Chapter 2.1: The Problem with Freedom

 

Yaaaaaaaaay~

I am happy to be finally ushering in the second generation of the Kingston Legacy, from the crossed eyes of childish, happy-go-lucky, vaguely schizophrenic Briar Kingston! Her Lifetime Wish is International Super Spy, and with Ash’s situation introduced in 1.22, this should be fun to write about. Oh, and a little fact. The game is currently on Week 9. 🙂

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I’m officially an adult!

This is Briar’s first thought as she pulls her favourite pink skull-and-bones quilt off herself. She swings her legs off the bed, the bright golden sunlight streaming in making her blink. Briar smoothes down her violet dress- a birthday present from her parents, with an awesome leather jacket and matching necklace. Briar had slept in it, loving her new outfit so much. It makes her feel much more grown up.

Briar grins happily as she crosses her bedroom. No more school, annoying teachers, or homework! This leaves her free to finally pursue her dream of becoming a secret agent. She can just imagine it- Agent Briar Kingston, legendary like Agent 007, running away from a criminal’s warehouse in slow-motion while it explodes spectacularly behind her.

Her black high heels (a present from Tamara, which Fern disapproved of) tap against the metal steps as she proceeds down the staircase. Briar can smell the tantalising scent of frying pancakes, and sure enough, her step-father is standing by the stove in his jammies, a pan sizzling in front of him.

“Morning, Briar. Do you want some breakfast?” Christopher says cheerfully, expertly flipping a pancake. This is one reason why Briar had decided not to move to Bridgeport, which is much more exciting than Sunset Valley. Her parents are still working, and continue to take care of household activities- like cooking, which Briar dismally fails at. Setting her waffles on fire was fun, but it didn’t taste nice.

“Sure.” Briar says happily, and moves forward to heap her plate with apple pancakes and whipped cream. She hears Christopher greet Ash behind her. Her brother had also decided to stay in a fully working house than to move out, and have to fend for himself.

Briar joins her mother and sister outside. “Mommy, I don’t want to go to school all by myself!” Isla complains as Briar takes a bite of pancake. Fern smiles at her youngest daughter. “Oh, sweetie. You’ll be fine; Jeannie will still be with you, won’t she? Oh, there’s the bus.” A loud honk sounds from in front of the house. “Bye!” Isla abandons her pancakes and rushes off, considerably more happy, as Briar yells a farewell after her.

Briar leaves her mother to clean up and walks across the lawn towards Ash, who is staring at the phone in his hand. “Hey, Ash!”

Ash hastily shoves his phone into his pocket and turns to face his sister. “Yes?”

Briar gapes at him for a moment. “Nice outfit. Who are you getting married to?” Her brother gives her a stony look in response. Ever since Ash had aged into an adult -or a little before?- he never laughs at Briar’s jokes anymore. The older he gets, it seems, the more he drifts away from the loveable, caring little boy Briar once played with.

“Okay, thanks for the answer.” Briar says, annoyed. “I was just wondering if you want to go to the police department with me. You know, to sign up for our jobs?”

Her brother looks at her for a moment, and to Briar’s surprise, he shakes his head. “What do you mean, no? I thought you wanted to be forensic investigator?”

“I want to be a scientist now.” Ash says, with a slightly uncomfortable look on his face.

“But… but…” Briar stumbles over her words, hurt. “But what happened to Detective Ash and Agent Briar? You said we would go around solving crimes together and saving the world, remember?”

“That was a childish dream, Briar.” Ash snaps in a condescending voice, which really ticks Briar off. Since when has her brother been so cold towards her?

“But you said we would go kick Xander’s stupid-“

Ash gives Briar a half-smile at that, and shrugs his shoulders. “Sorry, Briar. But what I want to do now is be a scientist now, okay?”

He runs off at that, and Briar follows her brother, feeling angry and dejected. She hadn’t told Ash how important his past dreams of working in a crime-busting brother-sister team was to her. The idea had flowered inside her- Ash the brainiac half who would solve all the clues in his office, Briar the other half who would go on a high-speed chase and put the criminals behind bars with her amazing karate skills.

“Thanks a lot, brother.” Briar grumbles as Ash drives off in the family car, leaving her at the pavement. “You could have taken me too!”

Fuming, Briar grabs a bicycle and begins pedalling. As the fresh morning air whips across her face, some of the annoyance leaves her, to be replaced with excitement. Ash could go off and study cow eyeballs, hooray for him. But it would be her, Briar Kingston, who would become Sunset Valley’s most awesome secret agent.

After a few minutes, she halts in front of the old stone facade of the police station. Propping her bike behind a forget-me-not shrub, Briar approaches the heavy steel doors. Hopefully, in an hour, she would have the job.

 After a IQ test, a bit of treadmill running, and waiting for an officer to check her criminal record, Briar finally walks out with the job. Snitch, at $40 per hour- not bad. The deputy had told her that she would be delivering coffee to the boss and rewriting old criminal records at first, but it’s a start. Hopefully, with some work on her Logic and Athletic skills, Briar will be promoted before long.

Revelling at how fast she had gotten employed (yes, she is only 18) Briar doesn’t notice a woman passing her until she hears a disgusted, sweet little cough.

Briar recognises the blond hair piled up into an elegant French Twist, and the snobby strut of Blair Wainwright. Somehow, the dark navy uniform and badges do not match with this image. Xander’s wife, a police officer? No way.

(I am highly suspicious of this. This is the second time I have seen her come out of the station- the first, when Xander landed himself in jail.)

Briar decides to put Blair out of her mind. It will be unpleasant to have her as her co-worker, but her first shift does not start till tomorrow. So instead she heads home and speeds down the waterslide, not in her bikini, but in her brand new dress and heels.

O.o

She splashes down into the pool, treading water with some difficulty. After a while, Briar’s lip trembles as she apparently realises what she is swimming in.

Quickly she hops out, and heads to play with the sprinklers. Fern’s veggie garden is nothing but rich dark earth right now.

A fountain of water leaps up into the air, the drops glittering in the sunlight. Briar hops about the sprinkler, laughing as she dodges the water. No homework to do- just spending a blissful afternoon of playing outside, and enjoying her newfound freedom.

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The sky blushes evening pink when Ash finally steps outside the science lab. He blinks, surprised. Had he spent the whole day in there? No way; Ash had only applied for a job, and given a long boring tour by Dr. Payton. Oh, and he had been introduced to a fascinating genetic experiment. But sure enough, the sun is sinking slowly, casting long shadows over the pavement. Maybe a science career is right for him, if Ash had been so interested. Maybe vanquishing his life-long dream of Dynamic DNA Profiler is good for him.

It’s not like he has a choice, anyway.