Ethan had his back pressed hard against the back of his chair, completely floored by this astonishing feat! He gasped, still in shock but was genuinely happy to see that Robert was another mutant.
"Well, then," he finally found his voice and stood up to shake Unanny's hand with a wide grin. "A pleasure to meet you for a third time now, is it?"
He released his grip and shook his head. “At least now I know why you didn't want me petting you.”
"Yeah, I thought that was odd, too," he grinned and added, "Rob's normally in his element when being petted by strange men."
Behind his back, Rob made an unsightly gesture at him but kept a smiling face for the headmaster. Duncan stepped forward and joined his half-clothed friend at the headmaster's desk.
"First and foremost, Mister Daniels, we both offer our sincerest apologies for the deception. It's just that we had to make sure that this place was for us. There's a lot of turmoil about mutants in America at the moment, and we just thought it best. I hope you don't mind."
"Been here for a semester so far. It was either here or junior college for me. Some people can blend in with normal humans just fine, but I'm not exactly the type."
Marty shrugged, click-chirping as he walked to light the way.
"I guess I'll get the big question out of the way while we're at it. No, I don't drink blood. Red Bull's my poison."
He gave a toothy grin as they made their way to the self-serve line in the caf.
Anja gave a slight wave as the boy left her. Heaving another sigh, she pulled her bag off the floor. Alone again, she thought as she pulled the strap over her shoulder. Hopefully, she’d be able to find someone to help her out.
<o =""></o>
Again she gave her eyes a minute to adjust to the crowd of people. She figured she would try the two white figures at the corner of the hall. They were the only two that really stuck out amongst the greyer bodies.
<o =""></o>
Drake managed to slip in and out of the crowd relatively well. She approached the two figures skeptically. As she got closer their builds told her that they were both male and she was hoping that they were teachers.
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“Scusarme, sorry. I’m new here and I’m not sure of where I’m going. Could you possibly help me?”
Rob fumbled inside a rucksack secured to the back of the wheelchair. He revealed a black t-shirt and pulled it over his head.
"It's dead bad in some places back 'ome. The gangs by our house jump mutants, an' they usually get away with it. There's campaigns and things, so hopefully the council'll do somethin' about it."
Ethan pursed his lips and waved his hand at the two of them. "No offense taken. Your situations are not unknown to me as there are a lot of students and teachers that have had similar incidences happen to them before coming here."
As Robert continued to get dressed, Ethan walked around to the front of his desk and leaned up against it informally. "As difficult as it may seem, we are afforded much autonomy here. Sure, the local and state governments have their suspicions about us but they leave us alone. We're far enough away from anyone incase there are ... problems with our students learning around their abilities. Salem Center is the nearest town to the school and we have a very good rapport with the townspeople."
:: Max turned to greet the new-comer with a smile ::Originally Posted by Dusk
"Hi. I'm Maxine Flannery, but everyone here calls me Max. Follow me and I'll get you settled in."
Last edited by Maxine Flannery; Nov 22nd, 2006 at 12:52:04 PM.
Sam grinned.
"Oh, thank you."
He cast his gaze back to where the girl had been leaning before, but she had gone.He looked back to Max, pulling out the hair that had tucked itself under his collar.
"I'm Samuel Hutchins, or Sam if you prefer."
"I'm glad to hear it, that's a rare thing, whatever you're doing here it seems to be working, Mister Daniels. Which brings us to the point why we're here today."
He took a seat in front of the headmaster's desk.
"There aren't many places like this and we were wondering if you have room for two more? We want to make a difference, Mister Daniels, and it's hard to do it alone."
John Rhee was about to respond to his friend when the pale-looking girl he'd seen earlier approached. He turned to meet her eyes, only to find them distant and unfocused - she was blind. It only took a moment of cognitive dissonance to realize she had still picked her way through the crowd without difficulty.
"I certainly hope so," he replied, smiling brightly whether or not she could see it. "First thing to do is sign in at the tables on your right, and then you can go into the front office and pick up your room key and class schedule. I can help you through if you want."
Robert sat next to Duncan and began putting on his socks and trainers, being careful not to raise his legs too high.
"I'd love to be a part of this place. It's perfect. I mean I've got friends back 'ome who've never treated me any different because of my abilities but...well...you know what I mean!?"
“And I've been here just a couple of months longer than Marty. Got transferred mid-semester.”
The tone of his voice and the way that Carlos looked away seemed to suggest that there was, predictably, more to his 'transfer' than he was letting on – but the lunch line wasn't really the place to discuss that.
With the exception of Marty, most of the kids in line looked pretty normal. Carlos eyed Tess curiously, without reserve.
“So what do you do then?” he asked, not so much as flinching as a girl up-ahead yelped as she scalded herself on a hot ladle.
Drake watched the light outline of his features spread out and widen; which she had learned over time represented either a smile or a sneer. Though, on this occasion she didn’t think her appearance was so repulsive that it was worth sneering at; she took his reaction as a good sign and casually smiled back.
“Oh, some assistance would be great!” Her smile began to fade as she paused a moment, moving her senses to the other man station beside the one to which she spoke. “ . . . That is, if you aren’t already occupied.”
Anja rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly with her free hand while her other hand pulled at the shoulder strap of her bag. “Uh, I really hope I didn’t interrupt something.”
Last edited by Anja Drake; Nov 25th, 2006 at 11:09:51 PM.
Ethan sighed, remembering how he was treated back home. He did not have the good fortune of friends that were willing to look past his mutancy. His parents were worse; kicking him out of the house for their own good, since the neighborhood was ready to revolt.
"Yes," he smiled thinly, pushing those old memories aside. "I do. And there's more then enough room for the two of you. You can move in right away if you want."
Jessa strode through the cafeteria with long, precise strides. Her notebook and pen now attached to a clipboard hugged comfortably to her chest. New students and old presented themselves all over; most hungry after a long ride to the school. She felt to need to mingle amongst the new comers. Learn some faces and possibly even some names to go with them . . . although that was pushing it.
<o =""></o>
Mckenzy straightened her white silk polo shirt as she ducked in to greet a pair of new students. Their names were lost the moment they were said but the two of them were identical twins; in the end they would be easy to remember. Their powers however, would be learned later. Jessa modestly dismissed herself from the couple when she spotted two students that definitely made her classes a bit more difficult than necessary.
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“Well, hello Marty. Carlos. How are my two favorite students?” Jessa remarked sarcastically with a grin. “Not causing too much trouble I ho-. . . ” She stopped herself as a different face caught her eye. She addressed the girl that Batboy and Coyote were accompanying with a larger grin.
<o =""></o>
“Hi, didn’t see you there. Welcome, I’m Ms. Mckenzy or if you want to call me, Jessa, that's just fine.” She laughed but before she could continue a clatter and a few half yells pulled her attention to the far side of the cafeteria. She smirked and quickly threw a suspicious glance at Carlos before excusing herself to see if anyone was hurt.
The line was in limbo at the moment, with students up ahead stuck trying to decide between ravioli or turkey melts, so Tess took the opportunity to scope out the salad bar. To her great delight there was a lot of dark green; dark green made her very happy.
When Carlos asked his question Tess instinctively felt herself bristling. This was, after all, the same question that was used as an accusation outside of school walls; it was strange to hear it with no malicious intent in tow. Carlos and Batdude just waited patiently.
"I bend. Like a pretzel." She stared at the two boys unflinchingly, though she had to fight to keep her eyes from sliding away. "What do you--"
Before she could return the inquiry the trio were accosted by a teacher. She looks like McAvers, Tess thought, an image of the always-put-together-just-so tumbler judge. The sarcasm didn't go unnoticed and Tess narrowed her eyes at Marty and Carlos before smiling at the woman. "Hi, I'm Tess. Nice to meet..." a yelp and clangle furthur on down the line sent Ms. Mckenzy bustling off, an apologetic smile tossed in their direction--well, maybe not at Carlos.
Watching the teacher recede, Tess shook her head. "Why do I get the impression that neither of you are prime candidates for class president?" She glanced between the boys with mock surprise and then fixed Carlos with a playful stare. "So what, Carlos, you the heralder of Armageddon or something, 'cause that's like the eightieth dirty look you've gotten."
His knee-jerk reaction was to laugh but he choked it back and broke eye contact with the headmaster for a moment to share an incredulous glance with Rob. Duncan had not expected it to be so straight forward. A surge of relief washed over him; there would be no prodding, no probing, no questions, just acceptance.
"Well, well," he said and gave Ethan a broad grin, "I don't really know what to say, Mister Daniels, except 'Thank you'."
He glanced back at Rob, who appeared equally as thrilled; they had a new home, a home in America. He stood, trotted towards the headmaster, and extended his hand.
"Thank ya very much, Mister Daniels."
"No, not at all!" John Rhee nodded toward Johnathan. "We were just sizing up the new victims. I mean, students. John, I'll see you later. Oh, and, Max wanted to talk to you about putting in another circuit. Something about the power draw from the... the new computers downstairs."Anja rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly with her free hand while her other hand pulled at the shoulder strap of her bag. “Uh, I really hope I didn’t interrupt something.”
The Danger Room wasn't common knowledge at the school - most of the teachers knew, but none of the students. Johnathan would know what he was talking about.
John turned back to Anja and motioned toward the sign-in table. "I'm John Rhee, by the way. I teach physical fitness and self-defense, and I'm also one of the mutation counselors here. So, if you ever need any help, don't hesitate to ask. And that's Johnathan Parker. He's the school caretaker, and he also teaches shop and science courses. He does so many things around here I'd say he has the ability to be in five places at once - but that's Max. Ah, here, we are. And your name is...?"
She hesitated for a moment. There had to be something up with her, her senses weren’t focusing right. Maybe she was getting sick, stuff like this happened when her internal defenses weakened. Or maybe it wasn’t her, it could quite possibly be all these mutants; she never had been around so many at one time before. Whatever was up, Anja needed to focus, unless she wanted to be like every other blind person. Drake was able to make out a motion from John and she followed slowly.
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“Anja Drake.” She addressed Rhee’s question. “A-N-J-A, the ‘j’ sounds like a ‘y’.” It was evident that she had an accent; although it was hard to decipher where she was from. Being born in <st1:state w:st="on">New Jersey</st1:state> and then moving to <st1 =""><st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region></st1> could have affected her. She recalled a time when a classmate had teased her about being part of the Italian mafia.
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Blinking her eyes numerously, she was able to focus a little. Her senses were in her head, which sometimes wasn’t always fun. Sleep was definitely something she had a problem with, she had never learned how to turn her senses “off”. Sure she could close her eyes like any person but there was no use in them. In truth, Anja hated her eyes; they were absolutely useless to her. She almost wished she didn’t even have any, if she couldn’t use them then what was the point of having them.
<o =""></o>
She turned her face to John Rhee; trying to keep her brow from pulling down in concentration. “This quite an amazing school.”
The season of shades.
Red, yellow and green culminated in a majestic breeze across the lawn. The allure danced amidst the slight chill that wheezed through cracks and crannies. Autumn divulged a tantalizing dazzle of nature in it's raw form, leaving most transfixed with the absolute beauty.
People throughout New York were commanded in observation as the descending leaves floated to the ground in Central Park. Distances stretched by decorative mustard cars, glisten with shines to ember in the transcending day, as people sway across the canvas. Embedded in the delicacy was a bustle a long the side. Grey overcame the crowds as color flush the surveyors.
All of it was hidden. Left a secret gift behind a dangling cloth. Art had another portrait painted in his workshop back in the dorm, and all his hopes splash along the smooth wisp of his iPod stuck in his ears. One day he would press the painting on a mural that the world would see. A long the cars in the subway, or maybe even a section of the illustrious design could captivate the train. Any public demonstration would be a perfected reflection of the very city in disarray.
...or the artist of the city in disarray.
Either way, it was perfect for him. Everything had come together nicely, and despite the odds pointing in different humor he couldn't help but smile. Never before had he engross in a first day, even at the Academy he could claim to be a junior at. Unlike much of his class he had come within the semester, leaving him more an outcast than expected. The program projected mishaps and differences as simply unique, but he didn't. Instead he rather play to solitude and isolation before dropping into the crowds again for a displeased dismissal.
Even though all of them were mutants, that didn't make them friends...or even associates. None of them were alike, and he couldn't find to time to pick and choice in his seemingly sufficient schedule to care about any of his fellow students. The painting wasn't directed to any girlfriend, or admirer of any sort. No, it was for a teacher. They could be looked up to, unlike schoolmates who could only be looked at.
A sigh simmer his excited as his bag dangled at his side. The single strap slang over his opposite shoulder as he pranced happily through the polished halls. Squeaks accompanied him as he glanced effortlessly from side to side, following in unison with ever movement to the bebop jazz musicians provoking notes. The band splashed through the small cords, but he played it easy.
Jazz was just another one of his genre of music he couldn't get enough of.
In mid-step he caught his eye on the back of Mr. Rhee. The man wasn't too tall, had a distinguish look about him. Never before had he taken his class, but he had seen him around. No better time than the present to introduce himself. Before he could notice the newcomer, he was off to the races tapping the teacher on the shoulder. Introductions were necessary on the first day...at least he believed so. Home school didn't explain such things, but he expected it was...expected.
"Ay. Aint'cha Mr. Rhee?"
Few words, but it could be heard. He despised it, but he was like all of the students in many respects. Dialects weren't avoidable in the wide range of origination, and the Southern vernacular stripped the kid a few proper sentences. A smile could only void the trouble as he caught eye of John's face. Mistakes were dealt with, but believing one man for another could be a bit spotty. No one wanted to make such a simple mistake.
Last edited by Artisn; Dec 13th, 2006 at 05:05:39 PM.
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