Hello and welcome to my legacy! After I finished playing my asylum, I felt so burnt out from school stuff that I wanted to start another challenge (besides my WYDC, which serves an observational break), so I started this legacy once my summer break started. I’m still working on my asylum, though. Also, bear with me because this is my first time doing a legacy on TS2.

In case any of you are wondering, I’m not playing this legacy for points. Instead, what I’m trying to do is to write a story for fun, so feel free to drop by any constructive criticism to improve my writing.

Anyway, on with the story!

A young man looked at a building that was to be his home for the time being. Here he was in Académie Le Tour, one of the most prestigious universities ever known. In fact, attending here has long been the lifelong dream of many a sim who wanted to get an excellent higher education, yet few could afford it, fit their high academic standards, or a combination of the two. He was lucky enough to be accepted, albeit at the cost of most of his money.

At least living here is better than not living anywhere at all, he thought.

As he looked around inside, he studied the entire building and finally claimed a room as his. Sure it wasn’t much, but it was enough for him at the moment.

A few hours later, several people, most likely fellow students like him, had arrived to the dorm. They walked around to claim the rest of the rooms in the dorm in various directions. Afterwards, they ended up doing their own things.

When the young man was playing chess, one of them joined him and introduced himself. “Hi, my name is Randall Evans. Who are you and what’s your major?”

The man froze a while and bit his lip. Being approached by a stranger he didn’t know in the first place gave him an awkward feeling in his stomach. Surely this must be a joke, isn’t it?

“I’d rather not tell you who I am,” he finally said after a long pause of silence.

“Why not? Don’t be scared; I won’t hurt you, I swear.”

Great. What did he got himself into? “Look, it’s just that I find it rather awkward to reveal my identity to others.”

“Oh, come on. It’s a part of building friendship and community together, and you shouldn’t lock yourself into your own world like that.”

Upon hearing the words “friendship” and “community” the man suddenly gave in amidst the tension within him. Surely this must be a good starting point to interact with others.

“Alright, fine,” he moved a chess piece while pondering on the subject. “My name is Vlastimir Vidić and I haven’t declared my major yet. I just don’t know which one is a good one for me.”

“Oh? What do you basically want to do once you graduate? You need a job to provide you with the income necessary to give you money that can be used to buy food to eat.”

“But what kind? I just don’t know if I will like my job in the long run.”

“Tell me; what interests you the most?”

Interests. Right. This is getting even trickier now that Vlastimir must approach others with a friendly attitude without risking the ire of others. After all, taking baby steps will eventually help others to accept him.

“Music and dancing. I love the sound of them in the air and I can imagine myself dancing to its rhythm.”

“Very nice. What type of music do you like? I like pop.”

“I think any kind of music is fine to me.”

“Great. All you need to do is to call the registrar that you want to declare your major to be either Economics or Literature. After that, try attending all of the classes and write all of the term papers for each semester. You’ll do fine, I promise.”

“Thanks for the advice; I should do that now. By the way, it’s nice to meet you.”

Following Randall’s advice, he picked up the phone and called the registrar. “Hello? This is Vlastimir Vidić. I would like to declare my major to be Literature.”

“OK,” the other line replied. “We’ll change it right now. For this semester, your classes start at 1 pm and end at 3 pm. Be sure to attend all of them and write your term paper. Thank you.”

The first day of class went well with Vlastimir; his professors praised his keen mind and advised him to take tuitions with them. That was a fine deal he couldn’t refuse at all, since it might help his grades.

On his way back to the dorm, he met a young woman with spiky hair walking towards him.

“Randall told me a bit about you,” she said, “And from what I’ve heard, you sound like an interesting fellow. Name’s Paula Chastain, by the way.”

“Vlastimir Vidić. It’s a pleasure to meet you. What is it that you want from me?”

“Oh, I just love meeting new people, that’s all. Say, what major are you?”

“I’m a Literature major because I wanna be a musician someday. Why do you ask?”

“You know, it’s funny that they put the music program in the hands of the Literature and Economics department. I mean, what kind of university does that anyway?”

“Ummm…” he hummed. Académie Le Tour sure is one weird university. “Maybe it’s because of lack of funding.”

“That doesn’t make any sense at all. I mean, this is Académie Le Tour, one of the most prestigious universities ever known, yet there’s still no music department. Anyway, if you wanna be a true musician someday, you should go to some music club around here rather than relying solely on lectures and tutoring. I know that some literature can give you inspiration on what kind of music you wanna perform, but that’s not practical at all, isn’t it?”

Upon the mention of a music club, Vlastimir’s eyes widened. Maybe some outside opportunities can prepare him for his future career and establish a name for himself. “Tell me about the music club part.”

“OK, basically you must search around the Internet using one of the computers in the study room. Type ‘music club’ on Google and browse around until you’ve found one that suits you. I hope that helps.”

There was, however, a problem with the music club. It wasn’t because of his lack of confidence in becoming a member. Nor was it because of the distance from Académie Le Tour. It was mainly time management that was the issue. The music club is definitely not a thing to miss out on, but with classes to attend and term papers to write, he felt that it might end up missing it instead. Once an opportunity is lost, it can be impossible to regain.

As he was eating his lunch, he suddenly had an idea on dealing with the issue. Maybe he should call his professors on the phone about the music club and ask them if he could reserve some time on it. That way, he could seize the opportunity to practice some music that could serve as a gateway to building a reputation of sorts.

At night, he picked up the phone to call his professors. Here goes nothing.

“Hello?” murmured a slightly croaky voice from the other line.

This is definitely the sound of one of his professors. Awesome! All he had to do is to talk about the music club and he’ll be set. “Hi, this is Vlastimir Vidić. I was wondering if I could join a music club outside campus in order to help me with my music skills.”

“Oh, definitely! In fact, you’re certainly encouraged to do so, provided that you maintain high grades and do well in the club to prove that you’re worth the effort spent there. I’ll also visit your dorm so that I can tutor you in order to help you with your studies.”

“Sounds great, professor. I’ll make sure to get private tuitions from you, just as you’ve advised earlier during the day.”

The next day, an old woman in professor uniform walked by to the dorm. Finally, thought Vlastimir as he walked outside to the entrance.

“Good morning, Professor Callahan,” he greeted. “I’m ready for the private lessons.”

“Good,” the professor replied. “I’ll make sure that you get your private tuitions on times when you don’t have class, so please be prepared before or after class. If you manage your time wisely, maybe you’ll get the opportunity to go find a music club around here or outside of campus.”

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As predicted, his classes and term paper writing took up a lot of time from him that he couldn’t find enough time to browse on the web. He was lucky that he finally found some spare time to search around for music clubs on the Internet. When he was browsing on Google, he came across an interesting-looking result that says “My Muse II – Music and Dance Studio”. He clicked on the link and read the announcement on the homepage:

Dance competition at 6 to 8 pm next Sunday! Be sure to get your dancing skills ready and dance to the tune of the DJ! Winner gets free pizza!

That certainly sounded like an eye-catching announcement, thought Vlastimir, But should I go or not? Maybe I should ask Paula about it. After all, she looks like a rock star-wannabe.

Fortunately for him, Paula was in the cafeteria sitting all by herself.

“Hi, Paula,” he raised his hand as he walked towards her. “May I have a word with you?”

“Sure,” she nodded. “What is it?”

“I came across an announcement for a dance competition at My Muse II – Music and Dance Studio taking place next Sunday. I would love to go, but I want your opinion about it.”

“Oh, you dummy. You can’t always depend on other people to make your decisions. You must make your own choices; it’s part of growing up, especially for a guy like you. I gotta go to class now; it starts in an hour.”

Right, I get it, Vlastimir thought as he stepped back to make way for Paula. I really shouldn’t rely on others too much that people think I’m immature.

A few minutes later, Randall sat on Paula’s former seat and placed a bowl of mac and cheese on the table. This should be a good time to talk about the dance competition to him.

“Hi, Randall!” he cried. “I heard about a dance competition at My Muse II – Music and Dance Studio. From the looks of it, I think I’m gonna go there even if my dancing skills are a bit rusty.”

“Mmmhhhmmm…” muttered Randall as he munched on his mac and cheese.

“Hey, aren’t you listening to me?”

“Dude,” he gazed at Vlastimir after swallowing his bite of mac and cheese, “As much as it sounds like fun, I don’t think I’m going. Lots of schoolwork to do, so I can’t go even if I would love to.”

“I see.” What a shame, really.

On his way out, Vlastimir caught a glance of a redhead walking into the cafeteria. As he walked closer to her face, his heart was beating faster. He couldn’t help but notice how lovely she looks, what with her red hair, brown eyes, nice eyebrows, and great face in general. If he could find the opportunity to get to know her, he would seize it as soon as possible. But now is not the time because he had assignments to do.

Whenever he had any spare time, he would take some time to practice dancing by doing some ballet exercises with a ballet barre he purchased for the main purpose of improving his dancing and agility. His ballet may have gotten a bit rusty, but he was determined to keep practicing amidst the scarcity of spare time.

Then one day, after he had finished doing his assignment for the day, the redhead he saw came by to the study. This should be a good opportunity to get to know her.

“Hi,” Vlastimir walked towards her with a large smile on his face. “My name’s Vlastimir Vidić. What’s yours?”

“I’m Selena Baldwin,” she chuckled. “It’s really nice to meet you. What do you want from me?”

“I wanna get to know you better. Now tell me, what do you like?”

“Well, I like dancing.”

So she loves to dance, eh? Perfect! This should be an opportunity to practice for the competition. “Cool! I also love to dance. Can we dance together?”

“Sure thing. Let’s do it in the living room.”

And so they danced together with the stereo on. As they danced, Vlastimir had come to admire Selena even more so than the first time he saw her. She pulled out very nice moves that stayed with the rhythm of the music, and she did so unceasingly, much to his appreciation. Moreover, her smile is the most heartwarming he has ever seen in his entire life, which lightened up his heart and pushed all of his worries aside.

“Excuse me,” a voice suddenly interjected. He shook his head slightly and realized that it was Selena’s voice calling him. “I’m sorry, but I have to go now.”

“How come?” That was rather sudden to him. Either time has flown by in the blink of an eye, or the dancing was rather brief. No matter the circumstance, however, at least he managed to get a bit of progress on the dance practice.

“I have to shower now, and then I have to work on my term paper. It’s nice meeting you, though. Maybe we should meet together some other time.”

“That’s great. I’ll see you later, then.”

Time passed quickly in the blink of an eye, and next thing he knew, it was Sunday, the day of the dance competition. After following the directions from the website, Vlastimir walked to My Muse II for the dance competition. As he walked towards the entrance, he looked up to the building itself. It certainly looked imposing, so to speak. Definitely fitting for a music club like this one. Let’s see if the interior matches the exterior.

The first thing he did upon entering the building was to survey the rooms. One of them has a peculiar electronic instrument he had never seen before. Perhaps he should try it out to see what happens.

As he played it, however, all he could hear was weird static-like noises he found corny to his tastes. All it ever did was produce the same annoying dirge he found an earful to listen to. Fortunately for him, a loud voice from the other room was announcing the dance competition. That meant that it was time to get ready on the dance floor.

Once the competition started, everyone gathered around the DJ booth to start dancing as soon as the DJ started playing the music. A nervous Vlastimir looked around his fellow competitors and gulped. These people danced like experts while he himself acted like a newbie in comparison. In fact, they all danced to the tune more perfectly than he did, which added into his anxieties even more.

I’ll just have to make do with what I’ve practiced, huh? he thought as he struggled to dance to the tune of the music. At least it’s better late than never.

When the DJ stopped playing, the announcer walked into the room and loudly called out, “Everyone, I would like to announce all of you that I’m glad all of you contestants have done a great job dancing. However, there can only be one winner in this competition. For that reason, I would like to announce the winner of this competition! And that winner is…”

Please tell me who it is, thought Vlastimir as he positioned his right index finger in front of his mouth.

“Demi Love!” was the answer after a few seconds of tension rising in his mind. Once the winner was announced, he clenched his teeth and frowned as he slapped his forehead in disappointment. All that hard work for nothing proved to be quite frustrating to him. Even though he knew he didn’t expect to win, it was still a humiliating defeat he couldn’t help but feel disappointed about, as if he wanted to punch the wall repeatedly with his bare fists until they bleed. Perhaps this serves as a lesson for him to not jump into things he had no firsthand knowledge and experience of in the first place.

To relieve his frustration from the event, he walked into a room and proceeded to play the piano. As a result of the tension building up in him, he played as quickly as possible without stopping. Perhaps it could take his mind out of the humiliating loss just now and concentrate on more pleasant things, like Selena and ballet. However, they just keep going back at him over and over in spite of his attempts to concentrate.

There must be an instrument that could calm me down, he thought, And I’ll find it out someday.

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One day, when Vlastimir and Randall were playing chess together, the latter saw his playmate’s face looking a bit unusual compared to his normal, cautious self. In fact, he was smiling slightly and his eyes looked as if they weren’t highly focused on the game. Perhaps he should ask him what’s going on with him. Something must have happened to him.

“You know,” his voice broke through the silence, “Judging from that smile, I was wondering whether or not you have something going on with you. So tell me; what is it?”

“Er…” Vlastimir murmured, “I… uh… I was just… thinking.”

“Thinking about what? I know something’s going on with you, so spill it out.”

Great, just great. Now that Randall’s suspecting something, it became harder for Vlastimir to keep things into his own thoughts. Should he just keep it to himself or give in and say it? He should decide as quickly as possible.

“I have to admit, I sort of like someone around here,” he looked up towards Randall.

“Just as I thought,” he said as he moved one of his pawns. “With whom?”

“Selena Baldwin. She’s the redhead who clips her hair on the back and wears a brown shirt. Do you recognize her at all?”

“That I do. She lives here, doesn’t she? I mean, I see her around on a regular basis.”

“Of course she does. Don’t you know anyone around here other than me?”

“Duh! I know some people around here, like our RA Yuri Bierce, Paula Chastain AKA the girl dressed like a punk, her boyfriend Colby Littleton, some guy who always wears a tracksuit named Samuel Locke, and those two guys Mark McCartney and Carmine Hutchence. See, I’m not as clueless as you are.”

“Hold on a sec; did you say Paula has a boyfriend?” Vlastimir froze.

“Yup, they started dating not a long time ago. I guess they both share common ground in terms of their views on society. Being the rebels they are, I think it’s natural for them to get along. I mean, dyed hair, tattoos, and bizarre hairstyles are frowned upon by the university as degenerate. Yet those two took advantage of it to express their rebellious behavior.”

“Wow! That certainly is audacious of them. I guess I really should know about what’s going on around campus.”

“That you should, buddy. You don’t wanna be the frog who prefers to stay in his boring little well. You gotta get out of your comfort zone in order to stay up to date on things going on around here.”

“I’ll see what I can do. Thanks for this conversation, Randall. It’s nice talking to you.”

“No problem.”

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As always, time passed in the blink of an eye, and next thing Vlastimir knew, he started Junior year after making into the Dean’s list for the fourth time in a row. That sure felt fulfilling, considering the amount of time he had to balance between school and spare time.

Speaking of spare time, he regularly visited My Muse II, where he finally found an instrument he found the most satisfying: the violin. Ever since he started playing it, he was literally hooked. He could hear its melodious tunes vibrate as he pressed his chin on it. Even though he made screeching noises with it at first, a little practice helped him get better at it. Maybe he should spend some of the money he got from completing semesters on a new violin. That way, he could practice at the dorm whenever he has any spare time and reduce his need to walk to My Muse II just to practice the violin.

With a violin of his own, he could now alternate between violin practice and ballet practice without having to spend more time there. Over time, so many people flocked to him whenever he played the violin, so he came up with an idea. With a tip jar beside him, he could try making a profit out of it. After all, there’s nothing wrong with getting money by playing some music.

Fortunately, for him, the money-making part of the violin-playing worked well, and now he was making a nice profit out of it. Maybe when he moved out from the dorms and into some wide open space within campus grounds during senior year should he spend the money on the construction.

However, not every moment in university was all about school, music, and all that jazz. Samuel Locke, the guy who always wears a blue tracksuit, is one case when Vlastimir wasn’t well-received all the time despite his renowned skill at the violin. There was this day when they ate lunch together that caused a bit of a confrontation.

“Hey, Vidić,” cried Samuel, “I heard you’re seeing Selena, am I right?”

“Yes, what about it?” asked a puzzled Vlastimir.

“I gotta warn you to stay away from her as much as possible. She’s already mine, so stay out.”

So someone fancies a challenge, eh? Regarding these situations, he knew that backing down is not an option, so he must come up with something ingenious when it comes to such a situation. Perhaps coaxing Selena would do to get Samuel out of her mind.

“Can I tell you something real quick?” asked Vlastimir as he bumped into Selena later that night.

“What is it?” she replied.

“Do you happen to know Samuel Locke at all?”

“Yes, what about it?”

“You know, a jock like him kinda sweats like crazy, and I don’t think a girl like you would wanna hand around with a guy who stinks from sweat. Luckily I’m not the guy who does that, since I play the violin, do ballet, and play chess regularly.”

“Vlastimir!” she gasped. How could he be so sharp-tongued and blunt like that? “That’s not how you should say about other people. Think of their feelings. What if they’re listening to this conversation as well? It’ll break their hearts, you know.”

It seemed that winning Selena’s affections would be harder that he thought. Perhaps some more effort must be put into achieving this before she falls into Samuel’s hands. After all, he couldn’t imagine a life without Selena.

“Oh, but I don’t see him anywhere,” he beamed as he leaned forward to look at her face a little closer, “Besides, a pretty girl like you deserves someone so much better, someone nicer, someone… more interesting, and I’m all that as I can assure you.”

“You really are quite a charmer, aren’t you?” she chuckled as her head leaned backwards.

“So tell me, what do you think of Samuel?”

“Well, he’s also a nice guy like you, though he does sweat as a result of working out, which irritates me whenever I get close to him.”

“Then that’s why you need someone who’s much more suave and gentle, like me. I can do ballet, which improves the body, albeit in a graceful manner. Say, do you fancy a backrub from me?”

“Of course, provided that you don’t rub me too hard and don’t make a big deal out of Samuel’s tendency to sweat from now on.”

“OK, I’ll do my best.”

As Selena turned around, Vlastimir started rubbing her back and massaging the pressure points. True to his word, he tried not to rub them to hard and focused on relieving her muscles. When he finished, Selena rotated her shoulders slightly and found out that she had an easier time moving them than before. It seems that he’s quite good at backrubs.

“Thanks for the backrub,” she turned around to face him. “I felt much better than before.”

“No problem,” he smiled.

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Time passed again, and next think he knew Vlastimir was starting the next semester already. Yet the winter never seemed to end. In fact, snow had fallen to the point that the ground is covered with it. He bent down and took a scoop of it with one hand. It felt intensely cold yet delicate, which is amazing, considering how something deceptively fragile can evoke such a strong feeling to him.

In addition to violin and ballet, he took up painting, which he practiced quietly upon his arrival to Académie Le Tour. After a lot of practice, he managed to paint a portrait of himself standing in a field with trees around. Once he finished, he smiled at it. That sure felt like an accomplishment to be proud of. In fact, he might have to keep it for himself and hang it in a wall once he gets to move to a house of his own.

After staring at his own portrait for a minute, he thought of Selena and how cruel it would be if he didn’t paint a portrait of her. He even bought an engagement ring for her as well just in case she accepts the proposal. In order to remedy this, he started painting Selena’s portrait so that he could hang it alongside his own. With these two portraits hanging side by side, they could reflect how their lives will be like as they live together surrounded by a family of their own.

Once he finished painting Selena’s portrait, he immediately walked outside to see her going back from class. This should be a good time to ask her for a date.

“Hey,” he held her hand, “Won’t you mind if we go on a date together?”

“Sure,” she blushed. “I wanna go somewhere outside of campus, though. There are lots of interesting stuff at downtown SimCity, so maybe we should go there for a meal.”

“Downtown it is. I’ll just let you decide where to go.”

“I suggest Speedy’s Fast Lanes Bowling and Eats. It has a bowling alley inside.”

“Then Speedy’s Fast Lanes Bowling and Eats it is. I can’t wait to go outside of campus too, aside from My Muse II, where I go a lot.”

Upon arrival, they took off their winter coats and hung them at a coat stand by the front door. It sure felt warm inside the building, eliminating the necessity of wearing coats inside. The host showed them a three-seat table near the bowling alley so that they could watch the people playing bowling. Not long after that, a waiter gave them a menu and two glasses of water.

“What do you wanna order?” asked Selena as Vlastimir drank his glass of water.

“I’ll order what you wanna order for both of us,” he replied in between sips.

“Fine. I’ll order nectarine tartlette for both of us.”

They quickly began eating the nectarine tartlette the waiter served them. As they ate, they couldn’t help but looked at each other and noticed how the other looked radiant. In fact, it seemed that a gentle calm had descended upon them despite the creeping tension within their hearts. With the calm in them taking root, all of their worries seemed to be cast aside for this romantic evening.

“Baby,” Vlastimir’s soft voice broke the silence, “Would you like to play bowling once we get done with our dinner? That game looks exciting.”

“Sure thing. It looks fun to me too, so let’s do it once we’re done eating.”

They managed to secure one bowling lane after they finished eating and paying the bill. Selena picked up a bowling ball and carefully aimed at the pins. However, she got caught off balance and when she finally threw the ball, she tripped and the ball missed the target.

“Darn,” she muttered, “I swear I aimed it well.”

“It’s okay, baby,” Vlastimir hugged her after lifting her up, “At least you did your best.”

“Thanks,” she replied, “I’m not good at bowling, but at least this is just for fun, right?”

“I know what you mean. I went to a dance competition a few semesters ago, and I didn’t win because I didn’t practice enough. At least the experience was one of a kind.”

“Oh, really? And what about this date?”

“Even better.”

As the sun finally set and all the lights turned on, they walked back to the dining area. This should be the right time to propose to Selena, he thought.

“You know,” Vlastimir knelt down in front of Selena, “I’ve been keeping this a secret for a while, so I’ve waited for the perfect moment to do this. Selena, you’ve been a great friend to me in university. In fact, you’re not just my friend. I’m in love with you, and this love is so great that I really can’t imagine living without you.”

“Vlastimir,” she beamed in response, “I too can’t imagine living a life without you. I like a guy who isn’t afraid of expressing their feelings to me, and I’m so glad to find the man of my dreams: charming, gentle, and kind.”

“So…”

“Will you marry me and accept the honor of becoming my wife someday?” he took out a velvet box and opened up to reveal an engagement ring to her.

“Oh… Oh, my!” she gasped.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, silly. In fact, my answer is yes,” she took out the ring in the box and wore it on her finger. “I do wanna marry you someday. I’ve always wanted to have a family with the man of my dreams. In this case, that means you.”

After hearing those words, Vlastimir felt his heart jumping with joy. He couldn’t help but feel so much happier than before. It has become a dream coming true, which he knew will be fulfilled once they finally get married.

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Winter gave way to spring, and with that Vlastimir became as senior. This should be the opportunity for him to move out of the dorms to buy a piece of land within campus grounds to settle in. With luck, he might as well found a Greek house for his future descendants to stay in on campus so that they will have a place to stay in once they arrive at university.

Fortunately, there seemed to be vast tracts of land for construction, and the school had given him permission to build a future Greek house on a certain site on Baklava Boulevard, farther from several houses too expensive for him to afford but closer to Mille House Dorms. That should be a good place to get some people to join in the fun.

As soon as he finished applying for a piece of land on campus for a future Greek house, Vlastimir headed towards the cafeteria, where he saw Selena eating lunch. What if she joins in the Greek house? It should be fun.

“May I have a word with you?” he asked as he pulled a seat across her.

“Go ahead,” she put her spoon in her empty bowl now that she just got done eating her lunch. “What is it?”

“I just applied for a piece of land on campus for a future Greek house. Would you wanna join?”

“That’s great,” she sighed, “but as much as I want to, I couldn’t. I have an internship for my major, and I have to move out to a different dorm for the rest of my time here. I hope to see you on graduation, though.”

Great. Apparently, Selena was a no-go for the Greek house. Perhaps he should get some advice on finding more willing people to join.

During the evening, he went to the parlor and met his RA Yuri Bierce for some advice on getting members for the future Greek house.

“Excuse me,” he said, “but do you know any advice on how to get members for a Greek house? Sorry I’m asking you this, but I just bought a piece of land so that I could move out on my own for the rest of my time here and establish a Greek house.”

“I’m no expert on how a Greek house works, since there hasn’t been one on campus so far, but I heard that you should invite whoever you want to join and get them to look around for a certain period of time. Or alternatively, they could invite you and any members and try to appease them.”

“I see. Well, thanks for the advice. I’ll just look for whoever might be interested in joining.”

“No problem.”

Later that night, he saw Samuel doing his homework at the cafeteria. So that jerk was still around for the night, eh? Might as well have to give him a little surprise. Perhaps a bump on the shoulder should suffice.

“Watch it, Vidić!” he snarled once Vlastimir bumped onto his left shoulder. “Can’t you see that I’m doing my assignment here?”

So it worked after all. Time to think of something to say back to him. “Oh, I’m sorry. I should’ve seen that you should’ve sat properly. I mean, sitting while your head’s leaning towards your homework isn’t good for your eyes.”

“Hey! Don’t you ever nitpick on me, chump! I’ll make sure you’ll pay for that if you do that again!”

Before he could open his mouth to say something back to Samuel, some footsteps, possibly heading towards the cafeteria, were heard.

Vlastimir and Samuel turned around and saw Randall walking towards their direction. “What’s all this ruckus about?” he asked.

“Er…” Great, what should I say to him? “We were just…”

“He was annoying me when I was doing my homework!” cried Samuel as he pointed at Vlastimir. “Now I need somewhere more peaceful to do my assignment, away from that jerk.”

Randall walked towards Vlastimir once Samuel walked away. “Why do you have to do that? Don’t you know that he hates being annoyed?”

“My apologies. By the way, can I ask you to join my future Greek house someday? I’m planning to move there tomorrow.”

“Sure, provided that I get to check the land around it.”

“Great. Before I could invite you, I’ll have to build a shelter of sorts first.”

The next day, Vlastimir packed his belongings and moved to the site of his future Greek house. He surveyed the land around it and nodded his head. This place is definitely a good place for a Greek house.

Thinking that the construction workers were being slow, he grabbed a shovel and proceeded to dig out the ground to build a house all by himself. He dug out a few rocks before the workers finally came to assure him that they’ll construct a house for them in no time.

A few days passed and the house was finally done. Vlastimir looked at it and gave a skeptical look. It looked more like a shack, with no windows, only two rooms, and not enough space to put his stuff in. What on earth is wrong with those construction workers? This isn’t the house I look forward to live in after days of living in some tent near this place.

He considered calling the contractors, but remembered that he didn’t have their phone number. Enraged, he plowed a patch of land next to the shack and planted some tomato seeds on the ground to get his mind out of the madness.

As the sun was setting, he thought of Randall and invited him over to look around the place. When it was already nighttime, Randall finally showed up and surveyed the land around the shack.

“Don’t worry about the looks of the shack,” he assured his friend. “I’m sure we can make the best out of it someday. I’m pretty sure you’re tired after a hard day’s work, so why don’t you go somewhere to relax. The gym has a large swimming pool you should try out.”

Vlastimir felt his body being weighed down by a lot of schoolwork and waiting for the construction of the shack. Perhaps his friend might be right after all.

“I’ll head to the gym for a nice dip in the pool. Thanks for the advice,” he hugged Randall as he was prepared to leave.

“No problem, buddy. The pleasure is all mine.”

Once at the gym, he changed to his swimming shorts and took a dip in the spool. The water felt so nice and cool on his body as he swam and floated on his back. That sure was one nice way to relax despite the hardships of school and the stress from the shack.

Once he got back, however, he saw Randall sleeping on the ground. Boy, it looked like that guy had it all rough. Maybe he should be carried to the bed this instance. And why would he sleep on the cold, hard ground when there was a bed inside?

When Randall finally woke up the next day, he saw Vlastimir doing ballet exercises on the barre. As he looked closely, he noticed how gracefully he danced, as if he was being enveloped by some sort of light and he was being watched by an audience on the stage. In fact, Randall imagined his friend dancing on stage with the lights focused on him.

When Vlastimir finally stopped dancing and changed back to his regular clothes, he heard a clap and turned around to see Randall finally awake.

“Hey,” he exclaimed in surprise, “Nice to see you finally awake. Say, why did you sleep on the floor last night instead of using the bed?”

“I thought that bed was yours, so I didn’t dare sleep on it,” he replied. “Thanks for letting me sleep on it, though. You’re a pretty good dancer, by the way.”

“Thanks. How about we take turns on sleeping on the bed? Don’t worry about me; I’m strong enough to handle on my own.”

“Sounds like a nice plan. Oh, and by the way,” added Randall, “Don’t worry about Samuel anymore; I’ve taken care of him.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yup. That way, you won’t have to worry about him stealing Selena from you.”

Days passed as Vlastimir and Randall regularly went to class. Upon seeing Vlastimir taking private tuitions with his professor, Randall decided to do the same thing by inviting his professor over for private tuitions. As a result, his grades improved quickly than before.

In the end, all that education and time at My Muse II paid off to the point that Vlastimir finally graduated magna cum laude. It certainly wasn’t the best achievement that can be made in university, but it certainly was quite a feat for someone like him.

Selena would be proud of me once she hears about this, he thought as he smiled to himself.

To celebrate his graduation, he played the violin and mustered as much energy as possible when playing it. To be honest, he never felt so alive for once, apart from his date with Selena.

When he went inside to practice some more ballet, however, a loud bang can be heard and someone dressed as a cow suddenly hit him with a pillow. That was quite a blow that… thing delivered to him, but who on earth could be so rude as to knock up some random person on campus? He better show that bovine who’s boss.

“Listen up!” he yelled as he looked up while holding his nose. “Can’t you respect a person’s privacy?! Can’t you see that I’m trying to practice some ballet over here?! Now get out before I call campus!”

“Mmmooooooo…” a soft, muffled voice came out of the mask, “Look who’s gonna call security…”

“I can, and I will. Now get out of here this instance.”

“Look, buddy, as much as y’wanna call security, I’ll just stick around here as much as I want to. In fact, I’ll just continue pestering ya for as long as I like, wimp!”

A fight of words ensued that continued to the night, with all thoughts of calling campus security flying out of Vlastimir’s mind in the process. The more he tried to shoo the cow out, the more resistant it (or he or even she) became.

“Listen up, chump!” the cow yelled as it shoved him. “Before I go, I’m gonna warn ya that nobody messes with bovines like me, and I get to trash around here as much as I wannna!”

Vlastimir flinched and closed his eyes, thinking of what to do with such people while hoping that it won’t punch him.

After getting his courage back, he finally shoved the cow in retaliation. “I’m NOT letting you invade my place, let alone other peoples’. In fact, it is YOU that has no right to invade my privacy. Yup, that’s right. MY privacy! Someday, you’ll pay!”

“Hey, watch your hands! That’s no way to treat a girl like me!” The cow shouted as it ran away from the house.

Gee, that was one persistent cow, but the fact that this… cow was actually female was making the situation a bit too much. Perhaps he should talk to Randall tomorrow for some advice; he sure is quite a helpful fellow.

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Once he got up, Vlastimir immediately walked into the dining room for breakfast. The room wasn’t part of the original shack, but an addition to the building, which made things more bearable; all that walking to some restaurant or park was exhausting and time consuming.

He smiled when he saw a plate of hotdogs on the table and Randall eating one. Glad to see that Randall has always been a reliable friend. He took a hotdog and sat to his friend’s right.

“What’s the matter?” asked Randall.

“I graduated yesterday, only to be attacked by some cow person. Is there any way to deal with them?”

“Well, I heard that cow plaques can scare those nasty cows away, but we can’t afford them at the moment. And congrats on your graduation, though!”

“Thanks! I guess I need to do something to get my mind off of yesterday’s incident.”

As Vlastimir danced, he felt a calming presence within him that soothed his mind from yesterday’s incident. He also imagined himself dancing on stage with the lights focused on him. With the imaginary clapping of the audience in his head, he felt a wave of satisfaction in him that took him away from any troubles that might follow afterwards.

When he walked outside to grab his violin, he saw the instructor approaching him.

“Mr. Vidić,” she shook his hand, “On behalf of My Muse II, I’m proud to announce you that as a result of your continuous efforts in maintaining your interest in music and dance, you are awarded an honorary plaque as a token of your achievements. You are now an honorary member of our club. Congratulations and keep up with the good work, sir.”

“Thank you,” he grabbed the plaque from the instructor’s hands. “I look forward to maintain my enthusiasm.”

Evening was coming, and Vlastimir thought a good way to celebrate his graduation was to throw a party. Inviting Selena and other guests for the festivities while Randall cooks the food should do the trick. After all, his friend still has a few more years to go until he finally graduates.

The guests finally came, including Selena in her graduation robe. When she and Vlastimir were eating spaghetti Randall cooked for the party, they had a bit of a conversation.

“So,” she said, “What do you wanna do once you graduate?”

Crap! That thought never came up to his head until now, but seeing that he has a passion for music and dance, perhaps he should give a bit of a vague answer. “I still am not sure yet, to be honest. Perhaps being a musician or dancer would do.”

“That’s interesting. I might have to work to save enough money for a living, but hopefully I’ll manage.”

“Sounds great. I hope to meet you someday. Besides, we’re engaged, so we’re bound to meet again together in the future.”

“That we are. I really wish we could get married someday in the near future.”

As the guests started to leave one by one, they hugged together as the prepared for the next phase in their lives. Who knows what their lives will be like upon graduation, but one thing remains certain and that is their engagement, signifying their promise that they’ll get married someday, hopefully not too long.

“You take care out there, would you?” she whispered.

“I will, honey,” he whispered back. “I’m also worried about you too. In fact, I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I won’t. I wish we’ll meet together again once we have enough to live together.”

“Me too.”

Once Selena had left, he turned towards Randall. Now that the party was finally finished, it was time to step into the world for real. But before he had to go, he needed someone to take care of the Greek house for him.

“Hey, Randall,” he cried, “Can you take care of this house for me for a while? I don’t want it to get abandoned and taken over by someone I don’t know.”

However, what followed was a silent pause for a few seconds. Then he finally replied, “Ummm… sure. Hopefully I’ll manage.”

Heh, nice of him to take care of the house on my absence. He better not ruin it, though.

After his friend took off his graduation robes and got dressed back to his regular outfit, Randall ran outside to wave goodbye to his friend, whom he met during the first semester when they came here. However, he had more stuff to take care of, namely several more school programs before he could finally graduate. Taking care of the household seemed to add into more things for him to do. Whatever these circumstances, however, he thought it would be unfair if his friend’s request isn’t honored. Besides, who knows when it will end someday?

“Bye, Vlastimir,” he cried. “Good luck on your life.”

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And so ends Chapter 1 of my legacy. I know this isn’t much yet, but I already have a lot of plans for this legacy, which you shall see in the upcoming chapters. But before I go, let me show you my founder’s stats, shall we?

Vlastimir Vidić is an Aries (6/8/8/0/3) with Popularity as his primary aspiration and Knowledge as his secondary aspiration. In addition to that, his OTH is Music and Dance, and his LTW is to become Rock God.

Additionally, he’s named after Vlastimir of Serbia, a Serbian prince who founded the Vlastimirović dynasty, Serbia’s first ruling dynasty, some time after his great-grandfather Višeslav united the Serbs into a single nation. Also, he expanded his country’s territory and fought the neighboring Bulgars. His last name, Vidić, comes from Manchaster United soccer player Nemanja Vidić. It means “the one who sees” or “or those who see” in Serbian. Why I name my founder after them, I think I’m just being weird, and I’m keeping it as a mere reference. :P

Thank you for reading and see you later!