Chapter 3.18: Standing Still

Michael can't help but share his elation over the plethora of skills that his newest grandchild posses.

"I only hope I live long enough to see Jolie have a child of her own. I know how much she has. . . struggled with her background," Michael says delicately.
Rickey shrugs, "We've all got our own hangups."

Meanwhile Lindsay gushes about art club to Jude.

"I want to be an artist," she says. "It's my calling."

Jude nods silently. He's not one to warn a sim against following their dreams.

Michael entertains himself by teasing Bodica with a cat treat. It's not like he has much to do these days.

The early morning hours find Claude's ghost trying to use the cauldron. Despite the impressive light display, he does not make anything useful.

Somehow, little Brooke is able to leave the house before the sun is even up. She fishes for over an hour before finally heading off to school.

Vera is looking for some red valerian root for an elixir she's trying to create. She shows up at World Trade Apothecary and Teas bright and early but the shop isn't open. She inspects the shrubbery to pass the time. Maybe she'll find some red valerian root just growing outside.

She finds a strange jelly bean bush instead. Against better judgement she picks a bean and eats it. It's not her proudest moment.

When she notices her newly blue tinged skin she panics and calls Jess.

"Jess, I ate a jelly bean from the plant outside the apothecary shop."
The line is silent and Vera continues, "I ate it and now I'm blue. Am I dead? Did I die, Jess? Is this some hallucination or something?"
Jess finally sighs and answers, "Good morning to you too."

Vera rolls her eyes.

"If you think you're sick why are you calling me?" he asks.
"I," she stops short and thinks for a moment. "I'm not sure."
"Perhaps a doctor would be a better idea?"
"I'm sure it's fine," she concludes. "Maybe I just won't eat anymore of those."
"That is probably I good idea."

During recess Brooke catches a squirrel friend. She names him Slappy and stores him in her bag for the rest of the day. During ballet Brooke asks Madam Upchurch for an old shoe box and gingerly places her new friend inside. Madam Upchurch doesn't ask and instead focuses on warm up exercises.

Brooke has an affinity for talking to the animals. At least they listen attentively and don't ask questions. They are the perfect audience. Cameo and Knight don't so much as neigh while Brooke gushes about her perfect pirouette.

You can never practice too much.

Jude and Cameo bond before another bout of training.

For someone that wants to be an artist, this is a terrible show of skill.

Lindsay tries again.

Satisfied with this vague rendering, Lindsay prepares for prom.

She is inspired to show off her artistic flair in everything she does. Including in her prom dress.

Art is not impressed with the weird deconstructed skirt his date has chosen to wear.

He hates me. He hates my dress. Ugh! Lindsay worries internally before finally blurting out, "Why didn't you just ask Elise Hoover to prom? Everyone has been talking about how much you like her."

Her words are shrill and awkwardly cut through the silence.

"Um, she's my chemistry partner." Arthur replies confused. "I like you."

Lindsay tries to hide the furious blush the rushes into her face. How does she always seem to plant her foot in her mouth?

"I like you too."

Somehow the limo outburst hasn't scared Arthur off and he asks Lindsay to go steady during the first slow dance of the night. Followed by a first kiss behind the punch bowl. Ending with being crowned prom queen. It has been a magical night for Lindsay and Arthur.

Brooke tries her hand at making a batch of blueberry quinoa muffins for the upcoming ballet fundraiser.

Attempt #1 is a complete failure.

Evil!Gnome

Bunny!Gnome

Amira!Ghost.

Attempt #2.

"These muffins taste like hot garbage," Brooke admits.
Michael chuckles softly, "Whatever happened to good old chocolate and vanilla cupcakes?"
"We're dancers, pawpaw, we have to be healthy."
"Eh, nothing wrong with splurging on something indulgent every once in a while."

Amira visits Michael.

"I miss you," he says.

Even though it looks like Amira is talking, all Michael can hear is a series of soft sighs and moans.

He pulls out his wallet and shows Amira pictures of the great-grandchildren, "This is little Brookie. She wants to be dancer. Lindsay has grown so much since you. . . left."

"Take me with you," he pleads.

Amira smiles sadly and lets her hand hover near his cheek.

"It's not the same without you."

When Amira disappear into the dawn Michael starts angrily shoving metal screwdrivers into electronics. If the reaper isn't going to come for him any time soon, maybe he can speed the process up.

Michele is asked to babysit her little sister while Vera attends the Tombo Derby to cheer Jude and Cameo on. With Lindsay out at prom and Michael constantly testing fate, Vera felt having a babysitter would be a good choice.

Michele reads True Fairy Tales until Brooke falls asleep.

Bodica surveys her kingdom.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
 Jesse Jones-Goode has finally passed on leaving Michael as the last man standing for Gen 2. Michael is 131 days old and my lifespan is set to 122. I don't know what to do at this point. He's too good at repairing objects to get electrocuted. I suppose I could stand him outside in a puddle during the next lightning storm. I'm giving Grim until 135 days and then I'm taking matters into my own hands.

Arthur and Lindsay are now an item. Yay!

Michele and Deric have a baby boy named Errol and Deric is finally a young adult. 

Chapter 3.17: My Heart is Yours

With Amira gone, Michael finds his will to work becoming non-existent. There's nothing left to prove and no one left to prove it to anyway. He decides to retire with a pension of §430 per day.

He is mildly impressed by his own accomplishments. 

Lindsay has to call Arthur as soon as school is out.

"I know we were supposed to have our date tonight," she explains, "but my parents won't let me go."
"Why?" Arthur asks.
"Between my stupid homework and my little sister's birthday, there isn't going to be any time left for a date," Lindsay huffs. "It's so unfair!"
"Are you guys having a party?"
Lindsay is suddenly confused, "For my homework? Uh, no?"
Arthur erupts in laughter, "Not your homework, silly! For your sister's birthday? Can I come?"

Lindsay is startled by the question. Arthur is eager enough to see her that he'll come to a kid's birthday party. She buries a squeal and clears her throat.

"Um, yeah," she responds shyly. "That would be great."

Just a few hours later this house is bustling with activity and Arthur is there in full armor of some kind.

"Sooooo, a costume?" Lindsay asks quizzically. "Any particular reason?"
Arthur shrugs, "What kid doesn't like superheroes?"
"I like superheroes."

Arthur winks and strikes a heroic pose for Lindsay.

Michele arrives with news of her own.

"You're going to be a grandfather," Michele tells Jude.
"Isn't Deric still. . ." Jude stops mid sentence. "Sorry, I mean congratulations!"
Michele has to work to keep her eyes from rolling, "Thanks, dad."
"I didn't mean anything, honey. I just thought you two would wait a little while longer."
"He's graduating tomorrow. We didn't want to wait longer," she says with a huff.
"Congratulations, really. I mean it."

Deric pretends he can't hear this conversation.

Michele dances with Drew to help her forget the awkward conversation with her dad. Deric is less than amused by this development.

Growing up time!

Brooke is not a fan of the cake, the candles, the people, or this party. 

Jolie isn't sure why she's even here. She should be celebrating her engagement to Rickey tonight. She ignores the festivities and instead thinks about Rickey and their future together.

*Twinkle sounds*

Brooke is now a child and none of this will do.

 Jude and Brooke sit in the dark eating slices of cake.

"Don't you want to join the party?" he asks.
Brooke shakes her head and whispers, "They can't see me like this."
"What do you mean? Are you shy?"
"I'm not shy, dad! I just don't look as fabulous on the outside as I obviously am on the inside, duh!"
"Oh?" Jude answers. He is still not sure exactly what she means.

Inside, an avid discussion on the latest music hits takes over the party. Everyone is a critic.

Michael brings out his violin to prove that kids these days have no idea what good music is.

This is so much better, Brooke thinks to herself. 

Gorgeous! Ready to show her new self to her adoring fans, Brooke rejoins the party.

"Mom, don't I look fabulous? I feel fabulous!"
"You look beautiful, baby."
Brooke shrugs coyly, "I know," she murmurs. 

"I don't want to go home," Drew pleads with Lindsay. "Can I just stay one more night."
"You're going to have to face Tim sooner or later," she replies.
"I'd rather it be later," he says shyly. "Much later."

Deric dances with Jolie in a bid to make Michele jealous. Michele doesn't even notice. Jolie uses this as practice for her wedding. 

"I know you're going to have a baby but it's probably not going to be as fantastic as I am," Brooke says. "Sorry, it's just the truth."
"Cute," Michele says through gritted teeth. 

 Play room turned bedroom spam. Check out Vera's imaginary friend doll up on the shelf.

Brooke knows two things for sure. One, she is amazing. Two, she loves all things ballet. She loves that her parents installed a ballet barre in her new room as a birthday present.

 After a very exciting day, Brooke sleeps in her new big girl bed. Everything is coming up roses.

"Last night's party was a hit," Vera says. "I hope Arthur had a good time. I'm glad we all got to meet him."
"Mmmhhhmm," Lindsay agrees. "I'm going to meet him later."
"Is your homework done?" Vera asks.
"Uuughh!"

Cameo may be an elder but she is still very able to bring in first place trophies.

With all his free time, Michael has really taken to gardening. He's found some seeds he can't identify and a funny looking flower that he doesn't know what to do with.

He places it high on a shelf, in case it's poisonous, and then quickly forgets about its existence.

Jude cares for Cameo, prepping her for yet another competition.

"I can't go out with Arthur until we finish this so can we just get through it?"
"But then I'll have to go home."
"Oh my goodness, dude! Go talk to Tim and stop being terrified of him. He really doesn't seem that bad."
"His eyes though," Drew counters.
"I love you, Drew, but I really want to go see Arthur. I think he's going to ask me to go steady. Will you go home if I give you a good luck charm?"
Drew sighs heavily, "I guess."

Inside, Brooke rolls her eyes at her childish homework. This is ssssoooo easy. She breezes through it without even asking for help.

The downside to Jude's job. It's a good thing they have a garden.

Arthur calls to say, "I'm leaving my house now. Meet you at Central Park."
"I'll see you there!"

Meanwhile, across town, Moshe and Deric both graduate from high school.

 They meet up at the park and Arthur immediately launches into talking about a song he heard on the way to the park.
Lindsay interrupts him, "Um, aren't you going to ask me to be your girlfriend?"

Arthur takes a step back. Lindsay's eyes go wide and she clasps a hand over her gaping mouth.

"I'm so sorry!" her voice is muffled by her hands.
"That was kind of rude. I think I'm going to just head home."
Lindsay stumbles over her own feet as she reaches for his hand and says, "I'm sorry, Arthur. I got way too excited knowing that prom is coming up and I really like you. I got wrapped up in my own head. Please don't go."

She can feel her eyes welling up with tears and she's pleading with herself not to cry.

"Of course I want to go to prom with you," Arthur says. "Just like, chill out a little bit. You seem cool, I wan to get to know you better before deciding if I want to go steady and all that. Deal?"

Lindsay nods enthusiastically, "Deal!"

 Vera works on her alchemy since the house is nice and quite. She can hear Brooke listening to Dance of the Sim Plum Fairy and makes a mental note to sign her up for ballet classes.

Arthur and Lindsay spend the rest of the afternoon at the park talking about their interests and skating together. It's the best day Lindsay has had in a while and she's so happy her outburst didn't completely ruin the day.

Michael meets up with Jolie and Rickey at the library. They share the news that they eloped. Michael reaches for his phone and has half dialed Amira's number before he remembers that she can't answer.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Moira passed on. It's just Michael and Jesse still standing from Gen 2. Michael is struggling with being one of the last ones left.

Brooke Van Hofwegen
Diva
Genius
Loves the Outdoors

Lindsay's socially awkward trait almost ruined her chances at having a prom date. She is working hard against me. >.<