The X-Project

Bobby tries to give Molly a make-shift math lesson in the snow, but it had an unexpected end.


Bobby Drake couldn't help but have a smile on his face. He knew that winter had only a few weeks left, but the snowfall this year had been the perfect season for someone with Bobby's gifts. With the snowball fights, the cold, and just the feeling of fresh frost on his face, he didn't want it to end. Even now, he was just laying on his back in what was left of the most recent snowfall trying to take it all in. This was as close to perfect as he had found in months.


A small girl in a bright green frog hat poked her head in front of his vision. She squinted at him.

"Are you okay?" she said curiously. He didn't look hurt but why would he be laying in the snow? Wasn't he cold?

Mr. Bobby taught her math. And that was all she knew about him. All he really talked about was math. She didn't much like math, so she usually tried to get away really fast after class, hoping he'd forget to give her homework. But he was on the ground so that was bad. Maybe?


Drake forced one eye open in a squint. It took him a while but he was able to make out the face of his student and great her with a half smirk. "I'm just fine Molly." He forced himself to sit up, brushing some of the extra snow off of his jacket. "I take it you're out here instead of studying for our math quiz next week?" He gave here a subtle wink.

Molly's eyes widened.

"Dude. we have a math quiz? Really? What day? Oh crap."

When did he say there was a math quiz? She might've been staring out the window. She really didn't like math. All the numbers were confusing. Especially the ones with the X's and the /'s. And FRACTIONS. Those were horrible.


"Whoa, whoa whoa!" Bobby instantly popped himself up off of the ground holding his hands up in front of him. "I was just kidding about the quiz Molly." He couldn't help but laugh a bit. "I always knew you weren't a fan of math classes, but dang girl, you need to learn when to breathe."

"Oh," Molly said, immediately relaxing. Her shoulders even dropped a little in relief.

"Whew," she said.

"You scared me a lot, Mr. Bobby. Cause fractions are evil. I didn't wanna fail or nothin. Then I'd have to take math all over."

Stupid math. She liked Mr. Bobby but she could definitely do without the rest.


"Fractions aren't evil Molly." He leaned forward towards her. "They just get a bad rep. Like some mutants." He began scratching his chin for a second before turning towards the pile of snow next to them. An idea began to formulate in his head as he turned back towards her. "How would you like to get a special lesson in fractions right now?" He raised his hand. "I promise, it'll be fun though."

Molly made a very skeptical face as she took a step backward.

"I dunno...does this mean we're in class now?" she said.

And she didn't believe that. Fractions were evil. She bet they were in cahoots with Monkey Joe and the Evil Squirrel League. There was one, she knew it. Poor Dori, having to be half squirrel. She didn't blame her for it, though.

"Oh! Maybe squirrels TALK in fractions. Its like their special code."

Sometimes she forgot she wasn't saying what she was thinking and it didn't make sense to anyone but her.


Bobby did a quick double take as he tried to figure out what just happened. "Wait, what, squirrel's and fractions, how do they?" He with another shake of his head and a small chuckle, he decided it was probably best to let that one slide by. "I don't think squirrel's do talk in fractions, but it kinda is like it's own special language. And when you learn it, you can talk about things that even adults don't know about." He crossed his arms over his chest, a sneaky smile growing across his face. "But I suppose that if you don't want to know, I can't force you..."

"Even you? But you're an adult," Molly said.

Magic fraction language sounded kinda cool though.


Bobby shifted his weight. "But I'm the gatekeeper of the language, and if you really hate it..." He shrugged and slowly passed his student, trying to suppress his smile as he passed by Molly.

Molly blinked. "Wait!" she said as she quickly tried to catch up.

"I would like to learn fraction language..!" Then, as an afterthought,

"Maybe. is there gonna be a test?"


Bobby laughed for a second. "No, I promise this isn't going to be a test." He looked around for a second before he found exactly what he was looking for clapping his hands together he stepped forward. "You see this Molly?" He walked to the side of one of the various snowmen one of the students at the mansion had no doubt created, leaning to his side, he put his arm around the back of his new, white friend. "This is the gentlemen that will be my teaching assistant for the afternoon."

Molly tilted her head curiously. "But...he's a snow man, he's not alive," she said. She was old enough to know those things.

She was also relieved to hear that there would not be a test. Quite relieved.

"He might look like a snowman to you, but really." Bobby looked both ways before lowering his voice and leaning down to whisper to the girl. "He's also a fraction." Bobby tilted his head towards the snowman and continued on. "Molly, why don't you tell me how many parts of the snowman you see."


Molly stared at the snowman like it just turned into a polka dotted swan when he said it was a fraction.

"Uh...uh..." Her eyes flickered over the snowman again, really trying to see it this time.

"...Three?" she asked hopefully with uncertain squint and a grin before biting her lip.


Bobby smiled warmly again. "Exactly. Three pieces. But in fractions, we call that thirds, or one over..." He held up three fingers in front of his face before turning back towards the snowman. "Now when you add up each of these thirds. How many snowmen do you get?" He bit his lip as he turned back towards her.

Molly stared at him again, this time with a look of pure confusion. She swallowed.

"3? 1? 1 and a half?" she said, glancing down at her fingers as she held up various ones.


"Close." Bobby moved from the snowman, putting his knee on the ground just next to her. "You see In fractions, you have a number on top, and a number on bottom right?" He nodded as he pointed his finger towards the snowman. "We already talked about how there's three parts of the snowman, so that's the number on bottom." He Pointed to each piece. "And when you add them all up, then you have three on the top number too." He turned his head towards Molly. "You with me?"


"So....Three over three?" Molly said, tilting her head.

She made a face.

"This makes my head hurt."


Bobby laughed again. "Well we're just getting to the fun part." He turned towards Molly. "You see his head up there? I want you to pretend like it's one of those evil squirrels, and give it a good hit." His smile continued. "Do you think ya could do that for me?"

Molly squinted at Bobby uncertain. "You mean like a boom! hit or a BOOM! hit?" she said, punching her palm with her fist.

"But...isn't he your like...snow buddy? He'll be headless and then he can't like...smoke his pipe or anything."


"That's the beauty of my powers, I can make more snow buddies whenever I like." He gave a small wink. "Go ahead a give him a smack. I promise I won't tell."

"But...but...what if he has a snow family...and then he's got no head!" Molly said, sounding completely serious.

"I dunno if I like fractions if they kill snow people."


"But he's not a snow person Molly. He's a fraction." He turned his head toward her. "One of those dirty fractions that have been making your life miserable for the past few months." Drake leaned forward. "Now are you gonna let him get away with that?"

Molly looked up at him, shifting back and forth from one foot to the other. She bit her lip.

"Are you sure he's bad? Like really really sure? But didn't you say fractions are not evil?"

Children. They remembered things at the worst times.


Luckily Bobby knew the same feeling from when he was a kid. "Fractions usually aren't. But this guy. Not only is he a fraction, but he's one that's telling me that you'll never understand them. Look at that smirk on his face. It's all there." He raised an eyebrow. "Now are you gonna just let him get away with that?"



Molly blinked, glancing around with surprise. "You can hear him talking?" she said.


"That's not good."


"Metaphorically Molly. I'm talking in metaphors." Luckily, Drake had a lot of patience after spending his own time in the mansion. That and working with kids kind of extended your limits.


"Oh," Molly said, slowly nodding.

"Well he sounds like a jerk then."


Bobby laughed. "Exactly. Now what are you gonna do about it Molly?"

Molly shifted her eyes back and forth. She found it weird that the adults actually WANTED her to punch things here instead of back home where they were definitely against it. Maybe it was cause they punched people themselves a lot?

"Punch his snow face!"

Cause snow men didn't have butts.


"Go for it!" Bobby turned his head quickly to the side and closed his eyes. He had already heard about some of Molly's powers, and was pretty sure he didn't want to have any snow shrapnel thrown at his face today.


Molly clenched her fist and started to rear her arm back when she remembered what she promised Wademan.

"Oh! By the way, I'm gonna fall asleep when I punch this but its normal so don't freak out okay?" she said. Cause grownups seemed to freak out a lot when she did that. She really didn't like falling asleep either but it just kinda happened.

She continued on with her punch, as her eyes suddenly glowed purple and her fist barreled into the snowman's head. The snow literally exploded, sending snow, pieces of the rocks that had been used for the eyes, and the carrot for the eyes in every which way. Molly beamed.

"Dude that was..." she said, her eyes fluttering as she teetered back and forth.

"Sweeee... " she trailed off, falling backward towards the ground in a tiny heap.


Bobby fell to his knees to make sure the girl was ok. "Alright Drake, note to self. If you're gonna teach a girl about fraction subtraction, make sure she's gonna be awake."


Mollly appeared to be sleeping peacefully, and she was, dreaming of evil snowmen.