Gen 8 Ch 1: Where the Heart Is

Hazel, used to Appaloosa Plains' wide array of diverse vegetation, thought that this place looked sort of monotonous.

They'd rented a small house in one of the quieter areas around the campus. It seemed comfortable enough, albeit a bit plain.

Just a few hours after their arrival, Hazel had started to miss her father's garden, and so she decided to plant a few seeds in their otherwise empty front yard.

Though with Aidan by her side, anywhere would feel like home to Hazel.

"Alright, I'm outta here," Huxley grunted and mounted her bike, already fed up with the overly affectionate couple.

Hazel and Aidan got on their bikes too, and although theirs had significantly less horsepower than Huxley's, they made their way to the heart of campus quickly enough.

They were excited to attend their first lectures. There was just so much to learn! The possibilities seemed endless.

However, Hazel soon found herself frowning in disappointment. The course materials were interesting enough, but she was astonished by the obvious lack of commitment from the faculty.

Their professors didn't even bother to show up to most lectures, instead sending notes that the students were to study this and that chapter from their textbooks or to copy down equations from the whiteboard.

And to make things worse, some pranksters would usually replace those equations with silly doodles or crude jokes.

Hazel and Aidan saw no other option but to study independently in their scarce free time. At least they were able to make use of the university's facilities and equipment.

Huxley's professors did show up to lectures, but Hux wasn't happy either.

She had thought she'd at least give this college thing a try. But as suspected, turning music into something you had to study from a textbook was a terrible idea.

For Huxley music was something that came from the heart, not the head.

The parties were alright though.

Better than alright.

A few more refills from the juice keg later however, Hux found herself in bed with a different guy from the one she'd set her sights on earlier. This one's name was Anthony or Archie or something like that. Whatever, no matter.

In the meanwhile, Hazel and Aidan were already fast asleep.

The next morning over breakfast, Hazel wondered aloud whether she should go wake her sister while the waffles were still fresh.

"I don't think Hux came home last night," Aidan said simply.

"What?!"

When Hazel rushed into Huxley's room and found it empty, she knew Aidan had been right. Huxley never woke up this early, so she must've not gotten home the previous night.

Where was she? Was she alright?! Had something happened to her??!

Across campus, Huxley was having a much slower morning than her sister.

She pushed away the covers and sat up, wincing at the thrumming headache that assaulted her. The previous night was a disjointed collection of half-remembered moments. Hux had no idea how she'd ended up in this room, but its musky odor of old gym socks and juice made it easy to make an educated guess.

Feeling terribly nauseous each time she moved too quickly, Hux gathered up her clothes from the floor and left to search for her motorbike.

Finally back in her own room, she went straight back to bed. She'd ditch classes for today. They were all useless anyway, and right now sleeping off this hangover was more important.

*

Later that day, Huxley was showered and dressed just in time for dinner.

"So, anyway," Hazel tried to sound casual, "Where were you last night? You never came home."

"Eh, just this party at one of the dorms. It got late so I... stayed the night."

At first, Hazel did not reply. Gripping her fork tightly, she pushed her food around and watched her knuckles turn white. She may have appeared like a wide-eyed country girl, but Hazel was far from naive. She knew how to read between the lines. Finally, she spoke. "How can you do this to Theo?"

Hux didn't bother denying anything and instead skipped straight to being angry. "Look, I know that you two have been betrothed since you were babies or some creepy shit like that, " she snapped, "but Theo and I are not like that. We're not... together. He is free to do whatever he wants with whomever he wants, and so am I. So please drop the mom act and let me eat in peace!"

Huxley finished the rest of her food at lighting speed and got up before her sister could get in another word.

Hazel was left to stab angrily at her omelette. "Can you believe her?" she said to Aidan, "She's completely out of control. No thoughts for others! Now I know how Mom always feels."

Aidan formed his reply very carefully. "Maybe you should... just leave her be. You are her little sister and not her mother, after all."

"Not you too!" Hazel sprang up. "You can't seriously be taking her side on this!" She rapidly gathered the dishes and headed for the kitchen sink. "Next you'll want us to have an open relationship too, or whatever ridiculous thing she thinks she's having!"

Hazel scrubbed the dirty dishes vigorously, her motions far too hurried and forceful. Before Aidan could intervene, it happened: There was a loud clink followed by a clatter as Hazel dropped the broken dish into the sink and doubled over, her hands clutching the edge of the counter.

Aidan hurried over to check if she was okay. There was no blood, thank plumbob, but Hazel was still far from alright.

She was trembling all over when Aidan wrapped her in his arms and tried to reassure her with soft words and tender affection. "You know I don't want anyone besides you, Hazel," he murmured, "It's you and me, always and forever."

Slowly, Hazel relaxed. "I'm sorry I said that before," she sighed, "I just... I don't know what I'd ever do without you. And the way Hux is treating her relationship - or whatever - makes me feel so... anxious."

"Hux is a grown-up. She needs to make her own mistakes."

"But that's just it! She doesn't even realize she's making a mistake!"

"And that's for her to find out, Hazel. I know, I know," he said, gently stroking her hair, "I agree with you. I feel the same way. But this is between Hux and Theo. It has nothing to do with us, and we need to stay out of it, alright?"

Hazel nodded reluctantly.

***

Even though Hux often complained about their lovey-dovey ways, she had no problem with her sister's boyfriend. Aidan was always laid back, non-judgemental and an all around chill guy.

While Huxley and Aidan relaxed in the shade of a tree, Hazel stood a bit further down by the edge of the water, holding a fishing pole, her back stiff. Her latest fascination was with ichthyology, but she took little pleasure in the act of fishing itself.

As a child, Hazel had loved the fishing trips she and Aidan would take with their fathers. Besides being outdoors, she had enjoyed the 'game' aspect of fishing - always trying to reel in the next biggest catch. But as she had matured and developed a more acute sense of empathy, her interest in fishing had waned.

She wasn't a vegetarian like her sister, but she still felt that every living thing should be treated with compassion and dignity. And in her opinion, fishing for pleasure did not align with those principles.

Right now she was fishing for the sake of science: cataloguing the indigenous species and removing those that were invasive; always taking samples to study at the lab later.

When the sun set behind the mountains and rain clouds covered the sky, they made their way home for some dinner.

Hazel had finished her food quickly, her contribution to the conversation short and perfunctory, and had gone to the kitchen to do the dishes.

Aidan had thought that their talk the other day had eased Hazel's mind, but the way she still acted around Huxley and the compulsive thoroughness with which she scrubbed the kitchen counters told him otherwise.

He did his best to calm and cheer his girlfriend whenever he could, and his efforts were usually successful. Hazel was always happiest when she was with Aidan.

But sometimes Hazel couldn't help but worry - about anything and everything. Her sister's wild ways, exam results, whether she'd remembered to turn the stove off after cooking, the disturbing amount of pollution in the samples she'd analyzed in the lab, politics...

Hazel knew she couldn't control everything, but she would control what she could. Keeping her carbon footprint small was one of those things, even if that meant hanging laundry to dry in the rain instead of using the dryer.

The clothes were going to dry eventually, but the planet would never recover if people weren't going to start caring for it.

***

Hazel even agreed to host a party in their small house one weekend, though she preferred to busy herself in the kitchen while Hux and Aidan socialized.

She talked to their guests too, of course, but as the night went on, Hazel quickly grew tired of all the commotion and retreated into a corner with a book. Unfortunately, that night, no part of the house offered a quiet refuge.

Was that the guy Huxley had stayed with the other night? A different guy? Hazel kept her eyes on her book and tried not to care.

After all, she couldn't afford to be distracted. With the final exams fast approaching, Hazel had too much on her mind already. Sure, she'd studied, but had she studied enough? What if there were unexpected questions? What if she got so nervous that she drew a blank? And had she washed her hands thoroughly enough to be chewing her nails right now?! Better go wash them again. Twice.

As it turned out though, Hazel had worried for nothing. She graduated with the highest honors as the best of her year. The only other student who even came close to her was Aidan, of course.

Huxley had barely scraped together a handful of credits, but according to her, she "couldn't give less of a fuck." She was ready to leave this place in the dust.


 __________

Hazel's adult trait is neurotic. She's under a "Live Your Trait" roll, so she freaks out at least once a day and keeps everything nice and clean. At first I wanted eco-friendly to be her trait to live by, but during her child stage I learned  that there are just no wishes associated with it, only moodlets. So yeah, she's become a worrywart now. I can sympathize!

Aidan didn't actually earn a degree - I bought him one with LTH points. Hazel had lots of skill points that earned her enough extra credits to finish her degree in one round of uni, but since StoryProgression had control over Aidan until his YA birthday, he wasn't so fortunate.

Huxley could have probably finished her studies too, but just for fun I had her cheat on the final exams because I'd never tried that before. She got caught, was kicked out of the exam and had a negative moodlet for a while. She could have gotten rid of that by completing an opportunity to clear her name, recording a PSA video about how cheating is bad and stuff... but we all know Hux don't roll that way.