Question #5

Author: hah
Rating: PG
Summary: College application essays - don't you just love 'em?
Disclaimer: I don't own Roswell or any of the movies.
Dedication: This one is for my Loners and all those HS seniors out there.
Feedback: Feedback rocks!

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Question #5:

While academics are important to us here at Roswell University, we also strive to have a diverse student body. Please answer the following question in one page or less. Choose one of the following movies and compare it to your life:
a) Casablanca
b) Star Wars
c) Harvey
d) The Gods Must Be Crazy
e) Psycho

Max looked at the question and smiled. Ever since he'd first seen the movie, Max had been able to relate his life to Star Wars. He grabbed a notebook and began to work on his answer.

        Ever since I can remember, it's been me, my sister, Isabel, and my best friend, Michael. I guess I've always seen myself as Luke Skywalker, or maybe more like him later in the trilogy. Anyway, that would make Isabel Princess Leia, and Michael, Han Solo. Michael is the adventurous one, always acting before he thinks. Isabel is the voice of reason between the two of us. And I'm the thinker. I think about every move we make. I think about my destiny. It's out there somewhere, waiting for me to find it. Isabel and I are adopted, and I think about finding our original family.

The pen continued to move over the page as Max worked some more on his essay.

*****

Maria was curled up on her bed when she read the question. Essay questions sent her into a panic, so she pulled out a little vial of lavender oil. The scent calmed her nerves, and she began to write.

        Right now, she began, I relate to "Harvey." I'm Elwood, and my relationship with my boyfriend, Michael, is the invisible rabbit. I know it's there; I can see how special the bond between us is. It's right there next to us whenever we're together. It's in the way he kisses me. How can anyone miss this six foot three and a half- inch white rabbit of a relationship? How can he miss it?

Maria looked at what she had written and laughed. An essay about love being like an invisible rabbit. Her entrance was guaranteed.

*****

Alex read the question off the on-line application he was filling out. He moved the cursor to the response box and began to type.

        "The Gods Must Be Crazy" is the perfect movie to describe my life right now. It begins with a Coke bottle dropped into the middle of the African desert where it's picked up by a bushman. This piece of an alien civilization is dropped into a culture that has no idea what to do with it. In the last couple of years, my group of friends has expanded to include some Czechoslovakian students. They have some habits that are totally foreign to me. Trying to understand what motivates them sometimes almost feels like a bottle has dropped from the sky and hit me on the head.

Alex hit "save." He wanted to work on all his answers before he sent his application off.

*****

<<As if I would really consider going to Roswell U,>> Isabel thought as she opened up the application packet. The only thing that school had going for it was its location. She would be able to see her mom more often. She read over question five, trying to find a good answer.

        These days there are times that I think my life is like "Psycho". Not that I live in the Bates Hotel, or my mom is a big stressor, or anything, but I feel like Norman Bates. Sometimes I'm afraid deep inside me something's twisted and just waiting to get out. Some days I feel there's someone else inside me, someone who could, would, hurt the people I care about.

<<Great,>> she thought, <<I sound like I'm a psycho.>> Isabel ripped up the page and decided to come back to it later.

*****

Michael looked at the sheet of paper topped by the question. He thought the odds of him going to college were pretty slim, but as part of his agreement with Mr. Evans for the help in getting emancipated status, he had to at least apply. He chewed the end of the pencil as he thought about the question. Star Wars was too damn obvious.

        I've only seen two of the movies on the list and neither of them fit. Title-wise, I think "The Gods Must Be Crazy" fits best. Until last year, I lived in a foster home with Hank. My two best friends, Isabel and Max, are orphans too, but they were adopted. Crazy, huh? In a world where three kids are found abandoned at almost the exact same time, two get to live the fairy-tale life. The third gets stuck in a home that's worse than living alone. Movies were sometimes a luxury, or something I used to escape. And right now I can't think of any that apply to my life.

Michael tossed the paper and the pencil onto the counter. He was late for his shift at the Crashdown. He'd finish this later.

*****

Liz sat down at her computer and opened her word processing program. She'd type the essay up here and then print it on the question sheet.

        I think Casablanca compares to my life right now. Actually, Rick from Casablanca compares best. He found the love of his life, but gave it up for the greater good. I'm pretty sure my boyfriend, I mean my ex-boyfriend, Max, is the one for me. I know people might think we're too young but something between us just clicks. But now I've found out that his family has bigger plans for him, plans I'm not a part of. So I broke up with him; I let him go for the greater good. It's tearing me up inside, but I can't show it. I just have to stand there and watch the plane take off. Watch my one true love fly off into the unknown.

Liz re-read what she had just written. It sounded an awful lot like one of her diary entries. Was that what the admissions office was looking for?

*****

Kyle read the question and laughed. He planned to go to whichever school gave him an athletic scholarship but it never hurt to have a safety school, right? He swung around an imaginary lightsaber a few times before he threw himself onto the couch. The whole alien thing made Star Wars fit perfectly, especially the falling in love with the princess part, but that wasn't why he chose it.

        In the last year or so I've started to study Buddhism. The closest any of these movies come would be "Star Wars," with its use of the Force. I don't see them as exactly equal, but Obi-Wan trains Luke in a mystical, meditative state of mind. He learns to clear his mind, to focus. Things I've tried to accomplish through Buddhism. But, man, if I had a teacher like Obi-Wan to train me; it'd be amazing.

Hmm, he thought, as he read the entry. The Buddhist jock. That should catch their attention.

*****

Tess was in the kitchen fixing dinner for the sheriff and Kyle as she thought about the essay question. She'd stuck the application to the refrigerator with a magnet so she could re-read it while she cooked. College had never been in her plans; Nasedo had been pretty determined that she would rejoin the others and fulfill her destiny. But now Nasedo was gone, and her destiny didn't look as appealing as it once had.

        "Casablanca" is one of my all-time favorite movies. And right now, I think I can really relate to Ilsa. She was torn between two men. Her husband and her true love. I was raised with the knowledge that my marriage was to be an arranged one, a political union. It was my destiny to marry this man and help him in his work. And, for a while, I accepted that. Then I met a man I could love, for no other reason than the person he is. I don't want to fly off with Laszlo; I don't want to "always have Roswell" just as a memory. I want to stay in Casablanca with my Rick.

Tess nearly dropped the pan she had taken from the oven. She wanted to stay here with her Rick? Where had that come from? She was supposed to be thinking about college applications, not, um, Kyle.

*****

Alex ambled into the Crashdown and spotted Isabel and Max and Kyle and Tess sitting in one of the booths. He slid in beside Tess. Liz came over to take his order. She was followed by Maria and Michael.

"You look pretty happy, Alex," Maria said. "What's up?"

"I just sent in my application to Roswell U."

A mix of cheers and boos met his announcement. And he thought he heard Michael call him a dork, but he didn't care. It was the last application he had to worry about. "You're all just jealous," he said with a laugh. "I don't have anymore stupid essay questions to answer. Speaking of which, what did you guys put for question #5? The movie one?"

End