Extra chapter: Secrets in Sim City

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I know, I know, Generation 7 has just started and I should be focusing on Alba... However, looking back at this first part of the generation, I immediately noticed how hardly anything about Lily is being shown! I mean, she was a quite fundamental character until a few chapters ago, and I think that what she's doing now that she's in Sim City deserves some more exposition.

So here we are, with a new extra chapter from Lily's POV!

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From Lily's diary

Lily: And don't make that face, I already explained we aren't a couple! I really don't see why people bother so much about this, it seems such a hassle...

Psychologist: It's all well noted, don't worry.

I'm actually not sure it was a good idea to look for a psychologist. Of course mom doesn't know, she would be so worried for me. I haven't seen a psychologist since the end of the trial, after all. However, after my last encounter with my father I had quite a few things to elaborate on, and following a suggestion I actually decided to give it another go.

Anyway, as I was writing before, I'm not sure this psychologist is right for me. She just doesn't seem to understand me, she just seems to assume what everyone else always thinks whenever I talk a bit about Mirko. I have the strong impression I'm just wasting my time in here, it's annoying.

Well, there still was half an hour of appointment, maybe I could at least manage to reach the end of it. There are actually a few things bothering me that I would like to resolve, if possible. But it was my last attempt, I swear.

Lily: So, can I continue with what I was saying?
Psychologist: Of course you can.
Lily: Well, yesterday Mirko came to my dorm to do some homework together, and...

Lily: Oh, I! I didn't expect to see you here! Did something happen?

Mirko: I was running a bit, and I thought I could pass from here this time.

Lily: So that you're here already, do you want to study together?

Mirko: Why not.

It's actually very uncommon to see Mirko around Britechester, the old campus just outside Sim City. People are mostly nice around him in town, in particular around the art gallery there are always people who try to ask him about the synesthetic art and why they had never heard about New Sixam's art before. 

However, this campus is full of arrogant kids of rich and old-fashioned people who still act like they are more worthy than anyone who's a bit different from them or from the people who attended this prestigious school in the past. He says the situation is much better at the State University campus, where he's studying to become a PE teacher. 

Mirko: Is that a computer or a piece from an antiquities museum?

Lily: It's crazy, right? How do they expect me to run any code on this stuff? The next time I return to New Sixam I have to buy a decent laptop, it's impossible to do anything on this...

Lily: How about you instead? You didn't say much.

Mirko: ... It's nothing, really.

Lily: If you find this so boring, I can just leave, you know?

Psychologist: Don't get me wrong, I'm just checking some old notes... You sounded very worried about this friend of yours. Did you manage to understand what happened to him?

Lily: ... I'm telling you just because you can't report this to anyone. Keeping secrets is part of your job, right?

Psychologist: Of course.

Lily: Well, if you think that I'm messed up because of my father, then I don't know what you could make of Mirko and his mother...

Psychologist: Why don't you try to explain it to me, then?

Lily: Well... Mirko's mother decided to leave when he was about four years old, he never told me why. She almost never shows up, until... Until she does. And it's always a mess.

Lily: Ehy, did something happen?

Mirko: Well...

Mirko: She phoned me, yesterday. She said it was a horrible idea for me to come here, that I should have remained in New Sixam, that I should have asked her opinion before leaving, that I'll never be happy here, and...

Lily: Ehy, don't tell me you listened to her! There is no way she knows better than you to do what's best for you, you worked so hard to arrive here!

Mirko: Uhm...

I thought he needed a distraction, just to stop thinking about that nonsense for a while. So I proposed to go playing some basketball, he likes that kind of stuff.

Mirko: That's a quite, ehm... peculiar stance to use.

Lily: When playing SimSports this seemed so much easier...

Basketball, how could I get a more stupid idea? That was probably the worst idea I could get, how could it really be of any use? But I really couldn't think of anything better!

Psychologist: I'm... I'm so sorry to hear that your friend is going through such a situation, really. But you...

Lily: I think I understand what he's going through, his mother is just so awful! But... But I don't know what to do to help him, it's so frustrating!

Psychologist: Lily, you're already being such a good friend to him, I don't think it's your responsibility to do anything more. Actually, I believe that also for him seeking for professional help might be...

Lily: He's already seeing a psychologist. Actually, he was the one suggesting me to come here, to begin with.

Psychologist: Oh, I see.

Lily: But the point still stands, what should I do?

Psychologist: ... I'm afraid there isn't a univocal answer to this. Maybe he wants someone to talk with, or he may also prefer to stay alone for a while to elaborate on that conversation, or yet something different. If you really want to know, maybe you should just try to ask him.

Lily: Well... It makes sense, I guess.

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When I was leaving the psychologist's office, I really couldn't decide what to say to Mirko. He had always been there for me whenever I was in a bad mood because of the trial, and every time one of my father's many unrequested emails showed up on my phone he was the first to propose moving them to the trash folder. I would really like to return the favour and help him a bit, but I really can't come up with any good idea. And I hate it, it makes me feel horribly too.

Maybe I should try to follow the psychologist's suggestion, and ask him directly what he thinks he needs. It's a bit awkward... But it shouldn't be too hard either.

Mirko: ... Well, I've blocked her number and email, at least for a while she shouldn't be able to write to me again. Honestly, I would rather forget about her for as long as I can, and return back to what we usually do. 

Lily: I see. Actually, I would do the same.

Mirko: For example, we may play basketball again!

Wait, so he actually enjoyed that silly idea, when we ended up playing basketball in a park at night?

Mirko: Don't worry, I was just joking, I know you prefer SimSport... 

Lily: ...

Mirko: Anyway, thank you. I really mean it. 

Soon after we left the karaoke bar, we both had quite a long way to go to reach our respective dorms.

I know it will take much longer for him to really feel better and stop thinking about that phone call, but I'm also glad to see he already decided to take action and distance himself from that toxic person.

And I could even play real basketball again, if it really can make him feel any better.

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A few days later, during the following appointment at the Psychologist's office

Lily: And here it is again, that expression! I told you already, I and Mirko aren't a couple!

Psychologist: To be fair, this is usually an insinuation you are rising by yourself. 

Lily: Well, we are asked exactly that every other day, and the expression of those making that question is always the same you were having until a moment ago!

Psychologist: I see...

Suddenly the psychologist's expression changed, to something that made me worry, she was about to ask some very personal questions. What other silly hypothesis could she have made this time, I wondered?

Psychologist: Feel free to not answer, if you don't feel like to. However... Did you ever consider the possibility of being in the asexual spectrum? Or so did Mirko?

Lily: Why should I?

Psychologist: Well, people have many different ways of being in love with each other. Modern society places a lot of emphasis on physical attraction, but there are many other ways to express a relationship. And after listening to you talking about the concept of relationship, and then how you and Mirko behave when you're together...

Lily: ...

Psychologist: In any case, this is just a conjecture of mine, it may be right as it may be wrong. If you agree to investigate this aspect, however, I may also borrow you some books on the topic, or...

Lily: Well... I don't know much about this stuff. Reading a bit on the topic can't hurt me, I guess.

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For once, that psychologist could really have given me something useful to think about. Those books were so full of abstract examples though, and both I and Mirko scratched our heads quite a few times while reading them. Some things seemed to match, but others... others were much harder to interpret in real-life terms instead.

Whatever, this is not something that really bothers us anyway. We have already a lot of other stuff to worry about, and those books don't seem so urgent right now. Who knows, maybe it's just a bit too soon for us to read them.

Mirko: Bha, how did you do that?

Lily: It's X, not Y!

Mirko: You know what?

Lily: (laughing) Ehy, that's cheating!

However people want to call this, we're happy together. And we have all the time in the world to understand what this means. 

Next Chapter -->

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§HermioneSims§ corner

This was a super risky chapter for me to write, as I showed a lot of situations I'm not familiar with. I've never set foot in a psychologist's office, to make an example. 

In case I got something terribly wrong, thus, please point it out to me. In this case, I would try to modify the chapter accordingly.

Also, I mostly wrote this chapter while keeping in mind what will happen to Lily in the rest of Generation 7, trying to explain a bit more about the direction she will take. These two are very complex to write, maybe I've exaggerated a bit this time...