1.2: Tulip

T's first memory of this place is running into Charlene. 

"Oh- uh...hi," her first words to her future flatmate were inelegant, "Uh.... do you live here too?"

Charlene just shrugged. "I guess." 

She started muttering to herself about rocks and dust, the words too jumbled together for even T's hearing to pick up. As she walked away, T belatedly looked up, calling urgently, "Wait! There's only one bed!"

Over the course of a few days, the two got to know each other a little. T learned that her name was Charlene, and she was quite young. 

"I don't remember a whole lot," Charlene confessed in a lucid moment, "I think I used to go to a university. It was...really big."

"Do you remember the name?" 

Charlene shook her head. "Just the mascot. Go Llamas!"

T's expression fell. She'd seen just how many of the old movies and tv shows on the intranet featured a Llama as a school mascot. Charlene could be from anywhere. 

"You ever go to college?" Charlene asked back. 

T thought about it for a moment. "I....don't know. I don't think so?"

Charlene's eyes narrowed. "Your eyes glow funny."

T sighed. "We've been through this. They just do that."

"So does the moon! Are you one of them?"

T wasn't sure if it was best to just ignore Charlene when she got like this, but it's what she'd been doing since they first met. 

"I'll see you later..."

The two quickly got used to sharing the one bed in the dome. However, Charlene couldn't sleep tonight. The light streaming into the windows made it hard for her to relax. 

T slept like a rock. Charlene ranted about rocks. 

The rocks outside remained silent.

"Wah wah wah, the moon is gone," her voice comes out shrill, closer to a small child's, "And we don't have an understudy."

"Gone? What do you mean gone?" T could feel something stirring in her memory at these words, "Charlene?" 

Her housemate wanders off, ranting about phases of the moon.

The computer, which T had assumed was rather new despite the old model, breaks frequently. She's faintly surprised as she automatically diagnosed the issue- fried wires- and sets about repairing it.

Holding a screwdriver like this brings back a distant memory....something from a very long time ago.... 

The computer whirring to life snaps T out of her thoughts. She smiles as the screen flickers back on, showing the all to familiar Skater screen. 

She'll play just one more game, then go to bed... 

T was even more surprised to learn that despite the single double bed, that the house had a third inhabitant. 

"You were gone really long this time," Charlene mutters between kisses.

"Sorry, had to be. Cataloguing everything just takes forever."

"How long are you back this time?"

"A few months, at least. Long enough for..."

Charlene nods urgently, and hugs her tightly.

Unlike Charlene, this new(?) housemate seems more than happy to answer questions. 

"So you are?"

The newcomer claps her hands excitedly, throwing T off a little. 

"You don't remember? Really? Is this a prank?" she laughs lightly. 

Seeing the confusion on T's face, hers falls a little. "Oh, I was told the amnesia could be severe... but I didn't think...oh..." the woman clears her throat, "I'm Blanca, Blanca Artis. I was the mission commander, before we got here."

"Mission what?"

"Mission commander. Of the Horizons project."

T's face is still blank. Blanca tilts her head. "You...you really don't remember anything?"

"No."

Blanca sighs, her hands fidgeting in her lap. "That is...really too bad. I was hoping to get to know you better. You were assigned to us last minute."

"Can you please start making some sense?" T pleaded, "I really have no clue what you're talking about."

Blanca pauses, her eyes drifting to the fridge as she gathers her thoughts. 

"We were sent to establish a colony on Moon Delta, about... well, with time dilation it's a bit tricky to say, but from Earth's perspective, about 170 years ago. For us only a few years have passed."

She sits for a few seconds, trying to process this information. 

"Um... I was never told why you were assigned to be with us, I don't know much about you," Blanca starts to ramble nervously, "Except that you were working as a cop in Bridgeport before you volunteered to join. And uh... ha," she chuckled uneasily. "I was told a Vampire would be more resistant to Lunar Psychosis. So it made sense, I guess, that you chose to go, to uh... um..."

T doesn't stay to hear the rest of the story. 

"Tulip, please-," 

She leaves the room. Blanca doesn't go after her. 

The name rolls around in her head for days after. Tulip, Tulip ,Tulip...

Tulip...

Tulip...

Tulip...

Tulip...

Sigh. 

At least she has a pretty name.

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Charlene and Blanca are two NPCs that I moved in following the nothing is free challenge rules. Charlene was an NPC university mascot that greeted Tulip the day she moved in and Blanca was a postwoman. 

The marital structure is couple + help, though seems poor Tulip is the "extra" in this case. 

Charlene has the insane trait, which I never really enjoy writing because I'm never sure if I can do a real mental condition justice. For the sake of this story, she suffers from a completely fictional mental disorder that will be explored more in later chapters. 

The world I'm using is called Moon Base Delta, which is available both on the Sims 3 exchange and the creator's (Rflong7) website. I was very sad to empty it out for this challenge :(