Perfect Generation- rest of chapter 1

“Dad!” Tawny let out a wail with not nearly enough power packed in it to let him know what he’d done. He would never know. It wasn’t just that he was a dusty. Her dad was the dustiest of all dusties, practically another species. With his strict rules of no operations until you were 18, and no computers at the dinner table there was no way he would care about what happened at a party. He didn’t even consider parties Tawny went to as real as if he was born like 200 years ago when people had to go out to go out. She had explained a million times, a million and one that when she was at a party she wasn’t home and shouldn’t have to go to dinner.

“I told you it was suppertime.” He said without a trace of remorse.

Tawny blinked back tears, blinked back images of Tover’s eyes coming closer. Tover- oh God! He’d think she ran out because she didn’t like him. This should have been the best moment of her life but leave it to her dad to make the best the worst. That was what he did best.

“You know the rules,” he continued. “When it’s supper time the computer needs to go off at the first request.”

“But dad,” Tawny whined. He couldn’t be this big a jerk could he? “I was at a party!”

“Oh Tawny, that wasn’t a real party!”

Tawny balled her hands in fists and gritted her teeth, “I’m not hungry!” She snarled. Maybe if she got back on quick enough she could go back to Saran’s and Tover would still kiss her. She’d have to get another invite from Saran though who last she’d seen had looked rather busy with her hands all over some sim boy who was probably as gorgeous in real life as his sim was. She wasn’t going to be pleased with Tawny for leaving either. Saran couldn’t understand dads like Tawny’s- no one did.

“Come sit with us anyway.” Was his preselected reply. Her dad ran like some prehistoric game with only three varied outcomes: 1. He told you what to do and you did it. 2. He told you what to do and you disagreed that that’s what you should do at which he told you to do it again, louder, and 3. He told you what to do and you very calmly and rationally explained that that would RUIN YOUR LIFE!! At which he didn’t care and made you do it anyway.

“Well I’m not going to say anything!” Tawny pouted.

“That’s okay, your mother and I need to talk to you.”

Tawny groaned.

At the table her mother already sat, still looking thin from her last liposuction and also looking like they had lipo’ed some of the color out of her face. That was something else to look forward to Tawny thought even though on her mother it made her look sick and weak. She wished the evolution selections committee would add excessively ugly people to the list of people to sterilize and she wouldn’t have had to have been born.

Her little brother Sailor was also already at the table. Tawny wished most of all that her parents had sold their rights to have a second child and one million dollars could be sitting in Sailor’s seat instead. That kid was not worth a million dollars, fourteen maybe. He was piling up his plate with eggplant like it was his favorite food. That would be because it was, Tawny thought with a shake of her head. Thirteen ninety nine.

Tawny didn’t like anything her parents made her eat ever. The programmers should invent a new way to eat online that didn’t make your stomach glow in the dark so she would never have to see her little brother eat again.

“You’re late Tawny,” Sailor admonished, cross because he wasn’t allowed to start eating his eggplant until everyone was at the table.

“I’m sorry, when did you turn into a watch?” Tawny snapped, wishing as she spoke that would actually happen to Sailor.

“Quiet down, kids, we need to talk to you.” Tawny noticed her dad sounded fading to her, like she needed to turn his volume up. She remembered her earlier vow not to say anything and quieted down. She wasn’t going to grace them with her conversation. Not when they had stolen from her the best thing that had been about to happen in her life. She was going to be like a wall- like when someone left their sim at a party but went somewhere and it just stood there not responding so you didn’t know if he hated your guts or had just gone to the bathroom.

That must be what Tover thought about her! Tawny’s heart lurched. This was the worst day of her life. She stared at her empty plate. When her stomach growled audibly in the silent air she noticed no one else was talking either. Slowly she looked up to find they were all looking at her.

“What’s going on?”

Her dad was fading but he had no volume button.

“Your mother is sick.” Tawny made out.