@king_of_simcity7 Well, silly girl didn't see it coming did she? Hopefully she has learned from the hurt as well as what it means to be a friend to someone.
A couple of years after Humara had never gotten over falling out with Stacy over Callum. It had turned out that Callum was nothing more than a cheat and Humara was left stranded as predicted. She had since then drifted through a couple of pointless relationships and had some unsteady friendships. With not much confidence or direction in her life she was recommended doing a course for young people with various needs at the local college. The course was a life skills course and there was places for the new intake and Humara was going for an interview.
At the college's skills centre site two of the tutors where looking through the list of people who they would be interviewing that day. Aside from Humara they were also interviewing Tammy, Simon and Nick as well.
Humara made her way to the skills centre by herself for her interview as her parents were both working. She was nervous and did not know what to expect. She had managed the bus journey by herself ok but was feeling very anxious as she reached the college building. It was a Victorian building with various outbuildings with several sign posts around pointing towards the main entrance. Once instead Humara quickly found the reception desk and the receptionist made a quick phone call to someone.
'Okay, someone will be here to see you soon if you want to take a seat,' said the woman behind the reception desk. Humara found a seat in the empty hallway and sat down but within minutes someone had appeared and introduced themselves to her.
'Hello, you must be Humara? My name is Jean,' said a friendly woman as she shook Humara's hand.
Humara followed her along the corridor through a door into what looked like a small office. Another woman was in there who introduced herself as Sue. Humara sat down in front of them.
'Well, thank you for coming along,' said Jean 'This is the skills centre which is part of the college,'
Humara did not say anything as Jean looked through a piece of paper.
'It seems that you where referred to us by your careers advisor?' said Jean
'Yes,' replied Humara quietly.
'You don't have to be so nervous,' joked Jean as she looked through the piece of paper.
'Now it says here that you might benefit from this course?'
'I think so,' replied Humara.
'Well the life skills course is for people like you who have social difficulties,' added Jean
'What you will do on the course is a mixture of activities. You can gain key skills in Maths and English and also take part in a number of short courses that we run which could lead to a full time course or employment,' explained Jean.
'We also offer work placements,' added Sue 'we have links with a number of employers,'
Humara was not sure if she was ready for work yet but still wanted to do something with her life.
'We also have days out as well,' added Jean 'we have residential trips and team building exercises,'
Jean showed Humara some leaflets which showed some students taking part in some activities such as wall climbing, hiking and kayaking.
'You will be expected to attend the skills centre five days a week unless you have a work placement,' said Sue 'You also receive and allowance from the government each week and we also reimburse your travel expenses,'
Humara was feeling hopeful that something good would come from the program and after about fifteen minutes of being asked to explain some details about herself Humara was offered a place on the course. Afterwards Jean showed her around the site where most activities would take place. Aside from classrooms the skills centre also had a series of workshops, a gym and a canteen which it was explained some students have placements working in the kitchen.
After the interview Humara made her way back home feeling slightly optimistic about what was being offered and might have something to look forward to. She had wanted to make new friends and hopefully find a decent boyfriend but would the skills centre be the best place for that? Both Simon and Nick had attended interviews that same week. Both of them had remained on reasonably good terms since they were younger although both of them had become very keen on meeting girls. They had been lucky to manage a couple of very short term relationships but nothing that had worked out in the long term. They had hoped that there would at least be a couple of girls at the skills centre that they could get to know although Simon had noticed that Nick could be competitive if there was a girl that he liked.
As for Tammy, she had only had two boyfriends. One had been a user and the relationship was short term while her second relationship with someone named Laurence had started off better Tammy sometimes felt insecure and wondered if Laurence was even interested in her. There was however someone else who was due for an interview at the skills centre. Just after Humara's interview had finished Jean and Sue had gained a message that someone had been booked in to see them the next day. It was Stacy. Stacy was also hoping to make new friends and had been mostly unlucky with boyfriends.
@king_of_simcity7 Sometimes it just doesn't work that way. Humara might lose friends this way.
Hopefully Stacy and Humara will be friends again eventually.
I hope Jean and the skills centre can help Humara out.
Oh boy, Stacy and Humara at the same location? That might not be good.
Great updates!
It was the first day of the new term at the skills centre and all of the students had made their way to the college for their induction. Simon and Nick both made their way together and were optimistic about what they would find.
'I wonder if there will be any decent girls there,' said Nick to Simon as they walked from the bus stop.
'Do you get many Aspergers girls though?' wondered Simon.
'They might do, I did as them myself if there was going to be girls on the course and they said they were interviewing some,'
'Will most likely be more guys though,' added Simon. Neither he or Nick had had much luck with girls before but it was not that they had never had girlfriends at all, it was just that most girls seemed to be put off by them for some reason.
When they arrived at the main entrance of the skills college there was a sign pointing them to the direction of where the induction was meant to be. They walked along a corridor with high ceilings and tiled walls. There were windows at the top of both sides that would have looked into rooms on the other side. Half way down the corridor there was a sign placed on the wall that stated 'Life skills induction' and as they got closer to the door they saw Sue sitting at a table by the door.
'Oh, hello, you were the ones I interviewed,' said Sue as she recognised both of them. She took their names and signed it off on a piece of paper.
'Take a seat f you want?' suggested Sue 'there are some people here already'
There were two rows of tables on both sides of the classroom with Jean sitting at one end talking to some very nervous looking girls. One of them was Tammy had had got up exceptionally early to be at the skills centre as she had a fear of being late. Her worst nightmare was being the last to turn up and walk into a classroom and have everyone stare at her. At first the only person that she had known was Jean and two other girls had turned up, one was Stacy and the other was a very shy girl named Hana.
Two other guys had turned up as well sitting at the other side. Simon and Nick sat in the seats between both of them and introduced themselves. The other two guys where named Warren and Damien. Simon had gotten talking to Warren and it was very apparent was looking for a girlfriend. Nick got talking to Damien but he seemed somewhat more laid back than Warren.
Other people gradually started to arrive and people made conversation amongst themselves.
'So what do you think of the girls in here?' Warren asked Simon
'Not too bad so far,' said Simon trying not to look too obvious that he was trying to check the girls out,'
'He has been talking about girls all morning,' Damien said to Nick 'He won't talk to them though!'
'Plenty of time for that,' replied Nick
After a few more minutes of talking two other guys had arrived in the class that Warren seemed to know.
'Commander?' he said as one of the guys sat next to him. 'And The Squire? What are you doing here?'
'Fancy seeing you here!' exclaimed the guy referred to as Commander
'I am starting this course,' said Warren 'but what is The Squire doing here?'
'Same thing as you I guess,' said the other guy.
'My name is Dom by the way but people call me The Commander,' said the loud guy as he introduced himself to Simon.
'And this is The Squire,' said Dom pointing to the second guy.
'The Squire?' asked Simon.
'My real name is Ben,' said the other guy 'but this lot call me The Squire,'
What the guys had not realised was that the girls had also been talking about relationships only they were not as loud about it. Tammy was in a relationship with Laurence still but he had been mostly quiet the past week as he had started college again but was at a different site to the skills centre.
Dom had been trying to get the girls attention but did not have much luck.
'I think that guy likes us,' joked Stacy after Dom had turned his attention back to Warren.
'I don't know,' replied Stacy
The girls had made small talk about past boyfriends and Tammy felt sad that she could not be enthusiastic about Laurence. Stacy asked Hana how she was as Hana had been quiet so far.
'Okay I guess,' replied Hana nervously. She was feeling anxious being a room full of new people. Just then Stacy had noticed someone come into the room. It was Humara and Humara noticed her straight away and nervously sat down. Jean did a head count and looked through her register.
'Right, I think that everyone is here,' she said.
'That's good!' replied Jean as she made her way to the front of the room.
'Right, everyone can I have your attention?'
Everyone started to get quiet as Jean looked through a piece of paper.
'Right, I am sure that most of you know me, my name is Jean and of course my colleague is Sue who would have also been at your interviews,'
Someone else then came into the room and nodded over towards Jean.
'And just in time as well, this is another of our tutors,'
'Thanks you,' replied the man 'my name is Regan and I will also be assistant you today,'
'Okay everyone,' said Jean 'welcome to the life skills course based here at the skills centre. Welcome to the social club!'
@king_of_simcity7 Congrats on him finally getting a name! Ben is a nice name.
I hope Stacy and Humara can eventually become better friends and don't compete over boys again.
The first part of the induction was the most awkward as Jean had everyone say a bit about themselves and of course not many of the group were prepared to talk in front of a group that they did not know very well. Luckily once that part was out of the way Jean tried a few ice breakers including putting everyone into teams to take part in a small quiz. She had noticed that the boys and girls were sitting apart from each other so she put everyone into mixed groups. Simon ended up being put with Warren, Damien, Humara and Tammy while Nick got put with Ben, Dom, Stacy and Hana while the rest got put in a third group.
Simon was nervous around the girls at first but he liked them. Humara had at first only made the effort to talk to Tammy but gradually she managed to warm up to the guys. It turns out that Simon's group won the quiz much to the disgust of Dom. Jean then let everyone take a quick break and showed everyone the canteen were people finally made conversation with each other by themselves.
'The girls are not saying much to the guys,' said Damien to Simon and Warren outside while smoking a cigarette.
'They spoke to us a bit I guess?' replied Simon.
'It is a shame that one of them has a boyfriend,' added Warren.
'Which one?' asked Simon.
'Tammy,' replied Warren 'She mentioned him to the other girl,'
'I think that the other one is single though,' said Simon.
'Well we might have some competition,' said Damien as he noticed some guys from a different course walk past them into the canteen.
'It looks like some of our girls are already interested in them,' he said as he noticed one of the other girls from their course point the guys out.
'There might be more guys here than girls,' said Simon 'they do courses like plumbing here and they are courses that appeal to guys more than girls,'
'If you want girls then you would have to do hairdressing but they teach that at another site,' said Damien 'But I doubt that many straight guys would want to do that,'
Nick then joined Simon, Warren and Damien outside and joined in their conversation.
'Any luck with the girls?' Warren asked him.
'Not yet,' replied Nick.
'Any single ones?'
'I think that Stacy and Hana are single,'
'I doubt that you would get much luck with Stacy,' said Damien 'She is good looking, seems like a nice girls but she won't be getting with any of us,'
'Well usually the good looking girls get more choice,' agreed Nick.
'Exactly,' said Damien 'If she is lucky then she would get herself a decent boyfriend, maybe an older guy with the looks and good job prospects. Throw a car in there and they have convinced themselves that they have found Mr Right. The sad thing is some of these girls go for the bad boys as well. If she is stupid, and a lot of girls sadly do this these days, she might end up with a bad boy who would then end up leaving her. That's just the way things are going,'
A couple of the girls had then come out of the canteen.
'Can we join you lot?' said one of the girls 'that Dom guy is really creeping me out!'
'What is he saying?' Nick asked them.
'He is just being really annoying,' the girl explained 'he is trying to ask us all out,'
Damien laughed quietly to himself and rolled his eyes.
'He sounds desperate,' added Simon.
'I think that he must be,' said the girl 'what's your names anyway?'
The guys all told her their names while she introduced herself as Leanda and the other girl that she was with introduced herself Cassie.
'I am going inside to get a drink,' said Damien 'anyone else coming in?'
'I might get a quick drink,' said Nick following him inside were they noticed that Dom was now trying to talk to the remaining girls on the table.
'That guy is depressing!' exclaimed Warren once Damien was out of earshot.
'I was thinking that as well,' agreed Simon.
'At least no one else is as weird as that Dom guy,' said Leanda.
'He seems to be obsessed with girls,' said Simon.
'He is,' said Warren 'I know him from before and he always chases the girls. I don't think that he has ever had a girlfriend before,'
'Some people find it hard to hold down relationships,' said Leanda 'I found it hard with my ex boyfriend,'
'Were you with him for long?' Simon asked her.
'I was with him for around six months,' Leanda replied 'I later found out that he was seeing another girl behind my back.
'I have had that before,' said Simon remember one of his short term interests had actually had a boyfriend which she had not told him about.
Inside the canteen Nick had dared himself to sit at the same table as the girls. Dom was now annoying Tammy and Humara who were sitting at the opposite end to Stacy and Hana.
'So how long have you been with your boyfriend?' Dom asked Tammy loudly.
'A couple of months,' replied Tammy. Damien had sat down next to Nick and just rolled his eyes at the situation.
'What about you, Humara? Are you single?' Dom asked Humara who also looked embarrassed by Dom being there.
'I am at the moment,' replied Humara.
'Of course it is at the moment,' said Damien snidely as he watch Dom make a fool out of myself.
'It is almost too painful to watch!' joked Nick.
'He has been like it with all the girls,' said Stacy 'In a way I feel sorry for him,'
'I have never seen anyone try so hard,' said Nick.
'Neither have I,' said Stacy 'I think that he must just want girlfriend. Maybe he is lonely?'
'I think that he needs to slow down a bit,' added Nick 'He is just going to end up getting burnt,'
'So are you looking for a boyfriend then?' Dom again asked Humara.
'I'm not sure,' replied Humara feeling awkward. Stacy also felt awkward as she instantly remembered what had happened a few years before. She was too nice to say anything though but this was the first time that she had seen Humara since they had left school and she did sometimes wonder how Humara was but it was not yet the right time for her to talk to her again. The group continued to talk amongst themselves for a few more minutes until Jean had appeared in the canteen to summon everyone back to their induction.
For the rest of the day the group were introduced to a computer room where they were all given their log in details for the college's computer system and then everyone went on a fire drill which gave everyone a chance to talk to each other again. By now the guys had gotten more relaxed talking to the girls and Dom was wasting no time in trying to get a girlfriend.
'So, Dom, which of these girls are single then?' Warren asked him while everyone was outside.
'So far I think Stacy, Hana, Humara, Leanda, Cassie and Kay. That just leaves Courtney, Shelly and Tammy with boyfriends,' said Dom.
'Good work, Commander!' replied Warren 'Maybe you should now stand aside and let the big guys take over?'
'You stand no chance!' joked Dom.
'You have not been doing that well either!' joked Ben.
'Oh, watch out, it's the Squire!' laughed Dom 'he would take all the girls of you let him!'
'Does he not realise how desperate he makes himself look?' Leanda said to Simon quietly.
'I don't think that he would ever get a girlfriend,' agreed Simon.
@king_of_simcity7 Glad that Simon likes the girls alright.
Sounds like they have some interesting classes there.
That's definitely true, some girls (and guys) go for the wrong people.
So Dom chases girls but never had a girlfriend?
Great updates!
@king_of_simcity7 Dom does seem a bit desperate. That is usually not attractive to girls.
It is nice to see them interacting with each other now though.
After the induction it was time for everyone to go home. Outside Nick and Simon were talking while waiting for the bus.
'What do you think of the girls here then?' Nick asked Simon.
'There are more here than I thought,' replied Simon.
'Get any numbers?' asked Nick.
'Not yet but I was getting along with Leanda,' said Simon.
'I got talking to Stacy,' said Nick 'she is single as well which is a nice surprise,'
Both Nick and Simon were looking forward to going back to the skills centre for the rest of the week. The activities on offer seemed to be interesting as well. They were not so sure about the idea of work placements though. The next day they were to have one to one meetings with their assigned tutors. Simon was assigned to Sue while Nick was assigned to Regan. Simon was not yet sure what to make of Sue as while she seemed nice enough she also came across as patronising while Regan seemed much more laid back.
All the students waited in the classroom with Jean while they were all called up alphabetically. When it was Simon's turn he followed Sue into the small office were they had conducted the interviews.
'Okay, Simon, thank you for coming in again,' said Sue as she sat down 'so, any questions?'
'Not really,' replied Simon.
'Well I have been looking at your past achievements, I see that you have an NVQ in hospitality and catering?'
'Yes I have ,' said Simon.
'That is really good,' said Sue 'is that something you would want to take further?'
'Not sure,' replied Simon feeling awkward. He had enjoyed the catering course but was not sure if he actually wanted a job in it.
'We do actually offer work placements here,' said Sue 'as you might know we have work placements in the canteen. You could do a couple of days a week there until we find you something else?'
Simon remained quiet. Did he really want to work in the canteen at the college?
'We have had students do that before and it normally works out well for them,' explained Sue 'of course you will still be able to attend sessions at the skills centre and do basic skills a couple of days a week although too be honest you are one of the most qualified here,'
Simon felt uneasy. Why was he already being pushed into work placements? Nick was having a better time with Regan however. Regan was a Jamaican man who was very relaxed and seemed to get along with all the students.
'So, what are your past achievements?' Regan asked Nick while they were in another interview room.
'Not that many,' replied Nick casually.
'Not many? We can change that!' laughed Regan 'I think that you should be capable of doing a few things actually. I see that you have done work placements before?'
'I have done a couple,' replied Nick.
'We do offer a few here as well although I wouldn't worry about that just yet. Our main focus is to get your basic skills up to scratch and then see were that takes us,'
Both Simon and Nick had very different experience with their tutors and both felt different about the outcomes. Nick was impressed with Regan and was feeling optimistic while Simon was feeling more concerned. Why was Sue do interested in work placements? It seemed that most other students had also mixed reactions. Simon had managed to talk to Leanda again and she was assigned to Regan and was also impressed.
'That Regan guy is really sound!' she said while a few of the group were outside the canteen during their first break of the day 'he said that we get to go out on days out as well,'
'Really?' asked Simon wondering why Sue had not mentioned that to him.
'What did they offer you?' Damien asked him.
'Sue suggested that I do a work placement in the canteen,' replied Simon.
'Oh yes, get free labour out of people,' scoffed Damien.
'They do pay us though,' said Simon.
'We get paid £40 a week being on the course,' explained Damien 'we get that weather or not we go on a work placement. I have been keeping my eye on these things,'
'I think that we only go on work placements once or twice a week,' said Nick as he noticed Stacy walk past and go into the canteen with some of the girls.
'I might go into the canteen,' he said to Simon subtly.
'Just don't act like Dom!' joked Simon noticing that Dom had also followed the girls.
Nick went into the canteen and managed to get a seat next to Stacy and asked her how her interview went. Stacy was one of the students who had been assigned to Sue.
'My interview went okay,' explained Stacy 'Sue suggested that I could do a work placement a couple of days a week,'
'What did she suggest?' asked Nick.
'I told her that I like hair dressing and she suggested that I could work in a salon or something,' said Stacy 'I did do it at college for a year but I had to leave as I did not like some of the girls on the course,'
'Why was that?' Nick asked curiously.
'Just some girls can be very competitive,' replied Stacy 'I am not very good at being like that and things got very 🐸🐸🐸🐸 at times. I started to think that I was not very good at it,'
'Guys can be competitive as well,' agreed Nick 'it might be different than girls though,'
'I guess that it is the same for everyone,' said Stacy noticing Humara talking to Cassie who was pointing out some guys from a different course. Humara was one of the lucky ones who had been assigned to Regan while Cassie and Tammy had been signed up with Sue. Interestingly Sue had suggested work placements to both Tammy and Cassie although Cassie was more difficult to motive. She was yet to actually talk to any of the guys on the life skills course which was something that some of the guys would eventually notice.
For the rest of the week the students enjoyed taking part in activities and everyone slowly started to get to know everyone else better. Dom was the loudest on the course and continued to annoy the girls trying as hard as possible to get a girlfriend. This became something of an amusement to the other guys as it actually gave them a better chance to talk to the girls themselves. Simon had been getting along well with Leanda and had managed to get her number and had hinted at meeting up with her. Could she be a potential girlfriend?
Nick had been lucky at getting Stacy's number and was hoping for a date with her. Humara was becoming good friends with both Tammy and Cassie and tended to follow Cassie around as Cassie seemed to know a lot of guys from other courses. Tammy was still having mixed reactions with her boyfriend Laurence. Some days over the week he had been dine with her but with the weekend coming up she was feeling anxious as he was going out clubbing with a few of his friends.
As the college was closed for the weekend everyone seemed to actually be sad about being away for just two days. Simon was looking forward to seeing Leanda the following week but he was able to text her a few times over the weekend. She seemed to be quick at texting back and the more that he had texted her the more that he seemed to like her. It was like they had a lot in common and she was hinting that she was interested in him. He suggested asking her out to meet up and she had agreed. He actually had a date!
For Tammy the weekend ended up being worse than she had expected. She woke up on Saturday morning to a text from Laurence. He had ended the relationship.
@king_of_simcity7 It sounds like everyone is enjoying the course to some degree or other. It is strange that one tutor would push work and others not. Bummer about Lawrence breaking up with Tammy, so mean to do it texting. Such a cowards way out. Sounds like good riddance to me.
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The Cowboy and the Mermaid
A couple of years after Humara had never gotten over falling out with Stacy over Callum. It had turned out that Callum was nothing more than a cheat and Humara was left stranded as predicted. She had since then drifted through a couple of pointless relationships and had some unsteady friendships. With not much confidence or direction in her life she was recommended doing a course for young people with various needs at the local college. The course was a life skills course and there was places for the new intake and Humara was going for an interview.
At the college's skills centre site two of the tutors where looking through the list of people who they would be interviewing that day. Aside from Humara they were also interviewing Tammy, Simon and Nick as well.
Humara made her way to the skills centre by herself for her interview as her parents were both working. She was nervous and did not know what to expect. She had managed the bus journey by herself ok but was feeling very anxious as she reached the college building. It was a Victorian building with various outbuildings with several sign posts around pointing towards the main entrance. Once instead Humara quickly found the reception desk and the receptionist made a quick phone call to someone.
'Okay, someone will be here to see you soon if you want to take a seat,' said the woman behind the reception desk. Humara found a seat in the empty hallway and sat down but within minutes someone had appeared and introduced themselves to her.
'Hello, you must be Humara? My name is Jean,' said a friendly woman as she shook Humara's hand.
Humara followed her along the corridor through a door into what looked like a small office. Another woman was in there who introduced herself as Sue. Humara sat down in front of them.
'Well, thank you for coming along,' said Jean 'This is the skills centre which is part of the college,'
Humara did not say anything as Jean looked through a piece of paper.
'It seems that you where referred to us by your careers advisor?' said Jean
'Yes,' replied Humara quietly.
'You don't have to be so nervous,' joked Jean as she looked through the piece of paper.
'Now it says here that you might benefit from this course?'
'I think so,' replied Humara.
'Well the life skills course is for people like you who have social difficulties,' added Jean
'What you will do on the course is a mixture of activities. You can gain key skills in Maths and English and also take part in a number of short courses that we run which could lead to a full time course or employment,' explained Jean.
'We also offer work placements,' added Sue 'we have links with a number of employers,'
Humara was not sure if she was ready for work yet but still wanted to do something with her life.
'We also have days out as well,' added Jean 'we have residential trips and team building exercises,'
Jean showed Humara some leaflets which showed some students taking part in some activities such as wall climbing, hiking and kayaking.
'You will be expected to attend the skills centre five days a week unless you have a work placement,' said Sue 'You also receive and allowance from the government each week and we also reimburse your travel expenses,'
Humara was feeling hopeful that something good would come from the program and after about fifteen minutes of being asked to explain some details about herself Humara was offered a place on the course. Afterwards Jean showed her around the site where most activities would take place. Aside from classrooms the skills centre also had a series of workshops, a gym and a canteen which it was explained some students have placements working in the kitchen.
After the interview Humara made her way back home feeling slightly optimistic about what was being offered and might have something to look forward to. She had wanted to make new friends and hopefully find a decent boyfriend but would the skills centre be the best place for that? Both Simon and Nick had attended interviews that same week. Both of them had remained on reasonably good terms since they were younger although both of them had become very keen on meeting girls. They had been lucky to manage a couple of very short term relationships but nothing that had worked out in the long term. They had hoped that there would at least be a couple of girls at the skills centre that they could get to know although Simon had noticed that Nick could be competitive if there was a girl that he liked.
As for Tammy, she had only had two boyfriends. One had been a user and the relationship was short term while her second relationship with someone named Laurence had started off better Tammy sometimes felt insecure and wondered if Laurence was even interested in her. There was however someone else who was due for an interview at the skills centre. Just after Humara's interview had finished Jean and Sue had gained a message that someone had been booked in to see them the next day. It was Stacy. Stacy was also hoping to make new friends and had been mostly unlucky with boyfriends.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
@king_of_simcity7 Sometimes it just doesn't work that way. Humara might lose friends this way.
Hopefully Stacy and Humara will be friends again eventually.
I hope Jean and the skills centre can help Humara out.
Oh boy, Stacy and Humara at the same location? That might not be good.
Great updates!
'I wonder if there will be any decent girls there,' said Nick to Simon as they walked from the bus stop.
'Do you get many Aspergers girls though?' wondered Simon.
'They might do, I did as them myself if there was going to be girls on the course and they said they were interviewing some,'
'Will most likely be more guys though,' added Simon. Neither he or Nick had had much luck with girls before but it was not that they had never had girlfriends at all, it was just that most girls seemed to be put off by them for some reason.
When they arrived at the main entrance of the skills college there was a sign pointing them to the direction of where the induction was meant to be. They walked along a corridor with high ceilings and tiled walls. There were windows at the top of both sides that would have looked into rooms on the other side. Half way down the corridor there was a sign placed on the wall that stated 'Life skills induction' and as they got closer to the door they saw Sue sitting at a table by the door.
'Oh, hello, you were the ones I interviewed,' said Sue as she recognised both of them. She took their names and signed it off on a piece of paper.
'Take a seat f you want?' suggested Sue 'there are some people here already'
There were two rows of tables on both sides of the classroom with Jean sitting at one end talking to some very nervous looking girls. One of them was Tammy had had got up exceptionally early to be at the skills centre as she had a fear of being late. Her worst nightmare was being the last to turn up and walk into a classroom and have everyone stare at her. At first the only person that she had known was Jean and two other girls had turned up, one was Stacy and the other was a very shy girl named Hana.
Two other guys had turned up as well sitting at the other side. Simon and Nick sat in the seats between both of them and introduced themselves. The other two guys where named Warren and Damien. Simon had gotten talking to Warren and it was very apparent was looking for a girlfriend. Nick got talking to Damien but he seemed somewhat more laid back than Warren.
Other people gradually started to arrive and people made conversation amongst themselves.
'So what do you think of the girls in here?' Warren asked Simon
'Not too bad so far,' said Simon trying not to look too obvious that he was trying to check the girls out,'
'He has been talking about girls all morning,' Damien said to Nick 'He won't talk to them though!'
'Plenty of time for that,' replied Nick
After a few more minutes of talking two other guys had arrived in the class that Warren seemed to know.
'Commander?' he said as one of the guys sat next to him. 'And The Squire? What are you doing here?'
'Fancy seeing you here!' exclaimed the guy referred to as Commander
'I am starting this course,' said Warren 'but what is The Squire doing here?'
'Same thing as you I guess,' said the other guy.
'My name is Dom by the way but people call me The Commander,' said the loud guy as he introduced himself to Simon.
'And this is The Squire,' said Dom pointing to the second guy.
'The Squire?' asked Simon.
'My real name is Ben,' said the other guy 'but this lot call me The Squire,'
Dom had been trying to get the girls attention but did not have much luck.
'I think that guy likes us,' joked Stacy after Dom had turned his attention back to Warren.
'I don't know,' replied Stacy
The girls had made small talk about past boyfriends and Tammy felt sad that she could not be enthusiastic about Laurence. Stacy asked Hana how she was as Hana had been quiet so far.
'Okay I guess,' replied Hana nervously. She was feeling anxious being a room full of new people. Just then Stacy had noticed someone come into the room. It was Humara and Humara noticed her straight away and nervously sat down. Jean did a head count and looked through her register.
'Right, I think that everyone is here,' she said.
'That's good!' replied Jean as she made her way to the front of the room.
'Right, everyone can I have your attention?'
Everyone started to get quiet as Jean looked through a piece of paper.
'Right, I am sure that most of you know me, my name is Jean and of course my colleague is Sue who would have also been at your interviews,'
Someone else then came into the room and nodded over towards Jean.
'And just in time as well, this is another of our tutors,'
'Thanks you,' replied the man 'my name is Regan and I will also be assistant you today,'
'Okay everyone,' said Jean 'welcome to the life skills course based here at the skills centre. Welcome to the social club!'
@king_of_simcity7 So the Squire is named Don. I'm glad you got a name for him.
And so it begins. I hope that everyone learns something.
Great updates!
I hope Stacy and Humara can eventually become better friends and don't compete over boys again.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
@king_of_simcity7 Whoops switched the names around, lol. I do that all the time, think it is a curse from my dad.
The first part of the induction was the most awkward as Jean had everyone say a bit about themselves and of course not many of the group were prepared to talk in front of a group that they did not know very well. Luckily once that part was out of the way Jean tried a few ice breakers including putting everyone into teams to take part in a small quiz. She had noticed that the boys and girls were sitting apart from each other so she put everyone into mixed groups. Simon ended up being put with Warren, Damien, Humara and Tammy while Nick got put with Ben, Dom, Stacy and Hana while the rest got put in a third group.
Simon was nervous around the girls at first but he liked them. Humara had at first only made the effort to talk to Tammy but gradually she managed to warm up to the guys. It turns out that Simon's group won the quiz much to the disgust of Dom. Jean then let everyone take a quick break and showed everyone the canteen were people finally made conversation with each other by themselves.
'The girls are not saying much to the guys,' said Damien to Simon and Warren outside while smoking a cigarette.
'They spoke to us a bit I guess?' replied Simon.
'It is a shame that one of them has a boyfriend,' added Warren.
'Which one?' asked Simon.
'Tammy,' replied Warren 'She mentioned him to the other girl,'
'I think that the other one is single though,' said Simon.
'Well we might have some competition,' said Damien as he noticed some guys from a different course walk past them into the canteen.
'It looks like some of our girls are already interested in them,' he said as he noticed one of the other girls from their course point the guys out.
'There might be more guys here than girls,' said Simon 'they do courses like plumbing here and they are courses that appeal to guys more than girls,'
'If you want girls then you would have to do hairdressing but they teach that at another site,' said Damien 'But I doubt that many straight guys would want to do that,'
Nick then joined Simon, Warren and Damien outside and joined in their conversation.
'Any luck with the girls?' Warren asked him.
'Not yet,' replied Nick.
'Any single ones?'
'I think that Stacy and Hana are single,'
'I doubt that you would get much luck with Stacy,' said Damien 'She is good looking, seems like a nice girls but she won't be getting with any of us,'
'Well usually the good looking girls get more choice,' agreed Nick.
'Exactly,' said Damien 'If she is lucky then she would get herself a decent boyfriend, maybe an older guy with the looks and good job prospects. Throw a car in there and they have convinced themselves that they have found Mr Right. The sad thing is some of these girls go for the bad boys as well. If she is stupid, and a lot of girls sadly do this these days, she might end up with a bad boy who would then end up leaving her. That's just the way things are going,'
A couple of the girls had then come out of the canteen.
'Can we join you lot?' said one of the girls 'that Dom guy is really creeping me out!'
'What is he saying?' Nick asked them.
'He is just being really annoying,' the girl explained 'he is trying to ask us all out,'
Damien laughed quietly to himself and rolled his eyes.
'He sounds desperate,' added Simon.
'I think that he must be,' said the girl 'what's your names anyway?'
The guys all told her their names while she introduced herself as Leanda and the other girl that she was with introduced herself Cassie.
'I am going inside to get a drink,' said Damien 'anyone else coming in?'
'I might get a quick drink,' said Nick following him inside were they noticed that Dom was now trying to talk to the remaining girls on the table.
'That guy is depressing!' exclaimed Warren once Damien was out of earshot.
'I was thinking that as well,' agreed Simon.
'At least no one else is as weird as that Dom guy,' said Leanda.
'He seems to be obsessed with girls,' said Simon.
'He is,' said Warren 'I know him from before and he always chases the girls. I don't think that he has ever had a girlfriend before,'
'Some people find it hard to hold down relationships,' said Leanda 'I found it hard with my ex boyfriend,'
'Were you with him for long?' Simon asked her.
'I was with him for around six months,' Leanda replied 'I later found out that he was seeing another girl behind my back.
'I have had that before,' said Simon remember one of his short term interests had actually had a boyfriend which she had not told him about.
Inside the canteen Nick had dared himself to sit at the same table as the girls. Dom was now annoying Tammy and Humara who were sitting at the opposite end to Stacy and Hana.
'So how long have you been with your boyfriend?' Dom asked Tammy loudly.
'A couple of months,' replied Tammy. Damien had sat down next to Nick and just rolled his eyes at the situation.
'What about you, Humara? Are you single?' Dom asked Humara who also looked embarrassed by Dom being there.
'I am at the moment,' replied Humara.
'Of course it is at the moment,' said Damien snidely as he watch Dom make a fool out of myself.
'It is almost too painful to watch!' joked Nick.
'He has been like it with all the girls,' said Stacy 'In a way I feel sorry for him,'
'I have never seen anyone try so hard,' said Nick.
'Neither have I,' said Stacy 'I think that he must just want girlfriend. Maybe he is lonely?'
'I think that he needs to slow down a bit,' added Nick 'He is just going to end up getting burnt,'
'So are you looking for a boyfriend then?' Dom again asked Humara.
'I'm not sure,' replied Humara feeling awkward. Stacy also felt awkward as she instantly remembered what had happened a few years before. She was too nice to say anything though but this was the first time that she had seen Humara since they had left school and she did sometimes wonder how Humara was but it was not yet the right time for her to talk to her again. The group continued to talk amongst themselves for a few more minutes until Jean had appeared in the canteen to summon everyone back to their induction.
For the rest of the day the group were introduced to a computer room where they were all given their log in details for the college's computer system and then everyone went on a fire drill which gave everyone a chance to talk to each other again. By now the guys had gotten more relaxed talking to the girls and Dom was wasting no time in trying to get a girlfriend.
'So, Dom, which of these girls are single then?' Warren asked him while everyone was outside.
'So far I think Stacy, Hana, Humara, Leanda, Cassie and Kay. That just leaves Courtney, Shelly and Tammy with boyfriends,' said Dom.
'Good work, Commander!' replied Warren 'Maybe you should now stand aside and let the big guys take over?'
'You stand no chance!' joked Dom.
'You have not been doing that well either!' joked Ben.
'Oh, watch out, it's the Squire!' laughed Dom 'he would take all the girls of you let him!'
'Does he not realise how desperate he makes himself look?' Leanda said to Simon quietly.
'I don't think that he would ever get a girlfriend,' agreed Simon.
@king_of_simcity7 Glad that Simon likes the girls alright.
Sounds like they have some interesting classes there.
That's definitely true, some girls (and guys) go for the wrong people.
So Dom chases girls but never had a girlfriend?
Great updates!
It is nice to see them interacting with each other now though.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid
After the induction it was time for everyone to go home. Outside Nick and Simon were talking while waiting for the bus.
'What do you think of the girls here then?' Nick asked Simon.
'There are more here than I thought,' replied Simon.
'Get any numbers?' asked Nick.
'Not yet but I was getting along with Leanda,' said Simon.
'I got talking to Stacy,' said Nick 'she is single as well which is a nice surprise,'
Both Nick and Simon were looking forward to going back to the skills centre for the rest of the week. The activities on offer seemed to be interesting as well. They were not so sure about the idea of work placements though. The next day they were to have one to one meetings with their assigned tutors. Simon was assigned to Sue while Nick was assigned to Regan. Simon was not yet sure what to make of Sue as while she seemed nice enough she also came across as patronising while Regan seemed much more laid back.
All the students waited in the classroom with Jean while they were all called up alphabetically. When it was Simon's turn he followed Sue into the small office were they had conducted the interviews.
'Okay, Simon, thank you for coming in again,' said Sue as she sat down 'so, any questions?'
'Not really,' replied Simon.
'Well I have been looking at your past achievements, I see that you have an NVQ in hospitality and catering?'
'Yes I have ,' said Simon.
'That is really good,' said Sue 'is that something you would want to take further?'
'Not sure,' replied Simon feeling awkward. He had enjoyed the catering course but was not sure if he actually wanted a job in it.
'We do actually offer work placements here,' said Sue 'as you might know we have work placements in the canteen. You could do a couple of days a week there until we find you something else?'
Simon remained quiet. Did he really want to work in the canteen at the college?
'We have had students do that before and it normally works out well for them,' explained Sue 'of course you will still be able to attend sessions at the skills centre and do basic skills a couple of days a week although too be honest you are one of the most qualified here,'
Simon felt uneasy. Why was he already being pushed into work placements? Nick was having a better time with Regan however. Regan was a Jamaican man who was very relaxed and seemed to get along with all the students.
'So, what are your past achievements?' Regan asked Nick while they were in another interview room.
'Not that many,' replied Nick casually.
'Not many? We can change that!' laughed Regan 'I think that you should be capable of doing a few things actually. I see that you have done work placements before?'
'I have done a couple,' replied Nick.
'We do offer a few here as well although I wouldn't worry about that just yet. Our main focus is to get your basic skills up to scratch and then see were that takes us,'
Both Simon and Nick had very different experience with their tutors and both felt different about the outcomes. Nick was impressed with Regan and was feeling optimistic while Simon was feeling more concerned. Why was Sue do interested in work placements? It seemed that most other students had also mixed reactions. Simon had managed to talk to Leanda again and she was assigned to Regan and was also impressed.
'That Regan guy is really sound!' she said while a few of the group were outside the canteen during their first break of the day 'he said that we get to go out on days out as well,'
'Really?' asked Simon wondering why Sue had not mentioned that to him.
'What did they offer you?' Damien asked him.
'Sue suggested that I do a work placement in the canteen,' replied Simon.
'Oh yes, get free labour out of people,' scoffed Damien.
'They do pay us though,' said Simon.
'We get paid £40 a week being on the course,' explained Damien 'we get that weather or not we go on a work placement. I have been keeping my eye on these things,'
'I think that we only go on work placements once or twice a week,' said Nick as he noticed Stacy walk past and go into the canteen with some of the girls.
'I might go into the canteen,' he said to Simon subtly.
'Just don't act like Dom!' joked Simon noticing that Dom had also followed the girls.
Nick went into the canteen and managed to get a seat next to Stacy and asked her how her interview went. Stacy was one of the students who had been assigned to Sue.
'My interview went okay,' explained Stacy 'Sue suggested that I could do a work placement a couple of days a week,'
'What did she suggest?' asked Nick.
'I told her that I like hair dressing and she suggested that I could work in a salon or something,' said Stacy 'I did do it at college for a year but I had to leave as I did not like some of the girls on the course,'
'Why was that?' Nick asked curiously.
'Just some girls can be very competitive,' replied Stacy 'I am not very good at being like that and things got very 🐸🐸🐸🐸 at times. I started to think that I was not very good at it,'
'Guys can be competitive as well,' agreed Nick 'it might be different than girls though,'
'I guess that it is the same for everyone,' said Stacy noticing Humara talking to Cassie who was pointing out some guys from a different course. Humara was one of the lucky ones who had been assigned to Regan while Cassie and Tammy had been signed up with Sue. Interestingly Sue had suggested work placements to both Tammy and Cassie although Cassie was more difficult to motive. She was yet to actually talk to any of the guys on the life skills course which was something that some of the guys would eventually notice.
For the rest of the week the students enjoyed taking part in activities and everyone slowly started to get to know everyone else better. Dom was the loudest on the course and continued to annoy the girls trying as hard as possible to get a girlfriend. This became something of an amusement to the other guys as it actually gave them a better chance to talk to the girls themselves. Simon had been getting along well with Leanda and had managed to get her number and had hinted at meeting up with her. Could she be a potential girlfriend?
Nick had been lucky at getting Stacy's number and was hoping for a date with her. Humara was becoming good friends with both Tammy and Cassie and tended to follow Cassie around as Cassie seemed to know a lot of guys from other courses. Tammy was still having mixed reactions with her boyfriend Laurence. Some days over the week he had been dine with her but with the weekend coming up she was feeling anxious as he was going out clubbing with a few of his friends.
As the college was closed for the weekend everyone seemed to actually be sad about being away for just two days. Simon was looking forward to seeing Leanda the following week but he was able to text her a few times over the weekend. She seemed to be quick at texting back and the more that he had texted her the more that he seemed to like her. It was like they had a lot in common and she was hinting that she was interested in him. He suggested asking her out to meet up and she had agreed. He actually had a date!
For Tammy the weekend ended up being worse than she had expected. She woke up on Saturday morning to a text from Laurence. He had ended the relationship.
@king_of_simcity7 It sounds like everyone is enjoying the course to some degree or other. It is strange that one tutor would push work and others not. Bummer about Lawrence breaking up with Tammy, so mean to do it texting. Such a cowards way out. Sounds like good riddance to me.
The Cowboy and the Mermaid