11087/Higher Education

Higher Education
Date of Scene:	09 May 2022
Location:	Empire State University
Synopsis:	Divine considers higher education. She's got a lot to figure out before she can take that step
Cast of Characters:	Divine, Alexander Aaron

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Divine has posed:
It was a normal Thursday. The university grounds were busy with students rushing to or from classes. Then there were those settled out on the ground in the quad. Some on benches talking. Some reading. Picnic lunches. A couple of guys throwing a football around, which would elicit complaints from others when their antics got too close.

Three food carts were parked nearby as this was prime time for them to make some money before heading over toward downtown. One was all American with burgers and hot dogs. The next had Mexican offerings with a southwestern flare to them so not quite authentic. The last offered pastries and the best coffee available on campus. There were lines for each.

And into this idyllic setting of college life came a figure dressed all in black. She floated down from the sky, booted feet touching down silently on the grass as she looked around at the goings-on. She wasn't exactly dressed for the weather. It was still nippy out at times so that led to most wearing hoodies at the very least. The frailer still had heavy coats when venturing outside. Yet this woman with the short, raven black hair, was wearing black pants and a bikini top. She did have gloves on her hands, with silver adornments that matched her knee-high boots. She was built strongly but had all those womanly curves at the same time. Pale blue eyes focused on the young adults around her as she spoke to the nearest.

"This is a place of education, yes? For people my age?" For she looked to be in her early 20s. Though that wasn't even close to her actual age.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The sight of a person in flight still draws the eye to this day.
    It has been some time since the first superhero had been seen, been some time since New York had gotten used to seeing the fantastic and the amazing. Yet someone landing in the quad still brought attention upon itself. Though perhaps in this particular case it wasn't entirely the simple miracle of flight. But also the woman who had such a gift.
    For she was beautiful. In a hard way. But beautiful still. With features and a visual attitude that made one imagine of sharpness and constrained anger. Could just be the black, or the choice of silver adornment, the gloves signifying hard work or intensity. But the bikini top, that was enough to have those young men with the football stopping their game as their eyes were drawn in mid-throw...
    Even after the football smacked one guy in the face, then fell to the ground unnoticed.
    Yet it was Darla, chess-club scholarship freshman, who had the courage to answer. "Yes, miss. This is Empire State University, the registry office is over there." She points with her pen in that direction. Past the food carts, past the footballers, past the hack-sack stoners. And toward the stairs in front of the faculty building where people had gathered for lunch.
    So few of these... mortals? Normals? Stood out to her. Perhaps Troy over there still staring at her as the football lies at his feet. Though some ways away at that stoop, sits a young blond man who munches away on a hoagie as he seems to be people watching as well. Curiously giving the feeling of being part of the crowd. And yet apart from the crowd.

Divine has posed:
The stranger glanced to Darla as she spoke. Listening and giving her full attention. Taking in the words and direction the pen was pointed. "Registry office?" For those words had meaning but she wasn't really familiar with the concept. But she kept those thoughts to herself as she gave a nod and started across the quad. But not in the direction she had been given.

Her senses were stronger than humans. She knew she was not human. She was Kryptonian. Or so she had been told at the lab. Not a lot else but she had been given that pearl of knowledge before being loosed on the world. She had basic knowledge she'd been programmed with. Only now that she was free, she was sort of fumbling along as she tried to figure it out.

As such, she would notice things that stood out. Could see the drop of sweat sliding down Troy's temple even from this distance. Could pick up on people peeking at her though they were trying not to look as though they were. She walked toward that stoop where the young blond man was eating. Just happened to be the direction she went. Or perhaps she had caught him looking her over. Either way her steps brought her closer as she looked up at the building.

"You there." She looked directly at the blond. "What can one learn in this place?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    That young blond man looked no older than her, and he had a way about him that conveyed to her senses. Heartbeat steady, while other young men and some of the women when they looked at her... their heartbeat went faster. And he smelled differently. A touch of ozone, sweat, blood, shampoo (apple), leather, steel... and a hint of a night spent with another. It's subdued, but there.
    But he looked steadily at her, smiled, and then said with no hesitation between her words and his. "Manners?" For it's rare someone calls Alexander by 'You there.'
    Yet in that moment following he is looking her over, down to her boots, back to her top, her features, her lips. Then her eyes again as he says. "Or courses. For a lot of things. Though some people would say it's mainly for people learning how to do what they're told."

Divine has posed:
Perhaps it was that scent that drew her. The ozone, leather, steel. Those were things the others did not have. Their various perfumes and lotions and the like could be like his shampoo. Something else. That was something she could smell on many of them. But he was utterly calm, no rushing of his blood. Thus, he was not afraid. Or excited by her presence or appearance.

His commentary on her lack of manners was lost on the woman. She did look at him, pay attention as he was speaking. Until he got to that last sentence, and she made a face which clearly showed he had threatened to eat babies with barbeque sauce.

"That is horrible! People should have the right of choice." She frowned and glared up at the building. Then a look back to Alexander. "You attend purposefully to be educated into compliance? I don't understand this. Explain."

If he was looking for a please or thank you, apparently he was shit out of luck.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The young man's smile blossomed on his face as he looked at the young woman and she instantly triggered some assumptions with him. Not Asgardian at least, but strange, alien perhaps. Or newcomer. Or someone locked up and not allowed to experience the world.
    Which had him giving her another once over as he considered. Then he said with a smile, "Well, college is where people go to learn something that ideally will help them in life. Choose the path which they will take. Though for most of the people they'll end up doing something completely unrelated to their degree. But when someone says they've completed college, it tells people that..."
    He looks around and half-smiles, "Well that they know how to put up with bureaucracy, and tedium, and to do what their superiors tell them. So when a person looks to get a job later they know that with a college degree their candidate has experience in doing what they're told."
    A small shrug is given, though one of the other students nearby snorts, "Nihilist much, Alex?"
    "Conformist much, Mikey?"

Divine has posed:
The tall woman took a step backwards. Retreating mentally from her original course of action and giving it a physical expression. From the explanation he had given, the young man had completely taken this off the table. "Thank you." There were some sort of manners there? "Had I not spoken with you, I would have made the error of attending classes. I have no wish to do as I'm told or conform." And that is when she noticed his smile. He was quite handsome. And that smile made him moreso.

Although the interplay between Alex and Mikey caught her attention. She looked from one of them to the other. And this close, anyone that knew what Power Girl looked like might realize this woman could be her twin sister. Outside having black hair instead of blonde and very dark eyes instead of blue.

"Comformist being one who would conform." Makes sense by the rules of language. To her brain. "What is a Nihilist?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    The blond boy had hazel eyes, beautiful and pale in the gleam of the sun. He'd look almost eerie were it not for the smile and the openness of his manner as he answered her easily enough. "A nihilist is someone who ascribes to a particular school of philosophy. Though in this case what Mikey is saying is that I don't believe in anything, that nothing matters, and that there's no point to doing anything if nothing matters."
    Then he looks over his shoulder and adds, "Which is not true."
    Only for Mikey, a younger darker haired youth with glasses, to snort with derision.
    Alexander looks back toward Divine and says with that easy smile. "I believe lots of things matter. Just not this." He gestures to the school as a whole. But then he smiles and adds, "Well, if you're coming here just to learn something. If you're coming here for the experience of college, to live life, meet people, get to know others..."
    Then he draws his lower lip between his teeth and for a moment his eyes hold hers, and something in them. Something in the golden depths of his irises seem to promise oh so much even as he slowly blinks. Almost as if he were devouring her with those self same eyes. When after an eternity of a single second he finally adds, "Then there are lots of good things about going to college."

Divine has posed:
She listens to the definition then looks over at Mikey as he snorts. Attention back to Alexander as he finishes. The look is caught and it is like he is saying something without saying it. There was an intensity that had not been there when he was speaking originally. Yet, his vitals remained the same. Which seemed at odds to the words coming out of his mouth.

"You attend university for socialization, not education. I see. It is about sex." How she segued from one to the other was for him to figure out. She nodded sagely, as though she had solved the mystery.

"Getting to meet people, have intercourse. All while they attempt to indoctrinate you into compliance through education. It is rather nefarious because they realize the baser instincts will cause people to attend. Particularly those younger with higher hormonal levels."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "That's very possible," Alexander answers while Mikey's eyes have gone big and he swallows rather unsteadily. He even pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he looks at Divine and seems to blush furiously.
    Yet the blond in front of her just half-smiles and answers her with that same aplomb, his heartbeat steady. Speaking the truth at the least. Or as far as he knows it. "But it's not all about sex. It's getting out into a crowd of people, learning how to interact with others, meeting people with different view points and figuring out how to get along." Then his eyes lift and he looks back to her, "But to be fair, yes sex plays a big part. For most of these people it's the first time they're away from home and without direct supervision."
    Which has Mikey leaning over and pushing Alex's shoulder, "Listen to this guy talking like he's some old hand, like he knows it all when he's just trying to figure everything out like we all are."
    Which causes Alexander to give a shrug, his shoulders tensing and easing, though she can see under his jacket and shirt that there are firm cords of musculature, strength hidden under the fabric for whatever reason. "My dad wanted me to come here to learn how to be normalish." His tongue sticks out slightly, playfully as he makes a crinkle-nosed face at the younger student, "Is it working?" He says with an accent affected to sound like an ignoramous.
    But then he looks back to Divine. "It's not so nefarious if you know what you're getting into."

Divine has posed:
"So, it is a challenge. Attend and see if one can avoid indoctrination while having the opportunity to meet others." Divine nodded a bit, positive she had it all figured out now. "Survival of the fittest, in a sense. Without death to the lesser fit. Those who manage to retain their individuality live to fight another day while the lesser become like those who educated them."

She shook her head a bit then looked over at Mikey, having picked up on his rising blood pressure and heart rate. Then back to Alex.

"You seem normal. Though you are more aware than others it seems, recognizing this place for the villainy it represents." She considers. "Why would you need to learn to be normal? Are you not?" She looked to Mikey as if to have him affirm if Alex is a little odd.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "He's a big weirdo." Mikey says.
    Which has Alexander sort of smirking and elbowing him in the knee, as Michael is seated behind him on one of the stoops three steps above him.
    "Super weird. The weirdest." He tilts his head to the side with that wry grin. "I've avoided the indoctrination, I know who I am. But now ask me why I'm here." A glance is given behind him then back toward Divine as he pushes himself to his feet, now standing taller than her purely by the nature of stairs being stairs. Yet he advances and steps down two steps, eye to eye with her.
    He answers, perhaps even if she doesn't ask him, "I'm here, cuz my dad told me to." The blond youth half-grins, then shrugs a little. "So am I better than anyone else here? Nah. They do what they're told, so do I, just from a different source of authority."
    Then, his head tilts the other way as he meets her gaze, a breath's distance away as he tells her in a quieter tone. "My name's Alex, what's yours?"

Divine has posed:
It had now been established that there was more oddity to the man than his vitals. Then that strange scent of ozone around him. He was officially a weirdo. That was filed away into her mind since, in the great scheme, it didn't matter. After all, she was too.

"I see." Which she didn't but it seemed most people listened to their parents. Though, having none that she remembered, she wasn't quite sure why other than that is how things were. "Not better. But different."

She didn't explain how she knew he was different. But it was beyond the conversation. When he asked her name, there was a moment of confusion in her expression. A second and it was gone so perhaps the look was imagined. "Divine."

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Divine." He echoes, then nods. "Your parents were modest."
    Which has the smile returning, though then he starts to walk a little ways, though pausing after a few steps. Perhaps seeing if she's going to follow him, or perhaps offering a better goodbye. "I'll see you around campus if you choose to go here, Divine. It can be fun." His eyes lift a little and slip to the side, something unspoken before he smiles again.
    "Still." And with that he turns to walk, hands sliding into his pockets, that backpack swinging from his shoulder with his easy stride.

Divine has posed:
"No modesty. It is the perfect name for me."

Which just screams arrogance but then again, she is supremely confident in herself. Mostly. At least as far as it came to being in the public eye. She tended to cocky even. But was it unwarranted when it was true? She was that awesome.

But when the other weirdo seemed to be taking his leave, Divine looked at Mikey a moment. Then she made a face and turned to follow Alex. Even if he didn't want her to. Though he had left that opportunity. "I haven't decided yet. Though I do need to meet people. Learn more. And plenty of opportunities for that here. Though most of the men I see wouldn't be worth the effort. I mean there was the one with the football and you." She just left that right there and didn't seem to think anything was odd about it saying something so bluntly.

"Where are you going?"

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    Her words had gotten him to turn around, hands sliding into his pockets as he took a step, another. Then paused as he cocked his hips a bit as i giving her a looking over before he makes a small 'hrmf' of sound.
    "Divine means of the gods." Which has his lips curled slightly crookedly. "Are you a god? Do you have worshipers? Do people pray to you? Do you have holy texts or holy symbols dedicated to you?" As he speaks these questions he gets a little more incredulous each time as if suspicious of her claim.
    But then he takes another step to the side, "I was going to go home, work out some, maybe get something to eat."
    Then he goes on the offensive to shift her thoughts, "And you? Where are you off to?"

Divine has posed:
"Does it?" Divine considers why that might be the name she was given. Of the gods. Was it because they looked at Kryptonians as gods? Or god like? Or was it what she was meant to become. "Is that what is required to become a god?" she asks curiously, tilting her head. "Worshipers. Holy text. Holy symbols."

But then she dismisses it as she takes the bait of what she was going to do. "I was going to follow you to class. To see if it was interesting." The fact he was not going to class sort of blew that out of the options though. "But since you are not, I will follow you to your home instead. We can eat, I can see how you work out." The concept he might not want her to follow him home seems lost on her.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "Might take a little more than that, but for some people that works, yeah." About the godhood thing. For some reason the exchange amuses him, smile broadening a bit as he expounds. Though he continues to slooowly walk to the side, that body language of extraction clear in his manner, but then she declares that she is planning on following him. Which has his brow rising until he finally says succinctly, "Ah."
    "Well," His hands slide into his pockets as he rocks back on his heels a little. "When you consider doing something like that... you should sort of, you know, ask someone if you can join them."
    It's at that moment that he starts walking, since apparently he assumes she's already made that decision to wander with him and at least he's accepting for now. "Since I might prefer to do so alone. And also there are social connotations. Friends spend time with each othe, and I don't think we're exactly friends yet. Acquaintances maybe?"

Divine has posed:
"Acquaintances." Divine seems to agree with that but she has this godhood thing running around in her head now. Only, how is she going to learn more about that? She doesn't have a computer. He phone is one of those cheap flip models. Dumb phone. At least that's how she thinks of it since it is far from smart.

Perhaps she should see about getting something better. She could probably lift one. Or buy it. Depending on the jobs she found in the next week.

Divine thinks about the points he made and nods slightly. "I see." Even as she is walking along with him at his pace. "If you wish to be alone, I should not join you." Yet, she still didn't quite ask if he wanted to be alone. Or if he wanted her to follow him. "If we are to be friends, we would need to spend time." So there is her reasoning.

She might need a bit more help with this societal thing.

Alexander Aaron has posed:
    "How about..." Alexander says as he walks along the sidewalk, "You walk me home and we can talk some more?"