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Click on Table of Contents for organized posts, or just scroll down to start reading the latest update! Zombies. An apocalypse. Restricting ...

Friday, April 10, 2020

Chapter 2 - Starting Over

Andres still couldn't believe one tiny act of chance had caused the soup kitchen to fire him.  And there was no way that they would even consider re-hiring him.
He headed back to base to check out the volunteer sign up sheet.  There had to be something he could do.
Andres still didn't think he would be very good working at the first aid station, so he signed up for the militarized neighborhood watch.  There were some people mingling in the soup kitchen, but he just wasn't up for socializing right now.
Back home, he plopped on his bed and slept the morning away, only to wake up groggily to the doorbell being rung.  "Whoever's there is gonna wish they hadn't woken me up," he muttered crossly as he headed to the door.
 He was surprised to see Gretchen!
"I came as soon as I heard," she told him, giving him a supportive hug.  "Are you okay?"

Andres closed his eyes and said honestly, "I'm feeling better already."
The two friends talked over dinner, with Andres doing a lot of complaining about all he'd done for the soup kitchen and Gretchen trying to cheer him up.
The attraction blindsided him.
Gretchen had stood to leave and he'd placed his hand on her arm. "Stay," he asked her.  "I don't want to be alone right now."
Gretchen agreed and they stared awkwardly at each other for a moment, hesitating.
 Then, it was as though a dam lifted and they crashed into each other.
 "Are you sure about this?" he asked her.

She slid her hand around his neck and pulled him back down to kiss her. 


Andres headed to work with a smile on his face and a pep in his step, despite the ungodly hour he was forced to wake up for the carpool.

After his patrol rounds were done, he headed home and attacked the leaky sink. 
"Stop! Dripping!" he yelled with frustration, finally hitting the handles with his wrench with frustration.  Huh, that seemed to have done the trick!

 His chores complete, he called up Gretchen and invited her over.
For the first time in a long time, he tried not to just grab a girl and head to the bedroom.  He talked to her about her day & goofed around for a little bit. He was actually pretty proud of himself.
But, he could only hold out so long!



"Just checking in," Troy told him.  "All's clear."

"Great, thanks Troy," he said.  It was technically his day off, but they took their job seriously.
 High five!

"Did you guys hear about the warehouse a town over?"  Christian asked, walking up.  "Sounds like they found a bunch of zombies stuck in there.  Bombed it and took care of that little problem."

"That's the best news I've heard all day!" Andres told him. 
High five!
"You're one of us now kid!" Christopher told him proudly.  "We do a lot to keep the town safe and always have each others backs!"

Andres spent the afternoon fraternizing with his friends.  There was a lot of high fives, back slaps, and tossing around the football.  By the time the guys left, he was feeling pretty damn glad to be in the neighborhood watch.
Before bed, he checked out some tips on fixing sinks.  Without tradesmen and services, he knew would have to get more handy with things around the house!


Andres hung up the phone, disappointed that Gretchen didn't answer.  He tried not to worry, but he'd seen a lot of things during his patrols.  Bad things happened to good people.
His hopes lifted when the doorbell rang.
Andres opened the door, half convinced it would be Gretchen.  But, it was only Heather.  "Hey baby," she said, goosing him before he could get out a word of greeting.
Awkward! Despite being a romance sim, Andres just wasn't feeling it right now.
"Hey, did I tell you about this huge pile of trash I saw out on patrol the other day.  You should've seen the cockroaches, they were huge!" Andres told her, trying to think of something to say.

"Ew!" Heather groused, making a face.  "That's disgusting! Why would you tell me that?!"
Andres invited her in for some grub.
She frowned at him, growing impatient with the small talk.  "What gives?" she asked, slightly petulantly.  "Normally by now you'd have me in your bed."

"Just had a long day," he told her dismissively. 
"Saved by the bell," he muttered under his breath when his doorbell rang.
 "Hey Christopher, good to see you man!"
"Just finished a shift. I heard there was a large zombie attack at an abandoned factory two clicks over. Make sure you keep your eyes open," Christopher told him.

Andres thanked him for the update, then invited his friend in to share some dinner.
"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?" Heather asked, gesturing towards Christopher.  He could tell she was pissed that she didn't have him to herself anymore.

Andres threw some bologne on some bread and passed out the plates.  "This is my bud from patrol," he told her.  "He's showing me the ropes."
For the next few hours, they listened as Christopher told them some of his exciting moments fighting the zombies.
"I've gotta be up early, doll," Andres said, giving Heather a chaste peck.  "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," she said sleepily.  "Good night."  
He slipped into bed, alone.

It didn't take long before Andres was kicking himself for passing up what Heather was obviously eager to give him.  Stupid, stupid, stupid, he chastised himself as he headed towards the caravan.

Christopher laid on the horn.  "Get a move on, kid! We got places to go, people to see!"

Jessica came home with him to go over plans for a new patrol.  
 He'd made a slight mis-step when he told her she looked pretty hot in her G.I. Jane outfit.
Jessica had glared at him and told him to knock it off.  "I'm married, sleaze bag," she snapped. "Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I want to be hit on."

Andres quickly apologized. 
"Let's get down to business," she said matter-of-factly.  "I think we should extend the patrol towards the old fishing dock."
 "I don't agree."

That was pretty much how their conversation went.  Unable to agree on anything, Jessica had thrown her hands up in the air and said she would let Christopher be the judge.

Already in a bad mood, Andres slammed inside and took a sponge bath.  He groaned with agitation when water started spraying everywhere.
 "Stupid... fricking... plumbing... #$@*," he grumbled under his breath as he worked on the pipe.
Since he had his tools out, he worked on the toilet, too.  
Satisfied with a job well done, he crashed out, completely forgetting over the course of the day that he was supposed to call Heather.

4 comments:

  1. Ok so I don't know much about this challenge....I do know that certain things are unlocked with the completion of jobs. What are you going for here? And what is the postman coming in the middle of the night?

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  2. I am trying to reach the top of a career. The first 3 that are needed is culinary, military or medicine. Each career unlocks certain restrictions, but most importantly, the first top of career lets me move people in! And postman comes once a week in the middle of the night with a hefty bill due to the Criminal restriction. Once crime gets lifted, Sims don't have to pay "protection" money anymore.

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  3. I remember going for Military first too when I did this Challenge, there are some tough chance cards in all jobs so fingers crossed for Andres! Ooh he’s getting a bit hooked on Gretchen isn’t he, will she be the one, or the one for now? :D

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    Replies
    1. I used to know the chance card outcomes much better. It's been too long since I played! I considered looking it up, but decided to wing it. Doh! He definitely likes Gretchen alot. And she seems to like him too, judging by the amount of times she "jogs" by.

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