The elementary school was filled with commotion and excitement on the children's first day back from summer. There were hundreds of little ones all about; some finding old friends, and others hiding behind their parents. Not April Shepherd. Little April was so excited for her first day of kindergarten that she raced out of the car and into the school, ignoring her parents' hollers.

"April wait!" Her mother yelled as her father ran into the school after her.

Being a bright child, April found her way to her classroom all on her own and had already taken out her puppy notebook and horse pencil.

April's parents made it to her classroom in a rush, panting in relief at the sight of her sitting down at her desk.

"April," her father said, walking forward and kneeling down to face her. "Remember what we told you."

"Daddy, I'm so excited!" April said, bouncing up and down in her chair.

"April stop," her father said, firmly. "What did we tell you? No showing off."

The bell to start class rang loudly.

"No showing off," April's father repeated as he got up slowly to leave. "No showing off."

April's day was just as great as she thought it would. She made friends, played games, and did arts and crafts. She could not wait to come back the next day.

As tomorrow finally arrived for April, she once again ran into the school and to her classroom, leaving her parents very uneasy. April met up with her friends and once it was time for arts and crafts, the four girls, April, Sarah, Sophie, and Natalie all made each other friendship bracelets.

During playtime at the end of the day, Sarah showed the group of friends a heart-shaped birth mark she had on her neck. This sparked the rest of the girls to show their unique body marks. Sophie showed them a mole she had on her arm, and Natalie showed off her chipped tooth. The three girls then looked at April. She was thrilled to have such wonderful friends, so to impress them, April stood up and pulled out from the back of her pants a long, furry, golden tail and began to move it around.

One of the girls screamed at the top of her lungs, startling April, causing her to instantly turn herself into a turtle and she sucked herself into the shell.

"What are you?!" April's teacher shrieked.

April turned back into her human self and all of the children of the classroom jumped on top of their desks and a few clasped onto their teacher.

"What did I do?" April asked them all, stepping up to her friends.

"Get away from me!" Sarah screamed and threw a wooden block as April's face.

As the block hit her hard, April transformed into a lion cub and roared at the class, causing them all to scream.

"She's a mutant!" April's teacher yelled out, snatching a baseball bat from the ground in defense. "Stay back children! She's a filthy mutant!"

April turned back into a human for a brief moment, to reveal her red face, flooded with tears. April ripped off her friendship bracelet, morphed into a golden canary, and few out the open window.

April was not allowed to ever return to that elementary school and while her parents her figuring out what they could do to help her, April stayed alone in her room for weeks. She would occasionally come out for food and to go to the bathroom, but not a word she would speak, and her tail remained tucked tightly in her pants.

April's spirit had been broken and her parents began to believe there was no hope of bringing it back, until one night they received a knock at the door. April's parents opened it to find a very strange man in a wheelchair.

"Hello," he said with a smile. "My name is Professor Charles Xavier. This is the residence of Miss April Shepherd, yes?"

"Uh.., yes," April's mother replied after a brief moment of hesitation.

"Mr. and Mrs. Shepherd, if you don't mind, I would like to speak with your daughter about my school for gifted youngsters."

April's parents' skepticism on Professor Xavier vanished immediately and hope sparked in their eyes.

Professor Xavier was invited inside and April was brought downstairs to speak with him.

"Hello dear April," Charles greeted her; however she stayed silent, hiding half of her face with her dirty blonde hair.

"My name is Professor Charles Xavier and I would like to talk to you about my school."

April turned away. "I never want to go to school again."

"I understand how you feel April," Charles said to her. "My school is only for special children with special gifts."

April then looked up at him with her shining green eyes. "Special?"

"That's right, April," said Charles. "You're a very special girl. May I see your special gift?"

April looked at him with excitement for a moment, and then stepped back with fear, shaking her head.

"You do not have to be afraid, April," he said. "At my school, you'll never have to be afraid."

April then gave Professor Xavier a kind smile and slowly pulled out her long tail.

"How magnificent," Charles said, not breaking eye contact. "You are truly special."