Chapter 1.19 - Lectures

Evelyn waited for them when they finally returned home, her face blank and her arms crossed across her chest. The girls exchanged nervous glances, suspicious that Evelyn had found out about their little deception.

“So, did you enjoy the park?” Evelyn asked calmly. Chantia shifted her weight nervously, while Mia held her cool.

“We did, yes,” Mia replied, her voice just as calm as Evelyn’s. “It was very peaceful.”

For a minute Evelyn merely looked at them, apparently waiting for more info. When she realised nothing more was forthcoming, she addressed the girls again.

“Tell me, which park did you go to?” Evelyn tried again. Chantia glanced at Mia, now sure their deception had been found out.

“The one up in the hills, by the waterfall,” Chantia admitted, cracking under the pressure. Evelyn gave a small nod in satisfaction.

“I see,” she replied calmly. “And did Joy enjoy the park as much as you did?”

Neither girl answered, now completely positive their mother knew.

“I thought so,” Evelyn stated after a while of silence. “You can imagine how surprised I was two hours ago when I saw Joy walking in Central Park, talking to her boyfriend without either of you in sight,” Evelyn explained how she knew about the girls’ deception. “Joy is a very sweet girl, but she can’t hold a lie to save her life,” she informed her daughters.

The girls hung their heads in shame, apologizing guiltily. Evelyn sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose, trying to relieve the pressure of the headache building up.

“So, where were you really?” Evelyn asked calmly. The answer was unexpected.

“Visiting Charlotte.” “Visiting the ghosts.”

Evelyn opened her eyes again and looked levelly at the girls.

“Visiting the ghosts,” she repeated in a deadpan voice. The girls nodded.  

The only reason people think ghosts don’t exist is because nobody’s ever seen them, or nobody ever believe those who claim they have. I’m not saying you have to believe everything Chantia says; I’m just saying you should listen to her with an open mind.

Evelyn sighed explosively. “I’m getting too old for this,” she muttered under her breath, but decided to trust in Gustave’s words once again. “Okay, so you visited the ‘ghosts’,” she conceded. “What did you do?”

Again the girls looked at each other before answering.

“We were just talking,” Chantia replied with a shrug. “We wanted to know a bit more about…some things, so…she just answered our questions.”

“By ‘she’ I’m assuming you’re talking about Charlotte Ainsworth, the girl who died from polio?”

Chantia perked up at the new bit of information. “She died from polio?” she repeated curiously. “I didn’t know that.”

Evelyn rubbed her bridge again. “Your father found that out when we were visiting him,” she admitted before giving up with the conversation. She really was getting too old to deal with it.

“Fine, I’ll forgive you this once,” she relented reluctantly. “Now scram; do whatever you usually do. I have an important party to attend later tonight, so I’m trusting you girls not to break the house down.”

The girls grinned happily, glad that they got off so lightly before obeying Evelyn’s order. Evelyn kept an eye on them until they started with their usual activities (Mia experimenting at her chemical station and Chantia playing with her dog) before turning around and retreating to her room to finish getting ready for the party. Sometimes, she really didn’t know what to do with her girls. It was times like these that she wished Gustave lived with them, or maybe just that he was more available.

Later that evening, Evelyn left the house for her party. The girls both promised to remain in the house with such conviction that Evelyn believed them completely. She hugged them goodnight before leaving, knowing she would only return long after the girls went to bed.

The party was a great success and Evelyn enjoyed it a lot. The host provided good quality food and music and Evelyn spent most of the time socialising with the other guests and fighting off the advances of one persistent suitor who constantly dropped hints that they should get together. Evelyn fended him off good-naturedly, flattered that she was still considered as datable despite her age, but by the time the party was over she was glad to be rid of him.

Time passed and life in the Marquel household went on as normal. Evelyn continued working as the vice-principle of Sunset Valley Combined Community School and the girls continued growing older. Chantia continued visiting the ghosts’ house whenever she could, while Mia continued her research at her chemistry station. She invented numerous new potions, even one she claimed would be able to turn imaginary friends real. Chantia had no idea what to make of that. Mia just told her it was due to several discussions with Charlotte.  

At school, the girls continued to flourish as well. Mia researched the grocery store and wrote a review that was so well written, the shop decided to put it on their website. Chantia kept up with her Scouting Club, even taking part in a badging ceremony where she proudly received a badge.

She celebrated the rest of that evening playing with Luna, who had since grown into a proper adult dog.

Of course, as is the nature of the universe, life couldn’t remain peaceful forever, as the entire family found out one rainy night.

Nobody in the house noticed anything when the burglar stole Mia’s chemistry table…

…but they all certainly noticed when the burglar alarm went off. At first, Evelyn thought it was just a malfunction – because who ever heard of crime in this part of Sunset Valley? – but soon realised that no, it definitely wasn’t a malfunction.

Evelyn screamed. The burglar screamed in response. Luna started barking, a police officer burst through the door, and the entire time the alarm kept shrilling through the house.

Of course, just when Evelyn thought things couldn’t possibly get more chaotic, Mia came down the stairs, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

“Mom? What’s going on?"

Evelyn felt fear clench her heart. “No Mia! Go back! Go back up!” she implored the girl.

Mia ignored the woman, choosing to glare at the burglar instead. The noise was giving the girl a headache, and she was clever enough to know the blame rested on the burglar, who was looking exceedingly more harried as time went on and the noise didn’t stop.

To make matters even worse, the officer and burglar started fighting, Mia remained standing within striking distance of the two and Chantia also came down the stairs.

“Chantia! Mia! Get way from there!” Evelyn ordered again, but neither girl listened. Mia kept watching the fight with that neutral expression of hers, while Chantia kept staring at the fight in fascination.

Chantia cocked her head slightly, studying the fight.

“I think the burglar is winning,” she offered bemusedly. Mia pressed her lips and studied the fight from a different angle.

“No,” she disagreed, “the officer will win. The burglar isn’t flexible enough to escape that hold.”

Sure enough, the officer won and arrested the burglar. Mia’s chemistry table was returned and the family got a little bit of money for helping the police catch a wanted criminal. While the officer talked to Evelyn, thanking her for keeping the burglar busy until the officer arrived, the girls decided it was the perfect time for a midnight snack.

And all the while the alarm kept blaring.

_~…~_

And that is a perfect example of what happens when glitches, sim autonomy and route-failing meet. That entire scene with the burglar was completely autonomous. Throughout that whole sequence, I performed one action: I made Evelyn call the police when I heard the burglar music. Then I just sat back and enjoyed, only taking pictures the whole time, especially as time passed and the sequence grew more bizarre. I could not stop laughing. Evelyn kept screaming and jumping around while the two girls just stood there and stared. To make it even more bizarre, one of their neighbours noticed the burglar and jogged across the street to stand by the burglar’s side while he stole the chemistry table, jumping and screaming his head off the entire time.

This was definitely the funniest burglar scene I’ve ever experienced over my many years of simming.