Sim State University Versus Ripp Grunt

Chapter Twenty-seven

Senior Year: Odd Jobs

Loki Beaker, the new dictator of Strangetown, is sitting on his throne located on the roof of his medieval castle. He sighs as he continues to watch some old security footage on one of the television monitors that is positioned on the half-wall in front of him. The monitor shows Ripp and Isabella being chased out of the city after the eXtreme's dinner party. Loki grins.

"It's been five months, and no sign of Grunt boy since," Loki states, turning towards a group of his alien guards, all paying close attention to his every word, "Looks like Ripp got the message: Stay away from Strangetown and no one gets hurt," he adds, tapping his fingers against one of the arms of his brown wooden throne. "Still, I think we need to take action. Do something that will distract those twerps and really show Ripp who's boss…and I know just the thing!"

Loki looks up at his small army; gesturing a few of the aliens closer to him. They follow suit and stop in front of him. "Guards, hand me my power switch!" Loki commands. One of the aliens grabs the controller and hands it to him; Loki smiles. "Now get ready boys, cause someone's about to be on red alert," Loki snarls, pressing the big red button that is located on the top of the remote. A siren sounds from the gates of Strangetown, drowning out all signs of life around them.

"Looks like things at Sim State are about to get more interesting," Loki shouts, raising his head up towards the clouds, "BWAHAHAHA!"

Meanwhile: In the Ole Town Woods

Tank and Isabella are walking out of the park both carrying bags of supplies. Isabella turns to Tank, holding a rather large camera in her arms. "Thanks for helping me take some pictures of the park, Tank," Isabella says, beaming as they pass the entrance of the woods.

Tank nods. "No problem," he replies, adjusting the bag in his hands, "It was surprisingly fun for a class that I have absolutely no interest in taking."

"Gee thanks," Isabella adds sarcastically.

"Oh, you know what I mean," Tank explains, the pair stopping at the fork in the round. Tank turns to Isabella, giving his watch a quick glance before looking back up at her. "Well I should probably get going, I don't want to be late to turn my psychology project in. See you later, Izzy!"

"Bye!" Isabella chimes, watching as Tank takes off down the dirt path and out of sight. Isabella places her camera down and sighs, the long path home seeming endless.

"Well I better start walking if I want to get there by sundown," Isabella says, picking up her camera and holding it in her arms. She continues walking down the path, the sounds of nature growing silent around her. Isabella stops for a moment, taking it all in. "That's funny, I wonder where all the wildlife is," she wonders, "This trail is usually filled with bunnies."

All of a sudden a shiny reflection of light appears on the ground in front of her, catching Isabella's eye. Intrigued, Isabella follows it, the light stopping short of a cornfield. "Huh, I don't remember this being here," Isabella states, stopping in front of the rather large cornstalks. "Maybe I should take a closer look, after all, I'm sure there's a lot of neat things to take pictures of."

Isabella slowly moves the cornstalks aside, pushing her way deep into the field. She keeps moving further and further into the cornstalks when- "Oww!" Isabella cries, rubbing the side of her head in pain. She looks up only to find a gigantic wall belonging to that of a factory mounted in front of her. "Now how come I never noticed this before?"

Curious – perhaps too much for her own good – Isabella sets down her camera, and latches onto a nearby window. She attempts to peer inside, but the window is too dirty for her to see anything. Isabella scans the area, unsure of what to do, her hand trembling on the windowsill. "Nothing good was ever accomplished by playing it safe, right? Right?" she asks the cricket that is sitting on the ledge of the window next to her. It chirps and hops away, "Aww screw it, I'm going in anyway!"

Isabella opens the window and slips into the building. She quietly lands on her feet and looks around, soaking in the scenery of the rundown factory. The scenery is very drab and aligned with rows and rows of prison cells – almost all of which are empty. "This doesn't look like a factory," Isabella says, walking towards the opposite end of the room, "Everything's so run down and broken!"

"HEY EXTREME GIRL! OVER HERE!"

"Huh?" Isabella turns around and heads toward the cry. The sound of the voice leads her to a prison cell that is strategically placed towards the back of the room. Isabella looks into it, only to find all three of the Curious brothers – Pascal, Vidcund, and Lazlo – behind it's bars. Pascal is holding his watch, which is making a small light reflection on the ground in front of her. He smiles and turns to his brothers.

"See? I told you it would work!" Pascal states; Lazlo rolls his eyes.

"Yeah, it worked. But that doesn't change the fact that we're still stuck in here, genius!" Lazlo says, shaking his head at his pregnant brother.

Isabella rubs her eyes, unable to believe what she is seeing. "What are you guys doing in here? I thought you guys were in Strangetown!"

"We were in Strangetown, until Loki took over and imprisoned us here!" Vidcund speaks, his hands on a few of the cell bars, "That lying, thieving little freak! He doomed us all! In three hours this factory will explode, and we'll die with it!"

"That's horrible!" Isabella cries.

Vidcund nods, releasing a small breath from his nose, "Not as horrible as what he's going to do to your boyfriend. He's in big trouble, Isabella."

Isabella takes a step back, her hand placed gently in front of her body. "Ripp?" she squeaks.

Meanwhile: At Sim State Dormitory

"-And that's the last of it!" Ripp states, groaning as he lifts the last of the compost onto the compost pile at the back of the dorm. Johnny Smith walks over to him and smiles, seemingly impressed by Ripp's hard work.

"I'm really proud of you, Ripp, that stuff's not easy to manage," Johnny says, taking out his clipboard and making a few checkmarks on it. He reaches into the front pocket of his work apron and hands him some twenty dollar bills, "That's sixty bucks," he announces, "Not bad for a few afternoons of work."

Ripp nods, placing the money in his pocket, and gently placing down his shovel, "Yeah, not bad at all."

Johnny watches as Ripp puts away his equipment, wiping his dirty hands onto his pants. "So, why are you doing this anyway? I thought your dad actually paid for you to go to college."

"He did," Ripp reconfirms, putting on his jacket. He zips it up, "The money is for something else. Figured I might as well start investing in the future."

"-If there is a future," Johnny sighs, checking off a few more boxes on his clipboard before making his way back to the truck.

Ripp watches Johnny as he heads back towards the truck, confused out of his mind, "Now what does he mean by that?"

Meanwhile: Back at the Rundown Factory

"Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa! Back it up! I have no idea what you guys are talking about," Isabella says, still conversing with the three Curious Brothers. "What exactly happened in Strangetown?"

The three Curious brothers exchange glances with one another, Vidcund and Pascal nod to Lazlo, motioning him to start the story. "Well, it all started a year ago when Loki decided to run against Vidcund in the mayoral election. Long story short – he won."

"Wait, how did he win the election if half the town hates him?" Isabella asks, recalling how much even her own family would complain about him.

Pascal shrugs, "His arguments were surprisingly compelling."

Isabella nods, "Ah."

"First he steals my girlfriend, next he steals my town," Vidcund states, storming back and forth inside of the cell, "Unbelievable!"

The three watch Vidcund for a while before turning their attentions back to the story. "Anyway, Loki became mayor, and since things were already shaky because Olive passed away, he took over the town in no time."

"Aww, Olive passed away?" Isabella speaks up, "That's too bad."

"I'll say!" Vidcund chimes in, "If she was still alive then Loki would've been arrested for sure!"

"Anyway," Lazlo continues, giving his older brother a small glare, "When Loki came to power he put the whole town on lockdown. No one was allowed in or out of Strangetown unless granted by him. But as to not raise suspicion, he did allow teenagers to go to college, provided they came back to the city afterward to work for him," Lazlo continues, "The strange thing is, you've been banned, Tank's status is pending, and Ripp? Let's just say Loki never wants to see him again."

"But why?" Isabella asks, her voice straining a bit in fear, "Why is he after Ripp?"

All three of Curious brothers shrug, "That is something that we haven't been able to figure out, no matter how hard we try. We think it might have to do with the fact that Loki sees Ripp as a threat."

Vidcund nods, "Yeah, Loki doesn't like residents that might threaten his power. He kidnapped us and locked us in here because we're the only people left with the brains in this town to stop him!"

"But General Buzz is still there-" Isabella stops herself; the realization now hitting her, "Oh. I see what you mean."

"Yeah."

Isabella looks down at the ground, giving a heavy sigh before looking back up at them. "Well that all sounds rather terrifying, but I guess the only thing left to do right now is to get you guys out of here," Isabella says, putting her light pink backpack down and positioning her foot out towards the bars. "Stand back guys!"

The three of them step back towards the wall. "Uh, Isabella?" Vidcund speaks up, watching as she charges towards the metal, "I'm not sure that's the best idea."

Isabella runs forward, kicking her foot into the door; the bars break and fall to the floor in one swift motion, leaving nothing but a cloud of dirt above them.

Pascal, Vidcund, and Lazlo look down at the ground at the remnants of what once was the door keeping them from the outside world.

"Man, I really gotta take your grandmother's class sometime," Lazlo says, stepping out of the cell with his two brothers.

Pascal nods, gazing down at the remains as well, "Wow, she can do that, and we can't even open a jar of mayonnaise," he chimes, "What does that say about us as men?" Pascal asks, rubbing his pregnant stomach.

Vidcund turns to him and frowns, "Says the guy who's eight months pregnant!"

"Guys come on, we don't have much time!" Lazlo says, watching as Isabella places her backpack back on after cramming her camera inside, "We have to get out of here before-"

All of a sudden an alarm sounds, a voice on the intercom blaring throughout the main floor. "Alarm has been activated. Fifty seconds until doomsday."

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Isabella exclaims, pulling herself up towards the window. She climbs through, before turning back towards the others who are still trapped inside. "Okay, Pascal next, he'll be the hardest one to push!"

Vidcund and Lazlo look to each other and nod, pushing their older brother through the window, with Isabella hanging onto his hand on the other side. The other two quickly follow suit, Lazlo closing the window behind him.

"Run, guys, run!" Lazlo cries, as everyone takes off towards the cornfields, Isabella leading the way. After a few seconds of running he turns to the others, finding only Vidcund and Isabella next to him.

"Hey, where's Pascal?" he asks them.

"Oh great!" Vidcund shouts, moving his way back through the cornfield. Vidcund pulls aside a few of the stalks, finding Pascal lagging behind, "Dammit, Pascal! Could you go any slower?"

"Hey! You try running while you're pregnant!" Pascal says, slowly stepping over another cornstalk, his face sweating.

Vidcund sighs before running behind and grabbing his brother by the arm, Lazlo running back to grab the other side of him. The pair race forward, dragging their oldest brother with them. They finally reach Isabella, who is waiting for them on the dirt road.

"Come on, let's head to my place! We can talk more there!" Isabella says, leading them further down the road and towards Cassandra's dorm. An explosion sounding in the distance behind them.

Meanwhile: In the Lounge of Cassandra's Dorm

Ripp walks through the entrance of his dormitory, wiping his hands off with a towel he got from the Sim State dorm's bathroom. He sighs as he checks his mailbox, finding the latest issue of Life in Pleasantview in it. He takes it out and begins to read, "Ooh! The truth about Mortimer Goth's fortune. This'll be good," he says to himself.

"Hey Ripp, aren't you coming? They started serving dinner in the cafeteria!" Tank states, leading his brother towards the kitchen.

"Thanks, but I'm not really hungry-" Ripp begins, his face still pressed into the magazine.

"Now come on, I won't take no for an answer!" Tank says, before lowering his voice to a whisper, "Really."

Taking the hint, Ripp quickly closes up the magazine and sits down at the kitchen table. "So what are we having today?" Ripp asks, watching as Tank takes a seat down across from him.

"We're having macaroni and cheese – you know, Kea, Andrew, and I are having macaroni and cheese," Tank restates, emphasizing the word 'Andrew.'

Ripp nods, "Ah, I get now why you want me here."

"Ripp you made it! This is great! Now you can hear about what happened to that cheese I ate earlier!" Kea exclaims sitting on the seat next to Tank, seemingly excited about this rather long tale. She shakes her head in sorrow, "Some say it was never seen again."

"Uh, great," Ripp adds, sensing the awkward tension forming in the air, "Well, I'll go get us some food," he suggests, quickly getting up before anyone can change his mind.

Tank and Andrew stare at each other for a few moments, before Tank speaks up, clearing his throat. "So Andrew, how exactly do you know Kea again?" Tank asks, eyeing his girlfriend who is busy writing in her bacon shaped notebook.

Andrew smiles, his pure white teeth glowing in the light, "Oh. We used to date a while back before I transferred schools," Andrew answers Tank, taking a sip of his water, "So uh, how do you know Kea?" he asks, "Are you a friend of hers?"

"Actually I'm her fiancé," Tank says, putting a lot of emphasis on this statement, as he places his hand gently on top of hers.

Andrew looks up at Tank, seemingly unimpressed. "Wow. Good for you. I honestly never thought that would happen."

Kea perks up from her notebook. "Thought what would happen Andrew?" she asks, closing her bacon shaped notebook a bit in her other hand.

"That you would ever find anyone to replace me," Andrew says, taking yet another sip of his drink. "It's only been a few years now, hasn't it?"

Kea looks down at the ground and sighs. The happiness suddenly drained out of her, "Yeah, I guess."

Seeing this, Andrew quickly changes the subject, "So Tank, when's the J date?"

Tank scrunches his eyebrows, confused, "Excuse me?" he asks.

Brent and Breanna walk by the table, each of them holding a bowl of macaroni in their hands. "He's talking about a juice date. He's wondering when you're going to get juiced for the Elixir of Life," Brent clarifies, the pair passing by the table to head up the stairs; Breanna nods.

"Juice date?" Tank repeats, "I'm not a townie!"

Andrew looks up, seemingly surprised, a sassy smirk still apparent on his face, "Oh, you're not? Well that's a surprise. Usually premades only want to be with other premades – unless of course there's something wrong with them."

"Hey!" Tank quickly sits up from his seat; his hands pressed firmly on the table, "There is nothing wrong with me!"

Andrew looks up, rolling his eyes at him, "Says the guy who is wearing face camo."

"That's it!" Tank lunges towards him, shaking Andrew by the shoulders.

"Tank, stop! You're going to hurt someone!" Kea pleads, grabbing one of Tank's arms and attempting to pull him back.

Hearing the ruckus nearby, Ripp places down the bowls of macaroni and grabs Tank from behind. The pair managing to pull Tank off of Andrew before he does any real damage.

Andrew, now free from Tank's clutches, leans back and exhales, readjusting his tie. "Well that was uncalled for," Andrew says, standing up from his seat and turning towards his ex-girlfriend, "Kea, I'll see you later tonight. I think I should give your boyfriend some time to relearn his table manners." Tank growls.

"Alright, bye!" Kea says, watching as Andrew leaves the premises. She sighs and gently places Tank's arm down, grabbing a bowl of macaroni and cheese from Ripp who is standing nearby.

"Geez, what a jerk!" Tank says, taking a bowl of macaroni from Ripp as well. He angrily takes a bite. "The nerve of that guy talking to Kea like that! Who does he think he is?"

"Apparently he thinks he's Kea's ex-boyfriend," Ripp answers in point, watching as Isabella walks into the room and over to the front counter, grabbing three bowls of macaroni. Ripp sits up, intrigued, and walks over to her, stopping Isabella at the hall door.

"Ripp!" Isabella exclaims, clearly startled, "I didn't see you here-"

Ripp smiles, "I'm just eating dinner with Tank, Kea, and Andrew." Isabella looks at the table where her two remaining friends are and raises an eyebrow. "-Well, Tank and Kea – Tank kinda scared Andrew off."

"Now why am I not surprised?"

"Anyway," Ripp speaks up, "Uh, what's with the macaronis?"

Isabella looks down at the bowls in her hands, her forehead sweating a bit. "This? Oh uh, I'm hungry. Really, really hungry. Besides, Kea might want seconds…and thirds."

Ripp cocks his head, confused, "But Kea's over there."

"Great, see you later!" Isabella says, not skipping a beat. Isabella quickly enters into her dorm room and shuts the door, leaving a dazed boyfriend behind. She turns to the Curious brothers and nods, handing each of them a bowl of macaroni.

"Thanks, kid," Vidcund states, grabbing the bowl in his hands, "We owe you one."

Isabella smiles, "Don't worry about it. Besides, we have bigger things to worry about, like how we're going to be able to save the city, and escape total destruction at the hands of Loki Beaker," Isabella says, stopping because her ears can't believing the words that she is saying, "Man, this year got dark," she notes, "But at least Loki can't do anything to us here."

"True, he can't do anything to us if we're not in Strangetown. But at Sim State, your friend might be in trouble," Vidcund informs.

Isabella scrunches her forehead, unsure of what exactly she is hearing, "What are you talking about?"

Vidcund looks up from his macaroni, and turns to his brothers, somber expressions forming on their faces. "Don't you have a friend that's a college townie?"

"Yes, Kea's a college townie," Isabella confirms, "That doesn't matter to me."

"That may not matter to you, but that might matter to Loki," Vidcund states, shoving the last of his macaroni into his mouth.

"Loki?" Isabella squeaks once more.

All of a sudden sirens are heard all throughout the campus. Isabella quickly rushes to the window, watching as a huge trail of police cars line the roads outside their dorm. Panicked, Isabella turns away from the window and heads toward the doorway. "Be right back, I gotta see what's going on!" Isabella exclaims, rushing out of her room and into the main lounge.

Ripp, Tank, and Brent are already standing near the door, holding their ears in the hopes of saving what's left of their hearing. Isabella walks over to them, plugging her ears as well, "What's going on?"

"The campus police is looking for someone!" Brent informs her; shouting.

"Where's Kea?" Isabella asks, nudging Tank in the shoulder.

"I don't know," Tank answers, "She was here a second ago!"

Isabella nods, before racing around the first floor of the Cassandra's dorm in a panic, scanning the area for any sign of her friend. Isabella stops in her tracks, a realization hitting her right in the forehead. "Wait a minute, what am I thinking? There's only one place that Kea could possibly be."

With this, Isabella races into the kitchen and leans down behind the cabinet next to fridge, where sure enough, Kea is hiding, chewing on a piece of bacon.

"Kea!" Isabella whisper shouts; Kea grabs Isabella by the sleeve and drags her down, making sure she is hidden from view.

"Isabella!" Kea whisper shouts back, a smile spread on her face, "Careful, we don't want to get caught."

Isabella nods, as she takes a seat next to her friend, "Kea, what's going on?" she states, asking a question whose answer she was dying to know.

"They're looking for me, Izzy," Kea says, swallowing another bite of bacon. Isabella seeing a facial expression of Kea's that she had never seen before: A facial expression filled with fear. "I'm done."

"You're done?" Isabella repeats, not sure if she is in fact hearing her best friend correctly, "What do you mean 'you're done'?"

Kea signs, finishing the last of her bacon in one final bite. She swallows, "The head council is looking for me. Remember a few years ago when I told you about how the oldest townies in the school get ground up and used for the Elixir of Life?" Isabella nods, remembering that sad tale, "Well, turns out today's my day. In a few hours I'll be life juice for someone else."

"Oh no you won't! Nuh-uh, no way!" Isabella speaks up, "We'll come up with a plan to get you out of here."

"Izzy, you can't!" Kea says, gazing into her friend's eyes, "If you help me then you'll be in trouble, you'll be arrested for sure!"

"I don't care!" Isabella whisper shouts, turning towards her friend, "I'm going to help you – we're going to help you, because that's what friends do."

Kea smiles, "Man, you sure are quick to break the law."

"You have no idea," Isabella says shaking her head, reminiscing about the earlier events of that day. "Now come on, let's get the guys. I have an idea," Isabella states, leaning towards Kea's ear, lowering her voice down to a whisper.

"That's your idea?" Kea shrieks, Isabella's hand cupped around her friend's ear.

"Kea, I haven't even said anything yet!" Isabella says, pulling her head back a bit before lowering her voice down to a whisper once more.

"Oh. Sorry. Impulse," Kea answers, waiting to hear Isabella's actual plan of action. Upon hearing it, Kea smiles; pushing her fist towards her body in celebration, "Man, this is going to be better than Baconfest at Carl's Bacon Shack!"