Diego

[nola_donnamoss]

When it came to people or topics she knew well, Jourdaine was nosy. Not in a judgmental way, necessarily, but in a wanting to know what was going on and be a part of things kind of way. Or maybe in an avoid this fuckery kind of way, if it came down to it. So it was very on-brand for her to see someone looking over an endcap filled with LSAT study guides and practice test books and sidle on over like it was her business. Not that he would know it wasn't an unusual thing for her, since she was a complete stranger.

"Don't do it," she warned, though her mouth was quirked up into an almost-wry smile that made it clear she wasn't entirely serious. "Get out now while you still can."

Comments

[nola_joshlyman]

Diego looked up in surprise -- and momentary panic or guilt, like he'd just been busted having a secret. Which, well, was true, but at least this wasn't someone he knew. No one he knew could know about this, not until he'd passed that damn LSAT and it was really happening.

He laughed a startled laugh, looking at this stranger. "Who says it's for me?"

[nola_donnamoss]

Daine's smile warmed up immediately, but she was still clearly amused. "That flash of panic just there," she answered knowingly, pointing at his face. "That's not something you get when you're caught buying these things for someone else." Besides, he didn't seem old enough to have a kid who needed one. Her brain just glossed right over the possibility that he'd be buying it for a significant other.

[nola_joshlyman]

“It’s me,” Diego had to admit. “I’m the idiot.” He felt conspicuously old, too old to be looking at any of this, but he was also so charmed by this stranger. “You’re a lawyer, huh?"

[nola_donnamoss]

"I am. So don't worry, I've seen every kind of law school-related panic there is. Also felt most of them myself." She was far more shocked by how young most first year law students were, partly as a function of getting older herself but also because more students were going straight from undergrad into law school than was traditional. Not being 22 definitely wasn't a downside. "If you're not a little freaked out, you don't care enough."

[nola_joshlyman]

“I think if I do this I’ll care about it more than I’ve ever cared about anything in my life,” Diego found himself admitting, and honestly, it felt kind of good to be able to talk about it. It was a necessary secret for his pride, but maybe this was his calling. It was on his mind.

[nola_donnamoss]

"You'd better. It's a waste of time if you don't." Jourdaine didn't have time for the people who went to law school because their parents told them to, or because they just wanted to make a lot of money, or because they couldn't get into med school. "Why if 'if'?"

[nola_joshlyman]

Diego shrugged. “I have to get in first.” He was, he knew, extremely intelligent. But he hadn’t been putting his brain through academic rigour for quite some time.

[nola_donnamoss]

"That's not the hard part. You're not an infant, that already gives you a leg up in admissions." She held out her hand, introducing herself. "Jourdaine Dupont. You wanna sit and talk about it?"

[nola_joshlyman]

“Hi,” Diego said, shaking her hand. “Diego. You don’t mind?” It would be nice to talk to someone.

[nola_donnamoss]

"I wouldn't have offered if I minded," she pointed out, almost calling him by the wrong name. It was there, on the tip of her tongue, even if she didn't know what it was. Diego. He'd said his name was Diego. "No point in hoarding all this wisdom to myself."

[nola_joshlyman]

“Like a dragon with gold,” Diego commented, wryly. “Sure, share your knowledge. God knows I could use it.”

[nola_donnamoss]

"If only I did have gold. Then I could afford shoes and international travel." The shoes, and her dedication to her work, always seemed to win out. Daine found a couple of empty armchairs--well, empty once she moved the pile of abandoned books off the seat of one of them and onto a nearby table--and sat down. "So what do you do now that you're planning on giving up for law school?"

[nola_joshlyman]

Diego sat, pushing a hand through his hair and offering her a quick smile now that they were settled. “I teach high school English. I’ve been doing it for a while.”

[nola_donnamoss]

"Worthwhile job. So why the switch?" Did he hate kids or something else about it and was running from it, or was he running towards something?

[nola_joshlyman]

“I don’t think it was ever my calling. I like the work, I might have some teacher burnout, but it’s good work, so it’s not really that. But I have a good mind and I want to use it to its potential. But. It’s more that I want to study civil law because I believe we can govern this country in a better way for everyone who lives here. After 2016, really, I’ve been looking for my contribution. You know? And this is it. I have to be where the country is made to make it better.” Diego didn’t quite look at her while he spoke; he hadn’t said anything like this aloud, and he was baring his soul.

[nola_donnamoss]

There was something in her expression that grew as Diego spoke. A fire, maybe, that recognized, reflected his. When he finished, she put a hand on his arm, understanding. "I know. That's the same reason I do...well, everything I do, really."

[nola_joshlyman]

Diego glanced quickly at Jourdaine’s hand, but then he looked at her properly, met her eyes. He nodded with that sam understanding. “Tell me about what you do.”

[nola_donnamoss]

"I'm a civil rights lawyer, I specialize in Title IX claims against schools. For my day job, anyway. I also do some pro bono work with community organizations, and do some political campaigning. Mostly local stuff, but I did some state and regional level stuff in the last presidential election." In other words: this stuff meant a lot to her, and she put in the work.

[nola_joshlyman]

She lived it and breathed it. Diego admired that, more than he could say. “I’m really lucky I ran into you.”

[nola_donnamoss]

That meant more than it really should, coming from a man she'd just met. "You are, because now I know you're on our team, I'm not going to let you back out. Or fail."

[nola_joshlyman]

Diego nodded again, slowly. That felt — he couldn’t describe how it felt. “Thank you. I’m doing this on my own, so… it means a lot.”

[nola_donnamoss]

"No significant other cheering you on?" She didn't know why that seemed important to clarify.

[nola_joshlyman]

“No,” Diego admitted, and looking at Jourdaine, the pang he felt when he said no felt a little less than usual. “Just me and the work.”

[nola_donnamoss]

"Same," she admitted. "It's actually easier, in a way. It tends to be too hard, when you're all in with this, unless they're all in too."

[nola_joshlyman]

“I get that. Or I guess I just sensed that. I was with my ex-girlfriend for ten years,” why was he telling her this? “And I think we broke up so we could be all in with the things we wanted to do in our lives.l