xp_logs | Nathan & Callie

Callie goes to hand into her final paper to Nathan and he makes her an offer she can't refuse.

Callie glanced down at her paper. This was it. This was her baby. She had poured her blood, sweat, and tears into it, literally. There was a band-aid on her left hand from the paper cut she had received from one of the many pages in her essay. Somehow, the length of this opus had easily surpassed the ten pages she and Nathan had decided on, and with appendices and supporting materials came in at nearly double that length. And while it was she who had put in all the effort and research, Nathan was the one who had to read and digest and issue a grade to this monster, which was probably a lot more work.

"Signor Nathan," she timidly called into his office. "~*I have my final paper for you?*~"

"Come in, Callie," was the response - in English, mostly because he was simultaneously translating from a language he was far less comfortable in then either English or Italian. Nathan looked up at her as she stepped into the boathouse, smiling briefly. "What can I do for you? Oh, wait - I see."

She grinned sheepishly as she closed the space between them, holding her paper aloft. "Sorry. It's longer than we discussed. I mean I tried to cut it down, but it was just really interesting."

"That's okay," Nathan said with a perfectly straight face, holding out his hand for the paper. "I'll just stop reading after ten pages."

Her jaw dropped. The expression on her face was a mixture of surprise and fear. "But Signor," she pleaded once she was regained the ability to speak. "It's only like one or two pages longer that we discussed, and it has a lot of really long, necessary quotes, and all the extra pages are supplements to my writing. I worked really hard on it. I did so much research. I-I-I... ugh, I'm sorry."

"Callie," Nathan said with a laugh that sounded equal parts appalled and gentle. "I'm just yanking your chain, kiddo. Breathe."

That was oh so very mean. But then again he was the teacher and he had every right to read only the ten assigned pages. Still, Callie was immensely relieved that he had decided to be benevolent. She attempted to laugh the situation off as the paper exchanged hands, a huge weight lifted off of her shoulders."Thank you. And thank you for everything this year. It was really fun. You were a great teacher. I discovered a lot that I wouldn't have on my own. So, thank you, again."

"I didn't teach you so much as steer you in the direction you needed to go," Nathan said. "You're very good at motivating yourself, Callie. I think you're going to do really well in college."

"Thank you!" She beamed. That was such a big compliment to her for Callie was nervous for life after high school. "I'm starting to get ready to apply, but I think I need to vary my interests. Tabitha gave me a book on getting into college, and they look for a variety of experiences. And academically, I've kept the same focus. Very math and science heavy." She shrugged.

This was one of the more surreal parts of working here, still - the fact that he still, occasionally, wound up talking to kids about What They Wanted To Do With Their Lives. "Nothing wrong with maths and science," he pointed out. "But if you feel strongly about broadening your horizons... well, the key is to find something else you enjoy doing. Don't do it just for the sake of the college application."

Callie heaved an exasperated sigh. "No I know. I just need to be more well-rounded, not just for college but for myself. I was thinking about signing up for International Relations, I mean given my upbringing it kinda interests me. Are you still going to be teaching it?"

"I don't really teach it so much anymore, as work on an individual level with students who are interested in it. You might notice we don't have quite the same size of student body these days." Nathan gazed at her thoughtfully. "I can think of something more creative and potentially interesting than another paper."

"Yeah I know." Her fingers tapped against his desk as she pondered what she had just been told. "I'm probably going to be like the only student in most of my classes next year. But yeah, I don't mind writing papers, but it can get pretty tedious really quickly. And I'd probably develop carpal tunnel or something."

"The key would be to apply your excellent research skills-" He was leafing through the paper as he spoke. "-into a productive direction. How do you feel about humanitarian work?" There was a gleam in his eyes as he looked up. Bad of him, definitely bad of him, but he'd been talking on and off with Charles for months about internship possibilities...

"Oh, I'm totally a huge supporter of social justice and using my talents and skills to help those who are less fortunate," she stated in her best serious and professional tone. Callie had an idea as to where this was heading, but she could have been completely wrong. Best not to assume but instead get all the facts. "Why do you ask?"

"Come do research for me," Nathan said seriously. "Put all that love for meticulous research to work - we can call it an internship. It'll look great on your college application, and I think you'd have fun."

The words "meticulous research" and "fun" were rarely used together without being ironic. But Nathan was right, Callie did take a fair amount of pleasure in scouring for difficult to find information. And writing more papers would be a bore. Plus, working for Elpis would look amazing on applications. And really? It sounded like it could be fun. "Sounds good," Callie replied in her normal jovial tone. "Where do I sign up?"

"I need to discuss the logistics with your noble headmaster," Nathan said dryly. "It's probably more a matter of him needing to sign something. I'll be in touch, all right?" He raised the paper. "And about this."

She nodded. That sounded reasonable enough. "Right. Well you know where I am. I'm looking forward to hopefully working for you, and about my paper. And thank you again, so much, for everything. I really, really appreciate it."