>>"I get it. You're like the gate keeper and you're trying to protect everybody. Keep out the sus. Why am I tagging your radar? I'm just a kid trying to do the right thing! On paper you guys spout rhetoric, and in person you don't even give the one person who's trying a chance. Guess all we piddly helpless humans are doomed anyway."

This time, both of Gemma's eyebrows ran up, and her jaw dropped simultaneously. Was this teenage human kid really calling her out on... what, being racist?

Now that would be a show.

Gemma did what she always did when a teenager ventured into that hazy territory.
She counted to ten. In her head.
Counting to ten aloud would have been a whole different scenario.

"Okay, all right, let's both take a step back here" she said finally. Because her debating a teenager was starting to make her sound like one. "You are saying that you want to help by coming here. That is a good starting point, let's go back to that. Tell me what you would like to do here that would help relations between mutants and humans."

Because pissing off the counselor was probably not one of those things.

Okay. So antagonizing the lady who was the gatekeeper was not his brightest moment. He zipped his lip and tried to hear her out one last time.

"I want to get to know people. PEOPLE. Not MUTANTS. Remind mutants that humans are PEOPLE too. And you don't get to know people by waving to them on the street. You invite them to your house. Or they invite you to theirs. Since mutants aren't having the best time in a human setting, I wanted to put a human in a mutant setting."

>>"I want to get to know people. PEOPLE. Not MUTANTS. Remind mutants that humans are PEOPLE too. And you don't get to know people by waving to them on the street. You invite them to your house. Or they invite you to theirs. Since mutants aren't having the best time in a human setting, I wanted to put a human in a mutant setting."

Okay, so that was the first thing the kid had said that actually made sense to Gemma. She nodded to him. It was a start. With the tense moment past, she started walking again.

"That is not a bad thought, actually." she admitted "I can see where you are coming from. To be fair, many of our students have human friends and family members. Some better than others, when it comes to family."

Some families were horrible with the odd mutant sheep.

"I cannot tell you how it would work out in practice, though. A lot of them would have the same questions I just did, and you have to be prepared to answer them in a... uh, much clearer way."

Or maybe not imply that they are racist towards humans, for starters. Was what Gemma was implying.

Is that not what he'd been saying THE WHOLE TIME? Adapteds had brain problems. Srsly.

Leo had to jog to catch up. Maybe she was also bipolar?

"Okay." Did he dare to hope on where this was going? Because she went from rawr to maybe possibly considering his idea? "I was trying to be honest." Like fully, no holds barred. "You're saying I shouldn't be honest?" Because, really, he was just trying to understand what the crazy lady wanted at this point.

>>"Okay. I was trying to be honest. You're saying I shouldn't be honest?"

"No, I am saying you should consider your words from someone else's perspective." Gemma reiterated with the patience of someone who had two teenage children once, and a couple of hundred she cared for on top of that.

"People in this school, more often than not, will be coming from a very different background than you are. Right now, you are making assumptions, and saying things, from your own perspective, which is completely normal. But you can't just come to this school and assume that you know what human-mutant relations should be. I can tell you mean well, but it might not be clear for everyone."

Communication between people, human, mutant or adapted, was never easy, even without the added background tension.

From his perspective, everyone else was in need of more of his perspective. That's why he was here.

"I promise I'll do my best not to-" get mauled? inspire murder? "set anybody off. Geez. That's the last thing I'd want to do." Though how he could get a new perspective without any change in his current situation was beyond Leo.

"So... where does that leave us?" Did he dare hope? She'd better not recommend he start off with community service or something lame like that. He'd never met someone who actually gained mutual respect that way. Maybe mutual disgust.

>>"I promise I'll do my best not to- set anybody off. Geez. That's the last thing I'd want to do."

That was all good an nice, except the kid apparently had no clue what would set somebody off. Unless he was trying to get on Gemma's bad side on purpose. Not like no teen had done that before.

>>"So... where does that leave us?"

"That leaves us to talk some more" Gemma concluded, starting to walk again. It was a step forward anyway, compared to a couple of minutes before, when she was ready to throw him out "If I am going to approve your application, I need to talk to Sam Johnson, and other members of the school board. Also, if we are going to do this, we need to find a way to implement... your plan in to the school system. You might want to come in as a regular student at first, and we'll accept you as a boarding student if things go well."

She was musing out loud. There were so many questions to clear up first.

"I promised you you can ask your questions as well, about the school." she glanced at him "If you want to, ask away."

Augh. Not more talking. Leo let his body show the weight of the conversation. Dragging feet? Check. Slumping shoulders? Check. Rolling eyes? He got as far as Ms. Taylor's way tall face before he realized that this might be exactly what she was talking about. He stopped his sigh of exasperation before it even got started.

No. If he wanted this, he needed to be on his best behavior, a model student. He stopped moping and had to, once again, jog to catch up.

"Talk is cheap, Ms. Taylor." Or so the movies said. "What can I do to help you make the right choice here?"

A-hah! So ColdSteel was on the board. That was... kind of in charge? Hm. He'd have to do more research. He was pretty sure ColdSteel's alias was Sam Something anyway. The blonde evil chick always called him that in those creep-tastic cell phone videos taken the night of one of those giant mutant brawls.

> "I promised you you can ask your questions as well, about the school."

"Hmm?" Leo'd gotten carried away hypothesizing about how all the different mutants knew each other again, but... well, she was letting him ask... "Oh. Uhh. You mentioned that some people come and go? Is the Sister School like... a hotel too? Or is it strictly alums who come back?" Good schools made people proud enough to come back, though, he had an inkling that wasn't exactly it.

"Talk is cheap, Ms. Taylor. What can I do to help you make the right choice here?"

"Have the patience to talk" Gemma answered promptly with a smirk. It was apparently hard for him, therefore it was the part that needed the most work. Also, she would not make it easy just because he made puppy eyes.

>>"Hmm? Oh. Uhh. You mentioned that some people come and go? Is the Sister School like... a hotel too? Or is it strictly alums who come back?"

"Not a hotel, no" gosh, this kid had a knack for picking the wrong words for everything "A safe haven, for those who need it. Not everyone that comes to the Mansion enrolls in classes, that's the easiest way to put it. Some do, and then leave. Some stay longer than others. Some never leave" she added with a smirk, thinking of the few who stuck around, grew up, and became part of the school and the X-team "Think of it as both a boarding school and a shelter."

That was an interesting starting question, but she was sure he could do better than that.

"Anything else you would like to know?"

> "Have the patience to talk"

Dick move, Ms. T. Really uncool.

He sighed again. A safe haven, right? And because he was coming from an already safe place, that meant he was unwelcome here?

"Is there not enough room or something? I mean, because I'm just a human. You have to save space for people who maybe need it?" Because that was a legit concern. He could get behind that. Well, he would be really disappointed, but it was at least a thing.

"I don't wanna take someone's spot if this is the only home they might have." That'd be like kicking a puppy out of the pound because you thought the cage might look cool from the inside. Really not cool.

>>"Is there not enough room or something? I mean, because I'm just a human. You have to save space for people who maybe need it? I don't wanna take someone's spot if this is the only home they might have."

"No, there is enough space" Gemma admitted truthfully. Since mutant-human relations have stabilized for the time being, the Mansion had an average number of students around, with several rooms empty. Of course if things took a turn for the worse, there would be a new influx of people. But she would deal with that when it actually happened.

"Also, please stop referring to yourself as 'just a human'. Assuming that Mansion residents don't like humans just because they are human is a form of prejudice as well."

So there.

Gemma glanced at the boy again as they circled the building.

"Why do I feel like those are not the most important questions you want to ask?"

"Being 'just a human' doesn't mean I'm assuming anybody will dislike me." Leo puffed out his chest. "Peeps like me just fine." Uh. Maybe not Amazonian Mansion Gatekeepers. Most people liked him, anyway. "I just mean... you know what I mean, you're just being difficult."

> "Why do I feel like those are not the most important questions you want to ask?"

"Is there some code or something? A way for mutants to know each other? It just seems like a tight knit community is all. There's gotta be secret handshakes or whatever." But seriously. She was putting him on the spot here. How was he supposed to just whip out all his questions all at once? Some were the kind that would get his ass kicked and should only be asked to the right people at the right time.

Leo cast a discerning eye over Ms. T. She was so not the right person to ask. "I know you're testing me. Of course I have billions of questions, but some questions you don't just ask. I know what tact is." He just... didn't choose to exercise it very often.

>>"Being 'just a human' doesn't mean I'm assuming anybody will dislike me. Peeps like me just fine. I just mean... you know what I mean, you're just being difficult."

Now he was just playing word games. Gemma was being difficult on purpose, but she was doing it to make a point. A point that he missed entirely.
She sighed as he moved on to some less trivial questions.

>>"Is there some code or something? A way for mutants to know each other? It just seems like a tight knit community is all. There's gotta be secret handshakes or whatever."

"Mutants are not a gang" Gemma noted pointedly "Most of the time I recognize someone is a mutant because their ability stops working around me. And even then I only notice if it is disorienting for them."

Or if they suddenly go blind. That had happened in the past too.

>>"I know you're testing me. Of course I have billions of questions, but some questions you don't just ask. I know what tact is."

"I told you I am testing you" Gemma smirked "And asking questions is never the problem. Asking too many, maybe, but that depends on the context. I'd rather you asked, instead of making assumptions."

Okay. So. She was clearly the wrong person to ask about the handshake thing. She A) was unhelpful and B) Not a mutant.

He forgot.
Again.

Because you know. Mutant school and Amazonian height.

"I think the things I want to learn are best uh- learned through experience. Direct. Experience." You know. The LET ME GO TO SCHOOL HERE kind of experience.

"Okay then," Miss Unhelpful Smarty Pants, "what things do you think I need to know before I" potentially, eventually, "started here?" What now, bra? Now it was Leo testing Ms. T.

"What could go wrong? Really? Worst case scenario. Hit it."

>>"I think the things I want to learn are best uh- learned through experience. Direct. Experience. Okay then, what things do you think I need to know before I started here?"

Smartass. Gemma sighed and gave up. There was no reasoning with teenagers who were sworn to save the world by also hanging out with the cool kids.

"Let me give you a proper tour" she said finally, starting to walk again. They made it back to the front of the building.

"These are the Mansion grounds. The security systems are mostly hidden, but they are very efficient at keeping people out. They are generally non-lethal but they hurt a lot."

Also, sometimes they zapped harder than others. Gemma didn't need to imply that sneaking out would be problematic too.

"As you have noted, we have been attacked before. We have also been infiltrated occasionally, courtesy of mutant powers. For that reason, we don't rely solely on the security system. Some of our... older residents are also very capable of providing defense in case they are needed. If you move in, you will probably see them around."

With giant blue X's on their uniforms.