After explaining everything on the phone to her parents, she told them to give her love to her siblings, Lila, Tony, and Drew, and that she would call them later tonight. Terri turned to the man, who had told her to call him Professor Xavier.
"Have you decided what you want to do?"
"Yes. I want to finish off the school year tomorrow. Then I'll come and stay at this school for the summer. I'm gonna have to leave for a couple of weeks here and there, planed stuff like camps and such. I'll decide if I want to go back to my school for senior year of stay here later. Uh, is all that ok?"
Xavier smiled. "Of course."
"Um, and, I, that is, you, well… you won't use your powers to make me change my mind?"
"No, of course not. Unless you suddenly plan of killing someone and I have to stop you, I will let you do whatever you wish."
Terri grinned a little. He was joking, right? "Thank you, professor."
"You are quite welcome my dear. Now, I'll have Jean show you your room. you have it to yourself for the rest of the week, but we do have another girl coming for the summer as well. Angelica Jones. She's about your age, and can, appropriately enough, control microwave radiation. will that be a problem?"
"No. Thanks again, professor"
"Of course, ah, here is Jean now. I'll see you two later". The Professor wheeled off and Jean led Terri up a flight of stairs and to her room.
"I will be going to your school tomorrow. No one will see me, except you, and I should be able to get us out of there I anything goes badly. Do you mind if you just go to the classes after your lunch?"
Terri nodded. It made sense, if she was there all day Strider would almost certainly send someone to get her before the end of her day, and she had to take the exam tomorrow.
Jean opened a door. "Here is your room. We'll be taking you to get your things tomorrow. Until then, we've got some clothes you can use." She glanced at the clock on the dresser by the bed. "Dinner will be in about three hours or so. You can take a nap or go to the library I could show you round if you want."
Terri shook her head. "I think I'll just relaxing in here for now. Thanks though."
Jean nodded and turned to go. Before she left, she turned. "Hey, everything will be okay. You're with us now, got it?"
Terri nodded and Jean left. After looking around the room and exploring the drawers and closets- there wasn't much, just a few simple t-shirts and a pair each of jean shorts and longer jeans. She decided to worry about that tomorrow. She sat on the bed, thinking about how quickly everything had changed. This morning she never would have supposed she would need to even be in a special place for mutants. When her powers developed, she had figured they weren't impressive or powerful enough to cause her trouble, but now she was in danger for that very reason. She sighed, all this was giving her a headache.
She didn't remember when she dozed off, only of waking up about four and a half hours later.
When Terri woke up, her light was still on and her back hurt a bit, but she felt better overall. She looked at the clock and realized dinner would probably be over. But, she was feeling very hungry now, so she decided to see if she could find something to eat.
Many of the rooms lining the halls had lights on and she could see people hanging out in them. She was in the Girls Hall, of course, but if she remembered right, Guys could hang out with them-and vice versa- until eight, as long as the doors remained open. There were also people hanging out in the halls and commons, she saw the boy with the glasses, the one the News Stations had dubbed Cyclops, flirting on a couch with Jean, who seemed to be more interested in reading her book. But if the faint red in her cheek Terri could just see behind the pages were any clue, she was enjoying it. Terri had just decided not to bother them and continue to the kitchens, or at least where she thought the kitchens were, when Jean looked up at her.
"Hey Terri, we missed you at dinner. Are you hungry, do you need anything?" Jean offered.
"No, I'm good. Just looking for the kitchens to see if I could get a little snack. My nap ended up a bit longer than I anticipated sorry. Oh, can I get a snack? You guys don't have any super strict diets or rules or anything, do you?" Gosh, she hoped not.
"Oh no, your fine I can take you to the kitchens myself if you want, get you something." Jean put her book down and stood, much to Terri's embarrassment.
"No no, you don't need to do that. Um, could you just point me to the kitchen?"
"Really, it's no trouble.
"O-oh, alright then." Terri rubbed her arm, shifting away from the couch as Jean stood up and put her book on the coffee table, then motioned to a corridor on the side of the small common area.
"The kitchen is on the first floor, in the center-west wing. The girls get the west dorms, so we just go down these stairs, and through our dining area."
"How many west wings, or is it just wings, uh, do you have a map of this place?" Terri was getting very confused very quickly.
Jean smiled at her, and nodded. "Yeah, we've got some in the office room. Um, its all locked up now, but I can, er, show you one with my… powers." Jean tapped the side of her head.
Terrri's eyes widened. "You can do that? Like, not just with a thought, but a picture?"
Jean nodded, and stopped Terri. "Don't want you to fall down the rest of the stairs."
Terri nodded, and shut her eyes very tight.
'you don't need to do that' Jean said.
Except, Terri hadn't heard her say it, it had appeared in her mind.
It was a very odd experience, not at all like Terri had expected, and she almost wondered if she had just made that thought up herself, and it was just her.
'no, it's me'
Terri opened her eyes to see a very amused smile on Jeans face.
"I am doing it" the grinning girl said, aloud this time. "Ready for the map?"
"Yeah, sorry." Terri apologized, deciding to keep her eyes open this time.
Jean brought a finger to her temple, and closed her own eyes softly. Terri didn't realize she did as well.
In her mind, she suddenly saw an old, large, mansion.
'this is the school' Jeans voice explained, 'the classroom and office are the first two floors, here and here.'
Terri couldn't explain it, but as Jean spoke- er, thought? - the knowledge just sort of entered her mind, and she felt like she could walk around the school as if she had lived there years.
Jean continued, 'the student dorms are the third floor, as well as some teachers. The rest live on the fourth floor. The gym and pool are in the first basement.'
"First?" Terri asked aloud. The picture of the locker rooms she had been shown vanished, and she opened her eyes. Jean was looking embarrassed. Apparently Terri's question had broken the telepathic girl's concentration. She didn't know, but this was a relatively new skill Jean had picked up. The girls were lucky the released effort hadn't caused a burst of red energy and anti-gravity.
"Yeah, there is a second basement, but it's really only for X-men stuff, the lab you were in, training, that sort of thing. Uh, sorry." Jean rushed to say. "The kitchen is this way."
They went down the last few steps and jean showed her a large dining hall with several long tables, before they entered a kitchen.
Terri started back when she saw two figures by the stove, apparently making popcorn. She recognized one of them, his tail swinging back and forth in excitement. The other, well, she recognized the yellow jacket.
"Its-its that girl" she said softly to Jean, before she remembered what she had said earlier, in the basement. "Or… the girl she was pretending to be?"
"Yep," Jean said, stepping forward as the two teenagers turned away from the stove to look at them. "This is Jubilation Lee and Kurt Wagner. Guys, this is Alterria, but she goes by Terri."
"Hi! You can call me Jubilee, Terri. I'm glad you're here! Want some popcorn? I'm trying to help Kurt get the hang of it." The pigtailed girl said excitedly.
"Hallo" said the blue boy, looking a bit nervous. "I'm Kurt. Uh, I am so sorry about grabbing you earlier, ah, well, um" he trailed off, looking down.
"Oh, uh, it's okay. Actually, I guess I should be thanking you from keeping me from being some sort of experiment or whatever that Sticker guy wanted." Terri smiled nervously at the boy, who looked up and grinned back at her a little.
"Well, saving people is What We do, uh, especially pretty girls like yourself, fraul- uh, miss." He looked back at the floor again, and Terri blushed.
"Thanks. Um, I guess popcorn sounds good, but I kinda didn't have any dinner actually, um," she looked at the fridges on the opposite wall. "you guys have any leftover dinner?"
Jean nodded, and put her finger on her temple again. The fridge door swung open.
"Yeah, we have chicken or stake fajitas from tonight, there's also a few hamburger patties or pizza slices from lunch, you want either of those? There's also some f-"
"Chicken fajitas sound great" Terri broke in. Jean nodded, and a few Tupperware containers started moving to the cabinet, a plate came down from a shelf and some silverware from another. Terri watched in amazement as Jean put together two fajitas exactly as she liked them, then warmed them up in a microwave. It wasn't until Jean floated the plate to a bar that she looked up, and glanced sheepishly at Terri.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't even ask if you wanted to make it yourself, uh"
"No no, its ok." Terri grinned. "you made it just like I would have, how did you know, oh wait, dumb question, sorry, I'm not sure, ahk, I mean…" Terri shrugged awkwardly. The two girls stared awkwardly and apologetically at each other, then burst out laughing.
"Oh, if you're sure its ok, then it was no trouble, you're alright, I don't think I would know how to respond to a telepath either-especially one that read my mind then pulled dinner out of it, and I really should have asked." Jean said while Terri attempted to wave it off and thank her multiple times.
Kurt, who had been watching in various degrees of amusement the entire time, turned back to Jubilee, who was the most used to Jean's telepathy and had focused on the popcorn. Jubilee smiled at him and handed him two bowls.
"Give 'er one, will ya Kurt? You want some popcorn two Jean?"
Jean shook her head, and moved to leave the kitchen.
"I'm good right now, but thank you Jubi-"
"Fine, then take some up to Scott, 'cuz I know you two were totally 'studying' together." Terri did not really know Jubilee or Jean- but she caught that the girl was taking a dig at the redhead, and she wondered how true it was. It would be kinda cute. Then she tried to stop thinking that, because hello, the redhead is right there and is also a freaking telepath. Fortunately, Jean did not react to Terri's thoughts, if she heard them.
Jubilee handed Jean a bowl with easily two peoples share of popcorn in it, then took the rest and sat next to Terri. Jean blushed, but took the bowl of popcorn without comment and left. Kurt laughed from Terri's other side.
"Are Jean and Scott dating then?" she asked Jubilee, who grinned.
" 'Pends on who you ask."
"Oh?" Terri took a bite of her fajita. Oooh, it was good.
"Ja, if you ask Jean, then she will tell you that they are not dating." Kurt broke in with amusement.
"But if you ask Scott, or anyone else on the campus, they will say that the two of them are practically married." Finished Jubilee as she ate a handful of popcorn.
Terri nodded. She had guessed as much, from how everyone acted about it.
"So, is everyone here part of the X-men? Because I don't really see myself being… a fighter"
Both mutants shook their head.
"I'm not even an X-men yet, though I want to be." Jubilee announced. "I will get to start training classes in the fall though, maybe even this summer. They want me to be able to handle myself in a fight without my powers first, so" She shrugged, then continued. "Ol' Kurt here is an X-men though, isn't that right Nightcrawler?"
Kurt shot a look at her across Terri, before smiling and shrugging. "Ja, it is." He pointed on of his three fingers at Terri's plate. "Would you like anymore?"
Terri hadn't realized she was so hungry, or that she was eating so fast. She shook her head.
"No, I'm good, but thanks." Terri got up to put her plat in the sink, and washed it off. She heard Jubilee giggle.
"What, should I not rinse of my plate or-"
"No no, I was laughing at Kurt. You're good." Terri looked between the two mutants, who were both grinning way too mischievously, reminding her of her youngest brother Andrew. She slowly turned back to the sink, saying "Okaaaaay then" as she did. She kept them in the corner or her sight, and after a few seconds, saw…
"Kurt! Are you stealing my popcorn?" she turned toward them fully, then burst out laughing at Kurt's abashed face, His tail on which balanced three of her popcorn kernels, and Jubilee's obvious attempt to look innocent.
"Whaaaat? No, I would never…." Kurt said, trying not to laugh as he not-to-secretly flicked the popcorn back into her bowl. "Jubilee, did you do that?" he asked.
This was apparently too much for Jubilee, who burst out into uncontrollable giggles. She hit the bar a few times, then- to Terri's shock- several colorful sparks flew from her hands.
Terri jumped back, and with a soft 'bamf' sound she realized Kurt had teleported behind her.
Jubilee did not appear to notice the sparks, until she looked up to see Terri's alarmed face.
"Oh, was I?" she made flicking motions with her hands, Terri hoped she meant the sparks of light, and nodded.
"Sorry," Jubilee rubbed the back of her neck, "That's my mutation, I make little Pafts, sparks of energy. I didn't mean to scare you, sorry." She eyed Kurt, who immediately teleported back to his seat.
"But you know about my powers!" She pointed at him
"I was still startled!" Kurt defended. "didn't the professor say that you were not supposed to make fireworks inside?"
"It was an accident!" Jubilee exclaimed, before shaking her head and turning to Terri. "Sorry, I usually have a good grip on it. Anyway, do you want to take the popcorn and chill upstairs? Maybe meet some more students."
Terri considered a moment, before nodding and picking up her bowl. "Sounds good to me"
"Great, let's go!" Jubilee excitedly picked up her own popcorn, then turned to Kurt.
"So, Kurt-y boy, do you think you could take us-"
"Not a chance Jubes." Kurt smiled. "I am not, ah, your personal taxi service. Besides, walking upstairs is good exercise for your training"
"Fine," Jubilee sighed, and led them out the door.
They had taken two steps into the dining room when Kurt grinned at them.
"So, I will see you upstairs then?" and 'bamfed' away.
"That little elf!" Jubilee exclaimed angrily. "So he can't take us, but its fine for him to teleport, that nice, Kurt," she looked back at Terri. "And stop laughing at me!"
AN: yay! actual interaction with two of my three favorite characters! and if your wondering where Peter is, he'll be in the next chapter, don't worry. R+R, F+F, all that nice stuff if you liked it. see ya next time.