Dear reader, welcome back to The Bookacy Family Alphabet Adventures! This is chapter 24.

Last time when we left off, Adrian and Nicole were about to take their grandchildren on the long-awaited vacation on Twikkii Island. Especially Cyrus has been looking forward to traveling for a long time, in fact ever since he was a little boy.

So, Cyrus, how are you liking the vacation home?

"It's cool. I've already checked it through and through. Now I'm just relaxing and waiting for Grandpa to lose interest with the fish so we can go out and get something else to wear than the school uniforms or thick sweaters."

Aha. It's true you're all kind of heavily dressed for Twikkii. Don't worry kid, I'll fix that.

"Thanks, Gramma!"

"For what, sweetie?"

"For bringing us here! It looks like such a fun place! And we don't have to go to school for so many days!"

"You are welcome, Charlie. I knew that Cyrus has been expecting this a long time, but it is nice to hear that you are having a good time as well. But I thing we ought to start walking for the shops if we want to find some more suitable clothing today. I think that is your sister calling for us already."

"Okay, Gramma, let's go!"

Now that's much better isn't it? Now smile for the camera and I'll take a vacation portrait for the readers!

Thanks, now off to do vacation-y things!

And almost before I could finish that, they were doing just as I commanded them to. Cho quickly rushed into the house to get changed and then dove right in to enjoy the ocean.

Charlie soon decided to follow his big sister. After all, what kid doesn't enjoy water, especially when it's so warm?

The elders took it easy. Adrian sat down and watched Cyrus and Charlie build a sandcastle together. Both were up in their ears in sand.

"We'll find sand in the house for a year from now, don't you think honey?"

But Nicole couldn't hear him, she'd just found a comfortable position on her beach towel, and was enjoying the pleasant feeling of sun on her skin.

Hey Cyrus. Finally caught a hold of you! You've been on the move all day. So I take it that you're enjoying the vacation so far?

"Yeah, it's cool. I've always wanted to travel and now that I got to do that... I guess it's pretty much as I imagined it."

Well nice to hear you're enjoying. But Cyrus, listen. There's something I need to tell you.

"Yeah, C?"

Well... I don't know if your sister's already spilled the beans, I hope not, but... Well, I've made my decision. Cho is the heiress.

"Well, that's not really a surprise."

I hope this doesn't affect your vacation mood too much. I would have waited to tell you, but I was concerned that you might hear it from your sister first, and didn't want that.

"It's okay, C. I'm maybe a little disappointed, but that's cool. I didn't really expect to be picked, either."

Cyrus...

"No, C, really. It's cool. I think I'm off for dinner and then to bed. It's been a long day, you know. G'night."

Seems I told him not a moment too soon, huh?

"... no, Granmma, I'm not really against babies. It's hard to explain but... Babies are part of the heiress responsibility. And besides, they can't be that bad, can they? I remember when Charlie was all little, he was kinda cute. Plus I can trick Mom and Dad to do the nappy changing, right?"

She's got it all planned out, I see.

The next morning after breakfast the Bookacies headed for some local sights of Twikkii Island. There was a beautiful ancient temple nearby.

Nicole made a wish. Perhaps she was thinking of it as an investment, in the hope of gaining a bunch of simoleans in return for the one she threw into the water.

"Can't an old woman simply see things from a romantic point of view for a change?"

The place was also great for getting to meet locals and for learning new customs.

There was also time for some fun and games. Cyrus seemed to have gotten over his disappointment overnight and now wholeheartedly enjoyed the water balloon fight with his siblings.

Nicole, on the other hand, got a little too enthusiastic with throwing the baseball.

"Honey, if you haven't learned so far that I throw hard sometimes..."

Foreign food was very delicious in everyone's opinion, but sometimes one needs a fix of everyone's favorite grilled cheese, too. At least that was Adrian's opinion.

One forenoon the family decided to stay at the comfort of their vacation home, and engage in different relaxing activities there. Nicole insisted on playing chess with Cyrus. I wonder why.

Adrian, on the other hand, did not feel too sunburned yet, so he spent the time building sandcastles on the beach, which he never got to do as a child.

In the afternoon the family went for one of the public beaches on Twikkii Island. Charlie demanded that Cyrus play with him, so Cho used the chance to get to know some new sims.

"Hi there. You're on vacation too?"

"Yeah, I'm a tourist townie, that's kinda what we do. You must be playable, then?"

"Yeah, I'm playable alright. Name's Cho. Who are you?"

"I'm Joe."

"Nice to meet you Joe. So how do you like Twikkii?"

And before too long, Cho had made a new friend in Joe. All by herself, I might add. It seems the boys like her. Which is only handy, of course.

"You're one handsome guy, Cyrus."

Well, you are, can't deny that.

"Eep! Would you mind not doing that? Sneaking behind others' backs and making them jump?"

Sorry 'bout that. Just thought I'd take a look at you for a change. Hey listen, no hard feelings about the heirship thing?

"Nah. It's your decision, and I've always thought Cho'll be it anyway. I'm just saying... I'd be a pretty good choice myself, you know."

I know you would.

The evening came, and the family enjoyed a meal of hotdogs kindly prepared by Joe. The boys were discussing school, when Charlie nudged his sister on the side.

"Hey, that guy over there is looking at you. Maybe he'd want to talk to you or something?"

"Nah, probably not", said Cho, "you know a lot of guys look at me. They tend to think I'm cute. But not all even want to talk to me. Shy, and so, you know."

"Then maybe you could talk to him?" asked Cyrus.

"Maybe I will. But let me finish the hotdog first."

But by the time the hotdog was done with, the guy was gone. Got tired of waiting, Cho guessed.

That of course wasn't the end of Cho's guy adventures during that trip. The next day she met a handsome local, whom she asked to visit the family vacation house. The afternoon was spent learning to dance hula.

But she didn't spend all vacation just chatting to boys, either. There were sandcastles to build, seashells to collect and photos to take. She got especially excited when visiting an old pirate ship, especially as Adrian told her that this was the very same ship that her parents had visited on their honeymoon. She snapped picture after picture.

Everyone explored the ship, and Nicole found the sword fight the most enjoyable part of the tour.

They did go on actual tours as well. Those are part of any good vacation, aren't they? And this time, the family were handed a map to a special location.

The tour guide had just said "You seem like nice sims, so I thought I'd give a little tip for your vacation. Go to this place. You'll see some unique scenery, and some things that are the genuine Twikkii, unruined. Something very different from the tourist stuff you see everywhere."

Cyrus wanted to go right away, but the Grandparents noted that it was close to dark already and especially Charlie was getting quite tired. "We can go tomorrow, Adrian promised."

But before leaving, Cho found the guy the kids had seen earlier, and went to talk to him. It did turn out that he'd been wanting to talk to her but didn't dare to.

"Well that problem is solved, right?" grinned Cho, "hey I think I gotta go, my grandparents look like they want to put my little brother to bed, but in case you wanna, you know, keep in touch, here's my number."

And another boy had been added to Cho's contacts.

It was the final full day of the vacation, and the Bookacies decided to take the tour guide's advice and see the location marked on the map. After a lot of climbing, they reached a lonely hilltop where stood a small cabin. This was clearly original habitation of the island, not a tourist location at all. The family stood outside for a while, admiring the scenery, which indeed was beautiful, and approached the cabin. There was no door, so they just entered while calling "Hello? Anybody home?"

The inside of the cabin was more modern than they had expected. After they'd pondered for a while whether anyone actually lived there, someone stepped in. It was a man wearing clearly traditional Twikkii clothing, and a mask. After a moment of confused silence, Nicole took the role of a spokeswoman.

"Hello. We're sorry, we did not mean to be intruding, but there didn't seem to be anyone here at first."

To her surprise, the man smiled and reached over for a handshake.

"That be OK, mrs. You travel to Twikkii Island?"

"Yes, sir, we did. Our tour guide recommended this area for some of the natural environment still left. And he was right, this place is very beautiful."

"Nice meet you mrs. What your name?"

"My name is Nicole Bookacy. That there is my husband Adrian, and these are our grandchildren, Cyrus, Cho and Charlie."

"Nice meet all. Me the Witch Doctor of Twikkii Island."

"Nice to meet you too, sir."

"Me not meet many sims. Please, sit", the man said, waving his arms around, as if to ask his guests to make themselves comfortable. "Me must do task, not take long", he explained.

The Bookacies were slightly confused of the situation, but they took the host's advice and had a seat. The witch doctor then did something a little surprising. He leaned over the stove, and took a screwdriver out of his pocket. It was only then that the Bookacies realized most of the modern equipment of the house was broken.

Then, something even more surprising happened. As the Witch Doctor poked the screwdriver into the stove, it gave him a vicious electric shock. All of the family jumped. Little Charlie seemed a little bit scared, so Adrian told him everything was just fine, and told him to go outside and play.

Meanwhile, Nicole approached the Witch Doctor. He seemed to be fine, except maybe smoking slightly and looking quite frustrated.

"Sir? Are you alright?"

The man nodded. "Me OK. Not have much mechanical skill, this happen often", he explained.

"Sir", spoke Adrian in turn, "why don't you take some rest? It looks like you got a real shock. Don't worry, we can help you with the equipment. We all have plenty of mechanical skill", he added when the Witch Doctor looked like he might interrupt. Finally the man nodded.

"Thank you, mr. Me think rest do good."

So the Witch Doctor left the cabin, still slightly smoking, and the family set to work. Nicole took up the slightly old television, Adrian looked at the kitchen applications, and the kids took over the bathroom.

Meanwhile, the Witch Doctor had a well deserved rest in his hammock.

Charlie was back to his old self again, especially as he'd seen the Witch Doctor come out of the cabin clearly unharmed. So, as he'd been told to play outside, he'd taken up fishing in the river that went past the cabin.

All the hard work, resting and fishing, had made everyone hungry. So quickly Adrian suggested that he make some delicious grilled cheese for everyone. And before anyone had the time to say anything, he'd already started. The Witch Doctor was quite interested in this new food. He was surprised that the family didn't look quite as excited while sitting on the couch.

"We get it all the time at home", Cho explained to him. He didn't take it literally.

Yet before the meal was ready, the Witch Doctor wanted to teach the family the traditional Twikkii Island greeting.

After that he turned to Nicole again and said "Thank you, mrs. You and family been very nice to me. I want you have something." With that, he pulled out of his pocket a small something that looked like a doll.

"This remind you me", he explained. "It also protect family, always."

After everyone had thanked the Witch Doctor for his present, the dinner was ready. Adrian and the Witch Doctor sat on the couch to be able to discuss the fine art of grilled cheese, while Nicole and the kids sat at the table.

"Isn't it fascinating, children? Still at our age, not everyone lives in an urban environment like ours. There are sims who live a very different life than we do, and that is I think the most important lesson in traveling."

After dinner it was time to leave back to the vacation home, to have the last swim, maybe relax a little bit by watching the waves and pack.

The next morning after a quick breakfast, Nicole and Adrian momentarily found themselves alone in the kitchen.

"Well, this is it I guess", said Adrian.

"Yes indeed. I had a very good time, I hope the kids did as well."

"I think they did. Take Cyrus for example. Every time I see him these days, he has this wide smile on his face."

"Yes, I think they all enjoyed it. And we all learned some new things as well", Nicole said, smiling and demonstrating one of those new things.

What about you, Charlie? Did you enjoy the vacation?

"Yeah, it was really fun. The swimming was the best. And the sandcastles."

Then why do you look so sad?

"Well I gotta go to school again."

Well there's that. But think of all the fun things you can do at home, right?

"Yeah. I get to play video games and see my friends and all that. I guess it's not that bad."

So, as all good things, also vacations have to come to an end eventually. The vacation shuttle had arrived, and the Bookacies collected their luggage and took the ride back to Alphabetia.

Back at home, life quickly settled back to its old routines. After quickly leaving his suitcase in the bedroom and giving both his parents a greeting hug, Charlie rushed back to his favorite home activities. He insisted that he get to play Don't Wake the Llama with his Daddy. Baudolino happily obliged, and suggested that Charlie could invite a playmate over. His second cousin Bianca was more than happy to join the family for a game of Don't Wake the Llama. The game was on before Charlie even had the time to change back to his everyday clothes.

Cyrus, on his part, was feeling pretty energetic after the trip. He hit the basement with a thinking cap and worked hard on the creativity scholarship that evening.

Also, now that the vacation was done with, it was time to get started something that I've been meaning to do for a long time. George has been neglected for way too long, about time to start fixing that. George!

"Yes, miss Creator?"

Get on the phone. I think it's about time to start looking for happiness for you.

"With pleasure, miss Creator."

"Good evening mrs. Straight. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. You must be George, then? I remember your old mistress mentioning you one of the last times we spoke."

"Ah, yes, you knew mrs. Bookacy, I had forgotten. Yes, I am indeed George."

"Having watched this family from afar, you are doing a good job taking care of them. Keep it up, will you?"

"Thank you, mrs. Straight. I do try."

"But today, I believe, it's not about the family, is it? How can I help you today, George?"

"No, mrs. Straight, it is not about the family. You see, I would really like a date."

"Well, that is easy enough to arrange. I do still deliver the service. Against a fee, of course."

"That is not a problem, m'am. The family has the money, and I have permission from miss Creator."

"Very well then. Let me see. If I remember correctly, Author liked red hair and vampirism. I assume that those preferences apply to you as well?"

"Yes, yes, you have made correct assumptions, mrs. Straight. My old mistress, she liked her men with red hair and vampirism, and I would also very much like mine that way."

"Alright, let us have a look, then. Hmm... I do see some options here, George my dear. Let us see whom the fate will bring you tonight."

"I can hardly wait, mrs. Straight!"

"George, I believe that we have a potential sweetheart for you on his way right now. I have summoned him."

"Oh thank you so much, mrs. Straight! I am very excited!"

"Ah, there he seems to be! George, I'd like you to meet Glen Huffman."

"What happened? Why am I feeling so dizzy?"

"Good evening, my name is George Bookacy. I believe you are Glen Huffman?"

"Yes, I am."

"Nice to meet you mr. Huffman."

While George got to know his date, the kids naturally hit the books.

"You know I wouldn't exactly object to a date myself. I've got that first kiss want locked and all."

I know, Cho. You'll get it eventually. I just think that in a household of this size one date at a time is quite enough, thank you. Now be a good girl and focus on the cooking skill point, okay?

Well, George's first date didn't really go too well. You see, I soon noticed that basically all Geoge could do with Glen was talk. And not, for example, play or flirt. Or, you know, say goodbye when the date was done. My guess was that Glen must be some special purpose sim and that's why the interactions are so limited. (Later it turned out I was right: I saw him as a hotel maid in Three Lakes when playing another family.)

Glen, wouldn't you please go home or something? It's almost morning. No?

Well, here's a magic trick for the readers then. Now you see Glen...

... and now you don't.

Yeah, I had to resort to cheating on the main lot. I considered this a glitch.

Sorry, George, this didn't quite work, gotta try again some time!

Have I already mentioned that my sims love Don't Wake the Llama? What, I have? Oh, well, then I won't say it again.

Also, ever since I installed the new expansions, our flowerbeds have caused interest in the neighborhood dogs. Apparently sniffing them and especially rolling in them are great fun.

Chunni is also of great interest. Though here I directed Cho to talk, as she needs some charisma.

Bowling is another fun way to skill, isn't it Charlie?

"Oh yeah! I got a strike, did you see that?"

Yeah, very good, kiddo.

Now that I think of it, I'm not sure why bowling builds body. I mean, I know it counts as a sport, but I wouldn't really say it's exercise. But well, I don't really mind that it builds body, raises fun and doesn't drain hygiene and energy. Nope, not complaining.

Sometimes sims just have to invite some friends over and simply have fun. And some even get aspiration points for that. Like Baudolino.

Hey Bill, good to see you. The bubbles still good?

"Yeah, C, they're great."

There's dancing involved...

... school cheers, but those don't always work. Gilbert, I think you're doing it wrong. Marsha knows, she's actually been to college and all.

And you guessed it, Marsha was on the sphere when Gilbert decided to do the school cheer.

Did I mention there's dancing involved?

And of course playing pool. Hi there, Barry, Laura, how's it going?

"Fine, though the outfit is kinda hot."

I bet. I'd say I'm sorry, but you're really the one who chooses to wear it whenever you leave the house, Laura.

And pillow fighting of course. Adrian and Baudolino teamed against George and Claire, and they all seemed to have a blast.

As for Barry, I'm not quite sure if he's having a blast there. Smoochies with a girl who has a llama's head look pretty painful to me. Then again, I didn't see him complaining.

Oh, Cho, don't pick up technique trips there. I don't think guys would enjoy that.

"Hey, Cyrus, cool to see you again! How's it going? Still skilling away like mad for scholarships?"

"Hi Claire. Yeah, pretty much I guess. It's fun. You still talking about boys with Cho all the time?"

"We don't talk about boys all the time."

"You don't?"

"Of course not! We like to talk about clothes and makeup, too."

"Got me there."

"Yeah I think I did. Can we maybe talk properly now?"

All in all, it seems this was a pretty successful party, don't you think, Baudolino?

"Yeah, C, I think everyone had fun. Thanks!"

You're welcome. Now excuse me, I think I'll need to see to George. The matchmaker is here again.

"You were not happy with the previous date, George?"

"Well, mrs. Straight, to be completely honest, we had some interacting problems. Glen seemed like a nice man, but we did not really 'click', as they say."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. These kinds of things just sometimes happen with fate. Then you just have to try again."

"Yes, not all sims can find their beloved ones at once. Could we try again tonight, please?"

"But of course, George!"

And try again they did. In order for George to be able to actually have his date, though, they first had to help mr. Jerome Brown to detach his legs from the brick wall.

But after that, proper introductions were made, and Jerome seemed like a nice guy.

And they were actually able to interact, which was a plus.

George also seemed to find Jerome pretty attractive. So the date was certainly better than the last one.

I wouldn't say it was perfect, though. At some point, Jerome seemed to be more into the family's bowling alley than his date. I couldn't get him off the thing to interact with George.

So all in all, not bad. I think George and Jerome might well become good friends, but at the moment I'm still keeping all options open.

Marylena had long ago reached the top of the Medical career. The earnings were okay, but at that rate achieving her lifetime want of 100 000 simoleans would still be pretty slow. So, we thought matters over, and decided that it would do her earnings good if she swapped careers. Because she's got good skills all around, the promotion bonuses should boost her income pretty nicely.

Plus, we get the career reward.

So Marylena went for Oceanography, and got this fish pond. I don't really know what it does, but it looks kinda nice. We put it in the front yard.

So you see, Cho, I'm one who keeps their promises. It may take a little time sometimes, but I do. Hop in the car and let's find you someone to date, too.

"Yay! Finally some action!"

Well, you might have to wait for the action some. So far only adults on the lot, and of course it's raining. You can do some fishing while I watch for the entrances for any cute teenage boys. Deal?

Well, it seems we might not have to wait terribly long after all, Cho. How do you like this guy?

"Oooh. Not bad."

So, what do you say, should we go for him?

"Yeah, let's!"

"Hey there. I couldn't help but notice you from afar, and had to come and say hi. My name's Cho."

"Well hi to yourself, Cho. I'm Luc, Luc Todd."

"Nice to meet you Luc. So what are you doing Downtown, just hanging around?"

"Maybe. Or maybe I was just looking for a cute red headed girl to run into."

It soon turned out that the two had a lot in common. Just hanging out together, chatting and exchanging jokes was fun. Plus it turned out that Luc was a pleasure sim, so he'd probably have nothing against some non-commitment fun, either.

He also seemed to think that Cho was hot, which she obviously considered a plus.

After a while Cho grinned and asked:

"I don't know about you about you, but I'm having a really good time. How about we try if it gets even better and call this a date?"

"You're asking me out?"

"Yep. Right here and now."

"You've got it. Let's call it a date."

The fun continued. It turned out that Luc, just like Cho, was into music.

While that may not be something that teenagers generally do, they also went for a proper dinner together, as both were hungry. The lively discussion went on for the whole duration of the meal of salmon.

After dinner it was time for some fun and games. Cho and Luc decided to utilize the dartboard as there happened to be one available. Several other sims were having stomping fits all around, but the kids barely noticed. They'd been the fastest, anyway.

"Hey I think I gotta go home soon, my parents will worry if I don't. How about we go outside, for... for a little more chat before I go?" asked Cho with a little flirty smile on her lips.

"Doesn't sound bad at all", replied Luc in the same tone.

After a while of chatting Cho decided that it was really getting too late, and she didn't want to get a lecture back at home. Besides, what she anticipated to be the best part of the night was still ahead.

"So Luc, I think I really gotta go now. I just wanted you to know that I had a brilliant time tonight."

"Me too, Cho. This was so cool. If you like, we could do this again some time."

"Yeah, that sounds really cool. This really was the coolest night."

"Is there anything that would make it cooler yet, do you think?" asked Luc with a hint of a smile.

"Well, now that you mention it, there is one thing that comes to my mind..."

"Good night, Cho."

"Good night, Luc. Call me, okay?"

"I will."

That night, Cho went home very much platinum.

The next morning over breakfast, Cho still had a wide smile on her face. Baudolino asked her how the date had gone. She just smiled and said "It was nice."

Adrian, on the other hand, had something else on his mind. "Do you think we'll manage alone with the kids again, Marylena? Nicole was saying she and George could go with Baudolino and help with the business again."

"Sure, it's fine, Adrian. It's not like they'd wreck the house or anything, would they?" Marylena replied.

"Would you?" asked Adrian with a little twinkle in his eye.

The kids looked shocked for a little while at the suggestion they'd break things, then smiled and promised to be good. Baudolino just smiled and thanked his father.

So once again Adrian and Marylena promised to look after the kids, and once again the old team headed to Baudolino's spa.

All went just fine. Even the reporter showed up pretty soon, and we managed to keep her company and keep doing fun things with her.

George even managed to admire a customer and receive a positive response.

I think I might have to get rid of the exercise machine, though. Sims love to get on it, and will exercise for a lengthy amount of time. But when they're done, their needs are always so low that they won't stay and earn stars. The exercise kind of fits my idea of the business, but it doesn't seem to be such a good idea after all.

There were relatives, as usual. Kendra and Abraham still seem to find each other highly attractive.

Makeovers and massages were given whenever the heavy task of sitting in the hot tub permitted it. It was also a good way to keep customers from exercising too much. "Too much" meaning the same as "almost at all" here.

In the end we managed to get the business to level three, and the reporter even awarded us with the Best of the Best Award. The family business is I think still the only business where we haven't managed to get it.

Back at home it's time to take care of some pets. Baudolino found out that the fish of Marylena's career reward can be fed.

Also, there seemed to be a certain bird flying around in the house. Someone left the cage open – my guess would be either George or Adrian. It was Charlie who managed to close the door after Chunni had been tricked to go into her cage to eat.

Our heiress also had some acquaintances other than pets who required her attention.

"Cho, phone! It's some guy again!"

"Guy? Which guy?"

"Dunno. I think he said Luc or something."

It was a dark and rainy night. Charlie was looking out the window.

"Wow, it looks like there's gonna be thunder, too. Just my luck. On my birthday", he complained.

Yeah, that isn't too nice. But I guess now you just have to stay inside. If it comforts you at all, there's still cake.

And there was cake. And the family and some of the extended family were there as well. Some were appropriately attired, some less so. Charlie grinned at his family, then turned towards the cake to ponder on his wish and to blow out the candles. There was some distant rumble of thunder in the background. The rough weather had been approaching all evening.

Charlie bent down and blew out the candles. Just as he straightened up to join the family's cheers, something happened.

A blinding lightning bolt hit the ground somewhere very close to the house, and it was immediately followed by a deafening roar of thunder. It covered the family's cheers, Charlie's own voice, everything. For an instant the family seemed to look shocked. When they saw it was just a lightning outside, smiles lit back on their faces.

"Cool effects you have, Charlie!" the birthday boy heard his big brother call through the general noise. And there was quite some of it, too.

Charlie had been ready for this moment for ages. He took one last at his family, then took the familiar looking spin and spun into teenage.

"Hey, I don't look too bad. I guess I could go and look for something nice in the wardrobe, though. You guys enjoy the cake while I do that. But leave some for me, okay?"

Alright then, Charlie. It seems we're done, then. You look good!

"Thanks, C. I think I like the outfit myself."

So, what did you choose for your aspiration?

"Pleasure."

I think it kind of suits you, the laid back guy you are. Although I'm also up to my ears with fortune and pleasure sims. But oh well. I like you all the same. What do you want from life?

"Well, I'd really like 50 first dates. That'd be really cool."

Oh dear. That was a tough one. Or not tough really, just tedious. But we'll see what I can do. Now go have some fun with your guests!

And so he did. Everyone had a great time, as usual in the parties held in the Legacy family. No one even noticed an extra visitor who silently entered the back yard. The gates were open for the party, and alarms were off. The visitor wanted no harm to anyone, but still he was happy to go unnoticed.

The wolf stood outside, staring intently at the house for a long while. He was worried. He could sense something the sims inside couldn't. Life wouldn't always be as careless for the youngsters as it was tonight. But what would happen, would happen, and he had no say in it. The wolf slowly turned around, let out a barely audible sigh, and soon disappeared into the night.

The evening ended nicely, all guests left home tired but happy, and especially Charlie was beaming. Long after everyone else had gone to bed, Adrian was up by himself, playing a solitary game of Don't Wake the Llama. Naturally, he won himself. Life was good.

It was a late evening in the Mayor's Office. It had been dark for a couple of hours already. The day had been long and draining. When did the dream job become this demanding? Well, soon the day would be over, thank goodness.

There was a sudden knock on the door.

"Yes? Come in", said Beth Cameron, placing a smile on her face despite the fatigue.

It was her personal assistant, Whitney, who always stayed as long as she did. On days like this Beth felt sorry for her. She was so young and all.

Whitney entered in the doorway, looking quite efficient considering the late hour. "Mrs. Mayor, there's a phone call for you. Would you like to take it still, or should I tell them you are busy?"

Beth thought for a moment. "Who is it?"

"Someone named mr. Smith, mrs. Mayor."

"And his position?" The name Smith didn't ring any bells.

"He just said he's 'a concerned citizen', m'am."

There was another slightly stretched silence, during which Beth rubbed her forehead.

"Very well. I'll talk to him. But that will be the final call today."

"Yes m'am. Just a moment, I'll put him through."

"Thank you, Whitney. While you're at it, put him to my cell phone, I think I already switched off the desk phones. And when you're done, you may leave. I will not be here long myself."

"Thank you, mrs. Mayor. I'll do that."

Shortly later Beth's cell phone started blinking, and she picked it up.

"The Mayor's Office."

...

"Yes, this is Mayor Cameron speaking."

...

"Good evening mr. Smith, how may I help you?"

"I see, mr. Smith. How long have you been trying?"

...

"That is quite long, sir, I see. And you have been checking both the computer and the newspaper?"

...

"Yes. And then you started making phone calls to the authorities."

"Well, in that case the only thing I can think of would be your lineage, sir. Have you provided the appropriate reports to the authorities?"

...

"Ah, that must be it, then, mr. Smith! You see, the Paranormal career track is protected. You have to be of proper lineage to be able to apply for those positions."

...

"This is a law originally proposed by our previous Mayor. It has been in action for a while and..."

...

"Well, there is a certain list of families who have been examined and accepted to qualify for the task and only members of those families, if otherwise deemed suitable..."

...

"Yes, that is correct. Our previous Mayor was mr. Count Curtis Bookacy."

"Look, sir. The law is there only to protect the citizens! There has been some apparent trouble in the past and my predecessor found it necessary to..."

...

"Sir, I understand it may sound like that to you, but I assure you, the purpose of the law was not to favor anyone! If you are willing to report your lineage and put your family up for examination, the proper authorities will look thoroughly into your case and decide whether the family is suitable for..."

"Hello? Mr. Smith? Hello?"

The line was empty.

Beth sat down on the desk, in deep thoughts. There had been something weird about the previous phone call, and it bothered her.

Firstly, why would someone be that interested in the Paranormal career? Never before had anyone seemed to desire it enough to first go through such lengthy periods of job hunting, and then start making calls until they reached the Mayor, for goodness sake! Beth knew that must have taken a long time in itself.

Secondly, Beth knew the law about Paranormal jobs, and she was aware that even though the wording was very subtle and written exactly as to avoid such accusations, it was possible to see it as favoritism. However, she hadn't had time to even properly start explaining the law before this mr. Smith had fired on her exactly that accusation. It was as if the man already knew the law he was asking about.

And what was even stranger, was that the name of her grandfather seemed to ring a bell to the man. It was as if that had launched his anger. That made no sense. Unless...

Beth was on her feet in an instant, with no recollection of getting up.

Unless.

"Oh crap!"

And this, dear reader, is where I leave you this time. Thank you for reading chapter twenty-four of The Bookacy Family Alphabet Adventures, and welcome back for our next episode! Happy simming to all!