OK, three chapters in one day. I'm hooked!
The knock came to T.J.'s door and made her jump. She didn't know why she jumped, it had only been a knock. She had been rather jumpy lately and every sound seemed to startle her. She'd had a feeling something was wrong when she'd left the breakfast table that morning.
She got up off the bed and opened the door. Storm was standing outside her room with a smile on her face.
"Hey. Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked.
"Sure." T.J. said as she smiled, "Come on in." She opened the door a little wider to let Storm enter, and for one moment, Storm was reminded of a the man sitting upstairs.
"I need you to do me a favor, T.J." She said.
"Sure, whatever. Name it."
Storm gently touched the silver cross around T.J.'s neck, "Where did you get this?" She asked.
T.J. shrugged and clutched the necklace, "I've had it for as long as I can remember." Then, with suspicion in her voice, she asked, "Why?"
"Who gave it to you?"
"My mother said...wait a second. What is this?"
"What is what?"
"Rouge was asking all of these questions this morning at breakfast. Why are you asking them now?"
"Well...it's just really pretty. I wanted to know where you got it."
"You can't find these anywhere. It's one of a kind."
One of a kind. The same thing Kurt always said. This was getting weird.
"One of a kind, huh?" Asked Storm.
"Yeah. Why?"
Storm was about to answer when Rouge's voice echoed up the stairs. She was calling for Storm.
Storm got up from the bed and moved toward the door. She opened the door to see Rouge hurrying by.
"Rouge, what is it?" She asked.
"The Professor just arrived." Said Rouge, "He told me to get you and Kurt. What are you doing in T.J.'s room?"
"We were just talking. The Professor's back?"
"Yeah. He said to get T.J., too, but it looks like she already knows." She smiled and continued down the hall toward the stairs that lead to the top floors.
"Do I finally get to meet your precious Professor?" Asked T.J.
Storm turned to look at her, "If you want to."
T.J. shrugged, "Sure, I guess."
Storm nodded and led the way out of the room and down the stairs to the main hall. A man in a wheelchair was there with another man T.J. had never seen. She looked at Storm for a minute, then continued to follow her down the stairs.
"Professor." Said Storm, "How did the meeting go?"
"Ah, Storm! Hello!" With a nod toward T.J., he added, "This must be our mutant girl."
"Yes. This is Talia Josephine. T.J. for short." Said Storm. She hit the bottom of the stairs and gave the Professor a small hug, "She is very sweet, Professor." She added in a whisper.
"Oh, OK." The Professor whispered back. Out loud, he said, "Welcome to my school, T.J. I am Professor Charles Xavier." He held out his hand, much as Rouge had done. Once again, T.J. reluctantly shook it.
"Hello." She said.
"This is Scott Summers. He is one of the teachers here."
Scott only nodded at her.
Great, thought T.J., another person like Logan.
"Hello, Mr. Summers." She said.
"Call me Scott. Mr. Summers is out of the question." Scott said without emotion."
T.J. nodded, "OK, Scott." She smiled.
"How did the meeting go?" Storm asked again. The Professor smiled.
"I'd like to get to know my new student before getting into business, Storm." Said the Professor. He held out his hand, which T.J. took, "How old are you, my dear?"
"I'm eighteen, sir."
"Please don't call me sir. It makes me sound old. Just address me as Professor."
"OK, Professor."
"That's better."
Rouge came around the corner to the stairs with Kurt right behind her. They decended the stairs and walked toward the Professor.
Rouge smiled at the Professor and gave him a hug, "Welcome home, Professor."
"Thank you Rouge. How have you been?" He asked.
Rouge shrugged, "Pretty good. How'd the meeting go?"
The Professor sighed. It seemed that he would never get to know his new student at this rate. Everyone wanted to know how the meeting had gone.
"All right." He sighed, "I suppose I'll have to tell you all eventually. Come with me. I'd much rather talk about the contents of my meeting with the President in private."
"Where are we going to go?" Asked T.J.
"To my private office, my dear." Said the Professor, "Follow me. Come on."
He led the way to the elevator and they all went upstairs.
