Best in Class
Jubilee couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.
Another month had passed, and she had built a strong routine - wake up, gym, classes, gym, classes, study, sleep, repeat.
Her moment with Marie in the kitchen had solidified a strange bond. It seemed like the more time they spent together, the more she picked up things from her - rather than the girl emulating everything about Jubilee.
They exchanged tastes in music, books, movies - though Jubilee couldn’t grapple with some of Marie’s southern sensibilities. And having weird metaphors about farming for everything.
“I grew up in a small town,” she defended once. “Lots of country.”
“So every farmer is a poet with terrible metaphors about chickens.”
“I didn’t say anything about a chicken and I’m not a farmer.”
“You just compared this assignment to hens,” Jubilee had insisted. “You did that. Like just now. You don’t even realize how you sound sometimes.”
Marie talked endlessly about art, and laughed a lot, the latter a surprise to Jubilee. She wasn’t the only one. Other students would look on in awe when they sat in the mess and Jubilee had her in near tears, giggling uncontrollably.
She gave Jubilee a book of poetry, and groaned regretfully when Jubilee would read the passages aloud as if it were a theatrical production.
“Poetry is dumb. Don’t be mad at me,” she had laughed.
“It is NOT dumb, you are so disrespectful.”
“If I wanted poetry I would just listen to music.”
“I don’t think Malibu counts as quality literature.”
“That album is pretty spot on about California living, I swear to God.”
It was nice. Having someone. In foster homes most of the other kids would never warm up to her. Everyone was always hiding something. Shitty parents. No parents. Drugs. Mental illness. When you were too old to get adopted - because let’s face it no one wants a young adult in their house when they could have a drooling baby or a rampaging three years old - everything was harder knowing no one wanted you.
Even when she finally ran away, and took a risk being homeless - the kids she ended up with didn’t care much about anything. Just finding a place to sleep and where to get the next hot meal.
No one had come as close as Marie. Probably because she had nothing to hide from her.
Despite everything that had transpired in so short a time, she didn’t know exactly how to feel about it.
"Could you pass -"
"Yeah."
Jubilee mumbled a thank you as Marie placed a stencil in her hand without looking. She sat on the floor with her back against Marie's bed, who was sprawled across the spread with books scattered about. Jubilee had two open in her lap and three more on the carpet in front of her. She made notations with the stencil and wordlessly held it up for Marie, who's hand was already waiting for it.
With her periodic absences, it turned out Marie had almost the same amount of catching up as Jubilee. Thankfully, she was equally as adept with the workload , and had a better knack for Ororo's class.
Jubilee glanced up at the growl behind her, as Marie crossed out her own notation.
"Why can't I absorb your math skills? I should be able to do math."
Marie glared as Jubilee laughed, "I gotta keep some things to myself."
"Can I check your notes?"
Jubilee surveyed her personal chaotic mess before snatching up a few sheets of paper and handing it over.
She smiled as Marie sighed. "Thank you. I'd be a mess without this."
"How'd you manage before?"
Marie grunted, "I didn't. I barely took class. I mostly got tutored by the professors in private when they could spare the time, did a lot of work on my own."
Jubilee frowned, "You're fine in class now."
"That's because I have you. Almost everyone here avoids me. A freak among freaks." Jubilee didn't like the sullen tone Marie had taken.
"I thought you just kept to yourself."
"At first I did. Took a while for them to warm up to me. Black girl from the south who didn't like to be touched was a hard work around. They thought I was too stuck up."
"What do you mean you're a bundle of joy."
Marie laughed. "Depends on the day of the week."
When silence followed, Jubilee looked back at Marie, who had rested her chin on her folded arms, her gaze distant, lost in a memory.
"One day, I touched Jean. It was an accident. During class. I had brushed the abilities of others, but...she's different. You're like, a river - your power just flows through you. But Jean - she's like a raging storm at sea."
Marie closed her eyes, pain screwing in her face. "It came crashing down on me, her power. I had never met a telepath - and suddenly I was in everyone's head. All at once. It's like when I touch people, but amplified by a million. And the worst part is, they felt me too."
"Fuck."
"Yeah," Marie took a trembling breath. "Fuck."
"Is that why you had to be tutored alone?"
Marie nodded, burrowing her chin into her arms. "It really sucked, being exposed like that. The professors helped a lot, even Jean too. They understood, though I think Jean just felt really guilty. Like we both carried terrible burdens with our powers."
Jubilee frowned, "I mean it can't be that serious for a telepath."
Marie looked at her, "No, she's different."
Before Jubilee could push the topic, Marie continued.
"Anyway, that's when the rumors started. How dangerous I am. No one was safe around me. All I wanted to do was steal abilities. I was a ticking time bomb. All that."
"Still a bundle of joy for me."
Marie smiled, "You're the first person not to freak out over what happened. Other than Logan, of course."
"What'd you see when you touch Logan?"
"Poor thing," was all Marie could say after a moment of thought.
"I guess it helps having someone who knows, but I don't have to talk about it. Like you were there with me. I'm sorry, it's so much," Jubilee turned, resting her chin on the edge of the bed.
Marie's eyes softened. "Don't ever be sorry."
"You have a lot of your own stuff too."
"Gee thanks for the reminder, I was enjoying the vacation from my own problems."
Jubilee rolled her eyes, "I hate you."
"You know what's the worst?"
"Mmm."
"We're all freaks out there. But here, we're still divided. I'm not just a mutant. I'm a black woman too."
"Are we going to talk about Boom Boom, now?"
Marie glowered, "You haven't met her yet she's absolutely the worst."
Jubilee had heard stories of the girl who had taken upon herself to personally torment Marie. For all her power and cunning, this Boom Boom was not easy for the girl to ignore.
Marie was right, though. It was hard enough being a mutant - but even then, she stood out. She was still targeted and oppressed for everything else about her existence. Jubilee tried not to let the anger simmer in her gut, and was surprised by how protective she had become of Marie.
"I'm sure we'll cross paths."
"Punch her for me."
"Why? You can just graze her arm with your pinky and she's done."
"I'm old fashioned."
"I knew it. You just want me around to be the muscle."
"You're also really good at math."
"Speaking of, isn't Kitty supposed to be back? She should've aced that quiz already."
Marie rolled her eyes, "Probably doing another session with Danger."
“Who’s Danger, again?”
“You’ll see soon enough, pretty girl.”
Jubilee held up an empty bowl, "Well, we're out of food. Time to mingle with the normal people. I think the bag of chips we hid should still be there."
Marie groaned but rolled herself out of bed and onto her feet. She reached down and Jubilee grasped her covered forearm, pulling up to stand.
Contact became a normal thing for them - Jubilee insisted on it. Marie’s aversion to touch had almost made it impossible for her to share seats at a table or share materials or food. Jubilee had been keen to remove that invisible barrier between them. But they were cautious. Sleeves, shirt tails, pant legs - it seemed like nothing to Jubilee, but meant the world to Marie, who had starved herself of touch for so long.
"You know you could be normal too," Marie said as they walked out to the hallway.
"Why would I want that?"
Marie shrugged, wrapping a curl around her finger, pursing her lips. "At least you can touch people."
Jubilee tugged lightly on a curl, earning her a glare. "Don't believe the hype. Touching people isn't quite as amazing as you might think. Unless you mean like sex then yes but I'm not trying to have sex with everyone. Besides, no one likes me because I keep breaking the curve in every class."
"Can't you just sort of flunk a quiz on purpose?"
"What do you mean you pass just fine!"
"I just think you don't have to stick with me all the time."
Jubilee came to an abrupt halt. Marie turned, not meeting her gaze. "Dude, take that back."
"This will fade, you know. It always does. Logan keeps his distance now. And Jean...she doesn't even look at me."
"You think I hang out with you because we basically swapped spit or something?"
"You don't have to be nice to me, Jubilee."
"Stop doing that. I don't ever want to hear you talk like this again. I always do what I want and I want to do homework with you and share food and beat up Boom Boom, okay? Nothing is forcing me to be here with you. I can do fine on my own."
"...I know."
"Then you know that I'm your friend because I want to be."
Marie looked at her then, her brown eyes wide and bright. "We're friends?"
"Oh my fucking God - you are something else."
"You mean it?"
"You are an actual child. I'm not sharing the last of the Doritos with you."
They made their way to the mess, talking about everything and nothing. It was something so familiar and good for Jubilee, who missed the simplicity of connecting with another person.
She didn't notice when she had trailed off mid conversation until Marie prodded her sharply with an elbow.
"What?"
"You just got really quiet and stopped walking."
"Huh?"
Marie stood in front of her, looking into her eyes. "Are you ok?"
Jubilee frowned, looking around. They were alone in the hallway, the entry to the mess just a few feet away.
She rubbed her jaw with a thumb, a frown screwing into her brow. "You ever get that feeling you're being watched?"
Marie stiffened. "What do you mean?"
“I dunno, like...goosebumps out of nowhere.”
“Maybe you’re getting hot flashes,” Marie teased.
“No, dude. It’s like there’s someone standing behind me, reaching for me.”
Marie’s humor left her. “That’s really scary, Jubilee.”
“If there’s a ghost behind me, you’d tell me, right?”
“Honestly, I’d take off running.”
“I’m for sure not sharing these chips with you.”
Marie pursed her lips, thinking. “Do you usually get this weird feeling? Even before you were a mutant?”
Jubilee rolled her shoulders, trying to undo the tension knitting itself there. "No. Like when I got here."
"Be more specific."
"Well...I guess after I started classes?"
Marie frowned, "It might be nothing."
Jubilee stared at her, "You don't actually think it's nothing, though."
Marie shook her head, her thick curls rippling with the movement. "Let's get food, c'mon."
****
The headache had started in the morning. Jubilee walked out of Ororo’s class sullen and trying to dig out an eyeball with the knuckles of her hand. Marie absently tugged on Jubilee’s arm by the sleeve of her sweater, while balancing a book in another. How she found time to read for leisure outside of their normal workload still baffled Jubilee.
“I almost had it,” Jubilee grumbled, snatching her arm back.
“You mean you were close enough to touch your brain with a dirty finger nail?” Marie walked alongside her, not looking up from the open pages.
“First of all,” Jubilee retorted as she blinked away the dark spots in her vision, “My nails are like really clean and also who gave you permission to stop me?”
“My math final depends on your life so there you have it,” Marie replied sweetly, turning another page and ducking past students in the crowded corridor.
“God, my head is killing me.”
“You should’ve passed on all the coffee last night.”
“I had to cram, I don’t have the patience for Ororo’s class like you do.”
“HEY!”
Marie shook her head, “I don’t know what you mean, I think the socio-political atmosphere of southern China during chairman Mao’s seat is a fascinating learn for even the most laymen of students.”
“YOU GUYS!”
“This is why no one else wants to borrow your notes.”
“Excuse me, sorry - HELLO!?”
“You know it’s been a while since we really studied with Kitty, I kind of miss her nagging voice.”
“SERIOUSLY LET ME BY!”
“Honestly it never really leaves my head, I feel like I hear her all the time when I leave the toothpaste without the cap.”
“You really should cover it, Jubilee, it’s a little gross.”
The girls almost jumped when a hand clamped down hard on both of their shoulders. They were spun around and came face to face with the head cheerleader herself, a panting, flustered, Kitty Pryde.
“I cannot believe you made me chase you across the school!”
They stared at her with mutual bewilderment.
She straightened, mumbling an apology to Marie about touching her, brushing hair back into that perfect ponytail. Kitty took a breath. “I’m guessing you guys didn’t hear.”
They continued to stare.
Kitty growled, “This thing you guys do is really creepy sometimes, you know that?”
“Sure,” they replied in unison.
She sighed heavily, “Anyway, they just posted the latest Rankings!”
“Rankings for what?” asked Jubilee.
Marie gave a humorless laugh, “Upper classmen get like an honor roll recognition from the staff.” She shook her head, “Why do we care about that?”
Kitty’s eyes were shining with excitement. “We’re on the list!”
Jubilee looked back and forth between the girls - Kitty’s sheer and terrifying triumphant glee and Marie’s complete confusion - waiting for someone to speak.
“Anyone gonna tell me what the hell that means?”
Kitty seemed to deflate at this, “Marie, seriously, why doesn’t she know this stuff?”
“You and I both know I do not care for it,” Marie snapped, “Why haven’t you done it?”
They were interrupted as a small group of students their age passed by, one giving Kitty a light touch on the shoulder.
“Hey! Heard about you guys! Congrats!”
Marie watched them go with some kind of wonder. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before.”
Kitty made a frustrated noise, turning to Jubilee. “Underclassmen never make that list. It’s like so much hard work to excel in every category.”
“There are categories?”
“What do you think you’ve been doing this whole time?!”
Jubilee scoffed, “Honestly just killing it?” She looked at the two girls and shrugged, “I don’t know what you want me to say. I’m not working for some kind of award or pat on the back.”
Kitty frowned, “You have the top scores in every class. You tested higher than every upperclassman.”
“Look, first of all I really don’t like being called an underclassman I’m like 19,” Jubilee wanted to wave off the conversation, rubbing the bridge of her nose. The headache was going to split her skull in two. “Also, it’s not that hard.”
Kitty looked like she was going through a full spectrum of emotions. She was now near tears. “Jubilee how can you be so dense sometimes? This means we have a shot of getting into really, really good schools. College. University.”
“You really think we could go to college?” Jubilee glanced at Marie, who’s tone had changed. She was staring at Kitty curiously.
“Well, yeah, why not?” Kitty replied quietly, shuffling between her two feet. “I’m not gonna let anyone stop me from living my life the way I want.”
Marie pressed, “Everyone will try and stop us.”
Kitty pressed her lips together, and held her head up high. She seemed taller than her two peers then. “They can try. But I don’t plan to lie down while other people who aren’t like us decide my future. I want one. Don’t you?”
A silence fell between them. Jubilee couldn’t help doubt the words. She wanted to reply with something snide and hurtful. It was easy to wish for those kinds of things when you hadn’t been targeted for more than just being a mutant. Kitty didn’t understand how the real world worked. How much harder you had to fight to just get a little bit of what you wanted. Jubilee had already struggled. She remembered her father’s soothing words on the bad days.
Jubilee shut her eyes against that memory.
And she was too tired to climb some other, bigger mountain now that she was also a mutant.
Go to college, get a job, pay a mortgage, have a family - yeah sure, the most basic of American Dreams.
If only.
“Jubilee.” A hand pressed gently against her forehead. She realized she hadn’t opened her eyes. When she peeled one open, Kitty and Marie were staring at her.
“You look sick, honey.” Marie’s eyes went back and forth from Kitty’s hand to Jubilee.
“Have you eaten?”
Jubilee almost snorted at that, “Yeah I did, Kitty Cat.” She pulled away from Kitty’s touch, but grimaced as the world started to spin.
“No you need the get to the infirmary,” Marie insisted. She was fidgeting, wanting to reach for Jubilee, hating that she couldn’t.
“No way I’m just exhausted.”
“She’s right, Jubilee, you look really bad.”
“I just need some sleep so - wait no,” she had taken a step forward and her world actually TIPPED. And it didn’t stop. Jubilee felt the weight of her own body leave her and everything was turning black. She didn’t even hear Kitty and Marie shout.
This headache was going to be the end of her.