his head and roll his eyes, Galen gets up without answering Phedra and goes to bed. Phedra is the one person in the house who can totally rattle his cage. Usually if he doesn’t understand, he just ignores it. But Phedra demands your attention.

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                Helen had an incident with a unicorn in the back yard last night. Buck had an entirely different incident last night. This morning, Helen is trying to fix Buck’s incident. This morning, Helen’s kids are fascinated by her own.

The kids are all up earlier than usual for a weekend. But there is a festival in town for the first time ever, and everyone in the household is excited.

                “Mom?” Layla passes by her with a breakfast plate. “Mom you have sparkles coming out of your butt.” Layla giggles a little as she says it.

                “There’s also a teddy bear staring at the sparkles,” Galen giggled too.

                “And It looks like the teddy bear peed on the floor!” Layla adds.

                Helen grunts with effort, trying to get the wrench to find some friction so she can tighten the nut on the spigot.

                “I’m beginning to think the two of you are the ones looking at my rear,” Helen says. “And don’t you two want to go to the Festival today? Maybe what you should be looking at is your plates.”

                “Come on, you guys,” Cyrus is a might impatient with the two. It’s bad enough that his parents wear underwear as pajamas. But pointing out body parts is crossing a line that’s already been crossed. “Mom’s right. That’s enough.”

                “But it looks like the Teddy Bear likes her!”

                “Dude, the sparkles are coming out of her butt! That’s nasty! And so cool!”

                “You’ll both stay here today while the rest of us leave if you don’t start EATING,” Helen is frustrated by the fascination with her derriere.

                Phedra gives the twins a superior look before flouncing off with her empty plate. She’ll wash it in the bathroom sink.

                When Cyrus stands after finishing his breakfast it takes only a glance to tell him that the twins are right.

                He sighs heavily.

                “Mom,” Cyrus says. “The brats are right. Your butt is sparkling and the Teddy Bear is both staring and peeing. It’s pretty gross, and the kind of things those two live for-”

                “-Hey! I don’t like gross stuff! It’s the sparkles!-”

                “-Don’t tell me the Teddy Bear peeing on the floor isn’t awesome! Don’t tell me you aren’t enjoying it!-”

                “If anyone wants to go to the Festival today, they’d better EAT!” Helen is really ticked the sink is taking so long to fix.

                Cyrus gives the twins a withering look before heading to the bathroom to wash his own plate.

                Galen finishes just as the puddle on the floor grows.

                “Duuuuuude,” he whispers to Layla. “The Teddy Bear peed again.”

                “Galen…” Helen is over this conversation.

                “But I’ve ate!”

                “Then go and wash your plate up, IGNORING MY HIND END AS YOU DO SO!!!"

                When Layla has finally finished eating her kinship to Phedra breaks free in glorious must-have-the-last-word glory.

                “It-really-did-pee-on-the-floor. It-really-is-staring-at-your-butt, and-your-butt-is-sparkling,” she rattles at top speed before running to the bathroom with her plate in hand.

                “WILL YOU ALL QUIT OBSESSING OVER MY ASS???”

                “NO WAY, PRINCESS!” Buck yells from the bedroom just as-

                “GROSS, MOM!” -Cyrus

                “SERIOUSLY, YOU GUYS!” -Phedra

                “IT’S NOT OBSESSING IF IT ISN’T TRUE!”- Layla

                “WHAT’S AN ASS?” –Galen

                -rings from all corners of the house, Galen’s last word hanging. It took him a moment to join the others as he was puzzling over the word.

Frustrated, Helen throws down the wrench and calls a plumber.

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                Transition and set up chapter. New story arc to begin next chapter! I’ve finally managed to get all the pieces into place. It took long enough. And finally… FINALLY I've managed to get all the sets built and get everyone prettied and in the right place. Even shot some of the fantastic upcoming drama today. WhuAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Sim torture delights me. ;D

The laundry gnome was there of his own accord. I didn’t put it there. But it really does look like it’s dreaming of her derriere.

Updated the Generational Goals with better pictures of those who have aged up recently, and their traits. There are no spoilers on the tab.

Also, I had to cut a lot of photos of Buck out this time around. He spent the entire time deadpan, wide-eyed, or cross-eyed. Even during his own kids' birthday's. He got a much needed reset after that. He'll be back looking happier next chapter. I promise. ;)