The guards buzzed Celestina in when she showed up at the front gate. She wasn't really sure what to say, so she was glad when they didn't seem to question her too much besides some basic questions. The first step was complete, at least - to not be denied entry. She bit her middle finger nail nervously as she started walking towards the mansions entrance. She debated on turning back. She was already in some culture shock from how different this country, this state was compared to Regina. Maybe starting a new school, specifically one to help her with her powers, was too much too fast. 

She took a deep breath and looked over the mansion, "I wonder how many rooms this place has, 100? 92? 121? Probably more..." she quietly mumbled to herself. How many people lived here? Could this school really help her with her powers? Did the X-Men really live here? There was so many questions she wanted to ask. She took a deep breath, knowing that the answers would come as she became more familiar with the mansion and its inhabitants. "Patience," she whispers to herself, giving herself a mini prep talk as she walked along the sidewalk: "Everything is going to be fine, Celeste. This is a new beginning for you, a new start. You can't chicken out now. You've made it this far, you can't turn back now." She nodded her head to herself, determined. 

Her mind quickly drifted back to her parents, back to her hometown of Regina. So much has changed. It felt like a lifetime ago that she lived in Regina with them and her sibling. Maybe in a different world, her parents would have embraced her mutation. Maybe they will eventually in this world too. Celestina wondered if they'd be proud of her for coming here to better herself, learn more about her powers, and finish her schooling so she can make a real, hopefully powerful impact on the world. Maybe they would be proud of her even with her mutation. 

The mansion was beautiful. She noticed a large pool in the distance. She didn't know how to swim, so she made a mental note to avoid that area. She looked over the very well maintained landscape. The air smelled like cut grass. "It is such a beautiful place. The mansion, the landscape. I wonder if they use mutants with plant type powers to help maintain the lawn," she says quietly to herself, intrigued. She was a bit surprised she hadn't seen anyone outside. She glanced at her watch, realizing it was not quite lunch time yet. Probably still in class. 

Stopping near the entrance to the mansion, she decided to take a moment to gather her thoughts before entering the building. She sat down on the edge of the curb and stared out across the expansive lawn. This was real. Her life was about to change forever. It was up to her to make the best of it. She took a deep breath, knowing that it was time to head inside. Either they'll accept her or they won't, and either way, she has a journey to begin. 

Patrolling was a duty of the X-Men that Juliette found herself often unable to do. With the amount that she worked and trained, there weren’t many daylight hours left for her to volunteer to patrol with. Nights were out, too. She hated being outside when it was dark, and ever since she’d moved out, she tried not to stay at the mansion past sunset. It was just easier that way.

However, when the rare occasion when she had a free afternoon and it worked in the schedule, Juliette did her best to volunteer. It really wasn’t much out of her comfort zone, after all; usually, things were pretty normal, and it was just a really good excuse to spend her entire afternoon outside. When things were slow, she was able to get a jog or some yoga in, and the whole time could be spent in the sun. It was a perfectly relaxing afternoon.

She had to be careful not to let herself get too relaxed, though. The mansion could still be attacked, or random people could try to get inside. It wasn’t as if the notion was totally unheard of - it happened at least once a week. She had to be looking around at least a little bit. 

At least, that was what she was telling herself as she moved between yoga positions and adjusted her sunglasses. She was on the grass behind the mansion, generally enjoying herself. It had been a while since she’d checked out front, though, and the couldn’t completely neglect the duty. She stood straight up and stretched before trekking back out to the front of the building. 

It was still quiet. Juliette stood and surveyed the area for a minute, dressed in a green tank top, jean shorts, and black strappy sandals. It seemed very much like nothing had changed since the last time that she’d taken a walk around the building… except for one thing. One very blonde thing.

The thing was a girl, sitting on the curb outside of the building, almost as if she was deciding whether or not to go in. She was so silent that Juliette almost hadn’t noticed that she was there (unlike most of the students at the mansion). For a moment, she considered leaving the girl alone to her thoughts, but she knew that it was her job to make her feel welcome. That was part of the reason they even had people patrolling in the first place. She needed to make sure that she found her way and got settled if that was her intent. 

”Hi there,” Juliette greeted, flashing the girl a smile as she approached carefully. She gave her a little wave, partially in greeting and partially to show that she came in peace, without weapons. Weapons that weren’t her, anyway. ”Is there something I can help you out with?”

Celestina stared down the mansions sidewalk, out towards the front entrance. “I wonder if they have any type of requirements for admission,” she pondered out loud to herself. She really needed to be able to join a place like this – one where she could finish her schooling and learn more about her powers. She furrowed her brow, “Bah, I gotta quit just sitting here.”

She was brought back to reality when she heard a voice. She glanced over to where the voice came from and saw a woman slowly approaching her. She looked like she was being cautious, which made some. Some random girl on the sidewalk. She winced to herself, realizing how much of a weirdo she probably looked right now. 

She quickly stood up, brushing any dirt off of her jeans. She had dressed casually today, basic jeans and a blue button up shirt with her sleeves rolled up. Celeste gave a smile towards Juliette. How come everyone she has met in New York were gorgeous? It seemed like New York may be the capital of most attractive people alive. 

>> ”Hi there. Is there something I can help you out with?”

“Hi! I’m Celestina De Ward. Celeste, for short.” She paused and walked over towards Juliette. She kept her hands as visible as possible, careful to make sure Juliette knew she wasn't intending any type of harm or was dangerous at all. "I was, um, looking to see if I could enroll at the school. I’m originally from Canada, but got here a while ago due to some family issues with my mutation.” Once she was within handshake reach, she reached her hand out to shake Juliette’s.

She winced, realizing how potentially awkward and weird her sentences were coming out. Already a bit of an awkward person, it didn’t help she was nervous coming to the mansion. Really, she wasn’t even sure why she was so nervous. “Um, so you know up front, I can absorb and release radiation from my body, so that’s my mutation, I was hoping to come here to finish up my schooling & work on controlling my mutation and some other stuff. I found you guys on Google but I couldn't find all the information about admissions and stuff like that.” She had presumed the woman was some type of faculty, but she realized that may have been a big assumption.

“I guess I should’ve asked first- are you a student or part of the faculty? Could you kinda point me in the direction I need to go, if possible?” She finally stopped talking, realizing she was continually rambling. She took another deep breath, “Sorry, I’ve been a little on edge since I got here. The culture shock or something, I guess.” Her face had turned a little red, embarrassed by her rambling. 

For a moment, Juliette worried that she’d scared the girl, who seemed to be wincing. Maybe she was just nervous? The brunette remembered feeling extremely nervous when she’d first arrived there, and it had only been a year ago. She could hardly imagine what it would be like to arrive as a teenager without an escort.

The girl quickly cleared up her initial worries by giving her a smile, which Juliette easily returned. She stood on the grass and waited as the girl approached, using the same method of displaying her empty hands to show that she meant no harm. That was good at least; the mansion had a long, illustrious history of being attacked. Not that showing up unarmed meant a whole lot in a world full of mutants.

Just like she’d figured from the fact that the girl was around the right age and seemed to be showing up between semesters, she was there to enrol. That was certainly something that Juliette was equipped to deal with. In fact, it happened at the mansion fairly often. Mutant teens didn’t always have the easiest time getting used to their powers, and the students there had an abnormally high number of dead and estranged parents. It was something that they were trained specifically to tackle.

”Well awesome! If you want to-” she had been about to go into a speech about how they could get her set up and running when she began to speak again. It was clear from the way she kept going that she was very nervous, which was understandable. She was (probably) a mutant teen all alone in a new place, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do with herself. The X-Man simply let her finished before saying anything else.

”That’s alright, Celeste,” Juliette reassured her with a breezy smile. She made sure to use her name and speak in a soft tone to make sure that she felt comfortable and relaxed there. It was something that she’d learned while treating volatile patients. ”This must be kind of crazy, huh? New York is a bit different from lots of parts of Canada. Where about are you from?”  

She glanced around briefly to see if there was anyone else with the girl that she’d just missed. It didn’t seem like it. It seemed like the best course of action was just to introduce herself and take her inside, then. ”I’m Juliette, and yes, I’m part of the faculty here. I teach Health and I’m a member of the X-Men. Now, radiation sounds kinda dangerous, but you look like you have pretty good control of things. Why don’t we talk a bit more inside? I can get you set up with the paperwork to enrol.”

With a slight nod of her head toward the mansion, Juliette beckoned her inside. ”Do you have any bags that I can grab?”

Celestina relaxed fairly quickly once Juliette began talking to her. She probably thought she was crazy, but surely Celestina wasn't the only one to spontaneously show up one day asking to be admitted into the school. While Celestina hadn't heard much about the school in Canada, once she came here she heard from various people and over the internet about the school.

>> ”This must be kind of crazy, huh? New York is a bit different from lots of parts of Canada. Where about are you from?”  

She nodded, "Yeah, it's a bit different. I'm in general a fairly nervous person, so it makes it double nervous being in some place this knew. Plus, I actually never left Canada before. I'm from Regina, it's practically right above North Dakota." She smiled, "But it's been a great experience. I've met some really cool people in the time I've been here."

>> ”I’m Juliette, and yes, I’m part of the faculty here. I teach Health and I’m a member of the X-Men. Now, radiation sounds kinda dangerous, but you look like you have pretty good control of things. Why don’t we talk a bit more inside? I can get you set up with the paperwork to enrol."

Her eyes widened a bit at hearing that she was a member of the X-Men. That's pretty awesome to finally meet one of them! "It's a pleasure to meet you, Juliette!" She turned a bit red again, looking towards her feet and scratching her neck, "Sorry again." Well, what a great first impression on someone who might not only be your teacher but is also part of the X-Men. Yikes! She shook her head and began walking towards the entrance of the mansion.

She perked up even more at the idea of getting enrolled into classes. "Is it as easy as signing up, what are the fees, all that kind of stuff?" She asked, inquisitively. Granted, though, Celeste knew most of her answers would probably be questioned once they were inside. There was probably enough space for people to have their own bedrooms in the mansion. How much did 

>> Do you have any bags that I can grab?"

"No, I don't have any of my stuff with me right now. I'm renting a room from this older lady I met at the library when I first made it into town, so all my stuff is stashed in there. Thank you, though, I appreciate the offer!" Her and the older lady, Ms. Norma, had actually become pretty good friends in the short time Celeste has been in New York.

”Oh wow, Regina!” Juliette commented with a quick nod of her head. She’d lived lots of places in the US, but she hadn’t really travelled around Canada very much. What she did know about the area was that it was mostly flat with lots of farm area. Moving to New York would certainly give her a huge culture shock for the teen. ”That’s pretty flat, huh? Must be crazy to be here now.”

>>"Sorry again."

The poor girl looked like she was just about to jump out of her skin, she was so nervous. Juliette really did feel bad for her. She looked like she’d been waiting for that moment for a bit too long, and she didn’t know how to handle herself. ”Don’t apologize,” Juliette smiled gently, ”It’s okay to be a bit nervous. No judgement.”

The paperwork and fees at the Xavier institute were a bit different than other schools. It wasn’t exactly like a boarding school, considering most of the students came by themselves rather than through a rich family. The school did its best to accommodate each and every student that needed a good education fit for mutants. It was a difficult task, but it was one that Juliette felt like the mansion did well. For the most part. Putting aside the fact that several teachers weren’t accredited. 

”Well… the sister school’s a bit different than other schools. We have lots of grants and things for students that can’t pay to go to school here - we get lots of kids from situations where they can’t afford to pay tuition. We can work something out when we take a look through your resources. Sound good?”

That wasn’t to say that no one paid tuition ever. The school was able to use whatever money that people could pay, but they weren’t picky, either. Every little bit helped, especially when there were kids running around destroying their rooms every other night.

She had asked about bags, but Celeste didn’t need the help. It didn’t seem like she was a runaway living on the street, then. Usually, in that case, kids would show up with all they had and beg for a room. Or, in a few cases, be brought kicking and screaming.

Juliette nodded politely, gave her another smile, and walked toward the huge front doors. She pulled one open for Celeste and followed behind her, stepping into the front lobby. ”It’s good that you have a place to stay right now. Often, we’ll get kids in who don’t have anywhere to stay, so we have to clear out a room for them that evening. If you’re looking to move in here, then we can do it right with a bit of extra prep time.”

Something else that she’d said had struck a chord with Juliette. The library wasn’t somewhere that she’d visited all that often before a few months earlier when she’d started dating Booker, but now she went all the time. ”Do you go to the library a lot, then?” she asked casually. Not at all because she liked to think about Booker B. Bookman .

>> ”Oh wow, Regina! That’s pretty flat, huh? Must be crazy to be here now.”

Celeste nodded, "It is a pretty beautiful place. I miss it, kinda." She did miss the familiarity, for sure. She knew her neighborhood like the back of her hand. She rode her bike around it, drove around it. Which reminded her, she needed to get her ID's updated in the New York. She took a deep breath, grateful that at least her parents had made sure her American citizenship was set up and in good orders when she was born alongside her Canadian citizenship. She laughed, "Yeah, it is pretty flat."

>> ”Don’t apologize. It’s okay to be a bit nervous. No judgement.” 

That statement from Juliette made Celeste feel loads more comfortable. It was a bit crazy, at least in Celeste's mind, how just a few words could relieve so much stress. Celeste had been so worried about this - and so far, Juliette had been amazing, nice, and understanding. If this was how it was going to be, Celeste was regretting a bit of not coming sooner. Celeste felt like everything happens for a reason, though. Even though she was a nervous wreck and it took her a while to get her courage up, she made it. 

>> ”Well… the sister school’s a bit different than other schools. We have lots of grants and things for students that can’t pay to go to school here - we get lots of kids from situations where they can’t afford to pay tuition. We can work something out when we take a look through your resources. Sound good?”

She nodded, her face solemn, "That sounds great!". Hopefully it wouldn't be too expensive, but if they're willing to work with her, she would give as much as she could. Plus, maybe they would have some type of advanced program so she could at least finish her high school by the end of the year. She was on pace at her high school in Canada to finish early, but running away kinda ended that. Celeste couldn't wait any longer to leave, though. Her sibling was beginning to see what was happening and Celeste didn't want her to see that side of their parents. It was better that she left. 

After stepping into the lobby, Celeste looked back to Juliette, "Thanks!" Celeste took a moment to take a look in the lobby. Wow. It was a beautiful building, that's for sure. After she examined her surroundings, she looked into her purse and pulled out a few folded up papers.

"I have my transcript from Regina, you'll see I was in honors in most classes except a few maths classes." She grumbled at the idea of math, she was okay with it, she wasn't good at it. "I also participated in chess, a little bit of soccer which I was terrible at, singers club, readers club, and helped out at several blood drives. I also volunteered frequently at the library." She shuffled through some of the papers, "Oh, and here is my immunizations, too. So I have all of the stuff I think you guys might want." She thought she had grabbed everything they would need, but she wasn't entirely sure. She had her American and Canadian passport in her purse if they needed some type of government ID. 

>> ”It’s good that you have a place to stay right now. Often, we’ll get kids in who don’t have anywhere to stay, so we have to clear out a room for them that evening. If you’re looking to move in here, then we can do it right with a bit of extra prep time.”

She nodded. She had read and heard about the news articles about kids who were kicked out, thrown out, or had to run away from their families due to awful parents. She was lucky that she was able to steal that 3,000 USD from her parents, otherwise she probably would have been one of those people begging for a place to stay. Her thievery was a secret and she hoped it would stay that way forever - she felt very guilty about it. "I'll have to talk with Ms. Norma, the lady I'm staying with right now. She really likes my cooking, so I'm not sure if she'll want me to go." Plus, depending on how much tuition was, she wasn't sure if she could afford that plus a room at the mansion. Either way, it was good to consider all of her options.

>> ”Do you go to the library a lot, then?”

Celeste's eyes lit up at the question, "I do! When I first got here, it was where I was spending pretty much all of my time. Now, I actually volunteer there, just about every day now actually. It's pretty much what I do with all of my free time!" She had a huge grin on her face, thinking of the library. It was one of her favorite places, if not her favorite. The library had always been a home of sorts to her, but once she arrived in New York, it was practically her life line. Not to mention, she had met some pretty awesome people there. "Do you visit the library? We'll probably bump into each other there soon if you do!" Juliette seemed like she was interested in the library too. Maybe she had met a fellow library lover? 

Already, Celeste was more prepared than 90% of the students that showed up at the mansion’s doorstep. She had her papers in order, a list of her grades and extracurriculars, and even her immunizations. That saved work in every single department, including her own. Tracking down which students were immunized, which ones had allergies, and which were just running around with the high chance of getting chickenpox kept her up at night sometimes, and there were only so many things that DocProf could heal. Knowing that at least one person there had her affairs in order was awesome.

”That’s… awesome, actually. It’s really rare that a student comes in here with that much info. We’ll definitely take all that down when we get things set up in the office,” she explained. There wasn’t all that much that they could do standing there in the library, but Juliette didn’t want to move too fast and overwhelm her. It was usually nice to give students a moment to take in the grandeur of the front lobby in all of its glory before moving behind the scenes. ”It sounds like you’re used to a few more extracurriculars than we have to offer here, but hopefully you’ll get along well enough anyway.” It was hard to offer everything with that small of a student body.

After a second, she nodded her head toward a hallway and began to walk forward, leading the girl toward where the offices were housed. First stop would be Headmaster Ruddy’s office, provided that he was actually functioning that day and it wasn’t one of his clones in there. Sometimes, it was just easier to do things yourself than to wrangle one of them into doing some actual administrative work.

As they walked, Juliette nodded at her mention of her living situation. It was great to hear that she definitely wasn’t living on the streets, and that she even had a good thing going. There were too many students there that had had to face things well beyond their years, and Juliette hated to hear more tales of that. ”I should probably let you know that housing here is free, since we know how hard life can be for young mutants. If you do want to move in, don’t let money bog you down, yeah?” She loved the fact that the Institute worked hard to provide a safe space for mutants of every age, but young ones especially.

Juliette grinned when she went on about the library. She sounded like she liked it almost as much as Booker did, which was saying something. Until a few months ago, she’d stuck almost entirely to the library at the mansion, but now, she visited the New York Public Library more often than most people, and it wasn’t always for a book. ”I go there fairly often, yeah. My boyfriend works there… maybe you know him? Booker Bookman. He works at a library. Kinda punny, huh?” That fact about him still made her grin. ”I’ll keep an eye out for you the next time I’m there.”

She rounded the corner and gestured to a hallway of doors, most of which had name plaques on them, detailing which staff member occupied which office. She’d been there lots of times, but it was always a new experience to show someone else. ”These are the offices. The Headmaster, Rudolph Kipperling, or Ruddy, as most people call him, is our first stop.” Her eyes trailed down the way to the rest of the offices and their names, stopping briefly on the name ‘Sam Johnson’. Thankfully, his office looked empty, so she could go another day without having to face him. ”Ready?”

Celeste continued to take in her surroundings for a moment, before focusing back on Juliette. She also pulled out another paper, and furrowed her brow, "I believe I'm up to date on all my vaccines, but honestly I don't know the schedule or if it's different here than in Canada. This is my resume, I'm not sure if you guys need it or not. It's not really... That good." It only had her current position, as a waitress, and her previous barista experience and her volunteer experience. She wasn't even sure if they would need something like that, but it is better to be prepared. 

>> That’s… awesome, actually. It’s really rare that a student comes in here with that much info. We’ll definitely take all that down when we get things set up in the office. It sounds like you’re used to a few more extracurriculars than we have to offer here, but hopefully you’ll get along well enough anyway.”

She nodded, putting her documents back inside her purse. She would give them to her once she asked for them. She had a big grin on her face - Celeste was pleased that Juliette thought that was good. Celeste tried to grab anything and everything she might need when she left and she figured this would be pretty important. Maybe that made up for the horrible first impression, Celeste thought. "That is fine - I work about 30 hours a week, then volunteering, so I probably wouldn't have too much time for extracurricular activities right now." That's not to say she wouldn't try to join something if she could, she would just need to see if she could make it fit her surprisingly busy schedule. 

Celeste began walking towards the hallway that Juliette nodded towards. She took in as much details as she could about the mansion - after all, she would probably need to learn her way around it pretty soon if they accept her. 

>>  ”I should probably let you know that housing here is free, since we know how hard life can be for young mutants. If you do want to move in, don’t let money bog you down, yeah?” 

Celeste nodded. It would be pretty awesome to have a room in these gorgeous mansion. Plus, it seemed a lot safer here than where Norma lived. On that same token, Norma had taken her in when really no one else would have.  Norma had a hard time taking care of herself, let alone her apartment. Celeste had changed that a lot. She was an entire stranger and the only thing Norma knew was that she enjoyed volunteering at the library and was living in a motel in a very dangerous part of town. "Do I have to decide today or can I think it over?" She was pretty conflicted but she knew ultimately that she would have to do what was best for herself. Plus, she could still visit and help Norma out. 

In either case, her respect for the Institute increased tremendously at the knowledge that the school doesn't charge students for housing. That is absolutely amazing. They must help so many mutants have a home, a safe place to live. It was inspiring.

>> ”I go there fairly often, yeah. My boyfriend works there… maybe you know him? Booker Bookman. He works at a library. Kinda punny, huh? I’ll keep an eye out for you the next time I’m there.”

Celeste was excited to hear that Juliette went to the library. If light could dance in someones eyes, it would be doing it in her eyes then. It was one of her favorite places to go.

Celeste made a fairly loud gasp at hearing that Booker was Juliette's boyfriend. What a crazy small world it is! She had been working with Booker for a while now, helping reorganize some of the bookshelves that hadn't been touched in what seemed like decades. "I do! I actually work with him pretty frequently now! That is so crazy! Honestly, he's like my long lost brother. He's a great guy and an amazing librarian. Oh yeah, it took me a bit before I finally believed that was his real name. It wasn't until I heard some of the other librarians call his name that I truly believed in his name." She was only semi-joking - she had kept her doubts of his name to herself, turns out she had been wrong to doubt him. His name was truly Booker Bookman.  

>> ”These are the offices. The Headmaster, Rudolph Kipperling, or Ruddy, as most people call him, is our first stop. Ready?”

Celeste nodded, still excited and nervous. While she looked down the hallway, she began to walk. Her eyes looking for the Headmaster's office. "Yes, I am definitely ready!" Well, hopefully she was ready at least. She wasn't entirely sure what was next. 

From the sounds of it, Celeste could lead a course on how to have your life together. She had definitely not shown up to the mansion empty handed, and it didn’t sound like she was sitting on her hands during her free time, either. Between a busy part-time job and volunteering at the library, it was almost amazing that she had an afternoon to drop into the mansion and inquire about school. She only looked to be in her teens, but already, Celeste had a better handle on things than most people her age. Hell, Juliette even knew a few older people who could be included in that list.

Juliette took the paper and skimmed it as they walked. ”This is actually pretty impressive, even if we don’t really need it for school,” she smiled gently at her. They accepted students with far fewer credentials than her on a regular basis, and it was unlikely that they were going to start expecting resumes from every kid that walked in the door. Still, it was a great thing to have on file, so she kept it with her as they walked. ”Sounds like you keep yourself pretty busy.”

Moving in somewhere was a pretty big decision for most people. Growing up, Juliette had been taught never to put too much thought into where they were living, and she’d taken that spur of them moment moving ideal with her as she grew. She’d move to New York when there was a good job opening, to the mansion because she suddenly decided to join the X-Men, and in with Rebecca because she wanted to avoid someone that lived there. Still, she could understand if there was something keeping Celeste from moving as quickly as Juliette had.

>>"Do I have to decide today or can I think it over?"

”Take all the time you need,” she told her. There was no rush to move in there. ”There’s no set time to move in or requirement to do so, so if you ever change your mind, you can always move in or out. Heaven knows we see people come and go all the time.” For a second, she was almost worried that a neon sign with a large arrow would hang from the ceiling and point at her all of a sudden, but, luckily, she was safe.

It was a funny connection that Celeste volunteered at the library, really. Juliette had thrown the fact that Booker worked there out mostly as a tidbit, but she didn’t really think much of it. She really didn’t think that they would know each other. However, she turned her head when Celeste audibly gasped. She paused and grinned at the girl when she admitted to a connection and shared a funny story.

”That’s too funny. It’s always weird to hear about connections in a city as big as this,” she said. ”And yes, I agree with you there. Sort of an unbelievable name. I will have to come visit the two of you at some point.”

>>"Yes, I am definitely ready!"

With the confirmation that the office (and subsequent enrollment) was a go, Juliette opened the door to reveal an ageing man fiddling with a table tennis set in the middle of the large room. His desk and all other furniture had been pushed back to make room for the new addition, and the man hardly even looked up when the office door opened. Down on the floor, DJ Roomba zoomed out through the open door, nearly slicing Juliette’s ankle with an attached knife on the way out.

“My screwdriver! He ran out with my…” Ruddy stood up with a sigh and put his hands on his hips as he looked longingly after his assistant headmaster. “Oh! Sorry, didn’t see you there. How are you, Jules?”

”I’m-” Juliette had started to say something when a leg of the table collapsed suddenly. Quickly, she grabbed the side of the table and held it back in place. ”-Great, thanks. I have a new student that would like to enrol.”

“Ah! Perfect! I’ll… hmm… paperwork, yes?”

Celeste did her best to be prepared. She had this desire to overachieve in everything, probably because her parents practically ignored her for most of her life. Celeste hoped coming in with all the necessary paperwork not only made their lives easier, but made it easier for Celeste to get adjusted into classes. Celeste wondered if she'd be able to scale back her hours at the diner once she started classes. Better yet, she wondered what her first classes would even be. It was exciting, especially to think the Institute might help her with her powers.

>>  ”This is actually pretty impressive, even if we don’t really need it for school. Sounds like you keep yourself pretty busy."

Celeste nodded, a big, cheeky grin lit up across her face. Celeste took a breath of the mansion air. Turns out she didn't really need it, but Celeste isn't one to turn down a compliment! "Thanks! Yeah, I try to keep myself busy. I don't know what to do with myself when I'm not." Her cheeks turned a little red. Celeste would always get into trouble when she wasn't doing something - playing with fire, sharpening the kitchen knives (and nearly cutting her pinky off,) to trying to create an electric device - which almost electrocuted herself. 

>> ”Take all the time you need. There’s no set time to move in or requirement to do so, so if you ever change your mind, you can always move in or out. Heaven knows we see people come and go all the time.” 

That was a great relief. She really didn't want to leave Norma by herself right now, but at the time, she did need to move on with her life. Norma wouldn't lose her as a friend and Celeste knew she'd probably spend a lot of her extra free time helping her, but Norma was old and lonely. It was just a relief to Celeste to know she had time. 

She chuckled quietly at Juliette's comment, "That makes sense, I bet it there is a bunch of people who suddenly up and go and random people showing up at the front door, like me." That had definitely been the most nerve wrecking part for Celeste. Randomly showing up took some courage on her part, courage she almost didn't have. But she made it and that's what was important. She wondered how many other individuals maybe tried to get into the Institute but were too anxious to make the steps. Juliette had, at least so far, made the journey into the mansion amazing, calm, stress free, and easy. It was a relief to meet her when she first showed up. 

>> ”That’s too funny. It’s always weird to hear about connections in a city as big as this. And yes, I agree with you there. Sort of an unbelievable name. I will have to come visit the two of you at some point.”  

Celeste still could not get over the fact that Juliette and Booker were in a relationship together. It just made Celeste feel so amazed at how the universe worked and all the little coincidences that happen. Celeste had a big grin on her face, "I know, right? I never imagined in this city, especially this city, it'd be that easy to meet someone who knows someone." She laughed quietly, "I guess if you expect something, the world has a way of throwing it back in your face."

After Juliette opened the door, Celeste's eyes widened. Maybe she wasn't ready for this after all. This was the headmaster headmaster? It seemed kinda random for the headmaster to get a tennis table, in his office. Celeste was clearly slightly confused at the sight, with one of her eyebrows perked up. Barely catching the site of the Roomba with a knife on it, Celeste made a small squeak and jumped out of the way. Maybe was a little extreme, but it wasn't every day you saw a Roomba with a knife attached to it. 

Once she saw Juliette grab onto the table, Celeste also jumped over to grab a hold the table. She saw a smaller table nearby. Maybe more of a end table, which could at least balance the tennis table until Ruddy could fix the leg. "I'll go over and grab that little table thing. It might help balance it out until he can get it fixed, at least." 

Rudolph Kipperling was not an average headmaster. In fact, he was far from an average headmaster. His rules were few and far between, and he was actually better to use to fly the X-Men into dangerous locations than to actually run a school, but no one seemed to mind. Ruddy and his clones were school staples, weirdness and all. No one really cared if they had to pick up his extra slack, because for some reason, he just seemed worth it all. Even if he came with a knife-toting, music-playing automated vacuum for an assistant headmaster.

It was one of those times when his full array of interesting colours were on display, though. Usually, Juliette could easily find the humour in a situation like the one they were in, but she just hoped that Celeste wasn’t completely weirded out or afraid of the state that their school might be in. Because, yes, they had some questionable staff members, but at its heart, the Xavier Institute was a wonderful place. It just… took some digging to see that sometimes.

With her hand supporting one of the corners of the table, Juliette knew that it was one of those moments. Ruddy was oblivious to the issue as he dug around in his desk (which just so happened to be pushed against a wall) for the paperwork to get Celestina enrolled. An “ahh” escaped his lips when he stumbled across the piece of paper that he was looking for. He then brought it over and spread it out on the green table, pressing hard enough to make Juliette’s hand go down a little. He seemed to notice the shift, but not what caused it.

>>"I'll go over and grab that little table thing. It might help balance it out until he can get it fixed, at least."

”That would be awesome, thanks,” Juliette nodded gratefully. Once Celeste had brought the table over, she removed her hand and shook it out. The table was heavier than it looked.

On the other side, Ruddy looked to be deep in thought. “Alright, so I think I remember how this works. You sign in each place that it tells you to, and then I’ll sign it all later. Or have a clone sign it once I track one down. They’re always running away, just like DJ Roomba. So sad.” The ageing man passed the paper over to Celeste and then pulled a pen from the pocket in his shirt, slapping it down next to the sheet. “After that, we can get you enrolled in some classes! Who doesn’t love classes?”

Juliette gave the girl a friendly smile and put her newly freed hand on her waist. ”Don’t feel pressured into anything, though. These are totally your decisions to make. Even if I teach one mean health class.”

Celeste was taken aback from our crazy the headmaster's office was. After the initial shock though, it turned out to be quite funny. Celeste even started giggling a little at the scene that unfolded. Although, she was a bit worried that someone might get hurt over the Roomba with a knife running around... But that wasn't exactly her problem, so she shrugged to herself. It was weird but it was funny. The school wouldn't have as much prestige if it wasn't an incredible school.

Celeste waited patiently as Ruddy looked for the enrolling paperwork as she went to get the table and pull it over under the table. Celeste grimaced when she saw Ruddy press down on the table that Juliette was holding. That wasn't... The best thing to do. Poor Juliette, hopefully it didn't weigh too much. 

>> "Alright, so I think I remember how this works. You sign in each place that it tells you to, and then I’ll sign it all later. Or have a clone sign it once I track one down."

After she put the table under the table, she gave a nod to Juliette. She realized how heavy it was once she saw Juliette shaking her hand out. Yikes. Ruddy mind must be in a lot of places at once, actually. Celeste arched her brow at his statement. He thinks this is how it goes? Celeste couldn't help but chuckle quietly. She hoped he knew how it went but uh, Celeste definitely trusted Juliette more than Ruddy in this situation so she wasn't too worried about the situation. Juliette seemed like a smart woman who knew what she was doing - Ruddy just seemed like he had lost some of his marbles. Which if he made clones of himself, maybe he kinda had? 

>> "They’re always running away, just like DJ Roomba. So sad. After that, we can get you enrolled in some classes! Who doesn’t love classes?”

She nodded at the instructions given by Ruddy and glanced towards Juliette to see if she could confirm. She did give a sympathetic smile to Ruddy, though. It was kinda sad that all his clones and his Roomba ran away from him but if they had any feelings like her, she couldn't really blame them. It seemed a bit dangerous to be around him too long. Poor guy, though. She gave him a smile, "Yeah! Classes!" She was pretty excited to be signing up for her classes. Right in time, too. 

>> ”Don’t feel pressured into anything, though. These are totally your decisions to make. Even if I teach one mean health class.”

She grinned towards Juliette. Celeste was definitely going to sign up for her mean health class, for sure. She began to sign and initial were required on the form and hoped she didn't miss any. Once completed, she looked over the class list and started checking off based on what was required to finish her high school diploma & what would help her out most. 

She ended up checking off:

Health, Math, Biology/Botany, Art, and Home Economics. That should keep her real busy. She looked over to Juliette with an arched brow, seeing if she would confirm that this was her best route or if there was different set of classes she needed to take. 

Juliette stood a little bit back from Celestina as she looked over the form she was given. She wanted her to feel comfortable enough to be able to say no to things that she really didn’t want to do and to choose the classes that she actually wanted to take, not just the ones that she thought would look good to an adult. It was always tough navigating the waters of that transition period between high school and life afterward, and it didn’t really help if there were eighty people looking over your shoulder.

To keep her hands busy, she fiddled with the missing leg of the pool table while Ruddy puttered around the office. He always seemed to be doing a million things at once, likely because, in a way, he was. Who knew where his clones were at any given moment. Or if the one that she was watching flip a racket was, in fact, a clone.

Once she was finished choosing the courses that she wanted to take for the term, she looked over at Juliette, almost as if she wanted her to look them over. The nurse nodded quickly and stepped over to where Celestina was standing. Over her shoulder, she glanced over the choices that she had put down, nodding as she did so.

”Looks like that should keep you pretty busy,” she commented, trying to imagine the schedule that she would end up with. Five classes usually made for a pretty good semester, especially if she was working as well. ”Though, I should probably explain that since we’re a bit of a different school, you may want to look into taking a class in the danger room.

“You can always just go in there and train for a bit, but since we’re in a bit of a strange environment, especially politically, it’s always a good idea to take something that’s going to give you a bit of a basis for combat. Mutated combat, anyway. We have a couple of teachers that do training classes like that,” she explained. School work would get her a diploma, but knowledge like that would help her for life. ”Obviously, it’s not a requirement, and if you want to take other classes instead, then you totally can, but it’s something to think about. Oh, and you may want to try to fit an English class in at some point.”

With all of Celeste’s classes figured out and her officially enrolled, they were free to move on and figure out what to do with the rest of her situation. ”Well, we can end there if this is a bit overwhelming, or I can give you a tour, if you’d like? Maybe you could sit in on a class or two?”

Celeste waited patiently as Juliette looked over her schedule, eager to hear her comments. 

>> “You can always just go in there and train for a bit, but since we’re in a bit of a strange environment, especially politically, it’s always a good idea to take something that’s going to give you a bit of a basis for combat. Mutated combat, anyway. We have a couple of teachers that do training classes like that, Obviously, it’s not a requirement, and if you want to take other classes instead, then you totally can, but it’s something to think about. Oh, and you may want to try to fit an English class in at some point.”

She nodded, taking in her advice. That was a very good point. The US did have concentration camps a few years ago... It took a while for damage like that to go away, on both sides. With that, she decided to add a training class in and quickly checked off the box. "Training class added." That really was good advice - she needed to be prepared in case someone tried to attack her. Not to mention, people tended to freak out about radiation in general, let alone a person that could literally emit it from their body. "I'm pretty good at English," or at least she thought she was, "I also know a few other languages as well - French, Spanish, and pretty good in Latvian. Do you think it'd be necessary? I could drop Home Economics for it... I had taken some economic like classes back in Regina..." 

>> ”Well, we can end there if this is a bit overwhelming, or I can give you a tour, if you’d like? Maybe you could sit in on a class or two?”

It was a bit overwhelming, Celeste wouldn't lie. But she was glad she had the opportunity to meet Juliette - she had made the process a lot easier to handle. She could do the tour another time but sitting in on a class seemed like a good idea, actually. She nodded, "Sitting in for a class would be pretty awesome, that way I can kinda see what it's like."