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[x-reyes.livejournal.com]

The aftermath of Columbia leads a young med student to seek out safety with Xavier's school. Saturday afternoon, Alison drives out to meet her.



A private place for this meeting thing she'd been offered on the phone would probably have been a better idea, in hindsight.. but, Cecilia thought, it was a little late now.

Her usual haunt a few blocks from NYU was noisy at this time of day, a small cafe that always seemed to be in danger of violating the city's fire ordinances with the number of people who crammed themselves into the building at least long enough to order their coffee. The familiar surroundings made her feel safe, though, which was a feeling she had in very short supply since the events of the weekend, so she'd take what she could get. Seated at a corner table, Cecilia alternately watched the door like a hawk and studied the cup of coffee in front of her, ignoring the tenseness in her shoulders as she tried to keep her breathing even. Relax. They don't bite. If you don't want to draw attention to yourself, hyperventilating is not the way to go about it.

The door bells chimed and a woman entered breezily, stopping a few steps away from the door after actually moving out of the way to let others go by if need be (which most people tended to forget to do). She pulled out a small notebook from her coat pocket, a stylish and neatly cut leather thing, and after consulting it looked around the room, eyes pausing over Cecilia halfway through. A raised eyebrow and a half-smile was offered as the brunette mouthed the words 'Cecilia Reyes?' at her with a questioning look.

Blinking twice as she caught the woman near the door looking in her direction, Cecilia firmly stomped down her initial wave of panic - it wasn't someone from school, was it? - enough that she could recognize what the stranger was mouthing at her. Recognition dawning, she nodded, and mustered up a nervous smile as she gestured questioningly to the other seat at her table, currently being reserved by her very helpful backpack.

"Hi! I'm Alison," she offered her hand to Cecilia and then allowed the clearly nervous woman to move the backpack herself before sitting down, flagging down a waitress and cheerfully requesting a chai latte for herself to give Cecilia all the time she wanted to look her over.

Wow. She's.. bubbly. "Cecilia," she replied automatically, reaching out to shake the offered hand with a grip that felt far more confident than she did. "But, ah.. you already knew that." Shifting her backpack to rest on the floor between her feet, she indulged in a brief looking-over of Alison before deciding she looked like a safe enough person to have a civil conversation with. Hey, just because meeting a genuinely friendly person is rare doesn't mean it never happens. Settling back in her seat, she offered the waitress a quick smile before shifting her attention to Alison, not entirely sure how to begin the conversation. With a little luck, maybe the other woman'd know what she was doing.

Alison placed her notebook on the table, tapping it lightly - the scrambler Hank had set inside the cover should work fine to keep anyone from recording them or even listening in remotely, and though Alison hadn't been certain they'd need it, it was better to err on the side of caution. It also had the added benefit of keeping anyone from listening in nearby as well, although the mechanics of that Alison had forcefully informed Hank to hush about before her brain broke.

There was no need to dredge up Cecilia's situation unless she herself wanted to go into the details. "The Professor tells me you wanted to know about the school, right? What would you like to hear about first?" And to give her food for thought, Alison continued. "The classes? The facilities? The medlab?" She grinned a bit at the last, waiting for the reaction she hoped this would engender.

If a noticable perk and more intently focused nature of Cecilia's attention were what Alison had been hoping for, she got her wish as the woman sat up a bit straighter in her chair. "The medlab?" she echoed curiously, her eyebrows lifting to try their best to meld with her hairline. Hey.. maybe this place wouldn't be so bad after all. "I.. don't suppose any of these classes might have something to do with the aformentioned medlab, would they..?"

"The only med classes offered are basic first aid mostly and some field stuff, for the students - but you would have access to state of the art facilities as well as a few very talented people as mentors, if you happened to be interested in their fields. Dr Hank McCoy, Moira McTaggart among others, are some of our resident specialists." She leaned back a bit, grinning and enjoying the reaction that was to come at the name dropping.

Whatever disappointment Cecilia felt at the initial answer was at least delayed at the words 'mentors', 'McCoy' and 'McTaggart', and it was to her great credit that she managed to wipe the expression of disbelief off her face after only four or five seconds of it arriving. "I'd ask if you were joking, but you look far too smug to be pulling my leg," she observed wryly, lips quirking into a thoughtful grin. "I'm hoping there's some on-campus housing to be had..?" She didn't really want to have to stay on her friend's sofa any longer than absolutely necessary, mostly because she worried about what would happen to him if people found out what, exactly, was being let to stay in his place. Namely, her.

"You'll probably have to share a common room with someone else, at the most. Private rooming for us adults." And yes, that was a smirk. She tilted her head to the side, considering. "You'll be issued cards and the like, for the security system. We've something fairly hefty in place - the head of security will walk you through it and the rules, in that regard. It's something we take seriously, at the school." She looked down at her drink pensively. "I won't lie to you. We are sometimes a target. We've had some problems, including attacks on the mansion itself. The security's been upgraded more since though."

"Attacks." Cecilia's voice was flat and neutral as she echoed the other woman, not matching the impressive hike of her eyebrows in the slightest. So, she would be choosing between transferring to Xavier's, which has been under attack in the past - more than once, given the plural on 'attacks' - or, she could go to Columbia. Her expression didn't change, but it didn't take a genius to tell she wasn't feeling very thrilled at the notion. "Great."

At least with Xavier's, she theoretically wouldn't be the odd one out. And this woman did say the security's been upgraded, and that it was hefty. ...well, and the med lab does sound like something to be seen... "I don't suppose you people do trial runs, do you?" Cecilia asked carefully, tapping her fingers against the side of her coffee cup.

Alison tilted her head to the side, smiling a bit. "We're not a detention center or a prison. Even if some of the kids like to pretend we are, sometimes." She snickered a bit, shaking her head. "You're free to come and go as you will. We offer you," she paused, searching for words, "the best we can. But we won't impose it on you. That's not the idea, not at all."

"I wasn't expecting it to be a prison," Cecilia replied dubiously, looking faintly confused as to why her question had resulted in the answer it had. "I'm expecting it to be a school. You know, with paperwork and admissions procedures that will be a real pain in the ass to deal with in the event I change my mind after taking a closer look at the place." She paused for a moment, and made a bit of a face. "Not that I really have much choice. I transfer to your school, or I cross my fingers and go to Columbia." The latter of which, clearly, Is Not Happening. Which leaves only one option, really. "When can I see this place?"

"Now, if you want." Alison grinned, leaning a bit to tilt her head at the little sillver sportscar parked within view through the main window. She didn't tell her that if Cecilia chose to stay, her things could be retrieved for her, meaning she wouldn't even have to leave again.

Cecilia glanced in the direction Alison indicated, and took a moment to eye the sportscar with poorly-hidden wariness before she slowly nodded her head. "I don't have anything else to do," she said lightly, pushing her untouched coffee away. The last thing she needed was to be even more anxious. Especially not when she was going to be stuck in a teeny tiny sportscar with Miss Cheery, here.

Alison, of course, couldn't hide her grin as she flipped out the keys and got to her feet, leaving enough money to cover for the coffee and a neat tip besides. She picked up the notebook on the table and tucked it in her coat, then lead the way to the car - she wondered how Cecilia would react when Alison had the chance to drop the image inducer's effect. I'm so vain. She whistled cheerfully as they left the cafe.