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Chapter Fourteen: A Plan of Action
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The next morning saw Nat awaken after only a few hours of fretful sleep, despite her most valiant efforts to obey the professor's request that she get a good night's rest. A piercing blade of sunlight came streaming through the window and across her pillow, temporarily blinding her when she opened her eyes. She yawned widely and stretched, pressing her toes firmly against the footboard.
The events of the night before didn't fully return to her for a few seconds, and in that time she was able to enjoy lying in the big, plush bed. As soon as she remembered what Xavier had said about talking more in the morning, she started to feel a little queasy, but despite her nervousness, there was a certain sense of peace, of satisfaction even, at having told the professor. He had taken it amazingly well, and she was grateful for that. After all, she thought, I could have ended up homeless in a country where I pretty much don't exist, so I guess that's something to be happy about.
She showered and dressed quickly, and set off down the stairs before she could make up another reason to hesitate. From the foyer, she could hear the sounds of people convivially eating and chatting, and she glanced over at the grandfather clock, which read 7:19. Surprised that she had apparently risen before the others had to leave for school, she made her way into the dining room, where most of the household had congregated at the promise of food.
The other students were gathered around the table, dining on cold cereal and toast. Jean was frantically reading out of a history text book, having "forgotten" to finish her reading the night before, and Scott was leaning over her shoulder to get a better look, sipping on a glass of grape juice. Evan was staring off into space, looking tired, and Kitty was chattering away with Logan and Storm. The latter looked intensely interested in what the younger girl was saying, but the former was eyeing her wearily with an expression of slight annoyance. He jabbed his spoon into a bite of food, chewing it savagely and turning away rather than listening. Kitty didn't notice, but it gave Logan the opportunity to spot Nat standing in the doorway.
"Welcome to the world of the livin', Sleepin' Beauty."
Nat smiled faintly, stepping into the room and taking the first chair that was offered to her, which just happened to be between Kurt and Rogue. Kurt grinned at her a little awkwardly, and Nat recalled the little incident in his room the evening before, her blush returning full force. Kurt turned back to his food, and Nat was able to breathe a little easier when Rogue caught her attention. The fair-skinned girl, dressed in black and green including her ever-present gloves, was frowning slightly, but her expression was relatively friendly.
"The prof said you'd be sleepin' late. Whatcha doin' up at this time a' day?"
Nat shrugged. "I guess I'm just not used to the time change yet."
Rogue nodded and passed the pitcher of juice. "Well, you might wanna get yourself a little somethin' to eat before it's all gone. A few Saturdays ago Ah got up an hour late and there wasn't even any bread in the pantry."
Broken from conversation with Storm, Kitty rolled her eyes. "Would you, like, quit talking about that! It's not like you don't eat, or something. Besides, we had to go shopping anyway."
Rogue ignored the younger girl and gave Nat a bowl. "Trust me on this one. Fill 'er up."
Nat grinned and accepted the dish, reaching across the table for the family-sized box of Shredded Wheat. Kurt, munching loudly, reached for the same box and they paused, each with a hand on the package, waiting for the other to do something. There was a brief hesitation, and they each tugged on a different corner of the box, assuming that the other had let it go, and when the box didn't budge they both put it back down. A few chairs down, Kitty snickered and elbowed Rogue in the ribs, gesturing down the table at Nat and Kurt, awkwardly grappling over the cereal.
With a goofy smile, Kurt shrugged and handed Nat the box, shaking his head a little. Nat laughed slightly, filling her bowl and passing it back to Kurt so he could do the same. Kitty, trying to keep quiet, wasn't able to suppress the snorty little giggle that escaped her, and even Rogue looked as if she had softened a little at the sight. Logan just rolled her eyes. Evan watched, too, not particularly interested but trying to discern why this was of any concern to him.
Entirely unaware that they were the topic of so much interest, and trying to gloss over the uneasiness, Nat chewed slowly and searched her brain for conversation. "So…you all have school today, right?"
Kurt swallowed a bite of toast and nodded. "Ja, but ve should be back around three, so you von't be here alone for too long" —he gestured over his shoulder and leaned toward her as if he were attempting to keep his words private, but the jocular tone never left him, and he didn't even try to lower his voice— "vith the old people."
"Watch it, Elf," Logan growled, and Nat stifled a snigger with the palm of her hand, almost spraying Kurt with grape juice. She started to choke, and he slapped her lightly on the back, leaving her to smile sheepishly and turn pink from more than just coughing.
"When do you think I'll be able to come with you?" As soon as the words had left her lips, she regretted them. Obviously, Kurt wouldn't yet know about the plan that the professor had hatched, and wouldn't know how long it would take to implement. Still, it seemed to be safe ground, and Nat was hoping that she wouldn't have to wait long before she was able to accompany the others to Bayville High. Deep down, she was still apprehensive at the prospect, but she was beginning to suspect that anyone would be nervous about starting their life all over in an unfamiliar place. Besides, it wasn't as if she would be alone this time: this time she had friends, companions anyway, so this time she wasn't just a freak. Well, she was still a freak, but at least she wasn't alone with the label.
Kurt shrugged. "A week or so, I vould suppose. The professor's pretty quick about this sort of thing. I think he knows how to…speed up the process, somehow."
Nat felt her own head nodding, not really a part of her. "Yeah, I get the impression that he's pretty…influential?"
Something in her tone made Kurt laugh. "Ja, you could say that."
Nat glanced down at her lap, not sure how to continue, a thousand questions lingering and dying in her mouth. She started playing with her spoon, drawing tiny milk swirls on the edge of her napkin. Kurt went on to chatter about the current state of affairs at school, from bad cafeteria food to his late library books, with Nat listening with distracted half-interest.
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Professor Xavier sighed and pushed the computer screen away, rubbing his tired eyes. He had slept little after his chat with Natalie the night before, too engrossed in his new project to bother with rest, and the neglect was creeping up on him. Nothing like the sleep patterns of the young to infringe on the comfort of the middle-aged, he thought to himself. Luckily, he had managed to get some work done, and they were just a little closer to resolving the problem back in England. He had arranged a meeting with the detective who was directing the investigation, and had done a bit of research to boot.
There had been nine direct witnesses to the incident between Nat and Lily the night of the fire, and four of them, in addition to Lily, were able to say that they had seen Nat burn the other girl's face, although none of them were able to say exactly how. From the reports that were available to the public, as well as a few that were more confidential, the professor had learned that there was no evidence that Nat had started the fire, except for Lily's claims that she'd seen Nat outside smoking a few hours before. Xavier had been pleased and more than a little relieved at this: with only the circumstantial evidence of one angry young girl's assertion, there was little chance that Nat would be able to be pinned with the punishment.
The professor knew that Nat was slowly being consumed by this. He had seen it so many times before. She had done nothing intentionally, but the fear and shame of causing so much harm was a heavy weight on anyone's heart, let alone that of an insecure teenaged girl. It was going to have to be her memories, not just his own careful manipulations, that he would use to show the girls what had happened that night, Xavier was sure, or she would never be able to forgive herself.
The necessary paperwork had been filed to get access to Nat's school and medical records, and he was in the process of working through the more arduous task of getting her legal transfer to the States. He had friends in high places, and the citizenship problem was much more easily solved for him than for most. It had come in quite handy with Kurt, who had no record of existence in Germany, or anywhere else for that matter, until he had come to the institute. Occasionally, the professor felt a little guilty of his sporadic use of his acquaintances in Washington and its countless bureaucracies, but there were special circumstances where his students were concerned, and he was more than willing to press his connections into service if it was for the right cause.
Xavier rubbed his eyes again, stifling a yawn, and sent out a mental call. "Natalie…would you please come to my office immediately? We have much to discuss." He once again felt her shock at receiving a psychic message, and smiled slightly to himself. That was always so disconcerting to the students before they'd gotten used to it.
Several minutes later, Nat had knocked on his door and was seated in the high-backed, leather-upholstered chair, looking rather nervous. Her cheeks were a bit pale and her hands twisted in her lap, but he no longer picked up that terrible spike of fear that she had formerly emitted in his presence.
"Thank you for coming, Natalie. Did you sleep well?"
"As well as I have in a while."
Xavier smiled, nodding to himself in understanding. He pushed back from the desk but leaned forward in his chair, folding his hands on the desktop. "You'll get used to the time change soon enough."
Nat shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so."
There was a long pause. "Have you given any more thought to what we spoke of last night?"
"It's practically all I've been able to think about." She rolled her eyes and sighed, giving him a crooked little smile.
"Understandable," Xavier began with a chuckle, "but I think it's all going to turn out better than you fear."
"I certainly hope so." The hands began twisting harder. "Have you…have you been able to find out anything?
The professor pulled away from the desk and wheeled himself around to the table that stood by the door, pouring himself a glass of water from a pitcher that waited there. He fixed one for Nat, and brought it back, handing it to her in silence, relatively unaware of how frightened she was becoming with each passing, unspoken second. "There isn't much to report that I wasn't expecting. I am working on getting you legal rights to be in the country, which should pass in a week or two, and we can get you enrolled in classes as soon as that clears."
Nat blinked widely, surprised, her forgotten water glass shaking slightly in her hand. "Is it really that fast?"
"Not usually, but in this case there are, shall we say, extenuating circumstances."
"What about…you know, what happened?"
He took a deep breath, ready to recount his entire findings but reconsidering at the last moment. "There were witnesses, as you know, but not many of them are able to say that they saw anything. There also isn't any proof that you had anything to do with the fire in the building, so that should be fairly easy to clear up. The damaged areas of the school are being reconstructed, and I am seriously considering a donation to aid in the rebuilding."
Nat gasped. "You don't have to do that! I mean, this is my problem, and I'm unbelievably thankful for your help, but that really isn't your responsibility."
Xavier smiled and shook his head. "Don't worry, Natalie. There is no better resource for money than the education of young people, and if I can help get a school running again, the pennies and dimes aren't really my concern."
"But…is that…" Nat's voice faded away, and the professor continued as if she hadn't spoken. She couldn't help wonder if it was the school's welfare or her own that was his real focus, but she was too self-conscious about insulting him to voice her suspicions.
"The most important part is going to be your cooperation. I need you to come with me back to England to talk with the detectives regarding your case. I have a meeting with the man in charge three days from today. We should leave tomorrow if we are going to have enough time to get into contact with the girls who saw you that night."
The feeling of dread that flooded through Nat's veins was unexplainable. Her limbs went heavy, her blood cold, and her hands were tingling like mad. She rubbed them together firmly, as if she were trying to scratch an itch, and the burning began to fade. Her throat was dry, and when she tried to speak her voice came out in a strangled whisper, unable to form any coherent words.
Xavier went on, in that echoing, internal voice that was becoming less and less frightening each time Nat heard it. "There shouldn't be any problems, Natalie, but I need you to go with me. As a gesture of good faith, if nothing else."
Her eyes went wide. "What if they want to keep me there? What if you're not able to convince them that I didn't do it on purpose?"
"Getting involved in an investigation is a little unorthodox, I am fully aware, but it is for the best. We are going to contact the girls who saw you that night, and I'm sure they can be psychically persuaded that what you did was unintentional, that you shouldn't be punished too harshly for it. I have abilities you know nothing of."
"The girls? The witnesses? Professor, you don't understand! Most of them hated me even before they had any good reason to, and this whole thing definitely hasn't helped any."
He raised a hand to calm her, swinging his head back and forth emphatically. "It isn't as cut and dry as that, Natalie. This can be managed. You simply have to trust me, and my methods, and we can get everything back under control."