265/Tatum's Classroom

Tatum's Classroom
Date of Scene:	03 May 2017
Location:	Classroom - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	AT the tail end of a Home Ec class.
Cast of Characters:	Deadzone, Rogue, Charlotte Maynard

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Deadzone has posed:
Tatum leans against her desk, wearing her usual ensemble of goth gear. Today's color of choice to break up the black is a soft lavender, seen in her corset and the ribbons that lace up her stockings. Her buises have all faded to the point where she isn't overdoing the goth make-up to hide them, so she isn't looking quite so dower. "Okay, class, remember that this project is basically your final for your sewing class. You have two weeks to finish it and you have to show me that it fits you as part of the mark. This is worth fifty percent of your final grade, so please remember to stay focused. Class dismissed. But remember I'm here for you if you have questions."

Pushing herself off her desk, tate reaches for a lollipop from the pencil holder on her desk. She unwraps it and pops it into her mouth before she starts to walk around the classroom to clean up for the day.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue is seated i nthe back of the class, wearing a green short-sleeve shirt with the Scooby Doo gang on the front of it. Her black gloves are off of her arms, leaving them dangerously bare and her lowerhalf is concealed beneath a tattered dark grey skirt that goes down to her ankles where all the tattered bits flow about her black leather boots.

The young student had been listening to Tater's words and trying to keep up as she didn't want to screw this course up, but she wasn't very good at this stuff. She didn't like working with small tools, because her super strength often left them damanged and broken.

When the class was dismissed, Rogue stayed in her seat, while others got up to leave, she was still writing stuff down and shaking her head gently.

Charlotte Maynard has posed:
Charlotte joined home ec class, but she hasn't been in it long, having joined rather late in the semester. She's only been at the school for about a month, after all.

Which means that she hasn't actually been doing very well. She has very limited experience beforehand, and the needles, she's finding, are too small for her fingers and easily bent - it's Rogue's problem, but made worse because Charlotte hasn't been as strong as she is for very long. It's useful for teaching her to control herself, but her attempts at actually sewing anything generally have ended in disaster. (Cooking has gone much better.)

Charlotte is currently sitting at the side of the class. She's wearing a pair of jeans that seems a little too small, and a T-shirt that's much the same - so her usual outfit, honestly. She is /really/ debating taking Tatum up on that offer... she glances around the room to see if anyone else is going to beat her to it, though, because she doesn't like to interrupt.

Deadzone has posed:
With her lollipop in her mouth, the stick zigging and zagging between her lips, Tate goes from sewing station to sewing station. Most of the students mill out of the classroom, talking about what they plan on sewing for their projects. She notices Rogue and smiles warmly. She misses her Rogue, her old bestie. It's hard to really have a heart to heart with someone that is a student. She then looks over to Charlotte. "Miss Maynard? Still having troubles? You know, I'm going to talk to Dr. McCoy. I think handsewing might not be for you and we should skip straight ahead to the machine."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue was just transcribing some notes, she wrote in a strange way that often annoyed teachers as her writing would phase in and out of French and she'd often write notes and 'nothings' to herself on the sides of her papers that were also in French. Not everyone could speak it, so it was a bothersome thing for many of the teachers, though Marie was trying to stop it was just challenging for her being back in school after being away from it for four years.

She didn't seem to even yet notice Tatum or Charlotte still in the classroom, her lips were moving as she was silently speaking whatever she was writing down and her two-toned hair waved gently in the motion of her body as she wrote.

Charlotte Maynard has posed:
Charlotte is one of those people who doesn't speak French. But then again, she's never had to borrow Rogue's notes.

On getting personal attention from Tatum, Charlotte reddens slightly. "Well, I'm getting better," she assures Tatum, which is true; this isn't quite as apocalyptic as her first day, when she'd never even picked up a needle before. "But, um, I think I'm going to need to work real hard to actually get anything I can turn in for the project." And even then it might not be passable.

She glances back at Rogue, then, biting her lip for a moment, but she doesn't say anything to her immediately. "I know I'm not the only student with problems doing it either..." She noticed Rogue fussing with the needle even if she doesn't know why, because she doesn't know about Rogue's strength. It hadn't come up.

Deadzone has posed:
Tatum chuckles then, looking to the two students with the problems with sewing. "So, what you're telling me is that my super strengthed students need adamantium needles? I'll get our groundskeeper to look into that for us," she says with a teasing smile.

She then leans in closer to look at Charlotte's work, being careful to keep her aura out of reach of touching the girl. "Actually, for someone who has never sewed before, you are doing rather well. Your spacing between stitches is good."

Rogue has posed:
Setting her notes aside, Rogue took a moment to lift her work up again and tried it once more, and yet again the needle bent... which caused her to throw out a series of angry curse words in French!

Rogue's head went up when she heard the chatter from the other two of them. "Is that a thing?" She asked. "I mean... tougher needles?" She looked from Tatum to Charlotte (who'd inspired Rogue to get into this class that Tater was teaching).

"Cause this is bullshit and Ah'm losin' my evahlovin' patience here." She shoved her workd forward on her station and leaned back in her chair to cross her arms over her chest.

Charlotte Maynard has posed:
"Wait, she does?"

Charlotte actually didn't know that about Rogue. It hadn't come up in their discussion; she knew Rogue had some kind of draining power, but she doesn't know the details and she didn't know about the strength at all. She seems confused for a moment as she looks backwards at the other girl, when she confirms it.

"If they make stronger needles I would like to try one," she says, a little hesitantly. "I mean, I don't want to be a bother, but..." She thinks back to how many needles she bent. Some of them she managed to straighten back out, though, so they don't count. ...probably.

The praise does make her smile, though. "Thank you. I've been trying. I'd like to learn how to sew, I can't afford to do tailoring or anything... so even if it's just alterations it's a big step."

Deadzone has posed:
"Well, I think actual adamantium sewing needles would be extremely expensive, but we can look into possibly titanium ones. Still more expensive then I would ever use, but I can't bend a breadstick, let alone bending rebar. I'll mention it to the Professor when I talk to him about my next order."

She leans in to look at Marie's work, smirking over the swearing. "Or maybe I need to sit by you guys while you are working, just to give yuo guys a break from the strength for a while. You know, until your hands are used to sewing. But, I think getting you two on sewing machines so you only have to hand sew when you have to would be the best idea. And the titanium for when you have to do things like buttons." She nods to Charlotte."That's mostly my focus on this class. The practical aspects of sewing. Not everyone is going to want to sew their own clothes, but knowing how to sew a button on, or mend a seam, or make an alteration to fit your tail into those really nice skinny jeans? That's important as hell."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue just huffed, she had trouble keeping her anger down... even if she knew she had no real reason to be upset here because everyon here would likely be understanding of the problem at-hand.

"Its stupid." She said. "I know how t'clean up and sew up injuries on a battlefield, but I can't actually do it without snappin' the damn thing." She'd taken a lot from Carol Danvers, quite a lot... (Little did she know that Carol was on her way here sometime soon too!).

With a heavy sigh Rogue shook her head. "What if... Lorna sat here too?" She asked, watching Tater and then over o Charlotte. "She can control metal right? She could keep them from bendin' while, Charlotte-boo an' me did our tests, or whatevs."

Rogue's green eyes looked between them to see if this had been a good idea or a dumb one.

Charlotte Maynard has posed:
They don't make skinny jeans my size," Charlotte admits, with a bit of an embarassed laugh. "I have to buy from the stuff that's sized for heavy people or I can't button it. It's why it's always too short." And, indeed, her ankles kind of stick out. She wears high socks in the same blue so it's a little less blatant, but can't do the same thing with her shirt, which is why she's kind of stuck with navel-baring.

Charlotte looks at Tatum a little thoughtfully. "That might help, but I can't depend on that," she says. "But yeah, I'd like to learn how to do adjustments and modifications and stuff. That's... something I could actually use. I don't know a lot of skills that are really /useful/. I think I'd like to learn more."

Rogue's concept... Charlotte has never really spoken to Lorna at all. Her eyebrows furrow. "Maybe?" she says, a little doubtfully. "I don't know."

Deadzone has posed:
Tatum sees Rogue's temperature starting to flare and reaches out to rest her hand on hers. They might not be besties in this world, but there is still a kinship there on Tate's part. She offers a supportive smile and gives Rogue's hand a squeeze. "Ms Dane has her own classes to teach. I'll ask her if she can spare the time, but if at all possible, I would like to find a way around this that doesn't use another person's powers. It's supposed to be a life skill, after all."

Ms. O`Neal drops to one knee and pulls a stitch ripper from her class apron. "Well, for a starter, Miss Maynard, you should pick out the hems of all your pants. That will give you about an extra inch of length, maybe more if it's not jeans. May I?"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue would look Charlotte's attire over more closely when she heard the girl describe her woes with wears. This made Rogue's tongue's tip go to the side of her mouth and bulge at her right cheek as she thought about how to help the girl solve this.

When Tatum squeezed her hand it made her startle a bit because she still wasn't used to people who could touch her without having worlds fall apart! But she then smiled and exhaled softly. "I'm okay." She said softly. "And you're right, have'ta figure this out somehow for when people ain't around t'help me with it. Just... gotta dial it down. But its hard when I get frustrated."

Rogue shook her head. "Hey! I know a place we can get a buncha fabric bolts from'n such." She told the two of them. "There's this place down in the city, its by the docks... its loaded with stolen fabrics that these Chinese people are always peddlin' on the cheap. We chould go down there and just take a bunch of it some night. I mean, its not theirs anyhow. And with it, we could help make Charlotte more clothes that actually fit'er."

Charlotte Maynard has posed:
"Like while I'm wearing it?" That alarms Charlotte momentarily - what if Tatum makes a mistake and rips it? - but she nods, a little uncertain. "I mean, all right. I'll stand up so you can."

And she does; she rises to her full height. More or less. She's a little slouched, out of habit more than anything else. But her legs are straight rather than folded so she can fit them under the desk.

Charlotte realizes Rogue has had her hand squeezed, but then remembers Tatum's own skills and thinks nothing more of it. "Um, I don't know about that." She sounds like she's thinking. "I mean, if it's stolen, shouldn't it go back to the original owners if somebody took it? I mean - if someone did, that is."

Yeah she'd totally deal with criminals. It's just that she doesn't think she should profit by it. "Plus, I can't sew a whole set of clothes."

Deadzone has posed:
Tatum picks out the hem of Charlotte's pants. "First of all, Lotta, as much as it may suck, bit and tall stores for men. They make jeans with unusual sizing, for guys like basketball players and the like. It's not very feminine, but you know what? I can teach you to alter what you buy there to look more flattering. Also, big and tall shops don't tend to hem the pants, and alter them to spec, so you get a lot more length then usual off the rack places."

Rogue's suggestion about the docks gets her a stern look as the lollipop sucking Null has to play adult. "The school is not so hard up that we need to resort to stealing from others to make clothes for our students. If we were going to deal with the black market on the docks, it would be to return the goods to their rightful owners and to put those that are stealing in jail."

She pauses in the stitch ripping for a moment, looking off into space as she thinks to herself about what she just said. "Good grief! When did I start talking like Scooter? They're slowly turning me into a respectable adult. Eeesh!"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue lifted her bare hands up in a defensive gesture toward the two of them as they rejected her idea. "Fine fine!" She said at them, gently shaking her head. "Shit's nevah gonna go back t'wherevah it came from originally..." She muttered that last part while she looked down to her desk and started to put her things away.

"I'll help ya go pick stuff out any place ya wanna go though, Charlotte. Just find me and drag me alone, so's ya don't gotta go inta any place like what Tater just described, ya know, alone. Cause that'd probably be awkward as fu--- udge." She caught herself on that one, whew.

Charlotte Maynard has posed:
"Charlotte, please," Charlotte says, at Lotta. "Or Char, I guess, I've had that before." But Lotta? That just doesn't feel like her.

Charlotte lets Tatum work at her hems. "Oh, um, I actually do order these online from a big and tall store. Or I did. I haven't exactly been out to do it. The shirts... if I get one of the really big ones, they go around, at least, but they're too short. They're for fat guys, really." Charlotte is a little sheepish about giving away her tricks, such as it is. "But, if you want to go, we can go sometime. Maybe I can find something that works."

She pauses for a long moment, then: "Though, um, if we /could/ bring back the fabric to where it came from..." Maybe this way Tatum won't sound quite so distraught about sounding like an adult.

Deadzone has posed:
Tatum finishes the first leg, unrolling it. "You'll still have to iron out the creases from being folded for so long, but there you go, an extra inch of really dark blue denim. You can also do things like sew on lace along the bottom to make it look like it's longer then it is. I did that to get a little extra wear out of my old jeans. And patches."

She sighs softly and looks to Rogue. "Marie, you're right. Even if we did go there and deal with that location of the black market, it would only be that location. All we really would do is just remove a competator for the other places that get set up. And the goods would never see their proper home. But if we start acting like criminals ourselves, even if it's to punish criminals, then ... are we really any better then they are? Taking the upper hand isn't easy. Hell, it's the hardest road you will ever take, but you have to. Not for anyone else but yourself. Cause once you start going there? It's a hell of a lot longer road back to where you were."

After her 'speech', Tatum groans. "I've drunk the kool-aid. It was only a matter of time. Just call me Mr. Summers cuter clone."

Tatum shakes her head. "Char doesn't suit you at all. I like Lotta, cause you're a whole lot to love," she tells the big girl with a wink when she gives the Led Zepplin reference. "And they make things for the tal guys too. Tell you what, we will go, you and I and Marie here. They give you any sort of guff, they get to deal with me. And you don't want to make a goth angry. We have secret powers with the dark arts, don't you know."

Deadzone has posed:
Tatum's phone buzzes on her hip. She looks to it and quickly types a response before looking back to the other women.

Rogue has posed:
Rogue heard what they both said and she started to slide her long black gloves back on up to her elbows, left arm first. "I get what you're tryin' t'tell me... I mean, I know crime is bad'n all. It just..." She shook her head side to side then. "Just seems like a waste t'let it get sold off an' make these crooks more rich, cause we're 'too good'." Her shoulders shrugged then as she started on her right glove after smoothing out the left.

"I'll drop it though." She added. "Now that I'm livin' in this castle, I don't gotta steal stuff like that t'get by. So, whatevs."

With the left glove pulled on, her fingers wiggled-stretched inside of it she looked to Charlotte. "I still think we could figure out your sizes and get you good shit offa the internet. I mean, they do Drone Deliveries, straight t'our doorsteps these days. We could have all kindsa cool shit just air lifted in." This made her grin.

Charlotte Maynard has posed:
Tatum is right. Charlotte just has an urge to meddle sometimes. At least it's possible to talk her down with some logical thinking... which Tatum is providing. "That's true," she says, with a sigh. "It just seems like it could be better. I don't know - just - forget I said it, maybe?" She kind of agrees with Rogue, in some ways. But she doesn't think of herself as a thief, at all.

Charlotte doesn't get Led Zeppelin references. She is, sadly, not nearly old enough for that. So she pinkens slightly at the comment, perhaps thinking Tatum meant it seriously. "Ah - well - " She seizes on clothes as a safe topic. "Okay, yes, they do, but if I get it just for the tall guys sometimes it doesn't fit... around," she mumbles, though to be honest what she's got on now doesn't exactly fit perfectly, either. "I guess we can go, though. I mean, it can't hurt?"

She looks at Rogue. It's not quite deer-in-the-headlights. "Um, I know some of them," she admits. "I'm seven foot five, at least. I know that one. Airlifted, really?"

Deadzone has posed:
Her face pulls tight in a frown. "Trust me, I get it. And this is why there will always be crime. Because it will always be profitable and someone is always willing to take the risk, usually with someone elses life, for that profit. Stealing the goods isn't going to change anything. They'll just steal more to replace what we stole from the stealers." She hangs her head then, finishing off Charlotte's other leg. "Okay, time to let that sleeping dog lay, shall we?" Apparently the matter is dropped.

"Okay, so, this weekend, we are shopping on the proffesor's dime for a starter wardrobe for Charlotte. We will look for things that can give you basic fit and we will alter the rest to your figure. And by we, I mean me. Cause I can do a few items per day for you."

Rogue has posed:
Rogue showed a little grin toward Charlotte as she would go to rise up from her desk and she'd pick up her backpack as well. Once on her booted fheet she'd put her backpack around a single shoulder and then fish her pack of cigarettes out of a side pocket from it. "Ah guess Ah just got some'a that Mystique-influence still rattlin' around insida'a my head." She said at Tatum with a little grin.

"I'mma go smoke one out on the back patio." She told them, sinc ethe doors to the backyard weren't that far away down the hallway outside this classroom.

"Ya'll just grab me when its clothes shoppin' time. I'm kinda curious t'see insidea one these Big'n'Tall stores now." And with that, the southern belle would start for the door outta the classroom.

Charlotte Maynard has posed:
Charlotte Maynard drops it when Tatum and Rogue do. BUt she's still thinking about it. Maybe not that /exact/ situation... but something. She could do something to help people, couldn't she?

"You'd do that for me?" Charlotte seems surprised by Tatum's offer, but she smiles. "I would like that. Thanks. I haven't had anything that fits right in a while. But there's some things I won't be able to get there... maybe I could ask you about them privately later."

When Rogue starts to go, Charlotte frowns. "You smoke?" Charlotte's nose wrinkles - she can't stand the smell - but she can't really say anything about it if the teachers don't. "Well, okay. Take care, all right? I mean - actually, I have a better idea than just shopping on the weekend."

"I kind of wanted to go to the Dazzler show in the Tunnel," Charlotte admits. "Maybe... Rogue, do you want to go to that? Then we can shop afterwards, either way. That's on Friday, so there's still plenty of weekend time afterwards." See, she has a plan. (She just assumes a teacher wouldn't be interested. Sorry, Tatum.)

Deadzone has posed:
Getting up off the floor, Tatum takes the lolly out of her mouth. "Or, if it would help... how about we make it a field trip on Friday afternoon to help you find things and then you have something nice to wear to see Ms. Blaire's show?"

Rogue has posed:
Rogue would pause in the doorway and she'd glance down at the pack of smokes in her hand and she'd nod her head. "Yeah... Ah do." She said then in a remorseful sort of way. "Picked up the habbit while livin' on my own, bummin' around the country. It helped me calm down when all the..." She pointed up at the side of her head. "Mind shit started flarin' up inside'a me. It would some time help keep the othahs floatin' around up in there, from takin' ovah. I just, can't shake it now."

A nod or two later and Rogue flashed a grin. "I'd be down for that show, sure thing! Just grab me when its time t'go." Rogue lifted up a gloved hand to wave at them and she'd step out toward the hallway. "Late'ah on, ya'll!" She said back over her shoulder!

Charlotte Maynard has posed:
Oh, right, the whole ...travelling homeless thing. Charlotte feels vaguely guilty for asking. She doesn't press Rogue about it.

"Well, there's class," Charlotte says, but she's wavering. She could probably get there in time to find something to wear, but whether they have enough time to modify it before the club...

She nods, firmly, having made up her mind. "Sure! Let's do it. It'll be great." She grins, at Rogue and Tatum both; she even stops slouching quite so much, though that may just be because the room is a lot emptier than it was right after class and there are fewer eyes on her. "Thanks. Thanks so much!"

Deadzone has posed:
As Marie leaves the classroom, Tatum sighs. Sometimes, being from another world sucks balls," she mutters before popping the lolly back in her mouth. "Okay, so Charlotte, it's a date. Well, it's a field trip and then an outing to watch Dazzler, cause... Dazzler, that's why! I've never actually seen her in concert." Waving her hand at Charlotte with a grin, she shooes the large girl out of her class. "Go on, git. I got a shit ton of stuff to do and you didn't hear me say that first bit."

Charlotte Maynard has posed:
Charlotte Maynard heard that, Tatum. The 'other world' bit. She opens her mouth as if going to ask about it.

No, another time, she decides, when Tatum gets ready to shoo her out. "I'll just grab my stuff first," she says, bending down to pick it up. Fortunately, she is a master at speed putting-stuff-in-her-backpack (the new student competitive sport), so it's not very long at all before she's ready to go herself.