ArchivedLogs:Sentences and Opportunities

Sentences and Opportunities
Dramatis Personae Iolaus, Shelby, Xavier, Daiki
In Absentia	2013-02-09 Shelby tries new things. God help Xavier's.
Location <XS> Foyer and <XS> Study
Xavier's foyer provides a suitable introduction to the opulent mansion. Teak-paneled, wood floors immaculately polished, vaulted ceiling ribbed with dark wood boning, there is no doubt this school was built with no expense spared. The hallways branch off to the separate wings, with the grand staircase spiraling upwards to the residential dorms above. Shelby may have sent the text message that set this adventure off but one wouldn't know it to look at the girl. She played the teenager the entire way here, sticking to monosyllabic responses to Iolaus' conversation and generally being a sulky jerkface. It's an /excellent/ cover for being a sick bundle of nerves on the inside--setting foot onto a real school campus, and a fancy one at that, has triggered anxiety she's managed to avoid for four years. The insecurity complex here is /immense/--but hey, she can glower with the best of them as she sets her ratty and slushy old sneakers on perfectly polished floorboards. She is dripping on wood worth more than her life. She doesn't care. "...you want me to go /here/?" she inquires of Iolaus, sounding skeptical as she looks around the gleaming expanse of foyer. The ride is a long one, to be sure, but Iolaus is used to making the trips to Westchester with someone much more monosyllabic than Shelby can ever hope to be - his bodyguard, Jane, whose primary method of communication seems to be either yelling or grunts. "Yes. I think you'd do quite well, here." he says, smiling and looking around the opulent surroundings. "I can see you fitting in very well, actually." he glances backwards to her, eyes looking over her lips and smile gentle, reserved. "I believe we're meeting someone here." he says, glancing around the room. There is someone, in fact, descending from the staircase up above; a teenager perhaps Shelby's age, perhaps a bit younger, though taller than both the foyer's current occupants. The slim Japanese teenager has hair tied back into a low ponytail and is dressed simple but neat, a soft black sweater and dark trousers, and as he greets them both with a polite smile (and no offered ha he brings with him a subtle /something/, warm and quietly encouraging positive feelings. "Dr. Saavedro? Shelby? Welcome to Xavier's. I'm Daiki. Professor Xavier is expecting you. Can I get you anything first? To eat? Drink? It must've been a long trip from the city in this weather." "Maybe you got me confused with Taylor Swift," Shelby mumbles, shoving her paint-stained hands into her outermost set of pockets. Her shoulders bow and her head sinks as she continues to glance around, like a cat in a trap. Kids who go to these schools have more than one pair of shoes and underwear, she's thinking as she studies the vases flanking the staircase. Kids like that are gonna give her hell. And who's gonna pay for this shit? Not /her/, and certainly not Iolaus either. "Dude's gonna show up and kick us out 'cause I smell like--" Augh, a person! She sidles closer to the doctor and sizes the newcomer up. It takes a moment but she cracks a small smile. "Nah, 'm good." Pause for a beat. "Thanks though." "Daiki. It's good to see you again." The smile on the doctor's face brightens significantly as the tall teenager steps down into the room. "I think I'm all set for the moment. Perhaps after I meet with the Headmaster, I will take you up on the offer." he says, taking a single step forward and then pausing, mid-step. "Mm. Please, lead the way," he says, gesturing politely. "Of course. How is your project coming, Doctor?" Daiki steps off the stairs, gesturing the others to follow as he leads the way. Down a hall, through the large library, his hands folded neatly behind his back as he walks. "Bastian's told me about you," he adds, to Shelby, with a glance over his shoulder. His /tone/, at least, implies this is a Positive Thing. Shelby keeps close to Iolaus' elbow as they're led through the halls. She's content to let the two men speak but at Bastian's name, directed to herself, her eyes snap to Daiki and widen. "Seriously?" Her skepticism is at least tempered with a low sort of pleasure to hear it. "I, uh. We haven't really talk about school, much." A thing which she is clearly regretting as she looks around again. "Oh, as well as can be expected. I have not heard anything from the City for a week or two about any of my applications, which might be a good sign. As the saying goes, no news is good news." Iolaus says, cheerfully enough. "And how is Shane doing?" he asks. "Doing well, I hope? I saw his father on the news." This is said with a trace of concern. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that my suicidal behavior is contagious." "Yes. Seriously," Daiki says, with a small smile, but doesn't elaborate. His cheeks tint just faintly pink at Iolaus's question. "Shane is -- as good as ever," he says carefully. "Is Mr. Holland? I know the twins were -- worried." From the library he makes his way through a smaller side door, into a cozy study, a fire crackling in its hearth. There is a man in there already, considerably older, considerably balder, dressed in crisp suit and seated near the fire in an electric wheelchair. "Daiki. Thank you. Good to see you again, Doctor," he says, a quiet British accent tinging his deep voice. "Shelby. Welcome." <XS> Study Quieter than the neighboring library, the study actually /is/ a retreat for those who want to sit and work. Lacking the larger social tables, this room has only single solitary chairs, individual soft lamps assigned to each. The high bay windows allow plenty of light, and the understated elegance of the room with its grated fireplace (often crackling, in winter) is an invitation to quiet work. "Bastian and Shane weren't there. But Jax is okay, some cop let us go and he's been resting," Shelby says with a lopsided shrug. "Much as he ever does." Oh, had she not told Iolaus she'd been there? Oops, oversight. For all that she's casual and throwaway about it, the image of a gentleman's brains on the ground are there in her mind as they turn into the appropriate room. It has a muting effect, compounded by having to size up the fellow at the hearth. Her smile is long gone by now, even Daiki's presence not enough to keep it up as she greets him with a sullen, "Hey." "Thank you, Daiki." Iolaus murmurs. He glances at Shelby, surprised, as she sums up what had happened at that event, but he does not let it distract him from first meetings. "The pleasure is all mine, Professor. Thank you for agreeing to see us. May I introduce you to Shelby?" he says, gesturing to the teenager standing next to him. << I apologize in advance, Professor, if she is at all rude. She has been in a bit of a mood, this morning. >> Daiki dips his head in a bow, but does not say anything more, retreating and closing the door gently behind him. Xavier's smile is small and polite, a nudge of his finger rolling the chair smoothly forward so he can extend his hand. "Shelby. Charles Xavier. Thank /you/ for taking the time to see me. How much do you know about our institution here?" << This morning? >> comes back, coloured lightly with amusement. << She is a teenager. It may last a few years yet. >> "It was the doc's idea." Shelby is honest in this, at least. She eyeballs the approach of the chair and the hand that's offered before reaching out to gingerly accept the shake--nervous, as some are, about further hurting someone who's visibly disabled. Wouldn't that be hilarious? Everyone's already pissed, imagine if I fucked up a cripple too. That'd be just my luck. "It's uh, school? You take kids like Bastian and Shane," she goes on. After a brief glance around, she adds, "Kinda fancy, too." << You are a better man than I, then, to be sure, professor. >> Iolaus says, hiding his smile behind a cough into his elbow. "I have told her little. Actually, pretty much nothing. I supposed it would be better coming from you, Professor." he says, encircling one wrist with his other hand behind his back, eyes lifting to glance around the warm room. The Professor's handshake is, at least, firm and strong. Not particularly fragile. "Please, take a seat." He gestures, for the both of them. There are armchairs in plenty. "School, yes. From what the Doctor tells me, you have been out of it for some time now. You'll find that in that, you would not be alone here. Some of our students have never been to a school before coming here. It can be difficult to find a place, for students with their abilities. We strive to ease that difficulty." Shelby takes her hand back, flexing her fingers a little as she eases into one of the indicated chairs. Iolaus is given a glance. "I didn't really give him much of a chance to tell me," she admits. It's grudging but something of a first. When her attention shifts back to Xavier, her forehead furrows while she listens. "I didn't quit school 'cause I'm a freak. I quit 'cause my stepdad's an asshole /about/ mutants and I had to take off. Not that I ever went someplace like this. This is..." She grimaces. "I dunno. I can't afford this. I can't buy books or clothes, and I don't wanna have to...to..." Curfews. Rules. Homework. Answering to people. Uggggh. Iolaus blinks and sits down in the chair, shifting his hands around to lace them in front of him. "That's much and the same. It wasn't your choice, one way or the other." he says, softly, voice gentle. "Choices that are forced on you aren't really your choices, especially when they're not much of one." Xavier's hand turns upwards, fingers tipping towards Iolaus. "Whether the school made it difficult or your home life did, the situation still made it unfeasible for you. What do you wish to do with your life, Shelby? There are many paths you could take. School is only one option among many you could take, right now. But it could be a springboard to many things down the road." Shelby shifts in her chair, looking from one man to the other. It helps, somewhat, that both are voicing apparent sympathy for her situation. She relaxes, just a little. "I dunno," she confesses. "It's been pretty much just...one day at a time, y'know? But." She takes a moment to think, nibbling on a hangnail while she considers the possibility of options. "When I was a kid, I wanted to be a vet. Or a dancer, y'know like one of those ballet dancers? I'm...this friend of mine, he got me a gig at the Bowery next month. That's pretty fucking big. I guess...I guess I can't spend the rest of my life getting change from tourists for chalking Iolaus says nothing at first, watching Shelby's statement quietly. He leans back in his chair, folding one leg over the other. His eyes trail over to Xavier, smiling a little bit and giving a little, tiny, shrug. "Probably not the best of choices. And many options will require many of the same things. A vet, a dancer, even a musician... they all start the same way." "Perhaps not chalk on the sidewalk, though a few of our graduates have gone on to pursue careers in art. I believe you are already acquainted with Mr. Holland? He teaches art here, in the spring." Xavier's hands fold in his lap, his gaze thoughtful as he regards Shelby. "Do you still want to do any of those things? Music. Art. Dancing. Veterinary school. I understand your concerns regarding finances, but you would certainly not be the first student here facing similar challenges. I'd rather focus on what you want to /achieve/. Classes here would be a good starting point for any of those fields." "Well sure, they take school," Shelby says with a glance at Iolaus, "but you can't /achieve/ shit without money." Oops. She catches herself, shifting uncomfortably and mumbling what might have been an apology. after eyeing them both for explosions at having taken the tone she did, she continues. "I mean. I dunno. Ryan's teaching me more music. I could...art could be good, since it's what I /do/ and I like Jax, I'd be a killer tattooist. And sure, everyone says I'm smart or I'd be dead by now but shit, being a vet you gotta be /smart/ smart. Like Bastian smart. I can't do math or science or chemistry or whatever. It'd take twenty years." Planning is not her forte; she is at a loss. "Not quite twenty years. You could become a doctor in less than twenty years. But almost that." Iolaus says, softly. "You are smart enough to do that... if you apply yourself. It wouldn't be easy, but it is possible. If that's what you want." he looks over Shelby, a small smile on his face. "You have to try after what you want. And you don't have to make those decisions today, either." "There are many different metrics with which to measure achievement," Xavier counters, mildly, his head tipping slightly downwards as his lips curl up at the corners. "We can only give you a foundation to build from. Becoming a veterinarian would, certainly, take a good many years of study. But as the Doctor says, that is not a decision you would have to make today. Given the current social climate, it may not surprise you to know that a good many of our students come to us without families or resources supporting them. We have a generous endowment with which to supply financial aid to those who wish to study here but could not otherwise afford it." I.E... 98% of their student body. "Getting a guy to give me his couch is easy, Doc. Learning calculus or whatever it is, not so much. /You/ got those smarts." This could be the epitome of snark, if Shelby weren't forcing a smile to her lips when she tips her head towards the doctor in question. I don't have those sorts of brains, she's already decided this. But mention of an endowment gives the teen pause. Her brow rumples and she resumes chewing on that hangnail while she studies the Professor. Wheels are turning: financial aid means free but is that for the school, for books, for the clothes she'd need? Would she be staying here, like the twins? ...are the dorms co-ed? Oh god, a roommate. "How does that work, anyway? All these mutants here. How come no one's found out? Someone's gotta have blown /something/ up. Are there normal kids here too?" Surely they'd have ratted them out. Only 98%? "Learning calculus is doable, and you'd be surprised how little calculus there is in veterinary school once you get in. You might not be the best at it in your class, certainly, but there are things that you only need to be good enough in to get /by/." Iolaus points out, softly. "Nobody has found out because we have excellent PR people," Xavier says, something dry in his tone, "and because being careful about who you tell is the most important rule here. For everyone's safety. There are human students, yes, though rare. They tend to be children of our faculty, or children of mutants whose parents' situation has made it impossible for them to continue where they were. Things do, ah, occasionally blow up. We have very good insurance." Maybe this is a little dry, too. Shelby makes a face at Iolaus but under that grimace, there's a strong pulse of affection--nothing she'd show though, because no. "Why do it if you're not gonna be the best?" she challenges. But, rhetorical question. What she really wants to ask, and this is directed as much at the doctor as it is the professor, "So what if I hate it? I know you probably have problem kids. Juvie kids. But I got by /because/ I don't do what any idiot tells me. If people start shit with me and I'm not going for it, what then? I gotta pay back the...whatever? Endowment?" Iolaus smiles at the face, lips spreading wide in an amused look as something playful flickers at the back of his eyes. He opens his mouth to respond to the rhetorical, but quickly stops himself and gets more serious as she asks the next question. He pauses, eyebrows furrowing slightly, as he turns his attention back to Professor Xavier. << Not a question I would have thought to ask. >> "No. Whether you stay here or you decide it is not for you, you won't need to pay back the scholarship you receive." For a moment, this is all Xavier says, considering Shelby a long moment. "Life here is quite different than a life of survival. We do have rules here, and we do expect our students to follow them. Our faculty are not just," he says with a twitch of his lips, "any idiots. And our policies are in place both to keep our students safe and to ensure they receive the best education we can offer. You might find it is not an environment that suits you. That is fine. We are a school, not a prison. This is an opportunity, not a sentence. The doors will not be locked to keep you here. But if you choose to stay, and I hope you at least consider it, you will be expected to follow the same rules all our students do." As survival situations go, it isn't bad. Three squares a day, a bed, art classes and maybe some dance. /Maybe/ science. And the twins are here. None of this out of /her/ pocket. Shelby is silent as she considers all this. "Nothing's for free," she finally says. "I don't care who or what, nothing's just...there to have. There's /always/ strings. When do those show up?" She turns to Iolaus. "And what if I do fuck it up and don't want to stay?" Iolaus studies Shelby, expression serious. "Charity is charity. The strings are the donors feeling good about themselves, same as the donors who give me money for the clinic, or the people who put money into your guitar case as they pass by." he says, delicately choosing each word. "I wouldn't go into it thinking that you are not going to like it, or that you are going to screw it up. If it's something you want to try, try. If not, or you leave, we'll cross that bridge then." "There are always expectations. We expect our students to follow our rules. We expect them to do the best they can in classes. There is work involved, here," Xavier says plainly, "and sometimes it will be difficult. I like to think the payoff is worth it, in the end." The phrase "cross that bridge then" doesn't resonate well with Shelby. She studies Iolaus for several seconds before making another face. Well. That wasn't gonna last, anyway. "Okay." And that's that. Ever the impulsive one, she turns back to Xavier and rolls her shoulders in a shrug. "It can't be any harder than ducking security at the bus station or sleeping on benches. But I gotta be allowed to do my gigs, too. The Bowery's /big/." Iolaus frowns slightly as Shelby makes a face, and his lips thin into a harder line. Still, he shakes his head once and turns to face Xavier once more, silent. They can cross the bridge of discussing crossing other bridges another time. His hands lace together on his lap and one of them drums against the back of the other hand, in a tight little grip of suppressed movement. "Certainly. Students do not stop having their own lives outside of school. And playing at the Bowery is quite an, ah, achievement." Xavier's smile is a little easier, this time. "Would you perhaps like a tour? I am sure Daiki would be happy to show you the facilities." "Sure. If you don't mind me tracking hobo dirt everywhere." This is a /joke/. Honest. Shelby pops up from the chair as if it had springs. "And this endowment thing...I'm like, wearing everything I own," she adds with a gesture to herself, "you think I could get some clothes?" She is very carefully not looking at Iolaus and so appears unaware of his tightness of expression, but there's a whole mucky mess of emotion underneath. "I imagine something can be arranged." Iolaus says, a small smile on his lips as he gives Shelby an amused look. "From me, at least. I'm sure Professor Xavier may have additional arrangements that he can make." he says, with a polite nod to the aforementioned. He does give Shelby a brief look, curious. << Sometimes, I wish I could see into people's minds with the same ease that you can, Professor. But only in my less rational moments. >> "We will make sure that you are properly equipped to start school, here," Xavier assures Shelby, even as he is wheeling his chair towards the door, pressing a button beside it to open it. "Daiki. If you would be so kind as to give our guest a tour?" << Far less rational, >> he offers, in mild agreement. Daiki has been waiting outside, tucked at a library table with a textbook and notebook in front of him, but he gets up promptly at this, hurring towards the door with a nod so deep it is almost a bow. "Yes, Professor. Are you hungry yet, Shelby?" "No! No. I mean." Shelby shuffles and gives the doctor a look that translates to wary. Shit, that'd just make Lucien's day. Time to shit on someone else. "Things're tight enough anyway. If the Professor's got the cash, let him pay. Right?" She doesn't give him time to answer this, just sets off after the wheelchair without a backwards glance. At least Daiki's presence has her smiling again, even if it's a small effort. "I could go for a steak, maybe. Jax's only got rabbit food, y'know?" Iolaus follows Xavier out, stepping up to walk beside the Professor. "Thank you, Daiki." He says, then turns his attention to Professor Xavier. "If you have a few moments more to spend, Professor, I'd appreciate your time. If not, that's quite alright. I wanted to stop in and see Doctor McCoy as well before we left. I think I made some progress on something that has been puzzling us for a few weeks." Xavier does, actually, glance at a clock before answering this, but he answers Iolaus with an easy smile. "Yes, of course. Let's go check in on Hank. Shelby -- perhaps I will be seeing you soon." He tips his head in a polite nod to the girl, starting off with Iolaus towards the exit. "Rabbit food?" Daiki sounds a little puzzled, at this expression. He's starting off, too, but he's collecting his things first to put them in a backpack. "I always thought his cooking was delicious." "Yeah, sure. Nice to meet you 'n stuff." Shelby shoves her hands into her pockets, shoulders bowed. "See you, Doc." She watches the men go before rounding on Daiki. After a deep breath, she plasters a grin on. "I'm not saying it tastes shitty, just saying he's totally missing out on the beauty of a steak cooked just right, y'know? Hey...y'think you could show me where the twins stay?" she asks while they set off on the tour. "Man, they're gonna /shit/ when they see me. Bet you a buck."