The News - May 21st

[lee]

There was a redeaming quality to everyone. Lee's redeaming quality was generally her smile, which she showered on people whether or not she thought them to be crazy or weird. She turned this bright smile onto Dani, as she decided the other girl's redeaming quality was the compliment she had just doled out.

"Aww, thank you. You're sweet." She was just looking for something to compliment her back on, when Dani beat her to speaking.

"Did something happen this morning? When I arrived, Marie was... shouting. At someone who wasn't there."

"Oh, that." Lee winced inwardly at the question, having put the news broadcast out of her mind for the time being. "We used to be part of this group of mutants called the X-men, you see, and this morning they got into a rather bad fight with another group of mutants. It didn't look good on the news broadcasts and we are just a bit worried for our friends is all." She couldn't for the life of her think who Marie might have been yelling at though. Bobby? Maybe.

She would have to wait to ask, however, because even as Marie came around the corner and into the kitchen, she was trailing another girl behind her. "Lee, Dani, this is Adrien," Marie said with a pleasant smile before turning to the pale girl behind her. "Adrien, Oralee Beacon, the other head-girl at the Place," she nodded towards Lee, "and Danielle Moonstar, newely arrived herself."

[adrien]

Adrien nodded to them both, waving a little. She hoisted her backpack onto her back. "At least for now, right? Nice to meet you both."

Looking around, the nervousness began to settle itself slowly. They all seemed like very nice people. It was a shame all that Baltimore stuff had unsettled them, it seemed only fair if you'd lost your mutant abilities you should be able to divorce yourself from mutant problems for a while.

She didn't get the impression that was their plan, though.

Nodding again, she politely waited for someone else to speak, blushing a bit.

[Simon Burkett]

He'd heard the knock at the door and Marie subsequently answer and invite someone in, now they were all back together in the kitchen. Great. Simon stuck his head out the door and glanced cautiously up and down. There was nobody in sight. He ducked back into the room and retrieved his pants from with washing pile and slipped them back on.

Damn but wet jeans were uncomfortable.

He slipped a pair of socks and shoes on, stuffed some cash into his pocket and tip-toed out of the room. Simon crept down the stairs as stealthily as he could, hoping that the chat in the kitchen would cover his approach.

A fourth female voice had joined the group, another one that sounded young. Simon bit his lip, betting every cent he had that she would be as gorgeous as the others. He carefully peeped around the banister and got a view of a lithe figure, creamy flesh and long dark hair before retreating.

He stopped himself short of swearing for a third time, it had lured them out before and the last thing he needed was a further humiliation in front of the girls. At this rate he was going to be the laughing-stock of Caldecott County in just twenty four hours.

He tip-toed back upstairs and wracked his brain.

Inspiration arrived in the form the breeze that gusted through the trees outside and rattled against the window. Simon stared at the window and at the nearby tree.

He walked slowly over to the sill and slid the glass open. The warm Mississippi morning washed in. The tree outside was very close to the house and one of the big branches was almost within reach.

"No," he said softly to himself, not even believing for a second what he had been contemplating. The girls voices drifted up from below, followed shortly by the sound of some of the kids yelling at the TV.

"Oh shit," he mumbled to himself.

Then he got up onto the sill and jumped.

To his credit he caught the outstretched limb of the tree and dangled there precariously for a moment before scrambling up onto the branch and clinging there for dear life. It bounced up and down a bit, the breeze not aiding the situation at all.

"Shitshitshitshit," he muttered, eyes squeezed shut.

When the swaying had somewhat subsided he started to edge his way back along the branch toward the trunk of the tree.

So far so good.

[danielle]

Nodding sagely as she took another sip of her tea, Danielle was going to comment when Marie returned and introduced a new person. "Hi Adrien! It's lovely to meet you." She smiled brightly at the girl, trying to remember the normal social graces of a situation such as this. I'm sure I can do it right if I concentrate.

She almost forgot them when she saw a pair of denim-clad legs dangling in front of the window. The legs disappeared after a moment, and she wondered if she'd been imagining them completely. Maybe her powers were coming back - but who's worst fear would be disembodied legs outside the window? It didn't make sense. Still, some people had some odd worst fears, she'd discovered.

"Excuse me, I'll be right back." At least she'd remembered to say something this time, instead of just running off. Walking out the door, she looked up into the tree. Nope, not her imagination, and not anyone's worst fear, unless it was Simon's.

"It's Simon, right?" She hoped that she didn't startle him into falling out of the tree.

[Exit Dani to 'I am a leaf on the wind']

[Admin]

"Hello," Lee managed a bright smile despite the return of her worries for Bobby and the rest of the X-men. "Nice to meet you as well. Would you like some sweet tea?" Well, she was a southern girl too, and hospitality ran strong through her as well. Not so strong that she didn't give Dani a strange look as the girl once again ran from the kitchen to elsewhere, hell-bent on her own personal mission of making Simon's life as miserable as humanly possible.

"So," Marie tried to steer the conversation back on track, having read Lee's look perfectly, "you met our friend, Lars? And a... Caleb... who pointed you to us?"

Lee spluttered on her drink, coughing as sweet tea made its way down into her lungs instead of her stomach where it belonged. "You know Caleb?"

[adrien]

Adrien reached a hand out as if to stop her from choking, laughing a little.

"Yeah, I met him at Georgia State actually. After my parents forced the Cure on me, I was kind of um... depressed, for a while. Friends of friends of friends introduced us."

She nodded. "He's really a great guy. He's the one that told me about this place."

[lee]

Lee gave two more good coughs to clear her throat, then pounded on her chest once to dislodge the liquid within. She took one deep breath, and deciding that she wasn't going to choke to death, focused on what Adrien was saying.

"Oh yeah, I forgot he said he was transfering. He was my best friend growing up. He's like, the second nicest guy in the world after Lars."

Lee was cut off by a girly scream outside and then a dull thud. She looked out the window and saw Dani rushing over to something, but as she knelt down she disappeared below the window frame. She began to take another sip of sweet tea, but Marie interupted her. "It's your turn. I've been dealing with weird stuff all week while you go off to your normal job."

Lee's shoulders sagged and she put down her sweet tea with a glower. "Fine. I'll go see what happened." She turned to Adrien with a smile, "Welcome to the Rogue's Place. I hope you don't mind weird, because we are overflowing with it." She got up and trotted outside to find out what the heck was going on. At least it kept her mind from Baltimore.

Marie shook her head with a smile, "unfortunatly she's right. People don't get any less weird once they've lost their powers."

[adrien]

Adrien had a seat, chuckling. "No... I suppose they wouldn't."

She looked at Marie with a rather direct expression and got to the point. "So what is the arrangement here? Financially... house rules, whatnot... Caleb wasn't able to explain much other than that you're here for people... well, in our situation." She smiled politely.

[Admin]

Marie smiled warmly at the newcomer, who was at least dirrect in her approach. "Financially we accept donations, although you are not required to pay for your room and board here. I understand that most kids don't have any money to their name when they show up, and we aren't a hotel, we're a home."

"We'll get you a room, which you'll probably have to share with one or more people, just do to space restrictions," she was mentally placing kids to rooms as she spoke, trying to find a place for both Dani and Adrien in the crowded bedrooms. Pretty soon her and Lee would have to move someone in with them if they kept getting newcomers at this rate.

"House rules are simple - treat everyone with respect. Everyone has chores to do, and everyone's expected to clean up after themselves. We've got one car, and its mostly used for carting people to and from workm, and grocieries from the store, but if you ever need a ride anywhere, just ask. Other than that, we just keep a low profile out here so the County residents wont see our welcome as worn out."

[adrien]

She chuckled. "Well... a home needs money too. So I'll see what I can do. I'm not on vacation, after all."

She listened to the rest. "I don't have a problem with roomates, I've been in a dorm the last few years."

Adrien finished her tea, thinking before speaking.

"This is a wonderful thing you're doing here Marie. I really appreciate you being willing to take us in."

[Admin]

Marie smiled and shrugged humbly. "To tell you the truth, it was lonely in this big house by myself, especially after the very busy house I'd been living in. When people started showing up, I started taking them in as much for myself as for their own sakes."

Indeed, before everyone else started showing up she could do nothing but dwell on the ghosts of her past living back at home again. She looked out the window as Dani and Simon walked by, awkward happiness written across their features. "Well, perhaps we better find you a room," Marie said with a smile as she turned back to Adrien.

[adrien]

It would be good to get a room, settle in, curl up on a bed and read a book for a bit. She still had a lot to think about.

Standing, she nodded, and offered to take Marie's glass to the sink. Pouring out the leftover ice, she wiped her hands and picked up her bag again.

"Let's."

[end scene]