English Fools

Posted on Fri Mar 1st, 2024 @ 1:39pm by Kennedy Kelly & Jade Farwynd

3,880 words; about a 19 minute read

Mission: Episode 4: The Savage ConneXion
Location: The Mansion
Timeline: August 27, 1990 - Morning

If you want a proper brekkie, you had to do it yourself. Jade groused to herself as she came down to the kitchen early in the morning, red hair somewhat dishevelled, pulled back into a messy bun, a green hoodie on, with shorts and bare feet.

Jade padded over to the fridge and opened it. Aha! Success!

She pulled out a carton of eggs, some fresh tomatoes, some brown mushrooms, some onion. Now the proper full english needed blood-sausage but it looks like it wasn't a thing in this place. But! There were sausages. Jade took out a pair and sniffed them. Pork and chives. Excellent, it would do.

She put the ingredients on the counter first then set about locating a chopping board, knife, two pans and two big wooden spoons.

Coffee! Coffee first. She went over to the old style kettle that would need a bit to boil and turned it on, before rummaging through the cupboards for the coffee and cups.

Kennedy wasn’t sure if it was nature or nurture that had made her an early riser, her previous school had started at seven o’clock in the morning, making her wake up time of five o’clock a necessity for the teenage girl who primped and preened before leaving the house. Even though that early start time was now removed, Kennedy still found herself waking up earlier than most of the house. Not that she particularly minded, the gym was empty and there was always hot water for a shower, so the habit of being up before the sun continued.

Kennedy was on her way back upstairs to the girl’s dormitory after her time in the gym when the heavenly smell of coffee filled her nose. It was a rare treat to have coffee ready so early in the morning and she couldn’t ignore its temptation. Changing directions, she made her way to the kitchen. Entering the kitchen, Kennedy was surprised to find Jade with a full spread of ingredients across the countertops, a serious endeavor of a breakfast being planned out.

“Morning, Ms. Farwynd.” The tall blonde politely greeted her. Dressed in a black leotard and a pair of low slung sweatpants, a bag hanging from her shoulder, it was obvious Kennedy had just finished some form of exercise. “You’re up early and making something extravagant, is it a special occasion?”

Jade looked over from a cup she'd just poured herself. She'd sensed someone approaching. There was a smell of sweat mingling in with a somewhat sweet, somewhat punchy blood pool. The new girl. There was something familiar about that blood, but Jade thought she was too tired and food focused to place it.

"Oh, morninn'..." she snapped her fingers for a moment, "...uh, Kelly. Ms Kelly! Fancy a cuppa and a tucker?"

Sausages needed to go on first, definitely. They would take the longest to cook.

“Kennedy, please.” She corrected Jade from using her last name, she wasn’t sure what had or had not been said about her relations. “I’m estranged from my family and would prefer not to use their last name, just Kennedy is fine.”

She watched the woman cook, placing sausages in a hot pan that happily sizzled. Kennedy never cooked, unless boxed mac ‘n cheese counted, so she watched with fascination at the planned execution of a meal.

“I would love a cup of coffee, but I have no idea what a tucker is.” Kennedy sheepishly admitted “You’re from Australia, right?”

"Yeah mate, tucker's food." Jade motioned to the assortment of food items. "How'd you take your coffee Ken?" Said Australian slipped further into being Australian by shortening the young woman's name completely unasked.

“Now you’re just doing it on purpose.” Kennedy said with a laugh. “I just take milk in my coffee but I can drink it black too.”

She rounded the countertop island and entered the area of the kitchen where the range and the sink were located. Kennedy surveyed all the stuff Jade had taken out. She grew up with a chef in the family kitchen, helping her make meals wasn’t even an option that had been given to her. “Do you want some help? But I have to warn you I don’t know how to do anything, so you have to be really specific about what you need done.”

Jade looked over at her for a moment as if she'd grown a second head for a moment. Her expression clearly echoed 'really?'. She said nothing though, there were people like that, rich people in particular. "Alright grab a bowl, crack a few eggs in, say four, and whisk for about a minute or so, then I'll tell you how much seasoning." The Australian said and began preparing a flat white with no sugar and a long black, with no sugar.

“Sure.” Kennedy nodded her head in agreement but her face showed some concern. She had never cracked an egg before and the look Jade had just given her told Kennedy she was already shocked by how little the teenager knew.

Kennedy made her way over to the carton of eggs and very carefully opened it. Her lips pursed as she picked up an egg and examined it. She had seen their chef crack eggs before but he had done it with one hand and a smooth elegant motion. Kennedy tapped the egg on the counter, but her first attempt was too soft and nothing happened. She tried again, this time too hard, and she had to rush to get the egg and bits of its shell into the bowl on time. The second egg was a little less awkward and by the fourth she had cracked it with no issue.

It was a small victory for Kennedy, something new that she hadn’t done before. The only problem was the flecks of white floating around.

“How do you get the shell bits out?” Kennedy asked while peering into the bowl “Or do you just leave them?”

Jade brought the two cups over and placed them on the counter. "Right..." she looked into the bowl. "How did you..." the rest of the question referred to the many bits of white in the egg-white. "Okay..." she sighed and took an unbroken half shell and reached in. "The sharp edges will cut through the slimy bit...like this." Jade fished out two pieces of shell, then showed it to Kennedy.

How did she get anywhere being this clueless? Jade supposed she didn't know much better. Still, she didn't seem like a bad kid.

“Oh wow, I never would have thought to do that.” Kennedy watched in amazement as Jade removed the shell before trying it herself. She removed the last of the shells before speaking again.

“I’m sure you think that I’m pretty stupid or something.” Kennedy continued with a touch of embarrassment. “I wasn’t raised in a home where stuff like this mattered, there was always someone to do it. I didn’t learn a lot of domestic or practical skills because the trajectory of my life meant I didn’t need to. Then biology showed up and ruined everything that had been planned for me, leaving me incredibly unprepared for any of this.”

She finally noticed the coffee and nodded in thanks before taking a sip. “So thanks for taking the time to show me. What should I do next?”

Jade nodded, "that's fair, can't blame you for your parents lack of survival foresight. She said with a sigh. She was going to teach this one, wasn't she? Something in her bones told her this was most definitely going to be the case.

"Okay, now, can I trust you not to chop a finger off?" Jade cracked her knuckles and fished out two aprons for each of them. "Oh and word to the wise, always have your hair away from your face when cooking. Last thing
you want is people getting pissed at you cos they found your hair in their food." She said as she handed Kennedy an apron.

"Maybe." Kennedy answered her question as honestly as possible, she had no intention of cutting herself today but the power of suggestion made it feel like a possibility. She took the offered apron and placed it over head and tied it around her slender waist, all the while just nodding her head in agreement with Jade's advice. Thankfully her hair was still up in a bun from her dancing this morning, a traditional requirement of ballet that she just couldn't shake despite her dancing alone.

Kennedy found a knife and a cutting board and began to half the mushrooms that had been set out, their small size and shape seemed the least intimidating. Her blue eyes remained hyper-focused on her cutting task and she may have forgotten to breathe for the first few minutes. "Did your family teach you how to make this? Or is this just something all Australians know how to do?"

Jade laughed softly as she set the sausages to the side to drain the oil away and then took a salt and pepper shaker and started seasoning the eggs. "My folks taught me some, I taught myself the rest. They weren't home more than they were so I had to feed myself or starve. So I found cookbooks and just failed slowly until I made something edible. This dish was the first thing I learned to do right. My folks were very Commonwealth proud." She then mixed the seasoning through the eggs.

Jade walked over to the counter again wiped the pan and drizzled a tiny bit of oil back on and slid the egg mix in there.

"That looks good, by the way, the chop."

"Thanks." Kennedy said with an accomplished smile before moving on to the tomato, it's round shape a bit more challenging but after a few very calculated cuts she managed to begin chopping it up. "I wish there was a class or something to go over all the dumb things I don't know how to do, like setting up a bank account or how to cook or do laundry. I can't be the only mutant who's clueless about life especially with people living in sewers and being farmed in a lab."

She stopped her cutting and casually gestured with her knife towards Jade "Hey, you should teach a class like that. You know how to be a functional person." A fantastic compliment from Kennedy "I'd go."

A functional person? Her? Bubbles of laugher erupted deep within Jade and escaped in that hearty, belly deep laugh. She had to hold on to the counter as she hunched over, as she laughed. "Oh kid...you sure can make me laugh. Me?" The laughter just wouldn't stop. "A functional person? Bless your soul. mate. I'm just as fucked up as the next person here. I mean...my powers involve blood! You all exist so loudly around me that I have to wear noise cancelling earbuds so that I don't go insane..." Jade gave Kennedy an incredulous look. "And you think I'm functional?" She pointed at Kennedy then at herself. "Seriously, bless your soul for thinking that. I'll take it as a compliment."

The eggs sizzling signaled a need to return to the food. "Can you open a can of beans without cutting yourself?"

Kennedy couldn’t help but start laughing along with Jade. She had never heard an adult in a position of authority speak with such open frankness about something a student said or about who they were. It was actually rather refreshing, an honesty and openness about who Jade was, it helped to soften the edges of who and what she was. Lethal but with a sense of humor.

“Yes, I can open a can. That is something I have done before.” Kennedy poked around the kitchen and eventually found the drawer that held the can opener. She crimped and opened the can of tinned beans in their tomato based sauce but the lid was stuck and needed to be pried open. Using her fingernail, she attempted to lift and pull the lid up, it was going fine until the sharp lid grazed her fingertip.

“Ouch! Darn it!” Kennedy reeled back as if the can had bitten her, and in some sense, it had. A small cut traveled across the length of the pad of her finger that began to slowly drip crimson blood. “I jinxed myself with my cocky attitude,” She said while examining the extent of her injury.

"Rinse it under water." Jade set the eggs aside and turned off the stove. Then went over to the counter and tore off a tissue off of the roll, then she went over to the freezer and fished an ice cube out of the mold. She then returned to Kennedy.

Kennedy went over to the sink and washed her hands while Jade pulled some ice out of the freezer.

“Oh thanks, it’s not that bad.” She said while watching Jade “This is the second time I’ve cut myself in this kitchen, last time I broke a dish while fighting with Bobby. Maybe I should just stick to cleaning up afterwards?”

Kennedy took the ice and paper towel Jade had put together and placed it on her finger. “What does blood sound like?”

Jade stopped short for a meant as she leaned down under the counter to retrieve a band-aid. How could she explain the constant gurgling and tunneling noise she'd lived with until just recently. Moria's invention had been a godsend, and she would forever be grateful to the Scotswoman for it.

She retrieved a band-aid before straightening back up. "Have you heard of tinnitus?" Jade asked, handing the band-aid over to Kennedy.

“Oh sure, my grandfather had it before he died.” Kennedy nodded her head in thanks and wrapped the band-aid around her finger. She wiggled it a couple time to confirm the snug fit of the bandage before returning to the work at hand. “It’s a constant ringing in your ears.”

Kennedy pondered that for a moment, the idea of every person creating a terrible sound in your head, it made her cringe. “That sounds… awful.”

"It's pretty shit, yeah. Except I hear a constant gurgling of liquid at fast speed of, topped off with a heartbeat." Jade sighed. "Alright, use a spoon or a knife to lift the lid this time and chuck it in a microwave safe bowl, pop it in the microwave for two minutes. What seasoning d'you want in the beans?"

"You season them?" Kennedy seemed confused by this question as she opened the can and then aggressively shook it until its contents emptied into bowl. She examined the beans for a moment as if they were going to tell her something if she looked at them long enough. "I thought they came with seasoning already on them." Kennedy paused for a moment and let that comment sink in, she could practically hear Jade's eyes rolling from her absurdity. "I guess, garlic? I don't know. If that's a bad choice then tell me what a good one is or else you're eating a shit breakfast."

Jade chuckled, "they're just beans in tomato sauce. So if you want that exact flavor, that's great, but generally you want a bit more, pinch of salt," she touched her fingers together to indicate how much a pinch was, "and two, three shakes of Italian seasoning." Jade said as she fished out a few slices of bread and popped them into the toaster, she then went over to the cupboard and fished out two plates and two sets of knifes and forks.

"So, you know how I feel about my powers, how do you feel about yours?" The redhead asked as she set the two plates and utensils before heading back to the toast.

Kennedy’s shoulders slumped as she thought about Jade’s question. No one had ever asked her anything like that before.

“I hate them.” Her voice grew soft as she removed the warmed beans from the microwave. “Being a mutant took everything away from me. My family, my life, my dreams. I can topple buildings and fell any target. My powers are those of destruction.”

Kennedy finally returned to her coffee and took a long sip of the now lukewarm liquid. “At least you can save lives with your powers, you can help people. I just maim and destroy, I’m the dangerous monster they think all mutants are.”

Jade placed a hand on Kennedy's shoulder. "There is many ways of helping people, saving a life, Ken." She said in a soft, but serious tone. "A wise person once said that to me. Whether it's stopping someone from bleeding out, or removing a person who will make you bleed out...it all helps. It's about choice. How we use what we know and what we can do. It may seem like a poor justification, but..." Jade sighed, "it makes our powers easier to live with. At least for me."

“Thanks Ms. Farwynd, that does help a little. It’s more about what you do rather than how you do it.” Kennedy forced herself to smile, to try and feel better about who she was and what she was doing with her life. “Who told you that?”

"My old sensei, when I was training to use my spear and sword." Jade replied as she started arranging the breakfast onto the two plates. "Master Yurei. Scared the fuck out of me that one, but he was a damn good teacher," she said.

"Sensei?" Kennedy seemed surprised by the information. "So you do like medical, doctor stuff and you know martial arts?" Everyone here was so multi-dimensional, the stacked skills and abilities she was discovering as she met people made her feel so stunted compared to all of them. Then again, maybe that's why they were all here, they were some of the best. "All of that sounds so, intense."

Kennedy buttered the toast that had recently become available. She had plucked the hot bread out of the popped toaster with minor fanfare, only shaking her fingers briefly from the heat. "So why did you come here? Why are you a teacher?"

Jade took a piece of toast herself and then piled on the baked beans on top of it, no butter. She then sliced through her sausage and took a bite. "I'm a nurse at best. I studied phlebotomy...blood sample collecting. Only really took up martial arts to learn how to use the sword and spear I can create, no other reason. As for why I'm here?" Jade took another bite, "I was about to get fired from the Cancer Centre in Austin for using my powers on a patient to break up his aneurysm when the Prof came with the offer. So I came...better than working in a shitty ghetto clinic. I'd have to use my powers there just to keep myself save, which would draw unwanted attention and more mute hate...you can see where I'm going with this."

Kennedy took a bite of her beans and then a bite of her toast, mimicking what Jade was doing without really knowing what to do. She had never had beans for breakfast before and it wasn’t half bad. She nodded her head in agreement with Jade’s words, understanding what she was saying.

“I accidently assaulted a cop.” Kennedy said once she had finished her mouthful of food. “I was being arrested for… something else, and I got so scared that I used my powers on him. Not enough to hurt him, thank god, but enough that I knocked him over, and he was a big guy. So it became pretty obvious at that point that something else was going on with me. My parents have really good attorneys otherwise I think it would have drawn a lot more attention.”

Jade stabbed a sausage piece and used it as a wedge for the scrambled egg, then took a mouthful. "Well now you got to dish, mate. What something else? I won't judge, I mean I just exanguinated a guy at the plant the other day. Can't be worse than that."

“I stole a car.” Kennedy confided in Jade “More specifically, I stole my boyfriend’s father’s car after he put me through the ringer following a really intense internship at his law firm.” She paused for a moment to take a bite of food before she continued. “I was so upset and beside myself, the things he said to me… he never liked me, but this was next level. I guess I just kind of snapped and wanted to retaliate. So I stole his car with every intent of taking it on a joy ride. But the police caught up to me quickly.”

Kennedy shrugged as she took another bite of her breakfast, she was rather hungry and the meal was satisfying. “And the rest is history, had I not stolen that car and popped off on a cop, I might still be at home in Boston without a clue of my mutant abilities.”

Jade took a sip of coffee and another bite as Kennedy spoke. "It would have manifested one way or another, don't mistake that occurence as an isolated event. They will always find a way to manifest. I made a dagger out of blood...my dad came home and and found a crapload blood all over our house and found me in the kitchen with a bloody dagger in my hands. When he went to take the dagger from me it dissolved into a pull of blood. It...was a shitshow."

“That sounds really gross.” Kennedy said with a lighthearted tone as she mentally pictured the kind of mess Jade had made when using her powers for the first time. “I suppose you’re right, I guess I just like to torture myself with the ‘what if’ game. If I had been able to hide it until I went to college, I would have at least had some space to figure it out. But that isn’t what happened.”

She took a few more bites of her breakfast, eating a little faster now. “Thanks for feeding me and talking with me Ms. Farwynd.”

"Jade." The Aussie said. "I'm not a teacher, and you're more than welcome, Ken. I mean I can be if you ever want to learn how to cook and stuff?" She nudged Kennedy's shoulder with her own. "Think of this as college. You're nearly there in age. We can help you figure it out, I mean...that's what we're all here for in a way. To figure it out, no?"

“Yeah.” Kennedy nodded her head as she really considered Jade’s words. There were different types of education, being here at Xavier’s with people like Jade definitely had a lot to offer her. For the first time ever, Kennedy finally saw the opportunities that are available to her. “That is what we’re here for.”

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