ArchivedLogs:Not A Country Club

Not A Country Club
Dramatis Personae Cody, Derek, Hercules, Jax, Kisha
In Absentia	2015-10-13 "I guess sometimes you have to be insane to do the right thing, yeah?"
Location <XS> School Grounds
Xavier's School is situated on grounds as luxurious as the mansion itself. The tree-lined drive brings you up to the lush green sweep of front lawn and the wide front porch with its bench swing, often frequented by students studying in pleasant weather. The large oak tree in the front yard is home to a tire swing, installed long ago beneath the sturdy old treehouse. The lawn rolls out all the way down to the thin rocky pier at the edge of the glittering lake. The water stretches huge and wide off into the distance, the boathouse a small blip at its shore. Along its bank, forest stretches dense and shady to one side; to the other cliffs start to rise, high and rocky, providing trails for hiking or climbing, for the adventurous. Even though it's autumn, the weather is still inviting for outdoor activities. There's a few clouds in the sky and the sun is shining. Which is one of the reasons that Derek has chosen to study outside. Even though he's supposed to be in class right now, he's chosen to skip it in hopes that his homework for the next class is done in time. Dressed in a pair of jeans and equally faded jean jacket over a dark red t-shirt, Derek is hunched over his books, chewing on the cap of pen while staring intently at his history text book. It really wasn't his intention to skip classes at Xavier's, especially in his first two weeks here, but Derek's quickly finding it hard to keep up. Jax, at least isn't supposed to be in class right now, finished teaching all /his/ classes for the day. Those unfamiliar with the teacher might well think he /should/ be in class; he doesn't look much past a teen himself, and his attire -- black skinny jeans embroidered up their sides with silver dragonflies, bright rainbow colourblocked sweatshirt over a red t-shirt (its text reads 'All My Heroes Have FBI Files'), huge silver stompy boots, eyes shaded in enormous mirrored sunglasses, vividly dyed black-and-rainbow-tipped hair -- doesn't quite scream Authority Figure. He's brought his lunch out here, thermos tucked under one arm and a biiiig plate of food (with five cupcakes ringing the edge); he pauses as he trots down off the porch, head tipping to one side as he looks at Derek. "Hey-a." His tone is friendly, warm, a heavy Southern drawl in his words. "S'Derek, right?" No, they haven't yet met. Hercules slips outside, dressed in his usual blue jeans and tight, black tshirt, and a pair of sturdy hiking books upon his feet. Unlike the other student nearby, Hercules happens to have a spare, and has decided to spend his time outside. He watches Jax approach the other teen, and begins to walk in their direction. Offering a wave to them both, he smiles brightly. "Heya. 'Lo Derek." Derek jumps slightly at being addressed and looks up. His first thought is that the teacher sent another kid from his class to find him but not recognizing the vibrant hair the panic quickly dies. "Doeth everyone here get a memo ath thoon ath there'th a new kid?" He stands up and brushes off the back of his pants from any stray grass and offers a hand to Jax. "Yeah, I'm Derek." He gives the teacher a nervous sort of half smile when Hercules heads over. "Heya Herc." The hand Jax offers out in return is calloused, heavily scarred, its smallest finger missing entirely (only a mangled stump remaining where it should be), fiercely-feverishly warm to the touch. Nails painted black with a shifting oilslick-rainbow sheen. His grip is firm, though his handshake comes at a slight delay as he transfers his plate of food from one hand to the other. "Actually, yeah," he answers Derek with a bright smile, a small laugh. "Any time there's new kids or new faculty everyone /does/ get a memo. We had a few times of -- kids hittin' their /panic/ buttons cuz they thought some stranger was, like, /invading/ or somethin', so, now there's just kinda a heads-up, this person's actually /meant/ t'be here, nobody freak out." He bobs his head in a quick nod of greeting as Hercules wanders over. "Howdy! -- M'Jax. By the way." "Name's Hercules. Nice to meet you, Jax." The large teen offers up a hand to the man. He looks to Derek, "Enjoying the last gasps of summer before Autumn sets in hard?" Hercules looks around the grounds, a smile on his face. "It is awfully beautiful countryside, isn't it?" He looks back to Jax. "So what do you teach here, professor?" For a kid trying fly below the radar, it's a bit disconcerting to learn that everyone gets the memo. "Oh. I'm thill getting uthed to thith whole plathe. It'th, everything ith different. I'm thill learning how to uthe this phone. Never had a thell phone before." Hercules' question gets a shrug. "Not even winter really thopth me from being outthide." Though Derek's never experienced a Northeast winter, he has no idea what he's in store for. "I gueth it'th nice.. wait profeththor? You're a profeththor?" Jax clasps Hercules's hand after, shaking firmly as well. "Pleased t'meet'ya." He settles down on the ground, folding himself cross-legged so that he can rest his plate on his lap. "'pologies I'm, like, 'bout t'starve if I don't get some food into me. -- Uh, I teach a couple'a the art classes, an' baking. An' I teach one of the sex ed classes, so I'll see y'all all eventually, s'one of the requirements." He sounds quite unapologetic about /this/, though, afterwards the small crinkle of his nose looks sympathetic. "This place /is/ a bit overwhelming when you first get here. Took me ages t'learn my way around. I swear my eyes was big as saucers the first time I stepped foot in the computer lab." His head shakes in slght amusement. "-- I, um, hm. I don't think technically I'm a professor? Like I think you need /graduate/ degrees for that title an' that's /way/ too much schoolin' for me, jus' Jax is fine. But I teach here, yeah." Hercules chuckles at Derek, "You really ought to check up on all the professors here, so you don't get yourself into trouble, yeah?" He glances at Jax and shakes his head, "Well, to me, a teacher is who teaches you in grade school. But a private school like this, you're all professors." The tall teen smiles and then his eyes really light up. "Baking?" He blinks a few times. "You... you're Shane's dad! Man, I've had your cookies from the Evolve Cafe, and those tiramisu cupcakes the other day in the recroom were fantastic." The teen is completely oblivious to that mention of 'sex ed'. "Thex ed, always use a rubber." Derek smiles and sits back down, not upset at all that he's distracted from his school work. "You teach baking, you're the teacher that leaves cupcakes in the rec room? Thothe were the betht cupcaketh I've ever had." He glances over at Hercules and shurgs. "I'm uthed to getting into trouble." It's not something he's proud of or happy about though. Jax laughs; the next shake of his head spills his shaggy mop of rainbow hair down over his sunglasses. He lifts a hand to push it back off his face. "Huh, I guess I never thought of it like -- I mean, I don't think we're no more special than public school teachers? Jus' -- more special/ized/. Kinda by necessity." His expression lights up after this -- rather /literally/, a faint glow blossoming in the air around him. "Yeah! M'Shane's pa. Glad y'all liked the cupcakes." He looks down at his plate, fingers waggling towards their ring of cupcakes in offering. "These ones're masala chai if that's up y'all's alley." Derek's description of sex ed earns a lopsided grin. "We start there. Get a little more in depth than that though." One shoulder lifts in a quick shrug. His head tips downward, focusing on his plate as he spoons up a mouthful of curry and rice. "Some environments make it hard t'stay /out/ of trouble. Hopefully easier to, if we can help make it comfortable for you here." Hercules blinks at Derek for a few moments, his cheeks colouring. Upon Jax's further description, Hercules nods. "Yeah, not just protection but sexual health and all that, yeah? Reproduction, diseases and so on." The tall teen's cheeks flush a bright red for a short bit before he looks to the cupcakes. "Well, since you offered so nicely, Jax." One of the cupcakes is carefully absconded with, disappearing in one bite. He glances to Derek and hmms, "Do you need a hand with anything, Derek? Help with your homework?" Derek grabs the offered cupcake, maybe a little too quickly, but he just really likes them. "Thank you. I would love to learn how to bake thomething like thith." He takes a bite and it's almost blissful. "Theriouthly, thethe aren't jutht the betht cupcakeths I've eatten, but the betht anything I've eatten." He gets quite for a bit and looks down at his text book. "Do you have any openingth in your claththes? For Baking?" He then looks to Hercules and shakes his head. "No, I think I've got thith." Which is a lie but Derek isn't used to asking for help. "Well, /most/ of the in-depth health type stuff -- reproduction kinda side of things -- is in the /other/ half of sex ed, not mine. Which is also mandatory, so y'all do get that too, but -- my class spends more time goin' into the -- how-do-/people/-work moreso than how-do-bodies-work. Less talkin' about disease an' more talkin' about healthy models of consent an' relationships an' all." Jax uncaps his thermos, his blush and smile only half-hidden in a gulp of drink at the praise to his baking. "There's space in my class for sure but the term's half over. You're welcome to join if y'want, but it's offered again in spring if y'want t'take the whole class. Though," he confides cheerfully, "if you think it's the best anything y'ever eaten, you should jus' wait till Ms. Chavan whips up some'a her samosas for a snack one day, they're /pretty/ much t'die for." Hercules looks to Derek and nods, "Well, if you do ever want a hand, I'm just down the hall from you. You only need knock, yeah?" The tall teen grins as Derek seems to greatly enjoy the cupcake. He glances back to Jax and nods, again flushing lightly. "All good pieces of information to know. So, uh, how did you meet Shane? And I assume this B he keeps speaking of is his... brother? Sister? How did you all meet?" "All I know ith that my parentth were everything not to do in a relationthip, tho I don't plan on following in their foottheps. Ath for your clath.. ith it okay to take both?" Derek doesn't plan on leaving but just in case the worse happens between now in spring, he can at least get started early. "Not even for a grade this themithter but jutht to thit in?" It's the only thing he's ever had an interest in, cooking and baking. "I haven't met Thane yet, and thankth Herc. I remember the offer from the other night." He gives the big guy a smile, finishing up the amazing cupcake. Jax pulls in a slow breath -- the glow around him fades, though his smile does not. He falls into quiet, for a moment busying himself with eating his food. He answers Derek first, sunglass-shaded gaze still turned down towards his plate. "If it works with your schedule an' you got a free morning slot when I teach, you're totally welcome t'come sit in! An' you can take it again in spring still, I don't mind at all. S'cookin' a thing you had much practice in or -- jus' a thing you'd /like/ t'get into? It's great either way." After this, another pause. More food, devoured kind of hungrily. He dabs at his mouth with a napkin, swallowing and washing the food down with another gulp before he looks up again. His tone is still calm, though not so /light/ as before, steadier and quieter. "I don't know if you've heard of Prometheus in the news? We met on account of B an' I was," he picks his words cautiously, "held t'gether there. An' later I got Shane out of a different one'a their locations." He moves on past this smoothly to the easier question, lighter again now: "An' B an' Shane are twins. Prob'ly won't see B around as much," this with a /clear/ touch of parental regret, "jus' started college up in Boston. Where did y'all come in here from, anyway?" The large teen nods to Derek, still smiling. "And if you ever want to play a few rounds of Smash Bros, that'd be cool too." Hercules watches Jax as he devours a bit more of his food, and does note the change in tone. He nods ever so slightly, most people have likely heard one way or another about Prometheus, unless they were hiding under a rock somewhere in Siberia. "Held there? That... that had to be bad. So you rescued Shane?" The tall teen falls silent for a little while, even after the professor stops speaking. "That's the mark of a true hero. Knowing what dangers lie before you, and going in anyways." When Jax's light fades a bit, Derek can't help but watch curiously. "Uh, a bit of both. I like to cook but I never really had the chance to cook with anything that wathn't in a box or can." He listens to the story and remains quiet for a bit. "I've never heard of Prometheuth, I gueth I ignored the newth too much back home. I'm from Kanthath, can't thay I mith it. My thither ith here with me tho, the only thing that mattered from home ith here." He shrugs and looks up at Jax with a hint of a smile. "You theem like a good perthon." "The school rescued me first, figured I'd best pay it forward." A flush of red colours Jax's cheeks, a quick small breath exhaled. Almost a laugh, maybe. "Oh, gosh. That or the mark of insanity, I ain't quite figured yet." He gives Derek a quick grin. "Sometimes I think ignorin' the news is healthiest. I swear it's all depressing, all the time. Just makes you want t'get out there an' /make/ some positive news, y'know? Not that that's what anyone likes t'report on. Doesn't sell, I s'pose. -- S'your sister likin' it okay here? M'glad y'could both -- it helps, havin' a familiar face." "Kansas would be a nice change of pace from New York City, I'll bet. Just as you think here is better than Kansas." Hercules shrugs to Derek, and grins. "You should invite your sister along some time, to the recroom, we could all hang out, eat Jax's cupcakes and play some games. I'm sure my room mates would like that." He looks over to Jax and chuckles. "Your turn to blush a little, Jax. And perhaps it is insanity. But I guess sometimes you have to be insane to do the right thing, yeah?" "Yeah." Derek says in a quite voice. "Daithy's liking it okay, we're adjuthting. I gueth in a way, thith placed thaved the two of uth too. It'th not that I chothe to ignore it, well I did, but I don't watch a lot of television. We... didn't have a lot of money." Derek is quite embarassed to admit it. He looks at Hercules and frowns. "That'th not it. It'th more complicated. I'll drag her along with me, the'th cool." "I feel like there's a lotta folks who can say that. In all kindsa different ways." Jax cleans up the last of his curry, setting his spoon down and licking a stray bit of sauce off one of his lip rings. "Sometimes I think y'gotta be a little bit insane jus' t'survive in this world." A light note of amusement colours his heavy drawl. There's a faint deepening of his blush, nose crinkling up as he admits, "-- I still gotta get m'kids t'help me set up all the -- online stuff we're supposed t'do for our classes. Syllabus an' all. I didn't have no computer or TV or anything back home, I get so lost with all this stuff." Shrug. "But it's kinda fun having it here now. I /suck/ at the video games but they're kinda a blast." Hercules hmms, his smile faltering. "I see. Well, if here is a better place, Derek, I am glad you and your sister found it. Hope you don't have to go back, if you've a choice, yeah?" The young man looks away a moment, his own cheeks colouring a little in embarrassment. "Did you make that curry yourself, Jax?", Herc asks, looking back to the other man. "And yeah. It is sometimes harder to keep on keeping on." Derek is grateful that there aren't any further questions asked from Jax. "I didn't have a TV or computer back home either. My friendth and I back home found wayth to keep ourthelveth buthy." He's not going to mention exactly what around a teacher. Even if Jax does seem cool. Derek's eyes glance over at Hercules but he chooses not to answer about having to go back home. "Tho ith that Thmath Brotherth thing you mentioned earier a video game?" The sound of the front gates hinges can be heard from where the small group is standing, and a taxi with New York plates can be seen driving up the way towards the entrance of the school. When it parks, a single individual gets out, waving off the driver as he goes to the trunk and takes out a backpack, a military surplus duffel, and what looks to be a courier bag with some stickers attached on the outside. "This? Oh, no, I stole it from my neighbor," Jax says cheerfully, looking down at his now-empty plate. He picks up a cupcake, peeling the wrapper off but then pausing on eating it. He sets the plate aside, unfurling to his feet as the taxi pulls up the drive. Pushing brightly-dyed hair back away from his sunglasses again, he looks over towards the approaching cab; briefly tugs a cellphone out of his pocket to check something before slipping it away. He gives the new arrival a wave of one hand, Southern drawl thick in his voice as he calls out a warm greeting. "Afternoon! Y'need a hand with anything?" Hercules grins at Derek, "Yeah, it's a video game. It takes characters from all sorts of different video games, and puts them all together in a fighting game. So like, you can play Mario or Luigi, or Kih two in one day. It wath good to meet you Jax. Herc, I'll thee you around." Cody looks up at the three, sort of panning over them for a moment, before a smile cracks on his face as he waves a sort of denial, "No, no thanks..." There's a palpable pause as he then goes digging into his pockets and pulls out a brick of a smartphone, at least four years old, and checks it, "This IS the Xavier School, right? I mean... I know the sign's ourby, or Samus.. You can play against each other or tag team. It's hilariously fun." His attention is drawn then to the taxi and it's lone rider. "Hmm, new arrival." He offers a wave to the new person but stays quiet. He does put on his best grin though. Derek eyes the cab and new student and starts to pack up his books. "I've only heard of two of thothe characterth Herc, but I'm willing to give it a thot." Zipping up his backpack he grins when Jax checks his phone. "New thudent memo? Anyway, my next clath ith tharting in about five minuteth, I already mithed my latht clath tho I probably thouldn't mith two in one day. It wath good to meet you Jax. Herc, I'll thee you around." Cody looks up at the three, sort of panning over them for a moment, before a smile cracks on his face as he waves a sort of denial, "No, no thanks..." There's a palpable pause as he then goes digging into his pockets and pulls out a brick of a smartphone, at least four years old, and checks it, "This IS the Xavier School, right? I mean... I know the sign's out front but..." And he motions around with the phone hand, "Looks like a country club." Jax grins at Derek, quick and amused. "I like t'make sure. See y'round, Derek." He lifts a hand to his head as though tipping a hat -- though he /wasn't/ wearing one a few seconds before, a large silver-trimmed black Stetson /appears/ there for a second, just long enough for him to tip it to the teenager. Vanishes as he lowers his hand again, attention turning back to Cody. "You've got the right place! This is Xavier's. 'pologies, I know it's a bit -- much." He takes a step forward, offering one (scarred, mangled, the smallest finger missing) hand out for a handshake. "I'm Jax. Welcome. How was your trip in?" Hercules offers a wave to Derek, "Take care, Derek, see you again soon yeah? Look foward to playing a few games with you." He watches the retreating teen for a few moments, before looking to the new arrival once more. Nodding in agreement with Jax, and looks back at the mansion. "Hmm, I guess it could be mistaken for a country club... it is a big old mansion after all." The tall teen offers his hand as well, after Jax. Speaking of a bit much... Kisha is out taking Bob for his daily 'walk'. The petite teen perches on a trundling ride-on lawnmower size robot that looks a lot like a bomb disposal robot. She's wearing old style aviator goggles that seem to have a bunch of wires and electronic bits stitched in along with a slightly scorched lab coat which also has a bunch of things wired up to it. "Are we going to have to start pitching tents for the new students?" she wonders aloud as she trundles past. The entire thing with Jax's little hat-trick ends up stopping Cody in his tracks, and he looks at his duffel before a little and sheepish grin escapes him, "Okay... that was cool." The admission coming with just a bit of skepticism. His own hand comes out, and he shakes Jax's hand first, and then Herc's before saying, "The trip? Oh... first time on an airplane. Would have been better if..." And Kisha's little entrance stops him, before he comments, "Huh. Are those air or liquid piston actuators?" Then he just shakes it off and looks back at the two gentlemen addressing him, and his free hand brushes the back of his neck, "Trip was okay, midwest looks beautiful from a few thousand feet up, and I'm not sure, but I think a stewardess hit on me while I was on stopover in O'Hare." "Glad it went -- smooth, enough." A faint flush of pink dusts its way across Jax's cheeks, and he dips his head in acknowledgment. His handshake is brief but firm, his hand rather feverishly warm to the touch before he drops it back to his side. "Thank y'kindly. We all got our things 'round here." He steps back, rocking back on the heels of his very stompy-chunky boots, and half-turns to clock the approach of the large robot (and accompanying Kisha.) "Not -- /quite/ yet," though not-particularly-reassuringly he doesn't sound wholly confident, "though I ain't half sure we ain't gonna need to build a new /wing/ 'for they try makin' /quads/ outta rooms meant for doubles." Hercules grins, "Name's Hercules. Sounds like you had a decent trip here. Let me guess, the trip would have been better if they'd fed you real food?" The large teen chuckles, and then looks over at Kisha and her robot. "Can it fly?", he asks of her, gesturing to her lawnmower bomb disposal bot. And then something beeps loudly, and insistently, and Hercules reaches into his back pocket to pull out a small smartphone. "Oh. I should have noticed him saying it, my next class is moments way." He glances at Jax a moment, "Thanks again for the cupcake. I'm going to tell Shane he's got the coolest dad, next time I see him." To Cody, he grins, "G'luck. Hope you get some good room mates." Turning on his heel, he heads up the stairs at a fairly quick pace. "Cool robot!", he calls out to Kisha. Kisha rolls her eyes, an effect that is largely lost behind her goggles. "No, but it's controlled by thought," she informs, as the mechanical arm on Bob waves. "Air, for the response times. There wasn't really much need for the extra force you get from a liquid system. Flight is over-rated anyway. Too many legal issues with home made aircraft." "Legal issues don't come from flying... they come from crashing." Cody mumbles almost to himself, and then he gives Jax an almost apologetic look, "Sorry... just... you're the first mutant I've met." Then he catches himself and winces, "No wait, that didn't come out right... what I mean to say is famous... person." Then it devolved to rubbing the back of his neck and looking away for a long moment, "Okay, this is awkward. I'm standing in front of the superpowers version of Daughtry, and I'm stepping on my own feet. Lemme start over." And this time he puts on his best smile, "Cody Maddox. Pleasure to meet you." Jax's black hat returns when Hercules is leaving -- though this time it has a metallic blue trim -- tipped again to the tall teen and then dissolved. "Take care." Behind the sunglasses there's a very faint wince at the mention of flying -- or maybe crashing. "Think more'n jus' /legal/ issues with the crashin' part." There's a note of humour in his voice -- but kind of a wry one. His blush deepens at Cody's fumbling, but his smile brightens. "Oh, gosh. Pleasure. I ain't no kinda rock star here. Jus' a teacher. An' you'll meet plenty cool folk around." He gestures to Bob in indication. "I couldn't even hope t'/begin/ buildin' nothin' like Kisha's robot, for-example." "Crashing is another reason flying is over-rated," Kisha agrees solemnly. "But anyway, I'm pretty sure you count as some sort of rock star here Jax. You bake cupcakes all the time. You might as well be a drug dealer." Bob waves again. "For the record he's called Bob. Not Kisha's robot... Oh and I am called Kisha. But I imagine you had figured that out." Cody shakes his head, "My aunt said never assume." But then he gives Kisha a nod, "But it's nice to meet you, and Bob. Is he a pet project or are you going to put him in one of those robot warfare competitions?" Then it's back to Jax, "You're a teacher here? I know I was supposed to be here later this week, but the discount on the flight was too good for my parents to pass up. So, I don't know if you have a place for me or anything. If it's a bother, I've got enough to catch a night at a Motel 6, or something. Or if you've got a stable with a clean loft, I can bunk out there." "Oh -- gosh --" Jax looks back at the nearby plate where his lunch had /been/; empty of actual /food/, it still holds three cupcakes. One of his toes digs a little sheepishly into the ground. He does offer the teenagers a lopsided grin, though. "Don't suppose either of you'd want a chai cupcake? First one's free." He shakes his head, fingertips pressing lightly against his lips. "Oh gosh. We ain't gonna bunk y'out in the stables, that's -- I can check up on your housing situation, but if your dorm ain't ready we got a guest wing that -- may have space." Maybe. Kisha leans back against the mechanical arm. "He's just a pet project and I suppose technically my bodyguard. I use it as a test bed for the thought control system," she explains cheerfully. "For some reason the staff don't let students stay in the external buildings. Which is entirely unfair. I could make far better use of my time if I didn't have a bedroom and could just stay overnight in the workshop. I will be fine without a cupcake, I am trying to cut down on unhealthy food." Accepting the chai cupcake, Cody sniffs at it once before he starts peeling the paper from the bottom to take a bite, "Thanks. There was a MacDonald's on the way, but all I got was a couple dollar menu items." He looks back and forth again, and then peels off the bottom half, and offers it up to Kisha, "Here... this way you can try it, have only half the calories, and none of the frosting. Less unhealthy." Jax's pierced eyebrows lift up over the rims of his large sunglasses. "But y'don't sleep anyway?" He sounds slightly puzzled. "I mean, y'ain't allowed t'/sleep/ in the workshop but if y'ain't -- sleeping..." One hand scuffs lightly against his colourful goatee. "You gotta /have/ a dorm but if you're on campus by curfew who's t'care if you're on campus /in/ your dorm or in the workshop?" He shrugs uncertainly, teeth worrying at his lip ring. "There's plenty'a /real/ food in the kitchen if you want somethin' that ain't sugar. Lunch time's been an' gone but there's usually leftovers t'spare." Kisha shrugs and wipes her hands on the labcoat. Given the state of the labcoat and the engine oil stains her hands add it's not entirely clear if they are any cleaner after. "I guess that works," she concedes and eats the cupcake piece. "Would it be rude to ask what brings you to Xaviers? I assume it's mutant related given the recent media attention. But like you said making assumptions can be foolish." She offers Jax a grin. "It's the having a dorm and not living in the workshop full time bit I dislike. I sort of cheat now anyway, Bobs mechanical arm has fine enough movements I can carry out some work remotely while he's in the workshop and I'm elsewhere." Which is also Kisha speak for 'during every class I don't enjoy'. Back to rubbing on the back of his neck for a moment, one eye closes a bit as the young man looks like he has some kind of headache pass over him for a few moments. The other hand holding the top of the cupcake has a shake for a moment and then settles, before he gives an apologetic smile and takes a bite. The look is a bit of surprise at the savory sweet flavor, and Cody licks at his lips, "Huh." Is his response before he then goes on, "Yeah. It started about six months ago. Headaches, a couple of blackout, my room tossed like there was an earthquake. Floating over the bed... occasionally causing things to implode." Looking back up at the school's entrance, "Probably every day stuff for this place, but it scared us all pretty good. I ended up staying out in my aunt's barn for a bit. Something about the smell of the horses and the hay helped keep me calm. That and if something happened, I couldn't break anything expensive." "Well, y'gotta have some place t'stash your clothes. Workshop's full'a tools an' all." Jax picks up his plate again. His teeth worry briefly at one lip ring; there's a long moment of hesitation before he gestures off towards a distant building far across the grounds. "Got our own stables here, if y'like horses. S'a whole equestrian club y'might want t'check out once you're settled in if you're lookin' for extracurriculars, I help organize." Tucking his thermos back under an arm, he dips his head to the others. "I should get back in. Work's callin'. Let me look into where you'll be put up, though, I'll have someone out soon enough t'tell y'where y'can get settled an' help y'find your way around." Turning, he heads back in towards the mansion. "Aren't horses expensive?" Kisha wonders, scratching her head. "But anyway I'm sure you'll get a handle on things soon enough. Most people do after they get here. You'd be surprised how few sets of clothing a person really needs. Two or three at most. Barely takes up any space at all... Anyway I should get Bob back to the workshop before I run out of fuel and have to haul him back." Cody tosses a wave at Jax as he departs and then finishes the cupcake top before saying to Kisha, "It's still pretty cool... the robot I mean." And as the pair move away, he hefts his rucksack and starts making his way inside.