Woods Random Legacy: Chapter 29 - Changing Times

With the arrival of autumn in Sunset Valley came an information package about a university that had recently opened its doors to high school graduates who sought a higher education.  James couldn't quite see the point in going; school had done nothing for him, and there was a good chance that he knew more than some, if not most, of the instructors.  Still, he was tempted by the SUAT - Sims University Aptitude Test - and decided to take the multiple-choice exam one evening.

After a great deal of bubble-filling, he added up all the correct answers he'd gotten.  Unsurprisingly, they were offering him a full scholarship.  Excellent.  Now to look at the breakdown.  He received distinguished awards in the areas of business, technology and, for some reason, physical education.  Strange, that last one, but he'd take it.

He only received an apprentice award in the area of communications, which was somewhat perplexing.  He supposed that his charisma didn't carry over to written exams, it was more of an in-person thing.  Fair enough.  He didn't get any award for fine arts, unsurprisingly; it was a waste of time to go to a university to study how to paint, or take pictures.  When he got to the final item on the list, he stopped, frowning instantly.

Science.  No award.  What kind of a university was this?  He'd gotten top marks in his science class in high school, and furthermore, he'd cut, harvested, refined and implemented Tiberium explosives!  That was more than most scientists could boast of.  This so-called "university" was clearly a worthless waste of time, and James would have nothing more to do with it.

New smartphones had come to Sunset Valley, and James used some of his promotion money to purchase three of the new gadgets for himself and his parents.  He enjoyed the texting feature, especially when dealing with Darlene.  He kept her at a distance; that night had been fun, and sure she was okay in bed, but she was nothing special.  Her daughter, on the other hand, was much more James's style.  Phyllis had shared her number with him through her mother's phone, and sometimes James texted her after he got off work late at night.

She was always fun to talk to, and could keep up with him - she was the only other student at the high school that had even come close to his exam scores.  One day, bored of the daily grind, he took advantage of another useful feature in his phone - GPS.  Even though Phyllis hadn't told him where she'd be today, she hadn't turned off the location features on her new phone, so it was trivial for James to trace her number back through the network and determine that she was hanging out at Varg's Tavern.  He'd briefly considered simply texting her and asking where she was, but he was sure that she'd think a chance meeting was much more exciting.

Sure enough, she was delighted to see him.
Phyllis: "James, hi!  Fancy meeting you here!"
James: "Yeah!  I like to come here sometime and just hang out."

Phyllis: "Totally, me too.  You know, if you know where to look, this dinky little town really does have a great social scene."
No, it didn't.  This place was deader than a cat that had been bricked up in a crypt for a hundred years, but James wasn't about to say that out loud.
James: "Maybe you could show me around, sometime.  I really only know this place, I spent a lot of time studying when I was in school."
Phyllis: "I know, you were such a nerd, but you were also kind of a jock too.  I never really knew what to think about you."
James: "Yeah, I was a bit of a nerd.  But so were you, chemistry girl!"
Phyllis laughed, blushing a bit.
Phyllis: "You remembered!"
James: "Of course I remembered.  Oh, hey, I've got a brand new fireplace and some powdered chemicals back home, I don't know if that's still your thing or not..."
He didn't even have to complete his question as Phyllis's excited jumping up and down answered it for him.
James: "Alright, I'll call a taxi then."

When they reached his house, James turned to Phyllis.
James: "I have a confession to make.  I didn't actually ask you all the way out here just to play with fire."
Phyllis smiled, and wrapped her arms loosely around him.
Phyllis: "I know."
James returned the gentle hug, looking into Phyllis's eyes.
James: "You know, I had the biggest crush on you in high school."
Phyllis: "Really?  Me too.  I mean, on you, not on myself."

She blushed again and James smiled.
James: "I knew what you meant.  And I kind of thought you might."
He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the lips, a gesture which she enthusiastically reciprocated.

One thing led to another, and soon they found themselves in James's bedroom.
Phyllis: "What's that creepy little thing?"
James: "Oh, just ignore that.  It's my dad's."

Phyllis managed to successfully ignore it and climbed into bed with James, even as he wondered how his gnome had showed up next to his bed.  The last time he seen it, he'd stashed it in a closet.  Maybe his father was behind it.  Oh well, it was time to focus on other things right now.

You know what they say: like mother, like daughter.

~ * ~

James, you're so creepy sometimes.

Yes, this means I have no plans to send him to university.  He was pretty offended by not being given a science award!  I do have definite plans for generation 3 to try their best to get to university at least once, though.