Author's Note: (sigh) Still no reviews. That sucks. (another sigh)
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men, nor the book "The Sight" by David Clement-Davis. I only own my original characters and the plotline.
(((((-)))))
10TH GRADE SCHEDULE
Homeroom - Ororo Monroe
Science - Jean Grey
Math - Scott Summers
Lunch
Training
Study Hall
History - Ororo Monroe
English - Charles Xavier
(((((-)))))
Two weeks past. During these two weeks, Carmen explored the Institute, guided by her new friend, Tonya. There weren't many kids at the Institute during the summer, so Carmen sticked with Tonya the whole time. It took a while, and a lot of talking, to get Tonya to open up to Carmen and become buddies. The good thing was, although Tonya wasn't as goofy or as hyper as Carmen, they clicked easily because of their liking of being alone, music, and being sentimental.
After the fifth day that Carmen was at the Institute, Tonya showed off some of her powers, like going through walls and flying. She explained to Carmen that all the students at 'Mutant High' had codenames. Hers was 'Spectre', because of her ghost powers and her ability to summon them.
"Then what should mine be?" Carmen asked.
"I don't know," Tonya said, cocking her head. "It can't be Wolfsbane, because another girl has that one. She can turn into a wolf, too. You're probably going to get paired up with her during training."
Carmen brainstormed for a while.
"Hmm..." she said, thinking hard. "Well, I got nothin'." Tonya shrugged.
"Wait! I've got something!" Carmen said suddenly. "Larka!"
Tonya raised an eyebrow.
"And this has to do with wolves…how?" she inquired.
"Larka is a wolf in a fantasy book I've read."
Tonya laughed.
"You read too much," she said. Carmen sighed dramatically.
"Everybody says that about me," she said tearfully. "Oh woe is the mutant who is literate!" Tonya rolled her eyes.
"Woe is the mutant who is the roommate of an overly dramatic wolf hybrid."
A few days before school started, students started coming back to the Institute. Few of them noticed Carmen, which was fine with her.
The first day of school, Carmen, as usual on the first day of school, woke up two hours early and went downstairs, careful about not waking Tonya up. She crept into the kitchen and had a small breakfast; just one packet of Quaker oatmeal. (She usually has 2 or 3, or 2 big bowls of Rice Krispies)
She then went into the game room, where she found a couple other kids playing foosball and watching TV. No one noticed her come in, so she plopped down, watching MTV with a couple other kids.
About 45 minutes before classes started, Carmen, with a couple other kids, went back to her dorm to get dressed. She found Tonya already dressed and getting her school stuff into her bag.
"Morning," Tonya said.
"Ditto," Carmen replied, walking over to the closet she and Tonya shared. She opened it, wondering what she should wear. Clicking her tongue in thought, she picked out a pair of dark jeans and a black form-fitting T-shirt with the words "Jesus is My Homeboy" printed on it with white letters (one of her personal favorites).
"Here, I'll go out so you can get dressed, since I'm ready anyway," Tonya said.
"Thanks," Carmen called after her as she left the room. She then got dressed, put her contacts in, brushed her hair, etc., and left the dorm with her bag.
She headed toward her homeroom class, which was being watched over by Storm, as everyone called the white-haired woman.
Carmen found a seat next to Tonya and chatted with her until Storm signaled the class to settle down.
"Welcome to a new year at Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters," she started. Carmen noticed many of the teens mouthed Storms words as she said them. Carmen grinned, guessing that they heard the speech one too many times before.
As Storm went on with her speech, Carmen felt a jab on the left side of her. Annoyed, she turned to face the dark-haired boy sitting next to her, eyebrow raised.
"What?" Carmen hissed.
"You're new here, aren't you?" he said.
"So?"
"My name's Luke. Welcome to the Institute; are you sure you're crazy enough to be here?"
Carmen rolled her eyes at the lame joke, but grinned mischievously.
"You have no idea..."
"Miss Alvarez? May I continue?" Storm asked Carmen sharply.
"Yes, ma'am," she replied in a low voice, her blood rising to her face.
When Storm started again, Carmen glared at Luke, her teeth bared menacingly. She emitted a low growl, making Luke raise his eyebrows in alarm. She then smirked and turned to face Storm again.
When they left homeroom, Carmen asked Tonya about Luke.
"Oh, you mean Jay? Yah, he's like that to all the new girls," Tonya said. Carmen raised an eyebrow knowingly. "Carmen, I know what you're thinking, and it's not accurate. Luke isn't flirting, his heart's already taken. The fact that Luke Davis has a crush on Jubilee is the worst-kept secret in the school!"
"Who's Jubilee?" Carmen asked.
"This girl," Tonya said simply, entering their first class, science.
"Well, duh, unless he's gay."
"Hey, Alvarez!" somebody yelled after her. Carmen turned around to see who called her. It was Luke.
"The name's Carmen, if you don't mind," Carmen said, slightly annoyed and sitting down at a desk. Tonya took the seat beside her.
"Sorry, all I could catch of your name is what Storm called you," Luke said, seemingly resisting the urge to roll his eyes.
"If you can't remember my name, just call me Larka." Luke raised an eyebrow questioningly at Tonya.
"It's from a book she read," Tonya explained.
"What book? The name sounds familiar."
"The Sight by David Clement-Davis," Carmen told him.
"Hey, I've read that. It's one of my favorites," Luke said.
Tonya raised her arms in defeat.
"I'm surrounded by book-lovers!"
"Really? You actually like reading?" Carmen said, ignoring Tonya. "Hmm. Maybe you're not the bad-boy I thought you were..."
"Now, I wouldn't be sure about that," Tonya interjected. "Isn't that right Jay?"
"Aw, Spectre, I'm not that bad..." he replied, trying to sound innocent and failing. He winked at Carmen and went to sit by a fiery-looking girl with a remarkably fashionable clash of clothes and black hair.
"Is that Jubilee?" Carmen asked, as she watched Luke getting a painful punch from the girl. It seemed that he said something stupid to her, but the girl was grinning good-naturedly.
"Yup," Tonya said. "They lived in the same hometown ever since they were ten. They're really close friends."
"Seems so," Carmen said smiling. "Hey, before I forget, who's Wolfsbane? She's in our grade, right?"
"Ah...no. Actually, she's in 9th grade," Tonya said. "I'll point her out when we train after lunch. The 9th and 10th grade session."
(((((-)))))
An hour later, the two left lunch and headed for their training session. The training session was in a huge gymnasium. About 25 kids were to train in there.
When everyone was accounted for, Jean and Scott (aka Cyclops), made the same welcome speech Storm told, laid out the rules, and then assigned people new to the Institute partners. As Tonya predicted, Carmen was paired up with Rayne Sinclair (aka Wolfsbane), a Scottish girl with reddish-brown hair.
"Hey," Carmen said as she walked over toward Rayne.
"Hi," Rayne said.
"Uh...so...I guess I need help with my powers?" Carmen said awkwardly.
"Okay. So, what stage are you in?" Rayne asked with a slight accent.
"Say what?"
"Let me put it this way; has your senses heightened?" Rayne asked a little impatiently.
"Yeah, a little."
"So you've only had your powers for a little more then a couple months, am I right?"
"Yeah...is that what happened to you?"
"Yes. I've had my powers for more then a year and a half now. Watch..."
In about two seconds, a reddish-brown wolf stood in front of Carmen, then changed right back.
"It's quite easy when you get the hang of it," Rayne said encouragingly. "At first you really need to concentrate."
"You mean I have to think something like, 'Be the wolf'?" Carmen said jokingly.
"Pretty much, yeah," Rayne said.
(((((-)))))
After half an hour, the closest Carmen got was the half-stage, when she came to look like a werewolf.
"Nice try," Rayne said as Carmen turned back into a human. "Don't worry, you'll get it."
"Alright guys!" Jean suddenly called. "This is the end of the first session. Great job today, all you new people!" As everyone grabbed their bags, Carmen caught a glimpse of Luke, who was retracting these huge, blue feathery wings into his back.
"Whoa," Carmen muttered under her breath.
"What?" someone said. Carmen turned around. It was Tonya.
"Luke...has wings?" she said.
"Yeah. Didn't you know that? That's why we call him Jay. It's short for Jaybird."
"Why not 'Bluebird'?" Carmen joked as they left the gym.
"Well, we did think about it, but it wouldn't sound right if we called him 'Blue'."
(((((-)))))
Author's Note: I know not a lot of people are going on , but can you please review? Pretty please? Pretty please with a cherry on top?