xp_logs | Julian Arrives Early and Meets Karolina

Julian arrives at the mansion a day early and with all of his worldly possessions in tow. He's pleasantly surprised when he meets a fellow West Coaster.

Julian thrust his hands into the pockets of his coat as he watched the cab turn the bend and disappear out of sight. He hadn't thought to bring gloves since it had been rather comfortable when the plane left LAX- the fact it would be below freezing here hadn't crossed his mind. The sun was even setting, adding a feeling of desolation to the loneliness Julian was already experiencing. The taxi had left him and Jerome, the servant his father had entrusted to get him into a car at the airport, was halfway back to California by now. He was alone in front of a metal gate set into a high stone wall; a mounted, brass plaque next to the gate read "Xavier's Institute."

Julian sighed and gave a passing glance back at his belongings, packed into suitcases and boxes and carefully arranged on the curb. He looked back at the gate and pulled his coat closer to his body. "Hello," Julian shouted into the crisp November air, "is anyone there?! The thought that all of this, the talk about the school, the flight out to New York, had been a hoax; perpetrated by his father to get rid of the family shame. Julian reassured himself by clutching the admissions letter neatly folded in his pocket- it did say he wasn't supposed to be here until the next day, which could explain the lack of a welcoming committee.

Then the gates opened slowly and with hardly a sound. He glanced behind himself at the pyramid of boxes and considered for a moment trying to float them all behind himself- then decided it wasn't a good idea. Looking to the road for a moment, he decided that they would probably be safe down here for the time being. Not wanting to risk it all though he grabbed a couple suitcases, being careful to make sure they had wheels. Before he started moving, he spotted two boxes that had the word "Books" written in thick, black marker- he reached out with his mind and lifted them. Fortunately, the two boxes were heavy enough that they didn't pop- as things had a tendency to do if they were too light- instead, they floated into the air and followed him as he wheeled the two suitcases up the driveway.

A manor house appeared across a well manicured, though slightly yellowed, lawn. Lights were on in some of the mansion's windows and silhouettes of people moved inside them. Julian began to hurry as lamp posts began to light up along the driveway, night was falling and the temperature dropping. Julian hurried up the stone steps to what was most likely the front door and raped his knuckles against the oak door. He set down the boxes behind him and leaned the suitcases against them.

Karolina happened to be passing by the door when someone knocked on it. That was a strange enough occurrence that she actually turned and drifted over, feet barely skimming the ground. A quick check of the Judas hole revealed a young man who didn't look like a messenger but also didn't look like anyone Karolina recognized. He couldn't have gotten past the front gate security if he wasn't allowed to be there though so she felt safe enough opening the door slightly. Keeping the wood between her and the visitor, she peered around the edge, a pretty blonde girl whose skin was creamy pale beneath an aura of rainbow color. "Can I help you?" she asked, not smiling. With everything that was going on, she had good reason to be nervous of strangers.

Julian hesitated a moment as the door opened and the girl came into partial view, unable to speak. She was stunningly pretty, but what tied up his tongue was the shimmering rainbow that seemed to cover her skin. "At least I know I'm in the right place," Julian finally said. His coat fell open slightly as he moved a hand out of his pocket clutching a piece of paper between his numb fingers; beneath the black wool was a charcoal gray suit and red tie with a black shirt. With a warm smile he held the paper out to her, his admission letter with the school's address written across the quartered back in the bold strokes of his father's pen. "I know I'm a day early, but could you let me in please, I'm freezing out here."

Karolina took the letter and glanced at it briefly. It looked official anyway. She was more interested in the salutation. Dear Mr. Keller. "Uh yeah, come on in. I guess they were probably expecting you, huh?" She stepped back, pulling the door open with her, still watching him but more curiously now. She recognized the coat, the suit as quality. The expensive sort of stuff that her father wore when he was making media appearances. "I'm Karolina." She didn't offer her hand, which was still holding onto the handle but her tone was considerably warmer than it had been a few moments previous.

Stepping over the threshold, Julian was met with a welcomed wave of warmth. "Ohhh, that's much better," he paused and looked the girl over with a smirk. The rainbow glow seemed to go over her entire body- or what he could see of it- "Thank you, Karolina." With a quick motion, Julian undid the toggles on the front of his coat and letting it fall open. "Is it always so cold here?" he asked as he rubbed his hands together to work the numb out. Julian looked around the entryway, taking in the yellow lamp light and antique furnishing- nothing like the cold, modern household he'd grown up in. A simple "Wow," was all he could muster.

"Not all the time. In the summer, it gets muggy and disgusting." He still hadn't given her his name and she had to admit it irked her. Unconsciously, she lifted a couple inches off the ground, hooking one foot behind the other, giving herself a bit more height. She didn't offer to take his jacket, didn't even point out the coat closet a few feet away. "But yeah, in the winter it's cold. Welcome to New York. What are you in for?"

It took him a second to understand what she meant, and for his attention to be torn away from the vaulted ceiling's height. Julian turned to face her full on and gave her the biggest smile he could muster, "Ah, heh, cute. Um, it's a long story, but the cliff notes version is that my family didn't want me to embarrass them anymore." He extended his hand toward her, almost straight out since she was floating- which he found incredibly cool. "Sorry, I left my manners on the West coast, I'm Julian Keller."

"Sounds familiar. My parents keep telling me that it's for my own protection. Like I don't know that's code for they don't want it in the gossip mags." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and gave him a speculative look. She really didn't want to alienate the newest student right away, especially when she was sure everyone else would do that for her soon enough. "West Coast, hmm? Where about?"

Julian cocked an eyebrow and lowered his hand, keeping the smile firmly in place. "Beverly Hills," he paused for a moment and did his best to keep eye contact with her, "gossip mags? You do look familiar." As Julian tried to place her he carefully shrugged off his coat and draped hit over his arm. The suit fit him perfectly, obviously it had been tailored to fit and probably recently. A small tie tack had been held just out of sight, an emerald cut to the shape of 'K' set in a golden circle. "Should I know you from somewhere?"

She finally smiled back at him. At last, someone who would actually understand why this place was never going to be as good as being home. "It depends how religiously you read Page Six. I look familiar because I look like my mom. Leslie James. My father's Frank Dean. Are you Keller like the Kellers?"

Julian had honestly excepted to be the only one so far from home here at Xavier's- this girl was turning out to be full of surprises. "Can't say that I pay much attention to page six, though I have heard of your parents," he paused for a moment, finding the right words, "didn't know they had a daughter, though I'm pleasantly surprised to see they do." He relaxed slightly, she seemed nice enough and she was like him, "And yes, the Keller's, if you mean Keller Industries, or at least," he sighed, "I was." For a moment his smile faded and his eyes fell to the floor, the thought that his parents had sent him away crossed his mind momentarily but he forced the thought down and recomposed himself in an instant.

"Yeah, well, I've been out here in exile since I started glowing in the middle of Algebra. I only get to go home during the summer. It didn't used to be so bad but since New York was destroyed the entire scene is just dead. I heard 1Oak was closing and moving to Boston. Can you imagine?" Her feet hit the floor again. "Do you want to get your stuff off the porch? We can throw it in one of the parlor rooms until they figure out where you're supposed to be. Meantime, I can give you the tour."

"Oh, that'd be great, could you get the door for me?" Julian asked with a wicked glint in his eyes- now it was his turn to show off. "Yeah, I know what you mean- I heard a little bit about what happened in New, er, out here, but most people back home are just glad it didn't happen to them. I was a little busy dealing with everyone I knew turning their backs on me to hear more than a passing comment or two by Jon Stewart." He refastened his coat to brace himself against the cold air, "Where's the parlor room?"

"Down the hall to the right." She didn't really think it was that weird that he hadn't noticed that NYC was taken over by evil mutants who killed several thousand people. Beverly Hills was a different world. She opened the door wider so he could carry his luggage in. "It was a mess. This place was practically a ghost town since everyone was in the city trying to help out. Most of the students were there on a field trip, the teachers are all secret superheroes, it's crazy."

He glanced down the hallway to the right and shrugged then turned his attention to the open door. With a flourish he put his coat back on, then walked outside and grabbed the suitcases before walking back in. Even though he didn't really need to, Julian extended his hand toward the pair of boxes left on the front step. A dull green light started to surround the luggage, as if all of it was covered in a thin coating of glow-in-the-dark paint. Then, it floated a foot or so off the ground and into the mansion. Julian smiled as he had made it circle Karolina and himself like a pair of electrons. "Guess you'll have to show me the way," he said with a smile, "and you're kidding about the superhero thing right? I mean, what kind of hero hangs out at a boarding school?"

"Wish I was." Karolina laughed, turning in a circle to watch the dancing luggage. "Nice trick. Better than mine." She lifted one glowing hand, pushed a little so the rainbow of lights flared away from her skin. "But yeah, unfortunately, I'm all too serious. They're called the X-Men. They like have a jet and uniforms and this training room in the basement that's totally deadly. Totally not safe at all. Now they're trying to make all the students into miniature versions. I mean, I don't believe using in violence to solve problems." She gestured for him to follow her, down the hallway.

Julian smiled, "Heh, right, nice try. I mean, I'd be doing the same thing to the new guy, so no worries, but that's a little weak." He chuckled to himself and followed her down the hallway. "Though, it would be cool to be a superhero, flying around…." He decided it was best not to get into a debate about the use of violence in modern society with the one person he knew at the school and let the statement drop.

"No, like, seriously, Julian, they're black leather wearing, jet flying, mutants. Like the movies. You'll see and then you're going to so owe me an apology. Put your stuff here." She gestured into the small sitting room then leaned against the wall. "Did your letter say who you're supposed to talk to? I mean, I'd guess it would be Professor Xavier. It's always him."

"I dunno, my dad sort of arranged everything. If you say Xavier, then it's probably him." With the slightest bit of exertion, Julian set the boxes on the floor, as close to the wall as he could get them; then he leaned the suitcases against them again, glancing at the locks to make sure they were still secured. "Tell you what, Karolina, if you can prove to me that they exist, I'll apologize." Julian turned to her and smiled, "So, you said something about a tour?"

Karolina gives Julian a brief tour of the mansion.

"Right this way," Kare grinned and tipped her head, leading him out of the room again. She swept out her arm, "So that was the front parlor and it's like the only thing other than the sun room that's not completely school oriented. Classrooms are all on the first floor, so are the staff offices. You'll see that that soon enough. Rec room is this way." She paused in the doorway, so he could take in the pool table, the tv and game systems, the circle of chairs around the card table.

Julian took a step into the room and looked around, impressed by what he'd seen so far. "Looks like this place gets a lot of use," Julian said, "but, where is everyone else? I mean, I assume it's not just you and I here, right?" Julian walked inside further and looked at the big screen television and the appliances attached to it. "Do you get many channels here?" he asked, turning back toward Karolina.

"Any channel you like. The movie server is ridiculously complete too." She should know. "Hard to say where everyone else is. Out doing good or being righteous. Things are stranger than usual recently. We'll probably run across someone sooner or later. What sort of things do you like to do, Julian? There's all sorts of sports and stuff, a gym. You'll have to take self-defense and they make you join the junior superhero union."

"I dunno, I like to hang out and spend time with my friends," Julian said aloud. To himself he added 'If I had any friends anymore.' "I really like to play basketball, but I got kicked off the team back home when people started thinking I could float the ball across the court and into the net, every time. Movies are good too, so I'm glad to hear we've got this movie channel thing." Julian shifted his coat from his right arm to his left and shrugged. "I like to hit the beach, for surfing, swimming and sun, of course, but I guess there's not too much hope of that happening around here, right?" Julian smirked and imagined what Karolina would look like in a bikini for a moment before remembering that she might be able to read his mind. He shook the thought away and turned the smirk into a warm smile. "Hey, Karolina, what's your power, I mean, I see the glowy rainbow-bright thing, but…?"

"I can fly." She demonstrated, folding her legs under her to sit Indian-style three feet above the ground. "And, like, create force-fields and stuff. I'm kinda like a solar battery--I absorb energy and radiate back as this light. Totally green. But yeah, the beaches here totally suck. I'm trying to convince my parents to take off some time so we can go someplace warm and sunny for Christmas." She wasn't blind so she noticed the smirk and knew what it meant. It didn't bother her even if she wasn't interested. "There's a basketball court, though you have to watch out for the jet leaving. Obviously no one here cares if you have powers. I just wouldn't use them in a game. Then everyone starts and inevitably something explodes."

After chuckling briefly at the idea of a jet leading from a basketball court, Julian decided to show off a bit more. "That's cool, I can make shields too," to demonstrate the fact, Julian waved his hand and erected a green bubble of energy around himself for a few seconds before letting it dissipate. "I can't fly yet, but I'm working on it…I read this book about telekinesis and it had a chapter about using it to make yourself fly. So far," Julian kicked off the floor a foot, his finely polished- though slightly scuffed- shoes glowed green as he levitated, "this is all I've been-." Julian was cut short as he gave a little cry and fell backwards over the couch, rolling onto the floor in a heap. The young Keller quickly got up, blushing furiously, and plucked his coat off the couch. "Yeah, so, any chance you can forget that you saw that?"

Karolina covered her mouth with her hand when she snickered, her eyes sparkling. "No one will hear it from me. But don't worry about it, we all suck with our powers when we get here. That's one thing they do right. You'll totally learn control in powers class. Dr. Grey-Summers or Nathan will probably end up teaching you. They're both tekes too." She leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "What else...oh, I should warn you, there's this journal system thing. It's kinda like everyone has their own blog but they're all interconnected and everyone can read everyone else's but no one from outside can read them. And they're required," her eyes rolled to show what she thought of that aspect of them. "So watch what you say because the teachers are totally watching and there are these weird people from some place in the city that have access too. I don't know what that's all about."

The more Julian heard the more he understood that this was not a typical boarding school- the story about there being secret superheroes living under the mansion was sounding more and more plausible by the second. "What do they 'require' you to write about?" He asked, having taken notice of the obvious contempt she had for such an exercise. Julian himself had never cared much for work that he was required to do, specifically if he would have done it anyway without any prompting from the adults.

"Oh, whatever you want so long as you don't mind getting everyone else's commentary on it. I can't even tell you the number of times I've been insulted in my own journal. Whatever, like it's my fault that I don't agree with the sheeple." She tossed her hair over her shoulder. "So, anything else you want to see?"

Julian could think of a thing or two, but now was certainly not the time. "I dunno, is there anything else I should see? I didn't exactly get much information on the place before I got sent out here- it was more of a get on the plane and we'll see you again eventually sort of thing." Julian still smiled at her and considered trying to float up into a position like she was in, but given the disastrous first attempt he had just embarrassed himself by, it didn't seem like the best idea.

"Um...not that I can think of. This is us, lots of mutants, lots of superiority complexes. There's a lot of really sucky stuff but well, you'll hear about that soon enough. I pretty much guarantee it." She shrugged then gave him a quite literally bright smile, "Ready?"

"Just one last thing," he began, she was from the West and probably had her head more firmly attached then a lot of the people he was bound to meet out East- even if she was a pacifist. "Is there anyone I should watch out for here, or stay away from?"

Karolina opened her mouth to answer then wrinkled her nose, "That's kind of a hard question. They don't like me very much around here so...I don't know. Maybe you'll have less problems. Callie's awesome and Noriko too. But I don't like to bad mouth people, you know? Just keep your eyes and ears open is my advice. You'll figure it out soon enough."

Julian nodded, "Thanks, I'll do that." He gave her another of his warm smiles, "I really can't imagine anyone not liking you though Karolina. I've only known you for a little over five minutes and I can tell you're cool." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, then moved his coat back to his other arm. "Lead on though, I'm sure you have other things you'd rather be doing than showing the new guy around."