Friday 2 March 2012

It's all true

Round 33: June 2037 (Winter)
last update/Jessica's next update/next update

Kit Royce is 77, Max Nihill is 50, Zaria Royce-Nihill is 49 and Jessica is 17.
(Josh is 23, Veronica is 20, Noah is 19, Emma and Louisa are 17 and Lauren is 16)

Narrated by Jessica Royce-Nihill

I just found out that I’ve been accepted into Suffolk University next year. I was so excited; I think I called everybody I know!

I’ve been working really hard and it’s paid off. Mum, Dad and Grandma are all very proud of me.

Dad even took the night off work so we could have a family dinner to celebrate. That’s rare enough that we made sure Josh came over too.

Josh used the opportunity to introduce us to his girlfriend Veronica, who he’s been dating for a few months now. I already kind of knew her, since she was a few years ahead of me at school, but the rest of the family hadn’t met her yet.

Veronica is in her junior year at Suffolk, so she’ll be a senior there by the time I start. She was saying how she could watch out for me when I get there but I wasn’t sure she was someone I’d want to spend a whole lot of time with.

Dad was quite stone-faced and very quiet during dinner, so I don’t think he’s so fond of Veronica.

She’s sort of a know-it-all, which is a trait that tends to get on Dad’s nerves, probably because he can be a bit that way himself.

As they finished washing up after dinner, I heard Dad mention to Mum that he thought Veronica was a bit “mouthy”.

I was talking to her though and she actually reminds me a little of my best friend Emma.

Emma can be very abrasive but if you get to know her or if the conversation is about something she’s really interested in, she can be like a completely different person. I think Veronica might be the same way.

Emma is still waiting to hear back from Suffolk but she’s very confident that she’ll get in. She works just as hard as I do and she's not worried at all.

So we’re talking under the assumption that getting in to uni is a done deal for the both of us. We’ve both applied to Moretti Hall, where Josh lived when he was a student, rather than Novak Hall.

Moretti Hall is smaller, quieter and best of all, they’re all private rooms so you don’t have to deal with roommates. I could room with Emma but there’s no guarantee we’d be assigned to the same room.

College is all we talk about these days. I’m doing culinary arts and Emma will probably be doing a fine arts degree.

Louisa only just recently decided what she wants to do. Previously, she had no clue what she was even mildly interested in.

We have compulsory careers counselling through school though and now she has it all sorted out; she wants to study psychology, with a view towards going into counselling once she’s done.

That is so perfect for Louisa. She’s always been so sweet and she genuinely cares about people. It seems like a good way for her to get paid for something she’s already good at!

Lauren is going to follow her mother into journalism. Seeing she’s a year younger than us though, she’ll have one more year of high school while we’re all off at college.

I hope we can all still hang out next year. Us all being away at college, plus Lauren still being underage might make it hard.

Lauren doesn’t seem too worried about it. She has ideas about getting a fake ID and using that to sneak in wherever we happen to be going.

I don’t know if it’ll be quite as easy as that but I guess we can worry about that next year. I’m sure we’ll still be able to hang out together anyway; it’s not like we’ll be drinking and going to clubs 24/7.

When I first started applying to uni, I was more excited at the prospect of spending more time with Noah than with my friends. Now, that barely even crosses my mind.

We’re already six months into the year and I’ve barely seen Noah at all. He’s staying at his parents’ place for winter break at the moment and this is the first time I’ve seen him since Easter.

It’s not just Noah’s fault. There have been times when he’s called and asked about getting together and I either wouldn’t feel like it or I’d have already made plans.

And it’s not that we don’t enjoy our time together, when it actually happens. We do, but it’s not like it used to be. It’s been much harder to keep this relationship going than I thought it was going to be.

I feel weird talking to Emma about Noah, so I’ve been talking it out with Mum instead. My head always feels clearer after talking to her. She knows exactly when I want advice and when I just want someone to listen.

She really helped, once again. I came to realise that breaking up with Noah might be the best thing for both of us. I’d like to stay friends with him and if we go our separate ways now, it’ll give us six months to settle into being apart before we have to start seeing each other on a regular basis again.

I invited Noah over, after telling him on the phone that we needed to talk. Usually, “we need to talk” doesn’t mean anything good but I didn’t want to completely blindside him.

I think it worked because Noah was disappointed and sad (as am I, really) but he didn’t seem too stunned. We haven't been as close as we once were and I think we’d both been feeling that.

Like me, he also wants to stay friends. Things are a bit awkward between us now but I’m hoping that will get better with time.

Notes:
  • Title is from It's All True by the Lemonheads.
  • At the moment, Veronica seems quite devoted to Josh. Her panel was full of romantic wants for him...which is a first. We'll see how long it lasts!
  • I wasn't expecting Jessica and Veronica to get along but seeing she obviously gets along with Emma, it makes sense that she'd warm to Veronica. Max, on the other hand, did not care for her at all. In game, I don't think they share many interests, so conversations between them just don't go well.
  • Jessica earned five scholarships and will start at Suffolk in 2038. She almost got a sixth scholarship - she just needed one more mechanical point! - but she was more interested in her friends than studying this round. ;) I guess she figured she was in already, so why bother working any harder!
  • And yeah, Jessica seems to have lost interest in Noah. She had the fear of breaking up with him at the start of the round and that rolled away by the end. :( I didn't really ever see them lasting as long as they did and four years is a decent run for high school sweethearts.
  • I did have a little extra bit written in about Declan (who, if you remember, has quite the crush on Jessica) at the end but my game crashed just as I was loading the community lot. Argh! So instead, I'm going to save that for the high school update this round.
  • Camilla and Charlie's wedding is coming up in the very next update! Now that I have everything all planned out, I'm even more excited about it and I hope you guys will enjoy it too. :D

20 comments:

  1. Breaking up seems like the best thing for them and wow! 5 scholarships, your teens always have so many scholarships before heading off to uni, they must skill all the time

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jessica and Noah ran their course, I think. :( It happens.

      Jessica does indeed skill a lot (she's Knowledge, so she normally rolls up skilling wants quite frequently), though it's not the case with all my teens. No matter their aspiration though, they only skill when they roll up the want or when they do it autonomously. Five isn't really that many when you consider that one is normally the good grades scholarship and another is the entrepreneur's scholarship they get for reaching the top of a teen career. A lot of my kids end up with dancing scholarships as well - it's not too hard to get to 8 dance skill points if the kids have grown up in a house where there's always music on for them to dance to. :)

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  2. I was hoping they would be able to work it out. I guess some time apart won't be the worse thing. You never know what might happen in the future. I wonder how excited Declan might be when he hears that Jessica's a free agent now.

    Reading about the scholarships your teens earn make me think that mine are such slackers. I know some have enough skills for earning scholarships but 5? Wowzers, indeed.

    I love your weddings. I can't wait!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm sure Declan will be quite pleased that Jessica is available. He really is quite smitten, the poor kid! I'll delve into Declan a bit more in the high school update, which I think is in a couple of months.

      Heh, as I said to AV, not so much! Scholarships for good grades, dancing and reaching the top of a teen career are pretty easy to get. That's three right there, without even really trying.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  3. Break ups are always hard, so I'm glad that they both want to stay friends. And who knows, things may just change once she makes it to college. I don't think Jessica has to much to worry about as far as staying in touch with friends who aren't going to uni yet. Girls for the most part make a way to stay friends!

    And yay, Camilla and Charlie's wedding! Can't wait.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Noah was Jessica's first everything, so he'll always be special to her in that way. If they can stay friends, then more's the better. And you're definitely right about girls - none of my friends went to the same uni I did but we're still friends to this day. These four will make the effort.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  4. Aw, break ups are tough. But sometimes it's for the best, and hopefully they can still be friends. I'm sure Declan will be happy to hear about it though! lol ;)

    And yay for the wedding! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Very true and I think this break-up was one of those times. Declan is for sure waiting in the wings for his shot with Jessica, lol!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  5. Aww, how sad that she and Noah drifted apart. But they are very young, so maybe it's for the best.

    I think Jessica's viewpoint in this post is great, because it really encapsulates that excitement that is present when someone is at that stage in life where the really big things are beginning to happen. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jessica and Noah ended it in the best way possible - no other people, no bitterness or anything. So their relationship will be a pleasant memory for them both, eventually. They're still both just kids, really.

      Jessica is on the cusp of a really exciting (and kind of scary) time of her life and I'm really glad that came across to you. :) I'm excited to get this bunch of kids into college, even though it's going to make for some hectic college sessions!

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  6. I'm so excited for Jessica, and glad things are going so well for her. Sad about her and Noah but it seemed highly probable once he went to university. I wonder what declan will have up his sleeve now that shes available.

    It was great seeing Josh. I love him as a big brother, he has this sort of egotistic-smart-guy type of personality, which I think is fun. I actually have a hard time seeing him married at least for now, because of the way he thinks/behaves. Sorta like he thinks the sh%t, but really he has stuff yet to learn (ahem Elsoeth is better for him!).

    Cant believe that Jessica is nearly ready for college! And I share her dads pov on veronica. No good for Josh still have a hard time seeing her as a teacher too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Jessica and Noah probably did well to last as long as they did, with him being away at college. I haven't quite figured out what Declan will do but ACR may take care of that for me. Their chemistry is very high!

      Heh, that's a pretty good description of Josh! He was kind of a pain when he was living at home but he's a little better now. ;) He's definitely not ready for marriage but he's only 23 and I think few guys are, at that age. I don't think he and Veronica are a match made in heaven, that's for sure!.

      I had to keep double-checking Jessica's age, because I couldn't quite believe she was 17! It seems like she's grown up really fast.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  7. Applying for specific dorms - another great idea I could use! Sometimes I think I need to stop reading Sullivan because I keep stealing idea's from you, but I just love Sullivan too much to stop reading it :)

    I'm glad Veronica is devoted to Josh, and I really hope she keeps devoted! On the other hand: Josh and Elpeth ....

    As sad as I am to see Jessica and Noah break up, I'm pretty anxious to see what Declan will do now :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL, I don't mind people "stealing" ideas. And this isn't so much an idea, really - it's just how dorms work in RL. Here, anyway!

      Yeah, well...we'll see about Veronica. I'm not at all confident she'll stay devoted, due to past evidence, but who knows?

      I can imagine Declan would be biding his time with Jessica. He wouldn't want to make his move too soon and risk her not being ready to start dating again yet.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  8. Congrats to Jessica on getting into SU! I'm glad she'll likely be joined by all her girls at uni, too. LOL at Lauren talking about getting a fake ID. That girl! Too bad Max doesn't care for Veronica but I bet she is a tough pill to swallow if you're not used to dealing with someone like her. Hopefully, if things last between her and Josh, they'll get along a little better.

    Too bad about Jess and Noah, though. But, if you're not feeling it, you can't force it. I'm sure there are plenty of girls waiting to scoop adorable Noah up, and guys for Jessica. I'd forgotten about Declan so I'm glad you mentioned it. Now I can't wait to find out what will happen now that she's single lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, Louisa and Emma will get in and Lauren is very bright, so I think she will too. It'll be fun to have them all in that dorm!

      Veronica and Max are probably a little too alike. Both very opinionated and brash and people like that don't always get along so well. Max also isn't really the type to make it hard for his kids' boyfriends and girlfriends though, so there's that.

      Well, we know there's someone waiting to scoop Jessica up. ;) We'll hear more from him and Jessica when the high school update comes around. I don't know who will be next on the horizon for Noah but I'm sure he won't have too much trouble finding someone. He's a pretty good looking guy.

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  9. Jessica was very mature about breaking up with Noah the way that she did. I think she handled it perfectly.

    I look forward to see what her and the girls get into during college. They don't appear to be a bad bunch but I bet they will make playing University fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Jessica handled the situation with Noah pretty well too. She's a smart girl, so she does try to think things out before she acts. And she's very nice as well.

      I'm really excited about sending these girls to college. It's going to be a really jam-packed campus but it should run beautifully on my new computer. :D

      Thanks for reading!

      Delete
  10. *Squeeeeeee* at the idea of having Jessica and Emma and co at university next year!!! Daaaaw, it makes me so curious to know how far you are now! *lol* This will be a rocking bunch of students! Too bad that the poor Lauren will have to wait for one more year (*lol* @ her fake ID solution!)
    I love the picture of Jessica all "thoughtful". *swoon* I really have a weak spot for teens! Too bad for her relationship with Noah, but it opens sooooo many doors! *hello Declan!*

    I liked how Max isn't fond of Veronica! I'm not surprised!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yep, I've played them through their first year now, so you won't have to wait long to see Emma and co at uni. It'll be waiting for you when you get to it.

      I love playing teens too - it's always such a fun age. Yeah, Jessica breaking up with Noah does indeed look good for Declan, doesn't it? She and Noah had a pretty good run, considering how young they are.

      If Josh and Veronica break up, Max won't be sorry to hear it, I can tell you that much. They didn't get along at all!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      Delete