Pick'N'Mix Mods for The Sims 2

4 - Ticket to Where?

Ten minutes later she was sat in the kitchen, coffee in hand, staring at an airline ticket.

She'd retrieved everything scattered across the floor from Mel's bag and then righted her travel case, under it had been the ticket. It was in Mel's name, to a destination she'd never heard of - 'Isla del Granita' - leaving in four hours' time, returning Monday night. The odd part was that it had been endorsed 'cabin crew upgrade to first class'.

As predicted, Analise went to university, initially reading Mathematics later adding Economics. Unexpectedly, Melissa applied for, and got into, the same college. Analise was the studious, bookish fresher - attractive not beautiful, sensibly dressed not glamorous - she turned young men's heads, but had no apparent interest in them.

Mel signed up for Art with Fashion Design and didn't just attract men,

she considered them her prey. She was all the things Analise wasn't - party animal,

model,

muse.

She passed her first-year exams by the simple expedient of sleeping with her tutor

and her second-year by seducing her tutor's bisexual boyfriend and blackmailing them both.

When Mel was assigned a severe, octogenarian, female professor for her junior year, she dropped out at the end of the first term.

That Christmas Break there were frequent arguments between Mel and her mother. After one particularly heated exchange, just before the annual New Year skiing holiday, Mel picked up her car keys, walked out and vanished.

A few weeks later, when it was obvious Mel wasn't returning, their Dad moved out.

He left Analise a note saying that there was no longer any reason to keep up the pretence and that it hurt too much to be around her mother.

The trial separation disintegrated into an acrimonious divorce, as the corporate lawyers fought to the bitter end to best protect their asset. The record company constructed shells to hold Natalia's assets - the house, possessions, performance rights, etc - the management company set up a trust for Paul's. Natalia and Paul, the human beings, ended up being worth millions, but owning almost nothing.

Paul had started a sporting memorabilia shop in the old town.

Then, without warning, about a year later, he sold up and moved away; leaving Analise a PO Box forwarding address and a big hole in her life. Six months later, as abruptly as she'd walked out, Mel walked back into the house as if she'd only gone to collect the mail.

She never talked about those eighteen months and was now frequently away - never saying when, or where, she was going or when she would return. Lately, the absences were getting longer, the periods at home shorter.

Analise stared at the ticket. If Mel was cabin crew it would explain the absences, and her almost permanent tan, and would certainly be her choice of life-style - a different city and man every week. Analise checked on Mel.

She wasn't going anywhere in a hurry, definitely not catching a plane in just under four hours. Analise poured herself another coffee and stared at the ticket. With security and check-in, she had an hour to get to the airport. She drunk the coffee while fiddling with the ticket; she couldn't remember where her passport was - the last time she'd seen it Dad had it. She retrieved Mel's passport from the bag in the hall and looked at the picture - they were identical twins after all. She had 48 minutes to get to the airport. She'd need to pack, which meant she had to brave the puddles of vomit. She couldn't leave Mel in her current state. She had 43 minutes to get to the airport. She'd seen Mel in much worse states, she'd live. Analise called a taxi. She had 39 minutes to get to the airport and it was a 40-minute journey - she'd miss the flight. Perhaps that was what she secretly wanted.

The taxi was beeping its horn. As she passed the bedroom on her way to dismiss it, she heard Mel violently retch again and call "Annie ... annIEEEEEEEEEEE!". She loathed that form of her name, and Mel used it because she knew just how much it upset her sister. It was the final straw. She ran back to the kitchen, threw her phone and purse in Mel's handbag and grabbed the travel case. "Coming", she called, closing the front-door, "Hang on, I'm coming!"

3 - Financial Wrongs 5 - Smooching with Woo-Who?