Day One: Introductions

[Rogue 4]

"Absolutely Professor!" The redhead was walking through the hallways idly, cell phone in hand. "Construction should be done by the end of the week, but mainstream school starts today."

Jean Grey was pleased with how everything was going so far. A few months ago while consulting Cerebro, Professor Charles Xavier, her teacher and mentor had discovered an increased mutant populace in the California area. It wasn't long before he decided that with everything that had happened in the past year another Xavier Institute on the West Coast wouldn't be a bad idea. The world needed people teaching those that had taken the next evolutionary leap to use their unique abilities to help others. To teach them to treat their abilities with respect, to avoid the kind of misuse that Magneto's Brotherhood of Mutants so often employed.

Still, Jean was surprised when she and Scott were asked to start up the new Academy. Xavier had mused about setting up another administrator in charge of it, but until he decided that, it was entirely up to them. She stopped in the lobby, smiling at Scott who was trying to get the chandeliers up on the ceiling. Jean smiled over at the brunette, reaching out with her telekinesis to raise it up in place. "Oh, Scott? Scott's right here. Do you want to talk to him?" After a moment she handed the phone over to him.

"Hey there Professor! Just getting all the finishing touches in place in here. Everything's running smoothly. Hailey Hudson is supposed to be coming in soon, so we haven't gotten to talk to her yet, but Kurt's doing---"

There was a loud BAMF and the smell of sulfur, and a blue, furry teenager appeared, hanging from the newly furnished chandelier by a prehensile tail. Unfortunatly, more disturbing to Jean was the fact that he was wearing a patterned Hawaiian shirt and flip flops. "Ey! Is dat the Professor? Can he put Kitty on da phone?!"

"Kurt!" Jean exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips. "What are you doing dressed like that?! School starts in an hour !"

"Get out! School starts the fifteenth!"

"Today is the fifteenth!"

Kurt's eyes went wide, and he Bamf-ed out, presumably to get ready for school.

Edited April 30, 2008 by Rogue

[Ayingel 24]

"Dammit!" Lila pushed her brown hair back for the third time in frustration as another error screen came up instead of the principal's schedule for the day. Why did he have to change his password again? Angrily, she closed her eyes to do it the easy way. The pep-rally to kick off another school year was in an hour and there were a few minor adjustments she wanted to make before things got rolling. Lila looked up as she heard the cheerleaders and their coach heading towards the doors and into the school. Let's see... she scrolled through the various events and found some of interest. Pep-rally, this should really take up less of the morning...Lunch should last 50 minutes each, not 30...Maybe a fire drill today too. Hearing more people, Lila looked up once more and saw the secretary coming up the steps. Without flinching, she kept her hand on top of the keyboard and stared at the screen. Looking over the top of her screen again, she saw the secretary getting closer. "Shoot!"

"Excuse me?" The secretary was standing right above her.

"Nothing. Someone beat my score." Lila had brought up a screen of a Frogger game.

"Oh, well, you'll show them." The secretary smiled and continued on her way into the school.

Lila smiled inwardly as she watched her leave. "Too close," she said to herself. Sighing, Lila closed her laptop, put it into her book bag and headed into the high school.

[Mara 29]

"Joseph, you don't want to be late!"

"Si, Mama!" A young man ran down the flight of stairs quickly, his unruly hair extra mussed in the air wave created by his movement, pulling a T-shirt over his head. He usually was up a lot earlier than this, but this was his last year, his senior year, the big important one, and he had been unable to sleep because of his excitement. His mother had spoken to him in her accented English, so he knew she wasn't completely worried. That's what espanol was for.

Sliding his tanned feet into a pair of flip-flops once he reached the small kitchen, he slid a couple PopTarts in the toaster before running off to find his book bag. Finding it, Joseph skidded back into the dining area to give his mother a quick peck on the cheek. Then he grabbed his breakfast and was out the door, not wanting to miss the city bus, "See you later, Mama!"

His mother shook her head at her son as she watched him through the window as he sped down the street. She couldn't understand how he could run so fast in those poor excuse for shoes.

* * * * * * * *

August Buchanan sighed as she pulled into the fairly lot designated for juniors at Greendale High and pushed a strand of blond hair from her face, quickly replacing it back on the wheel of her red Mercedes convertible. It had looked, unusually, like rain, so she had the top down. The girl wasn't relishing meeting and getting reacquainted with all her high school friends. Children--heirs--of all her parents' friends.

She sighed again, picking up her messenger bag and purse and locking her car. Not wanting to look at it. Another symbol of her family. August hurried towards the nearest entrance, hoping to quickly find her locker and get to homeroom without having to speak to anyone. One advantage of getting to school so early.

[Drake 53]

The gates to the estate parted and the taxi drove up the long drive way to the Institute. A tall fence surrounded the grounds and, just inside that, was a ring of trees that gave the estate a feel of natural seclusion from the rest of the town outside. The trees gave way to well manicured lawns with the Institute itself atop the hill it was built on.

Hailey Hudson looked at it from the passenger seat of the cab. Her father had told her that it was almost an exact replica of the original Xavier Institute back in New York, right down to the Danger Room, X-Jet bay and even a Cerebro for Headmistress Jean Grey.

The flight from Toronto was almost unbearable. Hailey preferred to be on the ground. Perhaps it had something to do with her newly blossoming mutant powers but being in the air for long periods of time made her restless and crazy.

The taxi pulled up to the front steps. The driver got out and helped her get her luggage from the trunk. Hailey payed and thanked him for the trip. Once the cab drove away, she gathered up all of her luggage and started up the steps.

"Hello there, girl," a deep Russian-accented voice rumbled from behind her. "Do you need some help carrying these?"

Hailey turned to find a very large man coming from around the corner of the entryway. He was over two metres tall and very well built. However, she could see, in his face, that he wasn't that old. Maybe only a handful of years older than she was.

"Uhh, sure," she replied, dumbly.

He smiled down at her and picked up two of her suitcases. "You are new student here? From Canada, ya?"

"Yep! My name is Hailey. Hailey Hudson."

"Daughter of Guardian and Vindicator?" asked the tall man.

Hailey nodded. "Yeah, that's me. What's your name?"

"Piotr Rasputin, but everyone over here calls me Peter."

Hailey grinned and reached for the door. "So you're Colossus! I've heard about you, alright."

"Good things, I hope," said Peter.

Hailey opened the front door and they stepped into the lobby.

[Rogue 4]

Jean turned as the door opened, admitting Peter and another girl. She smiled at the girl, then crossed the room to her extending a hand. "You must be Hailey Hudson. I'm Jean Grey, and this is Scott Summers. We'll be your instructors here at the institute."

Inwardly Jean groaned. She knew that this was the point where the new kid pointed out that they were barely older than she was, and couldn't possibly be her teachers.

Scott smiled at her, his red-tinged glasses reflecting the sunlight that shone through the door. "Welcome to the Xavier Institute."

----

She sat on top of the thick stone railing to the stairs that went up to the school in a pair of jean shorts and a Tshirt, one leg propped up to lean her arm against as she watched the swarm of kids that had begun to gather outside. Her backpack rested on the stairs beneath her, covered in surf patches and band names.

Everyone was greeting their friends, and catching up with one another. She watched a group of teachers shoo away a group of freshmen who were standing on one of the benches. She rolled her eyes. She knew it wouldn't be long before the seniors taught them a lesson in manners. Whatever, to each their own.

She was still excited from this weekend. She had just returned from Hawaii the night before where she'd been involved in one of the greatest surfing competitions she had ever been in. Beautiful oceans, great people. And she placed. Not bad, especially considering that the winner had been none other than Alex Masters. Natalie supposed she could live with that. After all Masters had been a pretty cool guy.

She smiled as she saw a familiar figure heading up the stairs beside her. "Hey August! I haven't seen you since May. Are you in Ms. Doran's math class again?"

[Drake 53]

Hailey smiled and shook Jean Grey's hand. "Thanks." She narrowed her eyes. "Not quite old enough to have gone through teachers' college but I'm sure you and 'sunglasses indoors' will have plenty to teach." Looking back at Peter, Hailey added, "You too, muscles."

***

A hawk circled lazily over Greendale High, watching the school buses and cars pull up to disgorge their student passengers. They looked like ants from that height.

The bird suddenly dived sharply, curving off a few seconds later into a shallow glide before landing atop the school roof. If anyone was looking, they would have seen the hawk suddenly morph into a squirrel. That squirrel then ran along the edge of the roof until it found an eavestrough and scurried down it.

It looked around and, when it saw that there was no one around, it morphed again. This time, the squirrel grew, becoming a black-haired boy in his late teens, wearing sunglasses, shorts and a faded red t-shirt bearing a variety of animal decals on it. Marcus Connor's mouth upturned into a cocky grin as he walked around the corner and made his way towards the school entrance.

Edited May 1, 2008 by Drake

[Rogue 4]

Natalie Brook quirked an eyebrow at him as he approached, brushing back a few strands of blond hair that the wind had decided to blow into her face. "What's up Mark? How'd your summer go?"

[Drake 53]

"Thrilling," Marcus said, with only a hint of sarcasm. "Took a trip to the LA Zoo," he added with a grin. "And you?"

[Rogue 4]

"Surfing mostly." Natalie shrugged a pair of naturally tanned shoulders. She smiled, dropping her legs and kicking her feet. "Hawaiian circuit. Now I'm dead broke because I couldn't work for the last month, but it was worth it. The water out there is clearer, and bluer than any you've ever seen."

[Ayingel 24]

Gertie felt good. The cheerleaders had just received their new uniforms that morning and nothing could beat the feeling of knowing she was turning heads. The new blue and gold vest fit her perfectly and the skirt was cut just long enough to be allowed in school. As she walked by the trophy case, she looked into the glass to double check that her blonde curls had stayed in through practice. "Perfect!" She flashed a smile at her reflection and continued through the school. As Gertie passed by the football players, she smiled and flicked some hair back behind her shoulder.

"Hey Gertie," one of the guys smiled at her and called her over.

Yes, this is going to be a good year.

[Rogue 4]

"Sunglasses indoors huh? Well I could take them off if you want it to be bright everywhere." Scott started to reach for his sunglasses. "How would you like that Ms. Quirky Hudson?"

"Well, now that everyone knows eachother..." Jean smiled, sending Scott a look over her shoulder as she stepped forward to calm the situation. "What do we say we get Hailey and Kurt to class?"

Kurt teleported in, wearing his holowatch again. "Ready!"

Jean threw Scott the car keys and hustled everyone out the door. After a short drive, they were all parked in front of Greendale High School in Scott's red convertible.

[Drake 53]

Looking up at the high school, Hailey said, "Right off the plane and straight into school. Not even enough time to unpack. Hopefully Peter dropped my stuff off in a nice big room with a view." She grabbed her backpack and got out of the car.

***

Marcus and Natalie walked through the halls of the school with a pack of other people, making their way towards their respective lockers. Even though she was a grade below him, Marcus still liked hanging out with Natalie. Something about her seemed almost familiar. As though she were like him in a way. Maybe she has powers too. Marcus mused to himself.

***

After Jean, Scott and the younger students had left, Peter deftly carried all of Hailey's luggage to one of the student bedrooms and set them all on one of the beds. Each student would be sharing a room with another of their peers but Peter wanted Hailey's stay in the States to be enjoyable. He chose one of the larger rooms with a nice view of the estate's backyard with the forest and ocean beyond.

Afterwards, Peter took a walk around the empty mansion, fixing up anything out of place from the building's recent construction and double checking security systems that he, Logan and Forge had installed just a couple weeks before.

When he was done with the interior, he went outside and started up the intruder defenses, setting it to test mode and making himself the target. Peter's skin suddenly changed from flesh to metal and he grew almost another whole foot. He was Colossus now and he was ready for a challenge.

[Rogue 4]

Natalie opened up her new locker, basking in it's complete emptiness for a moment before turning back to Marcus. "You know, it always amazes me seeing a locker this clean. Give it a week and it will be filled with postcards and photographs; A month and it'll be filled with papers that I never did have the chance to get signed." She chuckled, her seafoam eyes dancing as she did. "How's your class schedule by the way?"

[Drake 53]

Marcus removed the folded paper from his shorts and opened it up. On it was printed his schedule. "Spare first period on Monday and last period on Friday. Can you say 'long weekend'?" He laughed. "The teachers must like me or something. Don't know why. Especially after I let that boa constrictor out of Mr. Johnson's terrarium last year. Speaking of which, I have Biology with him. Not good."

[Rogue 4]

Natalie thought about that for a moment. "I'm sensing a locker filled with bad test grades in your future. Extra credit, and some major ass kissing might be in order. Otherwise, failure and/or expulsion is a possibility." She said, mocking Mr. Johnson's monotone voice. She shook her head. "Bogus."

She closed her locker, looking at the combination to her lock before shoving the piece of paper it was written on into a pocket. "I am never going to remember this combination. Anyway, good luck on that one. I'm stuck with Ms. Doran again. I just hope she doesn't confiscate my notebook and trash it again. I had some really good art doodled in there."

[Drake 53]

"Yeah, I liked the tiger," Marcus said. He curled his fingers like claws and added, "Rawr. I think we have some stupid pep rally before classes. A good waste of time, anyway."

***

Hailey and Kurt said goodbye to Scott and Jean before heading into their new school. It was a big place filled with tanned teenagers looking like they were fresh off the beach. Both Hailey and Kurt stood out in comparison, with their white skin. Her hailing from Canada, where summer was over and fall was well underway, and him having to be stuck with a single complexion granted by his holo-watch.

Kurt leaned over and whispered to Hailey. "Ey. Remind me to adjust my skin tone three shades darker when I get home. I think I know now how Rogue must have felt back at Bayville."

Hailey giggled. "Will do. Unfortunately, it won't be as easy for me."

Being the only students from Xavier's new Institute, thus far, the two of them found lockers near eachother. They were just getting their combinations memorized when the PA system crackled to life, issuing a young male's voice.

"Hey dudes!" came the clearly surfer voice. "Welcome to another awesome year at Greendale High! I hope everyone found themselves a locker because it's just about time for the pep rally. Everyone head out to the bleachers and bring your school spirit, dudes!"

Hailey looked to Kurt. "And where exactly is that?"

He just shrugged and moved into the stream of students heading down the hall. "Just go with the flow, dude!"

[Mara 29]

"Uhh... I'm not sure." The back of her neck tingled and she smiled at the girl quickly, failing to remember her and hurried inside to find her locker.

Once there, August calmed down a bit. She glanced around herself a bit and just seeing a steady stream of students, turned back to her locker. Stashing in her purse, she clicked the lock shut and merged in with the other students to find her homeroom before the welcome assembly.

* * * * * * * * *

Joseph hopped off the #41 bus and took a shortcut he knew, saving five minutes of time. In no time at all, he was at the front entrance of Greendale High. He slowed and walked up the main stairs with his hands on the shoulder straps of his backpack. On the way to the door, he greeted, shook hands with, hugged and high-fived various friends and acquaitances from the previous year. It didn't matter that he was a senior now; most of his friends didn't even notice. And Joseph didn't care. Freshmen and sophomores were humans, too.

Making it inside, he easily found his locker, happy to notice it was near the back entrance/exit. He wasn't planning on being as late as he was today, but it was good to know it was there. Plus, he noted after glanced at his schedule, that he had picked up by way of the office on the way through the main door, it was near Mr. Ralston's room, where he had physics.

He grinned and headed off into the throng of people, still with his backpack attached.

[Rogue 4]

"Agreed. Hey, maybe Gertie and the 'pom pom brigade' will give the school another lesson in fashion sense." She teased playfully. Natalie jumped as they walked through the throng of students. "Excuse me." She brushed past a new kid, who stood out with his pale complexion. "That was weird. I could have sworn that new kid just poked me with something furry...whatever."

They walked inside and found seats as the gymnasium began to fill. She saw another familiar face in the crowd and grinned brightly. "Hey, Joseph! Como estas amigo? I didn't see you all summer, man."

[Mara 29]

He turned at the sound of his name. "Ah, Nat! Hola!" He moved through the crowd deftly to stand next to her.

"Just keepin' all the kiddies safe on the beach, you know." Joseph smiled widely, his dark eyes sparkling. He turned to the boy next to her and held out his hand.

"Strange, you don't look familiar... Crazy, huh?" He winked at Natalie before turning back to him. "Joseph Sanchez."

* * * * * * * * *

After having made sure she knew where her homerun class was, August was about to slink over into the nearby gym, when a thin supple hand grasped her arm.

"August!" Came the high-pitched scream. "Like, oh, my God, you look so great!"

She smiled softly. "Thanks, Bridget. Uh, you, too. Tan."

The other girl giggled. "Yeah! My stepmom took me to Cancun last week! It was, like, so awesome!"

"Yes... I'm sure it was...I--" Before she could explain about her own summer, she was being dragged by Bridget into the gym, to join up with other girls of their group.

Edited May 1, 2008 by Mara

[Rogue 4]

"Too much sun, probably," said Marcus with a forced smile. He shook Joseph's hand.

"He's a junior. But we can't all be running the school." Natalie said, making room for Joseph to sit on the bench near her, her own legs sprawled out to take up the bench beneath her. "Marcus, this is Joseph. Lifeguard down at the beach. Unfortunatly for him I'm a good swimmer."

"I've been to the beach a couple times over the summer," said Marcus. "No surfing but I sure can swim like a fish."

Edited May 1, 2008 by Drake

[Mara 29]

He laughed heartily. "One of these days I'll convince her to fake it, so I can play hero."

Joseph winked at Marcus before turning his attention to Natalie. "Any good classes this year?"

Edited May 1, 2008 by Mara

[Rogue 4]

"Eh, not so much." Natalie sighed in defeat. "I'm excited about an instrumental music class though. Oh, and I got into Schmaltz's art class this year. What about you guys?"

[Mara 29]

"I have Mr Ralston's physics class first period." Joseph grinned. He reached down to his backpack, where he had set it by his feet. Excited about the physics class, he hadn't bothered to read the others and pulled out his slip, scanning it. "Civics, Calc., you know, usual senior stuff."

* * * * * * * * * *

August tried to remain interested, but innerly hoping the rally would start to divert her friends' attention. There was only so much she could hear about beaches and flings with boys before she felt her brain melting.

[Andy 60]

Daniel Mitchell hurried into to Greendale High's gymnasium followed by his brother, Chase, and saw it was almost full now; "First day and we're running late," he commented.

"Like I care, Danny," Chase replied, "I didn't want to move to this crappy place anyways..."

Chase stood out like a sore thumb despite being Danny's identical twin. He was dressed almost entirely in black, with an blue streak in the fringe of his otherwise black hair. Danny was dressed more like the locals, and had dyed his hair blonde.

"Stop being such an emo." Danny looked around, wondering where to go.

Edited May 1, 2008 by Andy

[Rogue 4]

Natalie stole the paper from him, her blond hair falling over her shoulder as she leaned down to scan the page. "Don't you have anything fun on here?"

She looked over, seeing two new kids standing at the nearby entrance. They definatly weren't from the Greendale area, that was for sure. She pulled her legs back to make room for them in the crowding auditorium. "Hey, there's seats here if you guys need them."

(DRAKE"S POSTING! NOBODY BEAT HIM TO IT THIS TIME!)

Edited May 1, 2008 by Rogue