Preparations.
"Marina! Did you move my planner and notebook? I need to pack!" Faith yelled downstairs to her roommate.
"Hold on! I'm just looking over the final plans for this. Everything has to be completely flawless", Marina glided into the room and took her usual spot on the edge of Faith's bed. "You know the risks if we fail."
"We? This isn't a, we, kind of thing. I'm the one going to this stupid school. I'm the one going undercover for a stupid documentary. All you have to do is edit the video footage when I'm done." Faith spun around from packing her bags and glared at Marina. All she had been doing for the past week was whining about their new report. She had started to become annoyed with her but it was truly hard for anybody to stay mad at a girl like her. Marina was tall, thin with an hourglass shape, had dark features and long wavy hair. Easily, men fell at her feet and worshiped her as they ignored her snobby personality. Faith walked to the other side of the room and began to pack her hair products and makeup. She stopped to check her own looks in the mirror. Like Marina she was tall, taller actually and a bit more thin but didn't have exactly the hourglass figure that made men drool. Close enough, she would tell herself. Her hair was long, curly and a nice shade of dark brown. The only thing she really prided herself on was her piercing teal eyes and big lips. They seemed to always get the job done.
"Hey space case, did you even hear anything I just said?" Marina stated blankly. Faith sheepishly giggled and shook her head. Marina sighed dramatically and laid out flat on the bed.
"Look, I get it. You're nervous about going and all but just think about how famous we are going to be! A school just for mutants, never been explored by regular humans and now we'll be the first!"
"There ya go with that whole, we, idea again." Faith interrupted.
"Oh shut up. You were the one who volunteered to go in. Think of it this way, you'll be more remembered then me because you're the one on camera. Now we need to go over something first because I can't go with you to drop you off tomorrow and know you, you'll fuck something up. Keep your real identity a secret. Yes, you can go by Faith Kirkpatrick but not Faith Kirkpatrick the reporter. You are now Faith Kirkpatrick the school therapist. After tonight you're on your own. As far as we know this place could be filled with gut-wrenching, murderous creatures so if you need anything I'm only a phone call away. I'd suggest making friends fast though…just in case they figure out who we are." Marina gets up off the bed and head towards the door. "Also, if you were wondering, I really do have a lot of faith in this project Faith, no pun intended."
"Well gee thanks for the lecture I guess." Faith snapped sarcastically.
"What's with all this hate? I'm just trying to help." Marina looked genuinely upset as she inched closer to the hallway.
I'm sorry. Ever since we took on the project I've had really frequent headaches. I guess it's just starting to really get to me now that it's finally here. I'm just going to finish up and go to sleep. I'll be heading out around 6am because it takes about 3 hours to get there. I really do wish you were coming though." Faith sighed.
"It's going to be fine, don't worry so much. The Xavier Institute won't know what's hit them after this." Marina assured Faith. "Goodnight, I'll see you in the morning! Oh and try taking an advil or something. That should help." Marina shut the door and Faith could hear her steps disappear down the hallway.
Faith shoved the packed bags away from her bed and threw herself in and under the covers. She debated the next few months in her head. I don't think this is right. All these kids, these teachers, they are people too and they deserve their respect and privacy. Mutants are people too no matter what. She rolled over and kicked at a blue soft pillow. On the other hand, I guess people should know how the school works. I mean there are plenty of documentaries about public schooling so there's really no difference. I guess I'm mainly just scared of what they would do to me if they found out who I really am and my intensions. She rolled on her back and stared up at the spinning ceiling fan. God damnit, this isn't right. It's not moral. I don't care what Marina says, there are better ways to get to fame then exploiting a fucking school. I can't back out now though, she'd kill me and so would everyone else back at the station. I should just actually become a school therapist there and never come back. Laughing at the thought of making a new life in the mutant culture she slowly drifted off to sleep.
"Here we go again. I kinda wanna be more than friends…"
Faith rolled over and slapped her radio alarm clock off. "Goddamnit, Neon Trees its 6am nobody wants a bite of your heart at this hour." Dragging herself across her room she got her bags together and headed for her car. As she walked by Marina's room she slowly creaked open the door and saw her completely passed out on the bed. I guess I'll just go…thanks for the goodbye and stuff, best friend. Her head started pounding as she thought about how the rest of the day was going to go. I can't fucking get rid of this headache, holy shit. She loudly barged down the hall and down the stairs hoping to wake Marina up. Downing some more advil she slowly made her way out the front door, making sure to slam her luggage into every possible thing.
"Whatever, what a great way to start this project." Faith said as she threw her luggage into the back of her car. She placed a small video camera onto the dashboard of her car and pushed the record button as she backed out of her driveway and started her journey.
"Hello Exploration Channel! This is your lovely reporter Faith Kirkpatrick on the first day of our new documentary, Mutant Education. With this report you will be getting an in-depth look on a private school just for mutant teenagers. You'll learn about the social, mental, and physical aspects of their lives as I uncover how different or similar they are to us. Should all mutants go to schools like this? Just the dangerous ones? Or did we finish segregation with the civil rights movements? Now take a ride with me as I pretend to be a school therapist to get the real story at The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. Only on the Exploration Channel, we're always the first to explore."
She snapped the camera off and released a long sigh as her headache grew worse. This is going to be a long drive, and a long few months.