Meeting the New Girl

Posted on Mon Jan 6th, 2025 @ 9:24pm by Kennedy Kelly & Angela Williams
Edited on on Mon Jan 6th, 2025 @ 11:17pm

1,818 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 5: Days of Fortune Past
Location: Girls Dormitory
Timeline: November 19th, 1990 - 8pm

Angela pulled her rolling suitcases down the corridor of the girls dormitory. She felt a little sad about leaving home. She understood that the sudden departure from Cambridge had been necessary when the news story broke regarding her brother being a mutant. She just wasn't sure why she had to leave.

Angela stopped in front of a door and checked the slip of paper in her hand to verify the room number. All she had been told was that she would be staying with a girl named Kennedy Kelly. Seeing she was at the correct dorm room, she knocked twice to announce her arrival.

“Come in!” A sing-song voice called out from inside the room and as Angela opened the door a tall, slender blonde was removing a large stack of clothes from a bed. Noticing the suitcase and the new face, the blonde dropped the small white dress she had been holding.

“Oh gosh! You must be Angela. You don’t have to knock, this is your room too.” But by the looks of it, the girl living in the room had made herself quite comfortable living alone and had stretched out all of her belongings across every flat space that was provided. Clothing, shoes, makeup, hair care, and stacks of magazines and books littered the space. The willowy blonde noticed her gazing at all the belongings. “I’m sorry, they told me about an hour ago I was getting a new roommate and I’ve been trying to creep back to my half of the room.”

She picked up and tossed the dress into a large traveler’s trunk that was stamped with the signature Gucci “G” across its front. In fact, on closer examination, all the items the blonde possessed appeared to be from some high end designer or another.

“And where are my manners, sorry again. My name is Kennedy.” Aside from being tall and thin, Kennedy had a heart shaped face and a pert upturned nose. Her lips were painted a deep berry red and even though she was dressed casually, her attire appeared expensive and with impeccable taste. Kennedy Kelly exuded wealth and elegance.

“It’s nice to meet you.” She offered Angela a well manicured hand to shake.

Angela's eyes popped wide when she saw Kennedy. She had grown up in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was very aware of the Kelly family. She looked at Kennedy's clothes and sighed happily as she stepped into the room. "Oh my God! You're Kennedy Kelly of the Boston Kellys. I used to read about you in the papers and see you in interviews on TV. This is like the coolest thing ever." She gave Kennedy a big smile. "My brother is going to freak when he finds out who I am rooming with."

“You did?!” Kennedy seemed a little surprised by Angela’s awareness of her family and her past. So far most people had known her senator father thanks to his harsh anti-mutant stance and subsequent assassination. But the beautiful and glamorous life the Kelly family publicly portrayed had been lost on most people, especially teenagers. There had been a time in Kennedy’s life when she was photographed with polo ponies and at debutante balls. Where her family’s flawless Christmas cards were shared with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts rather than immediate friends and family. But those days were over for Kennedy.

“I was a member of the Kelly family.” Kennedy corrected her as she picked up a stack of clothes and dropped them into the trunk. “I’m not considered a member of the family, at least not anymore.”

There wasn’t a lot of mystery around Xavier’s, everyone knew why the other person was there. The fact that Senator Robert Kelly had a mutant daughter would have been a damning fact, Kennedy’s mutation would have ended his political career, except a bullet had done that instead.

“I was disowned when my mutant abilities manifested. My mother publicly claims that I am mentally unwell. So your brother doesn’t have much to freak out about. I’m just a student here, like everyone else.” Kennedy picked up a stack of magazines from what would be Angela’s nightstand. They were fashion and beauty magazines with waifish women posed on the covers. “So you and your brother are here? Together? What are your powers? Do they work together?”

Angela glanced at the fashion magazines in Kennedy's hands as she pondered the tall, beautiful young blonde woman's questions. "My folks sent us here when a news reporter broke the story of Drew saving my life. Something about how the government would see us both as a threat. Drew is...I think a speedster is the term my dad said. I wouldn't say I really have any special powers, unless you call getting straight As in school a super power. As for your last question, working with Drew on anything is hard. I couldn't even convince him to ask out the girl he was crushing on back home."

Angela had started unpacking as she spoke. She started putting her clothes away and couldn't help wondering what it would be like to have a wardrobe like Kennedy. Angela knew she was pretty in her own way, but Kennedy exuded confidence and moved with grace and poise. "So what's it like going to school here?" She allowed a grin to cross her face. "Any cute boys that don't already have girlfriends attend boarding school here?"

“There aren’t very many boys…” Kennedy replied with a touch of hesitation, while her ex-boyfriend was still alive his demise from X-Man to the ranks of super villain made it feel like he was dead. “Connor is quirky but nice. He doesn’t speak and uses a device to communicate but he’s out of this world smart. Ethan doesn’t really talk to any of us and has made it clear that he only likes guys. There is Bobby who is a member of the First Class but he’s closer in age to the students, so he hangs out here a lot, but be careful around him, he’ll kiss just about anyone. Then there is Kurt but he’s here as a teacher rather than a student but he’s so nice to everyone, plus he’s a monk but also not a monk so I’m not really sure how rules apply to him.”

Kennedy debated if she should continue or not but if Angela was asking about relationships around here she figured she would give her all the details. “One of the girls here slept with a teacher and got pregnant, he opted to marry her and he was kicked out of the school because of it. Then he found his old girlfriend who had gone missing and he dumped the pregnant girl to go back to her. Now everyone seems to be okay with him and he’s getting married to his first girlfriend here this winter. I’m sure there’s more to it but that was wild to watch from the sidelines.”

She finished removing all of her clothes from the second bed, giving Angela the opportunity to actually settle in. “I am personally on a dating break right now but the girls around here can be boy crazy. You better tell your brother to watch out, he might get pounced on.”

Angela shook her head and sighed as she plopped down on the bed that would be hers. She gave a rye chuckle as she opened one of her suit cases and pulled out her night gown, bath robe and a toiletries bag. "I doubt Drew would know what to do if something like that happened. The only real date I think he ever went on was our school's Sadie Hawkins Dance weekend before last. There was a friend of mine on the cheer squad that he had been crushing on since before Homecoming, but there was an incident with a few of the football players and he flaked on asking her. She decided to ask Drew to the next dance, which happened to be the Sadie Hawkins Dance."

“Well, there are plenty of bashful wall flowers and strong independent women around here. If he’s looking for someone special, I’m sure he’ll find it.” Kennedy said with a sigh as she sat down on her own bed, the thick duvet on top attempted to smother her until she smoothed it out and away from her. “My last ballroom dance was a bit of a disaster.” Earlier this month she had been invited to the Hellfire Gala under false pretenses which resulted in her abduction and subsequent rescue. It had been a terrifying and heartbreaking night. Nevertheless, she spoke about going to a ball as a standard affair, like everyone had been to one.

“While I occasionally lament my never worn prom dress, there is something liberating about being here. A lot of drama is missing from this place, everyone is just trying to figure themselves out and find their own way. It makes everyone a lot more… I dunno… compassionate.” Kennedy spoke about the mansion like it was a haven from all the nasty things the world was offering mutants. “I’m sure you’ll miss your family and your Sadie Hawkins dates but this school has a way of making you feel alright with yourself.”

Angela chuckled softly at Kennedy’s mention of ballroom dancing. Her mom had grown up in Boston, daughter to one of the Boston Brahims families. "I like ballroom dancing. My mother is from the Taylor family in Boston. Former owners of the Boston Globe newspaper, my grandfather is still Editer-in-Chief and a major share holder. Anyway, mom made Drew and I take lessons." She grinned at Kennedy’s. "If Professor Xavier ever throws a fancy ball here at the school you could dance with Drew, you know, just as brother to your roommate kind of thing."

“I know the Taylors!” Kennedy perked up at the mention of a family name but that excitement was short lived as she remembered the reality of her situation. “I guess I should say I knew the Taylors.” But her moment of melancholy was short lived and she chuckled at Angela’s comment about platonically dancing with her brother. “I get it, strictly friendly dancing with your brother. I’ll even decline the cha-cha should that ever arise.”

Kennedy smiled over at Angela, her past few months at the mansion had been a rollercoaster of emotions and there were times when she wasn’t even sure who she was anymore. But talking with Angela reminded that she could still be herself, just a revised version. “I think we’re going to get along just fine Angela, welcome to Xavier’s.”

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