Court part 2

 

The next morning we woke up bright and early, 6:00.  Satis and Sage went off to school, while Andy and I hauled the boys in his van. 

AJ disappoints me the most, he is my first born son.  He has generations of proud Plumb blood coursing through his veins.  I cannot believe that he has turned out this way. 

Sety thinks the whole situation is one big joke.  I heard him snickering to himself behind Andy.  I have to admit, I had no idea what I was getting when I adopted him and Satis from Egypt.  While Satis has been a complete dear, Sety has been one problem after another.  We accepted that his Simlish didn’t come along as fast as his sister’s, and we suspect that he has a learning disability on top of that.  But that’s absolutely no excuse for his behavior.  If he’s not careful, he’ll be in jail.

We got to the courthouse at 8:30.  The boys’ sentencing was scheduled for 8:45. 

Then, before we walked in, Andy surprised me by saying a few words.  He was clearly choked up.  “Boys,” he began, trying to hold back tears.  “I’ve watched you grow up – and no matter what happens in there, I’m still going to love you like mad.  But that doesn’t mean I’m not disappointed in your behavior, and if you think about it, you’d be disappointed in it, too.”

And then, we went in and took our seats. 

Three hours later, we were out.  And the sentences District Judge Emily Blount handed out were harsh – the boys were to be sent to Fort Starch Military Academy as punishment for their deeds. 

“These boys have developed a consistent pattern of misbehavior.  Were they born this way?”

No, I said tearfully as I stood before her.  “They were the sweetest boys you could meet.  They were ‘please, thank you, may I?’ All of a sudden, when they became teenagers, it’s like a bomb went off, and they went – I don’t know – ballistic is a good word to use.”

The judge wanted them to leave right then and there, but Andy convinced her to let them go home and allow them to pack their bags with some clothes and other things. 

Court part 1

 

Hello everyone, it’s me, Savannah, and I’m wiped.  I just came back from district court – with my sons.

I never imagined I would be in this position.  I thought my sons would be the well-behaved kids they were when they were younger.  Now, though, they’re completely out of control – even the district judge says so.  I’m getting a few gray hairs too.  And no wonder.  My sons are going to drive me up a wall if I don’t get a handle on them.  As for their future, if they don’t straighten up, the next place they’ll be going is jail. 

We drove back in the dead of night from Hidden Springs (guess the cat is out of the bag, huh?)  because we’ve been looking at property there.

We’re also in the process of adopting this magnificent thoroughbred.  I’ve wanted a horse since I was a little girl, and it wasn’t feasible because we lived in the suburbs, in the rich part of town.  We still haven’t picked out a name for him (we know he is a male).  Andy even negotiated a lower price for him because he’s a bit on the ‘difficult’ side. 

Anyway, when we got back home, I found out from Toya that the police had been there because Sety had decided to throw himself a wild little party while we were gone.  “Are you serious?”  I asked her. 

Had he forgotten that he’s going to court because of the LAST one?  Or the fact that he and AJ were photographed in one of the gossip rags puking their guts out all over the floor?  The whole thing still sickens me to my stomach. 

“I can’t believe he’d do this again,” I told Andy as he drove down the main street in our hometown.  Of all the changes here, at least this corridor has remained the same. 

“The police called us, we just need to calm down and get to the bottom of it.”  Goodness, Andy is just so damn reasonable.  I wish I was reasonable.  At that moment I was completely livid. 

“Andy, we have got to do something.”

“Well, the boys have a court date tomorrow –“

Andy and I said nothing else until we got back to the house. 

Sety… again

 

Hey, it’s me, Satis, trying to finish reading Zombies?  Zombies! for my English class.  Supposedly it’s going to be made into a movie, and Uncle Bassy is supposed to be playing the main character.  I don’t get why it’s such a big deal that he does movies.  I mean, it’s pretty much that he plays dress-up with cameras on him.  His words, not mine. 

Remember I overheard my brothers talking at the dinner table the other night? 

It was for good reason. 

See, mom and dad took off again (I suspect it might be for Hidden Springs) and, apparently, Sety threw a party, and, if at all possible, this one was even wilder than the one before it.  And he’s going to court (along with AJ) for that one. 

Sety has such a cache (am I using the right word?) in these parts, that some of the other kids showed up to take pictures of him. 

They invited the geek boy Zachary Downey, who’s in my trig class, and Candice Lakin managed to make fun of him at the party.  Candice hates everybody, though, it’s not just Zachary.  

Michael surprised me with some hand picked yellow flowers.  I thought it was pretty sweet of him.  Too bad that Candice Lakin had to ruin it by watching us like a hawk. 

Candice sat down with Dameon Ramsey (Daisy’s brother) to watch a cooking show on TV. 

I think Natalie Brooks from newspaper is making a play for Sety.  She made a beeline for him at the party.  I think she wants to go into private investigation upon turning YA.  Natalie moved to Sunset Valley with her grandmother after her parents died. 

I couldn’t hear exactly what Sety was telling Natalie, but it didn’t seem like it was good.

There was so much noise that the police were called. 

“All right, kids, who’s the host of this party?  It’s 2 am, get out of here before I notify your parents!” 

Moving?

Hey it’s me, Satis.  I finally learned where mom and dad went the night the boys threw their wild party.  They were in Hidden Springs, house hunting. 

Why would they even want to move there?  I don’t even know. 

I learned it while flipping through October’s Celebrity.  Why didn’t they even bother to tell us that was what they were doing?  Who knows, I guess. 

I thought mom liked Sunset Valley.  After all, she was born and raised here.

Ever since mom and dad said they were sending the boys away, I’ve been a little nervous.  I really don’t want them to leave, even though they drive me crazy sometimes. 

The other night we were having macaroni and cheese, and I overheard them whispering something.  “Hey,” Sety whispered, “let’s go out late tonight and do something to the school.  Kind of one last hurrah.”

“I dunno about this,” AJ said.  “We’re already in trouble up to our necks.”

So as I was putting up the dishes for the night, I shot Sety one disapproving look.  I know he is up to something.  I can feel it. 

Mishmash

 

Hey everyone, it’s me, Satis.

I can’t stand it that mom and dad are about to send Sety and AJ away to that military boarding school.  They drive me nuts but at least it’s not dull with them around. 

Of course, with this one around (that would be Sierra) things won’t be dull anyway. 

So, I picked up the latest Celebrity, and to my surprise, there’s a dual cover.  On it are these royal teenage twins from a remote mountain village called Hidden Springs.  Who died and made these girls royalty?  Although, I must admit, their hairstyle on the cover is cute. 

So I get to reading their interviews, and their story is actually pretty interesting.  Apparently their brother, curiously named Sebastian (same as our Uncle Bassy), is engaged to marry a commoner called Ella Carlisle, and the whole village (especially Ella’s family, who wanted one of their daughters to marry the prince) is up in arms about it.  On top of that, their sister, Francisca, ran off to live up in a cabin in the woods and become a writer.  She wrote a best-selling romance novel, The Princess and the Pauper, under an assumed name.

There was this big spread of pictures of the girls as children.  They remind me of Sage and Sierra, except they have a lot more money. 

So they asked the girls (who now attend Smuggsworth Prep School) what it was like living in the household and their future plans. 

“I doubt I’ll ever be queen,” Alexandra, older by three minutes, said.  “That doesn’t stop me from wanting it.”

Seriously.  All royalty is good for these days – is looking good. 

Anyway, I had some misadventures in babysitting.  When mom and dad went to court with the boys, I had to stay at home with the girls.  Sierra must have pooped about ten times, and poor Sage was about to suffocate with the smell. 

Then, Sierra managed to waste her baby food all over her high chair, so as soon as I finished her sandwich, I had to clean it up. 

No choice

 

After the police brought Sety home – again …

…and AJ hit the Downey house again, this time with a flaming bag…

…Andy and I sat at the kitchen table and prepared ‘the talk.’ We were eating the PB & J sandwiches Toya had prepared, when the subject of AJ and Sety came up. 

We can sit there for hours and say absolutely nothing to each other … and sometimes, we can say absolutely everything to each other. 

“Andy, we have to do something,” I began, trying to get a crumb of bread unstuck between my teeth. 

Andy still didn’t say anything.  But this time, he didn’t have to.  The expression on his face told the whole story. 

The other night, when Sety came home in a cop car, he and Sety got into a shouting match so serious that the Brookses, the neighbors to my left, called the police.  They left after a few minutes, and assigned us to a social worker, but the visit still stung me. 

And he and AJ are barely speaking. 

This is the reaction we usually get when we try to talk to him. 

The policeman tried to talk to him, he laughed in the guy’s face. 

We kept telling AJ that he needs a serious attitude adjustment.  And Andy and I agreed that Fort Starch Academy was the place that was going to give it to him.

So, Andy and I put in a call to Lt. Barksdale at Fort Starch Military Academy and set the wheels in motion to enroll our wayward sons there.  It’s the most difficult phone call we’ve ever had to make. 

Aftermath part 2

So there I was, on my way to Summer Hill Court to see what the heck my father wants.  I hate to say it, but I’m still at his beck and call.  Even now. 

I got to the mansion at a quarter to five, even though I had to go to work in fifteen minutes.  I knew I was going to run late, but meh. 

Walking on the marble walkway and through the manicured gardens, I was assured that at least the exterior of the house was being kept up.

I was stood in the entrance foyer wondering what the heck my father could possibly want. 

When I walked into the kitchen, I saw my father and my brother making faces, as if something had died. 

I greeted my father’s butler, Jeremey Chapman, and then lambasted him for not keeping the kitchen clean.  “My father pays you good money just to look cute, right, is that it?” I asked him.  “This place is a mess.”

Sure enough, my dad and my brother had been feasting on pies and hamburgers, and Jeremey had been catering to their every whim.  “At least attempt to make sure they get a balanced diet,” I demanded. 

Finally my dad emerged near the fish tank.  “Hey, princess.”

After all this time my dad’s voice still makes me melt.  Doesn’t make everything he’s done go away, or the anger that I still have at him for breaking up our family the way he has, but he is my father, the only one I’m going to get.  I don’t know how much time he has left, but I have to savor every precious moment I get – which is why I postponed going to work to see him. 

I had never seen my father like this.  He was visibly shaking.  You have to know that my father is not an emotional man.  It’s a Plumb quality.  They never raise their voices for anything.  My Aunt Margaret had that, too. 

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s your mother.”

“Wha – What’s wrong?  Where is she?”  I had looked around the house and didn’t see her.  I assumed she was out running errands in town,

“I’m on my way to the hospital.  She’s in pretty bad shape.”

“Wha – what happened?”

“She was downtown at the bookstore signing copies of her biography and she collapsed.”

We didn’t say anything more.  Dad and I drove to the hospital.  Bassy arrived later, after he changed out of his clothes. 

Aftermath

 

 

It was the aftermath of the boys’ massive party, the biggest party ever thrown by teenagers in Sunset Valley.  Seeing my sons’ faces on the covers of gossip rags was bad enough, and then to flip through them to see pictures of them puking their guts out… well, it was enough to make my skin curl. 

Andy, bless him, TRIED to reason with AJ.  But no amount of reason can get through his noggin.  He’s as stubborn as can be.  “You know, AJ, your mother and I love you very much, which is why we’re deeply disturbed by your behavior.  Your teachers all say you’re smart but you don’t apply yourself.”
AJ rolled his eyes.  ”Whatever, dad.”      

“Son, you and your brother have a court date coming up soon.  A court date!  You do realize you’re one slip-up away from military school.”

“Why should I listen to you anyways, dad?”

Meanwhile, Sage was in the backyard looking for bugs for her science project.  She needed 4 different kinds of beetles.  So far she and Andy have found three, the water beetle has proven the most elusive. 

Meanwhile, Satis is spending a lot of time at the school where she is writing her gossip column.  And as usual, the budding reporter is being reported on, by the paparazzi. 

Then I got a call.  It was from my father.  I wonder what HE wants.  I love him to death -- but he expects me to drop everything just to see him.