Unspoken: Compass Points & Protractor Burns

Compass Points and Protractor Burns
by _Allison

Rating: PG

Summary: The kids of Mutant High go to the source

Timeline: The morning of Reality Check, after Confessional

Author's Notes: Jenn, for her niggling and nagging and throwing into every conversation, "You should write something for the RR." To my geometry teacher and the A- that I am pulling off and Diebin for letting me swipe part of her title…Though I'm pretty sure she doesn't even know about it…

Date: October 6, 2001

"Next, take you compass and swing an arc over the line so they intersect in two places, and make sure that you don't change the distance of the compass for this next part..."

"Ow! Dammit, I got poked again!" Johnny swore from his seat in the back of the class.

"Will somebody please remind me why the six of us are the only seniors taking geometry? This class is a nightmare, _and_ we have to be shown up by sophomores like Fuzzy over there," Bobby said, scowling at Kurt, who had his hand high in the air to volunteer information.

Kitty reached over and smacked his head. "Don't make fun of Kurt. He's really nice, and if the lot of us hadn't put off this nightmare for three years, we could be taking something fun, like calculus!"

"She's right, you know. We could be trying to figure out how to plot a Mendelbrot set, something "simple"," Jubilee said, her eyes rolling.

"Can we not talk about math? This is neither the time nor the place," Dani ordered, laying her hands down on the table.

"But it's math class…" Neal said, giving her an odd look.

"Exactly," she replied. "And our teacher is…"

"Scott," Bobby answered, pleased with his fountain of knowledge.

"Very good, and Kitty saw him doing what two nights ago?"

"Chewing on Miss Rogue's tongue, while Logan watched," Johnny supplied.

Kitty sighed, "I feel kinda bad for the hairy guy. I mean he looked so dejected, like he was betrayed or something."

"Well, yeah, he has, like, a major crush on Miss Rogue, and then she goes and hops into bed with Math Guy. Of course he'd be pissed. I'm surprised he's still here," Jubilee said, as she poked holes in her paper with her compass.

"Do you think they did it?' Bobby whispered to Neal.

"'It'? If by 'it' you mean went at it like minks, then I have to say yes," Neal answered softly.

"I doubt it. I mean, Miss Rogue's been pretty pissed at him lately, and she's been roaming with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Growly," Johnny objected.

"Please, she's his fiancée. Of course they did it!"

"EX-Fiancée!" the teenagers argued, their voices getting louder and louder.

"Dani, can you tell me how to construct a perpendicular bisector?" Scott's pronounced voice broke through their fervor.

"Yes," Dani stated. "Oh, do you want me to now?"

"If you could take time out of your busy schedule, I'm sure the class would appreciate it."

"Um, take a line, measure the middle, and then take your angle maker…" she broke off.

"Protractor!" Kitty hissed.

"Yeah, protractor, and make a left angle and draw a line," she continued confidently.

"I believe I asked you to construct it, not draw it," Scott sighed.

"So you want me to use Popsicle sticks or something?" Dani's face contorted in confusion.

"Dani, if you will speak to me after class, I will explain to you once more what construction is and, no, it does not involve Popsicle sticks," he said shaking his head, trying to keep the amusement out of his voice. "Peter, would you care to tell me?"

The five other seniors in the back of the class all let out a low "Oooooh, somebody's in trouble."

Dani just grinned and leaned back in her chair.

"Yeah, what a bummer I'm gonna be stuck in the classroom all alone with Mr. Summers asking him questions. Shucks, what on earth will I ask him?"

Neal gaped at her. "You wouldn't."

"She would. You got balls, chica," Jubilee said. "You got a set of brass balls."

"And the things might melt under an optic blast from the Teacher-Who-Isn't-Getting-Any if I can't figure out this stupid construction," Dani grumbled. "Hey, Johnny, can I borrow your compass?"

Johnny blushed and pointed to a melted metal blob on top of his desk. "It poked me!" he exclaimed as he attempted to justify his incineration.

"Don't worry, the bad compass is gone now," Kitty said, reaching over to pat Johnny's head. "Hey Jubes! Pass me my protractor, will ya?"

"Ummmm, well you see…" Jubilee flushed.

"Did it call you a bad name? Did it offend you in some way?" Neal asked, poking at the pile of liquid plastic with his pencil.

"Jubes, that was my best one! How could you?"

"It was being mean," she insisted.

"You know, I'm not sure I even want to know anymore," Kitty answered, rubbing her forehead.

"Alright, I suppose that's enough for today. I'll see you on Thursday. Remember, do pages 156 and 162 sets A & C for both," Scott called after his students as they flew out of the classroom, some more literally than others.

Scott looked at Dani with concern evident in his eyes.

"Dani, why weren't you paying attention in class? This is important stuff and you need to learn it."

"Honestly? We were wondering if you and Miss Rogue did it the other night after Kitty saw you two exchanging saliva in the hallway. I, for one, don't think you did, but she, Neal, and Bobby do," Dani explained.

"Oh."

"Yeah, there's the fact that Miss Rogue gave back the ring and the fact that she didn't sit with you at breakfast the other day...she wasn't even there. Of course, neither was Logan, so again, I think my theory holds. Would you care to shed any light on any of these factors?"

"Just go to lunch," Scott said, shaking his head.

"Bye, Mr. Summers!" Dani waved cheerily on her way out the door.

When she met up with the rest of her friends at the end of the hall, she smirked. "No way."

~*~

Square Pegs, Round Holes by Andariel

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Disclaimer: All X-Men characters belong to Marvel and Fox; this piece of fan-written fiction intends no infringement on any copyrights.