Legend's Apprentice

Analyzed

It was actually fun to hang out with J. He'd survived his freshman year just fine and was looking forward to being a sophomore. For once, I kept my mouth shut on my advice, which was to enjoy the hell out of it, because after that it's very stressful. He asked if I was looking forward to being a senior.

"Not really. I don't know," I said, chewing a hangnail. He gave me a look of disbelief.

"Well, I'll have to be applying for college," I said. "You're luckier than my friends, who have suffered this whole school year through my panic about colleges and majors and how to pay for college and test scores. And I have really good friends. It took a long time to find them, and nobody's first choice colleges are the same."

He nodded. "Still don't know what you want to study?"

"I do like engineering, but not robotics, and not necessarily mechanical or electrical engineering, and definitely not computer science," I said. "Mr Stark has said that if I get into MIT, which feels like a long shot to me, I can have a summer job each year and a job afterward, but I feel like I'd have to go where he's steering for me. And now I really want to go to MIT, and I kind of hate that he got me dreaming big because... it's me, and how the hell am I going to get a spot in that freshman class?"

J frowned. "What do you mean? You're not stupid." From J, that's like the highest praise possible.

"It seems like everybody who works in the tower is really smart, if not just flat out geniuses, and/or really talented at something. I'm not."

"You are really smart," he managed to force out.

"Did that hurt?" I asked, fascinated.

"Yeah," he said, then wiped his brow dramatically. I laughed. "Look, you're smart and you work harder than anybody I know. I don't know if you realize that that's important. Coach is always saying that talent only gets you so far. It's your work ethic that really pushes your success."

"So how's football?" I ask, diverted.

"It's fun, I really like it," he says. "But unless I have a lot more growth, I'm going to be on the small side, so I might be able to get some kind of scholarship out of it to college, but not much more."

"Does that bother you?"

"It did at first, but I started paying attention and seeing all these guys who retire from the NFL and they're damaged for life, look at Joe Montana. Or they have post-concussion syndrome. Even if I were big and talented enough, I don't think I want that for myself."

"So what would you do?" I asked him. Since he could first focus on TV, practically, he's been gaga for football.

"You can't laugh," he warned, and I nodded. That was our code for something really serious. "Well, since we met Uncle Bucky, I've been interested in mutations. So I'm thinking maybe medical research. But I'm also interested in superheroes. The Avengers book." I nodded. It had had a big impact on both of us. "The PTSD, the toll of that kind of public service. So maybe psychiatry?"

I turned that over. "That sounds really interesting," I said. "You're going to need the grades and test scores too. That's not a major you can get just anywhere."

"You don't think it's weird?" he asked. "Mom and dad think it's a phase."

"Well, it might be," I acknowledged. "But you've got some time to decide still. And it might be that this is exactly what you'll want to do and be really successful. You ought to do some research, find out where and if that's being studied. Contact people, asking for information and career guidance." I thought hard. "I think I heard the X-men do mutant research," I offered. "Aunt Emma has contacts there, I think."