Chapter Eleven

So, after my dramatic realization, making my life goals at a young age, and all of that good stuff, Cammie becoming a teen didn't really seem like such a big deal. That didn't stop me from acting excited, especially when Cammie started to return to her usual state of melancholy (increased by about ten million because she was now a teenage girl, and as far as I can tell all they do is angst about their lives...).



I encouraged her to wear her hair differently, which seemed to cheer her up quite a bit. Do you have any clue how embarrassing it was for me to even think of that idea, much less say it out loud? The things I do for family. I mean, Sage teased me mercilessly for days!



Unfortunately, Cammie was quickly getting into all kinds of trouble. She's always had a bit of a daring streak. One night, she was out way past curfew for no particular reason. According to her, she wanted to "stay out all night and see if the moron police could catch me." Nice one, Cam. They caught her an hour after curfew started and brought her home to face Mom's wrath.



I swear, I'd never seen Mom that angry before. If her glare got any more severe, the very sight would cause mountains to crumble into dust at her feet. I'm not exaggerating even a bit.

Naturally, I didn't want to miss the yelling session, so I watched from a window. Didn't want to get close to Mom when she was in Murderously Angry Mother Mode.



I watched all of Cammie's defenses fall to pieces.

Cammie: I, uh, I was just, you know.

Mom: Staying out past curfew? Shaming your poor mother in front of the whole community? Yes, you did all of that and more! I only hope I can show my face in town tomorrow... or anytime this week, for that matter! Oh, what will I tell Sadie at book club tomorrow? She's such a gossip, she'll know all about this! Did you think of that, Chamomile?!

Cammie: Well... uhhh...

Yup, Mother played the disappointed act well. Cammie hasn't been out a minute past curfew since.



Meanwhile, I decided to become an entrepreneur. Which is not as easy as it sounds, for the record. I had to bug Mom to buy the stand, then spend TONS of time baking cookies and muffins and all of that. Then I had to practice making the face that convinces the customers they absolutely must have that cookie made by the sweet little boy... yup, I wasn't above using my looks to rake in the dough.



But the customers flocked to me. Maybe it was my knack for cooking. Or maybe my obsessive reading of the Baking Report. I checked it every two minutes, just in case it had changed or I'd missed something the first time through. This is probably why Mom has to tell me to chill out when I start to stress over the fact that I didn't space all of the words in my homework evenly. Yeah, I'm pretty neurotic...



At some point, Ambrosia became a young adult. It was yet another small family gathering, which was only distinguished by Mom's complaints that yet another child was of age but that there were no grandkids in sight... it's probably best that Am didn't hear those comments. She might not have taken them so nicely...



It seemed that Sage was about to prove that statement wrong. It wasn't long before the whole family gathered at the upstairs window to watch Sage share his first kiss with Serenity Langerak. They'd been friends for ages, so it wasn't unexpected, though I was a litlle surprised (admittedly, I thought kissing was kind of gross back then. I actually thought Sage had went a little insane).



So, yeah, it's a bit awkward that the whole family was watching Sage ask her out. But this was high drama. It was like real life TV or something... except better than Reality TV! We even had a betting poll going (the winner didn't have to do any chores for a week). Mom insisted that Serenity would say yes, Cammie thought she would turn him down (always the optimist, my sister is), and I was still betting on Sage coming to his senses and taking it back.

Sage: So, uh, will you be my girlfriend?



Is it really a shock that Mom was right?

There was much cheering (Mom), and fuming (me and Cammie). It's a good thing Sage was too... busy to hear us.



None of us counted on the constant public displays that followed. Cammie was particularly disgusted, and took to staring at them in the hopes that they'd feel uncomfortable with the audience and stop. Needless to say, her plan was a failure. Sage and Serenity were so in love they didn't care. Cammie claimed their oh-so-cute relationship made her want to puke, but looking back on it I think she was just jealous.



After she left every night, Sage would stare out the window longingly. He looked absolutely miserable. I admit, it just didn't connect for me. I'd never cared about someone else so much that I genuinely wished I could spend every minute of my life with them.



Life settled into a happy pattern. Cammie learned how to play the guitar. Not only did it fill the house with music, but it gave her a way to vent. The guitar was the only thing that could really calm her down.



Mom and Cammie brought their relationship back to normal in the only way they knew how: making funny faces at each other. Did I get it? Of course not. But I was grateful that the two had found a way to relate to each other, no matter how odd it was.



Ambrosia discovered a love for gardening. She went out at all hours to tend the garden and make sure all the plants were healthy. I feared for the garden when she decided to move out- the rest of us were far too lazy to do anything.



With Sage always busy kissing Serenity, I decided to get to know my sisters better. And I realized that even though they were girls (and therefore aliens), they were actually pretty cool. Though I admit, sometimes their conversation went a bit over my head. I may have been an incredibly smart, cool, interesting, and dedicated kid (did I mention modest?), but even I had not yet mastered the translation from "girl speak" to Simlish.



And then, just like that, it was time for me to become a teen. Naturally, I had tons of plans: expand my baking business, get perfect grades, get a job at the spa...

Oh yes, I was very excited. I may or may not have jumped up and down, clapping in excitement (please say there's no photo evidence).



Amidst the confetti and adoring crowds and mobbing fans (okay, so it was just my family. A boy can dream, right?), I became a teen. Finally, my glorious years of growth and achievement were about to begin. As if! I should've known being a teen would suck. I should've been hoping I would get through it alive, not planning how much I would get done.



Here's a close up of my face, pre-teen angst. I thought I was better than Sage and his clingy relationship, better than Cammie and her moping around, but I was about to discover my own, particularly dramatic teenage problems...