Yet another night of wandering around the mansion, alone, bored and having virtually memorized every hallway and staircase, and yet Victoria was at it again. If they ever had a fire and people needed to get out quick she could tell everyone which way was the fastest based on where they were. Oh yes, she read all of those information plaques also.

She still loved being in the mansion because it was a place that felt comfortable and safe. The biggest problem was most people were up and about during the day time. A time she avoided and slept. Once in a while she would cross paths with someone she knew, and even more rare were the new arrivals or people she just hadn't met yet.

This time there were new voices coming from the kitchen area. A rush of excitement filled the girl as now she’d have people to interact with. She made her way to the kitchen door and stepped inside. Her ruby eyes were met with the sight of two new people. Even more excitement. “Hello! You guys can’t sleep?”

When someone was in grade school, every test was important. Or at least they felt like it. Gemma sometimes believed that teachers stressed too much how each test could be the end of someone's college career before it even begun. If a student was the anxious kind, it only made them have more problems on the long run.

>>"Yeah... It's kind of important... Okay, it's really important, and I'm kind of freaking out about it. But it's going to be okay. I still got time..."

"Taking a break is very healthy" Gemma nodded sagely, eating some more ice cream "If you are too stressed, you won't retain what you study. Pacing yourself is important."

She was going to say more, but a girl walked into the kitchen in that moment, looking curious, and asking if they could not sleep either.

"We are taking an ice cream break" Gemma smiled, waving her inside "Is something keeping you awake?"

Andy told himself he had time to spare, but that was a lie, and every logical, rational, and reasonable part of him part of him knew it. I need to leave. Now.

>> "Taking a break is very healthy. If you are too stressed, you won't retain what you study. Pacing yourself is important."

Andy nodded as though he had heard it all before – because he had. His old guidance counselor used to tell him the same thing. “I’ve taken too many breaks already...” he admitted, his mind flashing back to all the times he chose swimming over studying. You have to leave, his brain reminded him. No more ice-cream. No more talking. Just. Go.

>> “Hello! You guys can’t sleep?”

Just as Andy was about to finally stand up and tell the ever-understanding Miss Taylor that it was nice meeting her, a weirdly pale, red-eyed girl walked into kitchen with an excited smile plastered on her face. At this hour, he didn’t expect anyone to be so peppy, but she was, and it bothered him way more than he knew it should. Seriously, she looked as though she didn’t have a single care in the world, probably because she wasn’t taking any summer classes, and Andy couldn’t help but feel jealous, as well as regretful.

I should have never taken Chemistry in the summer… What was I thinking? he asked himself before forcing his lips into a smile that he hoped appeared more friendly than he felt inside. Miss Taylor said they were taking an ice-cream break and Andy shrugged. “Hey,” he greeted the girl, trying not to get entranced by her strangely colored eyes, which for some reason made him want to stay a little longer. No, his brain protested, ordering him to leave, but Andy’s body didn’t seem to respond. He didn't want to be rude.

Grinning from ear to ear she followed the woman’s gesture and continued into the kitchen. An ice cream break she said. The girl’s eyes located the box of ice cream and she nodded. Though she found it odd. “You both take a break from sleeping to eat ice cream?” That must be one of the stranger mutations she had heard of, and it only fueled her curiosity more. “Do you need ice cream to recharge or something?”

Looking to the boy she replied back to him. “Hiya!” He had a weird look on his face, but she wasn’t sure what it was. She noticed he kept looking at her, but he kind of seemed preoccupied as well. “Are you getting enough ice cream?” Maybe he hadn’t had enough yet to feel better?

"I'm Victoria."

Andy looked positively guilty over taking a break from studying Chemistry. He really seemed stressed out about the whole thing, and as much as Gemma wanted him to feel better, she knew she was only going to make that happen by letting him go back to studying. Which she was prepared to do too, except the girl showed up, curious about what was going on.

>>“You both take a break from sleeping to eat ice cream? Do you need ice cream to recharge or something?”

"Ice cream is good for recharging." Gemma chuckled "We are taking a break from work, not sleep, though. Late hours." she added with a smile.

>>“Hiya! Are you getting enough ice cream? I'm Victoria."

"Hi Victoria. Want some ice cream?" she waved a hand; she remembered meeting the girl before, but only vaguely, among all the kids at the Mansion over the years.

With a sigh, Andy glanced down at what what was left of his coconut ice-cream and picked up his spoon once more. By this point, it was mostly melted, but still tasted good, though not nearly as good as before. He was too worried about his test tomorrow to enjoy his food. Too nervous. Too frustrated. Too annoyed. Seriously, what was up with this girl? Her smile only grew wider the more she talked. He doubted if she was even capable of not smiling. Maybe she was on drugs? Or maybe chronic liveliness was a part of her mutation? She also talked kind of weird...

Andy quirked an eyebrow when she asked if they needed ice-cream to recharge. He wasn’t a robot...

>> "Ice cream is good for recharging. We are taking a break from work, not sleep, though. Late hours."

Andy looked to Miss Taylor and shrugged. If only she knew all the hours Andy didn’t work, she would probably see him in a different light... Ugh. Why couldn’t he be a better student? Why couldn’t he just do his homework in advance, study more and be on top of everything? When he first arrived at Xavier’s, he got this crazy idea that maybe he could start over and turn things around, but history was repeating itself right before his very eyes and what was he doing? Eating ice-cream.

>> "Hiya! Are you getting enough ice cream?"

When the girl spoke to him, Andy looked up from his ice-cream and quirked a brow in confusion. Was she calling him flaco? He cast a quick glance at his arms, which he guessed could be a little bigger, before nodding with uncertainty. “I think so?”

>> "I’m Victoria."

Whatever the reason, Andy still felt the need to muster a smile when she introduced herself. “I’m Andy. Nice to meet you,” he said out of habit, though not nearly as enthusiastic as he would have been under better circumstances.

>> "Want some ice cream?"

Andy pushed the box of coconut ice-cream toward Victoria without a shred of hesitance. “There isn’t much left, but feel free to finish it off. I don’t want any more.” What he wanted was to go back to his room and keep studying...

Claire bopped into the kitchen, then paused, slightly taken aback. It wasn't the first time she'd encountered someone in the kitchen late, but three? Must be a full moon or something... The redhead made a beeline for the 'fridge, her long tie-die skirts swishing across the tiles, and grabbed a diet Dr. Pepper. On her shoulder was a brightly colored parrot that would have made any pirate proud. It flapped it's wings to keep it's balance when she dipped down to get her soda. The creature was a tad odd however, in that it seemed quite angular. Close inspection would reveal it to be her latest creation, a paper parrot! Claire popped the top and took a sip of Dr. Pepper, savoring it as the bubbles tickled her freckled nose - it was her guilty pleasure. She probably drank too much caffeine but she had a project going, and she wanted to get it done so she could test it in the morning. Nothing fancy or explosive this time, just a mini rocket stove. Honest!

"Hey guys! What's up?" she chirped happily. While the chemistry teacher had her cleaning out all the old junk from the closet as her work-study, she recognized Andy from the Chemistry class where she'd been acting as a student assistant. She loved chem! Well, maybe too much and after the great "$100 in glassware gone in a flash - literally" experiment, she strongly suspected that cleaning the closet was seen as protective custody. She didn't mind that much though. It was actually kinda like an archaeology dig going through some of the ancient stuff in there.

It was certainly better than the alternative. Her parents were in the field on a "Doctors without Borders" mission, in a very hot and miserable place. While she liked backpacking, she preferred the cool mountains to deserts and they felt better leaving her safely (at least somewhat) at home.


ooc: back after a long absence. This seemed like a great place to dive back in!

Chemistry? What was the point of that anyway? Allegra had no desire to play mad scientist holding beakers full of colorful and probably deadly liquid. And the Periodic Table? Had that ever come up in any discussion in her life before? Nope? This class was therefore a colossal waste of time.

But she still needed to pass. Somehow she needed to offset that F she was currently getting in Home Ec. She was dazzling everyone in art and doing great in P.E. but all these other classes were as boring as they were worthless. Allegra still had to find a way to pass them.

So Allegra headed down to the living room wearing her oversized sleep shirt with a picture of the Eiffel Tower that said I Heart Paris. She was hoping to run into Kendra as her invisible insomniac friend often made the rounds late at night and was an excellent study distraction. But tonight no such luck.

“Let’s get something to eat, huh girls?” she asked her two dogs. They recognized the word ‘eat’ and jumped up and down as if they had both won the doggie lottery.

Allegra walked into the kitchen and was surprised it was packed.  “Full house tonight,” she greeted.  

Most of the people she recognized. There was Andy, the steaming hot boy from Chem class and Claire who she said hi to once or twice. Claire was the brain and teacher’s pet of the class but she also seemed really down to earth too. They’d be choosing lab partners soon.Claire was smart plus she seemed like someone that Allegra could be friends with.

“Hey, Claire! Have you picked a lab partner yet?” Allegra asked. She sort of wanted to ask Andy who she regularly fantasized wearing his swimming speedos but it was better to go for the smart girl. Smart partner = less work for Allegra. Allegra was all about less work. Allegra saw what looked like an origami bird on Claire's shoulder. Allegra was really into crafting and tried some origami herself. She was about to comment when the 'bird' flapped its wings. Decidedly odd, so Allegra just tried to smile as if it were normal.

Claire could probably pass the test without opening a book but Andy looked worried. “So are you ready for this thing?” Allegra asked him. “Who would think there would be so much math in Chemistry. Isn’t that what we have math class for?”

Allegra smiled at the pale skinned girl but it was obvious she was nervous. She just didn’t seem normal. You’d think Allegra would be used to that by now in a school full of mutants but some people just icked her. Victoria had a bit of a goth vibe to her and the perky cheerleader didn’t get along so well with most of the goths. “Hi. I’m Allegra. I’ve seen you around,” Allegra said as cheerfully as she could. That was the truth. A couple times when Allegra couldn’t sleep she’d come down and saw Victoria roaming the halls. Allegra would always turn and bolt the other way so she wouldn’t have to talk to Victoria.  Allegra felt bad about being so prejudiced but she couldn’t help it.

“Oh, Ms. Taylor, hi,” Allegra said. “I was wondering if you got my hardship request saying I need a bigger room. I haven’t heard anything about it so I figured I’d check on it.” Allegra had requested a bigger room and had been turned down so she figured she’d fill out the hardship form on the grounds that she needed more closet space. What did she have to lose?

At that moment, Allegra remembered something Abby said to her about Mama T who could take away mutant powers. Was this Mama T? Allegra didn’t really understand the concept of adapted humans. Someone tried explaining it once and it just sounded another form of mutant to her. But if Ms. Taylor could take away Allegra’s mutant powers and make her normal again, Allegra would be in heaven. At the very least, Derek suggested to Allegra that it would be good to talk to someone.

"Hey, could I also make an appointment?" Allegra asked her. "Um, to talk about the bigger room thing, of course." Allegra didn't want to seem like the kind of girl that needed counseling. Not in front of everyone else.

Allegra saw the others picking the last of the ice cream. She opened the freezer and grabbed some frozen strawberries and peaches. “I’m gonna make some smoothies. Anyone want some?” she offered.

Giving a smile of both acceptance and acknowledgement, Victoria stepped closer and sat at the table. She giggled softly at the confused look from the boy, and watched him look his arms over. “It’s nice to meet you too Andy. I was just kidding about making sure you got enough ice cream.” She gave him another reassuring grin.

Before she could direct a question to the lady at the table, another girl popped into the kitchen. She seemed very cheerful and more full of energy than Andy appeared to be. “Hello! We’re having ice cream. There isn’t much left, but you can have some if you want.” As Victoria spoke she watched the little bird on the girl’s shoulder fidget to keep balance. “That’s a cute bird you have.”

Another girl entered the kitchen. This one was more outspoken than anyone else Victoria had met this night, but she must’ve had lots on her mind. She seemed pleasant enough as she greeted everyone. So, Victoria introduced herself to both of the new arrivals. “Nice to meet you both. I’m Victoria.” She gave a big pearly white smile. More people to interact with! She continued on but now directed to Allegra. “Oh! You could’ve said hi if you had wanted to before now. It would’ve been ok.”

"Umm, no actually...But I'd be game for one?" Claire replied to the British girl. Could it be that word of the great "potassium left in the zinc" lab failure...okay, call a spade a spade, it was a downright explosion, but the fire system had suppressed it nicely - could it be that word of that hadn't leaked out? After all, that hadn't been her fault. The stuff was labeled Zinc and so, silly her, she expected zinc! How was she to know it would catch fire when exposed to water?!

Her "parrot", not really fully aware itself that it was only a construct, decided to check out the action on the table. Taking wing, it glided towards a landing, but never arrived. HItting Gemma's field, it changed back into a mere paper model, which spiriled to the floor in a very "paper model of a bird" fashion. Call it a crash if you wish, it definitely didn't land. 

Claire looked perplexed, and picked it up, poking at it experimentally with one painted fingernail.
"Well, hmm. Never had one do That before..." she said, perplexed at the creature's reverse transformation. Normally, when they came to the end of their 'life', they turned to dust. She'd only made this one earlier that evening, so it should have lasted a couple of more days. 

It appeared to be the time of the night when every student in the Mansion got the same idea: Getting something to eat in the kitchen. Gemma smiled and waved as more students joined in, getting a nice little chatting group going around the table. She knew them, and they were good kids; Gemma decided it was time to finish off her ice cream and leave them to have their conversations. She was still the guidance counselor, and she did not want to make them feel awkward. Especially because, as proven by the suddenly falling paper bird, some of them did not know about her aura....

>>“Oh, Ms. Taylor, hi. I was wondering if you got my hardship request saying I need a bigger room. I haven’t heard anything about it so I figured I’d check on it. Hey, could I also make an appointment? Um, to talk about the bigger room thing, of course."

Oh, yes. That girl. She remembered that girl. Gemma smiled and nodded as she stood up.

"I'll make you an appointment for tomorrow, Allegra." she nodded, and looked around "Have fun everyone, and please clean up after... I'll go, I don't think I can stay in the kitchen and keep everyone outside of my aura. But please don't break up on my account."

>> "Hey guys! What's up?"

As though by some strange twist of fate, one of his classmates walked into the kitchen. Claire. He didn’t know her very well, but he was well-aware of her powers, which involved making paper animals or something like that. This time she was sporting a brightly colored parrot on his shoulder. If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought it was real. Victoria seemed to fall for it, though.

>> “Hello! We’re having ice cream. There isn’t much left, but you can have some if you want. That’s a cute bird you have.”

Nodding in agreement, Andy leaned back in his chair, patted his stomach a few times and said, “I don’t want any more.” What he wanted was to get back to studying. Didn’t Claire have to study to? Or maybe she already had? Most students probably already had. What if I’m the only one who does poorly? Andy thought, a look of worry covering his face.

Then, as if the universe was against him, another student from his Chemistry class entered the kitchen and asked if he was ready for the test tomorrow. Was everyone ready but him? Andy bit his lower lip nervously, unsure of what to say. He could either be honest and save himself some embarrassment or lie; either way, his performance tomorrow wouldn’t change. “Not yet,” he replied, “but I will be.” Even if it meant pulling an all-nighter. And by the looks of things, he may just have to… Ugh.

>> “Who would think there would be so much math in Chemistry. Isn’t that what we have math class for?”

Andy’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. Did that mean she wasn’t ready, either? “Yeah…” he agreed with a smile, though honestly it wasn’t the math that bothered Andy - it was everything else. He could follow the steps and plug in the equations, but he had no idea how it all worked, which meant his chances of choosing the wrong equation for any given problem were high. He needed to read the textbook more to figure it out… or maybe Claire knew? He couldn’t bring himself to ask her for help, though. Too embarrassing.

>> "Have fun everyone, and please clean up after... I'll go, I don't think I can stay in the kitchen and keep everyone outside of my aura. But please don't break up on my account."

A window of opportunity! As Miss Taylor made her way out of the kitchen, Andy jumped up from his seat, pushed in his chair, and brought his dirty bowl to the sink, where he quickly rinsed it off with warm water. Turning around, he was about to say he had to leave, as well, when Allegra said,

>> “I’m gonna make some smoothies. Anyone want some?”

Fuck. Andy winced as though in pain as he resisted the temptation to stay any longer than he already had, even if it meant missing out on a free smoothie. His future depended on it. He couldn’t afford to get another F in Chemistry. It’d look horrible on his high school transcript. One F was bad enough. He’d never get into a Marine Biology program if he got another. “I'd seriously love a smoothie, Allegra, but I have get back to studying,” he said, inching his way toward the exit. Finally. "I'll see you two in class tomorrow... Nice meeting you, Victoria."