Chapter 3: Old Friend

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I've been playing this for a little bit, and I found something that I've been tying to figure out for story telling. The goal of my challenge was to try not to make your own Sims, but I found it a bit wierd for when I wanted to tell a part of the story where in my other stories, I would normally build a lot and populate it with Sims. My problem I ran into was I started off the story with a text to his boss. I got the idea from the Sim wishing to text his boss, the boss being barely an acquaintance, and the fact that he was in Business Career Level 1. So then I wrote some stuff about how his boss talked to him and stuff at work about his text. Problem was, boss was a townie too, but I'm not playing her household, and I was trying to avoid the whole "Add Sim to Household" cheat just to get pics, so basically I have no way to get pics of him at work with his boss. LOL. It drove me nuts in chapter two that there were no pictures to match that portion of text. I was thinking maybe for the future, I should either not write about his job, but it's a part of his life since he's a single Sim and he doesn't have a whole lot to talk about, or I should allow for lots to be built and populated Sims of your own creation, so long as the townie you're playing doesn't get involved romantically with them. 

So... FYI... there might be lots built with populated Sims  for Benjamin in order for me to tell his story effectively. :D

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Tuesday came and went, with Ms. Marshall giving me a promotion to Filing Clerk. I was proud of myself, even though I knew I was still at the bottom of the hierarchy in the corporation. At the same time, it felt good knowing I had climbed one rung of the invisible ladder. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I would no longer have to wait in those long lines at Starbucks to get all the suits at the office their morning lattes, cappuccinos, and mochas. When I got home, Ralston seemed restless because I found her running around in a circle, tracing a path along the walls that enclosed my kitchen. In order to prevent her from wearing a trail in my carpet, I hooked her leash on her and took her for a walk so she could get some fresh air. Come to think of it, both of us needed some refreshment.

After hooking Ralston's leash to her collar, we started walking, and I started thinking about my life. I wasn't old by any means, twenty-three, to be exact. I had never gone to college because my parents couldn't afford it, but to be honest, the sound of being in school as a grownup was pretty unappealing. My dad was an auto mechanic, and he ran his own car repair shop, while my mom was a waitress at the local diner. Our life was simple, I was the typical small town guy, and I still lived in the same town my parents did. I worked on cars with my dad when I was a boy, and when I got old enough, he let me work at his repair shop. As a result, I've become pretty handy in all aspects of the word. It's a good skill to have when you grow up not having a lot of money.

At eighteen, I moved out of my parents' small house and bought one of my own with the money I had saved up working for Dad. Ralston was our family dog, and my parents let her come with me so I wouldn't be lonely living alone. I continued working at my Dad's repair shop for about two years, even though I had moved out, but when I was twenty, Dad was beginning to grow concerned. He wanted better things for me, and he felt like me working at his shop wasn't going to allow me to achieve those things. I felt bad because I somehow felt like I had a sense of duty to my father to help him since he had always been so kind to me and he always did the best he could to see that I had what I needed despite our situation. Dad said he admired my good heart, and he admitted that he would be losing one of his best mechanics, but he couldn't and wouldn't hold me back anymore.

I agreed, even though at first I was sad for him and I didn't really think he was holding me back. I didn't think the life of an auto mechanic was that bad, but over time, I realized my dad felt bad for raising me poor. He felt like I had missed out on things that he wished he could have given me because of it. I also realized my thinking had been a little stunted. I hadn't been given the opportunity to even know that I could want more than what I had. I always thought what I had was enough, so I didn't really dream that things could be better. It wasn't that I didn't think I deserved it or anything, but it was more like I was satisfied with carbon, without knowing that if I put effort in, I could make it a diamond. I would always be grateful to my dad for that little push that opened my eyes.

So, with my dad's reassurance, I quit working for him, and got a part time job at the grocery store for a year to make some more money so I could buy myself some clothes that were appropriate to interview for more serious jobs. I kept in touch with my dad through emails and phone calls to let him know how I was doing. We were both pretty busy, me with my new office job, and my dad with his repair shop, which had always been really successful. I suppose he was just successful by default because he was the only repair shop in town. I took my car to Dad whenever it needed any maintenance, and I got to talk to him when I did. As I continued walking down the street, I saw my friend Gracie Loveland, who was a few feet in front of me. She hadn't noticed me yet, so I just admired her from a distance. She was a blonde girl that I'd known for a while, whom I was now good friends with. I waited for her to get closer, ready to grab her attention if she didn't see me, but she finally looked up and saw me, and a large grin spread across her face as she did.

"Hey Ben! How are you?"

"I'm okay. What about you?"

"Meh, The usual. Work at the science lab doing nerdy shit, so I'm just out for a walk after being cooped up in the stuffy building all day."

Gracie smiled at me coyly, tucking her hair behind her ear, even though I knew it wasn't going to stay there. I could read the signs of when a girl was flirting with me, and Gracie was definitely doing that, so I decided to take advantage of the situation.

"What are you doing later this week, Gracie? Do you want to hang out?"

"Yeah, sure! That sounds awesome. You have my number, Ben, I'll be looking forward to your call."

Gracie came up close to me, touching my arm and hand seductively, as she walked past me, smiling as she left. I smiled back at her, and I saw her blush. I watched her backside as she walked away, and I swear she was swinging her hips much more than she had been earlier.