Schooling

Posted on Mon Jul 27th, 2026 @ 8:37am by Jean Grey-Summers & Drew Williams

1,484 words; about a 7 minute read

Mission: Episode 8: Shadows Over Avalon
Location: Xavier’s Mansion - Jean’s Office
Timeline: March 15, 1992 - 9:30am

Drew paused in front of the office door and took a deep breath. "You can do this," he whispered. Despite the words to reassure himself, he wasn't so sure anymore. Taking on the role of an instructor at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters was an important responsibility. Not only would he need to prepare the students academically, but he would need to be mindful of the students' mental and emotional well-being. Coursework could often times become stressful, especially if a student began to fall behind.

He raised his hand and knocked twice.

The closed doors to Jean's office swung open at the subtle touch of her telekinesis in an unspoken invitation to enter. As Drew stepped inside, he caught the tail end of what was clearly a strained phone call.

“Yes, I am aware of your intentions, Governor Masterson.” Jean never raised her voice, but the tension beneath her normally gentle tone was unmistakable. “…Children and an already vulnerable community will be put at risk if this legislation passes.”

She listened, her brow knitting into a frown. “…Then I suppose you're right. We'll have to let the American people decide.”

Looking up from her desk, Jean gestured for Drew to come in and take a seat, though her expression remained clouded by the conversation. “…God bless you too, Governor Masterson.”

The receiver landed in its cradle with a sharp clack that echoed through the office. It wasn't loud, but it carried enough force to betray her frustration in a rare display from the school's endlessly patient headmistress.

Jean closed her eyes for a brief moment and drew a slow, measured breath. By the time she looked up again, the irritation had been carefully tucked away behind the calm, gracious demeanor Drew had come to expect. Only the faint spark lingering in her green eyes hinted at the argument that had just ended.

“Hello, Drew,” she said, her voice once again soft and composed. “What can I do for you?”

Drew had taken a seat as Jean was talking with the Governor. He could only hear her side of the conversation, but it was obvious that it was alarming news the Governor had been relaying to Jean. He fixed his gaze on Jean’s expression. "I came to fill out the hiring paperwork and gather Professor McCoy's notes and lesson plans."

Drew paused and looked at the phone. The last few weeks had seen more and more news articles on television and in the newspapers about anti mutant protests and riots. He'd even read an article in the New York Times that lobbyists were calling for the X-Men to be considered a clear and present danger. That they should be labeled domestic terrorists and apprehended in the interests of national security. Drew gestured at the phone. "I'm guessing your talk with the Governor didn't go as well as you hoped. Might help to talk about it."

"Oh, thank you, Drew, but it's alright. It's just one of the many things demanding my attention these days." She let out a weary sigh as the last of her ire faded. "I honestly don't know how Charles managed to keep all of this running."

She rose from her chair and crossed the office to one of the tall filing cabinets lining the back wall. After rifling through several drawers, she pulled out a three-ring binder along with a handful of manila envelopes.

"There we are." Returning to her desk, Jean set everything down in front of Drew.

"It's mostly simple experiments, baking soda volcanoes, soda bottle tornadoes, that sort of stuff. Easy, hands on activities you can run once or twice a week whenever they aren’t following their workbook curriculum." She flipped through a few pages with a faint smile. "There are also a handful of more advanced projects tucked in the back for the especially curious students. Every now and then you'll get a kid who's desperate to know why." She handed him the binder before settling back into her chair.

"And these are your employment forms." Jean slid a small stack of paperwork and a pen across the desk. "You'll be working as a teacher's aide, and you'll be paid for every lab session you host for the younger students and any one on one tutoring you provide. Time spent setting up beforehand and cleaning up afterward counts toward your hours as well."

Drew sat across the desk from Jean looking through the employment paperwork. Most of it was already filled out, just requiring his signature. The only thing he had to fill out from scratch was tax withholding and insurance beneficiary information. The former he filled out immediately. He paused before filling out the latter. "Um, this form to name a life insurance beneficiary, could I name the school as my beneficiary at this time. Since Angela is...," he paused. It was difficult for him to talk about Angela’s current condition. "The only family I have still living is a great aunt. I would much rather have my insurance beneficiary be the school then to let her have another penny from me. Would that be allowed or do I need to get a lawyer to set up that?"

“You don't need to hire a lawyer just to fill out the paperwork for becoming a part-time teacher's aide,” Jean replied with a soft chuckle. “But I do appreciate how seriously you're taking it.”

“If you have any savings, an insurance policy, or any other assets you're not sure what to do with, you can always designate the school's trust as the beneficiary.” Her expression softened, touched by the sincerity behind his concerns. “Over the years, we've had individuals who didn't have anyone to leave things to. The trust I mentioned helps provide scholarships and higher education opportunities for Xavier's students after they've graduated.”

Drew gave a moments thought to what Jean had said before nodding. He had been thinking a lot about his future for more than a year. Xavier's had taken him in when he'd been outed in Cambridge by the reporter. He'd found acceptance and support from Professor Xavier, Hank McCoy. He had seen first hand what the true purpose of the institution was about. Protecting those that most of society wanted to marginalize at best or eradicate at worst. He was a mutant and the world feared mutants at the moment. Xavier's stood for not just striving for peaceful coexistence, but for mutual understanding and cooperation. That, in his opinion, was something worth striving for. "That's what I want to do. I want to be a participant in what you and Professor Xavier are trying to build for people like Angela and I. I want to do something that's going to help bridge the gap between mutants and non mutants because...I believe we're all human."

“That’s a beautiful calling to find, and I won’t deny that I’m happy to hear you say that,” Jean admitted as she gathered the documents Drew had signed.

Xavier’s never pressured its students or residents to do more than they desired. Some simply earned their degrees and moved on, while others decided that life at the mansion was not for them and returned to their previous homes or pursued another calling. But when someone embraced Xavier’s dream and was brave enough to volunteer to become an X-Men, that was when Jean saw the true inheritors of his cause.

“I’ll expect your timesheet by five every Friday, and you’ll be paid every other Tuesday,” Jean explained as she considered all the information she still needed to provide. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”

Drew flipped through the pages of Professor McCoy's lesson plans. His eyeballs rapidly traveling from left to right repeatedly. He had the binder read in just a few seconds. He closed the binder and turned his gaze back on Jean with a shake of his head. "I think I'm good. Thank you Headmistress. If I have any questions or concerns, I'll address them as I go. The Professor's lesson plans seem pretty straightforward. I don't think there will be any issues."

"Sounds good, Drew," Jean said as she gathered the scattered papers into a neat stack before slipping them into a folder on her desk. "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out to Kennedy or Madi. They're both helping with school operations as well."

With a shared nod of their heads in understanding, a final smile was exchanged between the pair before Drew departed.

Jean reached for the next folder waiting in the ever growing stack on her desk. The paperwork seemed endless, each completed page revealing two more beneath it, but the sounds of students enjoying the morning drifted faintly through the mansion, a gentle reminder of exactly why the mountain of paperwork was worth enduring.

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