Unloved: A Sims Story by orenjiAi

Unloved 13

The Commons was a medieval gothic building found between the preparatory and collegiate campuses of the University of Britechester. It is believed to be the oldest building in the entire school. Ivy had grown unchecked over its face, screening off several of its windows. Some of which are now permanently closed because of the thick foliage that got entangled in its hinges.

It used to be the old entrance gate to the school. But when the campus was expanded, the structure found a new life as the cafeteria. Elia walked into the building, carrying her purple tin lunchbox. But instead of entering through the mullioned double doors that led into the lunchroom, she climbed down the staircases that led to the semi-basement.

“And where do you think you’re going?” said a familiar haughty voice.
Elia looked up to see Edward casually perched on the banisters.
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“The cafeteria is back up there,” he pointed with his thumb. “Down there’s just storage.”
“No, there are some picnic tables too. I’m joining some friends for lunch.”

“Friends?” Edward gave Elia a quizzical look. “Nobody goes down there? Unless... Surely you do not mean The Sams?”

Elia thought Edward must be enjoying coming up with his personal vocabulary. She just wished he was aware that he cannot expect Elia to just know the meaning of these things. Contrary to whatever he must be thinking, “The Sams” was not a common word. And she was pretty sure the word “plebs” he taught her was meant to be a slur. Elia scratched behind her ear. She didn’t know how to react to that. Edward explained away with further prodding.

“That’s what everyone calls them! Samuelle Hiddleston? Samantha Jung? Samia Guerra?”
“You mean, Sammy, Mannie, and Amy?” Elia inquired.
“I knew it!” Edward was annoyed. He looked as if he had just baked a cheesecake but accidentally dropped it while pulling it out of the oven. “Wait You’re on a nicknames basis with The Sams?” he asked.
“Yes?” She said unsurely. But she showed him her lunchbox. She hoped she would get the clue.
“Wow! Look at you! Social climbing already? Did you learn that from the old hag Rika during your little summer camp?"
“Social climbing?" Elia repeated. "I’m just having lunch. With friends. I met them on the first day of classes.”
"Listen, The Sams. They’re not just students. They're the most popular people in our year!
https://i.imgur.com/F0ss2jt.png
“Samia Guerra, Head Cheerleader. UBrite always had the absolute worst cheer team! Full of wimpy lazy band nerds too stuck-up to want to do anything! But when she joined the team back in middle school, they made it straight to nationals! They've been the undefeated champions ever since. She's the most liked person on campus. She's dumb as ???? but no one cares `coz she's got school spirit or whatever!
https://i.imgur.com/1gpJvHj.png
"Samantha Jung is the school gossip. There's nothing you can hide from her—because she's that nosy! Maybe it’s because her personal life is just so unsatisfying that she just has to involve herself with everyone else’s! You know what? Talking about her makes me sick.
He spewed angrily. Elia looked away disgustedly. Now she was feeling sick too.
https://i.imgur.com/HxX2CqH.png
"And then there's Samuelle Hiddleston.” He said more dramatically. “Students here think she’s perfect. Effortlessly pretty with straight hair. Class president with straight A’s. Her entire life is planned straight to a tee. Captain of the Debate Team. Net worth of §3.5 million. Regular soup kitchen volunteer. Little miss perfect. That's her!"
“Look, my friends are waiting...”
"Don’t be fooled!” He warned. “They’re not friends! They are by far the meanest, nastiest girls you will ever meet!
“The Sams manipulate everyone in the school to bend to their whims. They all work together! Samia has the network. Samantha does the dirty work. And Samuelle thinks up the strategy—She's the brains of their operations.”

Elia couldn't understand Edward. Try as she might. It seemed to her that he was very paranoid of friendship. Has everything anyone's ever done for him always had some ulterior motive? Hasn’t there been anybody in his life that reached out to him without asking for anything in return? Is this world really such the terrible place he makes it to be? She felt sad for him and shook her head.

"You don’t believe me? Last summer, the teacher caught The Sams cheating on their Simerican history term papers. But did they get expelled? No! Samuelle Hiddlesdton charmed the faculty so they'd only have to do extra credit! Timothy Johnson on the other hand, was caught cheating on a quiz, and he was held back that semester!
“Samia Guerra is excused from attending literally every class when it’s Viney League season! You try missing three days in a row and you get tardy permanently stamped on your school records!
“And Samantha Jung had Andrew Robins and Lance Pascale suspended for “indecent behavior” on the school trip to Champ Les Sims in seventh grade when she herself is sneaking in her college boyfriend daily into the prep school grounds! That nosy hypocrite!”
“And that’s only the tip of the iceberg. The Sams are untouchables, I tell you! Teen royalty—no! Dictators!”

His eyes suddenly went very round.
“That’s it...I cracked the code!”
Edward excitedly tried to grab Elia’s shoulders. But she pulled herself out of his reach. This helped him sober up.
“You’re kind of a princess, right?" he said, now more composedly. "You’re a threat to their reign. That’s why they’ve taken you in. Try to subdue you.
“Autocracies depend on three pillars of stability, according to—}

"Elia? Where were you? I've been calling you for the last five min—" Mannie said as she tapped her back. She was all smiles until she saw Elia's company. She eyed him with contempt.
"What're you do—?"
“Shut up and get a life, you ????!” Edward screamed at Mannie as he ran up the stairs away from the two girls.
Mannie looked straight back at Elia.
"Elia, why are you talking to Edward Witthaker?” she said with a raised eyebrow.
https://i.imgur.com/GVq8Efx.png
“Anyway,” She didn’t wait for the blonde teen to ask why. “Take my advice. Don’t hang out with him. Edward Whittaker is a lanky little social climbing liar. And you don't want to be associated with that kind."
She smiled again and led Elia by the hand.
"You look totally adorable in that uniform. C'mon, Sammy's waiting! We got a surprise for you."


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Elia clomped slowly to the front of the physics classroom. The Sams gave her a pair of gold-colored high-heeled pumps. They insisted on having her wear it for the remainder of the day to help boost her confidence. ("And it'd make your butt look amazing!"). Elia's posture had already been corrected by the governess Amagi Rika over the summer, but this was her first time wearing heels higher than three inches. She was trying her best not to fall down the stairs of the stepped classroom.
"Mr. Toya?"
"Oh hi, Elia!" the olive-skinned teacher said. "What can I do for you?"
"Yeah. About the groupings for the project due on the 22nd? It's said here that I'm assigned with a Tyler King? But it's been almost a week now and he still hadn't shown up. May I be allowed to work on it alone?"
"Oh...," he scrunched his face. "Right. I forgot to tell you. Tyler King asked to be excused this week. He apparently had some personal matters to attend to. Family problems. He had to go back to Capeside to deal with it himself."

Elia felt a little sorry for her selfishness. Physics wasn't particularly difficult for her. She could have easily finished the project on her own. But she was getting annoyed that Tyler King made her do all the work because he couldn't be bothered to show up for classes. Except it turned out he wasn’t skipping classes on purpose. If only she had known about this sooner, then she would've been more patient.

"Wait. Did you say Capeside?" Elia realized.
"Yes. You know that medieval town upstate?" Mr. Toya looked at her through the top of his eyeglasses. "OK. I'm really sorry about this Miss Thebe. I'll give you two days extension for the project if you're decided to do it alone. Don't worry about Tyler King. He'll just make up for it with extra credit.”
"I'm sorry. Can you forget everything I just said?," Elia said. "I think I'll keep the partnership.
"You see, I live at Capeside too. I realized I could just drop by his house this weekend and we could come up with something for the project. If he can't come here. I'll just go to his place."
"Alright. That’s very noble of you, Miss Thebe.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, isn’t Capeside really far from this campus?”
“Not at all. I’d say about a three-hour drive?”
“So you drive six hours every day just to go to school?"
"Oh no, not me. Our chauffeur."
"Must be nice," the teacher said dryly.

* * *

https://i.imgur.com/r6kn6eq.png
"So how are you liking uBrite Prep?" Sammy asked as she sipped her lemon honey ginger detox tea.
"It's amazing!" Elia replied. "People here are really nice... Back in the orphanage, the other kids wouldn't even look at me. But now, everyone's—" Elia smiled to herself. She couldn't find the proper words to explain what she was feeling. She was hanging out with friends in a coffee shop after school. Talking of literally just anything. It's just like in the movies. Back in her past life, she only dreamed of doing these things.
"It's like a dream come true," she said almost tearily.
"Aww Elia, I'm so glad to hear that you're having fun now!" Mannie squeezed Elia's hand.
"Don't worry, those lonely days are over now," Amy said, holding her other hand.
"You won't ever feel left out anymore. Because now, you have us." Sammy added as she flipped back her straight blonde hair. "And when you're with us..."
"Life is tres bien!" they all said and giggled in unison.
"Err... très bien?" Elia suggested.
"No, Tres bien! D'you like? We came up with it ourselves. Tres as in three? And bien as in good? " Amy explained. "You know? 'Coz there's three of us and—"
"Shut up, Amy! She gets it! She's not an idi-yet!" Mannie half-screamed.
"Sorry, Mannie."
"What's that?" Sammy pointed at the folder Elia had at her lap.
"Oh, it's just some printouts for a classmate from physics. He's been absent all week."
"Aww, you're so thoughtful!" Mannie complimented.
"Thanks. I-I thought I'd bring this to his house so we can start working on our project over the weekends. He's apparently from Capeside, too"
"We have classmates all the way out at Brindleton Bay?" Amy inquired.
"We have classmates all the way from Windenburg and Mt. Komorebi, genius!" Mannie scolded.
"You know, I've never been to Brindleton Bay," Sammy said as she leaned back in her seat.
"Yeah, me neither. They say the beaches there are beautiful. But honestly, if we're talking about beaches, I bet it wouldn't compare to Sulani." Mannie agreed.
"Lemme check." Amy said. She searched for Capeside on her phone. A few half-timbered houses showed up on the screen. Elia recognized one of the. as the cafe that served Simcity cheesecake. "It's like, so provincial!"
"Again, Sulani's better!"
"We should go check it out sometime." Sammy said, "Sulani is pretty but it gets crowded and boring.
"It's crazy. I know classes just started this week, but I think I could really use some unwinding.
Sammy stretched her arms above her. Then she clasped her hands together and rested her chin on them.
“Let’s go check Capeside...” She gazed deep into Elia's vividly colored eyes and smiled. "Then we can have a sleepover at Elia's," she suggested.
Mannie and Amy squealed and agreed indefinitely.

Now things were really playing out like it did in the movies! Elia thought. They would all watch a movie. Bake some snacks. Braid each others' hair. They should try that test-of-courage thing in the woods! And they would talk. And bond. And get closer as friends. It would even be better than the movies! She was getting excited again. And this time she knew better than to let go of this opportunity for Robert.

"Alright!" Elia agreed. She brought her phone out with the intent of messaging Robert the schedule. "When's the date? I'll check with Robert."
Elia realized her mistake as the words came out of her mouth. How did she manage to yet again involve Robert? She had just decided a moment ago that he wouldn’t get in her way.
"Again with the butler? What is your fascination with him?" Sammy said.
"Robert may be the family butler. But, with the Mistress gone, he's also standing as my legal guardian..." Elia answered honestly.
"But still! You're the lady of the house!" Amy said.
"You're technically his employer. You're the boss! Not him! You dictate his schedule." Mannie egged on. "You know what? Give me your phone, we're going to teach you what to say!"
"—Hey!"

Mannie snatched Elia's phone and ran behind Sammy. She whispered into her ear then looked at the screen to type.
"Woah. Is this him?"
https://i.imgur.com/EsKgfdl.png
The two girls saw the profile picture Elia had set for Robert on the messaging app. She candidly snapped it on the day the National Historic Commission inspected the chateau. It was cropped from a photo of Robert standing by the side of an archway. He was waiting for the Count to exit the room. The sun was streaming in through the French windows and it cast its light on one-half of Robert's face. The other half was hidden in shadows. It emphasized his defined cheekbones and heavy jaw. His gaze was sharp and focused. He looked very manly.

"He's a lot younger than I imagined." Sammy mused.
"Oh Elia you naughty girl!" Mannie teased. "Did you sneak-snap this?"
"What? Lemme see." Amy tried to get the phone but the other teen swiped her hand away.
"Oh... now I get it!" Mannie said, zooming on the photo so it completely filled the screen. She stared at Robert's face. "You're totally crushing on him, aren't you?"
"Oooh! A forbidden love! How romantic!" Amy said excitedly.
"Which is why you're always worried about what he'd think!"
"I kinda get it, he's a total hunk."

That wasn't true, was it? Elia just thought it'd be more convenient for them to have the sleepover with Robert around. Surely, he would do a much better job at hosting the sleepover. He could help them with the sleeping arrangements, and the meals, and the activities. On top of being the butler, he was also the chatelain of the very historic Summer Palace. There would definitely be rooms that he'd consider off-limits. She needed him to be there.

"'I will always be here for you'!? Wait, isn't that totally something a boyfriend would say!?" Mannie read out loud.
Elia thought about what Mannie had just said. She recalled the line as her and Robert’s first text when he had adopted her. Had Mannie been snooping around her messages? She had some very personal conversations with him that absolutely no one else should see! Like that time he saved her from drowning in the bath and she thought he saw her naked. It could easily be misunderstood for something else!
Realizing the situation, Elia quickly retrieved her phone. She buried it deep in her backpack then wanted to shove her whole head in too. She tried to hide her bright red face in vain.

A loud slapping noise echoed through the brick walls of the cafe. Everything had gone quiet. Elia looked up to see the other customers all staring at their direction. She wondered what they were all looking at.
It was Sammy and Mannie. Both teens were at their feet. Sammy had her arm outstretched with an open hand. While Mannie seemed to have staggered back a few paces. She was clutching her cheek. Her eyes were wide with shock. Elia could make out a handprint on Mannie's face beneath where she was touching it. Sammy had slapped Mannie.

Sammy rolled her eyes at the other girl. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and collected her things. She slammed §50 on the table and walked out of the cafe.
Elia watched the other two remaining teens exchange confused, nervous glances. Soon they scrambled to gather their schoolbags and rushed out the doors.
"Sammy, wait!" "I’m sorry, Sammy!" "Come back!" Elia heard Mannie and Amy call as they chased after the blonde.

Elia was left alone at the table; unsure of what had just happened.

She took a long draft of her now-room temperature chocolate. Finishing it before leaving the cafe herself.