Miranda sat in the car, staring out the dirty window at the lake. She took in the water's smooth surface and the light mist still on top. Her eyes then began drifting, looking at the other abandoned cars in the dirt lot, all broken beyond repair. Some had been raided for their useful parts to be sold in a car shop. But now she looked at the cars without seeing them.
Her money had run out a three days ago, and her food two days ago. She was hungry and living in an abandoned car because she couldn't go home. Her former means of earning money had ended badly and abruptly, but she wasn't going to think about that. No, she'd think about anything but that. She pulled her jacket tighter around her to try and keep warm, curling up against the driver's door to get into a semi-comfortable position. She'd been up all night again thanks to the nightmare, but now that it was starting to get light, she felt like she might be able to get some sleep. As she closed her eyes, she heard a car pull up, its headlights shining in her eyes.
It stopped several feet away, but was facing her car. As she watched, two adults got out of the front seats, one man and one woman. The woman got a wheelchair from the back of the car and the man helped another man, an older man, into the wheelchair. Next, she watched with growing apprehension as they approached the car she was in. The three spoke briefly, and then the woman came to her side of the car and tapped on the window, motioning for her to exit the car.
Miranda knew that if they wanted to hurt her, they'd get her out of the car one way or another, and if by some chance they only wanted to talk, she'd better get it over with so they'd leave. The woman, who'd returned to her group, had white hair, but appeared younger than she would have thought, maybe only in her late thirties. The younger man was wearing some sort of visor over his eyes, but otherwise appeared normal, even attractive. The man in the wheelchair was wearing a nice suit and had a kind face, but she wouldn't let that fool her for a second.
"Hello, Miranda. I'm Professor Xavier, and this is Scott and Storm." Scott reached out his hand to her, but she only crossed her arms in front of her and leaned back against the car she called home. She watched as he awkwardly returned his hand to his pocket. "We're not here to hurt you."
"What do you want?" she asked icily.
"We're here to help you."
"I don't need you're help," she cut in. He nodded and seemed to think for a moment before continuing.
"I run a school for mutants, where they can learn together in a safe environment, away from people in society who would ridicule and hurt them. I came to offer you a place in my school."
"What makes you think I'd want to go to a school for freaks?" She noticed the professor's eyes glance behind her, and she could feel the mist from the lake traveling towards them.
"Mutants are not freaks, though some would have you believe that. At this school, I, along with the help of a few others, help mutants learn to control their abilities and teach them how to use them for good. We want to help these students develop into individuals who will contribute to society and hopefully diminish the prejudices against mutants."
"That sounds great and all, but I'm not interested, so thanks for dropping by, but you can go now."
"Please," Storm said, taking a step towards Miranda, "come to the school and see for yourself what it's like there. We can help you learn to control your powers."
"Look, I don't need your help. I'm doing just fine on my own, so you can get back in your fancy car and go back to your fancy school for mutants."
"You call living in a car doing fine?" Scott asked. She balled her fists in anger, but kept them crossed firmly in front of her.
"Compared to what my life has been in the past, yes, I call living in a car fine. And who are you to lecture me on my standard of life, when you live in some special school and take everything for granted, like food, water, clothes, and a decent bed?"
The mist from the lake had now surrounded them, and was gradually solidifying into water. Miranda's hands shot up, causing the water to burst around them, drenching them. She motioned for the water to return to the lake, but it remained in the air, hovering around them. Her eyes darted from the group of three to the water surrounding them, panic written on her face. Then Storm raised her arms and, after a moment, the water returned to the lake. Miranda stared at her.
"Storm can control the elements," the professor said. He also briefly explained Scott's power and his own telepathic abilities. "Please, I think you could benefit from my school. There are others there with troubled pasts who we've helped to deal with those unpleasant memories."
Miranda wondered if he was reading her mind, looking through her memories to see what kind of person she was. She knew if he dug around long enough, he'd find enough evidence to make him withdraw his offer and drive away as quickly as possible. Sighing, she tried to take the bitter edge off her voice in an attempt to sound more polite, which would hopefully make them listen to her.
"I'm sure your school is a nice place, and maybe you do help mutants, but it's not for me."
"How long has it been since you last ate?" the professor asked her, catching her off guard.
"That's none of your business," she snapped.
"What if I make you a deal? If you come with me and take a look at the school, I'll give you a decent meal and even give you food to take with you if you choose not to stay. What do you say to that?"
Miranda considered his proposition. Sure, she was hungry. She hadn't eaten in two days. But how did she know if this man would keep his promise and give her a good meal, let alone food to take with her? What if they were lying altogether and were planning on locking her away forever, as some scientific specimen to be dissected and examined? She didn't trust Scott at all, and she wasn't sure how much she trusted this professor, though there was something about him that invoked a sense of trust. But Storm she wanted to know. She had a similar power. Perhaps this woman could help her learn to control her power.
She knew they were waiting for an answer, but she hadn't made up her mind. If they wanted to lock her away, they probably would have brought an army and would have taken her by force already. So her choice was to go with them and see this school for mutants, and at the very least get some food, or stay in her car and starve while she continued to try and find work. Despite her misgivings, she knew which response she needed to give.
"Fine, I'll come with you."
It took two hours to get to the school. Scott drove, Storm sat next to him, and Miranda sat in back next to the professor. He tried to engage her in a conversation at first, but after several unsuccessful attempts gave up. They rode in silence most of the way, the silence only broken when Scott turned on the radio to listen to the news. When they did arrive at the school, Miranda stared out the window at the mansion looming ahead of them.
She envied the students who lived in the mansion. The architecture was beautiful. The grounds were immaculate. She spotted ponds and fountains scattered around, and thought she spotted a basketball court around the side. When they pulled into the garage, she couldn't believe the nice cars they had, and all appeared in excellent condition. She even spotted a motorcycle at the far end. Once inside, the wonders didn't cease. Scott and Storm disappeared, but the professor remained next to Miranda, who stood staring at the beautiful interior.
"Shall I give you a tour?" he said, gesturing with his hand. She nodded, trying not to look too impressed. She still wasn't planning on staying any longer than it took to get the food he'd promised.
He explained about the classes they taught, all the normal subjects and a few mutant-specific classes. They rarely ate meals together, only on special occasions because of the size of the school and the amount of preparation needed for such a large meal. He pointed out the kitchen, classrooms, recreation room, and told her upstairs were all the living quarters. He also told her that some of the students' parents didn't know their children were mutants and only thought of the school as a prep school. He started to take her outside to show her the grounds, but stopped. Miranda looked at him, confused. He seemed to be staring at nothing but concentrating very hard on something.
"Miranda, I'm afraid something's come up that needs my attention." He motioned to a girl just coming down the stairs. "Kitty, come here a moment please." The girl walked over to them. "Kitty, this is Miranda. I was giving her a tour of the mansion but I must look into something. Could you finish showing her around?" Kitty nodded, and the professor wheeled away.
"So you're new here?" Kitty asked as they walked outside.
"No, I–" Miranda faltered, unsure how to answer the question. "The professor offered to let me join his school and is giving me a tour, but I'm not staying."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want to."
Kitty seemed to take the hint and dropped the subject. She focused on showing her around the grounds outside. They went back inside and Kitty decided to meet up with her friends in the living room. With nothing else to do, Miranda followed.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. This is Miranda. Miranda, this is Bobby, Rogue, John, and Pete. We get together on the weekends to study and work on homework together." Miranda didn't give much of a greeting, having no intention of staying long enough for it to matter.
"Hi Miranda, welcome to Mutant High," Bobby told her. He extended his arm, but she stared him down. He slowly retracted his arm and sat back down next to Rogue, glancing questioningly at Kitty.
"She's not a new student," Kitty told them, "the Professor's just giving her a tour. He had to go do something though and asked me to finish."
"Why's he giving you a tour if you're not a student?" John asked, glancing briefly at her.
"He offered to let me be a student here, but I don't want to stay."
"How come?"
"I just don't, okay."
"Why, you think you're better than us?" She glared at him openly now.
"No, I just don't want to go to a school for mutants, that's all."
"You're a mutant too, unless the Professor's started taking in normal people. What's wrong, are you ashamed to be a mutant?"
Now her temper flared, and before she could stop it, the water in the nearest vase exploded from it, causing the vase to shatter. The group shouted and scattered away from the mess. Miranda tried to focus on stopping the water, but she couldn't control it. The water continued spinning out of control, getting all the furniture wet. Suddenly Bobby stretched out his arm and she watched as he turned the stream of water into an icicle, which promptly fell to the ground. Miranda stood there petrified.
"What's going on here?" someone asked from behind her. She turned to see a pretty red-headed woman staring at all of them. She was looking in particular at Miranda.
"It was an accident," Bobby said. He said nothing more, but he looked at Miranda, as if wanting her to explain what happened.
"It's alright Jean," Miranda heard the professor say, watching him wheel into view. "Miranda is a visitor I brought to the mansion. She must have lost control of her power." He looked at Miranda, who nodded once and dropped her gaze. "Miranda, why don't you come with me."
She followed behind him, thankful to leave the group of people behind, but worried about what the professor would do to her. He would surely be mad about the damage she had caused his furniture, so she assumed that meant she wouldn't be getting that food after all. She followed him into his office, and shut the door behind her as he asked.
"You needn't worry about the furniture. Accidents happen around her more often than you might believe, and a little water is an easy fix compared to some. How did the rest of your tour go with Kitty?"
"It was fine." She looked anywhere but at him.
"Miranda, you really don't need to worry about losing control of your power, I only wish you could see that I truly want to help you." Miranda rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She heard him sigh. "Well, come with me to the kitchen and we'll see what we kind find in there to send home with you." Miranda whipped her head around to stare at him.
"You mean, you're still going to give me food?"
"Of course, I told you I would."
Miranda followed him to the kitchen, beginning to wonder what sort of man he was. None of the men in her life were remotely like him at all. He was kind and honest, and forgave her for the damage she'd caused. She watched as she had Jean help him get food out of the pantry for her to take with her, putting it all in a nice knapsack for her to keep.
"I do wish you would stay," he told her as he handed her the bag full of food. "If you ever change your mind, these doors will always be open to you. Jean will take you back, or wherever you want to go."
Miranda felt the beginnings of a lump form in her throat as she swallowed. He was being so nice to her. In fact, other than John, everyone had been nice to her. She thought about going back to the car she called home, with no heat, no real bed, no money, and no food aside from what she'd been given. She had nothing to go back to. At least here she had a chance at a new start. After giving all her options one more thought, she set down the bag of food.
"On second thought, maybe I'll give this mutant school thing a shot."
