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Julie comes up the drive in one of the recently-minted Pontiac 'X-wagons,' after some much-neglected visiting with family and someone else special over the holiday weekend. There seem to be a couple of tires tied to the roofrack, because, of course. She doesn't let the tail hang out too much on the climb on the snowy drive, really. Pulls up when she spots the Professor on her way around toward the back and serice areas. The window rolls down, seemingly at a mechanical pace despite the lack of power windows. "Hey, Prof! Happy New Years!"
The Professor grins, wearing a warm leather jacket as he waves to Julie, "Hello Julie! How's she handling?" Not that he think there's any problems, but because he knows she expects him to ask.
Julie presses thumb and forefinger nearly-together to indicate she's nearly-satisfied. "Ain't bad on snows, I think, Professor." She points behind her, where the inside of the car's carrying more tires. "At least with a little extra weight, which could be people. Didn't exactly make these for time trials. What's new?"
Charles smiles a bit, "Well, I decided to get out of the mansion, as none of the other students, or even the teachers, would understand my plans for tonight. Well, maybe Kamala might, but that would probably be the only one." He looks a bit enigmatic, but there's a bottle of scotch under his arm.
Julie ahs. Thinks a few moments. Tilts her head and leans on the doorsill. "I dunno, either. I thought she said you wasn't supposed to do Moslem things with hooch or something, though. She showed up at the dragstrip this one time, you see. …Anyway, that was OK, cause people gotta drive and you keep other things around anyway…" She stops her own speculations, there. Raises a finger. "Oh, ah, you know that big old Army Dodge we had around back? Ah, Illyana kinda magicked it out of a scrapyard so we could go rescue Doug outta Limbo, but we got it kinda fixed up. I was thinking we oughtta give it back or maybe pay the yard if she knows where stuff comes from."
Charles grins, "Sounds like a good idea, and no… it wasn't the alcohol, I know enough to not offer Kamala that. Besides, her mother would murder me." He laughs, "Today is Professor Tolkien's birthday, and I would have brought a Coke out for her. But this, I save for this day." He reveals the bottle and… well, Johnny Walker Blue is pretty choice, even in 1965.
Dizzy hasn't actually even seen or heard of the blue stuff, as it happens, but lifts a finger to shut off the ignition at the key. "Hrm. Coke's kosher for them? There was some kind of thing against Pepsi, too, I dunno why. Or maybe she just don't like Pepsi." She hrms. Professor… who? "Oh, the guy with the hobbit books. He didn't croak or something, did he?" Thinks again. "And, err, which was a good idea, I guess."
The Professor laughs, "No, not yet… though I thought Coke was alright. Just as well she's busy I suppose then." He hmms, "But yes, the Lord of the Rings. After spending that vacation with him, I always want to remember that time in his cottage with his family."
Julie ahs, a bit. "Oh, someone you know, then. Thought about giving him a call or something?"
Charles smiles a little, talking with Julie as she sits in one of the modified 'X-Mobiles', while the Professor stands outside of it by the window. He chuckles and shakes his head, "Oh, he already received a card from me, I'm afraid modern technology isn't something he's terribly fond of. And that's fine, it's the thought that counts in any case."
Julie nods, shrugging. "Well, guess that's not everybody's bag, especially if they're famous or something." She smirks, then, thinking. "You given one of these babies a try, yet? Dunno how much you're one for standing out in the cold."
Tessa Valentine walks across the vast yard, leaving the little garage set aside for teachers' vehicles. Her poor Vauxhall Wyvern hasn't seen a lot of action with the cold weather, but it's finally been warm enough to actually get it running without damaging the inner workings terribly much. No doubt Julie will scold her later when she gives the vehicle a tune-up. Tessa expects as much. She lifts a hand in greeting as she approaches, mostly to make sure she's seen. Well, perhaps mostly for Julie. Xavier probably sees that psychic iron wall defense coming from a mile away.
Charles blinks, then smiles and waves over towards Tessa, as few around here have that kind of mental screens. "Hello! We were just about to take her for a spin around the grounds, if you wanted to come along." He nods towards Julie, "And yes, getting out of the cold seems like a brilliant idea."
Julie waves over to say, "Hey, Ms. Valentine!," and sets the parking brake, then, and unbuckles her seatbelt, which, she oddly enough, uses, being used to racing harness on occasion at least, scooting over to give the Prof a chance.
Sage arches a brow, looking the thing over. "New acquisition?" she wonders. The invitation, though, she accepts with a nod and slides in wherever there happens to be room. "Who had the idea of bringing one of these onto the grounds?"
Charles chuckles, "Well, I've given Julie free reign in regards to the garage, as long as she doesn't exceed her budget. Which she hasn't yet." He grins and gets in on the passenger front seat, looking at Julie, "Alright, let's see what she can do then."
Julie nods. "Ah, you might wanna take er easy at first Ms. Valentine, she's got a lot more under the hood than you're probably used to." She slips over the seat into the back, just cause it could be easier for her to manage the floor-shifter that way." She adds, "And, ah, yeah, the budget for these is on Warren, he wanted to do something after one of our last rescues. I, ah, did a little bit of tweaking. Suspension, tires, …there's snows on, now, though, some traction bars…. You know." Also. Instruments. There's a number of extra instruments attached in front of the shifter. Temperature gauges labeled 'Trans,' 'Diff' and one of uncertain purpose hand-labeled 'Irony.' She smirks a bit.
Sage hadn't really meant to be sitting in the driver's seat. She still thinks of the driver being on the right. Drat. What she does do is look over everything, including the more complicated instrument panel. "I suppose it is time I learned to drive this way," she finally says. Getting used to using her right hand for the shifter will take one or two drives. "What's this 'irony' label here for?
The Professor chuckles, "This is likely the best place to do it. Just don't drive us into the lake, alright?" He grins and does make sure to be buckled in, "That's a good question… what does the irony label mean?"
Julie smirks. "Gas mileage, keep that in the green in case you gotta stretch it. This mill really drinks gas if you keep your foot in it. That reads vacuum offa the secondary carbs. The extra temp gauges are cause I can really heat up a drivetrain if I use my stuff on it hard." At least Sage'll find the pedals are the same, for all they're on the left side of the car. "Just let off the clutch easy to start. It *does* sound like a pretty powerful engine, and the controls somewhat heavier than on a Vauxhall, …American cars and all.
Which is the first thing Tessa grumbles about - inasmuch as one can grumble and be as… neutral-expression as Tessa is. "Is there a reason American cars are all so… heavy?" Thank goodness the gas pedal and the breaks are the same. That's a bit of a relief. She fiddles with everything at first, to make sure she understands what's where, before setting out to driving properly.
Charles says, "I'll let Julie field that one. Just relax and enjoy the ride." He grins and might pass Julie a bit of a worried expression, perhaps wondering what would happen if they DID go into the frozen lake…
Julie winks a bit to Xavier with a 'not to worry' look. "Well, there's more to 'em, really: you shoulda seen em a few years ago, they been slimming some of 'em down just lately. Ah, things get out of hand, though, just put her in neutral, I can kinda do my thing." She won't make the Prof ask that one, really, aloud or otherwise.
Sage could stubbornly insist that she never allows things get out of hand. But Xavier's known her long enough to offer up some objections in that matter. "So it has to do with taste in automobiles more than anything else," she says, taking that from the way Julie explains. She fairly quickly gets used to the gear shift on her right (despite her previous 'grumbling') because it is Tessa after all. "Any preference to direction?"
The Professor teases a bit, because he knows Sage well enough that he's one of the few that can get away with it, "Well, not into the lake. Beyond that, your discretion."
Julie laughs, "Well, we could go hang the tail out in the snow, or, you could just pick a trail, I guess. Just don't spook the horses if you go that way." She pauses a bit, and says, "And, as taste goes, well, these won't stand out too much in a lot of circumstances, but you can get away from, or catch, most of what's on the road, and carry some pretty heavy mutants if you gotta." This two-tone gold-tan and white one is a bit fancier in colors, compared to the relatively plain-jane blue one, looking more like what a decently-well-off family might take camping or such, though they're almost identically-equipped.
To her credit, at least, Tessa goes slow at first. And like Julie says, she just picks a random path and goes for it. "Of course like any vehicle, that all presumes a skilled driver behind the wheel. That might be something we have to start giving lessons for."
Charles grins back at Julie, "How about it, want to be the driving instructor?" He chuckles a bit, "There you go, Tessa. And you are a skilled driver… just not used to this way of driving."
Julie winks to Sage, and says, "Guess who's the Driver's Ed teacher," she winks. "The advanced class is gonna be a kick, though, But you'd be surprised how many around here never got a chance or inclination to learn, and, well, all these kids getting to be that age" How very unnatural, she likely thinks of those who can't drive. Cause driving is life.
Sage considers, then shrugs as she turns the wheel, sending the vehicle down a left-hand path. "Some find driving like a threshold they can't go back through. One last step towards adulthood they cannot reverse." Another shrug. "I can understand, even if I do not agree. And some… well, I can think of a student or three that find the prospect terrifying because of other drivers."
The Professor chuckles, "Still, it's a good skill to learn. You never know when it will come in handy. Plus it helps students learn to be aware of their surroundings, and maintain control."
Julie nods, "And, well, some New Yorkers go through life without a car, but anywhere else, it's that much harder to fit in if you don't drive. Kind of a normal American thing for kids to do at that age, even if you can fly or something."
"I don't disagree, merely sharing what I've picked up from some of the students," Tessa says. "There will have to be some method to give those ones confidence, otherwise they may just refuse to do the course."
Charles grins, "Indeed. Any suggestions for that?" He glances between Julie and Tessa, "After all, I do value your opinions highly about that, so I'd love to hear what you think." He gets a bit of a wry look at that, "Metaphorically speaking, anyway."
Julie shrugs a bit. "Ain't like I've been making anybody learn, but there's no shortage of quiet roads up here if anyone's scared and their friends don't talk em into it. If they want to, but they're scared, well, I don't mind talking. I guess the city's pretty intimidating, anyway, but no need to go there just for a license."
Sage shakes her head slightly. "I haven't thought of what we could do. We'll figure something out, I am sure of it." She nods at Julie, using the rear-view so the other young woman can see her. "That might work. Country roads would be reassuring for the lack of vehicles."