Chapter 3.1: Generation Next

     Amy sighed and closed the book she had been idly flipping through without actually reading.  She looked up at the ceiling over the bed as she lowered it to rest on her stomach.

     "Keep that up and you'll chase all your happiness away."

     Amy crossed her eyes at her cousin's words.  "That is a stupid superstition.  Especially when you don't even believe it in the first place," she said sitting up and looking at Shana working at the desk across the room.

     "Just because I choose to be skeptical about the veracity of the statement, doesn't mean that there isn't some truth to it.  Besides continuous sighing can be a sign of emotional distress or attempt to communicate the need for consoling.  What's up"

     Amy rolled her eyes and flopped back on the bed.  "I have a feeling that something is going to happen."

     "A feeling or a feeling," Shana questions getting up from the desk and sitting on the bed next to Amy.

     Amy closed her eyes and considered the question.  It was a good one she supposed; while it didn't happen often there were times when the unsettled feeling in her gut indicative of an event of great import to her and her family.  Like the time her Grandmother Rachael passed away.

     "Feeling," she answered and turned to her cousin.

     Before either sim could say more there was a small tap at the window behind them.  They turned to look and after a moment another pebble hit the panes.

     Amy got up to the window and peer out the window.  On the ground below was a teen male looking up at the window.  

     Amy smiled when she saw him and held up a finger to asking him to wait as she left her room and went downstairs to the back door.  Opening it she let her friend in.

     "Mom and Bay going at it again?" she asked as he walked in.

     "Like rabid animals, Ames, I swear one day the cops are gonna come to the house and only find a blood bath and I'm not going to be surprised one bit.  Can I stay the night?"

     "Of course Owen. Mom and Dad said you can stay over whenever you needed to get away." Amy turned and led the way out of the small office and up the stairs.

     "You get the couch in the spare room," she said pulling out blankets from a cabinet.

     "As always," Owen said taking them from her and shuffled over to the door of the room he would sleep in.

     "It won't last forever you know," Amy said leaning against the wall next to the door of her room as he opened the door to the spare room.

     "They're never gonna stop fighting Amy, They're too..." he trailed off with a shrug not able to find a word to describe his family.

     "Yeah, but I mean being in the middle of their war.  Graduation's coming up and then you'll be off to the Agency with Shana.  They've got dorms so no more being caught in the middle when you just want to eat lunch."

     Owen tossed the blanket into the room and walked back to her.  "Thanks for the reminder," he said pulling her into a hug.

     "Anytime," she said.

     "Seriously," she added pulling back from the hug, "you or Shae call me up at the Music and Arts Academy and I'll be on the next train back to knock some sense into you two."

     Owen laughed as she had hoped and walked into the room he would be sleeping in and closed the door.

     Amy stood a moment longer looking at the closed door before she realized that the restlessness that had plagued her all night was gone.  "Huh," she snorted, "was that all it was about?"

                                                                                        

Random Rambling

   So, here's the start of Generation Three. Finally.  I've written before that they were coming up (aover a year ago now) but what can I say.  Life caught up and knocked me around for awhile.  Things have steadied out for me now so I hope to get back to this story and keep it going.  No planned update schedule yet.