"This is not your last hope. Don't grab onto it like it is." She hadn't actually probed like offered, but the girl was bleeding thoughts and desperation all over her office. Rachel sat forward and placed her arms on the edge of her desk.

"I currently have an art teacher on staff, and I'm not looking to replace him. When I suggested the interview to get me to think about hiring you, you skipped over the suggestions I made that could have you helping people and getting a new perspective from the ashes.

"Skipping the one about Stephanie is understandable. However, you rushed out of the city and right on by the mutant shelter to pin your hopes on a long shot. Even if your affiliation with the male Shaws is cut, your affiliation with the Thieves Guild no matter how angry and tenuous gives me pause. If I was running the X-Men field teams, you would have a shot with getting on one of them.

"However, I'm not. I'm the headmaster of a school for mutants. I have to be particular about the staff teaching my students. You have fine credentials." She placed a hand on the stack of papers. "None of us here are swayed by Sebastian Shaw, and you'll find not all of New York is beholden to him either. He may cast a big shadow, but the city is even bigger than him."