“Who are you and what did you do with my sister?”

“I just cut my hair, silly, but I have a favor to ask.”

“Yeah?”

“Can I tell you something in my room?”

“Is this some kind of sick joke, mom?”

“Relax, hon. It’s only for the summer.”

“I don’t care if it’s ‘only for the summer’! I look uglier than before!”

“The Jacoban Girls Academy’s uniform is what all the other girls will be wearing. Not just you.”

“I’m not going to this stupid Jacoban summer school, especially if I’m going to be surrounded by girls who’ll make fun of how ugly I am!”

“Renee, you keep saying you’re ugly, but if you’d just take care of yourself, maybe we wouldn’t need to do this! Now tell me, what do you think is ugly about you?”

“Just… Just everything! Now leave me alone!”

“… What the hell is wrong with me?”

“Renee? Honey? Are you in there?”

“I’m doing my summer book report, mom!”

“Okay, I left something by the door for you to try on. I think you’ll like it!”

…

“Oh my Watcher, I look horrible in this.”

“I think I’m gonna be sick!”

“Yep. I’m so ugly just looking at myself makes me sick. Isn’t that just perfect?”

“Honey, I’m worried about Renee. Her first year of high school has just been a complete disaster: She never looks happy, she doesn’t care at all about her appearance, I have to fight tooth and nail just to get her to wash her hair! Kids make fun of her, honey. They’re merciless at this age.”

“I think, maybe, we should pull her out of public school and maybe send her to a Jacoban Girls Academy like my mother went to. They have programs for troubled girls and I really feel like it could help her.”

“Angie, Renee is fine. She doesn’t need some uptight, snobby Jacoban indoctrination prison to succeed.”

“Then what about therapy?”

“That’s an even worse idea! They’ll put her on drugs or send her away! There is nothing wrong with our daughter!”

“We both heard her crying last night, honey. We need to do something!”

“You know what? I’d rather not discuss this further.”

“Ugh! Dustin!”

“Oh my Watcher, Renee! You didn’t tell me you were auditioning for the Summer musical!”

“Oh, nah. I’m just returning these books before they fine me. I hate musicals, anyway, I’m always an extra and everyone makes fun of me.”

“Aw, really? We’re competing with San Myshuno Prep for a spot at the Sim State Thespian Festival this year. Though, I don’t think we have to worry, much. The girl with her eyes on the lead, Isabelle Worthington, read her audition piece and ohmigosh she is a haaaam.”

“Yeah, heh, that’s my cousin for you.”

“She’s your cousin? No way! You poor thing.”

“Well, I mean, she’s okay, but lately you’re all she talks about so, uh, I’d be cautious if I were you.”

“She likes me? I can’t believe it. A rich, popular girl likes me and she is not my type, like, at all. Talk about the media setting impossible standards!”

“I know the feeling. I tried looking at those teen girl magazines hoping they were right and I’d like them after becoming a teen? Didn’t happen. I hate them even more. By the way, uh… What is your type?”

“Ya know, uh, to be honest, I don’t even really know.”

“Hey who’s that poor cutie sitting all by himself?”

“Especially on such a nice day. Someone that hot ought to be swimming!”

“Heeeyyy! I’m Isabelle! I saw you sitting all by yourself, like, what’s the deal with that?”

“Oh, hi Isabelle. My name’s Connor. I wanted to go swimming later, but I really like mahjong, I couldn’t pass it up.”

“Well, um, how about we go swimming together. You’re too cute to melt in the sun!”

“Ohmigosh really? I’ve never been invited to swim before. I think that’d be fun!”

‘I swear to the Watcher he’s even cuter from this angle.’

“That was a really fun swim. You know, I don’t think I’ve seen you at school before? Did you just move here?”

“Oh, no. I just go to private school. Like, everyone on my daddy’s side went there.”

“Oh, that’s too bad we won’t see each other after summer vacation, but how about we hang out sometime?”

“For realsies?”

“Yeah! For, uh, realsies.”

Out of the Box – Tank & Lucy

“Lucy, the carpool’s late so I came up to get my-”

“Eek! Lucy? Are these… Are these yours?”

“What do you think?” Lucy raised a brow before gesturing to her pregnant belly.

“Oh, right. Pregnant.” With a nervous laugh, Tank was slightly relieved, but his question still remained. “Then whose are they? Cadette isn’t old enough to-”

“Honey, Cadette’s a teenager now. This is just one of the many changes we’ll have to face together. Luckily, it hasn’t started yet, to my knowledge, I just kept them in the room to save a last minute trip.”

“But time doesn’t go this fast! Yesterday she was our little girl, now she’s going to enter womanhood any day now-… Wait… Do aliens, you know… bleed?”

“That…” Lucy bit her lip, unsure what to answer. “That, I really don’t know.”

“Woah! Jessica, you were right! This SimCity does have very, how you said, fancy food.”

“Wait… You think these burgers are fancy? Honey, once Ms. Bennett lets me leave the recovery center, I’m taking you to Londoste downtown.”

“Lilly, darling. I believe we both know I’m getting old and running out of time.”

“Daddy, don’t say that.”

“But I must, and therefore I have one last request.”

“What’s that?”

“Since Luther wants little to nothing to do with us or our family, I humbly ask of you to bear me a son.”

(a continuation of this)

“Hey, you feeling any better?”

“I will be happy if I never see another cat ever again in my life.”

“You say that every time. Uh, what’s with the cloth?”

“Oh, it was on my face, but once its work finished, I moved it up on my head so I could see. My mom used to do that all the time for me and my older brother when I was a kid.”

“Your brother gets like this too?”

“Heh, yeah. It’s from my dad, apparently, just like the inability to grow a beard. Don’t you have something than runs in your family like that?”

“Hm, I never really thought about that. I mean, from my mother’s side, most of us have double-jointed thumbs. Well, except Lillian, and she’s not too happy about that. Uh, we also share a fondness for imported chocolates.”

“Wow, you rich people sure are boring!”

“Well, what am I supposed to mention? Acne only showing up on our backs and never the face during those awkward teenage years?”

“Haha, really? Now that’s the weird inherited stuff I was looking for.”

“I didn’t know it was all too different from anyone else’s.”

“Well, y’know *yawn* unique genetic chemical thingies. High school *yawn* biology stuff.”

“Antihistamine finally kicking in?”

“’Mmmmyeah. Think so.”

“I’ll go put Francesca to bed, then. Good night, Beau.”

“G’night, babe.”