Manicures

Posted on Sun Dec 22nd, 2024 @ 12:42am by Kennedy Kelly & Hayden Davis & Kayleigh Marshall

1,975 words; about a 10 minute read

Mission: Episode 5: Days of Fortune Past
Location: X-Mansion
Timeline: November 17, 1990

"Go ahead and take a look, I think I have every color you could possibly imagine." Kennedy said as she began to unpack the plastic Caboodles cases that held her nail polish and manicure supplies. It was a surprisingly quiet day at Xavier's and with the weather turning cold and dreary it left a lot of the students inside and with a touch of cabin fever. Competition over the television was fierce and most people didn't hangout in the library unless they were required to. Not wanting to sit in her room alone, Kennedy brought out her manicure supplies to the dining room where she had planned on repainting her nails before going to training in the Danger Room. The activity caught the attention of a few other girls in the area and before she knew it there was a group of them admiring the rainbow of nail polish colors Kennedy had.

"I can paint them for you if you'd like, I don't mind. I used to paint my little sister's all the time." The comment had a touch of sadness in it but Kennedy remained cheerful. "I'm more inclined to pick the neutral colors but I have some bright and wild ones in there too."

“I’ve never really tried painting my nails before” Kayleigh said sheepishly as she looked at the array of colours of polish on display. “I guess I never had a reason to really want to try it.” She looked up at Kennedy. “What do you think would look nice?”

“I think it’s more about personal preference than what I think is nice.” Kennedy said with a shrug as she rummaged through the bottles.

“Some people like nails that stand out and get people’s attention,” Kennedy picked up a bottle of electric blue nail polish. “Others like to compliment their attire or skin tone,” She pulled out a bottle of a soft rose color. “And sometimes you pick a color that makes you feel like someone else,” Finally she removed a bottle of racey red polish.

“I think it’s just a matter of finding what speaks to you. Some people think stuff like this is a waste of time but I like to express myself with it.” Kennedy said as she picked out a bottle that’s color was something along the lines of a chocolatey mauve.

“Mmm interesting” Kayleigh nodded as she looked through the colours trying to pick one or more that appealed to her.

“What about you Hayden?” Kennedy asked as she pulled a cotton ball and nail polish remover from the case. “Did you find anything?”

"You really have a lot of good choices in here. Awesome collection," she said. "Usually, I stick with more natural colors, skin tone, like you were saying. But it's been a while since I've let my hair down. So I think I'm due for something a little different. Let's go with this deep plum." Hayden removed the bottle and set it on the table. "Thanks for doing this, Kennedy. It's nice to just chillax for a change."

"Oh sure, you're welcome." Kennedy said as she continued to pull out all of her needed supplies "I think a lot of the time we just kind of do our thing after missions, it's easy to keep to yourself around here and I kind of hate it. I get lonely, it's better to do stuff with other people." While her tone was chipper the sad sentiments were present, life could be despondent for a lot of the mutants at the school, it took effort to form any real connections.

Kayleigh was still mulling through all the colours. “I really don’t know what to go for! maybe I should just watch instead?” She felt like the odd one out who was spoiling everyone else’s fun.

"You don't have to do that," said Hayden. "Here, let's tryyyy...this one." She picked up a bottle called rose gold. "Whaddya think?" she asked, holding up the bottle of nail polish for Kayleigh to look at.

Kayleigh appreciates the help, she could only imagine how her dilly dallying about must have appeared. “Actually I like that, thanks Hayden.”

"Perfect." Kennedy said with a smile as she set up stations for both Kayleigh and Hayden. Her plan was to paint their nails in tandem, applying a fresh coat to one while the other's dried.

"So Hayden," Kennedy said as she opened the bottle of plumb polish. "I was told you were hanging out with Bobby during the Halloween party."

Hayden shifted so she could place her hands on the table when Kennedy needed. "Yeah, we had the haunted house and then we hung out for a little bit. It was fun and he seemed nice enough."

“Yeah he can be, when he wants to be.” Kennedy grumbled as she opened the bottle and began to carefully paint Hayden’s nails, “I don’t mean to discourage you from talking to him, I just want to warn you to be careful.”

Kennedy switched from Hayden’s left hand to her right. “He came on really strong when I first got here and I was in a really bad place mentally. We talked about some of our issues and we kissed. Then he ditched me the minute his ex-girlfriend was mentioned. On top of that, I found out he was doing pretty much the same thing with three other people here. He just seems so desperate for a relationship that the person doesn’t really matter.”

"Wow, yeah, thanks for the warning," said Hayden. She watched as Kennedy painted her nails. "I won't stop talking to him, but I'll definitely be more alert when we hang out. He sounds like a real cautionary tale if he had four people on the same line. Sorry you had to go through that, Kennedy."

“I don’t know Bobby that well, but I know he’s one of the original team.” Kayleigh moved to sit down to wait for her turn to have her nails painted. “He’s been through a lot, so maybe we should all just give him a chance?”

“We’ve all been through a lot.” Kennedy bristled at the response. Her exile from a family she loved, the murder of her father, and her former boyfriend turning into an evil mastermind were all fresh events for her. “That doesn’t mean that we’re entitled to use people to make ourselves feel better.”

Kennedy finished with the first coat of nail polish for Hayden and began painting Kayleigh’s nails.

“I’m not saying don’t be friends with him or talk to him. I’m not looking to shunn him or anything. He can be really nice sometimes.” Kennedy attempted to clarify her intentions. “I’m just trying to warn you that he moves fast at times and when I found out he was doing the same thing with lots of other people it hurt my feelings and upset me. If that’s an issue for you then I felt like you should know.” She shrugged as she continued, “But if that doesn’t bother you, that’s fine too. I mean, no one else who he kissed seemed to be bothered by it. So maybe I’m the weird one?”

“No, you’re not wierd” Kayleigh offered a warm smile as she looked at Kennedy. “I’m not calling you a liar or anything, like I said I don’t know him that well. I think you’re brave for speaking up.” She looked at her nails. “That colour looks pretty good, I could get used to wearing nail varnish more often.”

Hayden watched as Kennedy finished the first coat and moved to Kayleigh. "Nah," she said. "Maybe the others were oblivious or whatever. But thanks. Yeah, it'd be an issue for me, for sure. I'm not keen on moving fast or being third or fourth on anybody's list of rounds." She paused a second before trying to change the subject. "Maybe the three of us can plan a girls night sometime. Or an outing or something like that. Just get away from the boys, you know?"

“Thanks guys, we girls have to stick together.” Kennedy agreed with their sentiments as she continued to paint their nails but she scrunched her nose like a rabbit when Hayden mentioned a girl’s night.

“There are no boys here anymore!” Kennedy said with a laugh. “We have Connor who is Connor, Ethan who never talks to anyone and is gay, then we have Kurt who’s a monk and an instructor. There is barely any testosterone around this place. Not that I particularly mind, but we’re practically a girls boarding school. We’re going to have to dance with each other.”

“At this rate Xavier's school will be a school for girls!” Kayleigh grinned as she swapped hands to allow Kennedy to paint the remainder of her nails.

“While I am currently sick of boys and all their awful behavior, I do like them.” Kennedy admitted with a playful little smirk, “They can be fun.”

Hayden thought as Kennedy listed off the few guys that were still there. "Um, yeah, you're right. It's already girl's night every night!" She laughed and continued. "The boys in my high school class were horrible creatures. But when I first got here, I saw that they weren't too bad. And yeah, they can be lots of fun. Especially when you watch them around us, they fumble and stumble all over the place."

“I don’t know about either of you but I’ve never had a boyfriend, I’ve had friends who are boys, but that’s about it.” Kayleigh offered a bashful smile. “I’m something of a wallflower when it comes to boys and parties.”

"A wallflower," said Hayden, a surprised tone in her voice. "I seem to remember a certain someone having some pretty playful banter with Bobby when the team came back from Muir Island. C'mon, admit it, there's a wild child underneath there somewhere."

Kayleigh grinned. “I guess you could say I’m coming out of my shell.”

“Well, my romantic dalliances have been on full display.” Kennedy said with a tone of remorse, her very public fight with Bobby and the nightmare of a rescue from Shinobi’s hold at the Hellfire Club had brought her relationships into the spotlight.

Kennedy finished applying two coats of polish to both of their nails and began to add the final touch of clear coat to protect them.

“There is nothing wrong with going slow and taking your time.” Kennedy replied to Kayleigh’s confession of being a blooming wallflower. “I think I would have fared better if I had done the same. I’ll stick to my romance novels for the time being.”

Kayleigh nodded. “Thanks for making me feel better Kennedy, and for my nails” she smiled as she looked at the precision work Kennedy had done. “It’s looking fantastic!”

"She's right, they really do," said Hayden. "Awesome job." Her tone turned more towards a consoling friend as she continued. "I'm really sorry your relationships have been out there for everyone to see. Sticking to the novels for a while isn't a bad idea until you find that guy who doesn't mind taking it slow."

"You're welcome and thanks." Kennedy said while tucking her hair behind her ears "In their defense, I wanted to too. It just feels bad in hindsight, you know?" She began to work on her own nails, removing the current nail polish with an acetone soaked cotton ball. "Now there's the real mutant power, find us someone who can see the future. Then I'll ask them about every boy I met before I even say hello to him."

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