New Beginnings

The sims woke up on the 21^st day with a sense almost of unreality.  After 20 days of living together in the House of the Rising Sim, 20 days of scoring and competing, being observed and monitored every second and following detailed directives, it was all over. 

Of course, they’d all given a lot of thought to what they would do when the competition ended.  But somehow, now that the moment had actually arrived, it felt so much more challenging—so portentous, almost frightening.  For the first time in 20 days, no wake-up calls came.  Some sims woke early, others late, but all on their own timetables. 

Finding Hunter in the upstairs hall, Deb hesitated to bring up the discussion they’d had the previous evening at the park.  Perhaps he hadn’t been serious?  Perhaps he had changed his mind?  She knew that after the extended togetherness of the competition, he was longing for some time alone….

Tentatively, she flirted a little.

His response was gratifying.

She brought up her goal of pursuing her career as a chef, and he countered with his idea of trying the tech field while working to get into better shape.

When she asked where he’d live, now that he could choose anywhere he liked,  he just smiled.  “Where is that restaurant of yours going to be?” he asked lightly. “That’s where I’m planning to try first.”

They embraced joyfully.  Nothing was certain—their relationship had had plenty of ups and downs and awkward moments, but they were both eager to start anew in a home of their own, where they could figure things out without the constant presence of other sims.

While Deb hadn’t made the big stake she had hoped for, to allow her to start a restaurant of her own, she had definitely become comfortable cooking for others and had refined her skills and developed some recipes she felt excited to show off.  The Directors had forwarded an offer from a restaurateur right there in Willow Creek, asking her to join his staff.  While she would be starting at a humble level, she felt confident that she could advance quickly and do well.  The cash both she and Hunter had received for their participation would be a welcome buffer, allowing them peace of mind while they became established in their careers.

Just then, Alysha wandered into the hall.  Deb wholeheartedly congratulated her on her third-place finish and, when queried, explained her plans.  

Alysha hugged her warmly and wished them both well.  “Keep in touch, bro!  I mean, we’re like  a team, right!  We’ve got to have each other’s backs!”

Downstairs, Hunter ran into Reece.  “Way to go, man!  You really charmed those Directors!”

“What are your plans, Hunter?”

“Well, Deb is planning to take a job at a restaurant here in Willow Creek.  We’re going to try living together."

 

"It could be good, right?”"

            

 Reece agreed.  He, too, had a move planned.











“But we’ll stay in touch.”

 

Reece grabbed a bowl of cereal, then continued into the dining room, where he found Braylen in the former Super Sim chair, chatting with Aileen, Alysha, and Efrain.  Pointedly sitting at the far end of the table, Reece silently addressed himself to his cereal.

 

Even so, his presence seemed to anger Braylen, who very soon got up and stalked out of the room.

Once he was gone, the other sims rather shamefacedly moved down to sit closer to Reece.

“Don’t worry about me!” Reece smirked.  “With the prize money, I don’t have a care in the world.”

“I think that Hunter and Deb might have wedding bells in their futures, though!" he continued. "Not for me, I don’t want to get shackled yet!”

He and Alysha laughed together.

“I’m going to get a new car right away,” Alysha said.  “At least, as soon as I can figure out where the car dealerships are.  I haven’t seen one, the whole time we’ve been here in Willow Creek.  Weird, isn’t it?”

“What are you planning, Efrain?” Reece asked.  The others were aware that Efrain had come in last, score-wise, and therefore had the least amount of simoleans to start his new life with.

Efrain looked at Alysha and Aileen for a moment, and then said, rather awkwardly, “Well, you know, Braylen asked us if we’d like to stay on here in HRS for a while.  He said it was a big house, too big for just one man, and he’d be glad of some company, and wouldn’t charge us much rent.”

“I offered to take on some of the cooking, now Deb won’t be here,” Alysha said.

“And I said I’d do some cleaning,” Aileen agreed.

“We thought it was a good deal,” said Efrain, “and so we decided to go for it.  It doesn’t have to be forever, but I didn’t have any firm plans and it seemed like it would work out well for now. So we’ve reached an agreement.”

“What about you, Reece?” Alysha asked.

“You know, that whole ‘whiny baby’ thing has really got me thinking,” Reece answered.  “That was really embarrassing, knowing it was airing on national TV, and everyone would see it.  I’m going to move to Oasis Springs, I think, and spend some time thinking about my future before I make any firm decisions.”

“Keep it real, bro!” Alysha said, giving him a hug.

“And Efrain’s going to try to make it as a musician,” Aileen added.  “He and I might even work together if I get a job tending bar at the Lounge.”

“What about Keira?” Efrain asked.  “I haven’t seen her at all this morning.”   But none of the others could answer him.

No one had been around early that morning when Keira woke from her troubled sleep.  Still feeling tense and uneasy, she started her solitary breakfast in the hall, then, feeling as if she was still being watched, moved into the library to eat at the bar.

She was alone in the room—but the voices wouldn’t stop.

After a while, she started answering them. 

It turned out that her intuition had been right—she was still being observed.   

The ambulance pulled up quietly, with no sirens, and Keira was half-persuaded, half-forced to get in.  No one would hear from her for several months, while she “rested” at a facility outside of Oasis Springs, still under 24-hour surveillance.  Gradually she began to recuperate from the stress of her time at HRS.  With good care and carefully chosen medications, she began to feel stronger than she had done for a long time, and to gain a sense of mental clarity which had been sadly absent from her life.  After careful thought, she agreed not to sue the HRS directors, and to accept her six months of care in lieu of further settlements.

Six months after Day 20, she climbed out of a taxi in front of her own small, rented home in Oasis Springs.  Although her grandiose ideas had dissipated, she still felt determined to make her way as an author.  Would she have it in her, to succeed?