Getting To Know You: Day 2

By the second morning, the sims were starting to feel a little bit more at home in the House of the Rising Sim.  Many had gone to bed early the previous night, and woke before the wake-up call,excited and ready to start a new day. 

For some, this meant breakfast and a quiet chat in the kitchen at dawn; for others, a good workout or some relaxation time.

When they gathered for Morning Meeting at 9:00 AM, Keira made no attempt to hide her satisfaction about being Super Sim for the day.  Hunter, on the other hand, seemed fairly resigned to sitting in the red Loser Chair—after all, he’d had all night to come to terms with the idea.  Although there wasn’t a lot to plan today—the schedules on the table listed only the usual morning Jobs session, and a park outing to Oasis Springs later in the afternoon—discussion was lively nonetheless. 

"I'm really bummed," Reece complained, "another day grubbing around out in that garden? I'm not here to slave away out there!"

Aileen and Alysha told him that he had to expect to put in some effort.  After all, they Directors had spent a lot of money setting up the HRS and flying them all across the country—they couldn’t expect it to be like a resort vacation.

"Why can't I do something fun, at least?"

"You’d better be glad for all the produce you'll be able to sell, Reece. It will all add up when they tally the points,"  Aileen pointed out rather tartly.

"As it seems to me, everything ees magnifique, and the future, she eees very bright!” Brayden cut in.

"It seems like a pretty sweet situation to me, too," Alysha agreed.

Reece ended the discussion with a flat statement that he felt a little like a prisoner with the strict schedules and requirements. and that was that.

At the end of the meeting, some sims lingered to talk and finish breakfast, while others leaped straight to their tasks for the morning.  Alysha and Reece spent a bit more time chatting.  Alysha told him that she was surprised and shocked by his negative attitude so early in the contest.

Reece responded by opening up to her a bit about the  sad personal circumstances which had led him to apply for a place in the HRS.  “After he left me, I just wanted to get as far away as I could.  I don’t think I’ll ever love anyone again.”

The remainder of the day was uneventful—the planned park outing took place, and Keira again nailed more points for having been the first sim to reach out to chat with a non-household member.  Alysha also gained a point since she immediately raced across the park to the  community center to dance.  Reece’s bad day continued—he distinguished himself only by once again rummaging in the trash and came home from the park with his pockets stuffed with aging macaroni and cheese. 

The 11:00 PM plumb bob check revealed that Brayden’s positive attitude had lasted through the day, and he would start Day 3 with the Super Sim hat firmly placed on his head.  Hunter had only another morning in the red chair to look forward to.  "Well, um, I guess I'm just not getting off to a great start here.  I'm going to try to do better tomorrow."

Jobs: Day 1

   The 7 AM wakeup call seemed to come very quickly, and found all sims still in a deep sleep.  Upon rising, there were multiple complaints about hygiene—no one had felt energetic enough to shower before bed. 

Peculiarly, however, few took the opportunity to do so in the two hours before Morning Meeting—instead they fixed breakfast and chatted in the kitchen before filing into the dining room. 

The atmosphere of the meeting was somewhat deminished by the dirty dishes which had been left on the table from the previous day’s meals. 

Taking her seat in the green Super Sim chair (and doing her best to ignore the furtive snickering directed at her Super Sim headgear for the day) Aileen brought the meeting to order.  She explained that during these Morning Meetings, they would receive each day’s schedule and instructions, compete for special assignments, and consider any house business.  Opening the envelope she’d found (along with the Super Sim hat) in front of her bedroom door that morning, she read, 

"This morning’s order of business is for every sim to accept a job within the household.  As will be true whenever jobs, benefits or assignments are available, the Super Sim will have the first choice.  Super Sim will then draw numbers to determine the order in which other household sims may make their choices.  The Loser will always be last.   

Aileen then passed out sheets of paper listing the eight possible positions available to them.  The sims read in silence for a few moments.
 

Chef:  Maintain a small herb garden, cook meals (pays 3 points and may sell extra herbs.)

Painter:  Replace 10 dino stencils with paintings; create 1 painting for each bedroom.  May sell 1 painting/day  (pays 2  points plus value of sold paintings.)

Gardeners:  (2) Each maintain 2 raised beds, 1 w/veggies and 1 w/flowers.  (Pays 3 pts. each; may sell extra produce.)

Handyman: Repair all broken items; upgrade if nothing is broken.  (pays 3 points; may sell unneeded upgrade parts.)

Entertainer: (musician or comedian) Entertain for an hour during parties; may play for tips during outings. (Pays 2 points plus any tips earned.)

Social Director/Mixologist:  Host a party every few nights at the house or other venue.  Tend bar during party, make contact with all guests.(Pays 3 points plus value of any party  prizes earned.) 

Chronicler:  Keep a journal of the household’s experiences by writing at least 2 hrs/daily; write one book to be given to each household member, including him/herself.  May sell one book per day as well. (Pays 3 points plus value of any works sold.)

When all the household members had set down their papers, some looking excited and others mutinous, Aileen spoke again.  

“As today’s Super Sim, I am going to claim the Social Director job.  I assume there are no objections.”

Silence.

“So now, I will draw numbers so that you may all choose your positions, according to the directions.”  Aileen took a small green velvet box which had been hidden in her lap, and placed it on the table.  Reaching inside, she drew out a number. “Number 6—Alysha, that’s you.”

Alysha looked a bit befuddled.  “Um, I really don’t know—I really just want to get out there on the river and do some fishing!  Can’t I do a fishing job?  No?  Well, man, I’m not sure—I guess I’ll take gardening, then.  At least I’m outside, and there’ll be two of us working together, that’ll be okay, I guess.”

Several of the other sims heaved obvious sighs of relief.  It was clear that many of them already had their eyes on certain jobs and were holding their breath hoping to get to choose in time.

“Number 3.  Braylen.”

“Why, there eees of course no doubt!  Me, I am a painter of genius extraordinaire!  I shall be the HRS painter, and fill the house with zee masterpieces!”

The numbers continued.  Some were uneventful—Deb happily chose to be the Chef, Reece accepted the second Gardener position (although it was clear that he’d have preferred not having any sort of job) and Efrain moodily agreed that he would make a stab at learning guitar or piano.  “It won’t be good, though, it won’t be good enough,” he warned them glumly. 

Keira and Hunter, however, almost came to blows when Hunter originally opted for the Chronicler position.  Her eyes flashing, teeth bared in an almost frightening look of ferocity, she told him that she, SHE, was going to be a best-selling novelist, and that if he took the position from her, he’d regret it for the rest of their time at HRS. 

“Fight, fight! “ exclaimed Brayden.  “What are you going to do about it, Super Sim?”  Mockery aside, Aileen was wondering exactly the same thing.  Fortunately, Hunter, shocked by Keira’s vehemence, backed down quickly.  

“Fine, fine, keep your hair on!  I’ll be handyman, okay!  I’m a little clumsy, not sure how good I’ll be at it, but whatever!  No need to snarl at me like that, Keira!”

At this point, realizing that the meeting was quickly getting out of hand, Aileen began hurriedly to get through the remaining items of business.  Sims were getting uncomfortable and edgy, and she herself was badly in need of a bathroom break.

“Fine, great, we all have jobs, wonderful!”  she gushed.  “Now, just a few more quick things.  For the first 8 days, we are allowed to purchase a textbook or self-help book to help us gain skills.”

“Fine!” interrupted Keira.  “I’ll take Strunk and White….”

“Well, I’m sorry, Keira, but I’m afraid that the choice is made, um, well, by the Super Sim.  So, well, um, me, actually.”  Seeing Keira’s glower, she hurried on.”I’m sure it will be you soon, of course!  But for today, I’m going to order a nice bartender’s manual.  Don’t you think we’d all enjoy being able to have some nice relaxing drinks at the end of the day?” (Or even earlier, maybe, she thought.)

“So, for the rest of today, we’re all supposed to get started on our jobs and try to learn a bit about what we’ll need to do.  Once we’re done with that, the rest of the day is free.  Deb will be serving dinner tonight at 7, here in the dining room.  If you have any questions, just let me know! “ 

“Just one more thing, though—today there’s an opportunity for one sim to get out of the house and do some exploring.  If you take this assignment, your task for today will be to go out and look for fruit and veggies to stock our fridge, as well as to meet some of our neighbors and make them some nice dinner.  Who would like to volunteer?”

Hunter’s hand flew up.  He didn’t feel any particular excitement about learning household repairs, and the opportunity to get out of the house and enjoy some time alone was a powerful lure—not to mention getting away from Keira.  That ferocious glare had left him feeling seriously uneasy.  “Something’s a bit off with that one, “ he thought, and was grateful when Aileen nodded and wrote his name down as Sim in Spot.

Unfortunately, the task proved to be impossible.  Although Hunter did enjoy the peace and solitude of exploring many of the natural beauties of Willow Creek, and found some nice mushrooms, it turned out to be the wrong season for fruit and he wasn’t able to find any.  The dinner with a neighbor was even more nerve-wracking—there was only one neighbor home, and shortly after letting him in, she suddenly took off for work.  It felt terribly awkward sitting around in her house and cooking alone in her kitchen, and he was horrified when her roommate suddenly returned and demanded to know what he was doing there.  He tried haltingly to explain, and they ate a bit together, but Hunter’s cheeks were flushed when he took the first opportunity to leave and return home.

Back in the HRS, the day had been easier.  Sims had completed their chores without much trouble, and spent much of the day relaxing.  Aileen hadn’t quite had the courage to tell Keira that in addition to her usual job, she needed to do the cleaning for the day since she was Loser—that dangerous look hadn’t been lost on her, either.  But to her relief, various housemates chose to tidy up on their own, so she didn’t have to say anything.

By 11 pm, the housemates were all tired and longing to get to bed, wondering what tomorrow would hold.  Who would wear the Super Sim hat?  And who would sit in the Loser chair?  Hunter, miserably aware of how dismally his first day had gone, had a sad suspicion that he knew.

Arrival: Day 0

Their flights arrived from all corners of Simerica, over the course of a long day and evening.  Each had received the packet in the mail, containing a congratulatory letter, a plane ticket, reservation confirmations at an airport hotel along with instructions on catching the hotel shuttle, and vouchers for meals for whatever portion of the day they would spend at the hotel.  Some hid out in their rooms, ordering room service and nervously flipping channels on the TV.  Others ventured out—to the pool (oh, they hoped there’d be a pool available when they got to the house!) to the lobby, to the hotel restaurant where they picked at their meals, scanning the other diners and wondering, wondering—is that girl one of the contestants?  Will that guy be going?  Should I go introduce myself?  But no one did.  At 7 pm, each received a concise message from the Directors.  Wake-up calls would come at 7 AM—they were to leave their bags in their rooms for collection and delivery, and gather in the lobby for the trip to their home for the next 20 sim days.  Not everyone slept well that night.

The van ride to the house wasn’t long, but it was strained and awkward.  A few mumbled introductions, a couple of lame attempts at a joke—but mostly they stared nervously out the windows of the van.  And then, they pulled to the curb in front of a big two-story yellow house in a green, leafy neighborhood of Willow Creek.  It clearly wasn’t the most upscale neighborhood—the railway tracks ran close by, just across the canal—but it wasn’t bad at all.  The house was in good repair, the neighborhood looked clean and tidy, there was no graffiti—some sims let out a sigh of relief.

The van driver climbed out and gathered them on the sidewalk.  

“Please go into the house and into the TV room just to the right.  There’s a welcome DVD ready to play and you will receive further instructions there.  Your bags have already been delivered to your rooms.  Welcome to the House of the Rising Sim.”

He climbed back into the van and in a moment, he and the van had vanished.  It was as if they had never been there—as if somehow the eight Sims had just appeared standing alone in front of the unfamiliar house.  “Well, “ a curvy red-headed Sim burst out, “Let’s get going already, dudes!”  And with that, she jogged up the path and flung open the door.

The DVD was brief.  Most of the Sims watched intently, although one plump girl who’d introduced herself as Deb, insisted on simultaneously turning on the jukebox and dancing throughout the whole presentation.  The DVD contained a welcome to the HRS, a quick list of rules—no contact with their families or friends from home; no illegal substances; no abusive behavior— a video tour of the home and lot (no swimming pool, how disappointing!) and instructions for them to  go upstairs and  locate their rooms by the namecards on the doors.  Each sim was to go into his or her room, unpack and spend some time getting to know his or her roommate.  “Roommate!”  gasped a pretty dark-haired girl in a trendy albeit not overly-flattering outfit of shorts and crop-top.  “You mean we have to share rooms?  What about bathrooms?  I’ve never shared a room with anyone!  Euuw!”

However, they trooped obediently  up the stairs and figured out which rooms were whose.  There was some milling around and angry comments when they realized that the rooms were not at all equivalent—some sims were comfortably housed in large rooms with a nicely- appointed ensuite bathroom, while others were crammed into smaller rooms with cramped accommodations.  Already some sims were feeling rather disgruntled as they closed their doors and set about getting acquainted. 

Alysha, the curvy, pigtailed redhead, found a note on the bed near her suitcase, instructing her to go downstairs at 12:30, along with her unwilling roommate Aileen, and prepare lunch for the group using supplies found in the refrigerator.  After a couple of hours of conversation as they unpacked, the young women followed the directions and Alysha prepared a big salad.  

At 1 pm, she and Aileen called the other sims down for lunch in the dining room.  Some sims seemed to have enjoyed their getting acquainted conversations more than others—some seemed uncomfortable or even angry with the situation, but everyone tried to make the best of it.  After all, they were here, the contracts were signed, there was no getting out of it now.

After lunch, the DVD had said, the sims were free to explore the house, make use of the facilities, continue to get to know one another, and generally relax until 7 pm, at which time they would take a group outing to the park, for a Welcome BBQ and a look at their new community. Some sims jumped right in to tidying up after lunch, while others left their dirty dishes on the table and quickly slipped away to explore.

The park proved to be quite nice—the sims weren’t hungry, and no one chose to take advantage of the grills.  Somewhat to the shock of most of the group, though, Reece salvaged some oatmeal from a garbage can and quickly consumed it alone at a table! 

Keira was also seen digging in the trash—who were these sims?  Why had they been chosen?  Where on earth could they have come from, to behave like that?  And what was it going to be like living with them for the next 20 days?

At the end of the evening, the sims returned to the house.  Some, exhausted by the long and stressful day, quickly retired to bed—only to be woken by their phones at 11 pm, to find a message that all sims must gather in the dining room.  During this meeting, Alysha read aloud from a note which she’d found on her bed after the park outing.

“All sims will receive a wake-up call at 7 AM each morning.  You would be wise to schedule your bedtimes to allow yourselves to be well-rested and ready for a busy day.  Breakfast is self-serve, and there is a mandatory meeting in this room every morning at 9 AM.  Based on our observations of you (several sims looked nervously around at this—it was one thing to be aware that their every move and word were being observed and recorded, but this reminder was a bit unnerving) we have determined that at this point, Aileen has made the best adaptation to the situation.  Tomorrow, she will take on the position of Super Sim and will chair the meeting and convey our instructions for the day.  Sadly, Keira has reacted most poorly to today’s adventures, and will be in the position of Loser for the day. 

 








This meeting is now adjourned.  Goodnight”