Chapter 51: Fun-Filled Days, Sleepless Nights

Polaris continues to sleep poorly. Sleeping in his outerwear jacket doesn't help. He can hear everything; his neighbors worrying about money, the stray dog looking for food in the dumpster, the owl scouring the woods behind his house for prey. The ghosts become more and more coherent, although still echoing, still overlapping, still flipping annoying. His head hurts. He's tired all the time. And there are only four urns in the basement, so why can he hear so many ghost voices? There have to be more than four, and every night there's more.

His grades drop because he can't stop falling asleep in class, or freaking out in the middle of lectures, or skipping altogether because he can't stand to hear his classmates thinking cruel things about him. Life pretty much sucks for Polaris right now.

Cassie picked up her mother's love of teddies.

Tea party in the bathroom, huh? Not sure how hygienic that is...

Lily gains the aggressive trait in her old age. She often targets poor unassuming Sage, growling and barking at him over nothing.

After all this time, Blaze and Zinnia are still very much in love. Though she loves being a mom, motherhood has put a lot of stress on Zinnia, and now that all the kids are capable of taking care of themselves and each other, she finally gets the chance to take a breath.

"Polaris is going to be okay," Blaze tells her, picking upon her tension. "They're all going to be okay. You're a fantastic mother, and I love you."

Zinnia sniffs away tears of relief. She's needed reassurance for a while now, and just hearing those words from the man she loves makes everything feel okay.

"What're you reading?" Polaris asks his sister, even though he doesn't need to. He's learned that it bothers people when he knows things without asking so, even though it can get a little redundant sometimes, he always asks.

"It's a fascinating history of the paranormal in Storybrook County," Ambrosia says without looking up. "I was reading the newspaper, and old Holden Glover-Wozny kept writing in to complain about weird sounds and phantom smells in his house. Everyone wrote him off as crazy and senile, maybe in the process of having a stroke, but then his son was crushed to death by falling furniture."

"Falling furniture?" Polaris imagines anvils and pianos dropping from the sky, like in the cartoons he used to be terrified of as a child.

"Yeah, like, the dresser had somehow ended up on the ceiling, and then it fell on poor Sammuel. Or that's what Holden said, at least. Personally, I think he's gone mad and killed his son." It's disturbing how she can say this without batting an eye, Polaris thinks. "Anyway, it was front-page news. So I looked into it, and there's been an increase in reports of ghosts and things in town recently. But I have no idea what could be causing it. Groupthink, maybe, or something in the water is causing hallucinations..."

Polaris frowns. "Or maybe people are really being haunted; after all, our house has ghosts. But yeah, our ghosts are friendly," he adds, subconsciously responding to Ambrosia's train of thought. "Maybe something's making them mad? Maybe it's aliens?"

Ambrosia rolls her eyes. "Please stop. You're breaking my concentration, conspiracy boy," she mocks, as if a minute ago she wasn't contemplating the possibility of hallucinogenic tap water.

So Polaris wanders out to the back of the library. He feels, rather than sees, a flicker at the corner of his eye, and turns.

Ummmm, this? This wasn't here before.

"Hey, sis? Have you ever noticed a big, like, old-looking building in the back of the library?"

"No....."

"Well, there's one there now," Polaris whines. "Do you think it's a government cover-up? There must be alien technology in there."

Ambrosia sighs. "Or it could just be some old books," she says. But it's getting late, and she needs a shower, so they start heading home. "I'll look into it next time," she promises.

At home, Zinnia has prepared everyone's favorite meals in a fit of mother-henning.

Peanut butter and jelly for Sage, autumn salad for Nova.

Stu Surprise for Cassie, spaghetti with veggie sauce for Ambrosia.

When Poppy tries to eat her tail, Nova distracts her with a game of tug-of-war.

Maybe because it's the night of the full moon, or maybe it's just coincidence, but no one gets a good night's sleep tonight. All the ghosts are out, making noise and playing strange games with one another.

Alex hasn't retained much of his former self in the afterlife, but he still loves video games.

Cassie thinks she saw monsters under her bed, and opts to sleep downstairs with the ghosts for company instead. 

Sage gets woken up by the sound of some ghost haunting the dollhouse, and can't get back to sleep. He plays "capture the bandits" on the rocking horse until the sun comes up.

Polaris's head throbs with the racket. He doesn't get any sleep at all.

He's so tired. 

The next day is Love Day, and Blaze and Zinnia have a date, so Ambrosia and Polaris babysit the kids and the dogs. Nova demands to go to the festival.

Lily may have grey in her fur, but she still could never say no to a walk to the park.

Sage thinks Love Day is the most lovely of all holidays. He insists all five of them get together for a greeting card picture.

He gets something horrible painted on his face for the occasion. 

Cassiopeia has a little more luck at the face painting booth. 

Ambrosia rolls a wish to flirt with Wade Manning, but he can't be torn away from his horseshoes game. Also, she reflects, he has a girlfriend.

Pie-eating contest; a good way to earn tickets, and a free meal. 

Cassiopeia has never seen anyone eat with such ferocity. She hopes none of them choke...

*cough* *hack*

Ambrosia is determined to win, as always...

...but it's Sage who goes home with the tickets. He doesn't look so happy about winning, though, poor kid.

Wade Manning finally hops off the horseshoe court to talk to Ambrosia. They discover they're both artistic, and Wade invites her over to his house to look at some paintings.

Once there, however, she gets a little distracted by her childhood friend Ryan Manning, who has grown up into a nice-looking young man.

"I thought you were seeing Haley Barney," Ambrosia says suspiciously when Ryan starts flirting with her. 

"Nah, me and Haley're just friends," Ryan says with a wink. "Good friends."

Ambrosia is soon taken in by his easy charm and infectious good humor.

He licks his lips when they're done snogging. "You taste like pie," he tells her.

Dancing back at the Hand house.

Last moments of play before the parents come home to enforce bedtime.

A strange "gnome" makes an appearance.

All together, not a bad day at all.

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Notes -

I originally had some drama and stuff planned for the festival, but for whatever reason the lighting was all messed up, so I skipped it. :(

Also, gourmet goal completed! For a family of seven sims and three dogs, it was quite a feat. But I'm bored of it now, if I roll it a third time I think I'll use my joker to get rid of it. >.>

Next time: An investigation into the paranormal, and what's in that old building outside the library, anyway?