"Jubilation Lee, I don't expect to hear that kind of language," Scott Summers continues to sound stern. What was that I said about pretended outrage? Did I mention that in the right voice it can be devastatingly sexy?

Eeek. I hope my pretend outrage isn't devastatingly sexy. Yeuch! Gross!

"Oh bleep," Jubilee says, sarcastically. I'm having to imagine the scene, but from where I'm sitting it sounds really funny. I bite my lips together hard to keep from laughing. Laughing internally, I decide, is okay. It's laughing audibly that would be unfair.

"Jubilee," he says, and his voice contains a warning. Wisely the girl doesn't respond this time.

"Rogue, I'm disappointed in you, you're supposed to be student representative," he continues. I hear a mumble from the girl that sounds like it might contain words if you were a cryptographer.

"Hmm, well, I'll expect you both to be in your rooms by the time I get back upstairs or you'll both have detention with me tomorrow."

I sincerely hope his voice isn't having the same effect on them that it's having on me! I'd want to be in detention tomorrow!

"Yeah right, like, whatever, Mr Summers sir," says Jubilation Lee as if she is totally unconcerned by the threat. She probably is. I guess he's not her type.

"Come on Rogue, we'd like, better split. It's past curfew y'know. We, like, need our beauty sleep." Her voice is receding. I'm hoping she's flouncing down the corridor.. Man that kid has guts. But hang on, where's Kitty? Hold it, is that an arm poking out of the wall? Holy shit, that's freaky.

"I'm letting you know now, Kitty," Scott says once Jubilee's voice is out of earshot. This time his tone is conversational, like he is talking to thin air.

Actually, he probably is talking to thin air. The arm isn't moving, it's frozen half out of the wall like she doesn't want to give herself away.

"You've got a detention tomorrow afternoon with me for tampering with the alarm system and shutting off the monitors in the control room. If I get upstairs and find out you are breaking curfew you'll have two detentions. And if I have to spend one second of my time fixing the system this evening, it'll be a week's worth. You'd better move fast." The arm flinches but the girl doesn't move.

"Don't give them detention," I call. There's no response. "Scott," I call again as I catch Kitty's hand and pull her into the room with me and put a finger to my lips to keep her quiet. She looks startled at first and then I guess she catches a look at my face because startled changes to properly stunned. I should probably look in a mirror at some point.

"Scott? Don't give them detention." I call again, then point her towards the stairs mouthing; 'That way. I'll distract him.'

She smiles her understanding and thanks, then moves silently towards the stairs. Smart kid, that one, even if she is a bit of a know-it-all sod. I feel positively friendly towards her at the moment. She doesn't even seem slightly annoyed with me. It makes a pleasant change…

"Oh come on Scott, they didn't mean any harm," I call. "And you can't prove Kitty was even involved."

"You'll learn," he replies, shortly. His voice is closer than I expected it to be. It's also still a little snippy. "Kids need rules, and this little escapade has Kitty's fingerprints all over it. She needs to stop hacking into things. She's too good at it."

I'll just bet she is.

"But she didn't do any harm, even if it was her. Cut her some slack, man," I call, trying to keep it light and flirty. Trying to ignore the irritation in his voice. It's less attractive when it's aimed at me, perhaps because it feels more real.

"No dice," he replies. "She needs to know she got caught this time and that it's not okay for her to access whatever the hell she wants."

"Oh come on, she knows that. You don't think she's making ethical decisions about that stuff all the time?" I call.

"We'll see," he replies, snippy. I hear his footsteps, receding down the corridor. Indefinably, they sound angry too. Shit. I guess I pissed him off, but I really don't want the kid to get a detention for this.

Of course, maybe that's not what he's pissed about.

But then maybe he's not angry at all and I'm just developing a healthy dose of paranoia.

Getting thumped in the nose'll do that to a person.