Practice Practice and more Practice (open)
A month and seven days and Alex was now up to and hour and one minute and fifty two seconds with being able to hold human form. When he first got here he had only been able to hold human form for about thirty to forty seconds. A lot of time with Professor Xavier, Mrs. Summers and a lot of practice and hard work had gotten Alex to where he currently was.

He sat by the lake on a boulder and watched the stopwatch. He would have done this in his room, but it was too beautiful a day to stay inside. The shorts he wore allowed him to change shape without removing them. The Professor said they were made of unstable molecules or something like that. They changed with him. Now he didn't have to worry about someone finding him naked while in human form.

He glanced at the stopwatch again.

Today he was trying for an hour and five minutes. It helped to have a goal in mind before he started and it helped to meditate for awhile beforehand. He could wait to show Mel what he had accomplished. His goal before it was time for him to leave here was two hours. Then he'd be able to take Mel out to a movie or dinner without having people stare. He also wanted to be able to do normal things like cook and other things individuals with hands were able to do.

He smiled and watched the sunlight dance on the water.