”It’s ok Kendra, really,” Locke said, shifting his new cell phone so that he could pin it between his shoulder and ear. His backpack that had survived this long with duck tape needed both hands free to pick it up. Inside it was over a hundred pounds of loose rocks and pebbles that Locke took whenever he was going someplace that might be dangerous. ”I’ve been living here for years now. It’s just moving from one building to another.” He paused while his step mom started to argue that she should be there to help him move into his dorm room, that he shouldn’t be starting college off without seeing his family. ”You said Mai’s got the flu, Chris is probably going to be coming down with it soon. Don’t fly out here for one kid when you’ve got two sick ones that need you.” Locke could understand why Kendra wanted to be there for him. She did care about him, and it probably meant a lot to her that he not only figured out what he wanted to go to college for, but had also been accepted to one. Hard to believe that eight years ago they didn’t know how they were going to get by. Hugo was gone, the twins needed constant care, and Locke’s health had taken a harsh blow. Both Kendra and the teen had emotional pain that had to be dealt with. For Locke it had just scabbed over, and it would take years for him to recover. And recover he seemed to have done. It still hurt him to think that his dad wouldn’t be there, but his throat didn’t have the vice on it anymore, and certain words were allowed to slip out. If nothing else proved that Locke was at last moving on with his life, his hair had remained short since he had cut it. There was no curtain or safety blanket for him to hide behind anymore.

”What am I doing later tonight?” Locke asked in response to Kendra’s question. He crouched down and grabbed the box that had a large portion of his clothes and his dvds. Locke would have to take a couple of trips to and from the Mansion to get everything. Of course if Kendra had been able to fly out there would be less of a need to do so, but the twins weren’t feeling well, and he really didn’t want to stress them out. Chris could get so needy when he was sick. ”Probably will just watch Saw.” Why on earth did Kendra want to know his plans for the night? For the past three years Locke had been on his own in New York and his plans at night were never very thrilling. His first college semester would be starting the next day and there wasn’t any homework that he had to do yet. ”Noooo… pretty sure that I’m not going to descend into debauchery,” he said, a little less exasperated than he would have been three years ago. The corners of Locke’s mouth even twitched a little into a smile. ”Hold on a sec?” Even with his cell phone pinned Locke couldn’t manage the campus dorm apartment’s door and the box at the same time. He’d been given three different keys. One opened the first outside door, the next one opened a second door that was in a foyer like thing, and the third was for his room itself. Locke fumbled with the keys, trying each one until he managed to get the door open. Apparently there was suppose to be someone in that foyer section that could electronically buzz the second door open, but at the moment they weren’t there. Using his body as a door stopper, Locke dragged his box into the foyer. ”Alright, I’m back.”

It occurred to Locke that hearing Kendra was getting to be harder the closer he drew to his dorm room. Someone had decided that the best way to fight against the dubstep was to blare their bad rap music louder. Well, there was going to be enough noise to keep him from having troubles sleeping, if he could fall asleep in the first place. ”Sorry, can’t hear you. Skype later?” he asked. One of the other inhabitants of the apartment building belched as they walked past. Locke stared as they went past, amazed that someone could be shaped exactly like a barrel. ”Yeah, eight your time. Tell Mai to get better soon for me? Alright, bye.” No sooner had Locke closed the cell phone than a plastic horn trumpeted. He looked about for the source of the sound, spying the love child of Shaggy and Kurt Cobain. The trumpeter used the vuvuzela as a pointer, the wide end aimed at the Californian.

“FRESH MEAT!”

Fresh meat?[/color] Locke wondered, the words entering his mind, but the absurdity of it made it hard to understand what on earth he had heard. No doubt that the words were meant towards him, but why on earth was his arrival worth such hubbub. The connection between “fresh meat” and “freshmen” struck him a second before he became aware that he was being surrounded. He'd heard, of course, of hazing happening in college, though Locke thought that it happened only in fraternities or in clubs. This was neither. It was just one of many small homes that had been converted to apartments for on campus students. Hell, he wasn't even a member of any sort of college sponsored extracurricular activity. Mutants were a taboo topic, and with mounting tension, it was unlikely that his tuition would be going towards mutant rights. In any case he was a member of the X-Men, a newer one yes, but still a member. His high school graduation was followed shortly afterwords by a graduation on the island of Mabaodi. A graduation that required a few days of rest and enough slushies to keep him in the bathroom when he wasn't asleep upon arriving home.

And as a member of the X-Men he should, and for the most part, did, know better than to use his mutation on innocent people. He reminded himself of this as hands were laid on him, and for a change had to force the ground beneath his feet to not rush to his defense. There had been the opportunity to stay in a dorm building, or he could have stayed at the Institute and been a commuter. With the latter he wouldn't be disturbing anyone with being called out to go and save the world, but it didn't feel right to stay there when he was pursuing his education at another school. As far as the on campus dorm went, Locke would be disturbing too many people with a combination of his laptop always playing music, his practices with the travel Fluffy, and having to go do things like stop a volcano.

The hands weren't just resting upon him, but actually grabbing him, and lifting. Eaan had described crowd surfing to Locke, and this was nothing like that. Instead Locke felt as though he was going to be used as a battering ram. What made things worse was that while Locke wasn't very far off of the ground, he was half blinded. Seeing as his mutation only worked when he had some sort of contact with the earth. As long as they kept jostling him just above their waists, his fingertips couldn't even scrape the ground. You don't use your powers on the people you're stuck with for the next year. You don't want them to be afraid that you're going to kill them.[/color]