Chapter 4.4: Projects for the future

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From Luke's diary

Lyra: Hey Ari, did you hear that... (whispers)

Ariana: Come on, seriously?

Lyra: Hey Luke, is that true that you and Misty are dating now? Everyone in town is talking about it!

Luke: To be honest, I have the impression that you are the one who is telling it to everyone, actually.

Lyra: Ehi! I was just surprised, after all your talking about the "pretty-hair" club back in high school, I didn't expect you to, I mean...

Luke: C'mon, we were almost kids back then, it's not like...

Lyra and I always end up bickering for trivial reasons, so I wasn't surprised when dad interrupted us to say, simply:

Leo: Oh, so that's why you always look so happy lately! Good for you!

This description, however simplistic, seemed to be pretty accurate.

Lyra: Well, if you don't want to talk about it, we are asking directly to her instead!

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From Lyra's diary

I don't get why Luke doesn't want to talk with me about Misty, I'm so curious to know more details! So all I can do is ask her directly at this point. I still can't believe they are dating, they are so different! Could it really work out, somehow, or are they just heading toward another difficult breakup?

Luckily I and Ariana were planning to meet Misty for breakfast that morning, we were having waffles at a diner next to the main street downtown. 

Misty: Why so silent today? Are you all right?

Ariana: Of course we are! We were just wondering if you had anything you wanted to tell us, you know...

Misty: C'mon, are you really that surprised that I and Luke are dating now? What's so weird about it?

Lyra: I mean, we're talking about Luke! Do you really like him?

Misty: (ironic) I've always had a thing for guys with broad shoulders, don't you remember?

Lyra: Well, yes, but...

Misty: Lyra, seriously, I really don't get why you keep mocking him this way all the time, you've told him he's a loser so many times that he almost started to really believe it, you know? (Rising her voice) If you just listened to him a bit more instead, you'd know he's just a very good person instead. And I...

Ariana: Okay, okay, we got it, there's no need to argue! (To Lyra) I think she passed the test, didn't she?

Misty: (perplexed) Test? What test?

Ariana: Lyra was a bit worried, after seeing how badly Luke was doing when he and Serena broke up, I mean... We just wanted to be sure you were serious about it, that's all.

Lyra: Well, that was the idea, yes...

Misty took some seconds to calm down again, probably she didn't enjoy the interrogation we had set up for her. But she didn't seem to want to start any trouble either, so she ended up telling us:

Misty: Well, girls, but I've been working since this morning at 4:00. I have to be back in the afternoon and I have other stuff to do in the meanwhile, so...

Ariana: Are you going to meet Luke somewhere?

Misty: Well, yes. Are you interested in hearing more private details, or can I go?

Lyra: (uneasy) No, this time I will pass...

Misty: I see. Bye then!

From Luke's diary

Misty: Hi! Sorry, I'm a bit late, but your sister had a lot of stuff to ask me, apparently.

Luke: So she really did? I hoped she was just joking this morning.

Misty: Would you like to have a walk together?

Luke: Sure.

There isn't much to do around New Sixam, up to now most of the focus had been on building the essential infrastructures. So we always end up walking around the town, after all what really matters is to spend some time together.

Luke: How was work today? You seem tired.

Misty: Well, the training is quite hard this week. My muscles are still aching a lot, but there isn't much I can do about it.

Luke: Maybe we should look for a bench where to sit, then.

Misty: It wouldn't be a bad idea, but I can still walk, don't worry. Rather, did you start writing anything new instead?

Luke: Well, actually...

Luke: I still have a lot of material I could use for a new book, but it would take so much time to analyse it properly... I'm not sure, maybe I should just look for a normal job instead.

As we continued walking, my head kept spinning. I graduated quite a lot of time ago, but since then I've always remained at my parents' place, spending most of my time writing.  Somehow I managed to write a book, and I'm also having quite good revenue from it, but I can't keep relying on it forever. 

Misty: Before your book, there wasn't anything else to read about us sixamians. I heard that it is being also read in schools! And I think that many people would like other books like that one.

Luke: I see... But how can I be really sure about it? I mean, books revenue is not stable, people could just stop buying them, or dislike the next one, or...

Misty: Then you can just look for another job when that happens, isn't it? 

While keeping talking, she pointed to a bench she saw nearby. We often sit there, there is a good view over the canyon, but even if she wasn't complaining I knew she needed to take a break.

Misty: I mean, if you find some other job you like that would be great for you, but I don't think you should completely quit writing. Actually, I think what you're doing is important for us sixamians, you know?

Luke: Really?

Misty: Of course I do! I learnt a lot from that book... I mean, it helped me to understand better what really happened when the first sixamians arrived on Earth. It's our own history, something that unites us all, you know? And I'm sure it was the same for many other people.

Luke: ...  I never thought about it in these terms... Thanks, really. Did I have told you you're doing a tremendous job with that hospital you guys have built?
Misty: (laughing) Every other day, actually.

Misty: I know it could seem a bit too soon, but I was thinking... Would you like to move in together?

I could exactly see where that question came from. She still lives with her parents and siblings in one of the small houses around downtown Strangerville, while I live with my parents and Lyra in a quite larger house, yet always very crowded. We often find ourselves looking for a place just for us recently, but also we would like to start to seriously think about our future. Thus, the only answer I could give her was:

Luke: Of course I'd like to.

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A few days later, Miller's house

Claire: Oh, so you want to find a house all to yourself?

Leo: Are you sure? The queue for home allocation is long, and there's plenty of room here for everyone, after all.

Luke: It seems like the best solution to us. But don't worry, we don't plan on moving too far from here.

Both Misty and I are adamant about this: to achieve our projects, we want to rely only on our strengths. We don't want anyone's help, nor do we want to take advantage of our parents' savings. 

We found a little house downtown, one of those little houses that were built to give all sixamians a place to live.

We used up almost all of our savings, those coming from Misty's work and the proceeds from the publication of my book, to be able to buy it. We don't have much money left, at least for a few months we will be forced to live on a strict budget. But we are here, it's our starting point.

As an inauguration for the new house, we invited all our families to a BBQ in the garden.

Orion: It's a quite nice place, have you ever thought about installing a plasma heating system though? 

Aster: Congratulations on the house!

Leo: For any problem, don't hesitate to call us, ok?

Dad is happy for us, but also worried. If it were up to him, he would always be here to give us a hand.

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If we want to be able to save some simoleons, we need to work even harder than we did before. Misty wakes up very early every morning to go to the barracks and do her work, to then fall asleep in bed already at the mid of the afternoon.

I'm continuing to write instead, and seriously this time. You may be wondering why, isn't it, dear diary? I was hesitant for so long about this project, yet the more time passes the more it seems like the obvious choice to me. 

My dear diary, even you have probably heard that my first book, the one on the history of Sixam, is selling well. I would even dare to say very well, actually. I don't like to brag about it, but from the proceeds of the sales I'm currently receiving an amount of money comparable to a respectable salary. 

Misty is right, the people of New Sixam are interested in reading what I write, and many ask for more. And they are motivating me to write down the draft of a sequel, this time I'm planning to focus on the history of the relationship between humans and sixamians from our arrival on Earth until today. I expect to spark a lot more controversies this time, but this won't make me sugarcoat the reality of facts.

In front of our house there is a small library. I've always enjoyed writing in places like this, in Windenburg I always did.

It's easier for me to find the right inspiration when I'm in there, so when I'm alone I very often visit the place. I also take this opportunity to put some books back on their shelves, I really can't stand the disorder...

???: Hey, wouldn't you like to be a librarian? This would really need someone putting the books back into their shelves, but as you can see it's abandoned most of the time!

I haven't thought about it that much. Being a librarian is not a well-paid job perhaps, but the library is my natural habitat. When I told Misty she almost laughed, she said it remembered her of when we first met, in a very old and dusty library in Windenburg.

Here in the library I have a lot of time to read and to write, but I also have the chance to meet many people. 

I also often help uncle Silas to find the book he's looking for on that given day, now that he is retired he says he has started reading botanical books as a hobby.

Silas: Lukas Mills, the guy who published that book on Sixam's history... Is that you, by chance?

Luke: (surprised) How did you...

Silas: You chose a pseudonym very similar to your name. And then your dad told Orion, of course.

Luke: (shaking his head) I see...

I have so many relatives around New Sixam, I can't avoid wondering for how long this could remain a secret... 

Luke: Rather, thanks to you and uncle Orion for giving me all those files from your base on Sixam. There wouldn't be any book, if it wasn't for that.

Silas: (amused) You're welcome! At least those old archives were good for something, after all.

When we were forced to move here to New Sixam I felt like the ground crumbled under my feet, I didn't have a purpose at all. But during these years the situation flipped completely.

It was thanks to Misty, and to the people who read and appreciated by book, they all gave me something to look forward to. Now I have so many plans for the future that you can’t even imagine, my dear diary, and I can't wait for them to come true. 

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§HermioneSims§ corner:

All this talking about Luke earning enough from his books is because he is actually earning a lot from it. Actually, in-game he reached level 10 in writing quite a long ago and putting together the revenues from all the stuff he wrote he is getting about 2300-2600§ each day. Given the situation, for me it's much easier to make him focus on keeping writing new books than to find him a real job.

Furthermore, so that this is a legacy and I can still use Leo and Claire's money (I've earned it during the last generation, after all), I actually ended up buying the whole library for Luke. 

Basically now he can open the library and work in there every time he feels like to, and take it as a chance for selling a few other extra copies of his own books. 

I didn't imagine it would have been so easy to make a ton of money so quickly with writing in this game,  instead...