xp_logs | Danielle & Mr. Summers

After finishing lunch with Doug, Dani goes to Mr. Summers to discuss a problem she's having...and ends up with two solutions.

After finishing lunch and letting Doug lick the excess brownie batter, Danielle headed up to her room and grabbed her textbooks, off to Mr. Summers's office hours. That was a good thing about Xavier's, she reflected, they had very flexible scheduling. Knocking quickly, Danielle waited, hoping no one was in his office.

"Come in," Scott called, finishing marking one engineering quiz and setting it back on the pile. He smiled as the door opened to admit Danielle. "Afternoon," he said amiably. "What can I do for you, Dani?"

"Hi, Mr. Summers," she nodded at him, sitting down in an office chair. She liked his class which made everything that much harder, "Actually...I think I need to leave your class."

Scott blinked, but then set his pen down. "Oh? What's the problem - anything I can help with, before you have to do that?"

She shook her head, looking down at her growing abdomen, "I understand the material, that's not the problem. And I like your class too. But I can't get under a car anymore and leaning over the front hood is a problem too. So I can't really do the work."

Scott stopped, shaking his head quizzically. "Of course," he said, then gave her a helpless smile. "I'm sorry, I should have realized." He leaned back in his chair, thinking. "We could come up with something similar to replace it, you know. Something that doesn't involve the physical difficulties. Maybe an
independent study in engine design...?"

Raising an eyebrow, she looked at him quizzically, "I'm not Forge. I fix cars, I don't really design them. I mean, I've never done that," she stammered, unsure what to do. Doug and Forge and Kitty had special study classes, not her. She was remedial compared to them!

"I think you probably understand more about how engines work than you're really giving yourself credit for," Scott said. "How can you fix something you don't understand?" He smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I'm not suggesting you should start doing stuff on the level that Forge is - that's his mutant ability, after all, design. But if you did something like this, you could study different types of engines that are made for various purposes - you could wind up being able to fix a lot more than cars."

"You think?" she asked, immediately knowing the answer. He wouldn't have suggested it if he didn't think she could do it. "I could try it...It would be mostly library research, right?"

"A lot of looking at blueprints," Scott said with a nod, "that sort of thing. If you liked it, it could be something for you to pursue after you graduate, even."

There was that college idea again, even if it was an oblique reference. "You mean college, ain't it?" she asked, not entirely phrasing it as a question, but almost like she didn't believe it, "Both Dr. McCoy and Mr. Wisdom said I could go."

"There are a lot of ways you could go, yes, if that was something you wanted." Scott smiled. "It gives you a lot more options, that college degree," he pointed out, glancing up to where his hung on the wall. "Mine was in engineering. I never thought I'd ever go to college either."

"Really?" now Dani was intrigued, "What changed?"

"I wound up here," Scott said easily. "Where there were people who were willing and in fact eager to show me that there were ways to manage it, after all. They changed what I expected out of life... let me see the possibilities, rather than just the things in my way."

Dani nodded, that was exactly what was happening, even if she was resisting it sometimes. Taking a deep breath she asked, "Is it to late to apply to the community college?"

"For the fall?" Scott made a thoughtful face. "It might be - I don't have the information right to hand. If it is, that doesn't mean you can't apply for next January."

Nodding, Dani stood up, still holding her books, "I guess then I should find out. And keep my text books, too. Thank you."

"You're welcome. I'll get back to you in a day or so about the independent study?" Scott grinned. "I need to look up a few things."

Flashing a brief smile, Danielle nodded, ducking out of his office. That had not gone according to plan.