Chapter 0.1: New Beginnings

Feeling a mixture of fear and excitement, Beatrix surveys her new surroundings. There are so many tall buildings and man-made structures, so much traffic and noise, and so few wide open spaces. Coming from a small farming town, she feels lost amongst the smog and commotion. Far from her hometown and separated from her family, a wave of homesickness washes over her.

A small giggle brings her back to reality, and Beatrix looks down. The tiny newborn in her arms smiles gleefully up at her, gurgling contentedly as he snuggles against Bea's chest. She gazes back at him anxiously, still not believing that this helpless baby could be her son. She shakes her head, trying to calm her nerves. Her eyes are stinging, and she feels like she's on the verge of tears. She takes a deep breath and puts on a brave face. She needs to be strong, for her son's sake, but she's still reeling from everything that has happened recently.

Fresh off her eighteenth birthday, Beatrix feels like her final years as a teenager went by in the blink of an eye, yet she vividly recalls every painful detail.

She remembers being sixteen years old and in love. She remembers the excitement of prom night and the feeling of not having a care in the world. She and her boyfriend Ethan went together, and convinced he was the love of her life she gave up her virginity that night after the dance. It wasn't the only time they slept together, but it was the first.

And she remembers the panic, the absolute terror, when she found out she was pregnant. With an uncertain future looming over her, so large and terrifying, she remembers considering abortion. Or adoption. But she couldn't bring herself to choose either of those alternatives.

She clearly remembers the moment she told Ethan the news. The scared look on his face, the soothing tone in his voice, his comforting arms around her, she remembers thinking for the first time that everything might actually turn out alright.

But then came the arguing.

After she told Ethan about her pregnancy, Beatrix broke the news to her mother. All she remembers about that encounter is the yelling, so loud it hurt her ears. And the cold look on her mother's face as she told Beatrix to find a new home for herself and the baby. That no teenage mother was welcome to live under her roof.

She remembers pleading with her father, begging him to make her mom reconsider.

And his only response, a look of disgust and contempt.

Worst of all, she remembers getting the news that Ethan was being sent away to military school, that he was to be drafted into the army after graduation. She remembers yelling at Ethan's father, screaming for him to help them. All he did was laugh. It was the last time she remembers seeing Ethan.

She remembers a few months later she walked into the hospital and a few hours later she walked out with a baby. The labor pains frightened her, and she remembers wishing Ethan was there to hold her hand. She doesn't remember why she named her son Skylar, only that it was the first name she could think of.

Finally, she remembers coming home after the delivery. Her furious mother kicked her out of the house for good that night and even threatened to call the police if she didn't leave the premises immediately.

With a newborn in her arms, Beatrix sold the last of her belongings and bought a train ticket headed  somewhere out East. She left home that day and never looked back.

Beatrix had her eighteenth birthday on the train. After days of traveling, she finally arrived in the city of Anne Arbor. The first thing she did was find a cheap apartment. The realtor took pity on the "poor homeless child and her sweet little baby" and actually managed to find Bea a decent unit with an extra bedroom for Skylar.

She signed all of the paperwork as "Beatrix McKinley". She decided that she never wanted to see or hear from her family again, and to effectively cut all ties one must change your name, or so she reasoned. That way no one would ever be able to track her down.

Beatrix takes Skylar up to the apartment. She has yet to see the unit, and she's hoping it lives up to her expectations.

She's pleasantly surprised. It definitely needs some personalizing, but it will work just fine.

Bea snuggles Skylar close to her chest. "Do you like the new place Sky?" she coos softly to the infant.

Skylar just yawns, obviously ready for his nap. Beatrix decides to take that as a yes.


Challenge Notes:

Welcome to my new random legacy! My last legacy, the West legacy (found here), got bugged and became unplayable, so I decided to take my generation 3 heir (Beatrix), move her to Anne Arbor, and start a new legacy. It was hard to abandon my last legacy, but I think the McKinley clan should be pretty fun to play.

To give you a bit of background about the story, Beatrix was already pregnant (and a teenager) when my game started crashing. I played out the rest of her pregnancy in Riverblossom Hills (the home of the West family) and then moved her to Anne Arbor. In order to be as fair as possible, I forced her to age into a young adult before the move. I also gave her the standard 16,500 Simoleons to start with and removed all of her skill points and hidden traits. I wanted to make her just like a brand new Sim straight out of Create-A-Sim. Also, I realize that I'm probably breaking countless rules by not having Bea live through her pregnancy in Anne Arbor, but I decided against it for the sake of my story. So my legacy will start out with generation 2 already born.

Speaking of which, here are my rolls for generation 1 and generation 2. (My generation 1 roll is the same as it was for generation 3 of the West legacy).

Generation 1 Information:

Beatrix McKinley

Marital Status- Single Parent
Number of Children- 2
Primary Income- Firefighter
Secondary Income- N/A
Generation Goal- Awesome!
Miscellaneous Fun- It's So You

Generation 2 Information:

Marital Status- Couple
Number of Children- 2
Primary Income- Film (Actor)
Secondary Income- Music (Rock Star)
Generation Goal- Change of Scenery
Miscellaneous Fun- Half-Siblings