Disclaimer: I do not own anything except my OC's

A clicking echoed through the hall as Emily tapped her foot while staring out the window. She could see kids playing on the basketball court and lounging on the grass, trying to enjoy the last of the summer before classes were back in session. She wiped her clammy hands on her pants, gripping the material momentarily, and sighed before giving her watch another thoughtful glance.

The door clicked open and caused Emily to jump to her feet, clutching a folder and purse to her chest as a red haired woman appeared. Holding the door open further, she gave Emily a motion to enter the office.

"The Professor will see you now."

"Thank you." Emily stepped past the woman who had introduced herself earlier as Jean.

The office contained an elegant decor of dark woods and burgundy seats in front of a large oak desk. A large bay window to the side looked out over a garden. The older man behind the desk smiled at her as she stepped in and Jean closed the door behind her with a soft click.

Emily took a moment to quietly observe the man as he watched her patiently. He was a hard person to read; with most people she was quick to get a feel. He simply smiled at her and beckoned her further into the room.

"Good afternoon, Miss Jameson. Thank you for coming," he said and offered his hand to which she was earnest to take.

"No, thank you, sir. I appreciate you seeing me," she replied with a nervous smile. She set the folder on the desk as she took her seat. "This has all my references and qualifications."

"Thank you," he said as he flipped through the folder, a silence casting itself over the office. She squirmed in her seat and looked around to find something to distract herself as she awaited his reply. He soon closed the folder, his blue eyes looking her over for a long, thoughtful moment.

Emily's mouth felt dry as she waited for something, anything. He soon leaned down and opened a desk drawer to pull out a blue folder.

"You are fully aware of what goes on in this institution, correct?" he inquired.

From the outside, one might view the mansion as your run of the mill boarding school. Well, as 'run of the mill' as a giant mansion posing as a boarding school could get. She knew it was a safe haven for mutants; it had been one of the things that had drawn her interest originally. The school gave mutant children a safe place to learn to control their powers while earning their education.

"Yes sir."

"I see you were teaching at French Institute Alliance Française. Were there any problems?"

"No, I liked it there; however, I had learned and grown as much as I could and it was time to search for other challenging opportunities."

He nodded thoughtfully and looked down at the folder.

"You would be teaching French and Sign Language. Would you be able to cover the lower level Spanish class as well? Our current instructor has taken on other responsibilities and has asked for help with the beginner and intermediate classes."

"Not a problem, sir."

"Very good. Would you be using your own lesson plans? Mrs. Wilson has offered to lend you hers."

"Yes, I already have lesson plans for French and Sign Language and I should be able to draw up plans for Spanish before classes start," she offered without hesitation and he looked at her with amusement dancing in his blue eyes.

"Excellent. Would you be living on school grounds or elsewhere? We have staff quarters and you are more than welcome to live here. I do not expect you that would like to make the long drive every day."

"I would be staying here." Emily paused and bit her lip in reluctance. "Although, I usually spend weekends in the city if that's acceptable."

"That is perfectly fine my dear. I just need you to fill out this paperwork and have it in to our offices, as they were one week before classes begin. You may move in at your own convenience."

She stared at him for a moment in suspicion, wondering if she had heard him right. "Wait. You mean I'm hired?"

"Yes, Miss Jameson."

Her eyebrows rose. "You didn't even ask about my qualifications or anything."

"I can see here that you are fully qualified Miss Jameson. Degrees in Linguistics and Language Education, proficiency in several foreign languages and your vast amount of experience with children makes you a perfect candidate for the position. Quite ambitious considering your age. I am impressed and have no doubt that you will make a fine addition to the school." He smiled, causing a small blush to spread across her cheeks.

"Thank you, sir." She dropped her gaze to the floor.

"Emily," he murmured and paused in contemplation. "There is also another secret to the school other than its gifted students. I have assembled a unique group of mutants called the X-Men, who help to protect those who cannot protect themselves. I would like to offer you the chance to use your gift for something far bigger than yourself. Not all, but most of the staff are involved. If you are interested, might you consider joining?"

She stared at him for a long moment, wondering if he was serious or not. Was she supposed to believe, that on top of a secret mutant school, that the teachers were crime fighters and protectors of mankind as well? He had to be pulling her leg or something.

A buzz in the back of her mind tore her from her thoughts and she glanced around in confusion of the source for a moment before bringing her attention back to the patient old man. "What you mean? Like superheroes or something?" She smiled in good humor.

"In a sense, I suppose you could say that." He chuckled before staring at her expectantly. It only took her a moment to realize that he was serious and she kicked herself for the ridicule.

"Sir, I don't know what use I could really be, my powers aren't really anything special to be honest." She smiled meekly.

"You shouldn't underestimate yourself Miss Jameson, you possess quite a wonderful gift. I know you have trouble with your control but I believe with the proper training you could be quite extraordinary."

"How do you-." She paused, she hadn't even mentioned her gift or her trouble with control, how did he know?

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion, but before she could speak he raised a hand. "I myself am gifted with telepathy, so please forgive the intrusion."

Her lips formed an O as she glanced around the room in discomfort at idea of someone prying into her private thoughts.

"I take it that this organization, isn't exactly, uh, legal?"

He shuffled through her papers not answering and she swallowed hard. He could very well wipe the whole conversation and she would have been none the wiser and on her way out the door.

Her mind panicked as she looked out the window wondering if he would let her out of the office knowing what she knew now. "Could I think about it sir? It seems like a good cause and I would love to help anyone that I can- I just-."

"Of course my dear, take as much time as you need." He nodded and she took a breath and sighed. "Do you have any questions?"

Of course she did. How on earth were they able to run an operation such as theirs, under the government's radar without being exposed? Who were these people and what kind of 'help' were they offering others? "No sir, thank you. I look forward to starting the school year." She forced a smile as she stood.

"We look forward to having you." He smiled and held up the folder and offered his hand. "Welcome aboard, Miss Jameson."

"Thank you, have a good day, sir." She nodded and walked to the door. Emily reached for the handle but the door opened suddenly and a body barreled towards her, knocking her off balance with ease. She laid sprawled out on the ground, staring up at the ceiling in shock before a man leaned over her.

"You okay?" he asked and she sat up feeling embarrassed.

"Yeah," Emily mumbled and he held a hand out to her. The rush to her feet made her head spin and she grabbed a hold of him to steady herself. She looked at the man who had knocked her over and had to crane her head to see him. He was easily a head taller than her, as her nose only came to his collar. She stepped away from him after realizing she still had a hold of his arm.

"Miss Jameson, this is Logan. He teaches self-defense courses and physical education. Logan, this is Emily Jameson; she is the new language teacher," Xavier explained patiently.

Emily gave Logan a small smile with a soft, though polite, greeting as she held out her hand. His nostrils flared with a glare of irritation, causing her to wonder what she had done wrong. He ignored her hand, grunting 'you too' and then turned to Xavier. "We need to talk."

Emily was taken aback by his blatant rudeness; he hadn't even apologized for knocking her to the floor. She bit back her words and looked at the Professor.

"Well, I should be going. Have a good day, sir, and thank you again." She nodded to Xavier and gave Logan a curt nod before taking her leave.

Once in her car, she stared up at the massive castle like institution as a bubble of excitement caused a flutter in her stomach. Leaning over to the passenger side, she picked up her planner and turned on the AC as she flipped through the rest of her day. She made notes of things she needed to get done before setting the planner down and checking the time. No time to waste, she threw the car into gear and made her way down the long drive, watching the mansion slowly disappear though her rear view.

The looming building weighed heavy on Emily as she stared from the safety of her car. She hated coming here. Picking up the flowers on the passenger seat, she got out of the car and headed towards the foreboding door.

The reception was adorned with warm colors and generic pictures of plants and landscapes meant to give the place a cheerful atmosphere, though it did nothing to settle her nerves. Emily internally cringed at the dread lingering in the air as people walked around with their deteriorating loved ones. She walked to the front desk where a young blonde woman greeted her with a warm smile as she glanced up from her paperwork.

"Hello Emily."

"Hey Cassie." Emily forced a smile as she signed into the visitors' log. "How is she today?"

"I'm not sure. I think Shana took her outside to the garden though."

Good. The garden usually indicated a good day. Merely meaning there hadn't been any fits that morning but she wasn't about to get up her hopes.

Emily's eyes flitted to the framed picture of two kids on the desk. "How are the kids?"

"Trevor drives me crazy, and he keeps trying to smear poop all over the wall." She appeared to be vaguely vexed. "Don't have kids until you're committed to wiping poop off the wall."

Emily laughed and shook her head. "Oh, don't worry, I don't think kids are anywhere in my near future. I don't envy you."

"How's the job hunting going? Did you ever hear back from Trenton?"

"They had unfortunately already filled the position. Thanks for putting in a good word, though."

"Darn, I know Tasha wanted you there after your work with Danny."

"I know, but it's not all bad though, I tried a place upstate in Salem Center that a friend suggested and I got the position. It's a great place, and I can't wait to start."

"Emily, that's great! It's about time things start looking up. Congratulations."

"Thanks Cass."

"So when do classes start? What do they want you to teach?"

"In a few weeks, so I've got some time to get things sorted here. I'm covering Spanish, French and ASL."

"I thought you were just doing French and ASL?"

"They were looking for someone to assist with Spanish as well. It's been a while, but I can manage."

"Good luck. Hang on, isn't Salem Center like an hour away or something?"

"I will be living on campus, they provide staff quarters."

Cassie's look of surprise bordered on suspicion. "That's convenient." She paused. "Wait, what's the catch?"

'All the kids are mutants and teachers are part time crime fighters.' Emily thought humorously to herself. "No catch. It's a boarding school so staff needs to be on hand," she explained simply.

"That's a shame; What am I going to do without you?" Cassie laughed and Emily shook her head.

"I am sure you will manage." She laughed and looked at her watch. "Alright, I need to go, I'll see you later."

"Bye Emily."

The back door opened out to a courtyard and to the right of was a garden. A middle-aged woman with mousy brown hair, wrapped in a robe, sat on a stone bench looking around at the flowers. Next to her sat a younger black woman, who got up when she spotted Emily.

"Hey sweetheart," the woman said and hugged Emily.

"Hey Shana, how are you?"

"I'm great, yourself?"

"Great." Emily shifted her gaze to the woman who stared at the roses in front of her, and sighed. "How is she today?"

"She's good."

"She's not using the walker anymore?" Emily noted the wheelchair not too far away.

"Some days are better than others. It's getting to that time though."

Emily's stomach clenched and she dropped her eyes. The decline of her mother's health wasn't anything new, but it hit like a ton of bricks every time she saw it for herself.

"I'll leave you two alone. Holler if you need anything."

"Thank you, Shana."

Stepping in trepidation, Emily came into her mother's view.

"Hello," Emily forced with a smile.

"Hello," her mother said, casting a curious glance at the sunflowers. "Who- who might you be?"

It was one of those days. "My name is Emily. What's your name?"

"I- uh- Lenore."

"Hello Lenore. Would you mind if I have a seat with you to admire the garden?"

She paused for a long time, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion before nodding. Emily soothed her and the wrinkles on her face faded away. "The garden… it's beautiful."

"Yes, it's nice," Emily acknowledged as she stared at the sunflowers in her lap. The feeling of despair nagged at the back of her mind. On days like these, it was futile to be here.

"Who are those for?" her mother asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"No one in particular." She wrote off. "How is your day going? "

"Good. Shana took me for a walk." She paused. "Then she brought me here. I like it here." She stared around the garden before looking at Emily, her blank blue eyes focusing on her for a moment. She reached her hand out and took Emily's, resting it in her lap with a content sigh. "It's a beautiful day today," she remarked while looking up at the clear blue sky.

Emily smiled to herself and squeezed her mother's hand, savoring the small gesture of recognition not caring if it was a conscious act or not.

She noticed a book next to her mother, and Emily perked up when she realized what it was.

"I see you're reading Great Expectations." Bittersweet memories of sitting in front of the fireplace as a young child while her mother recited the tales of Charles Dickens before bed touched her thoughts, lifting her spirits.

"Shana has been reading it to me. I enjoy it very much."

"It's one of my favorites; would you like me to read it to you?"

A wide smile spread across her face. "If you have the time, that would be wonderful." She handed over the book and Emily opened it up to the bookmark.

"Shall I begin where you left off?"

"Please."

Giving her mother's hand a squeeze, she held back tears as the familiar words carried her back to a simpler time, far from the garden in which she sat.