Let's Talk About the Future (Mia)

[Kateri Rivera]

If Kateri had said she wasn’t wary about this latest appointment with Mia, she’d be lying. She thought she had every right to be. Considering how the last one had gone, she was surprised she wasn’t more apprehensive about this. But Mia had contacted her about wanting to talk about college things, and although Kateri had tried to strongly hint that she was the last person to discuss this with and that a counselor might be better, she’d ended up with the appointment anyways. She’d set it to after classes when she had time, and had gotten a little college booklet from the people who actually knew what they were doing. Kateri had gone to the community college near the army base, and then a small school after that—one of the few that would actually take her. She’d never gotten any spectacular offers, had never looked for any.

So why was she the one Mia had chosen to talk to? Maybe it was because Kateri had let her get her way in classes…ah well. For whatever the reasons, Mia wanted to do this. So she’d hang on, try to look vaguely interested and knowledgeable, and figure it out.

Bit by bit.

When Mia entered, she got to her feet and offered a civil nod, wary still. “Hey, Mia. So you wanted to talk about college, right? Why don’t we start with what you had in mind so far?”

[Mia Keystone]

Mia liked Kateri. Firstly, she was a ginger, which was hilarious. Secondly, she was Irish, which was also hilarious. Thirdly, she had been pretty much the only teacher Mia had had who had bothered to say anything close to "you can do better. Why don't you?" Kateri was the outlier on the bar and whisker graph of Mia's school experience, and so it was she the technopath wanted to talk about her future with.

It was special Mia logic.

That and the thought of having to see Sean any more then she already did made the technopath want to stark exploding every lightbulb in the school.

Mia walked into the office with a folder under one arm, and the ever present laptop over her shoulder. "What up, Rivera!" she grinned, and it would not be hard to spot the difference between this student and the sullen, angry girl Ms Rivera had had to deal with before. Slumping into the chair, the short girl stratched at her green and black hair and slapped the folders down.

"I'm still not sure I want to go," Mia said honestly. "I've been looking for courses in electronic development and computer sciences and I think Yale's got a good one. That being said," she propped an elbow on the arm rest and then rested her chin on her hand. "My permanent record does mean I won't have much of a shot though, and I can't exactly imagine getting a note of recommendation from the principle,"

The folder was opened. There were no brochures, but a lot of printed paper. Emails. Because apparently, when you show a school just how good you are at pulling apart the weaknesses in their security systems, and how easily it was to find out who was putting money into what (the ivy league had put a lot of people on wall st), they were very very eager to meet you.

"I have these. And I've applied to the Community college here," Mia grinned with a hint of worry, showing too many teeth. "My boyfriend goes there."

[Kateri Rivera]

There were many things that rushed through Kateri’s head from the point Mia entered to the point when she put the folders down and stopped talking. They ran in a progression that went rather like this:

1) Who the hell is this girl and what happened to the Mia Keystone she knew and fumed at on a regular basis?

2) When Mia had come to her for planning, she hadn’t thought that she’d have to convince her to go to school. She wasn’t sure she was up to it.

3) She doubted the principle would give ANYONE a reference, let alone Mia after the Talk incident (which Kateri had secretly found quite clever, but didn’t say anything for fear of losing her job)

4) How the hell had she gotten into these schools?

And lastly…

5) Why was Mia even here talking to her about this?

Distantly, still in shock (not that she’d have admitted it) she picked up the folder and rifled through the papers, then glanced up at the last statement. And things clicked. Ah. Perhaps that was why she seemed so happy now. A boyfriend. A boyfriend she liked enough to possibly turn down a bunch of prestigious offers to stay with. Mind, she hadn’t said that. Perhaps it was just Kateri’s romantic mind working. She wondered if she should warn against young love, but bit it back. Of all people, she had the least rights to say that. Still, she had one thing to ask.

“Who are you,” she asked, “and what have you done with Mia?”

She’d known that it was going to slip out eventually. She rifled through them again, then sighed and put them back into the folder, lifting a hand to rub at her nose. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Ah. To be honest, Mia, I wouldn’t know where to begin. I didn’t have this problem when I was looking at schools. No one did.” Her lips twitched into a smile, and she sat up. “But let’s take it from the beginning. What are your top choices? Yale, you said? And the community college...? Or is that just a backup?” she eyed her. “And for the sake of all that is merciful, why are you asking me? Surely someone else would’ve been better? I thought you hated me.”

[Mia Keystone]

Mia's eyebrows shot up, and she looked at Kateri blankly. "Excuse me?" she asked, managing to sound patronising and astonished in just three syllables. Thoughts flashed through her mind of Pod People and body doubles and if Kateri was some sort of paranoid maniac.

Wait. Stop. Old fashioned expression used to express a disbelief in change of behaviour. Jonah had used it a few times, but it had never sounded anything like an accusation when he said it.

But Mia hadn't changed. What was this woman even talking about?

She looked a little surprised again as her math teacher told her no one faced this problem. "Really?" she asked, frowning as she looked over the folder. "Well, I hadn't really thought about it." Her dad didn't believe in the privatisation of the Ivy League and so had never mentioned them as a possibility. She'd just seen the Social Network and wanted to see things about the dormitories there.

"My backup's Princeston," Mia said flatly, "and I don't need a backup. I have places. But that's not the point." Pushing her hair back, she reached her hand into her pocket and grasped her phone to feel the reassuring buzz of her phone in her veins. "It's more that the Greenview college is, you know, not on the other side of the country."

It was illogical, of course. When Jonah was not there, Mia found it much much easier to immerse herself in networks, in the electrical currents and pulses without the distraction of things like guilt and affection and general attempts at trying to understand and empathise with organic compounds who shared none of her values, who made no effort to try and understand her but expected her to ignore her own logical thought processes....

No. Stop. Mia ran her hands through her hair and scowled. She'd been so caught up in her own thoughts she only really caught the end of Kateri's statement, and looked up in surprise. "I don't hate you," she said slowly, "Why would you think that? You're one of my favourite teachers."

[Kateri Rivera]

Had Kateri known that Mia thought she was old-fashioned, she probably would’ve hit her head against the desk. She wasn’t that behind the times! She used the computer with a degree of competence mostly fostered by the computer programming classes she took at the community college. Then again, Kateri could probably be described as happily behind the times. She stared at Mia’s blank look, then lifted a hand to pinch her nose. “Perhaps it’s not—I was trying—Never mind. Just…nothing.” She gave up on this. Mia wanted to talk college? Fine. She’d thank her lucky stars she wasn’t trying to hack into her laptop—which was actually secured back at her house, with her phone, as she’d taken precautions before meeting with Mia. Just in case.

“You haven’t thought about it?” She blinked at her. “Mia, you got all these letters—hm.” She shrugged and sighed, then leaned forward to study them again, swinging her legs back and forth idly under the table. There were some perks to being short. Not a lot, but a few. She tugged at the ends of her hair, then looked up at Mia thoughtfully. Boyfriends she could understand.

“I followed a man over here,” she said after a moment. “I know it’s not what counselors recommend, but there you have it.” She made a dismissive gesture. “It’s true. Greenview is closer. But have you asked him what he wants for you? Might be a good place to start. If he’s a good guy, maybe he’s willing to follow you.” But that was also bad advice, and she wrinkled her nose, mentally cursing her inability to counsel to Hammel standards. Ah well. She’d figure this out. She leaned in her seat. “So. Princeton, huh? Why is that your backup?”

But there was also that question. She frowned at Mia right back. “I thought you hated me because last time you were here to told me to bugger off and not to get into your business. Because no matter what I said you didn’t seem to be happy. I still don’t understand how I could be your favorite teacher. Although I am, of course, flattered.” How couldn’t she be? It was weird and twisted, but she admired Mia for her spunk, at least. And her brains.

[Mia Keystone]

Mia grinned, but wasn't going to mention the mysterious absence of personal electronics if Kateri wasn't. The grin slipped a bit as she shrugged. "My dad isn't big on private college," she said flatly. "I didn't even apply, that's sort of the point. I just, you know... pointed out flaws in their online security system." Cyber defence was a big, billion dollar industry, if you wanted to work on federal defence. Which Mia had never really considered. Ever.

If Mia had hackles, they would have risen. "I don't follow people," she snapped, scowling. "But when your partner's deaf, it makes it pretty hard to stay connected over hundreds of miles. Anyway, I get a bit," her shoulders hunched, "I'm not great with other people when he's not around."

Maybe that was what Kateri was talking about, but Mia was never good at putting indirect ideas together when it came to emotional responses.

Cue eye roll. "He's all into chivalry," the technopath groaned, tilting her head against her shoulder like the very act of keeping upright was too tiring. "And he's not exactly got a lot of support, if he leaves." Because his mother was a fascist dildo, but Mia didn't say that bit out loud. "I just want to know what's the best idea. I can do online courses and stuff."

Again, she shrugged. "I dunno. I don't wanna move to New York, so no Columbia. Harvard's near my folks, which is great but, you know, parents..." Her dad would be cool, he'd just make sarcastic comments about secret societies. Mia wanted secret societies. The very idea was awesome. Maybe she could start planting bugs on members of the Skull and Bones...

Tangent.

"I tell everyone to bugger off and stay out of my business," Mia insisted, sitting bolt upright. "Because they should. And I said one of," the grin crept back. "Teachers arn't supposed to make their students happy, geeze Ms Rivera." She paused for a moment, then pulled her computer out. "Its more, you know, you were willing to work with me, rather then try to just get me to work with the same old system." The technopath frowned, trying to think of a better way to put it. "It's like..... Everyone was using windows vista, and rather then tell me to just do that, and get over it even though I could tell it was really buggy, you let me work with a system that suited me, like linux." There. It was an over simplification, but it was what she meant.

"that's why I wanted to talk to you. You seem to get that sometimes I work differently." This was so much explaining! Mia hated having to explain herself, but Kateri looked honestly confused, and it wasn't that much information to part with. Anyway, there had been a very nice little titbit before, about her following some guy here. Since she was single. Because Mia kept tabs on her teacher's personal lives.

"You also haven't brought up the whole "don't let high school relationships interfere with your future," she finally pointed out. "That's why I didn't see anyone else about it."

[Kateri Rivera]

“I see.” Kateri reflected that she wished she’d had the skills to do that when she’d been going and applying for schools…but at the time she’d been distracted by other concerns. And if she looked back, she wouldn’t have changed anything about what she’d done with her time there. It was just very odd to think about it that way. In any case. She sighed as Mia got all defensive—which at least reassured her that something was normal—and shook her head. Deaf boyfriend, huh? Absently, she filed through all the students she’d taught and tried to reflect who it could be. Unless he was substantially older, she probably would have taught him…then again, perhaps he hadn’t gone to Hammel at all. How was she to know? Better not to focus on it.

“You can,” she said slowly. “I don’t know if I’m the best person to go to for advice. I keep telling you that. But this is a decision you’ve got to make for yourself. I don’t know what’s going on in your head. I can only give you advice from my experience and leave it at that. And yes, I know parents.” She smiled. She was almost as far as one could get from her parents. But she still visited them enough, because she loved them and she wouldn’t live without them.

Her lips twitched into a faint smile at the statement. “I know they aren’t. But I try anyways. And it would be stupid to make you work within the old system. You’re clever. I’m not going to force you to do things that are boring to you.” And it was only thanks to those computer classes that she knew what the hell Linux was. Right. But she was going to leave that alone. She blinked as she explained it, then nodded slowly. “Well…thank you. I’m glad I could impress you. And no.” Her lips twitched into a smile. “I’m not going to tell you that you shouldn’t let high school relationships mess with your future. You’re going to carry them with you, no matter what happens. So. Leaving the boy aside—let’s just assume you should talk to him first before you decide—what are you going to do for funds if you pick a school? Hypothetically speaking, purely. I know there’s loans, and I have some scholarships I can set you up for.”

[Mia Keystone]

"My parents aren't bad people, you know," Mia said after a moment. "I know some of the teachers think that they're negligent, or absent or whatever, but they're not. I'm just different." It seemed important she said this, even if Kateri had never even mentioned her parents before. Mia knew that after the Talk, Doctor Neville would have tried to speak with them. Hell, it wouldn't have been the first time. But it wasn't fair, she thought, that anyone other then herself was held responsible for how she was.

Give credit where credit was due, after all.

It was easier speaking, when she was thinking about Jonah. "We'll talk about it," she said slowly, chin on hand. Her eyes closed as the technopath sighed heavily. "He's gonna get all mad at me." She didn't realize, of course, the rather disconcerting effect seeing Mia look what could only be described as soft around the edges. Even wistful. If she could see herself she'd get the heebie jeebies.

At the mention of money however, the smirk was back as Mia's eyebrows rose like arrows over her too sharp eyes. "I've got it covered." she promised. "Private sponsors."

[Kateri Rivera]

Kateri eyed her, then shrugged. “I wasn’t going to say anything. You’re eighteen, Mia, and entitled to your own choices by the law, for better or for worse.” Her lips twitched into a smile. “Mostly for the worse.” It was a gentle jibe, partially at Mia, partially at herself too. “But I don’t judge people by how they live. Much.” Because that was kind of a lie. Everyone judged everyone else. Still. “It’s your choice and theirs. If it works, who am I to comment? Let it be for now.”

Kateri leaned back and folded her hands in her lap. “I don’t think so.” She could see the wistful look and decided not to comment on it. Mia was…prickly. Sensitive about certain issues. It was better to let them lie for now. “And if he does, that’s part of learning to deal with it. Welcome to relationships. Sometimes they suck.”

Damn, she wished she’d had private sponsors. She sighed. “Ah, right. You have those. Seems like you have everything thought up. What do you think you’ll tell your boyfriend, then? Or you can tell me to bugger off again. I am just your teacher, remember? It's only sometimes recommended to listen to what I say."

[Mia Keystone]

"Seventeen," Mia corrected absently, then grinned sharply at the joke. "I never regret a choice," she said honestly, and gave the non judging comment the raised eyebrow of skepticism it so richly deserved.

That was an odd comment, and for a moment Mia looked confused before shaking her head. It didn't suck. Nothing about this sucked. It had sucked before, when everything was horrible and she felt like she was shrinking into nothing unless she started swinging through the internet like some sort of 5 foot tall Tarzan. "It doesn't suck," she said sharply, scowling. "It's the most human I've ever felt. It's good. Not sucky. Jeeze."

Explaining things to normal people was boring and hard.

"I'll tell him I'm going to the university of Vermont, then take my clothes off," Mia said after a moment. And while she didn't say why, her mind had come to the logical conclusion that without Jonah, she would not be functioning properly and therefore would not be able to do anything useful. Or she would get arrested. Easy. Now she would have to tell him.

"Thanks, Ms Rivera," she said and stood up. "I needed someone to explain the usual protocol here. You're pretty good at not being a teacher when it's important."

[Kateri Rivera]

“Seventeen?” Whoops. And he was in college already? She wondered if she should be concerned about this, then shrugged it off. Well, she wasn’t the police, and having committed the crime herself—or, uh, being with a man who was technically doing so—she was not one who could judge. So she just shrugged to Mia’s comment and offered a smile.

Well, she hadn’t expected that answer from Mia. She had thought—for some reason that she wasn’t altogether sure of—that Mia would find problems like this to suck. She hadn’t thought that she’d be grateful for the problem. Her expression turned thoughtful, and she nodded. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know that was how you felt.”

The first part of the sentence seemed normal, but the second part made Kateri pause midway through reaching for her water bottle to stare at Mia. “Excuse me? You know, sex isn’t always—” she paused, revised her opinion based on evidence of men and teenage boys in particular, and revised. “Never mind. Use protection, but I’m sure you knew that. And there is no regular protocol for this.” She shrugged and laughed. “I’m always a teacher. But I’m glad you found me helpful. I wish you luck, Mia.”

((Shall we wrap?))