Sim State U Ch. 3 Two Years at Pinenut Plaza Dorms

Trey Lassiter and his father, John, were the first to arrive at the dorm. The others trickled in over several hours, toting suitcases, a synthesizer, mini-fridges, computers and more. 

The next day was a big day for the five kids from Pleasantview; Trey Lassiter, Elle Broke, Holly Ferguson, Corky and Chelsea Lomax.  Andy Lomax wouldn’t join them for another year.

Heading to their first class with new clothes and new haircuts were Chelsea and Holly, followed by Elle and Corky. Trey was the last out the door, Trey's hair looked the same as always, but he had invested in a new wardrobe as well.

The small rooms were an adjustment for all of them, too, but they were soon settled in.

Holly Ferguson’s room was in blue. She's always tended to accumulate clutter, but there was practically no room for clutter here.

Chelsea Lomax’s room (blue also) was always neat and tidy

Elle Broke’s room was soft and feminine

Trey’s room was an homage to sports

 Corky’s was the same, only the subject was music 

Major things to work on immediately were registering for their majors.

Trey – Poly Sci

Holly – Drama

Chelsea – Literature

Corky – Physics

Elle – Art

Trey and Chelsea enjoyed playing games together. They especially loved the pinball machine down at the end of the hall where there wasn’t much traffic…

 

In fact, Elle and Corky and Trey and Chelsea were continuing the romances they had started just before they left for school. Holly didn’t meet anyone new she was interested in and kept in touch with Andy as he finished his senior year.

In the dining room Elle and Corky’s conversation turned romantic as Holly tried to work on her class assignment. There were many distractions to be overcome when they were trying to do their class assignments.

Harder to get used to than the small rooms, were the communal showers. The guys didn’t care one way or the other. Men and boys are notorious exhibitionists in general. The three girls were fine when they had to shower with each other; it was the others in the dorm that bothered them. But they eventually acclimated. Even so, there were bets on that Elle would be the first one in the dorm to streak, she never ignored a challenge; ‘if you don’t want it done, don’t dare Elle’ was the group’s saying. The girls said, no, she’s too much of a lady, but the guys were hopeful and laid down their money early, except for Corky--they never even hinted there was a bet going on to Corky. They were learning that he was more than a little in love with Elle and quite jealous and they already knew he had a hair-trigger temper.

At Pinenut, the favorite stress relievers were Don’t Wake the Llama and SSX3, with the piano and the pool table coming in third and fourth. Elle, Holly and Corky were all piano players, with Corky being the most addicted. He missed his guitar, but his dad had bought him a synthesizer so he often fooled around with that in his room.

From time to time one of the other students sat down at the table. There were only three other students since Pinenut was a fairly small eight-room dorm. 

The same problem that hounded the kids at Landgraab occurred regularly at Pinenut. Food gone bad before you could finish eating it. Occasionally though, you could get in there early and enjoy omelets or pancakes. The kind of food the students ate regularly meant you had to jog or use the exercise machine often. Luckily, Trey’s dad and Holly’s dad donated two new exercise machines to the dorm, the same as they had at Landgraab. Meanwhile, all of them learned to microwave their own food, just as they did at Landgraab Hall.

When Andy arrived, booting out one of the former students, Holly was a very happy camper. His first night he got cornered by a cheerleader in the downstairs lounge, but Holly rescued him and they played a little pool and got to renew their friendship. He chose Biology for his major and Holly helped him learn his way around the dorm and the campus. Soon it was as though they’d never been apart.

Sometimes Mary Albee or one of the other student joined in the games. She was friendly, if a little needy, and these students seemed a lot more lively than most of those at Landgraab. They also seemed more healthy.

Trey Lassiter was almost as addicted to pinball as Harvey Ferguson. He was trying to teach Chelsea but she was a real love bug and preferred cuddling whenever near him, if possible.  She did play the Llama game often, but usually it was when Trey was in class or busy elsewhere.

Things seemed to also be a little different at Pinenut compared to Landgraab in fact that the Mascots appeared to be more interested in joining in than in creating a distraction. Llama Aaron (the same Llama who lurked by the showers at Landgraab) sometimes lay in wait in the boys lavatory, hoping to irritate guys as they came in, but one night he was seen playing pool with one of the other students, appearing affable and relaxed. Another time he came to do research in the upstairs lounge and was quite well behaved. The cow had become earnest and friendly and just seemed to want to be one of the guys as he cheered them on while they played SSX3. He didn’t try to do even one of his stupid practical jokes.

 

There was a continual game of Don’t Wake The Llama going on throughout the day. You never knew who would get in the game next as someone else left for class or to eat or sleep.

 

Near the end of their sophomore year everyone noticed that Corky and Elle seemed to be getting more involved. When they were in the lounge they were with each other most of the time. When they talked to each other the other kids felt like they were intruding somehow. Often Corky and Elle went into her room to sit on the narrow bed and talk in privacy. They still loved their friends, but increasingly they were wrapped up in each other to the point of exclusivity. The others were happy for them, but missed the camaraderie they’d all had. 

On the last night before finals everyone was stressed. No one could sleep because they had the tests at 3 am and Andy had his at 4. They had studied hard and wanted to take their minds off the hours ahead so they all gave up on sleep and hung out in the dorm. They played games, studied and Elle even tried some meditation.

When they came back from their finals they were relieved and proud because they all had passed and made the dean’s list as well. It had been a great two years and no students had died in the dorm. After what they’d heard went down at Landgraab, they’d been a little nervous. They were excited about starting their junior year, too. 

Assuming things would be the same as they had been, they were taken by surprise when Corky made an announcement. He and Elle were leaving the dorm and moving to a rental house across campus. The kids were stunned, they knew Corky and Elle were serious, but they’d thought maybe Corky would say they were just engaged, but they never dreamed that he and Elle would move out of the dorm. This meant they’d be separated. After Elle and Corky went downstairs to eat, Trey pointed out to the others, who were somewhat depressed,

“You know, guys, did we think we’d all be together forever? I mean we have to grow up and move on sometime,”

“Well, yeah, but we thought we’d be together until we got our degrees, anyway,” Holly answered.

“Look, we’re lucky we all went to the university together. Lots of other kids we know went to different colleges, some out of state.”

“I guess,” Holly felt glum.

“It’s not like their leaving,” Trey said, “They’ll be right here; just not in the dorm.”

“Yeah, Trey, but so are the kids at Landgraab on campus and we never see them,” Chelsea replied.

“True, I hardly ever even see my own sister,” he had to admit, “well there’s nothing we can do about it anyway. At least we were all together for two years.”

Now they’d never get to see Elle streak, the guys thought sadly. They’d still had high hopes even after two years, but now there was no way.

They couldn’t help but wonder what other changes might be in store for all of them over the next two years.

Then they heard the news from Chelsea; over at Landgraab Lori and Melanie were going to rent a small house together. That made Gareth, Harvey and Colby decide to rent a huge old house nearby. All five would be vacating Landgraab. And here Trey and Chelsea and Andy and Holly were still stuck in the dinky Pinenut dorm. Gareth had been hinting that the boys, Trey and Andy, should join them at the big house, there were plenty of rooms. If five guys were all there, the rent would just about equal the costs of living at Pinenut. That left Holly and Chelsea wondering what to do. Trey and Andy were unsure though. Would it be any different at the house where they had to be more responsible? And how often would they get to see Chelsea and Holly?

When they found out the house had a pool, a pond, many pinball machines and electronic games, five bedrooms and five bathrooms, they were really in a quandary. It sounded too good to pass up. What to do…what to do…

Next update: Lomax Family - Ch. 4 Mike & Lucy Back in Pleasantview Pt. 1

Next Installment of Sim State U Ch. 4 Melanie and Lori's Place Pt. 1