Generation 1, Chapter 6 - Sam

Sam Sekemoto didn't want to be here. Maybe that made him a bad person, but honestly? He didn't want to have to spend anymore time in this house than was absolutely necessary. Dylan might not get that now, but he would in a few years. Then, Sam reasoned, he would forgive his big brother for skipping his fifth birthday party.

Really, it wasn't even a party. It was just Dylan, Sam, their parents, and their baby sister. Sam had brought this up in his argument why he should be allowed to leave.

Unfortunately, this argument had backfired on him. Nyx had told him that he needed to be there precisely because there were so few of them. Dylan would notice if he wasn't there.

He'd tried to argue further, but his father had stepped in. He wasn't willing to directly disobey his father, so he stayed. He didn't have to be happy about it, though.

As soon as he'd blown out his candles, Dylan hugged Sam. “Thanks for being at my party.” He spoke softly. He didn't seem to like talking much. Sam nodded, a little bit uncomfortable. Was the kid purposefully guilt-tripping him? If so, it wasn't working. If anything, he was even more determined to leave as soon as he could.

“So… can I go now?”

His dad gave him a death glare. “Not until we have cake.”

Sam scarfed his cake down as fast as he could, then bolted. Maybe he'd regret it later, but he honestly doubted it. He needed to get out of that house.

He went to his usual spot, not surprised to find Kaylynn already there. She nodded at him, and they sat in silence, both of them lost inside their own heads.

Finally, he broke the silence. “You brought the tape?”

She scoffed. “You'd think that you would trust me by now. I don't even need to ask if you have the paint.”

He laughed darkly. “I don't trust anyone. And of course I have the paint, who do you think I am?”

“I could ask you the same question.”

As they continued to bicker, they walked towards the school. When they reached it, they fell silent. Nothing more needed to be said.

They opened their bags and began to create. This was their routine. They'd been coming out here for months, every night adding a little more to their epic mural. They made a good team. Kaylynn was all straight lines and solid colors, while Sam made complicated patterns that made your head hurt if you looked at them for too long.

Both of them enjoyed the feeling of being rebellious while knowing that they weren't actually hurting anything.

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Sam had always liked to paint. He still painted sometimes, on the days he was forced to stay home for one reason or another. He'd decided to give street art a shot on a whim when he found himself in possession of a can of spray paint (long story involving cheap beer, a game of Truth or Dare, and petty theft). It was like he'd discovered his calling. He'd crept out of the house almost every night after that to paint the town (literally).

He'd met Kaylynn a couple of weeks into his new venture. Before that, he'd known her by sight (it was a small enough town that he knew all of the teenagers by sight), but they'd never spoken. That all changed when she found him spray-painting the park near her house one night.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I'm doing?”

“It looks like you're graffitiing the park. You know kids play here, right?”

“I prefer the term street art, and I'm just giving them something nice to look at.”

“It's illegal.”

 “Maybe, but it’s also shockingly therapeutic. Want to try? I’ve got an extra can of spray paint.”

When she didn’t answer, he figured that she’d decided to call the cops. He tensed up, ready to run if he heard sirens. This wasn’t the first time he’d gotten caught. This time was different, though, because when he looked up, all he saw were her dark eyes.

“So where’s that spray paint?”

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They’d been doing this for almost a year now, but they still never spoke at school. She was a year older than him, and they both had their own friends. They rarely spoke while they were here, honestly. All they knew about each other were their names. They didn’t have to be the people they usually were, and they liked it that way. Today, though, Sam felt the urge to break the silence.

“It was my brother’s birthday today.”

“That’s why you were late?”

“Yeah. They made me stay for the party.”

She nodded. She wouldn’t judge. She, too, had things at home she wanted to escape. “How old is he?”

“Five.”

They worked in silence for a little while longer. This time, it was Kaylynn who spoke first. “Feel free to tell me if I’m wrong, but… whatever’s going on at home, it’s probably not your brother’s fault.”

He looked up at her, startled. “It isn’t, it’s just…” He represents the problem. “You’re right, it’s not his fault. It’s just hard sometimes, you know? Looking at him and knowing that they all care more about him.”

She nodded again. “I get it.”

Still, he felt ashamed of himself. Kaylynn was right. It wasn’t Dylan’s fault that their family was like this, but it was still hard not to resent him for it, especially when he was now forced to share a room with the kid.

When he got home, he went straight to bed, as usual. Tonight, though, he hesitated before climbing up to the top bunk. He smiled down at Dylan’s sleeping face. “Happy Birthday, little guy.”

Author's Note: This chapter was a lot longer than previous chapters, but that might be a more normal length in the future. I really dislike writing in first person, and this style is a lot easier. Anyway, sorry about any inconsistencies in the pictures. My game crashed halfway through the picture-taking process, and of course I had forgotten to save since the beginning of the chapter. So Dylan might look a little different and the light may change over the course of the chapter, mostly because it's a pain to take nighttime pictures with teenagers. You may recognize Kaylynn Langerak from Sunset Valley. I made her over, as I am wont to do with premades, but I didn't alter her face. I think she's interesting-looking. Also, Sam isn't eligible for heir, so it doesn't matter what his kids look like. Anyway, here's a CAS picture of Dylan.

I love putting glasses on my genius sims. His new trait is good.