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It all came down to the money. SHP wanted hers, or rather, her father's. Amaravati scowled, bored out of her wits by the extended tour that she was being 'treated' to. She'd already made her mind up about DCU, and didn't see the point of this, but her papa had told her to give them a chance and see if she liked the school. Of course. The problem was, so far? She was bored out of her mind. Oh yes, of course she wanted a couple more years wearing a uniform! ... Not. Really, it wasn't as though it were a bad school. Sure, SHP wasn't above and beyond some of the other schools she'd applied to, but it had some reasonable programs.

However, as a Fashion Design student, she didn't think it would work out. "And here we have our music department," the droning voice said, and finally Amara perked up a little. As she had had little interest in the Science department, she hadn't been paying a lot of attention, but suddenly they were in a music room, and she couldn't help but glee. Somewhat, anyway. "Yes, it's very lovely," she said, trying not to sound irritable. She'd been bored to death, and not very enthusiastic about the prospect of a tour to begin with, but this was a hint more entertaining.

That didn't stop her from rolling her eyes when her tour guide began to extol the virtues of their program. Yes, yes. She understood. It was amazing, and wonderful, and oh couldn't she drop a nice big donation right here? Maybe they didn't realize that she had more or less gotten her plans set in stone. Maybe. Or maybe they thought that one benighted tour would change her mind, set in stone or not. Unfortunately for them, Amara wasn't terribly interested in what they had to say, and they were more or less wasting time. Theirs and hers.

"Bugger this," she muttered, looking very much as though she was going to flee at any moment, a hand on the strap of her overlarge purse. In scanning the room, she hadn't realized that it was occupied, and didn't notice now when she turned to leave. The tour was moving on, and Amara wasn't so sure that she wanted to go with it. She wasn't the only student being shown around right now, but she was $%#@ed sure that she was the only one not impressed. Then again, a lot of Crystal girls had loved their school, and would have jumped at the chance to continue to enjoy something akin to it. Pity she wasn't one of them.

... Wait a minute. She wasn't alone in the room. Was that someone on the piano? Yes, yes it was. Turning to get a good look, Amaravati paused when she heard the young man (for it was a young man, and not some teacher) speak. "Oh. Well, thank you. Yes, I'm on a tour, and I'm afraid it's dreadfully dull." Huh. She was just running into young men all over the place, wasn't she? But then, there were quite a lot of them. It was fortunate for her that the trend had continued, because she had much rather spend time with this new person than continue on that dratted tour!

"I suppose you're a student here?" she asked, making her way over. "I'm not a prospective student, really... but my father insisted that I take the tour regardless." It didn't seem fair, and hadn't seemed fair when he'd put it to her, but that was the way of things. Surely they wouldn't notice if she stayed here instead? The only downside that she could see to it was that she wouldn't be involved in the luncheon that was scheduled to take place later.

Then again, maybe she didn't want food from the school cafeteria. She had no idea how good or bad it might be, and wasn't so sure that she cared to risk it. Was he a music major, or just an enthusiast? She couldn't quite place what he'd been playing when she walked in, though it did sound awfully familiar.

"Well, yes," Amaravati said, conceding Paul's point. Hmmn, she could not deny that every school she had applied to that had offered a tour hadn't done the best job of showcasing its campus. "You may have a point, there." Interesting. The more he spoke, the more evident it became to her that he was about as American as she was. Raising an eyebrow, she observed him, curiosity growing as she heard him play. Hmmn. That really did sound very familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on it. It was alike, and unlike something-- or perhaps somethings?-- that she had heard before.

Still with that eyebrow cocked, she tried to work out where she'd heard it before. "If I may ask, what was that you were playing just now?" Oh. He was talking to her. Of course he was talking to her! Stupid of her to get caught up in the music, and fail to notice that the young man in question wasn't done being social. "Amaravati Priti," she said, taking his hand in one of her own with a practiced delicacy. "I will be attending Destiny City University in the Fall with a focus on Fashion and Culinary Arts. A please, Paul. May I call you Paul?"

A slow smile spread across Amaravati's lips, and she slid onto the bench beside him. "Most people call me Amara. They like the Anglicized version." But being called Amaravati was pleasant enough. She heard it rather rarely, in all honesty. She liked the tilt of his lips-- gave him character. In her opinion, the men of Destiny City could do with having some more character. So, that was all to the good. Most of the men she'd met either tended to give her nervous looks (and admittedly, Paul did seem a bit nervous), or smirk like they'd earned the right.

"Ha! So you're fulfilling the daydreams and fantasies of everyone female about up to here, huh?" She gestured to indicate about five feet, and then settled down at the piano to play a chord. Sure, she'd never learned anything fancy, but she knew that much at least. When she'd taken up an instrument, it had been the flute, but everyone learned the piano. Everyone in her social class, anyway. "Like I said, it's a pleasure. So, what do you think of your school, Paul?"

"You may call me what you like. I have no real preference. I'm used to hearing Amara from people around here, and Amaravati at home." She wasn't being helpful, but that couldn't be helped. Amaravati truly had no preference, here. Gliding her fingers over the keys, she started to play one of the few full length pieces that she knew. ... The lyrics, had she sung them, weren't in English, and it wouldn't be familiar to Paul in all likelihood, but she really didn't care.

Quirking an eyebrow at him, she grinned, her fingers stilling for the time being. "Oh I'll bet you do. So, you like... what, popular songs? Or are those considered Alternative? I'm not very familiar with piano music that isn't classical, nor have I had extensive training with the instrument." Enough. It was always 'enough'. She sewed well enough, she painted well enough, she danced well enough. If it was required of a lady, she had a handle on it. Not always a good handle, but after the rigmarole that was her schooling, she at least had one.

"Mmm... sounds like Crystal, a little. Yes, I quite agree. It will save me the hassle of dealing with another prep school, and I've had enough of that already. So, what's a premed student doing playing piano?" She was nosy. There was no avoiding the nosiness, but at least he was not currently being subjected to 'bossy'. "Eeuugh, I cannot abide the cafeteria food at Meadowview," she added, scrunching her nose indelicately. For someone who had even the faintest notion of what to do in a kitchen, Meadowview's cuisine was atrocious. Amara had a touch more than a notion, so she was honestly appalled by it.

Hands once more active, picking up the song where she'd left off, Amaravati considered Paul's words, nodding finally in agreement. "I've no love of classical music, really, but you'd be surprised how difficult it is to find good music for the flute. Much of what I play I've had to adapt for it. ... Well, good 'pop' music, anyway. You can find a huge variety otherwise." She was a flutist, if he hadn't gotten her 'subtle' message. "I did like what you were playing. Perhaps you might consider playing it once more?"

She was certainly interested in hearing more. "Have you ever heard some of the classics updated before? They're not bad when they're given a modern twist. But I suppose you're already familiar with them." Given that he seemed to be more competent with the piano than she was, and definitely more so than most of the girls she knew from Crystal were, it was a good bet that his range of know how was wider than hers.

... She was starting to love that smile, really. It was new, and interesting, and so was he. "What do you SHP students do for fun, anyway?" she inquired, giving him another quirk of her eyebrow. She'd stopped playing again, distracted by the opportunity to grill him for information. ... Well, only grill him a little. "What do you like to do in your spare time, if not play piano?" It was clear to her at least that he did like that.

Heh! "Well, if you'd ever like to have something near gourmet, you can always come over to my place? Or, that is, you can when I have a place." Amara could be a very good cook when she knew what she was doing. So far, that mostly included a lot of ethnic cuisine. If he didn't happen to like curry and the like, he was out of luck. Still, there were other things she could handle, particularly desserts.

Amaravati's eyes lit up at Paul's offer, and she hastened to take him up on it. "Absolutely! I would adore the opportunity to play duets with someone who knows what he is doing." She was almost gleeful over the prospect, actually. It was delightful. "Hmmnn, well, a lot of the pieces that I favor aren't Western, you see. There is something to be said for versatility in musicianship. I would love to play with you sometime. It seems that everyone is so focused on... well, everything else that I rarely get the chance to play with someone else. I do practice on my own, of course, but there are limitations to that." Such as her ability to fit school and her Negaverse duties in as well.

Interesting. So, he had a fairly strong opinion, here. "Exploration? But Paul, isn't the sound that you were playing before an adaptation? Would you not call that growth?" She had caught onto what she considered a hole in his argument, and intended to pursue it. "If you cannot find value in those updated classics, do you enjoy, oh... say, John Williams's work?" It wasn't classical, precisely, but it was beautiful, and closer to classical in style than the pop pieces he seemed to prefer. ... Although to be fair, maybe his work did count as 'popular' music. If there was anyone who did not know the Imperial March, she felt deeply sorry for them. Admittedly, John Williams did not overly employ the usage of piano in his work, so perhaps Paul could be excused for not being familiar with it or preferring it.

She paused, and allowed him time to play in peace, thinking over his choice of hobbies. There was something about the way he had shared them that suggested to her that this was a subject he was not terribly interested in pursuing, and while she might be considered rude in a lot of cases, she didn't want to seem so now. Amara had a hard enough time making friends as it was without actively trying to be difficult. What he said next startled a bark of laughter out of her, however, and she grinned at him. "I am absolutely not afraid of you, Mr. Wyndham. Perhaps I am foolish not to be, but you'll find that there is very little that I truly fear."

Very little that she feared that involved people, anyway. There were a lot of other things she feared, things outside of her control. Actually, having things outside of her control bothered her on a level that one might almost classify as 'fear'. "If you're a terrorist than you'll just have to kill me now, Paul, because I'm afraid that I will invite whomever I see fit to my home." Neener neener. But then he was smiling, and not sounding all that serious, and she could help but shove his shoulder a little bit with her own, showing him that he hadn't fooled her. "I knew you were."