Polarity at Xavier's

A man ran past the front gate, just as he was wondering ‘now what’. He stopped, mid-footfall, and took two steps back to look at the person beyond the gates.

“ Can I help you?” Shin announced with a light smile. He was dressed in a white t-shirt and blue jeans. He looked slightly tired, with bags under his eyes. Triangular pupils focused on the brown-haired boy’s face. “Are you a new student, or just interested in living here?”

“Mutant, right?” Shin added. Maybe, he was getting ahead of himself. Usually, people who came to the front gates were mutants, but one could never be too certain. The last person he’d greeted had been a concerned human father, whose daughter was dating one of the mansion’s own. That had been embarrassing. He’d resolved not to assume too much.

>> "Oh, Hello." "Uh, I'm not a student, and I was actually looking for work..."

Shin watched the resume wave for a moment, then looked back up at the person. Objects in motion like that sometimes made him woozy. He was already tired from being up too late the night before. He didn’t want to fall over, thanks to resume-waving. It was almost as wimpy as getting sick looking at Jello jigglers.

He nodded at the boy’s answer, and question. “Yup. My name is ‘Shin’. I can make razor-sharp diamond-hard multi-colored triangular barriers with my mind… and… do math good.” He described his powers with serious eyes. Seriously-joking eyes… And a wry smile on his face. “You?”

>>"I'm Kyle, Kyle Gordon. I can push and pull things with my mind." "Also, I don't need to sleep."

… Neat! “That’s cool. I wish I didn’t need sleep. I just can’t seem to get to bed at decent hours,” Shin commented. He pointed a finger at the metal bars of the barrier, and spoke slowly. “Mind if I…?” He stepped forward, and punched in a code on the gate’s panel. The gate opened. Shin gestured for Kyle to come on in. “So, you’re looking for work? What kind of work?” Shin asked.

Nightguard… Shin pondered. “I don’t think we have one of those… Mansion Security is usually pretty good, without human help…” It was automated, with enough booby traps to trap a booby. “And I’m actually not the one hiring… I can interview you, and turn it over to the higher ups. I’m just the greeter. So, beyond the job application, you didn’t have anything else you wanted to talk about?” He almost sounded hopeful for someone to show around.

Shin wasn’t sure what sorts of jobs they could give this kid. They had their gardener. They had their help in the infirmary… maybe, mess hall duty? “How are you with mopping, and preparing food…?”

Or maybe, a janitor job... they usually worked at night... hmm.

>> "Well, I would apreciate it if you could show me around. Maybe introduce me to whoever I need to speak to to apply for a job?"

That, he could do. Well, except for the last part. "I can see if Sam's around, later." Shin replied. "And definitely give you the tour." Shin wondered if he wanted the Full Tour, or the short one. There were so many nooks and crannies the mansion had. One could dig and dig, and find something new every day, if they tried hard enough... and then, poke it to see if it wibbled.

>>"Well, I'm not a gourmet chef but I have worked in a restraunt for a couple of months, and I guess I'm about as good as anyone else at all-round cleaning."

"Alright, that's cool. We might be able to use a janitor."

>>"Although, do you have someone to stay on duty overnight? Someone to watch the phones and door and stuff? Anything night-time is good, but I won't object to day work."

Shin paused. "Not sure," He stated. That was an awfully big responsibility for someone he'd just met five minutes ago. Paranoid thoughts were a-brewing. Background checks would be forthcoming, if he brought that up with Sam and Streak. "I do know we have people to keep track of things, and they do an excellent job. Maybe another job would be better for your skills..." He smiled a sucrose smile.

They'd reached the main doors, now. Shin opened them, and led him in.

>>"I guess we'll just have to see what this Sam person says, huh?"

"Yeah," Shin replied. "I'm not sure if he's in his office today, though... we can check..." Later. First, the tour.

>>"Well, first things first, how do I find my way around? Kitchens, toilets etcetera."

"The kitchen is on the first floor. It's stocked with food by Miss Dumonde. There's a dining room, too. And down this hall," Shin led Kyle under the main hall's glass chandelier, past the picture of Professor Xavier, to the living room. "Is the living room. It has a Wii, and some other good game systems. The bathrooms are," he gestured down the hall. Somewhere. "Classrooms are on the main floor. The library is on the main floor, upstairs, and on the third floor. The upstairs hallway's rooms are divided into the adult hall, the boy hall, and the girl hall... there's a basketball court outside, a pool, and a garden. Our gardener is working on a hedge maze right now..." Shin flooded Kyle with information.

>>"Are the adults rooms just for the teachers or are they for all the staff? And, where is Sam's offi..." "Wait. You have a library! Where is it!?"

Shin had seen it happen, time and again. You're on the tour, and things are going swimmingly. People have heads full of questions, then you mention the three-story library. Full mental shutdown. Their minds hit the brakes, and suddenly, the only thing they want to talk about is the tiny blue elephant in the room. Shin let out a light laugh.

"The adult rooms are for adults, staff-included. As for the library, follow me..." He turned, and led the way to the first floor entrance, past classrooms, straight to the doors. He brought Kyle inside.

The library was large. Shelves on the ground floor loomed in front of them. Shin took a few steps in, and turned to look up at the two levels above. He crossed his arms behind his back smugly. "I don't think you'll be able to find a classic title we don't have." He stated confidently. Shin was silent for a moment, then craned his neck at the upper levels, and spoke in a slightly-exasperated tone. "... But, they still haven't gotten around to buying those manga I've been mentioning... crazy librarians..."