“Miss Munroe? You awake yet?”
Ororo groaned quietly into her pillow as a voice called for her from the other side of the door. Her senses were beginning to become aware of her surroundings…soft sheets, fluffy pillow, the muffled sounds of children talking downstairs. The same sounds and feelings she always experienced when she woke up every day. It was all familiar to her.
But now, all she wanted to do was rest, before her body registered the usual tight feeling in her arm, or the sore, caved in feeling of her fractured ribs.
“Miss Munroe?” It was the Asian firecracker, Jubilee, at Ororo’s door. The young teenager had only gotten a small glimpse of the injuries her teacher had received two nights ago. Marie had helped her with changing her clothes and Logan had forbidden any other students to see Ororo, who was in her room for the past day and a half, resting.
But this time, Logan permitted Jubilee to wake her up for breakfast, since Hank had said it would be healthy for the headmistress to start moving again, but also a good remedy for the children who had been deprived of their ‘mother’ for so long.
Ororo opened her eyes, “Come in, Jubilee,” she said tiredly, forcing herself to sit up as the teenager walked in.
“You know, it’s past ten thirty,” Jubilee explained, “everyone’s waiting downstairs to see you again,” the soft, yet bubbly tone never left her voice.
Ororo nodded, “I’ll be down in a minute, just lemme get dressed.”
Yawning, the white haired woman slowly walked over to her closet and searched for some clothes while Jubilee was still quietly standing in her doorway.
Ororo took down a tight fitting V-neck black blouse from a hanger, “Everyone‘s in the kitchen?,” she studied the fancy white embroidering that ran along the rim of the hem of the black shirt. Her fingers traced over the patterns before she finally decided to shed her bed clothes. Her question was rather distant as she thought of all her students piling into the kitchen, forks in hand, mouths open, either waiting for food or busy chattering away. It all seemed rather odd to her, since almost every student had different eating habits. Was it her sudden attack that triggered the students’ sudden need to be one working unit? Ororo wasn’t sure of the answer.
“Yeah, literally everyone. On my way up here, all the rooms were empty. It’s weird, though,” Jubilee played with her pink shaded glasses as Ororo changed in her closet. Her arm had enough to the point where she could get small tasks done, like changing.
“How come?” Ororo asked her curiously.
“I dunno…it just seems freaky that everyone’s eating at the same time, in the same room, and no one‘s even fighting yet,” Jubilee glossed her thumb over the rim of her glasses, clearing away an unwanted smudge, “It’s so loud in the kitchen, it kinda reminds me of those T.V. shows with the dozens of kids in one big family.”
Ororo pondered over what her student said, “But that’s what we are. A really big family. Please don’t ever forget that, Jubilee.”
There was a natural maternal tone in her voice as she walked out of her closet and with Jubilee out of the room. The first thing that distracted Ororo was the sudden greeting of silence in the hallways as they walked through the teachers corridors and down the stairs.
Ororo smiled, “You weren’t kidding.”
“Told ya so. Isn’t it like, totally creepy?”
“You could say that…so everyone is in the kitchen?” Ororo was still perplexed. This was all so different.
“Yup. And waiting for us. C’mon,” Jubilee coaxed as she picked up the pace a little after hearing her stomach beg for food. Ororo chuckled lightly as she watched the young teen run down the hall to the kitchen.
Only a few steps, and Ororo was there herself, met with the sight of all the students seated at the large family dining table with empty bowls in front of each one. Several gallons of milk were separated evenly and different colored boxes of cereal were ready to be cracked open and poured out.
She caught sight of Logan, Warren, and Hank, who had decided that he could stay at the mansion for a few more days, sitting on the high stools that were placed by the island.
Ororo walked over to them, which didn’t go unnoticed by several of the students. Everything deepened into an eerie silence as Ororo awkwardly stood in the middle of the dining room, suddenly confused at the lack of conversation that was booming just seconds ago.
The men seated at the island motioned Ororo to sit down with them. Logan cleared his throat loudly.
Soon, a loud, “Good morning, Miss Munroe!” rang throughout the mansion cheerily.
Merely responding with a quick nod and a small wave, Ororo seated herself next to Logan, across from Warren and Hank.
Across from the teacher’s place, Jubilee plopped herself in between Marie and Kitty. Becoming weary of the unrelenting growls coming from her stomach, the spunky teen quickly poured some cereal into her bowl.
Bobby passed her the milk, “So, is she alright?”
Shrugging, Jubilee answered, “Looks fine to me. We just gotta give her some space, y’know?”
Her friends nodded, “She looks a lot betta since Ah saw her last,” added Rogue. She was the one who helped Ororo change her clothes, since the headmistress could barely lift her arm.
Kitty watched the older woman chat with Hank, Warren and Logan, “Did anyone talk to Mr. McCoy, yet?”
Jubilee nodded, “Yeah, he said that Miss Munroe won’t be teaching for about two weeks.”
“So that means…” Bobby began excitedly, “We practically get half our classes canceled for two weeks?”
The three girls nodded slowly, “Bobby,” Marie started, “If ya think that two weeks a’ no classes is a good thing, think again. Miss Munroe’s in lahke, pain.”
Kitty continued, “Yeah, Bobby, think of how stressed she’s gonna be when she starts teaching again. Plus we’re gonna have double the catch up homework.”
“And don’t forget, she’s not stupid. She’s probably gonna get Pete to sub or somethin’,” Jubilee stated sourly, “so its not like we’re on vacation.”
Bobby took a large spoonful of his breakfast, “Eh, nothin’ wrong with hoping.”
Jubilee laughed, “Keep dreaming, Popsicle.”
The boy looked at her, “What? Now I’m Popsicle? Its like you’re a mini Logan, Jubes.”
The teens laughed and went back to their cereal.
Ororo sighed, glancing at the three men, then back at her plate, “So how bad has it been?”
Warren looked at her confused, “How bad has what been?”
“The school! Something must’ve gone wrong! Injuries? Fights? Anything?”
Logan chuckled, “Don’t worry, ‘Ro,” he tried on the nickname, getting a positive response accompanied by her eyebrow slightly hiking up.
She repeated him, “’Ro?”
“Yeah…gotta a problem with that, ‘Ro?” Logan continued flippantly.
“Whatever, Logan,” ignoring his new nickname for her, Ororo rolled her eyes and took a mouthful of the omelet Hank had made earlier for the teachers. I might as well start calling him ‘Lo’…see how he likes it…
“So,” Hank started, “You would wish to know what has gone amiss in your absence?”
She nodded and he continued, “To tell you the truth, Ororo, everything has been rather quiet. There really is nothing to worry about.”
“What? Hard to believe?” Logan said once he saw her eyebrows furrow, lips purse, and head cock slightly to the right. Her fork was in her hand, just about ready to stab at her omelet.
“No,” she replied to Logan, “But, are you sure everything’s been fine? The children…they’re rather…”
“Rambunctious? Yes,” Hank continued for her.
What Ororo didn’t know was that the three men knew from experience of last night’s pizza dinner.
Oh, the children were much more than “rambunctious”.
One kid had complained that there was mushrooms on his pizza and had been mistaken for another slice. It had taken twenty-seven tries of asking the children one by one if they had his last slice of pepperoni. The same thing happened with six other students. Then there was the soda incident. Two of the younger children, around seven or eight, had found the hidden stash of soda in the back of the pantry. Logan had chased them around the mansion for who knows how long, only to be sprayed in the face with the sticky fluid.
And that had only been a small fraction of what had happened that night. They had bribed the kids with video games and candy not to tell Ororo.
“But we handled it fine,” Logan said proudly.
Logan, Hank, and Warren vowed to never again have a pizza night.
Ororo didn’t know what to say. She was sure the children at least gave them a little trouble, but from the way Hank, Warren, and Logan were carrying themselves this morning, everything must’ve been going fine. Giving them a final suspicious glare, the woman finally went back to her food.
For the rest of the breakfast, Ororo sat in silence, listening as they discussed the latest arrangements for an update on the Danger Room or the most recent political reports from Hank. She added a comment here and there, but that was about it.
It was only until a small crash was heard did the adults turn their heads to see a broken plate on the floor. Shattered pieces of the plate scattered everywhere.
Ororo sighed, expecting to have to clean it up herself, “I don’t care who’s fault it is, just clean it up.”
To her complete astonishment, several students got to work almost immediately.
“But…” Ororo began in shock, “…they listened?”
“Problem?” Warren asked.
She shook her head slowly, watching the children neatly dump the pieces of glass in the trashcan. It was as if a military officer had trained them while Ororo was healing. Logan watched how the amazed look on her face gradually subsided, then she took another bite of the omelet.
Ororo finally said something, “Wow.”
“What?”
“Logan,” she said in an annoyed tone.
He gave her a wolfish grin, “Not my fault the kids are finally straightening up.”
Hank looked at the gruff man, “But…Logan, you’re the one who--”
“--Hank!” Logan exclaimed, red-faced.
The weather witch pointed her fork back and forth from Hank, to Logan, then finally the children, the pieces of the puzzle finally setting in.
“Logan,” Ororo gasped, motioning to the students, “you did all this?”
He shot a look at Hank, then shrugged, “It’s not like its a big deal, ’Ro,” he began, “The kids wanted t’do this for you, I just went along--”
Impulsively, Ororo flung her arms around his neck, cutting off his sentence, “I can’t believe it, I mean really can’t believe it, Logan.”
Surprised at the sudden contact, he smiled and patted her on the back, “What’d I do?” Logan asked in mock innocence.
Ororo pulled back, her lips curving up in a big smile “Oh, shut up, you know what I mean.”
It was in that very moment that Logan noticed something different, something positive about Ororo. His eyes stayed on her longer than intended as she got up to put her plate in the sink. The way her smile was glowing, the way she tucked some hair behind an ear, and the way her stare followed out the window to gaze at the late morning sky, Logan couldn’t help but grin.
“Well,” she began as she leaned on the counter near the sink, “I’m going to go catch up on my paperwork.”
Hank quickly put in, “Ororo, I told you, for two weeks, no--”
“--Work. I know,” she caught him in the middle of his scolding, “It’s only going to be paperwork, Hank, nothing heavy.”
Hank sighed and shook his head, “Alright, but no more than that.”
“Besides, I need to catch up on grading homework,” Ororo stated and began walking out of the kitchen, “I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”
As Ororo sauntered out of the dining room, Henry and Warren couldn’t help but notice Logan’s lingering stare on her retreating back. The two had also caught the man watching their friend as she was putting away her plate.
Logan felt their eyes on him, “What?” he asked, finally breaking off his gaze after Ororo closed the door to her office.
“Nothing, my boy, nothing at all,” Hank chuckled and stood to stash his own dishes in the sink.
That was all the blue, fur-covered U.S. Ambassador said before exiting the room down to his lab. Warren remained in his seat, still finishing up his omelet.
Logan rested his chin in his hand as he examined his beer, “What’d Blue mean by that?” he asked no one in particular.
Angel guessed the question was directed at him, “How should I know?”
He knew exactly what Beast had been talking about, Logan could smell it. Choosing to just shrug it all off, Logan sighed and took a few gulps of his beer.
“See you ‘round, Warren,” he muttered as he got up to go into the Danger Room for a few hours.
“See ya,” Warren laughed and continued eating his breakfast.
“Did you see that?” Jubilee said after she closed her gaping mouth.
“See what?” Kitty asked. Bobby and Marie both held the same questionable look on their face. They, along with the rest of the students, were still seated at the long table.
“Miss Munroe…Logan…what happened…all that! God, you didn’t see it, did you?” the teen exclaimed enthusiastically.
“No…what are ya talkin’ ‘bout, Jubes?” Rogue said, not getting the picture.
Jubilee tried to contain her excitement, “You mean you didn’t see the look that Logan was giving Miss Munroe?”
“What look?” Kitty was confused. She looked at Bobby, who shrugged.
Jubilee sighed, “That look that a guy gives a woman when he’s totally…y’know…”
“What?” Bobby pressed.
But the firecracker sighed, “Never mind…you guys can’t see it, anyways,” Jubilee walked over to the sink and tossed her bowl in and began towards the door.
“Wait! Tell us!” Rogue yelled at her, suddenly intrigued.
Jubilee laughed and called back, “You’ll see it, eventually! Just keep your eyes open!”
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