Numbers, Numbers! Day 10

The tenth day at the House of the Rising Sim found many sims feeling nervous about the upcoming revelation of the scores.  At this point, half way through their competition, some seemed to be feeling confident, but many were tense. 

Keira seemed to think it would be a good moment to find some peace of mind through communion with nature.

Hunter, on the other hand, was apparently feeling too nervous to attempt breakfast.  After a long silent contemplation of his old nemesis the fridge, he turned away empty handed.

Deb smiled to herself as she grilled veggie burgers for the group.  She’d made good progress on her cooking skills, and had been meticulous about performing her duties.  The herb garden was thriving and the fridge was always full of excellent food. 

Braylen and Efrain seemed composed as well, and tried to reassure Hunter that all would be well.

When 9:00 arrived and all the sims were in their places, Keira, once again sporting the Super Sim headgear, silently passed around envelopes bearing each sim’s name.  Each envelope contained a table showing the current standings, as well as a breakdown of the individual sim’s current points.

Number	Contestant Name	Current Point Tally
3	Braylen Baxter	36
5	Reece Britton	33
6	Alysha Salas	28
8	Keira Bryan	24
7	Aileen Starkey	18
4	Efrain Pruett	17
1	Hunter Lyons	15
2	Deborah McMahan	13

Hunter looked at his page with a sort of discouraged resignation.  He had known that his three stints in the Loser chair were probably going to be held against him, as would his failure as Sim in Spot. This was no worse than he'd expected.

Skill points:  15

Friends: 0

Inventory sales: 2

Job points (handyman): 3

Super Sim /Loser: -3 (three times Loser)

Sim in Spot:  -2 (failed)

Activity points (gained through participation in outings and activities):0

Total: 15

Ranking: 7/8

Deborah was outraged and disbelieving.  Her usually cheerful demeanor vanished completely.  “Last?  Very last?  I don’t believe it!  I’ve done a good job!  How can this be true?”   

She hadn’t taken into account her own two turns as the Loser, nor her failure during her Sim in Spot day.  In addition, she felt it was horribly unfair that she was penalized for falling asleep at the museum, which cancelled out the point she’d gained for being the first to dance at the gym. 

“How can they penalize us for being exhausted?  If I wasn’t working so hard to cook for all these sims, I wouldn’t have been so tired!  This is really not fair!  Plus, where are some of them getting so many points?  Is it that inventory sales category?  That really sucks—all I can sell is a few herbs!  Some of them are selling paintings and stuff!”

Skill points:  12

Friends: 0

Inventory sales:1

Job points (chef): 3

Super Sim /Loser: -1  (once Loser)

Sim in Spot:  -2 (failed)

Activity points (gained through participation in outings and activities):0

Total: 12

Ranking: 8/8

Braylen, of course, was both exultant and unsurprised.  “Eet surprises notheeng that I am number one!  The judges, they recognize the genius, the brilliance.  Eet snatches the eyes, they could not fail to see.  All ees as eet should of course be.”  

His huge lead came mostly from his painting sales, as Deb had guessed, as well as his enthusiastic  participation at the Museum outing, where he had earned two points for being the first to reach the top floor, and another two for starting two paintings at the easel.

Skill points:  13

Friends: 0

Inventory sales:15

Job points (painter): 2

Super Sim /Loser: 2

Sim in Spot:  0

Activity points (gained through participation in outings and activities):4

Total: 36

Ranking: 1/8

Aileen, like Hunter, seemed unsurprised by the contents of her envelope, but she was frustrated.  “I think it’s impossible to succeed in my Social Director job.  I just don’t have much material to work with here.  If this were a different sort of group; sims of a better class, I guess, then perhaps I could make some progress.  I feel as if I’m being penalized for something which is completely out of my control.”

Skill points:  11

Friends: 0

Inventory sales: 1 (from a dig)

Job points (Social Director/Mixologist): 3

Super Sim /Loser: 4

Sim in Spot:  -2 (failed)

Activity points (gained through participation in outings and activities):1

Total: 18

Ranking: 5/8

Reece seemed, for once, to put a positive spin on his ranking. “Well, second, that’s not bad at all.  I think I actually have a good chance at this.  It’s turning out to be a lot more work than I expected, and I really haven’t met anyone I feel too excited about, but it could be a lot worse.”

Skill points:  14

Friends: 1 (his booty-call friend, Tommy)

Inventory sales: 8 ( sales of garden produce)

Job points (gardener): 3

Super Sim /Loser: 2

Sim in Spot:  2 (succeeded)

Activity points (gained through participation in outings and activities):3

Total: 33

Ranking: 2/8

Alysha, too, seemed quite sanguine about her performance. “Yeah, dude, I’m in third place, pretty well positioned for winning if I can make a push or get some good luck during the second half of the contest.  No complaints, bro.”

Skill points:  16

Friends: 0

Inventory sales:6 (garden produce)

Job points (gardener): 3

Super Sim /Loser: 0

Sim in Spot:  0

Activity points (gained through participation in outings and activities):3

Total: 28

Ranking: 3/8

Efrain looked completely cast-down as he regarded his slip of paper. “Well,  I should have expected this, I guess.  I mean, I really never do well at anything; why should HRS be any different. (looks down sadly)  I have been Loser twice already, and I failed to get enough tips when I was Sim in Spot.  I wish I had more friends here, too.  (lips quivering) Seems like every time I start to feel close to someone, well, things just get awkward.  There have been some pretty painful moments.” (Covers his eyes with his hand and sits in dejected silence.)

Skill points:  15

Friends: 0

Inventory sales: 2 (from digging)

Job points (entertainer): 2

Super Sim /Loser: 0

Sim in Spot:  -2

Activity points (gained through participation in outings and activities):0

Total: 17

Ranking: 6/8

Keira’s take on her score sheet was difficult to figure out—she looked at it rather wildly from beneath the green brim of her Super Sim hat, and said only, “I thought so!  I thought as much!  No surprise here!” The curl of her lips and her clenched fists, though, seemed to convey a more ominous message.

Skill points:  15

Friends: 0

Inventory sales:1 (from digging)

Job points (chronicler): 2

Super Sim /Loser: 5 (three times Super Sim; once Loser)

Sim in Spot:  0

Activity points (gained through participation in outings and activities):1

Total: 24

Ranking: 4/8

Once they had all had the opportunity to view and respond to their standings, Keira continued the meeting.  She announced that there would be a gathering that evening at the Spencer-Kim-Lewis home.  Apparently the family were major sponsors of the competition, and wished to meet the participants.  Aileen, as social director, was to go over to the house early in the afternoon to arrange for the festivities, and the rest of the group were to join her at 4 pm.  That evening, Braylen would also be presenting the second common-room painting to the group.  With that, they dispersed.

At 1 PM, Aileen knocked at the door of an imposing modern mansion in the nicest area of Willow Creek.  She was greeted by the family and spent some time sharing her ideas for the party that evening, and listening to their ideas and concerns.

Alice opened the discussion by politely asking Aileen what she had in mind for the party.

She explained that it was important that the group leave the Spencer-Kim-Lewis home clean and tidy at the end of the gathering.

Aileen, who was a bit caught up in her own thoughts after the excitement of the morning, cut in rather discourteously to ask if they had a specialty espresso machine.  It’s possible that she didn’t hear Alice’s stipulation about the cleaning—she certainly seemed not to take note of it.

The elder Mrs. Lewis explained that she was quite a foodie, and asked what would be served during the party.  Aileen asserted that Deb, their chef, had been studying up and reading lots of cook books. 

Eric pointed out that there were many good recipes to be found online, as well—something which seemed so obvious that all Aileen could do was to roll her eyes.  Discreetly, one hopes— but perhaps Mrs. Lewis noticed. 

She pointed out quite bluntly that since the Spencer-Kim-Lewis family were putting a lot of cash into the HRS project, the least that the contestants could do was to be polite and receptive to their ideas.

Eric also explained animatedly that this was a very upper-class and quiet neighborhood, and that it was crucial that the party cause no disruption to the neighbors.  It would be unthinkable if it were to become loud or create any disturbance.

Aileen left the meeting determined to use all her creativity to make sure the evening was a success.  The event got off to a rather desultory start, though.  Despite having had the full afternoon to rest and care for themselves, the HRS household sims arrived at the party sleepy, edgy and uncomfortable.

Efrain tried to get some festive feeling going by playing his guitar, but only the HRS sims gathered in the bar to hear him play.  Aileen worked the bar, but was disconcerted to find that none of the Spencer-Kim-Lewises came in to get a drink from her.

Instead, they stayed firmly isolated in the living room, seeming uninterested in actally meeting or interacting with the contestants.

Finally, after Deb had prepared some lovely food, Alice deigned to sit and chat with the group.

Out in the living room, too, the two groups began to get acquainted.

Unfortunately, Deb’s exhaustion caught up with her after dinner.  Eric Lewis seemed appalled to see her condition.  Perhaps he thought she’d been fortifying herself with a few too many trips to the bar—but in fact, she hadn’t had anything.  Perhaps dehydration contributed to her collapse.  Unfortunately, this would mean yet another point subtracted from her meager total.  Deb just couldn’t seem to get ahead.

The Spencer-Kim-Lewis family finally took an opportunity to hear Efrain perform.  Who could say why they asked him to play for them in the dark, deserted upstairs bedroom?  Perhaps it’s best not to ask.

Upon arriving home, the household was as usual completely exhausted, and in no mood to appreciate Braylen’s newest work of art.   

Deb was disturbed and upset when he announced that it was entitled “Portrait of Deborah McMahan.”  If he had thought she would be pleased or honored, he was mistaken.