Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, X-Men:Evolution or any of its iterations.
A quick 'thank you' to CPBaker12 and Ima Super Mute Ant (gotta love that pen name!) for the kind reviews.
We continue our view into why Jean and Scott are not dating as Evo begins. This chapter takes place while Jean and Scott are sophomores at Bayville High.
Something I forgot to mention – most of this story will be from John Grey's point of view.
Corporate Policy - Chapter 2 – The Interviews
John Grey's instant messenger chime sang out of his computer's speakers and he flipped to the window.
QueenOfTime: Dr. Grey – your 10:30 is here.
He typed back.
DrFactoid: Thnx – send them into my office plz
QueenOfTime: On her way
John stood and when he heard the gentle knock on his door, called out, "Please come in."
A young woman entered saying, "Good morning, Dr. Grey. Natalie Bezer from the student newspaper. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me." She extended her hand and John shook it – noting she had a firm grip and maintained eye contact. :This one will go far – hopefully no nitwit will get in her way.:
He smiled saying, "Well it's not everyday I get a captive audience I get to tell my life's story to. My daughters have ear plugs hidden in their pocketbooks for when I start to ramble too long. We have till 12:20 then I have to head to a class in Dulmith Hall."
She sat down, removed her tape recorder from her purse asking, "This shouldn't take too long – I'm limited on the space they give to the faculty profile article. It is ok if I tape the interview?" John smiled, "I have no problem with that." :She must have done her homework, getting to interview a law professor on tape can be difficult.: John heard horror stories of his colleagues allowing tape recorders to run only to claim the tape at the end - since the interviewer never asked for permission. Some of his coworkers loved to teach lessons this way – through humiliation. He knew such methods lead to other things – problems that he and his consulting staff had to solve.
Natalie started, "Reading your official bio, you originally were a history professor." John replied, "Yes, that's correct. My specialty was American History – specifically modern history specializing in the labor movement and civil rights areas. The university was kind enough to indulge me in my dream to pursue a law degree but my roots are still here in the History department."
Natalie continued, "On a more personal level you're married with two daughters, it that correct?" John smiled as he showed her the recent family portrait, "Yes it is. Elaine - my wife of twenty five years, Sara - a freshman at Connecticut State and Jean - a sophomore in high school. Sara has decided to follow me into the law field and is quite the debater. We drive my poor wife crazy dueling over the dinner table about something in the news or a local issue. We personally share many views but we take turns playing the Devil's advocate to practice thinking like your courtroom opponent."
Natalie scribbled to get her notes down quickly and added, "And Jean, any inklings as to what she'd like to study in college?" John replied, "Yes, she has begun looking at schools with a genetics program. She is probably going to follow the footsteps of a close personal friend of mine, Charles Xavier." He spelled the name for her to be sure she got it correctly.
Natalie turned the page in her notebook reviewing some previous notes. "Now I had heard you started your own consulting company. Would you like to describe that?" John hoped this didn't sound too pretentious, "I've seen a lot of different cases recently where companies don't realize how vulnerable they are to discrimination or sexual harassment law suits. So I go in with a couple of other staff members and we evaluate the company policies for those topics. Is it too vague – can people still be abusive or prejudiced and get away with it? Do all the employees understand the policies? Are they posted in a public place for all to see? Are new employees trained correctly? These and many other issues are found during our audit to help the Human Resources departments stay on track with their real jobs – getting the payroll done and keeping the employees insured correctly."
Natalie smiled, "Sounds like a good idea. Any particular reason you started the company?" John looked at his family portrait, "Yes – my two daughters. In my lifetime I have seen tremendous change in the public perception of what equality has meant. As a child I watched the civil rights movement on TV. I saw the women marching for the Equal Rights Amendment as a teen and have witnessed great strides in both areas. But there is much work still to be done – equal pay, promotions, freedom from harassment - and I hope my little company can make the world a little safer for my daughters before they join the workforce."
The young reported glanced at her watch and said, "Well I guess that's all we have time for but it's plenty for me to work with. Thank you again for your time." John showed her to the door and joked, "I look forward to reading about how I'm going to save the world."
He watched her from his office window. She was truly a woman on the road to a successful career – her parents must be very proud. John then noted some male students leering at the reporter as she stopped to talk to a friend. Yet another reminder – how his work was important not just for his daughters, but for this generation of women entering the job market. As long as men in power thought they could do what ever they wanted, there would be people like John trying to stop them.
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Jean sat in her room at the Institute staring at her phone, unsure of what to do.
She had returned from visiting her family over the long Memorial weekend.
Jean and her sister Sara had a very long chat while watching a marathon of chick flicks and she recalled the advice her sibling gave her.
#begin flashback#
Sara flipped a piece of popcorn into her mouth and asked, "So how are things at that new high school? Scope out any cute boys yet?"
Jean smiled and said, "Sure, some of them are." Her sister asked, "Have you asked any of them out yet?" Jean's mouth dropped open and then she giggled until she was out of breath.
Her sister continued, "C'mon Jean. Sometimes you have to take the first step. Many times the wrong guy will come after you and you have to go after the ones who catch your eye. Your not still swooning after that guy at your special school, are you? You've got to go out and play the field, conduct some interviews, live life on the wild side."
Sara could tell by the blank look on Jean's face that her younger sister was clueless.
"Now is the time for you to experiment and see what you like in a guy. Is he mysterious, a loner, a bad boy, the jock, the brain? I think you went to the mall, stopped at the nerd stand in the entrance and have not stepped into any of the other stores. Besides, how will you know he's THE one if he's the ONLY one you've ever been with?"
Sara pressed on, "Remember Jack at the pretzel stand I worked at two summers ago? He was the whole world to me until I found out he was the whole world to the other two girls working in the stand too. I can't believe that I was so star struck. I'm just so glad Dad never found out I was dating a guy I worked with. He would have killed me and grounded me for an eternity. I never would have been able to work anywhere in the mall again if Dad caught wind of the dating central scene. The money was terrible but the boy action more then made up for it."
Sara could sense Jean was still not convinced. "So what is it about this guy Scott you like so much?"
"He's dependable and caring…." Sara interrupted "So is an eight week old puppy who will follow you all around all day."
Then Sara suggested they play act for a while. First Jean played the guys as she listened to her sister's approach to getting guys to think they were asking her out. Then Sara played the guy while Jean tried some of her own ideas.
Her sister gave her some final advice. "Don't try it on the guy you really like first. Pick out two or three practice guys to get over the butterflies in your stomach. Plus it sets the guy you like up as the lead competitor and if he's up for the challenge, he's all yours."
#end flashback#
Jean took a deep breath and cleared her head. If she could survive Logan's training program at level 8, this should be a piece of cake.
She looked at the short list of names of guys who seemed interested in her. First guy should be a practice one – not somebody you really like.
She dialed the number carefully and held her breath, listening to the rings. A female voice answered, "Hello?" Jean's heart skipped a beat, then she said, "Hi, my name is Jean Grey. May I please speak to Duncan if he's home?"
Author's note: Please review if you liked it.
And so Duncan was a shoo-in from that point on. Everybody's favorite teen mutant hater is the focus of the next chapter.