Cecilia & Sooraya | Sunday afternoon

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Cecilia and Sooraya meet and discuss humanitarian work, X-Corps, ambition and gossip.




There was never enough time to read in Honduras. The violence in Tegucigalpa felt ceaseless. And when it did pause, there were tropical fevers to worry about, a slew of regular patients to see, and, once Cecilia was finally home for the evening, she was pretty consumed with the basic tasks required to live a life.

So in her first few days back at the Xavier grounds, she'd been spending a lot of time in the library. Just to be around books, let alone sit and read uninterrupted (no social life as yet to speak of, after all), felt so luxurious that she treasured it. She flipped the page of Americanah and yawned lazily. Welcome back indeed.

Sooraya looked up from her laptop, her fingers slowing their dance around the keyboard as her train of thought was finally captured on to the screen. Lacing her fingers together and stretching her arms a little, she glanced at her computer clock and decided it was time for a short break. Leaving her book and laptop where they were, she headed towards the door of the library.

Spotting the latest newcomer to the mansion, Sooraya changed course and quietly approached the reading woman, not wanting to startle her. "Dr. Reyes?"

Cecilia's head snapped up, and she nearly jumped out of her chair. Truth be told, she'd forgotten anyone was here. Which was, come to think of it, was kind of the point of a library. She placed her hand on her heart somewhat instinctively and turned toward the source of the voice. "Oh!" She offered a warm smile. "Sooraya, right? Hi." She glanced around. "It's so quiet in here."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Sooraya returned the warm smile. "And yes, you got that right. I am Sooraya. I hope I am not bothering you, but I wanted to say hi in person." She gestured at the book, indicating she didn't want to tear the doctor away from her reading.

"God, no, please." Cecilia made a face and nodded toward the other chair at her table. "This isn't a Twilight Zone, time-enough-at-last thing." She'd really need to stop making dated references if she wanted to fit in here. "Never mind." She closed the book. "I need to be meeting everyone anyway. Books aren't going anywhere."

"It would be nice if they sometimes did though." Sooraya muttered as she took the offered seat. "Sorry, a little frustration with my latest essay. Have you enjoyed being back so far? I imagine things must be very different from when you were here last time."

"Yes," Cecilia agreed, "different. I mean, this," she gestured to their surroundings, "is all the same. But fewer students and yet more people. And different people! All my old friends, scattered about. And," she grimaced, "that's making me feel so old. Which I know is all in my head, but still."

She shook her head and slumped back into her chair, then sized up the younger woman. "But I don't know, Sooraya. It's just so nice to be somewhere that feels a little more permanent. I can't say I've had that in a while. I spent the last two years always moving." Suddenly, she laughed. "Listen to me. You asked a simple question, and I gave you a monologue." She shrugged apologetically. Guess I'm still sorting things out."

"It's alright, Dr. Reyes. It is not so strange though. If you have been moving around so much and now you are finally standing still right now, it's not surprising things will come." She tilted her head with an ironic smile. "Though I have to say... if you had hoped to catch a break... this might not be the quietest place to do that. We did have another demon invasion last month."

"Sure," Cecilia said dismissively. "Of course. Look where we are." She planned to put that out of her mind, since if Sooraya had known the circumstances under which Cecilia had moved out, nothing would have been said. So Cecilia figured it was better to just imagine that it hadn't. "So far so good. No one's fired a gun in my general direction since I got back, anyway, so I'll take it."

"Can I ask where you were before this? You were active in humanitarian work, were you not?" Sooraya could imagine a few dozen area's where she could have been, considering the gun comment and the moving around bit. There never seemed to be lack of hotspots in the world.

"Someone's been asking around," Cecilia teased. She reached into the hoodie she'd draped over the back of the chair and grabbed the bottle of antimalarial pills she'd stowed there. "Honduras. By way of Philadelphia and San Diego." She struggled with the safety cap and furrowed her brow. "After my second fellowship, Doctors Without Borders called. Wanted to send me to Genosha. I picked Central America instead. Here." Frustrated, she handed the pill bottle to Sooraya. "You try."

Sooraya's eyes clouded over at the mention of Genosha, but she quickly pushed it away as she accepted the bottle and wrangled with the lid. "The rumor mill that is the mansion has not changed much in the years I have been here. And since I am starting to become active in the humanitarian field myself, I was curious. In what kind of situation were you working in Honduras though?"

Mere days and already the topic of gossip. Great. Maybe she could plant a rumor she'd had a breakdown. Multiple ones. No free medical advice after that. "Not a very stable one," she finally said. "Medical care there was never great, and drug-fueled gang violence made it worse. I'm a trauma surgeon — fight immediate damage, get things under control — so there was a lot to get done. But infectious diseases are an issue, and rural communities have no access to healthcare, and then women's issues are a mess..." She was rambling. "So you move around a lot, and when you're in the city, you do what you can and try not to get caught in the crossfire." She paused, thinking. "Or did you mean living conditions for me? Because that's something else entirely."

"I find both very interesting." Sooraya explained honestly. "I have a bit of a professional interest, to be honest...Because if I am going to be setting up more projects one day, it's important to know as much as possible about the situations people can encounter on the ground. Even if the area is far less volatile."

"Right," Cecilia nodded. "Well, you said you were doing humanitarian stuff now, right? What is it you're doing?"

"I work part time for X-Corps, right here in the mansion. I currently serve as project leader for Malala's Rose, a shelter for mutant girls and women that is being set up in Afghanistan." Sooraya's eyes sparkled a little when mentioned her project. "It took some time, but things are finally fitting together and we are currently looking for suitable staff."

"That's... wow." Cecilia smiled warmly. Sooraya's apparent passion was something to behold. She hadn't been nearly so altruistic when she joined Doctors Without Borders, but telling the other woman that wouldn't have served much person. "Seriously, Sooraya, that's great. What's the goal? Education? Health? I know the picture's not great for girls in that part of the world."

"A bit of everything to be honest. The basis is a safe space to stay, with basic education and vocational training. powers training and health care offered. From there we will have to see what else there is a need of and if the shelter is able to offer that. The ultimate goal would be for the women to stand on their own two feet in the end, but to truly accomplish that, there is lot to be done and we will end up working with another NGO's to truly accomplish that step."

"Well, it sounds like you're off to a good start," Cecilia pointed out. "And if you're willing to make it happen, you'll find ways to get it done." That's how she powered herself to med school. Speaking of which. "Here, let me take that pill bottle back." She reached out and took it from Sooraya. "So is X-Corps helping you?" She bit her lip. "What is X-Corps? Garrison Kane mentioned it the other day, but I was in a daze," she shrugged nonapologetically, "and wasn't really listening."

"Malala's Rose is officially an X-Corps project. I just head things up from here." Sooraya clarified for Cecelia. "Basically X-Corps is an mutant-focused NGO with several projects. Red X and Helix coordination has been folded in, as well as some other things. Angelo Espinosa founded it together with the professor after the events on Genosha."

"Oh," Cecilia nodded, idly twisting away at the cap of the bottle as she considered that. She'd have to talk to Angelo once she figured out her next step. Maybe X-Corps could send her somewhere she could save lives and do good, now that Doctors Without Borders was packing it in. Or, at the very least, he'd have some idea where she could address some of her concerns. "Sounds like they've been doing good work, if they're funding this," she finally said. The cap popped off. "Oh, gracias a Dios," she muttered. "Years of school, and I still can't work these things."

"Some people say they make them adult proof nowadays. Maybe they have an easier container downstairs? With a lid that screws?" Sooraya suggested. "If you are really curious about X-Corps you should talk to Angelo though. He can tell you a lot more."

"Yeah," Cecilia nodded. "Maybe I will, once my head stops spinning from being back." She shook a pill out of the bottle and swallowed it dry. "Don't get stung by a mosquito in the tropics," she offhandedly advised.

"Sound medical advise, I take it?" Sooraya joked as her companion placed the container back on the table. "Red X is also still active if you are interested. I think they would be happy to have someone with the experience you have. Yvette Petrovic would be able to help you with that. She is also active at X-Corps."

"Red X wasn't really my scene back in the day," Cecilia admitted, although she couldn't pinpoint why. Probably because she hadn't liked being pigeonholed as a mutant volunteer. Now that she was a reasonably accomplished surgeon, the idea bothered even more. "But I'll talk to Yvette." She tried to roll the bottle cap between her fingers. "Thanks. That's a good idea."

"You're welcome. And... I mean... you don't have to." Sooraya searched for words for a moment. "You just don't seem like a woman who likes to sit still for very long so to speak."

"Ha!" Cecilia snorted. Actually, that was stunningly acute. How little Sooraya knew. "Good point."

Sooraya's eyes twinkled as replied: "You might be in good company for that though. I can easily name at least five people from the top of my head who you almost have to tie down to get them to sit still."

"I'm not that bad," Cecilia countered. "Just... not used to being idle. Med school, residency, fellowship. Always moving." The exception being her first interlude in Westchester, and now this one. "I think having immigrant parents makes you feel guilty when you're not working," she said by way of explanation, though the truth had way more to do with Cecilia herself.

"And sometimes it's simple who you are." Sooraya shot her a small grin. "Some people just have that much energy they needs to burn."

"See, now I think that maybe we're talking about you," Cecilia teased. "Miss Full Courseload And A Fledgling Humanitarian Relief Project And - excuse me if I'm being presumptuous - Probably An X-Man Too." She returned Sooraya's grin. "Don't think I don't know the type."

"Guilty as charged on all three points." Sooraya admitted. "Though I am lucky enough that a lot of my X-Corps work can be adapted for college credit. I have an adviser who works with me on that."

"Advisers are a lot more helpful than they were in my day, then." Cecilia shook her head. "Glad to hear you're not running yourself too ragged, in any event."

"I think I just got lucky that I found the right one. He has been pretty good in helping me figure out how to navigate both majors and my work at X-Corps." Sooraya explained. "Still, the reality is I probably will not be finishing my degree in four years."

"Does anyone who lives here?" Cecilia smirked. "Extracurricular activities are mighty distracting. At least yours are related to your future plans. That makes school less urgent." She let out a yawn. "Sometimes if you get so focused on school, you forget to stop and have fun along the way." That had been Cecilia's experience, anyway. Not that the complications of being a mutant made socializing particularly easy anyway.

"I do try." Sooraya had noticed the yawn and carefully asked: "Already recovered from the jetlag?"

Cecilia shrugged. "Not so much jet lag," she said. "I mean, Honduras is only an hour behind New York. I think my body's just not used to the new daily rhythm. Or lack of rhythm. Plus, I'm trying to catch up on all the sleep I missed for the last few years, which means I'm napping too much and awake at night." She shrugged. "It's all part of readjustment, I guess."

She simply nodded. "I should be getting back to work on my report if you would like to go and nap. It's not gonna write itself..."

"Sure. Doesn't sound like a bad idea." Cecilia smiled gratefully and rose from the table. "Thanks for letting me know about X-Corps though, seriously. I think it's — I'm glad to hear more." She gathered her things.

"Happy to help and sleep well." Sooraya rose as well, quickly catching a sheet of paper that escaped. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Cecilia grabbed the paper and gave Sooraya a slight wave before departing.