Second to none

Round 27: Summer 2025

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Betsy and Kimberly Carmody are both 54 and Susannah is 15.
(Sarah is 20 and Malcolm is 15)

Narrated by Susannah Carmody

When last summer came and went without the threatened "family vacation", I thought maybe I'd escaped! But no. Right up until the shuttle arrived, I was begging to be allowed to stay home but Mum insisted it was a family vacation and we were going as a family.

I don't know why Sarah was excluded, if it was supposed to be a family vacation. She's part of the family, isn't she? Mum said when I grow up, I can also choose whether or not to go away with them. Until then, I go where they go.

We stayed at our holiday house, which I didn't even know we had. Mum said my grandparents bought it a long time ago. I like our house at home better. My bedroom here is less like a room than a closet.

I thought we'd be going to the beach right away but my parents had other ideas. They were "relaxing". Boring!

I figured if I had to be away from Malcolm and my friends, I might as well make the most of it and you know, do something!

I was hoping to maybe meet some kids my age to hang around with; the place looked completely deserted though! I was there for at least an hour before I saw anyone but the chef and the tour guide.

So I spent a bit of time on my own, just looking for something to do, which generally didn't go so well!

I ended up meeting this other girl whose parents had dragged her there alone too though and we got to talking.

Hanging out with Renee helped pass the time. I told her about Malcolm and she said she had a girlfriend back home who she'd rather be spending time with too.

We decided not to dwell on it though and go out and find something fun to do. I tried my hand at fire dancing and was quickly relieved that they don't like the stick on fire when you're learning. I probably wouldn't be writing this right now if they did!

I was hoping I could go see Malcolm when we got back but instead, Mum asked if I'd fix the computer. She and Mama have no clue about electronics, so when something's not working, the job of fixing it goes to me.

Then Mama wanted me to come and help out the salon. Her regular stylist called in sick so she wanted me to fill in. She's been training me for the past year or so.

It beat sweeping up hair! Mum doesn't charge the clients as much if they're seen by me but I do pretty good normally. Most of my clients leave happy.

Well, I did have a little...problem...with one customer but Mama fixed him up for free and it was all good.

I'd been really looking forward to going to see a movie with Malcolm but it was pretty clear he hadn't been planning on actually watching it.

I had to get pretty tough with him just so I could finish watching the movie in peace.

After the movie, he started looking at me in a way that made me think he was going to say something sweet. Like that I looked pretty or something. But no, he leans in and tells me that his house was empty and that he could totally sneak me into his bedroom and no one would know.

It seems like Malcolm is like that all the time now. All he ever thinks about or talks about is sex. He even tried to get me to do it with him a photo booth. I'm just not ready though.

I might be more willing to consider it if Malcolm ever seemed like he cared what I have to say any more. But he doesn't. He always makes me feel like I'm boring him.

And the way he waves me off sometimes really hurts.

I spoke to Sarah about it and she thought I should dump Malcolm. He's made it clear he's only interested in one thing now, so who needs him?

She wasn't very impressed when I told her she should take her own advice. Sarah's still seeing that Marshall guy, on and off, the one who never calls her.

She was pretty quick to steer the topic back to me and Malcolm. I know she's right. Even without the fact that he's not listening to me now, I don't want to put up with being pressured for sex all the time.

When Malcolm came over after school the next day, I wanted to have a talk with him about how he'd been acting. I was hoping maybe he could change and I wouldn't have to break up with him.

Well, that wasn't going to happen. He told me he was sick of waiting for me to be ready.

Well, after hearing that, I was pretty much sick of him! Then Malcolm had the nerve to act all shocked when I asked him to leave. It takes a lot to get me angry sometimes but I was fuming for hours after that!

Malcolm has called a few times since then but I told my parents I didn't want to speak to him. It's bad enough I have to see him at school. I'm avoiding him at all other times.

I've been focusing on my school work instead and I've sort of been reconsidering college. I think maybe I should work towards trying to get in, so it's there as an option for me if I do end up wanting to go.

Sarah's influence again, at least a little! Loser boyfriends aside, she does seem like she's really liking college. Mum is so proud too. She just beams when Sarah starts talking about classes and everything.

From talking to Sarah, I think university could have more to offer than just four more years of study with a degree at the end of it.

There's the social aspect to think about, plus gaining a little bit of independence before stepping out on my own for real. I'd been assuming that I didn't need a degree so I just wouldn't go but I'm rethinking all of that now! I'm glad I have a couple of years to make up my mind!

Notes:

• Title is from Second to None by Phoenix.
• Renee is a townie and she has actually got herself a girlfriend. And a boyfriend, according to her relationships panel. Skank! And she's a Knowledge Sim!
• Malcolm was rolling lots and lots of woohoo wants, while Susannah was quite reluctant. Most of the time, she wasn't even rolling romantic wants for Malcolm and this was while they were on a date. She's also not particularly outgoing so while I don't see her waiting until marriage, I don't see her having sex at 15 either. Especially not with someone who's acting like a jerk, which Malcolm really was this round. I don't know what got into him, because last round, their conversations ran much more smoothly! I was pretty sure they wouldn't last too long anyway. Susannah is too sweet to be with Malcolm long term.
• Susannah rolled the want to go to college while she was on vacation, which surprised me. She's Pleasure/Family, two aspirations which are never really all that desperate to go to university, and she'd never rolled it before now. I've left it unlocked and it hasn't rolled away, so apparently, she's become quite keen on the idea!