Chatper 1.20

Chapter 1.20- Not On Your Life

Reeling her first fish in is a thrill Phedra will never let herself forget. It doesn’t matter at all that it’s simply a minnow, and a tiny one at that. To her, it’s symbolic of all the fish she’ll catch in the rest of her life. It’s also the fish she’s going to put in Cyrus’ pillowcase when he’s not looking.

                She puts the minnow in her bucket quickly to cast her line again. She must catch many more fish, and quickly.

                “How many have you caught, so far?” Phedra calls along the bank. Cyrus isn’t too far away, their mom made them promise to keep close to one another before they came out. Today was the first fishing trip they had taken without an adult present. Both of them felt very grown up.

                Cyrus smiles lazily, tugging on his line a little to make the bait dance and flash for the fish.

                “I’ve caught two trout and a goldfish,” Cyrus calls back to his little sister. “The fish are biting really good today.”

                “I’ve caught 4 minnows, 2 goldfish, and a trout,” Phedra calls back, triumph dripping from her words. “And I’ll say they’re biting good! I can’t believe I’ve caught so many so quickly!”

                Suddenly, Cyrus’ day is clouded. He doesn’t want to fish anymore. How is it that Phedra can catch so much more than he can?

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                Buck is shocked by the morning conversation.

                “If you’re finished with your breakfast, you need to get up and wash your dishes,” Phedra sounds SO much like Helen. “That’s all I’m saying, Dad! It’s just not fair that someone has to clean up behind you!”

                How is it that Helen has managed to sound and look just like Phedra even while she sits right next to him?

                Out of the corner of her eye, Helen catches sight of Buck’s face.

                “She’s got a point, dear,” Helen chuckles.

                Buck calms down hearing her laugh. Standing up though, he decides his family is conspiring against him that day.

                “So when do I get my birthday cake?” Cyrus asks his mom eagerly. He can’t wait to be a teenager and leave Phedra in his dust for once.

                Buck closes his eyes, shaking his head. There is no way his little buddy is about to be a teenager. Nope. Never. He refuses to see it.

 Helen sighs. For her, it’s incredibly hard to know that she’s old enough to have a teenager.

                “Oh, for PlumbBob’s sake, Buck,” Helen’s voice is sharp. “Breathe! Dammit!”

                “Dad,” Cyrus’ voice is small. Buck was frightening him. “Dad, are you ok?”

                “He’s fine,” Helen snaps as Buck finally reopens his eyes. “He just panicked over your birthday.”

                “Why would Cyrus’ birthday scare Daddy?” Phedra is keeping a sharp eye on Buck, afraid she’ll miss something.

                “Because he doesn’t want to believe that Cyrus will be getting older,” Helen answers.

                Buck’s fright has made Cyrus nervous and edgy. Is being a teenager so awful that it frightens people? He’s seen the teenagers at school and has to admit that the bigger kids are certainly intimidating.

                “Will I be scary just because I’m older?” Cyrus asks Helen.

                She doesn’t use the sharp tone she used to admonish Buck with. Instead, Helen softens her voice and looks tenderly at her baby boy.

                “No, sweetie,” Helen says. “Daddy is just thinking of how little you used to be, and how much you’ve grown. He’s just worried that you might grow up too fast. And he’s totally OVERREACTING to it all. Ignore him. Go wash your hands. The bus will be here soon.”

                Cyrus still keeps an eye on the very concerned looking Buck. He doesn’t want to disappoint him, but he can’t wait to be a teenager and do all the fun teenager things he’s seen others do. Also, his best friend Olivia has already aged up and he’s ready to hang out with her at school again.

                A few minutes later, and Buck is still standing in the kitchen watching memories of Cyrus float by when the bus arrives. He can’t believe the boy he’s raised as a son is getting to be so old. Where did all the time go?

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                Opening the door after school, there is a table and cake waiting for Cyrus. It only takes him a moment to decide that he wants to blow out his candles sooner rather than later.

                “Mom!” Cyrus calls excitedly, going to stand by the cake. Helen is most likely doing something with the twins. “Mom! It’s my birthday!”

                Cyrus is pleasantly surprised to see that Phedra is already waiting. Patiently waiting at that. Maybe they can be a little better friends once he’s a teenager.

                With the older members of his family surrounding him and cheering him on, Cyrus really feels important. It almost feels like he’s about to take a big step into the unknown.

                Making his wish, he blows the candles out, enjoying being the total center of attention.

                He first feels it right along his neck. Glowing, burning, stretching, pulling. If it weren’t so brief growing up would be excruciating.

                As it is, this humiliation is excruciating enough.

                Behind him, he hears his mother’s gasp of laughter.

                “Oh, Cyrus!” She barely manages to choke out between peals that ring and mingle with Phedra’s startled “Ha!” and Buck’s horrified gasp.

                “Geez, mom,” Cyrus rolls his eyes. “Let me finish.”

                And Cyrus enters his teenage years with his mother’s laughter still ringing… along with her phone.

                “Geez, Mom,” Cyrus doesn’t think there is anything funny with the final product standing before Helen. “Way to make a guy feel good about himself.”

                Helen still giggles.

                “Please,” Cyrus pleads. “Please drop it.”

                “Not on your life!” Helen snorts.

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                So I feel like I’m a horrible person to my sims that I’d use that picture, but between the awful EA outfit, shoes, and hair for poor Cyrus and the look on Helen’s face, I couldn’t resist. Besides, it fits their relationship really well.

                FWIW- when I originally rolled this generation ‘Born With It’ was still in the rules (For those who don’t know, you couldn’t use a mirror or dresser to change your sims looks from what they aged up into.) And I had rolled it for this generation. I was really not looking forward to it, but there was a vote very shortly before I actually started playing this Legacy that cut it. I’m so glad it was cut. So is Cyrus. lol