Through The Eyes Of A Mother.
Chapter X: Karah.
Rachel was sitting on the bed and trying to figure out what to do from that moment on. She couldn't imagine a new life after that day, especially because it was a life she didn't want to live. What about her school? What about her friends? Jean Grey certainly wasn't expecting her to replace those things with the ones in the mansion, Rachel hoped, because it wouldn't happen.
A knock on the door pulled the girl out of her thoughts. She didn't want to answer, but she knew she couldn't leave her biological mother standing outside the room forever.
"Come in", Rachel said, not looking at the door. Jean entered the room and closed the door behind her before she spoke.
"I forgot to tell you, but we usually dine at seven", she started and Rachel looked at the alarm clock on the bedside table; it was 7.10 p.m. already.
"I'm not hungry, but thanks", the daughter answered, not showing any interest in having dinner with her. Jean felt hurt by Rachel's attitude, but she was also losing her patience… again.
"Alright, then", was Jean's reply as she walked to the desk and placed what looked like a notebook on it, then left the bedroom.
In the hallway, Jean was capable of fighting her tears. She knew everything would take its time to be fixed, although there was no time to waste if she thought about the teenager's training. The thing she wanted the most was to have her daughter's love, but she was aware that her biggest achievement could be only the girl's acceptance of her mutant heritage.
Rachel looked at the notebook for a while before she stood up from the bed and walked to the desk. Opening the notebook, she found a hand-written schedule of what she assumed to be her classes and directions of how to find each classroom, the cafeteria and other places of interest in the mansion.
"That's thoughtful", she said to herself. Closing the notebook, she sat down on the bed again, not interested in attending any of those classes full of mutants. Would that Jean Grey never understand that Rachel didn't want to be an outcast? She was a normal teenage girl and that's what she wanted to be.
She didn't have anything to do in that bedroom and she wasn't planning on going downstairs, so Rachel decided to go to sleep. After changing to her pajamas and getting into bed, she turned off the light and waited for sleep to come to her. It wasn't an easy task as all the events from that strange day kept playing on her mind like a sadistic joke. It was not until late in the night that Rachel finally fell asleep.
Jean had spent most of the night awake thinking about everything that had happened in those last few days, so she didn't really look refreshed as she sat at the teachers' table in the cafeteria. Professor Xavier, who was sitting opposite her, hadn't spoken since she had arrived, giving her time to put herself together.
"Why do I have this feeling that today isn't going to be an easy day?", she asked, sounding defeated.
"Since when do you trust such feelings, Jean?", the Professor asked in return.
"Since I found my very rebellious and very rude daughter and brought her home", Jean answered as she watched Rachel enter the room. The girl didn't see her and Jean would leave it that way for now.
Rachel was standing by the door of the cafeteria while she looked around without really looking at anything or anyone in particular. What she did notice was that the cafeteria was nothing like the one in her old school: it was a very elegant room, just like the rest of the mansion she had seen so far, and the food was displayed like a five star hotel breakfast buffet.
Hesitantly picking up her breakfast in a tray, she tried to find an empty table to sit at, but there wasn't one. She didn't want to sit with strangers, especially if they were mutants, and she was almost giving up her breakfast when she heard a voice calling.
"Hey!", it said and Rachel looked around to see where it came from. "Over here!", finally, she saw a girl who was probably her age waving almost frantically and gesturing for her to sit at her table. Rachel wasn't sure if she was calling for her, but, seeing nobody else standing there, she assumed she was.
Sitting with that girl suddenly didn't look like a bad idea and she looked pretty normal, so Rachel decided to walk to her table and sit down.
"Hi, I'm Kitty", the girl introduced herself cheerfully.
"Rachel", she replied timidly.
"You're the girl from the hallway", Kitty stated with a smile. Taking a better look at her, Rachel could see Kitty was almost as tall as she, had brown hair and eyes and a rather nice smile. "I'm the one who ran through you yesterday"
"Oh…", Rachel couldn't hide her disappointment, but Kitty didn't seem to notice.
"So, what brought you here?", the other girl asked, interested.
"Uh… Let's just say it's family issues", was the only answer Jean's daughter could think of.
"I see… Well, you won't have time to think about that because it's time to go to class", Kitty stated, standing up. "Biology, right?"
"Yes", Rachel answered as she stood up as well. Even though she didn't want to live and study in the mansion, she knew she couldn't drop her studies.
"Great! Let's go, then", her new acquaintance replied, showing her the way out of the cafeteria and to their classroom. Since she had a guide, Rachel didn't need to read Jean's directions.
As they entered the room, she could see several other kids were already there, causing the small chaos any group of teenagers would before the class started. Rachel tried not to look directly at anyone and nobody seemed to notice she was new there.
"Here", Kitty said, pointing to two empty chairs in the second row. The new girl in class reluctantly walked to one of them and sat down in silence, not really wanting to keep talking to Kitty; she seemed to be a good person, but she was still a mutant.
Fortunately, they didn't have much time to talk because the teacher finally arrived and the students fell silent.
"Good morning, class", she said and received a few replies. She then looked at Rachel but didn't say anything as she started her lesson.
The subject was exactly the same as in Rachel's old school and she picked it up where she had left off. Throughout the hour and a half, she tried to think of it as a normal class that wasn't full of what she called freaks. There was absolutely no possibility of fitting in; her only wish was to return to her home and to her parents.
The teacher finally ended the lesson, giving her students homework to do before they rushed out of the room. Rachel waited a minute before she stood up to leave as well as Kitty waited for her. She then noticed the teacher approaching and looked at the black woman with white hair.
"Rachel, isn't it?", she asked, sounding friendly. "I'm Ororo. Here's a textbook for you. If you have any questions about the subject, bring them tomorrow to share with your classmates, okay?"
"Okay. Thanks", was Rachel's short answer before hesitantly turning around and leaving the room, followed by Kitty.
"We also call her Storm", Kitty stated as they walked down the hallway.
"Storm?", Rachel repeated, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Because she can control the weather", the other teenage girl answered as if it was something… normal.
"Are you saying mutants have nicknames according to their… mutations? Like superheroes?", were Rachel's surprised questions. Were these people also mentally ill?
"Some of us do, but it's not like we use them often", Kitty answered and Rachel opened her notebook to check her schedule, trying to end that bizarre conversation.
"The next class is in Jean Grey's office?", she asked, unhappy to know she would have to face Jean.
"Yours is", Kitty confirmed, reading Rachel's schedule. "That's weird. Jean never gives private lessons"
"Yeah, it's weird…", were Rachel's words as she wondered why Jean would interrupt her classes to give her a private lesson. Was she really that desperate for attention?
"Well, I'll see you later, then", Kitty said with a smile before she continued her way down the hallway and disappeared around the corner.
Sighing, Rachel realized she couldn't avoid Jean forever. Following her directions, she walked through the hallways of the mansion until she found the office. Taking a deep breath, Rachel knocked on the door.
"Come in", she heard Jean's voice say from the inside the room and opened the door.
Jean was sitting behind her desk and she looked at Rachel as she entered the room and closed the door. Just like every time she saw her daughter, emotion took over her, making it hard to control herself.
Rachel looked around, thinking she had yet to find a room in that mansion that wasn't as comfortable and elegant like everything she had seen so far. Finally, she looked at Jean. Mother and daughter didn't say a word for a while, each with their own motives: Jean didn't want to upset her daughter even more and Rachel simply didn't want to talk to Jean.
"Please, sit down", the headmistress finally said, standing up as she gestured to one of the two armchairs near the big window of the office. The girl accepted the suggestion in silence while Jean sat down on the other armchair.
"So, what's this lesson about?", Rachel asked, sounding bored.
"Well, do you remember what I told you about the abilities you inherited from me?", Jean asked back, but received no answer. "I've scheduled these sessions to unlock your powers and teach you how to control and use them"
"You really don't get it, do you?", the girl questioned, losing her patience. "I don't believe that crap and I don't want to be like you", she continued. "I don't want to be your daughter"
"That's something you can't change", Jean replied in a harsh tone. "You may not like it, but you are a mutant, you are my daughter and I know you are safer here. I know what's best for you"
"If you knew what's best for me, you wouldn't have destroyed my life, which was perfect without you in it", Rachel stated cruelly, looking away from Jean.
"I'm sorry you think that way", the mother said, taking control of the anger she felt.
Silence fell between them as both tried to deal with their emotions. Jean knew the girl's bitterness was inevitable and, to a certain point, understandable. Rachel, on the other hand, decided not to accept Jean as her mother even if it meant to feel unhappy for the rest of her life.
"Who's Karah?", she suddenly asked, recalling the conversation with Professor Xavier.
"You", Jean answered calmly. "You are Karah", she paused as she saw her daughter's puzzled expression. "It's what I named you when you were born"
"You gave me a name and then gave me away for adoption?", Rachel asked with disgust. "That's sick"
"I know everything is difficult for you to accept right now, but in time you'll understand it", Jean answered apologetically. "I know you will eventually understand who you are"
"I know exactly who I am", the daughter stated, standing up from her seat. "And I know exactly who I don't want to be", she finished, walking away and exiting the office, leaving Jean devastated once again.