3. And so it begins
This chapter is a fairly quick journey through the first week of the save...the days we played through before we decided to write about it, and the ones we ran through without getting any screenshots. :|
I love to write, and I'm only fair at taking in-game screenshots, so this story will be words-heavy. Think of it as a piece of writing with illustrations, rather than a story in pictures. Some of you are incredible at the latter. I won't even try to play in your league! :)
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Saturday, 7 Spring
Cameron closed the front door of the house behind him and stepped into the foyer. Three arched entries led from here to the dining room, the living room, and a small sitting area Grandpa Mason called the "parlor." Cameron had spent more days than he could count here, but now the house felt strange and, perhaps, a bit scary. He remembered the conversation he and Grandpa Mason had last Sunday when he picked up the keys.
"Thank you for letting me live in your house," Cameron had said.
Mason shook his head. "It might be my house, but it is now your home."
Cameron stepped through the entry to his right and walked through the dining room, into the kitchen. He poured himself a glass of water and took a long drink. It doesn't feel quite like my home yet, he thought.
He had made a concerted effort to keep busy since he'd moved in. Being on the go and doing different things pushed the weird feelings to the back of his mind.
First, he had found himself a job. Grandpa Mason had made sure he would have Simoleons to pay his bills while he established himself. Still, Cameron felt uncomfortable letting his grandfather pay his way, any more than necessary. Cam took a position as a lifeguard. He worked from Thursday through Sunday, leaving him with a three-day "weekend."
His brother Patrick couldn't help teasing him. "You picked the classic Bro job. What do you do? Rub white junk on your nose and sit around with a whistle around your neck, looking at girls?"
"There aren't any girls around, you fool. It's still too cold." In fact, it had snowed more days this spring than not in Brindleton Bay. "I'm still learning the basics, anyway."
On the street where he lives
Cameron spent much of the free time he had during his first week exploring his new town. There was a fitness center on Whiskerman's Wharf, which he checked out the day he moved in. He had found a good place to fish, where the Brindleton Brook widened after it tumbled down from the hills west of town. And he'd simply spent time in Sable Square, talking to the people who lived in the other houses in the neighborhood.
The McGuires had lived in their house for three years now, so Cameron already knew them fairly well. Daniel and Nichole McGuire went to school with Patrick and Halle.
https://i.imgur.com/KkVOomm.jpg
The McGuires: Matthew, Daniel, Kate, Mike, Nichole, and Leah
The other families were almost as new as Cameron was.
Steve and Bonnie Petersen had four daughters: Willow, Aspen, Holly, and Rowan. Willow was living at home while she worked on a degree in Communications at UBrite. Cameron had seen her jogging in the neighborhood a few times, and he saw her on campus when he went to buy a soccer ball to mess around with. Willow was pretty, with shoulder-length brown hair. Aspen was Patrick's age, and the other girls were younger.
https://i.imgur.com/oZiB4k7.jpg
The Petersens: Rowan, Willow, Bonnie, Steve, Aspen, and Holly
The other family, the Nashes, were a bit more mysterious. Cameron met Cooper first. He was an active, outgoing youngster. He met Cooper's older sister, Sloane, one evening while he was running in the Square. Sloane was, in a word, gorgeous. She had long blonde hair and soft brown eyes. Cameron was a bit sorry to learn she was still a teenager. If Patrick hasn't met her, Cam thought, he should.
https://i.imgur.com/a6exeHx.jpg
Sloane Nash
Sloane mentioned her mom when she and Cameron were chatting, and Cameron had seen from a distance a woman whom he figured had to belong to Cooper and Sloane.
Cameron had also discovered that his family were not about to let him get too lonely. Both his parents and both his siblings had been to visit, one at a time, over a four-day period.
Halle was his fourth visitor. By then, Cam had figured out what was going on.
"You planned this," he challenged her.
"Mom and Dad totally did," Halle agreed. "But it's still fun to come hang out here for a while. It's quieter, and once it gets warm I am going to live beside that pool."
"Pay me with food from home and you have a deal."
A night on the town
Cameron was somewhat secretive about his plans for Saturday evening. He made his way out to San Myshuno and checked out the Romance Festival. Cam had been to the city plenty of times. His mom liked the Flea Market, and the whole family enjoyed the Spice Festival. But Cameron had never set foot outside the Spice Market district. Now he was off to the Fashion District. He was flying solo, too. He wasn't bringing Patrick along. He thought about asking some of his friends from Willow Creek to join him, but he was afraid they'd laugh.
It wasn't until he was walking through the streets of the Fashion District that a thought popped into his head...
What if I see someone I know? What am I going to tell them...?
Cam's fears turned out to be in vain. He didn't see anyone he knew. Nobody paid the least bit of attention to him as he sidled up to the Romance Guru to inquire about his romantic destiny.
The Guru waved her hands about her face and spoke with an ethereal tone. “Though temptation abounds, you must wait many moons for your destined love.”
Cameron looked around. He saw nothing that remotely resembled temptation, unless the food stalls counted.
He did meet a young married couple, Anthony and Holly Cannon, enjoying a date night.
"Sorry to tell you this, but it's mostly married couples and, well...weird locals here," Anthony admitted to him.
"That's what I'm discovering."
Cam did discover something that made the evening worthwhile, however. He spotted some Bird of Paradise flowers growing in a planter box on the Festival grounds. He picked some, planning to surprise his mother and sister with them. Then, an idea popped into his head.
I'm going to plant these and see if I can get them to grow! he decided. I think these sell for a pretty good price...
So, even though the Romance Guru had pretty much told him he was wasting his time looking for love, he found something that might be better for him in the long run. A way to make some Simoleons.
