Tina Traveller: The Freshman Year

One of the first dorms (maybe THE first, I can't really remember) where I put my first batch of Maxis-made students was this one, Pinenut Plaza. At the moment, I have two full households of eight playable students each at Academie Le Tour, with no empty slot for Tina Traveller. Therefore, she had to go somewhere else, and I decided to have her re-open this dorm for her Freshman Year. It will be quite different from my usual way of playing at college, what with her being the only playable here!

The outfit Tina age-transitioned into is so mismatched I send her to the campus shops immediately.

See what I mean? :-) She did not bring much money from home, and so had to be a bit cautious about spending, but at least the colours of her new outfits should match now.

There she is now, just outside the shop, in a new sleeveless shirt and skirt. It is summer, after all, and she should not be forced to walk around in a woolly jumper and cardigan, trousers and boots! Tina's lifetime want is to have 20 best friends, and for lack of other playables to greet, I decide to let her befriend some NPCs for a change. This young man here caught Tina's eye because of his outfit being so different from what the other students are wearing - he looks way smarter.

Back at the dorm, she spots a co-resident who wears similarly smart clothes to the young man she met at the shops. She introduces herself to the girl (Chloe Wendland), and they get talking. When Chloe learns that Tina has lost her father in a tragic accident (remember: he set a pile of leaves on fire and perished in the flames), and her mother left home years ago, her heart goes out to the newcomer.

That night, Tina goes to bed in her dorm room, confident of soon making new friends and leaving her troubled teenage years behind.

As her Freshman Year settles into routine, Tina gets to know Chloe better.

She declares her Major in Psychology.

One afternoon, she invites some of her old friends over: Gabrielle Newson and Tessa Ramirez...

...as well as Sally Riley and Etsu Cho.

The girls enjoy watching a match on telly together (it's a Sports Party - one of Tina's wishes) and catching up with each other's news.

This is what you only get when you have a dorm with so many NPC-students - there are half-finished assignments everywhere! All three of these are, by the way, from the same student.

Towards the end of her first semester, Tina finally meets one of the other playable students (remember: she attends Sim State University, while the other playables are at Academie Le Tour): Placido Picaso walks by, and is promptly greeted and asked in.

With little distractions, it is hardly surprising that Tina ends her first semester with an A+. Apart from writing her term paper and getting to know Chloe Wendland, she has been doing most of the cleaning at the dorm and talked on the phone to her mother and her friends back in New Max every day.

I quite like this shot of Tina, for once without her sunglasses!

The 2nd semester of Tina's Freshman Year coincides with the start of autumn, and she changes into something a bit warmer.

One night, a stranger enters her room without even knocking. Tina has never seen the young man before, but she recognizes the patch on his jacket.

Still, she has no idea what is going on when the stranger starts to verbally attack her...

...quickly followed by a move she did not anticipate, and before she knows it, she is in handcuffs!

Strangely enough, it never occurs to Tina to call for help. Meekly, she follows the stranger out of her room and to the street.

She is put into a limousine that has been waiting in front of the dorm.

After a short ride, the limo pulls up in front of a imposing looking building in a part of campus Tina has never ventured to before.

Several more young men and women in the smart outfit with the Llama patch are waiting there for her - Chloe Wendland, her friend and fellow resident at the dorm, being one of them.

Now it is all clear to Tina: Chloe and the others are members of the secret Landgrabb Society, and have just made Tina their latest member! Happily, she dons her new jacket with the Llama patch, and goes to explore the society house, which holds many useful and interesting objects in its rooms.

She eats with Chloe and one of the young men.

A view of the Secret Society house in daylight. Tina is the first - and so far only - Secret Society member in all of New Maximiliania. It has been so many years since I last played on this lot that I hardly remembered what it looked like, and what was in there.

Tina does not leave the house until it is time to go to her final exam. Her Freshman Year ends with her being on the Dean's List (no hacking of grades involved - all due to her own honest work). She has not yet added more names to her list of best friends, but I am sure it is only a matter of time before Chloe Wendland and one of the other members of the Landgrabb Society will become best friends with her. 

My next stop will be with Trisha Traveller. I wonder how she's getting on, all alone now at Carlos Contender's house and with no chance of making up with her husband now that he is dead.