Fruit Parfait: Chapter 1.1

The sound of the squealing tires of the taxi faded away into the distance as I stood on the sidewalk in front of my new home, guitar in hand. I breathed in the fresh, salty air of the beach city and shaded my eyes with my hand as the sun's rays warmed my pale skin. At least I'll be able to get a tan now that I'm on the coast.

The house looked puny from the outside. Cute, but puny. This little house was nothing compared to the three-story house I grew up in. My parents were rich, but they gave me no money. They were greedy and selfish and only cared about themselves... They couldn't spare a dime for me.

I spent every last penny I earned at the grocery store during high school on this house. I gave the builders everything, and now all I had was a measly $11 in my pocket. No worries, Zane, you'll have all the money in the world soon enough, I told myself.

I entered my home with a smile on my face, hoping that the inside would be more pleasing. I was expecting a fully furnished house with some paintings and shiny electronics.

Instead I got a cheap plastic table and folding chairs for the dining area.

A mediocre kitchen. (Hell, at least the appliances were new.) No fire alarm? Really?

An old bed with not even a room to itself.

And a very boring bathroom.

Well, at least they got my favorite color right.

I sighed. Oh, suck it up, Zane. You've got an audition in an hour. Better brush up on those chords.

I practiced the song I would be playing for my audition at the theater over and over until my fingers started to hurt. My cell phone grew heavier and heavier in my pocket as I waited for the call. I knew I had no reason to be nervous, though - they would love me no matter what.

I jumped when the little jingle began to play. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and answered the call.

"Zane Parfait speaking." My voice wavered as I spoke, and I winced. Where was my confidence?

"We're ready for you over at the theater, Zane. Your audition begins in ten minutes; don't be late."

I hung up and gulped. "Nothing to be nervous about," I whispered.

I called another taxi to take me into the city. I had a feeling I would get pretty sick of calling taxis really soon...

But hey, if this lady could be the driver every time, then I'm not complaining!

"So, do you drive taxis often?"

"Don't even think about hitting on me, lettucehead."

...I believe I'm a limehead, thank you very much.

I jumped out of the car before the wheels even stopped rolling and speed walked to the doors of the theater. My watch read 10:01 - I was a minute late.

Karma can be a beautiful thing. When people work hard for something all their lives, they often reach their goals because all the effort they have put into that goal gives them a boost.

Apparently, karma does not like me.

At all.

Another guy walked out of the theater looking pretty pleased with himself.

Ah, wipe that smug smile off of your face! There's nothing funny about stealing a man's job from him.

But whatever. That was one job. I'd find another way to make money.

Apparently today was not my lucky day. I needed to just forget all of my worries for one night and hang out in the most peaceful place in the world: the beach.

I walked the few blocks to the beach, running my hands through my hair. You're Zane Parfait, and you're a talented musician. You're awesome, you're cool, and you will be famous.

"You're Zane Parfait, and you're a talented..." I couldn't say it. The words felt wrong on my tongue. The little pep talk I had been giving myself my whole life... I didn't believe the words anymore. For the first time, I felt unsure of where to go next. What do musicians without record deals do?

Well, if there's one thing I'm good at, then it's picking up hot girls. This chic was dying to talk to me the moment I walked into that beach house.

We really hit it off. One night stand, here I come!

"Look into my sexy eyes."

"Erm..."

The chic ditched me for the bathroom, so I grabbed a drink from the bar.

And another.

What? She was gone for a really long time...I think...

Feeling a bit woozy in the head, I skipped down to the water's edge to watch the sunset.

"Woo! SUNSET!! Woo!!!!" ...Heheh, it's purty pink.

I went back up to the beach house deck. Luckily I had brought my guitar, so I whipped it out and started strumming away. The notes sounded a bit distorted and twangy... But that was probably just from the drinks. Right?

Well, at least the hot chic was willing to listen. No one else bothered to come and listen to my master guitar skills... But hey, the hot chic is the only one that matters.

I set the plan in motion again, flirting and complimenting her and giving her all that dumb chivalry stuff. I thought she was into me...

"Um, sorry, but... I'm married." She shrugged and backed away.

Oh, you have got to be kidding me. The one hot girl at the beach is loyally married. Probably to some wrinkly old pimp, too.

Who could resist this body?

I went outside and sat down by the fire pit and began moping.

Oh, this day just keeps getting better and better. First I was turned down by the theater for a job, and now by a hot girl. I've never been turned down. NEVER.

The warmth of the fire on my butt cheeks was strangely comforting.

I picked up a stick lying on the ground and grabbed a bag of marshmallows someone left under the fire pit.

With this fire and this marshmallow, I create my own circle of happiness.

People, you are intruding upon my circle of happiness. And kid, you are not the king of my circle of happiness and those marshmallow are burning.

I returned to my humble little shack of a house with a growling stomach, so I pulled a bowl out from one of the cabinets and stirred some midnight mac-and-cheese. Oooh look, a spoon.

Hey, this spoon gives me the power to shove my elbow into the fridge door while stirring cheesy noodles!

I set the pot on the stove.

Ehhh, I'll just sit here and wait for the mac-and-cheese to finish. That's how you cook, right?

Well, I didn't see a problem with leaving the pot on the stove on its own.

Oh, crud.

"OH, CRUD!!!"

And that was how I died.

No, I'm totally joking. I ran outside like they always told us to in school and called the fire department. Stupid builders, why did you have to forget the fire alarm?

"Hi, my house is on fire, can you send a firefighter over?" I asked calmly.

That is what I wish I said. "HELP MY HOUSE IS BURNING TO THE GROUND AND THERE IS A FIRE AND EVERYTHING IS TURNING TO ASHES AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO AND I'M GOING TO DIE!!!!!!" I'm not exactly calm in situations of disaster.

Oh, lovely. This is just fantastic. This is just the cherry on top of a fantastic day.

I got tired of waiting for the firefighters, so I went back inside to sob at the sight of my brand new kitchen perishing.

And then I realized something. After everything that had happened that day, I was still Zane Parfait. I was still cool and awesome and I had a great, successful life ahead of me.

So why not start with being a hero?

I summoned my courage and sprayed the fumes with a fire extinguisher, a determined look in my eyes.  You're Zane Parfait, and you're a talented musician. You're awesome, you're cool, and you will be famous. And you're a hero.

I'd like to say I extinguished the fire all on my own, but the firefighter finally showed up to help.

What are you doing, woman? You're ruining my heroic moment...

The fire was finally extinguished, and I felt a mixture of being on the verge of throwing up and starving.

But first, I had a kitchen to clean, and the mess was really getting on my nerves.

I scrubbed the filthy, scorched floor with my mop, scowling and muttering to myself.

"You know, you're really brave for trying to tackle that fire on your own," the firefighter said as I mopped. I was hardly listening, though, and I stayed fixated on the distressing mess. I didn't even look up when she left.

I pulled a tub of ice cream out of the freezer and sat down at the table. I wasn't really in the mood to try any more cooking that day; I just wanted to go to sleep and forget about my horrible first experience in Starlight Shores.

After I finished my ice cream, I heard a mewing outside my door. I jumped up and ran outside, and sure enough, there was an adorable Siamese cat waiting outside for me.

Awww, how cute! I just want to hug it and snuggle with it and...

Okay, maybe not.

I figured I should just leave before the demonic cat attacked me.

I changed into my pajamas. I know, I'm pretty sexy, you don't have to tell me.

And so I climbed under the scratchy sheets of my new bed, feeling exhausted after a long day of unfortunate events. I rested my head on the pillow and closed my eyes, breathing in the fresh scent of new bedding.

It was awfully quiet. A sudden realization made me sit bolt upright...

The other half of that bed was empty.

I was supposed to come home with a girl tonight. I was not supposed to be alone. It was wrong, it was all wrong...

Not even the cute little kitten liked me.

This feeling of loneliness was new to me; never before had I felt so empty and lost. I had lost everything - my mansion, my girls, my music, my dreams.

This was the real world. High school was over.

~

All right, the first chapter of Fruit Parfait! Woot woot! So, what did you guys think of it? I'll be truly grateful for any and all feedback. Please, leave a comment below telling me your thoughts, and if there's anything you think I could improve on, then don't hesitate to add that! :)

Man, I just had so much fun writing this... I never knew this whole Sims storytelling thing could be so interesting! Ahhh, I think I'm getting attached to Zane already... I just love this guy. <3 He's such an interesting character to write from because he's just so full of himself! lol xD

So as you may have noticed, I've added two new pages: Table of Contents and Meet the Parfaits. They're pretty self-explanatory so I'm not going to give you a huge paragraph about them. Anyways, check them out! There will be more and more added as the story progresses.

Hope you enjoyed it! Keep reading, guys, and remember to follow. :)

-Siminoid