[David & Izak] The Basketball Diaries

[arollingstoner]

Dad had texted just before practice that he was going to be late again - and Mom was in London tonight, anyway, sleeping off her last international flight - so David hadn't seen much point in going home. Probably would have just been Rosa's enchiladas, he thought. Not that it was a bad thing, but sitting at the kitchen island in their silent apartment wasn't exactly his idea of a good time.

Of course, the problem with going to school where he did was that everyone else he knew - even the other guys on the team - were too worried about whether they'd get into Notre Dame or Stanford or wherever to do anything that might approach fun. Never mind they'd all been admitted now. Hell, he was even admitted now, even if his five acceptances didn't have Ivy cachet. They were all stuck in the habit, even now that grades didn't matter anymore.

Well, whatever, he thought as he sacked out on a bench and glanced in all directions before he slipped a joint out of his pocket. Just a few more months of this, then they'd all be away. It probably didn't much matter now.

He barely saw the shadow of someone coming by him as he was lighting up, and David's eyes flashed upwards, uncharacteristically sharp and incisive for a moment. Then he saw who it was, and he grinned.

"Hey, Kagan. You're out late. Riding herd on your baby sis?"

Comments

[nerdydna]

"Oh yeah? Me...I'm totally going the science or math road. Of course, I think everyone knows that. I was thinking Biochemistry, Genetics, I might do a Computer Science degree though. I can't decide, I mean there are so many fields of interest, and then you start down one and boom- holy shit there is a holy other branch of study you can go down that is related and totally different at the same time." He paused, staring ahead with a bit of wide eyed wonderment.

"I don't think I can decide."

[arollingstoner]

"Uh-huh." David's mind spun a little just trying to parse all of Izak's words, and he shrugged. It seemed like the thing to do. He liked Izak's enthusiasm, he just hadn't really ever felt it for anything academic himself. Even remotely; school was just something to get through.

"Well...since none of those things are electives at school, except the one biochem class and computer science...you'll probably be better able to figure it all out after you start taking classes." Or he could just go to school forever. David could honestly see that happening.

[nerdydna]

Izak might, actually, have considered the idea of getting three or four degrees. It wasn't like he couldn't afford them, really. And he certainly know how to work his ass off at things (a by product of being Hadyn's son, Elisha said.)

"Yeah, I know. And it sucks major balls. I'm in BioChem right now, but the Dean told me I couldn't take the computer science course because it conflicted with my required courses. Well, I could have, I guess, but then I'd have had to given up BioChem. And frankly, BioChem is more or less my leaning at the moment."

[arollingstoner]

David, on the other hand, could see himself getting one degree - he was thinking Spanish and European history - and then making like his mother. Airline pilot or something. Travel the world and let Leigh carry the torch of being impressive. She was better at it than he was.

"You could probably take it at DePaul or Loyola as an auditor or something." Uncle Charlie's wife Rachel worked in the bursar's office at DePaul, so David had heard the ins and outs more than once. "Circumvent the Dean. Personally his argument with me was getting me to pick two electives in the first place. I ended up stuck in a philosophy and ethics class." Which wasn't all that bad, really, but that wasn't the sort of thing you could admit out loud.

[nerdydna]

"Nah, man. Even I know when I'm over doing it. I have a full schedule, I probably don't even have time for it. Just sort of sucked the way the class schedules worked out, you know?" He said, with a shrug as they walked on. "It's cool, anyway. I mean, I can take a course in college, and maybe go down that road. Who knows. Heck, I might just take a gap year, anyway, and like...travel. Maybe something out there will catch my interest even more."

Because he'd lived a somewhat sheltered life if he were honest with himself. "Sorry....My extreme nerd is showing."

[arollingstoner]

"A gap year sounds awesome," David said, slightly relieved to get off the subject of college and career paths. Both subjects tended to make his skin crawl a little bit. "Dad's pretty insistent I go straight off to college. The sigh of relief was immense when I got the magic letters back from Dartmouth and USC. I think probably I'll be heading off to New Hampshire in the fall. Haven't decided for sure yet, though."

L.A. sounded like it would be his kind of place, really, as much as Adam wanted him to go Ivy.