Jubilee arrived in the tiny airport in Mist, South Dakota in a single propeller, four-seater airplane. A tall woman who was slightly overweight with graying brown hair met her at the foot of the plane. She would have been singularly unnoticeable if not for the brilliant yellow and blue smock she wore over a purple sundress. Laugh lines crowded around her brown eyes.
"Hello, Jubilee. I'm Joline Ogden."
Two days after Jubilee left Generation X Paige finally came out of her coma. Hank was on the other side of the lab, doing more blood work for Paige. He tiredly ran his hand over his eyes, wondering why he couldn't do any more for the child.
Paige cautiously pushed herself up, wondering why she hurt so much. Her face squished up in a grimes as she concentrated activating her powers. With a sigh of relief she began pulling of large swatches of crystal skin, shedding the broken layers across the flour around the medical bed. Looking around she spotted Dr. McCoy sitting a telescope.
"Dr. McCoy? Why are you here?"
Startled Hank swung around in his chair, nearly knocking the telescope off the table. He stared at Paige, who had started to get out of bed, looking like a brand new girl. "You're awake!" With a joyful bound Hank came across the room and scooped Paige up in a hug, so happy was he that she was all right.
"Ummm, Dr. McCoy?" Paige wondered what was going on, and then startled both herself and Hank when she sneezed violently in his face.
Her face went bright red and Hank blink in surprise at the rather bad smelling explosion. It had been awhile since Paige had brushed her teeth. "Yes, well, I had best tell the other how you are feeling."
Within minutes Emma, Sean, Everett, Monet, Jono, Angelo, Artie, Leech, and Penny were gathered around Paige's bed, all of them chattering at once how relieved they were that she was better. Jono especially had a warm twinkle in his eyes as he looked at her. No one made a comment when he slipped his fingers through hers. Finally the gathering quieted down enough for Paige to get a word in edgewise.
"Yes, I'm happy to see all of you, but what exactly happened?"
Emma sighed and told Paige what had happened.
Jubilee hung up the phone, a slight frown marring her face.
"What did Ms. Frost have to say?" Joline stuck her head out of her workroom. Jubilee had to work at restraining a laugh, since the woman's hair had several bright orange spots of paint in it.
"Paige woke up, and she's fine. She was able to tear her injuries off with her outer layer of skin."
Joline nodded, her expression turning serious. "Are you wanting to go back now?"
Startled Jubilee shook her head. "I said I don't want to live that life any more. I'd forgotten how peaceful life could be."
Humphing, Joline's face cleared up, she had become rather fond of the girl's company over the last few days. "We'll see if you continue to have that attitude after you come home from school tomorrow."
A look of pure comical horror passed over the girls face. "School! I forgot, I hate school, all that boring lecturing, those silly teachers, jocks, nerd, and worst of all…" Jubilee paused dramatically, her voice deepening, "cheerleaders."
Sympathetically Joline patted Jubilee's head. "Yes, I can remember those terrible cheerleaders from my own days in high school, not so long ago. Every generation seems to spawn off a set of them, just to torment us poor ordinary folk."
Jubilee nodded enthusiastically, "And every generations they get worse, why I bet in your days their skirts were all the way down to their ankle, while these days the things they wear can't even qualify as but coverings."
Joline started to nod, then she caught the insult implied in the comments. "Ankles?" A dangerous glint formed in the woman's eyes, her hand not so subtly reaching for a orange covered paint brush.
"You wouldn't!" Her confident smile was suddenly marred by orange. "You would."
Smiling Joline waved Jubilee off, "I've work to do now, girl, go do something useful, like bathing. You're a mess." Turning her back on the girl Joline went back to work.
Laughing Jubilee headed to the bathroom to wash up.
Originally this chapter was going to be the epilogue, but I decided that I wanted to continue writing on this one. I had been planning to make a sequel, but its easier just to keep adding to this one. Anyway, hope you enjoy it. (: