Reviewers: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. A lot of you keep asking about Haley's powers, but don't worry; I'll get around to that later. Remember: patience is a virtue.


Chapter 6: Food For Your Thoughts


Since going to the institute, I had begun thinking about how other people would deal with something so out of the ordinary, if they knew about it. I couldn't tell anyone about the Xavier Institute or about the Brotherhood. I hadn't even told my parents andI look them so much!Besides the fact they'd think I was crazy, I didn't feel like revealing these people's secret since they had gone to such lengths to keep it a secret anyway.

That day though, I wasn't in the adventurous mood. I was in fact in a bad mood. I was exhausted from all the homework I had down the previous night. That's what you get for procrastinating so much, Haley Woodrow.

The bell had rung and I was walking to my first period class when I was surprised to see a VERY large boy walk out of the office. I literally stopped walking and looked up – high up – at the large boy. He was in right size and proportion to eat me.

He looked confused at his schedule and I knew he would be in search of help. I gulped, and tried hard to look away from him when he called out to me, "Uh, hey! Hey you!"

I sighed, thinking he was calling for me. I was in a really bad mood today and just wanted to get to my class. Yet, being the Woodrow that I was, I stopped and looked generously helpful at him.

Us Woodrows come from a very long line of, shall we saw, generous helpers. I'd say, in my family, I'd be the black sheep. My family said I had a very 'mellow' and 'bored' attitude. I didn't tend to show my feelings right on my sleeve, contrary to the rest of my family. The only thing that connected me to that family was my green eyes and straight hair. I almost considered dyeing my hair from blonde because of all the stereotypes against it, but my mom hates when people change their natural hair color. She prefers "natural beauty," not that I was beautiful. I'd like to think I wasn't ugly. Although compared to the other girls at this school, I wasn't exactly gorgeous.

Anyway...

Instead of looking at me though, like I thought he would have, he looked at Duncan Matthews AKA Mr. Popularity. Duncan pretty much ignored him and kept walking ahead when suddenly the large boy picked up the jock by his jacket and dragged him back to face him.

Duncan looked perplexed, much like me.

Holding up the jock by the collar, the large boy shoved his schedule in Duncan's face.

"Where am I supposed to be?" the large boy asked.

"I don't know. How 'bout a sideshow?" Duncan answered back, grinning humorously (even though it wasn't really funny). He laughed, but I knew immediately it had been the wrong move.

"Don't you … make fun … of me!" the large boy yelled like a monster at the zoo almost.

The large boy's face turned boiling hot red and he tossed Duncan across the floor with little effort. The jock immediately landed on my feet.

Looking like an utter lunatic, the large boy ripped out a section of the lockers and held them up threateningly at Duncan and I. My knees gave way and I crashed to the floor. I'm sure he hadn't even realized I was there because the blood circulation to his brain must've stopped seeing as how he was so red. He looked crazy and ready to kill us. My heart was beating faster against my chest each second the locker had been held up on top of us. He looked ready to crash those lockers on top of us.

The next thing I did was close my eyes and scream. I screamed louder than I ever had. That scream, had pretty much saved both Duncan's life and mine. When I opened my eyes, the large boy had settled the lockers down so he could close his ears at the unpleasant sound.

My breathing quickened, but slowly settled back down. I took a deep breath and sighed.

I looked over by my side to see Duncan whimpering and clutching onto my arm. He looked absolutely pitiful.

I was very impressed with myself. I mean, it's not like I did a series of karate moves and totally clobbered the giant teen. Yet, no matter how I did it, I saved another person's life. I think that should be under consideration. Am I right?

By the time the large boy opened his eyes to realize the screaming had stopped, Jean Grey walked out of a nearby classroom.

"Uh, hi. You must be new here," the redhead smiled warmly. I was surprised that the whole school hadn't gathered around to see this happen. I had screamed pretty loud, and if I hadn't, Jean sure had sensitive ears.

Just as the redhead had said that, I noted to myself I could never have the guts to talk to a crazy guy who had almost killed two teens.

"Huh?" the large boy asked.

"Uh, I'm Jean Grey," Jean responded, trying to calm the hot-tempered boy.

Fred smiled sheepishly, the color draining from his face, "Heh. Oh. Yeah, I-I am! New, I mean."

"I figured. Welcome to Bayville. So, uh, what do your friends call you?" Jean asked him, waving Duncan and me off. It was our cue to leave. Duncan was quicker to get away than me. I watched with amazement how easily Jean could handle this type of situation. Then again, she did have that telekinesis thing.

I walked quickly off, after grabbing my scattered backpack. Even though my pace was fast, I was still able to catch his name.

The large boy responded shyly to Jean's question with, "Never had any friends, but my name is Fred. Fred Dukes."

Later that day on my way to the cafeteria I met up with Rogue. Just "Rogue". She had transferred here just last week (after Kitty stopped avoiding Kurt). She was in Natalie and mine's Biology class. Us three had been assigned to do this stupid Biology project and had agreed to meet up after school at my house. Natalie's brother Duncan was having a party that day and Rogue had subsequently said we couldn't go to her house either. She lived at the Brotherhood Boarding House and Natalie and I immediately thought it was probably a good idea considering what poor state it was in. Not to mention we shouldn't go there considering who lived there (Todd and Lance).

"Hi Rogue," I said. I didn't bother to think about what she could "do" since she lived in the Brotherhood House. I had made up my mind that today I would pretend I was like everyone else and didn't know about those red beamy things or telekinesis or that "bamfing." Besides, I had become accustom to keeping this secret for the past week now.

"Hey Haley," Rogue said in her pretty Southern accent.

"What's up?" I asked, going over to my locker. I turned the combination quickly and opened the locker with success.

"I don't think I'll be able to meet up with you and Natalie after school," Rogue explained.

"Why?" I asked, grabbing my lunch and slamming the locker door shut.

"I have this play I have to do with Scott. We're rehearsing after school," Rogue said, walking off to the cafeteria. I followed by her side.

"You and Scott Summers?" I asked. Rogue may be a Gothic and Scott may be semi-popular, but they were somewhat alike. They were both so mysterious.

"Yeah," Rogue simply said, depressed. It seemed like she was thinking back onto something.

"So what play are you doing?" I asked.

"Shakespeare's Henry The Fifth," Rogue answered.

"Best of Luck," I said, walking off toward my table.

"I'll probably need it," Rogue mumbled under her breath. She walked off to sit with Todd and Lance.

I sat down across from Natalie as Angie came walking towards the table with a plate of food.

"Is that humongous guy the one that almost killed you and Duncan this morning?" Angie asked. I had told her all about it in Honors.

I nodded. I had also told Natalie during passing period what had happened. She was shocked that her brother almost got killed, but at the same time she felt like he deserved a good scare.

We all looked over at the lunch line where Fred was standing. He shoved a boy out of the way, eager to get his food. The lunch lady paled at the sight of his giant form. I bet that was the moment when she decided she shouldn't have dropped out of high school to become a lunch lady there.

"Fill 'er up!" Fred grinned, loud enough for our table to hear.

The lunch lady piled food after food onto Fred's tray (very disgusting food too). Let's just say the food at Bayville isn't exactly first class.

Soon Fred's tray had overflowed and he was looking at a mountain of food. The lunch lady just stared as Fred waved goodbye. Seeing this I considered that the lunch lady might not come to work tomorrow.

"I heard that Fred Dukes over there just moved in the Brotherhood House," Natalie pointed out.

The Brotherhood Boarding House?

"Anyway," Angie began, trying to change the subject, "the most horrible thing happened to me in economics today. I got an A- on a chapter test!"

"Oh no! The fate of the world is doomed now that Perfect Angie got her first A-. Whatever shall we do?" Natalie said, saracastically and dramatically.

"Ha, ha. Very funny," Angie retorted.

I smiled to myself about how paranoid Angie was acting but soon my attention was drawn back to Fred. Kurt Wagner was sitting at a table with all his housemates and laughing about something with Scott. Fred scowled at them, perhaps thinking they were laughing at him? After all, back when I was almost killed, Fred had become so crazy mainly because Duncan made fun of him. I noted that I should probably not ridicule Fred during the present or the future. Bad idea.

Later, I returned back to the conversation between Natalie and Angie.

"Ugh! This cafeteria food is so disgusting," Natalie commented, picking at a brown gooey food with a fork. "Remind me to bring my lunch next time. I mean, what is this stuff?"

Natalie pointed at the brown gooey stuff looking, well, pretty much grossed out.

"Well, there's one person in this room who actually likes cafeteria food," Angie pointed out. She motioned toward Fred who had just begun sitting down at a lone table readyto eat. He looked pretty angry.

Just as he had sat down, his weight pushed the chair down so that now he was sitting on the floor. Then the weight of the tray bean to tip the table over and food literally went flying across the room. A loud SPLAT sound could be heard and soon Duncan Matthews was standing up with food all over his face and body, including his jersey.

The blonde jock stood up, glaring at Fred who was sitting down on the ground with food covering him as well.

"Bad move, blob boy," Duncan said angrily, wiping the same brown gooey stuff Natalie had commented on off his jacket.

Fred looked helpless on the floor and tried to lift his body weight up when suddenly he slipped on some orange looking jello thing.

The whole cafeteria burst out laughing, including myself for that matter (but only for a few seconds). I made an: 'ouch it must hurt' face, and looked at Fred's temperature heighten. His face was boiling red again, but probably redder than before since there was a lot more people than just one laughing at him.

"DON"T LAUGH AT ME!!!" the loud, monstrous yell came from Fred.

He grabbed handfuls of food and chucked them at Duncan. They hit right on target, causing Duncan to fall down from the weight. Soon, Natalie burst out laughing harder than before. After all, he was her older brother and they did not get along so perfect. Trust me, I know from experience how a brother-sister relationship can be.

Anyway, by this time everyone was getting riled up and the two kids by Duncan's side grabbed a chunk of their own food and flung it at Fred. Fred screamed more dangerously than before and threw some food at Duncan, only to miss and hit a skinny looking boy.

The skinny looking boy smiled and shouted, "Food Fight!!"

No!!!!

By this time everyone was throwing food at each other. Food swung through the air and hit various people. I don't believe a single person was spared from food getting splattered on them. Angie was the first at our table. Ketchup swerved through the air and hit Angie's light blue shirt. Next, a green jello substance attacked my hair.

I made a face, "Ugh! Whoever threw that, I am SO getting them back."

Grabbing a handful of mashed potatoes from Natalie's tray, I threw it across the room, only to hit Kitty right in the head. Luckily she didn't see me, but what was more surprising was that she totally disappeared through the ground! And nobody had noticed either, well, except for me. I considered whether that was weird or not (not the part about Kitty disappearing through the floor – that is without exception weird). Maybe it was just a coincidence that I was the only one who kept seeing these things and nobody else. They (Kitty, Scott, etc.) believed that they had kept it a secret to everyone – everyone but me.

Later the same brown substance Natalie had been "grossed out" by hit her jeans.

"Great! And I just bought these!" Natalie sighed.

By this time everyone rushed out of the cafeteria. Angie, Natalie, and I went straight to the bathroom to clean out the food that had unfortunately smothered us. I said goodbye to Angie and Natalie after that, but went to the cafeteria to see the aftermath of what happened. I wasn't too surprised to see Fred there, but I was surprised to see Jean there also with him, sitting beside him. I bet she was calming him down or something like before.

I don't like to say I'm a regular eavesdropper, but lately I had been doing that a lot lately. Besides, who could blame me? You would do it too if you were in my place.

Hearing some voices, I turned my head to see Rogue talking to Scott. Principal Darkholme approached them and they soon parted ways.

What's to say about Principal Darkholme? She's not the most agreeable of people. I haven't much talked to her, but from what I've seen, she's very strict. She's strict and expects discipline but has a soft spot for the people who live in the Brotherhood House for some reason. Maybe she was a maladjusted teen when she was young and is now seeking to change the Brotherhood people for the better like someone had changed her? I had quite the imagination, no?

I looked back to Jean and Fred and carefully listened to their conversation.

Fred wiped his teary eyes and spoke, "Uh, it's just when they laugh at me, I kind of explode inside, you know?"

The large boy looked down sadly at the ground as Jean put a comforting arm around his shoulder.

"I understand, Fred, but you got to learn to control yourself. You can get training," Jean explained.

"Yeah, right. Where?" Fred asked, sounding a little hopeful as well as a little suspicious.

Yeah. Where?

"I learned to control ... my gifts at the Institute where I live," Jean remarked.

Gifts!? So Jean wasn't talking about the kind of gifts where your really "intelligent" was she? I rolled my eyes. The one day I decide to ignore everything, the whole mystery about what really goes on at that institute "unfolds", which is really weird considering that this is the only day I've actually ignored it.

"Gifts? You mean you have powers too?" Fred asked.

Powers! So what she means when she says "gifts" is actually "powers". Duh! Why didn't I get this before? Jean's telekinesis thing, Scott's red beamy things from his eyes, and Kitty melting into the ground were all powers. Ugh! How could I be so stupid! It was so obvious that it was staring at me in the face.

I sighed. I felt like I was in a science fiction novel or movie or something. Why me?

Jean nodded referring to Fred's question, "Uh-huh. Watch."

The redhead stood up and looked around the room for something in particular. She spotted an overturned chair and smiled. She put her hand forth and the chair delicately lifted up, that is until it crashed into the wall.

"Wow! You could really pound people with that!" Fred commented.

Jean immediately shook her head, "No, Fred. That's what we learn not to do. That's what the Xavier Institute is all about; control. I'd love to take you there sometime. I know the Professor would like to meet you."

Yes! The whole mystery is solved now.

Jean walked toward Fred and put a hand on his shoulder, "Just let me know when you're ready."

"I'll think about it," Fred said, skeptically.

"Great. Well, I got to run. I'll catch you later, Fred," Jean waved and walked toward the door I was spying through.

Eek!

I quickly departed through the hall and to my next class, barely missing being spotted by Scott Summers.

After school that day, I had informed Natalie that Rogue had told me she couldn't do the Biology project with us since she had to do a play with Scott.

"What!" Natalie shrieked. "If I don't get at least a C in Biology, my parents are going to kill me!"

"Relax, we can do the project without her," I explained.

"No way!" Natalie countered. She grabbed my arm and pulled me along with her, "Rogue is not backing down on this for some … boy."

"Fine, but you do all the persuading," I sighed as she released her grip on my arm.

We finally found Rogue by herself sitting on a bench outside the school. Just as we had approached her, we saw Scott Summers not far behind.

Scott jingled his keys around his finger and spoke, "You ready Rogue?"

"Rogue! I am forbidding you from going with this guy. You promised you'd do the project with us," Natalie explained.

"What? I didn't promise anything," Rogue said in her Southern accent.

"Whatever! Either way, you're not backing out now," Natalie said in an ordering fashion.

"Don't order me around," Rogue said, crossing her arms.

Scott and I looked on at Natalie and Rogue from the sidelines.

Suddenly Scott spoke up, "Rogue, you go ahead with them. We can do the play another time."

"Good," Natalie said spitefully. Wow, Natalie was a very good negotiator or debater or whatever you want to call her.

I gulped, "C'mon Rogue, my mom's giving us a ride."

Rogue sighed and reluctantly followed Natalie and I. Natalie was in the front with her head held high while I was behind her watching Scott walk away to his car. Rogue looked angrily ahead at nothing in particular.

Usually I would think mountains of stuff on this day – the day when I finally solved the mystery of The Xavier Institute of "Gifted" Youngsters. Right now however, all I can say is WOW!


Violet Angel: RR everyone! I will greatly appreciate it. R/R!!!