In Between

Elane stood outside Ororo's office for a full minute, her hand still on the ornate knob. Her mind raced as she tried and failed to come up with ways she could avoid the physical she needed in order to continue with her classes. More than once she thought about packing her things and leaving but she knew that her parents had already paid for her tuition. Despite the cold shoulder they had given her, Elane was convinced that her parents still cared deep down. Her presence here attested to that. She sighed and released the knob, taking a look at the schedule that Ororo had handed to her. She had her first class in half an hour. Elane went down stairs to the foyer, following the sounds of a TV. If she stuck around with the other students, she shouldn't get lost.

There were two big screen TVs in the large media room with several groups of students in front of them. One TV was showing morning cartoons and had the younger children surrounding it, their laughter the loudest in the room. In front of the other TV, which was a good twelve feet away, sat the older students. They had the TV tuned to the news. There were fewer students actually paying attention to it. Several were immersed in either conversation or some hand held game system or another. The students watching the TV were taking notes or comparing opinions on the stories.

Elane sat on an empty space on the couch next to the young man she remembered was Piotr. He had his nose buried in a book written in some foreign language that Elane didn't understand. His eyes shifted to the TV as the anchor came back with some local fluff story that meant nothing to Elane. Suddenly the two of them were almost bounced off of the couch as Jubilee, dressed in blue jeans, bright green sleeveless shirt and the gaudiest hoop earrings she had ever seen, plopped down beside her. She took Elane's class schedule and looked it over, leaving Elane to feel almost awkward enough to complain. "Just to warn you," the skinny Asian girl began, handing Elane back her schedule. "Wolverine's probably going to wail on you since your new. So don't take it too personal. It's how he gets the pussies out of his class." With that, Jubilee leaned back to watch TV, not having another word to say.

As the minute hand got closer to vertical, the older students started drifting out the door and to their classes. Elane followed them, her eyes going back to the schedule in her hands. She stopped in front of a classroom that was 'World History'. Elane stepped into the room, almost wondering if she had stepped into another universe. Most of the schools she had gone to were full of obnoxious and loud kids who were focused on everything but learning. Here, most of the students were already ready for class and actually had note books in front of them.

She spied an empty seat in the middle row, two seats down. Even even the seats were comfortable. Elane read the schedule again, this time catching the last sentence; 'Your books and supplies will be provided in class.' She looked around to see if they were on a table or shelf somewhere. "Under yer seat." Elane made a soft noise as a red haired girl pointed to the space below where Elane was sitting. "Yer things are under yer seat." Elane blinked and looked to where she was pointing. Sure enough, a thick book and several notebooks of paper along with pencils, pens and a calculator were waiting for her just below her seat.

Elane took the thick book and one of the note books and a pen out from under her seat just as the soft chimes in the hall signaled that class had begun. "Good morning." Elane squeaked as Ororo got up from behind her desk at the far corner of the classroom. Elane had been so engrossed in finding the class that she had completely failed to notice that someone was sitting at the large desk. Ororo smiled as she saw the embarrassment on Elane's face. "As you have probably guessed already, we have a new student. Please help her in any way she needs to catch up with the class."

Elane opened the book as she listened to Miss Munroe's opening lecture. As her eyes scanned over the topics, she suddenly realized that this was more than just an ordinary boarding school for mutants. She had been to a college book store during the summer of her junior year and had spent hours pouring over the books she would need for her chosen major. She couldn't help but feel that some of the books were polarized to the point of being one sided and simple minded. Others were written with such broad allegory she couldn't tell if what they told were mere metaphor or examples of real things or people. This book was all together different. She was certain it was never allowed in most campuses because of how politically incorrect it was. Politically Incorrect as it was, it was also the most truthful and Elane knew from experience that the truth scared the hell out of most people.

She came back out of her own thoughts as Ororo was finishing up her lecture. She glanced around at the other students who were quietly listening to her, no pens in their hands. Elane felt herself sigh in relief. At least she wouldn't miss the notes on her first day. She did however catch some of what Ororo had been talking about and she had the urge to ask a million questions. "Now, I want you to turn to page 255 of your books and read the first section on the Kurgan invasions of Northern Europe in 2000BC, after which we will discuss how it influenced the history of Northern and Central Europe."

After reading the assigned section, Elane sat in stunned silence for the rest of the class as Ororo discussed with the students their views of the effects of the invasions and even answered many questions. Elane had never been in a class that actually discussed what was written in the book and even their opinions. The rest of her day was the same. Dr. McCoy taught the Biology class and even though it was not a lab day, it was still hard work for Elane. She had found the books she needed for the class on top of her desk this time along with safety glasses and a pair of latex gloves. After his lecture, Dr. McCoy had them read two chapters and be ready to discuss the history and uses of Chromosomal Mapping the next day.

Elane glanced at her schedule as the chyme sounded for the end of the class. She would have Martial Arts next with some guy named Logan. There was no indication if this was his first or last name, only Logan. "Miss Bristol." Elane looked up, realizing that the class was already out of the room. She gathered her things up into her arms and made to follow when Dr. McCoy called her name again. She turned around to face the blue scientist as he got up from behind his desk. "Is there something you need to talk to me about? I noticed your near panic when Miss Munroe mentioned the physical." Elane paled. She had almost forgotten about it and now she experienced the same dread wash over her. She shook her head, not trusting her voice as she backed out of the class room, her books hugged tighter against her chest.

Henry sighed as Elane ran out the open door. He understood her fear since women tended to be very protective about their bodies. However, the way she had paled at the mention of a Pelvic exam, which she should have already had before now and the Pap Smear, another procedure she should have had after her 18th birthday, Henry could only assume that Elane was hiding something she did not want anyone to ever find out. Henry thought he knew exactly what that something was and he could not help but feel a wave of both confusion and sympathy for the young student.

**

Elane sat her books on her bed and changed out of her dress and tights and into the sweat pants and t-shirt provided by the school. There were a pair of shorts included, however Elane was not brave enough to wear something that fit so close to her body. She felt the same dread wash over her as she looked at those shorts, knowing that there was no way barring the end of the world that she was going to be able to avoid that physical. She had a feeling that Dr. McCoy suspected something was going on and that mortified her further.

Elane slipped on a pair of running shoes, also provided by the school and pushed her hair back with a hair band. She had slipped on a tight sports bra that squished her chest to almost non-existence and for a moment she thought she was going to cry. Elane took a deep breath as she pushed the horrible teasing and jeers out of her mind as she made her way to the Martial Arts class being taught in the large gymnasium in the sub-basement. The place was huge and had every kind of exercise and gymnastics equipment she could imagine and some she had never seen before.

She saw a group of students lining up along a wall on the far side of the Gymnasium and trotted toward them. She saw Jubilee and Kitty along with several other students she had not yet met. Paige trotted up behind her and took her place in the line on the wall. Elane settled herself at the end of the line and waited. The chimes sounded the beginning of the class and a short man with wild black hair wearing a loose white robe tied with a black belt strode out to meet the students. He wore white loose pants with no shoes and had a half smoked cigar clenched between his teeth. Elane could tell that the man had not shaved for at least two days. She remembered Jubilee's warning as he zeroed in on her and she hoped she didn't have to visit the infirmary after class.

As he took the cigar out of his mouth, Elane could hear him chuckling as he pointed straight at her. "You, Stick Bug. Front and center." Elane quickly made her way out in front of the man, her hands clutched at her sides. His nose was going crazy again and she had the unnerving feeling that he was sniffing her like the blood hound he was. "What kind of training have you had?"

Elane shrugged, becoming more irritated by him every second. "Just enough to make a lot of noise when I was six."

The short, hairy man nodded to himself. "Alright, Stick Bug," Elane clenched her fists, her eyes narrowing at Logan who seemed not to care one little bit. "what do you remember from those classes?"

"Getting kicked in the crotch hurts just as much with a girl as it does with a guy?"

Logan glared at this class until they stopped laughing, his gaze boring into the skinny girl in front of him. She wasn't laughing, only standing stock still looking like she was three seconds from decking him. Logan harrumphed, setting his half smoked cigar down on an ashtray on a table next to the wall. "Alright. Since you came in half way through the class, your going to need a crash course to catch up." Logan walked back to the area Elane was in, this time closer. "I want you to try to hit me."

Elane's face went slack as Logan settled his feet into a defensive position. Was he serious?

"Come on, Stick Bug-"

"Elane."

"What was that, Stick Bug?"

"My name is Elane. If your going to kick the shit out of me, you might as well know my name." Elane clenched her fists. "Damn Chia Pet."

Logan sneered as a couple of snickers came from his students. This skinny little kid had thicker skin than most but that didn't mean that she deserved to be in his class. As Elane charged him he saw that she had settled her weight on the balls of her feet. He only knew one person who did that and he wondered if she had abilities on par with his. Elane took a few steps toward him then sped up and as Logan shifted his weight to send a high kick at her head, she suddenly wasn't there. His kicking foot passed just beneath her toes and before he could bring his leg down her feet connected with the back of his shoulders to send him to the floor. Of course he should have known that with her that pissed off he was not going to get off that light. He heard a few of the students suck in a breath as Elane's foot connected with the junction of his thighs.

He almost laughed as he turned his fall into a roll and ended up on his feet in a crouch position. Almost because his balls hurt like hell. Though watching Elane nurse a sore foot was enough to make the pain tolerable. She was hopping up and down while cursing up a storm, though she still had good balance on that one foot. Logan aimed to see just how high she could jump with just one leg. He charged her, noticing with some satisfaction the slack look of shock on her face. He started with a jab to her head when he had to blink when she was not there again. He looked down and saw that she had literally bent over backwards at the waist and nearly got him in the face with her good foot. Logan smiled, this was exactly what he wanted to see. He didn't let her get to her feet again as he kicked her hands out from under her so that she would land on her back and he pinned her down so that she couldn't move.

Elane gritted her teeth through the pain in her foot as she struggled to get out from under Logan's body. She would have never thought that he was this heavy. He made no move to speak until she quieted down, her breathing hard as she glared up at him with barely concealed hatred. "You finished?" He waited until she had slowed her breathing down. He observed that she was lean, not skinny. She had more muscles than most of the girls in his class packed into a smaller body which was probably how she was able to generate the force necessary to jump clear over his head. "Good, now if your going to stay in my class, you keep away from the jewels. Got it?"

Elane nodded as Logan got up and extended a hand to her. Elane took his hand and winced as her foot throbbed. It had swollen to twice its size and turn an interesting shade of puce. "Hmm...looks like you broke your foot, kid. Jubilee? Get her to Hank before it shrivels and falls off."

Jubilee bounded foward as she let Elane lean on her, slowly making their way to the infirmary. Logan turned back to his class, stepping back into the middle of the mat. "Does anyone know what she did wrong?"

Several students raised their hands and Logan pointed at the first one. "She kicked you in the junk, sir." Logan barked a laugh as he picked his cigar back up and took a puff.

"No. She did that right." The other students shifted uncomfortably. "She went for a blow that would have made me less of a threat if I were not a mutant. And no, I do not have balls of steel." He looked pointedly at a young man who had asked the same question when Logan had sparred with Rogue and taken a hit to the crotch.

"What did she do wrong, Paige?"

"She let you get her angry, sir."

Logan nodded. "That's right. It took a while to get her riled. But when I did she lost the advantage if she had attacked out of the blue when I had told her to." Logan went to the edge of the mat. "Alright, split up into pairs and practice your forms. Rogue, your with me."

**

Jubilee helped Elane on the bed as Dr. McCoy walked up to the pair, shaking his head. "What in the world have you been doing?" He lifted Elane's leg to study her swollen foot, gingerly pressing his fingers into the purple flesh.

"She kicked Logan in the nads!" Jubilee seemed greatly amused with this as she propped herself up in a chair. "Jumped clean over his head, pushed him over with her feet and went straight for the junk!"

"Thanks for the mental image," Elane gritted out as McCoy sat her foot down and went to the back of the infirmary for a foot brace.

"Indeed, Jubilee. It looks like Elane has cracked a few of her metatarsals. Nothing is broken clean through, thankfully. But you will have to take it easy for a few weeks until the bones heal." Elane nodded as he slipped the brace over her foot and pulled it tight to keep her foot from moving. "I also recommend that you wear this while you sleep because you will need to be up early to get your physical out of the way before class starts."

Elane gulped and nodded, her shoulders sinking as though she had resigned herself to her fate. "Come on, its not that bad," Jubilee grinned. "If you close your eyes you can imagine your doing it with Piotr when he's in Metal Man Mode."

"Jubilee!" The Asain girl only giggled.