Chapter Four: Noticed – Part One

The next morning, Chris woke up at just about 7:30am, giving him about half an hour before the wake up call would sound for the rest of the students. That worked to his advantage though–it meant that he could dispose of his trash and cup as promised, shower and change before Dan woke up, and possibly even get some food… though it would depend on how fast he could get around without being seen. He doubted he'd get into too much trouble for being out before morning call, as they were quite used to him sneaking around by now, but they really didn't like the littles running around unattended, especially on event days.

Especially the ones that were known to cause trouble, and with the hero-event-thing, even Chris knew that there were going to be troublemakers. Any possible punishments aside, littles were still little, and those that were brats? Well, he expected to hear many of his schoolmates crying later that afternoon from being punished.

But, figuring it was worth the risk, as he had things that needed to be done and he was not going to be able to accomplish them once everyone had awoken, he set up a plan in his head. First off would be to take care of his garbage and cup–as he'd promised the night before and he wasn't about to disappoint Miss Ororo. While he was in the kitchen, he could grab food and something to drink, enough small items to last him the day. Then he could run back up to his room, where he would stash the items in his nightstand, grab fresh clothes, and head off to shower…

All in all, it shouldn't take too long. If he was quick enough, he might even have a few minutes to relax before Dan would wake up and he'd have to deal with that over-energetic ball of excitement.

Stretching, Chris let out a yawn, scooting out of bed and shaking himself off, not bothering to hide his 'nicer' mutant features (his ears and tail, that is), as no one should be up yet, aside from maybe the adults… but he could avoid them easily enough. Or, well, most of them. Jean, Logan, and Professor Xavier were harder to avoid thanks to their abilities but with it being early, they'd likely be preparing for whatever would actually be happening later on with the hero thing, so he'd be alright.

First, he gathered up the items from his nightstand–the cup and trash. There was a bit more trash that Miss Ororo didn't know about, with his habit of sneaking food, but he didn't often have a chance to dispose of it in the kitchen, and throwing it into the diaper pail left a chance of Dan noticing. That would lead to him 'tattling' and whining and complaining that he couldn't eat snacks in the room, which was not something that Chris wanted to deal with.

So he crumpled it all together, held it close, and on silent feet, made his way out of the room and straight towards the kitchen. As suspected, none of the other students were awake yet, though his ears would twitch whenever he picked up the sound of a snore or something. He kept his nose high and ears alert though, keeping them both open to the teachers… and while he picked up the lingering scent of Mr. Hank, which meant he'd passed through recently, no one seemed to be in his direct path.

Mr. Hank didn't often come around, with his job keeping him busy, but Chris liked him. He was a mutant that couldn't hide his looks at all, but still worked hard at being an important member of the community, and a lot of people respected him for that. He'd done a lot of good for mutants, especially mutant littles. If Chris had the chance, he might try to get a peek at the man before he departed again–he was likely only around for the hero thing anyway.

As with the previous night, he stood outside the kitchen and listened closely before entering to ensure no one was there, making quick work of the items in his arms. He couldn't clean the cup, as he couldn't remove the lid without excess force, but there were a couple others in the sink as well, including Rogue's from the night before, so it wouldn't make much of a difference. As his garbage was tossed into the bin though, footsteps caught his ear, and he sucked in a breath, looking around quickly for a place to hide. If he just ran back out and down the hall, they'd hear him and know he was there, and he didn't want to face anyone, didn't want the questions. But hiding would take up so much time, especially when he had less than half an hour before everyone would wake up.

Deciding on the lesser of two evils, he opened up the closest cabinet, one that housed many pots and pans, and carefully slid them to the side so that he would be able to fit, then positioned himself inside, closing the door. Now all he had to do was wait until whoever it was finished up and left, then he'd be able to grab food for later and run back upstairs to shower.

"Actually, there are three of our students who are to be meeting with potential caregivers this week. It would seem that our dear friend was not lying when he promised to spread word of the school." That was Professor Xavier, which meant Chris' hiding was likely in vain, but he had no intention of coming out either way. But what was he talking about? Who was he talking about? Who was he talking to? Chris started sniffing, but the smell of the wood in the cabinet, and all the dust, made it hard to pick up who was there. "They passed both the background checks and extensive entrance questionnaires with ease, as well as the in-person interview and I'm personally excited to see how things go from here."

"Which kids are meetin' up?" Logan. That's who was with him… Great, one of the few people who also would be another reason hiding wouldn't have been worth it. Though if Chris' sense of smell was muddled by being in the cabinet, it was possible that Logan wouldn't be able to pick up on where he was for similar reasons, though if that scent was lingering in the kitchen…

But if they both could tell he was there, why were they still talking like he wasn't? Maybe they didn't want to make him feel any more uncomfortable than he already was? They did know he snuck around like this all the time and Professor Xavier had told him, far too many times for him to count, that the students' safety and comfort was their main priority.

"If memory serves, Malarie Thomas and Illiria Birkin have their meetings on Monday and John Allderdyce on Wednesday. I am still going over the paperwork for a couple of others, but there are about half a dozen caretakers at the moment with a very high possibility of passing my initial questionnaires." Chris rolled the names over in his head, but he only recognized John–that was a friend of Bobby and someone he actively tried to avoid.

He was one of the, unfortunately many students, that didn't listen to the 'no using your powers against others' rule, and despite getting into trouble all the time, which included multiple spankings from Logan, he still picked on the younger littles. He tried to make jabs at Chris once, but Rogue stepped up and put him in his place, with a number of very naughty 'grown up' words and a true to this day threat to use her power on him. It worked enough that he didn't try to approach Chris anymore, but he still sent a lot of dirty looks his way.

But half a dozen others possibly meeting caregivers as well? He couldn't help but wonder who. Were they littles he knew? What if one of them was Rogue? Or Bobby? He wasn't the biggest fan of Bobby, but knew if he was adopted, Rogue would be sad… Briefly, he thought maybe someone had looked at his own profile on the network, but shook the thought away–while he let the Professor put him there, he knew no one would seriously consider him. Not with his background. Not with his problems… hell, just seeing his mutations would put them wouldn't even look at anything else in that file.

"Huh." Logan sounded surprised, which hey, Chris was surprised. "Someone actually interested in Pyro. Gotta say, that's a little surprising." But he seemed amused too, if nothing else.

Professor Xavier chuckled, "Yes, I was a bit surprised to receive that call honestly, but it would seem that the young couple interested has a little girl already, a mutant as well surprisingly, and they believe he would make a lovely fit as a big brother for her, and that giving him some responsibility might help him calm down. Though I suppose we'll see how that goes. I have high hopes for all of them. After all, that is our goal here–to find loving homes for all of the students, even those who may not seem like they'll ever find them and those who don't feel they deserve them."

Yeah, oh yeah, they knew he was there. That had to be directed at Chris. It was almost an exact, word for word, repeat of what he told the young mutant during their sessions. "They all need good homes, it just ain't that easy when you're a mutant. Seems like for every kid that gets adopted, we end up with two more."

"And those will all find good homes as well. The adoption network is there for a reason and we've done a lot of good with it thus far." Chris could hear other noises–the fridge opening, a cabinet, the clinking of mugs. He could pick up the subtle smell of coffee and something sweet. "I suppose we should meet up with the others. We're going to have a lot of excited children to wrangle soon, and you and I both know this is the first place all of them will come."

"Think we'll have any trouble? That's a lot of kids for six people to handle, and you know how some of 'em get." Logan chuckled, and he could hear the Professor laugh as well.

"Oh, I have no doubt that we'll have at least a handful or two that need a stern talking to once the day is done, but I don't imagine things will get too out of hand." Chris' ears twitched as he heard the footsteps again, this time getting further and further away. Once they were at a, what he deemed 'safe' distance, he quietly slid himself out of the cabinet and looked over to the clock hanging on the wall. 7:46. That had taken up far too much time. How had that taken up so much time!?

He'd have to forego food for now if he wanted to be able to shower, and he desperately needed to now, with all the dust he'd managed to add to his already dirty self. In a bit of a panic, Chris ran out of the kitchen and back upstairs, straight to his room. Dan was still passed out, snoring softly, and Chris was thankful that his roommate was a hard sleeper.

He went into their shared closet, looking around for clothes–jogging pants and a hoodie wouldn't quite cut it, especially if he had to make a quick escape… So he settled on a pair of beige cargo shorts and a white tee-shirt with a green sleeveless hoodie. Snatching up a pull-up as an afterthought, because the last thing he needed was to have an accident while around all the other littles, let alone these guests, he headed off to the boys bathroom to shower.

It was good that he was quick, as when he emerged, smelling of the usual strawberries and mint, and managed to dry off, dress, and return to his room, the 8:00am wake up call rang through the building. It wasn't so much of an alarm as Professor Xavier sending out a gentle message to everyone, but it was enough to wake even the hardest sleeping of littles. Despite being awake, Chris heard it too;

Good morning, everyone. I know a fair many of you may be a tad grumpy this morning as this is a bit earlier than your normal wake up call, but we need everyone to be up and dressed soon if you wish to have time for breakfast. We'll be allowing you all some free play time in the field this morning before activities begin.

Dan was one of those who hated being woken up, and Chris watched as he grumbled and groaned, whining about having to wake up early when there was no class. At least until he remembered that there was a hero-event-thing happening. Chris darted for his own bed, taking a seat atop the messy covers as he watched his roommate scramble around in an excited panic to get ready.

"I gotta change and put on my coolest outfit… but I dunno which one! Oh! I know! I'll wear my 'superstar' onesie and my jeans and a cool sunshine diaper so I look like a big kid!" Chris would argue that any diaper immediately removes one's 'big kid' status, but kept his mouth shut and just tilted his head and watched, frowning as clothes were tossed about as his roommate dug around for the items he wanted.

Dan was making a huge mess in his excited frenzy. A mess that said little also wouldn't likely pick up before heading out for breakfast… "Chris! Does this look cool enough!?" The young mutant jumped at the sound of his name and looked over at Dan, dressed in what he'd picked out, including a pair of shoes that didn't match, whose fluffy white wings were poking out and flapping excitedly.

Not sure what to do, Chris just gave him a thumbs up, which he knew was a universal sign for 'awesome', or something to that effect, and it was enough for Dan to squeal happily, turn, and run out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Sighing heavily, Chris flopped back down on his bed, knowing his chance for food and getting outside peacefully were gone.

Then again…

His ears twitched as an idea popped into his head. Maybe there was still one way for him to at least get outside without having to be seen.