The Vincis - Round 1

Starring:

Enzo Vinci, Teen Fortune Sim, LTW Become Head of SCIA

Paolo Vinci, Teen Family Sim, LTW Have 6 Grandchildren

Salvatore Vinci, Child Knowledge Sim, LTW Grow Up Well

~*~*~*~*~

Beginning their new lives in Rosebud wasn't something the Vinci brothers were looking forward to. They never WANTED new lives to begin with, after all - they'd had a great life only six weeks before...before they'd lost their Ma and Pa. It was so horrible and so shocking that sometimes, Enzo, Paolo, and little Salvatore couldn't believe it was true. They still came home from school waiting for a big hug from Ma Vinci or waited to see Pa kissing her over the cutting board in the kitchen as they cooked together, their racous laughter drifting through the house along with the scents of garlic and tomatoes.

When it occurred to them that they would never experience this again, it broke their hearts afresh, especially little Salvatore's, who, as a family sim, hardly could function without breaking down into tears.

Paolo burst into tears when the papergirl asked what brought them to Rosebud. It was still such a fresh wound.


The only thing that made them feel a little bit better was spending time with one another. Outgoing and playful Salvatore showed off his headstand for Enzo to cheers and encouragement.


But even that only made Enzo have a crying jag. He missed his parents so much, and the inexplicable pain in his arms didn't help.


Paolo knew that someone would have to take over the cooking now that Ma and Pa were gone, and he had always grown up tied to his Ma's apron strings. He was happy to take what he remembered that she taught him and try to learn even more. Someday he would be as good of a cook as she was.


That afternoon, Roisin, Colm, and Aisling Cleary came over to greet the Vincis and welcome them to the neighborhood. The boys didn't tell them where their parents were exactly, merely said that they weren't home, and that seemed to appease the Clearys. The boys didn't want anyone to know they were trying to live without any adults there to help them. They knew for sure the social worker would split them up, and they would never let that happen.

Salvatore, as outgoing as he was, loved talking to everyone and enthusiastically engaged even random passers-by in conversation.


Soon, Paolo was making sandwiches for all the new people who had come to visit, and they got to know each other a bit over lunch.


Salvatore, in addition to being outgoing and playful, is also a little mischievous.


Paolo happened to be outside when a pretty redhead jogged by. He stopped her and introduced himself, but even though she was pretty, he knew he was too young for her. Still, she had eyes that reminded him of the girlfriend he left behind in his old town. Every woman made him crave either his mother or his girlfriend.

So, Paolo went back to what made him feel closest to his Ma: studying cooking. Meanwhile, Enzo was outside jumping rope. It had been a long, stressful day, and physical activity always helped him clear his mind. Salvatore was headed to the bathroom to get a bath before bed.


He was really excited about his bath.

That night, Paolo happened to see a stray dog wandering in front of their house. She had a cute curly tail, like an Akita, and her beat-up old nametag said "Tiffany." "Hey, pretty girl," Paolo greeted her, patting her head. "What are you doing out here all by yourself in the cold fall air? Come in a little while. I might have a treat for you."


Unfortunately, Tiffany thought the treat was their couch.

Paolo scolded her but was sure to give her extra love afterward.

He and his little brother Sal loved cats and dogs...and animals of all kinds, really. Paolo wished they could afford to adopt pretty Tiffany, but money was too tight right now. They would be lucky to survive the next few years off of their parents' insurance policies and the after-school job Enzo planned to take.


That night, they all sat down for their first family dinner in the new house. It didn't feel the same, but it felt good to remember that they were going to stick together no matter what. Enzo was expecially careful to encourage Salvatore. "Don't you worry, Sally, we're gonna be fine. Paolo can cook, I can work, and you hate messes, so between the three of us, no prob." Salvatore felt much better after their talk and went to bed feeling a little improved that night.


After school the next day, Enzo took some more time to spend teaching Sal how to toss a football.


In the meantime, Paolo talked to another pretty redhead he'd brought home from school that day, Opal Raymond. There were so many pretty redheads in this neighborhood!


The four of them enjoyed the afternoon sunshine, playing some football and kicky bag.


Paolo couldn't help but notice that he thought Opal was really cute.


Unfortunately, she thought Enzo was pretty cute. Oh well. She was still fun to hang out with.


Salvatore had a rough day at school, so after a brief nap to refresh his energy, he went outside and raked up the leaves only to jump in them the moment the pile was done. It was the most fun he'd had all day.


Later, he sat and watched some of The Yummy Channel with Paolo. He didn't remember much about how to cook, but he sure remembered loving to eat!


The next day after school, Paolo and Enzo both came home with improved report cards. They were both solid B students, but they wished they could do better. Their parents always encouraged them in the past to do the best they could.


This time it was Enzo who brought home a friend from school. Sheesh, did every girl in this town have red hair?

Salvatore got home a little later than the other boys, and he cringed when he saw his report card. D-! He got a D-. It was AWFUL! He stuffed the report card in his pocket and tried to forget it, but later that night, his worry overcame his fear.

"Enzo, will you help me study? You're a genius," Sal said, stating it as a solid fact. Enzo laughed a little. "Geez, butter me up a little first, huh, kid?" Sal grinned and showed Enzo his homework assignment.

"No problem, Sally. Here's what you gotta do..." Enzo, despite being exhausted and having homework himself, stayed and helped Sal until his homework was done.


Sal gave his big brother a giant hug. "Thanks, Enzo." "No prob, kid." And as soon as Salvatore left the room, Enzo crashed into bed. He was snoring in five minutes flat.


Paolo came in after watching an hour or so of The Yummy Channel and making dinner. He had homework too and was none too happy about it, but he forced himself to finish it, then rewarded himself with some time on the easel before bed.

Salvatore rewarded himself by hunting bugs for his bug collection before bed.

The next morning, Enzo woke up before the sun even rose. He felt energized, but his fun level was tanked from all that school and homework. He knew he had to get his spirits up before he could even think about looking at his homework, so he played SSX 3 until he knew he had to bite the bullet and work on his assignment.

He got it done just in time for all three of them to catch the school bus and head to school for the day.



When Paolo got home from school, he looked in his wallet and realized he had some aspiration points to cash in!


Thinking of how scary it was to not have parents to take care of all the money stuff like paying bulls and buying groceries, he thought it would be smartest to get them a money tree so they could have just a little bit of extra income. It wasn't much, but he knew every little bit counted.

Paolo spent some time with Salvatore, who still seemed upset because his grades barely improved that day, despite his having worked so hard the night before.
Enzo happened to meet Gretchen Chin while he was out at the mailbox paying their first bills.


She stayed until it got dark, having loads of fun with Enzo and a lot of water balloons.


Following Paolo aimlessly outside while he took out the trash, Salvatore heard a mew from somewhere. It was dark, and his eyes hadn't adjusted yet, but it wasn't long before he spotted a pretty black cat in front of him, looking up and trying to get his attention. The cat's name was Sake, it said on his tag.


Sal was delighted. He played with Sake happily until it began to rain and the cat began to shrink down miserably away from the water. Salvatore immediately ran to his brothers. "Paolo! Enzo! Can we bring Sake in for the night? Please? It's starting to rain, and he's going to get all wet, and you know how cats hate rain! Please? Pleeeeaaaassseee???" he wheedled.


Salvatore's brothers couldn't deny him anything, especially after the hard time he'd had of it lately, so they agreed, and Sake immediately set herself up on Enzo's bed.


Unfortunately, once they all went to bed, Sake destroyed their couch! They barely had enough to survive as it is, and when Enzo saw what had happened in the morning, he demanded that they not let any more animals in the house until they could afford to adopt one and train it properly. Salvatore understood, but he still went to school very disappointed.


That afternoon, when the boys got home from school, a blue van showed up in front of their house. Enzo and Paolo didn't notice the woman in the suit come into the house until she had marched Salvatore to the living room, where the brothers were making dinner. "This child is obviously being neglected. He is failing school, and I come here to find that he's sitting around playing video games while his brothers do...I don't know what. Salvatore is coming with me."

Paolo and Enzo stared at her in shock and horror, and Salvatore was too petrified to speak. The woman was so hard he was afraid to disobey her, and it was to cries of explanation and pleading from his older brothers that Salvatore was ushered into the blue van and driven away.

Enzo and Paolo couldn't believe it. They'd lost Sal. They sat numbly in the living room before beginning to cry. "We failed them, Enzo!" Paolo sobbed into his hands. "We failed Ma and Pa!" As always, Enzo was the strong one. There were tears in his eyes, but he comforted Paolo. "It's alright Paolo. You know what we'll do? We're going to work harder than we ever have, and we're going to make so much money and become so successful that we can take get Sally back. We'll prove to that wench that we can take care of our little brother," he said angrily, pounding his fist in his hand. They went to bed puffy-eyed and crushed that night.


The next day was Saturday. By the time Paolo awoke late in the afternoon, Enzo already had a scheme in play. "Come on, Paolo, get in the kitchen and make some dinner. We're getting into private school today." He was so determined that Paolo merely nodded and went to make some spaghetti. Enzo greeted the headmaster of the local private school on the lawn.


He gave him a tour of their modest home, and the headmaster wasn't really impressed; Enzo understood why. It was just a tiny place, and they didn't have very nice things. But he hoped to make it up in other ways.

They all sat down then to Paolo's version of Ma Vinci's famous spaghetti de la rocca. The headmaster was very impressed with the meal and with the berry pie Paolo made for dessert. Enzo schmoozed him about school for a while...


And then Paolo schmoozed him about school for a while.



With an hour left to spare, the headmaster said he didn't need to see any more. He said he would be proud to welcome such bright, industrious boys into his school. As soon as the man left, Paolo and Enzo high-fived. "We're on our way, little brother, we're on our way..." Enzo said triumphantly.



That night, Enzo slept in his brother Salvatore's old bed, right under his framed bug collection. He missed that kid so much, and he was determined to do anything to get him back.

The next morning, the boys had leftover spaghetti for Sunday brunch. Afterward, Paolo sat down to read the cuisine section of the paper and was surprised when a man walked onto the lot and offered him an invitation to Sue's Kitchen. Paolo'd heard it was a very neat place for people interested in cooking, and he couldn't wait to visit.


Enzo decided to put some of his researching skills to use. He'd been reading up on finances since he was now in charge of the house and the income for he and his brother. As a result, he got good enough to start offering financial advice online, a habit he hoped could earn him a bit of income.


Later that afternoon, they heard a knock on the door and were surprised to see Jiro Tanaka. He went to the same public school Enzo and Paolo went to until just the night before. He was apparently coming to welcome them to the neighborhood.


The first thing he did was run into the bedroom to start taking money off of the Vinci brothers' money tree. Paolo was a bit put off by this, but then he remembered the rumors he'd heard about Jiro. School gossip had it that he'd lost his parents too. If that was the case, Paolo forgave him for taking a few dollars off the tree. He and his family probably needed it as much as the Vincis did.


Another neighbor boy dropped by, and the four of them hung out. The two other boys seemed to think it was, like, sooooo cool that Paolo and Enzo had the house to themselves.

Enzo and Jiro in particular seemed to hit it off...


...but the boys really loved Paolo's chili con carne.



Enzo had to work that afternoon at his job in the athletic career track. He got a raise, but he was too exhausted to be excited. This responsibility stuff was really stressful. It was even causing him to break out.

That was the final straw. He might be stressed out, but he didn't have to look like a circus freak! He splurged and bought some acne cream.



How could he ever expect to find a girlfriend looking like a pizza-face anyway? Not that he had time for one, but it was the principle of the matter, he reasoned.


Will Enzo and Paolo be able to survive on their own? Will they be able to do well enough to get their little brother Salvatore back? We'll find out, but for now, it's time to check in with The Clearys!

~*~*~*~*~

Scoring

Three new sims: 3
Child taken by social worker: -1

~*~

Net worth to be added to neighborhood total: $28,758

[[Author Notes: Okay, so I'm completely in love with this family, and I am VERY angry at the game because its glitchiness is what caused Salvatore to get taken by the social worker. Every day when the bus would come home, it would freeze for a moment, then suddenly all three boys (and their guests if they had any) would be dumped randomly over the lot, homework never having been carried in and deposited on the bedroom floor. Also, one night, I got the message that Enzo missed school, and that if he did it again, it would result in a visit from the social worker. But Enzo didn't miss a single day of school. They all got on the bus together in the mornings, every morning. Only ONE night did their exit from the school bus go smoothly, and that was the night when Sal asked Enzo for homework help. I don't know how the older boys managed to get their GPAs up to A+ when Sal remained a D- the entire time. VERY frustrating, as other than that glitch, it was super easy to play this house.

I love all three of these boys, as their personalities just seem to really speak to me. I even loved the placeholder parents and hated to kill them off. They were the cutest family right from the start, as you can see here. But don't you worry, readers, Salvatore WILL be coming back. Grumble grumble, dumb game and your dumb social workers. -.- ]]