"See you next year," Whip said cheerfully.
"Later," Mark replied.
Whip got into the car that would take him to the airport. Unlike Annika, Whip actually wanted to go home for the Christmas break. He wondered how things were going with Mildred and Slick and everyone.
Mark headed back inside as the car left the driveway. His past Christmas's had been as Mark Nevin, or Mark the orphan: this Christmas would be his first as Mark Xavier, and he was a little nervous about it. Somehow his new status as being adopted by the Professor had lifted him - a little bit - in the eyes of his peers. Especially now that he was no longer playing the snitch - Mark winced at those memories. He had spent a great deal of time in self pity, and needing assurence and generally lonely all around, but between the Professor and Scott, and the other teachers, and his friendship with Whip (which was only a friendship despite what the nasty, spiteful rumours about campus might say) he had actually managed to turn into something resembling an almost decent mutant being.