I don’t miss Twinbrook even a little bit.  I love Bridgeport: bright lights, lots of venues, awesome house with an even more awesome view.  I know that Twinbrook was a nice place and our house had tons of family history, but nothing really beats the shining intensity that Bridgeport has to offer.

Even though we have a pretty fancy house, I still have to share a room with Danny.  I don’t mind, though.  It’s big enough for both of us and we each got to decorate our half how we wanted.  I put up tons of concert posters and posters of album covers.  Danny put up a picture of his favorite soccer player and a the car he wants to drive someday.

I think I would have rather had a private tutor than start school in Bridgeport, but Mom insisted like I knew she would.  The school was a lot larger than the one we were used to.  I think only Sherona was really excited to be there.

After school uncle Paul told us we should hang out and jam in the streets.  He said it would create more buzz about us being in town.  I don’t know that it worked, though.

“This is so lame.  All these kids could care less who we are.  Most of them are actors’ kids or other famous people’s kids.  Some are even famous themselves.”

“So?” Virginia glared at Sherona who always had some complaint.

“So…they don’t care if we play.  They may have heard of us a little, but we’re nothing special here.”

“Who cares?” I asked.  “Just enjoy playing.  How often do we just get to jam for fun like this?”

“This is for fun?” Rhonda turned to me.  “I thought Uncle Paul wanted this to be like promotion?”

“Promotion can be fun,” I said.

“I agree with Sherona,” Danny said. “This is lame.  Everyone is just getting on the bus and going home.  No one is stopping to listen.  We should just go home, too.”

“Right!” Sherona agreed.

“Fine!” I’d had enough of their bickering.  Besides, I privately agreed with Danny.  No one was staying to listen to us, so it was sort of pointless.  We wrapped up the song we were doing and packed up our instruments to go home.

“What we need is a successful gig,” Virginia said.  “Uncle Paul needs to set us up somewhere where everyone is under the age of 45.  Playing for oldsters is worse than playing here for no one.”

Our next gig was at the Bonsai Lounge.  It was a classier place than anywhere else we’d played.  Unfortunately, the bouncer didn’t think we belonged there.  I had to convince her that we really were there as the band and not actually patrons.

“Look, I know we’re just kids, but I promise, we’re the band.  F-5…have you heard of us?”

I’m not sure why Uncle Paul wasn’t there.  He said he was going to be, but then I found out later that he’d had to work later at the theatre.

The crowd at the Bonsai wasn’t much better than our last crowd…mostly older people.  But at least there was a small crowd.  And, after we’d finished playing, the bar tender made sure we had something to eat.  That was really decent of her.  She even complimented us, saying we’d played really well.

After a few months of us being in Bridgeport with our uncle, Mom and Dad came to visit to see how we were doing.  Paul gave them a tour of the house.  He made sure Mom believed we had the best living situation.

“You see Kara, I converted the garage into a practice room.  The kids practice right here and don’t have to play in the house.”

Later Dad pulled each of  us aside to make sure were were happy in Bridgeport.  He asked Danny if he regretted giving up the Twinbrook High soccer team for music.  Danny told me that he reassured Dad that he had been able to try out for the team in Bridgeport.

“I made the JV dad.  Which is pretty good here.  There are a lot more kids.  Also, the schedule lets me get to more gigs.”

Dad and I talked about Danny and the girls.  He knew that I was loving being in the big city.

“Danny’s doing great dad.  I know he wanted to be varsity, but at least he didn’t get cut.  Sherona and the girls have made friends here.  Heck, I think Virginia could make friends anywhere.”

“What about  you, Mickey?  Do you have any friends?  You haven’t let yourself focus solely on your music have you?  Your mom would be disappointed if you weren’t at least trying to enjoy high school life.”

“Well, there is this one girl…” I smiled and Dad gave me a light punch to the shoulder and said, “That’s my boy!”

The girl’s name is Lakesha Perry.  She reminds me of Knives in the movie Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.  Actually, she’s sort of a cross between Knives and Ramona.  I do like her, but I let Dad believe that there was more to it than there really is.  Mostly I just like talking to her.  I do spend too much time on my music for a girl friend.

My sisters don’t have boyfriends either, not that boys don’t try to date them.  Rhonda brought home Jorge Chique, a vampire.  Vampires walking around everywhere in Bridgeport was something that I really had to get used to.  There are several at our school like Jorge.  I found out that there is a slight difference between a born vampire and a created one.  Actually, Rhonda found it out talking to Jorge.

I was talking to Lakesha outside and Rhonda was talking to Jorge.  He was sort of hiding in our bushes.

“The sun is bothersome,” he explained to my sister.  When she realized his discomfort, they moved inside.

“So, if it is overcast, you can be outside?”

“Yes.  As a born vampire of a vampire parent and a human parent, I have a higher tolerance for the sun than other vampires.  I can be out, but it is more comfortable inside.”

“That’s fascinating.  But I noticed you don’t sparkle.”

“No.  I’m not a fairy.  I would eventually burn in the sun.  It would just take longer.”

“Can you leap among the trees?”

“No, but I can run really fast.”

“Cool.  Do you drink blood.”

“I can drink plasma or eat plasma fruit.  I only take from those who are willing to give, though.”

I suppose Jorge was a good guy.  He was a bit intense, but I suppose being in high school for so long would make anyone uptight.  Vampire kids age much slower than normal people.  Rhonda found that out, too.

Another kid frequently came over to our house.  His name was Kristopher King. He mom was an actor.  He was on the varsity soccer team.  I thought he came over at first to hang out with Sherona since they were in the same grade, but I later found out that he came to hang with Danny…give him some pointers about soccer so that Danny’d make varsity next year.

Kris and Danny got along really well.  Danny had a few issues with our fame and performing that Kris seemed to help with.  Kristopher also liked music and had performed in public several times.  “Don’t let the audience bug you, Dan,” Kristopher told him.  “Just imagine they aren’t there.  And don’t worry about the paparazzi or people wanting your autograph and stuff.  Just be yourself and everything will be fine.”

I’d been telling Danny the same things for years, but he listened when Kris told him.  I was a bit annoyed by that, but at least Danny was doing better before we went on stage.  I no longer feared he’d hurl in the nearest potted plant.

By the time the girls graduated from high school, we finally had built a decent following in Bridgeport.  We ended up throwing a concert party for them at the Grind, a local night club.  It was a private party, but we had a huge guest list.

Mom and Dad came, of course.  I was surprised to see that Dad had allowed his hair to go gray.  He’d been hiding it a long time.

“I figured it was time to act my age,” Dad told Sherona and Virginia.  “I can’t be young forever when my baby girls are going to be young adults.”

“I like it Dad,” Sherona said.  “Thanks for coming to our birthday party.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world, Princess.”

I’ll tell you, the party was EPIC!  I danced with everyone including Lakesha who surprised me with her moves.  Danny hung out with Kris most of the time.  He isn’t much of a dancer, really.  I guess Kris isn’t either.

Drinks were bring offered at the bar and even Danny and I and the other teens were allowed to have some.  It wasn’t the first time we’d had drinks given to us at a bar, so we didn’t make fools of ourselves.  Besides, our parents were there.

Finally it was cake time.  Sherona was first and then Virginia and Rhonda.  The entire crowd gathered around to watch and cheer them on.

At the end of the night, we set up to play for the crowd.  It was one of the best concerts we’d ever had.  Certainly we had more people in the audience than we’d ever had before.

After my sisters became adults, nothing was really the same.  While Danny and I were off at school, they were able to practice alone or go out and play on there own.  I feared that the band would be in trouble now that they were older.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to matter.  We were still F-5, and the girls being adults didn’t seem to impact it as much as I thought it would.  The hardest thing about becoming more successful was actually still being a teenager.

Danny and I were the only ones who had to go home early to sleep so we could get up for school the next day.  The girls could stay up as late as they wanted and sleep in the next day.

A late night gig would see Danny and I up until 2am.  We’d also have a few drinks (no one seemed to be bothered by our age).  The next day the school bus would come promptly at 8am.

“Dude, I’m so wasted,” Danny said to me one morning after playing all night at the sports bar.

“Me too.”

“I’ve got a math test and I haven’t done my homework in days.”

“I hate math.”

“I don’t, but I’m falling behind now.  The prof’s going to kill me and Mom’s going to be so pissed when she hears about it.”

“Don’t tell her. It’s not like she’s here to get in your face about it.”

“She’ll find out.  She always does.  Paul doesn’t seem to care but he always tells her.”

Another morning, after we’d gotten only a few hours of sleep, Danny and I were making our way to the bus and he told me he’d had enough of the week night concerts and gigs.

“I can’t keep this up, Dude.  Coach says I’m benched until my grades come up.”

“Dude, I’m sorry.  I didn’t know it was getting that bad.”

“I used to be on the honor roll.  Kristopher says the varsity soccer team has the highest GPA as a team in the school.  If I make varsity, I’ll bring the whole average down.”

“Does it really matter?  Who cares if a bunch of jocks can also do good in school?”

“Do well…it’s ‘well’.”  I shrugged and Danny continued, “I’m going to have to quit the band if I can’t keep my grades up.  Soccer’s important to me.  I want to be on varsity next year.  I want it badly.”

I stopped an turned to my brother.  The bus honked its horn impatiently.  “You can’t quit.  We’re the Fields Five.  That includes you.  You’re important to the band…the whole family!”

“But the team…”

“Fuck the team, Dan.  This is family!”

“It is not!  It’s just a band!  Do you want to do this forever?!  What about the rest of our lives?”

Danny got on the bus leaving me there just gaping at his back.  Of course I wanted to do it forever!  I thought that’s what he wanted, too.  It was what we all wanted, right?’

That afternoon Danny went over to Kristopher King’s house.  I brought Lakesha home with me.  When we got there, I found Rhonda making sandwiches in the kitchen.

“Awesome, I’m starving,” I said and threw down my backpack.

“Do your homework first and then I’ll bring you a sandwich.”

I grabbed out my books and started on my math work.  Lakesha, who was better at school than me, helped me with the problems.

Rhonda brought in a plate of sandwiches for us a little later.  “There you go.  I’m so glad we don’t have a show tonight.  I want to try this new recipe for organic goopy carbonara tonight!”

“Sounds great, sis!”  I enthused.  Rhonda was a fabulous cook.  “Can I stay for dinner?” Lakesha asked.

The next morning, I came downstairs to find Sherona messing around with the TV.  “What are you doing?”

She looked up at me while still turning her screwdriver.  “I’m tweaking this a little.  I think I can get us a better picture.  I was working last night at my workbench and had an epiphany.  I just had to try it.  I know we have a gig tonight, but I’ll get a nap in later.”

Since I had no idea what she was attempting, I just left her to it and went in search of my breakfast.

Danny was already in the kitchen.  “Rhonda made waffles,” he mumbled, grabbing a plate.  When we were sitting down at the table I got to thinking about what Danny had said the day before.  Did my sisters really want to be in the band forever?  Rhonda was a great cook.  Did she have secret dreams of becoming a chef?  Sherona liked to invent things and tinker with all of our appliances…did she want to go to the university and become a scientist or something?  And what about Virginia?

Actually, I thought Virginia was more like me.  She was the one who took charge of the band most often.  Our manager was supposed to be Paul, but he was getting older and doing less and less for us.

“It’s Friday,” I said over a bite of waffles.  Danny just nodded.  When he’d swallowed he asked, “Where are we playing tonight?”

“No gig,” I answered, and dug in for another syrupy bite.  “It’s Gwen’s birthday party.  She and the folks are coming in from Twinbrook.  Big house party here.”

“Ah,” Danny concentrated on his food.

Gwen was Paul’s daughter with Meili Kendrick.  She and Meili had stayed behind in Twinbrook with our parents.  She’d only visited us a few times since we’d come here.  The party was a big deal to her.

Of course, it was a surprise to see how much she’d grown.  I was shocked at how much she looked like our mom.  She took after her more than any of us did.  I suppose that shouldn’t have shocked me considering Mom and Paul are twins.

Mom’s appearance shocked me, too.  She and Paul were talking and I  noticed how old she was looking.  Like dad, she’d let her hair go gray.  I still thought she was beautiful, but still, it was surprising to see that she didn’t look the same as I remembered.

Meanwhile, I noticed Danny talking to Kristopher King.  Kris had graduated with Rhonda and the girls.  He was now working at the stadium.  He and Danny were talking about soccer, as usual.

Seeing my mom so different and listening to Danny and Kris go on and on about their favorite sport, I started to get a little depressed.  I didn’t want to contemplate the future…I wanted things to just be the same.  I liked how my life was right now.

I wished my cousin a happy birthday and then I spent a little time chatting with Mom and Dad before I went up to my room.  I needed to paint so that I wouldn’t have to think.

In a few days we were going to be performing in the biggest concert venue in Bridgeport.  I had a sinking suspicion that after this concert, nothing would be the same.

**Author’s Note** Sorry for the delay in this post.  A few things have been keeping me from posting.  First, I have been plagued with errors again.  I get 12s, 13s, and 16s, periodically.  This means that I am saving a lot and also that I have to replay events often.  It’s frustrating.  Second, I’ve had to stage a lot of the events the kids go to.  It’s surprisingly hard to get people to all gather up at a location to make it look like there is a crowd.  Finally, I wanted to get a good concert venue for F-5 to play in. I finally found the one in the last picture on the Exchange.  It’s the Mega Outdoor Concert Stage by Hippies67.  I had to do a little remodeling to the stage to add in the instruments.  I also updated the bars so that a mixologist would come.  And I used a few of the Recording Studio and Guitar Lovers items from AroundtheSims3 to decorate everything a little more realistically.  I don’t think Late Night had come out when this stage was built.  I also wanted to provide the link for the house I have the Fields living in.  It’s the Codarte House by Twiggers849.  I used it before with Ronald Fields.  I hope as I age Mickey and Danny up, updates will go faster.