22 January
"Picking Fruits"
"We need strawberries," Jean told Rogue, and pointed in the direction of the berries.
"Alright," Rogue walked down the aisle Jean had motioned toward and stared at the selection. She hadn't ever gone grocery shopping before; she didn't understand why she and Jean were doing it together when Jean was fully capable of shopping alone, just as every other time.
Picking up a carton of strawberries, Rogue flipped it over and looked through the clear plastic. What made these berries any better or worse than their neighboring berries? Still strawberries, but a different brand. Rogue picked those up, too, getting a good look at them. They didn't appear any different.
Jean came up behind Rogue and pointed to a carton. "That one," she said.
Rogue turned around to look at her. "Why those ones?"
"They look better," she said with a shrug.
Letting out a sigh, Rogue picked up the carton of strawberries and set them gently in the cart. "Ah don't understand why y'all made me come with you. Ah obviously don't know what Ah'm lookin' for' t' go shoppin'. Ah'm just slowin' you down."
Jean waved Rogue's concern off. "Don't worry about it. Besides, we're going to Dick's and gettin' you a baseball glove on our way home."
"Yeah, 'cept Ah proved Ah was no good at the game. Ah lost it for my team."
"Did you see any of your teammates angry at you?" Jean questioned.
"Well, no..."
"You'll get better at it, Rogue. It's still only winter. We have all spring to get your skill levels up. You'll be fine."
Rogue shuffled her feet, looking down at her toes. "Ah guess. But Ah got trainin' an' Ah have t' learn sports? Ah also got school an' -"
Jean placed a friendly hand on Rogue's shoulder. "We'll get you through it, alright? Xavier's is a place to improve. It is a school after all. You'll learn to control your powers, learn to fight on our teams, learn English and science, and how to play sports and have fun." She added a friendly smile on top of her encouragement.
Despite not feeling wholly optimistic about the overall situation, Rogue gave Jean a tiny smile. It was more to get the other girl off her back than anything else. Rogue didn't need anyone smothering her.
"Alright, Ah guess. What else do we need then?"
Apparently satisfied, Jean took her hand away from Rogue's shoulder and contemplated her list of needed groceries. "I can't read this very well, but I think we're off to finding vegetables. Do you know how to pick up lettace?"
"Pick the greenest?" Rogue guessed.
Jean smiled. "Yeah, that'll work. I'll get the beans."
Rogue turned away to find the aisle with lettuce. At least she had Jean convinced she was fine. She didn't need anyone knowing her insecurities. It made things worse rather than better.