Mitch Indie - Sophomore Year

Mitch and Max's Freshman Year is here.

Yet another student household! This time, we're at Veronaville's Académie Le Tour. The residential street you can see in the picture is Danish Drive, and our address for this "year" is No. 4, the first two tiny houses from the left.

Mitch Indie and his best friend Max Flexor share the lot, each with their own tiny house. 

Their Sophomore Year has just begun, and they already know how to invest part of their grants: Better beds. Everything in their tiny houses is of the cheapest kind, as it would be for most students, I suppose. For now, they still have a shower room and toilet as well as a kitchen and small dining table in each house, but they share a book shelf (in Mitch's house) and a computer (at Max's place).

Of course the start of a term means skilling, and Mitch tackles the body skill first.

Max needs to brush up on mechanics and is then ready to write his Term Paper. 

The new bed is really much more comfy than the old cheap one. Mitch sleeps well, and dreams of seeing his name on the Dean's List again.

He then dreams of himself - maybe of how he's going to marry off six children, when right now he does not even have a romantic interest. 

Last before waking up, he dreams of snow - and indeed, during the night autumn has quietly slipped into winter. 

The friends have breakfast together, interrupted by the Llama mascot who appears at all hours and enters their houses without being invited. 

He is not the only one; a cheerleader follows soon afterwards. 

Snow has started to fall.

While Max was at class, Mitch has got rid of the dining table in his house and set up a chess table instead. He invites Alan Riley over, intending to befriend him over a game of chess, but at first things don't work as intended: Alan brings along a friend, Ellen Frost; she grabs a book from the shelf and occupies the chair that was meant for Alan. But after a while, she leaves, and the two young men can have their chess match and part as friends. 

Max returns from class late, and in spite of two perfectly good showers accessible to him, opts for a sponge bath - and then complains at being watched! :-D 

The next day, Mitch and Jasmine Steele, a Secret Society member he met during his Freshman Year, become best friends. 

He has all his required skills and can finally sit down to write his Term Paper. 

When Max leaves for class, Mitch invites Alan Riley over, and spots Mark Royce walking by. Mark is also a member of the Secret Society and friends with Max, so Mitch asks him in, too. Today, Alan has brought along another friend from the dorm, Tom Freshe. 

A new, larger dining table and slightly better chairs have been set up in Max's house, as well as a much better fridge. The friends retain their individual bedrooms and shower rooms, but cooking and eating now happens at Max's, while Mitch's is for skilling and playing, with the book case and chess table. Funds are down to 1,215 Simoleons now, but the end of term is not far off, and the boys are confident to receive their full grants again. 

To calm their exam nerves, Mitch and Max take a taxi to The Waffle Shoppes - they need to stock up on groceries anyway, and rather buy directly than to pay for delivery.

Mitch takes care of the shopping, while Max greets Mark Royce and some other students such as Edwin Sharpe and Marla Biggs.

He then makes hot dogs on his own accord, gratefully received by Mitch. "I dunno... somehow these exams are hanging over me like a dark cloud," Max muses, but Mitch tells his friend that they have done all they needed to do and have nothing to worry. 

Mitch is right, of course - both finish the first term of their Sophormore Year on the Dean's List, and their shared account boasts a healthy 3,015 Simoleons.

Skills and Term Papers are important, but so is socialising. Mitch and Max have friends over almost every day, and today Alan Riley is not only accompanied by Tom Freshe but also has Carl Cho tagging along.

After everyone has left, it is up to Mitch to put away all the books and Max to clean up the kitchen.

The next morning, Mitch acquires the last skill point needed this semester.

Max is not far behind and is the first to get to use the newly bought settee. With the bookshelf moved here, the students will now prefer the settee to the chairs that are needed at the chess table. 

Mitch has influenced his good friend Alan Riley to write his Term Paper for him.

Alan does as asked, and soon afterwards, he and Mitch become best friends. 

Later, Mitch surprises me by mopping up the bathroom floor - he is not at all neat, and usually hates me ordering him to clean anything.

Max returns from class. While he was away, a lot of snow has fallen - enough for him to build a snowman... 

...only to destroy it a moment later! (He's finished his Term Paper, so I don't direct him apart from occasional phone calls.)

Mitch can't be bothered to fix himself breakfast and prefers to just grab whatever he finds directly from the fridge. 

Once more he takes the bills from the mailbox on his own accord, but I again I don't want to see the Repo Man and have Max pay them later while Mitch is at class. 

Oh Mitch... you were doing so well until today when it came to food! He's complaining, and indeed his hunger bar is deep orange. Come on, Mitch - what's that big green thing in the corner behind you?!

Max is not doing much better; instead of preparing a proper meal, he munches an entire bag of cookies.

He then completes a painting he has begun on his own initiative, while Mitch wonders whether Max will cook them lunch today after their exams. 

Well, we're going to find out eventually, but not very soon - the friends' Sophomore Year is over, and we will only be back to play this household when the letter F as in Flexor comes round again. 

Both Mitch and Max have completed their year on great terms all around. Hopefully, their Junior Year will be just as good - maybe with some better management of their own needs.