As soon as the clock struck five, marking the end of the study period,
Alexia was up like a rocket and heading out the doors. Two hours of nothing
but staring at a book had really been grinding her nerves. Not that she
didn't like reading - she read all sorts of books, about all sorts of
different things. But the difference between that and the studying was she
decided when she was going to read. Her mother had never made her study. Or
was it that she had never been *able* to get Alexia to do it. Alexia was
starting to think that maybe it was the latter of the two.
Alexia made her way out to the basketball court, hoping that if she got there early, she could get a couple of shots at the basket in before the anyone else showed up.
The court was empty when Alexia reached them, and she snatched up the ball sitting next to the basket. She had never been very good at basketball, but most of the other students at the Institute loved the game, so she had been striving to learn it.
Alexia took a few ill-placed shots, the closest one only barely brushing the backboard. She sighed and tried to remember the last time she had attempted to learn a sport just to fit in with the crowd. What was becoming of her?
"That vas closer." Kurt walked over and picked up the basketball. He passed it back to Alexia who caught it and looked at it forlornly. "You don't like the study periods much, do you?" Kurt asked, watching Alexia's face.
Alexia shook her head. "No, I don't. It's not that I don't like the idea, it's just that I can't sit still. And I know that if I tried to take a nap, Logan would be on me in a second." She tossed the ball half-heartedly at the basket and watched it as it bounced wildly off of the backboard and bounded across the lawn.
"Something else is vrong," Kurt told her, watching the ball as well. "You haven't been yourself for the past few veeks."
"I know," Alexia sighed. "I miss home. This is prime dirtbiking weather, but my bike's not here, and with exams around the corner, I doubt they'd let me go get it. I just need to get out of here for a while." She added, with a hint of anxiety and frustration mixed into her voice.
Kurt blinked, surprised by the statement. Alexia had seemed for the most part happy to be at the Institute, though every once in a while she seemed a bit cooped up. This was the first time she had voiced that she definitely was not happy.
"Can't your brother or Zydane bring it down?" he suggested.
Alexia rolled her eyes. "Yes, they can, Kurt, but where would I ride it? To school and back? Sure, it's licensed for road use and all that, but when I say ride, I mean trail riding, like going as fast as possible on bumpy back roads and foot trails in the woods. There isn't a place like that around here."
"Maybe if you asked the Professor--"
"I've told the Professor all this. He *knows* I'm restless, and I want something to do. But all he wants to do is give me tests to see how many batteries I can drain and stuff. I don't understand him! He hasn't even addressed trying to help me with my problem of rage yet, and that's the most dangerous aspect of my power." She looked down at her hands, and traced the scars on them left by the burns she had received the day of her father's death with her eyes. Sometimes at night she could still feel the heat coursing through them. It scared her stiff.
"Just think, Alexia, three more weeks, unt then you can go trail riding as much as you vant," Kurt told her, walking over and putting an arm around her shoulder.
Alexia was still for a moment, then shrugged out of his arm as she spotted Evan and Rouge making their way towards the basketball court. "If I can last three weeks, it will be an act of God. If I can last another three hours, it'll be a miracle." She looked up at Kurt's eyes. "When I can finally go up, do you want to come along? I'm sure everyone up at the bungalow wants to meet you."
"Ja, sure thing. I vould be glad to accompany you," Kurt said with a smile.
Alexia nodded. "Good. I'm gonna go check my e-mail. I'll see you at dinner, okay?" She gave Kurt's ear a little tweak and headed back into the Institute.
"She not staying for the game?" Rouge asked Kurt as Evan hurried to retrieve the ball.
"Nein. She vants to get better at making baskets before she plays vith us," Kurt explained, watching as the brown-haired girl disappeared into the mansion.
"Oh. Is she stressed over something?"
Kurt nodded. "She is just lonely for her family and friends. She vill be fine vhen the Professor gives her permission to see them."
Rouge nodded. "That's good. It's no fun seeing her depressed. It's just not Alexia without the huge grin."
"Ja," Kurt agreed. "I know."
-----------------------------------
Alex,
Hey pal! Just droppin' a quick line to say "Yo". So, how's school
going? Finals are probably comin' up pretty quick, huh? Poor kid. I
hated those things...
We all miss you up here. We went trailing last night, right after the
rain. The mud was way beaut, it would have been a riot for you. My
'bike got stuck in the mud once, we had to use Luke's wheeler to get
it out. It was fine, but the engine flooded, so we were stuck down by
the rock quarry for a while until I could get it started up. Josh was
riding your bike. That ring-chain works like a charm.
When can you come up? We've been dying to see you. The sooner you get
up here, the better. Josh is an okay rider, but he just doesn't have
your instincts.
I wish you were here. My friends think I'm crazy, pining over a girl
who's not even my girlfriend. But things really haven't been the same
since you left.
Well, I know I said I was writing just to say "yo" but this is a
little longer than that. Write back soon, and tell me when you'll be
up. I got to go now, Mr. Patterson just brought in his lawn mower and
wants me to look at it.
Hangin' in there,
Zy
Alexia sighed as she reread the e-mail. Even Zydane was bored, which was rare.
And what did Josh think he was doing, riding her bike? He had one of his own, and it wasn't her fault if hers was better than his - she was the one that had cleaned people's houses to save up for it, not Josh. Josh just sat around whining until she agreed to give him her old bike. The little dweeb...
The bell for dinner sounded, and Alexia quickly tapped out a note to Zydane, just in case he checked his mail before he went home.
Zy,
Yeah, finals are a real drag. They're making me study two hours a day
after I get back from Bayville High. I'm so not feeling this whole
Institute thing at the moment.
I'll be up there ASAP. Trust me, I'll figure out a way to get up there
before a drought hits or something. After all, I need to put Josh in
his place - and you should know better than to let him ride my bike!
Din time. I'll write more when I have something interesting to write
about...like another war over the hair dryer with Kurt or something
(:D)
L8r,
Alex
During dinner and the time afterwards before bed, Alexia was relatively quiet, not really thinking about much of anything except how she would get back at Josh for riding her bike. She gobbled up the food at dinner without thinking about it, and only after the Professor told her she wasn't allowed to eat anything for the rest of the night did she realize she was on her third helping of spaghetti. He had been trying to regulate what she ate lately, so that the grocery bills wouldn't ever get as high as they did the first few months she was there. *Stupid food costing so much.* Alexia thought angrily. They didn't even let her eat what she wanted when she wanted.
After hanging out in the rec room for an hour, and attempting to keep track of a motocross race on TV while everyone else demanded that she let them watch an "I Love Lucy" marathon, Alexia gave up and went to the library, so she could check her e-mail before she went to bed. On the way down the hall, she ran into Ororo who held up a hand to stop Alexia from walking by.
"Alexia, we need to talk," Ororo said, going instantly into teacher mode.
*Good Lord. What does she want *now*?* Alexia thought to herself as she answered very politely, "What's up Ms. Munroe?"
"I was wondering if your behavior today during the study period is scheduled to be routine for the next few weeks, so that we can make other arrangements for you."
Alexia thought for a moment. "Well, I can't really help it if I can't sit still for two hours and be quiet. It's just not in my nature. And it doesn't help that I'm bored out of my wits and there's so much heat energy in the room and light energy and."
Ororo cut her off. "Would it be better for you if we let you study in a different room? Say your room, at your desk?"
"I dunno. I mean, that would probably keep me from distracting everybody else, but I'd still be really bored and restless and not willing at all to do it."
"Why are you so bored and restless, Alexia?" Ororo asked, arching her eyebrows.
*Because I constantly forget that studying is fun!* "I'm not used to studying so much. And no one's here. I have no one but Kurt to hang out with when I'm not being forced to stare at a book." She leaned against the wall and met Ororo's gaze.
"There are plenty of other students here, Alexia. You can spend time with them."
"Yeah, right," Alexia retorted. "They all hated me after that whole rumor about me being engaged last Christmas - remember that? Most of them still don't like me because I'm a tomboy or what have you. They're just not my kind of people."
"Not everyone in the world will be your kind of people, Alex. If you made friends with them, you wouldn't be so bored."
Alexia sighed. "I'm not bored because I don't have friends. I'm bored because there's nothing to do here. I miss my home. I miss trailing with Zydane and Luke and I miss hanging out at the bungalow. I had more freedom up there."
"I know, I know," Ororo said quietly. "And the Professor says that you can go as soon as possible. However, let's get back to the original topic. Would you rather study up in your room?"
Alexia's shoulders dropped a good two inches and she set her jaw. Someone in the conversation was not understanding what the other was saying - and it wasn't Alexia. She figured she'd humor Ororo and not start another discussion. "Yeah, I would rather study there."
Ororo nodded. "Clean your desk off tonight, and starting Monday, you can study up there."
Alexia was relieved to hear that tomorrow afternoon - Friday - wouldn't be spent studying. It would be viewed as a day off, just like at Bayville High. "Okay. I'll clean it off. Is that all you wanted?"
Ororo nodded and continued down the hall. Alexia rolled her eyes. Couldn't she just be allowed to do what she wanted to at least once?
She turned and headed up stairs, deciding to clean off her desk before checking her e-mail.
Her desk was covered in about a foot of papers, books and Motocross magazines. It wouldn't be *that* hard to clean off, she just needed to sort through the stuff. She put all her magazines and neat piles under her bed, with the spine out for quick and easy reference, and the books were put on the shelf next to her bed. She then began sifting through the dunes of old homeworks and letters and sketches and brainstorms for lyrics. "Alexia, you're such a packrat!" she told herself as she tossed out about three weeks worth of clothing coupons Kitty had forced upon her that she had never used.
She was finally starting to see the top of her desk when her eye was caught by the ticket stub left from when she had taken the bus from Chanceton to Bayville the winter before.
A light went on in her head. They didn't have school the next day, and then it was the weekend. Three days of gorgeous dirtbiking weather ahead of her, and nothing to stop her from enjoying it. Except for the Professor and Ororo. But Ororo had told her that the Professor said she could go home for a visit as soon as possible. *Well, tomorrow's possible, isn't it?* Alexia thought to herself.
She examined the back of the ticket, and sure enough, there was an advertisement for buying bus tickets on-line. Alexia grinned. It looked like she and Kurt were going on their vacation sooner than they thought.
She quickly finished her desk and dashed back down to the library and got on a computer in the corner. She went to the site printed on the back of the ticket and couldn't help but laugh when she saw how inexpensive ticket prices were from Bayville to Chanceton. There was a bus leaving Friday morning at 5:30. *Perfect,* Alexia thought. *Kurt and I can bamf our way out of here and be gone before anyone wakes up, none the wiser.*
She paid for the tickets using the credit card her mother had given her "for emergencies". She figured saving herself from death by boredom was emergency enough.
Once she had the tickets, she sent an e-mail to Zydane.
Zy,
Be at the Chanceton bus station tomorrow at 8:00.
You said ASAP. I'm getting there ASAP.
I'm bringing Kurt along, too, so bring your car instead of your bike.
See ya l8r
Alex
Alexia grinned as she got up and headed towards Kurt's room to tell him the great news.
His door was open, so after knocking, she just walked in without waiting for him to invite her in. "Hey Kurt. Sup?"
Kurt grinned as she entered. He didn't exactly hide the fact that he liked her. "Not much, mein Fruend. Vhat's up vith you?"
"Well, I was wondering if you have any plans for the weekend."
"Nope, my veekend is free," he said after moment of thought. Then he caught the glint in Alexia's eye. "Vhy? Vhat do you have planned?"
Alexia laughed and sat down on Kurt's bed. "Mr. Wagner, why do you say that like it's a scary thing?"
"Because every time you have that look on your face, you vant me to do something for you that would be a lot of fun, but risks getting me more kitchen duty."
"Ah, what's a few dirty dishes compared to the look on Logan's face when he found frills on all his clothes?" Alexia asked, grinning form ear to ear.
Alexia knew that Kurt really didn't want to smile, but she also knew that her smile was contagious. She laughed as the smile forced itself across his face.
"Vhat is it this time, Alexia?" Kurt asked.
"Well, how about going up to visit my family and Zydane tomorrow? I already ordered the tickets and everything."
Kurt's eyes couldn't have gotten bigger. "VHAT? Already?"
Alexia nodded. "I wanted to go as soon as possible, and the Professor said that I could go as soon as possible. I figured tomorrow is soon enough."
Kurt blinked in surprise. "You're serious? The Professor said that? I vould love to go tomorrow. It vill be awesome."
Alexia nodded. "See, I knew you'd like it." She stood up. "The bus leaves at five-thirty, so we should get there around five. Can you bamf us over tomorrow?"
"Vhy doesn't someone drive us?" Kurt inquired, standing up.
*Aw man, what do I tell him without letting him know no one knows about this?* Alexia thought. "Well...you see Kurt, They were going to, but...I figured it would be easier on all involved if you just teleported us over. You know, so that we don't have to wake anybody up."
Kurt nodded, believing her. "That makes sense. All right. I need to pack unt then go to bed if we have to leave at 5, nein?"
"Yeah," Alexia agreed, restraining herself from a sigh of relief. "Remember to take your image inducer. I doubt the bus driver would be able to stay on the road if he saw you."
"Ja, that's for sure. Not everyone digs the Fuzzy Man."
Alexia grinned. "Right. Okay, I'm going to bed. Night." She kissed him on the cheek and left.
Alexia tried not to think about Kurt as she changed into her pajamas. She knew he thought she had gotten permission to go and that it was all right that they went. She had lied to him - but not too badly. Ororo said as soon as possible, and what was the problem with them going if they weren't missing school? Still, not telling anyone would get them into plenty of trouble when they came back. She decided she didn't want to think about that either.
*Besides, * she thought to herself, *if I don't get out of here, they'll wish I was gone. *
Alexia made her way out to the basketball court, hoping that if she got there early, she could get a couple of shots at the basket in before the anyone else showed up.
The court was empty when Alexia reached them, and she snatched up the ball sitting next to the basket. She had never been very good at basketball, but most of the other students at the Institute loved the game, so she had been striving to learn it.
Alexia took a few ill-placed shots, the closest one only barely brushing the backboard. She sighed and tried to remember the last time she had attempted to learn a sport just to fit in with the crowd. What was becoming of her?
"That vas closer." Kurt walked over and picked up the basketball. He passed it back to Alexia who caught it and looked at it forlornly. "You don't like the study periods much, do you?" Kurt asked, watching Alexia's face.
Alexia shook her head. "No, I don't. It's not that I don't like the idea, it's just that I can't sit still. And I know that if I tried to take a nap, Logan would be on me in a second." She tossed the ball half-heartedly at the basket and watched it as it bounced wildly off of the backboard and bounded across the lawn.
"Something else is vrong," Kurt told her, watching the ball as well. "You haven't been yourself for the past few veeks."
"I know," Alexia sighed. "I miss home. This is prime dirtbiking weather, but my bike's not here, and with exams around the corner, I doubt they'd let me go get it. I just need to get out of here for a while." She added, with a hint of anxiety and frustration mixed into her voice.
Kurt blinked, surprised by the statement. Alexia had seemed for the most part happy to be at the Institute, though every once in a while she seemed a bit cooped up. This was the first time she had voiced that she definitely was not happy.
"Can't your brother or Zydane bring it down?" he suggested.
Alexia rolled her eyes. "Yes, they can, Kurt, but where would I ride it? To school and back? Sure, it's licensed for road use and all that, but when I say ride, I mean trail riding, like going as fast as possible on bumpy back roads and foot trails in the woods. There isn't a place like that around here."
"Maybe if you asked the Professor--"
"I've told the Professor all this. He *knows* I'm restless, and I want something to do. But all he wants to do is give me tests to see how many batteries I can drain and stuff. I don't understand him! He hasn't even addressed trying to help me with my problem of rage yet, and that's the most dangerous aspect of my power." She looked down at her hands, and traced the scars on them left by the burns she had received the day of her father's death with her eyes. Sometimes at night she could still feel the heat coursing through them. It scared her stiff.
"Just think, Alexia, three more weeks, unt then you can go trail riding as much as you vant," Kurt told her, walking over and putting an arm around her shoulder.
Alexia was still for a moment, then shrugged out of his arm as she spotted Evan and Rouge making their way towards the basketball court. "If I can last three weeks, it will be an act of God. If I can last another three hours, it'll be a miracle." She looked up at Kurt's eyes. "When I can finally go up, do you want to come along? I'm sure everyone up at the bungalow wants to meet you."
"Ja, sure thing. I vould be glad to accompany you," Kurt said with a smile.
Alexia nodded. "Good. I'm gonna go check my e-mail. I'll see you at dinner, okay?" She gave Kurt's ear a little tweak and headed back into the Institute.
"She not staying for the game?" Rouge asked Kurt as Evan hurried to retrieve the ball.
"Nein. She vants to get better at making baskets before she plays vith us," Kurt explained, watching as the brown-haired girl disappeared into the mansion.
"Oh. Is she stressed over something?"
Kurt nodded. "She is just lonely for her family and friends. She vill be fine vhen the Professor gives her permission to see them."
Rouge nodded. "That's good. It's no fun seeing her depressed. It's just not Alexia without the huge grin."
"Ja," Kurt agreed. "I know."
-----------------------------------
Alex,
Hey pal! Just droppin' a quick line to say "Yo". So, how's school
going? Finals are probably comin' up pretty quick, huh? Poor kid. I
hated those things...
We all miss you up here. We went trailing last night, right after the
rain. The mud was way beaut, it would have been a riot for you. My
'bike got stuck in the mud once, we had to use Luke's wheeler to get
it out. It was fine, but the engine flooded, so we were stuck down by
the rock quarry for a while until I could get it started up. Josh was
riding your bike. That ring-chain works like a charm.
When can you come up? We've been dying to see you. The sooner you get
up here, the better. Josh is an okay rider, but he just doesn't have
your instincts.
I wish you were here. My friends think I'm crazy, pining over a girl
who's not even my girlfriend. But things really haven't been the same
since you left.
Well, I know I said I was writing just to say "yo" but this is a
little longer than that. Write back soon, and tell me when you'll be
up. I got to go now, Mr. Patterson just brought in his lawn mower and
wants me to look at it.
Hangin' in there,
Zy
Alexia sighed as she reread the e-mail. Even Zydane was bored, which was rare.
And what did Josh think he was doing, riding her bike? He had one of his own, and it wasn't her fault if hers was better than his - she was the one that had cleaned people's houses to save up for it, not Josh. Josh just sat around whining until she agreed to give him her old bike. The little dweeb...
The bell for dinner sounded, and Alexia quickly tapped out a note to Zydane, just in case he checked his mail before he went home.
Zy,
Yeah, finals are a real drag. They're making me study two hours a day
after I get back from Bayville High. I'm so not feeling this whole
Institute thing at the moment.
I'll be up there ASAP. Trust me, I'll figure out a way to get up there
before a drought hits or something. After all, I need to put Josh in
his place - and you should know better than to let him ride my bike!
Din time. I'll write more when I have something interesting to write
about...like another war over the hair dryer with Kurt or something
(:D)
L8r,
Alex
During dinner and the time afterwards before bed, Alexia was relatively quiet, not really thinking about much of anything except how she would get back at Josh for riding her bike. She gobbled up the food at dinner without thinking about it, and only after the Professor told her she wasn't allowed to eat anything for the rest of the night did she realize she was on her third helping of spaghetti. He had been trying to regulate what she ate lately, so that the grocery bills wouldn't ever get as high as they did the first few months she was there. *Stupid food costing so much.* Alexia thought angrily. They didn't even let her eat what she wanted when she wanted.
After hanging out in the rec room for an hour, and attempting to keep track of a motocross race on TV while everyone else demanded that she let them watch an "I Love Lucy" marathon, Alexia gave up and went to the library, so she could check her e-mail before she went to bed. On the way down the hall, she ran into Ororo who held up a hand to stop Alexia from walking by.
"Alexia, we need to talk," Ororo said, going instantly into teacher mode.
*Good Lord. What does she want *now*?* Alexia thought to herself as she answered very politely, "What's up Ms. Munroe?"
"I was wondering if your behavior today during the study period is scheduled to be routine for the next few weeks, so that we can make other arrangements for you."
Alexia thought for a moment. "Well, I can't really help it if I can't sit still for two hours and be quiet. It's just not in my nature. And it doesn't help that I'm bored out of my wits and there's so much heat energy in the room and light energy and."
Ororo cut her off. "Would it be better for you if we let you study in a different room? Say your room, at your desk?"
"I dunno. I mean, that would probably keep me from distracting everybody else, but I'd still be really bored and restless and not willing at all to do it."
"Why are you so bored and restless, Alexia?" Ororo asked, arching her eyebrows.
*Because I constantly forget that studying is fun!* "I'm not used to studying so much. And no one's here. I have no one but Kurt to hang out with when I'm not being forced to stare at a book." She leaned against the wall and met Ororo's gaze.
"There are plenty of other students here, Alexia. You can spend time with them."
"Yeah, right," Alexia retorted. "They all hated me after that whole rumor about me being engaged last Christmas - remember that? Most of them still don't like me because I'm a tomboy or what have you. They're just not my kind of people."
"Not everyone in the world will be your kind of people, Alex. If you made friends with them, you wouldn't be so bored."
Alexia sighed. "I'm not bored because I don't have friends. I'm bored because there's nothing to do here. I miss my home. I miss trailing with Zydane and Luke and I miss hanging out at the bungalow. I had more freedom up there."
"I know, I know," Ororo said quietly. "And the Professor says that you can go as soon as possible. However, let's get back to the original topic. Would you rather study up in your room?"
Alexia's shoulders dropped a good two inches and she set her jaw. Someone in the conversation was not understanding what the other was saying - and it wasn't Alexia. She figured she'd humor Ororo and not start another discussion. "Yeah, I would rather study there."
Ororo nodded. "Clean your desk off tonight, and starting Monday, you can study up there."
Alexia was relieved to hear that tomorrow afternoon - Friday - wouldn't be spent studying. It would be viewed as a day off, just like at Bayville High. "Okay. I'll clean it off. Is that all you wanted?"
Ororo nodded and continued down the hall. Alexia rolled her eyes. Couldn't she just be allowed to do what she wanted to at least once?
She turned and headed up stairs, deciding to clean off her desk before checking her e-mail.
Her desk was covered in about a foot of papers, books and Motocross magazines. It wouldn't be *that* hard to clean off, she just needed to sort through the stuff. She put all her magazines and neat piles under her bed, with the spine out for quick and easy reference, and the books were put on the shelf next to her bed. She then began sifting through the dunes of old homeworks and letters and sketches and brainstorms for lyrics. "Alexia, you're such a packrat!" she told herself as she tossed out about three weeks worth of clothing coupons Kitty had forced upon her that she had never used.
She was finally starting to see the top of her desk when her eye was caught by the ticket stub left from when she had taken the bus from Chanceton to Bayville the winter before.
A light went on in her head. They didn't have school the next day, and then it was the weekend. Three days of gorgeous dirtbiking weather ahead of her, and nothing to stop her from enjoying it. Except for the Professor and Ororo. But Ororo had told her that the Professor said she could go home for a visit as soon as possible. *Well, tomorrow's possible, isn't it?* Alexia thought to herself.
She examined the back of the ticket, and sure enough, there was an advertisement for buying bus tickets on-line. Alexia grinned. It looked like she and Kurt were going on their vacation sooner than they thought.
She quickly finished her desk and dashed back down to the library and got on a computer in the corner. She went to the site printed on the back of the ticket and couldn't help but laugh when she saw how inexpensive ticket prices were from Bayville to Chanceton. There was a bus leaving Friday morning at 5:30. *Perfect,* Alexia thought. *Kurt and I can bamf our way out of here and be gone before anyone wakes up, none the wiser.*
She paid for the tickets using the credit card her mother had given her "for emergencies". She figured saving herself from death by boredom was emergency enough.
Once she had the tickets, she sent an e-mail to Zydane.
Zy,
Be at the Chanceton bus station tomorrow at 8:00.
You said ASAP. I'm getting there ASAP.
I'm bringing Kurt along, too, so bring your car instead of your bike.
See ya l8r
Alex
Alexia grinned as she got up and headed towards Kurt's room to tell him the great news.
His door was open, so after knocking, she just walked in without waiting for him to invite her in. "Hey Kurt. Sup?"
Kurt grinned as she entered. He didn't exactly hide the fact that he liked her. "Not much, mein Fruend. Vhat's up vith you?"
"Well, I was wondering if you have any plans for the weekend."
"Nope, my veekend is free," he said after moment of thought. Then he caught the glint in Alexia's eye. "Vhy? Vhat do you have planned?"
Alexia laughed and sat down on Kurt's bed. "Mr. Wagner, why do you say that like it's a scary thing?"
"Because every time you have that look on your face, you vant me to do something for you that would be a lot of fun, but risks getting me more kitchen duty."
"Ah, what's a few dirty dishes compared to the look on Logan's face when he found frills on all his clothes?" Alexia asked, grinning form ear to ear.
Alexia knew that Kurt really didn't want to smile, but she also knew that her smile was contagious. She laughed as the smile forced itself across his face.
"Vhat is it this time, Alexia?" Kurt asked.
"Well, how about going up to visit my family and Zydane tomorrow? I already ordered the tickets and everything."
Kurt's eyes couldn't have gotten bigger. "VHAT? Already?"
Alexia nodded. "I wanted to go as soon as possible, and the Professor said that I could go as soon as possible. I figured tomorrow is soon enough."
Kurt blinked in surprise. "You're serious? The Professor said that? I vould love to go tomorrow. It vill be awesome."
Alexia nodded. "See, I knew you'd like it." She stood up. "The bus leaves at five-thirty, so we should get there around five. Can you bamf us over tomorrow?"
"Vhy doesn't someone drive us?" Kurt inquired, standing up.
*Aw man, what do I tell him without letting him know no one knows about this?* Alexia thought. "Well...you see Kurt, They were going to, but...I figured it would be easier on all involved if you just teleported us over. You know, so that we don't have to wake anybody up."
Kurt nodded, believing her. "That makes sense. All right. I need to pack unt then go to bed if we have to leave at 5, nein?"
"Yeah," Alexia agreed, restraining herself from a sigh of relief. "Remember to take your image inducer. I doubt the bus driver would be able to stay on the road if he saw you."
"Ja, that's for sure. Not everyone digs the Fuzzy Man."
Alexia grinned. "Right. Okay, I'm going to bed. Night." She kissed him on the cheek and left.
Alexia tried not to think about Kurt as she changed into her pajamas. She knew he thought she had gotten permission to go and that it was all right that they went. She had lied to him - but not too badly. Ororo said as soon as possible, and what was the problem with them going if they weren't missing school? Still, not telling anyone would get them into plenty of trouble when they came back. She decided she didn't want to think about that either.
*Besides, * she thought to herself, *if I don't get out of here, they'll wish I was gone. *