Lucky Me
Chapter 025
My name was Kerry Michelle D'mon, almost five months ago I began to mutate. My mother being who she was, rejected her mutant daughter and I went to live with the X-Men ever since. I grew wings, and got a new physical build as well as internal changes. I was deprived of sweets from day one, and finally conquered the sweet tooth cravings when I tackled/body slammed the leader of the X-Men, Cyclops, to the ground. And because of my personal self-image, I refused to wear a spandex uniform that looked rather painful, not to mention it probably would have ridden up in some rather unpleasant areas of my anatomy. Because of this, I was forced to take more flying lessons with Mr. Warren, which was where I was when Sam came by, took me into the air, and dropped me.
Now as for the present day, one doesn't have to have too much of an imagination to guess what I was doing at that precise second.
I was screaming my head off!
Forget the calm and peaceful act; I was seeing my life flash before my eyes! And man was it depressing and boring. I guess I never knew how boring it was because I was living it, but it was soon to be over because Sam wasn't coming to get me. I didn't hear or see any guy's sporting white feathers either. Both a blessing and a curse I supposed.
"Open your wings," someone screamed.
It sounded like a great plan except one minor, itsy bitsy draw back…I was falling back first toward that lovely and hard thing everyone called the Earth.
So instead of listening to that, I, being me, continued to scream my brains out.
"Gotcha!" Came a voice as all of my weight shifted from my stomach to under my arms. But did that mean I went back to the ground? No. That would make too much sense. Instead she (Miss Rogue) shot up and looped (like my stomach needed that!) then brought me back down. Actually she dropped me from about five feet in the air and let me roll.
You know how hard it was to roll with wings?
"What is the meaning of this?" Came a very angry sounding Professor Xavier (who I was now, basically kissing his feet).
"Ouch," I muttered, getting up from the embarrassing face in the dirt position into a sitting one.
"Sir, Ah was just tryin' to—" Sam tried to explain, but Mr. Warren cut him off. Mr. Warren was angry and pretty soon, everyone forgot about the black haired girl who just had the what, second, third scare of her young life?
Yes, I was fine. Once I swallowed my stomach and got my heart beating again. Thanks for your concern everybody!
"I want you in my office in ten minutes, Samuel."
Whoa. Sam was in mucho trouble if the Professor started to whip out the full names. Sam nodded, and then most everyone who had come out, went back in, some clicking their tongues and all of them having this 'poor guy' look in their eyes.
Excuse me for being a bit selfish, but didn't I matter a bit? I just had the feathers scared off of me!
"Come on Kookie, you're not going to sit out here all night are you?"
Of course, the only one I didn't want to recognize me would.
I groaned and fell backward.
"I have never believed you capable of such reckless maneuvers before, Cannonball. You were taught better than that. Having once been a leader of X-Force, you should know what an ill conceived plan it was you hatched this evening." Professor practically yelled. I swear you could feel the anger.
Ha-ha, he said 'hatched' and I have wings. The man was such a comedian. I felt my eyes roll as I leaned a bit further out my window.
Oh, did I forget to mention that my room was right above the Professor's office?
It was, which meant no wild parties for me (listen to me; I was as funny as he was-ha-ha).
One drawback to this newly discovered place of interest was that I wasn't the only one who found out about it. I had a guest who stood next to my window seat (where my lazy, and SORE hind end was) with his arms crossed.
"Samuel," Even Miss Oreo was in on this? "We are trying to get the children," –growl- "to grow into their powers to push them without being pushy."
"We understand what you were trying to do, it's just we want you to rethink your methods of helping," commented the Conquered-Cookie-Snatcher Summers. Boy-o-boy, they didn't do anything by themselves did they?
"Ah getcha, Ah'm sorry for bein' a free thinker. Ah guess Ah'll just go back to being a little toy soldier that y'all dust off and wind up when necessary!" And so on, Sam ranted for about another minute before the Professor cut him off and told him he had monitor duty for a month, and an extra ten hours requirement in the Danger Room per week for three months.
"Ouch," came my uninvited companion's reply.
"Yeah." Two seconds after that a big, bright, and fast thing took off from the mansion like a rocket, and into the sky.
Guess Sam wasn't happy with the verdict.
"If he tries to assist Kerry in her training again, make it three and six months." Professor continued. Uhm, I guess he didn't see Sam go bye-bye.
"Sir, don't you think you're being a bit harsh?"
Gasp!
Shock!
Heart failure!
Scott went against what the Professor said? His holy and anointed Professor?! Whoa!
"Someone could have gotten hurt, you know…" blah blah blah. Sorry, but he went into his dream speech again. About how mutants needed to control their powers, so they could be an active part of society and so on and so forth. I have repeatedly said I have a short attention span, and this proved it!
"Poor guy," he said after I shut the window. I had to agree, poor Sam. He was only trying to kill-I mean, help me.
Argh!
It wasn't bad enough that I carried my guilt, but I got other's guilt laid on me. First thing this morning when I was told I had to start my muscle building exercises again with Farmer Summers, and he was harsh and made me do things that my body was not supposed to do. It was then that Scott chose to mention how horrible Sam appeared this morning after having monitor duty all night.
Thank you, Mr. Compassionate.
And as if that wasn't enough, Mr. Warren was also getting on the case o' Kerry (Kookie, whatever). Saying that if I had just learned to fly, Sam wouldn't be in trouble and I wouldn't feel guilty because there would be nothing to feel guilty about. By this time I was losing some guilt and adding annoyance.
After another failed class of flying lessons, I bumped into the sugar coated, chocolate dipped girl herself. D-M then had the nerve to say the whole thing was my fault.
"It's not like I asked him to drop me, you know!"
No more pity, just pure annoyance.
"Oh puh-leese. You are such a wuss."
"And you are such a pest."
"At least I'm a pest that can use her powers!"
And then she walked away. All I could do was glare at her back, like I was Mr. Sacked Summers able to blast her into dust or something. Which at that point in time I wouldn't have minded.
I'm starting to wish I could use these things, that way I could fly away from this place.
Or away from the scene of the crime.
A few days later (and still stewing in my own juices) I was flipping through the channels ninety clicks a second. They had almost seven hundred channels, in all sorts of languages, and there was nothing worth watching on. It was funny to be down here when one of them was trying to dub a foreign movie themselves. They came up with some crazy things.
But back to the flipping, I had gotten on D-M and Adam's nerves with the constant channel changing and so I was in the room by myself. Well, almost, until someone came in, flopped down on the couch I was on and just looked at me.
I was going to ignore it, but they just kept staring and I was already roughed up by the whole 'Sam-dropping-me-to-my-death-and-therefore-it's-my-fault' thing.
"What!"
"I came to talk to you."
More talking less staring! Talk to me while you looked at the television like any person would!
"About?"
"Sam."
"If you came to chew me out, save it. I've heard everything that anyone has to say on the subject."
He held up his hands in surrender, but the boyish smile (that one that most girls didn't have immunity to) ruined the helpless effect.
"I didn't, I swear!"
I lifted an eyebrow (I think I was picking up bad habits from the Professor). "Okay, then."
"Why don't you learn to fly?"
I almost fell off the couch. What an idiot! Learn to fly, pshaay, sure no prob. Let me go jump off the cliff and to my death.
"Don't look at me like that," he stated, I just kept giving him my best 'your-a-moron' glare. "Really, think about it. If you learn to fly in the next, let's say two days. You can bail Sam out by giving him all the credit for it."
Oh sure, it sounded easy when you say it, but try doing it. It was a totally different matter.
"Uh-huh, and when did you ever have to learn to fly?"
Again, that smile. "Never. My powers don't work that way, but if you want to see Sam suffer…"
I glared at him again. You'd think I unplugged Sam's life support or something the way everyone was carrying on!
I just had a thought, totally unrelated to anything and everything that had happened recently, but it still got into my brain. And my kitten of curiosity started to play with it.
Where exactly did all my failed cookie smuggling attempts go? Sweet-Sniffer-outter Summers always found them out, but what did he do with them?
All I could picture was him in his underwear eating a handful of my Oreos and chocolate chip cookies while guzzling milk straight from the carton complete with Snoopy boxers (gross), flabby belly, and crumbs dropping all over him and his nasty plaid couch. Yeah, that's it!
I didn't know what kind of furniture they had at the boathouse, but I was just using my imagination. Unfortunately I was using my imagination at the dinner table and Mrs. Jean (who was way across the table from me) simply said their couch was red, not plaid and to think Scooby-Doo, not Snoopy.
I was getting a solid opinion that telepaths were no fun.
But then again, Mrs. Jean had everyone confused at the table with her little comments.
Still, this wonderment about where my contraband snuck off had to be discovered!
"Are you excited about the new school year?"
That has got to be one of the dumbest questions to ask a teenager. It's like asking a convict if he's ready for the electric chair.
"No."
"Aw, why not?" This was Bobby-Pervert having recently invaded my private space that was the entire Rec. room. "I heard you have a gorgeous math teacher this year."
A smirk from me, "So you're not going to be teaching it anymore?"
"Ha-ha."
Yes! One point for Kookie! For Bobby-Pervert-er, well, let's not discuss that number.
Two things happened when I really think about something (which didn't happen often because I couldn't pay attention to anything very long). First, I dazed out and become completely dumb and blind to the world around me. Second, I drummed my fingers on anything that made noise.
The first one no one seemed to mind, but the second one, apparently got on people's nerves.
"Would you please stop doing that?"
Think, think, think.
Hand over mine, that'll snap me to attention. "Huh?"
"That is starting to get irritating," Mr. Bishop stated flatly. Adam removed his hand, and sighed, I bet he rolled his eyes as well but he never took off his sunglasses. Must be a sign of tribute to Mr. Cool-Shades Summers.
"Sorry."
"What's up with you anyway? You're out of it, even more than usual." I know Adrian did not mean that to be an insult, but still, I didn't like it at first.
"I'm thinking."
"That would explain the smoke billowing out of your ears."
Order up! One death glare served to Bobby-Pervert.
"Whatcha thinkin' about?" In case you're wondering, I was in the big study at the end of the male dormitory (along with all the males). Something about blue fuzz in the shower stales, and the toilet that wouldn't stop flushing, and to get some people from freezing everyone when they beat them to one of the two working showers (normally there were four, but the blue fuzz was an issue in those cases).
"Nothing."
"So, you are concentrating on thinking about nothing."
Smart aleck. And then the 'meeting' was called to order, which meant I went back to thinking. I had to be the nice one on this go around of problems. I had to see that Sam got out of trouble, gave him the credit for me learning to fly, but there was one problem.
I still wouldn't fly.
Couldn't get him out of trouble until I could use my wings. Couldn't use my wings until I trusted them. Couldn't trust them as long as I was sane…this was definitely going to be a problem. I didn't hear two words that Scott said, but that was a given, pretty soon the meeting was let out, and the genius girl (ha-ha) still stayed.
Knowing how dumb I could be at any given moment, I probably would have stayed in that room all day had not someone started to talk to me directly.
"D'mon," Whoa, I looked up at Mr. Bishop, and my mouth went dry. I must be in trouble for him to talk to me. "If you are vexed about the Cannonball issue, I suggest that you go out on your own with your learning."
Okay, he lost me after my last name. "I don't-"
"When you have one of the people who are able to fly, you know you do not have to try it by yourself. You have people to catch you, perhaps try having to rely only on yourself, and then maybe you will be able to fly."
Then he left. The little-hah, big fountain of crazy ideas left.
I started to drum my fingers again.
"Why are you following me!" I shouted over my shoulder again.
"Because I know you're going to get lost."
"I wish you would!" Ack, I didn't like being followed. I wanted out of the mansion (yes, I was still grounded, but I was going stir crazy), and I did not want to be followed. But no matter how many times I told this guy to politely bug off, he didn't take the flippin' hint! That's when I got ugly. Honestly, how hard was it to follow a path back and forth through the forest?
I might not be the best with directions, but I am not a complete idiot.
"Go away!" I yelled after a few more minutes.
"Why?"
"You are so aggravating!"
"Well, that's okay."
"Boys," I grumbled, and pushed on ahead. I wasn't going to get to try anything today.
I was standing at the edge of the mansion again, Mr. Warren having given up a while ago, was flipping through a magazine behind me. He said when I was ready I'd be ready, but until then he was going to use this time as getting out of Scott's way.
This was where I was two days ago, looking over the edge when Sam blasted by and pushed me off. This was where everything his actions became my fault (I was still trying to figure that one out).
According to my instructor (ha-ha), I was supposed to be out here an hour and a half.
Needless to say, he brought a lot of magazines.
"Anytime you're ready, Kookie." I told you that name spread like wildfire in the mansion. At least it wasn't something like bubble butt or worse.
"I have a question."
"I might have an answer."
It had been bogging my brain for quite sometime, and I finally had the nerve to ask. I would have questioned someone I was more comfortable with but there weren't many in the mansion who I spent more time with than Mr. Warren, and he was the only that could answer my unique question.
"Do-am I-going to malt?"
This caused him not only to burst out laughing, but also for the magazines to go sliding down the rooftop. And apparently on top of someone because there came a string of curses from below.
Didn't think it was that funny.
But I really wanted to know if I was going to get in trouble like Dr. Hank with his fur! Were my feathers going to clog the drain as well?
It was now or never.
Either I did this or not.
But it was hard to want to do something that could lead to my death! Jumping off a cliff wasn't exactly my idea of sane fun. Sure I had wings, but they didn't work! It wasn't like everyone who had the choice of jumping off a cliff had a fifty percent chance of survival! Most have none.
I whimpered as I looked over the rocky edge of the cliff. I was completely alone out in the middle of nowhere on Xavier's School grounds. No one around, no one to save me if I didn't get it right. Just me.
Just like Mr. Bishop told me to do.
The more I saw of the way faraway ground below, and the more I thought of the big mountain of a man, the less flighty experience I remembered him having!
What would he know about flying!?
I could walk away (like any one with sanity or a will to live would have done), let everyone think that I was a scared little girl, and one who would never be fit enough to be anything but a whiner. Not that anyone had ever come out and said that to me, but sometimes you just knew. The longer I took the more people gave up on me, and that's annoying.
I'd never been the wimp; I'd always been strong enough for myself. I was the net for my sister and mother (the one who hated me) when the news came that my dad was dead. I had to be there for them, and I never got my chance to really mourn because I was too busy being the good daughter, and the brave big sister.
Did anyone really realize how tiring that was?
"You're starting to sound like one of the X peoples, Kookie," I told myself, shaking my head.
But I guess this was the final (crazy, perhaps cause of death) break from my family.
A chill ran across my skin with that thought.
Was that why I'd been so reluctant? Because as soon as I used my powers, I was just what my mom hated? When in the world did I get so philosophical? When had I started to think in words in more than two syllables? Why did I get off my train of thought?
This was really it, if I stepped off the cliff three things could happen, a) I could die (really not looking forward to that), b) I fly and prove to everyone back in the mansion that I could be taught, that I wasn't a completely useless type person and finally and fully accept that I was a mutant, or c) not step off the cliff, and quit.
Deep breath.
"Okay, Ker, no big deal. You've stepped off lotsa things in your life—mostly because there wasn't a chance of you falling to your death-nonono! Think positive!" Okay, I was positive I was going to fall to my death…oh that helped.
Standing at the edge of a very long fall, it reminded me of back home. We were at the pool, Darcy and me, she dared me to go on to the high dive and being a wanna-be show off to my little sister, I did it. Of course, just like now, I completely froze once at the edge. Most of the people teased me (I was only twelve) but Darcy kept yelling at me to do it. Easy for her to say, she was in the water already! I had to hurt myself to get back into the water.
'You'll never be able to brag about it until you do it!'
I smirked, yeah, my little sister knew me too well.
One more deep breath, my wings opened, and I jumped.
And fell.
"Whoa! Kookie! Where's the fire?" I didn't have time to throw around insults with Bobby-blockhead. I had to find Sam! But he being a typical jerk stood in the door way of the men's dorm, where, according to a confused Mr. Remy was where he saw the 'hayseed' stagger off to earlier.
"Move it!" I fumed, stomping my foot like a typical angry Kerry. ( I had to stop listening to Mr. Remy so much, he talked in third person therefore Kerry-I mean I was beginning to do it as well!)
"Ut-uhn, you didn't say the magic word."
I growled at him, not a Mr. Logan-someone-took-the-last-alcoholic-beverage (aka, run for the hills because he's about to say things that are going to make your ears bleed) growl, but a you-are-so-annoying type growl.
"Go melt yourself."
He did that clicking tongue thing, "Is that anyway to talk to your teacher?"
Oh he just had to bring that back up!
"This had better be important." Mr. Sugar-Tooth Summers complained, crossing his arms. I stood by the recently discovered Sam who was just as baffled to be out here as the others in charge were.
"Relax, Slim, I'm sure Jean will record the Three Stooges Marathon for you." I didn't have a clue why Bobby-Jerk was out here or Daisy, Chris, or Adrian for that matter. I only wanted my teachers and those that out ranked me to see this.
"It won't take long." I asked Sam to take me up. The Professor did his famous eyebrow arch move, but nodded his consent, even though Sam wasn't supposed to be around me at all because of him trying to drop me to my death last.
But you already knew that.
"Are you sure about this, girl?" Sam questioned once we were in the clouds (remember, 'hayseed' was super fast).
"Just play along and you won't have to put up with Natty and the others anymore!" He gave me a funny look. Ooops, I guess I never related the story about my squirrel soap opera. So instead of going into details I gave a 'whoops-I-said-something-dumb' smile and then pushed away from him.
"Since when can you do that?" Sam asked, his eyes almost leaving his skull as I (with a lot of effort) flapped my wings (my whole body was bruised might I add, from doing this earlier today).
"Since you taught me to."
"Huh?" Since we were still up in the air, I didn't think it would hurt to explain to him the reason why I was suddenly able to fly after months of whining and complaining that I was going to fall to my death.
"I did this so you'd get out of trouble." Not to mention I still sorta had an itsy bitsy crush on this cute guy in front of me, but I didn't decide to discuss that with him at the moment. Bad timing for something like that—I think. I had no clue. "I go down there, give you the credit, and you're off the hook, right?"
Half smile, "Sure Ah'm up for anythin' that will get me away from the monitors."
And that's that.
Don't you hate it when I cut scenes? Oh well, needless to say the X-peoples were pretty surprised (and thrilled that they didn't have to ram the reasons why I should fly against my thick skull anymore) about my abilities. Mr. Warren about pitched a fit because I gave most of the credit to Sam, but I basically begged him (with a look only us girls can give) not to make too much of a fuss about it. I explained the reasons later.
But there were some downfalls to this adventure.
One, I still had to do my flying lessons with Mr. Warren every day after school to get used to picking up things, diving, and learning to speed up and yadda yadda. Oh and learn how to land….so I wouldn't have to get so banged up next time I tried ( it was when I got all my lovely bruises).
Second, I had to go into the Dangerous room thing, and 'participate in team exercises' oh that should be fun.
Third, Sam got off of monitor duty-and now I had it!
This stinks! Try and do something nice for someone and they get off the hook and I got put on it like a stupid worm! Argh!
And fourth, and literally the least and yet one of the major upsets, I had to wear that 'thing' they call a uniform in public. In front of people who actually looked good in that type of get up!
Life was so not fair right.
And! And! I started school next Monday! I had to go find a large window to jump out of. But now that I could sort of fly, it wouldn't do anything but get me flying around in circles and tumbling (hurting) myself when I landed.
My head hurt, I'd been thinking too much!
