Legend's Apprentice

Combat

I took a couple of days to think about what the test results meant before calling my parents. They were not happy. But a reminder that the doctors didn't know if the mutations would even express themselves in any way cheered them up a little. Somehow I forgot to mention that Aunt Emma could set me up with an interview at Wayne Enterprises. I was just as pleased that they'd have some time to get used to the news before I saw them at Christmas.

Thanksgiving was nice; Uncle Bucky and I helped Aunt Emma make the dinner, and we watched the football game. Sam and Mindy went to visit their son for the holiday down in Miami, so I had the apartment to myself for a few days. It was nice, but kind of weird; it was the first time I had lived by myself. Emma sent me home with a lot of leftovers, so I didn't even have much to do. I worked on Sunday as usual, went to the movies with my friends on Saturday, and spent the rest of my time getting organized for finals and getting some study time in for my ACT/SAT prep.

I also checked out MIT, as Mr Stark had urged. While I still thought it was way out of my league, it did sound amazing, and I had some of the qualities that the listed for their applicants, like enjoying collaboration, being willing to get my hands dirty, and making the world a better place--they specifically listed tutoring as an example. And Mr Stark was right; right there on their website was a pledge that if you were accepted, they'd make sure you could pay for it. When I went back to school on Monday, I went to the guidance counselor, and she seemed excited about my willingness to 'dream big' as she put it. I couldn't decide whether she meant that I was delusional or whether she meant to be encouraging. She did point out that there were always a few graduating seniors who were accepted there, so maybe I wasn't completely insane for entertaining thoughts of going there. She also had other schools for me to check out and didn't seem worried about my lack of a future major.

I kept my head down through the end of exams, slept in the next day, went to work and dropped off my presents. I was going to miss working out with Uncle Bucky and talking to Aunt Emma, but on the other hand, I'd get to sleep in a lot and spend time with J and my folks. It is very hard to buy presents for adults who can afford anything they want. I gave Uncle Bucky a promise to help with the firepit he wanted to build in the backyard of their house next spring, and Aunt Emma got a Craftsy class on making croissants; she loved them but thought they were too intimidating to make. Mr Stark was a lot harder. I finally made a little Arduino robot; it was on wheels and had a pincer so it could hold small things like a third hand at his bench. I left it there with the microcontroller, holding a bag of cookies that I'd gotten from a bakery. He was currently in the throes of passion for macarons.

I took the train up to Pennsylvania the next day; Dad picked me up at the train station and drove me home. It was nice to be back home, with my princess bed and the holidays coming up. J's football team had only lost one game during their season and went to state, where they were defeated, but the coaches and players were very enthusiastic about next year. It was fun to help dad in his wood shop again; he was finishing a set of Windsor chairs for a client. I enjoyed rubbing the wood with Dad's special blend of wax and oils to bring up the color and grain of the cherry wood, and it provided a nice satiny finish. I picked up some shifts at the restaurant; crowds were bigger at lunch and dinner, and J and I made time to go see the new Star Wars movie; it was kind of a tradition with us to see it first with each other. We had a really nice roast beef dinner for Christmas, and I'd brought Emma and Bucky's presents with me. I didn't know they knitted, but they'd hand knit afghans for all of us, each different. Dad's was charcoal gray and had big bold cables, J's was done in the high school's colors and there was a small raised football knitted in each corner. Mom's was her favorite shade of purple and had tassels, and mine was teal, with an intricate-looking stitch pattern. I'd gotten dad a couple of blades for his woodworking planes, mom an Amazon gift card so she could get books for herself, and J a Steelers T shirt; his old one was in bad shape. I got clothes; J gave me a book of 501 French verbs, fully conjugated, mom also got me a pair of neutral brown oxfords with ribbon ties and really comfortable rubber soles which would provide safety at work. Dad had made me a little jewelry box out of cherry, with a pretty design in walnut on the lid. It was an awesome Christmas. I went back to New York on New Year's day so I'd have a day in between the holiday and starting school again. I'd gotten all As this semester, which was a relief. J had also done better, as he'd threatened during the summer; he had a good mix of As and Bs. I was taking the second semesters of all the classes I'd taken in the fall except for psychology; I'd traded that for a Personal Development class; it had units in financial education (learning about insurance, banking, budgeting and credit), consumer science (smart shopping, a little about nutrition, meal planning, and evaluating recipes for the nutrition, ease of making, and taste), interior design and planning that could be applied to dorm rooms and small apartments, and personal development (setting goals, investigating careers, and selecting and maintaining clothes, vehicles, and housing.)