Part 1: Telling Kai
… an excerpt from the diary of Kara Poe
Dear Diary, I’m heartbroken. In two weeks, I graduate from nursing school, but the job offer I had fell through. It paid well and was local. The insurance was decent, too.
What I didn’t know was that the hospital was in trouble, now it’s closing. My job offer is ending with it.
I had today off and visited nursing recruiters from other hospitals with no luck. It seems Twinbrook is in trouble, and jobs are moving away all around.
The only thing left was to apply at the penitentiary. I got the job, but the pay isn’t nearly as good as I hoped it would be. The insurance is skimpy, and there’s more.
I wiped tears from my eyes when I heard Kai approaching me. I couldn’t turn to face him, though. Not yet. Things with him had still been rough since the day he ran off. Morrie found him and brought him home. When I tried to talk to him about it, he froze me out.
“Mom?” he asked. “Are you all right?”
When I was able to gather myself better, I squeaked out, “Yes, I’m fine, honey.”
He really sounded like he cared, yet how could I tell him what a failure I am? After everything I sacrificed to become a nurse, it felt like it was all falling apart. My heart weighed a ton in my chest, and my eyes filled with tears again.
“Are you crying? What’s wrong?”
The sound of concern in his voice reminded me of the old Kai, the son I used to know. The one who loved me and depended on me. I wiped my eyes again and straightened my shoulders. The only way to get through this was to make it sound like it wasn’t so bad.
“Sit down with me. I have some things I need to tell you.”
We sat in an awkward silence while Kai waited for me to begin. He wasn’t used to seeing me tearful, so this must have been a shock to him.
“As you know, I’ll be a nurse intern soon, ready to take my licensure exam.”
He nodded, an eyebrow raised just like his father sometimes did.
“Yeah, and you’re going to work at St. Mary’s.”
A small amount of released air whistled through my lips, but I held back the tears that threatened to form once again.
“Not exactly. The hospital is closing its doors, so there is no job now.”
“Well, it’s okay, right? I mean, other hospitals need nurses. You can go somewhere else.”
I stared at his shoes for a minute before answering. It was all I could do to remain in control of my distress.
“Unfortunately, the other hospitals are far away and not hiring right now. I guess things are tough all over.”
“So… what are you going to do, then?”
Picking at my cuticles was an ugly habit, but one I’d never been able to quit when I was stressed out. Right now wasn’t any different.
“I’m going to work at Cold Heart Penitentiary.”
His nose crinkled. “As a nurse?”
“Yes, prisons need nurses, too.”
“I don’t think I like that idea, Mom. I mean, what if it’s not safe?”
“It will be fine,” I told him, mustering my best mom’s itwillbefine™ smile. “I will never be alone with the prisoners, and when they come to see me, it’s because they need my help. It will be all right.”
He only nodded a little, his eyes clouded with doubt.
“There’s more.”
“What?” he asked.
“I can’t pay for our house with what they’re giving me. We will have to find a rental house closer to the prison.”
His jaw dropped, and I saw fire in his eyes. “That’s impossible! That means I’ll be going to the crappy school!”
“It can’t be all that bad,” I reasoned.
“Can’t you ask dad for help?”
I took a deep breath before answering. “No. At the moment, he’s on an important case, and I can’t get a hold of him.” When his expression soured further, I added, trying to sound upbeat, “Hey, it could be a fun adventure to move.”
That didn’t go over real well.
Part 2: A New Hobby
… an excerpt from the diary of Kai Seaforth
Dear Diary, it was hard seeing my mom cry. She didn’t do that often, at least, not in front of me. When I saw her like that, I felt bad about how I’d been treating her. I know I could try harder. Sometimes, though, when I remember how ignored I am, my anger takes over again. It’s hard to sympathize with her when it’s because of her I feel so alone. To top it off, I’ll be going to the crappy school without my friends. Okay, I don’t know if it’s truly bad, only that I’ll be living on the poor side of town where everything is run down.
What I really think is crappy is that I’ll miss Jade and Jeff.
“Man, you knocked the garbage can over!” Jade yelled.
Jeff laughed without concern as he continued playing air guitar. We were at Milton’s garage, where we hung out sometimes. He didn’t care if we drank beer, and his tiny fridge was always stocked. As for the room attached to the back of the station, he called home… well, it was a dump.
“You guys are drinking a lot,” Jeff complained.
“So, sue me,” I said, my voice edgier than I’d intended.
“What crawled up your ass?” he asked, standing up straight now.
My muscles quivered, and my teeth began to grind as I thought of how my life was being turned upside down again, and I snapped, “Next week, I’m moving! Just like that! Oh, and my mom is making me go to Westwood High School. Isn’t that great?” I flung my arm at them which made the floor tilt a little, then, I flopped down on the couch where it was safer. “At least you losers won’t have to deal with me anymore.”
Jade’s hand flew to her mouth, her eyes protruding, and Jeff’s mouth gaped.
“What?” asked Jeff.
“Why?” Jade gasped.
“I just wanna enjoy this buzz, okay?”
Jeff’s mouth turned into a thin line. “We want to know why.”
“Something about her job falling through and she can’t afford where we are. She got a job at the prison – can you believe that? A prison! My entire life all I’ve heard about was how great a hospital job would be. And now, we have to go somewhere no one knows us and start all over again.” I slammed my fist into one of the couch pillows and a billow of dust flew up. “You know, she told me going to school would make our lives better in the end. So far, it’s a bust and she’s full of lies!”
“That’s awful, man. There’s lots of drugs in that school. And, jerks, too,” Jeff said, his voice quiet.
I laughed when the buzz in my head made the room spin. “I guess I’ll fit right in then.”
“Stop,” Jade said. Was she about to cry? I studied her closer and realized she actually cared about this. “Isn’t there a way you can stay? Like with Morrie and Michelle or something?”
I snorted as my body tensed. The truth was, I wanted to shake my fist at the sky and scream as loud as I could how unfair this was. “They have their own family, they don’t want me.”
No one wanted me. Not really.
Jeff got quiet, and changed the way he was balancing his weight.
“So, you gonna join me for a few more?” I asked him.
“Nah, I’ve had two already, and if my dad finds out, I’ll be grounded again.”
“I hope my dad does find out,” Jade said, taking another swig off her bottle.
I couldn’t figure Jade out, you know? Jeff not wanting to get busted made sense. Jade, on the other hand, seemed to take pleasure at aggravating her parents, and getting into as much trouble as possible.
I decided to see if I could drink standing up again.
“I’m outta here,” Jeff said. “Are you going home now?”
I ugly-grinned at him as my head buzzed from the alcohol. “No way, I’m just starting to get my swill on.”
“I’ll see you later then, man,” he said before he grabbed his stuff and left me and Jade alone to continue the party by ourselves.
After popping open another beer, I sat on the couch. What I should say is that I sat down before I fell down. Jade stood next to me and the ratty couch, trying to balance on one foot without much luck.
“Take a chill,” I told her when she almost fell over.
She giggled, her nose snorting. “You know what?”
“What?”
“I’m really sad about you moving, but I can’t stop giggling. And, I’m kind of turned on.”
I felt my eyebrow go up. “Really?”
She nodded, nearly falling over again. “Have you… have you ever done it?”
Was this a trick question? Would she tell anyone if I answered her truthfully? Finally, I shook my head no because I was drunk enough to tell the truth.
At first, our kisses were awkward… who am I kidding? They were all a blundering mess. I liked it, though, and I know she did because it wasn’t long before we were on the couch…
…with one thing leading to another.
Part 3: The Rental House
… an excerpt from the diary of Kara Poe
Our rental house was a small two bedroom, but it was pretty. I certainly could have done much worse. The neighborhood was small, quiet, and off the main road that led to the penitentiary where I now worked. I didn’t have a car, so I walked when the weather was nice, and took a taxi when it wasn’t.
When Kai saw the house for the first time, he was less than impressed. I couldn’t blame him because he’d never lived in anything so small or dark. He stared at it for a long while before finally speaking.
“It’s not too late to find something else, I hope.”
“Kai! C’mon on. I worked hard to find this place.”
He graced me with the same goofy smile his father had, and said, “I’m kidding.”
I was torn. Was he putting on a brave face and going along with this without much trouble for my sake? I worried that maybe he was more upset than he let on. Yet, whenever I tried talking to him on a deeper level, he resisted. As a result, I was over-enthusiastic as I showed him around. I think I was overcompensating for everything that had gone wrong lately.
At least now, I could spend more time with him since I no longer had school to contend with. Things would surely change for the better if I made up for all the time I’d missed.
The kitchen, dining, and living room were one room.
“I love open floor plans,” I told him, feigning excitement.
He shrugged, and said, “It’s all right.”
“That bay window is so pretty. This room gets a lot of light.”
His nod was almost imperceptible.
He was unable to hide a cringe when he saw his room.
“A toy box?”
“Well, the place came furnished. They didn’t know you’re not a child.” When he rolled his eyes, I added, “And we can move it to the garage if you like.”
“I like,” he said.
Moving the toy box out of his room was the first of many little changes we made in our tiny home.
Notes from Kymber
Special thanks to Bee (Poses by Bee) for the First, Second, Third Base -Teens pose pack! I’ll be using this one some more. lol
Also, special thanks to sweetpoyzin for the house she made, which you can download here: Slumber Falls. Despite Kai’s lack of excitement, I really love this house.
Other poses used in this chapter: Hijinks, and 99 Bottles of Beer.
And, thank you, gentle readers, for liking, lurking, reading, and commenting,
It’s almost ironic that after all the work Kara did to become a nurse, sacrificing Kai’s well-being in the process, she didn’t get her dream job. It’s sad really, but also feels like the universe telling her, “see, maybe it wasn’t that worth it after all”, and it was better to calm down for a moment and wait with a decent job and spend more time with Kai. Sorry, I’m just disappointed with her like I said. Well, Kai and Jade! Can’t say I didn’t see it coming because I’d read a lot of Kai’s gen already.
Kai and Jade forever. LOL Okay, now that I’ve got that out of my system, I’m disappointed in Kara, too. I don’t know how this happened with her. I mean, I do structure my generations to a certain degree with outlines, then I add some things that happen during game play. But, Kara, she just got away from me and didn’t seem to want to follow any plan I had for her. lol I like what you said about the universe trying to tell her something, and I think you hit the nail right on the head with that.
“I like.” lmaoooo! Kai is killing me with his dry sense of humor! 😂😂😂
I get that moving to the poor side of Twinbrook is not ideal, but I think Kara is doing her best and Kai knows it.
I wonder how her new job’s is going to go.
And uh ohh… I like Jade, but let’s hope the new generation will not come that soon! I do like those two together though <3
I really feel bad for Kara. You work so hard to better yourself and then this happens. Life just isn’t fair sometimes, even in fiction. She’s doing the best she can, but no matter what you do, there’s always consequences. I hope she will be safe at her new job. Let’s hope they have adequate security because in a penitentiary, things can go south very fast. I can’t really blame Kai for feeling the way he does. His world, small as it is right now, is being turned topsy-turvey, and that’s difficult for a teen. I just hope living in a rougher neighborhood and going to a “crappy” school isn’t causing more trouble, but I have a feeling it will. And…oh dear! I wonder if this little escapade is going to lead to generation 8.
Thank you, Sharon. I feel bad for Kara, too. Hopefully, her new job goes well, and things go well for Kai, too.
I really like that Kara wants to do everything herself and be independent, and I don’t think the downsizing was a bad idea. Maybe Kai needed this because his reaction to the house is pretty spoiled.
I’m just worried about Kara staying safe at her job. I hope there’s lots of security at this place.
Oh no, there could be a Kai junior if they weren’t careful. 😉
You’re definitely right about Kai’s reaction being spoiled. I think he should be proud of his mom, actually. Downsizing can be a good thing.
I can see why you’re worried about Kara at her job. Hopefully, she won’t feel threatened there.
Kai junior! Let’s hope not this early! 😀
I feel bad for her. She put so much effort into her schooling only for all this to happen. And the worst thing? Her son isn’t even trying to appreciate her.
Thank you, Violincat. I know what you mean! Kai has no idea what she’s been through to get to this point.
[…] Did you miss Wednesday’s chapter? Catch it here: Chapter 7.22: Dear Diary, Trouble Our Way […]
It’s unfortunate that things turned out this way, but I believe Kara will persevere and make it through stronger than ever!
Thank you, Raymond. I believe you’re right about Kara. She’s always been a fighter.
Wow that’s rough. I know what it is like not landing your dream job.
But I believe that everything happens for a reason, and things will eventually get better for these two.
Thank you so much! Yes! I agree with you totally. I think things will get better before they know it.
Wow Kymber! The storyline and graphics get my inner works churning up memories when I was a wee Kai and my mother was making the best out of my father’s bad luck. The main difference was I accepted my mother’s deep distress while putting on a happy face and made every effort not to show my own sense of loss. This story is somehow deeper psychologically as it addresses a common theme nearly all parents face as children reach the age of defiance while still in need of parental engagement. We always want to fly before our wings are ready. Beautifully done. I had to blink back some tears.
Thank you so much. 😀 I appreciate what you’re saying a great deal. I can see why a kid would put on a happy face and try to hide how their circumstances are affecting them. I agree with wanting to fly before our wings are ready. It’s so true.
I’m totally engrossed in the story. It is so relevant and well done.
Thank you again. It is so kind of you to say.
Noooo, I’m not kind, just puppy happy with life. I am honest about my feelings especially when I read something that lights up my inner sky. You do that very well.
Awwww…. that pleases more than I can say.
and that makes me happy. INFJ POWER!!! Wooo Hoooo!
It’s like Wonder Twins, did you ever watch that on Saturday cartoons? You know, wonder power twins activate, shape of… lolol INFJ Power!
Oh definitely Wonder Twins. The girls loved it. They used to shout Girl Power shape of Dragon! Then they would pretend to breathe fire on their dolls.
I know, I still like to play like that with the kids, they never outgrow fun.
This is true.
I echo Audrey .. this was a rough chapter and indeed Bram NEEDS to step up!
Thank you, Lisa. I so agree with you. xo
Kara working in a prison sounds very intriguing. But I don’t suppose we’ll get to see much of it, since the focus is slowly shifting to Kai as the end of this generation draws near. Would love to see what she has to deal with, though.
We haven’t had an heir with a drinking problem yet, or have we? It’s gonna be a heavy ready if Kai is headed that way. I’m excited nonetheless.
I wonder why Kara didn’t try to ask her parents for some help. Is it because she’s so stubborn to make it on her own? I’m glad, though. It’s more interesting to watch them struggle than getting help and live a happy life.
Thank you so much, Maladi. Actually the prison is in the next chapter if all goes as it should. lol But you’re right that it’s not the focus of things. I wouldn’t rule it out completely. 😀
No heirs with drinking problems yet. That’s not to say that that will be the main focus on Kai’s generation either. We shall see. (Insert evil laugh! lol). I’m glad you’re excited.
I thought of Kara asking her parents for help, but I honestly don’t think she’s hit the bottom of her threshold. With Kai, yes, but to her, this is a change in her plans, and she thinks she can overcome it eventually and get them back on track.
Ooolala a little raunchy-ness on the sofa. I hope they’re careful and all that.. 😉
The new digs are nice! xx
lol Me too, Caz! 😀 Thank you xo
Well, settling is something we can all relate to right now.
Thank you, Jo. 🙂
So much like life, Kymber. Job falls through, kid doesn’t get the belt tightening–nicely done.
LOL Thank you so much, Jacqui 🙂
Thank you for using my poses! They looked great in your game. Reading another chapter of yours has me longing to go back and play sims 3 seriously!
Oh Kai! and Oh Kara too! If only they could see what is in each other’s heads and hearts. His hurt demeanor and her guilty stress will create some real negativity between them. One can hope that once settled and more time in the day, things will work their way out. But Kai, looking like he may have the family gene for rebellion and whoa boy do I feel sorry for his mom! Anxious to know if one moment of innocence and experimentation became generation 8!
Thank you, Bee! I would be totally lost without your poses. ❤️
I totally agree with your statement about if only they could see into each other’s heads. They’re both hurting because of each other. You’re also right about the rebellion trait.
That’s a good question on whether anything will come from Kai’s lapse in judgment or not.
This was a rough chapter for Kara and Kai. They are both so unhappy. And now they are in a rough part of town and and Kai is experimenting with alcohol and sex at too young of an age. So many things could happen. Bram needs to get involved and quit being an absentee father. He’s waiting way too long and a I know most of that is on Kara. She doesn’t really know how to accept help from anyone.
Thank you so much, Audrey. Yeah, that was a bit rough, for sure. I shudder to think what could happen, quite honestly. And, Thank You! Yes! Bram needs to be a dad. Kara needs to learn to accept his help.
Uh-oh. I’m hoping Kai is more lucky/careful, but since this IS a legacy I can’t help but wonder if we’ll get to meet generation 8 early. 😅 Fingers crossed he doesn’t have to head down that path.
This is all so sad to see. 🙁 It’s just one thing after the other going wrong and I feel like Kara is kind of sticking her head in the sand and ignoring the problems, because no, I don’t think things will get better now just because she has more time…
Thank you so much, Louise. I’m hoping the same thing about Kai being more careful… or lucky. haha We’ll see.
It’s true that it’s sad to see. Kara is definitely sticking her head in the sand where Kai is concerned. In the next chapter, she will get a bit of a wake up call! :O
The house is really cute. Lots of interesting plot directions opening up here!
Thank you, CT. Sweetpoyzin makes such cute houses! I agree about the plot points. Perhaps there’s a silver lining just around the corner?
Kai is turning into Leo! There. I said it. Don’t repeat his past kid!
Thank you, Hillary. I can see why you compare Kai and Leo. And, I agree that Kai doesn’t need to repeat Leo’s mistakes.