ArchivedLogs:Not Any High School

Not Any High School
Dramatis Personae Iolaus, Jack
In Absentia	2015-08-29 Iolaus and Jack discuss college and classes.
Location <XS> Conservatory
Tall panes of glass keep this large indoor garden warm year round. Tended to by the school's groundskeeper, the conservatory is lush with plant life, a carefully cultivated paradise within Xavier's walls. The room serves as a classroom as well; in the center of the garden a ring of seats forms a small circle, a favorite locale for some teachers to hold court. These days, Xavier's School has a warm, cozy feeling of familiarity to the staff of the Mendel Clinic. Mutants all around has always been a constant, but now there's the "just-like-work" shouting of protesters outside the gates. Ahh, home sweet home. Deep inside the school, though, just as in the clinic, the sounds of protesters fade away to nothingness. Inside the warm, damp glass walled conservatory, Iolaus sits in a pair of jeans and a grey herringbone dress shirt, undone at the throat and untucked at the belt. A stack of notes sits on his lap, rustling as he changes from tapping the pencil eraser against his cheek and making markings in the margins. "Stupid...evil... bug monster," comes from the direction of the gardens as what might be a somewhat unusual sight enters the conservatory. Old sneakers, floating basketball shorts, and a wave-pattern t-shirt enter the room. That would be Jack to those that are familiar with him, the invisible teen not particularly watching where he's going. The shirt is twisting as if the invisible person wearing it is checking to make sure there's nothing clinging to him. This proves to be a bad idea, Jack stepping on a shoelace and tripping. He falls in front of Iolaus and lays there a moment before giving a sigh. When he notices he's not alone, Jack glances and offers an unseen smile. "Oh...hi." Iolaus doesn't immediately notice Jack - though as he approaches, the doctor looks up with a blink. Looks up, and then looks down, as the shirt -- and presumably Jack himself -- sprawl out on the ground in front of him. "Oh. Hello." The doctor uncrosses his legs and recrosses them at the knees, looking down with a smile twisting on his lips. "Jack, right? I assume, but...." He trails off, eyes twinkling with light mischief. "Having some trouble there?" "Gravity and I had a little disagreement is all," Jack replies, rolling over and sitting up. "That's right though...I'm Jack. Or the ghost of dirty laundry," he jokes brushing grass off himself. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything." "It seems that gravity is winning the argument," Iolaus says, with a bright smile. "Oh, don't worry about it, Jack. Just revising some of my lesson plans for the semester. A couple of days before they're due, admittedly, but... they're not late yet, at least." He pauses for a second, eyes looking - roughly - about where Jack's face should be. "Are you taking any classes with me this year? What's your schedule looking like? Please, help me procrastinate more." Iolaus gestures to the ring of seats around him. "Gravity cheats," Jack declares. "I think there's plenty of excuses to have things a little late these days. Big distractions..." Jack trails off, glancing in the general direction of the front gates. The shirt tenses slightly for a few moments but eventually relaxes. He blinks a few times when asked about his classes, rolling to his feet. "Uh...maybe. Which classes are you teaching again?" he asks, dusting himself off again. "It's looking...crowded," he says, sounding a little bit wary of the whole idea of fall term. He moves to take one of the seats, settling down and cracking his neck a bit. "At least more than it did for my winter and summer stuff." "Indeed. That whole 'force of nature' thing." Iolaus says, a grin twitching on his lips. "Not many. I'm helping here and there on some of the intro classes, just as a guest presenter. Disease and Medicine in the US, and A and P." He pauses for a second. "Uh, anatomy and physiology. But I'm only actually teaching two classes this year. Molecular genetics, and a seminar course in experimental design." "Even the forces of nature pick on mutants," Jack jokes a little more. He stares as Iolaus lists his classes, head tilting to the side. Of course only sharp eyes noticing how one side of the t-shirt collar tugs would be able to figure that out. "Oh...yeah...I'm not in those classes. Pretty sure I'd be...entirely lost in those anyway." Iolaus shrugs his shoulders, non-committal. "They're advanced classes, but they're not out of the reach of those who apply themselves to them. The seminar course is harder, certainly - it's a class you don't normally take until your second or third year of college, and worse, it's the first time I've taught it here. But..." Iolaus pats the stack of papers on his lap. "I think it's doable. Don't sell yourself short, Jack." Jack just chuckles a little awkwardly. "I'm not so sure I'm selling myself short just...well this is going to be my first actual full school year since well...the invisible thing kicked in. And I'm not as good with science stuff as I am with others. " Iolaus nods, movement slow and eyes gentle. "Maybe another year, then." Iolaus says, gently. "Most students don't end up taking my classes one way or another. The advantage of the school not paying me is that /I/ get to choose my classes, even if only a couple of students are interested." He winks at Jack, drumming his fingers along his leg idly. "The introductory classes here are quite good, though. Better than my high school was." "You don't get paid?" Jack's surprised by this news. The wink gets a little laugh though and another invisible smile. "Was it bad at your school?" "No, I do it as a volunteer thing. And school wasn't bad, but... it was an under-funded public school, in a poor neighborhood. Not exactly the heights of academia." Iolaus looks up at the sky through the glass ceiling, considering for a moment. "College was a bit of a shock, the first couple of assignments. But I got through it." He turns his eyes back down towards Jack - or at least in that direction. "I think the transition would be a lot easier here." "Well that's nice of you," Jack replies, shifting a little to get more comfortable as he listens. "Transition from Xavier's to college?" he asks, humming a little. "Hope you're right about that for the people that go," he replies. "How big of a difference was the work? Between college and high school I mean? Was it just amount or did it get harder or...?" "It was a whole different kind of work, it seemed to me. Like, the hardest papers that I did in high school were sort of every day when I went to college. But... I don't remember a whole lot. I confess, a lot of my school years are somewhat of a blur." Iolaus wrinkles his nose and shakes his head, smiling widely. "I don't really start remembering things until grad school." Jack listens quietly, thinking this information over. He still doubts college will not be part of his future but he does like learning. "Got even worse in grad school?" Iolaus shrugs his shoulders. "Hard to say. Very different kind of work than college or high school." Iolaus chuckles and shakes his head. "Also, I did my grad school and medical school at the same time. Not the sanest idea, for what it's worth. That combination made college look very easy. But it's like... the difference between working and being in school. Very different." Jack whistles a bit. "Man...sounds like a recipe for a lot of stress and headache... two different kinds of schools at once," he offers an unseen smile. "School has been pretty different than most things. At leas this school." Laughing, Iolaus picks up the papers from his lap and gently bumps them against his leg, evening them all out into a neat pile. "It's definitely a different sort of school," Iolaus says, looking around the garden fondly. "I'm not sure /any/ other high school is quite like this one. Or college, for that matter. But, then again, I've not been one for normal for a long time now." "Yeah...only place for people like me," Jack murmurs, just a little sadly. "Still an amazing place I'm glad I ended up at," he adds after a few moments. "Problems with the place aside, it beats alleys and boxes any way." Iolaus' smile fades and he stands up, taking a step towards Jack and placing a hand on the teenager's shoulder. He squeezes it once, a gentle motion that clenches up the fabric of Jack's shirt. "Sometimes, even good options feel bad when they're the only ones you have." He pats Jack's shoulder twice then lets his hand drop back down to his side. "Have to go check in with Hank before I head back into the city. Don't worry too much about your semester, Jack. I'm sure you'll do just fine." Jack is a little surprised by the contact but leans slightly into it unconsciously. After a moment, he smiles again, not that anyone can see. "I'll try," he replies about not worrying. "Travel safe out there. And good luck getting past the crazy," he says, standing again. "I think I'm going to hit the gym for a bit. Have a good day."