With all the excess simoleons, Aelia bought the home just across the street from the Smith's. She didn't expect to stay here forever but she still had to rebuild her spaceship and that took time.
Jenny insisted it was no trouble but Aelia didn't want to overstay her welcome and it was nice to have a place to herself for once.
The next morning was the first day of her new job at the FutureSim Labs and her nerves were anything but calm. To make sure her emotions didn't bubble to the surface and quite literally radiate about her form, (which she was told did not happen to Sims) Aelia practiced some yoga she had learned from Simtube before she left.
And after a little bit of driving, (after a few false starts to figure out how to use her new vehicle.) she was at her first day of work!
The first day of any new job was always a little nerve wracking, but with the added stress of trying to act like a normal sim, Aelia was anything but calm.
Still, she knew that the job itself would be easy, for her, at least, plus she did always enjoy meeting new people.
A team meeting was scheduled that day and Aelia got to meet some of her coworkers, most seemed nice enough but the lab heads Loki (The blond man) and Circe Beaker (The redheaded woman) gave Aelia a bad feeling.
"You seem to be slowing down on your projects, Goth. Perhaps you need a partner to keep you on track?" Loki suggested with a smug smile.
"I'm perfectly fine." The woman, assumedly 'Goth' hissed from beside Aelia.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, some people just need a little extra help." Circe interjected with a snide tone.
"May I remind you who got us that grant last year, I don't see either of you creating anything meaningful." The Goth woman replied coldly, effectively shutting them up.
After the brief and uncomfortable meeting, Aelia went to seek out 'Goth' on the giant microscope.
"Hello, fellow lab partner Goth. May we talk?" Aelia asked sheepishly.
'Goth' sighed gently, "Sure, give me a moment."
"Did Loki send you?" She continued, slipping out from the microscope.
"No, you seemed upset and I wished to check on your mental health." Aelia replied with a little shrug, "Also, I am new to this laboratory and would like to introduce myself."
The woman seemed taken aback, "Oh... well, thank you. But I'm fine, those two just gets on my nerves." She cleared her throat, "I'm Cassandra, Goth is my last name."
"And I am Sev- ahm, Aelia Novis, it is pleasing to meet you."
Cassandra's brows knitted for a moment but she gave a small smile, "It's good to know there are still nice people working here."
And just like that, Aelia made her first sim friend all on her own.
(Jenny doesn't count because she met her through Nine.)
With one successful introduction out of the way, Aelia gave Cassandra some room to finish her studies and went to find another lab technician.
"Hello, fellow lab partner, I am Aelia Novis!" She was really nailing these introductions.
The man jolted from his work and glanced back. "What? Oh, uh, I'm Pascal Curious."
Aelia tracked about Pascal with a sudden happy squeal, "Oh, you are pollinated! I- I mean, with child, congratulations!"
"Ah- what? I mean, thank you?" Pascal stuttered, clearly dumbfounded both by the question and why a beautiful woman was talking to him.
"When are you expecting your infant?" Aelia questioned happily, she had a soft spot for children.
"I uhm, hopefully soon?" Pascal mumbled, staring down at Aelia with a bemused half smile. "It's not like there are manuals out there for this."
"There are manuals for everything, have you tried simpedia?" Aelia straightened back up, the smile dropping from her face as she saw Pascal's confused look.
"I mean... for normal pregnancies but this wasn't normal. Most people have just been assuming I'm fat." Pascal admitted awkwardly. "Cause men don't usually have babies."
I... Yes of course, I am aware!" Aelia backtracked, "I really must return to my duties, have a pleasant day!" She abruptly turned and fled to another room, Pascal's confused stare following her until she was out of sight.
Thankfully, after that social faux pas she was able to spend the rest of the day experimenting unbothered.
After work, Aelia decided to mingle at the local tavern to practice her socialization skills because after that mishap at work, she clearly needed it.
"I would like one alcoholic beverage, please." Aelia stated to the confused bartender before glancing up as someone sits beside her.
Aelia Novis, I presume?" The man questioned. From Nine's exhaustive description of him, Aelia would hazard a guess that this was General Buzz Grunt.
Aelia jumps, startled, "What? How did-"
"I have my sources. You're new in town so I can let a mistake slide, but I have to warn you about-"
But Aelia cuts him off, "General Grunt, I presume?" Aelia wagered back, mimicking the same tone he had used.
"Excuse me? I-" Buzz's brows furrowed but Aelia continued as if talking to a naughty child.
"That is what you just did to me, do you see how rude it was?" She countered, she didn't care who he was, she wasn't going to let him get away with that.
"I... suppose you are right, I apologize." Buzz replied, clearly taken off guard by her insistence.
"Thank you." Aelia nodded, "And yes, I am Aelia Novis, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"General Buzz Grunt, you were also correct. Ah, a pleasure to meet you." Buzz straightened his coat, trying to smooth down his ruffles before he went to continue. "Now, I wanted to warn you about the Smiths-"
But this time, someone else interrupted Buzz.
"Oh, hey girl! It's been so long!" A cute, black-haired woman chirped, sitting down on Aelia's other side.
"Hello?" Aelia turned around with a confused smile.
"Oh, sorry mistah Grunt, didn't see you there!" She went on cheerfully, taking Buzz off guard for the second time. "Your kids doing well in school?"
"I- yes, they're doing well." Buzz replied awkwardly, "How are your sons?"
"Oh, they're doing splendid, just had my third!" She chattered on, "Not to butt in, but I haven't seen this lovely lady in aaages."
Buzz cleared his throat with a nod, "Ah, of course. I'll leave you to it."
"Sorry about that, it just looked like he was bothering you." The woman continued after Buzz had left.
"That man can be quite the knot head when he wants to be!"
"Ah, so you were creating a ruse." Aelia replies.
"Somethin' like that! I'm Brandi, by the way. Brandi Broke." She smiles brightly.
"And I'm Aelia Novis, thank you for coming to my aid." Aelia smiled back, "But do not worry for me, I can sufficiently diffuse situations if need be."
Brandi's smile widened, "Ohh, you know some of that sim-fu stuff? I think you could take that big bloke!"
And with that, Aelia successfully meets another new friend! The two hit it off right away and spend the rest of the evening chatting.
Maybe Aelia was good at this socialization thing after all.
The next day, Aelia took some time after work to check on her SRV but comes across something surprising.
Or rather she didn't come across anything.
Her ship was gone.
Now she was back to square one, all of the data and samples she was collecting were in that SRV, plus with it gone, she had to work from the ground up and create a completely new ship from whatever she could find at her new job.
Aelia came home rather downtrodden but some chatting in the living room snapped her out of her slump, at least for the moment.
"Surprise!" Jenny exclaimed, leading a surprised Aelia over to the couch. "We thought you needed a housewarming party!"
"But my home is sufficiently warm?" Aelia questioned with a bemused smile.
"That's what I thought too, especially since when I heard about it there was a heatwave." Nine rolled his eyes with a good natured chuckle.
"No, silly! A housewarming is just to welcome you to your new home." Jenny explained, "And we wanted to see how you were doing."
"That's right, how is you new employment?" Nine asked, turning Aelia's attention to him.
"Oh, it is quite pleasant. I have met a few interesting people and have made... tentative friends?" Aelia replied sheepishly. "Although I may have made a mistake."
"Oh, I'm sure it's nothing too big!" Jenny assured, patting Aelia on the back.
"I congratulated a man on his pollination- I mean, pregnancy."
"Oh no." Jenny and Nine whispered in unison.
"Well, sometimes, honey, people just have that little potbelly and-" Jenny started slowly.
"No, he was pregnant." Aelia interrupted, "He said it was 'not normal' for men."
Jenny's lips tightened and she stared across to Nine.
"Ah... perhaps he was pollinated." Nine mumbled, "But not by me!" he was quick to add.
Jenny rolled her eyes, "I know not by you, but I thought you requested that they stop?"
"Not everyone listens to me." Nine shrugged with a wince, "But it should be quite rare, unless he was running around at night with a sign... who was it?"
"Pascal Curious." Aelia confirmed, frowning as the other two go silent.
Jenny's face fell and she took a deep breath, "That's my brother."
"Well that explains it." Nine mumbled to himself but Jenny shot him a quick glare.
"Explains it?" Aelia frowned, glancing between the both of them.
"My brothers have always been into the paranormal and things like that. He probably was walking around at night trying to contact them." Jenny sighed, "I guess I should make him some baby clothes."
"...Since we're on the subject of surprising things. I went back to the crash site and my ship is gone." Aelia interjected awkwardly.
"Oh no."
After their little chat at the tavern, Aelia decided to invite Brandi and her son over for lunch, plus Buzz and his sons as a show of goodwill. They could have eaten outside but the desert wanted to rain for days in a row. Apparently it was the wet season. And apparently sims don't enjoy waiting for others to eat.
"That was scrumptious, hon!" Brandi exclaimed, leaning back in her chair.
"Thank you, preparing nutrients has become a hobby of mine." Aelia smiled brightly as the others give various looks of mild confusion at her phrasing.
"Golly, Ally, you're as cute as a llama in a rug." Brandi giggled.
"Yeah that was so good, i'm stuffed!" Ripp patted at his stomach.
"I want to thank you as well, miss Novis." Tank agreed enthusiastically, "If it would be alright, could I have the recipe?"
"So you can burn it, bro?" Ripp teased, gaining a glare from Tank.
"Aelia is fine, and of course you may! I can help you with some practice as well, if that would benefit you." Aelia smiled.
"Really?" Tank asked hopefully.
"Cookin' together is always fun!" Brandi added.
"Your cooking is sufficient, son. You're far too busy to take on some 'hobby'." Buzz interjected, causing Tanks' face to fall.
"Right, yes, General..."
Aelia's eyes narrow but she didn't say anything, speaking up now might just make it harder on Tank.
Comments