We watch the stars

Round 17: November 2027

Alexander and Bobbie Greene are 76, Patsy and Camryn are 36, Mia is 13 and  Hanna and Jared are 6

(Liam is 15 and Kyra is 13)

Narrated by Mia.

My parents are really supportive about my art but at the same time they're on my back about being more active and spending time outdoors. Painting just makes me so happy that I don't really want to do anything else on my free time. But it's not like I bury myself in my room all the time. I do spend time with my family, we're just interested in different things.

I'll never understand why Mom and Jared want to sit outside in our backyard and look at the stars but that's what they do if it's not too cold. Jared is convinced that eventually he will see a UFO if he keeps staring at the sky. Mom says the stars are beautiful which I agree on - but I can admire them from my bedroom window without freezing my ass off outside.

He's a great kid though, always joking around and making me laugh. I love my little brother and sister so much even though they get on my nerves sometimes especially when they go to my room and mess up my paints or something.

I'm not allowed to go out on weekdays but on Saturdays I often go to Generation X to hang out with some friends. I was waiting for my friend Kyra outside the ladies' room and started talking to Liam Cooper. He's 15 and I think he's so cute. He probably thinks I'm just a stupid kid but it was nice talking to him. Even though I'm sure I blushed bright red at first and could barely get a word out of my mouth.

None of his friends were around so he ended up joining me and Kyra for lunch. I think he and Kyra are like second cousins or something like that. I asked Kyra if Liam has a girlfriend and she said no. Not that it matters, it's not like he would want to date me.

Mama and Mom would never let me date a boy who's 2 years older - or anyone for that matter. We had the talk about boys last year when I started high school but they made it pretty clear I'm not allowed to date until I'm at least 15. I don't think it's going to be an issue anyway, I'm just happy they let me go out on my own and hang out with my friends.

Hanna's a bit more quiet than Jared but she's no wallflower for sure. She's really into nature stuff so I gave her the starfish and the pretty rocks I found on our island vacation a couple of years ago. She always makes me tell a story about how I found them - even though she was right there.

As much as I love little siblings they can be a bit much sometimes especially when they start playing and running around the house. Luckily we have this climbing tower in our backyard so sometimes I just climb there to get a little peace and quiet if the weather is fine. Sometimes it's really nice to be alone with my thoughts.


Notes:

• Title from "We watch the stars" by Fink.
• This update is Mia's first as a teenager so I wanted her to be the centre of attention. Also this family honestly doesn't offer much to write about because everything is smooth sailing for them.
• Bobbie got €50,000 on a chance card - as if they weren't doing well financially anyway. Camryn wasn't so lucky with chance cards. She finally got promoted to Animal Linguist only to be demoted back to Botanist on her first day after a bad chance card. Poor thing, I feel like she's been stuck in that position for a long time.
• Mia is interested in Liam but at this point the age difference is a bit much. We'll just have to wait and see what will happen in the future.
• I'm having so much fun playing now that I've "given myself permission" to write shorter updates. Hopefully I can keep this up.