"Sunk inside our blankets"

Perlie:



I love my granddaughter, but sometimes I don't think she listens to me. I didn't want to be here. If I stayed at home, I'd be fine. I don't care what the doctor said. Sometimes a sim just needs something to keep her busy is all.

But my granddaughter was rather insistent I see the doctor once my cold turned to pneumonia. There are times when she is even more stubborn than I am. It still surprises me.

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

"Why am I even here, Alberta? What can this woman do for me?"

"Mrs. Palahniuk," The doctor, Natalie, says to me in a gentle voice reserved for the very young or the very old, "Please. I understand your concerns. But we can at least give you a place to spend your days in comfort."

I can see Alberta putting her head down when the doctor says that. "And just who will take care of my granddaughter?"

Natalie glances over at Alberta with pity clear on her face. "Mrs. Palahniuk, do you really believe it would be better for you to stay home with her when the time comes?"

I roll my eyes. "You are a doctor aren't you? So why don't you just come out and say it?"



Natalie sits up and speaks frankly for the first time since we got there. "You are dying, and I think it would be best for you and for Alberta if you spent your last days here."

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

Alberta visits me as I get weaker. I know she worries.

But there isn't much to say and there's never enough time to say what does need to be said. "I love you" doesn't do enough to say how much she means to me. My daughter's daughter in almost every way. I hope I have done enough, made her stronger and smarter so that she won't be taken advantage of.


"Bye Gran'ma," she says softly into my ear. "I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

Only Alberta would know how to say those word in such a way that I can almost believe her.

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"We were sleeping in"

Gabe




Ugh... My muscles ache. My nose is red and raw from being wiped. When it's not being wiped because it's running, it's stuffy so that I can't breathe.



I roll over on my side and realize that I'm tangled up in my own robe which I didn't bother taking off before I went to sleep.

Crap. I must be sick. The first thing I'm gonna do when I get better is disinfect the entire damn room. It feels like I've always been sick and I'll never get better. I'm trying to at least be a man and not whine about it. But damn it, I hate being sick. Thank you, Kate. I know she was the one who did this. I'll have to thank her when I see her next time at school.

Damn Kate anyways. She's probably at school right now standing back and watching Alberta avoid her completely. I told her she should be the one to talk to her since she knows Alberta best. Clearly something isn't right. Glenda said something to her; I know it. She better hope we never meet in some dark alley in the slums without Rich there to protect her worthless ass.

My anger turns into a burst of energy. I ball my fist up and hit my pillow for all the good it will do. I should have just talked to Alberta already. Why the hell not? Kate wouldn't let me though. God, I sound like a wuss even in my own head. But Kate can be ferocious when she wants. Plus I'm sure that I was already getting sick when she threatened to kick my ass.

But I can't really be mad at Kate. She's concerned. Obviously, there is something going on between Kate and Alberta that's more than just friendship. Why is Kate even letting me in? Is she that worried? Why am I getting into the middle of it?

Oh right. 'Cause Alberta is just too cute. Like the way she closes her eyes instead of just sighing when she‘s frustrated or resigned. Hell, she's even adorable when she peeks around corners trying to avoid me. Her smile is the brightest thing I see all day, and I'd like to see her smile again-- even if she only smiles for Kate.

I throw off my blanket and lie still as the air hits my chest. It's a little work rolling out of bed with my robe tangled around my legs and in the blanket, but I manage. The worst part is waiting for my computer to boot up.



Kate said that she would email me if she found out anything. I can't imagine that she's actually going to ask Alberta anything directly, but who knows? Maybe she finally put her violent tendencies to use against Glenda.

I log on to my email account and find one new and very short message.

"She didn’t come to class today. -Kate "


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

"...Alberta is just too cute. Like the way she closes her eyes instead of just sighing..."

This is actually true. Very often when I go to take a picture of her, her eyes are closed and down cast as if she would sigh, but sighing might bring on more unwanted attention. Sometimes I imagine she's just given in to some request from Kate.

I haven't shown her at home at all, but she does this most often when talking with her grandmother. (From this entry.) Her grandmother is a little harsh, but Alberta knows she has good intentions.



Also, sorry for the lack of pictures! Didn't really notice just how few I have, so I offer you these:





Those're my boys. Sitting down with cups of coffee, bein' all fancy, and discussing woohooing service sims. (Looks like Gabe's proposing it and Rich is all, "Meh.")

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"Sing me anything"

Kate



I'm such an idiot. Right now, all I want to do is sleep, but instead here I sit at my desk resisting the urge to lay my head on it. Why? Because when I close my eyes, I remember the image of Alberta in Gabe's arms. I had a dream this morning that he had finally managed to charm her in that quiet way of his.





I know I can't make Alberta feel the same way I do, but I can at least keep her away from boys who probably will hurt her. She's too good for all that.

Gabe struts in with a glance at me. For once he doesn't scowl at me as he usually does when he sees me still sitting here. This time, he sits in the seat next to me. The seat Rich usually sits in.

Rich is behind him. He looks as confused as I probably do. "Hey man; you're in my seat." Gabe pats the seat next to him, the one that Gabe usually sits in. Richard shakes his head, shrugs his shoulders, and takes the seat.

My nose is still stuffy so there isn't enough oxygen getting to my brain to make it work properly. I seriously can't find a way to flat out ask him what the hell he thinks he's doing, and then I'm suddenly too tired to even try. Instead, he starts talking to me which, frankly, doesn't help the confusion.

"I need to talk to you about Alberta." Gabe glances towards the door. "Listen, something happened yesterday, but I don't know what."

I massage my temples trying to understand. "What? Then how do you know something happened?"


"She was about to cry yesterday. I caught her coming in from outside. Outside I found Glenda."

I look away as my brain fumbles over the details trying to put things together. So Gabe is sitting next to me to tell me this? It had to be serious if he was talking to me. And he thinks Glenda had something to do with it? I'm not surprised at that. Let me tell ya: "Glenda" is an ironic name for such an evil witch.

My brain finally snaps together into one coherent ball of seething anger. "Ooo, where is she? I'll clock her if she said something mean to 'Berta!"

Gabe's eyebrows come together angrily though his voice stays soft. "I already almost did that. Didn't help. She's a weasel."

The others start coming in from outside; their foot steps scuffle on the wood flooring in the lobby. Everyone enters in a large group, including Ms. Kerr who stands at the podium shuffling through her notes.

Gabe and I glare at Glenda when she walks past. I can see that she's pretending she doesn't see us, but I manage to catch a glimpse of a smirk on her face. I'm so ready to wipe that smirk off her face I hardly notice when Alberta enters.



She comes in last and takes a quick glance at me and then at Gabe before she heads to my old seat in the front of the room. My mouth drops, and I'm ready call to her to sit with me. But she doesn't turn around. She doesn't even look at me again for the rest of the class.

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

Is it any clearer just what Kate's problem is? *cough* XD

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OMG Cuteness!

Well, I was playing Bonnie Centowski's clothing shop (Ama's mom) and I had a surprise visitor!

Hobart came in alone looking at the quilt Melanie had been eying in this post.



It was set to a high price since it is a custom object, but Bonnie is quite observant. She also happened to notice Hobart hanging around Melanie (who happens to be Bonnie's niece) who had been looking at the same object.

Bonnie's too smart to ask him directly, but when she asked if it was for him, he only sniffed, "I'm too old for that stuff. It's a gift."

"Well, in that case..." and so she knocked it down to a cheaper price.

Hobart used all of his saved allowance to pay for it. He's a very responsible kid, and he'd been saving up for something good. I suppose this is worth it.



***********
Snarkysims noted in her latest entry that sometimes the AI seems to have some odd timing. Or maybe it's perfect timing.

Behind Hobart in line? That'd be Demi Love, Melanie's mother! I wonder what she would think if she knew that the boy in line in front of her was buying something for her young daughter? Yikes, I wonder what Water will think when his oldest baby girl brings home a gift from a boy!

And here I had been planning on sending Melanie's father to buy it for her! I was thinking it might be important later on, but SHEESH Hobart.

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"Or loud and out of key"

Glenda sat on the cool dry grass thinking to herself and smiling. Oh that poor, sweet, cute, innocent Alberta. As far as Glenda saw it, she was only teaching the girl a little lesson in the hardships of life. You couldn't trust everyone after all.



There was a slight movement from the front of the building which caught Glenda's attention.

Gabriel glanced around sharply with his hands balled into tight fists. Glenda sat still in amazement to see Gabriel looking so angry. Normally laid back Gabe, who had never been in a fight so far as Glenda knew, looked like he was ready for a fight now.



It was clear to Glenda that she probably did not want him to spot her waiting on the grass in the mood he appeared to be in. Glenda stood up slowly and slunk around to the back of the building.

Had Alberta told Gabriel anything? She couldn't have; Alberta had barely just run in before Gabriel appeared out front looking ready to beat someone. Most likely Gabriel had seen Alberta looking distraught and raced out here to the stupid girl's rescue.

Glenda intended to sneak to the other side of the building, the side she felt Gabe was least likely to walk down, so that she could peek around and see if he were still out front. She hoped that he'd come check behind the building starting from the side she had found Alberta sitting on so that she could sneak back inside.

Unfortunately, as she rounded the corner, she bumped right into Gabe who glared at her.


"What are you doing?"

Gabe stood before her with his hands in still balled up in fists. His shirt and jacket pressed against his skin as if it were suddenly a size too small. Glenda refused to let this new side of Gabriel frighten her.

"What about you?" Glenda crossed her arms tightly. "What're you doing skulking around back here?"

Gabe took a step closer to her like he was going to throttle her. Glenda stepped back to put some distance between them. "I'm not in the mood. Did you do something to Alberta?"

Glenda simply refused to allow herself to be afraid of any punk teenager. Especially Gabriel who didn't even know if his parents were Service NPCs. "I did not. Why would you assume I did something?"



Gabe was now looking like he would grab her by the lapel of her jacket and drag her inside to face Alberta. If it came to Alberta's word against Glenda's, it was no contest who would be believed.

A voice floated over Gabe's shoulder to Glenda's ears. Richard, Gabe's brother, strode out to stand next to Gabe. "Hey, man. C'mon before Ms. Kerr sees you out here. You know she lets a lot of stuff slide, but she won't let it go if you hit a girl. Even if it's Glenda."

Gabe glared at Glenda, but his fists unclenched. He walked along behind his brother and back into the building.

Glenda sat down in the damp grass behind the building. She had been saved by Richard-- a thought that poisoned her little game. It would have been better to have been hit by Gabe so she could have shown her bruise to Alberta. Then the girl would really know what kind of sim Gabriel Mellon was.

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"Sing me something soft"

Glenda found Alberta hiding out along the side of the school building where she sat on the ground watching the sky. No one else would have thought to look for her here except for Glenda who was beginning to get a feel for the timid girl even though she hardly spent any time at all with her. But then it was impossible to get near the girl when Katherine was at school. The two girls were attached at the hip.



Katherine had not come to school today which left Alberta open for Gabe's attempts at flirtation. Even thinking about it now forced a mostly involuntary eye roll from Glenda.

Now, Gabriel was stuck inside, working on a project he had been given by Ms. Kerr which left the girl completely on her own. Not that she seemed to mind. Rather than mingle with the other students, she sat alone on the cold ground.

Glenda sat next to her and smiled at the look of surprise on her face. "Hello. Found a quiet spot, I see." Alberta only nodded stupidly. Glenda sighed inwardly and continued on. "Listen, I wanted to ask you about Katherine and Gabriel."

"What do you mean?"



"Well, I'd heard that they'd started dating, and I just wondered if that was a good idea. I mean, you know Gabe's adopted, right? He could be her brother and not know it. I was just a little concerned and figured I should mention it to you since you're Katherine's friend and all."

Alberta looked as if she had swallowed a lump of salt. "They're dating?" Glenda could almost taste the betrayal from her spot on the ground next to Alberta.

"Yeah, didn't she tell you?" Glenda feigned surprise as if an idea had just struck her.



Alberta stood up without saying a word to excuse herself and ran off, most likely to hide in the girl's bathroom.

Glenda sat smiling smugly to herself. Finally, something exciting at this school!


******

Of course! It made so much sense. Alberta once again felt out of place.

She walked hurriedly to the girl's bathroom with her eyes down to the ground as she fought back tears. Vaguely, she was aware of someone in front of her only a mere second before she bumped right into Gabriel Mellon-- the very last sim she wanted to see.



"Sorry," he said as he smiled down at her; one large hand engulfed her elbow as he held her steady. At the look in her eyes, his smile disappeared. "Hey, Alberta, are you okay?"

His voice almost broke her. It was hard with worry, but at the same time seemed so gentle and genuine she wished she could say something without the fear of breaking into sobs. She took her elbow from his hand and ran past him into the girls' bathroom.



She grabbed handfuls of toilet paper and stuffed them into her face to silence the sobs wrecking her body. Oh she was such an idiot! Did he know? Could he guess how she felt?

It hurt even worse when Alberta thought back on all the times Kate had teased Alberta about Gabe and his supposed attention to her. Now she felt even more like a fool. Her grandmother had tried to warn her. "They think we’re no better than service NPCs," she had said one day as she warned Alberta that they'd only play with her before they made proper friends or found proper girlfriends.

All those times she had glanced over at him to find him already looking her way, he had probably been glancing at Kate who had stood beside her all those times. What an idiot she had been to think that she could ever be on the same level as any of them.


********

Glenda's revenge for that noogie. I said Alberta would pay. Glenda does not mess around.

Oh, and I forgot about this until I was playing to get pics for some scenes, but if Glenda looks familiar, it's because she's Sofia's half sister. (And she's actually meaner than Sofia with only one nice point!)

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"When the sun came up"

"Amberle, it's good to see you. I hope Ama hasn't been causing more trouble."



Amberle sat down in the chair before Orlando Centowski's desk. The poor man looked a bit more frazzled than usual. Even the fact that Amália Centowski was his daughter was not enough to explain the tired look in his eyes.

"No-- er, well no more than usual." Amberle looked off to the side as she though on how to frame her next statement. "I'm actually here because we were thinking of having a spring dance for the high school students. But, uh, Ama was asking me some odd questions a few weeks ago, and well, I thought I should ask you."



Orlando sighed as he lifted his eyebrows and tilted his head in what could have been disbelief.

"She mentioned something about a murder that occurred a while back. And she was asking me about, uhm, vampires."

Orlando didn't say a word at first. He sat with a hand on his desk and his eyes on his hand as if he were waiting for it to do something without his knowledge. "That girl. I should have known better." He sighed again. "There's been two more murders since the last time. Two in one night and killed the same way."



Amberle gasped. "So it's true?" The elves had stories about vampires. Folk tales claimed that the vampires now dwelled underground, resting and waiting for their return.

She had eventually reached the conclusion as an adult elf that the stories were simply to frighten young children so that they wouldn't play too rambunctiously for fear the vampires would get them. But if it was true, if there was a vampire and Leander found out, it wouldn't bode well for the town. She hadn't seen him since their last chat, but she continued to keep an eye out for him. As if he could be seen if he didn't want to be seen.



"We've been trying to keep it quiet. We're on it, but this is definitely beyond the books."

Amberle was feeling quite tired herself, so she could only imagine how Orlando was feeling. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Just report anything suspicious. That's all. We'll figure something out." Orlando tried his best to smile. "Hey, don't worry. We'll help you with the dance too, as best we can. We're enforcing a curfew though, so you'll have to be sure to let the kids know that they have to head straight home after the dance."

Amberle nodded, trying her best not to show how shaken she really was. "Thank you, Orlando. I know Sam's really looking forward to it."




*********

Welcome to Spring. :D

This spring turned into one large story. But at least the two story lines I've been playing with are resolved in their own ways.

As I post this, I have pretty much played through the conclusion of spring. Everything is written, pictures have been gotten for all but one entry. I'm most likely set for the next four weeks (excluding this week).

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