Chapter 1.1

Meet Sophie McCarn. She's just arrived in the island town of Barnacle Bay in the hopes of fulfilling her dream of becoming a world-famous author. Why Barnacle Bay, you may ask? Because something fishy is going on in this town and Sophie has plans to get to the bottom of it.

Her new home is spacious, but rather lacking in commodities.Sophie: I have no house. No toilet, no fridge, no bed. Nothing except for a rather curious-looking mailbox and a garbage can.

Well, let's work on that, shall we?Time to get employment! Sophie rolls up a wish to get a job in the Medical career, which doesn't really match up with her lifetime aspiration, but it's a job that will pay the bills for a little while.

She calls a cab and heads to the nearest hospital, excited to check out the sights of Barnacle Bay on the way there.

Apparently, all you have to do to get a job in the medical field is just show up at the hospital. Sims really do live in a fantasy world.

Sophie might be having second thoughts, though. Feeling a little squeamish, Sophie?Sophie: I really don't do all that well around bodily fluids.

Just think of all the dreamy young doctors you'll meet. Speaking of which, while Sophie fills out her job application, I'm going spouse-hunting.

Here's a cute scruffy-looking guy. I'll keep him in mind. Hopefully he's not already attached.

Oooo, is this one a firefighter! Every girl likes a manly, ruggedly handsome firefighter, right?

And across the street in the park are a old lady and gentleman duking it out on the chessboard. It looks like a pretty intense match. I think the guy here is a bit old for Sophie.

Coming out of the hospital, Sophie spots the attractive young firefighter and hurries over to introduce herself.Sophie: Ooo, a firefighter!

His name is Roger and he is not a firefighter, sadly. He's quite famous in Barnacle Bay, though he doesn't make clear exactly why he's famous.

He's much too famous to be bothered with a poor little nobody like Sophie, though. Roger, you've just celebritied yourself off the legacy spouse list.

Sophie remains undaunted and heads over to the park to meet some other people. Some non-famous ones.Sophie: You really should turn your head when you sneeze.

Sophie: And now I'm shaking your germy, sneeze-covered hand.Mario: My name is Mario.Sophie: And I suppose you're a plumber by trade?Mario: How did you know?Wait. Really? Yes, sure enough, her name really is Mario. Go figure.

Reversed-gender classic video game characters aside, Sophie didn't have much luck meeting any eligible spouses...I mean, new friends in the park. Everyone is this freakin' town is a celebrity. These two tow-heads are members of the Goldbeard clan. Both are celebrities.

Sophie tried to introduce herself, but the young teenager was only interested in swinging on the swings. And the little boy was only interested in money. Obsessed with treasure, huh? Sounds like a pirate to me!

In spite of all his celebrity star levels, this gentleman here deigns to have a conversation with Sophie. I imagine he's spreading rumors about the old lady who beat him at chess.

Man: That old lady is probably taking steroid pills. That's the only way she could have beat me. Brain steroid pills. Barnacle Bay is rampant with them!

Sophie: This problem needs fixing! As a medical professional, I vow to investigate the level of celebrity drug use in this town!Being an organ donor really doesn't qualify you to be a medical professional, Sophie. And I'm rather suspicious of your motives.

And right after her declaration, Sophie rushes over to meet that famous Simdiva, Dina Caliente. It's not every day a girl gets the autograph of such a famous Sim.

After a busy day of meeting celebrities and being rejected by them, Sophie heads home and starts working on her art skills.Sophie: Some day I'm going to be a celebrity artist. All my paintings will be in prestigious art museums around the world and Dina Caliente will ask me for my autograph.

Sophie scarfs down a quick dinner of bread and jam, then curls up on her not-so-comfy park bench and drifts off to sleep. I feel guilty about her lack of a decent bed, so about half-way through the night, she wakes up to a special treat.

In her new but still rather shabby bed, Sophie dreams of days of yore, when writers penned dusty tomes with quill and ink. Just keep that dream in your head, Sophie, when you get sick of living on the lawn. At least you have modern plumbing.

Next morning, Sophie wakes up bright and early for her new job.And what are you wearing, Sophie?Sophie: My work uniform.What are you going to be doing all day, hanging out at the beach? You're not wearing any shoes! Do you even know what organ donors do?Sophie: Well, whatever they do, they obviously don't need shoes to do it!

And while Sophie gets to donating organs, (Not any vital ones, I hope!) I get to more spouse hunting!The mailman isn't too bad. Gotta love a man in uniform!

No one in Barnacle Bay realizes, but the mailman dreams of one day becoming a commercial airline pilot: expanding his horizons, seeing the world...maybe even visiting exotic SimChina one day!

Meanwhile, near the hospital, Dina Caliente is late for an important appointment. This looks very suspicious. Where could she be going?

She stops on the deserted sidewalk, looking around the area, checking for any unwanted onlookers.

Minutes pass and a limo pulls up. Dina gets inside. Something fishy is definitely going on in this town.

Down at the local beach clubhouse, Roger, the not-a-firefighter celebrity snob, looks worried.Roger: I'm very concerned.Concerned about what, Roger?

Roger: I'm concerned about the alarming number of teddy bears in Barnacle Bay. Practically every household has at least one. Many families have one for each child.Teddy bears, Roger? Really, Roger? Really?

Roger: Teddy bears are absolutely horrifying! They're too cute to not be mass murdering psychotics planning to take over the world!So, teddy bears are going to conquer the world with, what, snuggly cuddles?Roger: Exactly! Oh the horror!

Let's leave Roger to his teddy bear phobia (That must be what he's famous for!) and check on Sophie. Work's over and her fun'o'meter is deep in the red, so she's taking a taxi to a local bar. I guess donating organs is harder work than Sophie expected.

At the bar, Sophie discovers a curious new device.Sophie: What is this funny box with metal bars stuck through it? Is it a game of some sort?

Don't they have foozball where you come from, Sophie?Sophie: It's called foozball? Well, that's a silly name.But she has fun playing the new game anyway.

She hangs at the bar for a few hours, mixing juice with yet another local celebrity. Everyone in Barnacle Bay seriously has at least one celebrity star. Except for Mario the plumber. Mario has no stars. (heehee)

So, after Sophie arrived home that night, my game promptly crashed. So, I'll be ending the chapter right here. Stay tuned for more mysterious celebrity plots, possibly involving cuddles and teddy bears, next time on Something Fishy in Barnacle Bay.