This is a story in progress which will be, mostly, about my teen legacy heir, William, living the most perfect life I can imagine - attending a surfing boarding school in Sunlit Tides. I felt the need to state this in the first post because I know many readers like some drama in their sim stories. If you are one of those readers, you will probably find this story very boring!
William's parents met and got married in
this story.
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Molly and Bruce, a just married couple from Hidden Springs, went there for their honeymoon, but liked it so much they decided to stay there forever.
They also persuaded their best friends from Hidden Springs to come and join them.
Two of those friends, Ella Carlisle and Sebastian Vanderburg, followed their example and got married on the beach soon aftwerwards.
Molly and Bruce both continued with their careers: she as a private investigator and mystery novelist, he as a police officer.
They soon had their first child, little William.
When William became a toddler, it was clear he inherited his mother's red hair.
Soon a younger brother followed: Julius, who looked more like their father.
With Julius came a mysterious invisible friend called Ringo.
When William became a teen, it was clear there were two things that interested him most of all: the sea and music.
His parents gave him the birthday gift he had asked for: scuba diving lessons. He went to the science center to use the gift immediately, although it was the coldest, wettest part of rainy season.
He also got a drum set and, thanks to his toddler xylophone skill, played it pretty well from the start.
Another thing William deeply cared about was family: his own family was very happy, and even larger since Julius managed to turn Ringo into a real boy.
His "family oriented" trait almost got William into trouble when he brought a classmate called Mindy Hamada home. Mindy was a little taken aback when he suddenly started talking about babies.
She left rather in a hurry after she finished her homework. But William later apologised and they became good friends.
William spent his first weekend as a teen jamming with townies in a bar...
... and surfing for the first time, although it was as cold as it gets in Isla Paradiso.
He loved it despite of the cold, and despite of a painful incident that left him walking funny for a while!
"Scholarships offered for the Sunlit Tides Surfing Academy."
William told his friends Mindy Hamada and Valiant Vanderburg - son of Ella and Sebastian - about the notice.
"Apparently, a famous surfer from Sunlit Tides - who is also the teacher at the Academy - is coming here to Isla Paradiso! To get the scholarship we need the highest marks in school, a statement of permission from our parents, and we need to pass an athletics test. Are you interested?"
His friends were both, interested very much so. They were all A students, so they decided to work on their athletic skill.
Mindy also told Jeanette Collins, a friend of hers who was very good at athletics, about the scholarship. Jeanette decided to train for the test too.
The day of the athletics test came. The teens' parents and other curious townies gathered at the gym to watch.
Matiu Henare, the surfer from Sunlit Tides, was a very friendly person and, as Mindy whispered to Jeanette, very good looking!
He explained to the teens that they will be tested in cardio exercises, strength exercises and swimming.
Even more enthusiastic now that they knew they liked their teacher, the four friends did their best to prove themselves.
William lifted as much weight as he could. "It's no big deal if I have sore muscles tomorrow", he thought.
"Or maybe sore muscles today..."
Jeanette dived into the pool a little ungracefully but, luckily, the method of entering the pool wasn't part of the test.
And time was up! ... and Matiu was happy to inform them they had all passed the test.
A few days later, the four teens were saying goodbye to their parents at Isla Paradiso international airport.
"Take care of yourself, Will. And I know that the sea and music are what you like most, but please don't neglect regular school!"
"I won't. I promise."
Valiant Vanderburg was a little bit nervous - he'd never traveled by airplane before, and his loner trait made him uneasy in such a crowded place.
"Travelling is a wonderful thing. You won't regret it!" his mother Ella assured him.
Soon they were all sitting aboard Paradise Airlines flight #27 to Sunlit Tides.
The airplane took off, and they saw Isla Paradiso from above for the first time.
Minutes later, the islands became just specks of green on the ocean.
And then there was no more green, and they were flying west over the Simcific ocean.
William and his friends fell asleep on the airplane; when they woke up on Sunday morning, they were still flying over the ocean, but an island was visible on the horizon.
They landed at Mango's Military base, which doubled as a civilian airport.
"Welcome to Sunlite Tides!" Matiu said. It's just a short drive from here to the Surfing Academy.
They got in the school van and, as Matiu drove them, watched the surroundings curiously.
The lush nature was similar to their homeworld, but not the same; most of the trees were coconut palms, and the sand was sparkling and white.
Soon the van stopped in front of a buiding William recognised from the ad - the Sunlit Tides Surfing Academy.
They stepped into the main hall, pleasantly cool and decorated in wicker and bamboo.
Matiu introduced them to two local students, who had arrived the day before: a girl called Lilinoe...
... and a boy called Ruru, who had been preparing brunch for everyone.
Matiu explained that every student would take their turn preparing meals - there would be a daily roster for cooking and for washing up.
Lilinoe was delighted that new schoolmates had arrived, while Matiu seemed a little worried if everyone would like the salad he prepared.
After the meal Matiu told them there were no official lessons for that day, but if anyone wanted to, they could have their first surfing lesson as soon as they unpacked and settled in.
Everyone said "Yes!" to the first lesson.
There was a boys' dormitory and a girls' dormitory upstairs. The students chose their beds, and then got ready for the beach.
Dressed in school-issued blue bathing suits, they gathered around Matiu on the beach just across the road from their school.
There were three wave stations on the beach. Matiu was the first to use one, to show his students how it's done.
Matiu warned them to stop surfing if a seal gets too close to them!
Mindy Hamada was doing pretty well.
Lilinoe was even better - as a local, she had done this many times.
But Mindy was learning fast!
Jeanette was last to start through no fault of her own - a townie wanted to use the wave station before her - but she was also pretty good when she started.
Of course, everyone had some bad moments...
The sun was already setting when it was the boys' turn.
Valiant Vanderburg had been feeling uneasy on the beach - he is a Loner and there were too many people there for his taste. But once he got on the surfing station, his mood visibly brightened.
He got attacked by a seal afterwards, but I failed to catch a screenshot of that!
William and Ruru were the last to go home in the evening - they were enjoying this so much, they didn't want to stop.
Before going to sleep, some of the students worked on their homework for tomorrow.
Jeanette helped Valiant with his homework - there was a little spark between them earlier on the beach, so they felt like hanging out with one another a bit more.
A light summer rain started while they were hurrying towards the school bus.
It was only a short bus ride to the school building.
Lilinoe and Roru introduced the newcomers to some of their school friends.
While the kids were at school, Matiu went around the town to run some errands. But first he dropped by at the house of one of his neighbours, Noelani Koi, a fellow surfer. Noelani and Matiu have a lot in common and have felt an instant bond when they met.
Matiu then bought groceries to stock the boarding school fridge, and skill books to stock their library.
The students returned home and chose to do their homework all together, in the boys' dormitory, although that meant some of them had to sit on the floor. Their marks were pretty low at this point, and it took them a while to finish their homework.
Another light summer rain started, making the afternoon and evening look magical.
But this rain also meant the weather was not ideal for going to the beach.
It was best to stay in and work on opportunities they received at school. Lilinoe and Jeanette were tasked with reading "Demand Excellence or You'll Get Mediocrity".
William got the task to improve his writing skill, so he practiced writing on his laptop.
It was Valiant's turn to prepare dinner that evening. Valiant was the only one of the four newcomers who wasn't completely at ease in the boarding school, because his Loner trait constantly made him feel tense. Matiu took care to chat with him and compliment his cooking, and this did make the boy feel a little better.
Jeanette and Lilinoe also woke up early and decided to finish their opportunity books in bed.
But poor Ruru was suddenly called back to shore by an angry policeman. He had forgotten that going out before dawn still counted as breaking the curfew.
The police officer awoke Matiu, who angrily scolded Ruru.
"How could you do that? You know you aren't allowed to go out at night."
"I'm truly sorry! I couldn't wait to go to the beach and surf, because we missed yesterday because of the rain. The sun was already rising and I forgot that it was, technically, still night! I won't do it again."
Matiu accepted the apology, to Ruru's relief, and told him not to worry - today was going to be sunny and they would go surfing again.
After the kids went to school, Matiu took a taxi boat to a remote part of the island and spent the day fishing.
The kids went on a field trip to the Sunlit Tides Police Station. This was a little awkward for Ruru, because he met the officer who took him home that morning again. But the trip was very useful: they gained a level in Athletic skill each.
Students can make mistakes, as Ruru did, but even teachers do embarrassing things sometimes!
When everyone returned home, Matiu wished to write a love letter to Noelani. He was so absorbed in his emotions, he sat down to write the letter in the midst of his students who were writing their homework. Most of them didn't notice what he was doing, but William, who finished his homework first, might have noticed something. He is looking away so pointedly!
The three students who finished their homework first - William, Jeanette and Ruru - went to the beach with Matiu to have today's surfing lesson.
They surfed until after sunset - since Matiu was on the beach, watching over them, the curfew wasn't being broken.
It was Mindy Hamada's turn to prepare supper that day. They had a guest for supper: Matiu invited Noelani over.
The students went to sleep, and Noelani and Matiu stayed downstairs, watching the Fishing Channel.
The two got a bit romantic on the sofa. Matiu didn't invite her to stay over, although he wanted to - that would be highly improper for a teacher at boarding school to do - so they said good night after a while.
When his friend Valiant woke up, William asked him if he was okay. Valiant is a loner and sharing a home with so many other sims makes him uneasy.
But Valiant assured him he was all right. Living in a dorm might not be the best arrangement for him, but the Surfing Academy was his dream school and he couldn't think of a place he'd rather be.
It was William's turn to prepare breakfast for everyone that morning.
As the kids were entering Sunlit Tides school, local teen Luna Wahine was swooning over Valiant. That was because he is a two-star celebrity - he inherited his celebrity status from his family, the Vanderburgs of Hidden Springs.
While the teens were at school, their teacher Matiu visited a neighbouring household - a family of mermaids called Oceantide - because he heard their black Labrador had puppies.
There were two puppies, called Ladybug and Rascal. Ladybug was interacting with her mum, while Rascal seemed lonely. Matiu picked him up and the puppy instantly licked his finger to show him he liked him.
It was a spontaneous decision: the school could use a dog as their guard and mascot! The Oceantides agreed to let Matiu adopt the puppy.
While waiting for his students to return from school, Matiu went fishing in a little pond in the jungle, with Rascal for company.
After the students returned and finished their homework, it was Lilinoe's, Valiant's and Mindy's turn to have a surfing lesson.
They enjoyed it, and performed very well.
Accidents do sometimes happen - Lilinoe ended up under her board for a moment...
... but then she regained control of it by jumping out of the water like a superhero and landing on the surfboard.
Afterwards, they all took turns in socialising with their new household member.
Over supper, Matiu told his pupils he was proud of their work. Over these four days they had all raised their school grades to A, raised their Athletic skill for a level at least, and everyone had prepared at least one meal.
"I have a surprise for you," he said. "It's time each one of you got their own surfboard and windsurfing board. The cost is included in the scholarships you have won. Tomorrow is Leisure Day - the perfect day to visit the sports equipment shop, and then spend the day on the waves!"
On Leisure Day some of the students got up before dawn. William and Jeanette decided to play foosball, while Mindy fulfilled her wish to learn the painting skill.
Their teacher, Matiu, decided to greet the dawn while fishing at the nearby beach.
This is what Mindy ended up painting. It looks like she was painting the flowerpot/lamp in front of her but that was, of course, just a coincidence.
Rascal was up too, taking out his instinct for destruction on a toy.
Soon everyone was awake and gathered downstairs for breakfast, excited for the day ahead.
After breakfast Matiu drove everyone - including Rascal - to the other side of the lagoon in the school van.
They stopped at a community lot with several small shops.
The sports equipment shop was the one they came to visit.
As Matiu had promised them, each student could choose a surfboard and a sailboard.
They immediately tried out the sailboards, and soon they spread out all over the lagoon.
They returned to the boarding school around noon, tired but happy. Their maid strongly showed his disapproval of the fact that they were wearing swimsuits in the house, but he was wrong - their swimsuits were their school uniforms and there was nothing improper about it.
Jeanette and Ruru were the first to notice that tables, chairs and a portable stereo were placed in the garden.
It turned out that Matiu was hosting a garden barbecue to celebrate Leisure Day.
While waiting for the guests to arrive, Ruru and William had a jam session.
William had been a good drummer back in Isla Paradiso, and when he learned that Ruru liked music as much as he did, they both bought guitars.
The guests would arrive in an hour. Matiu was outside, preparing hot dogs.
One by one, the students changed for the party and gathered around William and Ruru to listen to them playing.
After the jam session was finished, Mindy and Ruru had hearts for one another. Although they had known one another for a week now, it was as if they suddenly saw each other in a new light - possibly something to do with their festive clothes and Ruru's guitar playing.
The teens went outside and started dancing to the stereo in the garden, set to the "Beach party" channel.
The guests started arriving. Luna Wahine, the teen who was swooning over Valiant at school, surprised me by having hearts for Lilinoe. She wasn't attracted to Valiant, she was only awestruck by his celebrity status!
The white-haired lady on the left disappointed me a little. She was just an ordinary human now...
... but when Matiu met her in a diving lot a few days ago, she was a mermaid!
Matiu's romantic interest Noelani Koi was among the guests, and soon they were completely absorbed in a slow dance.
The paparazzo came to the party uninvited. He kept the camera almost in Valiant's face while the poor boy was dancing, but Valiant tried to ignore him.
The teens took turns autonomously going inside and serving some juice, although nobody wanted to drink any. I found four trays of juice after the party was over.
When it was time for the meal even the paparazzo was invited to the table, and Rascal helped himself to a piece of food someone dropped.
During the meal William got into an earnest discussion about music, and Luna thought about Valiant's celebrity status again.
After sunset, some of the teens went to their dorms - Valiant first, because although he had been having fun he can't stand crowds for too long.
William and Lilinoe stayed up to listen to Luna's ghost story, and Noelani danced long into the night.
But eventually the guests left and the household went to sleep. Tomorrow is a school day, after all!
Rascal woke up and went outside, but he is just a puppy, unable to do anything unfriendly to the unwanted guest. He just happily ran around (which is, I think, what most real-life Labradors would do!)
Some of the students woke up very early, and each one took a skill book to read. Rainy season will start soon, so it's best to do the studying while it's still dark, so that every precious moment of daylight can be saved for the beach!
The paparazzo is immensely irritated by this.
"Sitting quietly and reading, really? These are the most boring celebrities I've ever stalked!"
William bonded with Rascal, and this brought out his family-oriented trait. He was reminded of how he couldn't wait to become an adult and have a baby!
His good friend Mindy wanted to talk to him before school.
"Hey, Will, I... I'm developing these feelings for Ruru, and I think that he feels the same. I wanted to check if that was okay with you. I mean, the tow of us were never close in that way, but still..."
William assured her it was okay. Although Mindy and he had spent a lot of time together back in Isla Paradiso, there was never a spark between them. He sincerely wished her all the best with Ruru.
Still, he was left with a little pang of self-doubt.
Jeanette and Valiant had been getting pretty close lately, now the same was happening with Mindy and Ruru, and Lilinoe found she had a crush on their schoolmate Luna Wahine. William was now the only one of the six who had never felt this spark with anyone.
Was there something wrong with him?
There was no need to cook that day: there was plenty of food and drinks left over from yesterday's party.
When the teens left on the school bus, Matiu went scuba-diving and caught a tuna.
A pretty girl called Oliana Wahine came home after school with the students. William went to introduce himself to her.
Yes! Instant hearts! There was nothing wrong with William after all.
I loved the face he made afterwards. He just looked so relieved, while Oliana was very cool and poised. This must happen to her a lot!
William, Jeanette and Ruru were the first to finish their homework, so Matiu took them to the beach to have that day's surfing lesson. (He also took Rascal, because he was so eager to go with them!)
This would be the first time they used their new surfboards; Matiu warned them to take good care of them and to beware of inquisitive seals. If the surfboards got damaged, they would have to use their own money to buy new ones.
All three were visibly more confident on their surfboards now.
Still, accidents do happen...
Poor William!
But he leaped spectacularly out of the water, his surfboard intact. This wasn't a seal attack, just a temporary loss of balance!
Something similar happened to Ruru and Jeanette, and they both regained control of their surfboards by leaping out of the sea and landing on them, each in their own style:
By that time Mindy and Lilinoe had finished their homework and were ready to start surfing, so the first three joined Matiu and Rascal in watching.
The lesson lasted until after sunset.
It was Friday night, so there was no reason to go to bed early. They ended the day at The Hot Spot which was, fittingly, the hotspot for the evening. William was glad to find they had a drum kit he could use for practice.
One by one, the teacher and students gathered in the dining area.
There are no school duties on Saturday and Sunday. The teens decided to go about their separate business in the morning, and then meet at the beach in the afternoon. Matiu wouldn't come with them, but he suggested that they practice snorkeling. It might come in useful later.
Matiu then went fishing, accompanied by Rascal.
William and Valiant went to the Chinese garden to learn Sim Fu.
Meanwhile, Lilinoe and Jeanette went to the Science Facility. Lilinoe had to do some research for a school opportunity.
While waiting for her, Jeanette decided to try an experiment at the open lab.
Soon, William and Valiant were able to brag to each other about their first belt!
Afterwards they visited the closing day of the Summer festival, still wearing the Sim Fu outfits they felt so proud of.
Surely skating would be easy for them, since they are so good at sports?
Okay, maybe not so easy.
At the Science Facility, Jeanette's experiment was complete. She was really enjoying this.
Ruru and Mindy spent the morning watching TV, but it somehow escalated into a pillow fight.
In the afternoon the teens met up at Captain Jack's Tidal Beach.
They decided they would follow Matiu's advice on snorkeling.
The lone figure on the shore is Cyril the paparazzo. He didn't follow them into the sea - he just stood there and stared after them.
They snorkeled until the sun began to set, and almost each one of them found a sea shell.
The beauty of the beach at sunset even had an effect on the paparazzo. He stopped being a creepy stalker of teenagers for a moment at least, changed into his swimwear and started playing in the ocean.
Being a loner, Valiant always immediately leaves every group outing, although he remains on the lot. He went into the hot tub by himself, but he had nothing against his crush Jeanette joining him.
On the contrary...
They shared a first kiss! Had Cyril the paparazzo been there, he would finally have something to report. But he had lost track of the teens earlier on the beach.
William had a drink at the bar. It was expensive, but the bartender recognised him as a minor celebrity and gave him a discount. That was flattering, although William was more interested in the snorkeling he did that day than in his dubious claim to stardom.
Some of their friends gathered at the band stage upstairs to listen to a pianist performing.
There was also a PlasmaPunch Gyroscopic Conductor upstairs, so William decided to give it a try.
It was an interesting experience. Maybe not enjoyable, but interesting!
**Rascal is cute as ever!!
**Awww, William wants a baby, I bet he would make a wonderful dad...way in the future...
**Awww, poor William! He will find someone sooner or later.
**Those scenery shots are great, and the tuna...awesome!!
**Guess it was sooner for William! Good on him getting hearts for Oliana.
**Poor William falling off his board!
**Glad William found some drums to play.
Sept. 2: The shots of Matiu and Rascal at the fishing spot....beautiful!!
**Look like everyone is busy skilling up, making good use of their free time!
**LOL!! Roller skating while in their MA uniforms, thought they were going to combine the two!
**That is a whole bunch of snorkeling! Looks fun...
Sept 3: Ohhhh, Valiant's first kiss!!
**William you rebel you, underage drinking...
**Where did you find the PlasmaPunch, is it buydebug? I know I've used it once but can't find it again...
Excellent updates!! I will be leaving feedback for you here until I can find time for the main thread again. I'd rather just leave feedback for the stories I actually like/read (yours, emorill's and mikezumi's).
*Fairy Jared and Vampire Connor*
Paparazzi annoy me too, but it's fun to have an annoying element that's out of my control!
The PlasmaPunch isn't in buydebug, it's in regular buy mode, but now I can't remember exactly where I found it. My best guess is the entertainment section, but you will definitely find it under Collections in the Showtime collection.
Sunday morning, the first day of rainy season, started as expected - with rain.
Jeanette was the first to wake up. Out of curiosity, she tried taking the University aptitude test.
With her current skill levels, she could get a Physical Education scholarship. But she wasn't entirely happy to hear this - she thought she might like Science better.
One by one, the others woke up. William decided to call his family in Isla Paradiso.
"William, your postcard came yesterday!" his mother said. "Sunlit Tides looks like a beautiful place!"
"It looks even better than the postcards. How is everyone?"
"Everyone is fine! Your Dad is working out, and Julius and Ringo are on a joyride on the couch! They're aging up to teens tomorrow, don't forget to call them!"
"I won't forget! Until tomorrow, then!"
The weather cleared up a little, and Matiu took his students to the hospital to get flu shots. They are going spent a lot of time outside in the rain in the days to come - it's best not to take any risks.
Aww, Rascal likes William! He was thinking of him while waiting for everyone to come out of the hospital.
After the hospital they spent some time at the library. The shelf with skill books at the Sunlit Tides library is outside on a terrace, open to the lush island vegetation outside. What a lovely place to skill up!
When they returned to their boarding school William noticed Oliana, the cute girl he met two days ago, hanging around at Surf Point Beach across the road.
He immediately went there and they started a flirtatious conversation.
But they were distracted by townie Maru Mango who was staring at them, delighted to see a minor celebrity on the beach. That was enough flirting for today anyway, William! It's time to catch a wave!
The afternoon was sunny and everyone took their turn on the wave stations. The students are still not able to ride waves as high as Matiu does.
Because of her new-found interest in science, Jeanette gave Ruru an ink blot test. He thought it looked like a trophy.
"Look what I can do!" Valiant seems to say here.
Around sunset it started to rain again.
Lilinoe left the beach earlier than the others. She invited Luna Wahine, the girl she was attracted to, to meet her at the marina.
First she bored her a little by talking about the rain.
But then she decided on an unusual approach.
"Love s.ucks, doesn't it?" she said.
Luna seemed delighted. "Yes, you're so right!"
While they walked among the moored boats, Lilinoe asked Luna if she was single. Yes, she was!
They sat down to watch the stars (which, in the sim world, you can do in spite of the rain).
After that they said goodbye, and Lilinoe returned to the boarding school just in time for supper.
**Wonderful to see Molly and the boys!
**William looks like he is on the right track for his first real love, though I recall he liked a girl back home didn't he?
**The ink blot test cracks me up!
**Love love the surfing shots, they can do some cool stuff as they get better!
**"Love stinks"....lets go watch the stars in the rain...*giggle*!!
*Fairy Jared and Vampire Connor*