Chapter Four

With a full night's sleep under his belt for the first time in over a month, Hank sauntered down the hall from his room with his mind fully awake, with energy in his step, and he hadn't even had his cup of morning coffee. Scott spotted him in the hall and caught up to him, greeting Hank with a bit of apprehension, knowing that Hank's morning demeanor was far from affable from too much work and too little sleep. "Good morning, Hank."

Hank turned his head to his younger friend then smiled as he replied, "Ah, Mr. Summers, morning salutations to you also. I presume that you slept well last night?"

Perplexed by this pleasant disposition, Scott hurried to block Hank with his hands out to stop him. "Wait one second: no grumpy disposition, fur clean and combed back without Twinkie crumbs, no bloodshot eyes from staring into microscopes and computer screens. Alright, who are you, and what have you done with Hank McCoy?"

Hank chuckled and placed a hand on Scott's shoulder, reassuring his friend, "I promise you that it is me, Scott. You are in the presence of a man who has had a substantive slumber. I had dismissed the memory of what it felt like to truly sleep, and now you have taken notice of this more congenial morning-time Hank as the aftermath."

"Well, I am impressed. With all those smarts you have, I thought you would have had the brains to figure out that sleep is a very good thing in order to process normally."

"I postulate that even the most astute man can neglect personal care and upkeep when important obligations get in the way; I just wasn't practicing what I was teaching to my own students about how basic a necessity sleep is for every properly-functioning biological organism."

"Uh huh… and food is necessary too, so let's go get something from the kitchen before the next classes start. I just hope all of the PowerBars aren't gone." After continuing several more yards down the hallways, passing other teachers and students as they separated into their classrooms, they detected a delectable aroma wafting past their noses as they got closer to the kitchen. "Mmm, it smells like someone went the extra mile for breakfast this morning and made something delicious for the rest of us."

"It also smells like someone left a horrendous mess in the kitchen making the delicious breakfast food because one was in a hurry to get to class on time, and that one didn't have time to clean up after him or herself."

Upon reaching the kitchen, the two men beheld two baskets of muffins, nearly empty, with the rest of the kitchen free of used mixing bowls, dirty spatulas and measuring cups, and muffin tins: the only sound in the kitchen the gentle hum of the dishwasher. "It looks like your nose deceived you, Hank, because I don't see a mess, but I sure see breakfast." Scott quickly grabbed a blueberry muffin and took a large bite. With his mouth still full, he said, spraying crumbs as he spoke, "And it tastes like breakfast too: a damn better breakfast than a PowerBar."

"Scott, there is no need for that uncouth language, and it's rude to talk with your mouth full." While Scott poured himself a glass of milk to go with his muffin, Hank picked up a piece of paper that he found between the two baskets of muffins and read it:

To staff and students of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters:

I have prepared a couple of baskets of muffins for you to enjoy for breakfast: one is blueberry, and the other is peanut butter with strawberry jam. Please take just one muffin so there is enough for everyone. This is just a small token of my appreciation for what you are trying to accomplish here, as well as a way to break the ice with you. I hope that I get to know many of you in the future.

~ Kady })j({

Hank smiled as he placed the paper back on the counter and took a peanut butter and jam muffin for himself. Scott held out a glass of milk for him as he took a bite of his muffin. "It's good, isn't it, Hank?"

He closed his eyes as he chewed, relishing the flavors that graced his tongue: the tender texture, the slight salty sweetness of the peanut butter, and the surprise filling of the jam in the middle of the muffin. "Oh, my stars and garters! I may have tasted a pastry that has surpassed my normal sweet indulgence," he commented as he reached for the glass of milk.

Scott just stared in disbelief again. "Now I'm really worried that you're an imposter, because nothing is better than Twinkies to Henry McCoy."

Hank just chuckled and smiled at his friend, but when he glanced past the door, he saw a familiar face passing the kitchen. Wanting to speak with her, Hank glugged down the rest of his milk, wiped his mouth on his coat sleeve, took a large bite out of the muffin, then called out to Scott as he headed out of the kitchen, mouth full of muffin, "Make sure that you are not tardy to class, Scott."

Scott shook his head and laughed as he called back, "I thought it was rude to talk with your mouth full!"

Hank ran out into the hallway, weaving through the students and trying not to run into anyone, to catch up to Kady, walking with a notebook in her hand and a black canvas satchel slung over her shoulder. Once he was right behind her, he tapped her on the left shoulder while he was coming up on her right side. "It seems like you are quite the culinary genius, aren't you?"

Kady jumped a bit in surprise when Hank approached her without warning. Playfully hitting him with her notebook, she remarked, "Alright, ya liked my muffins, but ya didn't have to scare me like that now."

"Oh, but I did. Those muffins that you baked gave my favorite confection a run for their money, and because of that, you have a long-time colleague of mine second-guessing my identity. I assured him it was me, but I do not believe he is completely convinced that I am who I say I am." She shared a laugh with him before he asked in a more serious tone, sounding more like a question than a statement, "I trust that your delicious delectables did not keep you from meeting with the Professor."

She shook her head and smiled. "Nope. I made the muffins before the meetin' with Professor Xavier. Just a little somethin' to at least say 'thank ya' for allowin' me to spend the night if the Professor said I couldn't stay. I just had a feelin' he would say 'yes', I trusted my intuition, and made them anyway."

"Ah, I see. So what arrangement did you and Charles construct about your residing here and attending classes?"

"Well, I get to attend classes and stay in a room, and I do a little custodial work at night before I go to sleep. And who knows? I may take some extra time to keep makin' special things for breakfast if others here enjoy them as much as you do, and that would be no extra cost."

She smiled, but Hank frowned when he asked, "Why have you been assigned to custodial duty? Surely there was some other task better suited for a young lady."

"Well, someone has to do it, don't they? Custodial work here compared to custodial work at Kelleher's is a cakewalk, especially since I'm not the only one doing it here. And if you're worried about my 'talents' goin' to waste, I will also be assistin' in the music and drama classes as well. I asked the Professor about takin' those classes, but he thought I could lend my gifts to make the class better for the other students here. Because of his kindness, I offered to clean up around the mansion for a small payment so I can save money to make it on my own."

"I was about to say… if Charles was inconsiderate enough to just place you in a janitor's uniform, I was going to have a very serious discussion with him. Anyway, where is the destination of your first class?"

"Just now I'm headin' to an English class, taught by Emma Frost… wherever room 143 is located."

"Oh, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy that class, and I know we are almost there; it's a few more doors down from here. And what is the rest of your schedule for the day?"

"Then I have the drama class to help with, then I have lunch, then it's music, then time to do my classwork or take a nap, then dinner, then cleanin', then sleep. That is my schedule, until I am told differently."

"What about the sciences and math? One needs to have a well-balanced curriculum to be a truly educated person."

"I guess you are in charge of teaching in those areas, aren't ya? No offence to ya, Hank, but I know so much in those areas already, that I don't need to be takin' them again just to learn what I already know or learn more than I would use."

"So you believe you know everything in those areas, do you?"

"Well, I don't remember the atomic number of all the elements or how to calculate the velocity of a bowling ball dropped on Mars, and I don't care to relearn how to determine the time of two trains meetin' in Boston when one starts in Augusta, Maine, travelin' at 55 miles per hour, and the other train leaves Charleston, South Carolina, travelin' at 63 miles per hour, but I know what I need to get by as a normal person. I suppose if I were to become a doctor like you, it would be helpful to know how to do those things proficiently, but my forte is in the arts, so I don't have much need for those subjects. Besides, aren't math and sciences basically the same in every country?"

"Hmm. That is a very well thought out explanation, Kady, but I still think it would be advantageous to take at least one science course while you are here. They are not like classes anywhere else you have attended."

"Ha, you may be right. I'll see if I can fit a class in my schedule somewhere, but don't hold your breath; I don't want ya turnin' blue on me now." She stifled her laughter, not knowing how he would take it. Hank laughed as well as they both stopped in front of room 143 for her literature class. "I guess I'll see ya later. Try not to bore your students too much in your class, alright?" She smiled and made her way into the classroom, several of the students coming up to her, either talking about her performance, complimenting her food, or in the case of some of the boys in the class, looking her over.

Hank noticed her mild-mannered reaction to all of this attention; her cheeks blushed slightly as she thanked them humbly before sitting down when the bell rang. "Oh no, I'm late," he reminded himself, and he rushed down the halls to get to his awaiting classroom: the first time that the teacher had been late to his own class.

*Author's Note*

Sorry for the late update, but with no comments about how the story is going or suggestions of what they would like to see happen, and with writer's block to boot, I worked hard to get this out when I did. Please review so I can have something to go on. I would like to continue this story for my own, but what good is a story when you have no one to share it with? Happy Father's Day, and happy reading!

Write on,

Aldys Clairveux