coming of age

April 2081 - Adrian Jackson and Aurora Miguel are 48, Beau and Tyler Jackson are 17. (Summer Phoenix is 16.) Last Update, January 2079.

Beau Jackson has finally grown himself a beard, and it's a fine beard, a proud beard, a manly beard. He's been working on it for quite some time now.

But beard or not, Yvette still has to let him go. "Well, I can't really break up with you since we were never technically going out or anything," she says. "But I'm breaking up with you anyway." Her complaints are plentiful, he spends too much time at this arcade, he spends too much time playing around, messing around, he doesn't pay enough attention to her, and after all the years they've known each other, he still can't bring himself to say the L-word.

"What, you want me to just say it? Would that make you feel better?"

"Don't say anything," she says.

"For the record," he says. "I'm a very hard worker. This is hard work, you know. It might not look like it, but this is work! And besides, prom is next month! Who am I going to take?"

"You can take whoever you want," she says. "Except me."

Beau is speechless. He cares, he thinks. It kind of sucks, he's not going to lie.

But Beau's main concern right now is games, and his father's arcade in particular. It might not look like work, but this is the work he enjoys. Beau has an enthusiasm for gaming that not even most young men can achieve. And maybe if he'd payed this much attention to his girlfriend, he might still have one.

But the positive note in this situation is that Beau's passion for games has revealed a natural business instinct in this arcade, and being that he'll be eighteen soon, Adrian trusts him to run the arcade by himself most nights. Beau is only half concerned about college, but Adrian insists that he goes. And even though he would be well qualified, Adrian insists that Beau won't be made manager until he starts the business program at LCU.

Beau has also learned to dazzle, and has even qualified for a business scholarship in sales. And he's a good salesman! Melissa looks like she'll buy anything Beau is selling. Or maybe she was already dazzled before he started, we can't really be sure in this case.

Tyler, on the other hand, likes to practice a different kind of dazzle.

But Tyler is actually very interested in college, and is working hard to earn his soccer scholarship. Summer tries to help out, but she's not very good at it.

But it doesn't matter if she's good at it or not. And Tyler seems to have entirely forgotten the other young lady he used to play soccer with.

Aurora feels something of an obligation to talk to Summer about certain "womanly" things, dating, mutual respect - of course both of her boys are very respectful to women (if you don't count noogies)! She and Rhianna were very good friends, and she knows Rhianna would have been open about these things, and there are just some conversations that need a mother's touch. And she hopes Summer might think of her that way, a mother-in-law, which she very well could be some day.

Summer does have a certain fondness for Tyler's mom, but it doesn't make it any easier to talk about dating her son!

Especially being that she rocks his world like she does.

With the arcade up to rank 6, and Aurora's salon at rank 9, the Jackson family is finding themselves quite wealthy these days. They upgrade their kitchen...

Buy a flashy new BMW for Adrian...

And a couple of sturdy hand-me-downs for each of the boys. Summer walks over every single morning to ride to school with Tyler.

Her father has been known to wander by to make sure they really went. They cut it close some mornings, goofing around in the driveway. Better watch out, Tyler, he might set you on fire!

But even though they do actually make it to school most days, neither of the boys are doing very well in their classes.

Summer, however, is at the top of her class! Oh, Summer, it's not becoming of a young lady to gloat!

Summer walks over on the weekends too, and any school break, and when she's not at Tyler's house, Tyler is over at her house. They're basically joined at the hip all the time, when they're not joined at other places. They even take long lazy naps together after school, on the off chance that this house is ever quiet.

Tyler only vaguely remembers a lot of things, like his youthful undying devotion to Stephanie Nova, or how he used to tell Summer they were too young to be so serious. He just brushes it off as childishness. But would they regret that neither of them ever dated anyone else? Close as they are now, even if they were curious, their only alternative would be heartbreaking.

It's only after Yvette has tossed him away that Beau wonders, what is this love business anyway? Tyler was always the bleeding-heart-romantic of the two, and started declaring his undying love to Stephanie Nova when he was twelve. "Stephanie Nova," Beau says. "Do you even know what happened to her?"

"I have no idea," Tyler says. "Didn't she go traveling around the world or something?"

"She didn't go traveling," Beau says. "Dude, she totally got married. She's living in Canada now."

"Who told you that?"

"Summer. She knows you used to have a crush on her."

Tyler hasn't thought of Stephanie in years, but now that everyone else is, he'd kind of like to talk to her again. You know, just to catch up. And what the heck is going on with his brother and his girlfriend keeping secrets from him now?

Since they're all doing so well, Aurora splurges on a sewing room for Carly at the boutique. She's been working on her designs for some time now, and Aurora hopes to get them on the shelves as soon as possible. She thinks it might be just the touch that helps make Jolie, Jolie rise right up to the top. There's also a nice comfy chair for napping, since Aurora is so tired from teaching business classes at LCU in her days.

Carly never does finish those outfits, but Jolie, Jolie makes it to rank 10 this month anyway. The store pretty much sells itself at this point. But she better not get too lax about things. Along with reaching rank 10, she also got a bad review for lazy customer service.

And unfortunately for Summer, Beau's girlfriendless frustrations must be released on some poor young lady, and since she's in a bathing suit, he just can't resist. It's honestly kind of uncomfortable for everyone.

Summer looks at Tyler like, Dude, are you going to do something about your brother???

Poor Tyler, he just doesn't know what to think.

But he does know what to do. You know, you have to set boundaries and all.

And as the month wraps up, the boys finally score a couple of solid C's on their report cards. It's nothing to write home about, but at least it's something to put on their college applications.

Also note that maybe it's the prescription-strength acne cream their mom bought them, or just that they're growing into young men, but for the first time since puberty, their foreheads are clear.

***

notes: Oh my! Beau seems to have quite the crush on his brother's girlfriend, and I swear, I didn't stage a single bit of that scene! When she's in that bathing suit, they're bumped up to three bolts. Not anything near the three bolts she has with Tyler, but she's Beau's only three bolt. He's always trying to tickle her. Man, I hope that doesn't turn into trouble!

Yvette is also a weak three bolts with Beau when she's in a bathing suit, but it's just barely. I had her break up with him because he never pays any attention to her, lol. I don't know if that's a solid break-up. Maybe he just needs to be taught a lesson :)

*** outtakes ***

Since when do high school juniors play marbles at recess? LOL! And Summer is over at Tyler's house so much that they just send her school correspondence over there now.

That's Lucy on the phone, she just called to say her uncle Sheldon is kind of hot, and you know he'll be divorced soon, in case Tyler might know any middle-aged ladies to hook him up with. Summer is thinking, WTF???