"Perfect! This should be easy enough..."
Quickly reading over the instructions, he set a pot of water boiling on the stove, and added a dash of salt to the water. While he was stirring the milk and cheese mix into the cooked noodles, he said a silent thank-you to his mother for teaching him the basics in the kitchen. Stella always said that "eating is a necessity, but cooking is an art," so he added a sprig of parsley to top off the more or less appetizing pile that he had scooped on his plate.
A couple hours later, Leeland was fighting to keep his eyes open while lazily watching another basketball game on the television. It seemed that the time difference between Monte Vista and Del Sol Valley was finally catching up with him. Swapping into a pair of shorts, Leeland shut off the lights, pulled back the covers of his double bed, and settled in for his first night in his own house!
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Leeland was up bright and early the next morning, he had to get in a quick bath, eat a good breakfast and put together a sack lunch to take. It was a "triple threat" day...1) it was a Monday 2) it was Leeland's first day of work at Make A Dish and 3) today was St. Patty's Day! So he hastily put together a simple ham and cheese sandwich, downed it with a glass of milk, popped a veggie and hummus sandwich in a paper sack and then jumped in the tub.
Work was nothing short of grueling, and Leeland worked hard all day. There were mountains of dishes waiting when he walked in the door, and the piles never seemed to slow, but Leeland tackled the mess with a vengeance. During his lunch break, the boss approached Leeland and asked him to come to the office after his shift was up. When 5:00 pm rolled around, Leeland headed to the office, knocked, and slowly pushed open the office door when his boss beckoned him in.
"Ah Leeland! Heck of a first day!"
"Yeah, it was pretty busy, but I think I kept up pretty well. Was there something you needed?!"
" Well ya see Leeland, your hard work hasn't gone unnoticed and I'd like to reward that hard work with a promotion of say, an extra Simoleon per hour?! I'll throw in a few fancy counters to deck out your new house, aaaand I'll give you the Head Dishwasher title. What'd ya say!?"
Utterly stunned to hear the good news Leeland stuttered, "W-w-well thank-you! Sounds great!"
"Right-o! I'll send someone over to the house to drop off those counters, and we'll see ya tomorrow Leeland. Enjoy the rest of your St. Patty's Day!" his boss said with a handshake.
With a spring in his step, Leeland bounced out of the office, shutting the door on the way out.
*Ring Ring*
"The Burgess Estate Winery!"
"Ma! It's Leeland.
"Hey sweetie, how are you holding up? Did you get enough sleep? Are you eating? What's wrong?!"
"I'm doing great, yes I'm sleeping, yes I'm eating and Ma...nothing's wrong! I just wanted to tell you the great news and wish you a Happy St. Patty's Day!"
"Oh...thank-you sweetie! What's the good news?!"
"I picked up that Assistant Dishwasher position at Make A Dish, I had my first day today and I walked away with a promotion."
"Oh sweetie that's wonderful! I'll pass along the info to your Dad and Dale, they are setting up the tables in the ballroom for tonight's St. Patty's celebration. I'd love to talk more, but I really should see to the decorations, lord knows I can't leave them to those two! Happy St. Patty's Day, love! Muah! Ciao!"
"Love you Ma, bye!"
*Click*
Leeland debated going out to a bar or club to celebrate St. Patty's Day, but after working all day, what he really wanted to do was plonk down on the couch and veg for a while. So he scanned through the movies on SimTime and found a lighthearted kids movie, Superkids: Cortex Catastrophe and settled in with a bowl of chips and a tall glass of iced water.
There was about 15 minutes of the movie left when his cell phone rang.
"Hello?!"
"Hey Leeland, it's Venessa, your neighbor from the other night."
"Oh hey Venessa, what's up!?"
"Well, I hear that the Humor And Hijinks Festival is happening tonight over in San Myshuno, and a rumor's been flying around the set that there's this fancy tea they serve that can make you glow like an alien or something....wanna' see if it's true?"
"Sure, sounds like fun!"
"Great! Come on out front, I'll call a taxi and we'll head out!"
"Okay Venessa, see ya in five!"
"Bye-ee!"
Leeland switched off the television, ran a hand through his hair and headed out to meet Venessa.
<3
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