The American Girl Back To School Special

[Banner Laverick]

After what had been a rather tearful goodbye with her boyfriend, Felix Fletcher, Banner Laverick, aka American Girl, was quickly approaching her destination. Cullen's Institute for the Gifted. Even thinking the name of that place gave her a sour taste in her mouth...

It had all started one week ago. Banner and Felix had been spending a wonderful day throwing cars at each other and making out in the local scrap-yard. She was convinced that Felix was one of the biggest blessings she'd received since found out about her powers - a fellow comic book geek who happened to be a real-life version of Erik Magnus and he was cute as all get out. He didn't judge her because she had these powers, or fear her. Like her mother had.

Dear old Mum had, while "tidying" Banners' bedroom, found her crime-fighting costume. Snooped on her computer and read the Super Hero message board she had started as a way to connect to other mutants. And promptly FLIPPED OUT. She had never heard her mother so angry...The ultimatium had been made. One week, then off to Cullens'. No more crime-fighting, no more bestest friends, no more Felix. That night she left a note saying she was staying with a friend - after all, Felix is a friend, right? Thinking about their impromptu running away to a hotel put a tiny, tear-streaked smile on her face. He had made her last week more bearable, as she said goodbye to her "old" life to start a "new, safer (or so her mum had said)" one at Mutie U.

Her bus had arrived 15 minutes late. She had her fingers crossed that who-ever had been waiting to take her to the school would've given up and gone home, but no such a luck. A car was waiting - a big yellow taxi, that was now pulling up to the front door of the biggest building she'd ever seen ever. Her other belongings had been shipped a few days earlier, leaving Banner standing at the door with one suitcase and a backpack, reluctantly knocking on the door. Hopefully no-one would be home.

[Anita Stern]

Surprisingly, there wasn't anybody in the immediate vicinity of the front entrance at that moment, but there was one Miss Florence - followed by a small group of seniors - outdoors on the relatively nice day, indulging in the literature class' latest vibrant adventure. Anita herself was backing up, finding herself suddenly standing on the path leading directly to the front of the vast facilities, reciting a few lines in anything but monotony. Thankfully, most of the class responded in their parts and indulged her in equally absurd and amusing voices, doing their best to keep the tone of the piece set without becoming too dull about it. Although Professor Florence was serious in her teaching and keen interest in literature, there was no harm in having fun with it. Drama could seem a little silly at times.

The reading was that of Macbeth. The part is Scene Two, Act Three. Macduff is conversing with the Porter. This draws out more than a few stifled giggles.

"Very good. I see you're all getting it." A sly look crossed her features. "We'll continue with the reading next class, and then on to analysis."

The giggles continued, and they were about to continue, but class was nearing the end, and Anita had noted the familiar face of the girl waiting not-so-expectantly at the front entrance. Only this time, the face had a name. That was the benefit of advance paperwork. While the class departed in various directions, or some students simply milled about, sprawling out on the grass. She took the opportunity to approach Banner, with her usual load of at least one book, in addition to the play, and a messenger bag slung over her left shoulder.

"Fancy seeing you here again, Miss Laverick. Under different circumstances, no less."

Clearly the girl was not pleased. Anita just smiled with her usual gentility and kindness.

[Banner Laverick]

"Pfft."

Look at her, with her happy-happy smile. It only made Banner frown twice as hard, as if it would totally obliterate the older womans' cheerfulness. She answered Anita with forced civility.

"Can you register me so I go to my room? Please?"

[Anita Stern]

While Banner quite obviously voiced her disdain, Anita shifted her books a little, moving them so she could un-clasp the flap of her bag and slip everything in. Then the older-yet-shorter woman clasped the bag shut, and hefted it over her head to rest on her right shoulder, with the strap crossing between her breasts. She then proceeded to cross her arms and set her glance rather pointedly on the girl. While she understood Banner's reluctance at being where she currently stood, her tone of speech was STILL a little...

...Rude. Tsk tsk.

The youthful librarian looked back at the students enjoying the sunshine, smiling inwardly to herself, then decided to speak, turning her gaze back to the not-so-newcomer as she did so. A more than civil smile remained on her lips. This girl would not budge her usually sunny demeanor.

"You needn't be so rude. It was not I who caused you to be here."

Then she passed the girl, hooking her right thumb into a belt-loop as she walked, waving her left hand back to Banner, beckoning her to follow.

"Come on. Your registration's actually been done for a few days. The least I can do is get you settled in."

[Banner Laverick]

"I'm sorry, but I'm tired, and cranky and whiney and this is actually the last place I want to be. I'd rather be...well, home would be nice. Even if it sucks there too."

She mumbled as she followed the librarian into the building. The large door slammed shut behind her, making her wince. She was tempted to start humming "Another One Bites the Dust" (which seemed totally appropriate to her) but instead followed several feet behind Anita in silence. The halls were busting with students, all making their way to and from classes.

[Twitch]

"Aw crap." Joe muttered. He'd had an unexpected visit to the restroom between classes and was running late. He studied his calculus as he walked, and was scarcely paying any attention at all to where he was going.

He bumped into Banner, which was more like hitting a mailbox post than a person. His book and page of notes was ejected skyward. Joe's teenage lank tangled and untangled in fast-motion and grabbed the book out of the air before it planted itself on Banner's head. She, on the other hand, crunched the handle of her suitcase. The sheet of wafting paper snapped when yanked back down by Joe's blurry hand.

"Oh ss-s-sorry m-m-m-miss." He said.

[Banner Laverick]

She gave him a scowl, which softened as he stuttered an apology (okay, so mean and nasty wasn't something she could do ALL the time.) Banner sighed as she looked down at the now mangled handle of her luggage.

"Whatever. Stuff happens."

[Twitch]

"S-s-see yah!" Joe ran off.

[Banner Laverick]

She glanced over her shoulder at him as he took off in the opposite direction. Banner picked up the pace, catching up to Anita.

"So, am I sharing a room?"

[Taya Robbins]

"Oh, hey, are you headed to the dorms?"

The voice came from a side hallway, and after it came one of the more unusual sights Mutant High had to offer.

She was petite and human-shaped, but she had a tail, orange-gold fur, and a collection of animal facial features that very distinctly said feline. She seemed at first to be walking on tip-toe, but in fact her legs were shortened and her feet elongated, like an animal's, and she was standing on enormous paw-pads. She wore shorts and a Hello Kitty tank top and had a backpack over one shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm still getting lost around here. Could you point me toward room 244?"

[Banner Laverick]

Banner shrugged. Sure, this girl was a furry - a real furry, not some loser who lives in their grandmas' basement who likes to think they're really a wolf or dragon or god knows what - but staring in awe wasn't something Banner did often (Hello, flying girls? Magnet men? Melvin?!)

"Your guess is as good as mine, I'm new here, so I a little clueless as well."

[Anita Stern]

Anita smiled when another one of the newer faces approached. Taya Robbins' mutation was quite apparent, and in all honesty, the librarian thought it was terribly cute. It almost reminded the woman how much she missed having a pet cat.

"Oh, yes. We are heading to the dorms. Taya, right? I'm Professor Florence. I'd shake hands but..." she gave a half-smile "...I wouldn't want to invade your privacy of thought. Why don't you join us?"

Being in the range of ten years older than the both of them (give or take a few years), Anita didn't look it. At least she came by it honestly.

[Taya Robbins]

Professor? Wow, for a minute there, she really thought Anita was one of the students.

"Sure, love to!" She easily fell into step beside the other two and craned her neck toward Banner. "So you're new here, too? Cool! What brings you here?"

[Banner Laverick]

"My mother enrolled me here so I wouldn't get into trouble."

It wasn't Tayas' fault, but Banner could keep the scowl off her face or the anger out of her voice. She crunched the handle of her luggage again, tiny pieces of plastic cracking and falling to the floor.

"All of my friends and my boyfriend are back home, and I really don't want to be here."

[Taya Robbins]

"Oh..."

Taya's ears sank in empathy, then sank even further at what she was doing to her poor suitcase - Taya could hear the plastic flexing and groaning in her grip. She made a mental note not to try this girl's handshake.

"My friends are all back home, too," she said. "Of course it's been more than a year since I've seen them. Hard to keep up when you're in the hospital turning into a giant cat, y'know?"

It was supposed to come out funny, but she was afraid it just came out stupid. She laughed nervously and then became very interested in mitering at the top of the wall.

[Banner Laverick]

"Heh, well, I really don't know, but I can certainly imagine. Why were you in the hospital? Did your mutation hurt, or was it your parents idea?"

Banner was done discussing her own situtation - it seemed like her and this girl, Taya, had a lot of "baggage" in common. It would be kinda nice to have someone to mope around with untill she could get herself out of here.

[Taya Robbins]

"Well... both, really," Taya admitted. "At first we thought it was just, like, a hormone problem, or some crazy kind of cancer. By the time we found out I was a mutant, we didn't know what the heck I was turning into."

She shrugged jovially. "Could have been worse. At least I'm not allergic to fur. So now I'm here. Visiting, anyway. And that was my parents' idea."

[Anita Stern]

Anita knew there weren't many actual hospitals that would apply to a mutant. When it came to 'hospitals' and mutants, for the most part, places like Jericho came to mind. The dirty ideals of such a place was enough to make her fume a little, and there weren't very many things that made the woman angry. The fact that she was thinking about it at that very moment, walking with two students (one potential, the other less-than-willing) really made her hope they would both see that the Cullen's Institute was more than just a school for mutants. That it was, in fact, safe.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but to answer your question..." she gestured to Banner "...well..." Anita got a funny look on her face, her previous train of thought still attempting to occupy most of her attentions... "...you could share a room, or not share a room. I personally made sure that you would be able to at least have that choice."

[Banner Laverick]

"Not share!"

Okay, so blurting that out as loud as possible made her mutant blushing powers act up. The thought of sharing a room with a complete and total stranger was just...icky. Plus, she could hide away by herself in her own room - call Felix and the peeps back home, post to her blog without someone peeking over her shoulder. Sweet privacy!

"Uh, I mean, thank-you, I would like a room by myself, if that's alright."

[Taya Robbins]

Taya's Banner-side ear twitched at the sudden outburst.

"I, um... I don't think I ever got your name?" she said, glancing toward Banner.

[Anita Stern]

She let out a big smile, her eyes closed for the moment, then stopped and looked at Banner.

"Great! And you're welcome." Anita reached into a buttoned flap on her bag, and pulled a paper out, as well as a pen, looking at it for a second, then marking a couple things on it. She then showed it to Banner.

"So..." She tucked the black ink ballpoint pen behind her ear. "..we're here..." she pointed at the map, then pulled her long, delicate finger over the page to another spot. "...and your room is here."

As an afterthought, Anita looked at the large cat of a girl, Taya. "And room 244 is right...there." She pointed to another spot on the map, then glanced up at Taya again. "You're rooming with Jacinda while you're here, aren't you? Feel free to visit the library anytime."

She then handed Banner the map. "The same for you."

[Banner Laverick]

"Uh, okay. Thanks for the help."

Maybe if they had comic books, she would actually go to the library. She took the map, and shrugged towards Taya.

"Names' Banner, but most people call me American Girl."

[Taya Robbins]

Taya's ears perked up immediately. "American Girl? Oh my gosh! I read your blog! I posted on it! I was just searching for something about mutants and mutant schools, and it came up. So you can really fly?"

[Banner Laverick]

"Yeah, I can fly. It's pretty awesome." Her first real smile appeared. Only two things made her smile like that - Felix, and talking about flying.

"It's like, the best power you could ever have. It'll come in handy when, er, if I get time to go home and visit. I took my boyfriend flying around the city last week, he loved it."

[Taya Robbins]

"Wow. That must be amazing."

Taya's smile was genuine - and just a bit wistful.

"My roommate, Jacinda, can fly, too. Well, she does it by moving air currents around herself - I dunno how it works. Seems like everybody around here can do something really amazing."

[Banner Laverick]

"Most mutant powers are really amazing. My boyfriend is like a mini-Magneto; he can twist metal and stuff like that."

She frowned - not thinking about Felix had been working, she didn't feel as bad as before. But now that she was thinking about him...

"I really miss him. It hasn't even been a day,"

[Taya Robbins]

Taya's ears went down again. She was well past the point where she thought of them - they always seemed to behave naturally as emotional indicators whether she wanted them to or not.

"I'm sorry."

She didn't feel like she had a whole lot else to say on the subject. She didn't even have a boyfriend herself.

"Was he that guy posting about how much he hated Cullen's? I didn't really understand that. I mean, I don't know if I'm staying here yet... don't know if I really fit in... but what's his problem with the place? I kinda thought most of the people here are pretty nice."

[Banner Laverick]

"Yeah, well, we were getting along fine without these "nice people"," Banner air-quoted for emphasis. "I don't know about his friends or whatever they told him, but he was there when I found out I was getting shipped off. I was really upset - I mean, if you just started like, the awesomest thing ever in your life, and someone took it away from you in a snap, wouldn't you be a little p.o.'d too?"

[Taya Robbins]

"Sort of like your whole life getting derailed because suddenly you're a medical curiosity?"

She said it gently, hoping Banner wouldn't take it as a game of self-pitying one-upmanship. Because it wasn't, really - it was old news for her, and Banner's pain was fresh. Taya just wanted her to know that, on some level, she understood.

"I'm sorry, that really sucks. Mostly, my parents have been cool about things. I don't know what I'd have done if they weren't. Where are you from? I mean, like, could he visit? And there's always the summer..."

She trailed off, wondering whether she was striking in the wrong direction.

[Banner Laverick]

"It's a long bus ride here - neither of us drive - and he's in school too. So it's not like he can afford to come visit all the time. I used up most of my McJob money on our last week together. I don't know if I'd be allowed to go visit, since I might be considered a "flight risk"."

She sighed, and forced a half smile. At least Taya has some clue of how sucky the whole mutant thing had the potential of being. They had something in common; okay, it was something that was BAD, but the best could be made out of anything...

"Thanks for talking with me. I was kinda set on being angry and miserable the whole time I was here. Guess I'm failing, huh?"

[Taya Robbins]

Taya laughed. "Well, honestly... it gets old after a while anyway. And I don't think angry and miserable is really your thing anyway."

She hiked up her backpack on her shoulders. "It was good talking to you, Banner. Oh, hey, do you know what classes you're taking yet?"

[Banner Laverick]

"Urgh, no. Hopefully what I was taking before - math, english, art, music, science. You know, the usual high school stuff that will never have relevance in my real life."

[Taya Robbins]

"I bet it's so you superhero types can still sympathize with the rest of us," Taya said wryly. "Well, even if we're not in class together, I'm just around the corner, apparently. We should meet for lunch or something. Compare notes about Mutant High."

[Banner Laverick]

"Heh, maybe. Lunch sounds good, but I'm dying for a nap. I'm so tired," she stretched with her free hand, yawning. "I guess my stuff was sent here already, so hopefully it's in my room already."