xp_logs | Scott and Doug

Backdated to before Christmas. Doug comes down to Scott's office with a bunch of stuff on his mind, and Scott manages to clear things up for him.

Knocking on the door to Scott Summers' suite, Doug shuffled his feet nervously. Not that he had anything really embarassing or nerve-wracking to talk about with Scott, but he hadn't spoken with Scott much at all since the Seattle field trip. Not to mention he had the occasional difficult time wondering if he should call him Scott or Mr. Summers, given that he was now a college student, not to mention his status as a trainee. He shrugged. Occasionally he overthought things.

"Come in," Scott called, looking up from the computer screen and rubbing at his temple as his eye spontaneously unfocused. The beginnings of a headache, again. Ah, well. He knew he'd been pushing it.

Pushing the door open, Doug leaned in to take a look at his headmaster before coming in fully. "Have you been overdoing it again, Mr. Summers?" he asked, seeing Scott rubbing his temples. "Because I don't want to be in the crossfire if your fiancee comes in here to tear a strip off of you for it..." He smiled, though, to indicate he was joking. Though Ms. Grey _could_ be a little scary sometimes when her temper got the better of her.

"I am never not flirting with overdoing it, Doug," Scott said straightforwardly. "Going to take a while yet for one eye to get used to doing the work of two." He smiled quickly at Doug. "Sit down. What can I do for you?"

"I'm just saying I'm not proud enough to duck and cover out of the line of fire, sir," Doug replied amiably. "Your fiancee can be scary sometimes." Taking a seat, he stared at the ceiling in an attempt to marshal his thoughts before looking at Scott. "Well, it's complicated, but I guess the main issue is that I have no idea what to major in." He raised a hand. "And before you tell me that this is what colleges employ academic counselors for, there are...things that I can't exactly tell an academic counselor."

"Okay," Scott said, just as amiably. "So tell me these things. Remember what I was doing at the same time I was finishing college...I'm something of an expert at balancing Things."

"Well, there's the mutant thing for starters," Doug said, blowing out his breath explosively. "I mean, even leaving out the X-Men. Which is another thing. Even with the X-Men being somewhat more public, it's not like I can just say 'oh, and keep Wednesday evenings open, because I train for a mutant paramilitary organization those nights.'" He waved a hand. "And I know I'm just training to be an auxiliary, but you get the idea."

He was definitely babbling, but he was on a roll and Scott wasn't interrupting, so he continued. "With regards to actual academic issues," he ticked off on his fingers, "majoring in a language would be kinda redundant. Computer science...well, I just spent a grueling...however long that was...writing what most universities would consider pretty much a doctoral project in artificial intelligence, which incidentally is something _else_ I can't exactly talk about, so what's a university going to be able to teach me there?"

"Well, there's the problem with knowledge versus official credentials," Scott said straightforwardly. "Computer science, for example. We know what you can do - the world can't, unless you go through something approaching the formal system of post-secondary education. And trust me, Doug, once you get there and start showing your mettle, I imagine there will be some significant shortcuts provided to you."

Doug pursed his lips and cocked his head thoughtfully. "Huh," he said after a moment. "You know, I actually hadn't considered it that way? I was approaching it from a 'what could they possibly teach me' angle, rather than a 'usefulness of college degrees' sort of angle." He leaned back in his chair and tapped his lips with a finger. "That definitely bears thinking on."

"It's repetitive, to some extent. But universities will recognize exceptional talent - Hank raced through degrees far faster than the norm, for example. A number of you and your classmates will probably do the same." Scott shrugged amiably. "But the piece of paper is your admission ticket to bigger and better things."

Doug nodded slowly. "I'm definitely going to have to put some more thought into this, since I guess I was sort of coming at this from the wrong direction." He brightened. "Thanks for your help, Mr. Summers. You've been a big help." He levered himself up from his sitting position and headed for the door. "I appreciate your helping me talk all this out."

"No worries," Scott said. "Make sure you talk to Wanda - she can help you sort all this out in specific detail."

"Can do, boss man," Doug replied, sketching a fingertip salute. "I suppose I'll let you get back to flirting with overdoing it," he said with a goodnatured grin.

"Too kind," Scott said, waving in the direction of the door. "Stay out of trouble."