New Girl on Campus

Posted on Sun Feb 25th, 2024 @ 2:55pm by Hank McCoy & Mara Ricci

2,349 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Episode 0: X Lang Syne
Location: X-Mansion
Timeline: July 9, 1988

Hank hadn’t realized there was someone new at the mansion, but he was sure he’d remember meeting this one. She was very pretty, despite- or perhaps because of- the slightly confused and yet also very curious look she wore. She looked lost, but also interested in what was around her. Perhaps he could help. Yes, that was his reason for going over, not because he found her attractive.

She’s out of your league anyway, Hank, he told himself. Don't get any ideas.

“You seem to be lost,” he found himself saying. “Perhaps I may be of assistance.”

Mara looked up and blinked once. The man who stood before her was certainly memorable, so even if she had met more than just The Professor and Scott, she would have known she had not met him yet. And somehow, all the fur combined with his cultured speech was enough to make her give him a grin. “I think I am,” she replied, glancing around. “But really, I’m just wandering around. I’m Mara Ricci. I came to help the Professor with the computers.”

“Ah!” replied Hank, only momentarily startled by her lack of reaction to his appearance; he was used to shudders or jumps or at least gasps, but she had only grinned. “Yes, the computer consultant. I am Henry MccCoy, but most everyone calls me Hank. I had heard about you, but I didn’t realize you would be here this long.”

“I planned on staying the whole day,” she explained. “I didn’t suppose it would take that long, but one never knows. Anyway, I have a few hours before I have to catch my train, so I thought I’d poke around.” She glanced into a nearby room, spotted a single Apple IIe computer sitting on a desk in the corner and she smiled. No matter what other computer programming languages came after, she would always have an affinity for DOS. She quickly found herself lost in thought as she gazed around the otherwise empty classroom.

Hank caught himself staring at Mara and shook himself. He had to stop doing this to himself. Don’t dream, he told himself. “What do you think?” he asked. “Of the mansion, that is.”

Mara almost jumped out of her skin. “I didn’t realize you were still there,” she confessed. She was used to people wandering off on her. She didn’t mind it, of course; she was just used to it.

“Sorry,” replied Hank. “I… saw no reason to leave.” Why had he said that? It was stupid! What the hell did it even mean?

But Mara only gave him a smile. Hank couldn’t possibly know it, but she often felt that she must give people a reason to leave. After all, if everybody wandered away from her, the problem must be her, right? “It’s amazing,” she said. “The mansion. It’s huge and yet also cozy. I don’t quite understand how that works.”

“I have heard students joking that it’s the Professor,” he said. “That he exudes an air of comfort and peace, empathically imbuing everyone within the mansion with the same emotions.” He grinned. “To be honest, he is capable of it, but I doubt he would do something like that without our permission.”

She gave him another of her winning smiles. “Well, I don’t want to keep you,” she said, almost regretfully. “I’m sure you’ve got better things to do than babysit me.”

To be perfectly honest, there were many things Hank should be doing. But he didn’t want to do any of them at the moment. What he really wanted to do was to talk to Mara for awhile. “Nothing that can’t wait,” he said. “I could show you around the campus, if you’d like.”

She blinked, then smiled again. “I think I’d appreciate that,” she said. “Are you sure I won’t be a bother?”

“Not even a little,” replied Hank, sounding a little too enthusiastic even to himself. “Anyway, come!” he said quickly, trying to cover for himself. “Important stuff first!”

“The library?” she asked hopefully.

She sounded so hopeful, Hank actually laughed. “Ah, a girl after my own heart!” he replied. “Very well; to the library.”

“You like libraries, too?” she asked as they began walking through the hallways.

“I grew up in a rural area where there wasn’t much else to do but read,” he confessed, not wanting to get too deep into the subject of his uncomfortable childhood. “And I still enjoy reading.”

“One never really outgrows it,” she agreed. In fact, she had become even more of a reader after her abilities first manifested. She suspected that she liked that she couldn’t control a book with her mind and so she latched onto reading as an unknown world that she would have to explore to understand rather that just intuiting it.

She didn’t talk much, did she? Perhaps he merely needed to ask her questions about herself. His mother often did that to get quiet people to open up more. “What sort of books do you like the best?”

”Mystery,” she answered. “And classic Science Fiction.”

”I find that there are two types of classic science fiction,” he said. “Really good or really cheesy.”

”And I love both kinds,” she replied with a grin.

”What was your favorite science fiction book?” he asked.

“Earth Abides, by George R Stewart,” she replied. “He really explored what would happen if most of humanity suddenly disappeared. It was fascinating.”

”I don’t believe I’ve read that one,” he said. “I’ll have to see if I can find it.”

”I’ve got a copy somewhere,” she said. “I’ll lend it to you next time I’m at the mansion.”

He caught himself grinning. Reading a book she enjoyed would- no. No, he was not going to do that. The book sounded interesting. That was all. “I’d like that,” he replied.

She grinned back at him. “What sort of books do you usually like?” she asked.

”Just about anything, really,” he said. “Fiction, non-fiction, I used to read it all. I suppose if I had to choose a genre, I would have to go with the classics. Jane Austin, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, the Brontë sisters. Those are the books I find myself rereading.”

”I think we can find a book in common, then,” she said. “The Picture of Dorian Gray. Dracula, Frankenstein….”

”I read all of them in high school,” he replied.

”So did I!” she exclaimed. “Everyone thought I was crazy, but they’re so good. I think Dorian Gray is my favorite.”

”I’m more partial to Frankenstein,” he replied. “And here is the library.”

Almost hungrily, Mara entered the library. A computer signature caught her attention and she glanced around for it, finding it not far from the door. A few commands later told her what she needed to know. It was set up with a card catalog program, but nothing had been entered yet. “Fascinating,” she commented almost to herself.

”Stars and garters,” breathed Hank. “I’ve never met a technopath before.”

Mara blinked, and the computer stopped at once. “What did you say?” she asked, half amused, half confused.

”Technopath,” he said. “I meant- oh! You meant stars and garters.”

”Yes,” she said with a grin.

”It’s something my grandfather used to say,” he replied. “I have no idea where it came from, but he said it any time something unusual happened. ‘Oh, my stars and garters.’ I picked it up from him.”

”I kinda like it,” she said. “It’s different.” And she did like it. It was much better than the traditional oh my god, or any of the four letter words one could choose. “My dad always said Santa Maria,” she added. “He’s Italian. And catholic. So that’s probably why.” There was a pause as she gazed around at the books. “So what did you like about Frankenstein?” she asked.

Without even hesitating Hank replied, “the fact that the Frankenstein monster was mistreated based solely on how he looked when all he really wanted was to be loved.” As soon as he said it, he regretted it. Would she ask uncomfortable questions? He didn’t know how he would get out of that.

But, she didn’t even look at him. Instead, she just continued gazing around at the books, nodded, and said, “relatable.” It was half statement, half question.

”Uh… yes,” he admitted uncomfortably.

She sighed sadly. “People are cruel,” she said.

Her words were so sad, he very nearly asked her about her childhood, but he realized she must be as sensitive about it as he was about his. Still, he marveled that anybody would make fun of her appearance. She even made glasses attractive.

As much as Mara wanted to stay in the library for the rest of the day, she also did not want to waste Hank’s time. So, after a few more seconds, she turned back to him. “Plenty of time for reading later,” she said with another winning smile.

He returned her smile easily. That smile could light up a room. Stop it, Hank, he told himself. “Well, where to next?” he said. “Have you seen the hedge maze?”

”Only in passing,” she replied. “When I arrived a couple of hours ago.”

“Then you definitely need to see it!” he declared. He tried to ignore the part of his brain that reveled in the thought of being lost in the maze with her for hours.

She afforded him another of her cheerful grins. “Lead on,” she replied.

“So how did you come to us?” He asked as they walked through the hallways.

“The professor contacted me shortly after I graduated college,” she said. “Literally a couple of months ago. He was interested in setting up computers and wanted a consultant. I have a regular job, but a side job gives me a bit of extra money, so of course I agreed. He contacted me last week to set up this meeting.” She grinned. “I thought he was going to try to convince me to teach, but I’m not really interested in teaching.”

”No?” he asked. “Why not?”

“I just don’t see myself as a teacher,” she confessed. “I’m kind of an introvert and teachers have to do a lot of talking.”

“You’re doing just fine with me,” he said as they walked out into the courtyard. The day was clear and warm, not too warm, for which Hank was thankful. All this fur could get hot and he didn’t need to be sweating before noon. Not to mention, he didn’t want to disgust Mara already.

She gave him another grin. “Thanks,” she said. “One-on-one, I’m fine. In a group, I sort of clam up. Teaching could be a disaster.”

“Talking to a group is different than talking with a group,” he told her. “Especially when you know a lot more about the subject at hand than they do.”

“I suppose that’s true,” she said. “Well, anyway, I’m happy with what I’m doing now, so I suppose I’ll just keep with it. At least for the time being.”

“Being happy with your life is certainly the most important thing,” he said as they approached the hedge maze. “Are you sure you’re ready to get lost and then find your way back out again?”

“That’s the most fun thing in life, isn’t it?” she replied, peeking around the corner into the maze.

He grinned to himself, watching her examining the maze. She looked like a curious kitten sniffing at something they had never before encountered. “Yes, I suppose so,” he said. “Well, since I’ve been through this thing several times, I’ll let you lead the way.”

“Oh great,” she said with yet another grin. “No pressure, then.” She stepped into the maze and looked both ways. “Hm.” Then, she chose left. “This seems as good a way as any.”

Hank grinned and followed.

They chatted as they walked through the maze. Mara, it turned out, was a musician. She played saxophone and piano and admitted to be a fair enough singer to have been in her school choir. She had a brother who was also a mutant- lie detector- and her parents were aware and accepting of them both. They lived in Maine; they had moved to their four-season cabin as their full time house shortly after Mara left for college.

Mara, meanwhile, was making her way through the maze very systematically. She took only left turns and when she came to a dead end, would go back to the last left and take a right instead. And so, it was a little under an hour when they found the exit.

”I’ve never seen anybody solve this so quickly,” Hank commented as they headed back to the mansion. “You’re a natural.”

”We used to frequent corn mazes when I was a kid,” she explained. “Dad taught us how to work our way through them. The same concept was bound to work on hedge mazes.”

”Most people just wander around in there,” replied Hank.

”That’s probably a good way to kill an afternoon if you’re bored out of your mind,” she agreed.

”Or avoiding homework,” agreed Hank.

She shot him a grin and Hank couldn’t help but grin back. That smile lit up her eyes. And the eyes! He could get lost in them. That’s enough, Hank, he told himself. A girl like her would never be interested in you.

“Oh, it must be lunch time,” she commented. “My stomach is rumbling.”

”Then, next stop, the staff kitchen!” he declared.

He was going to spend the rest of the day with her, if he could manage it.

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