Pressing one of my hands against the cool glass I stared out the car window. I couldn't see anything, but I liked to imagine what everything looked like. At the moment I was imagining that my parents were driving down a road on Mars, ringing me to a doctor that could cure my blindness. That was ridiculous of course, because one, no one is on Mars much less living on it. Two, I was a hundred percent sure that I was on earth, somewhere in New York State probably, and three, my imagination was much different from my reality. I learned that a long time ago.
"We're almost there." I heard my dad say to my right. The smell of sour milk made me crinkle my nose in disgust. After living with that smell for years I thought that I'd get used to it, but no such luck.
"I hope that you will learn a lot by going to this school." My mom said from the seat in front of me. She was driving. "I'm still concerned about the fact that you're going to be the only blind person in the school. Professor Xavier did say It'd' be no problem but I still worry."
If my dad smelled like sour milk then my mom smelled the complete opposite. She had to be pretty, she smelled like roses. How anyone who smelled like roses could even think about marrying a guy who smelled like sour milk was beyond me, but I learned that only I could smell the weird scents that were coming from different people. I think that the smells corresponded with someone's personality. Except Mutants, they smelled like whatever powers they had.
I ran into a Mutant once, literally, and they smelled like the night sky. The Mutant seemed to be at least a few years older than me, it was hard to tell. The few things that I did notice were rather interesting to say the least. The Mutant had a tail for one thing. I of course didn't see it, but he used his tail to stop me from falling backwards. The second thing I noticed was that he had a strong German accent. I was about to thank him when my dad showed up giving a super strong smell of sour milk. It happened when he got really angry.
You see, there are two things that my dad hates, Mutants and Germans. I don't know why he hates Germans but he just does. So to find his daughter(who by the way was a Mutant) with a obvious Mutant that had a German accent, well, you can pretty much guess what happened. Dad dragged me home ranting the whole way there about how Mutants where unnatural beings and how he wished that he could've had a normal child instead of a blind monstrosity as his offspring.
He managed to calm down somewhat when we got back home, and mom was there reading over the mail. She told us that we got a letter from a school in Salem Center for kids that were like me. The school was called Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters, and my pants weren't sure by what 'gifts' the school meant. My dad said that my blindness wasn't a gift, it was a burdensome problem that couldn't be fixed. My mom was the one who finally figured out that it was a school for Mutants and once she told my dad, it was all over for me. Dad sent a letter back to the school saying that I'd be going and three days later we were on our way to Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters. They made this decision without my consent! Not that I didn't want to go. If there was such thing as a school for Mutant children then I wanted to go and see what it was about. So after two hours of driving we were finally at our destination. I felt the car drive over gravel before it finally stopped.
"We're here now." My dad said.
"Do you want to bring her in or should I?" My mom asked.
"You can." My dad said. "I have no desire to go."
I heard the door open then close before my door opened. I felt my mom's hand gently take my arm as she helped me out of the car and down the gravel driveway.
"Careful with the steps." She said. "We don't need you falling."
I heard the door open and a barrage of smells hit my nose. It was so overwhelming that I took a step backwards.
"Are you ok?" My mom asked in a concerned voice.
"Yes." I said.
"Welcome." A man's voice said.
"Oh!" My mom said surprised. "Hello!"
"You must be Katrina Russell." The man said to me.
"Yes." I said. I held out my hand and accidentally poked someone in the forehead. "I'm sorry!" I squeaked, blushing madly. The man smelled strongly of spearmint and it made my eyes water slightly.
"It's fine." The man said. "I imagine it's hard meeting new people when you're blind. I'm Professor Xavier, I run this school."
"It's nice to meet you Professor." I said.
"Well don't just stand there." The Professor said. "Come in!"
"Hold on to my hand." My mom said in my ear. "You don't know what this place is like."
Gripping my mom at hand, I followed her through the door and into the School. I was wondering if she meant that she was now scared to be in a school meant for Mutants, or if she was just saying that I didn't know the area.
"Katrina," the Professor said as we entered a room. "If you'd please take a seat somewhere, I will be talking to your mother about somethings."
"Sure." I said uncertainly. I didn't know where the chairs were, there had to be some if he asked me to sit. I jumped violently as an image appeared in my mind. I was surprised because the picture in my mind was most likely what the room I was in looked like.
"Are you ok?" My mom asked with concern.
"Yes." I said.
"Mrs. Russell," the Professor said. "If I could possibly talk to you about a few things in my office? It's just down the hall a ways."
"Of course." My mom said. "But I'm just worried about Kat. She's in an unfamiliar environment."
"It'll be fine." The Professor said soothingly. "I will have some of the other students come in here and stay with her as we're talking. She'll be safe and she'll also be able to get to know some of the other students."
"Oh well I suppose then..." my mom said. "I'll see you before I leave, ok Kat?"
"Yes." I said nodding my head. I heard footsteps leave the room and then quite suddenly I was alone in an unfamiliar place. Hanging onto the image in my head as hard as I could, I studied it carefully. I was completely fascinated by how bright and colorful everything was. It was a living room, oddly enough, with a couch a few chairs and a tv in one corner. Wondering why there would be a living room in a school I made my way carefully over to the couch. I cursed when my knees hit something that must've been a table or something of that sort.
"Watch where you're going." A voice said, snickering behind me. I turned around slowly and was hit full in the face with the smell of burnt hair.
"Bleh!" I said, covering my nose. "You smell awful!"
I heard full blown laughter coming somewhere near the doorway.
"Ha!" I heard a girl's voice say. "I bet no one's ever had that reaction to you Scott."
"Sorry." I muttered. "I was just caught by surprise."
"What's your power?" I heard the girl ask.
"Don't you usually ask people what their names are before anything else?" The boy, Scott, said.
"Sorry!" The girl said. "I'm Ororo," She added. "but you can just call me Storm." I heard footsteps coming towards me. The smell of ozone wafted towards me.
I stepped backwards slightly because I just found out that the smell of ozone and burnt hair don't go well together at all. Why did all of the people I've met so far have to smell horrible? Except for the Professor of course, I could handle the smell of spearmint for a while.
"Nice to meet you." I said. "My names Katrina, but you can call me Kat."
"Nice to meet you Kat!" Storm said brightly.
"Aren't you going to shake her hand?" Scott interrupted.
"I-i uh..." I stuttered.
"It doesn't matter." Storm said. "So, what's your power?"
"Ummm well I can smell people." I said. Good God Kat. That was a great description.
"Smell people?" Scott said. "That's dumb. I shoot lasers out of my eyes."
"You can't control them though." Storm said.
"So? It's still a better power than being able to smell people." Scott retorted.
"Let me see if I can explain it better." I said. "Every person I've met so far has a different smell to them. I've found with Mutants that how they smell corresponds with what kind of power they have. Scott, you said that you shoot lasers from your eyes?" I pointed to the area where I thought he was.
"Well you smell like burnt hair to me because that's the smell that some lasers emit. I'm guessing that Storm's power has something to do with lightning because she smells like ozone, and with a name like Storm it makes sense."
"So you're blind then?" Storm asked.
"How do you think that?" I asked surprised. Usually I had to tell people that I was blind. They didn't just automatically guess it.
"I mean if you recognize people by how they smell then it's obvious you can't see." Storm said, sounding sheepish. "Another dead give away was that when you pointed towards Scott you were about five feet off."
"Oh." I said.
"So we got a blind chick here now?" Scott said.
"You're one to talk about blindness." Storm said. "You're the one that can't see without special glasses."
"At least I can see!" Scott snapped. "She can't see at all!"
"Are you saying that I'm not capable of doing anything?" I asked, my voice rising.
"No!" Scott said hastily. "I'm just pointing out the fact that you can't see."
"Well that's not completely obvious, Sherlock." I said rolling my eyes.
"Kat?" I heard my mom say.
"Yes mom?" I said.
"I'm going to be leaving now. I just wanted to make sure that you were ok." She said. "I heard yelling from all the way from Professor Xavier's office."
"I'm fine." I said. "Just getting to know some new people. We were arguing about the correct way you spell volleyball."
"Oh." My mom said. "Ok then! I'm going to go now. Don't forget to contact me a few times!"
"Sure." I said, feeling the other's stares. I heard my mom's footsteps fade away and I finally sat down on the couch.
"How did you know where to sit if you can't see?" Storm asked.
"I don't really know." I said. "The Professor said that I could stay in here until he was done talking to my mom and then a mental picture of the room popped up in my head."
"Oh!" Storm said. "The Professor must've helped you."
"How?" I asked.
"The Professor has the power to read minds." Scott said. "He also can do memory manipulation, mind control, and astral projection."
"Interesting." I said. "So he's a powerful mutant?"
"Yes." Storm said. "He's also confined to a wheelchair, just so you know."
"That explains a lot." I said.
"What makes you say that?" Scott asked.
"Well," I said. "When the Professor introduced himself I held out my hand for a handshake and poked him in the forehead." Scott and Storm roared with laughter when I said that.
"What's going on here?" I heard someone say.
"Oh hey Jean." Scott said brightly. "Meet Kat, she's new."
"Hey Kat." The person named Jean said. I felt the couch sink slightly as she sat down. A soft smell of peppermint enveloped me.
"She's blind." Scott said.
"That's interesting." Jean said. "So if you're blind, what's your power then?"
I told Jean the same thing that I told Storm and Scott.
"That's so cool!" Jean exclaimed. "What do I smell like to you?"
"Peppermint." I said. "It's similar to the Professors for some reason."
"Oh," Said Jean. "what does the Professor smell like?" She giggled. "That's a weird question."
"The Professor smells like spearmint." I said.
"Isn't spearmint and peppermint the same thing?" Scott asked confused.
"Are you paying attention in any of your classes?" Storm said. "Peppermint and spearmint are two different species. Spearmint is Mentha spicata while peppermint is Mentha piperita."
"So what?" Scott said. "It's not like I'm going to have to know that kind of stuff."
"Speaking of classes and stuff." I said interrupting them. "Why is there a living room in a school?"
"Oh." Jean said. "I suppose since you're blind you can't see what this building is like. It's not a school per say. This building is actually the Professor's house. He decided to make it into a safe house for Mutants. Specifically Mutant children like ourselves."
I'm not a kid." Scott complained. "I'm a teenager."
"But you're not an adult yet." Jean said.
"I'm not, but I will be." Scott agreed before falling silent. Interesting. He seemed to stop being so bratty whenever Jean spoke.
"I have an idea." Storm said. "Why don't we go and find the others do Kat can meet them?"
"Good idea Storm!" Jean said. "Let's go and find them. Scott can stay here with Kat so she doesn't get lonely."
"Why do I have to stay here?" Scott complained.
"You need to learn how to be nicer to people." Jean scolded. "You can start with becoming friends with Kat."
Scott muttered something under his breath but remained silent. I heard Jean's and Storm's footsteps fade away and I was left alone with a very grumpy and bratty person.
"Do you think that if people that aren't related but smell the same to you are soul mates?" Scott asked suddenly.
"I don't know..." I said frowning. "I've found that sometimes siblings smell similar but it's never identical."
"Oh." Scott said, sounding disappointed.
"Why do you ask?" I said curiously.
"No reason." Scott said. "Just wondering. Why are you wearing a hat in eighty degree weather?" He asked, switching the subject.
"My hat...?" I said, reaching up subconsciously to tug it back down firmly on my head. I had forgotten about it because I've worn it for so long. "No reason."
"There has to be a reason." Scott insisted.
"Will you tell me why you asked that question about soul mates then?" I asked.
"No. of course not." Scott said.
"Then I won't tell you why I wear this hat all the time."
"Then I'll just take it from you." Scott said.
"Well that's nice." I said sarcastically. "Bullying the blind kid. That's just great."
"You're the one who won't tell me why you're wearing the hat." Scott retorted.
"Well you're the one that-" I was cut off when I felt my hat getting ripped off my head. I was so shocked by this that I didn't cover my head with my hands. There was a split second of silence before I heard Scott speak.
"Cat ears!?"