Series 1; Episode 5: The Blight of the Brokes

The Blight of the Brokes:

A Prologue to the Broke Family

Brandi Newbie's childhood was a happy one, full of plenty of love and nurture. Her parents raised her to be very good with cooking and fashion and sports, so she would be absolutely perfect. Most of all, she wanted to be the mother of her own family.

Eventually this all became true when she married the most handsome, wonderful man in all of Pleasantview. His name was Skip Broke. 

Leaving her parents behind, Brandi now had Skip to take care of her. 

Brandi had met Skip through her parents, because the Brokes and the Newbies weren't natives of Pleasantview. They had come from an overpopulated town called Riverview, but they moved out to enjoy a more peaceful life. The two families had become close because of their roots. Together, they would make it in this new town.

But there was one hitch - Skip had no money, and his whole family was incredibly poor. He never bothered trying to make a lot of cash. His father had been a fat party animal who had had no money at all, and Skip was amazed that he had survived up to this point. Skip realized that you don't need money to get by in life. Having love is a much better thing, and Skip did have love with Brandi. So the two had a baby together, and they named him Dustin.

The family moved into the woodlands on the outskirts of Pleasantview to live in a trailer.

Dustin was a nice boy, who loved animals and nature. But  since they were so poor, Brandi and Skip decided that they should have as many kids as possible. So they had another boy, who they named Beau, meaning 'Beautiful', because he was so handsome looking.

Dustin was kind of jealous of Beau because he was much less handsome, but he still loved his whole family very much, including his baby brother, and his father, who taught him to walk and talk.

But the couple was determined to have even more children, especially since Brandi had given up her job as a  Drive-Thru clerk to spend more time raising her kids - they figured, that if they have heaps of children, it was more likely that one would grow up to become a rich superstar. So Brandi became pregnant once again. 

Skip couldn't wait to see what his third child would look like, wondering if it would be as pretty as he is, or even prettier than the other two. However, something drastic happened that would prevent Skip from ever seeing him.

The Brokes had worked up enough money to buy something they knew would make them all happy - a pool. In Pleasantview, where the weather was always warm and sunny, a pool would be a perfect addition for the whole family.


 After purchasing it from the pool-store and having it installed in their backyard, Skip was the first to try it out. He went swimming in it secretly while the others were all out.

However, after a while of splashing about in the water, he noticed something that made his heart sink like the Titanic. There was no ladder in the pool! They weren't able to afford both a pool and a ladder - he had no way of getting out! 

He screamed and screamed until his lungs tired out, but nobody else could hear him out in the woodlands. Skip's flailing muscles gave way and he sank to the bottom and died.


The Sim Reaper was a very sensitive person. He was so saddened by the death of such a wonderful man, he didn't want to have Brandi find out for herself, but he also didn't want to have to tell her face to face. He decided to send her a text, and fish out Skip's body with his trusty fishing pole.

But little did the Reaper know, this would only lead to a tearing lack of closure in the lives of the Broke family....

From that point on, Brandi was all by herself, without a job, with two young sons to take care of, and another on the way. She knew that things were going to get tough.

Poor, pregnant and solo, she was no longer Brandi Newbie. She was now Brandi Broke.

Torn apart by a tragic accident; damaged financially, spiritually and emotionally, what will become of the Broke family? Subscribe today and eventually you will find out!