LCU, normal, simple, happy, part 3

LCU, spring semester, 2081 (part 3 of 3)

The suit is just a gag, because Micah is often silly like that. He found it at the back of his storage locker when he was packing up, and he figures he'll get one last laugh out of everybody before he leaves campus. He certainly doesn't plan on wearing the damn thing all day or anything!

But when he gets to his chosen new residence, the landlord says, "You can't live here."

Micah says, "What?"

"Soft ground, the building is sinking. It's no good. It has to be torn down."

"Dammit," Micah says. "I need to unpack my stuff. I need to change my clothes! I look ridiculous!"

"Not my problem," the landlord says. "You haven't signed any lease yet. Find yourself somewhere else to live."

"On such short notice?"

"Surely a guy like you has friends, right?"

The same goes for Luke and Jim, since they were planning to live in the City Park Apartments too. But they decide to spend a little more money on a pretty townhome on North Park Street. Okay, it was actually much more money than they would have spent on the apartment, but they really like the place! Though it looks like they might be slumming it on their frat-boy furniture for a while, while they make up that hefty security deposit. But hey, they managed to buy matching sneakers! How cute is that? :)

Blossom (Micah's ex), answered an ad in the paper for a room to rent in Lakeside Heights. She's subleasing from George McCarthy (Charlotte's ex).

But something tells me these two might end up a little more than just roommates, if George doesn't come on too strong and piss her off. A conspiracy theorist belly-button hippie tart (Mariah's words), and a dead-serious and sometimes hot-headed lawyer? What an unlikely pair! We'll check up on them when we visit Piper and her roommates.

Chandler and Jane are also running into real estate problems. Smart as Jane is, we suppose she never heard the saying, "You get what you pay for." They thought the $4000 price tag on this small condo in the Lakeside Heights town center was a steal! It turns out the condo they bought did NOT come with plumbing or counters or appliances. They even have to spend most of their leftover money installing a toilet! And since priorities like toilets and refrigerators must be bought first, it looks like they'll have to wait to buy anything new or stylish or even matching to wear. "You mean you didn't even come and look at it first?" Jane says.

"I'm sorry, please don't have second thoughts about me, I know you could have been with someone cuter, or smarter, or much richer."

Jane says, "Chandler, don't grovel, it's not attractive."

Jane says, "Wow, look at how broke we are! You'd think we were living in one of those legacy stories or something."

Chandler says, "Don't worry, baby, I'll make you proud."

She says, "Ahh, you're one of those guys who wants to make like $200,000 in his lifetime, or something?"

Chandler says, "No, I just want to reach my golden anniversary."

Chandler works the lunch shift at Deppiesse's, and Jane doesn't have to work until the evening. She meets Heather Thompson while she's out grabbing the newspaper, and the two of them become very quick friends. Jane says, "Wow, you're a scientist, that's amazing!"

Heather says, "Oh, but you were valedictorian of your class, that's quite impressive too! And placed in the SCIA!!! Wow, that's fascinating!"

Neither of them could decide who was smarter - they're both REALLY smart! So they decided they should hang out again some time so they could figure it out.

But smart as Jane is, she seems to have overlooked something very essential. She can't count on Chandler for these kinds of things. Chandler brings home a used futon from work, and Jane scores a mini-fridge and used formica countertop. Jane says, "Did you eat at work?

"Yeah," Chandler says.

"That's good, we don't have groceries. Oh..."

"What?"

"And we don't have any lights."

But as quaint as it might be to start out from scratch with not even lights, it's also nice living at the height of opulence, decorating your apartment all on your daddy's dime, and spending almost $3000 on a full wardrobe. This is just one of the pretty little dresses Mariah owns!

Mariah Riley, of course, is not doing bad at all. It certainly doesn't hurt that her daddy owns this building and pays for her rent money. All independent (if you don't count her daddy's credit cards), all hers, and just a skip away from her boyfriend? Where is her boyfriend, by the way? She hasn't heard from him all day. And the thing is she's never actually lived alone before. She didn't expect it to be so... quiet!

She invites Bella up for pie. She calls Micah, but only gets his voicemail and leaves him lots of messages. She did get a call from Chandler though - he wanted to know if she knew anything about kerosene lamps?

Bella says, "I'm so glad you're here. Not just because of the pie. But man, I'm starved."

Bella says, "I'm so screwed."

Mariah says, "Aren't we all?"

Bella says, "Mariah, you're going to make the best therapist..."

Mariah says, "What's wrong, Bella?"

"I'm pregnant."

Mariah says, "Oh my God. Is it Cameron's?"

Bella says, "How much of a slut do you think I am? Of course it's Cameron's!"

"Bella?"

"Uh, hang on, I'm counting..." She sighs with relief. "Yup, definitely Cameron's!"

"So, you're having a baby then, I would hardly say you were screwed."

"But nobody's going to hire a pregnant actress. I'll get stretch marks now - and I never got to do a nude scene."

Mariah knows, given the current condition, Bella Bradshaw has done plenty of nude scenes, whether or not she ever got paid for them.

Bella mentions something about needing to head back to her apartment and puke, just as Micah bursts through the door. "There you are," Mariah says. "I was trying to call you. What are you wearing?"

"I'm so screwed!" Micah says.

"Aren't we all, honey?"

"They can't rent the City Park building. The ground is sinking or something. They have to tear it down. What am I going to do now?"

"Well, first you're going to get out of that awful suit."

"What, you don't like it? I had it back in that storage locker with that dance sphere you gave me. I think it was my grandpa's."

But before they head back to the bedroom, Mariah's phone rings. It's Chandler. "Hang on," she says to Micah. "No, Chandler," Mariah says. "Don't put canola oil in it! You have to buy lamp oil! Go to Lowe's or something!"

Earlier in the day, Mariah found some of Micah's clothes packed with her own laundry, and she made him a drawer in her dresser. She also picked up some socks, and boxers, and a new toothbrush. She didn't know about the sinking building, she just wanted him to be comfortable here. But now that she does know about the sinking building, she finds herself faced with a decision to make. Mariah hopes beyond all hope that she won't regret this, and she thinks maybe she won't. She tries to make sense of all the things she's feeling, but sometimes you can only go on instinct. And she has a feeling there might be a bit of fate at work here, pushing her along - can fate manifest itself in sinking buildings?

She turns around, takes his hands and says, "Move in with me."

"That's not what I'm trying to do. You wanted your own place. I swear that building really is sinking into the ground. I can show you!"

"I believe you," she says.

"I just need a couple weeks to get my own place."

"No, don't." she says. "I want you here."

"Really?" he says.

"Really," she says.

Needless to say, he's quite pleased by it.

And really, if you want to know the truth, she doesn't like sleeping alone anyway. Maybe it's normal, the way she seeks his companionship, even when she thinks she wants her independence. Maybe she could be completely clueless about what she wants, but know exactly what she needs. Which is him, because he's simple, sturdy, and safe.

He's what she gravitates towards, what she always comes back to, even when she has no clue what she's doing.

*****

notes: For the record, I was NOT planning on them moving in together just yet. I thought she would have her apartment to herself for a little while. Looks like fate (a.k.a. glitched lot) surprised us all. And I'm glad it did, I think she needed a little push :)

I wanted to do a big graduation blow-out, since LCU isn't going to be quite the same for a little while. For the next year, it will be just Justin and Keri, and they'll be living in their own apartment, so they'll probably feel like just a regular family update. The following year, Beau and Tyler will be freshman. I can't wait to see what kind of trouble they get into! :)

LOL @ what Micah grew up into! I didn't even know that suit existed in my game. I wonder where he found it?

Well, Bella Bradshaw had a nice run of things, didn't she? 24 years old, a LOT of "adventures," and she finally got herself knocked up! It's kind of my fault too though, I used her and Cameron for testing out Maxwell's club, and they did it a lot that month! LOL! Little baby Bradshaw-Gibson is due in December.

recap notes on non-playables: for anyone confused, or who hasn't read this before - I have playable Sims and non-playable playable Sims in my neighborhood. The non-playables consist of move-aways, ex-boyfriends/girlfriends and long-time friends. They were once townies and are now regular playable Sims, just like any Sims, but are not main characters in our storyline. They usually have some kind of connection to our main characters, and so must be aged up with the neighborhood. They do have actual homes somewhere, and sometimes I pop in on them to age them, give them a promotion, or change their appearance, but they are made secondary characters in our storyline because if we followed everybody, we would never get through a round ;)

Which brings me to this - I'm keeping Chandler and Jane! Bah, too many Sims already, and technically since Chandler didn't work out with Keri, he's supposed to be made non-playable again after graduation, but I think I have a bit of a soft spot for him. Chandler is such a lovable putz, and Jane is so pretty, and so smart, and too good for him but she wants to marry him anyway. And they'll make cute mousy babies if they don't get too much of his genetics.

And LOL, they're too poor to afford lights!!! I always wanted to play a family too poor to afford lights!

So, anyway, they'll be added to the lineup starting next round :)