Stark Industries, Wednesday, 11/13

[ultron_junior]

There wasn't a whole lot to do in the shop today, so Victor spent most of his time organizing the assorted bits of wire, metal scraps, and misplaced tools that tended to gather in any space that wasn't in use. It was busywork, really, but it gave him time to think.

It was November of his senior year; if he was going to apply to college, he needed to start moving toward the application process now. And the thing was, he really wanted to go. He flat-out liked school, the harder the better. And his mom had always talked about "when you're in college" as if it were a foregone conclusion. In a way he felt as though not going would disappoint her, wherever she was.

But some practical stuff held him back: Money, mostly, and also a nagging feeling it wasn't fair for him to go when Nico and Karolina wouldn't be able to. He also wasn't sure how heroing would fit around a full-time course load -- but then, did he even really want to be a hero? The more he saw, the less certain he got of that.

He sighed and started to coil all the wire neatly. At least he could make that make sense.

[OOC: Open shop, no OCD.]

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[dollpocalypse]

It had been a while since Topher had stopped by the shop on Victor's day, so right after he was done with class, he came by with some doughnuts. Holding the bag up as he walked through the door, he got right to the chase and asked, "Chocolate glazed or jelly?"

[ultron_junior]

"Jelly, thanks," Victor said, glancing up from his wire-coiling with a tired smile. "Hey. What brings you by?"

[dollpocalypse]

Topher tossed the doughnut in Victor's direction the way you tossed a frisbee. His aim wasn't perfect, but maybe Victor was a good catcher?

"Eh," Topher shrugged, like he wasn't sure himself. "I thought I could do the big sibling thing. Or the friend thing. And then I got these doughnuts, and I was going to eat them both myself but that seemed kinda pathetic, so I thought, who better to give my unwanted leftovers to than my hard-working android best pal?"

So selfless, Topher was.

"You organizing wires?"

[ultron_junior]

Victor fumbled the donut at first, but was able to recover and bounced it neatly onto a finger.

"Gee. Leftover donut. You're the best friend ever," he said lightly. "And yeah, I was sort of doing an inventory. We have, like, a mile of 10-gauge and no 12-gauge."

[dollpocalypse]

"That's not good," Topher understated. "You should leave a post-it for Jessica to order more 12. Well, me, technically, since my day is before hers, but I'll leave it for Jessica."

[ultron_junior]

Victor smirked around his mouthful of donut. "Or I could just order it before I leave today," he said, and swallowed. "But then we wouldn't be making Jess do it."

[dollpocalypse]

"But your hands are all sticky from doughnut, so..." Topher pointed out, shrugging as though to say 'it's out of your hands.' "I would say that a very compelling case could be made for you doing the store a favor by not getting doughnut all over the critically important order forms."

Topher strived at all times to be a bad influence.

[ultron_junior]

"Well, but I'd probably do it online --"

Stop being overly literal, Victor.

[dollpocalypse]

"The keyboard, then." Details. "Also, I'd be bored if you had to do that, which would obviously be terrible."

[ultron_junior]

Well, it made sense to Victor. Mainly because he could leave ordering the cable for later anyhow.

"Okay, I'll be more entertaining," he said. "So ... college. Are you working on your applications or anything?"

[dollpocalypse]

"Just one application," Topher noted, flicking a stray chocolate sprinkle off his doughnut. "I sent it in already, 'cause of that early decision thing. You?"

Even knowing that Victor wanted to go into the heroing business, it hadn't occured to Topher that Vic might not want to, or be able to, go to college first.

[ultron_junior]

"Trying to decide," Victor admitted, after a short pause. "I want to, but it feels kind of wrong to go when my friends can't. Plus, money."

[dollpocalypse]

"There's financial aid and stuff, though, which I'm pretty sure you'll get since you're super smart," Topher pointed out, sounding very much like a rich kid who hadn't given financial aid a single thought. "Why can't your friends go?"

[ultron_junior]

"You need to graduate from high school or get a GRE before you can go to college," Victor shrugged. "Hasn't really been a priority for them, so..."

He suspected Topher was right about the financial aid aspect, but he still wasn't sure how to go about getting that.

[dollpocalypse]

That made sense, but, "They could've gone to high school if they'd wanted to, though, right?" Topher asked, tilting his head. "And there's community college, too. Or maybe they don't even wanna go. In which case it would deeply suck if you passed up four years of science and booze for no reason."

[ultron_junior]

"It's kind of hard to go to high school when you're trying not to get killed," Victor answered wearily. "And don't actually have a legal address. But maybe I should ask them how they feel before I start freaking out, huh?"

[dollpocalypse]

"But they could have gone here with you," Topher insisted. "Ask them, anyway. Soonish. 'Cause I'm pretty sure regular decision apps are due next month."

Polishing off his doughnut, he tossed the paper bag in the direction of the garbage, missing by a few feet. "Do you know where you wanna apply?"

[ultron_junior]

"Yeah, and then Molly goes into foster care and hates us for the rest of our lives," Victor answered pessimistically. "Basically it's just not fair."

He spun on his stool, considering the other question. "I was thinking Berkeley or Caltech. You?"

He was aware there were colleges outside California, but that didn't mean he saw any point in going to any of them.

[dollpocalypse]

"Stanford, actually," Topher said, brightening. It hadn't occured to him to aim low. Or to apply outside California. "Hey, if you go to Berkeley, we can hang out in school merchandise and piss off all our peers because of the sports rivalry."

[ultron_junior]

Victor laughed. "That would be lame and kind of awesome," he said. "Let's do that."

[dollpocalypse]

"Awesome." Topher shot him a thumbs-up. "Dude, I've never even considered not going to college. It's going to kind of be the me version of being a rich and famous superhero, except academic and without much risk of injuring myself. You get unlimited food and alcohol and lab supplies for as many years as you want. Seriously, not an experience to be missed."

[ultron_junior]

Victor tilted his head at Topher, processing that.

"... man, you're making it sound like you're going to college in some '70s movie about fraternity life."

[dollpocalypse]

"Am I?" Oops. "Maybe those are the only college movies I've seen."

Topher took a moment to consider that, then shrugged. "I just don't like high school," he said. "Being around people who actually want to learn stuff has been my life goal since I learned to talk. Which was very early, by the way."

No one cared, Topher.

[ultron_junior]

"It would be nice to be around people who get my sense of humor," Victor admitted. "But -- Homecoming king. I can't hate on high school too hard after that."

And maybe he wanted to brag a tiny bit.

[dollpocalypse]

"Oh, hey, congrats on that." That was what you were supposed to say to that, right? "I'm gonna consider that a triumph of big-sibling-ing."

Of course he was.

"But yeah, I guess that's cool, but don't you want to take real classes? This place has its upsides, but I mean, people who go here kind of get a shitty deal in the education department."

[ultron_junior]

"Totally wouldn't have got it without you," Victor said, raising his hand for a fistbump. "And yeah, I guess, but ... I'm pretty good at teaching myself stuff. I can do that without a classroom."

He did not sound enthused by this.

[dollpocalypse]

Topher delivered the requested fistbump.

"When you're back in LA and you don't have a lab or anything, though?" he said dubiously. "I dunno, dude, if it were me, I probably wouldn't know where to start."

[ultron_junior]

"I could maybe do some work with Dr. Pym?" Victor suggested. Though yeah, his relationship with his sort-of grandfather ... well, the fact he referred to him as Dr. Pym showed what it was like. Respectful, but distant.

[dollpocalypse]

"He is an awesome dude," Topher granted. "And I'd be totally jealous, but I dunno. It just doesn't sound as fun as being able to pick your classes and study all kinds of different topics and meet people our age with functioning brain cells and stuff. And he probably wouldn't teach you how to do a keg stand, which I think is supposed to be an important part of college, according to movies."

Okay, now he was aware that he was starting to sound like a seventies movie character. "Anyway, what if you want to learn stuff that's not in his field?"

[ultron_junior]

"Biochemistry's cool, and he knows a ton about a lot of other things," Victor protested -- but he was sounding half-hearted by now. Topher's pro-college arguments made sense.

Except maybe the keg stand parts.

"Okay. So, I should at least send in some applications."

[dollpocalypse]

"Yes. Awesome plan," Topher declared emphatically. "And if your friends are weird about it, you can... I don't know, find new college friends. I didn't think out the end of that sentence before I said it."

He looked mildly apologetic about that.

"Anyway, college! Woo!"

[ultron_junior]

Victor still wasn't sure it was all that easy, but what the hell?

"Woo!"