So yeah, things happen that are not in line with what I have thought, but that's just how it is. Do my sims care? Nope! They live their own lives as they darn well please, and that's probably excactly how it should be! ;)
Also, there will be a couple more kids that will age up to teenagers soon. That is Ranveigs youngest son Robert Bråge, and Lise Veronicas cousin Bjørn-Yngve. They will both get their own birthday updates a little later.
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Some days have passed now since Lise Veronicas birthday, but it's still fresh in her memory. Aging up is such a strange thing..
"All of a sudden my body just got a lot bigger and more difficult to handle.. Just the other day I was having a glass of milk with my breakfast, but when I tried to grab it, it wasn't where I thought it was, so I tipped it over instead spilling all the milk all over the table.. and then I did trip over my own feet a few times to when running for school from the schoolbus. That was just so embarassing, I hope nobody saw it happening! I thought I heard someone laughing, so I just wished I could disappear then into a black hole or something, but then the bell rang, and I know mom would get angry with me if she figured out I was skipping school, so I had to go..."
In the room next to Lise Veronicas, her parents Monica and Ivar got a rude awakening as their little boy Thomas woke up and was feeling hungry... Kids, they grow up so fast. Just in less than a years time it will be his turn to age up and start school for the first time, but for now he is very much dependent on mommy and daddy for most things...
Daddy grumpily takes him downstairs to feed him in the baby high chair, before he gets an idea..
"I think it's time to test the sound quality of the stereo I gave her for her birthday.. you know, just to see how good it is.. can't listen to music on a sub-par stereo!"
"Good morning, Lise Veronica! Time to wake up!"
Yeah, right.. test the sound quality of the stereo huh? That's what I call a jerk move!
"...what? What's going on? Why is the stereo on now? I thought I turned it off before going to bed.."
..and her father? Well, after waking up his daughter, he just went back to bed.. atleast now he knows she'll wake up in time for school..
..and have someone that can go downstairs and care for Thomas. Monica could have done it too, but she's up on the balcony honing her logic skills playing chess before going to work. :P
Waking up a lot earlier than necessary, Lise Veronica had plenty of time to eat breakfast and play video games before she stopped to think..
"..of course! It was dad.. who else could it have been? But I'll get back at him, later.. after school, and uh.. after we've been to the doctor with my aunt. My mom says my aunt wants us to go there, and I think it has something to do with.. sometimes I have been hearing these creepy things, like someone is whispering to me. I couldn't make out what they were saying, and I wasn't sure where it came from, but it looked like nobody else heard it but me.
It was scary, but mom says that if we go to the doctor, the doctor can make them go away. I hope so, because I really don't like hearing it. And then I'll get back at dad for what he did! I'll so get back at him!"
A little later, after sleeping in, Ivar wakes up to take Thomas to the park. Now, since their kids are growing up, Ivar and Monica have figured it's time to expand the house. As soon as Thomas gets of school age, he can't sleep in their bedroom anymore, so the house needs an extra room. Because there isn't much room left on their lot, the only way to expand the house is upwards, so they've hired a contractor to build another room on top of the house.
This new room will be Lise Veronicas room, and Thomas will get the room she is currently having. Monicas garden had to temporarily give way to the scaffolding next to the house. It's going to be a lot of work, they're essentially going to have to tear down the roof, build another staircase and a floor, before rebuilding the roof on top of that again, but they're sure it's going to be worth it and that Lise Veronica will enjoy having her own room with a view on top of the house. ;)
Ivar wanted to go to the park to find another sim to jam with, but of course, almost as soon as he gets out his guitar and starts playing, a very local hailstorm shows up, so he picks up Thomas and heads back home again.. guess we'll have to jam in the park another day...
Monica has advanced far enough in her career to have pretty short workdays, so she gets home from work shortly thereafter. She also got a pay rise, and thought it was time for them to upgrade to a better tv, one that cost atleast 500 simoleons..
Lise Veronica returns from school, and they talk for a while about her birthday party and gardening, while waiting for Ranveig to show up. Ivar tests out how the new tv performs while using the video game system.
Coincidentally Lise Veronica gets phoned by Margrethe, which is the daughter of the doctor they are just heading to. Margrethe is learning from her mom, so their conversation seems to revolve around the importance of taking your medicine to stay well.
Ranveig arrives while Lise Veronica is still on the phone. Ranveig talks a bit about her journalism career and how she just finished a course in photography paid by her job, before they get to the reason for her visit and it's time to go..
While they are at the doctors waiting room, Ranveig wants to make Lise Veronica feel at ease in this situation, so she talks to her about topics she thinks she would be thinking about, such as skipping school..
If Monica heard that she wouldn't enjoy it, that her sister might appear to encourage her daughter to skip school, but Monica is more concerned about something else..
"That plant on the table.. I don't like that plant, it's wire tapped! It's the government.. They're listening to us right now, and they're talking to us through these plants. They're talking and they're listening to us, they can hear everything we say and everything we think, and then they're going to take over the world.. That plant is cooperating with the government, they're manipulating us and they'll put us all in jail to take over the world and turn everyone into walking plantsims.."
After just a few minutes of waiting, the doctor comes out and calls them into her office.
Monica staring out the window and thinking: "..the trees. They're in the trees too. I can hear the trees whisper, and they're all listening to to us. They want to control our minds, but I don't want to be controlled to become a plant, and I don't..."
Ranveig: It's time to go Monica, the doctor just came out...
Monica: But the trees, Ranveig! Can't you hear the trees, and the plants! They're whispering to us..
Ranveig: Monica! You know that's not real! We have to go now...
Lise Veronica: Mom scares me.. what is she saying??
Ranveig: I uh.. I don't know.. are you coming Monica?
Monica: Yes, yes, but not so loud, they can hear us..
Ranveig: Just come...
Monica eventually snaps out of it, and follows them to the doctors office. She wants to get rid of it too. She doesn't want to have to believe that she's being listened to by government controlled plants. She's aware of how far out that sounds, and she doesn't want to act like she sometimes do, but from time to time these thoughts and voices get so invasive it becomes a real struggle to keep them seperate from what is actually real...
Inside the doctors office the conversation starts off easy, with the doctor just engaging in simple conversation to get to know her new clients a little better. What they do for a living, and just in general, what their everyday life is like. Of course, since Sunset Valley is such a small town, the doctor, whose real name is Pia Holm.-Fredriksen, knows Ranveig from before, as she is married to Ranveigs ex and Oliver Freddys father...
The doctor, or Pia, employs the same tactic as Ranveig did earlier, to make Lise Veronica feel welcomed and relaxed. She has a teenage daughter of her own at home (Margrethe), so she knows that teenagers aren't always happy to go to school. She's not encouraging skipping school, though, as a doctor, she knows she can't do that. Lise Veronica eagerly talks about how she just went shopping for new clothes, and is happy to show the doctor the dress she is wearing. She thinks it's the prettiest dress she has ever owned. It's much prettier than the clothes mom and dad bought for her, because they were almost the excact clothes as her cousin, and she couldn't go to school wearing a similar outfit as someone else! What would the others think! No way!
Then Pia – the doctor – turns to Ranveig again, to get serious and get to the main point of their visit – the treatment. She says it's going to consist of them taking medicine – antipsychotics – as well as cognitive behavioural therapy, and that it will releave them of their hallucinations and cognitive distortions. Ranveig accepts this almost immediately, whatever it takes to get better, but Monica is more skeptical and goes on the defensive.
She demands to know the price tag of all this, as well as a full and exhaustive list of all possible side effects. She's not gonna be swallowing any kind of pill unless she knows excactly what it does, and how! And it better not be made by the government!
Doctor Pia: Monica.. you work in science don't you?
Monica: Yes, that's my job.. but what does that have to do with any of this?
Doctor Pia: And through your job you're trained in rational thinking, would that be correct?
Monica: Yes, I am. Look, is this some kind of trial or something?
Doctor Pia: No, Monica. I'm not here to judge you. I'm here to help you. I'm only trying to guide you in the right direction.
Monica: So what are you saying? What are you trying to say?
Doctor Pia: Well, I overheard what you said in the waiting room, about the trees. Is that rational, Monica?
Monica: What do you mean?
Doctor Pia: About the trees and how they're whispering to you.
Monica: Well, it's not the actual trees, I'm not stupid. It's the microphones in the trees, and they're placed there by the government. It's all about mind control, because they want to take over the world.
Doctor Pia: Why do you think the government would want to do that?
Ranveig: This is nonsense, Monica...
Doctor Pia: Please, only one at a time. Monica?
Monica: Well, it's.. it's all about control. They want to turn us into plants, so they can control us. They already got scientists working on making plantsims!
Doctor Pia: Scientists.. like you?
Monica: No, not like me! The government has their own scientists!
Doctor Pia: Who pays your salary then, Monica?
Monica: Well, I work at the Landgraab reasearch facility, so it's the Landgraabs of course..
Doctor Pia: And where do they get the funding from, for their reasearch projects?
Monica: Well, it's in part from businesses that want research done on certain products, but mostly it's from the government, it's from the ...uh...
Doctor Pia: So you're a government scientist then, Monica?
Monica: I'm uh.. no, I'm uh... uh... oh, darn...
Doctor Pia: What's your current research project, Monica?
Monica: Well, currently we, me and my colleagues that is, are working on developing a new and more durable, long lasting type of concrete to be used in sim stopper fences, because the government is looking for ways to cut maintenance costs on their fences, and uh..
Doctor Pia: So... but do you know of any government funded research on trees?
Monica: No, not at our institute, not currently, but I do know they have a program doing research on how trees can be better used to capture carbon dioxide from our atmosphere, because you know, climate change and all that..
Doctor Pia: Well, that's definately interesting, but nothing about microphones or turning people into plants?
Monica: Well, I haven't seen any of that from my job, but if they do, they are of course probably keeping that secret somewhere.. though I'll do admit, it sounds pretty far out.. I know that the Landgraab institute has a self-funded project where they are looking into cross breeding between creatures and robots. My dream is to be admitted into that program one day, but that one isn't government funded, and so far I don't know about any plans to include plants and humans in there..
Doctor Pia: Hmm, well it definately sounds like they've got some interesting plans there, and I do wish you good luck on getting into that program.. now, do you accept treatment for you and your daughter?
Monica: Uhm.. I guess.. I guess I do, but I still want to know what it's gonna cost...
Doctor Pia: Yeah.. that's some of the bad news here, the treatment required is quite expensive, but the good news is that the government will pay 40 % of the bill for your treatment, and since your daughter is underage, they will finance up to 60 % of her treatment, so all in all, it's not so bad...
Monica:Wow, that's uh.. why haven't we done this before?
Ah, don't you just love a happy ending? ;) Now, what happened next was pretty ordinary. It was just them laying out a framework for the future, and the doctor being there to answer any questions they might have. Especially from Lise Veronica. She was a big girl now, but would still require some additional guidance on this whole treatment and medicine thing.
Ranveig: See sister, this wasn't so bad was it?
Monica: No, I guess you're right.. whispering microphones in trees, huh? Sheesh...
Ranveig: Now you take care of yourself, and do your homework for auntie, alright?
Lise Veronica: I will..
Ranveig: And no skipping school!
Lise Veronica: No skipping school, I promise!
Ranveig then leaves to go back to her own son, and the family goes back into their house.
"If I can pull a prank on dad now, this will be my fourth sucessful prank.. I want to do five, so I only have two more to go..."
"This new tv that mom bought is really great. The picture quality is so much better!"
"..you know dad, it's so great, it makes me want to skip school tomorrow!"
Then Thomas exits the bathroom behind them and wants to join the rest of the family, so he climbs up on his sisters lap and asks to watch the childrens channel. :P
Since the family life there looks so idyllic and nice, I dare to leave them alone while I check up on Amena and George. I find Amena at the local chess club, where I assume she is on duty, given that she's in her uniform. She looks out the window and gets a little dreamy eyed when she thinks about how satelites launched into space can be used to spy on international lawbreakers...
George has joined the boy scouts since last time we saw him, because that's where he was. He just left along with Robert Bråge. It looks like todays topic was fishing, as the notification says he just increased his fishing skill to level 2.
Hmm, Amena must have gotten that loan from the bank too, because now things appear to be happening on the lot she bought last month.. This looks very much like the outline and foundation of a new house. Should be interesting to see what the final results will be like. ;)
Back at the Motor-Notesen family home, Ivar just got up from his chair to place a book back in the shelf when Lise Veronica grabs the opportunity..
..but unfortunately for her, mom saw what she did and is not happy about it, having been pranked three times already..
Lise Veronica: ..but mom, this one wasn't for you. It was for dad..
Monica: That's irrelevant! I don't want to see any more pranks in this house! Is that understood?
"Wow! Mom was really angry now... maybe if I do my homework she will be in a better mood..."
"Oh of course.. I should ask dad to help me with the homework! That should serve him right for waking me up with the stereo this morning..."
Later when it was time for supper...
Lise Veronica: You know mom, the new tv you bought sucks! Kleopatras parents has a much bigger and better tv! Why didn't you get one like that?
Monica: Now you watch it, young lady, or I won't be teaching you how to drive when that time comes!
Lise Veronica: Don't be so grumpy mom, I didn't mean it like that...
"Now I have to do a prank on both dad and mom again too, since she is being so sour..."
Lise Veronica: Hey, mom! Shouldn't you be going to the bathroom soon? I thought I heard some trees in there calling for you....
Monica: That was a very uncool thing to say..
Lise Veronica: Well, your tv still sucks..
Monica: What is this? What has gotten into you!? Do you want to go to your room or something!?
Lise Veronica: No...
Monica: Then behave! I'm not gonna sit here and take this!
Ivar: Come on my boy, I think it's time for you to go to bed now...
After Ivar had gone upstairs to tuck in Thomas, Lise Veronica sat down in his chair to continue talking..
Lise Veronica: Mom... there's a school ball coming soon, and someone from the senior year has invited me and Kleopatra to a pre-party where they will be drinking juice and playing games. Do you think I can go mom?
Monica: What!? No, not at all!! You're not going there, you're much to young to be drinking juice! Who invited you!?
Lise Veronica: Just some older guys mom, and Kleopatras parents allowed her to go!
Monica: Well, I'll talk to her parents about that, but I don't think so.. none of you are going, and I'll see to that!
Lise Veronica: You suck, mom!
Monica: Ok, that does it, I'm not gonna listen to this anymore! I'll go to bed now, and I suggest you do the same! I'll have a talk with your dad and Kleopatras parents tomorrow, and you'd better stay in line from now on! One more word like that from you, and you'll be grounded on the night of the ball and you won't be going anywhere!!
Lise Veronica: Whatever you say mom...
Ivar is on his way down again, and meets Monica on her way up halfway down the stairs...
Ivar: What was all that about? Your mom looked really furious...
Lise Veronica: I don't know dad, she's been really grumpy all evening..
Ivar: And you had no part in that?
Lise Veronica: Good night dad, I'm going to bed now...
Ivar: Good night, but I think we have something to talk about tomorrow...
Yep, sounds like they have something to discuss among them here.. After everyone else had fallen asleep, Ivar sat up for another hour and a half playing video games, before he finally decided to hit the sheets as well, and their home was once more peaceful and quiet...for now atleast...
Good night. ;)
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