Jean loved her students.
Though there usually was one or two she could do without, she still loved them. They made her days so much more interesting. Her favorite parts of the day were after she was done lecturing and they would go about their own business.
Of course, they were supposed to be studying or doing homework, but she wasn't a super strict teacher. Besides, they unknowingly made her smile, especially her Creative Writing class.
"I swear!"
Bobby rolled his eyes, "John, you have as much of a beard as an infant."
John glared, "I have more than you."
"It must be an invisible beard."
"If you would have just touched it like I told you too, we wouldn't be having this conversation."
"I'm not touching your face!"
"Then you won't know my beard exists."
Bobby threw his arms up, "Dude, Bro, your face is bald!"
Evidently the entire class heard his shout as all conversation stopped and broke into hysterical laughter. Even Jean let herself laugh with them before she told them to quiet back down.
"I just don't understand why they allow it."
"It's not the same thing as a cell phone though," Jubilee rolled her eyes.
Kitty's eyes narrowed, "But your hands are still off the wheel and you're still just as distracted as if your were using a cell phone."
"I'm sure they've tested it all, Kit. If it wasn't safe, they wouldn't allow it."
"The law allows for plenty of things that 'aren't safe', and they still allow it."
"Well then, why would they allow those touch screen radios and GPS in cars?"
Kitty raised her chin proudly, "Because we, as human beings, think...and don't think...and think again about what we weren't thinking about."
Jubilee blankly stared at her for a moment before shouting, "What?"
"Just don't try to understand, Jubilation. You'll kill brain cells," Kitty said, patting her shoulder.
Jean laughed out loud, startling a couple of nearby kids as to why their teacher would be laughing about the test she was grading and wondered if possibly it was their test and that they had made a stupid mistake. The truth was she was thinking of a similar conversation she and Scott had a few years ago after their philosophy class.
Artie's head shot up from where he had been snoozing on his textbooks when someone lobbed an eraser at his nose. After stretching, he asked the girl sitting next to him, a petite thing named Rahne, "Did we have any homework?"
The girl shook her head, "She hasn't mentioned it yet. If we get some, I hope it's not writing. I feel unfocused and fuzzy."
"You? Feel fuzzy? Imagine that," Artie rolled his eyes.
Her eyes widened at the insult and with 'humph!' and turned away. A moment of defensive anger rose in Jean for Rahne. Jean always felt like a mother to these children, and seeing one tease another based on their powers as just wrong. Especially when Rahne made such a cute little dog.
"I'm just saying that it's tradition and normal for people to tickle others with their fingers. What else would you tickle someone with? Toes?" Bobby asked.
John smirked, "There are objects in life, my friend. Ever heard the phrase 'tickled with a feather'?"
"Of course I have, but what are you going to tickle me with. My iPod?"
"Yes. Yes, I will tickle you with your iPod. It will be an iTickle!"
Bobby narrowed his eyes playfully at his best friend, "How dare you?"
"I dare."
"To."
"To?"
"To."
"...to?"
"To. I dare to."
"Ohhh, to."
Jean burst into laughter and this time she was the only one. The rest of the class looked at her as if she was doing the Chicken Dance on her desk. She wiped a tear from her eye and smiled at the two boys, "You two are a modern Rosencrantz and Guildenstern."
"Who?"
She opened her desk and pulled out two books, Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, "You should read more."
They shared a look that clearly said they wouldn't be reading anything within the next few lifetimes other than what was required. Jean turned her head and saw Rogue, sitting in her chair not moving any farther than when she had sat down, but her arm was outstretched as far in front of her as it would go, "What are you doing?"
"I can't reach!"
The bell rang just as the laughter was dying down for what felt like the hundredth time. Oh, she couldn't wait until the next day. The small cramp in her stomach from laughing so hard was worth it to see the normal life for the children.
I've considered making a one-shot just based on Bobby and John's madness, but I felt it would have been too out there and there would have been no rhyme for the reason other than the obvious fact that they're teenage boys, so I threw a little teacher Jean in there to make things a bit easier.
Oh, I know she was a doctor in the movies, but I always felt that if Jean (coming from the comics) had to work at the school, she would actually teach something and English just seemed to fit.
CREDIT! : The basis of the conversations along with some of the lines are ones that I have had with friends of mine and just written down because they made me laugh so hard at the time, especially the 'How dare you?'.