Like A New World

Here she was, at last, Debra had arrived at Simstate University.

On a flat plain alongside the Blue Diamond lake Unicity didn't have the rugged, dramatic beauty of Hidden springs but, as she approached the central campus zone, Debra was pleasantly surprised at how pretty the town was.

Arranged around the central square, the classically imposing buildings were clearly designed to impress a sense of expectant success and achievement on the university students.

Just the other side of the campus was Debra's allocated residence, De Anda Hall.  Very simple in comparison to the academic buildings it nonetheless had the same imposing "place of learning" impact at first sight.

Debra's room, like all the others was modestly furnished; after all it was just a place for sleep and private study.

But beyond the bedrooms the residence catered for all the students' basic needs; a kitchen and dining room, two shared bathrooms, a TV lounge and computer study room as well as small but well-equipped gym.


Having dumped her suitcase in her room, Debra went down to meet her fellow residents, the people she could be spending a lot of time with over the coming weeks.

As she got talking to her 'roomies' she realised what a diverse bunch they were, all sorts of people studying all sorts of different subjects.

There was Nicole Lawry, a sweet and friendly girl studying for a Physical Education degree.

And Blair Jansenovich, who seemed more concerned about making sure that everyone knew how talented he was. He was doing Business Management, not because he needed to (according to him) but because his wealthy father had insisted.

Of all of them, it was Cid Serverus that Debra connected with best, his off-the-wall sense of humour really appealed. Though, with his shock of blue hair and laid-back attitude she would never have guessed that he was here to study Science.



Cid suggested that they all head out to the Toasted Beans coffee bar for a late night snack and coffee hit.

Debra thought it was a great idea, and a chance to start getting acquainted with the town she was going to call home for the next few weeks. So she was disappointed that most of their group decided to stay at the hall and it was only Nicole, Cid and Debra that went out.


Debra had been nervous about going to university and meeting a lot of new people but she felt a lot happier that evening. Cid and Nicole seemed really chilled and friendly, Debra was particularly pleased that Cid knew all about the films and bands Debra loved.

-- * --

The following day was mostly familiarisation with the university set-up, including a meet-and-greet in the Student Union building.

Unfortunately the head tutor for Debra's course wasn't able to make it on the day but she was able to meet several of her fellow Arts students.

Of the other students she met, Jeffery Dean was perhaps the most intriguing. He didn't say much and his distinctly styled retro look seemed at odds with the fact that he was studying for an arts degree but he had an easy charm that Debra warmed to.

-- * --

It was the  day of Debra's first lecture.  It was scheduled for late in the morning so she wasn't among the first to get up.  As she realised when she went down for breakfast and noticed that several of the boys were already hard at work (or maybe play!) in the computer room.

Something else she realised was that getting dressed was something that most of her room-mates put off to the last moment before they needed to leave the house!

Another thing she was going to have to come to terms with was the different standards of hygiene and cleanliness in the house.

Debra liked a neat and tidy home but she was not going to be the one and only cleaner  out of the eight house-mates.

Before her class began Debra thought she would do some preparatory study at the coffee shop, reading one of the introductory texts that were handed out during the induction session.  Although it didn't tell her much that she didn't already know it was a useful reminder for the sort of material they would be covering over the next few weeks

Not keeping a good eye on the clock Debra could have missed her lecture time.  Thankfully the coffee shop was not too far from the Arts Building but she still ran; just to be sure.  It seemed that running to lectures was quite common as nearly every other student she saw was in a rush to one teaching building or another!