Riches Galore: The Orphanage Project (Completed)

[Esther1981]

No worries. The in house imaging thing is really weird. Anyways, good luck and I'll still be here waiting! (Gerr is a sweetheart isn't she?!) 

[Lilygirl]

When I read that announcement, I immediately thought of you, Schip, because I know you use the in-house thumbnails and you're writing a couple stories at the moment. That's a lot of time required to learn something new, move all your pictures over, organize, and them re-post them. Good luck!

I'll be back to read more when you get the chance to post an update. Have fun with TSM!

[Schipperke]

Chapter 15:  Week 4, Saturday - Mr Payne Visits

Saturday morning, Mr Payne sets out to pay a visit.



Debbie greets him and welcomes him to her new home.  The new home with a beautiful view and elegant furnishings.  Even a television, which Mortimer is trying to watch - if only people wouldn't get in the way.




Mr Payne congratulates Debbie on her wedding and asks about her new job.  He senses that the newlyweds would like to be alone, and not wishing to outstay his welcome, he goes on his way.  After a quick trip to Social Services, he makes his way over to Pippa and Sebastian's.

Mr Payne delivers Michael to his new foster mother.  Michael is a loner who loves the outdoors:



I'm not sure what they're talking about in that screenshot - it looks as if Mr Payne is giving advice to Pippa about Michael's diet.  Whatever it is, if you look at the expression on Pippa's face, you'll see that she's not grimacing at him like she usually does.  Is it possible they're actually getting along?

Mr Payne:  I've just been to see Debbie.  My, it's good to see her and Mortimer so happy in their new life together!  You did a splendid job with Debbie, just splendid.  I shudder to think what her future would have been like if you hadn't taken her in.  I know it was hard at first, but nobody could have done better than you and Sebastian.  And I hear you've both been donating to charities regularly.  Well done, indeed.

Well!  If you want to get on a snob's good side, give them compliments.  Pippa is glowing from Mr Payne's appreciation.  Just look at those double plus signs:



Pippa may not be prepared to admit it to anyone, especially Mr Payne, but she's finding that donating money actually makes her feel good.  She and Sebastian have both sent money to charity every day this week.  Before leaving home, they both chose the Living in the Lap of Luxury LTW (the one that requires a household net worth of $100,000).  They're a long way from achieving that, and who knows if they ever will.  But for now, they're actually pretty happy.

Pippa invites Mr Payne in to the house to see the renovations.



Mr Payne goes on his way, having spent most of his Saturday checking on the Vandersims.  But he is starting to feel optimistic about the twins' progress.  And, hey, it's all billable hours, right?
 

[TheChronicR]

The rooms are build wonderfully! Just love the way you write. It's so neutral and so emotional at the same time!

[Asleep]

I can't see the pictures.

[Esther1981]

I can't see them either, but I'm sure they are gorgeous!  Welcome Michael!

[gerrr00]

I was able to see them earlier.  But like everyone else, they are no longer there.

I can't see them either, but I'm sure they are gorgeous!   Welcome Michael!

You are right, they are

EDIT: I went to the gallery and I can't even find Schipperke's albums.  If you need any help, send me a PM.  I will help you fix it.

[Schipperke]

The missing pictures are my fault.  After posting them to the story, I deleted them from the gallery.  With the old system I always deleted the pictures after using them, and I didn't realize that removing them from the gallery would remove them from the story.  Live and learn.  I've retrieved the pictures from the recycle bin and am going to try to fix it.  Sorry about this.

[Esther1981]

No worries Schip! I love the way you tell the story, it doesn't really need pics! 

[Schipperke]

Chapter 16:  Sebastian Socializes

I think by now it's clear that Sebastian's defining feature is his Snob trait.  His other traits (which I can't remember offhand) aren't too bad, but it's his snobbiness that seems to dictate Sebastian's social interactions.  One day he meets his old butler, Max Skills, in the library.  You may recall that Max (or "Skills" as the twins are accustomed to call him) was left in charge of the mansion while the twins are trying to prove themselves worthy of their inheritance.  Max may be the perfect butler, but even he can't help but show how boring it is when Sebastian talks about himself:



Sebastian decides to talk about his possessions instead, which isn't a whole lot better.



Finally Max takes the initiative and talks about Celebrity Pam Marsden.



Now, that's more like it!  Sebastian gets right into this discussion.  Celebrities are obviously his kind of people.



Sebastian's boss is Jared Frio, who is just as bad at socializing as Sebastian.  Jared's idea of a pleasant chat is to be as nasty as possible.  Left to their own devices, those two would probably be enemies in no time.  But I want Sebastian to succeed at work, and also to learn recipes from Jared, so I take charge of what is said.



Sebastian knows something is keeping him from achieving the social prominence he deserves.  It's probably those old ripped jeans that are turning people off.  So he heads over to the Consignment store looking for better pants.



The new trousers are a bit long, but he rolls them up and is quite pleased with his new look.  Social success will soon be his!

[Lilygirl]

It might be just me but I don't think it was the pants!

[sdhoey]

It might be just me but I don't think it was the pants!

  me either  I'm guessing the shoes...

[TheChronicR]

It was the shirt for sure!

[Esther1981]

It was everything combined haha. Awesome update! I see the pics now in the one before this one. I was right! They are beautiful!! 

[Schipperke]

 Chapter 17:  Week 5 

Week 5 and things are pretty quiet chez Vandersim.  The orphans are all in school - Michael is a child and the others are all teenagers.  Here's a shot of them all doing their homework at the kitchen table:



Pippa has found a new source of household furnishings.  It's not quite the sort of shopping she used to do, but there's a strange sort of fun in digging through the junk pile.



You never know what barely-used treasures someone will discard.  On one of her trips she finds a desktop, missing the legs.  But Pippa is becoming quite adept at making do, and she knows just how to make the desktop useful again.  She takes it home and finally the household has a place to put a computer.  She works until late into the night upgrading the cheap computer to make it unbreakable.