I like living at the mansion. It's so big and you never know what's coming around the next corner. It could be anything! I mean, I live with Super Hero's. I told my mother that one day I wanted to be a Super Hero. She just smiled and patted me on the head. She doesn't think I will be, but I will. I really will. The only thing I don't like about the mansion is that although I live with all these Hero's I still have to do school work. And although I live with all these Hero's I still have to do a stupid English Essay on who I think is a Hero. And although I live with all these Hero's…I cant seem to find one.
Now you're thinking, shouldn't be too hard, but it is. Apparently a REAL Hero, according to my English teacher, has too make sacrifices for other people. So, again I'm thinking that, yeah, shouldn't be too hard considering this is the X-men. But no, it's still really difficult, I mean, there's so many. And not just X-men, there's millions of people out there, normal people too not just mutants, that are Hero's. I was going to need help.
I walked into the common room to find Alex, as in Alex Summers sitting reading the paper. Excellent. He could help me.
"Hello Alex." I said, bounding towards him.
He glanced at me over the paper and then went straight back to reading the article with a quick, "hi Carter."
"Alex?"
He lowered the paper and stared at me, "Yes?"
"I have to write this essay for English on who I think is a Super Hero and I'm having some trouble. So. Can you help me?"
"Carter. Look around you. There are super hero's all around. Just write about on of them." he said as Mr Logan, Mr Scott and Mr Bobby came in.
"What's up kid?" growled Mr Logan.
"I have to write an Essay and-"
"Isn't the game on just now?" asked Mr Bobby.
"oh yeah. Quick turn on the TV." Mr Scott said and sat down next to Alex.
"Alex, can you help me with my es-."
"Not now Carter, Later. Why not ask your mum, or storm or Kitty?"
"They're all out shopping."
"Well what about Hank then?"
I looked around the room trying to catch their eyes, but no one would look at me. No one would help me with my Essay, "Hank's busy fixing Cerebra."
"Well can't you wait till the games finished, then I'll help you." Alex said, as the TV announced Kick Off.
I didn't reply, there was no point. He wouldn't have heard me. What was I going to do. This Essay was due tomorrow and I hadn't even found a Hero yet. I was in deep trouble. I was thinking so hard about all the different Hero's: the Hulk, Fantastic Four, Superman, Batman, Flash Gordon- When I bumped into the mansion's resident thief.
"Oh, sorry Mr Remy." I said helping him steady himself.
"Carter, dat yo' kid?" he asked patting me on the head.
"Yes Mr Remy." Mr Remy was blind. My mother had never told me the whole story but apparently there had been some sort of accident where his own card blew up in his face. It hit him pretty hard, the blindness, not the card, but that probably hurt too.
"Why yo' be in such a hurry Carter?" he asked as I handed him his staff that he took to carrying so that he could feel where he was going.
"I got an essay to write," that's when I saw the earphones. Just because he was blind, didn't mean he couldn't listen to the game, "I'm needing some help with it, but if you're busy."
He smiled at me and took earphones out of his ear, "Remy ain't busy kid. I help yo' wit yo' essay. What it be on?"
"A Hero. Who I think is a Hero."
"Dat shouldn't be too hard." he said laughing.
"Oh but it is. I mean, there's so MANY!!! There's the hulk, superman, mr stretch-" He was laughing again. I don't know why, he just was. Maybe Blindness makes you crazy. He started walking away, still laughing, he was walking out into the garden and sat under the tree he usually sat under. "What's so funny Mr Remy?" I asked him, sitting down on the grass beside him.
"Yo' kid."
"Me, why?"
"A hero doesn't have to wear Spandex, a hero don't have to have special powers and a hero most certainly doesn't have to wear their underwear over dere trousers."
I was definitely getting confused.
"Ok Mr Remy, so what is a Hero?"
"A Hero…well, you have to decide what a Hero is. Everyone has dere own ideas of what a Hero be… de best I could do for yo' is t'tell yo' what I t'ink a hero is."
"I'm really stuck here Mr Remy so I'll listen to anything."
He took a while before answering. I could tell he was really t'inking about it. He had stopped smiling. "A Hero… a hero, is someone who, goes against all odds, someone who has to make sacrifices to work, to fight, to achieve, somet'in dat dey believe in. Somet'in dey know might not help dem, but audah people…dats what I t'ink a hero is."
Well if I was confused before I certainly was now. This whole hero business was more complicated than I thought. "Are there really Hero's out there like that?" I asked.
"Oui."
"For example?…"
"Well, Martin Luther King. He gave up a lot of t'ings t'fight for what he believed in."
"And he's a Hero?"
"Oh oui. A very big Hero."
"What did he d-?"
"REMY!?!?!"
I watched as he flinched when Miss Rogue yelled his name. The next thing I knew she was out in the garden storming up to Mr Remy.
"Remy, ya have an appointment wit Hank!"
"I know chere-"
"Don ya chere meh! Remy, ya know how important these appointments are!"
"I know Chere. But Carter here, he needed help wit dis essay an'-"
"Don go using Carter as an excuse. Ya had an appointment and ya should have gone. What if ya get worse?!"
"Chere, it don get much worse dan dis, I'm blind!"
Now it was her turn to flinch, but he couldn't see her. I could tell by the way she was looking at him that she really cared for him and was only looking out for him.
"Ah didn't mean it like that sugah."
He relaxed as he said, "Oui, I know. Didn't mean t'snap." He stood up, "Well I'm sorry kid, but I better be going now. When I'm finished I come back and help yo' wit dat essay."
He had missed his appointment. One that was very important. To help me with my essay. He had stopped listening to the game. To help me. He was blind. There was a lot of things he couldn't do because of that. He had to overcome not being able to see Rogue. His girlfriend. Hmm.
"Kid? D'ya wan me T'come back an help yo' wit dat essay?"
"No thanks Mr Remy. I think I know what I'm going to do now. Thanks for your help."
"No problem." He smiled and took Rogue's hand, "Good luck."
I watched her lead him away, his staff trailing along the floor beside him, occasionally stumbling over a stone. It was then I noticed he had one red sock on, and one blue one. Knowing Mr Remy, that was probably deliberate.
The teacher sat in the empty classroom marking the essays the children had handed to her that day. She read essay after essay about popstars, actors, sports people and there was one particularly good one on Martin Luther King. But one essay caught her eye:
"Hero. It can have lots of different meanings, and every person has their own definition of the word. It took me a while to find mine, but finally I found it. A hero doesn't have to be famous, rich, where a costume or super powers. A hero, overcomes all difficulties, to make other people happy. That's why my essay is about a man who overcame a particular difficulty to lead a next to normal life. My essay is about the blind Remy LeBeau…"