Chapter 33: Alpha Male

Sheridan has his birthday.

And starts his difficult teen years.

Now that their son has become a teen, Rex and Tamsin can leave him alone with Dulce while they go out to Caroline's party.

Tamsin catches up with her older half-sister, who she hasn't seen much of since they grew up.

And she meets Rory McGreggor's young wife, Ananda, pregnant with their second child. Tamsin is thrilled that Rory doing so well with his second chance at life. Though it must be strange for his various descendants in town. Rory's adopted daughter Maebe had been married to Ananda's great-grand uncle Vijay Ramaswami.

The kids are asleep when Tamsin and Rex get home, so they indulge in some late night skinny dipping.

Prom is coming up fast, and the school currently has a high boy:girl ratio, making competition for a date very stiff. But Sheridan is rich, cute and popular, so he's confident of his chances. He tries first with Esmerelda Paige, boasting about his athletic achievements as a warm up to asking her out. His status as one of the school's top jocks turns out to be a big negative for Esmerelda.

Since it's Friday evening, Sheridan heads out to Riverblossom Route Cafe to see if any other teens are hanging out. Sedrick Moldanado, a new arrival to town, dares to make a face at Sheridan.

"Are you asking me to kick your ass?" Sheridan asks.

"Just try it!" Sedrick snaps, "I was my team's star quarterback in my old school, and I will break you."

Sheridan is not about to let Sedrick go unpunished, and beats him up pretty hard.

Chanda Ramaswami is the only other teen around to witness Sheridan's victory over the upstart jock.

"Did you see that?" Sheridan asks, "Sedrick actually thought he could take me. What a loser!"

Chanda saw the whole thing, and is incredibly impressed with Sheridan. "You were so amazing," she sighs, "You showed him who's the alpha male in this school."

Sheridan really likes being called the alpha male.

"So, prom is coming up..." Sheridan says.

Chanda wraps her arms around him, "I don't have a date yet. I've been waiting for someone worthwhile to ask me."

As alpha male, Sheridan figures he must be worthwhile. "Will you go with me, Chanda?"

Chanda kisses him, passionate and deep. "Yes, I'll go with you," she says when she lets him up for air, "But only if we're going to go steady."

Sheridan agrees to that readily. If he's the alpha male, Chanda is the alpha female of their school. Besides her, there's only Esmerelda Paige, who hates jocks, and the geeky Mindy Arnett, who is beneath his notice.

Sheridan was out after curfew, and when he gets home he's met by his furious father.

"I expect you to be home by curfew!" Rex yells.

"Chill, Dad. It's Friday, it's not like there's school tomorrow," Sheridan answers.

"Do NOT EVER tell me to 'chill'!" Rex shouts back, "It's not just that you're late coming home; I heard you got into fight tonight."

Word sure travels fast in this town. "Sedrick started it," Sheridan explains.

"I don't care who started it," Rex answers, "If another boy picks a fight with you, walk away from it. That's the mature way to handle it."

Sheridan rolls his eyes. You won't impress anyone by walking away from a fight. But, he hangs his shoulders, apologizes and promises his father to be home on time and to not get into any more fights. The only way to handle parents is to tell them what they want to hear.

"I'll let it slide this time," Rex says, swayed by his son's remorse, "But I expect better from you."

Saturday morning brings driving lessons with his mother.

"Dad was pretty pissed last night," Sheridan remarks.

"With good reason," Tamsin answers, "Now keep your eyes on the road."

With her brother grown up, Dulce has the treehouse to herself.

But playing alone isn't much fun, so she goes to the park to play hopscotch with her friend Francisca.

After driving lessons, Sheridan visits his friend Demarcus Dozier. "Let's go egg that loser Sedrick's house," Sheridan suggests.

"If we get caught, we'll be in big trouble," Demarcus says.

"Don't be such a pussy," Sheridan says, "C'mon, it'll be fun."

After some more prodding, Demarcus reluctantly agrees to Sheridan's plan, and the pair drive up to the Moldanado house.

Demarcus keeps to a safe distance while Sheridan throws eggs at the front door.

Sedrick's father, Quentin Moldanado comes out in time to get egged in the face.

"You little hooligan!" Quentin yells, "I'm calling the police."

That's Sheridan's cue to get the hell out of there. Demarcus is already long gone.

The egging took longer than expected, and Sheridan is a little late for his date with Chanda.

"Sedrick's father called my Mom," Chanda tells him. Chanda's mother, Tanushri, is the Police Chief. "She told him it was a harmless prank, and that he should let it go."

"She did that because you're dating me?" Sheridan asks.

"No, she'd rather I wasn't dating you actually," Chanda says, giggling, "She did it because of who you are, an Enmity. Your family is wealthier than the Roths, and just as important. The police won't touch you."

"Your mom doesn't you to go out with me?" Sheridan asks, focusing on the most important bit of information.

"She won't forbid it, but she says you're trouble."

Curfew comes fast, and Chanda has to be home before it arrives. The Police Chief's daughter has to obey the law, after all, so the date is cut short early.

"Meet me earlier tomorrow," Chanda says over her shoulder as she walks out of the elevator, "Unless I'm not as important as throwing eggs at some loser's house."

"I'll be at Red Shed as soon as it opens," Sheridan promises.

Rex got himself another tattoo.

Sheridan meets Chanda at Red Shed, early as promised.

"My mom says this is a criminal hangout," Chanda says, "She'd be so pissed if she knew you took me here."

"My family owns this place," Sheridan says. No one ever told him about the place's reputation, no one in the family has stepped foot in this place since Gibson Burden's bartending days. They just collect their profits and ignore whatever happens here. "But if you want to go somewhere else..."

"Are you kidding? I love doing things that would piss my mother off if she knew about them," Chanda answers.

They go inside and dance, and have a couple drinks. Sheridan doesn't notice any criminal activity, and wonders how the place got its reputation.

Red Shed doesn't offer much else in the way of entertainment, so Sheridan and Chanda take themselves outside and make out behind the bushes.

"I love your dad's tattoos," Chanda whispers in his ear, "Do you think you'll ever get inked?"

Monday after school, Sheridan drags his friend Kenyon out to the tattoo parlor. "Dude, there is no way I'm getting a tattoo," Kenyon says, "My parents would kill me."

"Why is everyone in this school such pussies?" Sheridan asks, "Why am I the only one who knows how to have fun?"

Kenyon is not swayed, and Sheridan has to get inked by himself.

After getting his tattoo, Sheridan does get Kenyon to join him at Cathedral for a drink.

Kenyon worries about the impact his friendship with Sheridan will have on his grades. But then there's impact not being friends with Sheridan would have on his social status to think of.

Kenyon takes off as curfew time approaches, but Sheridan sticks around for some bubble blowing.

Sheridan loses track of time and doesn't get home until after 2am.

"What are you thinking?" Rex demands as his son comes in the door, "Out at 2 am on a school night!"

"My homework is done," Sheridan lies, "And I'm on the honor roll. One late night isn't going to hurt."

"That's not the issue!" Rex yells. Then he notices the new tattoo. "What is that on your arm?"

"You aren't seriously going to say you don't know what a tattoo is," Sheridan quips.

"I know what it is!" Rex shouts, "What are you doing with one?"

"Tats are cool, Dad. Like you."

Rex sighs, "I should ground you."

"Dad, please, no!" Sheridan pleads, "Prom is tomorrow. You can't do this to me!"

"I won't keep you from your prom," Rex says, having very fond memories of his own prom with Tamsin. "But you have got to shape up, son."

"I promise, no more late nights," Sheridan says.

"Get to bed," Rex grumbles, "You need to be up for school in a few hours.

Sheridan takes Chanda to the prom. He is of course crowned Prom King, the acknowledged alpha male of the school. Chanda couldn't be prouder to be with him, and she's doubly thrilled when he shows off his tattoo for her later under the bleachers.

Rex and Tamsin have a serious discussion about the boy.

"One of these days, he's going to be riding home in a police car," Rex warns.

"Or worse, he'll end up in jail," Tamsin says, "We need to find something for him to spend all that energy on. Something healthy and non-criminal."

Rex decides that the boy needs martial arts training to help him focus his energies. Sheridan thinks his father is totally lame.

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Challenge Notes:

For the past three or so generations, I've changed the names of all Ramaswami children to Indian names. I've gotten more lax about that in recent generations, as their Indian heritage would likely weaken with all the marriages into non-Indian families. But Chanda was named by the game in a rare instance of culturally appropriate random naming, lol.

Sheridan did not get his tattoo in the tattoo parlor, I used MC to place it. 

His traits are Athletic, Brave, Rebellious and Hot-Headed. When he gets mood swings, I try to indulge most of the associated wishes. The fight with Sedrick came from wishes to insult and beat up another teen. It's also a good start for his future with the Fighter goal he will have when his generation officially starts. I also indulge his wishes to stay out after curfew, even when he's not in mood swing mode.

Chanda has Mean-Spirited as one of her traits. And Kleptomaniac and Good, lol. Her mother is probably not the Chief of Police, I can't even remember if that's an actual job title in the police track. But she is a cop, that much I know.