Chapter 9: I Dun Wuna Habba BeBe!

[pascal_curious]

Thanks to the help of Circe, Nervous, my brothers Lazlo and Vidcund, and one Sophie Miguel from ‘The Nanny Van’ our lives resumed some semblance of normalcy after several weeks. It was a huge adjustment for us all. We managed by using a dry erase board to schedule each week so someone would always be home. I had arranged it so that I could continue working from home most days and the days I had to be at the lab Sophie stepped in to care for Andromeda. Lazlo pitched in by caring for Andy on his days off. Vic even seemed to warm up to her, I know I caught him snuggling her at least a couple of times.

After about six weeks I had become accustomed to being awakened by hungry wailing several times a night, therefore I was very surprised to be awakened in the wee hours of a Tuesday morning by someone pounding on the front door.

 

 

I jumped out of bed, dressed in only my boxers and ran to the door. I expected to find that Lazlo had lost his key again, not Ms. Amber St. Clare shivering in her nightie.

 

“Thank God, Pascal,” she gasped. She grabbed my forearm and pulled me outside. “It’s Lazlo,” she explained. “I happened to look out my window and he was lying in the middle of the road!”

 

“What?” I asked, just for clarification.

 

“I managed to get him off of the road, but I couldn’t get him to your house by myself.” She pulled me along beside her until I saw Lazlo’s lifeless form at the side of the road.

 

“Shit!” I exclaimed and ran to his side, kicking up sand in my wake.

 

“Did you see what happened?” I asked Amber as I lightly slapped Lazlo’s pale cheeks in an effort to rouse him.

 

Amber didn’t answer right away. “No. I just looked out of the window and saw him in the road.”

 

I had a strong suspicion she was lying to me.

 

“Does he need to go to the hospital?” she queried nervously.

 

Lazlo was breathing steadily and appeared to be in a deep sleep. I had a pretty good idea what had happened.

 

“No, he will be okay,” I assured her. “He just needs to sleep it off.”

 

“He’s drunk?”

 

“No, He’s just passed out.”

 

 

We managed to support Lazlo between us and carried him to the bunker, his shoes dragging trails in the desert sand. We got him to his bed and let him fall gently onto the mattress.

 

 

“I dun wuna habba bebe,” Lazlo mumbled as his head hit the pillow.

 

Amber looked at me and I looked at her.

 

“What on Earth was that supposed to mean?” she asked.

 

“I have no idea.” It was my turn to lie.

 

“Are you sure we don’t need to take him to the hospital? I can drive if you want me to.”

 

“He will be fine in a few hours, I guarantee it. The same thing happened to me earlier this year and Vic about 2 months ago.”

 

“Oh,” she said.   After a moment’s thought she asked, “Is it like a genetic condition or something?”

 

“It certainly looks that way, doesn’t it,” I answered vaguely.

 

She rubbed her hands over her arms to banish the gooseflesh that raised her skin. I wasn’t sure if it was cold or fear that chilled her until I noticed the pokies through her nightie.

 

“God, you must be freezing,” I observed. I pulled an old afghan out of Lazlo’s wardrobe and chivalrously threw it around her shoulders. 

 

“Thanks. I didn’t realize that desert nights got so cold.” She clutched the tattered orange afghan close.

 

There was one of those uncomfortable silences that we all hate. I bravely broke the silence by trying to catch her in a fib.

 

“Um, thanks for waking me up.  It’s a lucky thing you happened to look out the window wasn’t it?”

 

“Yeah,” she answered. I noticed she wasn’t looking at me when she spoke.

 

“Insomnia?” I asked.

 

“Yeah.” Her eyes rested on Lazlo as she spoke this time.

 

“Me too. It keeps me up all the time. It drives me crazy,” I lied artfully. “I like to go up on the roof and look through the telescope when I can’t sleep. Maybe one of these days I will see a flying saucer.” I chuckled at my own shrewdness.

 

“I should go now,” she blurted, her green eyes finally meeting mine. “It’s late and I should try to get some sleep,” she stammered nervously. “Thanks for the blanket,” she added glumly, eyes once again at the floor.

I suddenly felt ashamed fo having  toyed with her.

 

“Do you want me to walk you home?” I asked genuinely.

 

She perked up a bit at my chivalrous gesture. “No.” She smiled. “It’s just across the street. I’ll be okay.

 

“Watch out for rattlesnakes,” I advised.

 

“Really?” she questioned with alarm.

 

I smiled. “I’m just kidding, the rattlesnakes aren’t nearly as dangerous as the tarantulas,” I teased.

 

“I will remember that, smart ass.” 

We both laughed. I hadn’t expected her to say that.

 

“Let me know when Lazlo is feeling better,” she requested as she stepped out the door.

 

“Sure. And thanks again for waking me up.”

 

We bade each other goodnight and she glanced nervously to the sky before setting off down the walk.

 

Aha!

 

Now I knew. I knew that she knew.

Comments

[madame-ugly.livejournal.com]

Are you playing out a script with this story or is it more a "write as you go" thing? (I know you said you've had the idea for a while but that doesn't mean it's scripted)

So was Lazlo's abduction "aided" by you (hee hee) or natural? Hee hee.

[pascal-curious.livejournal.com]

To be quite honest, yes. When I first got the game I started playing out this storyline. I had Lazlo use a hacked telesope from MTS2. After playing through a couple of generations of Curiouses I upgraded my pooter with a gig of ram and a kick heiny video card. I saved all my photos and movies, cleared out my Sim2 folder and started playing the story through again. So, I am following a script from my first play through. It was all in my cranium instead of in text.

I am a Hack fanatic. MTS2 and MATY are my favorite sources for hacks and custom stuff.

BTW, do you have the sock monkey toy in your game? I must have that! I worship sock monkeys!

[madame-ugly.livejournal.com]

I have the boy AND the girl sock monkey in my game.

I also have a Leg Lamp (as seen in "A Christmas Story").

All three items came from The Sims 2 Resource. It's a pay site but they do offer a rotating selection of free stuff.

(if you want, I can send you the sock monkey file)

[iceraptoress.livejournal.com]

Very fun and entertaining story so far! I'm looking forward to reading more. Pascal is one of my favorite Sims, and you've created a very interesting voice for him. ^_^

Fantastic Story

[thesixthmuse.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you posted an advert over at simstorytellers otherwise I wouldn't have known about your journal.

Let me just say I have finally caught up and have read all your previous posts and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Your character voice in particularly is really well developed. Each character has their own distinct personality stamped in their speech and actions.

I've always loved the Curious brothers myself so it's great to read where people take them.

I'm looking forward to reading what happens to the brothers and how they cope with the special changes taking place around them.

Re: Fantastic Story

[pascal-curious.livejournal.com]

Gosh, I'm gushing. Thanks so much for the kind words of praise. I got to a siking point last night and was frustrated, but now I feel much better about things.

Re: Fantastic Story

[(Anonymous)]

Keep at it. Writing can often be so frustrating you just want to throw the towel in. But you've done a really great job here with the characters. If you're stuck, take a break and so something you enjoy and forget about the story for a bit. I've found that does wonders for the tempermental muse.

Re: Fantastic Story

[thesixthmuse.livejournal.com]

Ooops I forgot to sign in to LJ again. I'm getting way too old.

[kin-thalas.livejournal.com]

She knew - who has told her? Or got she abducted before?

I´m looking forward to read more!

[pascal-curious.livejournal.com]

She knew all right, but exactly how will be explored if I ever finish my next entry. I've gotten to a bit of a sticky spot that I am trying to get through.

Glad you are anjoying it!