Lerman gulped. The gate was intimidating, and the intercom foreign. He
was here because this really cool girl he had met a few days back had told him that this place would be the place to go for a person like him. Somewhere that would accept him for what he was. It sounded nice, and nice was better than what the other kids at his school were.
I should press the button. Nervous he reached out. He must have been more nervous than he had thought, because he tried to press the button with a big giraffe hoof. This was usually a good sign that he should calm down. It was also usually inconvenient when taking tests at school. Holding a pen with a hoof is a real achievement, and writing with one is even harder.
Lerman took a deep breath and waited for a while. He tried again.
This time he pressed the button.

Today was a surprisingly busy day for Andrew. Sam had somehow managed to scrape together more paperwork to be dealt with than Andrew had thought it possible to exist at one time. He'd just gone down to the kitchen to get something to drink and was headed back up to the offices when he overheard the tell tale buzz of the gate intercom. He paid security a brief visit, just to check who it was. It looked like just another prospective student. After a brief conversation to ascertain that that was exactly what he was Andrew buzzed the gates open and headed outside to meet the new guy.

He sort of wondered what the new kid would be able to do. Lord knew that you could never really guess unless they had obvious physical mutations. Andrew wandered down the drive to the gates to meet the person at a leisurely pace. True he was busy but this was a tour and he didn't want to look as though he didn't have time for the guy. Once the new guy in question was within comfortable talking distance Andrew gave a wave.

"Hey there. My name's Andrew Leroy and welcome to Xavier's Sister School. If you'll follow me we'll head inside and get that tour started."

Lerman stood there at the gate. He had just had a short conversation with a nice sounding man over the intercom. After a short wait the guy had arrived. "Hey there. My name's Andrew Leroy and welcome to Xavier's Sister School. If you'll follow me we'll head inside and get that tour started." he said, looking calm.
"Um. Hi Andrew, I'm Lerman."
So Lerman followed Andrew. Very quickly he could see that the mansion was a beautiful place. Large halls, (maybe large enough for a giraffe, at least in the bigger places) and it seemed very accommodating. As Lerman understood it there were many other mutants like him and many not that lived here. It seemed like the place to be, and quickly Lerman decided that this was where he wanted to be too.

Inside they went and Andrew smiled at Lerman. People were almost always quite taken by the place and Lerman seemed no exception.

"Nice to meet you Lerman. Mind telling me what your mutation is? We'll cover it again in more detail when we go to do the paperwork so a general description is fine."

Andrew led them by the kitchen and dining room first. It was mostly habit on his part since he spent so much time there but he also felt like it was just good manners to offer your visitors a drink or snack. He let Lerman look around two connected rooms as he liked. There really wasn't much to see there unless you were interested in that sort of thing.

"This is the kitchen and dining room. Living room is just next door and we'll hit that next. Feel free to grab something from the fridge if you're thirsty or hungry."

The other reason Andrew tended to come here first was one he didn't like to think of often. However some of the kids that showed up here had been living on the streets for a while before finding this place. It was for them as well that he came here first so they could get something to eat and drink. Not that Lerman looked like he had such troubles. Still, it never hurt to be cautious.

"Nice to meet you Lerman. Mind telling me what your mutation is? We'll cover it again in more detail when we go to do the paperwork so a general description is fine."

Lerman was always cautious because most people thought he was joking when he told them he turns into a giraffe at nearly random. But this Andrew guy seemed like he would understand.
"I uh... I turn into a giraffe. I don't have much control over it though, so sometimes it happens at random. I'm told by my mom that it's quite a sight to see little me turn into a giraffe." Lerman told him, with a little chuckle.
Soon they were in the kitchen where Andrew offered him a drink or snack. Lerman politely declined. He was sure his mom had dinner waiting for him when he got home.
Lerman was quite impressed but curious about a few things: "So I can get a good education here, along with training to control my mutation, correct?"
Lerman had been wanting to learn to control his mutation. Being a giraffe could get inconvenient.

A giraffe? Well that was a new one. He smiled as Lerman laughed about it a bit. It was good to see that he could laugh about it.

"Seems pretty cool to me honestly. Then again, I've got one of those mutations that isn't really all that useful so anything more spectacular than mine seems cool."

When Lerman was done exploring the kitchen and dining room and had denied a snack or drink Andrew led them on into the living room. Comfy chairs and a couch were arranged near a tv. All in all it was a very cozy room. Andrew turned to Lerman to answer his question.

"Yup, that's what this place is about. Helping you get your mutation under your control as much as possible and getting you an education while you're at it. Of course not all mutations can be controlled but the instructors could say more about that than me. I'm just a secretary and greeter."

Andrew had answered his question perfectly. It was just what he wanted to hear, and he was sure his mother would support his going here.

"Can we keep going now? I'm really excited to see the rest of the mansion!"

More excited than usual, he was nearly bouncing to see what else this wonderful place had in store for him. Now that he knew this is where he wanted to be, he decided he wanted to learn as much about it as he could.

He smiled at Lerman's eagerness. Had he been that excited when Kealey had dragged him here? Andrew remembered being shocked and awed but that eager? He'd have to ask Kealey. She was after all the resident empath.

"Sure. What would you like to see next? There isn't much left here on the ground floor. Just the school area, classrooms and what not, and one of the entrances to the library."

There was the Danger Room too as well as the garage but Andrew didn't really include either of those on the tour. Not usually anyway. He headed out into the hallway and waited on Lerman to decide. This was after all his tour.

An interesting choice was proposed. Lerman realized that he could either go to the library, or upstairs. (He was kind of expecting only a basement downstairs, so he didn't bother to ask.)

Easy choice.

"Lets go to the Library." he quickly decided.

Dragging his hand along the couch as they exited the room, Lerman posed a quick question to Andrew.

"What is your mutation anyway, Andrew?"

Andrew nodded.

"To the library then. If we're lucky I'll be able to introduce you to Kealey Quinn while we're there. She's the librarian here and the one responsible for bringing me here."

Lerman's question brought Andrew to a halt for a moment before he continued walking. He wondered how much pity the boy would express.

"I keep my promises." He slipped of his left glove and held up his arm so Lerman could see the two bands present, "Those marks are the two current ones I've got. If I don't keep them then it could mean a slight headache all the way up to and including death, depending on the promise."

He fell silent. It was the condensed cliff-notes version of his power that he'd become accustomed to giving. After a breath or two he smirked.

"Not exactly the most useful ability in the world but there you go."

The two black bands stood out like a giraffe in a crowd of people. Andrew had made it clear that these bands were a threat to his safety.

Death. He must keep promises with knowledge that he may die if he did not follow a spoken contract. This thought scared Lerman.

Two thoughts ran through Lerman's head. One was about how good it is to keep promises anyway, and how this mutation was a step toward honest dealings between people. The other was a concern for Andrew's safety and the safety of others depending on Andrew's will to live versus his ability to take another person's life if forced into such a situation. And Andrew certainly didn't look to be the kind of person who could, and more importantly would do such things.

Lerman responded carefully, and noncommittally.

"Well then, I guess I will be careful about what I ask you to promise!"

Lerman, feeling awkward, hurried the pair along to the Library. Briefly he wondered if there would be any good books about Africa. Lerman loved Africa.

Andrew simply smiled at Lerman's response. He was trying not to make a fuss over it, even though it clearly made him think. He appreciated that.

"Sounds good."

They hurried along toward the library. Being as they were already quite close it didn't take long to get there. Andrew held the door open for Lerman and then entered himself. He glanced around and cautiously raised his voice a little to try and get Kealey's attention if she were about.

"Kealey?"

He really didn't want to shout in a library so a slightly raised voice would have to do.

Why did it seem that the moment she’d moved out of the library, the things that needed to be done in the place had multiplied ten-fold? Yes, she’d managed to consolidate things so that she’d only need to visit a couple of days a week, but Kealey hadn’t realized how much of an inconvenience that would feel like. Immediately the blond felt guilty at that thought. The Mansion had done so much for her in her time of need, and was still doing so much for her. It was ungrateful to think like this. Still…she sighed and went back to work marking an cataloguing all the new books that had come in this week’s shipment.

Kealey heard her name, and glanced up towards the library doors. The calling voice had been familiar. This whole situation was familiar in fact. The library was a common stop on tours, and Kealey always liked to meet new residents at the Mansion as they were getting their first impression. Their attitudes and reactions said a lot. It was always an interesting thing.

Around the edge of the desk she went, and towards the doors. It was Andrew! Kealey hadn’t seen him for a while. He had a young man with him, and the boy had the look on his face that people generally had when they were seeing the Mansion for the first time. His emotions were the kind that Kealey liked to see in new students, as well. More than anything he was excited, but he also seemed a little relieved and nervous. Those were all positive things. Realizing that she was staring a bit, Kealey smiled and nodded at the newcomer then addressed Andrew first. The smile widened, and the blond gave her friend a quick hug before speaking.

”Andrew!” she exclaimed happily, a mild chiding tone entering her voice, ”You haven’t come to see me in a while! Who is your friend? Does he like libraries?” she asked, initiating the conversation and asking for an introduction.