Oops:  I spelt Erik's name as Eric last time.  Sorry about that.
Thank You:  Mitai, Beverly McIntyre, Alara, Jono, and Dyce for offering
your help/suggestions.  Without your assistance, this story wouldn't
have an ending :)
Explanation:  This story occurs in the same universe as 'Another Day,
Another Debate', though the characters are certainly younger :)  I
wasn't planning to write another part, but this story just wouldn't
leave me alone...
Charles is too spineless compared to Erik, but it's my story so HA! :)
Disclaimer:  Marvel's.


Revolution
by Northlight


        "--And that is how you do long division," Mrs. Roberts concluded,
laying down her chalk and backing away from the blackboard that she had
been labouring over for the last several minutes.  Most of the class was
gazing at her with glazed looks in their eyes, while others, two to be
precise, weren't looking at her at all.


        Mrs. Roberts sighed, wondering once again why she had the misfortune of
being stuck with the single most troublesome duo in the entire school,
if not the entire school board.  "Erik!  Charles!" she exclaimed.  The
two boys snapped to attention, a slightly guilty look in Charles eyes,
and a look of pure innocence on Erik's.


        'Lord, give me strength...' the dark haired woman prayed.  If she had
been the kind of woman who swore, she would sworn that since the
beginning of the year, her once single white hair had gone wild in
duplicating itself because of the two boys before her.  She would have
separated them, and had, more than once.  Unfortunately, that did little
good as the entire class seemed to take great joy in being accomplices
in Erik and Charles' during-class discussions via notes.


        Her eyes narrowed as she studied the two boys.  Erik was a confident as
ever, while Charles was shifting beneath her gaze uncomfortably.  Mrs.
Roberts would have grinned, had she not been a kind and generous woman,
that is.  "Charles, would you mind repeating what I just explained to
the class, please?"  Her voice, though soft, was as much a command as
any harsh bark.


        Charles gulped, one hand tugging at a handful of thick hair.  "I'm
afraid that I couldn't do your explanation justice, m'am."  The class
gasped at his daring response, Erik snickered, and Charles slunk as low
down in his chair as possible. 


        "Charles--" Mrs. Roberts began in her best 'I am not amused' voice,
accompanying The Voice with the dreaded wagging finger.


        He was doomed.  He knew it.  She knew it.  Everybody knew it.  Charles
wished his life goodbye.  Thankfully, God (who apparently had quite a
bit of mercy for young boys who weren't paying as much attention in
class as they should have been), decided to give Charles a reprieve --
the bell rang.  It's shrill shriek had never sounded so good to Charles'
flaming ears before.


        Apparently, Mrs. Roberts wasn't much for taking hints. "Nobody move! 
We do not walk out when somebody is in the middle of answering the
teacher.  Charles?"


        Charles gulped again.


***


        Erik had claimed the corner of the fence as he did nearly every day,
and sat there, swinging his legs as he contentedly munched on the apple
his mother had provided him for lunch. 
        
        Charles, who had remained on the ground, glared up at his friend
unhappily.  "You got me into trouble again!" he said, morosely chewing
on his favorite snack of cheese and crackers.


        Erik shrugged unrepentantly.  "You work well under pressure, Charles. 
You handled the situation beautifully!"  He grinned at a group of girls
playing nearby, and they promptly turned away.  "What's wrong with
them?"


        "We cost everybody half of recess!  They hate us!" Charles snapped
irritably.  Erik was a lot of fun, but he'd never gotten in so much
trouble in his life before hooking up with the other boy.  Charles
skills as a mini diplomat had expanded tremendously during his time with
Erik, but at the moment, his usually rational manner had disappeared
along with his good mood.


        "Now that isn't fair," Erik replied thoughtfully, tossing aside his
apple core and wiping his hands off on his pants.  "Just because we're
kids, it doesn't mean that the teacher can take away our recess!  Recess
is the right of school children everywhere -- it says so right in the
Constitution!"


        "Oh no..." Charles sighed as Erik hopped down from his perch.  Erik had
his teeth sunk into something, and when he did so, he was harder to
shake loose than Charles' dog Spunky was from a steak.  And nobody ever
got a stolen steak back from Spunky.


        "C'mon, Charles.  We have a rebellion to incite!"  Pumping his small
hand in the air, Erik ran off into the center of the playground. 
Charles could only sigh and dutifully follow.


***


        Mrs. Roberts usually spent her lunch hours at the window, eating from
her brown paper lunch bag and watching the children.  In all of her
years, she thought that she had become fairly adept at reading the
shifting currents of school yard politics.  And in all of her years,
nothing had ever had the power to frighten her so badly as the sight of
Erik gathered in the center of the playground, balanced on a swing with
his classmates gathered around him.


        "Oh dear," Mrs. Roberts sighed as another grey hair found its way onto
her head.


        By the time she had made her way into the yard, Erik had already wound
his classmates into a frenzy.  As she approached, Mrs. Roberts ears were
assaulted by youthful voices raised up in a cry of 'Recess!  Recess!'. 


        'Retirement is looking pretty good about now,' she thought wearily as
she waded her way through the mass of children towards the cause of the
disturbance.  "Erik..." she began with a put upon sigh.


        "The oppressor!" Erik cried out, gesturing towards her, his face
scrunched up with passionate anger.


        'Now that's one I never thought I'd hear," Mrs. Roberts thought, unable
to help a tiny smile from crossing her lips.  From behind Erik, Charles
looked out at her, utterly mortified by his friend's behavior.


***


        That night, a tired Mrs. Roberts flopped onto her favourite cushioned
chair and sighed.  Her husband shifted around in his chair to look at
her.  Seeing the look on her face, the reason for her sigh immediately
became apparent.  "Erik and Charles?" he asked.


        Mrs. Roberts nodded.  "Erik was urging his classmates to strike because
I wouldn't let them leave until Charles answered my question."  Thinking
of the impassioned speech Erik had confronted her with, Mrs. Roberts
didn't know wether to laugh or cry.  "We stood out on the playground for
a full ten minutes as I tried to get Erik back into the school.  It was
only that brief rainstorm that got them back into class."


        Mr. Roberts nodded, incredibly grateful for the fact that they had
never had children.  "And...?" he prodded, knowing that nothing
involving the infamous elementary school duo could end so easily.


        "And they spent all class passing notes back and forth.  The look on
that boy's face..."  Mrs. Roberts sighed again.  "Needless to say, I
don't think that I've seen the last of this."


***


        Charles looked at Erik warily as the other boy prowled back and forth
across his room.  "Erik?  You aren't actually going to go through with
this, are you?"


        "Yes I am, Charles!" Erik exclaimed, his face scrunched up in
determination.  "We can't let Mrs. Roberts take away our rights!  She
managed to break up our rebellion this day--"


        "Actually, the storm had more to do with that than she did."


        Erik ignored Charles' mild correction, too caught up in his dreams of
glory, rebellion and long recesses to notice.  "But this time, we will
be ready!  Nothing can stop us now."


        "We aren't going to lose any recess time tomorrow.  The only reason
that we lost any today was because we were talking," Charles said
reasonably, knowing from experience that no matter how persuasive his
argument, Erik wouldn't give up on his plans.


        Erik shook his head, his eyes narrowing and lips compressing in an
imitation of his favourite television hero.  "That is not the point,
Charles!"


        Charles shrugged, genuinely perplexed as to what the point actually
was.  "So what is it?"


        "The point is that nobody should have the right to take away our
recess.  Recess is," he struggled to find the words to express the
wonder that was recess.  "Well, recess is important."


        Charles sighed and tugged at his hair, a familiar sign of resignation. 
Erik grinned triumphantly.  With he and Charles working together,
nothing could stop them!  He dropped down on the bed next to Charles,
pulling the carefully folded piece of paper from his discarded school
bag before doing so.   "Now, all we have to do tonight is make the
banners..."


***


        The next morning, Mrs. Roberts was greeted by a sight that she had
never expected to see, at least not before Erik and Charles.  There were
posters hanging from the walls in their classroom.  _Posters_ of all
things!


        'RECESS!' the one posted prominently on the blackboard exclaimed in
blue crayon.  The several other posters repeated that battle cry. 


        Except for herself and the newly arrived artwork, the room was empty. 
With a sinking heart, Mrs. Roberts made her way over to the window and
peered out into the yard.  The scene unfolding below her was a slightly
more organized repeat of the previous day's adventure.


        "What a way to start the day..." Mrs. Roberts trailed off, making her
way out of the class and towards her wayward students. 'I'm sure I'm the
only teacher whose ever had to deal with this!'


        As Mrs. Roberts stepped out of the school and inot the miniture mob,
the young voices raised in a loud call for recess.  She carefully waded
her way through the mass of students towards Erik and Charles, who had
apparently given up trying to talk Erik out of his latest goal.


        "Charles.  Erik," she said, nodding at the two boys in turn.  Charles
nodded in reply, while Erik looked on imperiously.  


        Glancing back towards the school, Mrs. Roberts noted the small faces
peeking out from the full classrooms of her fellow teachers.  She didn't
even want to imagine what her co-workers were thinking about the little
drama playing out below them.  "There is no need for this foolishness,
Erik."


        He didn't answer.


        "Erik, wouldn't you like to go inside and finish reading our book
together?"


        Erik's eyes flickered briefly, but he refused to give into the
temptation, even when Charles nudged him with his elbow.  He was a man
on a mission! 


        "You don't want me to call your parents, do you?"


        "My parents always told me to stand up for my rights," Erik said
stiffly.


        With a final, exasperated sigh, Mrs. Roberts reached out and plucked
Erik from his perch on the swing.  She ignored his yelp of protest and
marched him back towards the building.  "Come along, Erik, and you can
teach the class what a 'martyr' is."


        The class stared after them in shock for a long moment before trailing
after the protesting boy and their teacher.  Charles nearly laughed in
relief, and scampered to catch up with the others.

~End~