Kayla travelled across the mansion grounds after having gained access to the front gate. Clear skies overhead prompted her to look up, past the clouds and spot a flock of birds perform a divebomb towards the mansion. Lifting their wings at the very last second, each bird pulled itself back up into the air and travelled over the enormous brick wall surrounding the property. They had avoided crashing. Perhaps Kayla could do the same?

It had only been two months since she had first learned of her powers, and in that time, the only thing she had managed to do was manipulate the vector of a moving soccer ball and send her step-father's fist into a wall on the opposite side of the room. Jack Holister, her newly adopted father, had been like an angel to Kayla-coming into her life and teaching her to accept her mutant identity...but now, she would have to deal with her mutation on her own terms. Hopefully, her time at Xavier's would help her learn to control her powers so that they would not run her life straight into the ground.

Looking around the school grounds, she spotted the mansion itself and took a moment to study the behemoth of a building. Protruding out of the ground like a lonely island, it stood tall against the backdrop of the sky and welcomed her with a much-needed feeling of security. "Man, I gotta admit. This place is impressive," she said to herself. "Maybe Dad was right. Maybe this place can give me a second start?"

Wrapping her fingers into fists, she took a deep breath and began walking towards the building, trying to appear as confident as possible. Thoughts of washing out crossed her mind; daydreams of failure and fears of not fitting in. However, Kayla was able to hold on to a twinge of optimism and keep herself grounded amidst her flurry of emotions. "I guess only time will tell," she concluded, in reference to her earlier thought, and continued walking towards the building with her mix-matched eyes glued to the ground.

Andy had yet to explore the grounds. Sure, he had been given the grand tour the first day he arrived, but he hadn't been shown every nook and cranny of the mansion, especially the areas outside. Besides, it was a nice day out and he had nothing better to do. Why not go for a walk? And maybe a swim. Oh, who was he kidding? He would definitely be going for a swim.

Dressed in a plain white t-shirt and faded jean shorts, Andy strolled out the front door and onto the main cobbled path as the warm sun graced his tan skin.

Swim first?

"No. Don't do it," Andy muttered under his breath, shaking his head in protest. He knew that if he swam first he'd end up spending the entire day there... just like yesterday. And the day before that.

Then again, that was what summer was for, right? Relaxing... Seriously, though, if there was one thing Andy liked about his new home, aside from the fact he lived in a mansion, it was that there was an outdoor swimming pool.

Almost unconsciously, Andy started to change course in the direction of the beautiful clear, blue waters that filled his mind before the sudden sound of metal gates opening caught his attention. Curiously, he turned to see a brown-haired girl with...

Whoa. She had the coolest eyes he had ever seen. He wondered if that was a part of her mutation, or colored contacts. Was she new, too? Didn't seem all that scared, though, judging the way he strutted toward the mansion with such confidence. I wish I had more of that, Andy thought as a twinge of jealousy crept into his being. 

And she was getting closer! With a nervous gulp, Andy weighed his options. Run away and hide at the bottom of the pool or... say hi. Realizing it was too late to go with his first option, he forced his lips into a friendly smile and gave her a small wave as she walked by.

On her way to the front doors of the mansion, Kayla passed by an enormous outdoor pool and couldn't help but look over at its aquatic beauty. Its presence further confirmed the school's regal appeal, and she started feeling a bit more intimidated than she had before. Never had she been so fortunate as to attend a school so proud and firmly established.

"Man. I'm so not ready for this level of awesomeness," Kayla said to herself as she gave the pool another quick glance.

Standing by the waters, she spotted a boy looking over at her. He was waving...at her! Heart fluttering, Kayla panicked as she searched her brain for the most appropriate response. This was her first interaction with another student, and she suspected any sign of weakness could potentially send her social reputation into a downward spiral.

Fighting to regain control of her emotions, Kayla made her best attempt to appear confident-just as she had done before, and waved back at the boy with a gentle smile. "Hey," she said sweetly. "I'm Kayla. What's your name?"

There it was. Her first attempt at a conversation. Subtle fears of saying the wrong thing began to rocket through her brain, but she held onto the hope that she would be able to make a good impression. Keeping herself calm and composed, she maintained her smile and decided on the spot to be as friendly as possible.

Their eyes met awkwardly across several feet of freshly cut grass. Ugh. This was exactly why Andy should have gone with his first option (run to the pool and hide at the bottom). He guessed he still could do that…

But then, just when Andy was about to break eye contact and turn tail, a contagious smile appeared on her lips, filling him with a sense of relief.

>> "I'm Kayla. What's your name?"

“Andy,” he quickly replied, then walked up to her with his hand outstretched. “Nice to meet you.”

Whoa. Kayla's eyes looked even cooler up-close. One brown, one blue. “Sorry,” Andy apologized, shaking his head in embarrassment. “I don’t mean to stare, I just…” Shit, he was doing it again. “They’re just so cool to look at. It’s kind of like I’m looking at two different people at the same time...”

“Anyway!” Andy spat out in a desperate attempt to change the subject. If he kept talking about her eyes, she was going to think he was flirting with her or something, which he totally wasn’t.

“Are you new here?” Even though he had never seen her around before, there was still a very good chance she wasn’t. It was a big school, after all, and he was fairly new himself. Plus, he didn't see any suitcases...

Either way, he could use some more friends. In fact, at the moment he couldn't really say he had any, which would explain why he spent almost all his time at the pool. "Do you like to swim?" he asked with a hopeful grin.

Bewildered by the boy's frantic behavior, Kayla could only watch him as he volleyed each question at her like soccer balls. "Andy," was speaking so fast she could hardly keep up with what was being said, but she remembered her resolution to be friendly and remained calm. Even though the conversation had taken a turn for the unintelligible, Andy was still the first person she had ever personally met at Xavier's, and that carried significance in of itself.

"Uh...uhm...yeah, I'm new here," she said, hoping it would answer one of the questions had been asked in rapid succession, and shook Andy's hand in an effort to be polite. "And, sorry...did you ask me if I liked to swim? I do. I usually go swimming at the beach, but you know, pools are great too."

Looking around in an attempt to try and locate the two people he was talking about, Kayla turned back to him and asked, "Sorry, did you say you were talking to two different people before? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt if you were."

She inwardly hoped her responses would be redeemable as friendly, but knew with her social skills, she would more than likely come off as either arrogant or inappropriate. Maintaining the smile she had been wearing earlier, she took a subtle step back to give Andy a bit of breathing room and looked back at the mansion, wondering now if she had disturbed Andy by being too friendly and should have kept walking. 

For a moment, Andy thought Kayla wasn’t going to shake his hand, which dangled in the air for way longer than he was comfortable with. He bit his lower lip nervously, unsure of what to think or do, and so he did what he usually did whenever he felt uncomfortable: he started to run his mouth.

>> "Uh...uhm...yeah, I'm new here."

Just when Andy was about to accept rejection and draw his hand back to his side, she told him she was a new student and shook his hand. Andy breathed an inward sigh of relief and the smile that had momentarily faded from his face came back even stronger than before. This was great news! It meant they had something in common. It also meant he was probably one of the first students she met upon her arrival, if not the first.

>> "And, sorry...did you ask me if I liked to swim?"

Andy nodded, beaming a hopeful smile.

>> "I do. I usually go swimming at the beach, but you know, pools are great too."

Yes! Andy internally cheered. Another thing they had in common. At this rate, they’d be friends for sure.

“Awesome. We should go swimming sometime,” he said coolly, trying to contain his excitement. Sure, she clearly wasn't a competitive swimmer if pools were not her first choice, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t race or just hang out. “I go swimming a lot...” 

By a lot, he of course meant every day, often multiple times per day; however, that was information he didn’t want to reveal so soon for fear of scaring her off. He knew his swimming habits were strange. He was probably even addicted. But so what? Until it became a problem, which he doubted it ever would, he was going to just keep swimming. Maybe they could even swim right now?

>> "Sorry, did you say you were talking to two different people before? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt if you were."

Andy lifted a brow when Kayla suddenly started looking around the grounds. He followed her eyes, but saw no one. “Oh, no, I was just being... stupid.” He let out a sharp chuckle and shook his head in embarrassment. He could have tried to explain himself, but why do that when they could talk more about swimming? “I used to swim competitively before, you know, the whole mutant thing happened," he said, shrugging, "but that's life, right? You win some and you lose some."

Kayla was relieved to see the boy light up as she shoke his hand. So far, she liked Andy, and it was a blessing that the first person she met within Xavier's was a decent kind of guy. He seemed to be highly interesting in swimming, and so Kayla decided to pursue that in hopes of establishing friendship.

>> “Awesome. We should go swimming sometime,” 

With a nod, she thought about the last time she had been swimming. It must have been ages ago; far too long for her liking. "Sure, yeah I'm totally down with that," she replied with a cheerful smile, and noted how fortunate she was for having met Andy. It was only her first day, and already she had somebody to hang out with. Then, he returned to Kayla's question about the other two people she had thought he said he was talking to.

>> “Oh, no, I was just being... stupid.”

While she was relieved to know she had not interrupted a pre-existing conversation by being overly-nice, she did however find herself curious to know what it was he was talking about. This curiosity did not compell her to ask about it any further, but it still festered somewhere in the back of her mind. Suddenly she realized that he might have been talking about his mutant ability, and Kayla immediately felt stupid for not having considered that possibility before.

>> “I used to swim competitively before, you know, the whole mutant thing happened, but that's life, right? You win some and you lose some."

Kayla was both surprised and impressed to learn of Andy's competitive swimming background. At least he had done something productive with his life before his mutation appeared. "That's actually kind of impressive," she made a point to say, in reference to the competitive swimming. "And yeah, I guess you're right about winning some and losing some."

Looking back towards the mansion one last time, Kayla smiled. She had been glad to meet Andy, and now it was time for her to report to the office administration. Turning back to the boy, who she hoped would become a good friend, she gave him one last smile and extended her arm to offer a parting handshake. "Well, I should probably check in with the administrators. It was really awesome meeting you though, Andy. If you ever want to hang out, well, I'll be around." 

When Kayla said she'd be down for swimming, Andy's smile widened and the thought of swimming with her now crossed his mind. Most likely, she'd say no, since she probably didn't have her bathing suit on and didn't seem like the type of girl who would swim with a complete stranger in her underwear. However, what she didn't know was that he could dry clothes almost instantly with his powers, much better than any laundry machine could. No, don't do it, his brain commanded, reminding him that they had only just met a few minutes ago. The last thing he wanted was to ruin his chances of being her friend by seeming overly eager. Besides, since they would be living under the same roof from now on, they were bound to cross paths again eventually. Then again, it was a big roof...

>> "That's actually kind of impressive. And yeah, I guess you're right about winning some and losing some."

Andy idly nodded as his mind flashed back to the day his coach kicked him off the swim team for using his 'natural talent' to help his team win the state title. He should have been happy, grateful even, to have a mutant on his team. They could have won more state titles and gotten more recognition, as well as funding, from the school, but instead he chose to call him a rotten cheater and throw away his one-way ticket to success. He didn't even let him attend practices after that...

>> "Well, I should probably check in with the administrators. It was really awesome meeting you though, Andy. If you ever want to hang out, well, I'll be around."

Andy snapped out of his thoughts the moment he heard Kayla's voice. She hadn't checked in yet? She was newer than Andy thought. "Oh, yeah, of course. I'll see you around," he said, smiling, as he shook her hand. A part of her wanted her to stay, to talk some more and go swimming with him, but he knew better than most that everyone, even friends, needed their space sometimes. Besides, it wasn't like he was completely alone now...

With a smirk, he pulled off his shirt and his pants and walked over to the pool. Before he dove head first into the water, he gave Kayla one final glance and shouted, "Best of luck!"

[End thread?]