Feeling

[François Laffont]

Well, of course, Franck never thought they’d be running the school. People would think they were insane to leave the fate of a school to children. The technicalities ought to be taken in charge by people who understood them, which clearly was not Franck’s case. He left the administration to the... well, the administration. “An unofficial group to help the school and the students for their best interest? If I didn’t know you better Elsa, I’d think you’re trying to start some secret society,” he said with a little smirk. Was it right to joke? Elsa didn't seem the type to joke a lot. If she did, Franck had never seen that side of her. He shifted on his seat. Maybe she wouldn’t take it too well that he seemed to take this so lightly, lightly enough to tease her about it.

He cleared his throat, preferring to move on instead of finding out if she had any funny bone inside of her. “Erika is kind of a more official route to speak publicly. And I can help, if you want of it.” And she apparently wanted of it, otherwise they wouldn’t be here. He still felt like it was a plan in the making but that didn’t mean he couldn’t jump right in already. He was about to tell her that but frowned as he saw her holding her head. “Are you alright?” he asked. He wasn’t quite sure what he could do to help her. His talent did not reach to erasing pain.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"That's not far off the mark, actually," replied Elsa dryly, "and you're the second person to pick up on that."

She sighed a little after that. Was it a good idea, creating a secret society of sorts? It felt right. Elsa didn't quite trust the school board to handle things: they were the same people who'd essentially let SPECTRE walk all over the school. Where had the protection been there? The infrastructure? No where that Elsa could see. So if this is what it took, then she'd do it. Simple as that.

Not so simple was the question Franck asked. Elsa thought she'd heard him say something else before the question, though her mind was a little fuzzy at the moment. She stared at him for a few seconds, blinking. "Mostly," she replied, waving a hand dismissively. "Just the pressures of the job and everything," which Elsa had determined not to let get to her. She nodded and looked to Franck. "You're definitely in then? I don't mean to pressure you or rush, but I do need to talk to quite a few people to get things together. I'll make sure to send out more information as needed."

[François Laffont]

“As long as you don’t plan on convincing us we’re the privileged few and we don’t have to obey the rules on pain of death, I don’t really mind how you call it,” he let out. If she wanted to play it undercover at first, well, it was her choice. He didn’t really see the point but then again, he didn’t feel like he was having the hardest part to play. Others might disagree considering his job consisted on standing up to Elsa when necessary but he felt she mostly asked of him to be exactly what he had always been. And, like he said, as long as she did not intend to re-enact The Skulls, he didn't really care about keeping it a secret. He had to remind she was trying to act in the best interest of the people at the school. And if she did not, she had the bad idea of bringing Franck in and he surely would.

Franck could understand this job brought a lot of pressure on her shoulders. Just because he was seeing her more in the role of the headmistress as he did her sister didn’t mean he thought it was easy for the girl. Many people must think it was insane to let such young women take charge. Franck sure believed that at first and still wasn’t entirely certain about it. “Maybe you should ease off a little. I get it’s a lot of work and you might have something to prove but if you burn yourself out after a month or two, it won’t do any good,” he pointed out. He doubted Elsa would listen to him but he still felt like he had to tell her that. He just couldn’t help himself.

He nodded as she asked him for a clear answer. “Yes, you can count me in. I feel like there’s a lot yet to be explained about this but you probably have to sort it out yourself. And I suppose there’s no point in you telling me more if you can’t get everyone in first.”

[Elsa Bellefonte]

"It's more a group of servants," replied Elsa, nodding. The last thing she needed was to have the people she picked getting ahead of themselves. Though at the same time, she fully intended to pull strings to make it so they would actually be effective if it came down to something. She didn't want to think about that too much.

What she did want to think about was what was coming up soon. Just as she was about to mention this to Franck, however, he had to do exactly what she came to him for. Elsa chuckled, lowering her head to look at her drink and shaking it slightly. "Already getting started, I see. Well, I'll make sure to rest when everything's in order, or close enough," she replied, nodding again.

"And yes, there will be quite a lot. If you need to ask me anything, please,' she said, nodding and gesturing, "it's best to get it out in the open sooner rather then later. I will tell you what I'm telling everyone who's agreed: we're getting international students coming on campus soon, as Bellefonte is scheduled to host a competition among mutants. For the most part, they should be fine, but there are a few I'm... concerned about. It's a different sort of threat to SPECTRE and it may just be my being paranoid but, well, I want all of us to be ready. To be aware."

Because even as she gathered her people, Elsa still couldn't quite shake the feeling that something terrible lay just on the horizon.

[François Laffont]

If Franck didn't want to end up in one of those secret societies you see in movies, he also didn’t want to become a servant. The truth about what her little group was somewhere in between. He preferred not to joke about calling her mistress or anything of the like. That would be pushing it and Elsa clearly wasn’t one you wanted to push a joke too far on. Unlike her sister, he could definitely imagine her with a whip.

He gave her a sheepish smile as she pointed out he was already doing his job. If her wellbeing wasn’t as close to his heart as that of his friends, he did not dislike her to the point of wishing her pain. He wasn’t sure when ‘everything’s in order’ might be but he still nodded, trying to make it look like he didn’t really care about it. In a way, he didn’t. She was not one he’d stick around to make sure she was okay. He could understand she had a lot of work to do and pressure on her shoulders but that was no reason not to take a break on occasions. They all needed it.

“I suppose you’ll tell me when everything’s in place and you want us all to meet? I mostly have questions on how you want it to work but I guess we will all see when we start it,” he told her. He wasn’t quite sure how she expected them all to achieve anything. They were still students. Then again, Elsa and Erika were the same age and they were now co-headmistresses. He listened to her, drinking his coffee in the process, as she talked of the project of holding some competition between Bellefonte and other schools around the world. He frowned though as she brought up it could be a threat. “You really worry something bad might happen? From them?” he asked. SPECTRE had been... let’s just say he didn't handle himself so well then and he was pretty ashamed of it. In a way, he wished he would never have to prove he could be better than this but Elsa seemed to think it might be possible. Still, they were mutants, like them. If one should know how they feel, it was them. How could they be a threat?

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa nodded to Franck's questions. "Though I'm not certain I'll have everyone meet at the same time; we'll see how things work out. I'd rather not be found out," because she could see some people working their way through things. The last thing they needed was that information getting out to their enemies.

As for the followup questions, Elsa had to not, though a good deal more soberly this time. "I'm worried something might," she responded. "not... not quite like SPECTRE. I don't think any of the other schools are quite that genocidal. But, well..." she trailed off for a moment, tapping her fingers along the mug. Elsa frowned, then took another breath, having gathered her thoughts enough to continue: "Something tells me that this just won't go well. I'm probably just paranoid after everything that happened but, well" her face hardened, "I wasn't paranoid enough about SPECTRE, or the school wasn't."

She looked into Franck's eyes, her expression deadly serious. "I'm not letting something like that happen again," she reiterated flatly, her voice loaded with purpose.

[François Laffont]

“Oh, okay. Whatever works better for you. I will admit, I still find it a bit weird but at least I can try.” Franck wondered if his ability had not something to do with her proposition. He was certain that it did, at some point. But she seemed to claim it had more to do with his personality and he was also ready to believe it, even though he felt like she sugar-coated it a little. He couldn’t see himself as that precious of an asset. He didn't ignore what he did before, but it was in his nature and tried not to take any pride in it, as he only meant to help and it so often backfired in his face.

Franck dreaded the possibility of anything resembling SPECTRE to happen to them. This had been the most awful thing he had to deal with in a very long time and even though he did not suffer as much as, let’s say, Erika, he still didn't get out of this unscarred. Reliving it through her as he held her and sensed some of her pain did not help either. So of course when she shared her worries about the upcoming event, Franck was concerned. “Let’s just hope it’s only the stress of this new position making you see the glass half-empty, but I get why you should stay alert, just in case,” he told her. He even nodded, as if he needed to put any emphasis to his words.

He looked in her eyes as she put all the serious of the world in them and her words. As if she needed to do that to sound ominous. “I understand. None of us wants that.”

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Elsa briefly skimmed Franck's thoughts, mostly wanting to see what was truly going on there, to see if he was attempting to lie to her in order to make her feel better or, well, who knew what Franck would do. Elsa simply didn't know the young man as well as she'd like, and she'd be lying if that didn't bother her slightly. Someone this close to so many people...

He seemed to be worried as well, though he did his best to assuage Elsa's doubts. She expressed her gratitude with a smile and a nod, agreeing. None of them wanted that, and their eyes met as those words crossed. no, no one wanted that.

"That's precisely why I'm putting this group together," insisted Elsa, nodding again. "To make absolutely certain that when something like that happens again, we're prepared, and the costs will be significantly lower,' she reiterated, nodding. "And you're really showing that you're a good choice with each passing second, even though you'll probably be the youngest person in the room."

She gave him a smile at that, knowing that it could be asking a bit. But, well, he had more emotional maturity then about half the people that Elsa had on board, so there was that. She took a sip, still considering Franck.

"Do you have any more questions you'd like to ask?" she said. "While you have me here, that is." She laid the opportunity there, ready for him to go as wide with it as he wished.

[François Laffont]

Franck suffered a lot during that attack. Maybe not physically, but mentally, it had been terrible. because of this, he knew very well what Elsa endured. He remembered how he reacted when he found out she pretended to be Erika. His anger calmed down a little only because he knew how she felt about this but truth be told, now that this was behind them, had he been in the girl’s shoes then, he wasn’t sure what he would have done, if he wouldn’t have done the same. He preferred not to think of that.

That he might play a part to prevent such a thing from happening again was also not something he wanted to think about. He had a little smile when she pointed out he would be the youngest one. “But not that much younger,” he pointed out. He knew the fact he was still in high school made him look younger but he was still eighteen. It was just one of the joys of spending one year trying to reach the other students’ level in English and other lessons.

Franck understood the whole idea of being prepared, just in case. Better safe than sorry. And due to her new position, Elsa had to think of that even more. But it was not something he enjoyed thinking about. Still, if she believed he could help, it was not really in him to say no.

He paused a moment as she asked him if he might have any other questions. “I’m sure I’ve got tons, but I can’t quite think of one right now,” he admitted. He looked at Elsa across the table. It was true that she looked at lot like Erika, being twins and all, but Franck couldn’t quite get passed the many differences. “How are you doing, you and Erika? You’re handling all this ok?” he asked. Probably not the kind of question she expected to answer but it was what Franck wanted to ask right now.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Not that much younger... no, none of them were that young any more, not with what they'd seen. Elsa simply nodded, not wanting to say more, not wanting to delve into that mess. They both knew what had happened and what lay ahead of them. Some people had to grow up quicker then others, and apparently one of the several responsibilities that came with their particular blessings was that they had to grow up quite quickly. They'd adapted.

The question had Elsa chuckled slightly. "We're doing fine," she replied, nodding, "well, as fine as two teenagers that should not be in charge of a school could be doing. I think I'm handling it a little better then Erika..." Elsa hesitated for a moment, looking away from Franck, wondering. Should she? No, her suspicions were decidedly family oriented. Franck didn't need to be brought in on that. Not yet.

"We're both working at filling our new roles and making them fit us instead of the other way around," Elsa said confidently, nodding. "Which does mean that I've quite a lot to do..." she purposefully trailed off that time, looking to Franck, not wanting to rush him, but not wanting him to think that she could really sit around and engage in small talk, as much as she might want to.

[François Laffont]

Franck nodded at her words. He knew they were kind of thrown into that position and it must be a lot to deal with. It wasn’t like they had years of preparation in that domain. Franck understood they mustn’t have had any other choice to pick these girls. Not that he thought Elsa and Erika were incompetents but that wasn’t really the point here. They were still very young, they were inexperienced.

He was also not that surprised to hear Elsa handled it better. “I don’t mean to disrespect Erika, you know what she means to me but that does look like a position you’d more easily fill than she. You’ve got a practical side and you don’t let your feelings get in the way as easily,” he told her. In a way, he was glad Erika wasn’t here for he felt like he was basically saying she was not fit for this position. He didn’t mean that. People would more easily listen to her than her twin sister but Elsa did look more administrative. If teenagers could look that, of course.

“That’s good. You know, when Erika told me she had no real choice as to what she was supposed to do after summer, I never imagined that,” he added. He told her she shouldn’t let others force her if she didn't want of this. He understood now why she couldn’t really turn it down. He felt sorry for them, being forced to do this and forget the whole part where you can still experiment and fool around. They weren’t quite allowed that anymore. Franck wouldn’t be able to do that. They must be watched constantly with people clearly expecting them to fail due to their age. Franck knew he would, probably trying to please everyone and losing his head because that was impossible.

He got the message she sent his way. She didn’t have all day. “Of course, of course. I won’t keep you more than you need to,” he assured. She said what she came here to say after all, and he already agreed even if he wasn’t entirely sure what he just put himself into. “If you ever feel the need to be a teenager again... well you aren’t really anymore, more like a young adult? Either way, if you want that, even just for a short time, you can call me. I know I’m not wild and all but I don’t really see you like that either and it might be good to release some pressure,” he suggested. He could do that, if only because she was Erika’s sister. She couldn’t be all that terrible to hang out with, right?

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Most people Elsa wouldn't believe when they said that they didn't mean to slight her sister. Most of the residents of Kalispell did seem to like taking potshots at Erika for some reason. Maybe the girl just made herself an easy target: Elsa didn't really know and she didn't really care. She believed Franck when he said that, and she believed him when he continued, nodding to show that. Though she did have to wince slightly at hearing that Erika had been talking about this for a while.

"Sometimes I do wonder if she's quite as willing to do this as she lets on," admitted Elsa, looking down for a few moments. she still couldn't quite believe that Erika had become quite this accepting of her fate. It just didn't quite fit. But, well, that was a discussion to have between the two of them, and one for another day. For now, Elsa pushed away from the table, nodding at Franck. He got the picture.

Though his offer had her chuckling. "You're certainly not the only one who's mentioned that to me," she admitted. "But I might just take you up on that some time. Though you do have to promise me that you'll keep the other Frank far away. Your company might be refreshing, but hers... well, she's... something," Elsa paused for a moment, then nodded. "Well, until I see you again, Franck." She raised a hand to him, nodded, and then headed out, knowing that she had plenty to do before she could really rest.

[François Laffont]

Franck thought about it for a moment. Was Erika this happy to be thrown as the headmistress? It was kind of a hard question to answer. Had the girl been there, he would have been able to tell exactly how she felt about this but then again, he assumed Elsa was able to read her mind so she would know too. “I don’t think she hates this. It’s more what she had to sacrifice for it? Looking back, I’d say you prepared for something like this to happen while she probably thought she had more time,” he theorized. Franck shrugged. In the end, he didn’t really know. “I just hopes if she really is unhappy about this, that she’ll tell us or, well, you,” he added. He knew they had one thing for sure in common and it was they both wanted what was best for Erika. If this was too far from it, Franck wouldn’t mind suggesting her to step down. “Then again, this is more something to discuss with her than with me.”

There was something strange in Franck telling Elsa he was ready to go out with her anytime if she ever wanted to chill out a little. They were not friends and he wasn’t even sure ‘chilling out’ was something the girl did. He wasn’t sure it was something he did either. At least, not in the ‘let’s hit the local bars and find guys and dance the night away’ kind of way. He was more the ‘let’s order some food, watch movies and talk over a cup of coffee’ type, with perhaps a bit of dance. Maybe it was the fact he wasn’t certain Elsa had anyone to let loose with, or because he figured she wasn’t a wild one, just like him, that he offered it. He wouldn’t mind if she chose to turn it down. At least he suggested it. She was free to do whatever she wanted out of it.

He chuckled as she asked for Frank not to be there. He knew the girl could be overwhelming sometimes. Okay, all the time, but she was just awesome like this. “I’ll be the only Franck in the room,” he promised. He waved at her, mouthing a goodbye as she stood up and left. He wasn’t done yet with his coffee but he would soon do like her and head home.