Peculiar: Shuffle
"Auntie Marie is going to eat you up, so you can go with me," Marie mockingly bit at Edwin, who squeeled and squirmed in Lazlo's hands. Marie looked up from Edwin to Lazlo. "I'm sorry I won't be here for his transition."
"It's ok," Lazlo offered. "No baby remembers their first transition. Do you remember yours?"
"No."
"Exactly."
Marie tickled Edwin's stomach, addressing him again. "Your present is upstairs. You make sure daddy gives it to you."
"I can hardly believe it," Kitty smiled at Glam. "The last two of our kids, finally off to college."
"Mission accomplished," he laughed, smiling back at his wife.
Pierre lifted Edwin to his shoulder and rubbed the baby's back. He had been more than a little upset by the events that had brought Edwin into their family but now couldn't imagine their lives without him.
"I'm going to miss you, Eddie." Edwin belched in response and Pierre laughed as he kissed his nephew's cheek. "On that note, you ready for a nap?" He took the baby to his crib and joined Marie for a late breakfast.
"I told you Marie, we're not in the same dorm. I read the sheet. . ."
". . .OH, we will be, Pierre." Marie was still in denial, convinced their differeing dorm assignments were merely a clerical error.
"It might be fun," Pierre offered, "being apart for a change." Marie's scowl clearly displayed her thoughts on the subject. But Pierre couldn't help it. He was excited. Excited to finally have not only a room of his own, but a whole dorm where he was JUST Pierre, not Pierre of "Pierre and Marie".
"Pierre. . .Marie. . .the cab is here," Glam called over the sound of the driver honking. "You sure you don't want us to come with you?"
"Yes, dad," Marie answered for both of them. "There's nothing to see anyway. You can visit once I get my room all set up and you can meet all my friends, too."
Marie and Pierre took turns hugging their parents goodbye then slid the cab door shut on their teen days.
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"Hey, Bella!" Marie had made a beeline for Bella's room as soon as she entered the dorm. She was eager to finally meet the woman she'd been talking to on the phone for so long. "COOL room!"
"Thanks." Bella turned off her computer and got up.
"Is that an official Cactus?," Marie nodded to the potted succulent.
"Yeah," Bella couldn't even attept to hide her enthusiasm over Cactus. "Only given to fan club presidents. So I'm probably the only sim who even has one," she joked.
"Cool. And is that. . .oh, that's even cooler than Cactus. It's. . ."
"Heifer!," they laughed in unison.
"Yeah, he's super cool," Bella offered. "But NOT as cool as Cactus." She pretended to act offended then laughed. Marie smirked. The pair sat on the floor and were soon engrossed in a discussion of the coolness of both Heifer and Cactus along with other minor and inconsequential television characters. Drawn by the laughter, Mic was soon added to the mix.
". . .oh, crap, I have to get to class. Man, this semster is like a prison sentence. The professor is a total Captain Monotone. It's like having a partial lobotomy. . ." Bella got up from the floor, Mic and Marie joining her. ". . .Ok, if I survive this, I'll see you later." Mic and Marie followed her out of her room.
"So, did she give you the tour?," Mic asked.
"No."
Mic gave Marie a tour of the small dorm, pointing out who was in what room, what stations did and didn't come in on the community television, and introducing her to the cafeteria worker.
". . .you're a twin, too? My brother, Pierre, is in a whole different dorm. I'm gong to get that fixed. . ."
Mic liked talking with Marie, or rather, listening while Marie talked.
"You might want to rethink that," he offered, gesturing to Aldric. "That's my brother and I wish like hell I could get away from him."
"Back at you," Aldric replied with a snort.
"Wow, you two look so much alike," Marie stared from one brother to the other. "Pierre and I don't look anything alike. He has really small eyes and looks terrible in purple."
Aldric and Mic laughed.
"I hope he's ok." Marie couldn't help worrying about him, all alone in his dorm. "He's really shy. No one had better mess with him."
"Aldric, hello." Klara waved at Aldric and he smiled and waved back. Mic tried not to scowl. He still wasn't completely sure what was going on between his brother and Klara, but he was sure it was odd. And he didn't like it.
Marie turned to the sound of Klara's voice then jumped up from her seat. She'd been looking forward to meeting Klara.
"I'm Marie, you're Klara, right?" Klara nodded. "Bella said you're really into robots. . ."
Klara arranged her features to reflect the mild interest she felt.
". . .my mom is really into robots. Me too. She's made this one that zaps intruders. She had to do a lot of work so it wouldn't zap our dog," Marie laughed. "And she made this one that fetches stuff, though she doesn't use that one much. And this one that's like a vaccum. Mojito, our dog, hates that one."
"And she just made one that's like a sim. It's called a. . ."
"Servo," Klara finished. She wasn't in the habit of interrupting someone when they were talking, but her interest was piqued.
Marie didn't seem to mind. In fact, she was thrilled by Klara's reaction.
"That is quite impressive," Klara smiled, eager to hear more. "I too am working toward that goal. Unfortunately, I have encountered some complications with my current project which only serve to further delay my progress toward Servo production."
"You should talk to my mom. I can introduce you. She'd love it."
Klara smiled at the prospect of such a meeting.
"She'd love helping you, too. She had to get help herself, for the Servo. She was working with some woman. . .what was her name. . .Prudence. . .NO, Priscilla. Priscilla. . ."
"Primate?" Klara was in disbelief over what she was hearing. Bella had mentioned Marie was interested in robotics, but Klara had assumed Marie's interest was much like Bella's, a passing fancy.
"Yeah, that's it. Priscilla Primate. I'm bad with names sometimes," Marie laughed. "But Priscilla's a big deal. She's not just into making Servo's she's all about Servo Rights. My mom's been talking to her over email."
"I would love to meet your mother, Marie."
"AWESOME! I'll call her and tell her. She's going to love you, I just know it."
Klara amiled. "Have you completed any projects?"
"No. I'm a little nervous of the whole thing. I've been watching my mom, though. . ."
"Come," Klara gestured to the door. "I will show you there is nothing to be nervous about. Perhaps you can complete a basic project as a surprise for your mother?"
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While Marie was eagerly making new friends, Pierre was enjoyng the quiet of a room of his own. While he mised his parents, he wasn't lonely.
His thoughts returned to the conversation he'd had with Lazlo, how casually he'd admitted he was less than successful in love.
Mabye he should talk to Pascal. Pascal did have not one but TWO lovers. And the three of them co-existed without any drama. That was an impressive feat. But he wondered if Pascal was really the best choice. He didn't want two lovers, just one. One special sim who would appreciate him for him.
Perhaps Vidcund was the best choice. He'd managed to find someone who could appreciate his very unique personality. And Piquant was a great sim. He looked forward to their wedding. He liked weddings.
His stomach growled, prompting him from his daydreams. Or rather, evening dreams, day having long since faded from the sky. He followed his nose to the kitchen, where the cafeteria monitor had set out dinner. He selected a bowl and took a seat at the first table.
"Can I sit with you?," she smiled at him, waiting for his reply. He nodded and she sat.
"You have a beautiful halo."
Pierre wasn't sure what she had said.
"What?"
She smiled and laughed. It was a sweet sound, not mocking or condescending. Pierre smiled back.
"Your halo", she sighed and closed her eyes, as if she was at a loss for words to describe what she was seeing. "It's just beautiful." She opened her eyes and looked directly at him. "You don't know about your halo?"
Pierre shook his head.
"I forget sometimes", she kept smiling at him, "that some sims don't know." She took a bite of her food and watched him as she chewed. Pierre looked back and forth from his bowl to her face. She was cute. And so freindly, with that sweet smile. He waited for her to continue.
"Every sim has one," she waved her hand over her head, "a halo." She smiled and stared into his face. "It reflects our mood, our hopes, our aspirations. It reflects US." She sighed and stirred her food. "I was just so surprised to see such a beautiful halo, since you're new. A lot of freshman have such dull halos. They're scared and nervous, being in new surroundings. When I saw your halo, glowing so," she sighed again. "It was like a beacon. I just had to come see you."
"Oh," Pierre couldn't stop smiling at her. "I'm Pierre. So what does my halo look like?"
"Pierre," she looked to the celieng as she said his name, like she was listening to the sound of it, or maybe watching it float into the air. "Beautiful name. So perfect for your halo. Pierre," she nodded as she said his name," your halo is like a diamond, a marker floating just above your head announcing your mood. You must be very happy today. Are you happy, Pierre?"
"Yes." His smiled widened in response to her sweet laugh. "Are you happy. . .uh. . ."
"Blossom," she offered. "And yes, I am happy, Pierre. Even more so after meeting someone with such a beautiful halo." She stirred her spoon in her bowl. "I thought noodles and cheese was going to be the high point of my evening."
"Mac and cheese is good," Pierre laughed. Blossom giggled as she attacked her meal with a new found vigor. Pierre liked seeing someone who enjoyed eating.
As the cafeteria monitor cleared their bowls, Pierre wondered what would happen next.
"Does music make you happy, Pierre?," Blossom asked, getting up from her chair. Pierre got up, too, and followed her as she moved toward the front room and the sound of the stereo.
"The sound," she bobbed her head back and forth, "makes you just want to move." She swayed back and forth, smiling the whole time. Pierre suddenly felt very self conscious. It wasn't that he'd never danced, he'd done the hula in front of his whole school before. But this was different.
"Don't be embarrassed, Pierre," Blossom stepped closer to him.
"When you're happy, you can't be embarrassed."
Pierre smiled at her as they danced together. She was right.