16:05, September 2, 1983.
Though days had past since the institute's visitors had left, Jacob still felt like someone was watching his every move. As if there was some sort of camera capturing his day on video and broadcasting the film to an unknown television channel. He wished that no one would be tuning in to this episode.
Today he found himself under the sun, glaring at the miniature, inked words printed onto the textbook in his hands. None of it made any sense. His eleven-year-old self mocked him for not understanding the detailed descriptions.
"I hate chemistry." he grumbled. Jacob snapped the hardback shut.
"Never liked it either." chuckled a familiar voice.
Jacob was surprised it wasn't the speed demon; Peter, or Vale despite sounding completely different. Oddly, out of all the people he had acquainted, it was Scott; gleaming in his perfect hair glory.
Jacob set the giant book to the side. "I'm guessing you're not here to complain about school?"
"No shit," Scott said. "Hank finds your mutation, 'fascinating'." He made air quotations with his fingers "Him and the Professor agreed to stick you in the Enhanced Program."
Jacob blinked. "I don't follow."
The mutant let out a exasperated sigh and shifted to his weight, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
"Professor wants to help you control your power, and Hank wants to experiment. Even Raven approved of you joining in training."
Jacob glanced up at the tremendous school he'd been accepted into. Strangely, in the small amount of time at the institute, he felt he could obtain any knowledge about what fueled his so called gift. Now he was welcomed into further studies of the incredibly confusing mutant gene, to be able control his own ability would be extraordinary. Xavier's School always exceeded Jacob's expectations.
He couldn't search for perfect words that would portray his answer.
Under his dark glasses Scott's expressions were difficult to analyze, but his frown was obvious. Jacob vaguely felt he was wasting Scott's time.
"Antionette was accepted in too," Scott told him. The wind blowing gently through his hair. "Charles said she was around here."
"I think I saw her in a field."
"Well jeez, you couldn't be more specific?" Scott's brows narrowed to point he looked as if he sponsored Nike sneakers.
Jacob's mouth stretched into a tight line as he got to hit feet.
"If I remember correctly, she's this way." He stated and motioned Scott to follow.
Jacob did not assume the mysterious girl he'd met two days previous to be in such a setting.
Antionette was crisscrossed in the grass with one of the younger students, who's name Jacob once heard was Jamie. Colorful flowers were piled next to them. She was quietly showing him the proper way to weave the flower stems into a circular headpiece.
Jacob couldn't decide what to make of the scene. It was something of peace and serenity, like the sound of a rain falling from the sky and splashing on the pavement. However, it was a being of haunting memories, because with rain came clouds, and clouds tended to block the sun.
Although, it was uncommon, there was more oppressing things to be taken into perspective.
Even though not under any trees, Antionette and the young boy were surrounded in ghostly shadows of creatures. Some human, some of fairytales, and some inexplicably unearthly; all bizarre like the girl who saw them.
Scott and Jacob shared a confused glance. There goes all the logic I have left about reality. He thought.
"It's weird," Jacob remarked. Scott seemed a little unimpressed. "How differently some people deal with grief."
Similar to the puzzling silhouettes in front of them, Scott's features displayed more perplexity than before.
"The other day, a woman came for her." Jacob shifted his weight. "I don't know. She seemed really torn up."
Without warning Scott left Jacob's side to Antionette and Jamie. Jacob hesitantly followed behind.
At first he hadn't registered the finished floral crowns were drifting in the air, they corresponded with the shadows like fashionable ghosts at a summer picnic. Jacob pondered if it all of it was an effect of her emotions.
"Are my glasses smudged or are those flower thingies floating?" Scott asked Antionette in a humorous cheer.
She flinched backwards, startled by his voice and sudden presence. Jamie cracked a toothy smile and shook his head as if Scott's question was so incorrect it became too silly to consider.
"That's only what you're eyes can see." Antionette spoke monotonously "You fail to believe, you loose who you once loved."
Scott's grin faded. He and Jacob once again shared a glance, only this time of concern and the thought of abandoning the plan and running away.
Jacob took in a breath as he sat down next to the two mutants. "If you don't mind me asking," She didn't answer. "Did you create the shadows?"
"No. I never have." Antionette kept her eyes on the flowers in her hands.
He was confused. He was actually perplexed. Jacob didn't want to be left in the state of lacking knowledge.
"When the redheaded woman came the other day," Jacob lowered his voice. "after you were staring down Vale's grandparents, you seemed to lose you're flow...?"
"What does that got to do with flying flowers and shadows?" Scott remarked.
Jacob ignored him.
"I've read Professor Xavier's thesis, emotions were mentioned to trigger and or heighten the X-gene."
"If you want to talk about my emotions I'm not currently up for it," Antionette snapped, her words icy. "And yes Professor Xavier seems to be right about the emotions causing an effect on our abilities. Keep in mind what I said before, these are not my doing,"
Her eyes reflected her words and tone. The blue revealed the more apparent rigid vocabulary and her defensive voice. However the flecks of green uncovered an existence of the world laying on top of her shoulders.
He pulled his brows together, he still found no answers to the equation. Neither could he figure out how to solve it.
Jacob didn't know he was staring until after Antionette arched her eyebrow back at him.
"If you're ever so fascinated in my troubles, I suggest you take this." she dug into her jacket pocket and pressed the item onto the grass in front of him.
Jacob wasn't completely positive if he should have grabbed the wadded paper as quickly as he had. He unfolded it's edges slower as it began to resolve into a photo.
He looked up at Antionette for an explanation.
Her eyes glared into his soul. "This is the source of my problems."
The picture was just of a boy, his handsome face creased from being crumbled into a ball. His wrinkled smile was childlike much like his completion. However the camera could be mislead behind his dull eyes. Or it was the dark lines under his eyes revealing exhaustion that would trick the mind to think he was older. What was most familiar was his platinum white hair, cropped short just above his thick eyebrows.
"He was about to turn nineteen." said Antionette.
Jacob's chest grew heavy as he formulated his answer to the equation. Yet while he checked for errors it looked more complicated the more he thought it over.
Scott cleared his throat from behind Jacob. He'd almost forgotten about the James Dean look-alike along with kid, Jamie, who was fixated with the floral halo he was working on.
"Okay. Well Antionette you've been accepted into the Enhanced Program." Scott announced.
Jacob was so subjected into answering his own questions, the original reason to seek out Antionette flew over his head.
Her frown deepened. "I don't remember applying."
Scott chuckled and rose to his feet. "That's the thing with Charles, he doesn't need an application."
Jacob hadn't a clue to how mistaken he'd been to assume the institute for mutants would no longer surprise him.