Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own it. What is 'it', you may ask? Why, none
other than X-men: Evolution. Nor do I own the Three Stooges, The Starving
Musician (a music store in my area), the saying "Play an Accordion, Go to
Jail: It's the Law!" (Really! Not mine!), "Pearly Shells", "Tiny Bubbles",
Don Ho, or Jango Fett. What? I don't mention him in my fic? Well, that's
too bad. He rocks.
Alex
Everything Lorna said made sense. I mean, we did need to find our rooms in the Institute. That was obvious, right? Right.
But then... Why can't I understand how she looked at me? She just looked at me, and it was like she was talking on another level. It didn't even look like she knew what level she was thinking on.
What did I say I was going to do? Oh yeah. Find my room. Well, to do that, I think I'd better ask the boss. And you know what that means.
Yup. Go find Scott and avoid the Professor at all costs. I set out to find my sunglasses-wearing brother, basically by asking directions to the Danger Room, and, just in case, Jean's room.
I got a lot of different directions, but I decided to listen to this one guy, Logan, first. Really, the only reason I did that was because they were one direction, and he looked like he was going to kill me.
Scare tactics work on me.
Once I had followed his direction, "Go down to the basement, bub. It's there," I saw that I had followed the right guy's directions. There were two doors there. One to the hangar, and the other was made of reinforced steel and had this red-lighted sign above it.
"DANGER ROOM IN USE. DO NOT DISTURB." I don't think it can get any more obvious. This is the bathroom.
I stepped back and studied the door again. All metal, with this cool 'X' all over it. I bet Lorna would love it.
Whoo... that kind of slipped out. She's not on my mind all of the time. Really. Just a simple slip-up. It could happen to anyone.
"What could?" What the? I whipped around to see Jean comfortably invading my personal thoughts. Did I mention I hate telepaths? 'Cause I reeeeeeally hate telepaths.
"Nothing." Think of something to block her. Sheep! Flaming sheep jumping over a cliff like lemmings! See them jump. Die, sheep, die! Good. My future sister-in-law is looking thoroughly confused. Just how I like it. "I was wondering if Scott could show me where my room is going to be."
Scott came out of the Danger Room, then, probably because Jean had called him. Odds are five to one that she mentally e-mailed him. Any takers? "What, Jean?" Whoo! I rock!
"Aloha, brahda." He winced. This accent thing never gets old! "I need to find my room. Problem is...I don't know where it is." I pleaded with him with my eyes. Hey, I may not have had much practice at being a little brother, but I rock at the pitiful act!
Scott fell for it, hook, line and sinker. "Yeah, I think I can show you. Jean and I were just finishing our training session, anyway."
Jean looked carefully at me. "Alex, is there anything going on?"
Block her! "Nope. Just lost." Burning sheep!
She raised her eyebrow. "Alex, are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." One falls off the cliff: baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa- splat! I left with Scott, leaving Jean thoroughly confused. That's even more fun than bugging her long-distance!
Scott led me to this long hallway that stretched out to either side. He pointed down the left way and said, "That's the way to the girls' dorm. I suggest you don't go there upon penalty of death." He must be joking. But, then again, this is Scott. Scott does not joke. "This way," he pointed right, "is our dorms."
Scott made a 'follow me' motion, and headed to the end of the hallway. He opened the last door and pointed me inside. "When we rebuilt, I made sure there was an extra room at either end of the hall. Kind of figured that someone might show up." Well, I really don't know what to say! You like me! You really like me!
I walked into my room, and I realized that Scott hadn't planned this room for anyone but me.
The boards Lorna and I had been using were hanging on my wall by way of a very cool bracket-and-bungee system. My clothes were all supposedly in my drawers, and the bedcover had aloha print.
Scott has some explaining to do. "Bro, how long did you have this ready for me?"
He tried to look innocent, as he said, "Not very. Why do you ask?"
I pointed at the south-facing window with sun streaming through. "Maximum sunlight takes planning."
Scott rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I have been planning this for...um...since I found you."
Uh... wow. "And Lorna?"
"Not so much." He shrugged. "We didn't know she was going to come until about...three minutes before. But she does have some... unique stuff."
Hmmm. Okay, that sounds intriguing. "Like what?"
Scott shrugged again. "Dunno. I think Rogue helped her get settled in. If you want to find out, I guess you'll have to ask Rogue."
Or not. I think I'll go find Lorna's room! Who's smart? You know it! "Okay. I'm going to check out my room. Aloha, bro."
Scott backed his way out of the room, like he was leaving a hallucination. I guess he didn't realize that I'm here to stay. For a while, anyway. Well, when I was sure that he had left the hallway, I ran down to the other end, otherwise known as 'no-man-land'. Ha! I crack myself up.
I knocked on each door, figuring that Lorna may not be situated at the end of the hall like me. About three doors in, I found someone.
"Knock knock," said my knuckles on the door.
"What is it?" Well, it doesn't sound like Lorna, but maybe I could get her to help me out.
"Uh, sorry. I'm looking for Lorna. You seen her?"
This goth steps out of the room. It took all I could not to yelp. I did jump just a little. I know, I've seen her before, but Rogue always looks like she puts too much work into being the ultimate freak in a house of loonies. "Yeah, Alex. Ah helped her to her room. End o' the hall, this side."
"Thanks, Rogue." Well, she looks like she's going to kill me, but at least she's helpful. I'm going to follow the scary people's advice from now on. It works.
I headed towards the end of the hall and checked it out. Lorna was in there, with the door open. I figured I should knock on the doorjamb.
"Klunk klunk," said the doorjamb. I never realized how different knocks sound. It's so...different!
"Yeah?" Score! It's Lorna! She looked out her door and waved me in. "Come on in, before Jean finds you."
I entered her room, and looked around. I kept up the conversation on the surface of my brain. "Why would Jean mind?" Her room was pretty boring, with white everywhere. The only unusual thing in the room was a big instrument case on the bed. Looked like it was for some sort of horn. Some sort of big horn.
"Dunno. The whole 'guy in girl's room' thing, I guess." She opened the closet door, and clothes had magically appeared inside. The colors were mostly blue and green. Hey, go with what works. "Huh. It's all here. Wonder how long it'd take to pack again..."
Huh. It's got this sticker on the side with "The Starving Musician" on it. Cool picture... Wait, what did she say? Packing? "Why would you want to do that?"
"I'm not going to stay any longer than I have to. I have a life in Oregon, and I'm only here because of Magneto." She looked up from her feet at me. I guess she was waiting for me to do something, so I nodded. Makes sense. "I'm only going to stay as long as it takes to get this guy off of my back. After that, I'm leaving."
Well, that makes sense. I mean, she really didn't have a choice about coming here. Come to think of it, I really don't plan on staying any longer than she does. "Well, after you leave, I've gotta get back to the surf. I'm missing out on a lot."
Lorna stared at me as if I'd grown an extra eye. I guess she hadn't realized that the only reason I was still here was to make sure Magneto doesn't make another appearance. Huh. I guess it's time to change the subject before she kicks me out of the room on the grounds of uncomfortable subject.
She caught me looking at her horn case. "Oh, I see you've met my travel ticket, Larry." She opened the case and put together a shiny trombone. She closed the case again, so that the other side was up. The sticker on the side said, "Play an Accordion, Go to Jail: It's the Law!"
So, it looks like she already has a guy in her life. Tall, shiny, and kept in perfect condition. Fine. Larry can have her. I just want to know one thing.
"Larry?"
"Yeah. I'm one of the three kids playing trombone in our band, and we all named our trombones after the Three Stooges. Amy's idea, really. Hers is Moe."
I bet I know where this is going... "And the last one is..." I threw in a drum roll, figuring that it couldn't hurt. Of course, it didn't really come off as a drum roll with me just saying "Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- da..."
"Uh... You want me to say the name, don't you?" I just nodded and kept up the drum roll, tapping my index fingers on my knees. She laughed and gave up the name. "Shemp."
Whoa! "Shemp?" I was expecting 'big and bald with completely strange name'.
"Shemp." She slid the sliding thingy a couple of times. "Jake sold Curly. The poor thing never stood a chance. So, Shemp is here to stay."
Maybe I could get her to play Larry. She's already holding it, and it looks like she's itching to make some noise... I mean, she did haul...him...all the way to Hawaii, Oregon, and New York. Huh. The more I think about it being "Larry", the more "it" is a "him".
"What songs do you know?"
She didn't tell me. She just started playing Larry, and let him do the talking. After just three notes, I knew what she was playing. I joined in right away.
"Pearly shells,/ From the ocean./ Shining in the sun/ Covering the shore./ When I see them/ My heart tells me that I love you/ More than all the little pearly shells."
Well, I cracked on the last two lines, but otherwise, I guess my voice was passable. Passable enough that I got this great idea...
"Be right back!" I ran all the way down the hall to my room, and grabbed another remnant of Hawaii. I sprinted back, and showed her my find. Her face lit up immediately as she realized what I wanted to do.
"Entryway?" she asked.
"Yeah, that's perfect."
Fifteen minutes later, we were serenading anyone who passed by with whatever song we could come up with. I strummed my ukulele, and Lorna played the melody on Larry. We were on our third rendition of "Tiny Bubbles" when Logan and the Professor passed by. I would say walked, but Logan stalked, and Xavier rolled, so it really wouldn't cover how they moved.
Logan gave us an evil look, and I surprised myself by grinning at him and singing loudly. Maybe I'm not as scared of him as I thought I was. Of course, he wasn't doing anything to me. Yet.
Professor Xavier produced a couple of coins from his pocket and tossed them into Larry's case. "Thanks. Larry sounds great. Alex, you may want giving your ukulele a name too."
A name? I can only think of one. "It's got one. Don Ho." Yes, Hawaii's hero. The one and only.
Xavier smirked, and moved on. Logan rubbed his knuckles and I swallowed convulsively. Well, maybe I'm just a little bit scared.
As he stalked away, Lorna blew a "Braaaaat!" on Larry. Did I mention I admired her for her bravery? 'Cause I do.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
A/N: Yeah, here I am again. Once again, I interpreted the names in this chapter. I completely agree with Xavier, but I think only Jean and Scott would agree with Jean's name. I love thinking of Scott as "tattooed", now. And who knew that a trombone could have such a cool name?
Piers: Thank you so much for reading this. Your opinion of my writing really means so much to me. I love you.
Flyby Stardancer: Yes, uber-cuteness. I hope you like the stuff in here, and please, *eep* I've written! Let go of my leg! Leggo!
Suzaka: Yes, I have kept writing. Enjoy your sugar high, and hope you enjoyed. I'll keep writing more.
d: Yup. Thanks. I have.
Jean: A Scotch form of Jane/ Jane: "God's gracious gift" (Hebrew). The usual feminine for John; but actually a contraction of Johanna.
Scott: "a Scot, or Scotsman." The Scots were an Irish tribe who later settled Scotland. Their name probably means "tattooed," because they cut and painted their bodies; but is also interpreted as "the wanderers".
Rogue: (had to go to the dictionary) 1. An unprincipled person: scoundrel. 2. A playfully mischievous person: scamp
Logan: none (he's just that cool)
Larry: Short for Lawrence/ Lawrence: "The laurel" (Latin). Sacred to the Greek god Apollo, the laurel was supposed to inspire prophecy and poetry; and, as the winners in ancient games were crowned with laurel wreaths, it became also the symbol of victory
Charles: Literally the name means "man" (Teutonic); but, as borne by many kings and emperors, it took on a significance of greatness. Legend says that its most famous bearer, Charlemagne, was so called because when his nurse presented him to his mother she exclaimed, "What a great carle (man)!"
Xavier: "Brilliant" (Arabic). The name usually commemorates St. Francis Xavier.
Alex
Everything Lorna said made sense. I mean, we did need to find our rooms in the Institute. That was obvious, right? Right.
But then... Why can't I understand how she looked at me? She just looked at me, and it was like she was talking on another level. It didn't even look like she knew what level she was thinking on.
What did I say I was going to do? Oh yeah. Find my room. Well, to do that, I think I'd better ask the boss. And you know what that means.
Yup. Go find Scott and avoid the Professor at all costs. I set out to find my sunglasses-wearing brother, basically by asking directions to the Danger Room, and, just in case, Jean's room.
I got a lot of different directions, but I decided to listen to this one guy, Logan, first. Really, the only reason I did that was because they were one direction, and he looked like he was going to kill me.
Scare tactics work on me.
Once I had followed his direction, "Go down to the basement, bub. It's there," I saw that I had followed the right guy's directions. There were two doors there. One to the hangar, and the other was made of reinforced steel and had this red-lighted sign above it.
"DANGER ROOM IN USE. DO NOT DISTURB." I don't think it can get any more obvious. This is the bathroom.
I stepped back and studied the door again. All metal, with this cool 'X' all over it. I bet Lorna would love it.
Whoo... that kind of slipped out. She's not on my mind all of the time. Really. Just a simple slip-up. It could happen to anyone.
"What could?" What the? I whipped around to see Jean comfortably invading my personal thoughts. Did I mention I hate telepaths? 'Cause I reeeeeeally hate telepaths.
"Nothing." Think of something to block her. Sheep! Flaming sheep jumping over a cliff like lemmings! See them jump. Die, sheep, die! Good. My future sister-in-law is looking thoroughly confused. Just how I like it. "I was wondering if Scott could show me where my room is going to be."
Scott came out of the Danger Room, then, probably because Jean had called him. Odds are five to one that she mentally e-mailed him. Any takers? "What, Jean?" Whoo! I rock!
"Aloha, brahda." He winced. This accent thing never gets old! "I need to find my room. Problem is...I don't know where it is." I pleaded with him with my eyes. Hey, I may not have had much practice at being a little brother, but I rock at the pitiful act!
Scott fell for it, hook, line and sinker. "Yeah, I think I can show you. Jean and I were just finishing our training session, anyway."
Jean looked carefully at me. "Alex, is there anything going on?"
Block her! "Nope. Just lost." Burning sheep!
She raised her eyebrow. "Alex, are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'm fine." One falls off the cliff: baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa- splat! I left with Scott, leaving Jean thoroughly confused. That's even more fun than bugging her long-distance!
Scott led me to this long hallway that stretched out to either side. He pointed down the left way and said, "That's the way to the girls' dorm. I suggest you don't go there upon penalty of death." He must be joking. But, then again, this is Scott. Scott does not joke. "This way," he pointed right, "is our dorms."
Scott made a 'follow me' motion, and headed to the end of the hallway. He opened the last door and pointed me inside. "When we rebuilt, I made sure there was an extra room at either end of the hall. Kind of figured that someone might show up." Well, I really don't know what to say! You like me! You really like me!
I walked into my room, and I realized that Scott hadn't planned this room for anyone but me.
The boards Lorna and I had been using were hanging on my wall by way of a very cool bracket-and-bungee system. My clothes were all supposedly in my drawers, and the bedcover had aloha print.
Scott has some explaining to do. "Bro, how long did you have this ready for me?"
He tried to look innocent, as he said, "Not very. Why do you ask?"
I pointed at the south-facing window with sun streaming through. "Maximum sunlight takes planning."
Scott rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I have been planning this for...um...since I found you."
Uh... wow. "And Lorna?"
"Not so much." He shrugged. "We didn't know she was going to come until about...three minutes before. But she does have some... unique stuff."
Hmmm. Okay, that sounds intriguing. "Like what?"
Scott shrugged again. "Dunno. I think Rogue helped her get settled in. If you want to find out, I guess you'll have to ask Rogue."
Or not. I think I'll go find Lorna's room! Who's smart? You know it! "Okay. I'm going to check out my room. Aloha, bro."
Scott backed his way out of the room, like he was leaving a hallucination. I guess he didn't realize that I'm here to stay. For a while, anyway. Well, when I was sure that he had left the hallway, I ran down to the other end, otherwise known as 'no-man-land'. Ha! I crack myself up.
I knocked on each door, figuring that Lorna may not be situated at the end of the hall like me. About three doors in, I found someone.
"Knock knock," said my knuckles on the door.
"What is it?" Well, it doesn't sound like Lorna, but maybe I could get her to help me out.
"Uh, sorry. I'm looking for Lorna. You seen her?"
This goth steps out of the room. It took all I could not to yelp. I did jump just a little. I know, I've seen her before, but Rogue always looks like she puts too much work into being the ultimate freak in a house of loonies. "Yeah, Alex. Ah helped her to her room. End o' the hall, this side."
"Thanks, Rogue." Well, she looks like she's going to kill me, but at least she's helpful. I'm going to follow the scary people's advice from now on. It works.
I headed towards the end of the hall and checked it out. Lorna was in there, with the door open. I figured I should knock on the doorjamb.
"Klunk klunk," said the doorjamb. I never realized how different knocks sound. It's so...different!
"Yeah?" Score! It's Lorna! She looked out her door and waved me in. "Come on in, before Jean finds you."
I entered her room, and looked around. I kept up the conversation on the surface of my brain. "Why would Jean mind?" Her room was pretty boring, with white everywhere. The only unusual thing in the room was a big instrument case on the bed. Looked like it was for some sort of horn. Some sort of big horn.
"Dunno. The whole 'guy in girl's room' thing, I guess." She opened the closet door, and clothes had magically appeared inside. The colors were mostly blue and green. Hey, go with what works. "Huh. It's all here. Wonder how long it'd take to pack again..."
Huh. It's got this sticker on the side with "The Starving Musician" on it. Cool picture... Wait, what did she say? Packing? "Why would you want to do that?"
"I'm not going to stay any longer than I have to. I have a life in Oregon, and I'm only here because of Magneto." She looked up from her feet at me. I guess she was waiting for me to do something, so I nodded. Makes sense. "I'm only going to stay as long as it takes to get this guy off of my back. After that, I'm leaving."
Well, that makes sense. I mean, she really didn't have a choice about coming here. Come to think of it, I really don't plan on staying any longer than she does. "Well, after you leave, I've gotta get back to the surf. I'm missing out on a lot."
Lorna stared at me as if I'd grown an extra eye. I guess she hadn't realized that the only reason I was still here was to make sure Magneto doesn't make another appearance. Huh. I guess it's time to change the subject before she kicks me out of the room on the grounds of uncomfortable subject.
She caught me looking at her horn case. "Oh, I see you've met my travel ticket, Larry." She opened the case and put together a shiny trombone. She closed the case again, so that the other side was up. The sticker on the side said, "Play an Accordion, Go to Jail: It's the Law!"
So, it looks like she already has a guy in her life. Tall, shiny, and kept in perfect condition. Fine. Larry can have her. I just want to know one thing.
"Larry?"
"Yeah. I'm one of the three kids playing trombone in our band, and we all named our trombones after the Three Stooges. Amy's idea, really. Hers is Moe."
I bet I know where this is going... "And the last one is..." I threw in a drum roll, figuring that it couldn't hurt. Of course, it didn't really come off as a drum roll with me just saying "Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da- da..."
"Uh... You want me to say the name, don't you?" I just nodded and kept up the drum roll, tapping my index fingers on my knees. She laughed and gave up the name. "Shemp."
Whoa! "Shemp?" I was expecting 'big and bald with completely strange name'.
"Shemp." She slid the sliding thingy a couple of times. "Jake sold Curly. The poor thing never stood a chance. So, Shemp is here to stay."
Maybe I could get her to play Larry. She's already holding it, and it looks like she's itching to make some noise... I mean, she did haul...him...all the way to Hawaii, Oregon, and New York. Huh. The more I think about it being "Larry", the more "it" is a "him".
"What songs do you know?"
She didn't tell me. She just started playing Larry, and let him do the talking. After just three notes, I knew what she was playing. I joined in right away.
"Pearly shells,/ From the ocean./ Shining in the sun/ Covering the shore./ When I see them/ My heart tells me that I love you/ More than all the little pearly shells."
Well, I cracked on the last two lines, but otherwise, I guess my voice was passable. Passable enough that I got this great idea...
"Be right back!" I ran all the way down the hall to my room, and grabbed another remnant of Hawaii. I sprinted back, and showed her my find. Her face lit up immediately as she realized what I wanted to do.
"Entryway?" she asked.
"Yeah, that's perfect."
Fifteen minutes later, we were serenading anyone who passed by with whatever song we could come up with. I strummed my ukulele, and Lorna played the melody on Larry. We were on our third rendition of "Tiny Bubbles" when Logan and the Professor passed by. I would say walked, but Logan stalked, and Xavier rolled, so it really wouldn't cover how they moved.
Logan gave us an evil look, and I surprised myself by grinning at him and singing loudly. Maybe I'm not as scared of him as I thought I was. Of course, he wasn't doing anything to me. Yet.
Professor Xavier produced a couple of coins from his pocket and tossed them into Larry's case. "Thanks. Larry sounds great. Alex, you may want giving your ukulele a name too."
A name? I can only think of one. "It's got one. Don Ho." Yes, Hawaii's hero. The one and only.
Xavier smirked, and moved on. Logan rubbed his knuckles and I swallowed convulsively. Well, maybe I'm just a little bit scared.
As he stalked away, Lorna blew a "Braaaaat!" on Larry. Did I mention I admired her for her bravery? 'Cause I do.
~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~
A/N: Yeah, here I am again. Once again, I interpreted the names in this chapter. I completely agree with Xavier, but I think only Jean and Scott would agree with Jean's name. I love thinking of Scott as "tattooed", now. And who knew that a trombone could have such a cool name?
Piers: Thank you so much for reading this. Your opinion of my writing really means so much to me. I love you.
Flyby Stardancer: Yes, uber-cuteness. I hope you like the stuff in here, and please, *eep* I've written! Let go of my leg! Leggo!
Suzaka: Yes, I have kept writing. Enjoy your sugar high, and hope you enjoyed. I'll keep writing more.
d: Yup. Thanks. I have.
Jean: A Scotch form of Jane/ Jane: "God's gracious gift" (Hebrew). The usual feminine for John; but actually a contraction of Johanna.
Scott: "a Scot, or Scotsman." The Scots were an Irish tribe who later settled Scotland. Their name probably means "tattooed," because they cut and painted their bodies; but is also interpreted as "the wanderers".
Rogue: (had to go to the dictionary) 1. An unprincipled person: scoundrel. 2. A playfully mischievous person: scamp
Logan: none (he's just that cool)
Larry: Short for Lawrence/ Lawrence: "The laurel" (Latin). Sacred to the Greek god Apollo, the laurel was supposed to inspire prophecy and poetry; and, as the winners in ancient games were crowned with laurel wreaths, it became also the symbol of victory
Charles: Literally the name means "man" (Teutonic); but, as borne by many kings and emperors, it took on a significance of greatness. Legend says that its most famous bearer, Charlemagne, was so called because when his nurse presented him to his mother she exclaimed, "What a great carle (man)!"
Xavier: "Brilliant" (Arabic). The name usually commemorates St. Francis Xavier.