Cable Car
Steve was sitting in the same seat he had been in the morning previous. However, now he felt prepared. He now felt at least competent, thanks to J.A.R.V.I.S. and Pepper, using a laptop and cell phone. He was introduced to email, Google, and word processing. J.A.R.V.I.S. had even helped him find a copy of We Now Know on the Internet, but Steve declined because he wanted to stick to paper. Something about books online just seemed strange to him. So instead, he had decided to arrive early and check out the copy, that he was supposed to check out yesterday, from the Research Services Library. He was attempting to complete as much of the reading that Dr. Harrison had asked of him yesterday, and he was making sure to take notes.
Steve had decided yesterday that he'd follow through and commit to these teaching sessions. Pepper had not only helped him with the technical stuff, but also gave him some much-needed encouragement. He was being offered a chance, a chance for an education that he never thought he'd get, and he didn't want to waste it. He'd have to remember to thank her later.
Steve could hear the familiar clicking of heels again and looked up to see Dr. Harrison approaching him.
"Good morning Dr. Harrison," Steve greeted her politely.
"Look at you Steve! Yesterday you very nearly walked out of here, and now you're here early working. You're making me look bad," She said while taking a seat beside him.
Steve smiled awkwardly, "Yes, well. I had some reading to catch up on from yesterday."
"How far have you gotten?" Roberta asked.
"I'm almost done the last chapter you assigned, chapter 8." Steve answered.
"That's fantastic. Do you mind if we discuss your thoughts so far? Or would you prefer to finish?" Roberta asked.
"Well to be entirely honest… I found quite a bit of it troubling," Steve admitted.
"How so?" She questioned.
Steve sighed and began rummaging through his notes, "Well… I remember back before we were involved in the War, and how nobody wanted to intervene at first. Everyone wanted to avoid involvement before finally having Hitler declare war on us. We had lost a lot in the first War, so when war broke out again we were apprehensive about getting involved. Was it even our place to get involved? But according to this we've intervened just about everywhere, and in places that didn't really seem to need or want our help."
"Excellent Steve. The United States felt that stopping the spread of communism was more important than a nations own self-determination. Why did that bother you?"
"Well… when I was trying to enlist in the war, I just wanted to help. I don't like bullies, and that was what the Nazis were. And not just to other countries, but to their own people. I didn't know at the time… but when I first came out of the ice S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to prepare me for some of what I missed… and when I found out what Hitler did to the Jews, the disabled, homosexuals… anyone else he deemed unworthy, it made me sick," Steve tried not to think what his fate may have been if he had been born in Germany pre-super serum.
"Go on Steve, what else was troubling?" Roberta encouraged.
"Well… according to this book it seems as though the United States and Russia took over with the bullying. Reading about what we did in Vietnam, that was troubling. I think I need to read more on that though, I didn't get enough explanation on it," Steve finished.
"See, now you're talking. You shouldn't just take his," Roberta said while tapping her finger on the book, "word for it. Looking at what other historians have to say is a good idea. I actually brought a textbook of my own for you to use that should help."
Roberta reached into her satchel and pulled out a textbook titled: Major Problems in American Foreign Relations, Volume II: Since 1914. She handed it to Steve who opened it and began flipping through it, seeing already highlighted text.
"This is for you to use until our lessons are over. It even has some great essays and documents from closer to your time, if you're interested. I just wanted to start you with Gaddis to introduce you to the idea of critical thinking. This textbook, however, is a good introduction of the origins and progression of the Cold War. It contains essays written by various historians and also primary documents from those instances in history."
"Hey! I remember this!" Steve beamed.
It was the first involuntary smile Roberta had seen Steve give. He was pointing to page 132, FDR's Infamy Speech.
"I remember Bucky and I, we heard it on the radio together. After the declaration of war on Japan and then Hitler declaring war on us, well Bucky and I went to enlist right away. It was what felt right, everyone else had already been fighting so it felt like we should be trying to help," Steve explained.
"Bucky?" Roberta inquired.
"My best friend. He managed to get into the army no problem of course. I took a little longer," He answered and the smile had disappeared.
"Better late than never Steve," Roberta smiled before continuing, "So what else did you think of the book?"
The corner of Steve's lips twitched up. He supposed she was right, and was glad she didn't pry. Roberta often didn't pry or speak about his personal life. She seemed to have little interest in getting to know Captain America. Steve couldn't tell if it was because she was trying to be professional or because she knew he didn't want to talk about his past too much. Regardless, Steve appreciated it.
"Well, Mr. Gaddis spends a lot of his time pointing fingers. I have never found that to be productive," Steve said.
"Give me an example," said Roberta.
Steve remembered back on the helicarrier when Loki's spear was manipulating everyone into verbally attacking each other. Everyone turned on one another so quickly. Thor was right when he said it had been petty. He was ashamed of the things he said to Stark that day.
The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.
You better stop pretending to be a hero.
"But something's telling me that isn't what she meant," Steve mused.
"He seems to consistently blame Russia for everything. He rarely if ever attributes any blame to the U.S. or our allies, and when he does he gives a lot of excuses. I think it'd be more respectable to own up to one's failures and mistakes, so I don't like that he's writing on behalf of the United States. I did find it admirable that he thinks that Vietnam was our biggest mistake and a failure on our part though. I need to read more about that," Steve explained.
"Don't worry, we'll get there. Everyday I want you to read a chapter from the textbook I gave you starting with chapter 6. If you want you can do chapter 5, the chapter on World War II, and we can discuss it. Might be nice for you to start with familiarity. Next week you're going to pick a chapter to present on. Don't worry, nothing fancy like a PowerPoint presentation. Just you presenting and analyzing the documents from the chapter you've chosen. You'll be presenting to me, and I invited Mr. Hughes to join us to give you a bit of an audience," Roberta informed him.
"An assignment so soon?" Steve questioned.
"Yee have little faith. Like I said, we'll get there. Today has been a huge improvement, for the both of us." Roberta encouraged.
Steve still wasn't so sure. Scanning through the table of contents nothing was familiar past chapter 5, though he supposed that was the point. Apparently Roberta noticed his hesitation.
"Steve what's bothering you?" She asked him.
Steve ran a hand through his hair and shrugged. Where to begin? He sat with his hands folded on his lap and simply stared down at the desk in front of him, waiting for the right words to come to him.
"It's just something a friend of mine said to me yesterday, that 'an education would be a terrible thing to waste' and that it could open doors for me. I hadn't thought of it that way until she said it. I just don't want this opportunity to be wasted on me, if I can't do it." He confessed.
Roberta reached over toward him, placing her small hand in Steve's eye line where he continued to stare down at the desk. He looked over to her and she had a very determined look on her face.
"Steve, what did I just tell you?" She asked in a firm yet warm voice.
Steve simply stared at her for a few moments before it came to him.
"That we'll get there."
"And do you trust me Steve?" She asked.
"Yes ma'am," Steve replied, one corner of his mouth turning upward.
Roberta moved her hand away, sitting back in her chair with a bright smile on her face.
"Bloody hell Steve. You ruined a perfectly lovely moment. You need to stop calling me ma'am or am I going to start docking you for it!" Roberta teased.
"Sorry Roberta, it won't happen again."
He noticed Roberta smile slightly and nod at him before going back to the textbook. It was her subtle way of reacting to the name change, but did nothing else to acknowledge it. Steve shook his head and smiled to himself. He pulled his laptop back to him in order to look up the Cuban Missile Crisis; it was the subject of chapter 10 in the textbook. He hadn't read anything on that subject yet, and he had to start somewhere.
4 Follows! Thank you very much guys :) I hope the almost month long wait wasn't too obnoxious. I was having a wee bit of writers block on the chapter following this one, and I like to have the next chapter either done or nearly done before I publish the one before it. Also, I've been ridiculously busy with work, ugh.
If you did like the chapter please review and follow! If you didn't like the chapter please review and follow! Next chapter to follow soon as it is almost complete! So until then, until then.