Ororo and Jennie - Tuesday Afternoon (backdated)

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Ororo goes to check on the students, and recieves some much needed affirmation



The mansion was loud again. Not all of it - the teacher's quarters were certainly quiet enough, and the classrooms, when class was in session, were of course quiet bastions of education (mostly). But the tension that had hovered over the mansion like a dark cloud had finally broken when Jennie, Marius, and Kyle had come back, and slowly things were getting back to their usual levels of noise and activity.

The increased noise wasn't helping Ororo concentrate, however, and as she found herself reading the same line of the same letter over and over again she decided that she ought to find a better use for her time. Closing up her office, she headed down to the student wing, and before long found herself knocking on the door to 'Teen Girl Suite', as she had heard it called. One of Jennie's suitemates - the shy one clad in the chador - let her in, and she then knocked on a second door, this one leading to Jennie's room directly. "Jennie? It is Ms. Munroe... I have come to see how you are."

Jennie jerked at the knock, she hadn't exactly been asleep, just in a self-imposed daze. She was clean, finally, having spent the entirety of the morning in the bathroom. She'd been fascinated with the light floral scent that her hair was giving off thanks to her shampoo. She'd also not slept for a while, so that also may have had something to do with the zoning. It took a couple of seconds for the name to register, and Jennie pushed herself into a sitting position.

"It's open," she called, and then looked vaguely stunned at the sound of her own voice.

Pushing open the door a few feet, Ororo looked in, not moving so far as to step inside yet. "I do not mean to disturb you," she murmured. "I only wished to see how you are."

Jennie pushed her hair out of her eyes. The claws were clean, perhaps a little too much. The cuticles were red from a repeated scrubbing. She'd found bits of dried blood still on them, and after dry heaving over the toilet for several minutes, showered profusely.

"I'm, well, getting better," she said. Having spent the last hour thinking only: dur, my hair smells pretty, it was something of an improvement. She moved to stand, painfully, making her way over to her desk chair, putting the pile of books on the seat on the desk and gesturing for Ororo to enter. "Please, come in."

"Thank you." The headmistress entered, her expression belying no surprise at the girl's altered physical experience. She had seen it before. "I am glad to hear you are getting better. Is there anything you need, or want, that has not yet been provided for you?"

"Well, you name it, it's been offered." Jennie said, sitting back down on her bed. "This place has no shortage of people looking to take care of me." Unfortunately that had the opposite effect, making Jennie feel smothered and uncomfortable. "Thank you for offering, though. I really do appreciate it, I'm just a little weird right now."

"Of course. I am sure that you have been overwhelmed by people hoping to make your return to the mansion any easier; a by-product, I think, of having had nothing to do in your absence. But you are well within your rights to refuse anything you do not want, and I will certainly respect that, as will your friends and peers, I am sure."

"I'll be more than happy to be mothered to death when this goes away," Jennie held up her arms and shrugged. "I'd just rather be myself again first." She nervously fingered the earrings in the ear that she'd stubbornly re-pierced that morning. "Ms. Munroe? You were there, right? You were one of the ones who came to get us?" Again.

There was a slight hesitation on Ororo's part, though when it passed she steadily met Jennie's gaze and nodded. "Yes, I was part of the first team who came to retrieve you. It was an effort on behalf of the entire team, however. Everyone contributed in some way."

"Still." Jennie said, sitting up straighter. "I want to thank you. For saving me. Saving us. I know you think about how it's all part of your job and all that. But you still came and got us. And..." Jennie faltered for a moment. "And I never doubted that you would."

She hadn't cried all week; she hadn't succumbed to any emotions except determination, anger, and more than a little desperation at times. Still, Jennie's words almost caused the tears to start right then and there, and she had to glance away, smiling a little as she lifted a hand to her eyes briefly. "I am glad that we were worthy of your trust, then. We would not have settled for less."

"And," Jennie sat forward, her own eyes becoming watery. "I don't blame you for what happened. They got us off the street, you know? I don't think they could have been stopped. What matters is you came." Strapped to a table, head heavy with chemicals, she never doubted that they would come. It was only a matter of time. "You found us back when we didn't want to be found. I knew you'd come."

Oh, now she was really going to cry. Silently Ororo crossed the room and sat on the bed, close enough to the girl that she knew she was there if she needed, but not too close to be uncomfortable. "You said that we view this as part of our job, Jennie... but it is not true. We care for you all so very much, and your safety and well-being are our utmost concerns. It is more than just our job to make sure that you are well. It is the reason for this very school's existence. It is why we are here."

"Well, you do good at that. You really do. I know some of the students talk crap about the 'leather brigade' and how you're crazy, but. . .they're wrong. And..." Jennie exhaled and tried to collect herself. "Thank you. Just. Thank you."

"You are very welcome, Jennie." There was probably more that could be said - reassurances that it would always be that way, that Jennie should go on trying to live as normally as possible, that she should not live in fear of something like that happening again. Ororo couldn't quite bring herself to utter those words, though, and so she merely offered the girl a smile, her eyes shining brightly.

Jennie returned the smile. "Tell Mr. Summers that I said thank you, too? And the others? I'll tell them myself when I can. But it can't hurt." All year long she'd questioned those on the team, wondering why they did what they did. She got it now. She did. It was the one thing that had kept her sane throughout that whole horrible week. That hope.

"Of course, Jennie. I will tell them," Ororo assured her. Though in a way it was a job, and they would have done it regardless of the gratitude due to them in the end - it was still very nice to hear. "But for now, perhaps I should go, so that you can rest." She made to stand, trying not to jostle the bed too much.

"Well, go back to trying to anyway," Jennie said. She leaned back against her pillows and gave the headmistress a tired smile. "I hope you'll look favorably on us when it comes to finals? I'd really like to graduate on time." Even though that seemed like a million years away right now. With everything Rory had done to her, he was not going to derail the rest of her life. She was ferociously stubborn about that.

"There will be time to talk about that later. For now, take what time you need for yourself. Do not worry about school."

Jennie nodded. "I won't. Thank you Ms. Munroe. For a lot of things."