The Clarke Family

The two elder boys hugged their Aunt Lindy, and thanked her for travelling with them this far.

"Why my sister and her husband left you this plot of land, way out in the sticks, I just have no idea. Be grateful mind, when our Papa died all he left me and Mindy was a pile of debt and heartache. The pair of them passing so sudden was a real shock, but young boys like you, you'll soon get over it. It's not like either of them spent much time with you. Too intersted in their careers I suppose. That viral outbreak at Simantico Technologies was a complete suprise though. More than just you four boys ended up being orphaned. The lawsuit will take years, so don't you be counting on that to survive. I'd stay longer, but I have to get back to my own 5 kids. Look after little Mickey. And don't forget to change your underwear."

With that Aunt Lindy climbed into the taxi, and suddenly the two elder boys realised they were on their own.

"Well one of us had better learn to cook. And I need to gain a cleaning point, my aspiration just tells me that's the right thing to do."

With that Simon settles down with How Clean Is Your Home, by television stars Kim & Aggie. Dorian's not so selfish, after all his aspiration tells him to 'ask a sim on a date', or 'buy a hot-tub', but he decides to put his needs on a back burner temporarily.

His first attempt at Mac'n'Cheese isn't so successful.

The second attempt is a total disaster. The resulting fire knocks everyones aspiration meter, the whole family stinks to high heaven, and it takes the boys a whole week to recover. Simon is the worst affected, and his relationship with Dorian takes a serious hit.

Finally Dorian produces a decent meal of Bass with Squash, freshly caught by Elliot in the pond outback.

A welcoming party of local residents arrive, and the family sit down to eat with their guests. The three old ladies leave as soon as the meal is over. That's the trouble with elders; no bladder control. With only one toilet in the place, Simon decides now is the time to take a bath. After all his comfort is way down, and his hygeine hasn't recovered from the fire. Adding bubbles to the water, he settles back for a nice long soak.

It's Simon's turn to watch Mickey, and he blows the last of the family budget on an expresso machine. Both the elder boys are in serious aspirational trouble by now, although both Elliot and Mickey seem to be coping. Simon finishes his coffee and calls 'Service'. He's not that happy leaving Mickey in the care of a Nanny, but is realistic enough to realise there's simply no alternative.


Calista Despret arrives next morning. Simon expected Mary Poppins; boy was he disappointed. Calista looks a tad formidable, and certainly not happy to be in her current position .....

..... unless she's juggling. Which she seems to do alot!

Well the money comes in handy, but Simon is not impressed.

"You never told me Mum had a secret cookie recipe. And how come you never make us anything nice, like cookies, or cake, or that lovely cheesecake Aunt Lindy always makes? All we ever eat is fish, now that Elliot wants to become 'Young Angler of the Year'."

Elliot asks Simon to teach him to do homework. The elder boys are both struggling with the household chores, and raising Mickey, and suddenly Simon decides he would also like to learn to do homework. So much so it's in two of his want slots, and just won't go away.

"I havent intervened until now, but get a grip will you? There is no one here to teach you. Your parents are gone. You do nothing but whinge at Dorian, who frankly is a godsend. Do you see him complaining about his failed aspirations? NO. Don't you think he might like to go on a date, or have his first kiss? Anyway, I'm going back to narrating. And tell Elliot well done on the fishing award for me, will you!

Mickey is blissfully unaware of the trouble he's been to raise, and gets on with acquiring another charisma point.

Dorian's determined to get Mickey into platinum before he becomes a child. He's made it a one teen crusade to potty train his brother. It couldn't have been achieved at a better time .....

..... as moments later Mickey grows up .....

..... and he grows up well, thanks mainly to Dorian.

The following day, thanks to his homwork efforts, Elliot becomes a Star Pupil.

To celebrate the families recent successes, Dorian celebrates by inviting local 'hottie' Siobhan O'Reilly over for a date. It was a disaster. The following day she sent him a really smelly card, shown in the top left corner. As far as she's concerned, he may as well think of her as dead!

With Mickey grown up the family falls into some sort of routine. Dorian finally masters Mac'n'Cheese, and the boys make an effort to eat together each evening. The two older boys are both still feeling the effects of the rough start they had, and neither has managed to complete a single homework assignment.

Mickey and Elliot are oblivious to their brothers' struggles, and become firm friends, and fishing buddies. The sale of fish is the only thing that's kept the family afloat financially. So well done Elliot - Young Angler of the Year.

By Friday both Dorian and Simon are failing in school, and won't be elegible for University unless they improve their D- report scores. Both are also completely covered in zits, which isn't such a good look for a Romance sim in particular. Both boys will spend the weekend catching up on homework. The younger two will spend it fishing. Oh well, that's just proof of the pleasure/pain principle.

Hopefully next week will prove to be a little kinder to Dorian. After all, he's the first Romance sim I actually like!