Disclaimer: I only own Aurora Nova and Rapscallion. Other than that, not
mine.
Tigereyes: I guess.
The One and Only Trey: Aurora's powers--and Rapscallion's--will be explained. . .although maybe not for a while.
Daydream Angel: She's only blind when she uses her power. And Grace is really strange, and seems antagonistic, but she's sort of. . .it's hard to explain. You'll see.
Kalika Aryn: Thanks. Aurora is. . .hm. Well, she sees good in most people, but if she does not, she stops looking then and there, if you know what I mean.
ShadyLady: Thanks!
*****
"So? I wasn't the only girl to fail that test," Rapscallion said, gesturing to the paper lying on the professor's desk.
"Most of the other students," Xavier said, "showed some work, revealing their mistakes. Most of them did not write down random numbers and turn it in."
Rapscallion shrugged. "I'm bad at chemistry," she replied. She knew why she was really here, and was just waiting for Xavier to get around to it. After this remark, she knew her time listening to the old man talk about how she "could do better" would be considerably longer. Oh, well. She had time. She had plenty of time.
"If you would only apply yourself, you could easily pass this class. With powers such as yours, it would seem important that you do. . ." Xavier continued, but Rapscallion did not hear him. Why did she care what he thought? She hated him intensely, even more than she hated Jean and Scott. She didn't hate Ororo. "It seems I've kept you too long, you have class, do you not?"
Rapscallion scoffed, then slung her bookbag over her shoulder. Class, yeah right. Therapy! Woohoo! She trudged down the corridor, not bothering to knock before entering Ms. Munroe's classroom. The session had already begun, and everybody looked up as she entered. "Sorry," she muttered, sitting on one of the desks.
A boy named Artie raised his hand. Ms. Munroe motioned for him to speak, and he said, "I have a question I want to ask Grace." He looked for an affirmative, and when he got it he continued, "Do you think you are better than us?"
"No," she replied.
"Then why do you shut everyone out?" asked Marie. Aurora had spoken to Marie about Rapscallion, asking what the girl was like when she first arrived. "I don't know," Marie had said, "she was here before me." A month had passed. Aurora had had plenty of time to study Grace, who was in not only her dorm but also most of her classes. Grace was failing almost every class and was never in bed at lights-out. Why did she even stay?
"Because," was the answer to Marie's question.
"Why do you stay here if you hate it so much?" Aurora asked. She had lost the manner taught to her with uncanny swiftness, and was a normal teenage girl. She felt that she was almost ready to talk about it, even. Almost.
"They make me," replied Rapscallion. There was some collective murmuring, and she added, "Isn't that right, Ms. Munroe? Isn't that true?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," Ms. Munroe replied gently, shaking her head.
"I tried to leave once, you know," Rapscallion was addressing the group again. "I got within ten feet of the gate with intention to leave and I passed out. The professor will not let me leave. And I would bet it's because he's afraid of me, afraid of what I would do if I joined this Magneto. Because I've seen how ugly humanity can be, and guess what? I don't love them like all of you try to. I hate them."
"So you would join Magneto?" it was a boy, about fifteen, Aurora didn't know his name. When Rapscallion replied, her voice was calmer.
"No. They cannot help what they are, and what they are told to believe. I may hate them, but I would not destroy them. That's what they want to do to us. If it's wrong for them to destroy us, it's wrong for us to destroy them. Can I ask everyone else a question now?"
"All right," Ms. Munroe said warily.
"If I changed, if I were nicer, would you ever forgive me and accept me?" she waited for a moment, letting this sink in, then she got up and left the room in silence. It was a long time before anyone spoke again.
"Would you ever change?" Aurora asked at last. The group burst into applause.
"Aurora," Ms. Munroe said, "why don't you tell us a bit about yourself? We really hardly know anything about you." It was obvious what she was trying to do: she wanted to put Aurora on the spot, show her that everybody is sensitive to something. Aurora thought that, in truth, this was a good opportunity for her to do just that.
"I was locked up for a year," she said, "in a laboratory. When the people in the town near the laboratory found out that mutants were being kept there, never mind that we were just the Rats of NIMH to them, they stormed the laboratory. As far as I know, I'm the only one that made it out alive. That's when I came here." It had been easier than she had suspected, because in her mind Aurora knew and accepted all of this. Saying it out loud did not make it any more or less real. It just made Aurora feel as though a weight had been removed from her shoulders.
Tigereyes: I guess.
The One and Only Trey: Aurora's powers--and Rapscallion's--will be explained. . .although maybe not for a while.
Daydream Angel: She's only blind when she uses her power. And Grace is really strange, and seems antagonistic, but she's sort of. . .it's hard to explain. You'll see.
Kalika Aryn: Thanks. Aurora is. . .hm. Well, she sees good in most people, but if she does not, she stops looking then and there, if you know what I mean.
ShadyLady: Thanks!
*****
"So? I wasn't the only girl to fail that test," Rapscallion said, gesturing to the paper lying on the professor's desk.
"Most of the other students," Xavier said, "showed some work, revealing their mistakes. Most of them did not write down random numbers and turn it in."
Rapscallion shrugged. "I'm bad at chemistry," she replied. She knew why she was really here, and was just waiting for Xavier to get around to it. After this remark, she knew her time listening to the old man talk about how she "could do better" would be considerably longer. Oh, well. She had time. She had plenty of time.
"If you would only apply yourself, you could easily pass this class. With powers such as yours, it would seem important that you do. . ." Xavier continued, but Rapscallion did not hear him. Why did she care what he thought? She hated him intensely, even more than she hated Jean and Scott. She didn't hate Ororo. "It seems I've kept you too long, you have class, do you not?"
Rapscallion scoffed, then slung her bookbag over her shoulder. Class, yeah right. Therapy! Woohoo! She trudged down the corridor, not bothering to knock before entering Ms. Munroe's classroom. The session had already begun, and everybody looked up as she entered. "Sorry," she muttered, sitting on one of the desks.
A boy named Artie raised his hand. Ms. Munroe motioned for him to speak, and he said, "I have a question I want to ask Grace." He looked for an affirmative, and when he got it he continued, "Do you think you are better than us?"
"No," she replied.
"Then why do you shut everyone out?" asked Marie. Aurora had spoken to Marie about Rapscallion, asking what the girl was like when she first arrived. "I don't know," Marie had said, "she was here before me." A month had passed. Aurora had had plenty of time to study Grace, who was in not only her dorm but also most of her classes. Grace was failing almost every class and was never in bed at lights-out. Why did she even stay?
"Because," was the answer to Marie's question.
"Why do you stay here if you hate it so much?" Aurora asked. She had lost the manner taught to her with uncanny swiftness, and was a normal teenage girl. She felt that she was almost ready to talk about it, even. Almost.
"They make me," replied Rapscallion. There was some collective murmuring, and she added, "Isn't that right, Ms. Munroe? Isn't that true?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," Ms. Munroe replied gently, shaking her head.
"I tried to leave once, you know," Rapscallion was addressing the group again. "I got within ten feet of the gate with intention to leave and I passed out. The professor will not let me leave. And I would bet it's because he's afraid of me, afraid of what I would do if I joined this Magneto. Because I've seen how ugly humanity can be, and guess what? I don't love them like all of you try to. I hate them."
"So you would join Magneto?" it was a boy, about fifteen, Aurora didn't know his name. When Rapscallion replied, her voice was calmer.
"No. They cannot help what they are, and what they are told to believe. I may hate them, but I would not destroy them. That's what they want to do to us. If it's wrong for them to destroy us, it's wrong for us to destroy them. Can I ask everyone else a question now?"
"All right," Ms. Munroe said warily.
"If I changed, if I were nicer, would you ever forgive me and accept me?" she waited for a moment, letting this sink in, then she got up and left the room in silence. It was a long time before anyone spoke again.
"Would you ever change?" Aurora asked at last. The group burst into applause.
"Aurora," Ms. Munroe said, "why don't you tell us a bit about yourself? We really hardly know anything about you." It was obvious what she was trying to do: she wanted to put Aurora on the spot, show her that everybody is sensitive to something. Aurora thought that, in truth, this was a good opportunity for her to do just that.
"I was locked up for a year," she said, "in a laboratory. When the people in the town near the laboratory found out that mutants were being kept there, never mind that we were just the Rats of NIMH to them, they stormed the laboratory. As far as I know, I'm the only one that made it out alive. That's when I came here." It had been easier than she had suspected, because in her mind Aurora knew and accepted all of this. Saying it out loud did not make it any more or less real. It just made Aurora feel as though a weight had been removed from her shoulders.