Thanks to Courtney Summers for your review of the last chapter!
This is a new day and Ailsa's first at school.
"What are you wearing?" Jean asked, barely stifling a giggle, as Ailsa walked into the room.
Ailsa narrowed her eyes. Scott opened his mouth to say something but closed it again as Ailsa shot a look at him.
"Have you got a problem with my clothes, Jane?" she asked, clearly not in a good mood.
"It's Jean, and it's not that I have a problem with it, it's just that Bayville is non-uniform so you don't have to wear that," Jean answered, nodding towards the green and gold blazer and tie, and the green, knee-length skirt that Ailsa was wearing.
"So do you want me to get changed into something else, Jean?"
"Well..."
"Well, what? Well it might be a good idea? Well then you won't get picked on? Because news flash: this, and the clothes that I've worn every day for the past two years, are the only things I have! So excuse me I'm not as well-off as you so clearly are!"
"You can borrow some of my old clothes, they should fit. They're in the bottom drawer of my armoire. We can go to the mall after school to get you some of your own," Jean said, now completely sombre.
"Thanks, but I'll go by myself." She stormed out of the room, knocking Logan into the plant pot next to the door as she passed him.
"What's the matter with her, Red?" he asked, sitting down in Ailsa's vacated seat and helping himself to sausages.
Jean sighed. "I don't know. She doesn't seem to like me and all I'm trying to do is help her and be her friend."
"Yeah," Scott said, speaking for the first time since Ailsa had entered the room, "She seems to hate us and we haven't done anything!"
"Well just try not to scare her away. Chuck did an analysis of her powers last night. Her powers are more limited than ours 'cos there's some sort of defect in her brain that screwed with her powers and split them into a helluva lotta different and less-powerful ones She could'a been borderline Omega level but thanks to whatever happen that screwed with her so bad, she's only a level three, maybe four. They're hard-wired into her emotions too so if someone got her, say, really angry and her powers were in the wrong hands..."
"Lets not think about that," Scott said, "Do you think she'll like it at school?"
"Now don't worry about a thing," the white-haired woman, whose name Ailsa learned was Ororo, said to her as she dropped her off later that morning, "Everything will be fine. If you want me to-"
"I will be fine," Ailsa said, snatching her books up from the floor of the car.
Ororo sighed unhappily as Ailsa stalked off into the school, her waist-length, brown hair swinging from side to side.
"Who can tell me what a gamete is and what the gametes in humans are?" Miss Pierce asked the class.
Several students exchanged puzzled looks and Ailsa flicked through a book, completely uninterested.
"Miss Rhodes!"
Ailsa jumped as Miss Pierce's voice broke the silence like a gunshot.
"What?"
"The correct phrase is 'yes, Miss Pierce?'"
"Fine then. Yes, Miss Pierce?"
"Perhaps you can tell the class what gametes are and what human gametes are called."
"Only if I get to ask a question afterwards."
"If you get the answer right."
Ailsa just raised her eyebrows at Miss Pierce before turning back to her book.
"The-term-gamete-is-another-name-for-a-sex-cell. The-male-human-gamete-is-called-sperm-and-the-female-human-gamete-is-called-an-ovum, also-known-as-'egg'. Happy?"
"Not at all," Miss Pierce said angrily, marching over to her, "I wanted to know if you actually knew the answer. Everyone in here can read the answer from a textbook."
"Actually, I don't think everyone in here canread," Ailsa said to herself in undertone, glancing over to a table full of boys who had drawn on each other's faces with black pen.
Miss Pierce picked up the book and faltered.
"What's this, Miss Rhodes?"
"A book?" Ailsa replied sarcastically.
"DNA Analysis? Do you actually read this?"
"Yeah, it's interesting. Besides, I know everything we're doing in this class already. I did work on fertilisation and reproduction when I was nine."
Miss Pierce looked a little amazed. "Very well, what was your question?"
"When are we starting artificial selection and genetic engineering? I was about to start that back in London."
"Not for a long time."
"And how long's a long time?"
"Maybe a couple of years."
"Can I go then?"
"Where?"
"To the library. I'm not learning anything new here I might as well read in peace."
"I'm afraid you can't. You're welcome to sit at the back and read your book."
Ailsa gathered up her things and moved to the table at the back, right behind some chatty blonde girls, all of whom were wearing designer clothes and so much foundation that their faces were probably more orange than Logan's uniform. The sight of them made Ailsa's blood boil.