[Sara, a single mother, and Mike, her son, are homeless and living in an abandoned park in The Sims 3. You can backtrack to the first two (1, 2) entries, or hop right into their continuing journey.]
With a full stomach, generous neighbors, and a 6 a.m. sunrise, Sara
picks up her guitar again. Mike admires his mother's talent and seems
to appreciate her tunes that range from soft-bellied folk to more
bluesy rock riffs. Mike runs to catch the bus to school, his mother
still lost in the music.
Taking
a cab, I send Sara to Central Park. Unfortunately, the time-honored
tradition of busking (performing music in public places for tips and
gratuities) isn't an option for her yet. Dorie and Gus Hart, two of
her neighbors, arrive at the park, too, but they don't acknowledge
Sara. Well, almost they don't. Dorie gives Sara the "gas face" behind
her back and, almost immediately, the Harts turn around and go home.
Sara takes it easy by sitting alone at the fountain, then she starts an
hours-long singleplayer game of chess. The long-haired Abraham Finkle
eventually sits down across from Sara, but he never pulls his nose out
of his book. With Sara steeped in her game, Abraham eventually leaves
without comment.
After school, Mike wants to hop off the bus at Bella Bachelor's pad.
He follows her, still grungy, tired, and generally miserable from a
full day of having too many people around for his taste.
It turns out that Bella lives right across the street from the
abandoned park where Mike lives. Bella at least appears amused by her
decision to bring Mike home. Mike is polite and doesn't even walk on
Bella's grass. She doesn't invite him in, but she brings her homework
outside onto the porch.
With a sudden change of heart, and without a word to Bella, Mike
sprints home across the street. Head swimming with exhaustion, all he
can think about is getting a little sleep.
Back in Central Park, Sara helps herself to a picnic basket and eats a hot dog so fast she neary chokes.
She then admires the statue presiding over Central Park until late
afternoon. She either greatly admires the town leadership this man's
statue represents, or she appreciates its sculpturing on an artistic
level.
At sundown, Sara leaves Central Park and heads back to the abandoned
park. As she waves gently to her already-sleeping son, Sara wishes
that she could buy him a toy box. She falls asleep on a distant
bench. Still, it's surprising to see that, despite the usual gripes
(tired, grungy), Sara and Mike are both happy.
Mike wakes up to the sound of his mother working towards her lifetime
wish of Mastering the Arts. In the middle of her practice, Sara seems
to notice her admiring son, and suddenly Sara adds a stuffed animal to
her list of things she wishes she could provide for Mike. And as Sara
gets progressively better at the guitar it drives her to want to
practice more and more. Taking advantage of her good mood and
relatively high level of energy, Sara practices late into the night.
As morning approaches, Sara and Mike chat about the usual: art, books
-- and they even sprinkle in a little neighborhood and schoolyard
gossip. What she'd probably like to avoid talking about is how she
just peed herself. Still, considering the Twilight Zone they'd created
with their obsessive-compulsive toothbrushing rituals, I still find it
hard to regret my previous decision to bulldoze their public restroom.
Mike doesn't seem to mind. He walks through it to continue the early
morning chat with his mother before school. And apparently for Sara,
nothing screams "artist" like discussing the finer points of the color
wheel while standing only inches away from your own puddle of pee.
