August 2029 - Pine Hollow, North Carolina
Craig family - Marcus is 47, Jill is 47, Charlotte is 19
One thing Charlotte loves to do is go for an early morning run.
There are only a few other people out running too, some without any shoes as if the dry, sharp stickers mixed into the grass aren’t a painful deal.
These quiet early morning jogs give her the chance to enjoy her neighborhood and this little town she lives in. It helps her really capture all the scenery in her head to remember when she’s gone so far away in just a couple weeks, when she finally heads off to University of Britechester in Illinois and begins a whole new life.
After the morning run, Charlotte is back at home, eating a healthy breakfast. She would really enjoy a big box of Lucky Charms, but she’s making herself eat real food right now so that she’ll be craving that instead of the cheeseburgers and pizza that she hears college students eat most of the time.
But she really, really would like some marshmallows.
She needs something to take her mind away from junk food, so Charlotte pulls out her phone and sends a quick text before heading into the shower.
***
Marcus grumbles as he looks at his laptop. “Not again. Come on, stop showing this black screen every five seconds!”
“You okay?” Jill asks, coming from the kitchen when she hears her husband let out a loud growl.
“This laptop is driving me crazy these days,” Marcus says. “I keep losing all of my edits and articles and then have to start over. How am I supposed to keep doing my writing with this garbage?”
“Will you finally listen to me and get a new one?” Jill asks. “We have the money in savings. And you file it as a company expense on our taxes.”
“I’m not wasting money on a new computer,” Marcus says. “This works fine…when it wants to.”
Jill leaves him to work, but he’s letting out another frustrated growl a few minutes later. Maybe he really should look into a new computer. Sometime. Maybe.
***
Charlotte meets up with Adam Smith at a small park. She lives in Pine Hollow, he lives in Arcadia, so they meet at a halfway point to solve the issues for both of them.
“This is nice,” Charlotte says.
“Why are we laying in the grass?” Adam asks. “What makes this so nice? Bugs are starting to crawl on me.”
“You’ll be majoring in biology,” Charlotte says. “I thought you liked bugs.”
“I’ll be studying the biology of plants, not bugs,” Adam says.
Charlotte sighs. “Just lay back and relax. Enjoy these last few days before everything turns upside down. See those tree branches over us? You can study those while we lay here.”
“I won’t be laying here much longer if another bug crawls on me.”
Charlotte sighs again, but she pushes back his complaints and instead focuses on the bright blue sky overhead and the park she knows well around her.
“Why are you acting like going off to college is a bad thing?” Adam asks when they sit down a few minutes after silent cloud gazing. “It’s going to be so much better than spending another year stuck under our parents’ eyes watching every move we make.”
“And what is it you plan to do when your parents aren’t watching you?” Charlotte asks.
Adam shrugs. “I haven’t decided yet. We’ll see what’s waiting for us.”
Charlotte sighs. “That’s the thing. We don’t know what’s waiting.”
“If you’re too afraid then stay home,” Adam says. “But if you really want to grow up, take a step out there and see what’s waiting.”
“I am ready for college,” Charlotte says. “I do want to go.”
“So then what’s the problem?” Adam asks. “Why are you acting so weird about it?”
Adam shrugs. “I’ve watched enough TV that I have a good idea of what the rest of the world is like.”
She turns and looks at the little river that runs under the wooden bridge in the park. “Do you think Britechester is as nice as the university website claims it is?”
“We’re going out there to study biology,” Adam says. “There’s plenty to look at and study.”
Charlotte sighs. Is Adam even the slightest bit worried about leaving home?
They head over to the mall in Arcadia to find things to distract Charlotte’s mind. At the small massage and sauna parlor, Charlotte insists that Adam do the foot massage.
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” he says. “Don’t blame me if it hurts.”
Charlotte lets out a loud cry as he starts. “I told you not to blame me for the pain,” Adam tells her.
“Be a little more gentle,” Charlotte says.
He softens his fingers on her foot as he works to relax her. “This better make you stop obsessing over all the thoughts in your head. I’m doing you a favor that I’m not required to do. You should be happy.”
“As long as you don’t break my toes I will be,” she says.
“I got a foot massage, so now it’s your back’s turn,” Charlotte says, gesturing toward the massage table.
“I don’t need a massage,” Adam says.
“You always need something to relax your muscles and attitude,” Charlotte insists.
She doesn’t tell him that she’ll be the one doing it. When he’s in place so that he can’t see what’s happening she quietly switches places with the masseuse.
The muscles across his back aren’t as tight as she had expected. Adam is always so cranky about everything and he never relaxes, so she had thought his back muscles would show that.
But no, he’s relaxed and he lets out a happy sigh as she moves her hands across his back.
When it’s over, Adam sits up, surprised when he sees Charlotte standing there. “You took over the masseuse’s job?” he asks. “Am I supposed to pay you?”
“You used our massage table, so you owe us,” the masseuse says as he reaches for a towel.
Charlotte grins. “Just consider it to be a thank you for the massage you gave my feet. We’re even now.”
Adam jumps up, gripping his towel tight around his waist to keep from losing it.
***
Jill runs her small gym from a building they had set up in their backyard.
The Balanced Mind & Body is Jill’s dream come true. She loves seeing people come in to relax with some yoga routines and meditation, or else letting out their frustration on the punching bags in the corner.
Charlotte likes her mom’s studio too, but it’s usually too busy during the day. She doesn’t know how anyone relaxes in a place full of other people.
Charlotte saves her routines in her mom’s yoga studio for late in the night when everyone is gone.
The silence is what she needs to help her relax and forget all her worries.
Charlotte calls her cousin Violet Craig later that night. Violet is an expert in the college life, right? She’s been at Pine State University for a year now. She’s away in Oasis Springs visiting with her parents for the last bit of the summer before heading back to school.
“Just have fun,” Violet says. “Go to every party you hear about. Don’t be afraid to talk to people. Join a club at the school, but nothing boring, you know? Mostly just meet people. You might find the guy for you away from home.”
“But you found Baine at home before going to college,” Charlotte reminds her.
“I’m an exception,” Violet says. “Baine was always the perfect guy, so I’m not letting him go. But you don’t know the right one yet, so you can find him far away from home. It will be the adventure you’ve been waiting for.”
***
The next day, Charlotte goes to the Smith house to swim in their pool. It’s the last day of summer vacation. The last day at home for awhile. She’ll go out to eat with her parents tonight, but right now she just wants to swim and forget everything.
Adam’s family has always been so nice and welcoming to her. It almost feels like a second home.
Laying back in the pool and closing her eyes makes her feel more relaxed than she’s felt in a long time. Violet is right. College life will be an adventure.
—————
Adam’s skin broke out in hives during Charlotte’s visit, lol. Poor guy.
I was going to ask about the home business! I hate running them in TS2 and don't have any but I knew it wasn't possible in TS4, so I was curious.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I hope Charlotte finds her place once she actually gets to campus. It can be scary starting anything new but she might blossom when she gets there.
I'm certainly only going to have a few home businesses, but it does help since we don't have many lots available in TS4. I can see a few small businesses being run from the homes such as a daycare and I think I'll set up a flower arrangement business for Cynthia using the live in store, but I definitely won't be doing anything that requires a whole lot of work at home, lol!
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