It was a cold morning in Greenwich, Connecticut. The sort of cold that got into your bones and stayed for the winter, especially when your bones had already seen their fair share of winters and wished nothing more for the warm weather to return. Erik Lensherr was not a physically imposing man, by anyone's standards. He was lean, though he hadn't always been, and skin that had once stretched over healthy flesh and bones now sagged a little in places, and where it didn't, it had wrinkled and creased in well-marked lines that could all tell countless stories.

Erik wrapped his dressing robe tighter around his waist and tied it securely with the belt. It was quite early, much before anyone else in the house rose for the day, but it was the way that Erik preferred things. It gave him a bit of time alone with his thoughts, which always brewed better when he had a strong cup of Earl Grey to stew them in, and time to read the paper, before someone strolled in wanting to read the comic section or the sports page. He flicked the kettle on and fetched a cup and teabag from the cupboard. He looked out the window. It was still dark out, though the cloud cover that blanketed the sky was illuminated in such a way that it wasn't completely pitch dark. It would probably rain, later on in the day.

Erik set the cup down on the counter and strolled through the kitchen wall, out into the garden. He strolled ever so lightly through the garden, the tips of his slippers skimming lightly through the grass until he reached the letter box. A chill ran through Erik's spine. Phasing helped a little against the cold, though it was no miracle cure.

He picked up the newspaper and peeled the plastic away, stowing it away in his pocket to be appropriately disposed of later, while he scanned the front page for newsworthy news. The Giants had won the Super Bowl, said the main headline, but Erik was not at all interested. His attention was drawn to an article in the bottom corner. "PUBLIC SCHOOL ACCEPTS MUTANT ENROLMENTS". He read the article as he walked back inside the house not bothering with locks or doorknobs as he went, as he was too old to stand outside in the cold for hours. The article was the same ridiculous drivel that all the papers printed these days, expressing caution and thinly-veiled scepticism at the appropriateness of the decision on the behalf of the school-board. The article directed him to turn to page four to read more, so he spread the newspaper out on the kitchen table and read the rest of the article.

A Friends of Humanity Spokesperson confirmed that the organisation will hold a peaceful demonstration in Connecticut next week. Melissa Beatbaker announced in a press conference that the pro-humanity group plans to march in protest to Cromwell High School's decision to accept mutant enrolments.

The kettle whistled and Erik stood to pour himself his tea. It was such a massive step forward for the mutant community to have a public school open enrolment, only to have this organisation seek to reverse the breakthrough. Such intolerance was not to be born. Education was a basic human right, and every child, no matter their race, sex, class or religion was entitled to it, why should they make an exception based on the make-up of one child's genes? Erik tossed the used teabag into the trash and took a tentative sip of the Earl Grey. He would call a meeting of his Brotherhood to discuss this new development. In the meantime, he would solve the crossword.

( ooc )