In a classroom at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, Polaris Lorna propped herself up with one elbow on the desk, resting her chin on one hand while using the other to scribble on paper. After a while, Bruce Banner walked in, cleared his throat at the podium, and said:
"Your activities teacher is sick, so this period will be physics instead..."
With that, he opened the textbook in his hand and began the lesson.
There were only five students in the entire classroom. Besides Polaris, Iceman and Havok were there as well. They sat separately in the corners farthest from the teacher, both equally far from Polaris.
The subtle tension between the three made Banner feel a little strange. Shadowcat, seated not far from Polaris, gave Banner a meaningful look, and he understood at once. The three of them must have gotten into another fight.
Banner's lectures were brief, since he was busy as well. Most of the time, he would explain a short section of theory, then let the Mutants study on their own. At night, when they slept, they would enter the Dream classroom to review the theory and have their homework checked.
Although this method was not especially efficient, it was more thorough and laid a firmer foundation.
Polaris paid close attention in physics class. Or rather, there were only two subjects she listened to seriously: physics and geography. In certain other humanities classes, she either slept through them or pulled faces at the other students.
But today, the other students noticed that Polaris seemed listless. She did not whisper with anyone after class, did not even let out those cold little laughs, and did not tease Quicksilver. She looked like a wilted eggplant.
Iceman wanted to curry favor with her, so he walked over and asked,