X-men story, Achu the early teen years

Achu sat staring into the mirror. She had just woken up from a very life-like dream about being a cat. She loved cats!1

At school Achu forgot about the weird dream as her teachers went on and on about dull subjects. The only class Achu liked in school was Global diversity where they were learning about mutants. Achu was fascinated by mutants; she wished she had powers, than maybe she wouldn't get picked on so much for being small and quiet.2

That night Achu sat watching a nature show about tigers. It was hard to watch though as every time her mom passed the room she would mutter darkly under her breath what filthy revolting creatures cats were. Achu couldn't share her parent’s hatred for cats. She thought they were graceful beautiful animals. She had always wanted a cat, but her father had beaten her for asking for one until she gave up asking. Her parents just hated cats.3

That night Achu sat writing an essay for Global diversity. The topic was "Describe a mutant power that you would likely have". Achu sat thinking for hours. Than her memory went back to the dream she had about being a cat. Yes, if she was a mutant that is what she would probably be. After all, she adored cats, and she was small and fast and flexible like a cat. Achu worked for over an hour on her essay. When she was finished she was very happy with it indeed.4

Her happiness vanished when she was called on in class to read her report out loud. She HATED being the center of attention. So she stood in front of the class with her hands shaking, wearing a pair of faded jeans and an over sized sweat shirt that went down almost to her knees. "I think I would be a cat because I have a lot in common with cats," Achu said in a soft voice. "Yeah, like your brain size." a girl named Grace whispered. That got a lot of giggles from the class. The teacher shot a warning look at Grace. "Like cats I am small and flexible." Achu continued on her voice wavering. "Small is right, my seven year old sister is bigger than you!" a boy in the back row called out to more laughter. Achu didn't continue. She just stared at her paper, a tear running down her cheek. She had been so happy with her paper last night. "Look at her, she is such a baby! They should send her back to kindergarten, no one would even notice that she isn't five, she's small enough." A kid whispered loudly. Achu dropped her paper and rushed from the room barely noticing the teacher giving the whole class detention. "It's not my fault I'm small." Achu told herself in the girls room where she had run to.5

That night Achu fell asleep thinking about cats. She wished she was a cat. Then she could just play with toys and chase mice and not have to worry about nasty kids at school. "If I was a cat everything would be perfect." Achu whispered to herself.6

Achu woke in the middle of the night. She felt very strange. She couldn't move her fingers, her senses were sharpened, and her tongue had become all dry and scratchy. "What is going on?" She asked out loud, or tried to. All that came out was a small meow. Achu sat up in alarm. "Am I sick?" she wondered to herself. Then she looked down at her hands, or what had been her hands. Instead of hands she saw furry paws, cat’s paws! "I'm a cat! This must be a dream, just like last night!" Achu realized. "Well, if it is a dream, I might as well enjoy myself!" Achu thought.7

Achu bounded off her bed and over to the open window. There was a tree outside her window, and Achu jumped easily onto a branch. She ran down the tree and looked around the year. So many things she could do now that she was a cat! Achu hardly knew what to do first. She heard a rustling in the grass and somehow she knew that it was a mouse. "Fun!" she thought to herself. Quick as a shot she was off hunting.8

The next morning when Achu woke up she felt exhausted which seemed strange to her. Why was she so tired? Could the dream have been real? "Now I really am going crazy!" Achu thought to herself with a laugh. She bounded down stairs happily. "Morning mom!" she called cheerfully. Her mom did not smile. She looked livid. "Do you know what I saw last night?" She demanded of Achu. Achu's smile vanished, she recognized that tone. "I saw a mangy old CAT in our yard! Did you bring a cat home from school? I told you to never bring a cat near my house!" Her mother snapped. Achu just shook her head. She had been all over the yard in her dream.9

At school everyone in her class continued to tease her about her essay. They would make cat noises whenever she passed, or they would make cruel remarks about her being a cry baby. Achu hated school. Why were the kids so mean to her? She just wanted to be left alone. Even the A+ on her essay didn't cheer her up.10

That night she dreamed that she was a cat again. She made sure to avoid the yard, just in case. After all, the coincidence was just too weird for words. So Achu played in the woods where there were all sorts of things to do. She chased squirrels, ran up trees, and explored. She was having a wonderful time. When the sun started to rise she returned home and slipped into her bedroom quietly. As she lay down on her bed she didn't notice that the door which she usually kept closed was slightly opened. She didn't notice the eyes watching her either.11

Achu couldn't understand why she was so tired. She felt like she had barely slept the past two nights, but she must have, or else how could she have these dreams? At least it was Saturday, so Achu didn't have to go to school.12

On Sunday, after another dream of being a cat Achu decided that it couldn't be dreams. Dreams wouldn't last this long. So she decided to see if she really was a cat. She sat at her desk looking in the mirror. She started to focus, and as soon as she did, she started to transform. Soon she was a little kitten! Achu was ecstatic. Then she tried turning into a different kind of cat. Achu was very happy to learn that she could turn into any kind of cat she had seen, even lions and tigers! "I'm a mutant!" she realized with a gasp.13

Every day after school Achu shut herself up in her room and practiced turning into cats. She didn't have any more nightly adventures; the risk of being found out by her mother was just too great. But no one would know if she just used her powers in her room with the door closed, right?14

Wrong. After two weeks of this her parents walked in on her changing from a cat back into a human. Achu whirled to face them, her face white with fear. Her father looked appalled, her mother furious. Achu's world changed that day.15

Two days later Achu's parents left Achu stranded on the side of the highway with just a backpack containing a change of clothes. Achu had refused to hide her powers, had refused to never use them. She loved being a cat! She hadn't realized just how much her parents hated cats. She couldn't believe that they hated them so much that they would disown her, for good. Achu sat there on the side of the highway for hours and cried.16

When she had cried all her tears out she realized that she needed somewhere to go. The only place she could think of was the place she had heard about in Global Diversity. So she hitchhiked her way to the only place that would accept her. Xavier's school for gifted youths.17