Part 1
Bobby glared around the Danger Room at his so-called friends. Then down at the large puddle of water spreading around his feet.
�I am in complete control of my powers!� he insisted, despite the evidence. Rogue looked sympathetic. Hank was trying not to laugh.
But Scott and Jean and the Professor refused to give way.
�It�s for the best, Bobby,� said Jean, in her much-practised big sister voice.
�I�m a grown man, for God�s sake!�
�The way you act,� said Scott sternly, �that�s open to debate.�
�I�m one of the first five! An original X-Man!� cried Bobby, desperate now. �I�ve saved the world! I�ve got a degree in accounting! You CAN NOT send me back to school!�
The Professor regarded him levelly. �Oh yes we can,� he said.
* * * * *
Bobby kicked up the dust on the mansion driveway, swearing under his breath with a creativity that would have made Wolverine jealous. How dare they, he fumed, aiming a particularly vicious kick at the letterbox and the carefully packed schoolbag sitting next to it. Damn them. Double-damn them! �Duty to my team mates�, yeah, right! Then why aren�t they picking on Rogue? Or Marrow? �Danger to myself�, Hank�s hairy arse! This is all Frost�s fault!
Bobby�s blood boiled and his skin froze over. Of course it was Emma Frost�s fault. Emma Frost, who had taken over his body and shown him what his ice powers were really capable of. Emma Frost, who had put his inadequacies on display in front of his friends. Emma Frost, who was a principal at the school he was being forced to attend. Emma Frost, a leader of� Gen�X. Bobby stopped. Back up a second, he thought to himself. School. Generation X. Jubilee. Jubilee, who also disliked Frost, and who was a natural born trickster. Bobby retrieved the schoolbag, and thoughtfully layered half the driveway with ice, extra slippery edition.
�Fine,� he said out loud. �I�ll go back to school. But all work and no play makes Bobby� well�� Bobby paused, and grinned evilly. �Well, I guess we�ll never know what it makes, because it sure isn�t going to happen any time soon!�
* * * * *
The bell rang. The teacher came in. The class started. No-one took any notice of Bobby, where he sat up the back, face hidden behind the business section of the newspaper. Eleven minutes later, Jubilation Lee burst into the room, trailing pages of homework behind her like streamers.
�Sorry I�m� late� Ms Frost,� she gasped, dumping her bits and pieces onto Synch�s desk while she looked around for another chair. M rolled her eyes. Frost put down her chalk, and looked pointedly at her watch, as teachers do.
�Jubilation��
�I said I�m sorry. They really should make those buzzers louder, I couldn�t hear it from��
�Jubilation,� said Frost again. �Everyone else managed to get here on time.� Bobby, still hidden behind his newspaper, could feel the glare directed specifically at him. He�d been in class early, and Frost was worried that he was planning something. He was, of course, but that was beside the point. Jubilee found a seat and assumed an �attentive student� pose, which was marred only by the fact that she was rocking the chair back on two legs.
�It wasn�t my fault, Ms Frost, you see I got bumped in the corridor and dropped my calculator and when I picked it up the display was all cracked, and it wouldn�t work, so I had to find someone to lend me theirs.�
�And that took you eleven minutes?� asked Frost, in a deadly tone.
�Make it good,� muttered Bobby, under his breath.
�I couldn�t find anyone to lend me one, they all needed it for classes now, or else they hadn�t brought them to school today, I must have asked, like, fifty people, and no-one had a spare calculator.�
Bobby nodded to himself. It was a pretty good excuse. But he could already spot one problem with it.
�Jubilee,� said Frost, �this is an English class.�
�Not maths?�
�No.�
�Oh no!� cried Jubilee, swinging dangerously on her chair, �Ms Frost, I�ve done the wrong homework!�
Bobby burst out laughing, startling the other students.
�Drake, will you please�� Frost started, but she was interrupted by a crash, as Jubilee overbalanced her chair trying to turn around to look at him.
Bobby folded up his newspaper and regarded the stunned Gen-Xers with his best sincere expression. �I�m here to learn,� he said.
Jubilee started choking. Bobby tipped his own chair backwards and folded his arms behind his head.
�It�s true. I�m here to learn,� Bobby repeated. �So come on, Ms Frost, teach. We�re waiting.�
The White Queen glared at him.
~To Be Continued~
Um... Maybe one day...
|