kairos : peter maximoff/quicksilver

[part 3]

1970. 1 WEEK BEFORE THE INCIDENT

Roxy had always gotten good grades but had never loved her classes. This was probably partially due to the fact that she perceived time at a slightly faster rate than everyone else and thus was in a constant state of wishing everyone would speed things up.

Charles Xavier's School was an entirely different story. Roxy spent most of her day waiting until she could go and the rest wishing she could return.

This instance was no different.

Roxy sat in the third row of the classroom not bothering to try to smother her glitching. That was the other thing - all of the students were free to exist as themselves. The boy next to her had horns curling out from his temples ("Psst. Cool horns!" she whispered so earnestly that the younger boy blushed). The girl in front of her was hovering a few inches above her seat. Now that was a cool ability.

Professor Xavier was talking so Roxy forced herself to tune back in.

"So Chronos was the king of the titans and was the Greeks personification of time. Many stories say he could even control it."
A thrill ran down Roxy's spine, and sensing her excitement, the professor sent her a smile. It was students like Roxanne, with her eagerness to learn and bright silver eyes wide with interest, that made Charles love teaching.

"But let's look beyond Greek mythology for a moment and think about the word itself, chronos, as well as it's partner kairos." Charles muses. "Chronos is clock and calendar time, measurable and predictable, recurring in known cycles. Kairos, however, is often used to means taking advantage of or even creating a perfect moment. Kairos is a moment of indeterminate time in which everything happens. It's the opportune moment to seize a chance; it's experienced time, which is nonrecurring. The spontaneous, the radically particular..."
The professor trails off and surveys his students. Roxy looks to be clinging onto his every word.

"While chronos is quantitative, kairos is qualitative. Chronos time is cyclical, a predictable pattern, a heartbeat, a melody. But Kairos is progression without recurrence, hopeful anticipation. A symphony's movement which will never be played the exact same way again.
In Greek mythology, Kairos is spelled C A E R U S..." The professor says as he writes it on the chalkboard. "And is the personification of opportunity and luck. Caerus is depicted as young, because opportunity never gets old, and beautiful because beauty is always opportune... Who remembers which god is the protector of thieves?"

An older boy raises a tentative hand. "Hermes?"

Professor Xavier smile. "Exactly right. And just as he has been taken to be the protector of thieves, Caeros has been called their maker. Now I'm going to read you the poem engraved on the statue of Caeros in Greece:

'And who are you?
I am Time who subdues all things.
Why do you stand on tip-toe?
I am ever running and whirling about.
And why do you have a pair of wings on your feet?
I fly with the wind which bears me in all directions.
And why do you hold a razor in your right hand?
As a sign to men that I am sharper than any cutting edge.
Why did the artist fashion you?
For your sake, stranger, and he set me up in the porch as a lesson.'"

Professor Xavier paused for effect. "Now I'd like you to write me a paragraph on your thoughts for homework."

Several students groaned, and the floating girl landed in her chair. Roxy paid no mind - she was already scribbling away.

• • • •

1 WEEK AFTER THE INCIDENT

Roxanne Shin sat quietly across from Professor Xavier.
Her eyes, underlined in dark circles, stared blankly out the window. Her cheeks were gaunt and hair unbrushed. There was a significant amount of dried blood on her shirt.
And she was motionless. Not a single glitch.