Sim Life Chronicles

My first day in Brindleton Bay I visited the dog park near my house in Sable Square with Buttercup. There were a lot of people gathered by the chess table watching a game. I had no idea so many people were into chess! But I figured, new town, new people. I better join in.

I wandered over and introduced myself. As a cheerful and outgoing person, I have never had trouble making conversation with perfect strangers.

“Hi, I’m Hannah!” I waved excitedly to everyone.

A kind looking man around my age with sandy blonde hair was playing chess. He put his piece down and looked at me and smiled.

“It’s nice to meet you Hannah. I’m Travis.”

I smiled back at him and we started casually talking. He didn’t live in Brindleton Bay. It turns out he and his friends had recently moved into a home in Foundry Cove, a more modest neighborhood in Willow Creek. I never spent much time there, as my parents did their best to keep me amongst high society and away from the “wrong side of the tracks” – their words, not mine. But Brent and I would sometimes sneak out of our homes after our parents were asleep, and go to the old Foundry Cove railroad behind his house. I can’t remember anymore everything we did there but sometimes, Brent would bring a tent and the two of us would camp out, and lie in the tent for hours, giggling about our crushes on the exact same boys. It became a bit of a running joke between us because almost every boy I liked, ended up being completely into Brent instead.

I asked Travis if he lived near the old railroad. He laughed.

“You really didn’t spend much time in Foundry Cove, did you?” he laughed, shaking his head. “I don’t think there’s a single house that isn’t near that railroad. I don’t even need an alarm clock to wake me up in the morning because that train is always whistling at 5 AM.” He paused. “I like it though. Keeps me spritely,” he said with a playful smile.

I scrunched my face as I embarrassingly admitted, “My parents weren’t really the adventurous type. They were far more interested in going to as many charity benefits and black and white parties as they could muster.”

He playfully smiled at me. “If you ever find yourself back in Willow Creek, I’d love to show you around the cove sometime.”

I was just about to respond — when I saw him.

The man of my dreams. He had brown tight curly hair and wore silver glasses that framed his brown eyes beautifully. He had light brown skin with just enough stubble around his face to make a woman swoon. He looked super fit but didn’t flaunt it. He wore an unzipped red hoodie, with slacks, and casual black loafers; the perfect combination of polished and relaxed. I felt an overwhelming attraction to him and I knew I had to meet him.

“It was nice to meet you Travis,” I said, as I walked off to introduce myself to this handsome stranger. My blonde hair bobbed beside my cheeks as I nearly tripped rushing to introduce myself.

“Hi, I’m Hannah.”

“Justin,” he said, as he shook my hand.

I played it casual and cool as I held his hand in mine. But in my body, my heart was beating out of my chest.

I took a deep breath in as I asked, “Justin. Do you live around here?”

He smiled coyly at me. “I do,” he said. “I live on the far side of Cavalier Cove, just by the ocean.”

My lips parted, ready to respond when his phone chimed. He looked at the message and looked at me.

“I’m so sorry, Hannah. I have to run, but maybe if you give me your number, I can call you sometime?”

My cheeks were burning, I was so flushed with excitement. “Yes! Absolutely!” I exclaimed trying to hold back my glee. I gave him my number and as his masculine fingers jotted it into his phone, I was practically trembling I was so nervous.

“I’ll call you, Hannah,” he said, with a nod and a crooked smile forming across his lips. His voice had a low rumble to it that made him even more irresistible.

“Bye,” I gulped as I smiled and waved.

I looked at my watch when I realized the time. It was almost 5pm and I needed to get home for dinner. Buttercup was already bored to tears at the park and sleeping in the grass, right next to Travis and the chess table. She’s a bit of a couch potato but I love her to bits.

I walked over to scoop her up and smiled at Travis.

“I’m sorry. I’d love to stay and chat more but I have an early morning tomorrow. It’s not a fancy job but I just started working part time as a shelf stocker at a retail shop and I want to make sure I make my best impression.”

He smiled, “I’m sure that won’t be a problem for you.” As I smiled back and turned to walk away, he gently put his hand on my arm.

“Hannah! It was wonderful talking to you. If you ever find yourself in Willow Creek, I’d love to show you around Foundry Cove sometime!” He handed me his business card.

“It was so nice meeting you, Travis.” I smiled and headed home with Buttercup fast asleep in my arms.

It was just another day for me as I was playing chess in the park. Working towards being a video game developer is my dream job, but it’s hardly relaxing. I’m currently low on the totem pole, doing quality assurance daily on every game. Every moment is full of constant visual stimulation and it can get overwhelming. I know, I’m complaining about playing too many video games. You’re probably laughing at me right now if that’s the worst of my problems.

Every day after work though, I make my way to a different park to meet new people and unwind with a game of chess. I’ve got to keep my mind sharp, after all. But this time, something unexpected happened.

I was in the midst of making my move, moments from putting my opponent into check, when I looked up and saw her.

She was like an angel.

She was drop dead gorgeous with her blonde hair in a bob, her bangs held back to accentuate her big brown eyes. She stood there in a purple top with a plunging neckline, and her playful polkadot skirt.

When she introduced herself, I played it as cool as I could. She had an adorable smile and her voice rung high, almost like a bird happily chirping away.

I placed down the chess piece I was holding, as if I was just being polite, but the truth was, I couldn’t even concentrate on the game anymore. She was far too beautiful.

We made small talk and chatted about Willow Creek but just when I was hoping to ask for her number, she said goodbye. I watched her walk off, her skirt swaying from side to side.

She was new to the neighborhood and I couldn’t blame her for trying to mingle as much as possible. I’m a mingler too after all, park hopping daily to make new friends!

She wandered off to a man I never met before but her chat with him was short lived. Soon, she made her way back over to me to say goodbye. I shuffled through my pocket to pull out a business card as casually as possible, and touched her arm as she turned to walk way. Her skin felt as soft as silk.

“Hannah! It was wonderful talking to you. If you ever find yourself in Willow Creek, I’d love to show you around Foundry Cove sometime!”

She took my number and smiled at me. “It was so nice meeting you Travis.” The words rang in my ears.

As she walked off, I could feel my chest beaming. She was perfect.

As Hannah and Don made their first appearance as husband and wife, Summer headed down the steps into the bunker. It’s kind of cozy down here, she thought. She looked around and breathed in the quiet. I wonder where Travis headed off to. Suddenly, she heard a quiet whimper.

“Travis?” she called out, concerned as her high pitched voice rang down the hall.

Summer headed down the corridor until she reached a door at the very end. “Travis, are you in there?”

Choking back tears, Travis quietly responded. “Yeah, I’m here.”

She turned the doorknob and found Travis under the blankets. “Now, now. Don’t do this to yourself. You’re too good for this,” she said.

He pulled the blankets down, revealing his tear stricken face. “I can’t believe she went through with it.”

“Well that’s Hannah for you. That girl will never notice how great you are. You’re sweet and smart…and sexy as hell.”

Travis blushed. “Summer — please.”

Summer smiled. “I’m just saying, if she won’t have you, I know about a million girls who would.” She timidly raised her hand and looked at his face hoping to see a smile but instead, he was still looking down, devastated. She quickly slid her hand up into her side swept bangs, brushing them away from her eye.

“Look Travis. Hannah is married now. You can’t keep doing this to yourself and you can’t wait anymore for her to wake up. I think it’s time you take that job offer out of town.”

Travis put his face into the palm of his hands and shook his head. Days earlier, he had been offered a new job on the eSports track in San Myshuno. He always dreamed of having a startup gaming company of his own, but maybe fate was telling him to be an eSports competitor instead.

“I don’t know,” he said as he shook his head. “It’s like every sign is telling me this isn’t happening. But… in my heart —“ he stopped and looked up at Summer with his swollen red eyes. “In my heart, I don’t believe this is over yet.”

Summer tried to nod supportively before taking a deep breath. She knew what she had to say would devastate him, but she had no choice. “It’s over, Travis. She doesn’t love you. She’s nevergoing to love you.”

Travis wiped another tear from his eye. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I do need to finally let her go.”

The two of them looked at each other. As Summer held his gaze, her mind wandered. Maybe one day he’ll see that I understand him more than anyone. I know exactly how he feels about Hannah because it’s exactly how I feel about him. As she parted her bubblegum pink lips, prepared to confess her feelings for him, Brent, Hannah’s best friend, swung opened the door.

“Hey guys! What’s going on down here? Is this like, the secret bunker?” he said looking around. “Pretty darn weird!” Brent smiled at them. “Okay. Seriously guys, why is this a wedding venue? Don had to have picked this one, right?”

Travis smiled for the first time all night as he looked at Summer. “Maybe if I just wait a little longer… Who knows? Maybe Don will get eaten by a dinosaur here in Strangerville or something. Stranger things have happened, right?”

Brent laughed. “Honestly, I don’t think anyone would be upset if that happened.” Brent patted Travis on the back. “We were all rooting for you, buddy.”

Summer shot Brent a look. Stop trying to support this. He’s not meant for Hannah. He’s meant for — she cut off her own thoughts as she looked back at him. “Seriously Travis, you need to move. You need to get away from all of this. Why would you want to be her second choice anyways?” She rolled her eyes as she heard herself. I guess that’s a tad hypocritical of me considering I don’t mind being his second choice.

Summer stood up and walked over to him. “I’ll see you at home, okay? This move will be good for you. You’ll see,” she said, before giving him a friendly kiss on the cheek.

As Summer left the bunker, she spotted Dina and Don sneaking off to the closet together. I better get Travis out of town before Hannah and Don go kaput, she worried to herself. From a distance, she spotted Hannah, sitting alone in her wedding dress at the picnic table. Shit. This is going south fast. I’m really running out of time.

Summer quickly headed home. As she got inside, she walked past Liberty’s bedroom.

Liberty glanced out at the doorway as she saw a shadow skipping by. “Summer, is that you?”

Summer poked her head in with a wide grin stretched across her face. “It’s me! Guess what?!”

“What?” Liberty said.

“Guess who’s taking that job in San Myshuno after all?!”

“Travis is going? Wow! That’s great!” she smiled. “Good for him.”

“And guess who’s going with him?”

Liberty cocked her head to the side confused. “Did he finally win over that woman he was crushing on?” She often stayed out of her roommates affairs, but she couldn’t help overhear him mooning over Hannah each time she visited.

“Nope,” Summer smiled. “I’ll catch you up on it later. I don’t have a lot of time,” Summer said before rushing to her room.

As she ran into her bedroom, she looked at the walls. They’re so bare. I really should’ve spent more time decorating this room. Oh well! I hope the next person who lives here puts some pictures up. She glanced at her bedside table and spotted a picture she took of Travis last summer.

I told him he should move away…but I never mentioned to him that I would be moving with him.What a surprise this will be, she thought giddily.

She began stuffing her clothes inside of her suitcase, when her phone suddenly dinged. It was a text message from Travis.

“Hannah and Don broke up. She told me she loved me but I told her I’m moving and it will never happen. I’ll tell you more tomorrow. Okay? Thanks for looking out for me.”

Summer suddenly felt a rush of joy wash over her. As she held the phone to her heart, she fell back onto her bright blue bedspread. It was her time. It was finally happening.

She giddily closed her eyes, ready to drift off to sleep. Tomorrow, when I wake up, my life will be changed forever…I’m finally going to be with my Travis.