Rogue looked curiously around the lab. It wasn't the first time. It wouldn't be the last time (well ... they assumed so, anyway). She wasn't looking forward to the lab - at all. She was notoriously bad at chemistry. The harder the procedure, the more nervous she became.

She gazed at the instructions on the board, and sighed. As far as she was concerned, it was Greek. There were even symbols. Oh, God. Miserably, she copied down the notes from the board, taking extreme care with it.

She read them over, thoroughly, before she joined the crowd of students at the back of the room to gather the chemicals and equipment.

Professor McCoy regarded the class, a faint smile exposing his fangs. He kept an eye on Rogue, knowing her penchant for disaster in chemlabs, but so far, so good.

Then again, it hadn't actually started yet. He turned his attention around the class, especially the students who were actually starting the experiment. It was (relatively) quiet, though there was the chatter that was always present. A cry of "John, quit it!" caught his attention, and he turned in time to see a flare die down. "Allerdyce, I've warned you about that." Here, of all places. God, would that kid never learn?

He had a feeling John simply didn't want to learn. He shook his head, but continued to observe the class. He did catch Kitty phasing in through a wall, and he tried not to grin. Did she really think he didn't notice, when she was late? Perhaps so, because she ducked over to Rogue's station with a furtive glance around. That girl...he shook his head.

"It's about time," Rogue hissed to Kitty. "You know I suck at this stuff."

"Mhm. And I'm so much better. What the hell does that squiggly thing mean?"

"Approximate."

"Oh." Kitty peered over at Rogue's notes, then back up to the board. "So, where do we start?"

"At the bottom, Kitty. Step eleven."

She didn't miss the sarcasm, and she stuck her tongue out. "I meant how far did you get?"

"Step one. Gathering the components."

"And there's ten more steps to go. Ugh. I hate chemistry." She started to read step two, watching as Rogue performed step two.

"You hate everything to do with school," she muttered.

"Untrue. I like listening to Piotr try to discuss philosophy with Professor Xavier in Russian." She grinned. "Did you want me to help?"

"It'd be nice. Did you read through the whole thing first?"

Kitty shifted her attention to the board, reading over the notes there. She nodded when she'd finished. "Yes I did."

"Step four's yours then." Rogue took a step back. She hated doing the fire parts; she was always afraid she'd set her gloves on fire, or something. Speaking of. She pulled Kitty's hair back and tied it in a loose knot for her - so she wouldn't catch on fire.

"Fire. Yum." Kitty set up the burner, turned on the gas, and created sparks over it. She watched the flame for a minute, before moving their test tube over it, tilting it just-so to avoid splattering and whatnot.

"Allerdyce." Hank's voice rumbled across the class.

"I wasn't doing anything!"

"Yet," Bobby muttered. He hated labs with fire with John. He'd seen the way his lab partner had been looking at Rogue and Kitty's experiment. "Leave 'em alone, John."

"You're such a pussy, Drake." John shouldered him none too gently, but he knew Bobby wouldn't take the bait, and pick a fight with him. He never did.

"I'm not a pussy. I just don't want to die in a chem lab explosion, thanks."

"How do you want to die?" A grin quirked John's lips as he ran his fingers through the flame from their burner.

"I don't want to die. Period."

"We all die, Drake." He couldn't help but raise their flame a little, gazing almost lovingly at the fire. The heat was too intense for their test tube, though, and with a snap and a pop (no crackle though), it burst.

Bobby groaned.

John laughed.

Hank sighed.