Izzy and X Collab Francesca didn't look back for a second once she turned her back on her elder brother, Alexander, she didn't care what he had to say, nor his opinion. Her lungs sucked in a deep breath as she tugged her carry-on luggage strap over her shoulder, and departed through the gate towards the plane that would take her away from the smothering grasp of the life her parent's had built for her. Escapism was a beautiful thing, and for once, she was allowing herself to run.
Three Days Later The last time Frankie had stepped foot into a new school, she was 14, terrified, and her stomach felt like butterflies were tying knots within it. She was about to be thrown into a whirlwind of discipline, and rules, and regulations, something she had never had enforced very strictly. She hadn't belonged there. This was different. As soon as she slammed the cab door behind her, her feet planted firmly on the floor, an overwhelming sense of calm spread over her, her stomach settling instantly. It was an unusual feeling for her, calmness, belonging. Her teeth nibbled at her lower lip a little, a usual action for her when she was nervous, or preparing, and she reached to the latch on the gate, pushing it open, the soft squeak signalling a new beginning.
As soon as she stepped into the courtyard, she was met with a buzz of activity, most seeming to head into some kind of dining hall off to the left. She knew she was late, but she'd been told to arrive around lunchtime, the headmistress not wanting to overwhelm her on her first day. With her sensitivity to emotion, it was often too overwhelming to be thrown into a new social situation where she would feel so intune with everyone else. Student chatted, or even played around a little with their powers in the lawn area before her. A smile curled over her lips, and she spotted a sign signposting the office. She supposed that was where she should head.
Some stared at her as she made her way towards to office, she knew they may be wondering what her abilities were. She was nervous about that part, they weren't very offensive abilities, she couldn't throw fireballs, or teleport, but they were still useful. They must have been for someone from the academy to recommend her to the headmistress, although she had no idea who it was. She'd met a few mutants in her time. She pushed her way through the office door and made her way to what looked like a receptionist. Tucking a little hair behind her ear, she placed her arms on the chest high reception desk. "Excuse me? I'm new? Frankie...Francesca Dubro? The headmistress should be expecting me."
"Hm" The woman looked up from her desk with pretty brown eyes and smiled with full lips. "Indeed I am" The woman got to her feet and offered her hand to the young girl. "Headmistress Katherine Pryde, nice to finally meet you in person Frankie. Our receptionist is currently eating lunch so I thought I'd sit here just in case we get any stragglers like yourself" Kitty smiled brightly as she shook the young mutants hand. "Leave your bags behind the desk and I'll have our caretaker send them up to your room. Come take a walk with me, I'm sure you have some questions"
As the hand was extended to her, Frankie reached to take it, their palms connecting. Frankie's mind was automatically met with a flood of memories, in brief snapshots, of the headmistresses day. Kissing her husband goodbye, making her way to the auditorium, greeting students, and lastly, her speech. Frankie smiled and nodded. "Nice to meet you too, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get here, my parents weren't exactly willing to let me come." There was a slight sadness in the young mutants eyes, but she soon broke eye contact, reaching for her bags again and pushing them behind the desk, settling in sync with the headmistresses steps. "I'm sorry I missed the welcome this morning, your speech sounded good, from the small parts I heard. I try not to take memories when they're not offered, but it's something I have to work on. It's sort of an automatic thing."
"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Miss Dubro. There are many students here lik you who take things involuntarily. We can help you control that. It'll take time and effort, no doubt but we'll get you there" Kitty locked her fingers in front of her and across her torso as she and the young mutant walked out into the large gardens of the estate. "You're room is on the second floor of the west wing, your name is next to the door. Your roommate is Alicia Taylor, sweet girl. Your class schedule will be waiting for you in the room as well a sheet of our rules. Now that all the official stuff is out of the way, we can enjoy this beautiful day" The headmistress placed her hand on Frankie's shoulder. "Your friend Duncan highly recommended you for a place here"
"Duncan's here?!" Frankie didn't manage to mask the surprise in her voice, like she usually did, and her eyes noticeably lit up. "I had no idea. Duncan Spencer? You're sure?" The two had lost contact around six months after Frankie was suspended from her old Naval College, after he'd left the college himself. The two had been inseparable, and protected eachother through thick and thin. She was alot different back then, their friendship very platonic. She'd been a late bloomer, and only once she'd left the college had she really grown into her features. She wondered if he'd be able to recognise her. She seemed to orientate herself again, shaking her head and turning her attention back to the headmistress. "Sorry, I'm not calling you a liar."
"I understand, don't worry. It's funny how many people meet here that had some form of connection in the past" Kitty's little grin popped up again. "Mr Spencer started with us when we re-opened the school. Unique boy. Quite solitary, maybe having an old friend around will do him some good...oh, speak of the devil" The headmistress pointed across the garden to where the strong figure of Duncan was about to take a seat under a tree. "Go catch up with him, we can do a full orientation later"
"Are you sure? Thank you!" Frankie resisted the urge to hug the woman, and instead gave her a bright smile. "Does he know I'm coming? It's been almost a year since you contacted me. I suppose we're about to find out. Thank you for inviting me. It already kind of feels like home" She gave the woman another smile, before disappearing across the field. She could feel excitement raging around her body, from her sparkling blue eyes, down to her toes, but she tried not to rush, nor be noticed. Placing herself behind the figure of her old friend, she folded her arms and raised her eyebrows. "Your posture is absolutely bloody awful. Weren't we taught better than that?"
"People think that a liar gains a victory over his victim. What I’ve learned is that a lie is an act of self-abdication, because one surrenders one’s reality to the person to whom one lies, making that person one’s master, condemning oneself from then on to faking the sort of reality that person’s view requires to be faked…The man who lies to the world, is the world’s slave from then on…There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all" Duncan read the book quietly to himself until the sound of an old friend filled his ears. He closed the book and smirked. "Well well" He turned and greeted Frankie with his usual discord. "Look who finally turned up to the ball dressed as Cinderella. It's good to see you, Frankie"
Frankie's eyes narrowed a little. "And look who escaped his prison cell and crashed the party." Her eyebrow perked a little, playful eyes giving her away. He was a little taller than she remembered, and his muscles had filled out, he was broader in the shoulders, but he still looked just like he did the couple years earlier. And those eyes, they were so sad, with so much emotion. She'd found herself drawn to the sullen boy as soon as she'd entered the naval academy. She herself had changed drastically, she was taller, and her curves had filled out, her skin was blemish free, and even her hair was glossier. Her faux serious gaze softened, and she broke out into a grin, dropping her bag off her shoulder and launching herself at him, arms and legs wrapping around him, knowing he'd catch her.
"Bloody hell Frankie" Duncan said in a laugh as his old friend wrapped her limbs around him like a boa constrictor squeezing the life from its prey. He held her close in a rare display of emotion. "Missed you too girlie" She had changed in their time apart, a lot more feminine than he remembered, it suited her actually. "You better get off me, Franks. You just got here but people will start to talk" DS placed her onto the ground and picked up the book he dropped to catch her. "You didn't just steal any of my memories did you?"
She chuckled softly as he let her down, shaking her head softly. "Who cares if they talk? Since when did you care what people thought?" She squeezed his arm softly, a warm smile spread over her features. "You'll never know, that's the fun of being my friend." She grinned gently at him, and reached to take the book from him, turning it over in my hands. "Ayn Rand. You always did like him. You'll have to let me borrow it sometime. I trust you'll still let me borrow your books?" She tilted her head a little, smiling at him. It was odd to find herself stood in front of him, but a pleasant feeling.
Duncan gave a somewhat childish laugh, unusual for the usually stoic and distant teen. "Frankie, Ayn Rand was a girl" He continued to chuckle at her mistake. "But sure, you can still borrow my books, providing you don't spill any beef curry on it like you did with my copy of Nausea. You didn't even make it out of the first ten pages" He placed the book in his bag and slung the satchel over his shoulder. "Walk with me, I'll give you the tour"
"Oh hush, you didn't even make it through To Kill a Mockingbird when I lent it to you." She laughed softly and deposited her bag back onto her shoulder. "That sounds great. I'm sure I'll get used to it though, it feels kind of like home already...like I belong here, you know?" She looped her arm through his like she often used to in their casual time, allowing him to lead her on the tour around campus. She soon remembered why they were such good friends, but this time, it felt different.
