Students at Sim State University: 28.7.2012

At the student house where we last left Pauline Aspir, Marcus Baldwin and Bottom Summerdream, two newcomers have just arrived: Björn and Barry Beaker. While Björn only needs to change into something warmer (it is winter already, and shorts and sandals won't do), his brother will certainly have to do something about his hair. Why is it, I wonder, that he did not keep the hairdo I gave him when he was a child? Twice already, on his age transition to teenager and now to young adult, his hairstyle changed from the curly one I gave him to something else.

Not to worry, though - nothing a quick look into the mirror won't fix, and soon Barry is back to his former Goldilocks style :-) 

Björn instantly makes himself useful by cleaning one of the upstairs bathrooms. 

Marcus Baldwin welcomes the brothers by joining in with their game of kicky bag. 

With Jill Smith having moved back to New Max after her graduation, there is an unoccupied bedroom which now is assigned to Björn and Barry. It is a bit cramped with the addition of a second bed, and looks very girlish in style, but the boys won't spend much time in there, and if you have ever lived in a house shared with others, you'll be familiar with the experience that not everything can be according to your own taste. 

I never tell anyone here when or what to eat (just as I generally intervene very little), and often think one of the students is going to die of starvation any moment, but someone always ends up serving a meal just in time. 

Barry and Björn love tossing a football on the lawn to get some exercise after all the hard studying. In the meantime, Barry has declared his major in Mathematics, and Björn in Economy. 

Of course, the girls are still here, too. Pauline Aspir unsuccessfully tries to make omelette, but it will still be eaten - as usual, everybody waited for the others to prepare a meal. 

It is still winter, not spring, and yet without me influencing this, Björn Beaker flirts with Bottom Summerdream. 

They don't seem to mind the hard, cold ground outside and go for a cuddle underneath the hibiscus trees behind the patio - looks like Björn has taken a leaf out of his Dad's book! 

Pauline and Bottom in the room they share. I just love this scene, it looks so cozy, doesn't it? 

Bottom has finished the first semester of her final year and is already looking forward to her graduation party. Little does she know that said party will end in a catastrophe...! 

Another couple I did not influence: Marcus and Pauline are in love!] 

Everyone has now finished their semester. Bottom Summerdream is always a bit ahead of the others. 

The Campus Coach has not forgotten about this group of students in their private residence! 

To celebrate the successful end of their first semester, Björn prepares pork chops. 

Bottom can certainly not be called shy when it comes to her sweetheart! 

A sweet picture of Marcus and Pauline, cuddling under the stars, with Marcus pointing out a certain constellation to his love. 

Bottom has just graduated Cum Laude in Biology and is now waiting for the guests for her graduation party to arrive. 

Her mother Titania, brother Puck and former co-student Sharla Ottomas arrive... 

...as well as Daniel Bell, Justin Kim, Silvia Singles, Jill Smith and her Dad Oberon Summerdream. 

While everybody is enjoying the party indoors, Barry rakes the leaves in the yard. When he burns the pile of leaves, just like the students have done many times before, Jill Smith comes out and decides to play with the leaves just as the flames are at their highest! 

And for some very strange reason, the fire spreads into the dining area of the house, causing havoc among the party guests and resident students. 

It is just as dramatic as it looks! There is no fire alarm, and nobody can calm down long enough to call the fire brigade. 

Suddenly, the flames die down, and a small pile of ashes is left on the floor. Someone is missing, but who? 

Marcus, as shocked as he is by the appearance of the Grim Reaper, manages to run to his exam just in time. 

But Bottom is still here, and pleads Mr. Reaper on her knees for the life of her friend... 

...Pauline Aspir! She wins the little game the Grim Reaper proposes, and, sticking to his own rules, he resurrects Pauline. Phew! It would have been a very sad day at the Aspir's if it had not been for Bottom. 

Pauline will never forget that her friend saved her life! 

And finally, Bottom can leave campus and move back to New Maximiliania, where she will try and find a job in the law career to eventually become The Law. 

Björn and Marcus both managed to get to their exams in time. But because of the fire, they are in a very bad state; hungry, needing a shower, and so tired they can hardly keep their eyes open.

Barry didn't make it in time for the exam; he is now on academic probation and has to repeat the 2nd semester of his Freshman Year. Strangely enough, Pauline was not put on probation in spite of having missed her exam, too; she is now in her Senior Year. I wonder who'll be next to fill the space Bottom Summerdream has just vacated, and whether one of the rather illogically acting students will, at some time, indeed die of starvation - or in another fire!
How will Björn feel, now that the love he'd only just found has already left college? Is Barry going to find himself a girlfriend? Are Marcus and Pauline going to stay together after her near-death experience?
Time will tell!

(Like I said, I usually interfere very little with life at the student house - or anywhere else. I make sure everyone writes their term papers and gets the necessary skills to advance in their academic careers, but that's about it. In this case, I decided to have Bottom plead for Pauline's life; I don't know why, but there is something about Pauline I quite like, and I did not want her to die.)