「 The Professor & I 」VOLUME II

(296) Black Out

Lynn's POV

Summer had descended beautifully and the fine sunshine spilled into my classroom, decorating it with vivid yellow beams, as I telekinetically distributed learning notes for the day onto the neatly arranged desks.

As papers landed in tidy stacks, my teenage students began streaming in, some highly energetic and perked up for the morning while others, obviously not early risers, dragged their feet along sluggishly. Seats steadily filled up and I watched as striking shadows glided gracefully across the walls.

My mind, progressively absorbed by the hypnotic sight, however, unwittingly wandered off into less gleeful grounds despite the antidepressants I clearly recalled consuming after breakfast.

Although I regained a great deal of voluntary control over my emotions after nearly two years of therapy and considerable alleviation from the joyful little one recently blessed to our family, I willingly opted to maintain myself on the medication. Apart from directly insuring my mental stability, the pills provided me with a pleasant peace of mind and were still pretty much an essential to my life, albeit in significantly reduced doses.

Yet, for some reason, my mind loitered with the recollection of Charles' unusually nonchalant behavior, inexplicably gravitating towards the negative end of his apparent indifference, until a piercing squeal abruptly jolted me out of my daze.

"Happy birthday, Lynn!" Theresa gushed in pure excitement and I glanced up, noticing her scampering through the door in her typically animated manner.

"Happy birthday, Lynn!" Kitty echoed in the same rapturous tone, suddenly popping out from behind her roommates' back with a refreshing smile.

Invariably, their exuberant and conspicuous entrance elicited a genuine cycle of well wishes to resonate around the area as their peers successively repeated the identical line.

"Thank you, everyone," I addressed with an appreciative smile.

"But I'm quite sure, we scrapped this since last year," I emphasized, raising my brows at the hyperactive girls in a hinting fashion.

Such occasions were generally not extravagantly commemorated in the past but the pupils of recent batches, almost regardless of age, were enthusiastic in producing gifts for me upon my return. Initially, I imagined they were only keen for it was my first celebration at home in a while but the lavish phenomenon curiously showered upon me on an annual basis.

While they were adorable gestures, I hated for the young ones to be unnecessarily spending on me, in addition to the accumulation of modest bestowments that was basically overwhelming, and Charles had to implement the ban as a rule before the growing clutter in my office could be duly contained.

"You scrapped the parties and the presents. But you didn't exactly stop us from saying-" Theresa boldly argued when she was interrupted with impeccable precision by the couple casually strolling in.

"Happy birthday, Lynn," Rogue and Bobby announced in synchrony, sauntering pass with securely interlocked arms, and Theresa exchanged a satisfied high five with the Southern girl while the rest of the class erupted into teasing giggles.

"Alright, that's enough. We're running late. Get back to your seats, all of you," I instructed in a stern tone, albeit bearing a kind smile, and the rowdiness finally dampened as they obediently obliged.

My chemistry lesson proceeded normally once the kids settled down but roughly halfway through the period, my head was unexpectedly struck by a severe stab. There was a faint familiarity to the unpleasant throb that pounded just once but I suspected I would have remembered more distinctly—an experience this nasty and undermining.

I clutched my temples in agony and even the simple clang of my levitating whiteboard marker crashing to the parquet was jarring, not to mention the flood of concerned voices. Strenuously, I glimpsed up at the upright crowd but my vision rapidly escalated into a spinning blur and not another memory registered until I woke up.

"Lynn..." Charles sputtered shakily and I vaguely sensed his grasp on my left hand.

Weakly fluttering my eyes open, I was welcomed by a cloudy view that gradually refined into a massively worried horde. All the teachers gathered around our bed frame, bleeding with an incredible amount of vexation as they gawked at me anxiously.

Scott's furrowed brows peeked from above the red lenses of his visor as he wrapped his arms securely around his wife whose eyes, literally jaded, stared at me with an insane level of anguish; Jubilee and Storm huddled together, both plagued by notoriously distressed frowns.

Kurt covered his mouth with his palm but those three fingers were undeniably inadequate to mask his grievous expression; Peter merely stood with crossed arms but there was something about his immobile pose that was somber and aching; Even Logan, almost always unfazed, radiated with that daunted notion but Charles' distraught gaze was by far the most disturbing.

Cheer up, my dear. You're scaring them, I persuaded and slowly slid my hand under the covers towards his hand, squeezing it slightly, but his depressed lips hardly twitched or curved.

"I'm fine," I insisted honestly, mustering a smile in reassurance, but naturally, it did not suffice to appease anyone.

"What going on, Charles?" I investigated in confusion and he looked at me sadly as we both nursed a mild headache.

"You collapsed in the middle of class," Charles unveiled in a soft tone as he gently grazed his hand over my head, struggling to conceal the true extent of his woes from his charming turned troubled face.

"The kids said you held your head, screaming and seizing. What happened?" Jean questioned eagerly and I gazed up at the equally overwrought eyes, wrestling to sieve out the relevant events from my moderately disoriented mind.

"I... I don't know... It hurt... Things whirled... And then I was here..." I recounted in a feeble stammer.

"I blacked out, I guess," I mumbled tentatively, randomly combing my fingers through my hair.

"You guessed right. And for a good one hour," Logan claimed forthrightly, thereby earning a series of glares and nudges from his fellow X-Men as I looked bemusedly at Charles who nodded excruciatingly.

"What was the pain like, Lynn?" Jean grilled expectantly.

"I don't know..." I answered tiredly, frowning as I randomly combed my fingers through my fringe.

"I checked and there's nothing wrong with your brain. I don't think you were having a migraine. Could you at least describe it?" Jean requested in an analytical tone.

"I said I don't know!" I lashed out impatiently, glaring exasperatedly at the large assembly ostensibly appalled by my erratic loss of temper.

"What are all of you doing here anyway? Who's running the school?" I enquired in frustration.

"We suspended-" Storm revealed nervously and I rolled my eyes in unreserved annoyance.

"Did you guys seriously think that fretting over me was more important than imparting knowledge?!" I retaliated furiously and they all just lowered their heads shamefully to the floor, not uttering another word.

"This is ridiculous," I huffed under my breath, facing away from all of them.

"Get back to work, all of you," I commanded solemnly but they irritably froze in their current positions, completely unyielding.

"I understand, without a doubt, that all of you care about me and frankly, I can't be more grateful, but blindly standing there is not going to help," I grumbled in resentment.

"Besides, I call the shots today and I demand that school resumes this instant," I announced with a determined face.

"Now go, please," I ordered in the calmest tone my mind would allow as I telekinetically swung open the door for them.

"It's alright. I'll take care of her. We'll be fine," Charles asserted and when their reluctant paces finally dwindled past the door as it bolted shut, I sighed, engulfed in absolute relief.