Wednesday 21 December 2011

Hypnotize

Round 32: July 2036 (Winter)
Gordon Nott is 40, Lia is 39, Annabel and Georgina are both 12 and Gabriel is 9.
(Jace is 79, Magdalena is 72, Mitchell is 17 and Brendan and Caitlin are both 13)

Narrated by Georgina Nott

High school has been harder for me than primary school ever was and my grades have dropped a little as a result. My teachers have told me that it’s my oral work that’s letting me down.

Whenever I have to do a talk, I get too nervous and I end up fumbling my words too much. So I’ve been practising in front of the mirror whenever I have a presentation or something for class. Hopefully, that will help.

Annabel has no such concerns.

The only thing she practises in front of the mirror is kissing and flirting.

Mum is always trying to encourage Annabel to take school a bit more seriously. She’s very set on all three of us going to college and Annabel won’t get in unless she has the skills and grades they’re looking for.

Annabel isn’t worried, because she figures she has five years before she even has to think about university.

Annabel and I are 12 now and she’s been trying to convince our parents that we’re old enough to be left at home alone for the night.

It’s not like we’re going to throw a wild party or burn the house down or anything like that. When we get home after school and we’re by ourselves, we usually just do our homework and watch TV.

Gabriel’s not really any trouble either. It’s too cold for him to go out bug hunting right now but he’s happy inside reading. We would be fine at home for a few hours at night.

Our parents, especially Mum, don’t see it that way. They said there needs to be someone older around in case of emergencies.

Dad has promised that in a couple of years, we can stay home on our own on a trial basis.

I still think it’s fun when Mum and Dad go out for the evening though.

They go out on their date nights a few times a month, whenever they can fit it in around Dad’s work.

When they’re out, Grandma and Grandpa come over to watch us. Which is not all bad, I have to admit.

Our grandparents are really cool, for old people.

Mum and Dad always leave us dinner but Grandma always bakes something extra for dessert.

Mum doesn’t make too many cakes and things and Grandma is a great baker, so it’s nice to have a treat when she’s here.

Annabel doesn’t really mind hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa; she just likes seeing how much Mum and Dad will let her do.

We’re not really allowed out much at night but lately, that really hasn’t been a problem. We’ve had some really heavy snow and school hasn’t even been on a lot of the time.

That leaves us plenty of time to hang out with our friends during the day.

I love school but even I have to admit that there’s something special about being out having fun when we’d normally be in class.

We’ve spent many a morning at the playground near our house, with Brendan and Caitlin.

Lunch is always at Cluckin’ Bell, because it’s the only place we can afford.

Even if we could afford some place fancier though, we’d still be eating there. Caitlin and Annabel are both obsessed with Mitchell Carmody, who works there.

Mitchell is cute and everything but he’s also 17. That’s pretty much a guarantee he’s not interested in Caitlin or Annabel.

Annabel thinks she’s in with a chance because he talks to her but I think he’s just a nice guy. Or maybe he just likes the attention. Either way, Mitchell will be away at college by the time Annabel and I are even allowed to date.

Brendan hates it when Annabel gets all swoony over Mitchell. He says it’s because it’s so pointless, because Mitchell’s not into her anyway.

It’s so obvious that he has a crush on Annabel though and he’d rather see her getting all swoony over him.

I know how he feels, because it’s probably the same way I feel when I’m trying to talk to him and he’s too busy looking at Annabel to hear me.

I don’t know Brendan as well as Caitlin and Annabel do but I really like him. He’s cute, of course, but he’s also funny and sweet and smart.

When he can drag his eyes away from Annabel, he's actually a pretty good listener as well.

Usually, I tell Annabel everything but I haven’t told her how I feel about Brendan and I’m not sure if I should.

We worked out months ago that Brendan was pretty into Annabel, so he has definitely come up as a topic of conversation when we’re hanging out without him.

But in all the times we’ve talked about Brendan, Annabel has never said one way or the other whether she’d actually want to date Brendan or not.

I guess it’s selfish of me but I hope she doesn’t. Annabel and I are so close and I don't want a boy to come between us.

Notes:
  • Title is from Hypnotize by the White Stripes.
  • So this is the other side of the Brendan thing I was referring to in his update. Georgina likes Brendan, Brendan still likes Annabel and Annabel isn't rolling wants for anyone. There's a lot of heart-farting over Mitchell though. ;) I don't know what will happen with this gang but they're young and have plenty of time to figure it out.
  • There was so much snow in this play session! I have never had such heavy snowfall in the game - it was insane. I played this family for four days, two of them being school days and both those school days were declared snow days. Which was nice in a way, because it gave me plenty of time to have the twins hang out with Brendan and Caitlin but I also didn't get to improve Georgina's grades at all, which she really wants to do.

14 comments:

  1. Cue the aww's.
    I was aww-ing when Georgina said she liked Brendan, but Brendan has eyes only for Annabel. Is this dejavu? The same thing happened kinda with Jack and Charles over Audrey. I think it went a little different though.
    Caitlin is a trip lol. Mitchell is a good looking boy so I can understand all the heart farts :P

    Great update!

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  2. Oh, those kids and their love triangles. I'd like to see how this pans out, and that they all make out happy, like the aforementioned Jack, Charlie and Audrey.

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  3. Nicky, yeah, it was a little different with Audrey, Jack and Charlie. Both boys liked Audrey, at least to begin with and she liked both of them too. Only Georgina likes Brendan though, while he's only interested in Annabel. :\ It's a love triangle though, so it's similar. It's kind of funny that Audrey's little brother is already getting himself entangled in romantic drama.

    Caitlin has a good head on her shoulders, so she's figured out that Mitchell isn't really interested. I can't see Annabel being so level-headed. But at that age, the older boys often seem more appealing than the ones around your own age!

    Thanks for reading!

    Fini, I know, right? They don't waste any time, my teens! I have my fingers crossed for a happy ending for this group, whether any of them end up together or not. It should be fun to see what happens down the road.

    Thanks for reading!

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  4. Can we say "complicated"? LOL, wow, what a messy triangle with the twins and Brendan, I hope another guy comes into distract them, but they're also 12, so it's the time of multiple crushes and such.

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  5. Siblings and one guy, that never ends well. But then I'm only basing this off what's happening in my hood. LOL Hopefully it will be different for you. *send good vibes* I enjoyed the update though! Riverdale had so major snow last winter, a few of my kids got snow days. I hope it happens this winter as well. I actually like it. Less stress in the houses.

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  6. Apple Valley, it's looking rather complicated at the moment, isn't it? True though, at this age, they can be so fickle and there's no telling who any of them will be interested in a year from now!

    Thanks for reading!

    Riverdale, it does seem like a recipe for disaster! Things could change though, as Starr said, so we'll see. Georgina might be over Brendan or he might be over Annabel or any number of things could happen.

    I played again last night and got more heavy snow! No snow days but there's a real thick blanket of snow around Charlie and Camilla's apartment right now. I guess my game is making up for me getting hardly any the past few winters. ;)

    Thanks for reading!

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  7. These girls are super fun! Love Caitlyn and seeing them all enjoy the snow, much better to be outside, way up high from adults then to be inside under Lia's supervision. She acts just how I expected her to be with teen daughters. Looking forward to seeing how she adjusts over the years.

    It's too bad about Brendan. I wonder how it will pan out. And wow Mitchell sure has lots of little fans doesn't he? I wonder what he thinks of all the fanfaire.

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  8. Maisie, it's a fun little group I've got her with these girls, plus Brendan. And yeah, Lia was never going to be any other way with teenage daughters, was she? The poor thing is probably having a heart attack at the idea of either of them dating!

    I am as in the dark about Brendan and the girls as you are! I'm trying to follow their wants or ACR but so far, he hasn't made a move on anyone nor has anyone made a move on him. Which suits me just fine, seeing they're 12!

    The attention Mitchell gets from these girls is probably a new thing for him. Lauren's friends are hanging around all the time but none of them have ever shown much interest in him. Well, Emma hasn't show any interest in any boy but not a spark of interest from Jessica or Louisa either.

    Thanks for reading!

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  9. I always like it when the story is from a teen's point of view. It's always fun. I'm already counting down to my new teens in a few rounds, to spice up my updates a little bit!

    Those teens look like a fun group, they are fun to read about, so I guess they are fun to play too :)
    Poor Georgina, having a crush on a boy who has a crush on your sister... I'm curious to what will happen here.

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  10. Tanja, I sometimes don't start writing from the teen's POV when they're this young but after what started with Brendan and Annabel in his update, that needed some attention!

    These kids are a lot of fun to play, though I think they'll end up giving me a headache once they actually start dating, lol! We'll see.

    Poor Georgina and Brendan are both pretty miserable at the moment, a crush on someone who doesn't have a crush on them back. If only Brendan would redirect his attention. ;)

    Thanks for reading!

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  11. Aww, poor Georgina! Brendan likes the wrong sister. :(

    I wonder if Annabel will ever start liking him back? That might make things pretty awkward.

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    Replies
    1. We'll see, I guess. Georgina is a better match for Brendan by far, even ignoring the fact that she's got a crush on him. Poor girl.

      Thanks for reading!

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  12. Aw, yes for teens stories!! (I had said they were among my fav too, huh? *lol*)
    I snorted at Caitlin swooning on Mitchell. She has a priceless attitude on that picture, and so Caitlinesque!! She's too funny!
    And Brendan... jealous of Mitchell, maybe interested in Annabel, but who might interest Georgina. Nice! *lol* Boredom doesn't exist with teens!
    I love that the grand-parents take care of the kids (with cakes!) when the parents are out. That's cute!

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    Replies
    1. Caitlin has a long-standing crush on Mitchell but she's a bit more sensible about it than Annabel. Caitlin has a good head on her shoulders.

      The teens do keep me pretty busy. I wasn't expecting romantic drama so early but I seem to always say that and then I always get it! A bit of unrequited crushing going on at the moment. :(

      Magdalena reminds me of my maternal grandmother - she always, always had some kind of cake or biscuit for us when she saw us!

      Thanks for reading!

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