Marvel owns the X-men, no profit is to be made by this work.
-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-
"You're sure?"
I hated having to ask for yet another favour when I already owed her so many, when I owed her so much. Fighting the urge to bite my bottom lip lest I smudge my makeup, I carried on looking for my flats under the sofa and swore I saw the dust bunnies trying to discover fire. Evolutionary dead end one, dust bunnies zero.
"Pfft, I got six different people that owe me for covered shifts that I can go collect on. I also got dirt on whose banging who in the broom closet, which just so happens to include a love triangle, so it's no problemo." Jubilee assured, flipping pancakes in the cast iron skillet.
"I'm sorry Lee, I had today booked off for weeks now. It's just that there's this bug going around the office."
Hearing foot steps behind me, my flour dusted friend stood over me with my flats dangling from her finger. Fighting against an urge to hug her that would undo all my preparations for work, I settled for lightly butting our heads together with a silly smile shared between us.
"I got this Roguey, one fill in chaperone for a trip to the museum. It'll be just like old times 'cept now I don't have to worry about getting gettin' paftastic." Jubilee laughed, wiggling her fingers at me.
It had taken a long time before she couldn't laugh about what happened to her, especially around the Fourth of July, but if there was one thing I learned about her over the years it was that she was a survivor. Two peas in a pod, that's us, taking what life threw at us and making spiked lemonade.
"I left money on the counter for the food court, don't let her go eating crap...ah hell, look who I'm talkin' to. Just make sure there's some facsimile o' healthy food in whatever you two get."
"Pickles count as a veg right?" Jubilee asked, laughing as I swatted her with my flats.
"Anna May, are ya done in the shower yet girl!?"
"Five more minutes Mom! I'm using some of Auntie Jae's stuff!" My daughter dearest shouted back.
I had a few questions about just what stuff that might be, but they were questions that had to wait as I noticed the time. The owner of the stuff in question had snuck back to flipping pancakes the moment I had my back turned, piling them high on a pair of plates. I had Jubilee to thank for the eggwhite omelette and oatmeal I had for breakfast, owed her for so many meals that were ready and waiting for me when I got home from the office with absolutely no energy to cook.
"If my baby girl has pink hair when I get home, Ima gonna kill ya Lee." I shouted over my shoulder as I rushed out of our cramped apartment.
My baby, my darling, my happy accident. Anna May D'Ancanto, now twelve years old and just the kind of handful I remembered being back when I was her age. Completely X Factor negative, nowadays it was as simple as heading to the pharmacist and picking up a kit. Twelve years ago I had to ask some favours of people I didn't think I had the right or gumption to go asking but did so just the same. Back when it should have been baby and me and Daddy makes three.
Taking the stairs so no one would have to see me dabbing my eyes to keep from messing up my makeup, everything had to be perfect. It was my big chance, time to break a leg as they said in show business. The news van sat waiting for me out front and I grabbed shotgun with my camera man at the wheel. Coffee sat in the cup holder just how I took it, black with two sugars.
"Thanks for the brew."
"Hey, gotta kiss up to a potential future boss lady somehow." Josh laughed, pounding back his own as we sat in traffic.
"Thanks just the same, my nerves are wrecked." I admitted, the coffee doing wonders after behaving myself at breakfast with a nice glass of grapefruit juice.
"No problem. I'm not kidding by the way, Trish asked me who I wouldn't mind working with, told me to treat today like an audition."
"Beg pardon?"
I mean I knew today was my shot to show my stuff to the station, my make or break moment between doing all the leg work behind the scenes or getting out in front of the camera. But the way Josh was talking was as if I was replacing Trish, which was crazy.
"I just saying that if everything Trish told me plays out like she's betting on, that we might be getting a new morning reporter while she goes National. But hey...you didn't hear that from me."
Swallowing scalding hot coffee so I wouldn't spit it all over the dash and my one and only designer blouse, I looked at Josh with tears in my eyes to see him wink at me. If I hadn't felt overwhelmed before, then this bit of confidential gossip almost had me a wreck if it didn't mean my shot at everything I had been working for all these years.
"Mums the word." I croaked, slowly slipping my coffee just to wet my lips and ready my lines as I had memorized them from the email I got shortly after the phone call that had completely rearranged my day.
-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-
"Miss D'Ancanto?"
"We've secretly switched your mom with moi, lets see if your teach notices." Auntie Jae whispered before throwing her arm up like we would for attendance. "Present!"
My friends looked at me fighting the huge grins they had when they saw who boarded the bus with me. Not that Mom ain't cool, but Auntie Jae is the coolest and best Aunt ever. I had her to thank for my new do that almost broke the dress code to the point that Missus Singh looked like she was about to pull out the rule book or call the principal for a second opinion.
"I got a note!" Missus Singh stared at Auntie Jae like she was one of the slime moulds we were studying in biology class.
"Miss...?"
"Lee, Jubilation Lee, but you can call me Jae." Auntie Jae cheerfully introduced herself.
"You understand the rules, yes?"
"Don't feed them after midnight? Oh and fire extinguishers aren't toys." Auntie Jae loved an audience and most of my class were laughing at her antics even if we didn't know half of whatever she was talking about.
Rolling her eyes, Missus Singh took the permission slip and walked down the aisle to the head of the bus. That was Auntie Jae One, Public Education Zero in my books. Killing time to the museum playing games on my phone and catching up on my Facebook, a lot of the boys spent time chatting up Auntie Jae who totally just thought they're being cute even if most of the girls are glaring at them for being completely dense idiots.
Attendance taken out front, we're all broken down into groups with Auntie Jae leading me and mine. Rolling my eyes as Missus Singh hands out our homework for the trip, Auntie Jae just winks at me but I'm still worried as I see her just staring at the map while the rest of the groups head off out into the museum.
"Alright maggots! Front and centre!" Auntie Jae barks out like some drill sergeant.
"Now, despite how it may look I am a fully functioning adult who is going to Culinary College by way of evening classes. So that totes means studying no matter how much it sucks. That being said, that doesn't mean this has to be some lame visit to the museum."
Crushed as we all looked at first, I knew my Auntie Jae well enough to know she was playing for the crowd, and the wink she threw me said everything I needed to know that she wasn't gonna be any less than her cool self. Putting on my poker face taught to me by Mom, I didn't know knowing how to hustle a card game wasn't normal until I got in trouble for teaching my first grade classmates how to play blackjack and win when we were supposed to be playing Go Fish.
"You all got your text books?"
The question was met with groans as we all pulled out our tablets. Auntie Jae snatched up mine and started looking through it, swiping through it like she would her cook books at home.
"Wow, way to make me feel old, back in my day they were actual, ya know, books. Next I'll be tellin' ya how I used to have to walk to school up hill both ways in a snow storm but half of that was because I had this one teacher."
Shuddering as she kept reading along what we've been studying in class, Auntie Jae looked at us again as if she's really seeing us and now she's got a look on her face like that time I asked why Mom had condoms in her dresser drawer, that sure as heck taught me not to go snooping for birthday presents let me tell you.
"Oh my god I'm like, two decades older than you all! I don't even get ID'ed anymore, 'cept for that time I was dressed up as a Catholic School Girl for Halloween." Auntie Jae moaned.
Suddenly the male body of my group was looking up to my Aunt in a different light and I was right along with the female body in getting ready to slap them all upside the head. Hearing a cough and seeing a raised hand, I was too late to save my one classmate.
"Missus Lee?" Toby asked polite as he could be.
"And we have a volunteer to read the chapter on The Hundred Year War while we go check out some cool armour and swords. Now remember folks, you stick the pointy end in the other guy. I'll handle the rest of the boring stuff unless anyone else reminds me I'm not twenty anymore, got it?" Auntie Jae asked.
We all nodded our heads, especially Toby, we all got it.
-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-
Sitting in the back of the news van and not caring if my makeup was ruined, I was a complete nervous wreck. It was over, I blew it, there was no way I'd ever have another shot with how I bombed my first and probably last live segment. Checking my phone to see a slew of new texts from friends, I could only imagine they had just watched my piece and cringed. I couldn't bear to even open one, the words 'I'm not even supposed to be here today' ringing in my ears as voiced by Dante.
"You know who you remind me of?" Josh asked, poking his head in to where I had been hiding.
Burying my face in my hands and shaking my head, I couldn't even bear to see his cheerful face likely trying to tell me it wasn't as bad as I thought it was. It was my big chance and I stumbled through it, forgetting my lines and having to ad lib every question I was supposed to ask complete with that awkward giggle I did when I was nervous.
"Trish, day one. Man, we got so wasted that night figuring we wouldn't have a job come morning, she couldn't even believe she had a day two to do completely hung over." Josh said, his voice painted nostalgic as I felt the van shift.
Peeking out from between my fingers, I saw him sitting on the back bumper drinking his coffee looking lost in thought. This was Trish Tilby's personal camera man, trying to cheer me up. From the safe place behind my hands I saw him tilt his head and offer me a smile that said so many things at once I wanted to cry all over again.
"You say that like I got a day two coming?" I croaked.
All it took for my safe place to come tumbling down like the walls of Jerico was a phone tossed at me, catching it while glaring at Josh who just laughed at me. Looking at it, there was a pile of texts just like my own and as I read through them it was like looking beyond all the makeup and professionalism to see the woman beneath it all.
"I got it, it's not quote unquote official but you know I know how to read between the lines. Drinks on me!" It was a text from Trish to Josh that completely stunned me.
"You're invited by the way, Trish wants to give her replacement some advice. Oh, and I hope you're not doing anything for lunch cause we're both getting treated to it by the boss. He's gotta fill you in on tomorrow's segment." Josh said cheerfully, having another long swig of his coffee.
"You, you mean Lets Do Lunch lunch?" I asked with a stutter.
"Oh my god I gotta text Jubilee! I gotta text my daughter! Holy shit, I got a Day Two!"
"Why don't I go get a coffee for my new boss lady, that way we can toast the start of a beautiful friendship."
-=+=-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-
"He had it coming to him!"
Well, Auntie Jae had it right that this wasn't no boring trip to the museum. Sitting with the rest of my group, we watched security try to talk her down from beating senseless some hairy dude with a fire extinguisher. It was around that point that Toby whispered to me how he was glad we weren't in the Arms and Armour section anymore. After seeing what Auntie Jae could do with a Chefs Knife I had to agree.
"Look, I already said I'm not goin' ta go pressin' charges. She ain't lyin' in that the last time we saw one another it wasn't quite friendly." Hairy dude was trying to tell the security guards, as in the plural form being as in it took three to pull Auntie Jae off him.
"If I could I get your name Sir, we'll try and get this sorted out." Security Guard A asked.
"James Logan Howlett." Hairy dude said, rubbing his head where Auntie Jae cold cocked him with the butt end of the fire extinguisher.
"What, 'Don't call me Mister' ain't good enough for you now?" Auntie Jae spat.
Security Guards B and C looked to be making sure there wasn't anything that could be used as a weapon in easy reach. Guard A looked between Hairy Dude and Auntie Jae in that way I had seen police do on those TV shows full of 'We're going to a Domestic Dispute'. Thing is I know Auntie Jae ain't dating atm because Mom has tried to set her up so many times, and after one conversation between Mom and me I found out why sometimes those people were women too instead of just men. Easy ten points on a sex ed test thanks to that talk.
"Anyone got some gum for her ta chew ta shut her up so we can get this over with?" Hairy dude growled, looking at us all in askance, go triple word score the last time I played Scrabble with Mom to help with my English Classes.
"Oh you are so lucky I can't paf your ass anymore." Auntie Jae growled right back.
Hell if I know what a Paf is, I always took it to be some joke between Mom and her about kicking someone's ass, but that's when I see Hairy Dude look at her without any of the growly attitude he's been putting up this whole time. Thank god I hadn't been chewing gum cause I'd probably be choking on it when I saw him wiggle his fingers at her, hand in your man card now please.
But it was the look Auntie Jae had that I found out Paf must have meant something more, because all the fight was knocked out of her, looking ready to be breaking down and cry. The guards let her go but kept close, looking plenty awkward.
"If all parties involved agree to not bludgeon the other, can you boys give us a minute?" Hairy dude asked, in that sort of way people ask only to be polite as not to outright say get lost.
The rest of the group joined the security dudes, but hell if I'm leaving some Hairy Dude with my only Auntie who is all kinds of trying not to cry. I slip in for a big hug which is easy because we're just around the same height for now. Hairy Dude is chewing on a pen like it just said bad stuff about his own Momma, that or he's nic fitting hard.
"I'm sorry kid." Hairy dude said so softly it makes my chest ache.
Auntie Jae buries her face in my shoulder and I can hear she's crying now, not just tears but out right whimpering. I hug her hard like I would Mom those times she talked about Dad, the Daddy I never knew not because he didn't want to know me, but because he just couldn't be there.
"I'm so fucking sick of hearing that Logan, everybody's so fucking sorry. Why the hell should I go expecting life to be any different, the jokes always on me in the end. Surprise, you're a freak. Oh, ya like that huh, well try this on fer size..." Auntie Jae hisses.
Over her shoulder I can see all the kids that had been following behind Hairy Dude, aka Logan. They're all sporting uniforms with an X over a coat of arms that stinks of Private School. They're starting to chat up my group, boys talking to boys, some boys hitting up girls, and girls giggling at some of the boys that are too cool to be hanging out in a group.
"How's Marie doing?" Hairy Dude asks.
If it pleases the Court I will admit I knew Auntie Jae didn't need a fire extinguisher to go beating up some dude that must have had an easy hundred pounds on her. Auntie Jae apparently used to do gymnastics and is way keen on yoga nowadays which means she's pretty bendy. That being said even I was surprised that she could kick him under his jaw to follow through with one to his genitalia as we'd say in biology class.
Well, at least I'll have a story for why I'm getting suspended this time. Now I gotta ask just how the H E and Double Hockey sticks does he know Mom?
-=+=–=+=–=+=–=+=-