Literate Mutants Untie! (open)

[Laurie Collins]

[[Look! A functional familial relationship! Figured since Laurie’s bond with her mom is such a big part of how I write her I’d write a little of it out and then a thread developed. Also, surprisingly, when not terrified and shy Laurie has an actual sense of humor.]]

“I’m going to throw myself out of the car.” Laurie announces, “Preferably while it’s moving. Preferably while it’s moving fast enough to kill me.” Her mother’s only response is to turn the radio up and then increase the volume of her not-at-all-tuneful singing to once again drown out Michael Jackson as he wails out the chorus to “Beat It” Laurie slouches down in the seat as her mother takes her hands off the wheel to make vague dancing motions. Gail remains blissfully unconcerned about her daughter’s baleful gaze until the song ends.

“He molests little kids you know.” Laurie informs her mother, “You’re singing along with a pervert.”

“Well, that’s why I sent you to Xavier’s for school instead of Neverland Ranch.” her mother retorts, arching her eyebrows at her daughter. Even at just-pushing-forty Gail is still stunningly attractive despite her best attempts to hide it. Driving her daughter back to school from their weekly dinner finds her dressed in jeans and an oversized sweater like a teenager on the weekends with her hair pulled severely back into a bun and her thick-framed black glasses blocking any good view of her blue eyes. Everything about her appearance is calculated to repulse romantic admiration, but eyes still gravitate towards her as she leans out the window at a red light to pour out a cold cup of coffee.

“Very, very funny.” Laurie says, but she’s biting back a smile.

“I want that on my tombstone.” Gail responds straight-faced, “And I was going to say, ‘hey we’re passing a Barnes&Noble soon, let’s stop and get books before I take you back to school’ but since you seem so unwilling to spend time with your embarrassing mother…”

Laurie sits up straighter as if she’s been propelled by a canon and widens her eyes. “Um, did I ever mention that you’re… um… my favorite mother ever?” she tries with a hopeful smile.

“Oh?”

“Yeah… my other mothers were never really there for me.”

“Well, in that case perhaps I should soothe your emotional trauma.” Gail concedes, and swings a left into the Barnes&Noble parking lot as Laurie bounces slightly in her seat as if she is six and her mother has announced that they’re going to the candy store. Her mother scans the crowded parking lot for a moment- lots of people out using their holiday money apparently, before pulling up to the front entrance and telling Laurie she’ll find a parking spot.

“Absolute favorite mother!” Laurie says by way of temporary farewell, getting out of the car and slipping through the broad doors to mingle with the throng of shoppers.

Once inside she sobers somewhat as the sense of security she feels with her mother ebbs away and she finds herself amongst a crowd of people who aren’t immune to her pheromones. She takes a deep breath, her mother hasn’t seen fit to allow her in a crowd or shop since her mutation returned, she must be relaxing a little. Just have to make sure she doesn’t decide that’s a mistake Laurie tells herself and pushes forward through the throng, quickly forgetting her nerves as she loses herself in trying to remember what books she’s been meaning to look for, what authors she’s liked, and does she want to reconsider hating Dave Eggers books since everyone else seems to like him so much?

Without really meaning to, consciously at least, she drifts away from poetry and towards an alcove with Mutant Literature and Philosophy written on its discreet Barnes&Noble green placard (between Gay Literature and Erotica which is a placement she decides not to think about). She looks up at it and raises an eyebrow slightly before looking carefully around and edging closer. She knows she shouldn’t buy anything, it might make her mom uneasy even though she’s being so good about Laurie being away and surrounded by mutants who aren’t her daughter and are therefore rather threatening, and besides she can’t imagine going up and looking a cashier in the eye while she paid for anything from this shelf. Still…can’t hurt to look she decides and edges closer still, looking around every few steps as if she’s afraid she’ll set off an alarm and be tackled by armed guards.

[Arthur Coleman]

"These are all the copies we have in braille, Sir." The girl is shy and timid, and Arthur feels tremors transferring from her hands to his through the books she holds out to him. He is startled to realize that there is even a sense of fear in her, as though frightened he would report the poor child for not giving him what he needed.

He attempts to offer his best reassuring smile, one hand on his red-tipped cane, the other grasping the two or three books that had been printed about mutants. "Ah.... these will do quite well, actually."

"Are you sure? Because I can go.. check in the back.. because I swear that there's some more, Sir, really.. I--" She fumbles and trails, leaving dead air.

"Nonsense, you have done your job exceedingly well." Arthur says with a nod, feeling surprisingly at ease despite the woman's shyness that is threatening to soak into him. "And for that I thank-you very much for your assistance." She does not answer, and the man gets a sense that she is nodding, then guessing that she is realizing that he can't see that affirmation because she adds,"O-kay.. well.. let me know if you need anything else."

"I shall keep that in mind."

Arthur is finally able to breathe again once he steps away, holding his books. The lines in his face return as he fights an inward grimace, feeling slightly drained from putting blocks up against the girl's anxiety. He mentally scolds himself for that, knowing that he would need every bit of mentality to return to the institute. It had taken absolute courage for Arthur to venture away, politely declining offers from others when he told them where he was going.

He needed his independence..

With a soft sigh, Arthur makes his way towards the corner of the store that seemed to have the most vacant chairs. He eases his lithe frame in between some cases and is about to step behind a bookshelf when a soft presence makes it self known in a flicker of apprehension.

"..Laurie?" he asks, hoping that he wasn't making a mistake in his assumptions.

[Laurie Collins]

"..Laurie?"

Well it’s not armed guards tackling her to the ground, or even a shout- below even normal volume in fact- but hearing her name just as her finger-tip brushes the spine of the first book she comes to makes her jump slightly and give a startled gasp. A moment later she recognizes the voice and its owner and winces, shifting her books self-consciously from one arm to another as she ducks her head and greets her teacher softly,

“Hello Mr. Coleman. Sorry if I emi-“ she backtracks, deciding not to be so conspicuous as to mention her power while standing under a sign containing the word mutant, “um, if I scared you.” she finishes, scuffing her foot slightly against the carpeting. Mr. Coleman had managed to endear himself instantly to Laurie upon her arrival at the institute by teaching her favorite subject and actually teaching it well instead of with the shallowness or boredom evident in the few teachers she’d had in her brief years in public school. She’d never felt comfortable approaching him or speaking to him outside of supplying answers in class but she’d noticed that while most of the teachers and students at the institute seemed completely sure of their powers and places as mutants in the world Mr. Coleman, even with his status as a teacher, seemed to hold a bit of the hesitancy she herself felt about what they were.

She looks back up again and blanches slightly as she notices for the first time that her prim and proper English teacher has emerged from along the Erotica shelf, probably moving towards sitting in the chair that borders it with a stack of books piled against one of the legs from a previous reader whose titles alone are enough to make her blush. (This, however, isn’t much of an accomplishment as the word ‘erotica’ is enough to make her blush.) Well he probably isn’t… I mean he’s blind so he probably didn’t mean to sit there… oh this is weird. I think I’ll pretend I don’t see it. she decides, and having settled for denial as her method of choice coughs slightly into her non-book-holding hand and casts about desperately for something to say so that she isn’t standing here silently. I must be even worse to talk to if you’re blind, I never say anything or make much noise just sort of gesture and look embarrassed which of course he can’t see…

“Did you find anything good?” she asks, seeing that he also has some books in hand, then bites her lip slightly, better hope I was right about him just passing by that shelf or this is going to get even more awkward.

[Arthur Coleman]

Hello Mr. Coleman. Sorry if I emi-um, if I scared you. Arthur shakes his head a little. "..not at all. I was only hesitant of your identity. I ah.. have in the past referred to some by the wrong names." In all truth, the man was quite relieved to be in the presence of a familiar person. It was unnerving to be blind to the faces around him, the unfamiliar presences... especially in a public place. He had his agoraphobia to thank for that. It had been so terrible before the Cure was mass produced that he had cooped himself up inside and purposely avoided straying beyond the front door. But who could blame him? All the rush of information going to his head, the emotions intensifying around him until he was dizzy from feelings.. it was all too much to experience in a strange place.

And now he has no excuse to keep himself under lock and key.

Arthur is slightly confused by the passing moments of silence and he feels akward. Silence is one of the things he detests the most, and he could sense some semblance of uncertainty and.. embarassment..? He arches a brow gently and lets his mind open for a moment, searching for perhaps some trigger around him that was causing this moment of--oh!

The thought hits him instantly and he hastily closes his mind again, letting his fingers coil about the head of his cane as crude images started to seep into his brain. He had walked past the.. or.. a.. oh dear. That would be hard to explain now wouldn't it? A shy flush tinges his wan complexion and he clears his throat a little, straightening and attempting to look as though he did not experience the disturbing images in his head. Did you find anything good?

Instantly jolted from his moment's stupor, Arthur's head jerks ever-so slightly, as though being pulled from a daydream. "Oh, yes.. I.." he almost stutters, trying to subdue his own unease and pauses to shift the books into the crook of his right arm, letting his fingers trail over the braille lettering on the spines--even though the titles are also printed above it for the sake of the staff. "I was attempting to find copies of several works on mutant affairs. They... are not exactly what I wanted.. but it seems as though the goverment is hesitant on translations of certain topics..."

[Laurie Collins]

"..not at all. I was only hesitant of your identity. I ah.. have in the past referred to some by the wrong names."

Laurie nods, remembers he can’t see her nodding, and looks rather flustered for a moment at this sudden necessity for speech in all her dealings with another person. Because usually people love it when you stare silently at them for long periods of time. “Oh, well, that’s all right.” she says rather lamely, shuffling her feet again.

She watches her teacher’s awkward posture grow still more awkward, his hand tighten on his cane, and wonders whether she’s emitting pheromones again. From her brief dealings with Mr. Coleman she knows that he’s usually rather tense and nervous anyway and his picked up from chatter she’s overheard- it’s amazing how much people will talk around an obtrusive shy person, as if their lack of speech prevents them from hearing as well- that he has some sort of low grade empathy. She’s not certain but figures it’s got to make it twice as bad if she emits near him- he’ll feel it and he’ll feel her feeling it, like an amplification on an already overtaxed sound system. She hopes she’s wrong though, she doesn’t want to get into anyone’s ‘dangerous and therefore to be avoided like the plague’ books as a general policy, especially someone she finds likable.

"I was attempting to find copies of several works on mutant affairs. They... are not exactly what I wanted.. but it seems as though the government is hesitant on translations of certain topics..."

Laurie feels a bit ashamed at the way Mr. Coleman, who seems even more nervous than her at the moment, is able to freely admit to buying mutant books and even ask for assistance finding them. “Oh,” she says softly, noting the duel Braille and print text on the covers, “Are they for classes? Or just for your own reading?” she edges back towards the shelf of printed mutant books and slides one down at random, turning it over in her hands. “I’ve read the Russians till I thought I’d go crazy from all the surnames but I’ve never even held a book with ‘mutant’ in its title before.” she says wryly, half to herself.

[Arthur Coleman]

Oh. Are they for classes? Or just for your own reading? "My own," Arthur says with an almost sad sigh, shifting his books back again to the crook of his left arm. He thought that it was extremely important to be up to date when it came to mutant affairs, and he would never hear the end of it if he relayed some information incorrectly. Mutants always did seem to become an interesting conversation piece these days... the least he could do was defend his.. 'kin' properly. The feathering of shame becomes apparent in his mind and Arthur tilts his head down a little, though he says nothing. I've read the Russians till I thought I'd go crazy from all the surnames but I've never even held a book with 'mutant' in its title before.

"Is that by personal choice..?" Arthur asks hesitantly, hoping that he would not offend her. Though, he often found that many students were ashamed of what they had become, ashamed of their gifts and succumbing to the pressure from humankind to blend in like a colour on an impressionist canvas. He too, had felt that way.. and he never even told his own fiancee that he was a mutant. It had been a hard secret to keep, that much was certain, and he had planned to tell her.. and she always pressured him to open up--but that was over now.. in the past.. and there was certainly nothing he could do about it now.

But perhaps he could learn from that and prevent others from ending up like he did, prevent them from hiding and shielding themselves from reality with the first good thing that came along.

[Laurie Collins]

"Is that by personal choice..?"

Laurie nods, remembers, and corrects herself hastily, “Yes.” she says with a soft matter-of-factness, then adds, “But I will now I suppose… I don’t imagine you can go to a school like ours without picking up at least a few books on what we are.” She’s still avoiding using the word mutant in reference to either of them, euphemisms flowing so readily forth that she doubtless doesn’t even realize what she’s doing.

She flips open the book she holds to a random page and raises her eyebrows slightly at the words that march across the paper before her like lines of ants across a field of snow. (One by one, hurrah, hurrah, skitters across her mind at the association.) “This one doesn’t like us very much.” she says rather numbly, tracing the sentence lightly with the pad of her index finger as if she can absorb the words into her bloodstream and breakdown their toxin within her body like an infection, “If mutants have, as they say, evolved beyond us then by their own argument they are no longer human and the rights of a man and citizen do not apply to them. They are a hostile animal-” she closes the book gently mid-sentence and replaces it with care on the shelf, obviously someone with an innate love of books no matter what subject their bodies might contain.

This isn’t the time or place for this sort of conversation, she knows this. It’s funny in a not-so-amusing way, she’s gone so long not wanting to be a mutant, taking the cure and thinking herself happy sitting in the back of a classroom, wishing her way into a different life with nails biting into the skin of her palms, eyes squeezed shut, and lips compressed against the tell of speech. Now at Xavier’s, with almost everything from the worst-case scenarios she’d imagined come true, suddenly her facilities have turned traitor, palms upturned, eyes opened, questions and truths slipping out from between her lips like she hasn’t had years of practice to refine the art of holding them back. For the moment, in Barnes&Noble which is reassuringly constant with its identical interiors around the country, maybe around the world, she feels rather safe and at-home, even with her nervousness over being in the mutant section.

But, again, probably neither the time nor the place. Mr. Coleman probably gets enough awkward mutant questions at school and my mom might be along any minute. At that thought she takes a couple steps back so that she’s in regular fiction literature again then, realizing it might seem rude to back away so suddenly, addresses her teacher again,
“Um, what are we reading next, in class?” she asks, earnest in her interest even if it is a change of subject.

[Arthur Coleman]

Yes. But I will now I suppose… I don’t imagine you can go to a school like ours without picking up at least a few books on what we are. Arthur nods almost knowingly. "Just be careful about what you read," he says gently, knowing that some books were more brutal than others. Although, his problem as a student had been reading too much into mutants, as though it would prepare him for what was to come, like some sort of test. Before he left home for the institute, he reluctantly asked his aunt to read aloud copies of books on mutants for him. Back then, there weren't many published works of mutants as it was, with none of them in braille, and maybe one or two on tape. Even so, Arthur assumed that he could learn more about mutants by reading up on them, and, of course, he was wrong. Every day he had a student that surprised him.

This one doesn’t like us very much. --If mutants have, as they say, evolved beyond us then by their own argument they are no longer human and the rights of a man and citizen do not apply to them. They are a hostile animal-” Arthur cringes at the words, his hand tightening on his red-tipped cane out of reflex. "No.. no I suppose it doesn't," he murmurs in agreement. He wants to ease the moment of tension by saying that perhaps the book belonged in the fiction section of the store, but he didn't have the heart to say so.

He feels the distance between them increase, but Arthur knows better than to ask why Laurie has stepped back. Um, what are we reading next, in class? His mind reels back to his lesson plan for a moment. "The Character of a Genius: Beethoven in Perspective," he finally says with a nod. "We'll not be reading the entire work, however--only excerpts. I fear it would be far too trite to read all at once.." Arthur was always inwardly excited about teaching Beethoven. To him, it was easier because he was lecturing on a man that overcame a disability for the sake of music. In a way--himself. Of course, some of his students only liked this part of the course because he assigned less reading.

"You ah.. spend this day out of the week with your mother, do you not?" Arthur attempts to strike up friendly conversation out of the steady silence that follows, hoping that it was not too touchy a subject. And if it were, he would immediately know when to stop talking about it. His powers were useful at times, he supposes.

(You do know that Arthur teaches music, right? xD I know how easy it is to confuse him with teaching English..)

[Laurie Collins]

[[Yeah whoaaa thanks for reminding me, I totally thought he taught English. Oh well, Laurie would still enjoy music enough to take his class and think of it as a favorite subject though she has no especial talent for it, only enthusiasm for the finished product]]

"The Character of a Genius: Beethoven in Perspective, We'll not be reading the entire work, however--only excerpts. I fear it would be far too trite to read all at once.."

“Oh, that sounds good.” Laurie says obviously perking up at the book discussion, “Maybe I’ll get the book out of the library for myself later. Reading about music is as fun as the actual… producing it… part and I’m definitely better at the text stuff.” she adds, rather sheepishly amused. Laurie knows that her technical precision for music is adequate enough, her voice doesn’t crack when she sings and after some patient coaching she can reproduce a scale or a few chords on an instrument, but despite her enthusiasm for listening to music she lacks that indefinable something that allows people like Mr. Coleman and Matthew to cross the line from an exercise in sheet music reproduced to, well, music. “He had an interesting life too didn’t he, even aside from the musical aspects. I don’t remember much really but didn’t he basically raise his younger brothers?”

"You ah.. spend this day out of the week with your mother, do you not?"

“Oh, yes.” Laurie says, brought back from music ramblings by the question, “She rents a house near here and I go over Sunday afternoons, then she drives me back after dinner. We thought about my living with her and just commuting to school every day but she decided that would be ‘too isolating’.” she refrains from adding her mothers postscript to that, "and for Heaven’s sake don’t make the arrangement completely useless by hiding in your room the whole time Laurie, they’ll forget you’re there and you’ll starve to death or something and then who will eat my cooking with a straight face on Sundays?" “Do you have any family around here?” she asks, obviously not yet having learned that this can be a touchy subject with most mutants and childishly assuming that most families had been like her mother with those who reacted badly as the rare exceptions.

[Arthur Coleman]

Maybe I’ll get the book out of the library for myself later. Reading about music is as fun as the actual… producing it… part and I’m definitely better at the text stuff. He had an interesting life too didn’t he, even aside from the musical aspects. I don’t remember much really but didn’t he basically raise his younger brothers? Arthur nods a little,"He also became deaf in the middle of his career. And while most would percieve it as a setback, he overcame it tremendously."

Arthur listens intently, nodding occasionally, happy that Laurie was open with him. Many students refused to discuss anything related to their home life or family. Although he wasn't really one to talk about such things. Do you have any family around here? He should have been prepared for that question, knowing that an exchange of information on one behalf of the party resulted information from the other. A part of him wanted to hastily change the subject, point out the time and that he really needed to get back. But that would be rude.. and besides.. he had been asked this question several times before.

He shifts uncomfortably but attempts to look as though he's comfortable with said subject. "Well.. ah.. no.. My elder brother.. he.. travels and at times he visits whenever he's in town. And my aunt and uncle both reside in Virginia, and I can only visit them a few times a year." Although, he actually lived with them again when he was adjusting to life without his powers, and his brother took off work despite his protest. And as for his parents.. he would say nothing unless if he was asked.

[Laurie Collins]

"He also became deaf in the middle of his career. And while most would perceive it as a setback, he overcame it tremendously."

“Yes, that’s pretty amazing.” she agrees softly, tilting her head slightly as she considers it. “The worst possible thing to happen to a musician I’d think… must have seemed like the end of the world. It’s surprising he even kept trying let alone managed to compose symphonies.” she smiles slightly, guess even the worst thing imaginable doesn’t have to end everything she thinks, wrinkling her nose slightly at the corny thought, but cheered by it nonetheless. “I guess he just used vibrations from then on?” she muses, tugging absently on a strand of hair as her mind works at how such a thing would be possible.

"Well.. ah.. no.. My elder brother.. he.. travels and at times he visits whenever he's in town. And my aunt and uncle both reside in Virginia, and I can only visit them a few times a year."

Laurie smiles slightly, detecting a fondness for his relatives, especially the brother, in his tone. If she’d been at her usual height of tension she would have detected the tension in his posture and face at the discussion of family and the deliberate exclusion of his parents from the familial tally, but she’s relaxed, even chatty for her. Mr. Coleman’s one of the only people she knows who beat her out for tension and she finds herself loosening up a bit around him in response, as if someone has to compensate or just let the conversation die a horrible flaming death. Therefore she’s relaxed enough to pry further, unusual for the normally reticent student, “What about your parents? Do they live further away?" and the minute it’s left her mouth she regrets it, bites her lip and lowers her eyes.

[Arthur Coleman]

I guess he just used vibrations from then on? Arthur nods vigorously, feeling inwardly excited that his student knew more than most of his students ever did about Beethoven. "Yes, he even cut the legs from his piano so he could feel the vibrations through the floor." From what he is hearing, Arthur hopes that he would get more than silence when he asked some questions when it came to Beethoven. Granted, he had students that were extremely musically inclined, but many of them knew nothing about early composers and he considered that a very vital part of the musical field.

He feels the subtle warmth of a smile, and this in turn makes Arthur smile a little, so much happier when others were completely at ease around him. What about your parents? Do they live further away? Then it is gone like a candle flame being whisked out. He shifts a little uncomfortably, as though hoping to find the answer in the ragged tufts of the carpet beneath his feet. "Ah.. no.. t-they.." He trails for a moment and promptly regains his composure, not wanting to look weak in front of his student. "They.. died.. many years ago..," Arthur finally murmurs quietly, attempting to busy himself with the spines of his books. He doesn't dare say they were killed, only that they died. Each time he even thought about the foolishness that had been involved with the accident it made him inwardly angry and sad at the same time. Despite whatever 'evidence' was presented or whatever the witnesses or jury had to say, he knew that it could have easily been prevented. A select few of the faculty members knew the details, but Arthur was partial to it being a secret. Because the knowledge would make him too easy to figure out, and the last thing he wanted was for anyone to know that a mental trauma had made him this way, so shy, introverted.. hesitant..

And though he could never bring himself to hate a man, the boy responsible for both his parents' death and his blindness would be as close to hate as he could ever come.

[Laurie Collins]

"Ah.. no.. t-they…They.. died.. many years ago..,"

Nice one idiot. Laurie thinks, seeing the way the teacher falters, running his hands over the spines of the books as if searching for comfort or strength. What now? She opens her mouth rather desperately- perhaps to offer some platitude as politeness would demand, or perhaps to try to return the conversation to Beethoven or some other more neutral subject, but a set of footsteps approaching from behind her prevents any of this.

As she approaches her daughter Gail Collins’ posture has changed, morphing minutely from a slightly hunched don’t-look-at-me stance that can’t quite negate her attractiveness to a straightened back and a purposeful gate. The set of her face is friendly enough but wariness is obvious beneath the surface as she considers Arthur in the few steps before she reaches them and lays a hand gently on Laurie’s right shoulder for a moment. “There you are. I was beginning to wonder if you’d finally just given up on trying to break the bank with your reading habits and become one with the books.” she says lightly as Laurie turns to face her and smiles slightly.

“Hi mom.” she follows Gail’s pointed look towards Mr. Coleman and raises her eyebrows in her return of the rather arch look she’s now being fixed with, a silent Collins family communication running something along the lines of, ’You’re talking to a stranger twice your age near the erotica section. Should I be kicking ass right now?’ ‘I know him! And I’m not five you know, you don’t have to charge over and…and…loom like that.’ having taken place through the facial expressions in the method of communication common to families or unrelated people who just spent too much time together. “This is Mr. Coleman. He teaches music at school.” Laurie adds.

“Nice to meet you. I hope my daughter hasn’t caused you too much pain in class. Tunefulness doesn’t run in our family.” Gail says and though the remarks are light and the tone friendly it’s evident that upon learning that the man before her is a mutant something has changed in her posture, the suspicion of earlier remaining with different cause. She glances down at Laurie again, noting the anxiousness starting to creep onto her daughter’s face in response to her unease around mutants, and forces a smile onto her own features as she waits for the music teacher’s response to her greeting.

[Arthur Coleman]

Arthur suddenly wishes he had just made something up, said that they were overseas in another country or were on a trip for just the two of them.. anything to at least spare the deafening silence that was befalling the two like a thick blanket and Laurie's obvious akward feelings. At Gail's closing prsence, the man straightens in a way that appears as though he is attempting to at least look as though he halfway has a backbone, although his narrow body had been quite straight already. There you are. I was beginning to wonder if you’d finally just given up on trying to break the bank with your reading habits and become one with the books. Hi mom. The heat and tension he feels coming from gazes is enough to clue him in on somethings, although he silently concludes that it is certainly none of his business.

This is Mr. Coleman. He teaches music at school. Arthur attempts his best smile, though it is still meek even at it's best. He nods to Gail softly. Nice to meet you. I hope my daughter hasn’t caused you too much pain in class. Tunefulness doesn’t run in our family. "A pleasure, I'm sure," he says. Arthur then slightly arches his eyebrows, still keeping his meek, nervous smile. "Not at all, Mrs. Collins, your daughter is a joy to teach. She is quite enthusiastic about learning the aspects of music," Arthur says this gently, confidently, although feeling uneasy from both the emotions fluctuating between mother and daughter and separately from the two. "I trust that Laurie will continue to do well in my class." He feels suddenly aware of himself, how.. skeleton and ragged he must look. Arthur never had chances to meet the parents of his students, and he could honestly say that this was the first in a long while.

[Laurie Collins]

"Not at all, Mrs. Collins, your daughter is a joy to teach. She is quite enthusiastic about learning the aspects of music,"

“Ms. Collins, or Gail, thank you.” Gail responds politely but firmly. Laurie looks up at her mother, watching her eyes sweep up and down Mr. Coleman’s rather spare frame for a moment before her expression softens slightly and some of the tension leaves her limbs, evidently deciding from a cursory examination that Arthur is not exactly an imminent threat. She’s still obviously on guard though. The look she’s giving the music teacher could be quite accurately described as wary. This might be the first mutant other than me she’s talked to since… Laurie starts slightly at the thought and darts her mother a concerned look. “And I’m glad to hear it. She hasn’t been in a group setting for education much. I worried a bit.”

“Mom…” Laurie mutters, torn between pleasure at her teacher’s compliments and embarrassed indignation at being discussed as if she isn’t standing right next to the two adults.

"I trust that Laurie will continue to do well in my class."

“Oh yes so do I, the regular beatings have done wonders for her concentration.” Gail responds in a deadpan voice, evidently not so unsettled that she can’t joke. Laurie giggles softly in response and makes a face at her mother before shooting another glance at Mr. Coleman- she’s more comfortable with her mother than anyone but knows that some people find her rather unsettling when she’s in this sort of mood, which may indeed be Gail’s goal.