Disclaimer: I don't own any character but Susana. I do however now own a slightly used copy of
the out-of-print Origin of Generation X...hell yeah for me, and another hell yeah
for Amazon.com's used book buying service.
Thanks go to Amanda, for bringing gross British foods to my
attention.
Notes:
sound
*thought*
} telepathic conversation {
Setting:
Jubilee's Room, about 2:45 PM.
Jubilee
leapt up the stairs, adrenaline still surging from the game of one-on-one
basketball she'd just won. Stumbling to
a halt at the top of the stairs, she regarded the figure seated across from her
door with suspicion. "What's up,
Susana?"
"I
need to talk to you...do you have a minute?"
"A
minute? I've got...lessee here. I've
got 135 minutes till dinner at 5. Yeah,
I think I can spare a minute." She
stepped to the door of her room and pushed it open, indicating that Susana
should precede her into the room.
Susana entered, and immediately plopped down on the edge of Jubilee's
futon.
"OK,
before I tell you this...you have to promise not to laugh."
"Done...what's
up?"
"Jono
asked me out to dinner."
"What's
the point of that? I mean, it's not
like he can eat..."
"No,
but I can..."
"Huh? Wanna run that by me again? Cause it really didn't make any sense to
me."
"We're
gonna use up every last one of those 135 minutes...anyway, here's the
deal. You know I'm a telepath, right?"
"Yeah,
you, Jono, Frosty, and everyone else in the mutant universe...except, of
course, poor little me. Yeah, I know
you are."
"Well,
I kinda sent Jono my perception of the taste of my lunch."
"How's
that work?"
"I'm
not quite sure...I just...I dunno, balled up every impression that I got while
I was eating, and sent it to his mind.
He was starting to get mopey about not being able to taste stuff, so I
figured I'd share." She rolled her eyes
and scrunched her face into an exaggerated grimace. "I didn't feel like listening to him bitch about it for the next
hour."
"Well,
that's great that you could do that...but why are you here? What can I do for you?" The younger mutant raised her eyebrows
inquisitively; very curious as to what Susana might want from her.
"Well,
I need you to help me pick out something to wear."
"Woo-hoo...so
this is more than just an opportunity for him to exploit this new situation. Very nice.
I approve. Now...I want
details. How long's this been going
on? You have no idea how much I've
missed 'girl talk' since I've been here.
No one wants to talk too much about what's going on in their love life,
since there are so few people in the group."
"Well,
I thank you for your endorsement. It's
been going on...well, we've been friendly since I got here, and then yesterday
he was helping me do dishes and I started noticing that he's genuinely
nice...and really, really hot, besides."
"You
got that right." Jubilee snickered.
"Huh? Why's that funny?"
"His
powers...think about it for a minute.
You'll get it, you're smart."
"Ohhhh...right. Yeah, I get it now. Psionic energy is hot." Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. "So anyway, today I went down to his room to
wake him up..." She told Jubilee everything that had happened since she'd
decided to wake him up before the kids got there.
"Wow...ok,
who are you and what have you done with our Jono? He actually kept the bitching and angsting to a bare
minimum?" Jubilee let out a low
whistle. "I almost don't believe
you...not cause I don't trust you, but cause he's...well...Jono. Angsty little goth-rock musician type with a
tortured soul, and all that jazz. I'm
so completely in- I gotta see this.
Where are you guys going for dinner?
I assume you're going tomorrow, since it's Friday- the so-called International
Date Night."
"I
couldn't actually tell you. He didn't
tell me, just said he wants me to eat something he actually likes. There was mustard on my sandwich. Apparently that's some sort of mortal sin as
far as he's concerned. I do know where
we're going afterwards though."
"Ooh,
tell me. Where, where?"
"The
Boot."
"But
isn't that..."
"Yeah,
it is." She grinned wickedly. "Our boy may just walk in and pass out."
"This
is gonna be priceless. I have just the
thing." She stood and walked to the
closet, pulling out a bias-cut gray silk skirt. "This shouldn't look too out of place, no matter where he takes
you. I'd offer you a shirt, but somehow
I doubt that would work well." She
looked down at her own t-shirt, then over at Susana's. "Nope.
Definitely wouldn't work. Let's
go see what you have that would work with this." With that, the two scurried across the hall to plunder Susana's
closet.
Susana
dug out a built-in bra halter-top and a pair of strappy black sandals, then
disappeared into the bathroom to try on the outfit as a whole. When she emerged from the doorway, Jubilee
clapped her approval. "I like it. If he had a jaw, it'd end up on the floor
after he saw you."
"If
he had a jaw, we wouldn't be going out to dinner."
"True,
true. So you're really going to make
him go to The Boot?"
"Hell
yeah, sugar...if I have to eat what he wants, he has to go to the club I
want. It's only fair. I hope we get to go to a steakhouse. I miss steak."
"You
sure he won't want to go to some fish and chips place? Think of all the dietary sins there...greasy
fried fish and potatoes. Mmm...yummy. Or even better-maybe he'll want some kidney
pudding, or some...what is it he called sausages when he first got here...I
remember- he called them 'bangers'. He
said they eat sausage and mashed potatoes together and call it 'bangers and
mash'...culinary treats of the British Empire.
How exciting." She had watched
Susana's face pale steadily throughout this whole speech, and now she was
surprised to see her looking like she was about to be sick. "Whoa now...are you OK?"
"I
think the mention of kidney pudding did me in.
No food from the internal organs of animals for me, thank you
very much."
"He
may be a guy, but he's not that clueless.
You looked kinda...ill for a minute there. He wouldn't ask you to eat anything you really don't want to."
"Right...I
hope he wasn't expecting tapioca then, either...So you don't think this is
overdressed for The Boot? I mean, the
sandals aren't quite right..."
"You
know, you're absolutely right. You
gotta wear pants." Her eyes lit
up. "You bought those flares you wanted
from Urban Outfitters, right?"
"Yeah...but
what do I wear with them?"
"Easy-
you wear boots and that bright red button down."
"You
sure that's not too...well, too bright?"
"We'll
have none of that. Red looks good on
you. Besides, it's a cool style."
"By
that you obviously mean an exceedingly low-cut style."
"Gimme
a break here. I'm a 16-year-old girl
trying to think like a 19-year-old guy.
It's a bit rough for me. But I
do know that low-cut translates to cool as far as they're concerned."
"It's
no easier for me, and I'm a 19-year-old girl, so I've at least got the age part
right...do you think we should get one of the guys' opinions?"
"Which
one of the guys?" Jubilee gave her a
skeptical look. "Angelo will tell you
that you should be wearing short-shorts regardless of where you guys are going,
Mondo will say ditch the boots and go barefoot, and Ev will say that you should
wear...I don't know...Midwestern sackcloth from chin to ankles, or something
with equal amounts of coverage. The red
shirt is fine. Trust me."
"Alright...now what
do I do about makeup and hair?"
