Hello! My sister had this idea for a one-shot, and I just knew I had to write it! Consider it my apology for not being able to write over the past few weeks (finals have been rough, other miscellaneous excuses). I hope you enjoy!
It all started in the midst of the hot California summer. Most of the gang had left Walkerville for the season, enjoying vacations with their respective families, leaving Phoebe alone in the suddenly looming town. With her father gone at work all day, each day passed slower than the last. She had resorted to cleaning her small bedroom out of sheer boredom when she stumbled upon it—a new, unopened copy of The Sims 3.
Phoebe had never been an avid Simmer. She remembered playing the first of the series on her family's clunky desktop when she was young and living in Massachusetts, but that game had long since been lost. Since then, Phoebe had mostly forgotten about The Sims—that was, until Tim had bought her the newest game for her birthday last December. Phoebe hadn't thought much if at the time, but Tim had insisted that the game was a must-play. What better time to test the sentiment?
That had been her first mistake. For days, Phoebe found herself unable to step away from the computer, enthralled by the colorful graphics and mindless characters. Her second mistake was designing the entire Magic School Bus crew in the Create-a-Sim menu and moving them into the idyllic Sunset Valley. It wasn't supposed to be creepy or weird. It was just supposed to quell her loneliness for a short time.
Then she started playing, first as herself and Arnold (because yes, she had moved her character in with her boyfriend). It started fine. It was odd watching Arnold's double use the toilet or get undressed to shower, but it wasn't really an invasion of privacy. It was just some good-natured fun. Besides, Arnold never needed to know. None of her friends did.
Soon, Phoebe had gotten the hang of playing the multiple households—herself and Arnold; Carlos and Dorothy Ann; Ralphie and Keesha; Wanda; even Tim and Janet got to room together. It was fun, controlling the lives of her friends. She could finally get Carlos and Dorothy Ann to date, just like she knew they wanted to. She could get Ralphie and Keesha to stop bickering and just be happy together. She could make Tim the rockstar he deserved to be, DA the politician she dreamed of becoming, and Wanda the criminal she would probably one day end up. Life was perfect in the world of Sunset Valley.
Inevitably, the Sims eventually aged up, and soon she was planning wedding parties and starting families. Even Wanda settled down with a Townie and had a son, with only a little prodding from Phoebe. It was funny, watching her sleep-deprived friends awaken time and again to the cries of their newborn. She felt a wave of pride each time one of her creations came home with a promotion or developed a new skill, and a pang of guilt whenever one accidentally set the stove on fire. She even cried, just a little bit, when her and Arnold's first child, Autumn, grew into a child.
The childhood years were some of the hardest yet—it was a lot to manage the newly-grown children while continuing to earn promotions, make money, and expand the homes of her friends and family. But in a flash, the children were teenagers, and a new stage of life began. The kids got jobs and helped care for their younger siblings. Money came rolling in for each family, and the kids began to befriend one another. At Phoebe's command, Autumn and Thomas, DA and Carlos's son, began to date, taking frequent trips to the movie theatre and the neighborhood pool together.
One by one, the kids graduated, each one making Phoebe smile. Autumn and Thomas moved in together, sharing a large house with Phoebe and Arnold. Then it was time for the proud parents to begin thinking about retirement. Arnold retired first, bringing to an end a successful career as a businessman. Dorothy Ann and Carlos followed suit, deciding to spend their old age with each other and their family. Tim, alternatively, remained a musician—there was no way he'd ever give up the rocker life. Phoebe began to throw parties for the entire gang, and giggled as the Sims attempted to dance to the pop music that blared from the radio.
It was in the middle of one of these parties that the heartbreaking happened: Keesha, her best friend in life and in Sims, keeled over and died. Phoebe and the Sims watched on in horror as the Grim Reaper apparated onto the screen. How had Phoebe not seen this coming? She knew that all Sims eventually died, and she and her friends were no exception. But their lives had passed in an instant! Was this all that life was?
Suddenly, Phoebe began to feel sick. She and her friends were all growing up so fast. It seemed like only yesterday that they were first meeting as third graders in Ms. Frizzle's class, and now they were in high school! Soon, they'd be grown-ups, with jobs and marriages and children to handle. And in no time at all, they'd be facing their demise—Keesha probably wouldn't be the first to go, Wanda was much more likely. Phoebe crawled onto the floor, tears running down her face.
Several hours later, Mr. Terese returned home to his daughter in the same position, having an existential crisis over a game of the Sims. He sighed. She really needed to find a new hobby. Tenderly, he helped Phoebe to her feet, and the two crashed onto the couch, a tub of ice cream between them.
After that, Phoebe quit playing the Sims. Fuck Tim and his stupid taste in games.