Friday 24 January 2014

1.1 Settling in to Routine

Phil and Katie Wheeler had just arrived in Twinbrook after their honeymoon. They had decided to move away from their hometown looking for a more wholesome place to raise their family.
"Katie, were finally here. And I couldn't be happier because I'm here with you." Phil said.
"Guys! You're here!" Amanda jogged down the road towards them. "I got here last week but have been staying in a hotel. I didn't want to unpack everything and put it in the wrong place. It's your house after all. Besides, I'd probably end up accidentally picking your bedroom or something anyway. So yeah, I thought I'd let you guys go in first and unpack with me." She barely paused for breath.
"Amanda, slow down!" Katie said. "We're happy to have you here with us. Aren't we Phil?"
Phil looked shocked at being brought into the conversation. "Erm, yes. Very happy." He looked towards the house. "We should probably..."
"Oh My God! I can't believe you two are married!" Amanda said gleefully, "You are probably the first two from our high school, probably the only couple who actually stayed together after graduation too. Oh I am so happy for you."
"Thanks sis," Katie said, "It meant so much to have you as my bridesmaid."
"It was no problem really. I enjoyed it." She replied, "Now, you..." she lowered her voice to a whisper, "Have to tell me everything about your honeymoon."
Katie laughed "Maybe later."
"Girls!" Said Phil, "If you two are done with your giggling and whispering maybe we can actually get inside?" He threw a look at Amanda and headed towards the front door.
"Hey sis, what's Phil's problem with me anyway?" Amanda said, feeling kinda hurt, "He's never seemed to like me."
"Oh, don't worry about him. I think he wanted it to be just me and him moving here, I don't think he expected you to move with us." Katie said, "but don't worry, he'll get over it. Besides, it won't be too long before you find yourself another gorgeous guy, like the boyfriends you had back home and you can move out then." Katie turned to head inside as well.
"Like that'll ever happen. None of my relationships work out long term." Amanda muttered under her breath. She didn't know why but as soon as her relationships hinted towards being serious, they tended to just...end.
"Amanda!" Katie yelled "Are you gonna come and help unpack or what?"
"Yeah, just coming now Kate!" Amanda shouted back, and headed down the walkway. 
A couple of hours later and everything was unpacked and put into place. Katie had found her paints and canvas to use on her new easel and nobody could stop her now that she had taken out her paintbrush.
Amanda smiled as she watched her sister paint. "Hey Kate, is it ok with you if I put this new cardio dvd I brought on?"
"Hmm? Sorry, did you say something Am?" Katie said as though coming out of a daze.
"Oh sorry Kate, didn't mean to pull you of of your zone. I was just wondering if I could put the TV on without it distracting you, but I can tell that nothing can distract you from your painting."
"Oh no problem, go ahead. Do what you want, it's your house too." Katie turned back to her painting.
"Awesome thanks Kate." Amanda said. "I'm gonna get changed ok?"
"Hm?" Katie said before continuing with her  painting.
Amanda quickly got changed and put in the DVD so she could start her workout.
Phil had headed out as soon as they had finished unpacking. "Where are you going hun?" Katie asked.
"Oh, just got a few things to pick up in town. I'll be back soon." He gave her a quick kiss before heading out.
He wondered around town for a bit before finding the grocery store. "Perfect." He said. and headed inside.
He had gone to find some fruit and veg that he could plant in the back yard. He loved gardening just as much as he loved cooking, and he couldn't wait to have his own garden giving him fresh ingredients for his recipes.
When he got to the checkout the boy working behind the till said, "Hey I haven't seen you before, you new to Twinbrook?"
"Yes, me and my wife just moved in to the little cottage that was for sale. Well, us and her sister." He replied.
"Well I won't keep you any longer, here's your change and welcome to Twinbrook...."
"My name's Phil, Phil Wheeler."
"Well, welcome to Twinbrook, Phil. See you around"
Phil left the store thinking that him and Katie had made a very good decision moving here, everybody was so nice.
As soon as he got home he went straight to the back garden to plant his new riches.
He was out there for a good couple of hours making sure everything was perfect, and that everything was watered right. He wished he knew how to add fertiliser to his plants, but he had only just started. Maybe after this set of plants could be harvested he would know how to fertilise.
He dreamed of the day when he had a garden absolutely full of perfect fruit and veg. People truly underestimated the value of good ingredients.
After lunch, Amanda decided to look in the newspaper for a job. She was convinced that Phil thought that she was just going to lay about the house and sponge off of them for the rest of her life. Maybe that's why he didn't like her.
Then she saw it, her dream job. She'd always wanted to be in the military, she was kind of a fitness nut and loved the idea of helping her country.
"Kate! You gotta see this!" She said, pointing at the newspaper.
"What is it?"
"There's a job opening at the military base, I'm thinking of going for it."
"Ooh lets have a look!" She took the newspaper from Amanda. "Ammy, you do realise this is for a toilet cleaner right?" She screwed up her face at the thought.
"So? A job's a job. And besides, I have no problem cleaning. And everybody starts somewhere."
"Well, if it's what you want. Besides, we could do with some extra money, my paintings aren't exactly going to make us millionaires any time soon." She laughed
That evening, a few people came over to welcome them to the neighbourhood. Amanda really liked the look of one of the guys, Nick. She started flirting and they hit it off almost immediately.
"So, Nick. Is there anybody special in your life?" She asked.
"Well, right now? There's definitely you." He replied, smiling at her with his nearly perfect teeth.
"Aww you're so sweet." She said, batting her eyelids and giggling like a little school girl.
"And you...you are very very cute." He said.
"Thank you," she said twirling her finger through her hair, "I was wondering if you wanted to stay over tonight. I mean I would really like to get to know you better."
"I'd like that too." He said, definitely implying something.
"Hey!" Phil said, "You too are blocking the TV, Nick, can't you go flirting with her somewhere else. I might vomit." He sounded annoyed at Nick. Maybe too annoyed.
Amanda leaned in and whispered in Nick's ear "Don't listen to Phil, I don't".
It looked like she was about to back away, but she smiled at him, looking all shy and leaned in for a quick kiss. If he had been implying what she thought she had, he wouldn't mind a little kiss.
"You know," Nick whispered, "I think Phil is right, we should go somewhere else where nobody can see us."
"If you're sure." She said.
"Definitely," Nick replied, then raised his voice so that Phil could hear. "Besides, if he's going to throw up because of what he's hearing now, then he might have to go to hospital if he sees what I'm gonna do next."
Phil looked shocked and muttered "Sleazebag." under his breath.
"Okay," Amanda said, smiling, "We can go to my room if you'd like."
The next morning, Amanda was nearly late for work. She had enough time to pull on her new uniform and wolf down a bowl of cereal before sprinting down the front garden to catch the carpool.
About an hour later, Phil and Katie were having their breakfast, but Phil was barely touching his. He was just looking at it on his fork.
"What's wrong sweetheart"? Katie asked, "You're barely touching your breakfast."
"Sorry, I just don't have much of an appetite this morning. Didn't sleep well last night." He sighed.
"Look, you'll get used to the new house soon. I know our bed is kinda cheap but we'll get a new, more comfortable one soon."
"Yeah, I guess that's it. It's taking me a while to get used to the new house is all." He looked at her and smiled, then started to eat his breakfast.

7 comments:

  1. Its a nice start :)
    Why does Phil hate Amanda so though? Past grudges or something more?

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  2. A writer never reveals the plot too soon. If I told you you'd never be surprised. There are a few hints in this chapter already.

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  3. It's great to see you back, Anarathiel! And great start on your new legacy!
    Amanda sure isn't wasting any time with Nick, lol.

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  4. The conflict between Amanda and Phil is interesting, I wonder how that will play out and why he seems to dislike her so much.

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  5. Wow... Phil really doesn't like Amanda, and I can't help but think it may have something to do with how easy she appears to be.... :| Sorry, that was a mean thing to say about your sim on the first chapter, but!!! Sorry. I'm nice normally.

    Great start! We got a little background, and saw how they all interacted with each other :)

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  6. @gemly: Don't worry, I kinda made her like that deliberately. All will make sense later

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  7. I've been meaning to get to read your legacy, sorry I'm so late. I really like you're sims! They're all really unique which is really nice. It seems Katie and Amanda are really good sisters. Although I'm worried about Phil. I can't help but wonder where his anger towards Amanda comes from. Maybe some sort of jealousy...? I hope not, though. Since he and Katie make a sweet couple from what we've seen so far.

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