life is full of choices (Joshua)

The cold winter air cut down his through like knives as he inhaled, for though he did not feel most of the effects of the cold he could not shake the effect it had on his breathing. Winter was his least favourite season of the four. It's only redeeming quality was Christmas and there were places that did not get any snow at all on Christmas, so the fact that it was associated with snow was really the fault of the country that he lived in and others like it. I wouldn't mind a green Christmas, he thought to himself as he walked along the ploughed paths of the park, his thick hiking boots crunching as they made contact with the packed-down snow. It'd be kind of nice, actually. Warm. He loved the warmth. Joshua was quite sure that he could live in the desert and be perfectly happy about it, so long as he had a constant supply of water to keep himself from dehydrating. He could not get sunburnt and did not tan, so he didn't think he'd have a problem with the insanely high temperatures. There was always skin cancer but he was probably immune to that, too, since he was immune to all the other debilitating effects of the sun. It was a pretty good deal if you asked Josh, not that anyone ever had. He didn't have a lot of people that he could talk to about random things like elemental facts because the fact that he was a complete dork did not mean that everyone else was right there with him.

The fountain looked almost sad in the winter. It was too cold to count on a reliable stream of water and so they shut it off during the cold months and let it fill up with snow and water. The previous snow in it had melted, leaving a stagnant and unattractive puddle in its wake. He preferred it in the warmer months when it bubbled cheerfully as people sat on the nearby bench, talked and laughed with one another. He would have moved on if not for his phone buzzing in his pocket, alerting him to the fact that he had a text. He wondered for a moment why the ringer had not gone off, then realised that he'd probably shut it off when he was at work and forgot to turn it back on again. Whoops, my bad. Oh well, at least he could feel it humming persistently against his thigh. He pulled it out and started to text his friend in reply, declining an offer to go to a party because he wasn't in the mood for that kind of crazy drinking tonight. It took a while to get the text out considering he was determined about using perfect grammar and punctuation with his messages and just as he hit send, something light and papery collided with his foot. He wouldn't have noticed if not for the fact that he heard the sound it made. The Fire graduate bent down to pick it up, then glanced into the face of the person who'd been pursuing it.

It took only a brief moment for recognition to hit. "Gabriella, hello." The fact that she'd been a Water student had turned him off her presence at first but the Fire graduate had at last gotten used to the fact that they were his allies now and that there was nothing he could do about it. Nothing he really wanted to do. They weren't half bad once you got past the grudges held for all the pranks they'd pulled. Glancing at the pamphlet, his lips twitched. "UBC, huh? Nice choice. Are you going to medical school there?" Or, well, hoping to, he supposed. Joshua was very smart and ambitious so he figured he'd be able to get into the top medical schools if he wanted to. Harvard in the United States, McGill in Canada. Unfortunately, Josh wasn't willing to leave his family for that length of time. He wasn't just going to medical school for four years, he was going for eight. The journey of a physician-scientist was one hell of a long one. He refused to leave Nell for a near-decade. "Aren't you just going into junior year?" he realised, frowning in puzzlement. "Thinking ahead or something?" Couldn't argue with that. Joshua was definitely a person who planned for the future. He didn't realise her mother had pushed her into looking. "I'm aiming for the school in the Hollow. It's not the best but it's decent and I don't think I could leave this place." His lips twitched. Too many memories, too much attachment to depart.

Joshua had once had much bigger dreams for himself in terms of medical school, back when he hadn't been too concerned about leaving Annabel and his parents behind for a few years. They'd grown up with him and he'd keep in touch of course so he'd figured that it wouldn't be too bad to study abroad. Unfortunately, he'd been unable to predict that he'd meet Nell and that she'd become such an important presence in his life. He wasn't going to ask her to pack up and move to America or Quebec to pursue his medical career and so he had to make some compromises. Nell or school? His choice had not been a difficult one. "It's definitely a pretty good pick," he said with a thoughtful frown. "I haven't heard anything bad about it." It was often labelled as a party school but that was the choice of the students, not the administration. If the students chose to focus on their medical career rather than getting drunk every night then they'd probably do just fine. Joshua had been to quite a few parties and experimented with alcohol in his teenage years to a rather severe extent but he'd decided to straighten up his act and move on with his life, so he had. It was the choice of an individual that affected their path in life and no one else. Others might be involved but they were never the most important part of a decision.

It was ironic that Joshua's parents were barely involved in the fact that Josh was so serious about his education. A lot of parents tried to push their kids into being doctors, lawyers, nurses, and other high-paying types so that they could see their children to success. Donovan and Patricia, despite being very upstanding members of society themselves, had never tried to force anything onto their son. He'd pursued success and ambition of his own accord and perhaps that was why he was so relaxed about it all. This was what he wanted and so he wasn't worried about whether or not it was the right choice. If he felt it was, then it was. "Ah, parents," he said, sounding mildly amused. He didn't offer any information about his own, not really seeing the need. "I guess it is good to have some idea, though, especially since there's deadlines for applications and all. It's not good to make last minute decisions." Joshua was never the type to jump headlong into a decision without first weighing his options carefully. He liked to make decisions that were based on logic and reason and such a thing couldn't happen if he didn't consider every possible turn in the path. It meant he had to take a while to decide things but it also meant he ended on a confident note. That suited him.

He blinked in surprise. She hadn't heard of it? Was she from Maple Hollow or somewhere else? He thought about asking but didn't. Then again, she might not be as obsessed with schools as Joshua was. It could be entirely plausible that someone didn't know the names of most of the places in town like he did. He was really insane with his dedication at times. Instead of questioning her, he replied, "The University of Maple Hollow. No points for creativity, eh?" They had a college branch too and some preferred to go to the college and then later the sister university but of course Joshua was a special case. He'd been able to attend the Academy for undergraduate school. Sometimes he wondered what life would be like if they had a graduate school as well but they did not and so there was no use pursuing the thought for long. "I was going to go to Harvard," he said easily, as if it wasn't a big deal at all that he'd been thinking about the Ivy League schools in another country, "but I decided that eight years abroad probably isn't the best choice." It would be different if he didn't have a fiancée but he did and he knew that it changed things. His loyalty to Nell won out over his desire to boast Ivy League credentials. He was still thinking about applying just to see if they'd accept him. For his own entertainment and all. But maybe that was unfair. "So UMH it is for me." Hopefully. If he got in.

Joshua nodded. "That's true." A lot of schools had bad reputations that were well-earned but the students who attended the school and gave it the reputation it did could not speak for the intelligence of the faculty. Then again, he supposed it worked in another direction as well—if the school was really that good, students who spent most of their time slacking and partying would not be able to get in. He hadn't heard anything bad about the Hollow's university and its medical school actually attracted quite a few people to the small city. His father had told him the reason the hospital was so respected was the fact that it cooperated with the school nearby. "Even if the people aren't that great, I guess if you're smart enough any school could be a good choice." If you were focused and dedicated enough on what you wanted to learn you could surely ignore the other people around you and concentrate on your own education, right? Josh had managed to do that for most of his life. He hadn't been the best kid when it came to getting into scraps and fights on the school yard (ah, temper problems) but he'd been very intelligent and a hard worker so he'd kept his grades up consistently. Really, his smarts had probably saved the Academy from kicking him out. Schools didn't like to waste people with potential if they thought they could avoid it.

His lips twitched. Most people were close to their parents and even if they fought daily, they'd always have something good to say about them in the end. Family loyalties went a long way and chances were, most parents did want what was best for their kids at the end of the day. Despite all the issues that Joshua'd had with Donovan in the past, he'd praise his father via conversation if anyone asked after him. He was loyal. "I don't doubt it." It didn't concern him that his family weren't pushy about him and his education. They didn't need to be and so their lack of persistent involvement was not a shock. They did support him and Donovan's eyes had glowed with pride when Joshua had mentioned that he'd have gone to Harvard if not for Nell. "You'd have made it, too, I bet," was what his father had said. It had made him feel good about himself. He really was following in his father's footsteps. Joshua wanted to become more than just a doctor, though. He didn't have the eye for business that the older man had and so he didn't want to own a hospital, he wanted to become a big name in medical research and development. It was a dream.

There was something like pride in his gray eyes when he dipped his head. "Yeah, I was. I could have made it if I was willing to go that far from home." There was no doubt in his voice because Josh never tended to doubt himself. He was a confident, self-assured person. He knew what he wanted from life and he was not willing to sit idly by. He would stand up and take it. Of course, that didn't guarantee acceptance into Harvard but he didn't consider this. No, Josh figured that he was intelligent and driven and that was all he needed. If there's a will, there's a way. There was a lot of will. "UMH isn't so bad, though. It's no Harvard or McGill but you don't need Ivy League or reputation to be a good doctor." He shrugged. Unfortunately, those sorts of schools gave you one thing that Joshua did want—credibility. He was sure Harvard had produced some shitty doctors and small-time universities had produced brilliant ones but that didn't change what society thought. When they heard Harvard-educated they generally thought of a very smart, responsible person. He'd wanted the notable name of the school more than anything else. Still, he was willing to sacrifice it for Nell's sakes. Better married and educated in eight years than graduating from Harvard and ending up alone in life.

He chuckled wryly when she mentioned that she'd never do what he'd almost wanted to. "Eh, it'll be eight years no matter where I go. Best it's close to home." He was in this for the long ride. No backing down, no backing out. Joshua was not worried in the least about the incredibly long time remaining between now and the day he'd finally be licensed to practice medicine. One day was better than never. "I'm going to become a physician-scientist so I've got to train for my masters and doctorate at the same time." It was possible to do them both separately but that meant it would take even longer. The program he was going into was aimed toward physician-scientists, specially trained doctors who spent most of their time in laboratories.