The Enemy Within - Part Three

[x-juggernaut.livejournal.com]

After requesting everyone to show up for an impromptu assembly, Cain gives a speech, and a confession of sorts.



Cain coughed, looking at the students and staff members that had shown up - not everyone, but enough people. He'd given the matter a lot of thought over a sleepless night, and he'd come to the conclusion that it was time to come clean.

Leaning against the wall, he wiped a large hand over his face and paced in front of everyone. Finally, looking over their heads to where his fellow staff members stood against the back wall, he took a deep breath and began to speak.

"A lot of you remember when I showed up here a few years back, and Chuck told you all I was going to be the new groundskeeper, taking care of the place. Well, the staff got told most of the whole story, but a lot's been left unsaid. You might have figured out, some of you, that I got a bit of an attachment to this place. Some of you think I was probably a student here like you. Others think I might have known the Professor from way back." He shook his head, resting with his hands on his hips. "Ain't either of those the whole truth, to be honest."

He glanced back to the staff again, seeing a few confused faces, and a few knowing nodds. They understood.

"I used to live here, back before this place was a school. And yeah, some of you know that means it was quite a while ago. And I know I don't look older than half your teachers. Surprise there, I got twenty-six years on Nate back there. And for those of you who can do the math, that means I turned sixty-six years old this year."

Cain paused, hearing the surprised mutters among the students. He let them gossip for a moment, then held up his hand for silence. "When I said I lived here before it was a school, that's because before it was a school it was my home. If some of you have been doing some research about this place, you know that before the Professor was on the deed, his mom owned the place - Sharon Xavier. Her husband died back in the '40s, and she remarried."

At this point, Cain's voice caught in his throat, but he forced himself to continue. "She married a guy by the name of Kurt Marko. And if you think the name's a clue, you're right. That was my dad. So yes, that means the Professor's my stepbrother."

This revelation sent a louder wave of muttering through the students, and more than a few of the staff who hadn't yet been clued into this fact about Cain and Charles. Cain waited another minute, then held up his hand for silence again.

"You guys want to know why I'm so gung-ho about taking care of this place, protecting it. Now you know. When I first came here, I didn't want anything to do with the school - I was angry, seeing Chuck turn something that was mine into ... well, what we got here. But then I started seein' you folks live. How you take care of each other. How you look out for each other." He took a moment to look at each student individually as he spoke.

"Xavier and I, we don't always see eye to eye on some stuff. But what he's done here, what he's doing - it's good things. You all do good things, and I felt that if I have any part in it, then you ought to know why. This place was my home - still is, and that ain't gonna change. But..." he stopped for a moment, looking around at the intricate moulding along the walls, the high-arched windows that looked out onto the lawn.

"It's your home too. All I ever ask is for you guys to remember that, think about what that means. Because it's everything to some of us. It's everything to me. That's all I got to say."

Quietly, Cain rested his hand on the back of a chair, then turned and walked out into the hall.