Welcome to the teen arc! 🙂 HUGE thank you to JoieWilder, who made some MAJOR renovations/additions to the Rosebrook house for Gen 5. It looks gorgeous! Since the Rosebrooks are millionaires, I guess it was about time they got a fancy 😛 And this will probably be the last big renovation we see in this legacy.

Now sit back and enjoy the “real” start to Gen 5! 😀

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Time to break in my new birthday present, I guess.

Damn, it already feels really weird. The spine on this thing is way too stiff. I had to break it just to get this thing to open more than like, an inch. And the pages are so thick. It’ll be a pain in the ass to flip through this thing.

I don’t see what was wrong with just sticking with my old one. There had to be like fifty blank pages left in it. And yeah, it was really just some old notebook I was supposed to use for chemistry class last year… But it worked just fine for me. Why bother with one of these fancy journals anyway?

But Tante Joce got it for me. And she was so excited about it – she was going on and on about how her Onkel Stefan gave her a journal when she was sixteen and how it’s like a family tradition or something. She’s always so damn sentimental all the time. So how could I not use the thing? It’d break her heart… And I can’t do that to Tante Joce.

(Today was my birthday, by the way. In case you hadn’t figured that out already.)

So yeah, it was a pretty nice birthday, I guess… Minus everyone treating me like I was turning twelve instead of sixteen. I had to put up with the usual babying, courtesy of Tante Joce and grandpa. But I always like it when everyone gets together. Remi, River, Rory, Tante Clara and Onkel Florian, Onkel Auggy and Onkel Noah… I mean, I see them all the time. But together? Not so much.

Even Elliot and Emma came inside to say hi and give me a card when they dropped off the girls. That was kinda nice, I guess. They brought Adam in with them too. That little guy is SO damn funny. He cracks me up.

Charlie likes to bitch all the time about what a pain in the ass he is, but I don’t think she realizes how lucky she is. I’ve always wanted a little brother, for as long as I can remember. I’d even settle for a half-brother I only see a few days a week, like Adam.

But seeing as my parents have been dead for eleven years… Yeah, not happening. Ever.

Oh well.

After we finished dinner, I met up with Dom and we went out to that little bar Charlie’s always telling us about. Alone. Now THAT was cool. It’s really nice to not feel like I’m a little kid anymore. Even though my family still likes to treat me that way sometimes. Okay, all the time. Ugh.

Anyway, that’s probably the coolest part about being sixteen now – I can actually go out with my best friend and get a beer on my own. Still can’t have any of the hard stuff for a couple more years though. It’s such a stupid law. I’ll have to ask Onkel Auggy who the hell came up with it. So that part kinda sucks, I guess.

But Remi and River were totally awesome, just like always. They snuck me this HUGE bottle of vodka as part of my present.

Tante Joce is gonna FLIP if she finds out, but I made sure to find a good hiding spot for it. She and grandpa have some kinda date night planned for tomorrow, and everyone else goes to bed so early… Perfect chance to crack it open. And share with the girls, of course.

Me, Charlie, and Alex have been sneaking beers out of the fridge since I was like twleve, so we’re pretty good at being lowkey about this sorta thing. Not Tony though. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her touch a drop of alcohol. Ever. I love her, but she can be such a goody-two-shoes about stuff like this. Not goody enough to tell on us though, so I guess that’s something.

Maybe the three of us can convince her to try a shot tomorrow…

Ha! I think I’d pay to see that!

So yeah, overall it was a pretty good day. Definitely not the worst birthday I’ve had…

But not the best either.