The morning came too early. Growing up in the Rockies allowed Kira to sleep in whenever she wished, but here she was expected to rise with the sun so that she could get ready with the others. Still, she was not so sure she was ready to go to a public school; she had been told about the risks of using her holo-watch in public, the chances of it glitching or failing altogether a real threat. The idea of being caught in the middle of a school with nothing to hide her was enough to make her heart stop. A sharp knocking on her door made Kira jump. She spun around and opened the door slightly to see a short girl with a springy ponytail who looked close to her own age; surprised she opened the door a little more to fully face the cheery looking female before her.
"Hey! You're, like, the new kid right? Jean asked me to make sure you're doing alright."
Stunned, Kira nodded silently and went to close her door again when ponytail reached out and caught Kira by the sleeve. The girl apparently hasn't noticed Kira's attempt at escape since she hurried on.
"I'm Kitty by the way," she smiled encouragingly "you look nice."
Kira looked down at herself, she had completely wrecked her closet looking for something that would make a nice impression for her first day at school. Her mouth twisted in distaste, she had on a dark green tunic with the same jeans as yesterday and low top chucks… She looked fine, sure, but she wasn't so sure this would be alright for her first day.
"Um, Kitty (..?) I really don't think-"Kira started meekly, looking for any way to escape
"Everyone's dying to meet you! I, like, can't wait to introduce you to- Oh hey! I totally forgot to get your name."
She sighed and gave in "…Kira"
Kira gave a small smile, Kittys' excitement becoming contagious. She hadn't really been around anyone her own age for a long time, and meeting someone like her was a pleasant surprise.
A moment later the two of them barged in unceremoniously into the dining hall, the pair attracting several gazes Kira had hoped to avoid. Kitty left Kira to her own devices as she made her way to where breakfast was being served, while a shell-shocked Kira looked around the room for any place where she could hide. She met the gaze of an amused Jean who seemed to pick up on the girls' unease and gave her a warm smile. Kira smiled back gratefully and found the open seat on jeans right.
"You sleep well?" Jean turned to face Kira who seemed to be slightly more relaxed in the redheads' presence. Since their chat, Jean had been worried that perhaps she had been too forward and had scared Kira off, but it seemed that the bluntness in her words had been exactly what their new team member had needed. Jean felt honored to have earned Kira's trust so quickly
She nodded in reply "Fine, thank you."
Not a moment later Kitty returned and sat across from them. "Bagel?" she smiled and held one out to Kira as a peace offering. She gratefully took the toasted treat from Kitty and offering a small smile before retracting her arms. Though she didn't say anything, Jean watched as Kira looked about as everyone else moved in a frenzy.
"Need something..?" She inquired
Kira's cheeks tinted pink "um… cream cheese..?"
Jean laughed quietly to herself "You should have said something sooner!" She reached across the table and grabbed the desired item before presenting it elegantly to an embarrassed Kira. She blushed some more and looked down before hesitantly taking what had been offered to her.
Jean smiled down at her, she really needed to loosen up a bit… she felt a nudge at her side and saw Scott looking at her expectantly. He looked between Jean and the new girl, motioning between the two. Jean finally caught the hint. She attempted recaptured Kira's' attention as she took her first bite; after swallowing hastily she wiped her chin of any leftovers and gave Jean her full attention. By this time, the small group had also caught the attention of a few of the others beginning to continue with their usual morning routines.
"Scott... Everyone, this is our newest member. Kira." Jean smiled encouragingly to everyone; most smiled at the pink-haired girl in return, several saying their own warm welcomes, one girl with a white streak in her hair seemed less thrilled, though she also said her begrudging hellos while she hung back in the corner. Kira was wide-eyed with everyone suddenly looking at her, regardless of their welcoming smiles, she felt her heart begin to thud within her chest. Scott did his best to restrain a chuckle as he watched the newbies face turn bright red. She whispered a tiny "…thank you…" and tried her best to calm herself down as everyone else went on with their usual routines. Of course several people weren't there, it was rare to see everyone on one area outside of training. Xavier's was a bustling school.
Kira had finished her light breakfast and was about to leave when Jean called out to her:
"Hey Kira, we were wondering if you'd like to catch a ride with us? Walking to school isn't all it's cracked up to be, I assure you."
After this morning's events, Kira wasn't sure if she should… but if she decided to walk, she knew she'd certainly become lost. Not to mention late.
"Yeah, alright." She agreed softly
"It's settled then." Cyclops finished "Is everyone ready to go?"
"Ah! No! One second please!" With sudden realization, Kira scurried back to her room, she had lost track of time and now had to hope that she was in enough order. She barged into her room, one hang swooping to grab her satchel that she had slung on her desks chair, the other quickly running through her odd locks as she glanced in the mirror. She had barely brushed it this morning, so her usually straight hair had a few crazy waves in it flowing down to the tips where it went every which direction. She huffed once, no time for this now.
She hurried back down the stairs to find the group already gathered by the door, waiting patiently for her. Kira dared smile back at Jean as she caught up with the small group of people who also intended to ride to school. She recognized Kitty right away and offered a friendly wave, though she hadn't yet learned the names of the two others who were going to ride with them. One, whom she had met earlier, with red sunglasses and what seemed to be a pretty laid back personality; the other a guy, who had dark skin and short blonde hair she had only glimpsed back in the dining hall before he rushed off on his skateboard, which even now, remained still at his side. Kira walked side-by-side with Kitty as they made their way towards the garage, she found out that Kitty thought her pink hair was neat, and that while they didn't share the same taste in literature, Kitty liked some pretty interesting bands. Kira made a mental note to look up some of the music she recommended later.
A short while later, the guy she found out was Scott stood proudly before the garage door as it slowly lifted, revealing a sporty red convertible. Kira was pleasantly surprised. She wasn't entirely sure what she was expecting, but she instantly held a higher respect for Scott. She used to dream of having a similar car to this when she was younger, back home she even had a model the same cherry red, though without the wicked rally stripes. Everyone climbed in. Kitty weaseled her way between Jean and Scott in the front, so Kira took a seat in the back beside the guy she didn't know. He gave her a brief glance before slipping on his headphones; it was loud enough that she could hear his music. She spent the rest of the ride tuning out those in front and taking in the scenery as they passed, the autumn leaves painting the world an array of yellows and reds all blending into a warm orange as they sped by. A few minutes later the group arrived safely at the high school.
"Welcome to Bayville!" Jean said excitedly, she took in Kira's bewildered expression with pride before her smile turning to one of amusement. She dug around in her purse and pulled out a small magenta hairbrush "Here." she offered kindly, Kira gladly accepted and hurriedly ran the brush through her hair a couple times before returning it "thanks..!" Kira said happily. "If you ride with us regularly, you should consider bring one in the future" Jean suggested, "yeah, like, the wind is brutal on hair." Kitty nonchalantly added as she pocketed her own. Kira nodded thoughtfully, thinking a rueful 'you have no idea...'. She let out a small chuckle at the thought and followed silently into the seemingly grandeur building. The inside seemed more gray than Kira had anticipated after seeing the warm stonework on the outside. It reminded her of a cage. She stopped short, only sliding a couple more inches when Kitty ran into her from behind.
"Like, what's the problem..?" she gave Kira a confused and a slightly irritated look.
"n-nothing." She took a deep breath as silently as possible, they had gotten there rather early and already several students were milling about: going in and out of different rooms and talking amongst each other. Kira felt a wave of anxiety and excitement, she wondered if she would get the 'typical high school life' just like all those people on TV. She gave herself a wobbly smile to hold on to.
'be optimistic' she told herself 'be normal' never in all her life had she wanted those things more.
Needless to say, she had the scare of her life when the bell went off and what seemed like thousands of kids flooded the halls. Kira was quickly pushed to the side and found herself pressed up against the wall in nanoseconds.
"woah, like, need some help?" Kira was happily surprised to open her taut eyes to the bright face of Kitty Pryde.
"...Maybe a little." she resentfully admitted, a sly blush creeping into her cheeks. She looked down for a moment before daring to look back at Kitty. "I've never see so many people in one place before… I was surprised."
Kitty gave her a pitying smile "aww, thats alright, high schools are a pretty big jump for all of us." She grabbed Kira's arm and swiftly began to pull her along.
Kira nodded her head, though she felt as if that was a major understatement since Kira had been homeschooled for years…
Kitty led Kira up the stairs and into what she informed was going to be her first period for the year. The room held little color and smelled of old wood and erasers, but Kira was excited to see how well she would know the material after so many years by her mother's teaching.
Lunch came around quickly, and Kira hadn't stopped staring at her schedule card for more than a few minutes at a time; the school was big enough as it was, but she just couldn't wrap her head around the system they had apparently worked out for numbering the rooms. She had just found her locker for the second time today and was busy opening it, she had left class late to gather all the materials she would need to make up. By the time she had found her locker, the halls were devoid of life; most of the other students were already out enjoying their own lunch period. She was busy retrieving her things when an unfamiliar voice seemed to materialize right beside her. Startled she clutched her belongings tightly and closed her locker door.
"Hiya." Before her stood a lanky male with an oddly green complexion and a messy mop of hair. He relaxed against the lockers, straightening when he saw he had her full attention "Name's Toad," He advanced on her, calmly walking forward as Kira stepped back in him with his own steps. "and I hear you're the newest X-girl." he pointed at her. At first she continued to back up then, realizing he had stopped, halted. She looked down at his accusing finger timidly…. then her face straightened itself out "Yeah, what about it..?" She asked, genuinely confused.
Toad was slightly surprised by how quickly she had recovered "You see I-"
"What is going on here?!" Jean rounded the corner and found the two. She glared Toad down as she approached. "Toad!"
"Well that's my que." He quickly said and leapt off. Kira was confused some more, she had never imagined meeting anyone who was named so appropriately.
"You alright?" Jean asked, her voice full of sincerity "He didn't hurt you did he?"
"No," Kira quickly replied "hey Jean, I thought the whole X-men thing was a secret, why did he know about it?"
Jean sighed "He's a mutant like us, but he's with a rival group who calls themselves the brotherhood."
"I'm still confused Jean… I mean, why do we have rivals? I thought we were here to change the world for the better? and why is the brotherhood our rival in the first place? If they call themselves 'the brotherhood' it sounds like they would be very family oriented, maybe even nice people."
Jean smiled ruefully "I wish it was that simple, but how about we go to lunch first and I'll explain everything there." Kira sighed but nodded she went to grab her lunch from where she had apparently dropped it but found the space empty. She looked around for it, her eyes eventually resting on Toad down the hallway, waving it victoriously, his tongue lazily hanging out as he gloated.
"Wasn't that hungry anyways.." Kira muttered in irritation and defeat.
Jean had led Kira outside a moment later, showing her where the majority of them would usually sit together for lunch. Kira managed to recognise most of them, but she still didn't know the one she had sat next to in the car, and a new one seemed to have materialized. he looked to be about the same age as her and Kitty but her had a thick accent with rather long dark blue hair.
By the time Jean had helped her find her way, the table was mostly filled with people Kira barely knew. The thought scared her. She took the last seat next to the blue haired mystery man and didn't dare say a word as everyone seemed to resume their lives.
"...-we were worried about you." Kira looked up, apparently Jean had been talking to her. Oops.
"hmm?" Kira hummed in question as her gaze focused one more on the group before her.
Jean smiled warmly "When you didn't show up we had no idea what happened to you. Gave us quite the scare."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Kira began with concern "I had no idea… The schools bigger than I expected, and I ran into somebody. T-"
"Toad found her before I could." Jean explained to the group quickly her anger seething through her calm demeanor, "I have no idea what was going on though."
Suddenly all eyes seemed to be on Kira, she shrunk back from their probing stares subconsciously. Though they seemed curious and friendly more than anything, she was too used to being the only one around for miles, the sudden attention was a shock she wasn't prepared for.
"I-, um-" she kept stopping herself short, unsure of what everyone was wanting to hear. She felt her breaths become shallower, as if she was a great distance in the air. "n-nothing happened..!" she finally managed to spit out "He just asked me if I was with you guys, y'know…"
The group had mixed reactions to that statement, some stiffened while others visibly relaxed.
"And you said…" Scott dared to ask, motioning for her to continue.
"I said I was… have I done something wrong..?" Kira asked curiously, concern starting to prick at the corner of her mind.
"well, no." Scott finally said after a moment that lasted an eternity "It's just that we aren't on the best of terms right now, and we're afraid they'll just make you another target."
"Target..?" Kira asked absentmindedly, the image of Toads mirthful face as he walked away carrying her lunch came to mind. 'target of what? more stolen lunches?' she thought indignantly "I don't think it'll be that big of a deal.." she waved off the warning, putting it to the back of her mind. 'I can take care of myself.' she mentally reminded herself.
"And you're sure."
"Y-yeah, she told me herself." Toad nervously answered an intrigued Mystique as she circled his chair like a hungry cat. "the chicks a us, a mutant."
Mystique made a pleased hum "alright, what are her powers?" she sent a questioning look back at her trembling amphibian. She had asked him once already, but he had dodged the question.
"Well, I uh… I dunno know." Toad looked down at his feet, she was not gunna be happy.
"YOU DON'T KNOW" Mystic almost roared "I sent you to do a simple recon on Xavier's newest student, and you tell me you don't know!?"
Toad shrunk down even further into his seat. "I didn't have enough time! One of Xavier's lackies caught me! I had to make a run for it before she vaporized me!" Toad nearly cried, anything to quell Mystiques wrath.
"No matter." Mystique snarled as she turned to face the window "it was time we evened the playing field…" Her vile yellow glare pierced the daylight as she began to scan through her options. Toad slipped quietly back through the exit doors. This wasn't over by a long shot Mystique scowled. She was certain there was something she could to to break this new recruit before she had any chance to become a threat like the rest of Xavier's star pupils.