On the ninth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me
Nine dancing trees,
Eight hours of therapy sessions,
Seven Brotherhood members shaking,
Six teachers on a hunt,
Five scary rounds,
Four students playing hooky,
Three musicians out of tune,
Two dancing lovebirds
And a Wolverine in a pear tree.
God, was Jubilee bored. Oh, heavens, she was always bored here. Ever since being sent to this school several years ago to escape the police, she has found little in the way of entertainment in the peace and security Xavier's place had to offer. Over the course of time, she found some forms of amusement through various dramas. Recently though, it was a tough and everybody was exploding. That was nothing to sit back and watch on a lawn chair with popcorn.
Christmas was no different. Jubilee knew that this was a holiday that used to be grand. With her parents gone from her life, it was as empty as her existence. But she tried to find ways to keep happy and busy. Although being part of the play and gossiping there was a balm, all of it still left her pretty high and dry. She tried helping the other students with their studies. She even picked up being a so-called therapist at the sessions the Professor introduced.
With so few days before Christmas, Jubilee also saw that decorating was a pastime. Even though the month had been filled with more than enough shining objects to last a lifetime, she noticed that all sparkled brightly and none interested anybody. Sure, it was great to see a bunch of kids and teachers make the mansion look festive. But something was missing…and Jubilee was on the case to make it happen.
That was the kicker. She couldn't remember how it started in the first place. One day, she was watching TV with the other students and thinking out loud about her plans. The next thing she knew, everybody's attention was not on the show and all of them had been chatting about her ideas. Rogue had been foremost. She mentioned that maybe the lights didn't twinkle so brilliantly or maybe the tinsel on the tree wasn't put on right.
"Or maybe we need something else," Jubilee challenged Rogue. She didn't like this newbie being the center of attention. Mostly certainly, Rogue wasn't going to take credit for something Jubilee suggested. "Maybe a little more shine here and there…"
Jubilee's hands sparked like lightning bolts. Her fingers pointed to the trees. As everyone watched in fascination and awe, her powers electrified the pines and made them smell like they were burning. But they never caught fire. The shock turned the old string of lights into new. They flashed on and off faster and lit the room with more color than before.
Rogue was not impressed. "Children's play," she declared.
"Oh?" Jubilee was insulted. "I'd like to see you try something better."
The teenager was embarrassed, pulling at her white gloves. "Well, if you'd let me, I could replicate another trick of yours."
"Ha! I'd like to see you try."
"Well, sugar, it isn't my fault that my mutation is like this!"
The arguing continued. Round and round it went. Jubilee's tongue flickered with delight. She adored picking on Rogue. She was too easy, Jubilee decided. She was easily wounded and hardly had any defense. Bobby was no knight in shining armor, that was for sure. He didn't even make an appearance in their circle and concentrated on making the atmosphere a little chillier. Snow soon flickered from above, which stopped the two from a nearing physical altercation.
But it didn't stop there. Jubilee had not realized that, while she was preoccupied with Rogue, the whole crew decided to take up the cause. Soon, the area was akin to a downtown road on a snowy evening. While Bobby provided the outdoor cold, others took it to another level. There were the treetop angels singing in a high-pitched voice, ornaments twirling midair, presents wrapping themselves, snowball fights and even the trees were dancing around the room.
Nobody noted their new arrival. Xavier wheeled in when he heard the commotion from his office. He thought the earlier exchanges usual and dismissed them. But when the living room smelled like smoke, ornaments began shattering and the students screamed in a cross between fright and delight, there was a problem. Watching the action from the doorway was funny. He chuckled to himself, but corrected himself. The students did not need to see him as childlike as they were.
"I think that's enough for now," he said, mostly to himself. He grinned and put his mind to work.
And everything fell back into place.