Sofia Stratton

It had taken a while, but Sofia finally managed to shut down the night club and get everyone out. It was the worst part of her night trying to get the drunkards out. For that she relied on the cook and bartender who usually swept the place clean as she dealt with getting rid of the light weights. If a customer was too troublesome, she usually saw it right away and had "friends" she would call in to help her take care of her problem.

Sofia thanked the guys who had stayed to clean up by handing them each a $100 tip. Once they left, she was finally alone.



Sofia was rarely alone. When she did find herself with some quiet time, she celebrated the silence. Tonight, she felt a drink was in order.

She walked towards the bar to pour herself a glass of her best whiskey when out of the corner of her eye she saw a movement from one of the more private booths which contained nothing more than a sofa.

"What are you doing here?" She said angrily. "We're closed."



Then she recognized him. He had been the stranger she had met earlier in the night out front of the club when she had stepped out to get a few deep breaths of the slowly chilling fresh air. He looked like no one else she had seen before. He wore what had to be a wig, and his clothes looked like a costume of some sort.

His smile disarmed her with its charm, but there was the barest hint of danger that made the fine hairs on her arm stand up. Perhaps it was the way his eyes traveled down her face to the tight gown covering her body. Or maybe it was the way he almost appeared to lick his lips as his eyes wandered back to hers. "I hope you will forgive me. I only wanted to see you before I left."



She found herself smiling at him now. His dark brown eyes seemed to dig into her, holding her steady. "I'm sure I can." Her own voice seemed far away as if it wasn't her speaking. The only thing she could see were his eyes.

One of his arms slipped around her waist, pulling her body close to him. Slowly, he leaned down to kiss her very bare neck as his free hand traced down to her shoulder. The lace of her dress scratched over the hard curve of her shoulder as his hand deftly slipped the scrap of fabric down. Against her exposed skin, she could feel the embroidered silk of his costume. A glance at the couch behind them was all the permission he needed. He had her gown off by the time they took the step back. His own costume lay in a pile on the floor by the time they sat down.



There was no time to think and hardly time to breath. His kisses were fierce and strong, but never strong enough. She pulled him towards her ferociously, surprising herself. Her head swam; was she breathing? Her vision became blurry and dark around the edges, but she refused to stop pulling him closer.

As the darkness began to drop over her vision, Sofia took a last glance at his eyes. There was a sudden clarity as the light hit his eyes from a different angle. They were not normal human eyes, but something much more malicious and frightful. And it was already too late for her.

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Kate's Warning - For the Love of Alberta

Alberta stood in front of the school in her PE outfit, letting her eyes wander across the front lawn. Her eyes came to rest on the basketball court where Gabe and his brother, Richard, were playing a rough game of basketball.



Alberta felt a pull to watch as Richard made a basket then playfully teased Gabe by grabbing him in a headlock and giving him a noogie. Gabe pushed him away roughly, but he was laughing when he turned his head in Alberta's direction. His laugh seemed to fall away, but it left a smile so soft and sweet Alberta blushed and turned away.



Kate came up behind her and poked her in the shoulder. "Watch out with Gabe, okay? He acts sweet here, but let me tell you he's anything but!"



Alberta's heart thumped so hard she could hear the rush of blood in her ears. She had wanted to ask Kate about Gabe, but never had for fear of giving away much too much information. "Really? What does he do?"

"Oh he's horrible. He goes through girls, like, constantly. Plus, you know the bar in the slums?"



Alberta nodded in what she hoped was an innocent answer to the question. She definitely didn't want to tell Kate that she lived in the apartment building next to that bar. It was a scary place even when it wasn't open during the day.

"He visits there frequently. He drinks. And he smokes. And he plays cards. His poor brother usually goes along with him to keep him out of trouble."

Alberta's mental image.

Alberta dared to glance over at the basketball court again. Based on what Alberta had heard and seen, Richard was being groomed by his father to be the next mayor.

But if Richard was being groomed to be someone as important as Mayor, what was Gabe being groomed for? Alberta watched him as she wondered about his home life. Did he ever feel ignored or unwanted? Did he ever feel out of place too?



Kate elbowed her. "So, space cadet, you wanna come over to my house after school?"

Alberta squirmed. "I'd love to, but I have to ask permission first. Maybe some other time?"

Kate's smile suddenly became huge. "Sure! Some other day. But, hey, we should probably start throwing this ball back and forth before Ms. Kerr sees us."

*************************

Extras: Just thought this was cute.

LOL at the two boys in the background. What ARE they doing?

Both Gabe and Richard are a little on the mean side (Ok, they are both grouchy sims with only one nice point), so it's noogies galore with those two. It seemed the plan they hatched on this free day I gave them was rather simple. Richard wanted to talk to Kate (I would guess to distract her). Gabe stood by Alberta waiting. Kate refused to stop throwing the ball back and forth with Alberta. So Gabe, with nothing to do, grabs Richard and noogies him.


Well Alberta must have been paying attention because later in the girl's bathroom (despite being a nice sim):

Alberta noogied Kate.


Alberta then noogied Glenda who she hasn't really even talked with yet. (I can tell you she'll pay for that later.)

I hope this isn't a trend. XD

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Friday Evening

Jason and Ama sat in the police station waiting for their parents to pick them up. Jason was happy that he got to sit behind the desk, though he wasn't allowed to touch anything. Ama and Hobart sat on the other side of the desk. Ama had her arms crossed, and she had pulled her chair so that it would face away from Hobart.





Hobart said, "Ama, c'mon. You can't get mad at me. My dads asked after your parents called. You know I can't lie to my dads."

Ama refused to look at his pleading eyes. "Hmph!"

Jason sat quietly. When his mother saw him, he knew he would be in big trouble.

They hadn't thought that their mothers might contact each other! Ms. Smith, Jason's mom, had called Ama's mom at her work. It was all over after that. Ama's father was the local police chief.



"Oh, my baby!" The high pitched sound of Jason's mother's voice brought him back from his thoughts to the present. She kissed him all over his face so that he had to wipe his sleeve across his entire face to get off the feeling of her lips (and any lipstick).



Ama's mother and father were there right after Jason's mother. From what Jason could see over his mother's shoulder, Ama's mom was very unhappy. Jason heard her saying, "Young lady, you are SO grounded! From here on out, after school you are going with me to work. Not another word!"

Ama's father could be heard saying to Hobart and his dad, "Thanks, man. I don't know what we'd do if we didn't have responsible Hobart here."

Jason's mother was still fussing over him in a way that upset him. "Mom, I am NOT a baby."

"You are my baby. And you'll always be my baby. Now come along. Let's get you home. Do you want some hot cocoa? You must be cold."

Jason followed dejectedly after his mother. Ama's fierce gaze caught his eye, just for a second, before her mother started lecturing her again. For that second, Jason didn't feel like a little kid. He had been a brave adventurer ready to catch a murderer. He'd certainly been braver than Hobart, who had told on them to the grown ups. Jason liked the thought that he was braver than the older and taller Hobart. At least Hobart couldn't call him a baby now.

**********

In a few days:



Alberta has a friend who tells her a few things about Gabe.

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Friday Afternoon

It was Friday before Ama’s plan could be put into action.

Their parents were called. Jason had a much harder time with his mom than Ama had with her mom.



“Geeze!” Ama had said after his long phone call with his mom . “No wonder you’re such a baby. Don‘t do this and don‘t eat that!” She leaned back to laugh at him.





“I am not!” There were no good retorts for being called a baby especially when Ama was involved. Jason just wanted the adventure. “When do we go?”

“Hold your horses.” Ama began stuffing snack bars and a bottle of water into her back pack. “We can’t go too early, or the grown ups will wonder what we’re doing out. If it’s a little dark, they might not notice us. Besides,” she said as she chuckled to herself, “I want to see if you’ll actually make it.”



The sky was turning orange before they started out.

**********************

By the time they reached the edge of town, it was dark. Jason refused to admit he was scared though he hadn’t ever been out when it was this dark before.



Suddenly, Ama broke into a run. There was no time to call for her to wait; she moved much too fast. Jason ran after her just as she disappeared into a bush. Branches scratched along his face as he hastily followed, his breath coming quickly.


When he finally caught her, she stood looking at a lake in the distance. Jason was too out of breath to say anything. Ama patted him on the back, “Just another test. You passed!” She smiled at him in a way that was reassuring until he asked the question that was playing on his mind now that they had accomplished their first goal.



“So what now?”

“I dunno. We wait.” With her announcement made, Ama sat down on a near by log.



Jason sighed and sat down next to her. He examined his now muddy and scratched shoes. His mother would have questions about that, but then he hadn’t really liked these shoes anyway. He wanted a pair of Captain Hero shoes that lit up when you walked. His mother had promised he could have those next.

Ama drew in her breath. They hadn’t been sitting there long, but she put a hand on his arm. “Did you hear that?”

He shook his head, and then he heard it too. The sound of leaves crunching underfoot reverberated in the distance. Silently, Ama stood and motioned for Jason to follow. The sound was far off, but it bounced around the clearing so that they couldn’t tell from where it came.



Ama picked a large willow tree to stand behind, and Jason stood behind her. “Keep an eye out behind us!” She whispered fiercely at Jason, clearly frightened as much as he.

Jason watched the trees behind them as the sound became louder. Whoever was walking through the forest didn’t care about behind heard. In fact, they were talking! There were two voices, somewhat low, but clearly two voices. Jason thought he might recognize one.



Jason turned around so that his back faced Ama who was peeking around the tree. It was rather dark, but he was sure he was seeing something moving through the trees. “Ama…”

“SHHHHH!”

“But Ama…” Jason willed his voice to steady itself as he tried to get Ama to turn around. The voices had stopped, but the noises were suddenly much louder and seemed to come from in front of him.

He was rewarded for doing the job she told him to do with a blow to the back of his skinny arm by Ama's elbow.

Jason didn’t say anything again after that. Their new visitor greeted them with Ama’s full name in the kind of warning growl that Jason thought only their own parents were allowed to use. “Amália Marie Centowski.”

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Amália seems to have a plan. Unfortunately.

Both of the boys turned towards her. "What?" They said it almost in unison.



Seeing Hobart's interest, Amália turned towards him. "Yeah! My dad sent me to my room early, but they didn't know I wasn't asleep. Dad said that it looked like her blood had been drained through her neck-- like a vampire did it. Isn't that weird?"



Hobart was trapped. He looked over Ama's head at poor Jason who was faced with the back of Ama's head. In a way, it was better this way. Jason could not expect what Ama would suggest.

"I think we should look for him!"



Hobart looked at her, surprised even after his mental preparations. "Who?"

"The guy who did it, duh! I bet he is a real vampire."

Hobart groaned. He was only a year older than Ama, but he felt himself to be the wiser of the two. "Oh no. No way. You're on your own."

"Pfft!" Ama stuck her tongue out and turned back to Jason. "What about you, Jason?"

Jason seemed to perk up when Ama turned her attention back to him with the offer of adventure. "Yeah! I wanna see him. Maybe we could catch him."

"Maybe. But it's gonna be dark. Are you scared of the dark like you are of bugs?"

"Shut up, Ama. I am not."

Hobart rolled his eyes. "And how are you going to get out of the house at night?"



Ama's response was full of her classic smugness. "Easy. I'll say I'm at his house and he'll say he's at my house."

Hobart's head was starting to hurt from the eye rolling.

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Amália has information

"Psst!"

Hobart tried his best to ignore Amália. Class would begin as soon as Amberle walked into the classroom and he didn't want to be caught talking about what ever Ama wanted to talk about. (Amberle was late again, which was usually due to her bad luck.) But besides that, Amália had the look on her face that usually meant she had an idea that was bound to get him in trouble. He had made the mistake of trusting her once, but he was a very quick learner.



"Hobart, c'mon!"


"No, Ama. I definitely don't want to know."




Jason, on the other side of Amália, became curious. "I wanna know!"



Ama rolled her eyes. "Ok fine. At least someone wants to know." She had never been fond of Jason. He was the youngest of the three students at the Maria Rodriguez elementary school. But just because Amália found him annoying that didn't mean she couldn't use him when she felt she needed to.



She turned towards Jason. "Promise you won't get sick?"

"I promise!" Jason was already anxious to hear it. A big mistake.

"You sure? You know how you get when I talk about the bugs."



Jason looked like Ama had insulted him. "Cause you usually do it when we're eating."

"Ok. But I warned you." A smug look crossed Ama's face. Hobart realized that he hadn't wanted to hear what Ama had to say, and now he was going to whether he wanted to listen or not. Ama always won.

"Someone was killed in the forest on the outside of town."

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Memories made to be forgotten

“Oh Amberle, get up.” As he always did when he meant to be imposing, he had his arms crossed, but she could see that Leander was turning his head in an attempt to not laugh.



Amberle stood on her knees, her hands clasped dramatically before her. “Please, can’t I stay out a little longer?” She did her best to be as overly dramatic as possible. An unfortunate by product of this was that her knee pressed her skirt into the mud that was forming quickly at his feet. She could feel the cold water and grains of the coarse mud pressing against her knee, but it would clean itself off if she could stay out in the rain longer.

“Amberle, stop it. Look, your dress is muddy now. You know how my mother and aunt are.” He rolled his eyes at her. Amberle couldn't help noticing that his own thin shirt was also getting drenched. For a moment, she felt bad for forcing him stand out in the rain while she behaved in a silly manner, and she felt worse for even daring to look.



She stood up before him, doing her best not to look at his arms crossed over his shirt. “It’s not my fault they’re so… so…” Amberle tried to bite her tongue. Let it be known that she tried to not say a bad work about those who had "graciously" brought her into their home after her mother’s death. Of course, just like her feet sometimes got out from under her and sent her flying, he mouth did the same. “Mean, horrible, awful, and.. and mean!”

“You already said mean.”

“I know, I’m repeating for effect!” She knew she was making it difficult on him. Leander rarely got involved. This was the first time he had taken a stand, and even then it was a stand only she knew about as they had snuck out of the house. She sighed. “Okay, I’m done.”



There had been a pause just before they headed back. Leander stood before her, the corners of his mouth turned up as if he were noticing for the first time that she was indeed a silly creature. Amberle had only stood there awkwardly waiting for Leander to start heading back home as she wouldn’t do it unless he made her do it.






Amberle sat up with the lingering pieces of the dream sticking to her mind like honey. She was sorely disappointed to find out that not only was she dreaming, but the sun hadn’t risen yet. It had taken a while to find a comfortable way to sleep on her back while not putting too much pressure on her still sunburned skin. Perhaps she had finally just gotten too tired trying to get comfortable and had fallen asleep in some position that was uncomfortable enough to eventually wake her again.

The dream had been so real she had felt cold and was surprised to find herself waking up and not wet. She had been in the forest she used to live in when she was a girl.



Amberle brought up her knees, kicking off the blanket in the process, so she could wrap her arms around her legs and think.

It was a memory she cherished, but one she had forgotten about until recently. It was one of her few happy memories, but it contained the last person she wanted to think about again. Wasn’t it just her luck that he would be the one sent by The Council? It was like a bad romance novel, only this could not end well. He did not mean well for her or her newly adopted people. That her mind had called forth that particular memory so vividly was cruel.

Amberle’s mind touched on the facts of her life. After Anthea, her adopted mother, had passed away, Amberle had been shuttled to the household of Anthea's sisters, Honey and Snowdew. They refused to waste their life force raising her as their sister had though. Amberle was little better than a servant. There she had met her “cousin” Leander, son of Honey.

Most of her memories were better off forgotten. For a while they had been, but now she could see they would come back. She had hidden from them for long enough.



She refused to think on it anymore. Amberle stood up, intent on getting a glass of water. Perhaps she would be able to banish the thoughts and memories long enough to at least get a few more minutes of rest before she woke to get ready for school.

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