Dear reader, welcome back to the Bookacy Family Alphabet Adventures! This is chapter 30 already.

When we last left off, we had reached a turning point with respect to our villain, Salahuddin Chamcha. With the help of miss Lauren, the Atrociously Evil Witch, he had managed to conjure a Resurrect-o-Nomitron out of thin air. Victory was indeed close for Salahuddin. But what happened next? Well, let's dive right in and find out, shall we?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

After overwhelmingly thanking miss Lauren and wishing her farewell, Salahuddin just stood there and stared at the Resurrect-o-Nomitron. After all those years of futile attempts and misfortune, he had finally gained possession of the one item in the world that he desired. He couldn't believe it.

After allowing himself a moment, he picked up the phone and dialed the number. This was it.

”Mr. Reaper? Excellent. This is mr. Salahuddin Chamcha speaking, from Alphabetia. I would like to request a resurrection, please.”

…

”Yes, a full resurrection would be exactly what I would desire, mr. Reaper.”

…

”No, the payment will not be a problem, sir. I have it ready on your order, if you please.”

”The name would be Bookacy, Author.”

…

”Yes, sir, a-u-t-h-o-r.”

…

”Yes, sir. The Legacy foundress would be correct.”

…

”Very well, sir. I will wait.”

”I beg you pardon, sir?”

…

”What do you mean, 'not available for resurrection'?”

”No, this is simply impossible! I will not tolerate...”

…

”The Legacy family! They are behind this! They have done something, I am sure of it. Mister Reaper, I insist...”

…

”Damn it, you old fool!” Salahuddin hissed in frustration and slammed the phone.

”NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

In Sim State University, no one was aware of Salahuddin's misfortune. In fact, the young adults had something quite different in mind.

”Hi Chris”, said Cho, glancing over her shoulder from the flower station. ”If you're looking for Cyrus, you're a bit early, he can't get up for a couple of hours still.”

”I know”, replied Chris, ”actually I was looking for you.”

”Me?” asked Cho, interrupting her work and giving Chris her full attention.

”Yeah. I...” Chris hesitated, ”I kind of have a problem and I didn't really know who to turn to. So I thought that you seem a nice girl and you'd probably understand this sort of stuff...”

”Ah, so you need someone to talk to? Sure, let's sit down someplace. There shouldn't be too much traffic as almost everyone's at class at this hour.”

”So, what was it that you wanted to talk about?” asked Cho when the girls were sitting comfortably on the couch.

”Well... I... umm...” Chris hesitated, looking embarassed.

”It's Cyrus, isn't it?”

”Yeah, it is... How did you...?”

”Come on, Chris, everybody knows.” Cho smiled slightly.

”Do they?” Chris asked, looking even more nervous, ”Are you sure he's not going to surprise us?”

”Positive. If I hear even the slightest sound from Cyrus other than snoring before seven o'clock, he gets yelled right back into his coffin.”

”Okay”, said Chris, perhaps a little more assured. ”So... everybody knows?”

”Everyone”, answered Cho, ”except for one person. My brother.”

”That's the impression I had, too. He... he really doesn't know that I have a huge crush on him?”

”No, I don't think he does. In fact, not knowing would be very much Cyrus.”

”What do you mean?”

”Well, it's not the first time he's failed to notice that a girl likes him. When we were back in high-school, there was this girl Opal...”

”I think Cyrus mentioned her some time.”

”Yeah. They were very close, much like you are now. Opal clearly had a huge crush on my brother, and everyone at school was teasing her about it. And sometimes Cyrus too, as they thought they were together. Poor Opal was so awkward, she really didn't know what to do.”

”What happened?” asked Chris.

”Well, nothing much really. I took the matter up once, asked Cyrus what he thought about her, and he said he liked her very much, they were friends. And then went on explaining what they'd done last week, I think it was do homework together or something exciting like that.” finished Cho.

”So he... kind of never saw anything romantic in that?”

”I don't think he did, no. Opal tried and tried, but he didn't seem to get it. He just thought they were good friends. Opal finally gave up, she was very disappointed for a long time, but she got over it in the end.”

”So you think that he's doing it to avoid me? You know, what if he's thinking that if he ignores the signals long enough, I'll get the hint at some point and give up?” asked Chris, looking sad. ”That's what I've been thinking.”

”No”, replied Cho thoughtfully, ”no, I rather think that there's something about my brother that makes him unable to pick those signals up in the first place. I can't really know for sure, but that doesn't feel like a way Cyrus would deal with it. He'd tell you he's sorry but he doesn't feel the same way, and hope that you'd still like him as a friend.”

”I guess so... But he's... he's not a stupid guy – actually, I think he must be one of the smartest in our class – how could it be that he doesn't get it at all?”

Cho smiled. ”Well, I suppose some of the smartest guys can be a little clueless when it comes to girls. That's my experience at least.” Cho grew more serious. ”I can't tell you if he'll be interested in you or not. It's really hard to say about Cyrus you know. To my knowledge he hasn't been in a relationship in his life – the thing is, it doesn't seem to bother him. Other than the occasional teasing from some idiots back in high school and so.”

”So you're saying he's maybe not into romance at all?” Chris asked, contemplative.

”That's not necessarily what I'm saying. He hasn't shown much interest so far, but it doesn't mean that he wouldn't like it if it crossed his path. Of course, first it'd have to cross his mind.”

”That's kind of the problem”, said Chris, ”I really don't know what more I could do to make him notice. I've tried everything. Hinting how I think he's cute, asking for his help with assignments whether I actually need it or not, 'accidentally' touching him while passing by...”

”... and Cyrus just keeps acting just as he always does.”

”Exactly. I'm kind of running out of my repertoire here, I can't figure out what more I could do to give him a hint.”

”Well, in that case, I guess there's only one more thing you can do, Chris. I think if my brother hasn't figured it out by now, he won't be able to pick up a hint. You have to spell it out for him.”

That was all the advice Cho could possibly think of for Chris, and after leaving her pondering on the Greek House couch, Cho called a cab and headed downtown. She could only help her brother's love life to a certain point, and after that it was time to concentrate on her own. This love life in question was doing quite nicely, and it was time to boost it once more, this time with a charming young professor named Eric Dallas.

”So, professor Dallas, is this what you do with all your students?”

”Take them on a date downtown to play poker?”

”Well, that, or just generally take them on a date.”

”No”, replied professor Dallas, ”no I don't. In fact, I don't take any of my students on dates. You are, luckily, not my student anymore since you declared the literature major, so I don't really see it as terribly unethical. Besides, it was you who asked me out”, he finished with a smile.

”True. Well, I'm glad you aren't feeling terribly guilty about our dirty little game of poker here”, said Cho, winked, and sent the cards flying in the air again.

The evening was merely getting started with the poker, however.

”So, what's next, Cho, perhaps a dirty little game of pool?”

”Sure, sounds cool, especially if it's dirty, professor Dallas.”

”Please, Cho, call me Eric. 'Professor Dallas' makes me feel like I'm a hundred years old.”

Cho laughed. ”Sure, if it makes you feel better. You are pretty ancient, you know, having turned 25 and all.”

”Thanks for the encouragement!” said Eric, grinning.

”Well, Eric the old man, how about that game of pool?”

After a nice, long game of pool, Cho found herself being serenaded by Eric. The young scholar seemed to keep finding new ways to charm her. Besides being handsome and intelligent, he turned out to have an impressive singing voice as well – and Cho had always loved music.

Not that Cho minded being charmed, not at all. In fact, she was happy to return the favor.

The evening continued with dancing.

”Cho, I just want you to know that I'm having a great time. It's really been lovely.”

”Well, it's good to know you're having fun, and not being bored to death. That'd be a real bummer. I'm having fun as well – and I really wouldn't have thought an old man such as yourself would enjoy dancing, fun and games”, Cho winked again.

”You're never going to end with that, are you?” asked Eric, ”But really, I'm having more than just fun. I don't think I've ever enjoyed myself as much as I am right now.”

”I hope you're having fun, too”, said Eric carefully while massaging Cho's shoulders.

”Uh-huh”, she replied, her eyes closed. ”You're fun to be with. And you know how to massage, I'm definitely not complaining.”

And no, she definitely wasn't. By the end of the night Cho had the familiar, warm, romantic feeling about Eric, and all in all, the date was a great success for both parties involved.

Back in the Greek House, not much had changed. The house was constantly bursting with guests, some of whom were relatives and close friends, others just passing by and pulled inside. Often it was an actual party. Charlie, the resident pleasure sim did not object to parties.

Nor did Cyrus, Charlie's big brother. He would, due to his vampirism, have preferred parties that occured at night, though. Or more precisely, he didn't mind parties, but he could live without the yelling his getting up at daytime caused.

”Cyrus! Get back to your coffin! Now!”

Well, hopefully the party would still be on when he woke up again.

Other members of the household wholeheartedly enjoyed the toga party. In the case of cousin Claire and Ryker the placeholder, this meant showing Cho's newest boyfriend how to voooooo gerbits.

Carl, also a first cousin of the Legacy family, and one of his girlfriends, Audrey, had a somewhat different concept of enjoying the party, and no togas were needed for that.

Whether Audrey appreciated the other ideas of fun Carl had that chilly winter day, was questionable. Veronica, Carl's other girlfriend, didn't have anything against those ideas.

Beside parties, also dating was important to most of the inhabitants of the Bookacy Greek House Greek House. To Charlie dating itself was a goal worth pursuing, as his goal in life was...

”... to have a lot of fun, get to meet all these different sims, have a good time out with many of them. I'll have plenty of time to think about other goals when I've achieved this one. Or when I grow up – if I ever decide to do that”, explained Charlie to professor Kerri with a grin.

”That's only right, Charlie”, she replied, tasting the cake and looking thoughtful, ”So many young sims are already up to their ears in worry, when they could be enjoying life's simple pleasures and worry about the future when it happens.”

”To life's simple pleasures”, said Charlie seriously, raising his glass.

And for the rest of the night, it was time for those simple pleasures, such as enjoying the rest of the dessert with friendly chatter, and naturally, dancing.

Contrary to what one would think, life was not entirely about parties and dating for the Bookacy clan. It was also about skills and new hobbies, although sometimes said hobbies were partly taken up for the sake of parties and dating.

”So, that should be it for planting the tomatoes”, said Cho, leanining on the hoe. ”That wasn't so difficult after all, and it was kind of fun.”

”Yeah”, replied Claire, ”and if all goes well, the Greek House can have a wishing well at some point.”

”I don't think it'll happen while we're here, though. We should've built the greenhouse sooner.”

”Yeah, that's a bit of a bummer. But well, your folks already have one, and my Dads are also working on one.”

”So no big loss there”, Cho finished. ”Do you want to do the watering here?”

”Sure thing, I'll just fetch the watering can.”

The same night, in Alphabetia proper.

”... and the only response the Grim Reaper would give me was that Author Bookacy is 'not available for resurrection'.”

...

”Yes indeed, mr. Tellerman, this is very disappointing.”

…

”No, I have not yet been able to find the reason for this, but I am convinced that the Legacy family has done something to prevent me from bringing back their ancestor. Perhaps they have been able to bargain with mr. Reaper in some way, but currently I do not know how.”

”Naturally, I will get to the bottom of this, mr. Tellerman. I will need to know what it is that the family has done in order to prevent me from achieving my goal.”

…

”Yes, I am now asking my contacts to do detective work for me. I can possibly do something myself, but as I am wanted by the Alphabetia police force, I cannot take many risks.”

…

”Exactly, mr. Tellerman. If you can collect me any information whatsoever, I would be extremely grateful.”

…

”Thank you. My best regards to miss Lauren as well.”

Back in Sim State University, it was time for some relaxing chess between siblings.

”... so we thought with Claire that in addition to the wishing well, it could also get us some super fresh food, especially after we've earned some badges of course”, Cho explained.

Charlie smiled and moved his next pawn. ”But the main point is the wishing well?”

”Isn't it always?”

”Well, I suppose if you are a romance sim...”

”Exactly. You got my point brother dear. Speaking of romance, how's your love life been lately?”

”Do you need to ask?”

”Well, not really, I just thought it'd be nice to show some interest for my baby brother's doings. I mean, I know you mostly do the meet and greet type and so. How many are you at?”

”Well, I made it to thirty on... wait... Tuesday? Yeah, I think it was Tuesday. So I'm doing good.”

”Alright, cool. Anyone you like in particular?”

”You mean, as of late?”

”Ooh, my little brother is a player!” teased Cho.

”Well, you could take it so, or you could also say that I'm simply having fun and keeping my options open. When you've dated fifty sims, you have some kind of an idea what kind of options there are. I could even imagine settling down some day”, Charlie shrugged. ”But not yet!” he hastily added, as Cho opened her mouth again.

”Okay. Well, let's say, as of late, anyone in particular?”

”Well, I did like Ericka a lot, you know the gardener. And she seemed to like me too.”

”The red-head I saw here a couple of days ago? Well, as long as you're not planning to settle down with her. She's a notorious romancer.”

”Just like yourself”, noted Charlie. ”You know, pleasure and romance are actually a pretty good combination.”

”But don't worry”, Charlie continued, ”I have no particular plans about Ericka. But as you happened to ask, I did like her and we had a really nice date together.”

”I'm sure you did. I think you disappeared outside at some point, doesn't take a genius to guess where.”

”No comment, sister dear, no comment!”

”But how about your love life then?” asked Charlie after a moment of silence.

”Well, again, do you need to ask?”

”Well, not really, but... and all that jazz. So perky as always?”

”Absolutely. I recently took Timothy Chalmers from our old dorm on a date downtown, to Maple Springs Pool and Spa.”

”So a hot tub date?” asked Charlie casually.

”Heh, we should promote a new term: 'a hot tub date'”, replied Cho, amused.

”So definitely it was a hot tub date.”

”Well, what else could it be in a spa?” asked Cho.

”True, true. I take it was a good one, then?”

”Well, I suppose one could say so.”

In general, the dates had in the household tended to liven up the social life of the Greek House. Especially Charlie's serial dates were a good sport and many of them stayed to hang around with everyone, especially if it happened to be party time – and often it did.

During the very one particular party party, in the kitchen.

”Hey, Claire. Congrats on the great time you were clearly having earlier today!”

”Great time?” Claire asked, looking confused.

”Pfft, as if we didn't notice! By the mailbox. With Trevor”, Cho replied.

”Oh that great time! Well yeah, what can I say, Trevor is always a great time.”

”I've noticed”, Cho smirked. ”By the way, thanks for greeting that guy Ashley who was checking out our newspaper.”

”The newspaper? I kind of had the impression that he was checking out me.”

”Quite possibly, especially seeing your dressing choice.”

”Hey, it was my toga party toga!”

”Of course it was, sweetie. Anyway, thanks...”

”... and I hope you don't mind, he seems a fun guy and I got his phone number, so...”

”No problem”, said Claire, now smirking in turn, ”I kind of thought you might like him.”

”Okay, cool. You know, if you'd like to go out with him as well, I don't mind. And I don't think Ashley would, either, I kind of got a vibe like that from him.”

”Well, thanks I guess.”

Meanwhile, in the living room.

”Dammit, again that tree! I always hit the tree!” cursed Cyrus. In a calmer tone he went on, ”Clearly you've had too much practice in SSX3, Charlie. How many hours a day do you play this game?”

”Only a couple”, shrugged Charlie, ”but apparently you've tried to get some practice at day time, you're smoking.”

”Yeah well I got up for a little pinball actually, but Carl yelled me back to my coffin. The smoking sometimes kind of sticks.”

”Yeah, we've seen that a couple of times already. As long as Sunny thinks there's no reason to worry, we don't. By the way, has Chris called you yet?”

”Not this week, why?”

”Oh. Nevermind. Forget.”

Upstairs, a somewhat different discussion took place.

”No no, not strip poker!” assured Trevor to Corinna who had just gotten seated at the table. ”I mean, I wouldn't mind, but the starting situation is a bit uneven, don't you think?” he asked, gesturing towards his underwear and Chloe's bikini.

”Chloe hung out in the hot tub earlier”, said Calista, for some reason making her twin blush vigorously, ”what's your excuse?”

”The hot tub was taken”, replied Trevor with a wink.

”What's happened to you, Ericka?” asked Carl, ”Cyrus didn't bite you, did he?”

”Bite me?” Ericka looked confused, ”Is there someone who bites in here?” she asked playfully.

”Yeah, that would be my cousin, who is the resident vampire.”

”Oh. No, no, no bites here. I just spent a little too long outside I guess, that's why I'm blue.”

”Seeing that you're my cousin's date and that you're wearing a swimming suit, I'm not asking you anything more. Just go grab a cup of espresso pronto, okay? The machine is over there.”

Life went on, and despite the parties, slowly things progressed. Among other things, Cho earned a bronze badge in gardening. Probably she and Claire wouldn't make it to gold in time to get the wishing well, but at least they'd get some fresh air and get the garden established. And who knew, maybe those skills would turn out useful when back home.

Even Charlie didn't spend all his time dating, or even partying. Sometimes just hanging around with whoever happened to be present – and there was always someone present – was fun.

”Cool house you have here. Especially the poker table is addictive.”

”Thanks. My brother was in charge of the design here. But wait, your voice sounds familiar, don't I know you?”

”It might well be that you do, I actually visit kind of frequently. I'm usually more dressed up, I just didn't want to soak the costume in the hot tub. Colin Gothier”, said the boy, offering his hand.

”Oh, of course, you're the llama guy!” said Charlie and shook the hand, ”So that's what you actually look like! Oh, and I'm Charlie Bookacy.”

Charlie wasn't the only one who got to meet Colin that day.

By no means the only one. Even the Genesis, the matchmaker who had come instead of Sunny Straight, got her dose of voooo gerbits.

Colin also was the one to find – again – that the hot tub is a dangerous object. He knew that it was said to draw lightnings, but his problem with it wasn't that exactly. Eventually the Bookacies found Colin in the front yard doing his assignment in his swimming trunks, and dragged him inside to melt before they'd have to literally melt him.

The next morning, Claire was just about to go get ready for class, when she bumped into Chris in the living room.

”Hi, Chris! How are you doing?”

”Okay, I guess. How about you?”

”Great, as always”, Claire replied, ”By the way, I think Carl and Ryker are having a poker game upstairs if you're interested. I'd join myself, but I have class in twenty minutes.”

”That sounds fun, I might...” Chris said hesitantly. ”Claire”, she continued with a determined look on her face, ”What would you do if... if you were head over heels for a guy and he never noticed you? Or he did, just not that way.”

”Cyrus?” asked Claire, without as much as blinking.

”Yeah”, said Chris, blushing, ”is it that obvious?”

Claire's reply was an amused smile. ”You want my advice? Well, if I were you, I'd simply ask him out. Plain and easy.” When Chris looked hesitant, she added: ”Of course he might say no. But clearly, you're at a point where you just need to know. If you ask him out and he says no, you might feel sorry, but at least you know, so you can deal with it and get on with your life. But if you never ask, it might haunt you for the rest of your life – what if he would have said yes?”

Chris still didn't look quite convinced. Claire patted her on the shoulder and said: ”Look, I know it isn't easy for all of us. Just promise me you'll think about it. Really there's only one way to find out.”

With that, Claire went to look for her notebook and left Chris pondering in the living room.

Chris could have easily envied Charlie for the way he'd settled his dating issues: he'd just call the matchmaker, who'd then take a look into her crystal ball and find Charlie someone compatible. And they just somehow ended up on a date, without any awkward ”Would you go out with me?” conversations.

Of course, most of Charlie's dates weren't that romantic, they were mostly just chatting and joking, maybe playing a little kicky bag. After all, there's only so much one can generally do with a complete stranger.

Charlie didn't seem to mind, but Chris didn't envy his solution. It wasn't really of much help when there was only one sim she wanted to date.

Chris could also easily have envied Cho. She asked out whomever she wanted to ask out – and generally the guys said yes.

And it was no wonder, either. So many of them found her irresistable. They were practically lining up behind the door to be asked out.

Unlike with Charlie, Cho's dates were generally very romantic indeed. She preferred to get to know the guys first, and ask them out only when she already knew they were on the same wavelength. That way the romance naturally stepped in at some point.

But despite all the romance, Chris did not envy Cho either.

For the longest of times, she hadn't been sure what she wanted, whether she wanted to take the leap and see if she could make it to the other side. After all this time, after discussing and pondering the matter over and over, she finally knew.

So that evening, promptly at half past seven, the phone rang. Cyrus went to answer.

”Oh hi Chris. Great to hear from you!”

…

”Downtown? Sure, I'll just tell Ryker I'm going so the others know where I am. Where do you wanna go?”

Slightly later, in a nice little restaurant with a cozy atmosphere.

”Hey Chris! This place is nice, I don't think I've been here before.”

”Hi Cyrus”, replied Chris. She was smiling as usual, but something seemed to be distracting her. ”I thought you might like it.”

”Absolutely! Well, hanging out with you is always fun”, said Cyrus sincerely.

”Cyrus, about that...” started Chris hastily. Her eyes looked determined.

”About what?”

”Hanging out. You know, I was thinking...”

”... maybe... maybe we should do more than just hang out, Cyrus”, Chris finished, biting her lip and barely glancing at Cyrus, as if her own feet were suddenly very interesting.

”What do you mean?” asked Cyrus, furrowing his brow. ”You mean...”

”Goodness, Cyrus. You really have no idea, do you?”

”Well, not really”, Cyrus said, looking genuinely confused.

Chris gave out a nervous laugh. ”You really make it hard for a girl. Cyrus, I'm asking you out.”

”Out? Like, you mean, a date?” Cyrus looked as if someone had just hit him with a blunt object in the head.

”Yes.”

”Wow”, Cyrus laughed, and now he sounded nervous too. ”I mean, I didn't quite expect...”

”You didn't expect me to be interested?” asked Chris.

”Yeah. Now I don't really know what to say or do...”

”Just tell me how you feel, okay?” said Chris, looking insecure. ”It's okay if you don't want to...”

Cyrus silenced her. ”How about I just say yes first and we'll talk about the rest later?”

”You're... you're saying yes?”

”Yes.”

”You're saying yes!” Chris gasped, then fell silent and simply beamed at Cyrus.

”Yeah”, said Cyrus, smiling back. ”You gotta help me out here, Chris. I don't think I'm very good at this. What do people generally do on dates?”

”Well”, started Chris uncertainly, ”this is a restaurant. You hungry?”

Naturally, Cyrus wasn't really, but they went to dine nevertheless. The prawns were a delicious choice, but Chris had trouble concentrating on eating. She tugged away a stray hair from her face, mostly to give her nervous hands something to do.

”You know, I thought you weren't interested”, she said quietly.

Cyrus looked at her fondly and smiled a little. ”And I never realized you were. I'm sorry, I should have. I can't help it, I just can't pick up things like that for some reason. I've had it happen to me before.”

”It's funny that you wouldn't notice”, said Chris in a contemplative tone, ”to others it's mostly pretty obvious. And otherwise you're a perceptive guy.”

”Yeah, well, that's how I've always been.” Cyrus shrugged. ”Look, Chris, I'm not really sure what you're expecting and so, but I have to warn you about something.” Suddenly he looked uncertain. ”I like you a lot, Chris, I really do, but you have to understand that I might not be like other guys.”

”Like other guys?” asked Chris.

”Or girls for that matter”, Cyrus said, shrugging. ”I mean, I realized I was different from my siblings when we were teenagers. I first thought it was an aspirational thing, you know, with a sister and a brother who both date everything that stays put long enough, a fortune sim is bound to feel a little different, right?”

Chris gave a little laugh. ”I guess.”

”But then, I started getting these questions at school and so. About first kisses, makeouts. If I was seeing anyone, or someone in particular. I of course realized that those questions were important, in the sense that if you got the answer wrong, you wouldn't be popular and others would think you were weird.”

Chris nodded. She knew what teenagers were like.

”So I ended up avoiding the questions any way I could. Sometimes outright lying. And you know, I never really understood the point. Why did it matter to anyone whether I'd made out with at least three sims or not?”

Chris smiled. ”You know, I think I know what you mean. How would that make you 'cooler'? I didn't really understand it either.”

”Exactly.” Cyrus nodded. ”It really didn't make much sense to me at all, so I basically just ignored it. You know, in high school I used to have a really good friend, too. This girl named Opal. People used to ask me whether we were dating and when I said no, they said something like 'you so should, you'd be so cute together'.”

”But you didn't want to date her?”

”Well it wasn't really that I didn't want to, but rather that I...” Cyrus fell silent for a while, trying to compose his thoughts into words. ”I couldn't really see what the difference would be, you know? We spent a lot of time together and were perfectly happy as friends, and whether we were officially 'together' or not didn't really matter to me. It would only have changed what we called the thing we had, if that makes any sense. But I'm not sure if Opal saw it quite the same way. At some point when I was about to go to college, she grew more distant, and we haven't really been in touch since I left home”, he ended in a slightly sad tone.

”Soo...” started Chris, hesitating, ”are you saying that dating may not be your thing? You just want to be friends?”

”Well we are on a date aren't we?” asked Cyrus back, smiling. ”No, that's not really what I'm saying. I just mean that”, he looked Chris deep in the eye, ”you're really, really important to me, and it doesn't necessarily matter to me very much if we call our relationship 'best friends' or 'dating' – those two have little meaning difference to me. But since there seems to be a distinction, at least for some, I guess I could try this thing they call 'dating'.” He smiled. ”So if you can live with that, and my inexperience, which should be pretty obvious at this point, I'd like to try.”

Now it was her turn to smile. ”Okay. I think we have a deal.”

Cyrus signaled for the waitress to come over.

”To us”, he said when they both had a glass in their hand, ”to the deal!”

”To the deal. Long life and happiness to it”, said Chris seriously and drank.

”So,” asked Cyrus a nice game of read hands and some dancing later, ”what else does one do on a date?” Carefully, he lifted his hand to caress her cheek.

”You know, you're doing quite well for a first-timer”, remarked Chris, grabbing his hand and squeezing it a little. ”As for other activities, I think I have something in mind.”

”We could go somewhere with a poker table maybe?”

Chris laughed. ”If you like. Not exactly what I had in mind though. If you'll just shut up for a moment and come here, I can show you.”

Salahuddin Chamcha was restless. Once more the Legacy family had managed to defeat him. There was only one thing he had wanted, and that one thing he had been denied yet again. They had managed to prevent his plans somehow, he was sure of it, but the question was ”how?”.

He paced back and forth, as the fire in the fireplace slowly went out. He needed to find out what it was that was preventing him. What was it that he had miscalculated? What had they done?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

”Charlie?” called Cho. ”Charlie, where are you?”

She finally tried the downstairs bedroom, and found her brother staring contemplatively at Cyrus' coffin.

”Charlie! Here you are! Why didn't you answer when I called?”

”What, did you you call for me?” asked Charlie, stupefied. ”I didn't hear you.”

”What are you doing here anyway? You should let Cyrus sleep.”

”Nothing, I just...” Charlie dismissed it with a wave of the hand. ”Nevermind, what was it that you needed me for?”

Cho looked at him for a moment, wrinkled her forehead, then tugged her brother's sleeve. ”Come on, let's not disturb him, he's so difficult to get back there if he wakes up in the middle of the day. Anyway, I was just going to ask you about the party on Friday, would you prefer...”

Before the party, however, there was a lot for the Bookacy cousins to do. There was schoolwork to be done – although sometimes rather absentmindedly.

There was schoolwork to have done by others.

There were gardens to tend.

And dates to be had.

… and, did I mention there were dates?

And there was quality time to be spent with boyfriends.

Yes, ”boyfriends”, in the plural.Cho continued her mission of having twenty simultaneous loves, and she was proving very successful among the teachers of Sim State University.

Professor Sean Jaypalan for instance, was of the opinion that his young student was both brilliant and charming.

But most of all charming.

Not that Cho was doing any worse with students, though. Now that she found the time and they knew each other a little better, she asked out Adrian Custer, who happily agreed to her suggestion.

And he was happy that he did, because the night turned out to be fun and enjoyable for both of them.

All in all, it was certainly a success.

The time of the planned party did finally arrive, too. As usual, many friends and relatives were invited, as well as significant others.

Cho served spaghetti for the hungry guests. Nicholas found it hard to concentrate on food, though. Cyrus had a deep discussion about environmental issues with cousin Chloe.

The only issue Carl was interested in, on the other hand, was how to get himself and Veronica in the hot tub before someone else made it and before they froze in the snowy yard. He managed to solve the issue with the friendly help of Veronica.

”So”, asked Cho in the middle of slap dancing, ”how are things with you and Chris? Based on the wide smile she's been having on her face as of late, you're finally going out with her, right?”

”Yeah”, replied Cyrus, ”we decided to call our relationship 'dating'. So far it's been quite fun”, he said smiling.

”That's great. I'm happy for you, big brother.” Cho would have had more questions, now that Cyrus was being so open, but she noticed that Nicholas had joined them in dancing, and decided that her brother might not be comfortable with discussing such private matters in front of him, so she let it be. Besides, Nicholas was clearly planning to distract her away in a few moments, and she didn't want to miss the chance.

And naturally, she was right. No matter what the occasion, Nicholas was always ready to distract her when the chance arose.

”You think you're done with the wild dating and the brother interrogation for tonight?”

”Well, would you want me to be?”

”Yes, I'd like that very much. You are, however, allowed one more wild date tonight, with one condition.”

”I think I know what that condition is.”

The party didn't limit itself to the kitchen, however. Claire and Cissy found the winter garden to be a comfortable place to play red hands and exchange some chatter. Ryker's girlfriend Chloe was engaged in a game of swimsuit poker once again, so Ryker decided to join the girls outside.

In the living room there was dancing to live music, chatter, and well, melting. The hot tub and the swimming pool were clearly dangerous attractions in the middle of the winter, and once again the Bookacies needed to drag their friends inside before they froze entirely.

Cho wasn't the only one getting distracted that night. Upstairs, Cyrus was also receiving his share of that.

”Hey, good to see you too, Chris”, he laughed, ”Carefully, carefully! We don't want you to drop on the floor, do we?”

”No, we don't.”

After setting Chris safely on the ground, Cyrus reached for her cheek to caress.

”Chris Jalowitz, you know I don't necessarily even make the distinction but... You're my best friend, and I also think I might be falling in love with you.”

Chris just smiled. ”I think I'm falling in love with you, too”, she replied quietly.

Even the best of parties eventually end, and so did this one. Everyone went to get some well deserved sleep, and some lucky guests got invited for a sleepover.

In the morning, or perhaps afternoon, when the Bookacies woke up, it was time to set to work again.

For some the work was harder than for others. And those some generally didn't include the Bookacies.

Cho and Nicholas decided to sleep late, listening to the voices from downstairs and enjoying each other's company.

Carl decided to invite Veronica over, and found out he had to get her inside really fast. She was still blue from yesterday's party, and Carl knew that when sims turned the same color as Cyrus, that was not a good sign. He didn't mind helping to keep her warm, though.

Claire, for her part, wanted to spend time with Trevor. They, too, needed to watch out when spending time outside less than fully clothed.

All in all, life at the Bookacy household was as it usually was, and everything was nice and peaceful.

On the other side of Alphabetia things weren't quite as peaceful.

*zzz* ”Must... find... out...” *zzz* ”It's...” *zzz* ”... the count...”

*zzz* ”There... must...” *zzz* ”... be... a way...” *zzz* ”Author...” *zzz* ”... the Legacy...” *zzz* ”... will... pay!”

”Hey, Charlie, what are you doing here?” asked Carl, finding his cousin from the small downstairs bedroom. ”Weren't you supposed to be having a date or something? There's some cute red-head in the living room, said you called her up for a date an hour ago.”

”What?” asked Charlie absent-mindedly. He shook his head vigorously, as if trying to clear his thoughts. ”Oh, right! I guess I better hurry then.” And without another word, he hurried out the room, leaving Carl standing in the doorway somewhat confused.

And indeed, Charlie found the mentioned red-head in the living room, wondering whether she'd come to the right place. Hi quickly apologized to her and suggested they go downtown and have a nice lunch together.

It was a rather long lunch, may have turned to dinner at some point, and both parties had a great time. Whatever may have been in Charlie's mind earlier that day, was soon forgotten.

After a refreshing lunch, it was time to employ the matchmaker once again.

One beautiful night on the Greek House back yard.

”You were right, the hot tub feels pretty nice on a cold night like this”, commented Cyrus to Chris, as they were soaking in the hot tub, just the two of them.

”I knew you'd like it”, Chris smiled and leaned back.

”Yeah, you seem to be pretty good at guessing. You know, I don't use the tub very often. It's mostly... well, taken, and...” Cyrus fell silent, blushing slightly, as far as one could tell from his blue skin. Chris flashed him a grin.

”Does it bother you? To live with all those romancers and... not use the tub?” Chris smiled a little, trying to make the question hopefully a little bit less hard to answer.

”Not as such”, said Cyrus, shrugging slightly, apparently finding the question interesting and forgetting to be awkward, ”it's not really that important to me you know. But sometimes I do feel a little bit like the odd one out. Like, I'm weird or something. From outer space.”

”You're not from outer space, Cyrus”, said Chris fondly. ”You might not have a very active ACR token, not all sims do. In fact, some don't have one at all, I hear. That might cause you to be a little different from the others, but that's alright.”

”So it... it wouldn't... wouldn't bother you if I had a less active ACR token?” Cyrus asked, sounding a little bit uncertain. ”I guess that's... kind of important to many.”

”It's not that important to me either”, Chris assured him. ”I'm sure we can find a way that suits us. Come on here”, she gestured, ”and stop worrying.”

”Better?” she asked.

Cyrus smiled, ”I'm feeling less worried already.”

”Good”, Chris said, squeezing him slightly. A small, devious smile formed on her lips, and she asked: ”Now, would you be curious to find out whether you actually have an ACR token?”

”Based on that...” Chris said, catching her breath, ”I'd say that yes, you do.”

Cyrus was clearly speechless. ”Are you alright?” she asked.

”Yeah... yeah, I am. That was... I guess kind of cool”, Cyrus said smiling slightly, and blushing again.

Chris giggled. ”'I guess kind of cool' might not be the most beautiful thing to say to a girl in this situation, but you're so cute when you turn pink that I think I'll forgive you.”

”Oh, yeah... Didn't think of that”, said Cyrus, turning even more pink.

But Chris just laughed and splashed a bit of water on him. ”I love you, silly”, she whispered.

While Cyrus and Chris were having a serious discussion in the hot tub, the rest of the household took part in different activities. The poker table was very much used, as usual. As other Legacy kids generally wished to beat the cow mascot in a fight, the Bookacy kids rather wanted to beat him at poker.

Cho, for her part, had discovered uncle Bill's old alien pinball machine that he'd gotten as a date gift from uncle Ira a long time ago. The gift had been a fitting one, and Cho still found it to be of great amusement. She played it until Nicholas showed up to tug her sleeve.

The next morning, Nicholas found himself waking up next to Cho once again. She was still sleeping tight, reacting only slightly as he slid his arm around her shoulders. He remembered last night, as so many other nights before that.

He layed there, with the girl he loved in his arms, and as happy as he was, he felt a rush of sadness. He'd known the whole time this wasn't a good idea, and still done it. Gotten involved with a Legacy heiress, a romancing Legacy heiress. How stupid was that? Nicholas knew that as a romancer, Cho might not ever settle down. And even if she did, she was supposed to marry a service sim. That was the old style Legacy law, and he knew it.

So what was this thing he had with Cho? Was it just a beautiful dream from which he'd wake up any moment? Was he just setting himself up for heartbreak?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dear reader, this has been chapter 30 of The Bookacy Family Alphabet Adventures, and this is where I leave you this time. I hope you have enjoyed our adventures this time, stay tuned for chapter 31! Until then, happy simming to all!