Xavia looked at the edifice that was the mansion from a distance, memories flooding her of the time she had spent there, as well as the different places she had been to in the area. It had been a few years since she had seen the place, a few years since she had seen the faces of old friends. She'd left them all behind for various reasons, the biggest one being the heartache she felt because of one particular clone whom she'd had a torrid love affair with. A certain red fellow who was the gruff personality, yet a big softie when it came to her. Oh, Jupiter, she thought.

There was also the fact that she had this huge secret... She fingered the locket that nestled gently in the hollow between her breasts, gently tugged it away and opened it to peer down at one of the pictures within... A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. What would he think if he knew, she thought?

After she got lost in thought for a bit, she took a deep breath and dropped the golden piece once flicking it closed with the deft movements of her tapered digits. The plant mutant then brushed her hands over the soft cotton of her dress and checked her cap sleeved shrug for lint, and finally gave a few pats to her carefully coiffed hair before exiting the driver side of the minivan she drove.

She paused at the steps that lead to the front portal, and gave a nervous sigh. Why in the hell did she come back here after all this time? Perhaps she was a glutton for punishment, she thought, dryly... I mean, come on... After all the hell she had been put through with going off to Romania, being shot at, etc... It was natural to want to stay away from New York.

But she couldn't. And now she was going to be a teacher, of all things. Yep. A teacher. She wondered how long it would take for Jupiter to figure out she was alive and well still, for she made no attempt to contact him now. She wasn't ready.

She entered the Mansion and headed for the head master's office.

Gemma looked up as she heard soft steps in the hallway. They had a new teacher coming in - a new-old one, anyway, but one she was only barely familiar with - and she definitely did not hear any of the chattering voices of Mansion greeters accompanying it. The guidance counselor stood, peeking out of her office, and noticing the young woman.

"Hello there" she smiled, waving a hand "You must be..."

She had a strange name, Gemma was good with strange names

"... Xavia, right?"

She stepped out of the office and offered a hand.

"Gemma Taylor, I'm the school's guidance counselor. It seems like I'm the only one on duty right now. Welcome back to the Mansion."

Hopefully she would stay longer than most teachers.

Technically, she hadn't been a teacher, or if she had it had only been brief. Her memories came from the fateful day she had been kidnapped and thrown into the back of a van, driven halfway across country, rescued by Calley, and brought to the Mansion to sleep off the sedatives. Sarah, Lori, even that weasel guy, what was his name? The water controlling police officer... The nacho riding Shin... Shade, her body guard when she was under the name of Layla... And others. If she hadn't have been kidnapped, she wouldn't have known such people and her life would have been spent in the greenhouse, hidden away from the world.

The scent of roses, not the god awful fake crap that people wore, but actual roses, drifted around her as the good memories flooded her. Caramel eyes fixed on the face of the woman who spoke to her, someone who she did not recognize, and she held out a dainty looking hand, “Jó napot! Yes, I am Xavia.” Her Eastern European accent had not dimmed a bit over the years since she had been in those parts, it was definitely still there. A wan smile graced her lips, and a warmth sparkled in her eyes. “T'ank you fer meeting me. I vas gettink antsy.”

She was a far cry from the slinky lounge singer, Layla, who's album had gone off into obscurity most likely, and was simply a prim and dressed down person, her clothes and subdued make ups speaking of her age, but not masking the fact that she looked way more youthful than she actually was due to her mutation. Ah, plant cells!

>>“Jó napot! Yes, I am Xavia. T'ank you fer meeting me. I vas gettink antsy.”

Gemma returned the smile and opened her office door wider.

"Come on in" she offered "I'll help you get situated. I don't think we have met before, but I know you were a Mansion resident earlier, is that right?"

Walking back to her desk, she looked up.

"One thing you should know up front: I am an adapted human, which means I have an aura that cancels out mutant powers. If that bothers you, you are welcome to take a seat in that chair, it is placed outside my range. It is something I tell everyone, just in case."

Gemma took a seat at her desk and nodded at the little table to the side.

"If you would like tea or coffee, you are welcome to it."

“Not at all bot'ered. My ah... power is of plants, not much I can do wit' anyhow.” She gave a soft chuckle. “I didn't really leef 'ere, I stay for few weeks per'aps to recover froom kidnapping. Seem like long time ago. I owe t'is place some'ting. I haff life back, I geev life to t'is place now.” As far as the coffee went, she would politely decline.

She gave a firm nod and a smile. The plant woman shifted to a relaxed stance and she habitually gestured with her hands as if to illustrate her point, “I teach children plants, yes?”

Now she was pausing to allow for a reply.

>>“Not at all bot'ered. My ah... power is of plants, not much I can do wit' anyhow. I didn't really leef 'ere, I stay for few weeks per'aps to recover froom kidnapping. Seem like long time ago. I owe t'is place some'ting. I haff life back, I geev life to t'is place now.”

Gemma nodded. She remembered seeing that in the Mansion records when she looked up the woman's name. It was a nice sentiment to have someone return once their life was in order, and want to give back to the Mansion. It was a school, after all, although people too often tended to forget that.

>>“I teach children plants, yes?”

Gemma nodded again.

"We are in need of a biology teacher" she noted with a smile "All of our classes are a little irregular... and the curriculum also depends on who is teaching them. But I can get you a basic list of requirements for Biology, in case some of the students need it for their studies. Have you, uh... been a teacher before?"

"No... Unless you count your own babies." She smiled. "My daughter ees en Michigan wit' her grandparents, I teach her t'ings about plants an' she attends private school. Very bight child." And so far, not showing any mutations despite the fact mom and dad both had some powers.

"But I went to school for a time so I could learn to teach." She presented her resume. "I get tired of living glamorous life of lounge singer." And she was quite serious. "I learn everyt'ing I can about botony and biology."

>>"No... Unless you count your own babies. My daughter ees en Michigan wit' her grandparents, I teach her t'ings about plants an' she attends private school. Very bight child."

Gemma smiled at that. So, this young woman had a child. That probably meant she definitely need a job, even if her daughter was not living with her at the moment. Gemma filed that information away for later on.

>>"But I went to school for a time so I could learn to teach. I get tired of living glamorous life of lounge singer. I learn everyt'ing I can about botony and biology."

"All right" Gemma nodded, getting to the practical side of things "I will get you a basic curriculum plan and a list of things the students need to learn if they would like to take exams in biology. We should have most of the required books in the library, if you need to read up on them."

She wasn't exactly a teacher, but when did that ever stop the Mansion from hiring someone?...

"Is there anything you need? Other than a room, obviously."

"Actually, I do not need accomodation, t'ank you. I have house in t'e city." She also didn't need a paycheck but she wouldn't say that because she would simply donate the money right back into the school anyways. Nobody needed to know that! She wondered if the greenhouse she helped fund was still up and in working order.

"Just t'e material I need t' go t'rough is fine, I make good plan for children." A warm smile was given then, and the plant mutant cocked her head. "I look forward to teaching, should be fun, yes?"

>>"Actually, I do not need accomodation, t'ank you. I have house in t'e city."

"All right" Gemma nodded. Commuting teacher, then. One could not expect all the faculty to live in the Mansion and be on call for the various needs and problems of the kids, after all. Having a decent Biology teacher for one was a nice enough change as is.

>>"Just t'e material I need t' go t'rough is fine, I make good plan for children. I look forward to teaching, should be fun, yes?"

"It should be" Gemma nodded with a smile too "Welcome to the faculty. We have a... uh, changing number of students, but I am sure they will be happy to take your classes. If any of them make trouble, let me know. And if you need anything... either for teaching, or otherwise... you know where to find me. Sounds good?"

It was nice to have more adults around the place.

'Yes, yes... Thank you!" Xavia grinned and tucked her materials under her arm, prepared to take a quick look around the grounds before leaving, and was justa bout to do so when she remembered something she wanted to ask. "Uh, not sure where to go, but I wish to join X-men. T'ey save my life, after all. I wait a long time to ask, but I t'ink I am ready."

She gave a nod. Not much else to say.

>>"Uh, not sure where to go, but I wish to join X-men. T'ey save my life, after all. I wait a long time to ask, but I t'ink I am ready."

Gemma blinked in surprise. A new teacher, and an X-member? They sorely needed both, but she didn't expect the nicely dressed young woman to volunteer... not with such determination anyway. She smiled and nodded.

"I am not in charge of the recruitment for the X-team" she admitted "But I can pass on your file to them, and let them know that you are interested. Some of them do have teaching positions at the Mansion, so I am sure you will meet them sooner than later. They will let you know if they are ready to accept you as a trainee."

Sam would have to make that decision, and Gemma didn't mind at all. She could attest for the character of the young teacher; the rest was up to the team.

"Oh, yes. I can do t'at." Did she ever meet Sam? She wasn't sure. She could remember most, if not all of the others. Or at least... she thought she did. Some of that part of her life was a hazy mess, considering what happened to her in that time frame. At least now she was in for something more mundane, right? If one could call teaching a bunch of mutant children about science, that is.

"T'ank you for your help," she said, beaming again, reaching out that well manicured hand of hers toward Gemma's, "When do I start?"

>>"T'ank you for your help. When do I start?"

That was an excellent question. Gemma considered it for a moment before she went back to her computer to look up a few things.

"Well... you will need some time to prepare, and I'll need some time to get the word out to the students, schedule the classes, order text books... you know, stuff. Why don't we give it a week for now, and see how the preparation is going, and go from there? You can come by any time in the meantime if you want to talk."

She looked up again.

"I really appreciate you doing this. Honestly, we are understaffed... and we can use all the help with the curriculum that we can get. So, really. Thank you."

"I see... Well, t'ank you for giving me opportunity to do t'is! It is my pleasure. An' t'e week will give me time to clean my home an' such, unpack boxes. I almost sell house when I leave to have baby, but too many good memories t'ere, bad memories too, but outweigh by good." She sighed, but in good cheer.

"I don't have many close friend, maybe we have fun sometime? Talk about weirdo men and such." She chuckled. In reality, she didn't miss being around men. She had gotten close to one before they just drifted apart, and almost got into some trouble with another, it would be nice to have some female friends who weren't full of tension in the romance department. Hah!

Nothing like a good, platonic friendship, yo.