Chapter 54: Teeth

Sometimes Paprika doesn't come home at night, at all. Blasted ghosts are content to party until dawn. Sometimes later.

Others are tortured. Good for studies, but depressing to watch. As hard as this ghost tries, he can't save himself from the fire that took his life.

Paz develops new hobbies. Like her mother, she pries into how things work. Unlike her mother, she has no fear of breaking them.

She also enjoys gardening, breeding better and better plants. Randy perfected the lettuce, the flame fruit and the tomatoes, and Melody perfected the cherries, plums and pomelos. Paz flexes her muscles over watermelons, limes, apples and grapes. There were several varieties of grape seed in storage, courtesy of Jazz's trip to France.

Cody offers Paprika a hot dog, once his house is emptied of spirits. The old scientist has certainly lived a long time, considering how often he blew himself up.

They stole Zephram's shirt, you know. But no one will believe him.

Spirits in the family graveyard. Paprika can find no connection between them and her resting ancestors. It's truly puzzling.

!@#$ing spirit @#$% !@#$ing thinking it can !@#$ing get away.

Aaah! Orchids! Aaah!

City Hall has finally recognized Paprika's efforts, so it's time for a confetti party. A smattering of Paprika's friends and neighbors attend, and a disconcerting number of them are Han Solos. Cruz isn't here, and Paprika wonders vaguely what's up with that.

Paz reads about her mother's ceremony in the paper, too lazy to have attended.

She looks up to see her brother has made them dinner. How cute.

He must be tired of eating cereal and canned soup; their grandmother has been too depressed to cook, and their mother is out on the job at this hour.

Zephram also does the dishes, and then sits back down at the table to stare into space.

"So," Paz ventures. "What are you thinking about?"

He doesn't even look at her. What did she expect?

Paprika is on the prowl and the others are in bed. Paz is free to roam the house chatting on her cell phone. Chad updates her on some dangerous bacteria he grew in the school science lab. He advises her to skip science class tomorrow.

In the mornings before school, Zephram paints. Melody spies on Zephram's painting, half expecting to see some horror show on the canvas. But it's just a lighthouse.

Yet another ceremony. It's only been a day or two since the last one. This time Cruz attends.

Paprika bows to the mayor. He graciously motions for her to rise, and presents her with a small model of a graveyard. That's... uh... that's just weird, mayor.

Also in attendance, Paprika's elderly aunt Judith.

And Chad Burr. And Barry Tenderlove, for some reason. And... Dax's mother? Not an elder?

!@#$, she is a witch!

Kory is also here to show support for his fellow Archer scientist, though he's dropped Archer-Forsythe in favor of his wife's name.

Some vampires are here too; Kerrie and Will Ivanov. Sometimes Paprika thinks her family is being stalked.

Cruz gives Paprika a hug, but turns away from her kiss. Nobody seems to notice sour-looking Dax over there.

"Cruz? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Paprika. You're doing such great work. I'm happy for you. It's just... I've been dating, again. And I'm getting married soon."

Paprika grins widely and congratulates him, though she feels a pang of sadness. Cruz simply won't have the time to be her best friend anymore.

But at least she'll have Nakisha and Sifton to fill the unexpected void. It's a girls' night out.

"Why so down?" Sifton wants to know. "You always wanted that loser to go get married and leave you alone."

Paprika shrugs. "I said I'm happy for him. I just wish he'd done it a long time ago. I don't think he has the time left to have more kids and... all that stuff he always wanted to do."

Nakisha married early, but started having children late in life. She talks endlessly of educational toys, mind-stimulating music and soothing decor.

Sifton rolls her eyes at this talk.

"Ugh. Kids. Gag me. But another round of the Love Stuff please... the pink drink with the heart toothpick in it... I'd like to be drunk enough to make out with that pineapple and pretend I have a boyfriend."

"I really feel bad for you two," Nakisha sighs. "Marriage is so great. My Eddie completes me."

Sifton smirks. "Paprika's a complete woman all by herself, she says."

"Paprika can speak for herself," Paprika reminds them.

Nakisha grins. "She's had too many men to say that, don't you think, Sif?"

Paprika shrugs. "I don't need men... they just happen to be around when I'm bored."

"I need a man," Sifton sighs.

"It means nothing if you're not in love!" Nakisha warns.

"I don't know why the guys are all over our Paprika anyway," Sifton jokes. "She's got the face of a monkey."

Meanwhile Paz talks to her plants, though Chad has warned her it may make people think she's gone mad like her brother.

She still enjoys running, a new direction every day. Riverview is beautiful.

Paprika catches a nap in her parents' bed. The pillow still smells like her father's shampoo.

Some days, you go out, and you come home looking like crap and feeling like crap.

"What on Earth? Maybe I should be more worried 

about you leaving the house than Zephram!"

Paprika's reaction is more docile.

"Whoa... do I even want to know? Go get cleaned up."

Jazz has been very restless lately. Paprika isn't sure what this means; she's just glad her father seems to be at peace. There hasn't been a peep from Martin's grave.

 Melody tries to do the things Martin did with the grandkids, underestimating their ability to move on. But it's just not the same. She stinks at this game.

"Wow... I didn't know we could get an ending where everyone died."

After so many years Melody is a master charmer, able to perform the ever-popular snake's kiss act.

But a snake is no substitute for Marty. She's never thought of her husband's kisses while snake charming before now. Even the most unconnected things are suddenly charged with loss.

Sometimes you're out charming snakes, and a lady goes into labor, and you have to drive her dumb ass to the hospital. Amit will be expecting a new little brother, Alfonso.

Nothing to see here. Just a pirate rooting through the junk yard.

"Your garden," Zephram mumbles. "We have omni plant seeds. You could grow anything."

"Omni plants are rare and expensive," Paz scoffs. "Only the government has them."

"Well... Leona..."

"Leona who?" Paz glares, immediately suspecting some cruel person at school to have been putting ideas in her neurotic brother's head. He gets so out of hand sometimes, she forgets he isn't stupid. Or even gullible. The only horrible ideas Zephram falls prey to come from within his own mind, and there's no way for Paz to protect him from those...

Zephram sighs. "Mind. Never mind."

Grim visits Melody at an awkward moment, as she is getting changed to go to bed. She may be dead, but she thinks he should have afforded her more decency than this.

The saddest pirate.

Paz tries to sneak up behind the reaper and stop him from taking her grandmother's soul. She is a problem solver.

But she finds it's hard to attack a being that can make himself incorporeal.

Zephram realizes his mother will be annoyed she missed the reaper, again, so momentarily stops his bawling in order to interview the creature.

Zephram has some very important questions.

"Do you have teeth?"

_____________________________________________________________________
Etc.: Dax's mom is apparently one of Marty's glitch victims. She'll be an elder soon though.

Paprika's night out with Sifton and Nakisha counted as a party. They both agreed it was epic.

Melody reached snake charming level 10 before she died. A teddy popped out of the basket once, but it was for a split second, so I didn't get a pic. I do not recommend wasting so much of your sim's life on this skill, since the charming music they play as they level up goes from bad, to OK but annoying, to WTF IS THAT NOISE COMING FROM YOUR COMPUTER BECKY, TURN IT OFF.

*cough* Sorry for the caps. Really. Sorry.

Also, Melody got the "It's a boy!" moodlet after driving that lady to the hospital. Haha.