Allegra said goodbye to Derek then ran to her room to change. She slid between the canyons of unpacked boxes that filled her room looking for the one labeled 'BEACH.'  She picked out a bright yellow crochet bikini and Burberry sunglasses. She changed then grabbed her blanket and packed a basket with lotion and other sunbathing essentials. She checked herself in the mirror one more time and decided she was good to go.

Allegra then headed straight to the kitchen. She entered slowly and peeked her head in to make sure that scary plant mutant girl wasn't there anymore. Thank god she was gone. Allegra didn't know why some mutants had to look so..... mutated.

Allegra assumed students were allowed to eat whatever was available in the kitchen so she raided the refrigerator. She poured some orange juice into a blender then threw in a couple bananas along with some frozen raspberries, strawberries and peaches. She hit pulse and instant smoothie! She grabbed a pitcher and two glasses then circled back and grabbed a couple more in case there would be others at the pool that might want some.

Allegra got to the pool before Derek, so she staked out a couple beach chairs by the pool. She wished she was actually at the beach back home but this would do for now. She burnt easily so she lathered on the sunscreen. She put on her shades then threw on one of her personal music mixes on her phone. She then took out a pad of paper along with one of her drawing pencils and started working on her next masterpiece. Or perhaps just some doodling. Either way, it would be something to do until Derek or anyone else showed up.

On the other hand after Derek left his newfound friend in the garden, he went upstairs to change into his green swimming trunks that he brought with him (for some odd reason. After grabbing a towel, his sunglasses, a his snapback, and a pair of flipflops and headed downstairs.

It took him a while to get to the pool only because he got lost making a wrong turn. That was the second time that happened today. Hopefully he'll get the hang out it and be able to navigate through the Mansion without much issue.

"Hey, Allegra!" Derek greeted as he sat down next to her. "What are you sketching?" He asked curiously with a smile on his face. He saw the smoothies and prayed to God of them was meant for him.

Allegra smiled when Derek joined her. “This is a first. I’m usually the one that’s late,” she laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ve just been relaxing. It still takes me forever to find my way around this place. I’m wondering if someone can make a GPS ap for this mansion. Otherwise, I’m gonna have to start loading up on breadcrumbs.”

She held the pitcher and a glass up. “Want some?” she offered.

“Oh, I was just drawing something for you,” she said. “It’s not finished but here.” She showed Derek a picture she drew of herself and him standing by the beach. In the background dolphins were jumping out of the sea.

“I’m into artwork and crafting so I make all kinds of crazy things for my friends. I hope you like it.”

Derek laughed t her GPS and breadcrumbs statement. "They might be taken away by ants."[/color] He told her, referring to the breadcrumbs. "Maybe do a piece of string and track your whereabouts like, uh, that guy did in the labyrinth." Derek tried to think of who it was. He had some guesses and one of them felt like the right one. "Theseus! That's who it is." He really needed to brush up on his mythology.

"Of course! That smoothie looks amazing." Derek reached for the glass and took it. He discreetly smelled it before taking a taste of it. "Oh! Raspberries! I like raspberries. Love them, actually."

Derek leaned over to look at the drawing. "Aww! That's us! We could make that happen with the dolphins." Derek answered, "It would be hard, but possible."[/font]

"Maybe you can tell the ants not to take the breadcrumbs," Allegra suggested. "Or if you want to be real mean, you can tell the ants to move the breadcrumbs and really confuse me. I hope not. I'm easily confused"

Allegra gave Derek a blank stare when he was talking about the labyrinth. "I think it was Hansel and Gretel," she offered. "Who's Theseus? Is he from Star Wars or something. Just to warn you, that whole Star Wars Trek thing. I just don't get it. People are so into it, but why? I mean it's all about some nerd with asthma who decides to wear some horror costume with a black cape and build his own little planet where all the other nerds wear ugly white costumes and speak Klingon. But come on. If he would just stop being so emo, then maybe he could move to a nice planet and make some friends. I don't think he's a very good role model for nerds."

"I'm on a babble-fest aren't I? Sorry," Allegra laughed. "Smoothie?" She poured Derek a glass and plopped a straw in it. "I wanted to put one of those little paper umbrellas in there too but I couldn't find any in the kitchen. Hope you like it. Just don't drink it too fast. The dreaded brain freeze must be avoided at all costs."

"That would be fun to make that happen with the dolphins," Allegra smiled. "They could be all happy and do tricks for us. Or they could get all angry and attack people like in the beginning of Shrek 3. I hope not though. I like happy dolphins better than crazed killer dolphins."

She took a sip of her smoothie. "Sorry. Babbling again. It's just that it feels so good to get out here in the sun even if we aren't by the beach. I really miss home even though I've only been gone a couple days. So, are you happy here so far? Have they signed you up for any classes yet?"

Derek laughed. "That's true. I haven't really tried controlling insects yet, but I'm sure I could do some damage. Like with bees or hornets." He shrugged his shoulders. He never thought of using his powers offensively, but if push came to shove, he'd certainly defend himself and anyone else who was in danger.

When Allegra didn't know what he was talking about, he decided to drop it and move on to another topic. "Ah, never mind. It's not important."

Derek took another sip out of his drink and smiled at Allegra. It tasted amazing! Honestly, he could drink this all today and never get sick of it. "It's really good. Thank you." He smile kindly ay her before turning his attention to the pool. A couple of mutants were playing in the pool, but no one in particular caught his eye.

"You and I both." He laughed a bit. "Maybe I'll get to meet a great white. Maybe swim along side them or something like that." Derek shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

Derek nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm pretty happy. Especially after meeting you." He answered with a grin. "And I've decided that I want to attend NYU in the fall. I want to restart my education, y'know?"

“Do you think you could control a whole hornet nest?”Allegra asked. “That's a lot of buggy brains to keep track of. Or do you just have to control the queen to tell all the other hornets what to do? They would sure do a lot of damage. It’s kind of scary actually what we can do. Or what some of the other people here can do.” Allegra thought that people who wanted mutants to register had a good point. Sure, it was found to be unconstitutional and that made sense too. Mutants like herself and Derek were people and she didn’t want either of them monitored by the government. But it was still scary to think about what mutants could do unknown and unchecked..

“I love these smoothies and they’re so easy to make,” Allegra said. “I've also thrown watermelon with raspberries into the blender and that’s really good too. If you want more, just let me know and I can make some.”

Allegra looked over at the other mutants in the pool. “That glowing turquoise guy is in my Home Ec class,” Allegra said. “I don’t know his name and haven’t ever talked to him but a member of the Blue Man group tends to stick out.”

“Well, when you come to visit me in California, we’ll go scuba diving together,” Allegra said. “It’s a lot of fun. I can’t guarantee any great whites but there are plenty of cool fish and other sea creatures to mingle with.”

“Are you taking any classes here at Xavier’s?” Allegra asked. “What are you going to take an NYU? How long does it take to get your veterinary license or whatever they call it? There’s a bunch of great fashion schools here in New York so I might hang around after I graduate from this place. Or maybe I should say if I graduate from this place. I’ve only had one class and it’s way harder than anything I had at my old school.”

Derek had never thought about it. "I guess I could, but yeah, I would have to get to the queen before anything would happen and even then, it would take time for the pheromones to be released. By the time that happens, I'm probably dead" He smirked. "or worse." Derek now understood that there were worse things that can happen to you that didn't involve death. To some, death was too kind.

"That would be awesome. I know this one recipe where you add mangoes, strawberries, orange juice, and bananas? So good." Derek took a long sip of his smoothie. He had to stop himself so that he wouldn't get a brain freeze.

"Is he nice?" Derek asked. "I haven't seen him around. Then again, I just got here." Derek smirked.

The mutant grinned, "I would like that," he nodded his head quickly, "I never been far west before. I hear it's progressive." he added with a grin. Derek had thought that if he ever moved somewhere, it would be somewhere out west or up north.

"Well, I'm getting my major in animal studies," Derek took another sip, "And it'll take me...six years if I start off as a sophomore." He answered. "New York is an amazing place. I might...stay here."

“Okay, then you have to promise me you’ll stay away from hornets’ nests,” Allegra said. “I don’t want you getting hurt. I can’t imagine a more painful death than being stung by a swarm of hornets.  They keep stinging over and over again unlike bees, right? God, I hate bugs!"

“Mangoes are yum!” Allegra said. “They didn’t have any frozen mangoes in the fridge. I saw a couple fresh mangoes but I don’t really know how to cut them. But we will have to try them next time.”

“I can’t even remember his name. Like I said, I didn’t get a chance to talk to him,” Allegra said of the blue-skinned mutant. “”I just remember he could turn red and heat stuff up then turn white and freeze stuff. He tried to cook the chicken using his powers. That didn’t work so well. He should have just used the oven. Mr. Turner, our teacher, is kind of a stickler for everyone following directions.”

“I guess it’s progressive in Cali,” Allegra said. “Compared to North Carolina, it certainly sounds like it. I’ve never lived anywhere else. I guess in some ways it’s better and in some ways it’s not. We’re way more accepting of being gay and stuff like that but you’ve got to dress a certain way and you have to know the right people to fit in. I know it’s that way everywhere, but it’s huge in Beverly Hills. The south just strikes me as a little more laid back.”

“You know, I’ve never heard the term ‘animal studies’ before. So is that kind of like getting your M.D. to treat animals?” That sounded really interesting to her. She loved animals but wasn’t sure she wanted a career doing it. “You’ll be a natural if you can get through the science and math stuff. Most animals are terrified when they get to the vet, so you can at least calm them down a bit. Believe it or not, my friend''s cat sees a therapist. Maybe you could be an animal shrink or something like that.”

“New York does seem amazing but I haven’t had much chance to explore yet,” Allegra said. “What kind of stuff do you like doing for fun. Maybe we can plan an adventure together?”

"Oh, I mean I could tell them to stop and defend me which would be slightly easier than just, y'know, tellin' the entire hive not to sting me. Though, hornet nests don't really get the large." Derek explained with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. He felt good that Allegra cared. "Y'know, you should get to know the insects around you. You'd be surprised how much you like them."

"Oh! I know how to cut a mango. My dad loves that fruit." Derek also loved mangos especially if they were fresh.

Derek slowly nodded his head. "Ah, I see. Home economics must be a great class to be in, though. Do you get to eat the food that you cook?" He asked curiously.

"Eh," Derek took a sip of his smoothie. "The south is keen on fashion too. There are places like Beverly Hills down there. Just more...Religious and hot." He chuckled a bit. "I feel like you'd like some places down there."

"Technically it's a D.V.M. Doctor of Veterinary Medicine." Derek corrected with a grin. He looked over at Derek and grinned. "Yeah, the math part is goin' to be a bit hard for me, but nothin' I can't conquer." He grinned widely and looked straight forward again.

"Mm...I like gardening, going on nature walks, shopping, listening to music, and...watching Netflix. Oh, and gawking at hot guys. You?"

When Derek suggested that Allegra should get to know the insects, she got bug-eyed in terror. "But they're all creepy crawly," Allegra shrieked. "They come into your house without asking and fly in your face. And they're UGLY! They look like something from a monster movie. And there’s a million of them and they all want to crawl all over you! What is there to like about them?"

"You know how to cut mangoes?" Allegra asked. "Well then, when we go back for seconds, you should cut some up and we'll add them to the smoothies. I'll watch while you do it so I'll know how next time. Maybe it'll impress my Home Ed teacher. I doubt it, though. I thought that class would be easy but it's not. They made me do manual labor. Can you believe that? On my first day! I felt like I was on a really bad reality show. We were able to form into groups but the teacher said that we would all get the lowest score of whoever worked the least. I didn't think that was very fair or very nice. Why do we need to know how to cook anyway? That's what restaurants are for."

Derek asked if they got to eat the food they cooked. "Yeah, sort of," she answered. "You know I love animals so I'm vegan. I don't want to eat them or do anything that will harm them. There wasn't anything I could eat in the class. The robot girl couldn't eat either, though, so that made it a little bit less awkward. Still it totally sucked.  Don’t even get me started on the conversation about eating people. Some students here seem to think that cannibalism is funny for some reason."

"We need to plan a trip down south then," Allegra said. "If the shopping's good, I'm there!"

"I'm sure you'll be able to get your DMV no problem," Allegra said pronouncing the title wrong. "So what do you want to do when you get it? Do you want to be a vet or maybe something different like an animal trainer or psychologist or something?"

"Gawking at hot guys is a definite yes for me too," Allegra laughed. "I don't know anything about gardening but I'm signed up for a botany class here which looks interesting. I'm not sure about nature walks- too many bugs. But I do love running. I wake up and jog every morning. I really want to check out Central Park. I love music. Hope you like the mix I've got on. I'm big on Netflix binging too. I was rewatching all of Big Beautiful Fibbers so I can be all caught up for the finale that's coming up. My friends say I look like Shanna on the show but I don't think so. She's way prettier. Let's see. I like to draw obviously. I love the beach. I love dancing and I love my puppies. I’m crazy into fashion and shopping is my life. And most of all, just hanging out with my friends. So I'm having a great time this afternoon.”

Derek started laughing when Allegra started describing why she and bugs don't mix. "Hey, they aren't all bad. You like butterflies! I'm sure you like seeing bees from a distance since they make honey. You just have to experience them for yourself when it's on your terms." He smiled at his friend before taking a long sip of his smoothie. Damn, it was good.

"Oh, sweetie. Cookin' food instead of buyin' it out in the streets helps save a lot of a money. I know plenty of people who cook, then go out to eat once a week. Trust me, you'd want to learn how to cook." Derek loved cooking. Not only did it save money, but it always relaxed him. Lately, it was hard being able to do that especially with moving into a new environment.

"You're a vegan?" Derek asked a bit surprised. "Huh, I didn't know that. Then again I just met you a few hours ago." He chuckled before drinking from his glass. "Well, maybe you can ask the teacher to make some vegan meals. There's no harm in tryin'."

"Yeah, but somewhere liberal. I think Austin, Texas is and so his Huston." Derek shrugged his shoulders. "Just to maximize or fun time there."[/color]

"DVM," he chuckled, "not DMV." He explained politely. "Yeah, I want to be a clinical vet. Hopefully I'll get to do that."

"I'm sure we'll find somethin' to do together. Somethin' we'll both equally enjoy," Derek paused, "like making smoothies for hot guys with nice butts." He chuckled and looked at Allegra. He finished off his drink and set it on the table between them. "Is there anymore smoothie? I need a refill."

“Well, butterflies are pretty and honey tastes good,” Allegra said. “What good are wasps or cockroaches? All roaches do is spread germs and get in your food and look gross.” Allegra was trying to be open minded about this but she couldn’t see any reason to tolerate the lowly roach.

“I’ve got a credit card. I can go out to eat whenever I want,” Allegra said. “Back home we had a housekeeper that did all the cooking. I seriously do not need to know how to make three course meals. Though, I guess it could be fun. I used to make stuff in my Easy Bake Oven all the time when I was a kid. But that class was more like being in the army. Less cupcakes. More push ups.”

“Yeah, I’ve been vegetarian for three years and vegan for almost a year,” she said. “There’s just so much good vegan food out there I don’t see any reason you need to hurt an animal just for a meal. I think the only time I’d do that is if the animal was attacking me or there was absolutely nothing else to eat. I’d ask my teacher about it, but I think eating meat is his mutant power. Plus, I don’t think he likes me very much.”

“I knew a girl from Austin,” Allegra said. “It’s really liberal but some of the people there are kinda freaky. Houston’s really growing. I guess any big city is gonna be more liberal and accepting than some of the podunk little towns. I’m just so sorry people were mean to you. You don't deserve that. I hate bullies more than anything.”

“Oh, so you're not gonna go to school to learn how to take ugly pictures for driver’s licenses then,” Allegra laughed. “DVM. Got it. I’m pretty embarrassed now. I think you’d be great as a vet. Even without your powers, you’ve got a good caring heart.”

“There should be plenty we both enjoy,” Allegra said. “When my puppies come, I want to take them to Central Park. Would you be interested? Yes, making smoothies for hot guys is a must but I don’t see any. Other than you of course.” She poured Derek another glass. “I made a bunch in case anyone else wanted to stop by, but so far no takers, so it’s all for us. I’m actually really enjoying yourself. I was so depressed before. Thank you for making this easier.”

"You have a point there, but roaches are also decomposers." Derek pointed out with a smile on his face. "Just me, I'm not tellin' you should go and hug a roach, but, y'know, give 'em a try. You might like them. Insects in general not just cockroaches." He chuckled and relaxed more.

"Lucky you," Derek grinned at Allegra. It must've been nice having a housekeeper that also cooked for her and her family. That must've been really nice to come home to. Derek secretly prayed that he would have an experience like that once he became comfortable, "I have a debit card that I'm tryin' not to spend my savin's."

Allegra had a point. He'd think that because animals could communicate with animals that he would a vegan along side his friend, but he wasn't. He loved meat. Granted, he made sure that it was organic and everything, but other han that, he was your everyday omnivore. "Why would you think that he doesn't like you?"

Derek smirked, "no need to apologize. It was just somthin' that I'm gonna have to deal with, y'know? Thankfully I have thick skin." He smiled over at Allegra. "It's fine and thank you for your...apologize." He sniffed and smiled more at Allegra. "Aw, thank you. you have a good heart and a great eye for fashion." He complimented back with a grin.

"Sure! I'd love to plus your puppies would be nice to see." Derek grinned and watched her pour hm a glass. God, he could down the whole thing. "And you're welcome. Thank you for hearin' my lil story."

"You have a point there, but roaches are also decomposers."


“I don’t care how depressed they are,” Allegra said once again misinterpreting what Derek said. “Give them all some buggy Prozac and tell them to leave me alone.” She sighed. “Okay, if you think I should give bugs a chance, maybe I will. How do I start with that?”

“I don’t think I’d be too good at saving money. Just spending it,” Allegra laughed. “Are you going to get any kind of scholarship when you go back to school? I’m sure if someone saw how good you are with animals, they’d give you one.”

“I think Mr. Turner thinks I’m spoiled or something,” Allegra said. “It’s not true. I’ve got friends with much bigger mansions than mine. Just because I’m not G.I. Jane army gal doesn’t mean I don’t have life experiences and it doesn’t mean things haven’t been hard for me. Besides, I have no intentions of becoming the Iron Chef, so his class is pretty pointless.”

“Of course, I’ll hear your little story. You’ve listened to me go on and on and on,” Allegra smiled. “That’s what friends are for. I’m glad you have thick skin. I don’t think I really do. When someone says something mean, it really gets to me. I can't help it."

“Thanks for the compliment,” Allegra smiled when Derek said she had a great eye for fashion. “I’ve been working on a design for school uniforms. Not like I think we need to get uniforms but maybe for training and stuff. I’m just afraid some nerd is gonna suggest that because we have powers like superheroes, we should all wear yellow spandex or something.” Allegra shuddered. “I think I’d rather cuddle up to a roach.”