Chicken. –n. 1. a domestic fowl, Gallus domesticus, descended from various jungle fowl, especially the red jungle fowl, and developed in a number of breeds for its flesh, eggs, and feathers 2. the young of this bird, especially when less than a year old 3. the flesh of the chicken, especially of the young bird, used as food 4. Slang a. a cowardly or fearful person b. a young or inexperienced person, especially a young girl c. petty details or tasks d. unnecessary discipline or regulations e. a young gay male, especially one sought as a sexual partner by older men 5. a contest in which two cars approach each other at high speed down the center of the road, the object being to force one's opponent to veer away first 6. a policy or strategy of challenge an opponent to risk a clash or yield –adj. 7. (of food) containing, made from, or having the flavor of chicken 8. Slang. a. cowardly b. petty or trivial c. obsessed with petty details, regulations, etc.–verb phrases 9. chicken out, slang. a. to refrain from doing something because of fear or cowardice b. to renege or withdraw
Veronica caught up to Rogue in the hallways before the first bell, weaving expertly through people in order to catch her. "Hey, did you hear the news last night?"
Rogue turned to face her friend and perked an eyebrow. "The news? Who listens ta the news?"
Veronica waved her hand lightly to brush off the question. "I don't. Heard it through my parents over dinner."
Rogue's brows furrowed at this. Veronica talked to her parents over dinner? Was that a normal thing that normal people did?
"So I take it that you don't know what happened yesterday."
"No," Rogue confirmed.
Veronica shot a couple looks around her and leaned in closer, bringing her voice down as well. "A group of mutants attacked. They called themselves the Brotherhood. I guess it's not the first time they've done something like this, either. My parents said that they tried a public attack a little while back, too, but this time it hit national news."
Rogue felt the blood freeze in her veins. Her breath caught and she had to force herself to breathe in again before dizziness overcame her balance. "Oh mah Gawd." She wasn't sure what else she could say without outing herself. She didn't know what the appropriate response even was.
"I know, right?" Veronica leaned in even closer, and Rogue had to fight her instinct to pull back as fast as she could. Now would be the worst time to touch her friend. Her charade would end in a moment. Rogue didn't even know how Veronica felt about mutants yet, and this was the best time to find out if her friend secretly hated her secret existence.
"What – what did the Brotherhood want?" Rogue wheezed. She had to reel herself in. She was getting a little too worked up to pass the conversation off as normal.
Veronica's eyes darted one way down the hall, and then the next. "I guess they were calling for a human holocaust. Like, death to all humans." Her voice dropped so low, Rogue almost didn't catch the next words: "What did humans ever do to mutants? I don't get it."
Rogue had to forcibly squeeze her mouth shut for a moment. She had a pretty good idea what kind of discrimination a person could feel to push them to such a tactic. Still, it was a bit much, wasn't it? To call death to humans simply for existing? Rogue liked Xavier's dream, in which mutants and humans could live in harmony, even if mutants had a little extra responsibility in reigning their powers in. But some mutants, like Kurt or Warren, were forced to live out of public eye simply to avoid death threats. At least Rogue could pass as human visually. The tide was high for mutant rights, but the waters weren't yet churning.
"Rogue, are you okay?" Veronica asked, her voice closer to its normal level.
Rogue had to blink herself back to the present. It took a lot to force her thoughts back. "Uh, yeah, Ah'm good. Ah … this is … uh, scary."
Veronica nodded sagely. "You're telling me." Rogue still didn't know how Veronica felt about mutants, but she was gathering that Veronica wasn't going to advocate for them any time soon. Rogue's only friend outside of the mansion, and Rogue couldn't even be herself around her.
"There's no way it's gonna get that far, though, right?" Rogue asked. "Mutants aren't gonna jus' round people up like … like … nah. It ain't gonna come to that."
Veronica laughed nervously, the sound unnervingly hyena-like. "Of course not. It's just people joking around. We'll be safe."
Rogue knew explicitly that this wasn't people simply joking around. Carrying around the burden of the general populace's hate and disgust was an incredibly heavy burden. It wasn't something everyone could handle. Xavier's school helped. But before New York? Rogue was ready to snap under the pressure of simply existing.
"Yeah," Rogue found herself agreeing anyway. The words came out of her mouth as if on autopilot. "Yeah, things are gonna be alright."
She felt sick. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to make it through the school day anymore with this shadowing over her the entire time. She needed somewhere safe to retreat to for a while. She needed away from the crowds. She needed away from the people.
Life changed dramatically once Rogue realized that she was a mutant. She began to live in fear. Any semblance of control was ripped from her fingertips, and things spiraled uncontrollably. Mystique tried to help and ended up failing Rogue even more. Xavier's school gave her a false sense of security. No one was safe so long as they lived in this world, mutant or human.
"Hey, 'scuse me," Rogue said. She couldn't bring herself to pull her eyes up off the ground. Dropping her shoulders and hunching in on herself, she ducked away in any direction she could to get away. She ended up in a nearly abandoned hallway, fully on the wrong side of the school for her first class.
Rogue proceeded to lean against the nearest lockers, hug herself, and stare across the hallway as if watching something important. Multiple students continued to pass by, oblivious to her struggle.
Next thing Rogue knew, a light hand settled on her shoulder. She jumped wide, her body automatically falling into one of the defensive stances that Kurt tried so hard to grind into her. He would have been proud at her reaction.
"Rogue?" Ororo asked, unfazed by Rogue's reaction.
"Ororo?" Rogue replied breathlessly. She stiffly brought her hands down and stood tall again, as if she could relax the tension in her body.
"What is wrong, child?"
"Ah, well, a friend came up an' told me 'bout a stunt a group'a mutant terrorists pulled last night." Rogue didn't have the energy to look about her to ensure the coast was clear. "Is it all ever gonna end? We ever gonna be safe without these kinda yahoos makin' it hard for us ta fit in? We always gonna have to hide?"
Ororo pulled in a breath and pressed her lips together. "I cannot predict the future, Rogue. We will meet these groups that wish to divide us head-on and fight for our rights. And for the rights of the humans as well. Feel better in knowing that that is Professor Xavier's dream. And our dream, by his side. It is why Kurt and I work to train you, so that you may also fight for this dream. That is what you wish to do, yes?"
Rogue nodded minutely. "Yeah, Ah think it is."
"Good. You may feel better in knowing that you are not alone. We have a strength in our union. Things will turn out all right."
Rogue couldn't feel as confident as Ororo, but her words had a certain comfort to them regardless.