In an odd change in our normal schedules, I wake up in the morning to leave before Jase. Nat and I have a bunch of advisee meetings today before the start of the spring semester, which means we need to be back on campus earlier than normal. Jase, on the other hand, has today off. Not entirely sure why, and not even sure he understands why. He said something about a discrepancy between the contract’s hours and his employment hours, which I’m like seventy percent sure isn’t actually a thing but I can’t be certain about that. Letting him sleep in, I pull on my clothes and head out to our apartment’s kitchen. Nat, already awake and dressed, just steps away from the pot of coffee, which is not yet done brewing but has started. Nodding to one another, we head into the bathroom to get ready for the day.
As we head down to the parking lot, coffee pot in hand, Nat looks over at me. “Are you ready for your meetings?” she asks.
I let out a slight chuckle and shake my head. “Not really. But, then again, whether or not I’m ready doesn’t really matter does it?”
Nat laughs right back. “Nope. But it does mean I’m gonna drive. You can prep or whatever, because we both know that with Jase over last night, you didn’t do anything productive last night.”
I instantly object. We did, after all. “No,” I say, “Just nothing productive in this lane.”
“Are you saying that you talked about your evil secrets with Jase?” she muses with a smile.
I shake my head once more, smirking now. “No, I know better than that. I’m saying that after dinner but before we’d started anything else, Therese called to check in on something suspicious with Jase, and I stole his phone to complain to her about her timing, which led to, you know…” I drift off.
Nat catches my drift. “You walking into your secret room and talking with her about some random person in Norway or Russia or some weird place.”
I open the passenger door of our car. “It was actually Denmark,” I half-joke.
“Are you trying to say Denmark doesn’t count as a weird place?” Nat questions as she climbs into the driver’s seat.
“Fair,” I admit as she starts the car. She starts to drive through the darkness towards our campus buildings. Towards the library.
The commute is slightly easier than usual. As early as it is, we only have to contend with the other people who are trying to cut in before rush hour. Faster, too, though how much of that is due to the lack of traffic and how much is due to Nat’s driving, I couldn’t tell someone. I could guess, but couldn’t truly tell.
Focusing on my pages, I think about what I’m actually dealing with for these kids. I took over for some Magister that left for a more civilized part of the world once they finished their thesis. Meaning I have a full slate of advisees, unlike Nat’s truncated group. Nine in total. Two Seniors, who if we’re entirely honest have their lives more together than not and didn’t really need my help much. Three juniors, two of whom are rather troubling. Then a pair of sophomores and three freshmen. I have meetings with them all. The seniors meeting will be easy, mostly a check in. They both were actively seeking out temporary Magister positions to transition into other jobs. The freshman too, as mostly it’s a check in and discussion of expectations versus reality. The issue comes with the sophomores and juniors. The sophomores need to pick their majors, and only one is even close to that. Jannick is fully committed to his Manipulative Magics major, even though he’s kind of only okay at it. But Gina, she seems to be waffling around. Probably will end up falling ass-backwards into a Sac-Mag or Cultic major because of all the history-based classes she’s taking. Maybe we could figure out a different path, like Ike’s physics major, but that’s also partly dependent upon what she wants to do after her time as an Apprentice. Then there’s the juniors. Who, if I’m being entirely honest, should be split into two groups. Rachel has had her life set out before her since, as far as I can tell, forever. She already has her internship over in an Asian Villa set up. Then there are Kenneth and Lily. Kenneth is useless, and if his preparation for everything else is any indication, not only does he not have a plan for his internship, he likely will end up not having an internship over the summer period. Lily will probably end up having an internship, mostly because she’s likable enough to convince someone to give her an internship opportunity once she’s pushed into actually doing something. So I need to push her into actually doing something during our meeting.
We arrive in the lot before I have any actual concrete plans. But, I know the basics of what they each need. And, with the Seniors passing through first, I’ll have time to think about the others. With a quick wave goodbye to Nat as we split off, I head inside and up to one of the third story conference rooms, while she heads down to the reading room in which she prefers holding her meetings. Settling in, I pull out my notepads and a laptop. Not that I need those out, per se, but more for the aesthetics of seeming prepared.
Soon enough, around a minute or so early, Ned and Cynthia walk in, chatting about some junior who’s been trying to get into Cynthia’s pants. I plaster on a smile and say, “I assume you both know why we’re having this meeting today?”
Ned looks over at Cynthia, who nods. He says, “I assume something to do with us finalizing our post graduation plans?”
“Have you?” I ask.
Cynthia replies this time. “Not quite yet. Berlin is giving me a sizable stipend, a pretty big housing subsidy, and limited responsibilities but it’ll require four years of that before I can transition full time into an outside field. Munich, on the other hand, is offering me a more normal stipend and accommodations for a Magister, but full transition in two years. I’ve been weighing the pros and cons.”
I nod, seeing a way I might be able to help. “Makes sense. Are you planning on ever returning to finish your thesis, or is it purely a transitional period to move into your future career?”
“Don’t know, why?” she asks.
I explain, “Now, I don’t know and things may change over the next decade, but the current Great Maestro running the Munich Villa is kinda notorious for over supporting his Maestros so that they don’t advance further or move elsewhere. If you were planning on coming back, having the in there would likely be helpful. On the other hand, if you aren’t planning on returning, the Greater Maestro of the Germanic Zone tends to overfund the Berlin Villa, because that is where she rose up from, so their post scheduled departure funding might last longer than Munich’s.”
She pauses to think, as though it is all going into her mental calculus of what to do. “I’ll get back to you, thanks for the info. The deadline isn’t for almost a month, so as long as I decide sometime within the next couple weeks, I should be more than fine.”
I turn to Ned. “And you?”
Ned brushes me off. “Oh, yeah, no, I’m already signed onto a two year quick transition program in the London Villa. Unlike someone, I couldn’t get into my first and second choice programs, so I just got to make do.”
I nod. Ike has a friend there, I think. But, that won’t really matter, I don’t know much about her, I just have heard Ike mention the London Villa before. “Okay, good to see you are ready. Any questions or help you need, feel free to reach out, you know my office hours. If it’s urgent I check my email most nights pretty regularly. But it seems like you’re both okay.”
Ned nods. Cynthia adds the verbal confirmation with a “Pretty much.”
“In that case, enjoy your days, sorry to wake you up this early but I figured between you and my freshman, you’d be more likely to actually show up on time.”
Ned chuckles, but doesn’t deny it. He remembers Heather from the big meeting at the beginning of the year. And Vince isn’t much better. They walk out and I sit down. I have an extra five minutes to think about what on earth to do about Kenneth and how to push Lily without pushing too hard.
Nothing comes to me in that time, and Rachel and Lily walk in basically on time. Rachel fully ready for the day. Lily clearly having a just-rolled-out-of-bed-and-ran-here vibe. “So what’s the deal, Magister Paredes?” Lily asks.
Rachel replies before I get a chance to. “I assume this meeting is about our internship opportunities and whether our plans align with our goals.” It’s a statement, not a question.
Lily looks somewhere between confused and concerned. I smile at Rachel. “It’s less about any long term goals, but yes, I am wondering about internships. If you want to actually move forward in any career, be it inside the Magisterium or in the outside world, you have to remember no one knows very much about this place. So, while the degree is worth as much as any might be in theory, the only way to convince anyone of its worth is by interning.”
Lily nods slowly, beginning to understand. “Right, because in the outside world, we’re like a bunch of nobodies in a small private college, and in the big Magisterium, we’re basically the boonies.” I know she’s saying that in part to annoy Rachel, but as it is true, I can’t get too upset with her.
“So, for example, Rachel, I assume you have an internship accepted already?”
“Yes. I will be doing the administration business for the Singapore Villa while Great Maestro Tan attends the Convention. It is so that I get to know the systems and all the detail work required to truly run the day to day of a Villa,” Rachel explains, talking down to the pair of people she doesn’t think are worth her time. She truly will be a perfectly adequate Great Maestro one day. One who will alienate everyone and never advance any further than Great Maestro, but an adequate one none-the-less.
I turn back to Lily. “So, any idea where you want to go, or what sort of stuff you’ll want to do?”
“I’m thinking of just focusing on the journalisming side of things, maybe eventually a spin job in the Magisterium, but not for a long while. I’m sure I could send out feelers and find something in that vein.”
I nod. “If I get you an interview somewhere, will you be there for it? Any limits on where you want to work?”
“Well, I don’t actually have a passport, so somewhere in the States. Preferably somewhere with some kind of nightlife.”
I nod once more. I don’t really know anyone in the journalist sphere around here, but Therese definitely knows some important people over in the bay area. And shipping Lily over there might even be the sort of favor she ends up deciding pays for itself, if everything works out well. “I think I might be able to help you. Do look for something on your own, too, of course, but I should get back to you by the end of the week.” I look around. “Well, you two are done, any idea where Kenneth is?”
“Not my problem,” Rachel answers bluntly.
Lily adds, “Probably forgot entirely about the meeting and is fast asleep.”
As though on cue, Kenneth stumbles in, half asleep and actively chugging coffee. “Sorry, alarm forgot to go off.”
“Internship,” I say, “Know what you’re doing?”
“Right, I need to think about that,” Kenneth replies, still not really waking up, “Can I circle back tomorrow, during your office hours?”
“Are you actually going to, or are you just saying that?” I ask. I know the answer, and I know the answer he’s going to say, but I need to ask anyway.
“Of course I will,” he lies, “I just need time to wake up and think about it.” From the looks on Lily and Rachel’s faces, I know I’m not the only one that can tell he’s lying.
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