Welcome back to Lost in Tumultuous Despair! This time, we’re on the actual story. I should tell you that this asylum is documented through the different points of view of the sims, and each update covers five days of the sim’s life in the asylum. This update, for instance, is told through my simself’s point of view. (I’ll explain at the end of this update.)

I hope you enjoy!

Here I am, stranded in the middle of nowhere with seven of my companions. I was wondering if the road trip was worth the visit. I mean, what kind of driver would take his passengers to remote places and abandon us like this? How irksome!

Wow! These people are sure quite a rabble! Coming into terms with these people will take quite a while. I mean, I talked to Buck for a while, but he refused to listen to me talking about a way out of here. Maybe I should just investigate the house we just stumbled upon. That should take my mind out of their constant ramblings.

The living room looked really extravagant despite the dance sphere behind me. But I desperately needed to use the bathroom once I arrived here. Apparently, it lacked a bathtub or shower. How ridiculous! Perhaps there should be another bathroom somewhere in this house with a bathtub or shower.

After using the bathroom, I might as well relieve myself from the rabble by playing the piano. Geez, these people really need to quiet down a bit so that I could concentrate on the piano.

It’s been ages since I’ve played the piano, so my skills are a little rusty, but at least I got the chance to improve it. Here goes nothing!

I started hearing complaints from my companions to stop playing the piano because of how unpleasant the music is to them. Well, you can’t really blame them, can they?

But I will not give up. I must practice well.

My fingers were finally tired from all the playing, so I had to take a break for a while. At least there was a newspaper right in the front lawn, so I might try finding a suitable job to get all of us out from this place alive. Yet another question popped out of my head in an instant: If there was a newspaper on the front lawn, does it mean that there are signs of human life in this area? Only time will tell, I guess.

As I read the newspaper, I found an opening for a golf caddy in the job listing section. How fortunate! After all, the land around this house looks like some sort of gigantic golf course. I focused my attention on the schedule of my job, which says “Golf Caddy from 5:00 am to 10:00 am”. I whispered it a few times so that I could be on time for my first “job”. Who knows if this could be my opportunity to tell the outside world to come and rescue me and my companions?

Now only time would tell if I succeed in getting all of us from this place. Their lives are in my hands, and there’s no turning back.

I carried the newspaper outside to dispose of it, and all of a sudden, a dark-skinned woman showed up on the sidewalk. So that meant I was right about people in this isolated place. But are they really locals in a quiet place like this? All I have to do was ask her.

After dumping the newspaper, I approached the woman and shook her hand.

“Hello,” I said. “My companions and I were stranded here, and we discovered this abandoned house hours ago. Can you tell me if you’re from around here? If so, can you tell me a way out?”

“Well, nice to meet you, sir,” she replied. “I’m sorry to say this, but no. I’m not from around here. I’m just here on a hike, that’s all. Mind if I come in? By the way, name’s Ivy Copur if you don’t mind.”

“Er, go ahead.” I said. Here on a hike and nothing else? Man, I really have the most rotten luck, don’t I?

As I headed back to the house in despair, I noticed a blonde woman passing by. Maybe she could be of better help than Ivy?

I approached her and shook her hand. “Hi. Are you from around here?”

“Hi. Actually, I’m not from around here. Sorry to say that, but I’m just here to look around the place, since I heard it’s going to be a golf course later on. And call me Sandy.”

Hang on, a golf course? So my assumption that this place looks like a giant golf course is right, then. “So, does this there’s a way out of here?”

Unfortunately, she entered the house before I could finish my question. How rude of her! But at least she left a hint that might be useful for me and my companions to get out of this place alive. Maybe I should get inside to see what everyone’s up to.

However, as I stepped inside the house, I was immediately greeted by extremely horrible music coming from the piano. Ugh! What a lovely surprise to hear once I stepped in here, and I was assuming other people were also as annoyed by that tune as much as I was. Man, I must do something to get my mind off of that awful tune.

Thinking that a nice meal will help me relieve my poor ears, I walked into the kitchen and opened a refrigerator to get a loaf of sandwiches. After setting it down, I promptly made several lunch meat sandwiches.

As I grabbed a plate to eat, one thing I noticed about the kitchen is that it has two stoves and refrigerators. It looks like the original owners were rich enough to afford two of every kind of kitchen appliances. If so, then how come there’s only one coffee machine and processor for each? Perhaps they think it was enough.

Once I went back to the living room, where the dining table is located in, I winced at the sound of the piano being played, what with that horrible dirge torturing my ears. However, there was something else that struck me as bizarre enough to make me shudder with unease.

Yes, the dining table happens to have a set of candles specifically meant for restaurants and dating couples. And then there are wedding bells attached to the wall. What kind of joke is this? Unless this house is for newlyweds, the décor will never make sense to me at all.

Despite the silly décor, I ended up placing my plate on the table and sat down to eat. After all, it’s better to have a place to sit down to eat than having to stand up to eat. Never mind the décor; I just wanted to eat my lunch in peace.

Once I finished my lunch, I finally found the chance to talk to Sandy about the golf course. Somehow, I also wanted to know why she rudely ignored me when I greeted her. No one dares ignore me deliberately when I’m talking to them and gets away with it.

“Sandy,” I cried, “I have two questions that come to my mind right now. One: Did you really mean it when you said that the area around here is going to be a golf course? And two: Why did you rudely leave me outside when I first greeted you?”

“Well,” she answered, “I actually heard rumors, so I can’t confirm them at all. But I got really excited when I first heard the news. After all, I love playing golf, even if I’ve been hit in the face with golf balls a few times before.”

“Wow! That’s harsh! But at least you survived, which is more important, isn’t it?”

“Of course, even though my face is now terribly deformed form those experiences.”

“Anyway, I want to know how to get out of here. You see, my companions and I have been abandoned by our driver, who was driving for us as a road trip to explore around…”

“I know, I know. I heard some of that from Hal. That guy seems to be the kind who loves acting suave in front of the ladies. I mean, look at his outfit. How flashy is it?”

“Heh, it definitely is. But I want to ask you something. Is there really a way out of here? This place is completely unfamiliar to all of us, and we want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“Hmm… That’s a tricky question. I’m assuming one way to get out is to sneak your way into the developers’ whereabouts as a golf caddy.”

“I just looked at the newspaper today and found a job opening for a golf caddy.”

“However, it’s not that easy, though. Even if you’ve managed to sneak your way, you still have to work hard to earn their trust.”

“Oh, what is it then?”

“In fact, you must become a professional party guest, throw a grandiose party in the house, and invite the developers over to tell them to get you out of here.”

“Really? But how am I supposed to do that? How can I be a professional party guest?”

“Well, you can try impersonating a golf caddy and do your job. If you work hard enough, they’ll keep promoting you until you’ve become one. That would be your opportunity to throw a party, invite the developers, and convince them to get you and your friends out of here.”

Suddenly, Sandy panicked as she looked around the house with a worried look at her face. “However, you must hurry on your way. This house is said to be bewitched by a curse, so whoever stays in this house for a long period of time risks losing their sanity in time.”

“How do you know?” I replied.

“I’ve heard of some old tale that I mostly forgot, but it really creeps me out whenever someone mentions it. I guess old memories still linger on, but this one is like none other.”

“I’ll take note of it, Sandy, but you forgot one thing. Why did you rudely me when we first met?”

“Whoa! Do you really have to be so abrasive like that?” growled Sandy as she flinched. Her voice can still be heard among the sound of the piano and the complains of my companions.

“What do you mean by ‘abrasive’?” I asked. “You’re the one who’s rude to me in the first place! I mean, what kind of guest goes right into the house all of a sudden without my permission?”

“Yeesh! I was wondering whether there are other people in the house other than you! Nothing paranoia-inducing at all!”

After the conversation, I began covering my ears from that dreadful music. Surely there must be some way to get everyone out of the dirge when I finally thought of a solution. Maybe the lunch meat sandwiches I made earlier might be something for them to eat.

“Guys,” I cried out as loudly as possible, “I think it’s time for lunch now!”

Coral approached me and smiled as she held her arms apart. “I sure am impressed by your will to diffuse what could’ve degenerated into a chaotic situation. I think you should help us get out of such circumstances.”

“But what if the situation’s beyond my control, Coral?” I replied. “I’m not a superhero, you know.”

“Chick’s got a point, buddy,” exclaimed Hal. “I mean. You should lead us.”

I thought for a minute about what Hal said just now. Being a leader sounds like a lot of hard work, but let’s hope the benefits outweigh the risks.

“Fine,” I finally answered. “But just to let you know that I can’t be in the house watching over you guys for all the time, as I have a job in order to get us out someday.”

“Awesome!” exclaimed Coral. “That means you’re officially our leader, then.”

After hearing those words, I cringed for a while. Now what am I supposed to do to keep these people alive?

That conversation with Sandy was quite exhausting, so I needed to get outside for some fresh air. Upon going outside, I noticed a teenage girl on the sidewalk. How can this be possible? Anyway, I went out to greet her in order to know who she is and why she’s in here in the first place.

“Hello,” I said as I shook her hand. “Who are you and how did you come here in the first place?”

“Hi, sir,” replied the girl. “My name’s Meadow Thayer, and I’m here to just have a walk because I can’t wait to se the future golf course. It’s going to be pretty exciting! Anyway, can I come inside? The heat’s killing me.”

“Go ahead.”

Phew! Seeing strangers coming here and then at random is definitely strange. Even more so when you’re greeting them in order to know what’s going on at the first place. Anyway, now that I was done with all that jazz, I guess it was time for me to practice the piano again.

As I played, I also heard my fellow companions urging me to stop because my skills were horrid. I wish they would just start practicing the piano to see if they knew their piano skills weren’t as good as mine.

By the time I finished practicing the piano amid the boos of my companions, it was already nighttime. So I thought maybe a breath of fresh air can calm me down for a while. But then, I saw a strange old woman wearing some weird clothing. Maybe this should be an opportunity for me to know more about getting out of this place. Anyway, I approached the woman and greeted her. “Er, hello there, ma’am.” “Greetings, my child,” she replied. “Have you come to me for assistance regarding your love life? And what brings you to this accursed place?” Love life? Accursed place? So the rumors Sandy told me about this house were true, then. “I might need to contact you later, so do you happen to have a number? Oh, and how do you know about this place?” “My child, my knowledge of this area, particularly regarding this house, is failing me due to old age. Therefore, I cannot grasp onto anything as efficiently as ever before. However, I do still remember very few basic facts about this place. Also, dial 072-516-1925 on the telephone should you ever request any of my services.”

Now that I had gotten some information from a random old lady, I think I should just relax for a while and let my thoughts calm down. That should relieve me from all that stress during the day.

As I was using the toilet, however, my thoughts were pacing around in me. How is this place cursed in the first place? Why did the driver deliberately left us here? What if those two are connected together? Will I ever succeed in getting us out of here?

Anyway, now that I was done delving in my thoughts, I went to the kitchen for a meal. Luckily, there was still one more lunch meat sandwich from this afternoon, meaning that I could satisfy myself without having to make another meal.

I grabbed the remaining sandwich and sat down on the dining table with Benedick, who was also eating a sandwich, albeit a fresher one judging by its appearance.

“So,” said Benedick, “What’s your name, and how’s your day been going so far?”

I pondered about what to say to Benedick before I finally knew what to say to him. After all, I have a lot to say, but I really needed to organize my thoughts in order for me to express them in an orderly way.

“Let me guess, I think it’s been an eventful one,” I finally muttered. “What with us stranded in the middle of nowhere and all. I even talked to some people passing by here that this place is going to be a golf course. Apparently, a few of them warned me that this house is under a curse of some sort. Oh, and just call me Mr. Simself.”

“Well, that’s interesting,” replied Benedick as he took another bite off the sandwich. He seemed to be the kind of guy who always takes a few seconds before he finally says something. Perhaps he was thinking about what to say first.

“You know,” he finally said after a long pause, “That blonde lady Jill told me this morning that there’s something wrong with this house that creeps her out. The blonde guy Buck also told me about that, albeit in a not-so-paranoid way. I guess they were being paranoid about their surroundings and such. But at some point, I went to the room with fiery walls, and I noticed that the décor was a bit… bizarre to my tastes.”

“You know what, maybe they were right about this place after all. As I said earlier, some of the people I encountered during the day said that this house is under a curse of some sort. I think we should investigate this place to prove my point. You and the rest can investigate around this house while I go outside to investigate as I try to get us out of here. How’s that?”

“Ummm… fine. I’ll see what I can do about that.”

“Good. Just don’t hurt yourself, OK?”

After the meal and conversation, I saw Jill walking towards the table with a bowl of mac and cheese on her hand. “Hi there,” she said in a fairly loud voice. “How’s your day been going, sir?”

“I’m doing fine,” I smiled. “It’s just that there’s a lot of stuff going on lately, what with something wrong with this house. I’m getting to the bottom of this.”

“Well, suit yourself. I guess I’m eating my dinner all by myself, then.”

Hmmm… That’s weird. How come she didn’t ask me about it in the first place. Maybe she was hiding her own thoughts for now. Anyway, I should be taking off.

I went outside to take a nice breath of fresh air. Man, the air inside the house is pretty muggy!

However, as I stepped outside, I saw that the old lady just now was still standing over there. How strange! Anyway, time to say goodbye to her. Maybe she was stressed out about her time in here.

“See you later, ma’am.” I cried out as I waved my hand.

“Farewell, my child,” she replied. “If you ever need my services, you can always call me.”

I would love to have a nice shower after a long, stressful day, so off to the bathroom I go.

But as soon as I approached the bathroom door, I suddenly heard a high-pitched voice calling me.

Turned out to be Meadow calling me. I wonder what was up with her staying up this late. Should she have gone home by now? Her parents should be worried to see their daughter up all night like this.

“Hi, sir,” she replied. “Where are you off to?”

“I’m taking a shower right now, so please don’t disturb me.”

“OK, sir. Have fun with that.”

“Thank you.”

As I entered the bathroom, I saw Buck looking all fresh. Maybe he just got done taking a bath, so it should be my turn to take a refreshing shower.

Now that I finished my shower, I headed towards the main bedroom. However, I noticed Hal sleeping on the bed there. How delightful. In fact, I seriously think it wasn’t a good idea to sleep right next to him. Now what should I do now?

I looked out at the window as I wondered if rescue would come soon. I hope it would, though. Being stuck in this confining cottage in the middle of nowhere is definitely no fun at all.

Back in the living room, however, things weren’t getting any better. With the piano being played and the dance sphere being used, how was I supposed to have a good night’s sleep on the sofa? All that noise was getting into my poor nerves!

I must do something to relieve my energy, and I better think quickly.

It was past midnight, and I needed some peace and quiet from all that hustle and bustle in the living room, so I figured out that going into the kitchen for a nice cup of coffee would help. After all, I needed something to boost my energy, and coffee would do the trick in the short run.

Brewing coffee helped me relieve some of the tension I had just now. But I still felt tired from the lack of sleep. I seriously couldn’t wait until I finally got some of my energy restored no matter how minimal its effects were.

Drinking this coffee made me slightly more relieved than before. I guess I should drink some more for the sake of enjoying it.

Man, I felt slightly refreshed from all that coffee that all I could do at the moment was to grin foolishly. That was the best coffee I had ever tasted in all my life! I wish I could get more, though. It was a pity that I had to go to work soon.

As I was washing the mug on the sink, I heard Buck shooing me off. Can he be a bit more patient? Washing a mug like this requires time and effort, and it won’t clean itself.

It was almost time for me to go to work, but before I go, I made several bowls of cereal because I can’t trust these people to take care of themselves when cooking food. There will always be a chance when they end up burning this house down, and I can’t let that happen at all. Call me paranoid if you want to, but this place has no smoke alarm, and I can’t call the fire department whenever I’m at work.

Now that the bowls of cereal were done, all I had to do was to go to work. It will be a very long walk for me to reach the workplace, but here goes nothing. I’m making sure these people (including myself) hold out until the end.

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Those developers were quite a tough bunch. Working for them as a golf caddy while tracking them down was much harder than I thought it ever was. They were so stern that one look at them would mean that I’m in trouble. Anyway, glad that I survived my first day of work and that I got a ride home. In fact, the developers told me that from now on, there will always be a carpool to pick me up an hour before I start work. Definitely something to take advantage of.

Phew! All that work and no sleep at all yesterday was wearing me down. I really need to get some sleep! Let’s just hope that some of the beds were not being used at the moment.

Thank goodness I found this pair of pajamas under one of the beds! I certainly wouldn’t want to ruin my clothes on by going to bed on them. Let’s just hope I’ll get a good sleep this time, even if it was daytime.

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That sleep was a satisfying one, but it was already nighttime when I woke up. The first thing I did was to go into the bathroom for a nice shower, as the bed had already provided the comfort I badly needed once I got back from work. However, the bathtub was really dirty when I got there, so I had to clean it before I can use it. I mean, bathtubs often get dirty if they have been used for too much, and I bet these people rarely took the time to clean this thing up. Time to take matters into my hands, then.

Now that I had finally taken a rejuvenating shower after cleaning the dirty bathtub, I went to the living room to chill out for a moment. A few minutes later, I heard the phone ringing, so I promptly picked it up to see who on their right mind would call this house at night. As I picked up the phone, I heard a normal-toned voice from the other line.

“Hello,” said the voice. “Am I speaking to the guy from yesterday afternoon?”

“Why, yes,” I replied. “Who is this?”

“It’s Sandy. Don’t you remember?”

“Oh, yes. I remember. But just out of pure curiosity, why did you call me at this time? Why not during the day?”

“Well, I called this afternoon, but the wrong person picked up the phone, and she didn’t know you are, so I decided to call at this time.”

“Hehe,” I giggled at the thought of Sandy talking to the wrong person earlier during the day. “That was very unfortunate for you. By the way, would you mind if you come here on Thursday? I have days off on Mondays and Thursdays, and I want to get to know you more, if you know what I mean.”

“Well, I would love to. I’ll have to get dressed for Thursday, then. When do I arrive?”

“At the morning. How does that sound to you?”

“Perfect. Very perfect. I’ll come over on Thursday, then.”

That conversation with Sandy was a blast, but going to the restroom was not. In fact, the toilet was too filthy to be used that I had to clean it before I could use it. Ugh! If only these people could even clean up themselves, that would be so much better.

Phew! Cleaning dirty toilets is too much work and no fun at all. All that work made me want to go to the kitchen to find something to eat.

Midnight had passed, and I was still awake. This is just too ridiculous for me. My routine had been flipped upside down as a result of my job, and I can’t let this continue. If I could ever get a nicer job, then maybe this would fix my routine as well. But now, I felt stuck on my current job that I felt that there was nothing I could do about it.

I was surprised to find out that there were some cans of fresh Milkis on the counter. Perhaps someone took them out from the fridge and put them on the counter. Anyway, I grabbed a can, took a sip of it, and… Ah, how delicious and refreshing! I was so thirsty that I could just drink whole cans of these good stuff.

Anyway, back to piano practice. I bet that by this time, my piano skills have improved. Even if nobody was listening to me, I felt that it was worth the effort to continuously practice this thing until I’m good at it to some extent.

Practicing the piano meant more time to spend in between meals, work, shower, and sleep. In fact, my mind was largely refreshed once I went off to work. This time, there was a carpool to take me to the golf course, where I could track the developers closely. We’ll see how it goes.

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It was finally morning when I came back from work, but I no longer worked as a golf caddy. In fact, I refilled the developers' fuel during one of their trips near the area to oversee it. Impressed at my performance, they told me to set up a gas station at their favorite stopping point and refill their fuel every time they arrive there. As a result, my work schedule had changed from 10 pm to 3 am everyday except for Mondays and Thursdays. Great. Just great. No general change to my schedule except for the work hours, and I’ll come home very early in the morning. At least this was a sure sign that I might as well succeed on convincing the developers to address our issue here.

A few minutes later, some guy in a brown hoodie walked by. I wondered who he was, so that means I’ll just have to greet him to get into the bottom of this.

“Hi,” I said as I shook his hand. “Who are you and why are you here?”

“My name’s Joe Carr,” answered the man. “And I’m here just to look around this place. Honestly, there’s nothing much here at all except for that house over there.”

“Yeah, this place is pretty much empty except for this house, where my companions and I are staying because we’ve been stranded here. Since two days ago.”

“Well, that sucks. I guess I’ll have to go inside to see for myself.”

“Suit yourself, then. I also want to go inside too.”

Man, I felt very stressed out due to work and the general feeling of isolation in this place, so I went off to bed after a quick bath and meal. Hopefully I’ll have more energy to work on my night shift. Only time will tell if we ever get out of this place alive.

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Living in this place was quite a pain. Even more so when I had to go to work at night and go home very early in the morning. Not to mention that I look a lot like a janitor in this uniform. How despicable! Even worse, that piano will always get played no matter the person using it. Well, at least tomorrow is a day off for me. I just can’t wait for Sandy to come here.

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I was finally back from work. But I was told that learning the basics of mechanics can improve my work performance. I accepted the challenge. After all, being a gas station attendant requires some basic knowledge of the way engines work. Kind of like a mini-engineer. Now all I had to do was to grab a book on mechanics and read it thoroughly so that I could understand the way things work.

I grabbed a book on mechanics from the shelf and started reading it like there was no tomorrow. Honestly, concentrating on this felt so good because of the opportunity to know more stuff. Yet at the same time, it was for everyone’s good as well because I must work harder to get everyone out of this stinking place alive.

I really needed a break from all that studying, so I headed to the restroom. Unfortunately, the toilet was clogged, and there were puddles everywhere. Maybe this should be the time that I apply what I learned to unclog the toilet.

However, unclogging the toilet wasn’t enough, so I had to mop the floor. Took me half an hour, but it was worth the effort. After all, who wants to slip and fall on such wet floor?

Now that the restroom business had been taken care of, this should be the time for me to try out the dance sphere. After all, I would love to get in top shape for work. I wonder how others felt when using this contraption.

Wow! This was more thrilling than I could ever imagine! I felt myself revolving around in this thing. How exciting! Here’s hoping I wouldn’t get injured seriously.

After a few minutes, however, the sphere began shaking violently that I was thrown off that thing in no time. Ouch, my head! I was feeling dizzy from all that stuff! Maybe it was time for me to take a break from it and do something more practical. I mean, I couldn’t let Sandy see me in these clothes. These were just too embarrassing!

A shower and a quick change of clothes did me well, and the sun had already risen by the time I was done. Moreover, Sandy should be here in no time. But first, I think using the dance sphere again should be a good idea. After all, there should be nothing wrong with getting into shape before meeting someone. Sounds tempting, but it’s something I like to do, being a daredevil and all.

OK, OK. Enough of this! I literally threw up as a result of the sphere moving so fast that I got super dizzy. I think I shouldn’t use this thing too much, then. Oh, well. Off to the front yard to see if Sandy was there or not.

I was excited to see Sandy right in front of the front yard already. How awesome is that? All I had to do was to greet her and have a little chat with her.

“Hi there, Sandy,” I embraced my arms to greet her. “Glad you’ve made it here.”

“Yeah,” she waved my right hand towards me. “It’s really nice to see you again.”

“It really is.”

Right after Sandy finished her sentence, I suddenly had an idea on what to do to spend our time here. I mean, Sandy had been helpful to give me some insight to get us out of here, and I hoped this trick would help me.

Just then, a voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts. Turns out it was Sandy all along.

“Now that we’re here,” she said, “What exactly do we do now?”

“You know,” I whispered to her ear, in hopes that it should be a successful attempt, “I think it’s a pleasure to see you come right here. It’s really flattering to me. Perhaps we should go on a date right now.”

“Oh, you sly fox,” she whispered back. “I’ve always wanted to do this all along. That’s one of the reasons why I came here in the first place.”

“Heh, let’s get started, shall we?”

“Sure.”

I have to admit that I was initially surprised to hear that she also wanted a date as well. Perhaps she was enthusiastic when she first came here that she entered the house without my warning. But at least this slow dance was so pleasing that it helped me set my worries aside for the time being.

After we stopped dancing, Sandy pulled a small grin on her face.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Er, it’s just that I need to get going,” she muttered. ‘You see, I’m a bit paranoid about the house, what with the rumors surrounding it and all that madness. I mean, I can still feel that eerie vibe into me.”

“Don’t worry, Sandy. As long as you’re on my side, I’ll always protect you from harm. And I’m not letting anything dangerous to get the better of us.”

“But what if you got hurt? I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” However, by the time I finished my sentence, Sandy had already left without warning. How sad.

That date with Sandy brightened my day despite her worries toward the end. Man, she was a joy to hang out with. I wish I could just keep her company had she gotten the courage to stay longer. Anyway, back to business. Time to ask Benedick what he had encountered so far.

“Hey, Benedick!” I cried. “Have you made any progress investigating this place? Or you can just tell me what you found interesting about other people here, you know.”

“Darleen, the woman in lilac, told me that she read this diary belonging to the previous owners of this house, but she gave no further details,” he replied. “Nothing else I encountered was of much importance, I guess.”

After hearing what he said, I was impressed by how willing he is to ask other people to help us regarding this place. “You know, that was an awesome discovery you’ve mentioned. In fact, we should ask other people to help us around. That would help all of us find out more about this place and possibly tell other people about it.”

“That sounds like a good idea, but I don’t want other people to get hurt in the process. I mean, this sounds like a risky thing to do, and involving more people will affect them as well.”

On second thought, he might as well be right, but since this task is so urgent, I had some doubts to his opinion. “You may sound right to some extent, but all of us in here are already involved in this thing. Also, this task is so urgent that we can’t just leave other people out of this.”

“Well, suit yourself. I might not agree with you completely on this issue, but I’ll see what I can do about it. See you later, then.”

Okay, back to reading that book again. I had to get the hang of mechanics in order to improve my job performance. Learning these stuff may seem daunting, but I must do my best to overcome my anxieties.

Honestly, why is it that every time I finish reading the mechanics book, the bathtub or sink happens to be broken? This time, both of them broke down, and there were puddles everywhere. Was this pure coincidence or what? I hope it was because thinking about this place will always creep me out.

Even worse, the air inside the house was very stale, so I went outside to take a deep breath of fresh air. As I walked back inside, I noticed a vase of red roses with a note on the doorstep. I figured out that it might came from Sandy because she had been very grateful of the date we went. How exciting. I just had to bring this inside as a memento of our date.

I put the vase of red roses on one of the kitchen counters. I also found myself smelling the pleasant smell of food. It seemed like these people were good at taking care of themselves after all, so no need for me to worry too much about their safety, I guess.

Mmmmm… This bowl of mac and cheese was definitely satisfying to my stomach. Eating it was quite pleasing regardless of how simple this kind of meal is, or whether or not you’re standing while eating.

Before I went to bed, I realized that the bathtub wasn’t fixed properly. That was weird. Perhaps I didn’t fix it properly just now. Oh, well. Time to fix it properly before it floods the entire room.

There’s nothing more satisfying than a good night’s sleep after repairing the bathtub. It would be extremely unfortunate if I wake up from my sleep and try to shower only to find out that the tap’s not working. Let’s make the next day better than today, shall we?

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It was very early in the morning when I woke up. I guess all that work and sleep mobilized me to wake me up this early in the long run. But I still felt uncertain of my time here, and only time will tell if my schedule would be turned upside down again.

As soon as I finished taking a shower, I immediately went to the restroom. But once there, I heard a familiar sound calling me as I went inside.

“Hello,” it said. Someone must be following me.

I turned around to see Benedick in his underwear. Ha! I knew it was him all along. The only question was, what did he want from me this time? “Well, what’s going on?” I asked.

“You know,” he replied, “I think I’m feeling down about all this investigation and such. I know it’s necessary, but I’m feeling down right now. Call me lazy if you want to, but I guess one needs a break every once a while.”

“How so?” Ever since when did he start feeling down about the investigation?

“Well, I’m just feeling exhausted by all this searching stuff. Besides, I don’t think I did much anyways.”

I chuckled a bit upon hearing Benedick’s words. I mean, he did quite a great deal of help by asking people around, like Darleen for instance. “But still, I was impressed about what you told me about the diary Darleen read. I guess this investigation thing is no longer confined to both of us. In fact, it has spread to other people as well. You just need to acknowledge it.”

“Oh, alright. But if this investigation thing dies down, I’ll take my words back.”

“Try as you might. I doubt you’ll be successful.”

“I suppose you could say that,” he clasped his hands and grinned. “Anyway, do you find anyone in particular that you think is annoying?”

“I don’t think anyone in here’s being annoying so far. Part of it is because I have a job to get us out of here as soon as possible, so I pretty much missed all the drama that has been going on in here,” On second thought, what was his reason to ask me such a question? “Why are you asking me this?”

“That’s because…” But before he could speak further, I could hear something in this room.

We turned around to see Buck crying. Wow! That didn’t look good at all. I better end this conversation with Benedick because I had seen enough. Frankly, Buck looked like he needed to spend some time alone.

I should focus on cleaning the dirty counter after what happened in the restroom. This counter had been constantly used that it ended up getting this dirty. Best clean up the mess.

Once I was done cleaning the counter, I spotted Buck walking into the kitchen with his eyes closed and a smile on his face. Was it just me, or was he really glad about something I couldn’t figure out? I better not bother myself with those kind of questions.

I should just get rid of my worries for the time being by eating a toaster pastry. After all, I also felt hungry, and the ones on the floor would be of great help for now.

A few seconds later, I was joined by Buck with a toaster pastry on his plate. I wonder what he was up to this time.

“Hey,” he spoke up, “I’m sorry for the incident in the restroom, but I just felt so stressed out just now that I didn’t know what to do.”

“No need to apologize,” I replied. Buck talked like his self-esteem was low. “It’s just that you need to ask next time or wait whenever other people are busy.”

“But how am I supposed to tell? And what if the person I’m asking ends up yelling at me instead?”

“Look, can you just ask next time you have a problem? It’s pretty simple, and there’s no reason why you should be afraid.”

“I see. Well, I hope you don’t mind if I wash this plate.”

“Suit yourself. I have other matters to attend to.” What a weirdo.

All of a sudden, I thought for a moment about the old lady’s services. What was she talking about? Would it be nice if I dial the number she gave me and call her? Oh, well. Here goes nothing! 072-516-1925 on the phone, and I’ll get to the bottom of this.

“Hello?” I asked once I finished dialing the number.

“Greetings, my child,” the other line said despite the loud shout of people talking loudly in this room. “Have you come to request any of my services? If so, I shall arrive over at your place in a timely manner.”

Wow! How did she knew it was me over here? Maybe her memory was actually stronger than I thought it was. I think I’ll request a bit of her services to see what they look like. “Just come over. I think I would love to take a look at your services.”

A spin on the dance sphere as I waited for the old lady to arrive here sounded really fun. In fact, the whole experience was really thrilling. I felt my entire body moving with the sphere as well.

Unfortunately, there must always come a time when the sphere shakes so violently that I ended up losing my grip. I even felt my feet being thrown out as well. I think I must be careful next time.

That ride on the sphere sure was rough, but I managed to get up on my two feet soon afterwards. I opened the front door and saw that the old lady had arrived. I better greet her.

“Welcome back!” I shook her hand. “What kind of services do you provide anyway?”

“The services I provide are not to be treated idly. Do not dare use them foolishly.”

“Can you explain them more clearly? I have a hard time understanding what you’re saying.”

“Did you not heed what I said the first time we met? I was asking about your love life, and now here you are asking me what kind of services I perform. Do you not have any common sense, child?”

So this old lady’s a matchmaker? I should’ve known that earlier! I could try getting someone from nowhere to tell me about the outside world… and to date as well. “Ok, I got it. I just want to know again. Thanks for reminding me. Oh, and by the way, I would love to have someone to date. After all, you said that you provide services regarding people’s love lives.”

“Precisely, my child. Now all you need to do is give me some money. After all, this is never a free service, and the sum you pay will affect your love life for better or worse.”

“Here’s some money for you,” I took out $345 from my pocket and eagerly waited for the matchmaker to give me a great match made in heaven. This should be exciting! “Please give me a hot girl, pretty please?!”

“So be it, you miser,” she replied harshly as she took out her flashing crystal ball and murmured some incomprehensible chant.

“How long will it take to get her to show up?” However, she didn’t reply.

Once she finished chanting, she put her crystal ball back into her dress and shook my hand. “Enjoy your hedonistic appetite, ungrateful child.”

“Why do you have to act so grumpy to me?” However, she turned around and walked away before I could finish my sentence.

As I turned around, I spotted a young woman near the front door. She looked rather nice. Could she be the result of the matchmaker’s spell?

“Hello there,” I shook her hand. “What’s your name?”

“Brandi LeTourneau, sir,” she answered. “Where on earth am I? One moment I was shopping at the mall, and the next I’m stranded in the middle of nowhere.”

“This is definitely the middle of nowhere. In fact, this house right here isn’t even mine. My companions and I were abandoned by our driver during a road trip on a bus, and for some reason he left us when we were taking a break. This house is just a place we discovered when we wandered around, and we currently use it as a temporary shelter until our eventual rescue. Unfortunately, this house has problems of its own.”

“Well, what makes you think of that?”

“I heard rumors from a couple of people who passed by here. They said that this house is rumored to be bewitched or whatever, and my companions and I have been investigating around the house while waiting for rescue to come. Mind if we go inside?”

“On one hand, I’m scared of what you told me about this house. But on the other hand, I need some shelter from the sun. You better protect me from danger, though.”

“Fine.”

The first thing I did when we first went inside was to spin around the dance sphere. After all, it was fun to use. “Check this out!” I shouted.

“Er… I don’t think that thing looks safe,” she sounded nervous. “Not that I don’t want to have fun, but I want to stay safe, that’s all. Any safer stuff to do around here?”

I thought for a while and came up with an idea. Maybe a moment together away from the hustle and bustle of this house might do. “Just hang on and follow me once I’m done riding this thing.”

We walked near the chess set, where it was quiet for the most part. This was the perfect moment to get to know each other.

“So,” I said, “Mind if I ask something about you real quick? You see, we got some random passersby stopping over here, and we often try to get to know them as much as possible, so maybe we can get along with each other during this circumstance.”

“Sir, I really think you’re nuts,” she flinched. “I mean, we have barely met, and you’re asking me to have an awkward chat with you? I’d rather keep things to myself.”

Crap! That was a moronic move in my part. I must find a solution to get to know her more better.

After seconds of thinking of a viable solution, I finally came up with an idea. Maybe someone introverted like her is more likely to spend some time thinking, and playing chess requires a lot of thinking. Let’s see if this works or not.

“Maybe we should play chess together,” I said.

“That’s a good idea!” she exclaimed excitedly as she clapped her hands. It worked! “Let’s start, shall we?”

“Sure.”

As we played, I tried to talk to Brandi about herself, but she always told me to be quiet or else she couldn’t concentrate on the game. Sheesh. It was just a game, so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. Maybe she was too shy or too focused on other things to actually build relationships. Whatever that was, at least the game itself was fun.

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Man, that was quite an intense game. I didn’t care who won, but boy was I glad that I finally got to eat lunch. My stomach was already grumbling already.

I was later joined by Benedick a few minutes later. By the looks of his face, he looked moody and depressed. I wondered what was he up to this time.

“Hey,” he finally spoke up, “I’m sorry I didn’t get to finish what I said this morning. I was trying to tell you that some people around here act like total weirdos. That might as well explain the reason why I was feeling down about this investigation, but I felt myself changing my mind this afternoon.”

“Don’t sweat it, man,” To be honest, why did he have to look nervous like that? “Everything will be just fine as long as you persevere, so don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried. I’m just frustrated.”

“Frustrated about what?”

“Well, let’s just say that it’s getting harder and harder to stay calm and confident in this house. Part of it is because rescue hasn’t come yet for quite some time, and I’m getting more and more stressed at the very second.”

“You guys should hang on. I’ll get to the bottom of this. I’m currently working for some construction firm that plans to build a golf course in this area, but they’re very tough to convince, so I have to work my way up in order to convince them to rescue us.”

“Well, I guess I’ll try.”

“Good. I’ll see to it that you’ll succeed. Don’t fail me.”

Much later, after I had taken a much-needed bath, I went to the kitchen to provide readily available food for these people. I know these people can prepare their own food, but cooking with stoves was a real hazard. Minimizing its threat is very crucial to me, at least.

As I walked towards one of the refrigerators, I smelled a very pleasing aroma. Must be someone cooking a hearty meal. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to eat it, what with work and all.

Anyway, I grabbed a large plate of gelatin from the fridge and set it down on one of the counters. Even if some people in here were like budding chefs, I still felt like something instant like this gelatin would be less hazardous to get.

Okay, back to work again. This time, the developers better promote me again so that I won’t have to work at a gas station in the middle of the night. Look at how messed up my sleeping schedule is! I really hope I would be lucky enough to sleep at the proper time. Being up all night is just… ugh!

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Author’s Note: This marks the end of part 1 of this chapter. I was originally going to make this challenge observational, but the large amounts of pictures I took, décor of the house, and landscape of the neighborhood this challenge is set in compelled me to turn it into a plot-driven one. This definitely sounds unusual and challenging, but I’m glad I’m doing it.

In this asylum, I’m writing my simself as a character of the story rather than as a representative of myself, so what he says, thinks, and acts do not necessarily reflect who I really am.

My simself’s Lifetime Want is to become a Professional Party Guest, which I use for the plot. It’s rather unusual for me because of the storyline and landscape of the neighborhood, but I’ll do my best to fit it in there anyway, so bear with me on this.

I have to admit that the more I write, the more I feel like I should have used a CAS sim of my own instead of my own simself. Yet I feel like it’s too late for that, and I already have a lot of plans already, so I’ve ruled out the possibility of redoing this all over again.

One reason why it has taken a bit long for me to update is because I’m writing some other parts of the asylum at the same time. I really need to get the idea of what I want to write for this update, but I need other parts to help me with that.

Well, that’s all from me for now, so…

See you later, and Happy Simming!