Higher Learning (IC)

[Heritage]

March 15th, 2010 10:33 am, Freedom College Admissions Office

It was very weird to have someone call her 'Miss Epstein'; Lynn didn't hear her last name very often, and to be honest it made her a little uncomfortable. But if she went through with this whole crazy plan, she'd have to get used to it, along with a lot of other odd things, like getting up early and doing homework.

She'd made a New Year's resolution to consider college, and that meant a lot of things; for one, she'd been practicing for her GED with VINCE, who had proven to be a very patient yet hilarious tutor, always coming up with some crazy get-up based on whatever subject they were covering that day (Shakespearean VINCE was her favorite so far). The next step was actually visting schools and figuring out her possible major; at this point, she was leaning towards criminology, but wasn't going to rule out anything just yet.

The young shapeshifter talked to a guidance counselor, got on an email list and picked up a lot of brochures on the various academic departments and payment options; a big part of her hoped that Doc Archeville would help her out, but she didn't want to assume anything. Who knows, maybe he'd be more impressed if she managed to do it on her own?

The next step was to take a tour of the campus with a student; she hoped she got someone nice who could appreciate her sense of humor, and not some uptight stick-in-the-mud or something. As always, she'd chosen her clothing carefully, trying to find a nice balance between 'serious student' and 'fun girl'; in the end, she'd gone for black Adidas, a nice pair of Levis and a No Doubt hoodie and of course a backpack. She sat on a bench, idly flipping through a brochure as she waited for her tour guide.

[Heridfel]

Kevin stretched out his arms as he walked through the Freedom College campus. Coming back to Freedom City was harder than he had thought it would be. Australia gave him a chance to see a different culture (even more so than coming to Freedom City from Texas had been), and even more so, it gave him a chance to practice his powers without the pressure of fighting super-villains. Freedom City was something of a mecca for super-villains and superheroes alike. Sydney... not so much.

The downside is that many of his contacts from a year ago had disappeared. Nightrival was incommunicado, something which worried him. Most superheroes who disappear do so when they're unable to continue fighting. Hopefully, the man simply was choosing to lay low for a time. He hadn't had an easy time coming back to football either. He had had to fight for his starting space again - something he did in his freshman year, but hadn't expected again. Rugby had kept him in condition... truth be told, between his practice down below and the work he had done to open his chi, he was in the best shape of his life (even if he still can't affect himself directly in any fast sense).

One other way he had to get back into things was to help out with people considering transfers or applying to FC. It seemed a bit early to him for high schoolers to be thinking about that, but he guessed he just didn't remember what it was like back then. He walked into the admissions hall and checked with the front desk. Only one today.

"Lynn Epstein?" he asked the people in the area, seeing if one of the people waiting was the one he sought. For her part, while his appearance was cloaked the last time they met, his voice with its slight Texas drawl still hadn't changed.

[Heritage]

"Lynn Epstein?"

A hand rose up. "Present!" The tiny girl stood up with a silly grin, shouldering her backpack as she ambled over to Kevin, holding out her hand with a surprisingly firm grip. "Hi, nice to meet ya!" Lynn's brow furrowed as she cocked her head to one side. "Uh, have me met before? I could swear I know you from somewhere..." Her South Jersey accent was just as distinctive when she spoke.

[Heridfel]

Kevin cocked his head to the side as he tried to figure out if they had met. Her voice seemed to twinge a memory as well, but he couldn't figure out which one.

"Do you have an older brother who goes here? One on the football team, maybe?" he asked. He made sure he was standing with good posture. Even though Lynn was a small girl, Kevin knew that it'd hurt him in the long run to start slouching. Of course, it only stood to point out the difference in their heights.

"I mean, if you've been here before, then the tour's a little different. What were you thinking of studying?" he continued.

[Heritage]

"Do you have an older brother who goes here? One on the football team, maybe?"

The petite brunete shook her head thoughfully. "No, no...my brother went to Columbia, and my sister got her nursing degree at Atlantic Cape." Finally she shrugged. "Oh well, maybe you hit on me at a club or something, or maybe you just have one of those faces, y'know? It's no big." She grinned warmly.

"I mean, if you've been here before, then the tour's a little different. What were you thinking of studying?"

Lynn again shook her head as she stuffed the brochures into her backpack. "Nope, this is my first time on campus; I visited FCU last week, which was nice and all, but it didn't feel right somehow. I mean, it's closer to my house, but it just felt a little, I dunno, dry and lifeless? Plus the cost..." She pointed her finger towards the sky as she whistled. "Uh, I'm still deciding on a major, but I'm thinking maybe criminology, y'know, more from the psych side than hard science? I don't think my tiny brain could handle all the math and labwork, so..." She pointed towards the door. "Should we hit the road and do the walk and talk?"

[Heridfel]

The petite brunette shook her head thoughtfully. "No, no...my brother went to Columbia, and my sister got her nursing degree at Atlantic Cape." Finally she shrugged. "Oh well, maybe you hit on me at a club or something, or maybe you just have one of those faces, y'know? It's no big." She grinned warmly.

"I, uh, probably not," Kevin said. "I've actually been studying abroad for a while." Left unsaid is that Lynn doesn't really look old enough to have been getting into clubs for more than a year - small folks tend to have that problem.

"Uh, I'm still deciding on a major, but I'm thinking maybe criminology, y'know, more from the psych side than hard science? I don't think my tiny brain could handle all the math and labwork, so..." She pointed towards the door. "Should we hit the road and do the walk and talk?"

"Sure thing," he says as he opens the door for her to go outside. "My major's business, but I've taken a couple psych courses for breadth requirements. Mainly the intro course and the child development course, but I remember seeing that they have a few abnormal psych courses. Psychology of criminals, psychology of superheroes, super-villains..."

The weather outside is sunny, but the sun isn't carrying any real warmth with it. "At least it's not windy," Kevin thinks to himself. He's been spoiled with weather for a while. The adjustment isn't the easiest.

"I figure it's because this is Freedom City. They're not going to do any in-person case studies, but you watch the news and you get plenty of material to work from," he says.

[Heritage]

"I've actually been studying abroad for a while."

Lynn pulled a bottle of water out of her pack and took a swig. "That's cool, where did you study?"

"Sure thing," he says as he opens the door for her to go outside. "My major's business, but I've taken a couple psych courses for breadth requirements. Mainly the intro course and the child development course, but I remember seeing that they have a few abnormal psych courses. Psychology of criminals, psychology of superheroes, super-villains..."

At the mention of this, the small brunette's eyes got huge, and the biggest grin imaginable spread across her face. "Seriously? That is...beyond awesome! But of course, why wouldn't they? I mean, they have college courses on Buffy and The Simpsons, so why not super folks? And here, in Freedom? Fuggedaboutit! People must come from all over the world to study here for that kinda thing!"

"I figure it's because this is Freedom City. They're not going to do any in-person case studies, but you watch the news and you get plenty of material to work from,"

Lynn nodded vigorously, her hands swooping around in classic East Coast fashion as her words took on the staccato rhythm of a Tommy gun.

"This is perfect! I mean, the papers will practically write themselves! All I need to do is bring along a tape recorder or a notebook, ask a few questions, and poof, instant A! Oh baby, I'm gonna hit this place like ten tons of dynamite dropped from the sky!"

The little Jersey girl literally leaped clear over a bench by the side of the sidewalk, right over the head of a startled girl in the middle of texting; Lynn's landing tucked into a perfect barrel roll that brought her back to her feet, arms thrown wide in triumph as she sang out like the lead in some cowboy musical.

"This is gonna be the best year ever!"