Chapter 2: I see trouble on the way

I returned for another year. Before the term had even officially begun, I felt a certain achievement; my sense of personality had grown. I was able to guess, very accurately, about the basic traits of others.

GAZ NOTE: I'll take the bonus for Skill Meister, but this is essentially useless to Buffy and indeed the entire Badmoon clan. The main reason you want to learn traits is for potential spouses; as I'm only ever going to be breeding with, and not marrying, my paramours, it doesn't really matter what traits they have.

Note, by the way, that apparently Bloodline Only and It's Hopeless are incompatible. I have therefore switched out Bloodline Only for Evil Cartel.

My new found skills turned me into quite the celebrity on campus; as the second term drew to an end (with my grades again making the Dean's List) anyone who was anyone knew me, and I knew everyone.

And they all sucked, so hard. About the only thing they were useful for is food. No, I don't mean I ate them - ugh. I mean that apparently, due to some sort of adminstrative foul up, I wasn't authorised to use the kitchen - so I found myself stealing food from my room mates. Fortunately they didn't dare challenge me.

She didn't get shocked in term 2, but I also missed a couple of brain enhancer opportunities due to my general incompetence. Nonetheless she managed Athletics 8, Charisma 10, Handiness 4 (from repairing computers and the brain machine), Logic 3, Painting 4, and Writing 5. Now it appears that the maximum credits you can get from Aptitude is 18, so for term 3 and 4 she'll need 18 credits. I decided to sign up for 12 in term 3, so that I can chill for term 4. However, she got $2500 in financial aid for term 3, so we're still going to be in front for cash.

The third term was a heavier course load, but I still made some new connections. I am hesitant to call them friends. I don't really want to associate with these smelly humans. I just have little choice.

The third term passed, and the fourth. I graduated - with highest honours...

... only to be informed that the university was going to have to be closed. Apparently there was an incident involving half of the professors and a zombie attack - and there are no more trained teachers. It never goes smooth.

But no matter. I have a degree in communications.

Buffy grabs the car and the book "Oh The Destinations You'll Briefly Visit", which along with the diploma is all I can take back. Yes, it's not a great book, but there were no skill books at all in the book cases, so it will have to do. I ended with $10 283, which is reduced to $8308 once she gets home. She ended Uni with Athletics 10, Charisma 10, Handiness 7, Logic 7, Painting 10, and Writing 10 - a more than acceptable start. I've certainly done a little better than that, but that's good enough for my purposes.

The key to University Start is to recognise a simple truth: your dormies are not your family. The only Sim of consequence is your own - move everything that your Sim needs into your locked bedroom. There are certain items (such as the computers) that must be placed in a common area, but for example the toilet need not be, nor the sink. Allow dormies to make food, and if they don't make group meals, interrupt them and steal it. They cannot die in any case, and while they will certainly wet themselves frequently, that's just part of the charm.

Buffy arrived back on Week 1, Day 1, a Sunday - and so the challenge as a whole begins. I sent her first to the bookstore to grab the gardening books.

We're going basement here. The only thing not in the picture is the chess set, which is under an awning on top, and the parking space with the car on it. Doubtless we'll see those in later screenshots.

They gave me an underground bunker to live in. I asked about zombies; they mumbled something about "regular patrols" and "you'll be fine"; I took it to mean that I would be basically on my own, but that is nothing unexpected. The local newspaper offered me a job as a professional blogger, thanks to my sterling university grades, and I went home to get some sleep before my first day. But before I could hit the sheets, I had a visit from the local Wealth Redistribution Network, who claimed I owed them... approximately my entire savings as taxes. I briefly considered just killing them, but it was a large organisation. Taking them down would be more than a momentary effort - indeed, it may prove impossible, so well entrenched were these particular greedy gangsters. With a snarl I paid; I will need to be frugal and careful with my wages.

With Buffy at work for her first day, I'm going to leave it there for this chapter.