The Sunlit Tides Surfing Academy

The story begins in Isla Paradiso, one of the most beautiful places known to Sims.
http://i.imgur.com/fdLwLn6.jpg

Molly and Bruce, a just married couple from Hidden Springs, went there for their honeymoon, but liked it so much they decided to stay there forever.
http://i.imgur.com/IRTv8D2.jpg

They also persuaded their best friends from Hidden Springs to come and join them.
http://i.imgur.com/QhdgSo0.jpg

Two of those friends, Ella Carlisle and Sebastian Vanderburg, followed their example and got married on the beach soon aftwerwards.
http://i.imgur.com/pa0JAw6.jpg

Molly and Bruce both continued with their careers: she as a private investigator and mystery novelist, he as a police officer.
http://i.imgur.com/T5H9W1F.jpg

They soon had their first child, little William.
http://i.imgur.com/3QSDI8L.jpg

When William became a toddler, it was clear he inherited his mother's red hair.
http://i.imgur.com/q08UqWJ.jpg

Soon a younger brother followed: Julius, who looked more like their father.
http://i.imgur.com/nLM98cr.jpg

With Julius came a mysterious invisible friend called Ringo.
http://i.imgur.com/enqxrV7.jpg

When William became a teen, it was clear there were two things that interested him most of all: the sea and music.
http://i.imgur.com/Q15thfZ.jpg

His parents gave him the birthday gift he had asked for: scuba diving lessons. He went to the science center to use the gift immediately, although it was the coldest, wettest part of rainy season.
http://i.imgur.com/QxJgotm.jpg

He also got a drum set and, thanks to his toddler xylophone skill, played it pretty well from the start.
http://i.imgur.com/UQiKDHx.jpg

Another thing William deeply cared about was family: his own family was very happy, and even larger since Julius managed to turn Ringo into a real boy.
http://i.imgur.com/vlnzSiv.jpg

His "family oriented" trait almost got William into trouble when he brought a classmate called Mindy Hamada home. Mindy was a little taken aback when he suddenly started talking about babies.
http://i.imgur.com/nbdUaQf.jpg

She left rather in a hurry after she finished her homework. But William later apologised and they became good friends.
http://i.imgur.com/rbbLHIy.jpg

William spent his first weekend as a teen jamming with townies in a bar...
http://i.imgur.com/m6PzOWE.jpg

... and surfing for the first time, although it was as cold as it gets in Isla Paradiso.
http://i.imgur.com/V1o1apg.jpg

He loved it despite of the cold, and despite of a painful incident that left him walking funny for a while!
http://i.imgur.com/65Bp2EF.jpg

Soon after his first experience with surfing, a notice on the school notice board caught William's eye.
http://i.imgur.com/YYIuiok.jpg

"Scholarships offered for the Sunlit Tides Surfing Academy."
http://i.imgur.com/vnbPUOt.jpg

William told his friends Mindy Hamada and Valiant Vanderburg - son of Ella and Sebastian - about the notice.
http://i.imgur.com/gOrIrim.jpg

"Apparently, a famous surfer from Sunlit Tides - who is also the teacher at the Academy - is coming here to Isla Paradiso! To get the scholarship we need the highest marks in school, a statement of permission from our parents, and we need to pass an athletics test. Are you interested?"
http://i.imgur.com/gfs21pg.jpg

His friends were both, interested very much so. They were all A students, so they decided to work on their athletic skill.
http://i.imgur.com/2LXbMBC.jpg

Mindy also told Jeanette Collins, a friend of hers who was very good at athletics, about the scholarship. Jeanette decided to train for the test too.
http://i.imgur.com/QHi8azg.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/a9n1Be5.jpg

The day of the athletics test came. The teens' parents and other curious townies gathered at the gym to watch.
http://i.imgur.com/DXUQsFO.jpg

Matiu Henare, the surfer from Sunlit Tides, was a very friendly person and, as Mindy whispered to Jeanette, very good looking!
http://i.imgur.com/k4aPO8I.jpg

He explained to the teens that they will be tested in cardio exercises, strength exercises and swimming.
http://i.imgur.com/go9AQtY.jpg

Even more enthusiastic now that they knew they liked their teacher, the four friends did their best to prove themselves.
http://i.imgur.com/8w61Kvf.jpg

William lifted as much weight as he could. "It's no big deal if I have sore muscles tomorrow", he thought.
http://i.imgur.com/IDZF6oD.jpg

"Or maybe sore muscles today..."
http://i.imgur.com/RTVxKdj.jpg

Jeanette dived into the pool a little ungracefully but, luckily, the method of entering the pool wasn't part of the test.
http://i.imgur.com/5N7zwqZ.jpg

And time was up! ... and Matiu was happy to inform them they had all passed the test.
http://i.imgur.com/RegLdWS.jpg

A few days later, the four teens were saying goodbye to their parents at Isla Paradiso international airport.
http://i.imgur.com/6WJJvVN.jpg

"Take care of yourself, Will. And I know that the sea and music are what you like most, but please don't neglect regular school!"
"I won't. I promise."
http://i.imgur.com/f86E7GA.jpg

Valiant Vanderburg was a little bit nervous - he'd never traveled by airplane before, and his loner trait made him uneasy in such a crowded place.
"Travelling is a wonderful thing. You won't regret it!" his mother Ella assured him.
http://i.imgur.com/cOtNwg4.jpg

Soon they were all sitting aboard Paradise Airlines flight #27 to Sunlit Tides.
http://i.imgur.com/wziIuFX.jpg

The airplane took off, and they saw Isla Paradiso from above for the first time.
http://i.imgur.com/3BTYl4X.jpg

Minutes later, the islands became just specks of green on the ocean.
http://i.imgur.com/OCloBX3.jpg

And then there was no more green, and they were flying west over the Simcific ocean.
http://i.imgur.com/wio15EW.jpg

William and his friends fell asleep on the airplane; when they woke up on Sunday morning, they were still flying over the ocean, but an island was visible on the horizon.
http://i.imgur.com/o0FEV51.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/UZomTfO.jpg

They landed at Mango's Military base, which doubled as a civilian airport.
http://i.imgur.com/31TrlIF.jpg

"Welcome to Sunlite Tides!" Matiu said. It's just a short drive from here to the Surfing Academy.
http://i.imgur.com/8lSG2c4.jpg

They got in the school van and, as Matiu drove them, watched the surroundings curiously.
http://i.imgur.com/DyY1PjG.jpg

The lush nature was similar to their homeworld, but not the same; most of the trees were coconut palms, and the sand was sparkling and white.
http://i.imgur.com/bSnwU21.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Fexi133.jpg

Soon the van stopped in front of a buiding William recognised from the ad - the Sunlit Tides Surfing Academy.
http://i.imgur.com/9uwtbGz.jpg

They stepped into the main hall, pleasantly cool and decorated in wicker and bamboo.
http://i.imgur.com/RHnhRW8.jpg

Matiu introduced them to two local students, who had arrived the day before: a girl called Lilinoe...
http://i.imgur.com/vXSX1xa.jpg

... and a boy called Ruru, who had been preparing brunch for everyone.
http://i.imgur.com/GNjbaNe.jpg

Matiu explained that every student would take their turn preparing meals - there would be a daily roster for cooking and for washing up.
http://i.imgur.com/0vcvHNL.jpg

Lilinoe was delighted that new schoolmates had arrived, while Matiu seemed a little worried if everyone would like the salad he prepared.
http://i.imgur.com/EBU2jKx.jpg

After the meal Matiu told them there were no official lessons for that day, but if anyone wanted to, they could have their first surfing lesson as soon as they unpacked and settled in.
Everyone said "Yes!" to the first lesson.
http://i.imgur.com/KJNS3It.jpg

There was a boys' dormitory and a girls' dormitory upstairs. The students chose their beds, and then got ready for the beach.
http://i.imgur.com/VAslqbX.jpg

Dressed in school-issued blue bathing suits, they gathered around Matiu on the beach just across the road from their school.
http://i.imgur.com/ro8l8J9.jpg

There were three wave stations on the beach. Matiu was the first to use one, to show his students how it's done.
http://i.imgur.com/CbjtTLv.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/EB0bhOD.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/uVawTdB.jpg

After the teacher it was time for the students, too, to have a go on the surfing stations - first the girls and then the boys.
Matiu warned them to stop surfing if a seal gets too close to them!
http://i.imgur.com/WvcyTTq.jpg

Mindy Hamada was doing pretty well.
http://i.imgur.com/TQlzCDP.jpg

Lilinoe was even better - as a local, she had done this many times.
http://i.imgur.com/6VQLiuZ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/rT8Ibn9.jpg

But Mindy was learning fast!
http://i.imgur.com/y8a400L.jpg

Jeanette was last to start through no fault of her own - a townie wanted to use the wave station before her - but she was also pretty good when she started.
http://i.imgur.com/gd1DFyE.jpg

Of course, everyone had some bad moments...
http://i.imgur.com/PXRMcGF.jpg

The sun was already setting when it was the boys' turn.
Valiant Vanderburg had been feeling uneasy on the beach - he is a Loner and there were too many people there for his taste. But once he got on the surfing station, his mood visibly brightened.
He got attacked by a seal afterwards, but I failed to catch a screenshot of that!
http://i.imgur.com/TfMjtf3.jpg

William and Ruru were the last to go home in the evening - they were enjoying this so much, they didn't want to stop.
http://i.imgur.com/M2gmI62.jpg

Before going to sleep, some of the students worked on their homework for tomorrow.
http://i.imgur.com/glPBpBA.jpg

Jeanette helped Valiant with his homework - there was a little spark between them earlier on the beach, so they felt like hanging out with one another a bit more.
http://i.imgur.com/hIVEwPp.jpg

Monday morning came - for the four students from Isla Paradiso, this would be their first day attending regular school in Sunlit Tides. They woke up early and prepared breakfast in the kitchen.
http://i.imgur.com/GHWXHgE.jpg

A light summer rain started while they were hurrying towards the school bus.
http://i.imgur.com/cNKDGe1.jpg

It was only a short bus ride to the school building.
http://i.imgur.com/0HyHT2M.jpg

Lilinoe and Roru introduced the newcomers to some of their school friends.
http://i.imgur.com/Zaa1GM1.jpg

While the kids were at school, Matiu went around the town to run some errands. But first he dropped by at the house of one of his neighbours, Noelani Koi, a fellow surfer. Noelani and Matiu have a lot in common and have felt an instant bond when they met.
http://i.imgur.com/bYhbpWA.jpg

Matiu then bought groceries to stock the boarding school fridge, and skill books to stock their library.
http://i.imgur.com/z0prDQM.jpg

The students returned home and chose to do their homework all together, in the boys' dormitory, although that meant some of them had to sit on the floor. Their marks were pretty low at this point, and it took them a while to finish their homework.
http://i.imgur.com/d03ZNqd.jpg

Another light summer rain started, making the afternoon and evening look magical.
http://i.imgur.com/v7Omyw3.jpg

But this rain also meant the weather was not ideal for going to the beach.
http://i.imgur.com/VOxYC87.jpg

It was best to stay in and work on opportunities they received at school. Lilinoe and Jeanette were tasked with reading "Demand Excellence or You'll Get Mediocrity".
http://i.imgur.com/y9WMxaW.jpg

William got the task to improve his writing skill, so he practiced writing on his laptop.
http://i.imgur.com/uDYVevL.jpg

It was Valiant's turn to prepare dinner that evening. Valiant was the only one of the four newcomers who wasn't completely at ease in the boarding school, because his Loner trait constantly made him feel tense. Matiu took care to chat with him and compliment his cooking, and this did make the boy feel a little better.
http://i.imgur.com/bT0F3to.jpg

Ruru was the first to wake up the next day. The weather was perfect, so he thought he could go surfing, at least for a short while, before breakfast and school.
http://i.imgur.com/cGqEutF.jpg

Jeanette and Lilinoe also woke up early and decided to finish their opportunity books in bed.
http://i.imgur.com/l8A8IR6.jpg

But poor Ruru was suddenly called back to shore by an angry policeman. He had forgotten that going out before dawn still counted as breaking the curfew.
http://i.imgur.com/h4shDwH.jpg

The police officer awoke Matiu, who angrily scolded Ruru.
"How could you do that? You know you aren't allowed to go out at night."
http://i.imgur.com/YwKUlfy.jpg

"I'm truly sorry! I couldn't wait to go to the beach and surf, because we missed yesterday because of the rain. The sun was already rising and I forgot that it was, technically, still night! I won't do it again."
http://i.imgur.com/NW41WrP.jpg

Matiu accepted the apology, to Ruru's relief, and told him not to worry - today was going to be sunny and they would go surfing again.
http://i.imgur.com/9rzUq73.jpg

After the kids went to school, Matiu took a taxi boat to a remote part of the island and spent the day fishing.
http://i.imgur.com/Cf5Eejl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/eDqG5zY.jpg

The kids went on a field trip to the Sunlit Tides Police Station. This was a little awkward for Ruru, because he met the officer who took him home that morning again. But the trip was very useful: they gained a level in Athletic skill each.
http://i.imgur.com/iNAhYGt.jpg

Students can make mistakes, as Ruru did, but even teachers do embarrassing things sometimes!
When everyone returned home, Matiu wished to write a love letter to Noelani. He was so absorbed in his emotions, he sat down to write the letter in the midst of his students who were writing their homework. Most of them didn't notice what he was doing, but William, who finished his homework first, might have noticed something. He is looking away so pointedly!
http://i.imgur.com/ox5Bhw6.jpg

The three students who finished their homework first - William, Jeanette and Ruru - went to the beach with Matiu to have today's surfing lesson.
http://i.imgur.com/GLCNLKT.jpg

They surfed until after sunset - since Matiu was on the beach, watching over them, the curfew wasn't being broken.
http://i.imgur.com/TPeo4sG.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jwQYzo3.jpg

It was Mindy Hamada's turn to prepare supper that day. They had a guest for supper: Matiu invited Noelani over.
http://i.imgur.com/jCPoRi6.jpg

The students went to sleep, and Noelani and Matiu stayed downstairs, watching the Fishing Channel.
http://i.imgur.com/vNeUcy2.jpg

The two got a bit romantic on the sofa. Matiu didn't invite her to stay over, although he wanted to - that would be highly improper for a teacher at boarding school to do - so they said good night after a while.
http://i.imgur.com/55p3JsL.jpg

I like this. I Love the use of the boat beds.

I loved the "incident" that left him walking funny for a while XD

Since one of the students, Valiant Vanderburg, has minor celebrity status due to his influential family, it soon rubbed off on some of the other students. Now Jeanette and William are one-star celebrities too, and a local paparazzo has started hanging outside the boarding school at night. He hasn't had anything scandalous to write down so far.
http://i.imgur.com/3n4nyp9.jpg

On Leisure Day some of the students got up before dawn. William and Jeanette decided to play foosball, while Mindy fulfilled her wish to learn the painting skill.
http://i.imgur.com/7Krcs07.jpg

Their teacher, Matiu, decided to greet the dawn while fishing at the nearby beach.
http://i.imgur.com/LmDb9aA.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zs62fmX.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/sXTeImP.jpg

This is what Mindy ended up painting. It looks like she was painting the flowerpot/lamp in front of her but that was, of course, just a coincidence.
http://i.imgur.com/kxCjG6I.jpg

Rascal was up too, taking out his instinct for destruction on a toy.
http://i.imgur.com/YrXUtGG.jpg

Soon everyone was awake and gathered downstairs for breakfast, excited for the day ahead.
http://i.imgur.com/FnPETgv.jpg

After breakfast Matiu drove everyone - including Rascal - to the other side of the lagoon in the school van.
http://i.imgur.com/A1UJnJa.jpg

They stopped at a community lot with several small shops.
http://i.imgur.com/wqU3UA5.jpg

The sports equipment shop was the one they came to visit.
http://i.imgur.com/95fFuaF.jpg

As Matiu had promised them, each student could choose a surfboard and a sailboard.
http://i.imgur.com/JbF31jt.jpg

They immediately tried out the sailboards, and soon they spread out all over the lagoon.
http://i.imgur.com/6zO8t7W.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/SQkzHvg.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/qxfcNO7.jpg

They returned to the boarding school around noon, tired but happy. Their maid strongly showed his disapproval of the fact that they were wearing swimsuits in the house, but he was wrong - their swimsuits were their school uniforms and there was nothing improper about it.
http://i.imgur.com/bYkNUsR.jpg

Cyril the paparazzo is still lurking around the boarding school every night, hoping something story-worthy would happen.
http://i.imgur.com/SZIqtDl.jpg

Rascal woke up and went outside, but he is just a puppy, unable to do anything unfriendly to the unwanted guest. He just happily ran around (which is, I think, what most real-life Labradors would do!)
http://i.imgur.com/WXVpafi.jpg

Some of the students woke up very early, and each one took a skill book to read. Rainy season will start soon, so it's best to do the studying while it's still dark, so that every precious moment of daylight can be saved for the beach!
http://i.imgur.com/HhnEp4a.jpg

The paparazzo is immensely irritated by this.
"Sitting quietly and reading, really? These are the most boring celebrities I've ever stalked!"
http://i.imgur.com/pdCULbN.jpg

William bonded with Rascal, and this brought out his family-oriented trait. He was reminded of how he couldn't wait to become an adult and have a baby!
http://i.imgur.com/n7BFWax.jpg

His good friend Mindy wanted to talk to him before school.
"Hey, Will, I... I'm developing these feelings for Ruru, and I think that he feels the same. I wanted to check if that was okay with you. I mean, the tow of us were never close in that way, but still..."
http://i.imgur.com/eC60Lm3.jpg

William assured her it was okay. Although Mindy and he had spent a lot of time together back in Isla Paradiso, there was never a spark between them. He sincerely wished her all the best with Ruru.
http://i.imgur.com/pOtHWmw.jpg

Still, he was left with a little pang of self-doubt.
Jeanette and Valiant had been getting pretty close lately, now the same was happening with Mindy and Ruru, and Lilinoe found she had a crush on their schoolmate Luna Wahine. William was now the only one of the six who had never felt this spark with anyone.
Was there something wrong with him?
http://i.imgur.com/2GK7bqe.jpg

There was no need to cook that day: there was plenty of food and drinks left over from yesterday's party.
http://i.imgur.com/7IrDaDq.jpg

When the teens left on the school bus, Matiu went scuba-diving and caught a tuna.
http://i.imgur.com/mbkvd2d.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/gLwAddI.jpg

A pretty girl called Oliana Wahine came home after school with the students. William went to introduce himself to her.
http://i.imgur.com/Ytuktq9.jpg

Yes! Instant hearts! There was nothing wrong with William after all.
http://i.imgur.com/wEdxE9T.jpg

I loved the face he made afterwards. He just looked so relieved, while Oliana was very cool and poised. This must happen to her a lot!
http://i.imgur.com/EIWToOp.jpg

William, Jeanette and Ruru were the first to finish their homework, so Matiu took them to the beach to have that day's surfing lesson. (He also took Rascal, because he was so eager to go with them!)
This would be the first time they used their new surfboards; Matiu warned them to take good care of them and to beware of inquisitive seals. If the surfboards got damaged, they would have to use their own money to buy new ones.
http://i.imgur.com/bp4HJmA.jpg

All three were visibly more confident on their surfboards now.
http://i.imgur.com/jyPmCsm.jpg

Still, accidents do happen...
http://i.imgur.com/3EEKIUM.jpg

Poor William!
http://i.imgur.com/OvvVxea.jpg

But he leaped spectacularly out of the water, his surfboard intact. This wasn't a seal attack, just a temporary loss of balance!
http://i.imgur.com/IqBbWRn.jpg

Something similar happened to Ruru and Jeanette, and they both regained control of their surfboards by leaping out of the sea and landing on them, each in their own style:
http://i.imgur.com/1iuwASe.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/7LPfQdD.jpg

By that time Mindy and Lilinoe had finished their homework and were ready to start surfing, so the first three joined Matiu and Rascal in watching.
http://i.imgur.com/IZUemvr.jpg

The lesson lasted until after sunset.
http://i.imgur.com/41BpaeD.jpg

It was Friday night, so there was no reason to go to bed early. They ended the day at The Hot Spot which was, fittingly, the hotspot for the evening. William was glad to find they had a drum kit he could use for practice.
http://i.imgur.com/sROEUE9.jpg