Stop desire

Round 17: May 2027

Josh Cooper is 22.

(Cal and Elissa are 65, Nyah is 41, Brooke is 35 and Lilly is 22.)

Narrated by Josh.

I moved to Exmoor after graduation. Lilly used to live in this building too but she bought herself a little house in Allerdale right after graduation. Can you believe it, a 22-year-old with their own house! Not that I blame her. It's close to her workplace and to be honest, this part of the neighbourhood is not very nice or safe. I don't mind so much though. It's not like I'm planning to stay here forever either. I'm just trying to save up money so that I can't get my own studio some day. The apartment is really tiny and there's not much entertainment apart from reading books.

Having a teeny tiny apartment means that I tend to take my dates to Tom's Diner because it's near-by, it's cheap and the food is alright. I'm not ready to settle down so I always make sure that my date knows it's a casual thing.

We usually end up back in my apartment anyway. There's a bed which is basically all I need for the kind of entertainment I'm looking for.

Seeing as I'm trying to save money I don't go out nearly every night. Sometimes I stay home and cook enough food for a few days. Even with Tom's Diner being cheap, it still costs so much more to eat outside than to have a meal at home.

My career has been off to a good start after graduation. Photography can be quite a cutthroat business but luckily there's not that much competition in this area. I mostly take portraits but I also freelance for the Wellington Gazette every now and then. The last bit I did for them was to do a photoshoot of the new high school. Principal Nyah Marlowe was thrilled to see me. "It's good to see my former students doing well" she said.

I got a few pictures inside and also took a few snaps outside to get a few shots of the atmosphere. There's a lot more bikes and mopeds in the school's front yard than there was in my times. Nyah told me that many of the students who live near-by ride their bikes or little mopeds to school instead of taking the bus. I guess we were a bit lazier!

I usually work with Brooke Greene at the Gazette. She has high standards for the photos she wants to use in her articles but so far I've gotten along really well with her. We usually go over the ideas before I go out to do a shoot so I know what kind of photos she's expecting.

The Gazette is quite a small newspaper and Brooke's pretty hands-on with everything anyway so we often draft the layout of the article together as well. Being a photographer for a local newspaper isn't exactly my main goal career-wise but I think it's a great opportunity to learn a lot.

I try to visit mom and dad at least a couple of times a month. Dad retired in January and mom finally left the police force and retired in April. She's keeping herself busy with her writing and working on a movie script with Stella Harris.

They offered that I could come live with them after graduation but I think they deserve the peace and quiet. Besides, it would be a bit difficult to keep up with my social life if I lived with my parents.

Dad used to have a toy shop for a little while when I was a kid but it never really took off the way he wanted so he closed it after some time. He's found his love for making toys again. Nowadays he mostly makes toys for my nephews and nieces but occasionally he sells a few pieces online.

He said he's really happy to see me find a career that I really like. He and mom were so proud when my first photos appeared in the Gazette that they have the article framed in mom's office.

They're also very interested in my love life. I'm the only one of their sons who hasn't settled down at 22. I mean, Danny had two kids pretty much by the time he graduated from university. Mom and dad keep asking if I'm dating anyone or if I've seen Lilly lately. I just tell them there's no-one special in my life at the moment.

I'm not sure if it's completely true though. Lilly and I bumped into each other a few nights ago at the café downtown and somehow we ended up at my place and slept together. She left early in the morning and we haven't really talked after that so I don't really know what's going on.

I don't know if I'm ready to settle down just yet but I know that I don't want to play any games with Lilly. If we do get back together then I know it's going to be the end game. I just have to figure out what I want - and more importantly what she wants - and take it from there.

Notes:

• Title from "Stop desire" by Tegan and Sara.
• I'm planning to build a photography studio in Exmoor and have Josh buy it but he needs to make a bit more money so he'll keep living in his teeny tiny apartment for some time.
• Josh rolled the want "Woohoo with 10 different sims" in the beginning of this play session and achieved it at the end of it. Granted, I think he had 4 or 5 notches on his belt already but still, good effort LOL. Of course, once he had fulfilled that want he rolled the want to woohoo with 20 different sims. 
• I need to make some changes to my play schedule but I'll definitely get back to the Josh/Lilly-situation again in the near future.
• Just a heads up for those of you who don't follow me on Twitter: I'm making some changes in the blog so some photos might not show up. Sorry for the inconvenience.