Decided to try this scenario with a twist or two.
The Zeezoob family just immigrated to Earth, settling in a small house in Copperdale. As soon as they got the basics unpacked, Mara and Oliver's dads ran out for a quick errand "to meet someone from work." It's almost nighttime and they haven't come back. Mara and Oliver are excited to get to know more about Earth, but they're starting to worry.
Here's Mara getting to know the neighbors. She is super proud of being an alien. She's also a fan of Earth culture.
So as not to make the scenario too easy, Mara has no interest in painting, gardening, writing books, or collecting. She can't wait to dig into the typical Earth teen life with parties, friends and mischief. She has the Live Fast teen aspiration.
Oliver is a good kid who just wants to make his parents proud. He loves making friends with adults. He has the Whiz Kid aspiration.
They haven't even been to school yet and Mara already had a run-in with the principal
She was kind of mean
Mara thought it would be funny to scare her a little bit
Totally got her
"What... what does that attachment do?"
Mara cracked up laughing
"This isn't over."
But she has a friend in Mr. Lum, who works as the school janitor
"Dads aren't home yet, so you have to do the dishes."
"You do them."
"You."
"You."
Comments
Mara and Oliver went to bed in the little cots their dads had bought for them, "just for now," while they were getting settled. Sleeping all in one room wasn't unusual for Sixa, but Mara wasn't fond of this bed. They were supposed to get better beds soon. Mara decided she'd put on her best begging act for dads in the morning. When they would be back. They would have to be back by then.
In the morning, they weren't back. But Mara had something more important on her mind: her first day of high school. She decided to dress classy for the first day. She wanted to make an impression on her peers.
She made an impression all right, but it seemed Copperdale teens didn't take kindly to a bright-eyed mischievous green alien in a black dress. She ran into this girl Molly in the bathroom
Who immediately started making fun. Well, Mara could dish it right back.
In her first class there was this boy who was wearing a disguise. Mara hadn't realized humans might wear disguises too. That was interesting. She wondered why.
She tried to get to know him
He didn't like it.
And then at lunch there was this boy who didn't like anything or anybody.
"Are all the students here going to be backward, ignorant and mean," muttered Mara to herself.
"Yeah, mostly," said the girl to her left. "Not much culture here in Middle Copperdale. I like your dress. Nice to see that some people respect themselves enough to dress classy."
"That's exactly what I was going for," said Mara with relief.
Her name was Cassandra. (Cassandra was the first teen sim not to respond to Mara with a Very Angry mood and Unpleasant Conversation tone upon introduction.)
Mara felt much better in her afternoon class. It was science, which she loved, and she had made a friend.
Maybe all you really need to be happy in life is one good friend.
Mara was feeling so happy at the end of the day that she agreed to take Oliver to the library.
And even to play chess with him.
But then Oliver got talking to Toru the librarian and Mara wandered over to the computer.
The computer was an annoyingly complicated and slow way to access knowledge. She struggled with it, trying to find out anything she could about her dads. Had they registered their craft in port anywhere? Had they crash-landed on Earth and generated any news reports? And she hated to be so crass, but if they were going to be gone a long time, was there any way she could access her family's bank accounts?
"Hi, I think we have a class together," said a teen girl behind her.
"Hi. Do you have any advice on accessing the Earth information repository?" asked Mara with some irritation.
"Uh, I can look something up for you on my phone?"
Her name was Gemma. She had a grumpy vibe but she really did try to help Mara.
"Thanks for not being mean to me just because I'm not from here," said Mara.
"Meh, everyone at school is basically a weird alien," said Gemma. "You're no different. Are your dads really missing? That's terrible. And kind of cool."
They talked for a little while. Then Gemma went home. Mara spent a while trying to hack into the bank.
Meanwhile, Toru the librarian helped Oliver with his homework. Oliver thought Toru was wonderful.
Unsuccessful in her hacking efforts, Mara and Oliver went home, where they tried to make a salad.
Mara hates cooking.
Oliver tried to cheer her up. "Hey, donut be so crabby! Get it? It's an Earth food joke!"
Mara hates Oliver's jokes.
The salad was terrible.
"This is really terrible," said Oliver.
"Like it or not, it's what we're eating for our next 6 meals," said Mara. At least, if I can't get to our money before then, she thought to herself.
She didn't want to worry Oliver, but she was getting really worried.
```
Yeah, I thought Cassandra and Gemma made a pretty perfect little bunch with Mara, so I was pleased. Initially I thought Mara would be a popular party-girl and contrast that with her family responsibilities. But I'll take odd-girl mischief maker with a close-knit group of odd girls too. This is an interesting crew.
I wonder what's going on behind the scenes with NPC reactions to aliens. I have NPC aliens in my San Myshuno game, and I can't remember my played sims ever having Very Angry moodlets upon meeting them. So I can't compare from that.
The next morning before class, Mara went into the school science lab looking for answers. The lab had a large, heavy-duty machine that resembled the library computers, but said "Electromagnetic Research Archive" on the bootup screen. It looked like a throwback to pre-flight technology, but Mara was happy to discover it had more in-depth information, full articles and research studies rather than the dumb little snippets one could find on the internet.
She couldn't find anything there about what had happened to her dads, but she found some interesting articles about convincing humans to do things, solving problems logically, one thing led to another and pretty soon it was halfway through class time
"You never saw me," said Mara.
"Okay," said Principal Prescott.
Mara spent a precious few of her dwindling supply of simoleons on a school lunch. It disappeared before she could eat it. She decided to wait until the line cleared away and try again. Her new friend Cassandra was already sitting down to eat so Mara joined her. Wolfgang, the mean kid, came over, but before he could start in with them Mara invited him to a fake party. And the other kids laughed. That really got his goat.
Mara and Cassandra chatted until the line was gone and Cassandra was done eating. Mara tried again at the lunch counter, but again the lunch disappeared. She was so hungry.
As the other kids cleared out to go to class, Mara spied a half-eaten plate on one of the tables. She was embarrassed, but she knew that plate of leftovers would have to be her lunch today. She waited until everyone was gone so none of the other kids would see her doing this
Well, almost everyone was gone
"Please, Principal Prescott! Have mercy on a hungry child!"
And thus Mara escaped detention.
After school, Mara enlisted her friends to help her in a prank. It felt good to stride down the hall amid her crew.
They let their imaginations run wild.
The crew headed over to Thriftea to hang out. Mara thought it might be good to have another couple of outfits for school that were classy. She couldn't wear that black dress every day, and although her Sixa clothes were comfortable, Sixa didn't exactly go in for variety in fashion either.
Mara browsed through the clothes, looking for classy, maybe sort of trendy, but original. It was a lot of fun coming up with ideas. In the back of her mind loomed worries about running out of simoleons. But we have to learn to fit in here on Earth, said the front of her mind. And don't you deserve something for yourself?
Mara picked out a textured white shirt and a purple skirt with a chain around the waist. The store had some weird policy about not letting you buy an outfit without shoes. Who wears shoes? Mara looked around and realized everyone was wearing shoes. Human feet must be really weak. Or maybe it was part of their fashion. Okay then. She chose the least uncomfortable-looking pair, some white-and-gold sneakers. Actually, they didn't look too bad with the rest of the outfit. She took a deep breath as she handed over more than half of her remaining pocket money to pay for the outfit. Dads will be back soon, she reassured the back of her mind, our family has plenty of money and nothing to worry about.
An attractive boy sat down on the sofa, holding two cups of boba tea. "Hi," said Mara. "I don't think you go to my school." He seemed a little edgy, but he didn't get angry at meeting her. That was okay. Mara felt a little edgy too.
His name was Rohan. They talked for a little while, as Rohan drank one of his cups of tea. Then he made an awkward excuse and left.
Mara felt oddly sad to see Rohan go. Then she saw that he had left the second cup of tea on the table. For her?
She'd heard that it was special when an Earth man bought a drink for a woman...
It might have been cooler if they'd enjoyed their drinks together...
But still.
A boy bought me a drink!
Just then another handsome boy sat down at Mara's table and admired her outfit. Full of new confidence, she chatted up her friend. "Have you met my friend Cassandra? She's so cool, and very kind, I think you would really like her."
Mara called to Cassandra. She joined them. Her voice said a sweet introduction to Kiyoshi. Her eyes said "Help me, I'm so nervous, don't you dare leave this table" to Mara.
So Mara didn't leave the table. And pretty soon Kiyoshi seemed to like Cassandra's company a lot.
Cassandra texted Mara late that night about how much she appreciated her.
And by the way, did she want to come over for a party?
Of course she did!
"Bye, Oliver," said Mara.
"Where are you going?" asked Oliver.
"Out to a party. What are you doing awake anyway?"
"Can you stay? I think I just heard something under my bed and I'm really scared--"
She went downstairs.
"Mara?"
The front door closed.
The house was quiet.
Something seethed and oozed under Oliver's bed.
Oliver hid in his dads' bed, but the weird noises continued.
"Mara?"
Oliver suddenly felt all the sadness and loneliness of missing his dads for two days, all at once.
He pretended his dads were in the bed with him. Through tears, he told them everything that had happened for the last two days. It didn't change anything, but he knew exactly what they would do if they were here. Dad Benoy would tell him all the reasons he didn't need to worry, and Dad Sovey would just give him a big long hug until he stopped crying.
Curled up tight, Oliver hugged himself with the closest to a Dad Sovey hug he could muster.
He gave a confident Dad Benoy list of reasons why everything would be okay.
And then it seemed that something under his bed had stopped oozing around, and was maybe listening to the sound of his voice.
"....Hello?"
The thing made an awkward, somewhat wet rumbling sound.
And Oliver talked to it some more.
Pretty soon they were even playing together.
Earth animals are weird.
Soon Oliver was ready to go back to sleep.
The next day, Mara wasn't home from the party yet. Oliver got himself ready for school. When he came home, a strange girl met him at the door
Make that two strange girls.
"Hi, I'm Oliver. Have you guys seen my dads? Or my sister Mara?"
"Haha, Mara is asleep on Cassandra's floor right now. You should see how she drools."
"I've seen it," said Oliver.
"Oh knock it off, Gemma, you drool worse," said Cassandra, giggling. "Mara will be back any minute."
And she was.
The next day would be Harvestfest. Would their dads be back then?
It was Mara and Oliver's first Earth holiday! Without their parents... and their friends were probably busy all day with their own families... and Mara has her first breakout.
Great start.
Mara went outside and discovered the yard had been invaded by strange creatures. She had heard of this custom! She eagerly looked up the gnomes on the internet.
Thumbing through a web browser on a phone was a sorry substitute for a knowledge repository, but it was the best Earth had to offer for now, and fortunately the information was useful!
What Mara wasn't sure about was the gifts. Was it true that the gnomes left gifts, or was that something the adults in the house did in secret? So many Earth holidays seemed to involve keeping secrets from children. Mara wasn't in the mood to play pretend for Oliver today. She went for a jog instead.
When Oliver woke up and remembered that there was no school, all he wanted was to play chess and go to the library. As annoying as Oliver was, Mara had to admit that she was in need of some intellectual challenge, plus she was way behind on studying for tomorrow's exams. They went to the neighborhood park and played chess. Mara started feeling very sad all of a sudden
(She has the fear of unfulfilled dreams, because like everyone's sims right now, she keeps rolling wants for things I can't do like Listen To DJ Music. But I have to say I'll welcome a few Very Sad and Very Angry moods for a while, because (a) the kids aren't getting any moodlets about their dads missing and it makes sense for them to be sad and angry about that, and (b) Mara is a teenager.)
Oliver lost, and threw a chess piece at Mara.
(Gameplay-wise, Oliver has no excuse, I really don't know what his problem was. But same thought about the absence of dads taking a toll on the kids' feelings.)
When they got home Mara found a surprise: seed packets in little circles around the gnomes. And every so often the gnomes moved from place to place in the house.
"Let's plant a garden!" Oliver crowed.
"It looks like we can sell these," Mara crowed.
After a lot of bickering, Mara agreed to let Oliver keep one packet of winter plants and to buy him a planter box. And to use some of the extra money to buy books.
It was one more question Mara didn't have an answer to. She wasn't supposed to have all these answers. She wanted her dads to come home and figure everything out already.
Somewhere, her dads felt the same way.
Cassandra came over for a visit after her family finished Harvestfest dinner. Suddenly it was easier to be warm and friendly
Mara suddenly felt herself feeling very friendly
She'd always idealized the Earth boy-girl dating scene. She wanted a boy to take her out for ice cream, hold hands on the ferris wheel, be escorted into prom (looking fantastic) on the arm of a dashing fellow, maybe a slightly gruff fellow, maybe a little like that Rohan... but maybe there were more possibilities she hadn't considered?
It didn't occur to Mara to say anything to Cassandra. She was too grateful and happy about their friendship, and honestly she was quite scared about making any sort of foray into romance. So if her heart beat faster all of a sudden when Cassandra was around... she'd keep it to herself.
Mara, Cassandra and Gemma met up at the library for a last-minute study session. They kept each other company and worked hard, now that it was almost too late.
He got done before Mara did, so he sneaked some time with some possibly not appropriate for his age video games.
That night, Mara sold all the seed packets except for one, and the gnomes to boot. Even after buying books and a planter box for Oliver, they had just over 2k simoleons now.
And Mara saw that her face had cleared up.
Things were looking better.
Thanks @luciusstorm . Yeah, she's kind of an all-over-the-place teen, she really needs her parents still. She is doing her best.
Day 5
Exam day was here! Mara decided to wear her newly created Trendi outfit to school. She wanted to look good for school, of course, but she'd also found out you can sell outfits on Trendi. Maybe if people liked it enough, it would sell?
Here's hoping! Um, girl, you can't count your chickens before they're hatched, you only PROMOTED it not sold it
oh well... a bit of overconfidence is not unusual in a teen I suppose
Anyhow, a lot of weird things happened in Mara's day, but several good things too.
"Mr. Lum?"
"Yes?"
"Are you the one who's been leaving those apples in my locker?"
"I won't say."
"But you're the only one with the keys."
"Then you've said it."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. It seemed like you could use a little help."
In the first class, only Mara had to take the exam. The rest of the class just sat still at their desks. Then the principal came in and started yelling randomly at Noah, who's a goody-two-shoes if anything.
Lunch was awesome. Not only did Mara succeed in ordering and eating today, but all the food was free!
Oh, it's Night on the Town! School lunch is neither at night nor on the town, but we will accept a free lunch. Yes!
Kaori didn't appreciate having an alien sit down at her table and she gave Mara some flack
But Mara had Cassandra and Kiyoshi for backup. It felt good to have her people with her.
Mara was late to her second class on account of getting stuck in the wall.
Remembering to obey Earth physics isn't always easy.
Once again, only Mara had to take the exam. What's going on here?
Successful exams!
And Oliver's grades are improving!
And when Mara got her phone back after the exam, Mara got a notification that her outfit had sold!
To Geoffrey Landgraab!
Wow, I wonder how he looks in it?
She sold it for a nice little profit too. It felt very satisfying.
Mara and her friends celebrated the end of exams (well, for Mara anyway) at the pier.
Mara bragged about selling her outfit.
"You sold an outfit to a Landgraab? That's impressive," said Kiyoshi.
Rohan didn't say anything, but it looked like he didn't believe Mara's story.
"Guys, check this out," said Cassandra, looking at her Simstagram. "Brytani Cho was just seen in Mara's outfit. I think it's catching on."
Mara wasn't sure which was more exhilarating, that post, or a ride on the Ferris wheel next to Rohan.
Cassandra and Kiyoshi seemed to be into each other, but experiencing a powerful level of awkwardness.
Mara tried to help. Results inconclusive.
"Uh, people I don't know are here," said Rohan. "Is it raining? I think it's raining. I should leave."
Meanwhile, Oliver spent the evening in his favorite manner.
Feeling a little concerned about money, Mara signed up to mow some lawns on the weekend.
After last night's fun on the pier, waking up at 6am on a Saturday was a bit uncomfortable.
Oliver had a better morning. He was at the library and this girl Elsa challenged him to chess
"Don't be so smug. I've been playing chess since my first day on this planet."
"Haha, meck-chate!" crowed Oliver before long.
"Meck-chate? How did you manage to beat me?" mused Elsa, puzzled. "I'm a genius and everything."
"That's okay, we can still be friends. And I challenge you to a rematch in the not too distant future."
"You got it."
"How did he manage to beat her?" mused Darling, puzzled. "She's a genius."
After work, Cassandra came over.
"So, you and Kiyoshi seemed to be getting along well at the pier last night? I think he likes you. He's pretty cute isn't he? Do you like him back?"
"Uh, maybe... Do you really think I should try?"
"Definitely!"
Mara, Cassandra and Gemma went to Thriftea to knock together some outfits for that night's Fall Formal dance.
Here's Mara's new outfit for the fall dance. Gold formal dress, flowered red hat, round green necklace, tons of bracelets. She calls it Applecore.
But before we go out, a disco nap is necessary. She's been up since 6am after all.
And then there was a phone call
Huh? No one had any idea that Kiyoshi had a partner. How did that happen?
Mara felt very embarrassed. I felt confused.
Oh well... Time for the fall formal!
Cassandra and Mara tiptoed around each other a little. Kiyoshi wasn't there, which was just as well.
Mara spotted Rohan in the corner, trying to avoid talking to Jeb.
She invited him to get a bowl of dal together
And finally for a dance. (How come neither Slow Dance nor Sweetheart Dance nor regular dancing completes the "dance" task in the prom window?)
Mara voted for Gemma for prom royalty and she won!
Despite the awkwardness with Cassandra, this was a good night.
And then she got home and realized this last night of fall might be her last chance to actually plant the onion plants she had promised Oliver he could grow... and more lawn mowing in just a few hours... ugh
Oliver was happy.
Here they were, one week without their dads and counting.
Mara got up early again to mow lawns. It made her angry. What a stupid job. And it would never lead to anything except mowing more lawns. Meanwhile, Oliver played some intense chess in the neighborhood.
Wow, that's one grouchy grandma.
After work, bemoaning her stupid dead-end job to herself, Mara went to the flea market. It was sunny and pleasant downtown, a few autumn leaves scattered about. Mara examined a table of lamps, all discounted. She bought a couple, after haggling with the vendor for a further discount, of course. That seemed like an interesting job, reselling items. She imagined herself as the proprietor of a fashion and lamp shop. Why not?
Mara was envisioning the cozy but cool vibe of her shop-- beaded curtains, definitely beaded curtains-- when her best friend came up behind her. And not with a pleasant look on her face.
"I have had it with you Mara! I've been thinking about the whole thing with Kiyoshi, it's like you had it all planned from the start! Like you just wanted us to be two cute little sets of dolls, you and Rohan, me and Kiyoshi. And you didn't even stop to think about what if he was with someone already. Which as we now know, he was. You can't... you can't... choreograph people like that, Mara!"
"Cassandra... I only wanted you to be happy," Mara said, weakly. "You and Kiyoshi are both so beautiful. I thought you'd be great together. It would have been so fun to go on double dates like in all the Earth movies."
"You have all these great ideas but you have to also remember that other people have ideas of their own! Did you ever think to ask what I might want?"
"Well, I did ask if you thought he was cute..."
"Aargh! You aren't even listening! Again!"
Mara swallowed at the lump in her throat.
"Aren't you going to say anything, Mara?"
"Maybe I'll listen this time," Mara managed.
Cassandra sighed. "I'm sorry I got upset. It was just so embarrassing. I've never been that embarrassed before and I told myself it was all your fault."
"It kind of was," said Mara.
"This dating stuff is confusing. I guess neither of us has had a boyfriend before so we don't really know what we're doing. I wish it could be easy, like it's easy being friends."
"Friends aren't always easy for me. Only certain ones. Like, mostly you."
"Aw Mara."
"Hey Cassandra, did you ever get to dance at the fall formal?"
"Not really."
"How about now? Only if you want."
"Okay, now that is a Mara idea that I will happily take you up on."
Mara came home to some happy news: her fall formal outfit "Applecore" had sold on Trendi! She'd priced that one quite aggressively high, or it had seemed high anyway, about 1.5 times what she paid for it.
That night, Mara was exhausted but she made herself get through at least part of her homework. She wanted Oliver to feel like he had company in his studying.
And Oliver had a long conversation with his good friend, the monster under the bed.
Love it as always < 3
Monday morning began with some mystifying news
"Uh, wow! That's great, Cassandra!"
Mara and I are both wondering what happened to Kiyoshi's significant other who was such an obstacle yesterday... high school dating can be so hard to keep up with.
Mara felt a little bit of discomfort tumble around in her tummy. She'd wanted this to happen, hadn't she? Why did she feel so strange about it? Maybe it was something about Cassandra... or maybe Mara was jealous that Cassandra got to have her first boyfriend before Mara did... or maybe she was just hungry.
Mara went to school and decided to do a gaming livestream during morning free time since she couldn't afford a computer at home
Wolfgang interrupted her. Uh huh, Wolfgang, I've had it up to here with you, thought Mara.
Isn't it funny how those who are meanest to aliens are also the ones most scared when I do this?
Ha ha! Joke's on you!
Mara was in a mood, so the whiteboard was next to get it
Oops, here's the teacher
But she walked right past me...
And is staring dreamy-eyed at the ceiling as if contemplating the wonders of today's math lecture
Mara contemplated some unspeakable words to put in the speech bubble directly behind her head.
Oh, she's finally noticed.
Pranking the whiteboard never gets old!
Noah, don't be such a killjoy.
After school Mara headed over to Thriftea to create a new outfit to wear (and then sell)
This one is called Green Academic. She was feeling pretty alien-proud today.
Lots of people are wearing Applecore, Mara's fall formal outfit from last week that sold recently
Don't make that sad face, Yuki, you look great
Kevin.... oh heck, you look great too.
That night, Mara was going to do her homework but she fell asleep next to Oliver's chess game instead... I don't need to say which of them is doing better in school so far.
I was rooting for Mara and Cassandra... still, high school is weird and I live in hope.