The sun was already far in the sky when Matt woke up. A look at the clock showed that it was almost ten. He had gotten in the habit of waking up early so that the motel owners never caught him at checkout or cleanup time. He sometimes actually paid for a room whenever he could get a job for a few days, but he never stayed somewhere long enough to get a good stash going.
He got up, took a shower, and got dressed before making his way to the kitchen for breakfast. "How nice of you to join us," a guy he didn't recognize said as Matt poured a bowl of cereal.
At the table were Rogue, Bobby, and a blond guy their age he didn't recognize. "Like you ever wake up before ten on the weekends, John," Bobby teased.
Matt sat down in an empty seat and started eating.
"I need my beauty sleep," John teased back. "How do you think I get this hot?"
"By setting fires," Bobby said sarcastically. John smiled at the comment as if it was a compliment. Was this guy a pyromaniac?
John seemed to finally re-notice Matt. "Aw, newbie, sorry for my friend's rudeness here. My name is John Allerdyce. Welcome to Xavier's School for Freaking Freaks. What's your specialty?"
Matt glanced at Bobby, who was rolling his eyes. "I'm telekinetic," he finally answered. "And you? Wait, let me guess: you're a firebender."
John raised an eyebrow and clapped. "Wow, someone here's psychic too. By the way, I used to love that show." He pulled a lighter out of his pocket and lit it. The flame grew and started moving around, forming a ball in the air that floated right above John's hand.
"Not at the table, John," Bobby said in exasperation. He flicked his hand at the ball of flame and it froze in mid-air before falling and crashing on the floor.
"Cool," Matt said. It was weird how he and Andrew and Steve had all had the same powers, but among others there seemed to be a large array of powers. It was probably because he and his friends had gotten theirs from the same source. He turned to Rouge to ask what she could do, but when he looked at her, she scowled and looked away, obviously not up for a demonstration. He looked back over to see John looking at him expectantly. "What?" Matt asked.
"Aren't you going to show us yours?" John then giggled at his innuendo.
Matt ignored that and went with the simple task of lifting his bowl of cereal, being careful not to let it spill. He set it back down and resumed eating.
"That wasn't impressive," John said.
Matt smiled at the challenge. "I could lift you and throw you through the wall. Would that be impressive?"
"Not really."
"Shame. It would have been fun."
"Y'all are idiots," Rouge said.
"Thank you," John said with a smile.
"So, what do we do on Sundays?" Matt asked. "Superpower training? Teambuilding exercises? Is there a mutant help group?"
"Actually," Rogue said, "it's the weekend. Most of the students get those free."
"Most? I haven't even seen any kids here at all. Or many people period. Are there like only ten people at this school?"
Rouge rolled her eyes. "That's because it's the weekend. Some kids go home to their parents, those who can. Also, you've been here all of what, two days?"
Matt had to admit that she had a point. He shrugged. "I guess I was just expecting people running around the halls and stuff. I've never really been to a private school. Let alone one like this."
John chuckled humorlessly. "Yeah, this school is different. But you should fit right in. Your power's not even unique."
"Um, was that an insult?"
"Nope. You should actually be honored to have one of the same powers as the marvelous Jean Grey. Wait, are you also a telepath?"
"Not that I know of," Matt said. He was glad that they hadn't gotten that power—it would be really weird to have to listen to everyone's random thoughts all of the time.
"Good. I don't need someone else invading my private thoughts."
"You know they never just read your thoughts," Bobby corrected defensively. "They do respect your privacy."
"No, I agree with him. It is kinda creepy," Matt said.
"Still, just be glad it's someone on our side that has that power. Imagine an enemy who could read your mind," Bobby said.
"Enemy?" Matt asked curiously.
"You know, like a bully at school or someone like that," Bobby said quickly, as if covering his tracks.
"Yeah, that would suck," Matt agreed. But bullies at school were obviously not the people Bobby was talking about fighting.
Sorry for the short chapter, but the next chapter needs to all be together. I'll probably put it up Thursday