Tabitha Arrives

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With a lot of pouting, young Tabitha arrives at the mansion.



Tabitha kept her eyes firmly on the window, ignoring the passing
countryside. It was all snow and slush anyway. She very firmly didn't
respond to anything her mother said. She also shied away from any
thoughts of her father.

New York looked boring.

"Tabitha." No response. "TABITHA." Her mother sighed in exasperation,
knuckles white from clenching the steering wheel. "Are you even
listening to anything I'm saying? We pulled a lot of strings to get
you here, I think the least you could do is listen. Unless you want
to go to jail," she added, a frown on her face. "Is that it? Would you
rather jail? Because this is the best thing that could happen to you
after...all that .... unpleasantness "

Tabitha snorted at her mother's phrasing. Yes, her father abandoning
her to the cops in a bank vault was "unpleasant."

But she also shuddered at the thought of more time in jail. The week
she'd spent in juvenile lock-up was enough. "I get it, Mom. You're
burying your dirty little mutant secret."

"That's not fair, and you know it."‎. Mandy tossed an angry look at
her daughter before sighing heavily. "You are not a dirty mutant
secret. You did something I'd be disappointed in, regardless
of your genes. What exactly were you thinking? Did you really believe
nothing would happen?"

She was thinking she'd finally be able to be with her dad all
the time, but he broke his promise.

Again.

Tabitha refused to answer her mother. She hated to admit she was wrong.

Mandy sighed again. There was no point in talking to her daughter when
she was like this. She could only hope that this‎ Professor could do
what he promised.

The rest of the ride was in complete silence until they pulled into
the driveway of a stately manor. "Wow," her mother said, driving in.
"I wonder if adults can come here too..."

She would have made a disgusted, unimpressed sound at that, but she
was impressed. It was all she could do to keep her mouth closed
as she gaped at the snow-covered estate. She accidentally met her
mother's eyes, and looked quickly back at the mansion, just in time to
notice the front door opening.

Mandy's eyes lit up. She parked the car and turned to her daughter.
"That must be Mr. Summers. You will respect him, do you
understand me?". They weren't leaving the car until Tabitha promised
at least that much.

Tabitha glared at Mandy, jaw stubbornly clenched. "I'll serve him
daily tea if it gets me away from you," she said harshly, going
for the throat.

Her mother blinked and clenched her jaw. "You know Tabitha, one day
you'll be an adult and have a daughter." She furiously unbuckled her
seatbelt, and threw open the door. "And I hope to God she doesn't
turn out like you.".

With that she exited the car, and instantly put on a smile and waved.
"Mr. Summers! Pleasure to.meet you!"

"Ms Smith, I hope you had a good drive in, we're a little bit out of
the way here but as you can see the view and hte space are certainly
worth it." Scott strode over to shake hands with the woman and her
daughter. "And you're Tabitha, pleased to meet you. So can I get
either of you anything before we get started?"

"A plane ticket back to Jersey would be nice," Tabitha muttered,
glaring anywhere but at the new guy or her mother.

"Well, lets see if we can change your mind, if you still decide you'd
rather not come here, then that's fair enough. Just give us a shot, you
never know how much you might like it here."

The tour was beautiful, and Mandy found herself oohing and ahhing
throughout the whole time. She kept trying to point things out to
Tabitha, things that Tabitha should be excited for, but her daughter
was giving her nothing but attitude back. Finally, after the last
snotty comment, Mandy couldn't take it anymore.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Summers. I feel I need to apologize for my poorly raised
child. I tried my best with her, but my ex-husband has spoiled her
rotten, and this is what we have to deal with now." She frowned deeply.
"I don't think me being here is helping anything. I should get back on
the road anyways, if I want to get out of New York by the evening."

Mandy turned and gave one last look at Tabitha. "Remember: it's this or
jail. I know what I'd pick." A tight hug and a kiss to the cheek, and
then Mandy was off, leaving Tabitha with Mr. Summers. Mandy could only
hope she wouldn't be getting a call within the next hour to pick her daughter up.