“*pant* *pant* *wheeze* I think… that’s the last of the boxes.”
“And now we gotta move these into the right rooms and unpack!”
“Oh dear watcher… I hate moving.”
“Hey, you did a great job! Why don’t you make your way upstairs? I’ll take care of the rest until you’re refreshed.”
“You’re the best, Max.”
“Heeeyyy, Ripp! Sorry we’re late! It took a while to convince the wife and hubby we weren’t the only ones, er, three.”
“Don’t worry about it. You just missed Phi, though, you’ll have to meet her on one of her days off. Johnny’s home, though.”
“So you must be Candy?”
“Well, speak of the devil!”
“Heeeeyyyy!”
“Woah! You snuck up on me!”
“Whoopsies! Sorry; yet another side effect of my fave energy drink. I’m Sapphire, Candy’s favorite wife!”
“And this one is?”
“Zack! Candy’s favorite husband! Sapph and I used to be her roadies, but after a crazy night at the LuLu Lounge and some self exploration, we decided to get married! That doesn’t mean we’re fully settled down, though. We’ve got too many glowsticks to waste!”
“Well if it isn’t mister permaplat party guest for hire! Congrats!”
“What’s the job like, Ripp?”
“So far? Amazing! You won’t believe who was DJ-ing! This chick who’s been around the world and still carries on with a cute Windenburg accent!”
“Heh, if I didn’t know better, I’d suspect you were thinking of sleeping with her.”
“Oh, please, Johnny. Even I know six is a crowd!”
“What do you mean ‘six?’”
“So, Cait, what do you want for your birthday?”
“Hmmm… I want three boyfriends and a puppy!”
“That sounds a little tricky. How about something… smaller?”
“A ticket to see SuperKids 2?”
“That sounds doable.”
“Angie, I think we need a break from all this Renee stuff. It’s too much stress on you.”
“I really wish I could, but taking my mind off it won’t make anything better, would it?”
“Why not? We were teenagers once, too. Maybe she’ll grow out of it, like you grew out of your beef with your sister and I stopped helping the local burglars.”
“Dustin, we can’t just compare our child’s struggles to your past life of crime! I don’t think this is some kind of phase. This could be serious!”
“I’m not saying that, I’m just… I just want things to become alright.”
“I think, maybe, we ought to just take it one step at a time.”
“Yeah, one step at a time sounds good.”
“Sweetie?”
“Yeah?”
“I think I found our distraction.”
“Renee, honey, I am so, so sorry. It was wrong of me to make such a rash decision for you when you’re well on your way to being an adult.”
“Mom, it’s okay, really. Sorry I yelled at you a lot lately. I won’t go out for a week.”
“You’re not grounded, hon. I was actually thinking you’d benefit from having someone who has, um, similar concerns to yours.”
“Huh? Like who?”
“Mom, change of plans. We’re not enrolling Renee in the Jacoban Girls Academy.”
“What? Why not? Did she talk to those Peteran crazies again? Or those very friendly fellows who go door to door?”
“No, mom. I don’t… I don’t think she wants to be a girl.”
“What do you mean? Is Aunt Flo in town? Tell her she’ll hit menopause before she knows it!”
“No, no, mom. I think she might actually want to be a boy.”
“Like Cait’s classmate’s father?”
“That’s it! I’ll talk to Mr. Thomas. He’ll know something.”
“Alright, but I want to ask you a favor.”
“Yeah?”
“No matter what, she… or he is your daughter… or son! You need to love her- or him unconditionally. I learned a lot when your sister ran away from home; I don’t want that lesson to hit you the way it hit me.”
“Yeah… Thanks, mom.”
“Shit. I really, really fucked up. Now mom’s gonna tell that school that I’m a freak. Why do I ruin everything with my big, fat mouth?”
“Renee! The Jacoban Girls Academy forbids short hair! You’ll be expelled and admission was very expensive! It took forever to get your father on board and here you are disrespecting us!”
“Well, maybe I didn’t want to go to this stupid school! Did you ever think about that?”
“But it’s something you need! You’re depressed because you’re unpopular, and Sister Agnes’s program can help with that!”
“I don’t give a flying fig about being popular!”
“Then what do you want in your life so badly? Money? A boyfriend? Better grades?”
“I want a penis, mom!”
“Okay, I’m gonna tell you something that’s kinda really weird and probably impossible. Can I trust you not to tell anyone? Not even mom or dad or Phoebe or even Connor and Charlie’s dog, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah! You asked me not to tell, like, five bazillion times on the way here! Are you smoking? My teacher said to tell mom and dad if you’re smoking!”
“No, no. I just really kinda really really really wish I could be, uh, a boy. Like more than I’ve ever wished for anything before! I think about walking through the halls at school being such a cool guy and everyone likes me and it’s the greatest thing.”
“Wow, you’re weird. I don’t think even Santa can grant that kind of wish. You were right, I think that is impossible.”
“Way to lift my spirits, Cait.”
The Sims of San Myshuno 