X-Men: The Gifted Ones

29. FRONT STEPS, XAVIER MANSION, WEST CHESTER, NY

Jean was tired of the other students. She didn't want to eat anywhere around them. She hoped she could slip off alone to eat her lunch on the front steps. She was still mad at her parents for sending her here. She liked the Professor and Mrs. Xavier, but she was mad because her parents claimed they couldn't handle her, that she needed fixed. The Professor had told her she only needed some discipline, some education, and she would be the best Jean she could be. Other than that, there was nothing wrong with her. She liked hearing that. The Professor seemed to understand. He talked to minds, too, and wasn't afraid to chide her when she would try to read his thoughts.

She liked the Professor's friend better. Magneto he was called, when he wasn't being referred to as Mr. Lenscherr. She heard the Professor call him Erik. She was disappointed when she found out he would not be one of her professors. He made her feel important, powerful. He didn't chide her, he seemed to encourage her. She was certain the two were playing "Good Cop, Bad Cop" with her, but she didn't mind if Mr. Lenscherr was reminding her of her potential. Apparently she had a limitless amount and it fascinated them. They had kept referring to something about her being a "Class 5" and she assumed it meant something special, as she heard Magneto tell the Professor they were only "Class 4".

She was certain no other child at the school was near as powerful as she was and she found them all babyish compared to her. They had powers, but nothing like hers. She hated that she couldn't control what she could do, and she understood the need for the discipline. She feared the word at first, until she realized that the discipline didn't mean anyone would hurt or punish her. Quite the opposite. They only wanted her to focus. She could handle that much. The Professor was very kind to her. She realized she liked the Professor and Mrs. Xavier more than she had her own parents. She loved her parents, sure, but she didn't like them. They were too afraid of her. The Xaviers had no such apprehension about her.

Jean wanted to go home. But she felt as if the school was her home. She was accepted, and none of the adults were afraid of her. She was even told about the adult training school, the X-Men. She wasn't sure she wanted to be that. She remembered asking the Professor if she could be whatever she wanted when she grew up. She told him she wanted to be a doctor, not one of the X-Men. She remembered the kind man chuckling and telling her she could do both, her life was hers to control, and if she wanted to be a doctor, he would make sure she received the best education possible so she could get into a good medical school.

Jean hadn't made too many friends. There weren't many kids at the school, and most were younger than her. She felt the seven year-olds were babies, and she was nearly ten.

She was eating her lunch alone on the front steps again. She was angry again. She wished she knew why. She always seemed to swing between being very happy and very angry. Today she was angry. That little Allison Blair always seemed to pick on her!

"May I sit here?" Jean heard a young voice ask.

She looked up and saw Scott Sommers smiling warmly at her. She liked him. She found that her frown had turned into a smile. Her sullen look exchanged itself for a warm smile. She nodded and scooted over, making room for Scott to sit next to her.

"You don't look happy to be here," he mentioned.

"I didn't really want to come here, but my parents think it's for the best."

"I think they're right," he agreed. "Here, we get to learn how to use all this crazy stuff we can do and not scare people with it."

"I thought we'd learn how to control it to where we can't do anything with it."

Scott shook his head, "No! Didn't you hear them? They want to teach us how to use them. They don't want to make us normal. They want to teach us to live normal but 'use this to our advantage', whatever that means. Sounds like they want us to use it to make life good. My brother says that he's taught how to control his power and use it like a gun, and he'll teach me to do the same. But I'll always need my sunglasses," the boy sighed. "But I can go to school and the teacher won't be scared of me, and they can help me be like other grown-ups."

Jean smiled, "Or you can stay to become one of the 'X-Men.' I wonder what that is? What that really is! They all act like it's a big secret!"

"Whatever it is, it sounds like we definitely use our powers! My brother is one and he really likes it, but he doesn't tell me much about it. He told me he wished he learned to control his powers when he was my age."

"I don't have any brothers or sisters."

"You don't have friends, either. You need to stop acting like you don't need friends. We all need friends. Look, I'll take care of you while you're here, OK? And my brother will take care of you, too. So will the Professor and Mrs. Xavier."

Jean looked over at him in surprise. No one had ever been so friendly to her. She liked this boy, Scott, she decided. Sure, he looked odd with his sunglasses and she would never get a chance to see his eyes. It made reading his mind very hard, but she understood the Professor was right: She didn't need to read minds all the time. She could learn by being around someone if they liked her or if she should like them. He smiled at her and took her hand. She squeezed his hand in return. She looked over at the boy and he was smiling, his large permanent front teeth dwarfing the baby teeth around them.

Yes, she decided. He definitely liked her, and she definitely liked him.

Maybe she would like it here after all.