Ten people you look up to and respect.

1. my Ma, for givin' me her strength an' pride
2. Ms. Frost, for teachin' me ta have inner strength
3. Mr. Cassidy, for always bein' there ta listen
4. Kurt, for his wisdom
5. Sammy, for showin' me how ta be a big sister an' bein' the best big brother a girl could ask for (even if'n ya are overprotective)
6. Tabby, for bein' a big sister
7. Kitty, for impartin' wisdom
8. Hank, for showin' me that humor is a good thing
9. Logan, for teachin' me ta defend myself
10. my Daddy, for givin' me his compassion

Freak ain't usually a word most people would associate with me. Blond hair, blue eyes, cute as a button an' plenty of people think I ain't seen any of the horrors in the world. Life must be roses.

But if'n ya were ta go down ta Cumberland an' mention the Guthrie name most people in that town are gonna mutter that word. I hate that word. It's meant ta put someone down, ta make ya feel like yer about two feet tall an' nowhere near as good as the person sayin' it. It's meant ta hurt.

I love my family more than anythin' in this world. We're a tight-knit bunch an' were long before our Pa died. I'm sure the loss of him made us closer than before but growin' up like we did kinda made it that the only people we had were one another. An' that was it. When yer family ain't as well off as all the others in town it's amazin' what people'll say about ya. Also amazin' how when ya grow up an' fill out nicely in a dress they suddenly forget all those nasty things they yelled at ya as a kid. Course they simply start mutterin' other words that ain't so nice either. Don't wanna try an' figure out how many hometown boys I've given black eyes ta for implyin' I'm easy.

Like I'm really gonna be lettin' ya take me ta the Homecomin' dance when I know ya've been pickin' on one of my younger brothers. Sometimes people are really very stupid.

I ain't normal. I don't wanna be normal. I'm a mutant an' I'm a Guthrie an' I wouldn't wanna be anythin' else.

Many people weigh the guilt they will feel against the pleasure of the forbidden action they want to take. -Peter McWilliams



Paige should have called her mother at least two days ago. It had become almost a ritual to talk to the family once a week and she usually called on Wednesdays. the best time to ring was right after dinner and before eight o'clock, that way she could speak to each of her siblings still at home before getting passed off to her mother. Except she hadn't called this week, or the week before, and Paige has been stalling since Wednesday night. She wasn't even sure why she was stalling. There was nothing particularly upsetting going on in her life, nothing that she was ashamed about. She was, however, unsure how to broach the subject that she was dating with her mother and if she spoke to the woman on the phone that topic of conversation would come up.

Lucinda Guthrie always knew when something was occurring with one of her children. Paige swore it was her mutant power, this keen ability to tell when one of them was hiding something. Or maybe it was mother's intuition. Whichever it was, it was freaky and not calling her mother because of it was beginning to make Paige feel awful. Her earlier conversation with Jubilee already had her feeling guilty and the combination wasn't one she wanted to deal with much longer.

It took about five minutes of searching through the mess of books and plans on her desk in order to find her cellphone and another two to clear off the chair before she dialed her home number. Waiting for someone to pick up the phone at the Guthrie homestead gave her time to examine her toenails. It was definitely time for another shade.

( Read more... )

Okay. That's it. Lessons plans are goin' in the desk an' not ta be looked at until tomorrow or when I cave an' look at them in ten minutes

( Songs that make me happy )

My home is not a place, it is people. -Lois McMaster Bujold

When people are watching over your shoulder as you try and complete a task it can drive a person crazy. The constant pressure of doing something wrong can be nerve wracking. Paige Guthrie thrives on it. She's always been a competitive person and never one to back down from any kind of challenge, let alone one her siblings threw at her. Especially not when it involves a computer.

Not five minutes after she'd entered the house Joelle and Elizabeth had begun hounding her to make the new technology work properly. Which for the two of them meant access the Internet so they could be online like their friends. Paige understood the need to fit in, the urge to be like the rest of the kids at school. She'd thought that way for a few years and tried to fit with the other kids in their town. After giving little Billy O'Shea a black eye in the third grade because he had referred to the Guthries as poor white trash Paige had stopped trying so hard. She still understood the appeal though; no one wanted to be an outsider.

( I'm only up when you're not down. Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground. It's like no matter what I do. Well you drive me crazy half the time; the other half I'm only trying to let you know that what I feel is true. And I'm only me when I'm with you. )

Ten things you need to do this week.

1. Install more RAM on the back three computers in the lab.
2. Defrag computers seven ta twelve.
3. Make up a new studyin' schedule for Jubilee.
4. Look over Melody's paper for her an' email it back.
5. Read the twins an' Hannah a bed time story over the phone.
6. Ask Jono if there's another day besides Saturday he'd like ta do that date. I can't believe I didn't think of that before. Sigh.
7. Kiss him again. An' again. An' again. An' again...
8. Decide on a Halloween costume.
9. Yell at Cable. Beg Sammy ta stay. Kick Cable. Push Cable inta a black hole. Enlist Deadpool ta keep Cable occupied. See if Sammy's decided anythin' yet.
10. Reorganize the closet also known as put all the clothes back inside it.

If there is one thing Paige loves it's being a mutant. She's loved it since before her powers manifested and honestly believes it's one of the best things that ever happened to her. If there was ever a campaign set up to promote the greatness of being a mutant Paige Guthrie just might volunteer to be the poster girl. And she's got those good Guthrie clan genes so she'd look pretty darn good on a billboard--or so she thinks. She's not too sure Sammy would ever allow her to model for one though. Not with his reaction to her new uniform.

One of the discussions that used to come up in class, when she was still an actual student, was how one's powers manifested. She had listened quietly to the others tell their stories and never could quite understand the fear nearly every one of them had experienced. It was so far from her own that she often kept quiet, not really wanting to rock the boat. She remembers the manifestation of her own powers with pure joy.

She was thirteen when she truly realized what Sam was doing and where he was. Boy, had she been jealous! Paige was determined to become a mutant just like him. She'd always followed in his footsteps, traipsing after him like little sisters who adored their big brothers were supposed to. So if he was a mutant that meant she had to be one too. It didn't matter how many times her mother tried to explain the slim possibilities of that happening. She had to be one. If she wasn't then how was she supposed to keep following him?

Paige had practiced every day to try and develop a mutant power. She went through the list of ones she knew, trying each of them out, and all her efforts ever got her was headaches and the flu. Not to mention some rather odd looks from the neighbors.

She can remember standing on the top of the hill and staring up into the sky, holding herself tightly as she finally spoke, her frustration making her voice quake. "If'n ya is gonna make me inta a mutant do it soon or I swear I'm gonna tear right outta my own skin!"

It had startled her when her skin began peeling away and then she'd been jumping for joy. Skin wasn't supposed to peel, not like this. Not in long strips revealing a new layer underneath, tearing her clothes away and leaving her as naked as the day she'd been born. She didn't know what it meant except that she was a mutant. Just like Sam. He wasn't going to be able to leave her behind.

Paige had never been happier in her life.

Still, some days when she sees Sam and Jay in the sky, Paige Guthrie does wish she could fly.

ooc: The quote is from Generation X #24.