Wow, already to chapter 8. My how time flies! I just got back from a weekend trip to Montreal. So much fun! And on the way to Quebec, we drove through a town called Adrian, if that isn't funny, I don't know what is. Montreal is really a very cool town - if you ever get the chance to go there, I say do it. Of course, it can be a little hard DRIVING in Montreal because every single street sign in written in French!!!!!!!!! And if you don't know French, (like me) it's very funny. It was also funny since we had to cram 6 people in a 5 person car for 15 hours. You have no idea - everyone who lives with me (there are five of us that live in an apartment in Chicago) we all act like the typical 'guy dorm room' thing. Like, in the middle of the night, we just bust out nerf guns and start shooting everyone in their sleep. Things like that. So imagine how crazy it got for a whole car ride.

I think the most memorable 'funny thing' that happened during our trip was while we were walking around, someone would hide behind a car, and then we'd all stop and think that they got lost, and they would be hiding for like, 5 minutes and we'd all be freaking out. There's also a lot of tagging that goes on in Montreal, and the cops don't paint over them. On the side of a church, someone had ACTUALLY tagged MY NAME!!!!!!!!! Deke! So I had to get a picture of it. How cool!!!!!!!!

Uh, what else, what else. Thanx to everyone who has been reviewing this - really!

Chapter 8!

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" That's a gift that Rob has," Professor Xavier was explaining with the same warmth that each of his words possessed, " He has quite remarkable optimism."

Storm had to silently agree, though deep inside, she still felt guilty. Of course Xavier didn't see the look on Rob's face when he realized that it was near impossible for him to go on a field trip without frightening the museum's patrons. Of course Xavier didn't put hours worth of time arranging for a chance for the students to leave the school's grounds and somehow overlooking Rob entirely.

" But the color of his skin is just a by-product of his inability to control his powers," Storm said, as if she was hoping that Xavier would take the hint and help Rob.

" That will have to wait for another time," Xavier replied, ending the conversation.

When Storm had left his presence, Charles Xavier addressed his own worries. Rob was adjusting to life at the school quite well, even if that included the rampage of pranks that he and Adrian pulled on everyone. Yet Rob still had no idea what the extent of his powers were.

It wasn't like Xavier to purposely keep information from his students, but if Rob was not ready to deal with his true abilities, the results could be disastrous. It would be a large responsibility for some one of his age to be able to control and use morally. After all, Rob had already misused his powers once, when he severed the link between Kelly and Scoot.

No, Rob would have to wait. Xavier just hoped that Rob wasn't feeling too let down.



**********

At the moment, Rob WAS feeling let down.

" Come on, Rob," Adrian said as they made their way back to their room, " It's a Friday."

" I know," Rob replied gloomily as if even the forecast of two school-free days wasn't enough to cheer him up. He wasn't really all that upset, just disappointed. Everyone in the whole school was going to be going out for a day - out in that world that they had been barred away from - and he wasn't going to be able to go.

" It's just like you to get so upset about a museum. Come on, I would die for a chance not to go," Adrian said, laughing, " Everyone's going to think that you're a nerd if you keep this up."

Rob laughed, " Yeah, that's right, I'm a nerd."

" I know," Adrian replied, sensing that Rob was recovering from being upset, " Cry me a river for not being able to look at a bunch of moldy skeletons."

" I'd probably end up getting some sort of caveman virus," Rob answered.

" Yeah, everyone's got to get inoculated for that before we go. I heard three museum nerds already died from the caveman cold."

" Not to mention the wooly mammoth epidemic that's been going around."

" Or the over-sized-model-of-the-heart disease."

" You mean over-sized-model-heart heart attack, right?" *

" Or the 'progression of life' digression to death."

Rob laughed about that last one for ages. Adrian smiled to himself in victory - goal accomplished.

" Yeah, it's going to suck not being able to go," Rob said, but there was no hint of sadness in his voice, " You've got to promise you're going to do something bad when you're there."

" And what? Give all those normal guys a reason to hate us?," Adrian said in a voice that clearly hinted at his all ready formed list of pranks to pull on people.

" Just don't do anything I wouldn't do."

" You mean, 'anything I wouldn't do if you weren't there to take the blame for me.'"

" Yeah, that's what I meant," Rob answered, realizing that he was going to miss out on some of the best opportunities to pulling pranks with Adrian.

" Hey, don't worry about it, okay?," Adrian said, " I'll bring you back a dinosaur tooth or something.."

" Oh, I see, so I don't have to miss out catching the museum fever."

*



Later that night, Rob risked doing something that he normally didn't attempt to do this time of the day, and that was calling home. He still had not spoken to either of his parents about his mutation - for some reason, he just felt like it wasn't the time yet. How could he explain such a thing? It was far too awkward, and Rob was merely putting it off.

But Rob had always had a good relationship with his brother. Even when he was homeless and traveling around New York City, he would call home in order to talk to Todd.

The phone rang three times before someone answered it.

" Hello?," it was Todd's voice. Rob sighed in relief.

" Hey, Todd, it's me," Rob answered.

" Hey!," Todd was obviously very happy to hear from him, " How are you?"

" Uh, okay, I guess," Rob answered, " Is anyone else home?"

" Mom's home, she's downstairs right now, and Dad isn't back from work yet."

Rob looked up at the wall, where a clock hung above the doorway. It was almost a quarter past seven.

" He's still at work?," Rob asked.

" Yeah, he got promoted into this other job," Todd explained, " He's got to work really long hours all the time."

" What job is he doing?"

" I dunno. He doesn't really talk about it, but I think it's bothering him. He just looks, I don't know, spent."

Rob was silent for a few minutes, thinking it over. It was clear that Todd was bothered by this.

" Is it still with the university?," Rob wondered. Their father had been a professor of biology at the local community college. It was a job that had very little recognition in the large scheme of university professors, but Craig Vincennes had always loved his job. Yet Rob didn't know that he was doing such a great job that he would get promoted. He had been working at the same position for ten years without getting promoted. Why now? It was just very creepy.

" Rob?," Todd asked. Rob hadn't realized that he was drifting off.

" Oh, sorry," Rob said, shaking his head to chase away other thoughts, " That's just weird, you know? Why did he get promoted now?"

" Well, I don't want you to freak out or anything, but it was like, the day after everyone found out about you. Just like that, and Dad's working in D.C."

" In Washington D.C.?," Rob asked, " But that's like eight hours away."

" Yeah," Todd answered, " He isn't home much, but that was obvious, right?"

*

Rob talked to his brother for another hour, before he ended the conversation and turned back to his room. He had a lot to think about, and nearly all his thoughts centered upon one fear - was his father promoted simply because Rob was a mutant? And if that was the case, what did they want with him?

Someone was just about to find out...

**

There was that familiar sound of keys rattling, pushed through the lock, the door swinging open. Todd had heard it so many times before as he lay awake, waiting for sleep. He leaned over in his bed and peered at the digital alarm clock on the other side of his room - it was 2 in the morning.



It was a Friday, and so naturally, his dad would come home for the weekend. Well, part of the weekend. The problem with this new job was that it took FOREVER to drive there, and so Craig Vincennes had to stay at a place in Washington D.C. It was clearly a chore for Craig to pull himself away from his family and drive to work every Sunday night.

Todd couldn't understand why his father would do such a thing, unless there was something about the job that was far too appealing. Or too dangerous.

Todd lay still and listened as his dad made his way up the stairs. There wasn't any other noise in the whole house. His mom was sick - she had been ill ever since Rob had left - and so she was deeply asleep in an ailing dream that only sickness can bring.

Try as he could, Todd had been very good about not asking too many questions about his dad's new job. It was obviously very hard for his dad to deal with it, and Todd did not want to dwell on the matter too much. He was afraid that it would have something to do with Rob - could his dad get in trouble for having a son that was a mutant?

But tonight, Todd could hardly contain his burning desire to know what it was that his dad was going through. They had always gotten along okay - but Craig Vincennes had always favored Rob. Rob the football star. Todd had never had any interest in sports, and he could hardly find things to relate to his dad with.

But tonight, Todd felt afraid. Afraid of what all of this meant.

He had to ask.

He got out of bed as quietly as he could, and tip-toed to the door. His dad had already made it to the top of the stairs, in a moment, he would be in his own bedroom and Todd would have lost his chance.

" Dad?," Todd whispered out into the hallway.

There was silence.

" Dad?"

There was only silence.

" Yes, Todd."

Todd jumped at that - he had been turning back to retreat into his room.

" I just...I heard you come in."

" Yes....well, I'm home now."

" For good?"

"No! Just for the weekend." He sounded disappointed.

" Dad, can I ask-"

" About my job? Don't."

" Sorry," Todd mumbled, and turned back into his room. He reran the conversation in his head - it had been stupid to think that he could have gotten his dad to talk to him about this. Todd retreated from the threshold in defeat, wishing that he could have just gone back in time and stopped himself from doing even attempting to talk to his dad.

Todd fell asleep rather quickly that night, regardless of the many times that he shook his head and punished himself for brining up his curiosity about his father's job. The next morning he slept in, it being a Saturday and the first chance of the week that he actually COULD sleep in.

But he awoke to an unusual sound, his eye lids fluttering in the early morning to the sound of a football game on TV.

Todd slowly pulled himself into a sitting position - slow because ten in the morning is still too early to wake up for a teenager, and partially because he was pissed that he had to have been woken up by the TV. It was taking a few minutes for the reality of what he was seeing to sink in. Who turned on the TV? he grumbled to himself as he mechanically got out from bed to turn it off.

There was a football game on the TV, the same football game that Rob and his team had won to place themselves in the State finals. Todd couldn't even remember turning on the TV. But it wasn't something that was being aired on the local town channel, and his family didn't have a camcorder so it wasn't something that they had videotaped.

On the screen, the view panned away from the game, to where both of Todd's parents were sitting. They were smiling, happy. Cheering on their son. Todd stared at the screen, hardly recognizing the fact that what was on the screen was his own memories.

Todd couldn't even think. He simply couldn't. There had to be a mistake.

He closed his eyes, but when he opened them again - the view was different. On the screen, he saw his locker at school. But then, the view panned, and Kelly was standing there.

" Look, I know your brother is a mutant," the girl was saying on the screen, her voice sounding strange as it came out from the TV.

" No, shit, everybody in school knows that," Todd heard himself reply through the television. Todd couldn't believe it. His face was pressed as close as it could be to the screen as the memory of his first conversation with Kelly played out before him.

His heart was racing out of control, yet a feeling of unpronounced joy was swelling inside his heart. There was nothing to deny it now - he was a mutant.

****************************************************

* this line is for you snitter : ) I still remember our recreation of a heart attack at the Field Museum (where there was a large over-sized-model-of-the-heart.) Oh, how did people stare.

Yeah! " Oh, Excitement she wrote!" so review!!!!!!!!!! the next chapter should be up in a few days!

payce!

deke-core