Chapter 8

Nami never went to school before.

Her learning was done in the practice rooms and in the libraries though her visits to the libraries were short and few and far between when was officially crowned, and through the stories and folk tales that her father told her. She had heard about school from Cyclops and Nightcrawler, but it seemed like it was something stressful and awful.

Hormones raging all over the place, pimples and body odor and squeaky voices. Early mornings, boring lessons that won't have any dealings on your adult life and lunches that were pure vomit and cardboard. Cliques that ruled the school based on an arbitrary social structure that was so important to them that a single mistake, even if it was not even that embarrassing, could ruin your entire reputation and end your social life forever but didn't have any bearing on your adult life at all.

So, no, she wasn't really looking forward to it.

But for some reason, Adelina was. Nami assumed that she was excited for the conversations that she might have with kids their own age. They were the only ones of their generation, since most people either decided that it would be too risky to have children in a semi-post-apocalyptic world where everything is dead or dying or the fallout from Phoenix's first attempt to wipe out humanity had rendered them barren. It was nothing short of a miracle that she and Adelina exist as it was.

The building itself wasn't all that impressive. Just a simple red bricked building with a courtyard and an American flag waving in the front. There was a section where the bus riders were dropped off and a section where car riders were dropped off. Ms. Betrend parked her nineteen-eighties station wagon in the visitor parking lot and directed the two girls to follow her to the principal's office. They lugged their backpacks, filled with binders and pencils and highlighters, with them on their back, following the larger woman with some apprehension.

When they entered the building, Nami felt like she had entered a prison. The linoleum floors were a bit slick and everything smelled vaguely of disinfectant. Nothing sat right with this school with the young queen. They opened the door and were greeted by a middle-aged man with a hair that was slicked back and in a fantastically pressed suit.

Something felt off about him to Nami.

But there wasn't anything outwardly wrong with him. It was just…. a sense she had. A sense that she had learned over her youth to trust.

"Ah, Mrs. Betrend! What an honor to see you again!"

"Mr. Kelly."

"And these must be the new students, yes?"

"Yep." The large woman cocked out her hips and gestured to the girls. "Introduce yourselves."

"Adelina Covington."

"Hakato Asashi."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you two girls. Adelina. And Hakato?"

"Asashi." Nami corrected with no emotion. It showed on the principal's face how uncomfortable she made him. But he quickly shook her off.

"Very well. Misses Asashi and Adelina. I hope you two find a way to quickly settle down into a routine." He turned towards Mrs. Betrend. "You may go, Mrs. Betrend. I hope you enjoy the rest of your day."

"Thanks."

The two girls watched as the bigger woman leave the office, before the principal gestured to the two seats before them.

"Please take a seat, ladies."

They did what they were told, Nami with an ever presence sense of danger.

"So…. here are your schedules." He handed them two pieces of paper that they took. Nami glanced over it, her brow furrowing at the list of subjects.

World History, Algebra I, English Comp, Science I.

So mundane, so mind-numbing. Nami wondered how her mentor was able to do all of this on top of his X-Men duties. Nami bit her lip as she glanced over at Adelina, her friend's expression one of barely held in excitement.

"You'll receive your textbooks from your professors. If you need anything, or just need someone to talk to, I'll be available in my office. Are there any questions?"

"Uh, are there any extracurricular activities that I can participate in?" Adelina asked quietly.

"A couple that still have openings." He typed something on his computer, activating his printer. The man handed Adelina another sheet, which she quickly scanned.

"Oh, you have an archery team!"

"Try outs are in a few days."

Adelina just beamed. Nami didn't want to let her friend go out in a world that they didn't understand, but she decided that trying to let Adelina explore it would be safer than trying to keep her under lock and key.

"And what about you?"

Nami turned her attention to the man. "I'm good."

"Are you sure? Lot of other teams and organizations looking for newcomers."

"I'm good."

"All right." Principal Kelly said, holding up his hands in defeat. "Now, if you ladies will follow me, I'll take you to your first classes."

Nami and Adelina stood up at the same time, and followed Principal Kelly out the door.

We don't have the same classes, Adelina fretted through the mental link.

I know.

What are we going to do? What if…. what if Phoenix sends someone back to find us? What if we're here and we can't find each other?

Nami was silent, trying to figure out a plan on the fly. But she was distracted by the noise, the unfamiliar area and the noisy chatter of the hallway.

Nami?

We'll, ugh…... her mind became muddled as she focused to stay mentally grounded. Give me a few hours and I'll give you a plan and a backup.

Okay.

Nami could sense the nervousness in her friend, and quickly sent waves of confidence and comfort through the mental bonds. She was so entangled in her mind that she didn't realize that Mr. Kelly had stopped in front of a class and she had taken a couple of steps forward while Adelina and the adult remained stationary. Her face turned pink with embarrassment as Principal Kelly opened a door. The teacher in said classroom stopped in the middle of his lecture and it was like all eyes went to the trio. Nami drew on all of her experience speaking in front of a crowd, her spine straightening as she drew up on the etiquette training that was drilled into her before she took up the 'honor' of being Atlantis's last warrior queen.

"Mr. Kelly. What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Got some students for you, Mr. Bellright."

"Ah, excellent!"

"This," Mr. Kelly gestured to Nami, "is Miss Hakato Asashi. She'll be in your homeroom and morning class."

"Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Asashi. I'll give you your textbook in just a moment." The man turned to face Mr. Keller. "Is there anything else, Mr. Kelly?"

"No. Nothing at all. Just got to take Ms. Covington to her first class, here," he patted Adelina on the back, which apparently made her uncomfortable. Mr. Kelly shot Nami a playful glare. "Stay out of trouble, ya hear?"

Nami nodded.

"Good. I'll see you around Mr. Bellright."

Mr. Kelly left with Adelina in tow, leaving Nami in front of a room filled with something that she hadn't seen in her whole life: other kids. Nerves started to make themselves known, but she pushed them down. She was a queen and a leader, born and bred. Nami glanced over at Mr. Bellright, her eyes wondering about what she needed to do.

"So, Hakato Asashi, please," Mr. Bellright gestured to the class. "Tell us a little bit about yourself."

Nami's mind, which was running a thousand miles an hour, suddenly halted and short-circuited at the statement. She couldn't tell them that she was a queen of Atlantis, sent here from the future to stop a murdering mutant-alien.

Her skills at improvising needed some improvement. Luckily for her, her speech-making skills were top of the line.

"My name is Hakato Asashi," She said, her voice loud and clear, "I can't tell where I'm from because I'm from all over. My parents travelled a lot, all over the world actually, so I don't know where I was actually born."

"Interesting." Mr. Bellright commented. He waited a moment, and when Nami didn't say anything else, he cleared his throat, "Alright. Well, thank you Miss Asashi. If you could take a seat right next to Miss Grey, we'll get started on today's lesson."

Nami nodded as she took the textbook from Mr. Bellright and went to one of three empty desks in the back. Ms. Grey was a lithe-looking redhead with glossy pink lips and dark green eyes. She smiled brightly at Nami, one that wasn't returned. There was something off about the way the red-head smiled at her and the way she seemed overly friendly, but Nami couldn't put her finger on it. She decided to turn her attention to the teacher as he started his lesson, his voice already falling into a tense monotone.

Nami inwardly groaned.

X

After two-and-a-half classes, Nami, and the rest of the school, was finally given a break from learning during lunch. The flood of students that had washed over the cafeteria was so massive, that Nami thought that she was going to collapse from the loudness of the room. Voices and laughter echoed off the walls, creating an almost excited energy as friends converged to discuss the day so far. Nami didn't see Adelina in the crowd as she entered the cafeteria, nor did she see her when she fell into the line to grab a tray of food. Her face scrunched up in confusion and interest when she took in the colorful array of food that had been ladled onto her plate.

Some lettuce and tomatoes that were supposed to go with the patty of meat and two weirdly shaped loaves of bread at the forefront of the meal, with a small pile of what looked like beans in brown liquid sat in a smaller part of the tray. There was a brown square looking thing that was on the right side of the tray and a carton of liquid was given to her as she passed the cashier.

Since Nami couldn't find a seat indoors, and it was too loud, the young queen moved to the little courtyard that was connected to the cafeteria. The fresh air and the natural sunlight felt her after being shoved into a stuffy room with all-too bright artificial lights. Her shoulders drooped as she scanned the courtyard, looking for Adelina. Nami couldn't find the disguised mutant, until she spotted a hand waving furtively in her direction. The queen couldn't see who was waving.

Cautiously, she reached out to Adelina in her mind, only to slightly jump at the excitement that rushed through her mind like a bullet. With a sigh, Nami pushed her way through the crowd of people, until she spotted her disguised friend sitting with two others. One was a shortish girl with brown hair tied up in a high ponytail and the other was a young man with shaved head. Nami nodded to the two strangers, setting her tray down next to Adelina's. Her cheeks had not touched the seat before Adelina blindsided her with a bear hug.

"Oh! Naaa-Asashi!"

Nami relaxed as the young girl quickly covered up the slip. "Can't breathe, Ade."

"Oh! Sorry." The blonde separated from the hug, the biggest smile on her face. "How's your day been?"

Nami sighed as she sat down, placing her tray on the table. "It's nominal. How about yours? I see you've already made some friends."

"Yup! Asashi, these are my new friends, Kitty Pryde," she gestured to the brunette, "and Evan Daniels!"

"Pleasure."

The two teens just waved. It was strange that two of the X-Men that had perished in the first few years of Phoenix's reign were sitting right in front of her, naïve and unaware of what the future held. Nami's heart tightened a bit.

"So, like, where are you two from?"

"Around."

Evan chuckled. "That's not really an answer."

Thankfully, Adelina took over. "Asashi was born in Japan, but her parents gave her up when she was only three months old. Mine perished in a car crash. We ended up at the same orphanage, and grew up together. Practically inseparable."

Good job. Mind if I use that?

Go right ahead.

"That's, like, so sweet." Kitty said.

Oh, God, please don't go there, Nami thought as she refrained from rolling her eyes. Cyclops had told her all about these two, but apparently failed to mention the fact that she used the word 'like' a lot.

There was a moment of silence as the four of them ate thier food, though Nami picked at her food. While the food looked good, it settled heavily in her stomach, almost to the point of making her nauseous. Nami pushed her tray forward, most of the food still untouched. Adelina picked up the tray and almost immediately finished it off.

"So, I was telling these two earlier that we should hang out sometime. They live a large mansion on the edge of town."

Nami had to force herself to continue to breath correctly. Her eyes connected with Adelina as Kitty continued to speak.

"Yeah! It's, like, totally awesome!"

"Although, we'll have to make sure that the Professor knows." Evan said, before adding quickly, "And everyone else, of course! Since some of the others like to walk around with, uh, half naked….?"

Nami and Adelina glanced at each other.

"Okay then."

Just as Adelina finished the last bite of Nami's food, the bell rang for the return to class. Nami nodded to Adelina before walking off, back towards her class.

The rest of the day went quickly after that. Her science class wasn't all that, especially since they were apparently just starting out with the basics and Nami, whose level could be considered that of a college student's, found herself bored as the teacher droned on and on about the introduction to the cell structure and some basic definitions.

Nami found herself wanting to slam her head on the desk in utter boredom.

But she didn't. As she allowed the teacher's monotonous words to fall back into the recesses of her mind, Nami found herself doodling in the corner of her notebook. She wasn't a good artist by any means, but she always found the Atlantean artistry something fascinating to study and learn.

Nami studied the doodle for a moment after she completed it, instantly recognizing what it was. The first Queen of Atlantis, the one whose legacy lived in Nami, both in blood and in name. Nami had drawn the queen's likeness that she had memorized from the temple walls and her heart started to beat.

Maybe they couldn't walk around looking for past Phoenix.

Maybe…. they had to disguise themselves first.

Nami immediately started to doodle some more ideas, some for Adelina as well. When the dismissal bell rang Nami shoved her binder into her backpack and darted out the door. She met Adelina in the courtyard, almost slamming into her.

"Oomph!" Adelina grunted. "Nami? What-?"

"Come on! I've got to show you something!"

They ran all the way back to the boarding house.