Better Together | The Holden Household

Highlights
Monday - It’s back to school season in the Holden house! Dallas will be attending Copperdale High with her sights set on landing a spot on the Copperdale Cheer Squad, acing her exams - and of course - surviving her freshman term! The morning was off to a slow start as Dallas decided to get in those extra 10 minutes of beauty sleep. Dallas managed to get to school just in time to find her locker. As she was closing her locker door, she felt a tap on her shoulder..it was River! Ahh, River Cowley. Boy oh boy, he really grew up during the summer. River came over to ask Dallas which class she was in. Turns out they both got assigned to class one! They talked for a couple more minutes, and Dallas could feel her face starting to blush. The bell rang, and all of the students started to shift in effort to find their classes. Saved by the bell!
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Her first class of the day was math, ugh. Dallas has never been fond of math, but for some odd reason she was smiling during the entire class. She looked as happy as a clam! Now I wonder what, or who, could have caused that? Then it was lunch time, finally! Dallas went to the cafeteria and ordered herself the meatloaf #noregrets .. well actually, on second thought, she totally regretted it. Don’t ever be fooled, mystery meat is a real thing. Gross!
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The last class of the day was science. Dallas didn’t have too much interest in the topic, but luckily the teacher spent more time telling Boston to stop talking to Sydney instead of actually teaching the class material. Did Dallas learn a lot? Nope, but she was pretty entertained. After school was out, Dallas went straight home to practice her cheer routine to prep for her cheer tryouts which were being held the next day after school. She’s been practicing the whole summer, but she was desperate for a spot! Her friend, Zuri, locked down her spot on the squad early during pre-season tryouts. That lucky girl! Maybe Dallas could get Zuri to put in a good word? Either way, practice makes perfect, so Dallas practiced until her legs felt like jello!
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Tuesday - Today is the day, it’s the day of the cheer tryouts. Dallas woke up so nervous, but she knew she was going to nail her routine. Dallas got to school with about ten minutes to spare, so she stopped at her locker to quickly skim the assigned reading she forgot to do last night. Her first class of the day was social studies, which is one of her favorite subjects! She sat down in the first row and felt her phone buzz. Dallas picked it up and checked Social Bunny. She got a DM from Zuri saying “Sit by me @ lunch.” Dallas reacted with a smiling freezer bunny, and put her phone away so she wouldn’t get in trouble with the teacher.
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Time for lunch! After the mystery meat catastrophe yesterday, Dallas brought a sandwich from home to eat. Yum, veggies and hummus! Then the principal sat his lunch down at the table Dallas and River were sitting at…he totally ruined the vibe.
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Dallas got up to throw her paper bag away as Zuri came walking up to the table.
“So are you excited for the tryouts later?” Zuri asked.
“Definitely!” Dallas affirmed, “I spent all of last night practicing!”
Zuri smiled and told her “Don’t worry about it, trust me, you’re in.”
Zuri’s reassurance was all that Dallas needed to get her through the rest of the school day.
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The cheer tryouts were held out on the football field behind the high school. The squad made the newest member, Zuri, teach the cheer.
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“Dallas, you’re up!” Zuri shouted. Dallas took her position in front of her peers and performed her routine:
“Red Hot”
“Our Team is Red Hot”
“Our Team is R-E-D, Red, H-O-T, Hot”
“Once We Start, We Can’t Be Stopped, Hey Hey!” *clap, clap*
“Hey, Hey!” *clap, clap*
https://i.imgur.com/iFEwZjY.png

She left the field knowing that she totally nailed her tryout! She was loud, clear and didn't miss a beat! Once she got home, she got a call from Zuri letting her know that she’ll need to block out her Friday evenings in her calendar because SHE MADE THE SQUAD! Go Whomp Whomps!
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She ran down the stairs to tell her mom she made the squad! Darla smiled, congratulated her, and hugged her. It was a proud mama moment! She waited a couple of seconds and then told Dallas it was her turn to wash the dishes from dinner while she stepped into the laundry room.
“I know, I know, I’ll do it in a minute” Dallas said.
Darla's eyebrow raised in surprise. “No Dallas, wash them now” she firmly insisted.
“UGHHHHH” Dallas yelled as she rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen.
She washed the dishes and ran right back into her room and proceeded to put her earbuds in. Now at least she won’t hear it when her parents ask her to do her chores!
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Wednesday - The first Wednesday of every fall is National Grilled Cheese Day in my game. All sims are encouraged to eat and talk about grilled cheese with another sim. Keaton woke up in an annoying mood and started singing a song to Dallas during breakfast. This wouldn’t normally bother Dallas, but for some reason when a song’s only lyrics are “I love grilled cheese, you love grilled cheese” the song can get repetitive and really annoying very quickly.
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At school, Dallas stopped at her locker before class started. Literally everyone was on their phones, and there was a weird energy surrounding her. It's almost as if she could feel people staring at her.
Suddenly, River walked over to her, hugged her, and said “Hey, how are you holding up? Don’t worry, nobody believes what Hallway Hearsay says.”
“What?” Dallas asked. “Of course I’m okay, what are you talking about?”
River glanced at his phone and shrugged. “Oh, uhm, nevermind. I must have misread something on Social Bunny. Don’t look at your phone, okay?”
Dallas was not only confused now, but she was afraid of what River saw on Social Bunny.
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The bell rang, Dallas and River walked into class and took their seats. Dallas pulled out her phone and opened up Social Bunny. A post read “Hallway Hearsay: Dallas Holden bribed her way onto the Copperdale Cheer Squad!” She was so mortified. So many questions filled her mind. Who is Hallway Hearsay? Why do they want to embarrass her? She knows she didn’t bribe anyone. She got her spot fair and square, right?! Dallas has never experienced a widespread rumor like this before. She didn’t know what to do, what to say, or how to handle it.
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The lunch bell rang, and Zuri stopped Dallas in the hallway. Zuri comforted Dallas and told her she'd save an extra seat at lunch. No cheerleader will ever have to go through the rumor blues alone. Dallas got her lunch, took a seat, and started to eat her fried chicken sliders. River saw her sitting all alone and immediately walked in her direction. He’s a true knight in shining armor saving the princess from the utter embarrassment of eating lunch completely by oneself.
“Is this seat taken?” he asked.
Dallas looked up and with a smile said “No, it’s all yours.”
River sat down and proceeded to eat his lunch.
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Zuri walked up to the lunch table and took a seat.
“So Zuri, I heard the cheer team got a new member yesterday. Congratulations!” expressed River.
Zuri smiled in response.
“Yeah, the team also got new uniforms thanks to my generous donation that I apparently made too!” Dallas joked. “A two for one deal!”
They all laughed. Dallas was happy she had such great people around her to help lift her up when she falls down.
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The bell rang again, and they all got up and went back to class. Dallas found herself having trouble concentrating during the lecture. Her mind would start daydreaming...about River. She was really impressed with his loyalty and sticking by her while a nasty rumor was flooding the halls. He’s a really great friend to her. The last bell of the day rang, and all of the students rushed out of class. Dallas stopped River and asked him if he would like to go to the Spooky Season Spectacular with her that Friday. He smiled and quickly accepted her invitation before he had to excuse himself from the conversation. He was already late for his chess club meeting!
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Dallas and Zuri went to cheer practice together and once practice was done, Dallas went straight home to avoid the whispers. Burying her face in her homework was actually a relief for her tonight. Hopefully by tomorrow, Hallway Hearsay moves on to the next rumor.