3.5 Getting out Part II

The bartender made our drinks reluctantly. I put her sour attitude out of my mind and scoped the scene. Many of Mama’s friends were there, and I doubted my choice of locale for the evening. Not that I minded them seeing us, of course, but I was hoping for a younger crowd. But as the night went on, I got my wish. The old heads trickled out as my peers swaggered in. My excitement for a fun night grew in tandem with the increased volume. One voice kept cutting through the noise. It was a female’s voice, and I recognized it. I always thought it was unique and kind of cute. It belonged to Maira Watson. Even though I had a crush on another girl in high school, I always wanted to know Maira. It’s not like I was afraid to talk to her or anything. I literally could not get to her. She’s super social and always surrounded by an entourage of people I wouldn’t want to associate with, anyway.

But there she was, all alone, standing right behind me. There was no way I’d leave the opportunity on the table. She could be a monster, but at least I would have gotten the chance to find out for myself. When I turned around to confirm it was her, I saw how droopy her expression was. Of course, I wanted to know why she was so sad, but I couldn’t lead with that. I might be inexperienced, but I’m cool. And get this…she remembered me! I didn’t know she even knew I existed. As we caught up, I felt Less’ eyes burning a hole in the back of my head, and I had to get out of there. She’s even nosier than Mama is, and I didn’t want her butting into our conversation, so I asked Maira if she wanted to talk outside—I blamed the noise, heh.

She agreed, and wouldn’t you know it, her mood improved immediately? As much as I’d love to believe I had something to do with it, I know I didn’t. She arrived, intending to numb whatever bothered her, but perhaps the noise and crowd made it worse. I dunno. It’s beside the point and none of my business. I’m finally getting the chance to talk to her, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do.

I kept things light and casual, throwing in a joke or two whenever the moment called for it, not that I think I’m funny or anything. I just hate seeing people sad. But whether she thought I was funny, or she was just being nice, she laughed at every one of my jokes. Her encouragement and improved demeanor infected me, and I got sillier and sillier the more we talked. It could have also been the drink, I guess. Am I a lightweight?

We have a lot in common, actually. Or at least we have one big thing in common. She loves fitness, too! And she said she’ll come to my yoga classes whenever I start teaching. I’m so glad I ran into her and am confident that we’ll be great friends. I think she feels the same way. At least she smiled the entire time and then randomly asked if I would want to do karaoke with her. I thought she meant another time, but when she started talking about how the one in San Myshuno closed late, I knew she meant tonight. This must be my lucky night. San Myshuno was on my no no list that night, but I’ll risk running into Mama in a heartbeat for more time with Maira. Besides, I have a pretty good idea of what she is up to so late. Ugh.

I found Alessia, and of course, she’d been watching us from the window. She wasn’t keen on the karaoke, but there was no way she’d stay at the bar if I’m not there. Hopefully, one day soon she’ll care about her own social life and do whatever she needs to do for herself. I don’t mind her tagging along, but she needs her own friends to hang with.

Even though Maira was the one to suggest this late night outing, she was a bit gun-shy at first, so I volunteered to warm up the mic for her. I don’t know what it is about singing loud and bad, but it’s so fun. Ever since me and Mama sang the first time, I’d been wanting to do it again. And just like last time, Alessia was very concerned about who was nearby and if they were filming us. She really needs to let loose and have fun.

Eventually, Maira found the courage and joined me on stage, and we killed it. Well, as much as one can kill with such low singing skills.

After a few songs, Maira said she needed to get back home but had a really fun time. We exchanged information, and she told me not to be a stranger; I warned her to do the same. After seeing her out, I ordered another drink and looked for Alessia. I found her upstairs talking to a guy at the bar, so I took a page out of her book and watched them from a distance. The conversation seemed innocent enough. At least his eyes were in the right place. Whether it was the drink again or just an overdose of endorphins, I decided to play her game and interrupt the conversation, heh. Payback is oh so sweet.

“Hey,” I said in a loud, overly annoying and cheerful voice. “Who’s your friend?”

“Hi,” the guy said assertively. “I’m Justin Walker. And you are?”

“I’m her brother, Luca. Nice to meet you.”

He seemed a tiny bit relieved at the brother part, so I thought I’d back out and let them finish, but he kept the conversation going.

“Where are you guys from?”

That’s one cool thing I like about San Myshuno. Very few sims are actually from there, so that question comes up a lot. When you do find someone who was born in the city, it’s like winning a trophy. So far, I only have two trophies. I told him we live in Newcrest now, but we’re originally from Willow Creek and spent a lot of time in Evergreen Harbor. His family is originally from Willow Creek too, so we talked about places we liked, schools, and all that neighbor stuff. At some point, we lost Less, and I had a bad feeling I messed up.

But as we talked, I got the feeling he was a lot older than us, so maybe I didn’t. Still, Justin was really cool. I feel like we could hang out. Maybe I could learn a few things from him. See, this is why we can’t keep having these sibling dates. We’re gonna poach each other’s friends, and at some point someone is going to get hurt.

Just as he was telling me about how his ancestors were some of the first settlers in Willow Creek, he interrupted us. Whether he didn’t see me, or he was smart enough to pretend he didn’t see me standing there, he didn’t say anything. I guess Mama is home after all. Maybe they broke up and he’s here to drown his sorrows. Wouldn’t that be something? Either way, that was my cue to say goodnight, find Less, and go home.