Easy as A, B, C

[Coffee]

Frustrated Coffee went to the refrigerator and got himself a second head of lettuce. Usually he only had one for breakfast but the stress caused him to eat more. Why can't I learn this. It's embarrassing. Even the youngest Alpha can read those Dr. Seuss books and I can't. he thought, looking over his shoulder at the Cat in the Hat, which sat on the table mocking him with its incomprehensible words.

For the past two months Coffee had been struggling to learn how to read. It had taken a little more than a month just to get the alphabet down as his rabbit brain just was not made for letters so it seemed. Well no use pitying myself. That won't get this book finished. Now I'm supposed to read this out loud in class and I am going to keep practicing until I can!

Munching on the lettuce he went back trying to read. "And no cheating. No trying to remember what the words are from when Karma read it and then just saying them from memory", he growled aloud at himself. Then he began to slowly sound out the words.

[Chupacabra]

Alejandro walked into the kitchen a bit glad to get out of that furnace of a gym. He was also excited that winter was almost done and today would probably be a warm enough day to go out and play some basketball. Alex would prefer some baseball though. He went to the sink and began to fill up to gallons for the next day. He turned to see that overgrown rabbit in the kitchen. Alex liked animals but Coffee was smarter than the average rabbit.

"Hey Coffee, how's your morning coming along?"

Alex grabbed himself a bowl and poured himself some cereal. When the gallons were full he put the bowl down and placed one gallon in the freezer and the other in the bottom of the fridge. He returned to eating his sugary breakfast.

[Clutch]

Clutch yawned with her arms above her head as she walked toward the kitchen for some breakfast. Over the last couple months she had put on so more weight to her figure, special orders from Kitty to help in her training. Apparently what was attractive back home in Finland was not in ay way acceptable here. Horrible really, that the figure she was working on for years had to be fought against. So, normal for her now she would go and eat a whole bowl of cereal with milk. That itself was amazing in her person.

Grinning to herself she saw the figure of Coffee, the rabbit she had found great fun in looking after with Rogue upon his arrival. She adored animals of all shapes, sizes and breeds. Coffee had been a great source of affectio that she could offload. Stll, from that point on she sought great comfort in seeing him. Especially since finding out that first night that he could understand the english language. Along with Coffee stood her team mate Chupacabra. She grinned softly at him and waved softly, "Good morning. You are well i see yes?" Still robed in her team colour orange nightgown she walked over to the cupboard and opened it grab one of the bowls for her breakfast.

[Coffee]

Coffee was so immersed in the book, or more accurately struggling so hard over the words, that he did not notice Alejandro come into the kitchen. When the young mutant asked him how things were going. His initial reaction was one of embarrassment. He has to have heard me. I don't want people to know I'm having so much trouble. Putting a brave face on it Coffee looked up and waved his paw up to show he was doing well. Then he put his face back in the book and got back to the alarmed fish who loved to say "no" to that troublesome cat.

However, when Clutch came in, it was a different story. At first he had been a bit wary of her when she was assigned to help Rogue take care of him. But that had quickly dissipated as she was so gentle and caring. She had quickly become a close friend and he liked her company a lot. Hearing her greeting Coffee waved and smiled again. But he also beckoned her to come near and tapped out on the table in Morse Code "Hi." It was one of the first words he learned to read, to spell, and to tap out in code. Maybe she will help me with the book. I could use the help and she is such a good tutor, he thought.

[Chupacabra]

Alex smiled at Coffee and his gesture At least Coffee is cool unlike other people. Alex sat down in the kitchen and ate his cereal passively. That was when his teammate Clutch came in. She was cute and she had gained some weight which emphasized on her figure.

"Yea I'm good. Just my morning workout ended with me getting scolded at again? How about you Anastasia?" Alex asked letting his Spanish accent show.

He began to reflect on the last two months while eating. For the most part he was doing well in his classes except Biology, and Flying. He still hasn't been able to fly in his bird form. As for bio, he could not really get a grasp on the concept. Alex enjoyed his new home. Even though he tried to spend most of the time indoors the times outdoors were just as fun, minus the cold. Nature was beginning to bloom and Alex was planning to spend more time outdoors when the mercury started rising. As for the inhabitants, He liked most of the people, especially the professors. They were so knowledgeable and Alex loved to start up conversations with the staff.

Alex began to think about his team how much of a family it felt like. There were of course their ups and downs but when it came down to it he had his teams back. He would do almost anything to help out his team, because that was the type of person Alex is. He had been doing a lot of soul searching to find out about himself and his lack of memory never helped. Alex especially loved to help people, even if he didn't really know them. Especially when it came to class work he loved to help out who ever needed it.

[Clutch]

Her smile broadened a little at the morse coded hello. Ana adored Coffee, it was like she could call a pet a friend and not seem like some friendless person. She was alright with her team now, and the anormally large Rabbit was just the latest addition to her friend list. Walking toward him slowly she felt her smile broaden a littl more as she spied the book on the table. The Cat in The Hat was a struggle for even her to understand really, her native tongue had no such incomprehensible drivle that derived from that book.

"Again? Have you not said that they cannot control room without Cyclops notice on door?" Clutch said, offering a sympathetic look to her fellow New Mutant. He seemed to have settled down well within the group and his power was somewhat astounding. With a hint of a shy smile she breathed out slowly. "I am not awake long, if there was no Rumble or Calorie that make comments to girls I would still have pyjamas. It is too cold still. But I am good, not looking up for Physical class later althouh I am too scared to not go." She laughed to herself gently, knowing her broken English was accepted more with the school. In time it would become better, but a second language was a second language.

With her left hand she motioned toward to the cereal box she had seen lying around and pulled it toward her. "That book is such bad trouble for me. I find the words difficult and not sense."She said as she pointed to Coffee's book - as she highly doubted Alejandro was readng it -and grabbing the box from its telekenetic hold poured some of it into her bowl. Some strange high suger thing no doubt.

[Coffee]

As the two students talked Coffee got distracted from his book and listened to them. Hearing that Alejandro had gotten chastised again for working out bothered him. He's very diligent about his work outs. The way a good warrior should be. They should encourage him, the rabbit champion thought. Well if they won't I will. After Clutch stopped speaking Coffee gestured to Alejandro, pointing first at himself and then at the boy to say "You and me." Then he boxed the air and lifted the table up slightly two times to show "boxing, weight lifting," as in a "workout." He then pointed to a number on the clock suggesting they meet up at the top of the hour, before Alejandro's gym class.

Coffee had used these same gestures before when he wanted to go for boxing sessions with students. He had been trying to get as much time as he could training with the students by attending their gym class, alternating among the different teams at practice, and working out one on one with the students. He found he could teach them a lot about boxing and strategy and they in turn constantly amazed him with their skills, their energy, and their intelligence.

Next he looked over to Clutch and gave her a big smile and some encouragement, as he heard her express that she had as much trouble as he did with the book. He tapped out "good" and a real difficult word, "learn." And finally the word "time." The idea being a sentence "You will learn how to do it well in time." But he didn't know code well enough to do whole sentences yet.

[Chupacabra]

Alex gave a short laugh when Clutch mentioned the women hecklers. Alex couldn't understand why they treated women that way. Alex felt that everyone deserved respect, especially woman. When he was done with his breakfast he preceded to go to clean the bowl he just used.

"Yea, they bother you cause your beautiful young lady. And thanks for reminding me, I have been meaning to go talk to Mr. Summers about that. I'll do it when I have his class again. Don't worry about Phys Ed, You're doing fine."

Alex loved that class. He thought sometimes he was addicted to physical activities. He actually gained weight in muscle. Alex stretched and went to get a fruit. He saw Clutch move the cereal box with her mind and Alex thought that no matter how many times she does stuff like that it never got old. He bit down on an apple when he saw Coffee use body language to talked to him.

"So you want us to....spar....lift....at that time." Alex reaffirmed with the rabbit, "Yea that's before my class. I don't mind a second round of working out with a friend." Alex held out his hand, palm up, to Coffee hoping to get the rabbit equivalent of a "low five".

[Clutch]

“If you say it, I believe you.” She laughed gently in reference to him saying she was beautiful she shook her head a little and going to the fridge to find the milk, simultaneously pulling a spoon from the drawer to finish preparing her breakfast. She was comfortable eating in front of Alejandro and Coffee now that her body had began adapting to the regular 3 meals a day of more than a tea cup portion variety. It had been difficult but slowly she was gaining confidence that not everyone was staring at her when she ate. “They worry me when they knock for older girls in our hallway. I use my mind and keep door shut, a lock is not strong to keep them out.” She sighed quietly.

As she turned from the fridge and walked back spoon in hand with the milk she caught Alejandro confirming a workout session with the Coffee, it was astonishing how good a fighter the rabbit was, at first she had been wary of his ability to attack and win fights so easily but over time that worry slipped and it became common knowledge to her that he liked training as much as her team mate. “Can I go watch? I can use run machine and gymnastic items also, but is it ok I watch you two train?” She asked while pouring out her milk and finally eating something that morning.

Looking to Coffee again at the tapped out words – which she had also to learn in English to understand him – she smiled gently and nodded her head. “You remember I do not speak English in home. I speak Finnish and I had to learn English also, this though is like me making book in first class of English learning. No sense.” She said with another small laugh.

[Coffee]

Coffee had not understood Clutch's reference to pajamas until Alex responded by assuring her he would talk to the headmaster. The realization that the young girl was being harassed angered the rabbit warrior. They have all these wonderful things here, all these opportunities, and yet some of these boys act like savages. he thought angrily. When this kind of thing happened in the Mojoverse Coffee always attributed it to the brutal reality there. That was never a good excuse but it was a better excuse than any of the boys here had to act that way. He resolved that he too would take this up with the administrators, even if it meant pushing back the conversation about teaching that he wanted to have with Ms. Frost.

Coffee had not told anybody but his dream was to teach math. He was good at it, having mastered geometry, algebra, and even some calculus to figure out the angles for his mirror jumps and to navigate in the inter dimensional corridor that connects all mirrors. He figured that once he mastered reading and Morse code he could teach fine with a little computer to turn the code input into words, like the electronic voice that scientist in the physics videos, Steve Hawking had, and a projector that would display his words and equations on a board in one of the classrooms. Beast was already teaching math but with his duties teaching science, running the lab for the school and its missions, and medical responsibilities it was clear that a second teacher in the math department would be of help to him. Coffee had hoped to bring the idea up to Ms. Frost later in the week.

Turning his attentions back to the students in front of him, he was happy when Alex agreed to spar and slapped his paw against the boys outstretched hand in what he had learned was a "low five." When Clutch said she wanted to watch the sparring, Coffee's mood only grew better, and forgetting all about his troubles with the book, he shook his head "yes" eagerly.

The smile faded, when the girl told him that she could not understand...whether it was his last Morse message or the book, he was not sure. But either way it was disappointing. He tapped out. "We learn," half to encourage her and half as an encouragement to himself. Then he closed the book, which had been sitting in front of him the whole time, and tapped out "later."

[Chupacabra]

Alex had smiled when Coffee slapped his hand. Alex leaned on the counter and took another bite from the apple. He looked at Ana and what she said had him a little more worried about his teammates. I had no idea they were doing that. Those guys just make me sick sometimes. Alex took another bite out of the apple aggressively.

Alex listened intently to Ana. She wanted to come see Coffee and himself train. All Alex could do was nod in excitement. Alex had laughed when he noticed that Coffee and himself had done it simultaneously. He looked at her and felt a small flutter in his stomach but Alex dismissed the feeling as fast as he could and he shook his head a bit to shake it off. He looked at Coffee tapping out some words after Ana spoke.

"What did he say?" Alex asked Ana not knowing Morse code.

"And Coffee, I'm ready to go when ever you are. Or do you wanna wait till Ana is done with her cereal?" He said to Coffee with a smile.