Eye of the Beholder

Author’s Notes: Thanks to blue_lioness for your reviews. Just a quick note, this story is on ff.net under the same title and I have the same pen name there as well. However, when this story does finally go into the adult themes, the story here will have a bit more detail to it then the one there.

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To: LawyerGirl
From: NotGuilty1
Subject: What a week

Hi Amanda,

What a week it’s been! Last Sunday they made me take a bunch of tests to see which classes I would be in so now I’m taking calculus which is hard but fun. I know, I’m weird, I like math. On the down side, my English class is with a bunch of younger kids. Talk about a bummer. Oh, and I now have chores to do, but that’s ok because everyone has them and they change every week. Unfortunately for Jubilee, she’s got to do laundry for the next month. It seems it was her idea to make a great banner welcoming me on the first day I was here. Unfortunately, she decided to use some sheets to do it and it didn’t come out so Miss Munroe felt it was just punishment. I feel pretty bad for her

Kitty showed me around the grounds the other day and showed me the memorial to Professor Xavier, Jean Grey and Scott Summers. She told me how they all died but the saddest one had to be Jean. Turns out Mr. Logan was in love with her and he had to kill her because she went totally psycho and was killing everyone with her powers. I guess it explains why he’s grumpy all the time. It was really sad, but now I understand why he seems so mad about everything.

Having Kitty as a roommate has been the best. She likes to play practical jokes sometimes and this one time she decided to see what would happen if she switched Mr. Wagner’s underwear drawer with Mr. Logan’s because Mr. Wagner is so much smaller than Mr. Logan. So she went and filched all of Mr. Wagner’s underwear and went to trade them with Mr. Logan’s and found out he doesn’t wear any! Now we can’t look at Mr. Logan without giggling.

Kitty is like the best friend that I used to have back when I was living with Mom in Miami. I know I could tell her anything and she won’t go blabbing it all over the school. Jubilee on the other hand, you don’t her tell anything to unless you want the entire school to know. Peter is the big quiet type and I still think he’s really cute, but he and Kitty seem to have a bit of something so I guess he’s a no go. There’s a boy here name Bobby and he seems kind of sad all of the time and then Kitty told me his girlfriend, Rogue, well actually her name is Marie, took the Cure and so she left and he’s really sad about it now. If there had been a clinic near my house I probably would have taken it too. Then those boys would still be alive.

Miss Munroe and Mr. Logan have been working with me to try and control my powers. Right now they’re just trying to make it so I can use my powers when I want to, not just when I’m angry or scared. I managed to do it a couple of times, but then I learned about the underwear thing and I’m having a really hard time not laughing when Mr. Logan is standing right there. Miss Munroe isn’t too happy about that.

Well, got to go. Hope you had a good week.

Hugs,

Serena

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To: NotGuilty1
From: LawyerGirl
Subject: Re: What a week

Hi Serena,

I’m glad to see you’re making friends and hopefully you’ll get a handle on your powers soon. I remember how terrified you were that you’d hurt the other girls while in prison. I can’t tell you to just forget about those boys, but if the memory of what happened is still bothering you, please talk to Miss Munroe about it. As for Mr. Logan’s underwear, or lack there of, there are certain things a sixteen year old girl should NOT know. Especially when it concerns one of her teachers. That being said, I hope I never have to face Mr. Logan again because I’ll probably not be able to keep a straight face around him either.

As for my own week, it’s been very busy. I’ve three new clients that I’m working with and I’ve gotten enough mail to make Santa Clause green with envy. Luckily, most of it has been in support of me defending you. I have a feeling that I’ll still be trying to get through it this time next year, but it’s worth it knowing that you’re happy.

Stay well,

Amanda

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To: LawyerGirl
From: NotGuilty1
Subject: HORSES!!!!

Hi Amanda,

Did I tell you they have horses here? This is so cool. I remember being so in love with horses when I was a kid and I wanted one so bad but we couldn’t afford one when it was just Mom and me and then Mom got married and we moved to New York and you can’t have a horse as a pet when you live in an apartment. Kitty is going to teach me how to ride which is really cool. I never realized how much horses smell, but that’s ok. I think I like it. Before I get to ride I have to learn to take care of them. They’re not like a machine you can stick in a stall and take out whenever you want. And man there’s a lot of work to be done, but when I finally got to ride one it was worth it. I could have ridden all day but when I got off the horse, man was my butt sore and sitting through my classes became a whole new experience. My teachers kept giving me dirty looks because I kept moving around in my seat during class. How do I explain that my butt hurts without everyone laughing at me?

Ambassador McCoy came by the other day to see Miss Munroe. Kitty spied on them when no one was looking and I know that’s a bad thing and everything but he came all the way up here to ask her out on a date! He wanted to take her to some masquerade ball and she turned him down at first but then she changed her mind when he pointed out that the President will be there and it would help mutants if she came. I get the feeling that they used to date or something but now Miss Munroe seems to like Mr. Wagner and Mr. Wagner seems to like her but he’s Mr. Religious so he never does anything but talk to her. How dull is that? But it does seem that Miss Munroe has a thing for blue guys. Ambassador McCoy has blue fur and Mr. Wagner has blue skin but both of them are really nice so I can kind of see why she likes them.

Oops, time to get back to work.

Hugs,

Serena

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To: LawyerGirl
From: NotGuilty1
Subject: Re: HORSES!!!!

Hi Serena,

Horses are great, but they are a lot of responsibility and keep in mind that they can have a mind of their own. As for saddle sores, as your body becomes accustomed to riding a horse, the muscles will build up making it easier to ride and a lot less sore in the morning. Try some liniment oil on where it hurts. It doesn’t smell that great but it’ll really help.

I was recently invited to a masquerade ball myself, but I’m not sure if it’s the same one that Ambassador McCoy is going to. If it is, then it would be nice to finally meet the gentleman. Stay well and study hard.

Hugs,

Amanda

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Amanda wakes to the sound of a bird singing outside her window and lets out a huge yawn as she stretches. She lets out a contented sigh and slowly opens her eyes. She lazily looks out her bedroom window and can see the old elm tree out there with the last of its leaves still clinging to its branches. It’s well past dawn and she’s surprised that she slept so long since she has such a hard time sleeping with any kind of light in the room.

She feels almost like a little girl again, back in her old room and she smiles contentedly. She remembers the train trip down the night before and having brother-in-law pick her up at the train station. It’s been months since she’s been down for a visit and it felt wonderful that everyone had stayed up so late to see her when she arrived, the only exception being her nieces and nephew. She remembers being sort of glad that they had been sent to bed since she’s not all that good with little kids and kind of sad that she didn’t get to spoil them right off the bat.

With a mischievous smirk to herself, she throws back the covers to her old bed and sits up letting out another huge yawn while she stretches. Grabbing some clothes from her bag, she heads for the bathroom and the smell of freshly baked muffins and fresh made coffee fills the hallway causing her to pause for a moment to sniff appreciatively. She’s never managed to get the hang of cooking, though she can manage if she has too, but with all the prepackaged meals out there, why bother?

After a quick shower, she dresses in an old pair of jeans, woolen socks and a warm knit sweater and then trots downstairs. She passes the family room where the kids are glued to Saturday morning cartoons and they don’t even notice her. She doesn’t mind as she makes her way to the kitchen and hopefully some still warm muffins. She steps into the way too clean kitchen and sighs knowing that the muffins will be lukewarm at this point, if there are any left.

Grabbing a mug from the cupboard, she pours herself a cup of coffee, giving it a liberal dose of sugar and cream before peeking into a basket covered with a kitchen towel and finding it filled with blueberry muffins. She grabs one and upon discovering that they’re still warm, she happily sighs. She puts her find on a plate and then heads for the kitchen table.

“Well look who finally dragged her lazy bones out of bed,” a voice teases from behind her as she sits down.

“Good morning, Annie,” Amanda greets her sister without turning around.

“Mom and I are going out to run some errands,” Annie announces with a very serious tone.

“Have fun,” Amanda replies as she takes a sip of her coffee.

“There will be no giving candy, junk food, sodas or anything else that has the first ingredient of sugar to my children,” Annie states in a tone that brooks no argument.

“What ever you say, sis,” Amanda says, taking a big bite of her muffin to hide her smile.

“I can hear you smirking from here,” Annie growls.

“I an not snirking,” Amanda tries to reply around her food and hastily swallows. “I am not smirking.”

“Come on, Annie, we need to get going before half the world shows up at the store,” their mother, Cathy, states as she comes into the kitchen and goes over to give Amanda a kiss on the cheek. “Amy, don’t torment your sister. Keep your junk food in your room.”

“Yes, Mom,” Amanda agrees as she leans into her mother’s kiss.

“Come on, Annie, staring holes in your sister isn’t going to do any good,” Cathy insists as she grabs the car keys. “We’ll be back in time for lunch. Have the kids play outside after their done rotting their brains in front of the TV.”

“Will do,” the voice of their father, Stuart, responds just before kissing his wife goodbye. “Have fun you two.”

“Bye, Dad,” Annie says, an underlying snarl in her voice, as she follows Cathy out the door.

Amanda continues eating her breakfast quietly as she hears her father pour himself another cup of coffee. She doesn’t even look up when he takes a seat across from her at the table and they sit in companionable silence. A moment later they hear the door to the garage open and close and the smile that’s been threatening to break out causes Amanda’s lips to twitch.

“You have no intention of listening to your sister, do you?” he asks.

“Were you aware that sugar is the third ingredient in a Twinkie?” she counter questions. “And if, say, I go for a walk, how do I stop the kids from going into my room and raiding my supply of snacks?”

“You know, I thought this adolescent behavior stopped at the end of adolescence,” he says with an amused look on his face, taking a sip from his cup. “So what are your plans for today?”

“Today, I’ll check my email, take a walk, have some lunch, take a nap, maybe go for a ride,” she replies with a relaxed smile. “You know nothing strenuous.”

“Your sister is helping your mother,” he points out.

“I was told to relax and that’s what I’m doing,” she replies as she takes her now empty dishes and puts them in the dishwasher. “The past few months have been hell, Dad, and I need a break. If Annie wants helps Mom with the party, then that’s her business, but I’m staying out of it.”

“Party?” he inquires nervously. “What party?”

“Dad, don’t lie to a lawyer,” she playfully warns as she heads back to her room.

A few minutes later and she’s firing up her computer as she’s conveniently stashing a box of Twinkies where the kids are sure to find them while the machine warms up. Then she carefully hides the spare box out of reach and out of sight. Once that’s done, she sits down at her old desk and opens her email.

After getting rid of the regular junk, she sees an email from Serena and a grin stretches her lips. The girl’s enthusiasm is contagious and her emails always lift Amanda’s spirits, especially when she questions her choices. Of all the choices she’s made in life, helping this girl when no one else would was definitely one that she’ll never regret.

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To: LawyerGirl
From: NotGuilty1
Subject: The Cure

Hi,

The other morning we were supposed to be learning some self defense moves from Mr. Logan and as we were going outside to practice the phone rang and Mr. Logan answered it. He didn’t talk much just asked the other person where he or she was and then hung up. He told us class was canceled and then took off. Next thing we know he goes tearing out of the garage in this little blue sports car. This made Miss Munroe come out of her class and she wasn’t happy when found us all just standing around so she made us go clean up one of the empty class rooms. That wasn’t any fun.

Anyway, around dinner time, Mr. Logan came back and he had someone with him. Everyone went outside to see what was going on and a pretty girl got out of the car with him and Bobby just about knocked Peter over to get to her. She was crying a lot and she looked like hell and Bobby just tried to hug her but she wouldn’t let him touch her and then she went running in the house and locked herself in one of the bathrooms.

Remember how I told you the other day about that girl who took the Cure? Well, she’s back here at school because the Cure didn’t work! Her powers came back and now Mr. Logan is really in a bad mood and Bobby isn’t much better and a lot of people are walking around like someone died, even Jubilee isn’t talking all that much. I guess it’s just as well I didn’t do it then, huh? The Cure I mean. I’d hate to find out the hard way that my powers came back. I’d hate to think how many people could have been killed and how many of them would have been innocent little kids or something.

No one’s been getting much sleep the past few nights and everyone is on edge. Kitty almost never talks to me now and she’s practically living in Rogue’s and Jubilee’s room now. I’ve tried to talk to the others but it’s like I’m invisible now and no one knows I’m here. I know the world doesn’t revolve around me and everything, but everyone is all worried about Rogue and I don’t want to hate her but it’s hard not to. It’s like I don’t exist any more.

The other night I had a bad dream and I ended up pushing Kitty’s bed across the room and making a hole in the wall. Luckily Kitty wasn’t in it and I was able to rearrange the furniture a bit so no one noticed the hole and Kitty didn’t notice I had moved things. Then the night before last I ended up having that nightmare again and I completely destroyed my dresser on accident. Miss Munroe was furious and said that I had to do without a dresser until I get my powers completely under control so all my stuff is in boxes again. Just like it was when I went to my parent’s place. It feels like they’re going to ship me off someplace so I’m not in the way any more. The really sucky thing is that when I totaled the dresser, I blew up the only picture I have of my grandparents. God, I miss them. I wish I was living with them now.

This sucks. I’m not sure I want to be here any more.

Serena

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Amanda reads the email a couple more times and each time the knot in her stomach grows bigger and tighter. She gets up from her seat with such speed that she knocks her chair to the floor. Quickly finding her purse, she roots around in it until she finds what she wants. She scrolls through the programmed numbers in her phone so fast that she actually passes it by and has to go back. She hits the send button and then puts the phone to her ear, impatiently tapping her foot as she wait for call to go through.

“Xavier’s School,” a young voice says after the third ring.

“Good morning, this is Amanda Simon,” Amanda announces pleasantly despite her growing nervousness. “May I speak to Serena Song, please?”

“Yeah, sure,” the kid responds and Amanda isn’t sure if the voice belongs to a girl or a boy. “Hold on.”

Amanda hears the handset being put down on the table and then someone walking off. After about a minute of waiting, she starts to pace, finally picking her chair up off of the floor during one of her passes. She can hear people in the background talking and walking by and every time someone gets close to the phone her hopes start to rise only to have them dashed again as the footsteps fade away. After nearly ten minutes of waiting, she hears running feet and shouting and what she hears next, makes her blood run cold.

“Someone find Storm!”

“Why?”

“Serena’s missing!”