Chapter 6: A New Season Begins

On the day Willow is aging up to a teenager, Willow Creek sees it's first ever rain. Willow and Sandy are amazed, and run out to play in it.

 



Willow immediately declares a love for rain and warm weather. Sandy agrees about warm weather but prefers the sun. The warmer the better!

Once inside they go through the calendar and mark every holiday and birthday - well their birthdays. Do parents have birthdays? Willow laugh, "Of course they do."
"Not so sure," Sandy says. "They are just adults forever. Can Willow ever remember one?" Willow can't.
"Adults are weird," Sandy declares.

While the sisters are playing, Neo is hiding out in his room again. His walls are starting to be covered in his collection of artwork, but at the same time he's getting more lonely.
"Don't you want to bring a friend home from school some day?" his mom asks.
"No." Neo answers, he doesn't say it's because he doesn't have any friends. He knows the answer would just worry her. He worries Sandy might say something, but she doesn't either. She can keep her brother's secret.




On another day, Candice might prod more, but she is busy preparing Willow's birthday party. The one for Neo went... okay, she's hoping to do better with her eldest daughter's. It's the same people involved, the food is Willow's favourite and the cake the same, again because Willow asked for it.

The girls' room has been redecorate to fit a teenager and a near teenager, bright colors, a boom box, and less children's decor. Liberty thinks it looks awesome!



Dancing make any party better, but then there is food and time to blow out the cake and just like that, Willow is now a teenager.





Meet the teenage Willow, who loves the outdoors and aspire to become a freelance botanist. 



After cake it's time to open presents. Willow is not sure who gave her the wolf eel but she's doesn't like it. The other presents are better.




School next day is so much harder than before. High school is something else entirely! Her grades immediately slips down to a B and it's much less fun than it used to be.
"Teachers are so stupid," she texts Olivia as she comes home, not even looking up as she heads straight for the garden.



Here she can let go, relax and be herself. The flowers always need tending, the leaves needs raking and the demands are easy to understand. She feels her energy replenish as she can get lost in the life of plants rather than things like Algebra and Simlish.

Once mom gets home she gets to spend time on her other great interest, to learn how to cook. Helping with dinner every night is also a great way to catch up with mom.



And take a selfie.

It's a bit weird at dinner to hear Sandy speak of school and not mean the same one as the one she goes to, but it's just for a week. Soon they'll be together in school again.



That night dad watches the weather channel for the first time. "I'm not sue why they need an entirely new channel for something they could just tell us after the news." he calls out to Candice, doing her reports at the computer.



She and Olivia are now hanging out a lot, and sort of flirting when no one (me included) is watching. Just practising, or something. But she likes Olivia, she's fantastic. And great fun to hang out with.
"You're coming to harvest fest dinner, aren't you?"
"Of course!" Olivia promises. "Wouldn't miss it."

Harvestfest doesn't start so well, instead of appeasing the gnome, Willow manages to anger it. She pleads forgiveness, but the gnome then promptly tries to electrocute her and ruins her boom box.




Sandy just shakes her head. "You gave him coffee?"
"He looked like he wanted coffee!"
"Everyone knows gnomes wants toys!" she says going off to appease her gnome, which of course works just fine. But Neo's gnome doesn't want toys either. So he ends up with much the same result as Willow.
"These things are dangerous!" Their dad says, not seeing that they're beings rather than things, and immediately picks them into his inventory and sells them off. "You can keep yours, Sandy," he says. "It seems to be functional." Good enough for Willow. It will still give her new seeds for her garden.

They've decorated the house with lanterns and lights and Neo's holiday crafts throughout the house, and mom is cooking a grand meal for the feast.
"But turkey, mom? Really?" vegetarian Willow complains.
"It's tradition."
"It won't be when I'm hosting!" Willow declares. She has left overs when everyone else eats the turkey.

After dinner, Willow, Sandy, Olivia and their other friends head into their room to dance. Neo hides out in his room, completely overwhelmed by the amount of people and noise. Candice and Charles helps out cleaning up after dinner.

When everyone has gone home, Willow go into the garden, even though it's already becoming dark, and plant her new seeds. A Christmas Rose, an ordinary Rose and a Crocus was what she got in terms of new plants. The others she already had.

Candice, in her turn, locks herself into her bathroom. Finally a moment's of peace! In just a few days, it's Sandy's turn to age up into a teenager, and then the house will be filled with people again. Candice feels that she could use a vacation, but a bubble bath will have to do for now.