Amanda, Charlie - Saturday morning
Jun. 11th, 2005 10:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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xp_logsCharlie finally visits the mansion, and Amanda gets to meet his mother. It explains some things. There's also a gift.
Amanda was trying to maintain a veneer of calm indifference as she sat on the front steps waiting for Charlie to arrive, but she wasn't fooling anyone. Besides the fact she was actually going to be meeting his mother (who had sounded most unimpressed by her on the phone), there was always the chance the school would choose this afternoon to be invaded by aliens and Charlie would flee, never to be seen again. The school tended to chew through non-mutant friends and associates, she'd noticed. She was just contemplating another cigarette (she'd already had enough to warrant a declaration of "Stinky Manda!" from Meggan when she retrieved her from Kurt later) when a car appeared on the long driveway, and she stood, brushing her hands nervously off the back of her jeans. The heat was sweltering, but she wasn't going to blind Charlie with lily-white legs. Enough she'd gone for a tank-top rather than the usual band t-shirt.
The BMW pulled up right to the front of the steps, and Amanda caught sight of Charlie in the front, and his mother. Carolyn Plunder was a relatively attractive woman, who Amanda guessed was on the sunny side of forty. She was dressed in a suit, and a momentary flicker of her meeting with Emma Frost popped into Amanda's mind; the same kind of powerbabe look that Frost cultivated.
Without the corset, of course.
Sucking in a breath, Amanda climbed to her feet as the pair alighted from the car. Charlie looked nervous, and she resisted the urge to pour on the streetbrat attitude - it was her first reaction whenever she was in a situation she wasn't sure of. "Welcome t' Xaviers," she said with a grin at Charlie, before offering a much less genuine polite smile at Carolyn. "Um hi. I'm Amanda - we ah... talked the other night on the phone. Um, thanks for bringin' Charlie all the way out here."
Carolyn looked the girl up and down, and whilst her expression didn't change, the sense of alarm was almost palpable. "Carolyn Plunder," she said, making it clear that under no circumstances was Amanda to call her 'Carolyn'. "And it was no trouble," she continued. "Charles was worried about you after that phone call. I hope whatever... difficulty you had has been resolved?"
"Um, yeah, it was. Charlie was a big help," Amanda replied, blushing a little. Apparently the woman was convinced she was a nutter or something.
"I told you, Mom. Amanda's sister went missing in the park, and she was seeing if any of her friends knew where she was." Charlie said, and added a wink to Amanda which his mother couldn't see. "You said one of the teachers found her?"
Amanda nodded. Charlie had obviously passed along the cover story about Meggan going off with one of the teachers and 'forgetting' to mention she was with her big sister at the time. So Amanda's frantic call had been unnecessary. Judging by Charlie's look, it was obvious that he'd needed it.
"Young children do need proper supervision." Carolyn said, and an odd undertone in her voice suggested that Amanda was not the type of person to provide that. "So, Amanda. How do you know my son? Obviously you don't attend Southcrest."
'Like they'd take my kind there,' Amanda almost said out loud, and she gave Carolyn her best 'I'm just a dumb kid, pay no attention to me' smile. "A tutorin' program," she said. "I do some extra classes at Columbia Uni, an' after the attack there last year, the faculty's been big on human-mutant relations. So my teacher decided to try an' generate some good feelin' by puttin' together mutant an' human kids as study partners." They'd worked out the story the night before on the 'phone, using the Columbia massacre as the perfect cover - it would be hard for Carolyn to disapprove of anything - or anyone - connected to the socio-political issue of the month. And Strange would corroborate if asked - he'd already expressed some interest in meeting Charlie.
It seemed to work - Carolyn blinked, and looked at Amanda a little more closely. "Columbia... oh, I was wondering where... Your accent is different." She glanced over at Charlie. "You didn't say you were involved in something like this."
"It just came up a couple of months ago." Charlie said, sounding a touch more defensive than Amanda would have expected.
"Does that explain your math marks?"
"I--" Charlie started, but his mother cut him off.
"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Your Doctor McCoy e-mailed me about accommodations. I trust that it won't be any trouble for Charles to stay in the visitor's dorm?" The question was deceptively soft, and Amanda had gotten that sort enough from Remy and Pete to know that it was a danger sign. Obviously Carolyn Plunder wasn't about to leave at the slightest hint that her son might be spending the night in bed with an unknown English girl.
"No problem at all. Works in well, actually - me little sister shares my room, an' it wouldn't've done for Charlie t' doss on the floor," she replied ingenuously, although she was taking in the interaction between mother and son. "'S a big place, there's plenty of room." Unconsciously she had shifted slightly closer to Charlie, not quite getting between him and Carolyn, but certainly inserting herself into the picture.
Carolyn made a non-committal noise at that, giving Amanda another one of those assessing looks. The girl found herself wishing she'd worn something that covered up a little more skin, heatstroke or not - she was acutely aware of the tattooed rune left bare by her tanktop riding up a little, and the scars remaining on her back practically itched under the scrutiny, even if it was only Charlie behind her.
"Well Charles, I'll be back at noon tomorrow. Make sure you're ready to go." Carolyn said tightly. "Amanda, it was nice to meet you. Please pass my regards along to Doctor McCoy." She nodded and climbed back into the car. Both Charlie and Amanda watched the car drive off, and Amanda heard him let out a little sigh of relief as it disappeared around the drive.
Reacting instinctively, she reached over and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze, the same as she would have for Angelo or Marie-Ange. "This'd be the part where I say I'm really happy t' see you, yeah?" she asked with a grin. "Fuck, mate, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition. You never said yer mum was that... strict." She'd nearly said "bitchy" but settled for the less insulting word.
"She can be a little strident sometimes." Charlie rubbed his eyes behind his glasses for a moment. "But she did say yes, even with my math score, so that's something."
"That bad?" Amanda asked, surprised. Charlie occupied a similar place in her head as Forge and Doug and Kitty, ie "super brainy people". "C'mon, forget 'bout her for now. Let's get yer stuff squared away an' then you can meet Meg." A distinctly wicked grin crossed her face as she tugged him gently towards the front door. "Hope you don't mind kids."
"Not if cooked properly." Charlie jibed. He swung his knapsack over his shoulder and followed her in. "And yeah, ended up with an eighty-six on my last test. Normally I'd be spending the next month in the algebraic version of solitary confinement. I think the only reason my mother let me come was so she could figure you out."
Amanda's shocked pause brought a grin to his mouth, and he rubbed the tip of his nose distractedly. "I, uh, don't have girls call me very often. I think you upset her personal notion of reality."
"Eighty-six?" Amanda resolved then and there not to mention the parade of Fs that had been her final results. Although maths had been a bare fail, thanks be to the irony gods. "An' isn't that what I do? Upset people's reality?" she went on, glad to jump on the change of subject. "Maybe I should get cards done - 'Personal notions of reality twisted, laws of physics generally ignored, shoe repairs done while you wait.'
That sort of thing." Remy had already cleared Charlie with Kuk, which was handy - having to explain to a guest why he was being searched for weapons tended to be awkward.
"I didn't know you fixed shoes." Charlie deadpanned as they walked through the foyer, while trying to take in the mansion. It was easy to forgot how impressive it was when you lived in it from day to day. "Wow, I am officially impressed and way less sympathetic with all of your problems now."
"Regular little kobold, I am," Amanda replied dryly, and then grinned at him, amused. "You wouldn't believe how much I used t' get lost in this place when I first got here. 'S not such a bad place t' live - I'll give you the grand tour later, if you like."
"Sure we don't need to leave a trail of breadcrumbs?" Charlie muttered as they wandered through to the upstairs. "This place isn't a school. It's a whole damn compound."
"Well, I'd say I could always use a location spell t' find our way back, only that one's a bit dodgy lately." Amanda shrugged. "'S funny, when I came here I thought pretty much the same thing. Now? 'S as close t' home as I've ever had." Now they were on the student floor, there were more people around, and she snickered quietly to herself as she caught Charlie staring a little more at some of the girls than the architecture. "Welcome t' the land of the beautiful people - I forgot t' mention they're mostly drop-dead model gorgeous, didn't I?"
"Yeah, somehow that slipped your mind." Charlie said dryly, eyes roving around the halls. "Is it something to do with the mutant gene maybe? Optimizes the other physical traits to support the powers?" He said, only half joking as they passed the doors, catching sight of the odd stunning teen. He nearly swallowed his tongue as Betsy walked past.
"Alright, this is a little crazy. Whoever is recruiting for this school needs to have his methods patented."
"Whatever it is, 's not infallible - Forge an' me are good examples of yer just plain folks. An' that's Betsy - she actually was a model," Amanda said, nudging him slightly to get him mobile again. "She's a telepath too, by the way," she added innocently.
"So, make sure you ship my things to my mother, in case they never find the body." Charlie shook his head as they entered one of the guest rooms. He tossed his bag on the bed, looking around suitably impressed at the accommodations. Amanda almost started when she realized that Charlie was in Remy's old room, a coincidence she hadn't noticed. "Oh, I've got something for you." Charlie reached into his bag and pulled out a fat cardboard tube, like the ones they store maps in, and passed it over to Amanda.
The sudden segue jerked her out of her mixed memories of the room, and she took the tube with a puzzled look. "For me? But... why?" Her puzzlement at the sudden gift didn't deter her from opening it however, and she tugged at the plastic cap on the end of the tube. Whatever it was, it was heavier than she'd expected from the packaging. Her confusion grew as she tipped the tube and a short staff of wood slid out. Elm, the herbalist part of her mind supplied readily. "What's all this?"
"Well, I found out your birthday wasn't all that long ago, and I saw it," Charlie sat down as she turned the staff over in her hands. He looked almost obscenely pleased with himself. "I was thinking about what you were saying, about old traditions and things. Well, in England, the elm was an intensely important tree to the Celts. Not far behind the yew and the mistletoe. Apparently something about elm is ether-conductive. It holds a magical charge well. So magic users of the past in Britain commonly carried long staves or short lengths of elm as conductors and grounding agents in magic. That short one," It was about the size of Amanda's forearm. "was about the same length as a drover's switch, so it was easily concealed from the true purpose. In old England, that size length of elm was referred to as a wych, hence the name of a hundred small towns."
It was perfectly her. Amanda turned the staff - the wych - over in her hands. The only other person who took that much care with gifts was Nathan, and he was a telepath and had the extra edge. "This... this has got t' be one of the best presents I ever got. It's... just... you've got no idea." Giving up on words, she sat suddenly beside him and hugged him tightly, nearly braining him with the staff. "Thank you."
"Um," Charlie said from under the hug. He was caught somewhere between amusement and embarrassment, since thanks to the tank top, there was an awful lot of bare Amanda wrapped around him. He tentatively returned the hug, a little relieved and disappointed when she broke contact finally. "It was just a thought, you know?"
"It was a good thought." Amanda caught the embarrassed grin and blushed herself. Oops. "Um, you want that tour? All me magic stuff's down in the library - had t' keep it away from little hands."
"Sounds like fun. I'll let you lead, since getting lost behind the pool house is likely not what you had in mind for a tour." Charlie got up, ran a slightly nervous hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "Shall we?"
Amanda followed, running her fingers over the short length of elm almost unconsciously, getting a feel for it. Best. Present. Ever. "We shall," she agreed, leading the way to the door. Hand on the knob, she paused, shooting him a wicked grin over her shoulder. "You do know behind the pool house is the cliche spot for snoggin', don't you?"
"Thanks. I feel much less nervous now." Charlie said sourly as he followed her out.
Amanda was trying to maintain a veneer of calm indifference as she sat on the front steps waiting for Charlie to arrive, but she wasn't fooling anyone. Besides the fact she was actually going to be meeting his mother (who had sounded most unimpressed by her on the phone), there was always the chance the school would choose this afternoon to be invaded by aliens and Charlie would flee, never to be seen again. The school tended to chew through non-mutant friends and associates, she'd noticed. She was just contemplating another cigarette (she'd already had enough to warrant a declaration of "Stinky Manda!" from Meggan when she retrieved her from Kurt later) when a car appeared on the long driveway, and she stood, brushing her hands nervously off the back of her jeans. The heat was sweltering, but she wasn't going to blind Charlie with lily-white legs. Enough she'd gone for a tank-top rather than the usual band t-shirt.
The BMW pulled up right to the front of the steps, and Amanda caught sight of Charlie in the front, and his mother. Carolyn Plunder was a relatively attractive woman, who Amanda guessed was on the sunny side of forty. She was dressed in a suit, and a momentary flicker of her meeting with Emma Frost popped into Amanda's mind; the same kind of powerbabe look that Frost cultivated.
Without the corset, of course.
Sucking in a breath, Amanda climbed to her feet as the pair alighted from the car. Charlie looked nervous, and she resisted the urge to pour on the streetbrat attitude - it was her first reaction whenever she was in a situation she wasn't sure of. "Welcome t' Xaviers," she said with a grin at Charlie, before offering a much less genuine polite smile at Carolyn. "Um hi. I'm Amanda - we ah... talked the other night on the phone. Um, thanks for bringin' Charlie all the way out here."
Carolyn looked the girl up and down, and whilst her expression didn't change, the sense of alarm was almost palpable. "Carolyn Plunder," she said, making it clear that under no circumstances was Amanda to call her 'Carolyn'. "And it was no trouble," she continued. "Charles was worried about you after that phone call. I hope whatever... difficulty you had has been resolved?"
"Um, yeah, it was. Charlie was a big help," Amanda replied, blushing a little. Apparently the woman was convinced she was a nutter or something.
"I told you, Mom. Amanda's sister went missing in the park, and she was seeing if any of her friends knew where she was." Charlie said, and added a wink to Amanda which his mother couldn't see. "You said one of the teachers found her?"
Amanda nodded. Charlie had obviously passed along the cover story about Meggan going off with one of the teachers and 'forgetting' to mention she was with her big sister at the time. So Amanda's frantic call had been unnecessary. Judging by Charlie's look, it was obvious that he'd needed it.
"Young children do need proper supervision." Carolyn said, and an odd undertone in her voice suggested that Amanda was not the type of person to provide that. "So, Amanda. How do you know my son? Obviously you don't attend Southcrest."
'Like they'd take my kind there,' Amanda almost said out loud, and she gave Carolyn her best 'I'm just a dumb kid, pay no attention to me' smile. "A tutorin' program," she said. "I do some extra classes at Columbia Uni, an' after the attack there last year, the faculty's been big on human-mutant relations. So my teacher decided to try an' generate some good feelin' by puttin' together mutant an' human kids as study partners." They'd worked out the story the night before on the 'phone, using the Columbia massacre as the perfect cover - it would be hard for Carolyn to disapprove of anything - or anyone - connected to the socio-political issue of the month. And Strange would corroborate if asked - he'd already expressed some interest in meeting Charlie.
It seemed to work - Carolyn blinked, and looked at Amanda a little more closely. "Columbia... oh, I was wondering where... Your accent is different." She glanced over at Charlie. "You didn't say you were involved in something like this."
"It just came up a couple of months ago." Charlie said, sounding a touch more defensive than Amanda would have expected.
"Does that explain your math marks?"
"I--" Charlie started, but his mother cut him off.
"We'll talk about it tomorrow. Your Doctor McCoy e-mailed me about accommodations. I trust that it won't be any trouble for Charles to stay in the visitor's dorm?" The question was deceptively soft, and Amanda had gotten that sort enough from Remy and Pete to know that it was a danger sign. Obviously Carolyn Plunder wasn't about to leave at the slightest hint that her son might be spending the night in bed with an unknown English girl.
"No problem at all. Works in well, actually - me little sister shares my room, an' it wouldn't've done for Charlie t' doss on the floor," she replied ingenuously, although she was taking in the interaction between mother and son. "'S a big place, there's plenty of room." Unconsciously she had shifted slightly closer to Charlie, not quite getting between him and Carolyn, but certainly inserting herself into the picture.
Carolyn made a non-committal noise at that, giving Amanda another one of those assessing looks. The girl found herself wishing she'd worn something that covered up a little more skin, heatstroke or not - she was acutely aware of the tattooed rune left bare by her tanktop riding up a little, and the scars remaining on her back practically itched under the scrutiny, even if it was only Charlie behind her.
"Well Charles, I'll be back at noon tomorrow. Make sure you're ready to go." Carolyn said tightly. "Amanda, it was nice to meet you. Please pass my regards along to Doctor McCoy." She nodded and climbed back into the car. Both Charlie and Amanda watched the car drive off, and Amanda heard him let out a little sigh of relief as it disappeared around the drive.
Reacting instinctively, she reached over and grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze, the same as she would have for Angelo or Marie-Ange. "This'd be the part where I say I'm really happy t' see you, yeah?" she asked with a grin. "Fuck, mate, I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition. You never said yer mum was that... strict." She'd nearly said "bitchy" but settled for the less insulting word.
"She can be a little strident sometimes." Charlie rubbed his eyes behind his glasses for a moment. "But she did say yes, even with my math score, so that's something."
"That bad?" Amanda asked, surprised. Charlie occupied a similar place in her head as Forge and Doug and Kitty, ie "super brainy people". "C'mon, forget 'bout her for now. Let's get yer stuff squared away an' then you can meet Meg." A distinctly wicked grin crossed her face as she tugged him gently towards the front door. "Hope you don't mind kids."
"Not if cooked properly." Charlie jibed. He swung his knapsack over his shoulder and followed her in. "And yeah, ended up with an eighty-six on my last test. Normally I'd be spending the next month in the algebraic version of solitary confinement. I think the only reason my mother let me come was so she could figure you out."
Amanda's shocked pause brought a grin to his mouth, and he rubbed the tip of his nose distractedly. "I, uh, don't have girls call me very often. I think you upset her personal notion of reality."
"Eighty-six?" Amanda resolved then and there not to mention the parade of Fs that had been her final results. Although maths had been a bare fail, thanks be to the irony gods. "An' isn't that what I do? Upset people's reality?" she went on, glad to jump on the change of subject. "Maybe I should get cards done - 'Personal notions of reality twisted, laws of physics generally ignored, shoe repairs done while you wait.'
That sort of thing." Remy had already cleared Charlie with Kuk, which was handy - having to explain to a guest why he was being searched for weapons tended to be awkward.
"I didn't know you fixed shoes." Charlie deadpanned as they walked through the foyer, while trying to take in the mansion. It was easy to forgot how impressive it was when you lived in it from day to day. "Wow, I am officially impressed and way less sympathetic with all of your problems now."
"Regular little kobold, I am," Amanda replied dryly, and then grinned at him, amused. "You wouldn't believe how much I used t' get lost in this place when I first got here. 'S not such a bad place t' live - I'll give you the grand tour later, if you like."
"Sure we don't need to leave a trail of breadcrumbs?" Charlie muttered as they wandered through to the upstairs. "This place isn't a school. It's a whole damn compound."
"Well, I'd say I could always use a location spell t' find our way back, only that one's a bit dodgy lately." Amanda shrugged. "'S funny, when I came here I thought pretty much the same thing. Now? 'S as close t' home as I've ever had." Now they were on the student floor, there were more people around, and she snickered quietly to herself as she caught Charlie staring a little more at some of the girls than the architecture. "Welcome t' the land of the beautiful people - I forgot t' mention they're mostly drop-dead model gorgeous, didn't I?"
"Yeah, somehow that slipped your mind." Charlie said dryly, eyes roving around the halls. "Is it something to do with the mutant gene maybe? Optimizes the other physical traits to support the powers?" He said, only half joking as they passed the doors, catching sight of the odd stunning teen. He nearly swallowed his tongue as Betsy walked past.
"Alright, this is a little crazy. Whoever is recruiting for this school needs to have his methods patented."
"Whatever it is, 's not infallible - Forge an' me are good examples of yer just plain folks. An' that's Betsy - she actually was a model," Amanda said, nudging him slightly to get him mobile again. "She's a telepath too, by the way," she added innocently.
"So, make sure you ship my things to my mother, in case they never find the body." Charlie shook his head as they entered one of the guest rooms. He tossed his bag on the bed, looking around suitably impressed at the accommodations. Amanda almost started when she realized that Charlie was in Remy's old room, a coincidence she hadn't noticed. "Oh, I've got something for you." Charlie reached into his bag and pulled out a fat cardboard tube, like the ones they store maps in, and passed it over to Amanda.
The sudden segue jerked her out of her mixed memories of the room, and she took the tube with a puzzled look. "For me? But... why?" Her puzzlement at the sudden gift didn't deter her from opening it however, and she tugged at the plastic cap on the end of the tube. Whatever it was, it was heavier than she'd expected from the packaging. Her confusion grew as she tipped the tube and a short staff of wood slid out. Elm, the herbalist part of her mind supplied readily. "What's all this?"
"Well, I found out your birthday wasn't all that long ago, and I saw it," Charlie sat down as she turned the staff over in her hands. He looked almost obscenely pleased with himself. "I was thinking about what you were saying, about old traditions and things. Well, in England, the elm was an intensely important tree to the Celts. Not far behind the yew and the mistletoe. Apparently something about elm is ether-conductive. It holds a magical charge well. So magic users of the past in Britain commonly carried long staves or short lengths of elm as conductors and grounding agents in magic. That short one," It was about the size of Amanda's forearm. "was about the same length as a drover's switch, so it was easily concealed from the true purpose. In old England, that size length of elm was referred to as a wych, hence the name of a hundred small towns."
It was perfectly her. Amanda turned the staff - the wych - over in her hands. The only other person who took that much care with gifts was Nathan, and he was a telepath and had the extra edge. "This... this has got t' be one of the best presents I ever got. It's... just... you've got no idea." Giving up on words, she sat suddenly beside him and hugged him tightly, nearly braining him with the staff. "Thank you."
"Um," Charlie said from under the hug. He was caught somewhere between amusement and embarrassment, since thanks to the tank top, there was an awful lot of bare Amanda wrapped around him. He tentatively returned the hug, a little relieved and disappointed when she broke contact finally. "It was just a thought, you know?"
"It was a good thought." Amanda caught the embarrassed grin and blushed herself. Oops. "Um, you want that tour? All me magic stuff's down in the library - had t' keep it away from little hands."
"Sounds like fun. I'll let you lead, since getting lost behind the pool house is likely not what you had in mind for a tour." Charlie got up, ran a slightly nervous hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "Shall we?"
Amanda followed, running her fingers over the short length of elm almost unconsciously, getting a feel for it. Best. Present. Ever. "We shall," she agreed, leading the way to the door. Hand on the knob, she paused, shooting him a wicked grin over her shoulder. "You do know behind the pool house is the cliche spot for snoggin', don't you?"
"Thanks. I feel much less nervous now." Charlie said sourly as he followed her out.
