July 2085: in between days, part 5

Charlie Roseland is 20. Sophia Nelson is 21. Ingrid Thompson and Benny Winters are 22. 

Soundtrack, "In Between Days" by The Cure

Thursday, July 27, 2085: 5:30 pm


"It's the last day for the summer fair, Charlie. Five hours is not even enough time. Carpe diem. Let's seize the fucking day."

Charlie didn't stop home after work. He threw his gear into the dusty crevice behind the front seat of his truck and drove over to the county fairgrounds. Ingrid waited in the center of the midway with his friends, like they were already her friends now too, like she'd transplanted herself into the middle of his whole universe so she wouldn't be missed or forgotten. Her lips curved into a pleased smile.

July 4th, 2085: little explosions

Gabby is 12, Charlie is 20, Ian and Ingrid are 22, Laney is 26, Andreas is 27, Kyle is 28, Carly is 30.


12:15pm:

"Pass it over," Gabby said. "Give me a try. Come on. I can do it. I’m pretty good. I mean, you're really good, but I’m pretty good too. Okay? Pass it over."


Sophia said, "But... you're wearing flippers."

June/July 2085: postcards

Extras, outtakes, and updates from our supporting cast. Many of these photos were also posted on my Tumblr, but Tumblr is chaotic and lacks structure. So for the sake of documentation, and to choose favorites, these were some of the things that happened in the background of other stories in June and July of 1985.

The Lind and Roberts family: 


Paige and her little bestie, Tara Lind. Tara is a year younger than Paige, and going into fifth grade this fall.

May 2085: crazy for you, part 5

Natty and Sophia are 20, Benny is 22, Josh is 18.


Natty wore a silk blouse and some earrings Charlie had bought her for her last birthday. She didn't want to overdo it, but she'd never been to a recital before and she honestly didn't know what to wear. She'd also never been this dressed up without Charlie, and it made her think of all those school dances and proms.

She looked okay, she guessed, but she didn't feel okay. She felt nauseous and anxious and angry and sad.

May 2085: crazy for you, part 3

Josh is 18, Sophia is 20.


The water was cold still. Very cold. But Josh took that as a refreshing and exhilarating challenge and dove straight in, parting the water ahead of him in smooth strokes. Nobody ever would have guessed that he was the baby of his family, or that he'd always been the runt of his grade. Always the youngest, the smallest, the quietest. Only now, finally an adult, everyone else around him had stopped growing and he was able to catch up. He wasn't the smallest anymore, he made sure of that.

May 2085: crazy for you, part 2

Sophia is 20, Josh is 18, Leo is 21.


She should have noticed when all he would talk about the other night was how big his bed was, how soft, how springy. Or that he'd said they should meet up after class and go over their notes. She really thought he wanted to go over notes, but as they sat alone in the empty diner, they only talked instead, mostly about his super big bed...

He'd never actually seen her naked back in Freshman year. She hadn't seen him either. Not with their eyes anyway. There was kissing, lots of groping, barely past second base. He might have gotten a handful of boob and she might have felt his hard-on through his jeans, but then she met Benny, and it was over just as quickly as it had begun.

April 2085: lie to you, part 2

April 2085: Benny and Leo are 21; Sophia, Charlie, and Natty are 20 years old; Josh is 18.

Soundtrack: "Would I Lie to You?" by Eurythmics


Natty found the party, after driving for miles figuring she'd missed the right spot. "A patch of trees around the bend," he'd told her. "Look for the fire." So she finally saw the fire, small as it was, and she parked behind a row of bushes. She didn't see anyone she knew, a couple guys playing kicky bag. "Whoa," one of them said, dropping the bag. "Girl just came out of the woods."

"Whoa," the other one said, and then they both started to laugh hysterically. They were drunk already, and maybe high too. It smelled like campfire and the earthy smell of rain, and she didn't see Josh anywhere. She considered maybe this party was a bad idea, but then the first one of them came over and greeted her.

the Nelson family

(picture coming soon)

Joseph Nelson
age: 50

Gertie Nelson
age: 48

Sophia Nelson
age: 21
birthday: June 6, Gemini
LTW: Hit Movie Composer
education: LCU, Senior: Music Performance, Piano
TS2 aspiration: fortune/knowledge
TS3 traits: neurotic, disciplined, perfectionist, no sense of humor, nurturing, light sleeper, workaholic, virtuoso, coward, technophobe
character traits: worried, unstable, conflicted
likes/hobbies: piano, opera
hates: computers
occupation: student
family: parents Gertie and Joseph Nelson, brother Josh Nelson
BFF:
romantic: Benny Morris, steady since November 1981 (history, dated Leonard Shelley, 1 month)

Josh Nelson
age: 18
birthday: August 14, Leo
LTW: Renaissance Sim (3 skills)
education: LCU, Freshman: Culinary Arts
TS2 aspiration: pleasure/?
TS3 traits: absent-minded, friendly, athletic, heavy sleeper, natural cook, mooch, loves to swim, dramatic, irresistible
character traits: oblivious, sensitive, obsessive
likes/hobbies: baking, swimming, frisbee, sleeping in
hates: being embarrassed
occupation: student
family: parents Gertie and Joseph Nelson, sister Sophia Nelson
BFF: ???
romantic: single; crush, Natty Deppiesse

Benny Morris
age: 22
birthday: May 14, Taurus
LTW: World Renowned Surgeon
education: LCU, Senior: Pre-Med
TS2 aspiration: popularity/fortune
TS3 traits: social butterfly, charismatic, couch potato, good sense of humor, easily impressed, ambitious, brave, handy, great kisser, hydrophobic
character traits: easy-going, fun, self-centered, fanciful, lazy
hobbies/likes: bonfire parties, beer
hates: swimming
occupation: student
family: none local
BFF:
romantic: Sophia Nelson, steady since November 1981