"I'm... nearly seventeen."

Oh, Junior year? The Greek blinked, her back turned momentarily, and puzzled over that bit of information. Was there such a drastic age difference between grades from her country and the US?

....wait.

S-Seventeen!? Blinking, she swiveled around on the spot to glance back at Clyde. He... surely didn't look seventeen. Nor did he look short for his age, or... oh. She thought back to when she'd first let him in, and his question about if the school was for mutants.

It was reasonable to assume he looked so young because of some sort of mutation, but ever the cautious one, Andrea zipped her lips and kept her thoughts to herself. It was common knowledge what assumptions did to people, after all.

Instead, she smiled again and re-sat herself at the table. "You will fit right in here, then. There are lots of people your age attending classes." Andrea eyed the cookies and her half empty glass of milk debating whether or not she should entertain a few more.

"I graduated from school fairly young, you know. In Greece I was home schooled." Cautioning a glance at him from behind her glasses, she helped herself to one more cookie. "Had I known a place such as this existed before then, I would have been very interested in visiting."

Well, had her parents allowed her, that is.

Andrea's shocked reaction wasn't unexpected. That fact tended to catch people off guard. At least she hadn't said anything about it.

Clyde found himself wandering into thought. There were a lot of high schoolers? This place was bigger than he thought. It got him wondering exactly how many people lived there.

Yet, he wasn't so sure about the “fitting in” part. Sure, Andrea had been nice to him so far, and maybe some of the students would be kind enough to not say anything about it. But, just how far did the understanding between mutants go? There was a good number of them that had powers that didn't impact their daily lives.

Andrea's opinion of the place did seem to be a positive one. Learning how Andrea was from Greece and had been home schooled and wished that she'd known about the Mansion sooner further reinforced that.  At least he'd probably have a better chance around other mutants.

“I take it Greece didn't really have a place fo mutants?” Clyde asked. That sounded... lonely.

Sitting herself back down, she cradled her glass between her hands. The smile she angled his way was small, and maybe a tiny bit sad.

"Not exactly." She'd researched into it, and aside from a few 'homes' and shelters that were mutant specific, there hadn't been anything that compared to Xaviers. "Rhodes wasn't like here, in New York. It was small where I lives. Calm. I have been like this since I was born, so my parents felt that is was best I be kept away from prying eyes."

She smiled genuinely, and reached for another cookie. "It wasn't until I was much older, after I had graduated, that I was curious and brave enough to research my... condition." Looking back on those memories, considering everything that had happened in between, she felt a strange nostalgia wash over her.

"It was very lonely, and I had a lot of questions. This school had the best answers for me."

Listening, Clyde took another cookie. It couldn't have been easy being forced to hide, just because she looked different. It was a sad fact of life that people who were somehow different were not well accepted and became outcasts of society.

It occurred to Clyde how little he knew about his own condition. He could age shift, and there was that other factor he hated. A little sad, Clyde looked at his small hands. He wasn't supposed to be that way.

“I guess I have my own questions,” he said uncertainly, still staring at his hands.

Andrea said the school provided answers. Would the school be able to help him solve this?

Smiling, she reached out to gently touch his shoulder. "Then I think there is no better place for you to have ended up." Even if he was older than he looked, she couldn't get over the fact that he was a child at the moment. Through her own experiences she knew that there were many questions, some not easy to answer; some not meant to be answered, and it broke her heart to see others struggling with the same issue.

"If you are done, would you like me to show you to one of the spare rooms?" Quickly, she withdrew her hand-- not wanting to invade his space any longer than necessary. Her own appetite had all but vanished a few moments ago, so she finished off her milk and moved to put her glass away.

"Tomorrow will probably be a very busy day for you. Not only are there classes here, but the library is one of the biggest I have ever seen. There is also a garden, a music room, a game room, and.... well, a lot more too. I'm sure you will be shown some of them, or discover them on your own."

Clyde felt Andrea place her hand on his shoulder. He did not normally let people try to console him like that, but he didn't have it in him to push her hand away. She was right; this was probably worlds better than the streets.

Part of him was too troubled to even think about sleeping. But, it was late. He was tired. His feet were sore. And, like Andrea said, the next day was going to be hectic. Resting was a necessity. Since there were spare rooms...

“I guess you could show me to one,” Clyde answered. He quickly finished the last of the cookie.

Smiling, she collected her cup and started putting away the leftovers. Though she wasn't very well versed in how to properly introduce people to the mansion, she was able to lead them to open bedrooms and tuck them in for the night. She'd done it more than once, and it grew less nerve wreaking each time. Clyde, however, was far gentler on her poor nerves than others. Perhaps it was because he looked so young, even if he wasn't really a child in age.

"There are a few blankets inside, but if you require anymore than what is present, please let me know." She wanted him to be as comfortable as possible on his first stay in the mansion; first impressions, she believed, were key with a lot of people. Herself included.

Starting out of the room, she headed back out towards the staircase that would take up upstairs to the boys living quarters. Considering she lived on that side (in Saph's room), it was easy to simply let her feet guide her.

It looked like Andrea was ready to show him to the room, so Clyde grabbed his backpack and followed. He didn't have much more with him than his clothes and another pair of shoes, so he was going to keep them close.

“I think I'll be fine,” Clyde responded quietly. He didn't want to feel like a burden.

Honestly, Clyde didn't know what he was doing at the Mansion or what was to come. But he knew he didn't want to go back. By now, his father had probably already discovered he was gone, and Clyde wasn't ready to confront him. Something in him just despised his father so much.

After a short walk through the quiet halls, the Greek stopped in front of a room on her left, knocked, and after receiving no response opened the door. The room inside was clean and empty. The beds on either side of the room were neat still, having been untouched for a few days. "Here you are, Clyde... I'll be right down the hall from you, last room on the left, if you need anything."

He would discover that this room had it's own bathroom, big enough for two to share, as most students had roommates. She didn't feel the need to inform him of where the other bathrooms were, or the kitchen and other sites, as he would more than likely be getting such a tour in the morning. Stepping out of the way, she allowed him inside and smiled.

"Pick whichever bed you want, there might be two but this room hasn't had a long term occupant for a while, so no one should be bothering you."

Clyde nodded at Andrea. “Okay. Thanks.”

He waited for a moment, then entered the room and closed the door slowly behind him. His backpack dropped to the floor as he collapsed onto the closer of the beds. He hadn't even bothered to change clothes – he was so exhausted. There was a lot going through his mind, a lot to process, but he really needed to sleep.

The next day was going to be hectic.