I think it's almost become tradition for me to do a number from every musical I'm in. This season's feature is a little ditty called "Wait 'Till My Bobby Gets Home" from the show Leader of the Pack. Seriously, with a title like that…could it be any more obvious who the song was practically written for?
Didn't think so.
This story is based on the idea that Bobby and Jubilee knew one another before coming to the Institute, lived in the same town, and Bobby got his powers and left first. Now, I know none of this is true…but let's all make DragonBlond happy by pretending it is, 'kay? Good.
Wait 'till My Bobby Gets Home
The scene opens inside the hallway of a southern California Junior High School. Jubilation Lee stands at her locker, trying to spin the dial on her lock as she balances a heavy stack of books under one arm. Unfortunately, the load is too much for her; everything topples over, collapsing to the floor. Sheets of paper go flying in all directions. Books and binders scatter.
"Damnit!" She mutters to herself.
Bending down to collect everything, she reaches for her History textbook. Another hand appears, however, and begins gathering most of the fallen items. Jubilee pauses in surprise, then looks up…and meets eyes with Jeffery Baker, one of her classmates. A fellow Chinese-American student, he stands roughly five inches taller than her, with rich, black hair, dark eyes and bronze skin a shade lighter than her own.
He smiles at her as they both stand up. "Though you could use a hand."
With a quick smile and a few words of gratitude, she takes back her things and turns her focus back to her locker. But Jeffery doesn't leave just yet.
"Umm…Jubilee?"
"Yes?" She briefly turns back to him at the sound of her name.
His eyes shift nervously, focusing on everywhere but her. "I was just wondering…see, there's this new coffee shop that just opened downtown, and I was wondering if you'd like to go. With me, I mean."
You've been calling on me every day
Ever since my Bobby went away
Jubilee looks to the floor with an unreadable expression as Jeffery holds his breath. When she finally answers, her voice is soft and holds a hint of sadness to it. "I can't. I'm sorry." Not waiting for a reply, she turns away and heads to the door, her locker forgotten completely.
You've been knocking on my front door
And I know just what you're looking for, but
Even though you really looks so fine
And we could have a good time
One of her girlfriends waits for her at the school entrance. She's seen the whole thing.
"I just don't get you, Lee-Lee," Her friends speaks up, intentionally using one of her least favorite nicknames to get a rise out of her. "One of the cutest guys in the school asks you out…and all you can say is 'I can't'?"
Jubilee glanced up. "I have my reasons." She simply stated, and again without waiting for a response, took off for where her mother was waiting to drive her home.
I'm gonna wait 'till my Bobby gets home
Wait 'till my baby gets home
Yeah-Yeah-Yeah, you better leave me alone
"Is something wrong, Jubilation?" Mrs. Lee questions her daughter, taking note of her unusual silence in the car. "Did something happen at school today?"
"No, Mom. Everything's fine." The response comes automatically, but is accepted just the same.
With her mother's attention once more on the road, Jubilee heaves a quiet sigh. She stares out the window in an attempt to take her mind off things, but her eyes manage every time to rest upon some other happy couple. High School sweethearts walking home from a day of classes. Child friends playing together in the sandbox.
A wave of nostalgia washes over her.
Sure, I need some lovin'
And a-kissin' and a-huggin'
But I'll wait 'till my Bobby gets home
"Yo! Jubilation!"
She groans at the sound of her name, banging her head on the locker door. Why did they always have to show up at her locker? How did they even know when she'd be at her locker? Maybe she should get reassigned…
"What is it?"
One of the soccer players—not quite the star of the team, but still a fairly decent player—jogs up to her, clad in the usual school training uniform. As he shoots her a million-dollar smile, she recognizes him from her first period Math class. "Hey. Glad I caught ya. Listen…how 'bout we got catch that new comedy playing at the Max this weekend? My treat."
You wanna take me to a movie show.
Well, at least this one made a half-hearted attempt at subtlety.
"Sorry, Tobias. Not interested." She answered, politely shaking her head. "Besides…I've already got plans."
I gotta tell you that I just can't go.
That afternoon, Jubilee tosses her backpack and books on the floor of her bedroom as she collapses on the bed. A few seconds pass with her unmoving, staring up at the ceiling, before she turns her head to look at the phone of her nightstand.
I know my Bobby's gonna call tonight
I wanna tell him everything's all right
She checks the digital clock next to it: 3:20 blinks back at her in glowing red letters, almost in mockery of her predicament. Ten more minutes until he was scheduled for their weekly chat. Give or take, that was; he never was one for punctuality.
Bored out of her mind, she sighs and positions herself on her stomach, head rested in her hands as she impatiently waits for it to ring.
Though I haven't got a thing to do
And I'm so lonely and blue
At precisely 3:27, she answers the phone on its third ring. "Hello?"
"Hey, Angel. You miss me?"
Her face grows into a wide smile, even though she knows he can't see it. "Mmm…not really."
I'm gonna wait 'till my Bobby gets home
Wait 'till my baby gets home
During study hall, Jubilee sits at one of the larger tables in the library with a group of friends, all collectively working together to study for an upcoming test. Okay, most of them; two of the girls had been flicking notes halfway across the room for the past few minutes.
Jubilee is surprised when, a few minutes later, she is handed one of the notes:
~~ Hey. Wanna hang this weekend? –G. ~~
She glances over at the table it came from, noticing one of the guys wink at her. A roll of the eyes and a now-crumpled up paper ball is her answer.
Yeah-Yeah-Yeah, you better leave me alone
"Oh, come on, Jubilee!" One of her friends whispers, chewing on the edge of her multi-colored pencil as she pushes back a few strands of strawberry-blonde hair. "It's not considered cheating when you're three-thousand miles away!"
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."
"She's got a point, you know, however bizarre her way of saying it might be." Another (slightly less insane) girl chipped in. "I mean, don't you feel a little left out at times?"
"Not really." Her eyes now turned back to the book as she replied half-heartedly.
The five girls exchanged knowing glances.
Sure, I need some lovin'
And a-kissin' and a-huggin'
But I'll wait 'till my Bobby gets home
Back in her room, Jubilee turns up the radio. The familiar voice of Darlene Love fills the room round and clear. She smiles at the up-beat tempo.
I'm gonna wait 'till my Bobby gets home
Wait 'till my baby gets home
Oh, yeah-yeah-yeah, you better leave me alone
Pretty soon, Jubilee is dancing around the room, lightly singing along to the lyrics.
Sure, I need some lovin'
And a-kissin' and a-huggin'
But I'll wait 'till my Bobby gets home
Her fingertips begin to glow faintly
(I'm gonna…)
Wait 'till my Bobby gets home
Tiny, electrical sparks appear. Jubilee is oblivious to the entire thing.
(Wait…Wait…)
Wait 'till my Bobby gets home
A burst of fireworks shoot from her hand suddenly, landing on the stereo and short-circuiting the wiring. She jumps back in surprise at the small explosion, staring at the now fried electrical device before her sight travels to her hands. They're still sparkling. Her eyes go wide with shock…
…and then a grin appears on her face as the realization hits her. (1)
o*0*o
(1) As this seemed to confuse a few people, I thought I'd explain. Accidentally blowing up the stereo with her hands = mutant powers. Mutant powers = having to go to the Xavier Institute. Having to go to the Xavier Institute = seeing Bobby again. Get it?