Author's Note: Hey guys! I am so sorry about the wait. I wanted to post La Fiesta Tech Day 2 during the summer, but I injured my wrists halfway through writing it. This chapter also contains a huge spoiler from one of my other fanfictions, Twisted, so if you haven't read the ending of that fanfiction yet, I would avoid reading this one. Thanks for being so patient, I really appreciate it!
P.S. Happy birthday, to-fu! :D
The Amazing Race: Strangetown Edition
Leg One – La Fiesta Tech
Brothers – Day 2
"Alright guys, this is it. We're up next," Jasmine Rai, the Shifting Paradymes' leader and chief band member, states as she stands backstage with Gunnar and Zoe on either side of her. All three of the band members are staring intensely at their onstage competition, a young rock band called Synthesis. Behind them, Pascal and Lazlo are cowering in place, the pair shaking from head to toe.
"Oh God, I'm so nervous. I feel like we've been standing here for a year!" Pascal cries, rubbing his forearms.
Lazlo shrugs and scans the area, "Eh, I'd say more like a year and three months."
Jasmine turns to the trembling brothers and glances over their attire. "Really? That's what you're wearing to the competition?"
Pascal stares down at his classic dark gray video game shirt and shrugs. "Yeah. Why? Do you think I should've worn my maternity outfit?"
"Er…no," Zoe jumps in, "but you could've at least tried to look like a rock star."
"Ooh, okay. I get what you're saying. I gotta be cool if I want to be a part of the Sitting Pair of Dimes," he states, the main band members scrunching their foreheads at this blunder, "Goodbye glasses!" Pascal chimes, taking off his thick black frames and chucking them carelessly over his shoulder.
Lazlo taps him on the back. "Uh, you do know you need those to see, right?" Lazlo reminds his oldest brother, "Cause the last time you didn't wear your glasses, you almost kissed Vidcund."
"Yes, but then I kissed refrigerator instead, and we saved hundreds of simoleons in therapy," Pascal adds in point, "And then I-wait, where was I going with this?" Pascal asks, tapping his chin in wonder.
"Oh man, I'm so scared!" Lazlo cries, taking a step backward as the rest of the band grabs their instruments, "I can't do this! I feel like I'm going to puke!"
"Lazlo, relax," Pascal states, attempting to soothe his youngest brother but patting the stage curtain instead, "You can do this. If not for yourself, then do it for Stinky," Pascal tells him, "Oh, and if you have to puke, do it in Gunnar's guitar case."
"-I heard that!" Gunnar shouts out behind them.
"Damn it, Gunnar! Can you scream any louder?" Jasmine speaks up, rubbing the side of her forehead, "You're giving me a massive headache!" she yells, "If this messes up my rhythm, I am never speaking to you again!"
Pascal quickly steps forward, separating the pair. He turns to the blob that most resembles Jasmine Rai. "Look Jasmine, I'm not one to brag, but you're talking to a guy who's won pretty much every scientific achievement to date and a bunch of awards I wasn't even nominated for…I mean, Sexiest Angular Chin, how the hell did that happen?!" Pascal cries, stopping as a confused Jasmine attempts to follow his line of thinking, "But the point is there are more important things in life than winning, so don't piss off your only friends for a trophy and a fifty-simoleon gift certificate to Guitar Surplus."
Jasmine raises an eyebrow, "Actually, it's a hundred-simoleon gift certificate."
"Really?" Pascal's face lights up, "Then screw them!" he shouts, before letting out a small laugh, "I'm just kidding. We should probably win this thing as the Swifting Parakeets."
Five minutes later, the Shifting Paradymes are set up onstage and ready to perform, Pascal sporting his best stage smile and Lazlo still standing in the background looking like he is about to vomit.
Jasmine slowly walks forward and picks up the microphone, her deep red guitar shining. "Hello LFT! We're the Shifting Paradymes, and this is our song, 'Revolution'!" Jasmine's voice echoes throughout the auditorium. She turns to the other members and gives the starting nod.
The band begins playing their song, the music sounding halfway decent for a band that played together for the first time hours before. Jasmine looks down at the audience, most of whom are nodding along with the melody. Halfway through Gunnar's drum solo, however, the audience turns on them. "Oh no, they're booing us!" Jasmine cries to the rest of the band, unable to believe what she is hearing, "We'll be lucky if we get third!"
All of a sudden, Lazlo steps forward, a newfound sense of courage filling his body as he thinks of his old college friend, Stinky. He races over to Jasmine and snatches her microphone. Lazlo holds it up to his mouth. "Oh my name's Lazlo and this is my groove, wait until you see my killer moves!" Lazlo quickly hands Jasmine the microphone, the rest of the band completely dumbfounded behind him as Lazlo starts breakdancing in front of them.
"Woo! Yeah, Lazlo!" Pascal cheers behind him, Lazlo nods slightly, encouraging the other band members to continue the rest of the song.
Fifteen dance moves and ten freestyle verses later, the Shifting Paradymes are anxiously standing backstage waiting to hear the results.
"Well, that was the longest fifteen minutes of my life," Jasmine remarks, rubbing her forehead, "but at least we didn't totally bomb."
"Jaz, did you not hear the crowd out there?" Zoe says, approaching the band leader, "There's no way we lost-"
"Would all the bands please join us onstage?" the head judge of the Battle of the Bands announces backstage, "We are ready to announce the results," he states.
The Shifting Paradymes quickly return to the stage, Lazlo doing his best to guide Pascal around the other bands. The head judge smiles as he waits for the audience to calm down and the bands to settle behind him. "La Fiesta Technical University is proud to announce the winner of the twenty-third Battle of the Bands competition. By unanimous consensus, the winner of this year's Battle of the Bands is…the Shifting Paradymes!" he exclaims, pointing to the band in the corner.
Jasmine, Gunnar, and Zoe all scream in celebration and hug each other, while Lazlo does a congratulatory fist pump nearby. Behind the rest of the band, Pascal looks confused out of his mind. "The Shifting Paradymes?" he repeats, "Who the hell is that?!"
Acquaintances – Day 2
Death and Kristen are sitting in the garden having a casual coffee party with the three members of the Student Housing household, the group of five forming a small circle as they converse with each other about various topics, mostly involving the Grim Reaper. "So, is there any way to escape Death?" Klara asks, setting her coffee mug down on the picnic blanket so she can wipe off her glasses.
"Yeah," Blossom adds, "like if someone stole your scythe and threw it into the ocean?"
"No," Death firmly answers, "And no one's ever tried."
"So, you're indestructible," Kristen speaks up, taking a sip of her drink.
Death shrugs his shoulders. "Everyone has a weakness," he states, "Human emotion is a powerful thing that even I don't understand."
"So, what you're saying is I just need to punch you in the gut and I'll live?" William quips.
Death laughs through his nose hole and nods. "Yes," he sarcastically says.
"It sounds like you've had quite the life, especially at the University of Hawaii," Klara states, letting out a small sigh as she stares down into the grass, "I wish the people here were that driven to success."
"Don't worry, Klara," Kristen assures the college student, "There are tons of people like that in Strangetown."
Death rolls his eyes, nearly coughing up his coffee. "Please!" he chimes, "Our town is filled with wasted potential. It's only second to the monstrosity known as Pleasantview."
Kristen cocks her forehead, "What do you mean?"
"Well," Death begins, his statement immediately capturing the attention of the entire circle, "just off the top of my head, we have a woman who can have whatever she wants but chooses nothing," he begins, counting the disappointments on his boney fingers, "two sims who love each other but are too afraid to do anything about it, and another sim who could excel if they ditched their friends and family and actually lived for themselves for once."
"I'm not sure about the first two, but the last one sounds totally reasonable," Kristen comments before nonchalantly sipping her coffee.
"Say what you will, but if you ask me, Strangetown is filled with disappointments," Death says as he stands up from the circle, "But no matter, it'll all be over soon," he states, grabbing his scythe from the toolshed at the back of the house.
"Yeah…" Kristen nods, "Wait, what?!"
William stands up from the grass and turns to the others. "Hey, do you guys want to play frisbee?"
"Not now, William!" Kristen barks, the intense situation causing her stomach to drop. She walks over to the Grim Reaper, who is levitating towards the back door. "What do you mean everything's going to be over soon?" Kristen questions, her hands perched on her hips, "What exactly are you planning?"
"It's not my bidding, Kristen, I just do what the Creator tells me to do," Death replies, not even bothering to turn around, "it would be best if you didn't try to get involved," he advises, "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some coffeecakes in the microwave."
Kristen and the student trio watch as the Grim Reaper flies through the door and disappears into the kitchen. "Sometimes I wonder what's wrong with Grim," Kristen speaks into the silence.
"Me too," William seconds, "I mean, who puts coffeecakes in the microwave?"
"Look, you three seem like fairly normal college students, so let me give you some advice: Get out of here while you still can," Kristen says, "the only reason why I'm still here is because I'm legally obligated to go on this journey with the Grim Reaper," she sighs.
Blossom looks to her two housemates and shrugs her shoulders. "I don't know, Kristen," she says, "I mean, this is our house and the Grim Reaper actually seems really nice-"
A few seconds later, a high-pitched scream is heard from the house as the Grim Reaper swings his scythe at a credenza. The trio of students look back at Kristen, their eyes filled with dread. "On second thought, I think we're going to take that offer," Blossom concludes, reaching forward and giving Kristen's hand a shake, "Good luck, Kristen!"
"Thanks," she mutters.
Kristen sighs as watches Blossom, William, and Klara race across the desert campus. She dusts her hands off and stares into the distance. "Well, there's a trio of friends if I've ever seen one," Kristen states, as the Grim Reaper levitates over and mirrors her stance.
"I'll say!" Death nods, shoving a warm coffeecake into his mouth hole, "Nothing brings people together more effectively than fear."
Sister-in-Laws – Day 2
Circe groans and rubs her aching forehead, the light from the dusty window giving her a massive headache as she wakes up the next morning on a foul-smelling dormitory couch. "Erin," Circe speaks up, nudging the young woman in the side, who is fast asleep in a worn-out pink arm chair nearby, "Erin, wake up! We still gotta get Dork and Dorkier to like each other."
"Ugh, not now," Erin moans, nudging Circe's hand away in the hopes of resuming her pleasant dream, "I'm just about to win intergalactic prom queen."
All of a sudden, a crash is heard down the hall. "Oh, you're dead, Aldric!" Almeric shouts.
Circe moans and drags herself off the couch. "Well, let's get this over with," she states, walking by the chair and pulling Erin up by the arm. "Hey!" Circe bursts into Almeric's dorm room, "What the hell is going on here?"
"I'll tell you what's going on here," Almeric screams, barely able to contain himself, "He destroyed my gift for Janet! Today was the day I was finally going to profess my love to her!"
"Listen, kid. Let me save you both some time," Circe begins, clearly having enough of this whole ordeal, "Janet doesn't give a shit about either of you! The only reason why she comes to this dormitory in the first place is because she's a paid worker!" she cries, turning towards the window, "So sit down, shut up, and quit making asses of yourselves so you two can finally learn to get along! Got it?"
Erin taps her on the shoulder, "Uh…Circe?" she states. Circe turns around only to find the room devoid of the Davis brothers.
Circe throws her hands up towards the ceiling. "Of course!" she screams.
Erin and Circe exit the room and step into the hallway, knowing there is only one place the brothers could be. Sure enough, they find Almeric and Aldric in the cafeteria, the pair crowding poor eighty-one-year-old Janet.
"Janet, I love you!" Almeric cries, kneeling in front of the cafeteria lady and holding out a bouquet of pristine roses, "Please tell me that you feel the same!"
"Almeric may say he loves you, but I love you more!" Aldric speaks up, shoving his older brother in the side, clasping his hands together, and staring up lovingly at his crush. "And I'm willing to do anything to prove it!" he cries.
Janet steps back, visibly flustered and overwhelmed by this bizarre set of confessions. "I-well…"
"Iwell!" Almeric repeats suddenly, his eyes overcrowded with hearts, "That would be a perfect name for our daughter!"
Nearby, Circe and Erin are standing in the corner looking very uncomfortable. Circe cringes, "Yeesh, this just gets creepier and creepier," she notes.
"Almeric-" Janet attempts to say.
Almeric gasps and holds the sides of his face. "She knows my name!"
Janet steps back and turns to his brother, "Aldric-"
Aldric gasps even louder than his older brother and repeats his ridiculous overreaction, "She knows my name!" he beams, completely ignoring a dapperly-dressed elderly gentleman who has just walked into the room. The gentleman waves to Janet.
"Hey Janet, are you almost ready to go?" the man states, instantly attracting the attention of the entire room.
Erin nudges Circe in the side. "Who's that?" she asks.
"I don't know," Circe replies, just happy that Almeric and Aldric have stopped talking for once and basking in their shocked silence, "Maybe he's her boyfriend," she suggests.
Erin slowly steps in front of the gentleman and leans forward, intensely looking the man in the eyes. "No, he's definitely her husband," she states after a few drawn out stares. Erin reaches down and grabs the gentleman's hand. She licks his arm and quickly pulls away, a peculiar gaze on her face as she tastes his follicles. "Yep," she concludes decisively, "he tastes like her husband."
"Yes, this man is my husband," Janet confirms, quickly stepping away from the brothers and grabbing the gentleman by the arm. She turns to Erin, "Please never lick him again."
"WHAT?!" Almeric shouts across the room, his brother appearing equally heartbroken, "JANET, HOW COULD YOU?! I THOUGHT WE HAD SOMETHING SPECIAL!"
"-You mean something delusional," Circe mutters behind him, her arms crossed.
"Come on, dear. Let's go out to dinner," the gentleman suggests, grabbing Janet by the hand and leading her away from the sobfest.
Circe and Erin watch as Almeric and Aldric fall to the floor, the pair bawling their eyes out and cradling each other as they cry over what never was. Circe turns to Erin, still quite creeped out by the entire situation as she eyes the Davis brothers crying like infants.
"Now this is just weird," she states.
Mothers – Day 2
Jenny and Olive are sitting on a wooden bench in front of the Oresha-Hoh-Var fraternity house early in the morning, waiting to hear the results of Mickey's exam on Academic Arguments. Olive sighs and turns to her teammate, growing tired of lazing in silence. "Jenny," she speaks up, "do you ever think about the future?"
Jenny tilts her forehead, surprised that Olive is so willing to start a deep conversation. "What do you mean?" she wonders.
"You know," Olive begins, staring out at the empty street in front of them, "like what's going to happen after all of your children grow up and move out of the house?"
"Well, they'll go out and live their lives and hopefully come back with grandchildren," Jenny answers, staring out at the desert.
Olive folds her hands in her lap and gives a slight chuckle. "That is such a Family sim answer," she states.
Jenny turns to Olive, unsure whether she should be offended by the old woman's comment or not. "Well, what are you going to do once Ophelia moves out?"
"Celebrate," Olive replies, "And maybe get a second boyfriend."
"You aren't happy with Death?"
"Eh, he's alright, but we both know our relationship isn't going to last," Olive responds, narrowing her eyes a bit as the sun glares down at the sand. "Do you have anyone you can set me up with?"
"Uh…" Jenny begins, tapping her chin and pretending to ponder, "I'll have to get back to you on that-"
"Hey Mom-lady and uh…the scary one," Mickey quickly greets, racing over to the pair. "I passed my Academic Arguments exam!" Mickey announces. He holds up his exam, which has the words 'Good work?' written across the top in bold, black pen. "And I owe it all to your persistent study techniques, which I hope you will never use again," he adds, taking a cautious step back away from Olive.
Jenny smiles. "Great job, Mickey! Just keep working hard and I'm sure you'll pass all your classes!"
"Oh yeah," Mickey nods, "Especially if I keep cheating off that alien kid's paper," he adds.
Jenny's face instantly falls at this comment. "Pardon?" she squeaks.
"You heard me, I passed my exam because I cheated off some loser," he laughs, waving the wrongdoing off with his hand, "I think his name was Jeffrey Smith or something stupid like that."
Olive watches as Jenny's normally-pale color drains from her face and instantly turns red, the blonde mother's fists clenched at her sides. The elderly woman slowly steps away from her, scared of someone else for the first time in her life.
"-Johnny," Jenny growls, "His name is Johnny Smith, and he is my son."
"Oooh," Mickey speaks, tilting his head back. He matches Jenny's fuming eyes and waves sheepishly at her. "So does this mean I still get a 100%? Cause I filled out all the bubbles myself," he adds.
Jenny swiftly turns on her heels and storms across the front lawn. Olive treks forward, doing her best to keep up with her teammate, but having to settle with being thirty feet behind.
Olive huffs as she arrives at a tall, tan-bricked building a few blocks across campus. She slowly opens the door and spots Jenny standing at the front desk. "Jenny, what are you doing?" Olive asks, finally regaining her composure enough to speak.
"What does it look like I'm doing?!" Jenny fires back, not even bothering to make eye contact, "I'm turning that little sneak in for cheating off my son's exam!"
"At the Student Housing Office?" Olive questions, her voice filled with doubt, "They aren't qualified to deal with this."
Jenny looks forward, a fierce look in her eyes, "They will be after I'm done with them!"
Olive sighs. "Jenny, come on, it's unfortunate that this happened, but Johnny's in college now. He can't always have Mommy fighting his battles for him," Olive tells her, "It'll mess up his psyche. I mean, just look at Loki!"
"Point taken," Jenny mutters, still focused on the task at hand.
"Jenny, Mickey's an idiot," Olive continues, "And he's not going to get anywhere in life. Trust me, he'll have his comeuppance, and your hands will be clean," she adds, "For now, let's just take this opportunity to finish this leg of the race on top."
Jenny turns to the elderly woman and sighs, knowing deep down that her words ring true. "Alright," she nods, before walking with Olive towards the exit, "But we should probably go back to the frat house and grab the mallet before someone tries to sell it on Simbay."
Roommates – Day 2
Crystal moans and scrunches her forehead, her colossal headache causing her jaw to ache as she lies in a hospital bed in her own room at La Fiesta Tech's main hospital. Nervous stands frozen in front of the whiteboard that contains all of patient's basic information as given by Pleasantview Hospital, his eyes fixated on the top line. After a few moments of dreaded silence, Nervous slowly closes his mouth and turns to his teammate. "Crystal…" Nervous speaks up, unable to control his volume, "what is this?" he shrieks, pointing up at the name written on line one.
"What is what?" Crystal wonders, before staring at the words written next to Nervous' finger. The line reads, "Crystal Beaker" in bold, black letters. "Oh no…" Crystal cries, her eyes widen in horror, "It's all coming back to me now…I married Loki!"
"WHAT?!" Nervous screams, his mouth agape once more. Crystal rubs her temples, her headache growing larger by the second. "No, no, no. That doesn't make any sense! I thought Circe was married to Loki?" Nervous cries, this situation morphing into his worst nightmare.
"No, she wasn't," Crystal speaks up, "She thought she was, but legally, he married me an hour before their wedding."
"When did this happen?!"
"Last year," Crystal answers as she struggles to wrap her head around this confession, "It was out of pity, I swear! Well…kind of," she corrects herself, "We did have a bit of a thing a couple years back, but we ended it once he 'married' Circe. The whole thing was pretty Twisted."
"But-but that still doesn't make any sense!" Nervous cries, doing his best to remain calm, "Loki's a major blabbermouth. How come he's never mentioned it before?"
Crystal sighs. "Because he doesn't remember it," she says, "After the marriage, he erased both of our memories, but then mine got restored when I got hit in the head and this whole catastrophe came back to me!" she shouts, throwing her hands up, "Oh man, this is bad. I was supposed to take this secret to the grave and now the entire neighborhood's going to go up in flames!"
"Well, it wouldn't be the first time," Nervous mutters, "But before that happens, we should probably get you out of here."
"Nervous, wait!" Crystal cries, stopping her roommate before he can help her out of bed, "Before you do this, you have to swear to me that you won't tell anyone about this," she pleads, grabbing onto his arm, "You have to keep this a secret," Crystal begs. She turns and narrows her eyes at the cameraman, "You too."
"Okay, fine," Nervous states, caving in almost immediately, "I won't say anything. But now that I know this piece of information, it does make sense why Loki let me go without a fight," he states, "I just never thought in a million years it was because he has a soft spot for you."
"Oh God, please don't say that. I feel like I'm gonna vomit," Crystal replies, holding onto her stomach. The pair look up as the doctor walks into the room.
"Perfect timing," Nervous chimes, "We'd like to check out of the hospital now."
The doctor steps forward and shakes his head, rifling over the paperwork on his clipboard. He turns to Crystal, "I'm sorry, but we can't discharge you from the hospital unless we get written consent from a spouse or family member."
"Oh," Nervous mutters as Crystal's stomach sinks at these words. "Well…uh…I'm Loki," he declares, doing a small jig in place, "Doopity doo!"
Crystal groans and facepalms. "No, he's not," she mutters to the doctor, before looking to her teammate, "And Loki doesn't say 'doopity doo'!" she hisses.
"He did once…and that's Pascal's impression of him!" Nervous whines.
"Um, yes," the doctor speaks up, still standing awkwardly in the room. "But you still can't leave the hospital without your husband's signature," he informs the pair, setting the clipboard on the end table before quietly exiting the room.
Crystal throws her hands up once again. "Damn it!" she curses, "Nervous, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're going to have to find Loki and trick him into signing the release form."
Nervous's eyes widen like saucers. "How am I supposed to do that?!" he cries.
"Oh, I don't know, just say that it's for an article for Science Magazine's most ingenious physicist signatures!" she suggests.
Nervous scrunches his forehead. "Crystal," he says dubiously, "I really don't think that's going to work."
"It will," she answers definitively, "Trust me."
…
A couple hours later, Nervous is peeking around the corner of Tri-Fruhm house's main hallway, staring into the living room, where Loki is standing front and center conversing with Monica. "Well, here goes nothing," Nervous states, giving a terrified gulp as he approaches him, every inch of his body telling him to get out while he still can. "Uh…Loki?" Nervous squeaks.
Loki abruptly turns around, appearing much more enraged than usual. "What?!" he barks as Vidcund watches their conversation nearby.
"Can you sign this thing for Science Magazine?" Nervous asks, shivering in fear as he holds out the pen and clipboard to him, "They're doing an article on the most ingenious physicist signatures and told me to get yours," he adds.
"Oh, okay," Loki shrugs, grabbing the pen and signing the paper quickly without giving it a second thought. He hands the pen back to Nervous.
"Oh, uh…thanks!" Nervous beams, swerving on his heel and racing off the premises.
Vidcund turns to Loki, his arms crossed in puzzlement. "Um, you do know Nervous doesn't work for Science Magazine, right?"
"Of course," Loki nods, flashing his signature smirk, "He obviously wanted my signature for Science World instead. Everyone knows they're the better magazine," Loki rolls his eyes, "Geez Viddy, get with the times! Just because you dress like you're eighty doesn't mean you should be stuck fifty years in the past!"
Outside, Nervous is running towards the taxi. He holds the clipboard up to his chest, his face filled with awe at how surprisingly easy it was to get Loki's signature. Nervous's mind shifts to Crystal, "Huh, maybe she does know him after all."
Friends – Day 2
Ajay and Pollination Tech #9 are standing on the second-floor of The Wasteland Lounge, the popular student hangout rather deserted at eleven in the morning. Ajay sighs as he takes a sip of his coffee, eyeing the wooden dartboard mount up across the room. "So, how are we going to help Stella make friends?" Ajay wonders, "She couldn't even look the barista in the eyes a few hours ago."
"Well, she seems to have no problem looking that young hip gentleman in the eye," Pollination Tech #9, taking a sip of his latte.
"What?!" Ajay turns to the doorway only to find Stella conversing happily with a black-haired, nicely-dressed college townie in the next room, "Who is that?" Ajay whispers.
"Chandeler Wolosenko," Pollination Tech #9 responds promptly, earning a suspicious look from his teammate, "She told me about him this morning."
Ajay sighs and turns his back to the door. "Good to know," he grumbles, attempting to hide his frown behind his steaming coffee cup.
Pollination Tech #9 smirks, nudging Ajay softly in the side. "Why don't you just admit that you like her?"
"Because I don't," Ajay hisses, "I haven't liked anyone since I was moved into the Family Bin. Remember Bridget?" he questions; Pollination shakes his head, "Well, I don't either! I think she turned into Mystery Sim a few years back…" Ajay trails off, scratching his chin in a ponder.
"Look, I've been around the beehive many times in my life, Ajay," Pollination Tech #9 says, "I know a crush when I see it."
Ajay scrunches his forehead, "Uh, I think the phrase you're looking for is around the block."
"Why would it be around the block?" Pollination Tech #9 wonders, bewildered by Ajay's simple comment, "There's just a mountain of sand there."
"That's not what I-" Ajay sighs as he locks eyes with his partner, "-Never mind."
"Hey guys!" Stella's voice chimes. Mere seconds later, the young woman joins the Strangetown residents near the dartboard, Chandler following close behind. "I would like to introduce you two to Chandler," she beams, gesturing to the college townie. Chandler smiles and gives a small wave.
"Hi, Chandler," Pollination Tech #9 speaks up, holding his hand out to shake, "I'm Pollination Technician Galaxa Drone Number 375-69, but you can just call me PT for short," he greets. Chandler slowly nods in reply, the young man appearing scared out of his mind.
"I always wondered what that stood for," Ajay mutters, not bothering to make eye contact with anyone. "Wow, what a great carpet pattern," he mutters.
"And, um, Chandler. This is Ajay," Stella says, gesturing towards the disinterested individual.
"Hello, Ajay," Chandler states, waving to the sim. Ajay sighs and crumples his empty coffee cup up before chucking the remains over his shoulder.
"I need some water," Ajay announces. He stands up in his seat and treks down the staircase, leaving Pollination Tech #9 to deal with the awkward situation.
Stella turns to the side, mouth agape, stunned by Ajay's behavior. "Um, I'll be right back," she states.
Stella races down the staircase, meeting Ajay who has just come out of the bathroom. "So, what do you think?" she wonders, her abruptness catching Ajay by surprise, "Do you like him?"
"No," Ajay replies bluntly, "He's too bland."
"You didn't even talk to him," Stella says, her head tilted in confusion, "Come on, Ajay. Just give him a chance, I'm trying to make friends here. You know this isn't easy for me. I need your help," she confides as Ajay rolls his eyes up at the ceiling. "Wasn't that the whole point of you guys coming to my house in the first place?"
Ajay nods, "It was."
"So, what's the problem?"
Ajay scans Stella over, the sincerity in Stella's face causing his stomach to drop. "Nothing," Ajay gulps, suddenly feeling quite self-conscious around her, "Nothing at all," he caves, staring down at her, "I'm sorry. I promise I'll be nice to Stephen McAlley. It's just-I don't know, I'm getting a bad feeling from this guy."
"That's the third time you've said this today, Ajay," Stella sighs, crossing her arms over her torso, "I think I know what's really going on here."
"You do?" Ajay gasps, butterflies fluttering in his stomach as the color drains from his face.
"Yeah," Stella nods, "You've been in the Family Bin for so long, you've closed yourself off to relationships," she reveals, the color returning to Ajay's face at this revelation, "Maybe you need to learn to actually let people in. That's the only way you'll ever make friends."
"I don't want to make friends," Ajay remarks, not even bothering to think over these words. Stella steps back, seemingly struck by his comment. Her face falling instantly.
"Oh."
"I mean…not that I didn't want to meet you," Ajay stutters, frantically waving his arms in front of his chest, "but I just don't usually like interacting with other people…"
"No, no I get it," Stella answers, her eyes trailing to the carpet, "No need to elaborate," she claims as she steps back towards the entrance doorway, "I'll just head home." Stella stops and turns to Pollination Tech #9 who has just joined his teammate near the bathroom door, "It was nice meeting you guys," she mutters, Pollination Tech #9 tilting his head as he watches Stella give a small, disheartening wave and exit out the door.
Pollination Tech #9 turns to Ajay, who appears equally crushed by the encounter. "What happened between you two?"
Ajay sighs, "I really don't want to talk about it," he says, pacing towards the opposite end of the hallway. He throws his arms out in distress and curses up at the ceiling, "Damn it! I'm such an idiot!" he cries, "I knew I shouldn't have left the Family Bin."
Lovers – Day 2
"Arghuhh," Loki groans as he flops onto his back, the light from the living room blaring into his eyes, giving the mad scientist a massive headache. He slowly sits up on the floor, his torso stained with dried vomit. "Oh God," Loki moans, holding his hand up to his pounding forehead, the room in complete disarray around him, "I don't remember anything. – Damn it!" he cries, pounding his fist down on the crumb-filled carpet, "Why do I keep getting drugged on these shows?!"
Loki sighs as he gazes around the room, his eyes finally adjusting to the newfound light. "Now where's my dork?" he wonders, stopping when he spies a blonde turned away from him sprawled out next to the pineapple. "Hey sexy," Loki coos, reaching out to the individual. He turns the sim over, locking eyes with a townie with askew hair. "Oh God! No, that's not him!" Loki blurts, quickly letting go of the sim and bolting out of the living room.
Loki walks up the staircase and steps into the second-floor hallway, where, sure enough, Vidcund is sprawled out in front of the bathroom. Vidcund is dressed in his everyday attire, minus his classic white pants. "Ah, there you are," Loki speaks, Vidcund moans when Loki hugs him from behind. "Aw, come on. There's no need to be upset. You're still the cutest one here…besides me, of course," he whispers, before staring down at Vidcund's midsection and glancing at his boyfriend's melon boxers, "Uh…where the hell are your pants?"
"You took them and threw them in the toilet," Vidcund moans, blocking the light with his hands.
Loki laughs, "Yeah, that does sound like me," he nods, "Now grab them and come on, we got to figure out if we accomplished that DJ's goal."
…
A few hours later, Vidcund and Loki are standing in the center of Tri-Fruhm's living room waiting as DJ tallies up the amount of new pledges the sorority received the previous night, Vidcund wearing his full everyday outfit. Nearby, Jessie and Sarah are sitting on the couch glaring at the two men, a bite taken out of their new piece of luxury furniture.
"Oh my God!" Monica blares out from the kitchen, she walks into the room carrying a box of cereal, "Someone vomited in my Cookie Squares!"
"Consider that a blessing, kid. Those things are like five thousand calories a bowl," Loki mutters, earning a glare from the art student. Monica turns on her heels and stomps out of the room, passing by Nervous Subject, who is shaking as he approaches his tormentor.
"Hey…Loki?" Nervous squeaks.
…
"Well, I honestly can't believe it, but your idea actually worked," DJ states after the test subject has departed, turning her clipboard around and flipping through the pages, "We gained twenty new members, which means we're now officially the most popular Greek house on campus!"
"YES!" Jessie beams, jumping up from the couch and giving a squeal, "Take that, Oresha-Hoh-Var!"
"Congratulations, DJ, you really worked overtime," Loki replies as DJ holds a copy of the list of pledges out to him. DJ scrunches her forehead.
"Uh, Loki. She's not a DJ, that's just her nickname. She's a member of this sorority," Vidcund clarifies.
"Psh, yeah right," Loki replies, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a fifty, "Here you go."
DJ stares down at the bill, "Uh…what?"
"Just take the money and run," Vidcund suggests, trying to cease his second-hand embarrassment. His stomach starts to rumble.
DJ shrugs and pockets the simoleons as Loki stops in the center of the room and gathers the rest of the girls. "Well, I know we severely trashed your place, but at least we had fun, right?"
Monica folds her arms, shooting the mad scientist a death glare with the rest of her sisters. "Never come back here again!" she shouts.
"Okay," Loki nods after taking a long look at the destruction, "Fair enough. Well, we better get out of here before sundown."
DJ steps forward, glancing down at her watch wondrously. "Uh…you guys do know that sundown was twenty minutes ago, right?"
"WHAT?!" Loki cries, "Shit! We're late! Come on, Viddy!" Loki shouts, grabbing Vidcund by the arm. He quickly snatches the list of the pledges from DJ before racing out the backdoor. "Bye DJ! I'll call you if I need you for a party!"
DJ cocks her forehead as she watches the strange men run past their swimming pool, "Uh…okay," she states.
…
"Damn it! How could you let me be so irresponsible? We're probably going to get canned for this!" Loki shouts as he and Vidcund race across La Fiesta Tech's campus.
"Hey, don't you try to pin this on me! It was your idea to throw a party in the first place!" Vidcund says between breaths, doing his best to keep up with Loki in his sluggish state.
Meanwhile, across campus, the Unsavory Charlatan is standing at the finish line mat in the center of the pit stop, waiting for the last three teams to arrive. Behind him, the eldest arrivals, Nervous and Crystal are staring at each other in astonishment.
"Man, I can't believe we finished first, I thought we were cutting it close," Crystal comments.
Nervous nods, "Me too. We even won a free bucket of chicken wings!" he replies, staring down at the bucket of chicken in his hands before locking eyes with Jenny and Olive a few feet away from them, "Hi, Mom! Hi, Jenny!"
The Unsavory Charlatan anxiously rubs his hands together, still waiting for the brothers, friends, and lovers teams to arrive. He turns his back to the campus as two sets of footsteps stomp up behind him. "Please don't be Pascal, please don't be Pascal," he mutters.
"Hey Chet! How's it going?" Pascal chimes out behind the host, causing the Unsavory Charlatan to scream and jump in the air.
The Unsavory Charlatan quickly turns around only to find an overly-enthusiastic Pascal standing behind him, carrying a gigantic trophy which reads, 'Battle of the Bands Winner.'
"I still think you should've left that with the Shifting Paradymes," Lazlo says.
Pascal cocks his eyebrow, "Who?"
The Unsavory Charlatan groans. "Well, you guys obviously won the competition, so just stand over there and get out of my sight!"
"Aww!" Pascal beams, embracing the trophy in his arms, "He still likes me!" he sings as they take their positions next to the other teams. The Unsavory Charlatan rubs his temple and pulls yet another aspirin out of his pocket.
Moments later, Ajay and Pollination Tech #9 arrive at the finish line, the pair looking surprisingly down. "I know we aren't the last team to finish," Ajay begins with a sigh, "but Stella didn't make one friend in the last two days."
"You're joking, right?" the Unsavory Charlatan replies, staring at the resident in wonder, "She just called the show twenty minutes ago. She wouldn't shut up about you, and she surprisingly had nothing but nice things to say. I think you guys both left an impression," he reveals, "Now get back there with the other finishers." Ajay and Pollination Tech #9 nod and head towards the other teams.
"Huh," Ajay states, touched by the gesture as the butterflies return to his stomach, "Who would've guessed?" he asks, suddenly feeling more and more guilty with each step. Ajay sighs as he takes his position next to Pollination Tech #9.
Fifteen minutes later, Vidcund and Loki arrive at the pit stop, both members looking utterly exhausted. The Unsavory Charlatan shakes his head and tisks. "Vidcund, Loki, you two are the last to arrive at the pit stop…"
"Hurrah," Loki sarcastically states as Vidcund crouches down on the ground next to him. Behind them, all of the other sims look disappointed, except Circe who is beaming from head to toe.
"…but unfortunately, this is not an elimination leg."
"It's not?" Loki cries, instantly perking up at this news. Circe frowns.
"Oh thank God!" Vidcund states, standing up and wiping some sweat from his forehead, "Wait, what do you mean unfortunately?"
The Unsavory Charlatan crosses his arms, sporting a sassy smirk, "Hey, I stand by what I said," he states, "But because you two finished in last place, you will be penalized in the next leg of the race."
Vidcund nods, suddenly feeling quite overheated. He quickly snatches the list of pledges from Loki and fans himself with the paper.
Kristen watches as Vidcund and Loki join the rest of the teams behind the mat, noticing the Grim Reaper intently eyeing the latter contestant as he stops beside Crystal. The Grim Reaper grips his scythe, slowly and discreetly floating towards the sim. "Well," Loki speaks up, "at least I can finally rest for a minute-"
Kristen races forward and tackles Loki to the ground, causing Death to miss his strike completely. Jenny screams, runs over to Pollination Tech #9 and grabs his hand, moving her husband further away from the NPC.
Loki groans from the ground, his arms sprawled over his head as Kristen continues to sit on top of him. "Oh God," he moans, too tired to stand, "I can't feel my legs."
"Kristen!" The Grim Reaper barks. He floats over to his teammate, irritation laced in his voice, "You read the scroll, didn't you?"
Kristen sweat drops, nervously rubbing the back of her head. "I uh…maybe had a glance at it," she states.
"Well, I hope you're happy cause that one little action just messed up my entire plan!"
"Yeah…about that," Kristen begins, slowly stepping off of Loki, "I'm not sure if I support that plan."
"You may think that you shouldn't support this one, but trust me, you haven't seen the alternative yet," the Grim Reaper reveals, the residents frozen in shock around him, "But…no matter. I can just kill him now!" the Grim Reaper turns his attention back to Loki, raising his scythe in the air. Vidcund quickly steps to the side and stands in front of his boyfriend, blocking the Grim Reaper's path. "Damn it, Vidcund! Get away from him!" Vidcund shakes his head no, too terrified to even speak, "You're making this harder than it needs to be!"
"Oh well. Life goes on," Circe remarks, bored by the whole situation, "Come on, Death. Just kill Loki and save everyone some trouble!"
Loki turns and glares at his ex-wife, "Thanks, Circe," he mutters.
All of a sudden, the Grim Reaper moves back, seemingly struck with shock as he shifts his gaze between Circe and Loki. After a few moments, he shrugs and floats away from the lovers team, his bones filling with discomfort as his head starts to ache.
"Well, now that that whole debacle is over, I can finally tell all of you where we'll be travelling next," the Unsavory Charlatan announces, clapping his hands together. Vidcund helps Loki off the sand and joins the rest of the teams in the circle.
A few feet back, the Grim Reaper groans, the severity of his headache only growing worse as he stands near the Strangetown residents. The Grim Reaper looks up, trying to pinpoint the source of his discomfort. He floats forward, his head throbbing in pain as he stops behind Circe, who is standing between Erin and Vidcund. "No…" Death whispers.
Ten feet away from his father, Nervous is standing next to Crystal, doing his best to pay attention to the rambling host. Nervous gulps as he anxiously stands between Loki and Crystal, the test subject's glance awkwardly alternating between the pair, never feeling more uncomfortable in his life.
"…Get ready folks," the Unsavory Charlatan continues, "cause next week things are about to go Shakespeare!"
"Lord Wright, save us now," Loki mutters, rolling his eyes up at the sky.
"That's right!" the Unsavory Charlatan declares, pointing in the scientist's face, "Pack your bags, everyone. We're going to Veronaville!"
