Callie and Jean-Paul

[x-cynosure.livejournal.com]

Callie confides secrets that she discovered about another resident to a teacher.



It was a simple maneuver really, one Callie had done countless times before. But when she reached her leg rock jutting out from the side of the mountain something shifted. The rock gave way and her foot slipped. Normally she would have been able to recover easily from this unexpected turn of events, but today her mind was elsewhere and she found herself struggling while her foot searched out another crevice.

Well that was stupid, Callie thought as regained her stability. She couldn't focus, which she knew could end in dire consequences if she wasn't careful. "Mister Beaubier? I'm going to head down," she called out, omitting the "before I do something stupid" that should have been at the end.

"All right," her spotter called up at her. Normally Jean-Paul would have flown up to give her a lift, but Callie had begun protesting that lately, and he had to concede that she had a point. It was hard to judge your limits if you were only measuring one way. He didn't terminate the Danger Room session once she was on the ground, but handed her a sports drink. "So where was your concentration today?"

She shrugged as she accepted the bottle and took a sip. "I don't know," Callie replied as she screwed the top back on. "Possibly back in Vermont? Or... I don't know. I'm sorry. I've kinda been in a mental rut thing like all day. I thought maybe this would help but..." Another shrug. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. I will just work you harder next time to make up for it." Jean-Paul half-smiled, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He was overdue for a trim.

"And maybe by then I'll be able to focus again." She sighed and dropped to the ground to start untying her shoes. No use wearing them if she wasn't going to climb. Midway through removing her left shoe, Callie paused and looked up at Jean-Paul thoughtfully for a few moments. "What would you do if you found out something about someone that you don't think they want you to find out about but it's kinda a really big deal? Do you like tell them, or what?"

"I suppose the first question to ask is whether you would be inquiring for the sake of the person involved, or for your own curiosity." The scenario shut down around them, the vast landscape fading to nothing.

"A little of both? I mean, like, one of the things is something that if I were in that situation I might want to know, but then again I'm not this person so it's hard to judge." 'Especially when that person is harder to read than Shakespeare,' Callie added mentally. "But the other thing is... I don't know it's big and I don't want to like keep it all to myself, but I really don't want to spread it around, because that's pretty damaging?"

The doors opened before them, but Jean-Paul wasn't ready to carry this conversation out into the halls.

"You're thinking about the bleach-drinking aftermath?" Jean-Paul considered. "There is still some good advice there. The middle ground between confrontation and secrecy is to confide in someone who you know has the interest of the person in mind and who is not going to spread rumors. The headmaster or one of the teachers."

"Oh no, this is like bigger than bleach drinking," Callie nodded sagely. "But there's not really anything we can do, I think? Cause there weren't any charges, and it's also a personal family matter, and it's all confusing because I don't know if she wants to know."

She paused. "I should probably just tell you shouldn't I?"

"I am certain you want to, and I do qualify as a teacher."

Sigh. 'Here goes nothing,' thought Callie as she began to speak once more. "Well I was up in Vermont this weekend and I found one of those 'I'm Lost Have You Seen Me?' fliers at one of the ski lounges. Long story short, Cammie's family is still looking for her, and she accidentally killed someone. I don't think she's dangerous or anything, and like I said there were no charges, it's more the fact that her family is trying to find her. Still." And exhale.

Jean-Paul was quiet for a time, digesting this.

"Cammie does need to be told," he said finally. "You do not have to be the one to do it if you do not wish to. I do not suppose you brought one of these fliers back with you?"

That was precisely what she was afraid of. But Jean-Paul was right, and Callie knew it. She finished pulling off her shoes, and pushed herself up off the floor so that she was eye level with her teacher. "Yeah I brought one of them back with me. I haven't shown it to anyone, but I was going to give it to her, as soon as I worked out what I was going to do."

"That is not all," Jean-Paul added quietly. "Cyclops or Storm will also need to be told. The fact that she is a runaway is between Cammie and her parents. She is old enough that she is not obligated to return to them, whatever her reasons." And Jean-Paul was not going to discount that there could be very good reasons for a young mutant to run away from home, nor that her parents might have sinister motives for finding out where she was. "A death on her head carries potential complications."

She stared at him for a few moments, trying to figure out what to say. When she finally spoke, her voice was small and meek. "Would you please... could you please be the one to tell them? Please?"

Jean-Paul nodded. "I will keep your name out of it, if this goes to Cammie. If that is what you wish."

"I really... I mean you can tell her. That's fine."

The hesitant tone in Callie's voice reminded the speedster that he really should say something reassuring.

"You did the right thing. Cammie may not be pleased with it..." He knew he wouldn't have been. "...but it is something that needed to be known."