disclaimer: The characters are Marvel's, except for Jenny.

Test Two
by Dizi

Hi! My name's Jenny, and as I said before, you don't know me.

I'm really a very private person. No, really, I am. Anyone would tell you I'm shy, a doormat. I get walked on alot. Have you seen those people who sit in the back of the room and don't talk to anyone? The ones people shove out of their way and they mumble an apology? I'm sure you have, but you might not have paid attention to them. Well, that's me.

Unless you meet me at work. I'm a whole different person there. Anywhere else I revert to type, but there I can be the kind of person I always wanted to be. I'm bold and daring, and some would say without common sense. It's easy to be that way when you've got protection. I think I already told you about that.

Its not like I changed right away. One incident does not make somebody a whole new person. Heck, neither do two, but they sure can help.

One thing you have to understand, when I first went to Harry's looking for a job I was desperate. I'd been living on my own for a long time. My parents sent me to a reform school just short of juvie when I was thirteen and there were some... incidents. I really don't want to get into what happened, but lets just say it was bad. I ran away after a year.

Do you have any idea how hard it is for a nice young girl from an upper-middle class family to get along on her own, to be homeless? Do you know how many homeless are mutants? I didn't. They helped me alot. If it wasn't for homeless mutants I would have died in the first week. When I first met them, they felt sorry for me and helped me. Not that it was easy just easier.

My parents would have had a conniption.

Now, I have no problem with mutants, I like them both individually and as a group. I would love to be a mutant, and I firmly believe that every mutant hater out there would too. They're jealous that they don't powers of their own. My parents were like that, I think, or at least my father was. He just forgot to teach me to think that way.

But as 'anti-mutant sentiments' got worse and I got older, they just weren't kosher with me to hanging with them anymore. So, I had to get out. Which meant a job. Which led me to Harry's. The job where I serve drinks to a group of mutant super-hero's regularly.

So anyway, I really needed the job. I begged and begged and then I begged some more, until Harry agreed to give me a chance. Two tests, he said, and I could stay as long as I wanted. I passed the first one, though just thinking about it still makes my butt hurt and my stomach drop.

Harry probably still didn't really want me to stay, because he didn't tell me when to come in. So I came in on my own at what I thought was the appropriate time. Just came in and started working. He never even told me what to do. I did what I figured I should from watching what the other waitresses did and did not do. One thing they didn't do was wipe tables, so being from a upper-middle class family, I felt that was important and it was something I did alot. Though I was much more careful how far I leaned over after that first night.

This went on for two weeks. I was a nervous wreck. I mean, every day I went in to a job that I didn't know if I would still have by the end of the night. Not to mention, I was living off tips because I hadn't gotten paid yet.

Logan came in alot and anyone who saw us would have said we didn't like each other. It wasn't true, but that's what people thought. Of course, that was probably because I broke that tray over his head. You'd think they would change their mind after his little announcement, but what do I know? He scowls at me and I scowl back. He doesn't pinch my butt and I don't break trays over his head. It's all cool. I make sure he has an ashtray and a beer and we get along fine. And he's a good tipper.

Then Logan comes in with some friends, and get this one of them is a kid. Harry did that smile thing again and sent chills down my spine. When Harry smiles be afraid, very afraid. I don't care how cliched it sounds, even if nothing actually happens, its scary. He tells me the whole group is test two and I'm to make sure they don't start any fights.

I don't know if you watch tv, but remember I had been homeless. I didn't watch the news and I had no idea what the X-men looked like or what they could do. I had a vague idea of who they were because of my homeless mutant friends, but that was it. What I did know was that these people didn't look like they were going to listen to me if I asked them politely to play nice with others. I believe the word everyone should be thinking here is 'understatement'.

I figured I should go with what I know, and brought Logan his ashtray and beer. I put on the sweet smile and took their orders. No problems getting them to tell me what they wanted. They were real nice and polite. They played pool and kept to themselves. I really couldn't figure out what the problem was. This was cake.

But I took the precaution of pulling Logan aside and telling him my job was on the line and there was to be no fights. He kinda looked sorry for me, but nodded and said he would pass it along.

He's started this habit of giving me money for the jukebox. Whenever it stops, and nobody else starts it up again, he hands me quarters. I told you we got along. Ususally its enough for two songs, and I pick one I know he likes and one I like. It was a slow night so he gave me more money than usual and I had trouble picking out his share.

One of them is this tall, really cute guy, with reddish brown hair and a dreamy french accent. He's got a great smile, a great body, and charm out the ass - and what an ass it is, let me tell ya. He's eye-candy and he knows it. The only thing about him that lets you know he's a mutant is his eyes and he was wearing sunglasses so I didn't find that out right away. Not that I care, I think his eyes are great too. He's also a flirt.

"Need some help, chere?" I heard, and there he was leaning against the wall beside the jukebox lighting a cigarette.

"Nah, just put in too much money and don't know what to pick. You can choose the rest if you want, I gotta get back to work anyway." I smile at him and he does this half smile thing and my knees go weak. The man is hot! All the men at that table are hot, but he's the one smiling at me. From some of what I overheard when I passed out the beer, he's also taken so I know better than to get my hopes up. Besides, he's way out of my league. But what's a smile, huh?

The smile was a mistake. Seems one of the other waitresses has a thing for him and felt like I was horning in on her territory. Maybe he flirted with her, I don't know. She started in on me right away. I'm just supposed to keep them from starting a fight and I figure I've done that. Logan talked to them and they were being good. She can serve them if she wants to. But when I made the offer she got worse. I blew it off and started wiping tables again.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. Mr. Eye-Candy at some point takes his glasses off and she finds out he's a mutant. This leads to assumptions on her part about the rest of the group and she starts making comments to me everytime I pass by the bar about being a mutie lover. It ticks me off, but we've already talked about the kind of person I am, so I just go about my business.

The only one of them who doesn't look like they could kick-butt is the kid, Jubilee. We hit it off right away. Gayle, the other waitress, started making comments about her too. I had to clench my teeth, but again I let it slide. For over an hour that's all I heard when I wasn't wiping tables or serving beer - ginger ale in Jubilee's case. I think Logan must have overheard some of it because he kept looking our way.

All but Jubilee decided to take a break, I guess, because she was alone at the pool table when Gayle let her prejudice take over. Gayle grabbed her arm and started in on her about how she shouldn't be around normal people and polluting the air or some shit like that. Jubilee started mouthing off and trying to jerk her arm free but couldn't get loose.

I saw red. Seriously, I never understood what that meant before then. It was like Gayle suddenly represented all those people who had made my life hell because I didn't hate mutants - my parents, the people at school, the ones who killed Sally, society in general, just everybody. I saw red and I LOST it.

I'm not exactly sure what happened but the big black dude with the M on his face had to pull me off her and it wasn't an easy job. Seeing him grabbing me, some of the other customers seemed to think it was him attacking me!

And that's when the fight broke out.

So Harry lost another couple waitresses and some furniture. The fight scared one of the other girls and she quit. Gayle was fired. Of course she might have quit too, but she was still out cold on the floor at the time and wasn't given the chance.

Me? Well, I had to talk fast. Maybe it was because I had all these guys backing me up - who had just gotten into a fight for me! - but I stood up for myself and didn't even beg. I pointed out that they didn't start the fight, I did when I attacked Gayle because she attacked Jubilee. And that was bad for business, wasn't it? And he did say to make sure they didn't start any fights, right, didn't he? And they didn't start it, right, huh? Okay, maybe I begged a little after that.

Logan couldn't stop laughing enough to talk. The most he could get out was something about Jubilee now making me blow up. What was that supposed to mean? The man laughs at the weirdest stuff. First a tray broken over his head and now a bar-fight. He's weird.

A guy with red glasses showed up and said he would pay for the damages and that clinched it and I got to keep my job. Yeah for me! But I had to take it easy for awhile because I sprained my hand on Gayle's face. Bishop showed me the proper way to hold my arm and make a fist in case of another fight. Jubilee gave me a big hug. But best of all, after helping wrap up my hand, Remy kissed my cheek. Everthing after that was a blur.

Did I say one or two incidents don't make somebody a whole new person? Well, that's both the truth and a lie, because here's the new me. Oh, the change didn't happen overnight, but would it have happened if I had never met the X-men? I don't know. I really don't care.

I met a great group of people. I like them for themselves and they appreciate that. I like the new me and I think they do too. You'll only find me like this in Harry's bar, but that's okay. I spend alot of time there.

end
(or is it?)

note:
Beany- Yeah, I thought it was funny too
GothikStrawberry- There ya go.
Elizabeth- Thanks so very much.
S- That's because she's human and can't join, but I feel the same.
Artichoke- Yep, Jenny is a mousey name, but then she used to be a mousey person.

I really enjoy Jenny. If people keep liking her, I have in mind a bigger story, but it wouldn't be pov. Well, mostly it wouldn't. Can't help it, I seem to find it easier to write in first person. Unfortunately dialogue and stuff like that suffers in first person. But it would have to do with her dealing with her feelings on Sally's death, how her parents treated her, and why she ran away from school. Hmm, who might be able to help her deal with these issues? Tell me what you think.

Thanks for reading and the support,
Dizi