| An extra special shout-out to Nadine, who just HAD to ask the question: "They don�t have condoms in Africa?" You made my week! Patience, by stormfreak Chapter Two: Teacher Her hands were orange, but her hair � what wasn�t scattered all over the floor, that is � was now blonde through and through. The blue contacts in her eyes were beginning to burn � she had never worn contacts before. Now the paperwork. Rogue went over it carefully, over and over again. Adrienne Sanford, from Houston, Texas. Master of Education from Rice University. It explained her very slight accent, though Rogue had managed to rid herself of most of it. Teacher certified, and now, taking over the position of kindergarten teacher at Harare Academy. Permission granted to wear gloves at all times due to the accident that had mangled her hands. It excited her to think she would be teaching Gambit�s children. She had sworn not to get attached to them, in case she had to rid the world of one, but she hadn�t expected Ajita�s fiery personality. James wasn�t a shock; he was a quiet, skeptical, passive little boy. Just like his mother. So if it all boiled down to it, she would destroy the son. That reminded her � how would she explain things when she went to visit Ajita tonight? * Ororo had received the telephone call at about 5:45 that morning. Harare Academy had broken down; hours before the first school bell of the year, but they had folded. Leila Jean, although she was only three, would be allowed in the pre-kindergarten program at Harare Academy. It was a good thing the call was early; it gave Ororo the chance to wake up her husband, tell him the news, fight about sending Leila Jean to school, make up, make love, and be dressed before 8:00 a.m. The busy morning was beginning to wear on Ororo�s nerves. Once upon a time, she had been worshipped as a goddess. This morning, she wondered if she blew a tornado through the house whether her children would behave for ten minutes. She seriously doubted it. Her head throbbed as she summed up the last ten minutes� events. Leila Jean had slipped out of the bathtub and was running around the house, naked as the day she was born. James was bouncing his soccer ball (football, Ororo reminded herself; we are back in Africa now) throughout the halls; poor Deejay was teething, and Ajita was being�well, Ajita. "I don�t want to wear this! I don�t wear dresses!" Ajita was howling. "Mommy, it looks stupid!" "Ajita, it is the school uniform. There is nothing I can do about it. All the other girls in the class will look exactly like you; they have to wear it too." "I don�t care! I won�t wear it!" "If you do not wear it, you cannot go to school." "I don�t want to go to school! I want to stay home!" "Ajita!" Ororo knelt to her daughter�s eye level, and her blue eyes locked with her daughter�s. "I am going to leave this uniform on your bed. Then I am going to hunt down your little sister. When I come back, that shirt, that skirt and those shoes had better be on your body, and that expression on your face had better be gone, or you will rue the day you ever rose your voice to me!" With that, she threw the uniform on Ajita�s bed and stormed out the door, slamming it behind her. Ajita stood still, drowning in the silence. Slowly, she reached for her shirt. When her mother raised her voice it was politic to do what she said. Having walked out of Ajita�s room, Ororo ran smack into a tiny ball of brown and black. "Leila Jean?" The toddler giggled. Ororo picked Leila Jean up and kissed her forehead. "Child, I have been trying to chase you down all morning. Come on, I have to get you dressed for school. James!" she yelled, nearly tripping over a checkered sphere. "Stop kicking that football in this house!" "But Mommy, the championship game is on Friday! And I�m gonna be the best football player in the world! I�m gonna be the next Pele!" He picked up the ball and bounced it on his knee. James had played football with the Harare Academy football team all summer, and he had already cemented his spot on the team. Ororo smiled. Truly, she loved her son; her beautiful miracle boy. He had grown, just as Adam promised he would, into a tall, well-sized five-year-old. She took her hand and smoothed his snow-white curls. "You can go kick it in the backyard, if you promise not to get dirty." "Okay, Mommy!" James threw his arms around his mother�s waist. Ororo stooped low, and James kissed her on the cheek, them smacked Leila Jean on her bare behind, causing Leila Jean to yell. "James!" "There was a fly, Mommy!" James turned and ran down the hallway, nearly colliding with his father on the way out. "Hi, Daddy!" he yelled over his shoulder. "Mornin� James," Remy called back. He reached out his arms and took Leila Jean. "Busy mornin�, ya think?" "Oh, same old, same old," Ororo smiled and kissed her husband. "Your oldest child is getting on my nerves, and James thinks he is going to be the soccer king of Zimbabwe, but ever since I caught the little naked one here, the morning has calmed down considerably." "What�s up with Jiji?" "She does not want to put her clothes on." "Hmm. Seems t�me dat your girls have adopted their momma�s �clothing optional� attitude," Remy laughed. "I remember the days dat you floated roun� wearin� nothin� but your brightest smile." "Oh, be quiet!" Ororo laughed, feeling her headache disappear. Goddess, I love this man. "You look quite dapper this morning, Mr. Assistant Vice-President." Remy frowned. "You don� t�ink I look like an idiot?" He was wearing a charcoal gray suit with a matching tie. "No, I think you look quite handsome. Uncomfortable, but handsome. I hope your office is air-conditioned." Ororo took Leila Jean back. "I need to get her dressed. Do me a favor though, and make sure Ajita is getting ready for school? I need to leave early this morning so I can meet the new kindergarten teacher." "Ahh, de woman who is takin� t�immortal Ororo LeBeau�s place. You�ve left quite a legend fo� her to live up to." "Well, she is quite qualified, from what I hear. I confess, I am not thrilled to be moved up to the high school level, but I am content knowing that our children are being taught by an experienced teacher." "Agreed." Remy moved past his wife and knocked softly on Ajita�s door. "Jiji? Can Daddy come in?" "Yes," the voice replied. Remy opened the door and shut it behind him. He made his way to Ajita�s bed and sat down. Ajita had put on her shirt, but the offending skirt was still on the bed. "C�mere, petit, an� sit wit� Daddy fo� a minute," he cajoled. Ajita ran to her father and jumped into his arms. Remy sat Ajita in his lap and kissed her cheek. Of all of his children, he saw the most of himself in Ajita. Openly rebellious, defiant in the face of authority, independent, sassy, his wonderful Ajita N�Dare. But he knew that the last thing Ororo LeBeau was going to raise was a rebellious child. And if there was ever going to be a face-off between his wife and his daughter, he knew who would lose. "Jiji, do you have t�give your momma a hard time every morning?" Ajita�s eyes grew wide. "Daddy �" "Now, hol� on. Daddy knows you don� like de uniform, an if yo� momma could change the rules, she would. But she can�t. The first step in being a big girl is knowin� dat sometimes you have t�do t�ings you don� wanna do. Daddy don� wanna wear dis suit, but he has to. Mommy don� wanna wear her hair up every mornin�, but she has too. And you have to wear yo� uniform." Ajita sighed. "But it�s so stupid!" "Don� matter, petit. You have to wear it. Now, be Daddy�s big girl, an� put on your skirt an� shoes. An� I�ll ask Mommy if she�ll let you brush an� braid your own hair dis mornin�." He set his daughter back on the floor, stood up, and left the room. "Ro!� "In here!" his wife called back. Remy walked into his sons� room. Ororo was putting clothes on the youngest child, David Jaffe. "Is it okay if Ajita does her own hair in t�mornings from now on?" "I suppose." Ororo handed the squirming baby to Remy. "Here. You know he has to be at day care by 8:30." "Mmm-hmm." Remy grabbed a towel and slung it over his shoulder � his youngest had a tendency to drool. "Mornin�, Deejay." Deejay grabbed his father�s nose in reply. "Ready t�go, homme?" "Hopefully, we are all ready to go. Go into the backyard and tell James to come on. Ajita! Leila Jean! It is time to leave!" "Wait a minute � dey haven�t eaten!" "Oh, Remy! School cafeterias serve breakfast, too. I do not have time to fix breakfast for four children in the mornings." She kissed her husband. "Have a good day, darling. By the way, what will you be doing as the assistant vice-president?" "Well, accordin� t�Adam, I�ll be sittin� on my ass all day." "Sounds lovely," Ororo laughed. "You should let me know what that is like. Write a book about it � I will read it. Make a movie � I will watch it!" * She hadn�t expected to come face to face with Gambit�s wife so soon. But there she was, in the doorway, with that soft voice that spoke the Queen�s English perfectly. "Excuse me?" She walked in, with all the confidence that Rogue remembered she possessed from the day she met the woman called Storm. Holding her hand was a beautiful, black-haired child dressed in the Harare Academy uniform. "I did not mean to disturb you, but I came to introduce myself. My name is Ororo LeBeau. I was the kindergarten teacher for the past five years." "What �oh, yes!" Rogue stood up. She prayed that her nervousness wouldn�t show through. She hadn�t been this close to Storm in six years, after all. Thank God she didn�t have Wolverine�s sense of smell! Breathe deeply, pronounce your vowels, and smile. "I have heard so many good things about you and what you�ve done for the lower level classes," she stated slowly. "The awards you�ve won are quite amazing." Ororo dropped her eyes and smiled shyly. Modest to the end, Rogue thought wryly. The end. Hey, I like that. "I only hope that I am as effective with the upper level classes. I have taught upper level before, but I was really getting accustomed to lower level classes. Speaking of which, I should probably leave. I am sure you have work to do." She extended her hand, and Rogue shook it. "I am sorry, I did not catch your name." "Adrienne Sanford." "Ororo LeBeau. You are having two of my children in your class this year." "Oh, am I?" Rogue questioned, feigning surprise. "Which two?" Ororo gave a small smile. "You will know them when you see them. Their names are James and Ajita. Watch out for my daughter � she can be a handful. And if she or James give you any trouble, do not hesitate to let me know." Why, so you can beat them, Storm? Rogue thought. "I will. But I�m sure your kids will be quite lovely. As lovely as this one. What�s your name little girl?" "My name is Leila Jean," the girl responded. "I�m three years old." "My, my, she is quite smart, Mrs. LeBeau." Mrs. LeBeau. Rogue nearly choked on the words. "Thank you," Leila Jean replied, smiling. My God, she is a beautiful child. "You have a wonderful first day, Miss Sanford. And good luck. If you have any questions or need any help, my office is in the D-building." "Goodbye, Mrs. LeBeau. Bye, Leila Jean." And with that, their first confrontation was over. Rogue placed her head on the desk, shaking uncontrollably. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. She knew she would come face to face with Storm one day. She just didn�t expect it to be so soon! Of course, she would come. These are her children, and she cares. Rogue would�ve been happier if she didn�t care; if she wasn�t such a loving and caring and damned good mother. It didn�t sit right with her that Storm used corporal punishment � she didn�t think it was in her � but she knew that Storm had come from a "spare-the-ass-and-spoil-the-child" family. And it didn�t take a genius to figure out that all four children were well cared for, and loved. Very, very loved. The hill was starting to turn into a mountain that would be higher and higher to climb. But Rogue would prevail. She didn�t know when, or even how, but she was one step closer to the goal. Patience. * The behavior meeting came before 12:00 p.m. Ororo stood outside the principal�s office, her tiny headache having grown into a full-blown migraine. With her third period being free, she hoped to wrap this meeting up before her lunch hour. She wasn�t surprised that before day one was over, one of her children was sitting in the principal�s office. She was just surprised at which child it was. James Logan sat quietly, but his eyes widened when his mother entered the room, and he began to bite his lip. Sitting with James was his teacher, Miss Sanford, and the head principal, Bibiana Nywkau. "Ororo, I�ll get right to the point, with no formalities" Bibi began slowly, "I consider you a friend, and I must say this came as quite a shock. I�ve known all of your children since the day they were born, and to be honest, I never thought I�d see James in this type of position. I always knew your Ajita was a little high-strung, but James? He�s always been a perfect gentleman." "Bibi, exactly what is it that my son has done?" Ororo questioned. "I�ll answer that question," Miss Sanford injected. "Mrs. LeBeau, your son got into a fight with another young man today at recess." "A fight!?" James? Little Cyclops here? Ororo stared at her son. His shirt was still crisply ironed and snow-white; his shoes, immaculately polished. Who was he fighting, his shadow? "Yes, m�aam. Apparently, a little boy was on the playground teasing his sister. He pulled the ribbon out of Ajita�s hair and made her hair fall. Ajita pushed the young man, and the young man hit her. From what I saw before I managed to get over there, James confronted the young man, who pushed him. Then James hit him." "Is that true, James?" Ororo questioned her son sternly. James nodded miserably, looking as if he wanted to be anywhere but where he was. "Then you are just as much to blame, I am afraid." Ororo turned to Bibi. "I accept his punishment, Bibi. And thank you, Miss Sanford, for stopping it before it got out of control." "Ororo?" Bibi interrupted. "Forgive my saying this, but it never really had a chance to get out of control. Your son knocked the other young man unconscious." Ororo felt the room spinning slowly. "I beg your pardon?" "Ororo, didn�t you wonder where the other child was? He is in the hospital, complete with a broken nose and a head concussion. We have contacted his parents, and they will be contacting you. I have no choice, Ororo, but to suspend him for three days." Three days! "But-but he is only five!" "I understand that. And I understand that this is his first offense. But Ororo, forgive my language, but your son knocked the dogshit out of that poor boy. I cannot condone that behavior here, and neither can Miss Sanford. We have both discussed it, and we feel that this is the most appropriate punishment." Ororo nodded. "I understand. I take it that he cannot play soccer � I mean football - for the three days he is suspended." Bibi nodded. "I�m sorry, James. I know you were looking forward to playing in the championship. But as long as he is suspended, I cannot allow him on school property." "Then I should call his father and tell him to pick him up, I suppose." "Oh, that�s not necessary, Mrs. LeBeau," Miss Sanford interjected quickly, her blue eyes wide as saucers. "With this being the first day, you know the children are all dismissed at 1:30. He can stay and help me clean up things a bit until the upper levels let out." "Thank you, Miss Sanford. He should probably get the practice in, because he�ll be cleaning a whole lot of things when he gets home. James," she turned to her son, "I will see you when school lets out." "James can stay in here until the class is dismissed," Bibi added. "And again, I�m sorry about the way things turned out. I know it seems quite harsh." "I understand completely," Ororo replied. "And thank you again, Miss Sanford." * "A fight!?" "Yes, can you believe it?" Ororo crossed her left leg over the other and twirled her fingers around the telephone cord. "No, I can�t. James? Our James? Are they sure?" "Well, Remy, it could be a mistake. There are so many white-haired, half-black children that attend this school, it could be a mix-up." "Well, where is he now?" "In the office. He will stay with his teacher until I am able to leave." "Oh, no, Stormy. The kids�ll be out by 1:30 today, an� I know you�ll be dere late. I�ll come get him an� the girls. Dere�s lotsa yard work to be done at 1:30 in t�afternoon, y�know." Ororo laughed. "Thank you love. Remy?" "Yeah?" "I know this is not right, both as a teacher and a mother, but�" Ororo lowered her voice. "Is it wrong that I am not very upset for what James did?" "What!? You? Miss Non-Violence?" "Well�the fight would have never happened if the little boy James hit had not been teasing Ajita." Remy sighed. "Honestly, Ro, I�m not too upset wit� him. Better he knock out instead of getting� knocked out, y�know. But he has t�be punished. You would punish Ajita behind dis, so you have t�punish James." "I know, Remy. I never said he would not be punished. It is just that, well�I find the whole incident rather humorous. And then again, I do not. He knocked the child unconscious, Remy. His nose is broken. And he is only five." Silence. "Do you think �" "Not over the phone, I don� t�ink," Remy warned. "We�ll talk about it when you get home. I�ll get the kids at 1:30." "And you will tell me all about your day." "I can sum it up in one sentence if you�d like. I sit on my ass an� do paperwork all day. T�ank God I can write, �cause God knows I don� need to know how t�read anything but my signature." "That boring, huh? Well, I wish my life could be that boring, and I get paid for it; alas, I am a schoolteacher. One whose class is about to start soon. I must go. I will see you at home." "Bye, Ro. I love you." "I love you back," Ororo smiled and set the phone into the receiver just as the bell rang. * He walked back into her life as easily and impersonally as he had walked in. Rogue sat writing notes into her journal. Teaching kindergarten was ten times rougher than anything she had expected. Who said that private school children were better behaved than those in public schools? She had corrected dirty language and inappropriate touching all day. In her spare time, she might have taught a thing or two; maybe mentioned he alphabet once or twice. Okay, once. But it was recess that had shocked her. She had heard the taunting and turned her head in time to see Augustine Ebgoh jerk the blue ribbon out of Ajita LeBeau�s hair. "You�re a freak!" he had yelled. "Only old people and freaks have white hair!" "I am not a freak!" Ajita had screamed, and pushed Augustine away. "I look like my mommy! My mommy had white hair!" "Then your mommy�s a freak, too!" Augustine replied, and hit Ajita in her chest. Rogue had stood up, but James LeBeau had reached Augustine first. it had to have been some twin�s intuition or something, because Rogue knew for a fact that James had been playing soccer (football, football!) on the other side of the playground. But there he was, chest to chest with the older, bigger boy. "Leave my twin alone!" he had yelled. "You�re a freak too, and a fag! Only fags play football! Play baseball, fag!" And he had shoved James clear off his feet and into the dirt. "Hey!" Rogue had yelled, but she was too late � way too late. James was on his feet in a flash, and within a blink of an eye, Augustine was lying on the ground, blood spurting from his nose. Somehow, James had gotten himself dusted off before he reached the principal�s office. He was still clean, even at the end of the day. Standing with his arms sticking out of the windows, he was beating the erasers together furiously; all the anger he still had being poured into the job. Rogue could see that he had his father�s temper, but his mother�s calm head. He had done wrong, he was being punished, and that was that. Ajita. determined not to leave her brother�s side, was sweeping the classroom, her face contorted in fury. "Pardon moi, is dis t�kindergarten class?" Rogue turned to face Remy LeBeau, and for a moment, time stood still. There he was, close enough to touch; close enough to smell his cologne. By his side was the same coffee-colored child she had met this morning, though notably dirtier. In his arms was the perfect replica of Remy himself, save for the eyes. Rogue forced her widest smile. "You must be Mr. LeBeau," she finally said. "I met your daughter this morning � hello, Leila Jean." "Hi!" the toddler chirped. "This is my brother, Deejay." "Daddy!" Ajita dropped the broom and ran toward her father. James didn�t even look up; he would beat erasers until the job was finished. That was just James� way. "Hey, Miss Jiji." Remy knelt and kissed Ajita. Rogue felt a pain shoot through her chest. "James, honey, you can quit beating those. I�ll finish." James sat the erasers down quietly, and walked toward his father, stopping in front of him. Remy didn�t say a word, but he reached out and rumpled his son�s hair. "Hey dere, Ali," he smiled, and winked. James� solemn face became a huge smile, and he drew his body closer to his father. "I�m sorry fo� the trouble dey caused. T�ank you fo� taking care of my children, Miss�" "Sanford." Rogue reached and shook Remy�s hand, and his very touch � the feel of his body heat - nearly made her faint. "Good-bye James; I�ll miss you while you�re gone, sugar," Rogue crooned. "Good-bye, Miss Sanford. And I�m sorry. Tell Miss Nywkau that I�m sorry, too." "Okay. Should I tell Augustine and his parents that you�re sorry?" "No," James shook his head, "just Miss Nywkau." Rogue laughed. She couldn�t help it. "T�ank you again, m�aam," Remy said, and he and his family - his picture perfect family - were gone. He was gone; gone from her life, again. Patience. * Try as they might, Ororo and Remy could not come up with a decent punishment for James. Their children had few toys, and no real luxuries. James didn�t watch TV, and Ororo certainly wasn�t about to take his books away. The only real thing he loved was football, and he already couldn�t play in the championship game. They finally settled on sending him to bed directly after dinner, right after he cleared the table and took his bath. It didn�t surprise either parent that when James stood to takes the plates away, Ajita did too. Silently, the two cleared the entire table, kissed their parents good night, and went to take their respective baths. "You don�t have to do this with me, Ajita," James stated before the two parted for the night. It was only 7:30. "Yes, I do. You�re my brother." Ajita replied stubbornly. "We�re in this together." "But you have to go to school in the morning. I can�t." "Well�I�ll go, and I�ll learn everything, and then I�ll come back and teach it to you, okay? And at recess, I won�t play with anyone." "Okay. But Ajita, you have to play with someone during recess. You can�t just sit there." "I�ll come up with something." Ajita vowed. "Good night." "Good night." Fifteen minutes in to Ajita�s martyrdom, she was bored to tears. Her brother was in the other room, and her sister was asleep. Ajita played games in her head and sang songs, but nothing passed the time any faster. At around 8:45, her mother entered the room and sat down on Ajita�s bed. Unlike James, Ajita wasn�t asleep and didn�t bother to pretend. Her mother took Ajita�s hand in hers. "You know, Ajita," she began, "You are not responsible for what James did. Why are you going through James� punishment with him?" "I don�t know," Ajita said. "It is kind of my fault. When Meanie Stinie pulled my ribbon, I should�ve went and told the teacher, but I didn�t. I pushed him instead.:" Ororo nodded. "I understand. But I can also understand you being upset. This morning was the first morning you did your hair all by yourself. It was very pretty. And Augustine took it down. I would have been upset, too." "I know. But it still wouldn�t have happened if I had told." Ororo laughed, a rare laugh that Ajita rarely heard her mother use. "Okay, Ajita. If you want to go through with your brother�s punishment, I will not stop you. That is between you and him. But you do have to go to school in the morning, even when James does not." "Where will he go, Mommy? Will you stay home?" "I cannot. James will go to the day care for the next three days with David." "Day care!" Ajita giggled. "He�s going to the little kids� day care!" "Oh, you think that is funny?" Ororo questioned, and reached out to tickle her daughter. Ajita squealed, laughing until her sides ached. Like her mother, she was highly ticklish. "Okay, okay," her mother laughed. when Ajita�s laughing got too loud, and Leila Jean stirred. "Go back to sleep. It is late, and you could not get back up if you wanted too. You stay late tomorrow, by the way; orchestra tryouts are tomorrow, if you are still interested." "Okay, Mommy, "Ajita allowed herself to be tucked in. Her mother swept her bangs off her forehead and kissed Ajita�s forehead. "Good night, darling. I will see you in the morning." "Good night. Mommy?" "Yes?" "Those uniforms�they�re not so bad, I guess." Her mother�s eyes twinkled in the darkness. "Actually, I find them quite hideous. But I do not make the rules pertaining to uniform wear. Whatever they are, you will abide by them. Good night." "Good night." The door shut, and Ajita smiled all the way into dreams. * She�s asleep. I can�t talk to her tonight. She had wanted to tell Ajita who she was; why her angel would be looking like her teacher from here on out. But as soon as she was about to tap on Ajita�s window, the door had opened. Rogue wasn�t able to hear the conversation, but she watched the interaction. Whatever animosity that had been between mother and daughter this morning was now gone. And Rogue found herself being quite disappointed. She didn�t realize how much she was banking on that animosity until it was gone. Now what? What would she do now? She would wait. The best things came to those who waited. Patience. TBC |