Prison Walls
It felt odd to Kitty to be volunteering at a prison, but this was a special one. MutantX Compound housed hundreds of mutants who had committed a crime using their powers. Some were also ex-mutants, receiving the cure during the battle on Alcatraz. The Xavier Institute had agreed to help in the rehabilitation of these mutants, and that is why Kitty found herself being patted and scanned as she entered the compound.
Storm had convinced her to go with the small group. She told Kitty that her kindness and compassion may help show the convicted mutants of a better way. Her nerves were jittering as the institute's van pulled into the compound gates and did not stop jittering as she walked to the common room.
Several different mutants were slumming around the large square room. Some looked normal while others had visible mutations. She didn't know where to start. The others in her group were already filtering through the scattered bunches around the room. Kitty stood by the locked door, calming her nerves and seeing if anyone stuck out at her.
A loud click sounded behind her and she jumped out the way as the door swung open. Kitty squinted then her eyes widened as a new convict was ushered into the room. This one had a familiar face.
"John Allerdyce?"
The gray prison uniform made him look shorter than he actually was. The blonde coloring was now grown out revealing his natural hair color again – long and slick back. His gray-blue eyes penetrated Kitty's as he looked up at her.
"Pryde?" he asked as the guard shut the door behind him. Kitty nodded. "You were the girl who was always top of the class, right?"
Kitty blushed. "That was me."
John eyed her casually, almost curiously. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"Um…" Kitty glanced around the room noticing most of her group was involved in conversation with the imprisoned mutants. "A group of us from the school came here to talk with the mutants here."
"Oh, I get it," he started, already sounded bitter. "Trying to reform us; make us convicts see that there can be peace between mutants and humans. You know that's bull, Pryde."
Kitty frowned. She figured she'd get that from someone here, but not someone she knew. "We're just here to help."
John stared at her intensely, but Kitty stood her ground. She wasn't going to let the pyromaniac intimidate her. A moment later, he was turning his back to her.
"What's your favorite thing to eat?"
It wasn't a question John hadn't ever heard someone ask him. He turned halfway around, a bewildered look on his face. "You're kidding, right?"
Kitty shook her head. "No. I'd like to know," she said nonchalantly as she folded her arms to try and hide her nervousness.
John stepped back over to her, cocking his head slightly. "Burnt toast."
Kitty's eyes lit up. "Really? That's my favorite as well. I like it where the inside is toasted, but the outside is near charred. It's really good with strawberry jelly on it. What?" she asked, noticing John was silently shaking.
John was smiling and laughing to himself. "I was joking."
"Oh." Kitty averted her eyes to the tiled floor, cheeks flushing. She felt the need to get away from him right then. There had to be a less condescending person in the room.
"You play checkers?"
It was a dumb and boring game, but John hadn't had much interaction with anyone at the compound and this girl who was once a fellow student would be fun to mess with.
Kitty shrugged. "I can play."
John nodded his chin at her. "C'mon."
They sat down opposite each other at an empty table and started a game of checkers – John taking red, Kitty taking black. They played quietly for a little while, not really looking at one another.
"Macaroni and cheese."
Kitty raised her head. "Excuse me?"
"Macaroni and cheese is my favorite thing to eat," John replied, lowly. "Burnt."
"For real this time?"
He sighed in frustration. "Yes. I know, too common a choice. How dumb, especially with me being from Australia."
"You're from Australia?" Kitty's eyes suddenly lit up again. "I never knew that."
John shrugged, half-heartedly. "Barely anyone does."
"Why don't you have an accent? An Australian accent is pretty cool sounding."
"Because it's annoying and clique. Everyone seems to want to do an Australian accent, but it took me a year to finally get rid of mine."
Kitty looked at him dolefully. She wanted to talk to him about his past, why he was so bitter, but knew that might not be the best subject to bring up. She was surprised she was even playing checkers with John Allerdyce.
"Do you think I'll ever get out of here?"
Kitty blinked. The question was so random, but the look in John's eyes revealed it had been on his mind a long time. She smiled at him, a hint of sadly on her face. "I hope so."
"Times up!" a guard announced.
Kitty's shoulders slumped. She pushed off the table then looked at John. "Guess it's time for me to leave."
"Yeah," John replied, and for some crazy reason, she thought she heard a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"I think we'll be back again."
"You better come back." John swept a hand over the checkerboard. "We need to finish our game."
Kitty smiled, a little happier this time. "Maybe I'll bring some burnt macaroni and cheese."