Bobby picked them up at the airport. "Welcome back."

"Thanks," Will said as he tossed their backpacks into the trunk. "There been any trouble?"

"Nothing major. We helped evac a six-alarm fire on the docks, but nobody got hurt."

"Glad to hear it," Rogue said as she sat in the passenger seat. "What caused the fire?"

"Electrical system, we think. There's no signs that a superhuman was involved." He pulled out into the traffic, then looked at Will's reflection in the mirror. "How you feeling?"

"Much better, thanks."

"You've got a ton of mail waiting for you back at the mansion."

"I could use a few days to settle down." He shrugged. "I need to catch up on my paperwork, anyway. Jeff is probably going crazy wondering where the hell I am." He looked at Rogue. "Remind me to call him or send an e-mail once we settle in."

"Right." She glanced over at Bobby. "Should we tell him?"

"Tell me what?"

"Let's wait until we get back," Will decided. "We can get it done and over with."

"Oh, come on," Bobby protested. "You can't tease me like this."

"Watch us," Rogue said with an evil grin.

Reaching into his arsenal, Bobby unleashed the Puppy Eyes of Doom on her. "Please?"

She sighed. "Oh, all right."

A moment later, Bobby nearly drove the car off the road.


"You're WHAT?"

"Moving in together," Rogue told the assembled team members an hour later. "Shacking up. Sharing a room. Do we need to simplify this any more, or have you all grasped the concept?"

Ororo picked up her jaw first. "When did you come to this decision?"

"Three days ago," Will replied. "We were talking on the trip back to the airport, and it seemed like the right decision."

"Are you sure you've thought this through?" Warren asked incredulously.

Rogue started to become annoyed. "Yes, Wings, we have. What makes you think we haven't?"

Warren looked a bit surprised. He obviously hadn't expected to be challenged. "Well, there's the issue of... of..."

"You can say it, Warren," she said coldly. "My powers."

"We've reached an accommodation on that issue," Will informed Warren. "The specifics are, quite frankly, none of your damn business."

"But..."

"Drop it, Warren," Scott advised.

"But..."

"I said drop it. You didn't voice any objections when Jean and I moved in together, and no one raised a stink about you and Betsy. This is no different." He looked at Will. "Jean and I still have some things in our old room. We can pull them out tonight, if you like."

"There's no rush," Rogue said. "I need time to unpack and run my clothes through the wash."

"You might have more time than that," Xavier informed her. "The students at the Massachusetts Academy have begged us to let Will save them."

Will snapped to attention. "From what?"

"Emma's cooking."

Will blinked, then grinned. "She's that bad?"

Bobby nodded. "They were hoping that you'd be willing to teach them a cooking class. With any luck, Emma might learn a few things herself."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Will said after a moment's thought. "I'll need a few days to set up a course outline and gather up the equipment I'll need. Could Emma provide me with the kids' sizes?"

"We have them on file, actually. Why do you need them?"

"Course materials. I'll have to head into the city tomorrow and go to a few supply houses." He stood up. "I'd better go through my cookbooks. I'll be down later."

Once Will had left the room, Rogue stood up. "Logan, you were planning on teaching the kids a self-defense class, right?"

"That's right. Thought they could use some review time."

"Feel like some company?"


Four days later, Logan pulled up in front of the Massachusetts Academy. He, Rogue, and Will stepped out of the van.

"Very Old Money," Will observed, looking at the school. "I thought that Emma's fortune was self-made."

"It is," Logan informed him, "but her parents were rich, too."

He nodded. "So where is everybody?"

"Wolvie!"

Will ducked out of the way as a blur of yellow rushed past him and straight into Logan.

"WhattookyousolongImissedyouwherehaveyoubeenwhatwereyoudoingcanwegotothemall..."

"Jubes!" Logan interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Breathe," he said with a chuckle.

"Missed ya," she repeated, hugging him again. She looked over at Rogue. "How ya been, Roguey?"

"I've been really, really busy," Rogue replied with a grin.

"So I've heard." She glanced at Will "Is this your boytoy?"

Will appeared amused by the description. "Am I your boytoy?" he asked Rogue.

"We'll talk. Jubes, meet Will Riley."

Jubilee pumped Will's hand firmly. "You've come to save us from ketchup omlettes?"

"I'll try. I'm hoping that you'll be able to fix your own meals in a few weeks."

"And hopefully, Jubilation," Emma said as she walked out the from entrance, "you will learn that meals do not come in cardboard boxes."

"Good afternoon, Ms. Frost. How are you today?"

"Please, Will, call me Emma. We'll be working together for the next few weeks." She nodded to Rogue and Logan. "Rogue, Wolverine. How was the drive here?"

"Pretty smooth," Logan replied. "We managed to avoid rush hour. Where's Sean?"

"He had some legal business to take care of in Ireland."

"Where do you want us to put the equipment?" Rogue asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about that. We stopped using the biology lab some time ago, since our biology curriculum is mostly done on computer now. The gas lines still work, and there's plenty of seating."

Will considered it. "That could work. I'll need two full-size ovens, though."

"I arranged to rent them from a local caterer. They'll be arriving tomorrow afternoon."

"That'll be fine. Tonight's class was going to be on equipment and safety, so I won't need the ovens just yet. If you can get some strong backs and point us towards the bio lab, I can set things up."


Ten minutes later, the members of Generation X were transporting Will's KitchenAid mixer, food processor, portable burner, and several boxes of Calphalon pots and pans into the biology lab. Will, Rogue, and Logan carried some sealed boxes that had been set aside.

Once Will was busy getting his equipment set up, Rogue pulled Emma aside for a moment. "Did the Professor explain about Will and me?"

Emma nodded. "Would you two prefer to share a room?"

"To be honest, yes. But if you think it'll set a bad example for the kids, we'll understand."

Emma smiled wryly. "You do realize the irony of asking my opinion about this, don't you?"

"You're in loco parentis for the students. We both respect that."

"And I appreciate it, believe me. I don't think you'll have any problem. Jubilation was thrilled when she found out that you were in a relationship. She's probably going to try to pump you for inside information."

"We haven't talked in a while. I won't mind."

"All right, then. I'll show you to your room. Did you want to help out with any classes?"

"What do you think I'd be qualified for? I'm not licensed as a teacher – not in New York or here."

"I was thinking that you could teach a course on piloting skills. I have a Cessna Skylane at the local airfield that you can use, if you like."

"All right. Will and I should be able to arrange the schedule so that somebody's free each afternoon for a few hours."

"Monet can be excused from that class. She's already earned a pilot's license."

"Fair enough."

"Here's your room," Emma said as she opened a door, revealing a fairly small, but serviceable bedroom with a queen-sized bed, desk, and two armoires. "The bathroom's through that door there."

"Which wing is this?"

"The ladies' wing. Sean and I decided that the girls were less likely to be overtly improper. There was one question that I wanted to ask."

"What's that?"

"Will wasn't planning on having Jonothan take his class, was he?"

"No, he has something else in mind for him. He said that he'd talk to him before the class started."


Knock, knock.

Jonothon opened his door and looked at the visitor. Yes, Mister Riley?

"I wanted to talk to you for a moment, if you don't mind."

Sure. C'mon in. Jonothon stepped aside and let Will enter his room. He cleared some papers off his chair for Will, then sat down on his bed. Did you need any help setting things up?

Will shook his head. "No, I'm done, thanks. I wanted to talk to you about the class."

Didn't see much point in taking it, Jono confessed. I can't eat anything, or even check it for taste.

"I agree, but Emma is allowing this class to count on everyone's transcript, so I thought that you deserved the chance to earn some credits yourself."

Jono blinked. That's a good point. Hadn't thought about it. He straightened up a bit. You have an alternative in mind?

"I was thinking of a research paper."

On cooking?

"Well, I'm a history buff as well as a cook. Why don't we try this: write me a fifteen to twenty-page research paper on how a product used as food, or a process connected to food, has affected the development of a society."

Jono digested that. Can you give me a few examples?

"Sure. European cravings for spices driving the Crusades, and later Colombus. Prohibition in the U.S. during the 1920s. The introduction of the potato to Irish society. The effects of monoculture farming on colonial and post-colonial Africa. The introduction of refrigeration and its effect on eating habits. Get the idea?"

I think so. Any preferences for citations?

"I'm not too picky about that. Just use whatever Emma prefers. If you get it done early enough, I might have an extra credit project for you."

What's that?

"I'll leave it for a surprise." He stood up. "I have to get ready for the class. Let me know if you have any questions."


Half an hour later, the members of Generation X, along with Emma and Rogue, entered the biology lab and took their seats. Will entered a moment later, wearing the traditional white chef's jacket.

"Good evening, everyone," he said cheerfully. "For those of you who I haven't met yet, I'm Mister Riley. Since I'm going to be your teacher for a while, that's how I'd prefer to be addressed.

"The name of this class is 'Food and History'. We're covering both, because they're inseparable. The history of food is the history of humankind. Food's been responsible for the rise and fall of civilizations. It's been the rationale for invasions. It's been used as a weapon to subjugate cultures. "Food has also helped to define cultures. A pizza makes you think of Italy. Matzoth is a central part of Jewish tradition. Coca-Cola means 'America' to people all over the world.

"We'll be starting actual food preparation tomorrow evening. Tonight, we're going to focus on equipment and kitchen safety." He looked towards the door. "Logan, could you bring them in, please?"

Logan walked into the room a moment later, pushing a cart which supported seven garment boxes and seven plastic toolboxes.

"Please take the box that has your name on it," Will instructed them. "The contents of the toolboxes are all the same, so there's no need to compete over them."

Jubilee grabbed her boxes and returned to her seat first. She opened the garment box and squealed delightedly as she removed a chef's coat and hat.

Monet sighed and looked at Will. "You just had to give her a yellow one, didn't you?" Will just shrugged.

After everyone was dressed in chef jackets in various colors (Emma and Rogue, of course, got white and green), the toolboxes were opened to reveal carbon steel cutlery sets, measuring cups and spoons, plastic serving spoons, small cutting boards, oven thermometers and mitts, and other assorted kitchen doodads. Will spent the next half-hour or so teaching the basics of kitchen safety, including how to properly handle and sharpen knives. He had each student demonstrate their technique, offering an occasional tip or a slight adjustment of a pair of hands.

"All right," he said when he was satisfied with everyone's progress, "that's enough for tonight. You've got a simple homework assignment." He waited a moment for the groans to subside. "Relax, it's an easy one. I just want a list of some of your favorite foods. Try to keep it down to ten or so. "I suggest that you all get to bed early tonight. We're leaving for a class trip at five A.M."

There was a moment of silence at that. "To where?" Paige finally asked.

"Boston. Specifically, the Haymarket."

"The what?"

"It's the local produce market in Boston," Emma informed her. "Fresh vegetables and fish come in every morning." She looked at Will. "We should bring some sacks for our purchases. The vendors don't always have them."

Will nodded. "That's it for today, then. We'll meet at the front door at five."


"I put your bags inside the wardrobe," Rogue said to Will as they entered the bedroom.

He nodded. "Do you want to come along in the morning, or should I let you sleep in?"

"No, I'll come along. I have the outfit and the gear. It wouldn't be fair to the kids or Emma if I ducked out on anything. Did you ask Logan if he wanted to go?"

"Didn't have to. He volunteered to drive." He removed one of his suitcases and opened it. "Did Jubilee corner you yet?"

She nodded. "While you were talking with Paige and Monet. She'll be inspecting you."

"I'm trembling with fear. Really. I'll cover up tonight, if you want."

"Okay. I want to shower before bed, anyway. It'll save us some time in the morning."

"Not a bad idea. I'll set the alarm for four-fifteen. That should give us both enough time."

She nodded and started to undress. "I should only be a few minutes."

He motioned for her to wait. "Hold on a second." Entering the bathroom, he shut off the light and closed the door behind him. A few seconds later, she heard two male screams, followed by a splash.

Will stepped out of the bathroom a moment later. "Enjoy your shower."


(Very) early the next morning, the students, minus Jono, and the adults piled into the school's van. "We'll pick up some breakfast after we've finished shopping," Will told everyone. "We should be finished just after the morning crush."

Several groans, from both the students and Emma, were the only response. Will sighed. "Okay, we'll stop for coffee on the way."

"I like that idea," Paige mumbled sleepily.

"Me too," Angelo agreed.

"Me three," Emma finished.

The mood of the passengers improved markedly when Logan pulled into the local McBurgers and Will purchased seven large coffees and two jumbo Cokes (for himself and Jubilee).

The sun was just starting to rise as they entered Boston. Logan found a decent parking spot a block away from the Haymarket, and they stepped out onto the curb. Will looked at Logan. "Did you remember the coolers?"

He nodded. "They're about half-full of ice."

"Okay. We can always dump some if we need to." He turned to the rest of the group. "Most of what we'll be getting today will be staples – things that will last for a while. We'll also be picking up some meat and fish so that I can show you what to look for when you're shopping. If you see something that you like, point it out. I'll see if we can fit it into the menu somewhere. Let's go."

Over the next two hours, they wandered throughout the market. Will showed them what to look for in fish (bright eyes, firm flesh), beef (no discoloration), and vegetables. They picked up several varieties of fruit, including some varieties that Monet remembered from her childhood in Algeria, such as figs and dates. Will also picked up several bunches of fresh herbs and spices.

Emma sniffed the air at one point. "What is that?" she asked. "It smells delicious."

Monet inhaled deeply. "That," she said dreamily, "is something that I haven't had in a long time."

She led them towards a stall where a grocer was roasting several large cuts of meat on spits over a grill. "Are those ready yet?" she asked politely. The grocer nodded. Monet looked over her shoulder for a moment, then back to the grill. "Nine, please," she requested as she dug out her money.

Jubilee was looking at hers a few minutes later. "What did you say this was?" she asked Monet.

"Spiced lamb," she replied, as she tore into hers enthusiastically.

Jubilee looked at hers dubiously for a moment, then took a nibble. "Not bad," she decided. She then turned to Will. "Could you make this?"

"It'll take some experimentation, but I think so. Did you want to pick up some fish for sushi, Logan?"

"Let's do some rice and chicken dishes first. I'll get some scraps for stock, though."

"And I'll pick up some bones from that butcher we hit earlier. Does anybody else have any requests? No? Okay, then. We'll head back to the school, then take a break until four."

"Why the break?" Ev asked.

"Teacher needs a nap."


While Teacher took his nap, Jubilee finally managed to corner Rogue. "Okay, girl, spill it. What's the story with you and the Kiefer wannabe?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, you're rooming, right? That must mean..."

Rogue raised one hand to signal 'stop'. "I'm afraid that's private, Jubes."

Jubilee stopped in midstream. "Okay. Fair enough. Emma told me he's worth a few bucks."

"A few billion, actually."

Jubilee whistled. "And Wolvie said he's a decent fighter. I know Loganese well enough to know that means he's really good."

"I've seen him fight Logan to a standstill. They have very different styles, though. Will is a lot sneakier than Logan is."

"And he really kicked the crap out of Pocket-lips?"

"That's what I've been told. I wasn't too aware of what was going on at the time."

Jubilee nodded, then smiled warmly. "Ya love him?"

"To bits."

"He good to you?"

"The best."

"Guess I can't ask for more than that." She gave Rogue a disappointed look. "This means that I can't torture him now."

"You always have Bobby."

"Good point."


Jubilee decided to convince Logan to take her to the mall, so Rogue went back to her room. She found that Will was already asleep, his head buried underneath a pillow. After watching him for a moment, she changed into a light sweatsuit and moisturizing gloves. Slipping on a mask just in case, she curled up beside him and quickly fell asleep.

The alarm snapped them both awake at three-fifteen. Rogue groaned as Will stood up to turn it off. "Why do you put it so far away?"

"Because if I didn't have to get out of the bed, I'd shut it off without ever waking up."

"Good point. Do you have enough time to prep for the class?"

"Plenty. Can you help me move some stuff over to the lab?"

"Sure."


When the school residents convened for the evening class, Will had them write their names on slips of paper, then literally picked Paige's name out of a hat. "You're my first victim, Ms. Guthrie," he announced. "Come on down. Bring your gear, please. Tonight's lesson is a culinary basic: soup stocks."

Pulling some beef bones from the oven, then chicken bones from a cooler, Will led Paige, and thus the rest of the class, through the process of slicing vegetables and adding water to the stock. "Good work," he told Paige when they were done. "You get to skip out on helping with dinner tonight."

"What is dinner?" Angelo asked.

"I'm giving you all a chance to practice your cutting skills. You each get to chop up a vegetable for stir-fry."


As the next few days went by, Will established a pattern for the class. He would demonstrate a technique, randomly choose a student to work with him for personalized instruction, then enlist their help in preparing a meal which incorporated the lesson.

After a while, he was able to make some evaluations of his students' abilities. Monet had an excellent memory for recipes, as well as a refined palate, but could not improvise well, preferring to work with a fixed set of instructions.

Everett was a competent cook whose tastes ran towards generic American cuisine. He didn't make many mistakes, but neither did he take any risks.

Angelo, in contrast, was constantly looking through Will's cookbooks for the latest avant-garde dishes. Oddly, he also became a big fan of cooking shows.

Paige was most comfortable with Southern cuisine, looking to comfort food as her inspiration. Will simply showed her ways to prepare such food in a manner that was a bit healthier.

Jubilee, it seemed, had the potential to become quite skilled as a dessert chef. She proved to be as adept at creating fruit pies as at whipping up a crème brulee. Will even suggested that she look into classes at the local college.

Emma, however, was a problem. She gave an honest attempt at everything, but couldn't get things to come out right unless Will was hovering over her every move. Trying to determine why took some doing, but they finally realized that Emma's sense of time was just a little off. Will stuck a clock right in front of her while she was cooking, and the result was a noticeable improvement in the finished product.

Rogue had something of an edge in the class, because she had observed Will's technique in the kitchen for quite some time. She was especially fond of baking, and found several varieties of quick breads, pizzas, and bruschettas that everyone enjoyed.

Logan, meanwhile, ran each of the students through their evaluations, pointing out to each of them where their combat technique could stand improvement. He also stayed away from the kitchen until it was time to eat.

Rogue spent her afternoons giving piloting lessons to the students. They may not have learned much, but they enjoyed themselves, and it gave Rogue a chance to get to know the students a bit better. Jubilee caught up on the gossip at the Mansion, and gave Rogue some ideas for the eternal prank war with Bobby and Henry.

The evenings were devoted to cooking, with the students making meals under Will's observation. He didn't interfere, but did offer suggestions from time to time. He encouraged innovation and experimentation, so Paige offered up sweet potato pancakes for breakfast one morning, while Monet offered seasoned couscous as a side dish rather than rice. Emma kept things basic, with meals such as roast chicken with wild rice and boiled celery.

Jubilee, when given an opportunity to make a full meal, decided to go all-out, and went so far as to ask Will to pick up some eggs from the West Coast to avoid any risk of salmonella poisoning. Her dinner was a cheese soufflé, with honey-glazed baby carrots and a salad of baby greens. Emma and the other students looked almost shocked at the success of Jubilee's culinary attempt.

"Jubes, this is fantastic," Angelo told her.

"Thanks, Ange. I really enjoyed doin' it, actually. Mister Riley gave me some help, though."

"Only for the things that you haven't learned yet," Will pointed out. "I'll try to find some cookbooks that can guide you through some more advanced work."

"Okay. Can you show me where to get those icing knives the book showed?"

"I'll show you a Web site later."

"'Kay. Rogue told me that you and Wolvie make good sparring partners."

"He keeps me on my toes," Logan agreed.

"Could you give us a demonstration?" Angelo asked.

Will and Logan looked at one another, then shrugged. "Why not?" Will said. "Give us an hour to let dinner digest, and we'll meet in the gym."

"And I can give you kids another lesson while I'm at it," Logan added.

"In what?" Monet asked.

"Breaking."


"Not bad," Logan told Jubilee an hour later. "That's one more block than the last time I tested you."

"I've been practicing," she said proudly.

All of the students, in fact, had shown quite a bit of improvement in form and strength – though, Logan admitted to himself, it was sort of hard to tell in Monet's case, since she was capable of breaking bricks anyway.

Logan entertained himself by tossing the kids around for a few minutes, then turned to Will. "Ready to show them how it's done, rookie?"

"Oh, I'm back to back to being a rookie now?" Will stood up with a soft grunt, then faced Logan from across the mat, taking a defensive posture.

Rogue had watched Logan and Will spar before, so she concentrated on studying the differences in their combat styles. Logan relied on his healing factor and adamantium skeleton to deal with any damage, and didn't even bother trying to avoid Will's blows. Will, conversely, took hits only when they were unavoidable, but used his lighter weight and faster speed to land three blows to each one of Logan's, and aimed his attacks at soft tissue areas, with kidney punches and throat chops among his arsenal.

Emma took a moment to study the reactions that the students were displaying. Jubilee was openmouthed, seemingly shocked that anyone could hold out against her 'Wolvie' for so long. Paige, Jono, Ev and Angelo were simply trying to keep up, while Monet watched with her usual clinical detachment.

Will and Logan stepped back from one another and relaxed their postures. "Not a bad workout," Logan commented.

Will nodded. "We'll have to up the intensity next time."

Jubilee looked at them incredulously. "That wasn't your top form?" she asked Will.

"Nope. If we were really pushing it, we'd both be drawing blood."

The room was quiet for a moment. "Remind me not to tick you off," Angelo said in a small voice.

"Noted."


Will spent some time on his computer after everyone called it a night, sending some emails to Jeff Riordhan and catching up on his business responsibilities. Rogue took the time to enjoy a nice, steaming hot bath while he was occupied. She came out, wrapped in a towel, to find that he was frowning at the screen. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure. Jeff sent me copies of some of the contracts that have piled up since we visited. Something's bugging me about this one, but I can't put my finger on it."

"Let me see." She leaned forward to read the document as Will held the laptop for her. "Seems straightforward enough to me, but I'm no lawyer. You could ask Emma to look at it for you. She's certainly seen enough of these."

"It's a thought. I'll do it in the morning." He shut the computer down. "I was thinking of wrapping the class up by the end of the week, if Jono finishes his paper by then, which I think he will."

"How's he doing with that?"

"Pretty well. He decided to do it on the impact of the beef industry on global warming. I don't know about his conclusions yet, but his research seems solid."

She nodded and tossed off the towel, changing into her Chinese pajamas, and slipping on socks and silk gloves. She pulled on her mask, then climbed underneath the sheets and curled up beside Will.

"I see that you're in a cuddling mood," he commented.

"I'm in the mood for more than that, but I promised to be good until we head back."

"Where's the fun in that?" He kissed her on the forehead and turned off the light.


The next morning, as the students happily wolfed down breakfast (Will had made crepes, with a Grand Marnier-flavored cream cheese filling), Emma looked over Will's contract. "This looks fairly standard to me, Will. What's bothering you about it?"

"I haven't figured that out yet," he admitted. "I may have to do some more research."

"You could put the Crypt Crew to work on it," Rogue suggested. "Didn't you need to keep them busy?"

Will blinked. "You're a genius. Remind me to email them right after breakfast. He turned to look at Jono, who was reading that morning's Boston Globe. "When do you think your paper will be ready?"

I finished writing it last night. Give me a few hours to do some polishing, and you can have it after dinner.

"Good. In that case, we'll wrap up the class this afternoon. Emma, I was going to offer to take the class out for dinner. Any objections?"

"None here. Did you have someplace in mind?"

"I'll leave that up to all of you."


"Well, that wound up being a lot cheaper than I had expected," Will commented as they left the local diner.

"We needed some simple food after the way you've been stuffing us," Paige explained.

"Can't argue with that, I suppose." He climbed into the back seat of the van and pulled Jono's report out of his jacket pocket.

By the time they returned to the school, Will had finished reading. He pulled Emma aside as the entered the building and nodded towards her office. Emma nodded in return, and they went in, closing the door behind them.

About ten minutes later, Jono received a telepathic summons from Emma. He entered her office about two minutes later. Yes, Ms. Frost?

"Come in, Jono." She told him from behind her desk. "Mister Riley just finished giving me his evaluation of your report."

Will, who sat in a chair in front of Emma's desk, motioned for Jono to sit in the chair across from him. "I was very impressed with the scope of your research. You pulled together material from sources that I hadn't expected."

The Internet is a wonderful thing.

"I agree. This doesn't affect your grade, but for future reference, I suggest that you put the addresses of the introductory pages of the Web sites you're referring from. Web sites tend to change quickly, and the specific pages that you cited might not exist a month from now."

"Having said that... your research was solid, your reasoning was easy to follow, and your conclusion seems plausible. I'm happy to announce that you, like the rest of the class, get an 'A'."

Thanks. I put a lot of time into it. Enjoyed it, though. How many credits will this give me, Ms. Frost?

"Three credits, like the rest of the class. Congratulations, Jono. Good work."

"That wraps up my teaching duties, Emma. If Rogue and Logan have no objections, we'll head back sometime tomorrow."

Want help packing your stuff back up?

"Thank you, Mister Starsmore. I'd appreciate that."


Emma called the other students together to help pack up Will's supplies, and Logan phoned Xavier to let them know that they would be returning the next day. "Mind giving Jubilee tomorrow off?" he asked Emma. "I was gonna take her out for a while. It may be a while before I can get back up here again, and I'd like to spend some time with her."

"How will you get back by tomorrow night, then?"

"I'll take care of that," Will told her. "I'll just teleport us right back."

"All right, then. The students can have tomorrow off. Sean won't be returning until the end of the week, so I don't see much point in starting some new lessons if I'll just have to bring him up to speed later."

"Will that set the kids behind?" Rogue asked.

"Not really. I run everything on an accelerated schedule. Since I have so few students to concentrate on, I can tailor things to suit them. Both Monet and Jono are taking college level work, and Jubilee should be ready for her G.E.D. in a few months."

"Has she taken the PSAT yet?"

"Not yet. I'm seeing if she can take it untimed, due to her learning disability."

Will raised an eyebrow at that. "What kind?"

"Dyscalcuila."

He was silent for a moment. "If she needs someone to talk to about it, You can tell her that I'm L.D. too. A.D.D.," he clarified at Emma's curious look.

"Oh. It might do her good to know that she's not alone among the X-Men."

"Well, I'd prefer that you keep it between the two of you, if you can."

"Jubes can keep her mouth shut if there's a need," Logan assured him.

Will nodded. "I'll accept that. Tell her if you think it would be of any help."

They were interrupted by Angelo, who walked over from the van. "Everything's packed up," he told them. "We left some room near the back door for your suitcases."

"Very good, Angelo," Emma replied "You all have until curfew tomorrow off."

Angelo's face broke into a grin. "You don't have to tell me twice." He bounded over to the van to tell the others.

"Think I'll go grab Jubes before she decides to go see a boy band or somethin'," Logan decided. "Mind if I borrow one of your Jeeps, Emma?"

"Not at all. Let me get the keys."

"What are you two gonna do?" Logan asked Rogue.

"Popcorn and a movie sounds good to me." She looked at Will. "Any ideas on a flick?"

He thought for a moment. "Ever seen the Evil Dead series?"

"Nope."

"'Groovy.'"