"Okay, class. Today we're going to learn about the effect microbes have on anti-matter." Beast said officially.

"I know about that." Jubilee declared loudly. The others snickered. "No, really. Anti-matter is does not matter. And that's all you need to know."

"Is that right, senora Jubilee?" Skin laughed.

"Yup."

"Ah-HEM." Beast eyed them as they suddenly went quiet. "If you please." He turned back to the chalkboard, writing as he talked.

"Hey, Paige. Pass this to Ev, will ya?" Jubilee whispered.

Quietly Paige took it and started to pass it through, pausing in terror when Dr. McCoy turned back around. "You have something for me?" He asked.

"Eep!"

He walked over slowly and held out his hand, waiting for her to put the note in.

She dutifully handed it over, her head bent ashamedly.

"Hmm. You spelled 'absentminded' wrong. It's one word, not two," he said, then pocketed the note and bounded back behind the desk.

"It wasn't me!" Paige wailed.

"I know, calm down. It was Jubilation. I recognize her writing." He turned back to the board and started to write, ignoring the kids.

"Hey pisst! Mondo, ya got any food? I skipped breakfast."

Mondo opened his backpack and handed out the sandwiches inside, then zipped it up and looked at Hank.

"When you merge the anti-matter with . . . "

Jubilee sighed and looked out the window. This was really boring. Taking a piece of notebook paper she ripped some off, then rolled it up and contemplated the thing. Slowly she took aim and tossed it at Beast, watching as it stuck in his fir. She started to giggle, and made another one. Skin joined in, completely lost as far as what they were talking about, and threw a piece of eraser at the professor. It too stuck in his thick hair, never touching his skin. Soon he was peppered with white and peach, pieces of paper, eraser and anything else they could find staying in his blue wool.

He turned around, curious as to what they could be laughing at, and got an orange peel in his eye.

"Just what are you doing?!"

"Uh, sorry. I mean, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that . . . uh . . . Paige was throwing that." Mondo smiled.

"Ah wasn't throwin' anythin'!" She screeched, aghast.

"Come on now, hayseed. Everyone knows you threw it." Jubilee rolled her eyes.

"Ah would nevah--"

"Your accent!"

"I would never--"

"Look, I don't care who did it. Just please, all of you calm down and listen. I'm trying to teach here." Hank was slightly annoyed.

"Yeah, hayseed."

"Jubil--

"I DIDN'T DO IT!"

"Hus--"

"Ha! I saw you throw it!"

"Ju--

"Dr. McCoy I would never do something like that!"

"Hus--"

"HA! You're just WAITING to do something evil!"

"BE QUIET!" Beast roared, reminding them why he was called The Beast.

"Ah'm sorry sir." Paige was near tears.

"Liar." Jubilee snatched a soda out of Mondo's backpack, popped the lid and drank.

"Jubilee!" Henry reprimanded.

"What! I'm just tellin' the truth!"

"AH WOULD NEVAH DO ANYTHIN' LIKE THAT!" Paige wailed.

"Would both of you just BE QUIET!" Hank said loudly, trying to get their attention.

"Yeah, Paige." Jubilee snickered.

"Jubilation Lee! That's enough. I don't care who threw that, but NO MORE THROWING THINGS AT ME!" He eyed each child in turn, then looked back at the things he was writing. Huffing, he started to teach.

Jubilee yawned. Sooooooooooooo boring! She couldn't stand much more of this! She opened her notebook and pulled out a short story she'd gotten off the internet. In this one Jonny and Jessie had been kidnapped and Hadji had to save them. It was pretty good.

"JUBILATION LEE!"

She looked up at the large man who was standing right in front of her. "Yeah?"

"I've called you several times now. You're supposed to be listening." Beast growled.

Jube shrugged. "Bummer."

Hank thought about his oath to be patient with the kids and swallowed. Taking a deep breath he started to explain why he wasn't happy with what she was doing.

"Is this lecture going to be long? I wanna see what happens with Hadj." She snapped her gum in his face, waiting impatiently.

"Hadj? Jubilee, this is school! It should be the most important thing in your life!"

"Yeah, right. I think that having fun should be the most important thing in my life. After all, I'm only young once. And fun means I should be able to leave and go rollerblade."

"Jubilation," Paige started in her know-it-all voice "school can be very fun if you just do it right. All ya got ta do is pay attention."

"Chica, school ain't never fun." Angelo spoke up.

"Everything's fun if you make it so!" Mondo beamed.

"I don't know. School can be fun sometimes maybe, but not usually." Everett shook his head.

"Listen, this isn't up for debate." Beast said, his patience waning.

"I think it should be. That way we could all understand each other's feelings about the matter!" Paige said happily.

"I'm the teacher and I say--"

"You suck, Husk." Jubilee bounced a paper wad off her head.

"Hey! Dr. McCoy make her stop!"

"Jubilee that was uncalled--"

"School can't be fun! that's all there is to it! We should be able to leave and do whatever we want! That's my part of the debate!" Jubilee cracked her gum for emphasis.

"That just ain't true! Ah think--I think that school is great!"

"You're a low bred American" M said with disgust.

"Hey!" Synch tossed Mondo's banana peel at her. "America's cool!"

"Ugh! And look at what . . . class . . . it breeds." Monet picked the thing off her shoulder and dropped it on the floor.

"Like yer so much better, miss autistic!"

"..."

"Jubilee that was very--"

"Mean! Ya should know bettah!" Husk threw the wad of paper back, pegging 'Lee on the head.

"Hey! I thought you didn't throw things!"

Paige was horrified. "I didn't mean to! It just kinda slipped!"

"Did not!" Jubilee tore a handful of paper out of her notebook and, bunching them up, threw them hard at the blond.

"Ow! Ya little dirtball!" Paige jumped out of her desk, her patience totally gone. "Ah cain't buhlieve ya did that!"

"Ack! She's gonna kill me!"

"PAIGE! JUBILEE! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Hank roared.

"Stay outta this, furball." Jubilee said, paffing him. Beast turned away, rubbing his eyes.

"Husk! Watch out!" Skin wrapped his fingers around her waist, pulling her out of reach of Jubilee's sparks.

Grabbing another soda Paige shook it up and shot it out at 'Lee, hitting Mondo on the way.

"Hey! That wasn't nice!" He declared. "I'm leaving!" and with that he melted into the wall.

"FOOOOOOD FIIIIIIIGHT!" Ev screamed from atop his desk, a peeled orange in his hand. Taking aim he threw it at the nearest face, which happened to be M, and ducked down so as not to get hit.

"Jubilee, stop hitting Paige, Husk! Don't claw her! M--put the desk down! Gently, gentl--you're going to clean that up. Skin, you throw that at me and you'll be in detentio--grrrr. Everett Thomas! Don't even thing about stuffing that down his--grrrr. EVERYBODY STOP IT!!!!!! {sob} No! Put the desk down I say! On the floor--not on me!!!!" Beast grabbed the flying projectile as it fell on his chest, landing hard on his back. "Stop it! Stop iiiiiiiit!!!!!!"

"Did Hank say something?" Jubilee asked as she pulled harder on Paige's hair. "Ah didn't hear anythin'." She said, pinching Jube's arm tighter.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jean hesitated outside the classroom door. It sounded like a warzone in there. Opening the handle carefully she peered inside, looking at Beast who sat calmly amid all the noise, reading a thick thesis on black holes. "Hank? What's going on?" She asked timidly.

"Oh, I'm not sure anymore. Last I checked though, we were learning about spitwads." Dr. McCoy smiled and went back to his book, ignoring the banana peel stuck to his head.

Twenty days left . . .

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