The Weirdos

31

Jasper looked up at Skins as she placed a cup of steaming coffee in front of him, then sat down in front of him with her own.
"Alright. Ask away."
"Why are there only boys here? Are female mutants rare or something?"
Skins laughed.
"Are you a little girl crazy?"
Jasper's cheeks reddened.
"What? N-no... I just wondered-"
Skins laughed some more and Jasper realized she was teasing him.
"It's ok. This is an all boys home. I switch places with my male partner every year. We teach the children how to use our specific skills. For example, I teach things like stamina, coordination, balance, flexibility... The grace of being a woman. But I teach it in a way that you boys can use. I do my classes through the weekend and into Monday."
"Who's your partner? Why didn't I know about this? When is the year up?"
"So excited to be rid of me already?"
Skins said with a smile.
"No, that's... That's not what I meant."
"I know what you meant. We switch gears in about four and a half months. He'll introduce himself to you then. And as for why you didn't know... It's because none of the boys do. I mean, two of them do, but they don't bring it up in regular conversation. For one, neither of them have any real conversations with anyone."
"Who is it?"
"Roderick. And Narcolepse."
"Oh... That guy."
Jasper frowned down at his coffee, then took a sip.
"Don't hold it against him. He's been through some hard walks of life."
"So I've heard..."
Jasper shook his head, then looked back at Skins.
"Ok, and then I was wondering about the safe houses like this one. How many are there? Where are they?"
"I'm not entirely sure. More have been built since I got stationed at these two, I know that much."
Jasper frowned. That's all she knew?
"Do you know if any of the safe houses specialize in training, uh... E-elementals like myself?"
"I'm not sure about that, either. Sorry."
Jasper looked down at his coffee again. A lot of the books he'd been given spoke of elementals and their short existence in the mutant world. And it mainly happened that way because they couldn't control the power they'd received. He didn't want to live a short life simply because he couldn't control himself. But he didn't want to become crazy mad with power if he did find a way to control it. He couldn't fully suppress it and he couldn't fully explore it. He had to find a balance. Or he would destroy himself. And the balance of the world.
"Don't think too hard about things, kid. It's not your time yet. Just relax and learn. Train yourself.
Your body and your mind. You'll get there."
Skins stood with her coffee in hand.
"You can come to me with anymore questions tomorrow. You should get some rest."
She left Jasper to stare into his cup of coffee and think more about the weight of the entire mutant world resting on him.