In Between

Elane peeked out from the shower curtian as Rogue finely exited the bathroom. With a sigh she turned the water off and quickly dried herself off. Elane had woken up early to avoid the rush of students trying to use the same sinks and showers. She dried herself and slipped into the sweat pants and shirt provided by the school, brushed her teeth and hair. She left the bathroom just as Kitty, Jubilee and Paige came out of their rooms dragging their various supplies.

She slipped into her room, dressed and made herself up and was out the door in less than ten minutes. She could already smell breakfast being made in the kitchen so she made her way there. She was wearing another smock dress, this time in dark green with a brown long sleeved peasant shirt under it with matching brown tights and green sandals. Her hair had two green clips holding back her bangs. She smiled when she saw that Piotr and Rogue had breakfast duty this morning. Paige had told her the night before that each student gets assigned duties in pairs for a week, then switches with another pair of students the next week.

"How you like your eggs, sugah?" Rogue smiled, taking two eggs out of a now empty carton and holding them out as though for Elane's approval.

"Scrambled, please." Elane watched as Rogue cracked both eggs in her gloved hands, whipped them up in a bowl and poured them into the hot pan. It took only a minute or so until they were done and the eggs were handed to her on a plate with three pieces of bacon and buttered toast.

Sitting down, Elane noticed two or three people at the table that she had not been introduced to the night before. One had light brown hair, fair skin and a pair of red wrap around sunglasses on his face. The other was shorter than the first and covered in dark hair all over his body and a hair style that very much resembled Beasts for its unruliness.

The taller of the two was slender wearing a solid gray shirt under a brown leather jacket and blue jeans. The hairier one wore a white wife beater and blue jeans with an Indian head belt buckle. Elane started on her eggs as the three she had passed on her way to her room joined the ones already eating at the table. Their first classes started at 9 am sharp and most were already finishing their breakfasts so they could spend the next hour watching TV before class.

Elane ate quickly, not bothering with jelly or jam on her toast. "So, Elane, you feeling better this morning?" Elane looked up, finding the source of the question none other than the brown haired man in the sunglasses.

"Yes, I am. I have to meet Miss Munroe in a few minutes though." She hoped that this barred any further questions from him as she finished her breakfast.

Of course, he was not going to be brushed off that easily. "I heard from Kurt that you have quite a knack for gymnastics." He looked at her pointedly. "You set the record with a twelve foot high jump."

Elane sunk deeper into her chair as she got more eyes on her. She nodded. "Yes, sir. That was before I was forced to quit the team because I tested positive for what they thought was steroids."

"And what were they?"

Elane sighed, picking at her remaining eggs with her fork as she tried to meet the darker man's eyes. For some reason his nose was twitching like he was picking up smell that was confusing the hell out of him. She thought she knew exactly what he was smelling. "They thought that I was buying Hyena estrogen on the black market." She shrugged, putting one hand in her lap as she finished a piece of bacon.

"And you weren't?" Again Elane had the feeling that this dark haired man was sensing more than he was letting on.

Elane shook her head again. She noticed the clock and decided that now would be a good time to make her leave. "Excuse me, but I have to be in Miss Monroe's office by eight." She got up quickly and took her plate to Rogue who set it aside while she washed the cooking utensils. "Enjoy your breakfast, sirs."

Scott watched the young woman exit the kitchen as fast as she could, which was almost too fast to catch. He looked over at Logan as he opened up his morning beer, taking a thoughtful gulp from it. "You smell something?"

"Yea," he said before he took another gulp, licking the bitter tasting liquid off of his top lip. "That is one confused kid, and I ain't talking about her head. She smelled like she didn't know what she wanted to be."

Scott tilted his head as he folded his arms, his coffee forgotten. "What does that mean?"

"Don't know, Slim. But I am going to find out."

"Just don't scare her, Logan. The last think Hank needs is her in the infirmary for a nervous break down."

"Heh," Logan finished his beer as he took his plate to Rogue. "I don't get my rocks off scaring the shit out of little girls."


Elane sighed as she stopped in front of Miss Monroe's office door. She had been thinking about that dark, hairy man's tenacity and hoped that the campus was big enough to avoid him. Softly she knocked on the door, finely hearing a soft, "Come in," from inside. Elane opened the door and stepped into the office, taking her seat as she had two days ago after closing the door again.

Dr. McCoy stood just to the left of Ororo in his customary slacks, white shirt and tie with his white lab coat over them. Ororo had her short hair back with a black headband with a dark blue business suit. "Good morning Miss Monroe," Elane smiled at Ororo then at Dr. McCoy. "Good morning Doctor."

Ororo smiled at Elane, picking up her Blackberry, looking through the schedule to see who could take another student and when. "Good morning, Elane. I suppose you're eager to get your new schedule. We discussed your curriculum here with your parents, however I can go over it with you," Ororo put the device down, looking straight at Elane. "Since you have already graduated high school, your classes will be college level. You will also have your choice of electives. We have art, mechanics, drama, gymnastics, martial arts and volunteering in the infirmary with Dr. McCoy." Ororo folded her hands in front of her. "Which two would you like, Elane?"

Elane really did not have to put much thought into her decisions. "Gymnastics and martian arts." Ororo nodded and tapped a few keys on the flat keyboard on her desk.

"Now, make sure you memorize your schedule. Your first class should start in about half an hour." Elaine thanked Ororo and got up from her chair before being stopped by Dr. McCoy clearing his throat. "I almost forgot," Ororo added, nodding in the doctor's direction. "Dr. McCoy will be preforming your physical along with a pelvic exam and pap smear." Ororo could have sworn that Elane's skin turned three shades whiter at this, her hand on the door knob shaking. "Don't worry, Elane. Dr. McCoy is a fully licensed and trained doctor. You don't have anything that he has not seen before."

'Wanna bet?!' Elane tried to smile and nod while she nearly ripped the door from its hinges and escaped as fast as she could. Her alarm was not lost on the two still in the office and both shared a poignant look. "I am sure she is just nervous, Henry."

Henry nodded, though he did not understand the incredulous glare Ororo got when she mentioned that he had seen it all before. He thought back to his earlier exam of the young woman and something odd began to form in his mind. 'Oh my...," he thought, letting out a soft sigh. Things were never dull, he could always be sure of that.