Sophie Learns An Unsettling Truth

It was late by the time Sophie got out of class. They'd been discussing at great lengths, the classics, including the Simona Lisima, the best creation of Leonardo da Simci. She was still thinking of it as they all milled out into the courtyard. The sun had already gone down and apart from the lights from the classrooms and the ones outside, it was virtually pitch dark. But she could still see well enough to witness one student collapsing on the floor.

"Omg, is he okay?" she asked, reaching forward, "is there anything I can do?"

A hand pulled her back. Judging by the glint of the glasses and the thick beard, she recognised Professor Wade Anthony. He shook his head solemnly.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "there's nothing you can do."
"How do you know?"
"It's that college plague, it's taken hold all around campus. People are dropping everywhere."
"But why?"
"Those that are affected, go into a kind of delirium where they think they can survive on air alone and skip meals. It's a horrible death - starvation. There's only one thing to do."

"What's that?"
"Wait for the Grim Reaper to claim his - and all the others - souls."
"I can't let that happen. I've got to do something."
"Sorry, once his soul is claimed, there's nothing you can do."
"And what if there is?"
"How do you mean?"
"I've heard about people bargaining for their loved ones souls, bringing them back to life etc."
"Those are just fairy tales Sophie. There's no truth in them."
"And I am a fairy. So there must be SOME truth in this matter anyways. If there wasn't, I wouldn't be here. But I am and so that's that!"

She put her hands on her hips and jutted her chin out defiantly. It was the only time, since transitioning into a Young Adult, that she ever dared to defy a person of authority. Wade sighed and shook his head.

"The only time we ever manage to be together, and it just happens to be at the most inappropriate moment."

Sophie glared at him.

"What do you want of me?"
"Huh?"
"It's plainly obvious that you've got an invested interest in me, otherwise you wouldn't text me to meet up .. every.single. day. So what do you want?"

Just then, the chilly night air got even chillier as the Grim Reaper made his entrance. Sweeping silently past the milling crowds, he raised his scythe and muttered a few words, before the corpse began to glow.

From it rose a spectral form. Sophie and the rest of the group were entranced at the simple, yet gruesome ceremony before them. Taking the spirit to one side, Grimmy waited with inexhaustible patience as the ghost pleaded to be saved.

"That's it," Sophie suddenly announced, "I'm going to save him."

Wade grabbed her arm once more and she shook it off, stepping forward.

"Grim Reaper!" she said forcefully, "how can I save his life?"

A thought wave rippled into her head and she half smiled.

"A chess match. Hmm, as simple as that." she lifted her head and nodded in the direction of the chess table in the garden, "okay, you are on!"

Wade hissed at her.

"Are you stupid? Do you even have ANY logic skills at all?"
"Not that I know of, but it's worth a chance."
"You have no idea what you are doing young lady. I insist that you stop right now before you get yourself entangled in even more trouble."
"No. I made this bargain, I'm going to uphold it."

Wade threw his hands up in the air in defeat.

"You're just like your headstrong ancestor, the brother to the king of the Fae."

Sophie stopped dead and turned.

"What. Did. You. Say?"
"I've said too much as it is," Wade replied frowning deeply, "go ahead. You made a pact with the devil himself. You deal with it. I'm heading off home."

Sophie paused uncertain, debating what to do. But then decided that she'd made a promise and she'd uphold it, no matter what.

The chess match lasted well into the early hours of the morning. But she was no further forward. She was cold, hungry, tired, needed to pee and desperately wanted a shower.

In the end, she gave up. She felt the cold mocking of Grimmy as he spirited away that poor student's soul. And she felt terrible that she'd been helpless to save him. She also thought back to what Wade had blurted out to her. But she was too exhausted by then to think straight.

The minute she got through the dining room door, she collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

Saving souls was an exhausting and extremely draining process.

Red Roses

Nessa had been to class but during the lesson, she felt a little off, light-headed and her head felt woolly. But she kept herself sitting at her desk until class was over. She'd barely got through the dorm door when she collapsed in a dead faint. Nobody was around to tend to her, so she avoided the embarrassment of people seeing her falling to the floor.

 She barely had enough energy to drag herself upstairs to their shared room. By then, Sophie had arrived back from her class. She'd been feeling tense all through her class, sensing something was wrong. Her professor had announced that there was a mysterious illness going through the campus and for students to be aware and keep drinking plenty of fluids. She was shocked to see her own sister hardly able to walk.

"You okay sis?"
"Do I look it?"
"Um, no. Want anything to drink? Juice perhaps?"
"Thanks, but no. I just want to sleep."
"Can I help you?"
"Please."

Leaning on Sophie, Nessa finally made it to her own bed. They stopped and she turned to Sophie.

"Can you do me a favour, please?"
"Sure, anything."
"Can you share a bed with me. I ... I don't think I want to sleep alone tonight."
"Of course I can. You don't have to ask me twice."

Despite being exasperated by Nessa's boundless energy, Sophie always had a soft spot for her sister. She helped her to change into her sleepwear. It felt really odd, this helpless Sim sitting on the edge of the bed, quietly allowing her sister to dress her.

"Want me to create an aura of soothing for you?"
"Nah, keep that one for yourself. Don't want you running out of energy now do we?"

Sophie didn't feel too tired, but she happily obliged by snuggling into her sister. Nessa felt so hot, she was burning up, but kept the blankets over her as the two of them slept.

The phone rang incessantly, but thanks to Sophie's Heavy Sleeper trait, she missed the call. It was probably another invite to yet another party. Her priorities had changed. Her sister was sick and needed her more than ever.

Neither of them heard the interloper trying to serenade them with Nessa's guitar either.

The next morning, Nessa woke up feeling a little better. So she phoned home to speak to her mother.

"Hi mom, how's things?"

She listened to her mother intently, a sudden pang of homesickness struck her.

"Yeah, I'm okay. A bit run down. Think I'm studying too hard..... yeah, Sophie's keeping an eye on me..... no, I'm okay, tired I guess."

Sophie, after waking up, checked her phone for messages....
... and growled.

"Dammit!"

"Hang on mom, didn't catch that. Soph, what's up?"
"That ... man... ohhh he is soooo persistent."
"It's ok mom, Sophie's complaining about a guy..... no, he didn't send her a vase of red roses.... did he Soph?"

"I'll throw them right back at him if he did. He's a bloody nuisance, that's what he is. Who the hell does he think he is?"
"I'd better go mom, got class soon, better get ready. Love you too."

Sophie approached Nessa and felt her forehead.

"Hmm, you don't appear to be sick and your temperature is down. But I still think you should skip class."

Nessa nodded.

"I'll go take a shower, freshen up a little, have something to eat then study for a while."
"Good thinking, I'm hungry so I'll grab a bite now. See you when I get back."
"Ok."

Sophie had barely sat down to eat, when a dormie approached her. It was plainly obvious that he'd never seen anything like her before, because he couldn't drag his eyes away from her wings.

"Oh WOW!! Are those real?"
"Uh huh."
"Oh wow. That's .... unreal."
"Er, do you have a point or something?"
"Actually, yeah."
"And that is....?"
"You're sitting in my chair."

Sophie was too distracted to pick a fight, so she simply shook her head, grabbed her backpack and headed out of the door. But not before checking on Nessa who was sitting quietly, nose in her book.

"See you later sis."
"Yeah, okay. Don't stay out too late!"
"I'll try not to, you going to be okay?"

Edible Art, Workouts and Presentations

Nessa felt out of place with her mismatched, just-came-out-of-the-charity-box clothing. She'd been saving her pennies from her part time job and decided to go for a whole brand new look like her sister.

Gone was the light red hair with the purple highlights and the hairband. She'd darkened her hair to match her dark eyebrows and chose a more ... windswept look. With her long face, it was difficult trying to find a suitable style, but I think she chose well here.

And unlike her sister, she didn't go for all those fancy frills and pretty pinks (white is her favourite colour), she opted for a more casual look. After all, she wanted to blend in and not stand out.

She also wished for a guitar. So she picked out the most outlandish/futuristic one in the store and it stood pride of place in their shared room.

You've got it now Ness. Are you going to play it?

Nah, well, maybe later. I just want to stand there and admire it for now.

O-kay then.

Proof that Pat was behind the superglue prank. That night, as both sisters slept, he moved.

Just popped from one area to another (sorry about the warped, fish eye lens pic, only angle I could get). But strangely enough, he landed at the bottom of Nessa's bed and not Sophie's. He must be REALLY ticked off with her if he's choosing to stick with Nessa!

He's a strange little fellow/doll/whatever.

The next day was a free period, so, whilst Sophie tried to make some edible art for her latest project (she still had the bowl glued to her hand) ... a presentation no less. It was part of her forfeit for failing to attend the lecture.

.... Nessa spent time in the upstairs gym, working out, listening to Country music (her favourite) and falling off the treadmill a few times in the process.

Sophie finished her sketching and drawing in record time and feeling proud of herself, she wished to watch the Cooking Channel. Sadly, the TV they had in the common room, had a bad reception and she could only get the Children's Channel instead. She had to sit through Pink Bunnies, Cow Mascots and the like.

She glanced at her watch. It was time for her presentation. So, with portfolio tucked under her arm, she made her way to the Student Union to the lecture hall.

Only a couple of students turned up, since she hadn't advertised it very well. Nervously, she shuffled her notes, cleared her throat and began her unrehearsed speech. The lecture hall, from this angle, looked HUGE!

As she droned on about the merits of taking and appreciating a Fine Arts Degree, the only two students who had turned up ... had the audacity to fall asleep as she was speaking!

"Oh, come on now," she groaned, "surely it's not THAT boring? I'm trying my best here"

Maybe this will teach her a lesson on being late for class in the future?

Sophie Is Victim To A Superglue Prank

"NESSA!"

Silence, except for the soft snoring of her sister. She'd decided not to attend class today and had crashed out on one of the settees.

"I can't believe this," Sophie muttered, trying to shake the bowl from her hand. How could she be so stupid? The bowl was sitting there on the counter top, the salad inside half chopped. What harm could there be in finishing off this meal? And now, no matter how she tried to shake it free, it was stuck ... fast.

Sophie didn't know what to do.

"I need a coffee," she muttered, "and think things through here, I can't go to class with this."

She didn't know anybody here in the dorm, apart from Nessa. So who on earth could have done this? There was only one possible solution. Pat, her IF doll. But he'd remained silent ... and in doll form all this time.

Surely he couldn't have been THAT vindictive?

It was hard work, trying to eat her cereal, with a bowl glued to her hand, but she managed it. The coffee mug was easy, because she could use the opposite hand.

After several attempts to wash the glue off, she gave up and made a mad dash to class. In her vain attempts to get rid of the bowl, she'd made herself late.

"The lecture is nearly over," said one student, "you'd better come up with a good excuse or risk a forfeit."
"Yeah, I know," Sophie replied, "damn, I was looking forward to this lecture too."

Sophie swore under her breath. If it was Pat, she was going to kick the stuffing out of that toy and show him that she wasn't to be messed around with.

Editor's Notes:
I saved the game whilst she was trying to continue cooking that meal. When I went back to the game later on, the bowl was stuck to her hand and she couldn't get rid of it.

On another note: Students are hard up even in Sims. I caught this one finishing off the half eaten soup that Nessa had left when she went to class!

Professors, Parties And The Powers Girls

Backtracking a little here, (I saved before they left the Meet and Greet). Just after Nessa managed to grab herself a freebie from the vending machine, she had the distinct feeling that she was being watched. And rightly so. By none other than Professor Anthony himself. Just the intensity of his stare was enough for her to feel just a little uncomfortable. So she approached him.

 "Did I do something wrong?" she asked innocently.

He smiled, a little. Only a little mind you. Then shook his head.

"If you're talking about stealing from the vending machine ..."

"Oh, no, it was just a little loose, I ... I shook it a little ...."

"There's no need to apologise. Not a day goes by when a student goes on a head to head battle with a vending machine."

"Ah ... erm ... good."

He studied her closely, frowning slightly.

"You look familiar, but I ... can't seem to place you."

"I'm Vanessa, Nessa to my friends. I'm with Sophie."

"Sophie ... Sophie.... OH! You mean Miss Powers?"

"Yep, that's my sister!"

"How is she?"

"She's good. She's come back to finish her degree."

"I am glad, she has potential. A lot of potential."

There was an awkward silence after that, as both parties tried to think of something, anything to say to one another. The small talk was getting them nowhere fast, and it was beginning to bore Nessa rigid. Besides, Professor Anthony looked as though he was trying to say something, but couldn't quite articulate. He stared at her.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that ... you look so familiar to me. Are you Fae?"

"Huh?"

Just then, Sophie arrived and interrupted them.

"Professor, hi. Nice to meet you. How are you?"

"Sophie! Glad to see you again. I hear you are continuing your Fine Arts degree."

"That I am."

At that moment, Nessa's phone beeped as a message came through. It was a kegger party invite from frat boy Miles Forthright. Nessa almost squealed with delight.

"A party? AWESOME! You betcha I'll be there!"

Sophie smiled at her sister's excited reaction, then turned back to the professor.

"Before you ask, no I didn't ask my mom, such a lot has been going on lately at home that I didn't get the chance."

"That's a pity."

"Why?"

"Well, it would have been so much better if it had come from your mother."

"Professor, you're not making much sense."

He glanced at his watch, scribbled on a slip of paper and handed it to her, then bowed ever so slightly.

"I've got to go, sorry. It's getting late and I've got to teach class in the morning, prepare a presentation etc. But if you do have the time, check this out in the library. You'll find it enlightening indeed. And it'll answer many of your questions."

"I'd better go too. Keep an eye on my sister for a while."

**********

During the study group, Sophie began to yawn. It had been a long day - travelling, settling in, keeping an eye on Nessa. Besides, her class was an early one at the arts academy.

"I'm turning in Ness, you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, of course. Besides, I've been invited to a kegger party."

"So you've been hinting at all evening. Just take care okay, and make sure you get back home in time for class."

"Pfft, it's not until noon. I'll be back by then."

"Okay, night then."

"Soph?"

"Yeah?"

"Never mind."

"Go on."

"I was just going to ask if I could borrow your kenspa."

"Not if you're going to be drunk. Besides, there are plenty of bikes on campus. Borrow one of those."

"Ah, okay. See you soon."

After a shower and a bite to eat, Sophie headed off to bed. The minute her head hit the pillow, she was out cold, snoring slightly. Nessa in the meantime, grabbed one of the bikes outside the dorm and pedalled to the frat house to join the party.

What she hadn't anticipated, was the fact that it was swimwear, and she was the only girl invited. For once, she felt a little self conscious and lurked outside whilst the party raved on indoors. 

She was joined by another student.

"Hey, can I help you?"

"Hey. No, I'm good, thanks. I got an invite to this kegger, by a Miles Forthright."

"That's erm ... me."

"Oh, then what are you doing out here?"

"I ... uh... was checking the kegs, see if they're full."

Nessa smirked. By the looks of things, this student had been put up with a dare to throw a party, expecting nobody to turn up. And now he was hiding outside because he couldn't handle the crowds indoors.

"You got any food? I'm starving."

"No, sorry, just drinks."

"Ah, crap. I'm starving."

"Sorry."

"Oh well, better join the throng then. See you around."

"Yeah, okay."

The party raved until the early hours, when Nessa checked the clock in the house and blanched.

"Ah crap. I've got to get back. My class is in four hours!"

In a desperate bid to get home, exhausted, smelly, bursting for the loo and hungry, she wobbled along the road on her bike, the chilly air whipping around her semi naked body. (yep, she was still in her swimwear, cycling home in the early hours of the morning)

She bolted up the stairs and headed for the bathroom. Time was ticking onwards and her hunger still gnawed at her. Whipping out the can of soda, she drank the whole lot down, hoping that the sugar rush would sustain her for a couple more hours.

It didn't.

It hit her bladder full force, and she peed herself!

Oh Nessa. You really need to balance partying with studying a little more.

The Girls Acquire An Extra Roomie

As per her nickname, Nessa tore through the Meet and Greet with boundless energy, grabbing as many freebies as she could and commandeering her tutor to grill her about the semester. She left everyone breathless in her wake. Sophie wondered if she could keep up with this tornado and if that energy would diminish as the year went on.

She also wondered if there was some kind of secret to being an ordinary Sim. Her dad had that energy about him. She wasn't so sure about William and Hannah. She was far too young to remember them much. Plus, they moved out pretty quickly after they'd transitioned. She'd all but forgotten about her mission - to grill Professor Anthony.

Whilst they were at the Meet and Greet, Sophie decided to make friends with a few new students - as well as a couple of old ones that had returned. She targeted the Llama mascot who could not stop talking about the planet and it's environment. She'd never given it much thought, but decided that if there was a debate group concerning planetary issues, she'd only be too happy to join in.

Nessa, in the meantime, decided to get herself a soda. However, she wasn't too keen on actually paying for it.

"Hmm," she wondered, staring intently at the vending machine, "wonder how much force it would take to  jiggle one of those cans from their holders?"

She didn't need to think twice and slammed her body, full force into the machine. It rocked slightly, them wobbled. There was a thump as the can rolled off the cradle and bounced into the trough at the bottom.

"HA! Result!"

Nessa tucked her prize gleefully into her backpack, happy that she'd managed to get one over the machine. She had the sudden need to return to the dorm, just in case she was caught handling 'stolen goods'.

"Want to go back to the dorm?" Nessa gushed.
"Finished already?"
"Yep. I want to create a study group."
"You do realise that we're doing completely different degrees here?"
"Yep, but I was talking to my Professor and she said it didn't make any difference whatsoever. Having a social study group apparently boosts learning by 10%"
"Sheesh. Maybe you should have taken up Sciences instead Ness."
"I thought about it, but ... nah. Prefer Phys Ed instead. Gets me out and about. Keeps me fit."
"Plus, it's a great way to burn off all that excess energy of yours."
"Yep."
"You sure you don't want to explore the campus first?"
"Nope. I'm pretty sure I can find my own way. It's my inner compass. It's never wrong."

They headed back to the dorm, where Sophie got the surprise of her life...
... Pat was sitting on the floor - behind Sophie's chair - bold as brass.

"What ... is HE doing here?"
"Oh, he wanted to come."
"You ... can speak to MY IF doll?"
"No, not exactly. But he can speak to MY IF doll Hespa."
"Really? I find that hard to believe."
"Oh yes! And whilst you were away, he was VERY upset that you'd left him behind. He almost chewed off Hespa's ear on a daily basis!"
"Nessa. These are DOLLS. They don't speak."
"Mine does, and so does yours!"
"And they don't have ears either."
"Then how do they manage to listen and hear things?"

Sophie shook her head at her sisters' naivety. She glanced down at Pat, sitting there quietly, and prayed that the damned thing wouldn't come alive and torture her through the semester. She needed to have a clear head and be focused. She glanced around.

"Where's your IF doll then Ness?"
"Hespa didn't want to come, she said she'd get in the way."
"And mine .. did ...." Sophie muttered to herself, "...figures."

She shook her head as Nessa poked her nose even deeper into her textbook. Shaking her head, she pulled out her smartphone and started web browsing.

"Whatcha doing?"
"Studying, why?"
"Not using any books?"
"Got all I need here online, downloaded it last semester."
"Oh. Well, I much prefer good old fashioned reading a book myself."

Sophie couldn't help but smile at her sister. She was just so settled in her life. She didn't have the burden of carrying on the generations. But what she failed to tell Nessa was that she was looking online at how to get rid of an annoying IF doll and all it's baggage. That was something she would keep to herself for a little while.