I've been away ages, I know. I bet no one even remembers reading this in
the first place. I have excuses but I won't waste space =0) Anyway, the
story actually begins! Yay! Please review, if only to yell at me for being
a bad person for not writing this months ago.
It was night, or thereabouts. Winter was drawing near and the days were getting shorter, so by seven o'clock, the sun was well below the horizon and Xavier's mansion had a serious lack of street lamps. I'd just showered. My hair was piled in a soppy mess on the top of my head and I'd changed into my favourite oversized pyjama pants - white, pink and wine striped - and a white shirt. I was the picture of a woman looking to vegetate for the evening, especially after the events of today's dinner.
I'd decided that there was nothing more wholly embarrassing than being match -made. At dinner that evening Rogue, with a few not - so - subtle winks and kicks under the table had left John and I so sit opposite each other and smile painfully, choking on the thickness of the silence between us. It lasted 15 minutes. Well, 15 minutes and 26 seconds according to the giant grandfather clock in the corner. What had been cheap entertainment for my classmates, who'd giggled and stared at us for every excruciating second, was the making of the feeling that maybe I didn't want to stay in this mutant sanctuary a moment longer.
I settled down on my unfamiliar bed with a book and prepared to loose myself in its contents. I needed time for my humiliation to subside. At eleven, I threw my book across the floor and clambered under the covers prepared to fall asleep, but lay awake thinking. If John really liked me, why would he be so shy around me? Why wouldn't he try and make small talk or something? Maybe this was just some sick joke they all cooked up. Do Americans hate the rest of the world like the rest of the world hates them? They'd already taken the rip out of my accent and the lack of the sun's graces on my skin. I'd thought it was just some harmless fun, was I wrong? What kind of guy would like me anyway? A knock on the door disrupted my musings, and I contemplated ignoring it. But that wouldn't be polite, and certainly wouldn't do anything for my reputation if they didn't like me.
It was Jubilee, and I was glad. She'd been the most forgiving of my looks and voice, and had tried to stop the giggling and the pointing at dinner. And she was almost as tall as I.
"C'mon. Grab a couple sweaters and your sneakers." She demanded, without so much as a 'hi' by way of greeting.
"Huh?"
"Just c'mon!" She said, stalking into my room and rummaging in my closet, pulling out my old chunky cardigan, a scarf, and Sketchers. She threw the shoes and me along with a pair of socks that bounced off my head because I can't catch. "Put them on."
"What are we doing? Where are we going?"
"You'll see! Just c'mon already!" She said, snapping her bubble gum impatiently at me. I pulled on the shoes after my socks and tucked the laces in to save time. She threw me the cardigan and scarf and pulled my wrist so I had to dress while walking.
"This better not be some kind of initiation or anything. I'm not doing anything naked, or anything involving weird combinations of food."
"It's not an initiation. It's a tradition."
"That doesn't sound any better!"
"And it's got nothing to do with you."
"Oh." I dropped it, figuring I'd find out soon enough, and followed her silently.
It was freezing outside and I started shivering immediately. It was a cloudless sky and a cold breeze blew, it felt peaceful and serene, and the mansion was far enough from the rest of the world for the city lights not to poison the sky. Billions of stars blinked back me and I stared up at them, letting Jubilee guide me blindly by the wrist. We stumbled through the garden. Or rather Jubilee marched and I stumbled behind, gaping up at the sky like an idiot. Black, towering hedges arranged themselves in perfect parallel lines, and then turned and turned again at 90 degree angles in what must have been a maze. Then finally the path stopped and revealed a small enclosure of grass and a white gazebo. Xavier's place was so English I almost felt at home. Every manor or stately home I'd ever visited had a maze with something secret and hidden in the middle. Jubilee dragged me up the steps where, gathered in a circle, were Rogue, Kitty, Bobby and John. They'd left space enough to fit the both of us, John on one side and Kitty on the other. Guess where I was made to sit.
A wavering yellow glow danced across all our faces, emitted from a small fire in the middle of the floor, courtesy of Kitty I guessed. It provided some warmth but I still shivered into my cardigan and wrapped the scarf closer. Most of the others had sleeping bags and blankets, or were sharing with someone else.
"The team just left on a mission." John told me, "It's our tradition to come out here and pray and stuff until they get back."
"Oh right." I nodded. Inside was beating myself over the head hoping I'd fall into unconsciousness. I should've guessed this was a religious school. I was sitting in a gazebo full of bible bashers. It would be a cool idea, to wait up for our mentors to return, if it weren't for the Godly worship.
"Everyone join hands." Rogue commanded. So we did, John gripping my fingers a little more enthusiastically then I thought necessary. Still, his hands were warm.
"Dear -" She began, and then stopped, looking for a name.
"God?" I asked
"Not all of us believe in him." She shook her head. I calmed inside. Maybe they weren't about to turn Jehovah's Witness on me.
"Gods and Goddesses" Kitty suggested.
"Mother Earth and her Minions" Said Bobby, grinning
"Thing Above." Said Jubilee.
"Dear Thing Above" Rogue said, "We pray to you to look out for our -" She stopped again.
"Mentors." I said.
"Friends, heroes, teachers" John said.
"Dear Thing Above, we pray to you to look out for our friends, teachers, mentors and heroes on their perilous mission. We pray that you bring them back to us safely, in good health and spirits." Rogue indicated to Kitty to continue.
"I pray to Mother Nature for Storm, may her will stay strong and may you never become angry at her for fucking with your plans." She turned to Jubilee.
"I pray for Wolverine. May his claws never be dented, may he never become rusty or tarnished, and give him the presence of mind to stay the tough bad ass he's always been." And then she turned to me.
I smiled shakily, suddenly embarrassed. I'd pray for Jean instead of Scott, I didn't want anyone catching on that I had a crush on him. "I pray for Jean. May she always be able to help those who need her, and keep her from harm." I shrugged and passed the attention on to John. "I pray for Warren." Warren? I hadn't come across him yet. " May his wings never break, malt, or become ruffled. May he always be able to carry himself and others to safety." He passed the buck to Bobby.
"I pray for our saviour Professor X. May his bald little head always be shiny and able to guide our X-men wherever they need to be, and for him to keep searching out us juvenile delinquents and doing the work he does."
Before Rogue could finish our prayers, we heard the jet overhead and scrambled off our arses to stand on the grass around the gazebo to pick it out in the sky. I felt a happy wash of relief flood me as I saw the giant black machine swoop low over our heads to the tennis courts. We ran yelling back through the maze, greeting their return with screams into the night, only to find we were too late to see the harrier and the basketball court was already closing.
They stopped with frowns. "They usually leave it open and yell up to us." Jubilee said.
There was a lift down to the basement that we could access easily because it only housed a colony of small offices, storage rooms and places the teachers retreated to when they got sick of us. But the lift down to the subbasement required a password and a retinal scan, and I didn't 'know what was hidden down there. So we waited in the basement, littering the entrance to the lift with our many limbs. John had worked his way to my side, but at the time I really didn't mind. I'd been paranoid thinking it was a joke, and he was kind've cute. I couldn't rule out a relationship with him until I knew him better.
I looked at my watch - 2am, and still no sign of the world below. Kitty and Rogue were asleep using Bobby was a pillow, and he was staring pensively up at the ceiling. Jubilee was lying on my thigh, dosing for short periods and then staring blankly at the oak skirted walls. I'd found myself brushing against John's shoulder, and in my tiredness I sank down and rested my head against his shoulder, careful not to disturb Jubes. He smiled down at me and shifted his arm around me so I was cradled against him. It was comfortable, not like the tortuous session from before. He was warm and smelled nice, of cologne and washing powder and his own special scent. I didn't realise I'd fallen asleep until the elevator doors slid open and Jean stumbled out. We all jumped up with a start. "Jean! What's happened?" I was first to her, and I held her upper arms tightly. She looked exhausted and leant in to me.
"The Professor will come and tell you. You should go and get some sleep."
"Yeah, right!" Bobby exclaimed and came to stand with me.
"Something bad happened, huh?" I asked.
"Yeah." She nodded, and then wrestled out of my grasp back into the lift. "I need food, and water. I only came to tell you to go to bed and that he'd come and tell you." Then she shut the doors on us before we could protest any more.
It was night, or thereabouts. Winter was drawing near and the days were getting shorter, so by seven o'clock, the sun was well below the horizon and Xavier's mansion had a serious lack of street lamps. I'd just showered. My hair was piled in a soppy mess on the top of my head and I'd changed into my favourite oversized pyjama pants - white, pink and wine striped - and a white shirt. I was the picture of a woman looking to vegetate for the evening, especially after the events of today's dinner.
I'd decided that there was nothing more wholly embarrassing than being match -made. At dinner that evening Rogue, with a few not - so - subtle winks and kicks under the table had left John and I so sit opposite each other and smile painfully, choking on the thickness of the silence between us. It lasted 15 minutes. Well, 15 minutes and 26 seconds according to the giant grandfather clock in the corner. What had been cheap entertainment for my classmates, who'd giggled and stared at us for every excruciating second, was the making of the feeling that maybe I didn't want to stay in this mutant sanctuary a moment longer.
I settled down on my unfamiliar bed with a book and prepared to loose myself in its contents. I needed time for my humiliation to subside. At eleven, I threw my book across the floor and clambered under the covers prepared to fall asleep, but lay awake thinking. If John really liked me, why would he be so shy around me? Why wouldn't he try and make small talk or something? Maybe this was just some sick joke they all cooked up. Do Americans hate the rest of the world like the rest of the world hates them? They'd already taken the rip out of my accent and the lack of the sun's graces on my skin. I'd thought it was just some harmless fun, was I wrong? What kind of guy would like me anyway? A knock on the door disrupted my musings, and I contemplated ignoring it. But that wouldn't be polite, and certainly wouldn't do anything for my reputation if they didn't like me.
It was Jubilee, and I was glad. She'd been the most forgiving of my looks and voice, and had tried to stop the giggling and the pointing at dinner. And she was almost as tall as I.
"C'mon. Grab a couple sweaters and your sneakers." She demanded, without so much as a 'hi' by way of greeting.
"Huh?"
"Just c'mon!" She said, stalking into my room and rummaging in my closet, pulling out my old chunky cardigan, a scarf, and Sketchers. She threw the shoes and me along with a pair of socks that bounced off my head because I can't catch. "Put them on."
"What are we doing? Where are we going?"
"You'll see! Just c'mon already!" She said, snapping her bubble gum impatiently at me. I pulled on the shoes after my socks and tucked the laces in to save time. She threw me the cardigan and scarf and pulled my wrist so I had to dress while walking.
"This better not be some kind of initiation or anything. I'm not doing anything naked, or anything involving weird combinations of food."
"It's not an initiation. It's a tradition."
"That doesn't sound any better!"
"And it's got nothing to do with you."
"Oh." I dropped it, figuring I'd find out soon enough, and followed her silently.
It was freezing outside and I started shivering immediately. It was a cloudless sky and a cold breeze blew, it felt peaceful and serene, and the mansion was far enough from the rest of the world for the city lights not to poison the sky. Billions of stars blinked back me and I stared up at them, letting Jubilee guide me blindly by the wrist. We stumbled through the garden. Or rather Jubilee marched and I stumbled behind, gaping up at the sky like an idiot. Black, towering hedges arranged themselves in perfect parallel lines, and then turned and turned again at 90 degree angles in what must have been a maze. Then finally the path stopped and revealed a small enclosure of grass and a white gazebo. Xavier's place was so English I almost felt at home. Every manor or stately home I'd ever visited had a maze with something secret and hidden in the middle. Jubilee dragged me up the steps where, gathered in a circle, were Rogue, Kitty, Bobby and John. They'd left space enough to fit the both of us, John on one side and Kitty on the other. Guess where I was made to sit.
A wavering yellow glow danced across all our faces, emitted from a small fire in the middle of the floor, courtesy of Kitty I guessed. It provided some warmth but I still shivered into my cardigan and wrapped the scarf closer. Most of the others had sleeping bags and blankets, or were sharing with someone else.
"The team just left on a mission." John told me, "It's our tradition to come out here and pray and stuff until they get back."
"Oh right." I nodded. Inside was beating myself over the head hoping I'd fall into unconsciousness. I should've guessed this was a religious school. I was sitting in a gazebo full of bible bashers. It would be a cool idea, to wait up for our mentors to return, if it weren't for the Godly worship.
"Everyone join hands." Rogue commanded. So we did, John gripping my fingers a little more enthusiastically then I thought necessary. Still, his hands were warm.
"Dear -" She began, and then stopped, looking for a name.
"God?" I asked
"Not all of us believe in him." She shook her head. I calmed inside. Maybe they weren't about to turn Jehovah's Witness on me.
"Gods and Goddesses" Kitty suggested.
"Mother Earth and her Minions" Said Bobby, grinning
"Thing Above." Said Jubilee.
"Dear Thing Above" Rogue said, "We pray to you to look out for our -" She stopped again.
"Mentors." I said.
"Friends, heroes, teachers" John said.
"Dear Thing Above, we pray to you to look out for our friends, teachers, mentors and heroes on their perilous mission. We pray that you bring them back to us safely, in good health and spirits." Rogue indicated to Kitty to continue.
"I pray to Mother Nature for Storm, may her will stay strong and may you never become angry at her for fucking with your plans." She turned to Jubilee.
"I pray for Wolverine. May his claws never be dented, may he never become rusty or tarnished, and give him the presence of mind to stay the tough bad ass he's always been." And then she turned to me.
I smiled shakily, suddenly embarrassed. I'd pray for Jean instead of Scott, I didn't want anyone catching on that I had a crush on him. "I pray for Jean. May she always be able to help those who need her, and keep her from harm." I shrugged and passed the attention on to John. "I pray for Warren." Warren? I hadn't come across him yet. " May his wings never break, malt, or become ruffled. May he always be able to carry himself and others to safety." He passed the buck to Bobby.
"I pray for our saviour Professor X. May his bald little head always be shiny and able to guide our X-men wherever they need to be, and for him to keep searching out us juvenile delinquents and doing the work he does."
Before Rogue could finish our prayers, we heard the jet overhead and scrambled off our arses to stand on the grass around the gazebo to pick it out in the sky. I felt a happy wash of relief flood me as I saw the giant black machine swoop low over our heads to the tennis courts. We ran yelling back through the maze, greeting their return with screams into the night, only to find we were too late to see the harrier and the basketball court was already closing.
They stopped with frowns. "They usually leave it open and yell up to us." Jubilee said.
There was a lift down to the basement that we could access easily because it only housed a colony of small offices, storage rooms and places the teachers retreated to when they got sick of us. But the lift down to the subbasement required a password and a retinal scan, and I didn't 'know what was hidden down there. So we waited in the basement, littering the entrance to the lift with our many limbs. John had worked his way to my side, but at the time I really didn't mind. I'd been paranoid thinking it was a joke, and he was kind've cute. I couldn't rule out a relationship with him until I knew him better.
I looked at my watch - 2am, and still no sign of the world below. Kitty and Rogue were asleep using Bobby was a pillow, and he was staring pensively up at the ceiling. Jubilee was lying on my thigh, dosing for short periods and then staring blankly at the oak skirted walls. I'd found myself brushing against John's shoulder, and in my tiredness I sank down and rested my head against his shoulder, careful not to disturb Jubes. He smiled down at me and shifted his arm around me so I was cradled against him. It was comfortable, not like the tortuous session from before. He was warm and smelled nice, of cologne and washing powder and his own special scent. I didn't realise I'd fallen asleep until the elevator doors slid open and Jean stumbled out. We all jumped up with a start. "Jean! What's happened?" I was first to her, and I held her upper arms tightly. She looked exhausted and leant in to me.
"The Professor will come and tell you. You should go and get some sleep."
"Yeah, right!" Bobby exclaimed and came to stand with me.
"Something bad happened, huh?" I asked.
"Yeah." She nodded, and then wrestled out of my grasp back into the lift. "I need food, and water. I only came to tell you to go to bed and that he'd come and tell you." Then she shut the doors on us before we could protest any more.