2013.07.11 - Speeding To Tomorrow

Elysia had been invited to meet the Academy of Tomorrow headmistress, Emma Frost at the end of the normal school day. The front receptionist escorted Elysia all the way towards Emma's office, and after a short knock the door opened.
Inside of the office with more like the rest of the school, white and silver with glass accents. But there was something intimating about the room, perhaps it was the more high design elements to the furniture.
Behind the desk sat Emma, dressed in a well fitted white with a silver blouse, "Ah, I'm glad you could make it. Come in."
Entering slowly... an oddity as of late for Elysia... she takes in the decor. She moves toward the desk and extends a hand, "Thank you very much Ms. Frost, it is an honor to meet you, and have this opportunity." Her mind racing at the surrealness of how life has become for her as of late. The office is even more impressive then everything else, and while she has a bit of a height advantage over the woman across the desk, she definitely is just as impressed with the Headmistress as the office.
Once Elysia reached the desk Emma rose and gave her a firm but soft enough handshake. A smile spread across her face as she greeted the girl, "Mr. Luthor spoke very highly of you. Please set."
She gestured towards the chair across from her own and seated, "Tell me about yourself."
Nodding and smiling, Elysia returns the firm handshake, then sits, smoothing her skirt, "I was born in Texas. My parents dealt with matters of travel and imports until the markets declined. My father now is a volunteer fireman and EMT while he goes to school for culinary arts, and my mother is doing well still booking cruises and as a party planner. I was a major bookworm when I was little, and when my middle school gave a placement test it was discovered I had an IQ in the high 160s, and my parents took me out of the school and let me homeschool the rest of the year. Instead of going back to middle school I skipped grades and went straight to high school. I maintained a near perfect average, and used Summer courses to get ahead. I was on the Cheerleading Squad all through High School, dabbled in Drama and Musical Theatre, and after a few growth spurts I joined the Track Team. I also would tutor in Math and Science, and my senior year I acted as the TA for the Chemistry Lab." she pauses and seems to shiver a bit, as if mentioning the lab brings up a memory that is a bit disturbing.
While it wasn't exactly Emma's job to make students uncomfortable, she also made it to know all of her students. The good and the bad. She noticed the shiver and reached into her mind to skim her thoughts, "Did you enjoy being a TA? Is this something you would want to repeat? Along with tutoring."
(The memories of the elation from looking at four track full ride scholarships and a partial scholarship for chemistry, intermingled with the blaseness of images of putting up a bunch of chemicals, including a beaker with a metal stirrer in it, and then the fear and guilt as the lab burns as the shelves of chemicals boil and fill the room with smoke and gases.) 
Elysia nods, "I liked being helpful, both to other students and the teacher. I wouldn't mind getting back into theater if you have the program." 
(Her mind drifting toward track, to dancing joyously before the races to get loosened up, to the thrill of the competition and fighting to take the lead, to the fatigued exhilaration of victory, and then a bit of sadness as she remembers her first day after the fire, after getting hit by lightning after fleeing the lab, as she finished a lap in under a second without the slightest feeling of exertion.) 
She pauses a moment, "I didn't learn if you had any intermural sports, but if you have a cheerleading team, I think that would be nice too. And I was shown your library and lab facilities, so I totally wouldn't mind helping out with either." . o O (Definitely, won't be dumb and not check the beakers ever again. All it takes is a couple of negligent mistakes and disaster.) O o . "I really appreciate this opportunity. This school is wonderful." . o (And having classes with Leo is a nice extra over an awesome education) O o . 
(Her memories begin to race, flashes of fighting criminals outside a bank, delivering packages and other things in three different delivery uniforms, being hit by lighting while coughing out smoke and leaning on a flagpole with the sound of sirens in the distance, faces, places.) and then she closes her eyes for a blink in realtime, but for her is a few moments, and slows her thoughts to almost normal speed, bringing herself back to the here and now . o O (I wish I looked as elegant and majestic as Ms. Frost).
Her mind was all over the place. But the girl, along with her skills and intelligence were of interest. Her eyebrow ever so slightly arches at the lightning strike and it's results, "We have a developing sports program (including track and cheerleading), and select group for theater. And you seem like you would be an excellent fit for our school."
She rose from her seat and glanced out the window, pausing for a moment, "Before I give you the official yes, I want to ask. Do you want to be here? We have high expectations and many teachers have a strict teaching style, including myself. But we are very non-traditional and we /very/ helpful for unusual students." 
There is a fraction of a second while Elysia weighs the options on what to say, . o (This seems like one of those 'interview' questions, there is no one right answer, but countless wrong ones. I could go dismissive, make a joke about it being as good as place as any... no, definitely bad, and a lie. False Humility? I'm probably not deserving, but I cherish this honor, how could I not want to be here... nah, sounds weak, and she just pointed out that this is a place of high expectations, weakness might be tolerated, but it isn't a quality that endears nor endures. Uncensored honesty, I'm a hyper accelerated and usually electrified being who needs a place where I can get a good education and not have to worry if I slip up on hiding my special issues... No, that makes it seem like I need to be here, and that isn't really true, I could ride it out at MET-U, continue to struggle with three jobs, classes, and the impromptu heroics, but she did ask if I wanted to be here, not if I need to be here. Clean, honest, and confident. I don't need to be here, I want to be here, and I'd be a fool to reject the generosity of Mr. Luthor and the efforts his son went through to put me on his radar, and Mr. Luthor went through to get me this chance... maybe less wordy... wordy and babbling is usually annoying), and then she speaks, her thoguhts indentical save for a few wording adjustments, "Ms. Frost. This school is about excellence, about the future, and I strive to be excellent, to be the best I can honestly be. Mr. Luthor and his son before him, both have helped me in ways I doubt I can ever repay, but I don't insult such generosity by ignoring an opportunity that I'm sure countless others would jump at. I welcome challenges and don't just hope, but fully intend to meet expectations, and also hope and intend to surpass those expectations. I will adapt to teaching styles, and I will succeed, no matter the challenge." . o O (Yeah, that sounded good...)
Emma smiled just slightly as she listened to her mind move along at a much faster speed than most minds moved at. But she didn't babble about nothing, or overly stress. She thought about Emma's question in every angle, and nailed it. Emma liked this one.
She touched at the back of her own chair, and gripped it lightly, "Good. I think you'll thrive here. If you are ready, you can start tomorrow."
Taking a moment to let it sink in, Elysia's mind remembers about a dozen or so wins where she got a gold medal at various levels of track in both hurdles and dashes, as she equates this to the awesomeness and victory of earning a top spot, basking in the glow of achievement, and looking forward to the next. She flushes just a bit and smiles, "Thank you very much Ms. Frost. I will be here bright and early. Is there a student handbook with rules and regulations I should know?" . o O (Note to self: Get a few sets of something that resembles the uniform to wear until I can get some official ones) O o . slowly standing and soothing her skirt.
Just then the door opened and the receptionist entered. Emma let out a chuckle and beamed at the young new student, "Oh yes don't fret about that. Rebecca here is going to get you all sorted with your personal dorm, not sure if Lex showed you. But they are all solo and self-cleaning. Got to love Stark tech. She'll also get you sorted with the school uniforms."
She reached forward and gently touched her arm, "And if you ever have any questions or need help I am available."
There is a moment of realization, . o O (Oh, that explains how Bart can not end up in a cesspool of his own laundry and food packaging) O o . giggling a bit in her head. She nods to Rebecca and smiles, "Nice to meet you Ms Rebecca." then looks to Emma, "Thank you, Ms. Frost. I look forward to learning from you." 
. o O (Probably shouldn't hug her. Want to sooo much, but that would probably be undignified, and way to informal) O o .
With a bit of nod, Elysia adds, "And I will definitely take you up on that offer, ma'am. Thank you again." before following Rebecca out, her mind playing Katy Perry's Firework song, only with Elysia running everywhere shooting loads of fireworks in her own version of a inner video.
Category:Log