Nyra Dubashi, the young woman who had come to call herself Shakti, stood outside Professor Shinbo’s office attempting to control her rapid breathing.  She was beyond nervous.  The phone inquiry with the Xavier Sister School had been fine, but now that she was there and about to have what would be her first professional interview, Nyra found her heart beating so fast that she could feel each thump wanting to burst out of her chest.  It had been frankly astonishing to enter the grounds of the school and see so many mutant students and teachers as she made her way up to the second floor offices.  No one batted an eye at the glowing silver lotus that floated around her as she walked.  It was so nice to be in a space where her obvious mutation was merely another shade of color in a vast rainbow of genetic variance.  Nyra found herself repeating one of the many sacred mantras she had memorized over the past few years, humming softly in Sanskrit to herself “Om Kreem Shreem Maha Saraswatyei Namaha” as she moved through the school, praying to her patron goddess, Saraswati, for strength and guidance.  She noticed her breath beginning to slow down; her heart was no longer beating nearly as fast, either.  Mentally she guided her lotus flower from above her head to just in front of her heart chakra.  Her vivid green eyes burned silver for the briefest instant.  Reaching out with both hands she felt the power and warmth of the lotus and allowed it to fill her being, drawing courage and resilience from its silvery light and gentle heat.

Closing her eyes, Nyra visualized the interview going well.  She pictured herself finding a home here at this school, and belonging to a community of mutants that supported her in ways that throughout the past several years had been impossible.  She thought back to her entire university career, barely able to leave the house for fear of being sighted and discriminated against or even attacked due to her mutant nature.  Things were going to be different now.  She could feel it.

“May today be a new dawn,” Nyra prayed in a voice barely above a whisper.  She opened her eyes, giving herself a quick look-over.  Her dark purple flower printed top combined very well with her short and ruffled jet black skirt and brown laced sandals.  She had painted her nails a metallic ocean blue in honor of the occasion.  Nyra ran her hands through her shoulder-length, sleek black hair, making final preparations.

“OK, Nyra, you are a freaking goddess!  You can do this!  Show them your passion for language and your beautiful soul, my dear!” She whispered softly to herself, sparks of excitement flashing through her body.  “You were meant for this job, girl!”

Finally, Nyra guided her lotus flower back to its usual floating position about two feet to the right of her head, her eyes again glowing metallic white.  She prayed silently for a few more moments, and then knocked on Professor Shinbo’s office door.


“Oh goddess, give me strength!” Nyra whispered as she waited for the door to open.

He had been expecting her. They’d passed him the brief file on her that morning, and the Asian had been given time to go over it. To look at her work history, name, age... and all that good stuff. It didn’t really matter too much to him. He was mainly interviewing her to see if she was a good match for the mansion. The dirty details of work specifics were down to the headmaster to decide on.

Tetsuya Shinbo opened the door, with a smile on his face, in a pair of khaki slacks and a white button up shirt. There were pens in his pocket, and he even had a pocket protector. No tie, though. There were somewhat casual.

”Hi there!” He said. ”You must be Nyra. I’m tetsuya shinbo. You can call me Shin.”

She was young. In her 20s. When he’d been her age, he had just been starting at the mansion. As a resident. Still learning. So much to learn.

Her mutation looked interesting. He’d have to ask about it. The lotus blossom thingy was the sort of thingy his wife, Kealey, would have been all about.

He stepped back and gestured for her to enter his office. ”Come on in and have a seat. Would you like a cup of coffee? Bottle of water?”

The office wasn’t huge. Fair-sized. Enough for the two of them, some chairs, a desk, and some wall space for a coffee maker and a mini fridge. Some potted plants. Other things. Okay. So maybe it was large, for a teacher’s office. It was a big mansion. So sue him. He didn’t really have much experience with other teachers office spaces to know how good he had it.

Once she was situated, with or without her beverage of choice, the Asian sat behind his desk. He asked her to tell him about herself, and what she thought of the mansion so far.

He would have to give her the tour, when they finished the preliminaries.

Nyra returned the professor’s smile with a huge one of her own.  She was glad to not have overdressed for the occasion, noting the teacher’s khakis and button-up shirt yet lack of a tie.  He was very handsome, most likely late 20’s or early 30’s, and his smile felt incredibly inviting.  Honestly?  His energy was so positive that Nyra instantly relaxed into herself, feeling the anxious jitters melting away in his mysterious and somehow beautiful triangular pupils.

“Hello!  Yes, I’m Nyra Dubashi.  Charmed to meet you, Shin.  I’m honored to be here with you today.” She found the words flowing freely from her tongue and finished with another bright smile.  Nyra noticed Shin’s gaze toward her lotus flower, which was currently floating lazily in circles just above her head.  Sometimes the blossom had a mind of its own. She hoped his impression of her mutation was a positive one, though she couldn’t quite get a good read on how he felt about it in that moment.

Nyra accepted Shin’s offer to enter the office with a gentle “Thank you”.  She took a bottle of water that was next to the coffee on a side table before making her way to sit down opposite him at his desk.  In the several strides it took to reach her chair she took in what was a quite large office space and she took special notice of the plants toward the wall.  Nyra absolutely adored botanical pursuits, and these particular plants and flowers made her feel right at home.  She sat down gracefully and then smoothly crossed her long, thin legs before responding to Shin’s inquiries about herself and her thus-far short time at the mansion.

Nyra breathed deeply in then out, collecting her thoughts for a few moments, then proceeded to describe to Shin the circumstances of her family, having been born to Hindu parents in India but having grown up here amidst the Indian American community of New York City.  She mentioned her self-taught and formal studies of the Romance languages, communicating that her university degree was in multilingual translation and interpreting.

“It would be my pleasure to use my language skills for good here.  I feel mutants need their own voice, now more than ever, particularly on the international front.  I would be so glad to share my passion with the students here.”

“I’ve been searching for a home for someone like myself,” she nodded instinctively to the glowing silver lotus blossom that had now decided to hum softly, rotating slowly on its axis just to her left at chest level.

“Being here, for the first time in my life, I do not feel the need to hide away from the world or cover up my mutation.  I spent too many years attempting to shelter and protect myself in isolation.  I can no longer stay in the shadows.  Joining the faculty here would be a tremendous gift.”

Nyra thought back to the several physically mutated students she had seen on her way through the grounds and up through the school.  There were others just like her, and they were living in community here at this wonderful school.

“The mansion and its grounds are absolutely charming, Shin.  But what draws my attention most are the numerous students just going about their daily lives, using their powers in even casual ways without fear of repercussion or judgement.  I want to be a part of this institution and live freely amidst our fellow mutants, hopefully imparting some knowledge and wisdom regarding languages and communication along the way.”

Nyra finished speaking then met Shin’s gaze again.  There was something very special hidden in those triangles, she could tell.  Her lotus flower apparently agreed, as it was now weaving slowly up and down around her form, its molten silver glow contrasting strikingly with Nyra’s light brown complexion.

He listened to the brief summary of her life so far. The circumstances of her birth, and of where she had grown up. Of her love of languages, and her attempts to better herself both through formal and informal education. He had nodded appreciatively at her when she’d mentioned being self-taught. That was very good. Showed passion. And in his experience, those who had passion tended to do better in the teaching profession. For various reasons.

>> “It would be my pleasure to use my language skills for good here.  I feel mutants need their own voice, now more than ever, particularly on the international front.  I would be so glad to share my passion with the students here.” She said.

”Very good,” He agreed.

At the comment about searching for others like herself, Shin smiled. ”Think you’ll feel right at home here.” He commented. Didn’t expound.

She did expound. Spoke of her mutation, and hiding. The Asian thought of his own personal experiences. Of discovering his mutation in a fight, when it saved his life. Of the downward spiral and the isolation he had experienced as people he thought had been his friends turned their backs on him. Of finding the mansion and finding better friends. For a brief moment, he thought of the worst. Of the camps, during Romania’s mutant registration act. Mutant registration 2: electric boogaloo. The sequel no one had ever asked for. He was mighty glad she had not ever had to experience anything like That.

He just smiled and nodded at her. Let the girl finish getting out her thoughts.

He tilted his own bottled water back and took a sip.

She finished. In a soft voice, shin replied.

”Well. I’m glad you found us. It can be a big scary world out there. This place is somewhere people can go and avoid that, like you said.”

There was more he could have said, about how he was glad she’d avoided some of the worst out there. But then, maybe she had not. And that’s a bit too intense for sitting around talk.

”I’ll have to give you a tour in a bit. Once we finish this. Anyways. What languages was it you teach? I’ve been teaching Japanese, myself.” He offered her a teasing smile. ”Hope we don’t have to fight over it. Ha. Ha.” He was silent a beat, then added ”Oh yeah. And what’s your power? Forgive me but I’m a power nerd. A little professional curiosity. I can tell you about mine, if it helps. We’re pretty open about that stuff here. My wife would think your lotus blossom is pretty cool.”