2015-05-14 - Juilliard Ho!

Juilliard School, 60 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York City. The campus isn't as large as Oxford, but it is better known for actors, musicians and all forms of art. With a heavily forested lawn, the place seems designed to inspire not only the gardeners to hard work, and there are aspiring artists of every type under every piece of shade.

Except for inside, that is. In an office down a long hallway clustered with other like-type offices, Mrs. Julie-Lynne Summers turns down the news in the background, tapping her red pen on her teeth as she awaits her upcoming interview. Two minutes. She pulls out the file on the up and comer. In her dress suit, she's business from head to toe, except for the remarkably relaxed smile quirking her right cheek upward.

The sound of people coming down the hallway suggests that business is about to begin. "Better not be another writer." Their applications take FOREVER.

Older cousin Conner is dropping a ton of tips on Kara Starr as they walk down the hall. "Stay calm, this is far from the scariest thing to happen to you. Smile, be nice, and answer their questions honestly... within reason. And /try/ to make it through the entire interview. I got put back 2 grades in High School because I flew off halfway through the placement test."

Kara Zor-El straightens out her glasses and makes sure her hair is okay before heading into the interviewer's office. Kon was tellin her that, especially with Kal off-planet ... AGAIN... tere was no way she was going to get throgh an entire interview. Okay, maybe she was reading a bit more into it than he actually said, since what he actually said was 'try to get through the whole interview.' Still felt like a challenge.

And then all the nervewracking stuff when Kon told her about his own experiences during his college interviews. Crap! Why can't this just be like fighting Titano or Metallo or some other something-o villain?

Scratch that! Ignore what she said, universe! Kara's mind thought. No villain anything please!

Kara looks over at Conner and whispers, "if it's far from the scariest thing, why am I feeling like I'm gonna have a panic attack?" When she gets to the door she knocks on it.

"Enter," says the voice of the lady inside. She sounds quite normal, not nearly the b*tch she could sound like for this kind of thing. Julie-Lynne flips open the file to the front page, quickly reviewing name, age, basic data so she doesn't make any blatant errors right away. When the two enter, she's looking down at the paperwork and basically ignoring them. Doesn't LOOK mean though.

"You're a super genius from a family of geniuses, you're one of the most remarkable girls I know. You'll do this, just don't get in your own way," Conner says, gripping her by the shoulders. He gives her a hug, and waves to the interviewer. "Emotional support, don't mind me, I'll wait out here," he promises, and leaves Kara to handle the interview.

Kara Zor-El comes in after the encouragement and hug from Conner, adjusting the stupid glasses that she has to wear for whenever she's Kara Starr. How can you be invulnerable and still feel like these things are pinching your nose, Kara? She stands there, looking at the lady who's reviewing her life-on-paperwork (thank you Oracle) steadfastly ignores her. And she stands there a little longer. This is getting awkward.

The interviewer looks up at Kon when he speaks, nods, then gets back to reviewing Kara's life on paper. She looks up after about thirty very long seconds. She takes in the glasses and the tidy outfit, and the fact that her interviewee has found it necessary to bring someone to hold her hand.

"Please, sit," She says with a crisp tone that suggests that her smile is a little bit pasted on. Which it is, she'd rather be out doing fun things. "Kara Starr, then? And you are?" She looks at Kon, politeness being a trained reflex. She offers Kon a hand to shake. She does not offer Kara one.

Oh Rao, she's turned invisible as a new power. That must be why the interviewer is practically looking right through her. Oh wait, she told her to sit. Kara quickly sits down, then wonders again about that invisibility thing when she doesnt get her handshake. Plus puts her hand back down because that was getting even more awkward. "That's my cousin, Conner." Kara offers.

The lady settles herself in her chair, then looks at Kara. "Well, welcome." She moves back to Kara, her eyebrow raising barely perceptibly, and continues. "Ms. Starr. Thank you for coming in. I am Julie Summers. This is an interview for a place in our fine arts degree program, as you were informed in your invitation letter." She looks Kara over, then smiles a little more warmly. "Can you tell me why you chose our university?"

Kara Zor-El smiles a little. "Well, Mrs... um... Ms. " Right... Ms... no wedding ring, Kara. "Well Miss Summers." Do you pronounce it Miss or Mizz anyway? Kara stop letting your mind wander! "Miss Summers, I was always interested in the arts, ever since I was little. Especially sculpture, and painting, and theater... and I know that Juilliard is one of the best schools for the arts in this entire country."

Ms. Summers jots down Kara's answer in shorthand on her paper; apparently this is part of the official interview already! "Mmhm," she says, not looking away from Kara's face. "Well, we certainly have a history of turning out artists who end up successful in their fields. Overall, it very much depends on the will and drive of the student. Unlike a scientific field, you can actually see passion in the work you produce. Which reminds me, you have your portfolio? I'll need a copy of your portfolio and a look at any artwork you may have brought to show your current levels." She taps her red pen on the desktop with the slightest hint of oil paint on her fingernails. And one of the paintings in the room was apparently signed by 'J-L Summers'.

Kara Zor-El nods a little. "Yes, I mean... I've always been good at science but it's not - my portfolio? Oh um... oh... it's..." She looks at Conner. Crap, she forgot to make a portfolio. Why didnt she remember that you're supposed to have a portfolio? What the heck is a portfolio!? Wait she just said what a portfolio is. She needs a portfolio!

"It's in the car. I'll just go get it. I'm sorry Miss. Mizz. er... I'll be right back." Kara says as she quickly gets up to rush out the door at normal, hurried speed.

When Kara passes Conner in the hall, he pokes his head into the room. "She'll be right back," he explains, and slips inside to help stall a bit. "Sorry about that, she was so excited and nervous she was a little scatterbrained when I picked her up this morning."

Ms. Summers is smiling patiently when Kon looks in, shaking her head just a little, and jotting down 'typical artist, left P in car' in red pen on the sheet. She says, "It's fine, I'm used to a little bit of scatterbrain." She pauses, actually looking at Conner, and gives him a slightly more interested smile.

After she's past all the other interviewees, the 'typical scatterbrained artist' rushes at her real 'hurried speed.' In other words, she super-speeds to several different areas on campus, where there are reports of sudden gusts of winds and a block of marble, and two sketchpads and various other art supplies disappearing from the campus store (although money was left on the counter in its place). Some quick heat vision and a lot of superspeed on the drawing and charcoal and pastel sketching and...

Kara comes back into the office carrying a portfolio under her arm, and struggling to bring in a 'heavy' (yeah right... heavy, sure) marble sculpture of a Kryptonian tree called a Rai-Kavek, done completely from one piece of solid marble. It also might still be smoking a little. "One sec.. um.... little help?"

"I didn't want to make generalizations," Conner says in agreement, nodding. "I was the only person in the family who had the time to bring her in. My brother's busy at work, her sister's... well, her sister's her sister. I've got some time off from ESU, so figured I'd help my little cousin out." He listens out for Kara's return, and does a double take at the marble sculpture. He stands up, helping her get it into the room. "You know," he says, "I told you this morning," he lies, "you could probably have just brought a /picture/ of this."

The interviewer smiles at Kon's comment, putting her pen down to wait. "I'll make sure it doesn't go against the board's decision, then. Family is important. But she needs to be prepared for classes, if accepted."

The arrival moments later of a sculpted tree and Kara carrying it gets her eyebrows raising again though. "Also, we do supply art students with carrying aids if necessary. Oh that's quite imaginative actually, that's no tree I've ever seen." She waits for Kara and Kon to find a place to put it DOWN before asking Kara to put her portfolio on the table.

Kara Zor-El looks at Kon and murmurs to him, "developing a picture would have taken too long." Wait who 'develops' pictures in the digital camera age?

Kara sets down the sculpture - first she was thinking of putting it down on the desk, but putting a 350 lb marble sculpture on the desk might end badly. "Yeah um.. I call it... er...." Kara thinks for a second, "Alien Tree. It's... what I think a tree would look like on another planet." Technically, she is not lying. She puts it down on a side table that looks like it might be more sturdy, then puts the portfolio on the desk. Short pause, then she goes to sit back down, and puts her hands in her lap. She whispers, "close one" under her breath.

Conner raises an eyebrow at the name. "Might need to work on the name," he says, and, giving the pair a wave, steps to the door. "I'll leave you two to it, I'll be in the hall if you need me."

Ms Summers says, "Your cousin is quite decent to bring you all this way, Ms Starr," slightly distractedly as she looks the tree over. Then, without another word, she picks up the portfolio and starts flipping through it. She focuses and frowns, taking her time with each piece. "You have a rushed style, Kara. Each of these seems like it should have been given more care, but I can see your progression. You learned from each piece." She seems impressed by all the effort put in, though less impressed with the skill. "Have you worked in oil?"

Kara Zor-El nods a little. "Yeah... Conner's a really good cousin." she says nervously as the work that took her almost 18 seconds is judged. Maybe she should have taken more time and spent a minute on it instead. She rubs her head a bit as Ms Summers looks through the portfolio. When she asks if she worked in oil, Kara stops herself from thinking about he oil tanker that she cleaned up the spill from yesterday. "I've sort of dabbled in it? I didnt put anything like that in the portfolio though.

Oil-based paint would have taken too long to dry.

Closing the portfolio, Ms Summers puts it down on the tabletop. "We normally require photographs of your work, since our copy of the portfolio is kept by the University, but it's not a set requirement." She sits down, pulling out some legal-appearing paperwork, and starts to read off of it.

"Forgive me, this part is rather dry, but very necessary and ninety percent of my job. Basic application aside, the enrollment deposit for tuition is ten percent of total funds required for your chosen courses, the rest to be paid off by your fifth week or you will be removed from your program. If you require residence, fees for a single room are $17,840 payable as stated. Secondary applied study, that's if you choose a second major, is an additional $10,580 over and above tuition. Health services fee is two hundred dollars, and health insurance is on a case by case basis starting at $1,128 and is not optional." She goes on for a full five minutes longer about fees and major and minor taxes.

In the background, the television has the sound turned way down. It's the news, which has just flipped over to a breaking bulletin. "Just in, at the New York airport, flight 2285 is in trouble. The pilot is reporting complete loss of power to the right wing, and the plane is beginning to fall from the sky." Cameras flip to show a plane-shaped speck in the sky over the airport, as other pilots scramble to clear the area.

Conner opens the door, peeking his head back in, a phone to his ear. "Kara, it's your sister, she says it's urgent." He looks to the interviewer. "You mind if she takes this real quick? It shouldn't be long."

Kara Zor-El starts nodding a little as she starts droning about the financial aspects. So.... boring. Draining.... will. She overhears the TV, and tries to think of a good excuse to quickl leave. Heck, could she just leave and get back before she finishes this soul-crushing boring stuff? No... No Kara, you're fast, but she's not blind. That's stupid Kara. Then Conner pokes his head in. Thank Rao for Kon!!!!! "Oh um... yes okay um... I'll... be right back and my cousin can listen to the ... interesting.... tuition talk.... and tell me. When I get back. Which I'm sure won't take long." She pauses. "Yeah."

Kara quickly gets up from her chair, taking the phone from Kon, and whispering to him. "Thank you thank you thank you ... I'll do it quick as I can..." before heading out the door.

A quick blur later, Kara's flying over New York airport, flying up to the flight to get under it. Not the wing - she's learned enough to know to not do that. Usually the wing tears right off if you try to lift the plane up by the wing alone. She gets under the nose of the plane and pushes up, steadying it from its downward dive.

Ms Summers steeples her fingers, looking at Kon. She no longer seems nearly as impressed as she did a few minutes earlier. "I was about to suggest that if Ms Starr doesn't find paying for her courses to be interesting enough, we can just end this interview right now," she says as she looks at him. "But I suppose it'll have to wait a moment." Glancing at the television, she says, "Oh, look. Supergirl! I wonder what it's like, being able to fly like that."

Okay, maybe she is human after all. "Why can't she just grab the wing, it's obviously the part that's losing power."

"Heard some of the Engineers talk about that at ESU. The way an engine generates lift and the way a person lifting the wing applies lift are different, and there's some structural integrity stuff..." Conner shrugs. "I'm more of a business guy," he explains. "If you're worried about payment, I wouldn't be. If accepted, Kara will be more than able to meet any financial obligation to the college... university... school."

Kara Zor-El guides the plane down when a second engine catche on fire, forcing her to have to push upwards more, denting the undercarriage of the plane from the quick change in how hard she's pushing upwards. She turns around to both slow down the plane's descent plus it gives her a better opportunity to use her freeze breath to put out the fire. Seriously, why do people fly in these things? They're friggin' death traps!

Ms Summers pauses visibly when Kon says what he does. She taps her spreadsheets and lists, and says, "My job is to make sure that our university gets paid for the course load being taken. I was about to ask what types of financial assistance Ms Starr was going to require and to start getting her into the background work that helps finance a regular student's income. Exactly....how much financial assistance will my university be required to perform for Kara, Mr Connor? The debt for her courses is substantial."

Conner pauses a bit at that. "Well... her family is the one with all the money, so I can't really say for certain the exact details, but..." He taps the application, specifically the last name: Starr. "Her sister is actually paying for my education at ESU, provided I come work for her company afterwards."

And once Supergirl puts out one engine fire, the other engine eplodes. "CRAP!" yells the superheroine to herself. She was wanting to settle the plane down under it's own power, but now had to do things a lot more messy and haphazard. She grips into the steel underside of the plane and forces it downward, rather than just aiding its landing. Once it's down, she flies off to catch the part of the wing that broke off when the engine exploded, catching it before it falls on a nearby house. She doesnt even stay afterwards, setting it down in the field. She has an interview that she has to get back to!

Kara flies back to the Juilliard interview, stopping to get new clothes since she sort of.... just left hers in her apartment when she did the quick change. THATS why Clark wears the suit under his clothes. Ohhhh. She puts back on her glasses that were put in the dimensional pocket, and is getting her hair back into a ponytail as she heads back into the hallway towards Ms Summers' room as she opens the door, realizes there's a burnt piece of ember in her hair, puts it out quickly with her fingers, and says, "Back. Sorry about that. Sister stuff...." she explains. She looks at Conner and whispers again, "Again thank yooooou.." before going to sit down at the chair.

When Kara enters, Ms Summers is chatting with Kon about airplane resistances and the scientific improbability of planes staying in the air even at the best of times. In the background, the television is showing a smoking plane safely settling down on the tarmac. Just barely, it hasn't even finished stopping moving.

Looking up again at Kara, she stands up and offers her hand to Kara in a way she hadn't before, before Kara can even sit down. "I think I've bored your cousin enough with the money aspect, Kara. If you'd like to take the information with you, I think we can get your application started. That is assuming your phone call wasn't calling you away."

She pauses, frowning, and adds, "You don't smoke do you? Swear I could smell something burning."

Kara Zor-El pauses, then shakes her head. "Oh. No... no I don't smoke at all." She sniffs the air. "I don't smell any smoke." She quickly changes the subject. "And um.. with money, it won't really be a problem. I have a trust fund which will cover it all." Again, technically true. She nods again at the application. "Hopefully it won't?" she says with another awkward smile.

The interviewer sits down again, collating the necessary paperwork into a handout for Kara to take with her. "This information will give you the basic setup along with everything I covered for your cousin, and I'm certain he can explain anything that is confusing. I have also put my number in the file in case you have questions on the necessary qualifications, and we do need you to send us a copy of your portfolio if possible. Not the originals, I'm certain those will be quite valuable someday, Ms Starr." She gives a grin that's MUCH different from the one that she had when Kara left the room, possibly confusing the super-heroine.

"Do you have any questions for me? I assume you have other universities on your list, and I do think you can fit in here if you choose to do so."

Kara Zor-El smiles a little again. "Actually I sort of have my heart set on Juilliard. I mean... I know I could get a scholarship from the Wayne Foundation to Gotham University or MIT if I went into the sciences, but it's just not what I want to do with my life. I want to be an artist. Or... maybe an actress. Just... something more inspiring to creativity."

Editor's Note: Also something which won't throw off the scientific learning curve of the planet by allowing for stable wormholes and practical standard applications for quantum strings.

Ms Summers jots down 'check finances, accept this one boss' on her little paper which she keeps from Kara's vision if she were a human. Xray vision is not generally part of the interview process, but she can be forgiven for not knowing that Kara can see through her hand. She steps around the desk to offer Kara her right hand to shake, and says, "I think we can help you with that, Kara. Just try not to get pulled away from too many classes with important phone calls, okay?" She's got a smile on her face and her offer is real. If Kara still wants it, she's a university student.

And, in the background, the tv starts to show another emergency starting to happen in Texas.

Kara Zor-El suppresses the urge to squee when she sees what Ms Summers is writing on the paper. "Thank you. Thank you so much Miss. Mizz. er.. Thank you!" She quickly puts her hand forward to shake, shake, shake Ms Summer's hand vigorously. "I promise you won't regret this."

Having no idea how easy it would be for Kara to accidentally crush her hand, Julie-Lynne Summers laughs as she gets the kid-like response. "Okay, okay. Just make sure you get back to us on the information in that packet before the twelfth of June or you'll have to wait another year. You have to have your basic application in by then and your data into the computer or you'll be automatically placed onto next year's call list. Don't let me down." She wonders what it must be like to be young and carefree, not remembering it too well herself. "And thanks for being a good kid. Makes my day a lot better." She actually plans to visit her friends later, thanks to Kara's influence. Might be nice to see them again. Kara Zor-El nods happily. "I won't. I won't, Miss. Ma'am. Twelfth of June. I'll make sure it's all done and handed in before then!" Then heads out the door and runs down the hallway, cheering. "Wooooo!" And forgets the sculpture which she left in Ms Summer's office on the table.