Gen 1 - Chapter Two: Stressful Times

The next day was my day off, and boy was I relieved, after having stayed up until about 4, since after a guy had stayed around talking to me until 3:30, I couldn't just.. let myself fall asleep. I had to stay awake thinking for a while. Eventually though, the exhaustion got me. But as I said, I still dreamed about romantic things, though I could never quite see the face of the man I'd married. Or.. really, any of his features, whether he was dark skinned like Apollo, or what. It was frustrating, I wanted to see who I'd married. It still frustrated me after I woke up, and as I ate at my soup - soup for breakfast.. yeah, not the funnest, but anything was sounding better than cereal after how long I'd been living on just cereal - I glared into it. It was childish, but I was groggy and irritated at my dream.
After breakfast, it was time for me to get ready to perform at the spa and bookstore. Got to take a shower, dry and style my hair, get dressed, put on make up and all of that before heading off to drum 'til I dropped.



I was amazed at how well I did at the spa, especially since I played for them all day. It was, over all, a great experience, and I made a few acquaintances. But most importantly, I made $300, which I definitely needed. Even just to make the next payment on my apartment, let alone buy food to eat. I thought that the making money part was going to be easier, having this whole.. wish thing, but no. No, it wasn't really. If I wished to be a millionaire, I would be doing it the old fashioned way. I learned quickly that though this power was magical in some ways, it didn't conjure something out of nothing. It would work me to the bone if I wanted to be a millionaire, so I quickly decided that money wasn't that important.
When we were all done, and I left Wilki's, I decided I should probably get to working on my guitar skills. I was getting pretty darn good with the drums, after weeks of practice, but what I needed for work was at least a little guitar knowledge. They kept talking about things that I had no idea about, and so I headed off towards the theater, to take one of their popular guitar lessons - they were the best around, and after the lesson ended I knew why.
It was getting late, nearing eleven at night, but I didn't want to go home yet, especially since there was this guy I'd seen around playing guitar out front, and a huge crowd had gathered. One of the people in the crowd I recognized as Kirby Wise, the girl who hadn't even acknowledged me when I had my welcoming crew. I was going to just listen to the music, but suddenly I wanted to make a new friend, and before I knew it, I walked over to the other girl and struck up a conversation.
It was actually better than I thought it would be, she apologized for being so rude the other day, and I told her that it was absolutely fine. I knew she meant no harm by it, she was just excited about the party - I could tell she was a rather excitable person. After we got the apology out of the way, we chatted for hours, much like Apollo and I had the night before. When I mentioned that I'd done this with Apollo the night before, Kirby made a gagging motion.
"Ugh, Apollo Bloom?"
"What? You don't like him?" It took me by surprise, I quite liked him myself..
"He's not horrible, but I just.. he's one of my roommates, and living with him I know a lot of his faults. When he's home, he never leaves the TV, and when we try to do anything he doesn't like, he just.. loses his temper, like GRAAAAH! Angerz! And he's a little full of himself, 'cause he thinks he's a model. He actually works at a restaurant, and I dunno, he may be a model but I've never seen any proof of that. And he's a complete chicken, he fainted when a burglar broke in the other day and just let the burglar get away! I just.. I don't really like him, even though he is always trying to make friends with us. We're debating kicking him out."
I was shocked. That was not at all the guy I'd gotten from our chat. I mean, we did talk about the TV shows we liked, and he told me that he had a bit of a temper, and we both admitted we weren't good with scary things, but Kirby made them seem like major flaws. Guess I would just let myself figure him out, though, not just take her word for it.


After quite a while, I finally looked at my cell to find out what time it was - I never have been much of a watch wearer, for whatever reason - and gasped in surprise. "Oh wow, when did it get to be 2? I should get home, work tomorrow." I said, and we wished each other a goodbye, before I hurried home, back into my work-rut again. When I was working, my life seemed to always be the same, not that I minded. That way I would get used to it, and I was more comfortable when I was used to something. As soon as I got home, I crawled into bed and fell right to sleep, into beautiful dreams of being a famous one-woman band with a beautiful family. My dreams had been so wonderful since I got this wish-granting thing, and they never seemed that terribly weird. I just hoped they foretold of the future!






My rut was back, and in full swing! It became quite a routine of sleep, eat, play on an instrument, go to work, eat, sleep, eat, do something while I wait for work, go to work, eat, sleep.. etc, etc, etc. It went on for.. I don't even know how long, I didn't keep track. Nothing was going on in my life, because I had no real want for anything.. big and exciting in my life yet. I would chat with Apollo or Kirby on the phone sometimes, or Buster - though I could just talk to him at work - but mostly, my life was pretty dull. I liked it, though, it was better than if it was too exciting, right?


And then I got a promotion, after several days in my little rut, and I had one of my excited-spazz moments outside the theater. Rohan Giroux, a local one-star celebrity, and his family were standing outside when I had my spazz attack so I was kind of embarrassed afterward, so quickly headed home. Buster decided to throw me a congratulations party, for one thing, and it started in only a little while, so I had to get ready.



I prettied myself up, only as much as usual though, and headed off to Buster's apartment building. I was starving, but knew if it was a party there would be food. When I got there, I realized quickly that something was odd when someone else answered when I asked to be buzzed in. When I got upstairs, this girl was waiting outside for me.
"Are you Sean?" she asked me, and I approached her, nodding.
"Yeah.. Sean Parodi. And you are?"
"I'm Buster's neighbor. He told me to tell you that he had to cancel the party, because there was a family emergency - his Mom's probably not going to make it through the night. He would have told you himself, but he needed to leave as soon as possible to get to Sunset Valley in time."
Oh no. Poor Buster.. being part McCaley - Mom's maiden name - I couldn't help but start to tear up slightly. "Oh, poor Buster.. I absolutely understand. That's so much more important than a silly party. Tell him to call me later if he needs someone to talk to, okay?"
She smiled, and nodded. "I will. See you later." With that, we went our separate ways.


All night I tossed and turned, unable to sleep as well as I wanted, knowing that one of my best friends was having such a hard time. When morning came, I groggily got out of bed, still wondering how everything was going for Buster, and proceeded to get breakfast. After my breakfast - bread and jam, I was deciding to mix it up - I went over to my piano, and started to play The Entertainer. It was the last song I memorized before I quit my lessons, and amazingly, I still had it there. Good thing, too, I needed something cheery to distract me from my worry. In the middle of the song, my cell rang, and I immediately leaped up from the stool - nearly getting tangled up in it - as I scrambled for my purse. "Oh please be good news!" I cried as I pulled the phone out of it's pocket, answering with a, "Hello?"
"Hey, Sean.. sorry about last night."
Buster! It was him. My goodness, he didn't sound good. I frowned, and shook my head even though he couldn't see it. "No, don't apologize. I'm sorry about your Mom. How is she..?"
"She's.. doing better, in a way. She's not suffering anymore at least."
Ah.. the doctors were right. I looked at the floor and sighed sadly. "I'm so sorry, Buster."
"Thank you, Sean. But it's okay, she's been in pain so long now I'm actually kind of.. glad, in a way. Sad, of course, but.."
"I understand," I told him, smiling sadly. "My grandma and uncle, last year. I felt the same way. They'd been battling cancer so long it just.. they were ready."
"Thanks, Sean. Talking to you really helps."
It did? I didn't feel like I was saying anything of any real significance, but if he said so..
"I'm glad. I'm sorry, Buster, but I gotta get going. Call anytime you need to talk, okay?"
"Alright. I won't be at work today, naturally, but I will be tomorrow. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah. See you then."
With that, I hung up, and got ready for work, not really feeling in the mood to work, but knowing that I needed to.



After work, I didn't want to get lost in my worry about Buster, so I called up Apollo - who I hadn't seen since that night he visited me - and we headed out to the Brightmore. He'd also come directly from work, but he hadn't found time to change clothes first.



I went inside to buy us some drinks, but after I'd already paid for them, Apollo hurried inside and told me that he had to go. He wouldn't tell me why, but I had a feeling it was because one of our favorite shows was about to come on and he didn't have anything to record it with. Sigh. I was learning fast that Kirby'd been right about his couch potato-ish ways, and that didn't really bother me, but it was a little irritating that he didn't even drink the drink I'd bought for him. So I had to down them both. I enjoyed them, but unfortunately, alcohol always has made me seriously crash, and I was already tired from my rather stressful night and day, so I headed home without even dancing.


When I crawled into bed, I stared up at the ceiling for a few minutes, wondering if this was what I got for wishing that my life would get more interesting. Would just random, spur of the moment bored wants sometimes backfire like this? I hoped they wouldn't always. But it made sense. You know that old saying, 'be careful what you wish for'. And now that I could get anything I wished.. great. This wish-granting thing was going to be a burden at times, wasn't it?

Gen 1 - Chapter One: A New Friend

Waking up the next morning, I had one of my 'famous' - to myself, at least, and possibly my parents - excited-spazz attacks. It's like everything hit me, and when I saw my very own keyboard.. I couldn't contain it. "OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH! Is this really happening?! Hahahahaha!!" I stood there cheering and giggling for a good five minutes, before I finally decided I was hungry. Unfortunately, all I really had in my apartment was different types of cereal, so.. I had cereal. All the while, still grinning widely to myself and trembling slightly. Getting out on my own was terrifying, but it was so exciting, too. Especially since I now had the ability to do whatever I wanted, pretty much.

I only had about two hours until work, after I finished my cereal, so sat down at my drumset and set to work building up skill. And mainly, having fun. I had never had so much fun practicing anything; it was never fun practicing anything when you weren't naturally talented in that area. It was just a lot of boredom and frustration, with people telling you 'you can do it, just practice more'. It gets.. so tiring having people tell you that, when you know it will never work. Not when you were completely un-ambitious, and not motivated to do much of anything. I think that's the one thing I like most about this wish-granting thing. I now have a drive to.. make something of myself, instead of sit around playing games and reading at home. All day long.




I seemed to have gotten completely lost in my train of thought as I played on my drumset - my, I feel like a little kid, but it just feels so good! - and before I knew it, I heard honking outside. I have no idea how I even managed to hear it, or realized it was for me, because I'm on the eighteenth floor. I cursed silently when I realized I still was in my nightgown and hadn't brushed my impossible hair. Thankfully, I had mastered the art of getting ready quickly, so was in my work outfit and had my hair brushed within minutes, then hopped into the elevator and headed downstairs. Another thing I had noticed since I got this wish ability - my hair wasn't so difficult to brush anymore. I guess it's because I wished for easier-to-manage hair, but didn't want it to not be naturally curly anymore. Naturally curly hair was a blessing and a curse, after all.
When I got downstairs, I hurried into the car, and buckled up, panting. "Sorry I took so long, I lost track of time and wasn't ready yet."
My co-worker just smiled at me and shrugged, before driving off towards the theater. "It's no problem. We still have a half hour to get to work, after all."
We continued to chat all the way to work, and even though I felt shy, I was able to keep up conversation, all the way into the theater. It was nice.


My first day of work went.. a lot easier than I had expected, but I suppose I should have expected it to go well. I had wanted it to. I hoped I never got used to getting my way this way, or else I'd get soft and spoiled, and I was already prone to becoming spoiled, having been an only child.
Towards the end of the day, one of my boss' direct underlings shoved a book in my hands, and told me to read it if I wanted a better relationship with my boss. I just nodded, and planned to read it as soon as possible. What better time than directly after work? As soon as I walked out, I grabbed my book and started reading. Turns out I had already missed my carpool, so I supposed I'd just stick around for a little while, reading.


As I was standing there reading, suddenly the want to have a friend struck me. I had no friends here, and.. I really needed one. I closed my book, and peered around the area in front of the theater - no better place to look for a friend, I think, there were at least five people there. I spotted a really cute guy off to the side, and he looked the most friend, so I head over to him and introduced myself. He smiled at me, and accepted my greeting very easily, and I couldn't help but think what a nice smile this man, Apollo Bloom, had.




We chatted for a long time. About anything and everything. We just stood there, chatting, for hours, I think; random people kept coming and going, and soon I was beginning to realize that the disgusted faces they were making were because of my stench. I hadn't taken a bath or shower in way too long, and I was starving. Oh gosh! What a horrible way to try and make a friend, especially since I figured he was probably hungry too, we'd been standing there talking way past dinner time.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, I've kept you from dinner, you're probably starving. I know I am. I should go. It was really nice meeting you Apollo, I hope to see you again." Since I sincerely did hope it, I figured it would come true. Now if only I could wish away my hungry and stink, we could stay there talking until we truly considered each other a friend.
He smiled and waved my apology off, then nodded. "Alright. It was nice meeting you, too, Sean. Maybe I'll visit you later."
Oh be still my heart, a guy's never wanted to visit me before unless they were my cousin. I just smiled and nodded. "Okay. That would be nice. See you then." I waved, then headed off towards home.


The entire way home I thought about Apollo. I hoped he'd be my first friend. Also as I was heading home, another want struck me - I wanted to go to France. I'd always wanted to travel, and I knew that I could now. First I needed money, but I knew for a fact that I would get the money. That sounds spoiled already, doesn't it? While nearly falling asleep in the subway train, I wondered to myself if, when we become friends, Apollo would want to go to France with me..


The next several few days went much the same, and I fell into a small rut, because I never could think of want I wanted to do. I woke up in the morning, had some breakfast..


Played on my drumset, improving little by little..


Went to work. I now had an acquaintance at work, Buster Round. He was quite a few years older than me, in his forties I believe, but we had a lot in common.


And then I would go home and read on the book I'd been assigned on my first day. I didn't seem to have that much time to read, but I made sure to make time after I got home, even though I would be completely exhausted sometimes. It was one of these such times, when I suddenly heard a ring. It was Apollo, down at the.. buzz-in box. I knew the name, but it wasn't important, what was important was that Apollo Bloom was visiting me. I was rather excited, and fidgeted as I waited for him to get up here. It seemed like it took forever..





It was a great visit. As soon as he finally got to my apartment, he came right up to me and immediately started our conversation where it had stopped the other night. We stood there chatting for hours again. I'd tell you what we talked about, but I don't hardly remember, I was.. kind of living in the moment, and all I remember is that it was wonderful. Well, until I got a phone call. But the phone call was someone asking me to perform at the spa, and they were willing to give me money, so heck yes I was there. I apologized to Apollo, and he told me that it was absolutely fine, so we continued again.
We talked for a very long time. I knew that I considered him a friend already, and I hoped he thought of me as a friend, too. Though, I don't think I had to worry about it, because he stayed there talking to me until 3:30 AM, and I was nearly asleep on my feet when he finally left.


As I headed to bed that night, I felt like I was walking on clouds. He was my second male friend.. ever. And he hadn't wanted to leave until he noticed how my eyes were drooping. He genuinely was interested in having me as a friend. I hadn't had someone who was that interested in having my friendship in a while. And maybe he'd want more? As I slept that night, I had a dream that I was married and had several beautiful children. And I did truly want that, so I would get it, right?

(A/N: Not necessarily. At least not yet. Sorry if this chapter isn't as good, but it actually only took place within the space of two days, and she never really wanted to do much. I was happy when she finally wanted to make a friend and go to France, though. :D)

Introduction to Generation 1

I, Sean Parodi, have always lived a rather boring life. An only child to Will and Shelly Parodi, when I was little I was a friend to everyone - especially family, I'm a big family person - but when I became a teenager, I became painfully shy. Making friends was impossible, especially since I was raised in a small farm town with a tiny population, and was home schooled. Had only two friends that weren't cousins, Emma and John, and I thought I was madly in love with John until my mid-teens, being the romantic type and all. I never really did any exercising, because I'm one of the clumsiest people I knew, so I gained quite a bit of weight in my early teen years. I suppose it looks good with my annoyingly large chest, though. Balances me out better. So, as you can see, until my twentieth birthday, I had a really boring life, and wasn't motivated to make anything of my life.
The day I was going to turn twenty, though, something changed. I was visiting the local consignment store to see what they had for birthday parties, when I met a strange looking woman.


As soon as I walked in the door, her eerily bright aqua eyes were on me. I got chills down my spine, and thought about turning around and leaving right then. But I decided to go ahead and continue my shopping, and ignore her piercing glare. It was increasingly difficult, and eventually, I looked over at her again, and she.. well, she smirked at me. Before I could even get to the counter to ask what they had in stock, I turned and headed back towards the door. I could always go to the grocery store, after all. But that was a bad idea, because as soon as I started leaving, the girl hurried after me, and then was in front of me before I could realize what was happening. Gasping in shock, I stumbled back and tried not to fall.
"What do you want!?" I asked, trying not to seem like a chicken. I'm not a coward, but I am close.
"I want to speak with you," she told me softly, before grabbing my wrist and dragging me outside, towards an empty, grassy area nearby. I noticed absently that she had an accent, but I couldn't quite place it. Normally I'm pretty good at that.
"O.. okay, what do you want to talk about?"
"I have been watching you. You have a dull life, and always want something more but are too shy to do anything about it. And you believe you are talentless. Am I correct?"
I stared at her. She's been watching me? That gave me the creeps. I had a stalker and didn't even notice? Guess I'm not that perceptive after all. "Yeah, you are.."
"But you wish to make beautiful music. Be famous. Write good books. Yes?"
"Yes.. where are you going with this?"
"Do you want this for yourself? All of it? Friends, a family, fame, fortune, talent, the courage to confront people, anything your heart desires?" Her eyes were narrowing as she spoke, and her fingernails were digging into my skin. It was really beginning to scare me, and I just wanted to get away, but I thought that if I ran, she'd just chase me.
"It.. it would be nice, yeah. Nothing anyone can do about it though.."
"But there is!" she hissed, and then grinned. Was the paint on her face beginning to glow lightly or was that my imagination? "I, Estiu Calent, can make it so you can have whatever you wish for."
I just blinked at first, then laughed nervously. "Yeah.. right. Thank you for the offer, but.. I should be getting home. It's my birthday today."
"It is your birthday, and that is exactly why I need to know today. I cannot give you this power any other day. I need to know right now, do you want whatever you wish for? No inhibitions?"
Just wanting to go, I finally heaved a sigh, "Yes, okay! Alright."
The creepy smirk returned. "Good, good."
After that, I'm really not sure what happened. I felt tingly, my insides burned, I think I convulsed a bit.. it didn't last long, before I found myself kneeling in the grass, staring at the ground in front of me, where she had been standing. I felt.. great. Had she really given me to ability to have whatever I wanted?


She had. Everything that happened that day went exactly how I wanted it to, and when I played on my piano - which I hadn't done since I quit piano lessons at least four years before - it came.. so easily. Like I always wanted it to. That entire week went so smoothly, I loved it. And then I suddenly got the notion to move to a big city, so I could become famous. I had wanted to be famous since I was.. what, five years old? I was really young, I know that. I told my parents, and even though they weren't terribly happy about me moving so far away, they were supportive. As long as I visited, which I promised I would do.
And now here I am, with my own little apartment, heading for my first trip on a subway train to go get a job in music. It suddenly struck me that I wanted to be famous for music rather than acting, and I went with it.


Oh, wow! Riding the subway was amazing, really. I like monorails better, but being underground was pretty interesting too. As I walked to the theater, I couldn't help but admire everything as I walked past it. I never got tired of admiring my surrounding when I went to big cities, and I don't think that my fascination will die, even after I've lived here for quite a while. As I walked into the theater, I noticed that there were three celebrities standing in front of the theater, and I nearly freaked out, but managed to remain calm. Jupiter Belle, child star, Moxie Logan, and Kai Leiko all in one place! Wow. But if I was going to become famous myself, I had to not freak out over celebrities.


Getting the job was far easier than I had expected. I barely went inside, and didn't even get interviewed before they told me I had the job. Man, maybe this new 'magical power' of mine was going to come in handy. They told me that my boss was Tom Wordy, and I nearly had a heart attack. Tom Wordy! He.. he was one of the most famous people in the music industry! Then they told me that having a good relationship with him would be smart, and gave me his cell number. Taking a deep breath as I left the building, I gathered up my courage. I could do this, I could. I took out my cell, and dialed his number. I wanted to do it, so it just kind of happened. I'd never been any good with phone conversations before, but this one came so.. easily. I had a long chat with him, about all sorts of things. The best part was that I actually didn't sound like a complete idiot, like I used to with conversations. I was so happy with myself, but the longer I stood outside talking with him, the more I realized I wanted to get home and play around on my new drumset. "Hey, Tom, I've had a great time chatting with you, but I should probably get home."
"Oh, sure. See you at work, Sean. It's been great chatting with you."
"Yeah, it's been great chatting with you, too! See you at work, Tom." I hung up, and nearly collapsed. My shyness was acting up a little, but I'm glad I smothered it enough to talk to Tom. I liked him already, and hoped I would get more chances to just talk to him.




The trip home was uneventful, but when I got home, there were three people waiting to greet me, welcome me to their city. That was strange, since it's such a big city, who would have known I'd moved in? I figured it must be part of what Estiu did to me. I went up to the friendliest looking face, and smiled at her. "Hello.."
"Ah!" she exclaimed, and smiled, shaking my hand. "You must be Sean Parodi, the new girl in our fair city."
"Uh.. yes. I am." I didn't really know what else to say, and just smiled and shook her hand back.
"I'm Maddie Milas, this is Kirby Wise, and in the lobby is Kaelan Gai. We're here to welcome you to Bridgeport!"
My confusion probably shown on my face, but I just nodded, and waved at Kirby, who was just standing there, staring at Maddie in a 'let's leave' sort of way. I then looked back at Maddie, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Maddie. And Kirby. I just.. how did you know I was here?" I motioned at them, then at myself, then around at the city, as if to say 'it's a big city, I'm sure news doesn't travel THAT fast'.
She smiled and waved it off. "Oh, that's just because we have a bit of a gossip group - Kaelan isn't in it, but his wife is and she makes him go to our group shindigs if she can't go - and one of our members lives in your building. We all let each other know when someone new moves into the building, and then a group of us go to greet whoever moved in!"
Well, that made more sense than my wish-granting ability pulling people to me, since I hadn't wished for people to visit me. I made an o shape with my mouth, in understanding, and nodding. "Ooh, I see. That's cool, welcoming people to the city and all."
Just then, Kirby chimed in, "I'm sorry to interrupt, but we have to get going. We have to get ready for later, Maddie, your daughter would kill us if we missed her dance party."
"Oh!" Maddie winced, and smacked her forward. "Of course, shoot. I'm sorry, Sean, but we're going to have to go. I hope to see you later sometime!"
And with that, I was alone again. I'm not sure where the Kaelan guy was, but he wasn't in the lobby when I went inside, planning to go up and play on my drumset.


When I got inside, I sat down at my brand new drumset, and started banging away on them. Now I understood why my best friend, Emma, had decided to be a drummer! I was having a blast, and played for hours, completely losing track of the time.



When I began to have difficulty seeing straight, I decided that I'd played for long enough, and looked at the time. Wow! It was after midnight, and I really should have been already getting ready for bed. I was hungry, I noticed as well, and so I grabbed a quick bowl of cereal, thinking that living alone was kind of lonely. Being in a new, huge city, with no friends was even more lonely. Tomorrow, I would make a friend. And because I wanted it, I figured I would get it. This whole getting-what-I-want thing was going to spoil me.


After my 'meal', I climbed into my cozy, crazy twin bed, and almost fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. Another thing I'd always wanted - the ability to fall asleep quickly. I have always been more of an insomniac, and now I was going to have an easy time of getting to sleep, finally! My first day was satisfying. I don't think I would have traded it for any other first day in a new city. I hope the rest of my time here is just as good.