Come what may

Round 1: 1976-1980

Rumors of the last heir of the Harper family have started to surface in Wellington. People say that he is planning to buy the Harper Mansion and renovate it completely. Many people still remember Bert Harper's gambling addiction and confrontations with the law and the bank robbery which finally put him behind bars and led to the family's disgraceful departure from Wellington.

Chase Harper has heard all about his uncle's infamous life and is determined to prove to the habitants of Wellington that he's not the same. Getting the mansion back in the family's possession was Chase's father's last wish. After finishing high school, Chase applied to Brixton Academy which is located near Wellington. He hopes he can someday purchase the old family home.

Chase is a Knowledge sim and he wants to become an Ecological Guru. His college major is Biology.

Amabelle Jordan starts college at the same time with Chase and they both live in the Sunset Woods Dormitory. Amabelle comes from a poor family and she wants her future kids to have more than what she did as a child. Her aspiration is Fortune and she has a LTW to become Head of SCIA.

There's a spark between Chase and Amabelle right from the beginning. You could say it's love at first sight.

Amabelle tries to help the dorm chef as often as possible so she can earn some money. She is a terrible cook though, she manages to burn the food everytime she works on the stove.

Amabelle practices her small talk skills with the other students living in the dorm. She's very outgoing and always seems to know just the right thing to say to anyone.

Chase is more serious and a bit of an introvert. However he becomes friends with Noel Carter quite soon because they both enjoy a game of chess every now and then. They spend hours and hours planning the perfect move.

Chase and Amabelle, who are now dating, take full advantage of the hot tubs in the Brixton Fitness Centre. It's nice to relax... and do "stuff"... in the hot tub after a long day full of lectures.

Chase knows that good physical condition helps the brain work better. The fitness centre provides a good variety of fitness equipment and usually the gym is packed with students taking care of their bodies.

Living in a dorm with different kinds of people can lead into conflicts. David Barker is a little too interested in Amabelle. He follows her pretty much everywhere and just stares at her for hours. He even sneaks into her room while she is sleeping!

Creepy weirdos aren't the only disadvantage of living in a dorm. Amabelle is sick and tired of scrubbing showers and toilets. It seems like she's living with a bunch of pigs since she and Chase are the only ones who ever clean up the place.

Chase is studying hard to get a good degree. He knows that jobs in the Nature career are hard to get and he wants to get a good start on his career after graduation.

Although both Amabelle and Chase take their studies very seriously, sometimes it's nice to just relax on the sofa watching tv and cuddling. By this time, Chase has told Amabelle about his family and the mansion. Amabelle is impressed by the fact that Chase wants to revive the family history. They decide to live as frugally as possible and maybe they'll be able to afford to buy the mansion together after they graduate.

During their sophomore and junior years Chase and Amabelle spend many evenings in the Brixton Library searching for information for their term papers. It's easier to concentrate on studying in the library since the dorm is always full of noise.

Chase surprises Amabelle with an engagement ring during breakfast. It's the first semester of their senior years at Brixton Academy and Chase wants to show the world he is committed to Amabelle.

Amabelle happily accepts Chase's proposal. Even though they have different kind of dreams for life career-wise, they share a dream of a family. Now that the day of the graduation is coming closer and closer they want to start planning for the future.

Days go by and the final semester is getting near to its end. The last few days before their final exam Amabelle and Chase barely talk to anyone - or even to each other - as they have their noses buried in books. They both want to do well in the final exams so that they can graduate with honors.

It's their last night in the dorm - their home for the past 4 years. Even though Chase is still determined to buy the Harper mansion someday, he realizes that the old family home doesn't mean anything if he can't live there with Amabelle. Amabelle has a surprise for Chase: she wants them to buy the mansion together and work together to bring it back to its old glory.

A few days later...

Chase and Amabelle are able to purchase the Harper mansion with their savings and a loan of §20,000. As they walk to the front door for the first time Amabelle can't help but think if they've made a huge mistake. "This place will eat up all our money, how on earth can we afford to start a family".

Much to their surprise they find out that the house is partly furnished. The furniture is old and pretty worn-out but at least they'll have a place to sleep and even the plumbing seems to be working.

Amabelle doesn't want to use the stove until she has cleaned it completely so she just makes a couple of bowls of cereal for breakfast. They have both gotten jobs in the Politics - since there were no openings in the careers they want. Chase starts as an Intern later that week. Amabelle managed to get position as a Campaign Manager, thanks to her degree in Economics.

Chase takes a "relaxing" bath while Amabelle is at work. The bathroom looks pretty disgusting but after scrubbing the toilet and tub for hours Chase realizes that the stains won't come off. They'll have to do though until they can afford to buy new ones. The most important thing now is to pay off the loan as quickly as possible.

A few neighbors come to welcome the new family to the neighborhood. Amabelle cooks a spaghetti dinner after coming home from work. Chase is too tired to enjoy his first meal in their new home though and falls asleep in the table.

Amabelle and Chase go to bed immediately after the guests have left. It's been a long and hard day with the move and cleaning the house and hunting for a job. They can barely stay awake long enough to kiss good-night. But it's all worth it as they doze off on their first night under their very own roof.

Notes:

• Title from "Come what may" by Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor
• David Barker is a very creepy dormie. He seriously followed Amabelle everywhere and spent hours just standing beside her and staring at her. I finally made Amabelle throw a drink at him to make him like her less. Luckily it worked, my next step would've been to kill him!
• This was my first household in uni and I was bored to death. I use the college adjuster to shorten the semesters but still it felt like they lasted forever. Maybe it was because Chase and Amabelle started with zero skill points so they had to spend most of their time skilling and getting a good grade. I might end up cheating a bit if it's this tedious with the next students.