#leland hardbubble

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The boys ( they forgot about taking Hally)  finally get free of Mr. Asmonick and jump into the van ( it was the Hardbubble Bed and Breakfast advertising van) to go to the arcade. They were both in a great mood- the dancing and Mr. Asmonick’s kind words had lifted their spirits.

But as soon as they walk into the arcade- they stop in their tracks. 

Stalactites. The cool kids. All hanging in the arcade.

Bart whispers: Aw man. What are THEY doing here? They never come to the arcade!

Leland mumbles: I don’t know. 

Bart: Leland, look. Do you see who I see? 

Leland nods, embarrassed.

SHE was there. Candace. Candace Corielli. The new girl in school. 

And the girl Leland was madly in love with.

Bart: You wanna go home?

Leland: Do you?

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Leland: Hey Mom, Bart and I wanna go down to the arcade! There’s um...a study group going on there.

Helenka skeptical: Study group? At the arcade?

Leland: Yes. It’s gonna meet every Friday.

Helenka: This doesn’t have anything to do with Blic A Bloc, does it? And your obsession with being a Blic A Bloc champion?

Leland: No way!

Helenka shrugs: Okay. You can go. But you have to take Hally with you. But first take this fruit salad out to our boarder.

Leland: Thanks Mom! *sweet smile* Can I take the van? It’s getting too hot to ride our bikes to town. Especially with Hally.

Helenka: Okay you can take the van. But be back before dark!

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Hally: You’re not gonna die, Leland.

Leland: What! Oh hey, Hally. Sorry we forgot to take you to the arcade.

Hally: It’s okay. I had moderator duties on my Ricky Rocket forum anyway. Had to ban a few people who were dissing his vocal skills. Anyway, Bart just told  me Egan Mucksworthy is gonna beat you up a week from today at Tower Park.

Leland: Well, a week and one day, technically. But yeah. I don’t know what I’m gonna do.

Hally: You could tell Mom and Dad? And they can talk to Egan’s parents?

Leland: What! No way. That’s not what tough guys do.

Hally: Sorry to point it out to you, Leland, but you’re not a tough guy. Like, at all. In no way shape or form. But no worries. I’ve got a Plan B since you won’t ask for adult assistance.

Leland: Plan B?

Hally: Yep. I’m gonna head out and talk to a few people I know. I’m gonna help you out.

Leland didn’t know what was worse- refusing to ask his parents for help or relying on his ten year old sister. But...his sister looked like the better option.

Hally: I’ll be back soon. Sit tight while I talk to my people.

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Mr. Asmonick scolds: Hey. Cut that out. Don’t talk down about yourself. You are more than stalactite, Leland. You’re so cool, you’re ice cold!

Leland blushes: Ah shucks...I don’t know about that...

Mr. Asmonick: Trust me! Both of you are! But let me tell you a secret! The way to a woman’s heart? It ain’t with no Blic a Bloc! It starts with the feet!

The boys: The feet?

Mr. Asmonick: Yes sir! Women love a good dancer! They know if a man can work it on the dance floor, he can work it somewhere else too! So, put the Blic A Bloc to the side for a second and let me show you some of my moves!

Music

The boys really wanted to get going to the arcade but Mr. Asmonick turns on the radio and they have no choice but to dance along with him. Mr. Asmonick loved to dance.

Anyway, maybe Mr. Asmonick was right? Leland figured it couldn’t hurt to learn to dance his way into a girl’s heart...the school dance was coming up after all...maybe SHE would notice him before then...

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Bartholomeo Brosnan ( everyone calls him Bart- except for his Mom)  is Leland’s very best friend. They’ve been inseparable since kindergarten and now they’re high school sophomores. Bart saunters into Leland’s room, a huge grin on his face.

Bart: Did I hear someone say Blic A Bloc?

Hally groans: Ugh, this is where I leave! Nerds!

The two buddies settle on Leland’s bed after Hally exits.

Leland: Why are you so happy?

Bart: Haven’t you heard? They installed a Blic A Bloc arcade machine down at the Maristella arcade!

Leland ecstatic: WHOAAA! For real?

Bart: Yup, I tell you no lies, my friend! We’re gonna be Blic A Bloc MASTERS! We’ll probably make it all the way to the Blic A Bloc championship if we play on a real actual Blic A Bloc arcade machine!

Leland: Wow, we should go down to the arcade right now! It’s Friday, and I’ve finished my homework.

Bart: Why do you think I’m here? Let’s go!

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Maristella, The Wrong Side of the Tracks

Hally rides her bike to The Wrong Side of The Tracks, where her “people” lived. Her people being Seven Meaney, the toughest meanest baddest boy in the 4th grade. If there was anyone who could help her sixteen year old brother Leland, then it would be eleven year old Seven.

Seven: How many times have I told ya, kid? We can’t keep meeting like this.

Hally: I know. But- I need something from you, Seven. I need-

Seven sighs: Hally, I can’t help you anymore. My connection has run dry. No more Ricky Rocket fan magazines at half price off the truck for you.

Hally gasps: I still find it so hard to believe! My allowance can only go so far-getting my Ricky Rocket fan magazines off the black market was easy on my wallet! Now I have to pay full price at the supermarket! You know how hard it is to come up with a dollar fifty?

Seven: That’s life for ya, kid. A cruel place. And we haven’t even begun paying taxes yet.

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The Hardbubble Bed and Breakfast is the only bed and breakfast in Maristella. It’s never been very profitable. In fact, they’ve only ever had one guest, a retiree named Mr. Asmonick. He’s been a guest for ten years but the Hardbubbles insist on calling him a boarder and not a renter for advertisement purposes.

Mr. Asmonick: Thanks for the fruit salad, boys! Why the cheesy grins?

Leland happy: Blic A Bloc! We’re gonna be masters at it!

Mr. Asmonick smiles: Blic A Bloc! I used to love to Blic a Bloc back in my day! Mannn...I could blic a block around the whole block!

Bart impressed: Oh wow, they had Blic A Bloc arcade machines back in the ancient days, Mr. Asmonick?

Mr. Asmonick narrows his eyes.

Mr. Asmonick: Arcade machine? You don’t mean the Blic a Bloc dance? What the hell?

The boys: Um uh...no. Blic a Bloc isn’t a dance. It’s a video game.

Mr. Asmonick sighs.

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Bart: Hey, we’ll figure something out. Maybe Egan will forget. Anyway, I gotta head home. I’m sorry, Leland.

Leland: Don’t worry about it, Bart. See you tomorrow.

Bart leaves and Leland throws himself on his bed, wondering what he was going to do.

Leland sighs: The worse part is I’m getting beat up over a girl who doesn’t even know my name. But I’m glad I was able to help Candace Corielli. Even if it means I’m gonna die. 

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Seven: Beside- I don’t know why you’re so in love with a talented international preteen pop star when you could be in love with me.

Hally rolls her eyes: Oh boy. This again.

Seven: I mean, don’t you think I kind of look like Ricky Rocket?

Hally: No.

Seven: If you jump up and down and spin around and stand on your head until the blood rushes to your brain and afterwards hold your breath? Once you do all that? You gotta admit there’s a strong resemblance between me and him.

Hally: Seven, I will never be the jelly in your peanut butter sandwich. But I’ll let you copy off my homework if you help me out and do me a favor. A big one!

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Egan: Hi Hot Stuff.

Candace: Egan. Please call me Candace.

Egan: Oh sorry. It’s just that you’re super hot, Candace. Anyway, I was wondering if you want to go into the photo booth and take pictures with me.

Candace: No.

Egan: Huh? What?

Popular, grey haired Egan Mucksworthy was not used to girls telling him no. He was the best looking guy in Maristella. No other boy in Maristella had his good looks and grey hair.

Candace: No. I don’t like photo booths. They make me feel claustrophobic.

Egan: Clausta-what? Candace, come on. It’ll be fun. We can make romantic faces at each other, and you can show off and post them on your social media. “Photo booth pics with Bae!”

Candace firm: You are not my Bae. I barely know you. 

Egan wheedles: Come on Candace. Let’s take photo booth pictures. Then I can win you a prize from the claw machine. Come on, let’s do it, come on, don’t be like that, come on, it’ll be fun...

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Peer pressure!  Leland had moved on to a solo arcade machine to hone his Blic a Bloc skills. And also to be near Candace. He knew he had no chance with her but he could still admire her from a distance.

And that’s when he hears Egan Mucksworthy peer pressuring poor Candace into taking a picture with him in the photo booth. Which everyone knew meant Egan wanted to make out. That was all the photo booth was used for- the pictures came out too small and blurry for social media posting. It was Leland’s dream to one day be able to invite a girl ( a willing girl) into the photo booth and kiss her and-

Leland’s photo booth fantasies are distracted by Candace continuing to say no to a persistent Egan.

Leland: Poor girl! Why can’t us teens ever avoid peer pressure? It’s so unfair. Why can’t stupid Mucksworthy leave her alone?

Leland decides to help Candace in the only way he knew how. He pretends he needed a drink from the open drink machine they were standing in front of, interrupting their conversation. 

Candace: Hey, I better go home. I’ve got some um...yeah...I’m gonna go wash my hair! Bye Egan!

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Seven leads Hally to his trailer home. They hear the thwack thwack thwack of someone hitting a punching bag. 

Sixteen year old Saxe Meaney, Seven’s older brother, was throwing fast hard punches at the bag, his face scrunched up in concentration.

THWACK!

Hally whispers: Wow, look at him! He sure looks tough! I think Saxe can definitely turn Leland into a fight champion!

Seven shrugs. Hally seemed to have a very high opinion of her brother.

Seven shouts: HEY YO, SAXE! We need to have a conversation, you and me!

Saxe grunts, then hits the punching bag again.

Saxe growls: Get lost, twerp.

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Across the arcade, Candace Corielli watches Leland Hardbubble kill alien swarms with joy. She smiles. Leland sure was cute! But she was new in town and she didn’t know much about him.

Candace smiles: Oh look! It’s Leland Hardbubble. He’s such a cutie. Can you introduce me to him, Deena? I think you said he’s your next door neighbor?

Candace was very pretty and very friendly and had very great fashion sense and so she’d made popular friends very fast. Her two best friends in Maristella were Flora Flores ( in pink) and Deena Bisbee (in floral). The two girls (who were extremely popular) stare at her in dismay.

Flora rolls her eyes: Leland is a nerd. Sooo not stalactite. No introductions.

Candace: What does stalactite mean again?

Deena: Here in Maristella it means cool. You’ve got to remember this stuff, Candace. Anyway, I agree with Flora. Leland is the mayor of Nerdsville. Ignore him. 

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Bart: If you wanna go home. We can go back to your house and learn to dance the boogaloo with Mr. Asmonick some more.

Leland: Ah, we might as well stay. Who cares about those cool kids anyway, right?

Bart: Yeah. Who cares. But... Candace sure is looking beautiful standing next to Egan Mucksworthy. Why do all the girls fall for that jerk?

Leland: Yeah and Flora ( Bart’s crush) sure is looking breathtaking standing next to Perry Sundell. What does she see in that bum?

Bart envious: Egan has really cool hair. It’s not every teen that goes prematurely grey. It makes him look distinguished.

Leland jealous: Perry has facial hair. At sixteen! I’ll probably be Mr. Asmonick’s age before I get facial hair!

The boys sigh in frustration but then the siren call of the arcade machines lures them in and they forget all about Egan and Perry and the cool kids. 

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I have had a few requests to share Leland Hardbubble and the funny faced Sims from the Maristella story as well as some of the Holmes family and honestly I would love to but I share my Sims privately through the Tray files via the Tray Importer so that I don’t have to create CC lists. But I recently merged all my CAS CC ( skin, hair, eyes, etc) and the Importer can’t sort out the packages inside the merged file, it tries to upload the whole thing, making it impossible to share. I tried to un-merge the files and doing so made my game crash for whatever reason.

Anyway, this wordy post is my way of apologizing for not sharing any more of my Sims for now :(  I may do public downloads with CC lists in the future!

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Seven: Copy off your homework? For real? For how long?

Hally: I’ll let you decide. Because the favor I’m gonna ask is a big one. Egan Mucksworthy is gonna beat my brother Leland up a week and one day from today at Tower Park. That CAN’T happen. Leland is my ride to the Ricky Rocket concert. He can’t take me if he’s dead.

Seven: Yeah, that would be hard.

Hally: Soo...I know your big brother Saxe is back from juvenile detention. I want him to teach Leland to fight. In a week and one day. Turn Leland into a fighting machine.

Seven skeptical: Turn LELAND into a fighting machine?

Hally: Yeah! What do you think?

Seven: I think you’re crazy. It’ll never work. BUT- I do need homework help. Maybe we can convince Saxe to be Leland’s bodyguard instead.

Hally happy: That could work too! Everyone is scared of your big brother Saxe! Including Egan!  *curious* What’d he do to end up in juvie anyway?

Seven mysterious: Um...we can’t talk about it. But come on-let’s talk to Saxe now.