The year began, and the next two weeks dragged on more slowly that it should in both Nicole and Katie's opinion. School had began around the beginning of August, and would let out for the summer near the end of May. The year had been set up this way because it was a rather unique school in all perspectives, and because most students boarded year-round (they did get time off for vacations periodically throughout the term, but not many students actually left during them).
The girls learned that along with mutant ability training course, they would also have to take normal courses such as physics, chemistry, world history, algebra, and current events/politics. And right now, they were in the politics half of the current events class. Nicole, made a soft grunting noise, not understanding a word that Animal was saying about Graft, the president, and some mutant named Magneto. Right now she was awaiting Katie(who sat a few rows up and two desks to the left)'s note. Please Lord, please save me from the inevitable boredom of this class... she mentally pleaded.
Unfortunately, McCoy (the blue furry teacher) was not as oblivious as he might have seemed and intercepted the note. "Now, would you like me to read this out loud?" He asked sternly, giving Katie the typical 'disappointed teacher' look. She shook her head mutely, hoping that he wouldn't read it anyway. Shaking his head he threw the note away, and continued on with the lesson.
Katie heaved a deep (but very quiet) sigh of relief. The note had been about one of their classmates. Playing over the note in her head she hoped Nicole would just read her mind, instead of making Katie write it again.
Sighing, Nicole poked her way into Katie's head, catching her in the middle of a particularly gushy line. " -and the way his wings feel... its sooooo soft... like petting a baby duck, except the baby duck can walk and talk and has the nicest smile..." she gushed mentally. Groaning, Nicole leaned on her head in her hand and rolled her eyes. Featherbrain...she thought secretly. Katie could be a bit so-so about boys... Nicole honestly couldn't see any point in them unless you wanted to shoot a few hoops or perhaps a game of mind chess where you move the pieces with your mind. Bobby was particularly good at it, except with him it was mind vs. ice chess. But he was no good at staring contests... Pyro had an impressive belch when he had 7 liters of Dr. Pepper in his system... but anyway... she was getting off track.
She listened more intently, " But anyways, do you think that he likes me? Oh god, do you think he'll take me to the dance? Should I ask him or should I let him ask-"
"Katie"
"what should I wear omigosh"
"Katie, KATIE! listen to me!"
"I mean of course- what?"
"Katie, why do you need a date for the dance anyway?"
"Because... he's just so cute... why wouldn't I want him to take me?"
"But why did you need a date to begin with?"
"Because! You go to dances with dates! Cute dates!"
"Boys really aren't all the amazing, Katie."
"Nicole, you're missing the point!"
"No, you're missing the point! Boys are gross! the end!"
"NICOLE!" Their mind-debate might have lasted a great deal longer if the bell hadn't rung. "Score!" Was Katie's new thought. Nicole blocked her out, not really wanting to hear "I hope arch has to tackle me again."
As they rounded the corner, they pressed a panel on the wall, which promptly whooshed open for them. "BOO!" A mass of masculine, body came popping out.
"Aiiiyyeee!" Katie squealed and looked as if she would jump into Nicole's arms if she hadn't specifically given her a death glare.
Nicole grinned. "Bobby, I think by the 5th time you should know that I can hear you thinking 'I'm going to get them this time' in your mind before the door even opens." she stated matter of fact-ly, but she was grinning all of the same. It was these kinds of things about boys that she liked, they like to have a good laugh... none of that mushy My heart will go on, pathetic Titanic love scene nonsense. Bobby walked with them down the hallway, laughing and joking with Nicole until they went into separate rooms to change into the Mutant Battle Garb.
Katie grumbled to herself, shaking the thick leather irritably. It was simply much too heavy for her, especially when wet (as it almost always was). Nicole liked the black leather, though she personally hated all of the "decorative" slits that had been cut into it for 'sexiness'. Katie, on the other hand, had enlarged hers.
As they emerged into the simulation room, they could hear their main teacher (Scott) talking. "-I figured we'd try out the new real-location sim today..." he trailed off upon seeing them, the first students to show themselves. "Katie, how many times have I told you? The style is "super hero", not "super whore."
Nicole snickered, " The fact that you notice, S-Professor is rather unnerving" she laughed. A broad grin was on her face.
Katie glared at her friend, "You totally have a one-track mind"
"Not as much as you do.."
"What! I don't have a one-track mind!"
"Hey Arch"
"WHERE!"
"PHOAR! YOU TOTALLY FELL FOR IT! Told you that you have a one tracked mind..."
Katie pouted. "Ok, maybe I have a slightly one-tracked mind... so sue me" she muttered folding her arms over her chest and scowling. This motion did nothing what so ever for her outfit situation. Yup, still screaming superwhore. Not that this bothered Katie in the slightest...
Nicole suddenly smiled, her eyes focused on something slightly to the right (Katie's left) of Katie's face. "Oh, hey Arch." she greeted.
Katie's scowl deepened. "Ok Nicole, I get it. Ha ha ha... now can we please talk about something slightly more-"
"Hey Katie"
"AIIYYEEE!" Katie turned around, and blushed rather deeply at the boy standing partially behind-partially to the side of her. "Hullo Arch," she began, slightly nervously, sending Nicole an 'I'm gonna KILL you' thought.
Unfortunately, this conversation was interrupted when Scott began to speak. "Alright everyone! Today we're going to do a more on-your-own type of sim. Help anyone you find, but don't form any teams!" Snapping his fingers, with a nod to Storm, he began to simulation. With a BANG the sky fell dark, and broken, burning buildings materialized among them. Attack helicopters patrolled the skies, searching for them.
Nicole felt the familiar knot forming itself in her stomach as the scene materialized. Quickly making a decision, she headed off to the right as she saw Katie follow Arch to the left. "I hate the way simulations feel so real..." she whimpered, through ragged breathing. Running wasn't exactly her forte. "they totally screw up everyone's brainwaves... I can hear everyone's thoughts because I get so stressed I can't narrow it down... we... how can anyone think something like that at a time like this!" As these thoughts ran through her head, Nicole was fully unaware of a particularly loud, and almost impossible to be unaware of, helicopter was hovering over her head.
"FREEZE MUTANT!" shouted a rough voice through the megaphone. Her own frightened features were reflected back at her through dark glasses. "PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR YOU FREAK!"
Nicole complied, raising her hands. "Fine, I'll raise my hands... asshole." Clapping them together she watched as the helicopter folded in on itself, like an empty soda can. "Lets see what you call anyone ELSE you cripple..." But, in a way, these simulations were great for relieving stress...
- - -
Katie lost Arch in one of the louder explosions (his wings being such an easy target). She was currently underneath a slab of concrete propped up on another, trying to get a bit closer to a landed helicopter before they tried to shoot her.
"Agh! dammit!" she panted, scrabbling at the concrete with her nails. "NNgghh.. " she whined, trying to inch along but to no avail. Drastic matters call for drastic measures.. "I sure hope that this concrete has no metal lines in it! Here goes nothing!" she grunted, and focused as much upon the energy all around her as one could while lying underneath thousands of pounds of concrete. If she missed... Trying to concentrate a little harder while trying to allow the energy particles in the air to flow through her body and into her fingers, which she pressed firmly to a weak point in the rock. But just as the juice was beginning to flow...
"KATIE LOOK OUT!" a hoarse yell sounded from behind her.
"SAY BYE BYE MUTANT!"
Katie froze, as the soldier she hadn't noticed to her left (damn camo print) held up a rather ominous-looking detonator. Damn...
"DON'T MOVE!" Came another hoarse yell. Suddenly, the concrete she'd been under exploded in a shower of rock confetti (much nicer than the Katie confetti she would have been) and Scott slammed into her side, sending them both rolling down a hill.
'Oomph" Katie gasped, as he landed with a thud on top of her. Had it not been such an awkward place, (and with a teacher) it would have been a rather arousing situation, sweaty and panting as they were...
At the moment, Katie was in no mood to move. She was hot, sweaty, tired, and under... an equally hot and sweaty... TEACHER! Whoa. Not. Cool. But Scott didn't look as if he was very keen on moving anytime soon. He slumped slightly to the side, so he was half on, and half off of her. Never the less, the large rips in her outfit were proving to be effective. She was pretty sure that she would be nicely steamed and tender to the touch by now, from the heat of her wet leather ensemble. (not suggesting that she wasn't because of other reasons... being under concrete doesn't exactly do much to toughen the flesh..)
"Sorry," he gulped " Damn...were are my goggles!"
"Shit!" Katie swore, not really wanting to get fried just because he had to open his eyes. "You lost them?"
"yeah," he replied, hand over his eyes.
"Did you lose them on the top of the hill?"
He reached out a hand trying to find her shoulder (getting her boob instead, making her squeak). "I think so."
"Great, a teacher landed on top of me, he lost his glasses which prevent him from destroying everything that he looks at, and he grabbed my boob instead of my shoulder... this is the greatest day ever... not" Katie thought bitterly
" o0o0o0o0o0o0, Scott grabbed your boob? that's like, second base isn't it!" prodded a voice in her head.
"NICOLE!" she squealed out loud.
Scott frowned. "Uhm... no, it's Scott, I thought we had that down?" he stated. If he could he would look at her like she was a lunatic, but given the circumstances...
"NO! no, not you its Nicole... she's talking to me in my head." she muttered, waving her hand at Scott. Though it didn't do much good as he couldn't see it...
" Nicole, you have to find Scott's goggles" she squealed mentally, 'he left them up on the hill!" .
Somewhere far away across the simulation field, Nicole rolled her eyes at Katie's vagueness. " THE hill... gee... I wonder where I can find one... oh, look! There's one right there...and over there... WHICH HILL SMART ONE!"
"The big one!" Katie mind-squeaked back, really not wanting to hear Nicole's smart comments. "THE ONE I'M NEXT TO!"
There was a burst of 'radio silence', and then Nicole came back. "I think I found the right hill... Watch where you're pointing that thing, Asshole!" From where she was lying Katie could hear the bang. "Right. so I need to look everywhere all over this stupid hill, in the dark, for a pair of goggles that I barely know what they look like."
Katie made a face at the air. "Why don't you go look in HIS head and find out?"
"Ew, boys are one thing. But MEN! You cannot even comprehend how scary and traumatizing this will be for me...For all I know, he could be going over the events of a porn movie he's watched recently!" squealed Nicole's voice in return.
Katie, wrinkled her nose and shiftily glanced in Scott's direction. Not that it mattered or anything, as he was still blinded by his own hand.
He looked slightly miffed. "As much as I love sitting on the ground and being blind, I would love it if you could fill me in please..." he snapped. Though this statement did nothing to intimidate Katie, watching a man turn his head and make gesticulations one would normally make when angry while covering his eyes like a kid pretending that he couldn't see his broccoli therefore he could not eatit, was HILARIOUS.
She fought the urge to laugh hysterically at the poor guy. ' Nicole, just do it... he can't see' Katie begged
' So! I can't see without my glasses on in the morning and I still manage to pull my pants on.."
"How the HELL does that relate to ANYTHING!"
"I don't know... just a metaphor.."
"To HELL with metaphors just DO IT!"
"Alright alright... don't get your knickers in a twist."
Nicole, really wishing that she didn't have to do this, gently prodded the edges of Scott's mind. Oh, god, I can't believe I'm doing this... She thought to herself. At first, the transition really wasn't all that bad. There were a lot of blurry red-tinted images that all he was able to see through the goggles, which made her feel a tad sorry for him. Underneath that was a layer of anxiety about finding said goggles, and keeping his eyes closed tight so that Katie remained alive, whole, and un-charred. "so what do these damn things look like?"
Scott jumped. " What the-?" he thought,
"Save me the questions Scott, can you describe the glasses to me?" From on top of the hill Nicole could feel his sense of both annoyance and a cringe of sadness. "Sorry! What do they feel like? Can you form a picture from that?" she rephrased, concentrating so he wouldn't feel the wave of pity that had washed over her.
There was a soft sigh on the other side. "There is only one lens. Sort of like a band of ruby crystal ( I was told they were ruby anyway..) straight across. And they're plastic I think, its supposedly grayish black." he began.
As he continued to commentate, she searched the ground. " Oh! hey I think I found them! Um... they're a bit.. broken.."
"Broken?" He sounded more than a little alarmed, afraid of being deprived of what vision he had with the goggles.
"Just a little bit, I think I'll be able to fix them," Or at least she really hoped she could. "I'm going to get out of your mind now... have those goggles there in a minute." He seemed relieved as she withdrew from his mind. Picking up the goggles as gently as she could, Nicole wove her way through the rubble and soldiers. Katie, hearing Nicole sliding down the hill, resigned herself to the taunting. She really didn't feel like shoving poor blind Scott off her (or moving at all, actually).
Suppressing a comment and a snide grin, Nicole patted Scott on the shoulder. He maneuvered so that he was no longer on Katie. "Um... they're not totally broken..." Nicole mumbled, holding them up to her face and looking through them, her brown eye peeped through a hole in them. "Whoa dude... how do you get around in these things? It makes everything go all wonky and red and blur-" she stopped "sorry!" she apologized.
He sighed, sounding as if he were holding back a lot of frustration, " Can they be fixed?" he sighed.
Nicole paused, thinking. She sighed, examining the damage. " Yes, but I might need to tap into your mind again just so I can make sure that I make them look and work exactly the same as before..." and maybe with some slight adjustments she thought to herself suddenly, grinning.
He nodded, "Alright".
"Okay, but you have to concentrate really hard on what they felt like and the mental picture in your head, if you think of anything else it will screw them up..." Nicole warned.
Scott nodded, as largely as he could, and complied, focusing on his memory of the very first time he ever wore the goggles... Nicole took a deep breath in and out, holding the glasses in both hands. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on his mind and the goggles.
Katie sat there, watching as nothing outwardly amazing happened, save the shards of glass piecing themselves back together. After a few long moments, Nicole opened her eyes again and tapped him on the shoulder. "Try them now..."
"Where are they?" he inquired, groping along the ground one handed, trying to find her outstretched hands.
Feeling awfully do-gooder-ish, Nicole took his hand, placed the new and improved glasses in his hand, and then closed it. " Right there." she mumbled.
Slowly, he raised them to his face, making sure that his eyes were tightly shut all the while until the glasses were firmly situated over them. Though the Katie couldn't actually tell what was so different about the glasses, she watched him jump and gasp.
"What-?" he turned slowly and looked at both of the girls through crystal clear glasses. Though he had heard their voices, and told them apart by the sounds rather than relying their looks... this was a totally different matter. For once he wasn't looking at the world through a layer of blurry red, colors standing out as what they were rather than as shades of lighter or darker ruby. Shapes were more definite, and he could really see the two girls that were in front of him. One was kneeling in front of him, this was Nicole he guessed. She had short, dark brown hair and brown eyes. She smiled, winked, and motioned for him to 'shush' as if to tell him that he shouldn't say anything.
" Now, when people assume that you can't see them goofing off in class... you can threaten to turn them to cinders... "
' What did you do?' he gasped mentally. The girl in front of him grinned, and it didn't exactly look all that bad either.
"I just modified them a bit. I got a teensy weensy helping of what you had to go through when I looked through those glasses. I figured that you could use some clear vision, and that you could do with some cheering up. Now you can see every one of your students and friends' faces. Congratulations you are now no longer legally blind. You can drive now!" the voice replied cheerily.
Scott grinned, 'my eyesight never stopped me from driving before..." he snickered mentally, letting a soft chuckle escape his throat.
The girl, I mean, Nicole, looked slightly shocked. ' And you never ran anyone over? Wow, skill."
Katie scowled. " NOT that his isn't fun, complete silence, and all, but have you two forgotten that I can't hear anything that you're saying and you two are grinning like creepy... creeping things..?"
The pair's grins fell from their faces. Scott turned to face Katie, and actually see her, for the first time. She was pale, unlike Nicole who had an olive complexion, blue eyed, and had red/brown hair. She was very easy on his new eyes. " I think I'm going to like being able to see girls..."
" heard that."
"damn".
Nicole bit her lip to keep from laughing. Boys never changed, no matter how old they get, and no matter how many chest hairs they boast about having... they're still typical boys. Obsessed with girls just as much as girls are obsessed with them.
"We are still in a simulation you know." Katie stated impatiently, "Don't you think we should split up and well... actually do what we came here to do? You know, learn to develop our skills under pressure?"
Scott frowned, " No, I think that's enough for today... don't you think STORM!"
"Roger that Scott." And before their eyes, the burning buildings, the roaring of the flames and the helicopters, the debris... it was all gone and they were left sitting on cold, hard metal floors.
Nicole sighed and stretched, "Good because I am DYING in this thing.." she tugged at the leather suit, which was sticking to her by now. "Why did they have to make these leather anyway!"