Down Time [Sean]

Sean had spent most of the morning in a session with a student, for the purposes of incoming evaluation. The poor girl had wanted to attend, but her parents had fought tooth and nail before she was finally delivered. She was confused, shaken, and worried that her family would never speak to her again, and the intake session had consisted of assurances, anecdotes, and a game of Spit – the American style. She’d calmed down, and he’d had to have a chat with her parents, before being finished with her intake for now.

It wasn’t as though he didn’t understand her parents’ reluctance, but he also didn’t appreciate that some of that reluctance was laced with anti-meta bigotry. Hopefully her parents would come around, as his had and as had the parents of many students before, and many would certainly later. Most didn’t settle into their ways as firmly as his sister and his brother-in-law had, and that gave him a bit of hope for her. That and her powers were less frightening to those around them.

Deciding that coffee and a quick bite to eat was in order, given the morning’s conversations. He entered the staff lounge and made a straight line to the coffee pot, pouring himself a warm cup. Looking around for any signs that Anya had been there, he was delighted to find a platter of brownies. Picking one up and taking a bite, he turned then, giving a nod and a smile at Chase, who was currently sitting on the sofa. He swallowed the bite, washed it down with a bit of coffee, and went over to one of the arm chairs. “Chase, how good to see you. Long day so far?”

Chase was quite right in his assumption that Sean’s death had escaped the morning completely unscathed. His desk didn’t usually fall prey to fire or other out of control powers. Emotions, fears, and memories ran rampant in his office, and there’d been more than enough of that this morning during intake.

The present list of pyrokinetics was a short one indeed, and one particular name was at the top, when it came to uncontrolled powers, partially born from laziness and partially from his...unique personality and perspective on life. Besides, this was hardly an isolated incident. Sean had to ask, “Has Samuel been giving you particular trouble, or is he just being his usual unmotivated self?”

“And at least the kids aren’t going tribal, so that’s a good start.” Sean remembered vividly the one time an English teacher thought that reenacting “Lord of the Flies” had been a good lesson plan. That had been a terrible day, and it was also the reason that there was a present rule stating that all plays, shows, and reenactments must received advanced administrative approval.

He then smiled a bit, sipping his coffee and taking another bite of brownie. “My day...we have a new student, a lovely, shy young thing. Sharp as a tack, too; she managed to beat me at Spit, although admittedly, that was never my game. Honestly, I’m a bit surprised I remember how to play.” He shook his head to himself, and then continued, “Her parents aren’t too pleased, although I did everything I could to reassure them and to remind them that they did consent to her enrollment, and that we are perfectly capable of helping her, that we’re the best place for her so far. It’s common enough; they finally built themselves up to bringing her, after forming an opinion of the place. Then when they arrived, their little mental picture was shattered, and they were pushed back to square one. Everyone’s calm now, so I’m happy.”

That sounded par for the course with Samuel Rixon; if only he had a less...potentially dangerous power, it would be of less concern. Like with Vincent; that boy was a piece of work, but at least nobody was hurt but himself, and he could heal. “I don’t know if you’re taking suggestions, but I’ll start thinking.”

Sean chuckled at the comment about jumping ship if the students went tribal. The incident had been memorable and terrible, and he’d had to do a fair amount of damage control after the English teacher had completely lost control of the situation, but he’d let it go, for the most part. Then again, Chase had more reason to have been scarred; it had been the other man’s first week on the job, whereas Sean had been there for some seventeen years already. “Between you and me, I have a short list of reasons that will make me retire early, and that one’s not quite on it. Although if it happens again, I am putting in for immediate vacation.” Because he’ll have earned it.

“They usually are,” Sean said with a nod of agreement. “Except for those rare children who have to be dragged kicking and screaming, and then their parents become the voices of reason by necessity.” Those children invariably became fixtures in his office for most, if not all, of their time as students. And then, of course, there were the children who were much the same way Sean had been as a student: petrified of their powers; there weren’t many of those these days. “I didn’t think it was cool when I was that age,” he admitted, taking a sip of his coffee. It had taken him a while to grow into his powers and to cope with the stress; he’d found over the decades that was fairly common among telepaths. “Then again, I was a little young for my powers.” That was putting it mildly; he’d been sheltered, and then the deluge…

His thoughts brought back from the general experience of students to the new girl, he smiled a bit. “She starts next week; her parents are helping her get settled, and then she’ll slowly ease her way in.” That was all Sean knew of the matter, as he had no part in training. He would be here for emotional and psychological support, but curriculum was for teachers and training was for the likes of James and Chase.

Sean couldn’t think of any sane person who would count out of control pyrokinetics as a favorite anything, certainly not as a favorite student when being judged on merit and safety alone. It wasn’t as though Sean had anything against Samuel’s personality, but his apathy left much to be desired as a student; he wouldn’t have to train him. If he had to train anyone, it would be another telepath, or a student with other mental powers close enough to Sean’s that he could do so personally rather than in the abstract. It was moot, of course, as he was not a trainer and had no desire to switch jobs this late in the game. “I’ll try to think of something he’d want to focus on, and then a way to link training to that.” It was the best solution Sean could think of without taking more time to consider the matter. Then he chuckled at the joke, which could also be a threat. “He’d get lost on my way to the office, and we’d find him out on the grounds making mischief, an hour later.” It was a strong possibility, considering Samuel’s history at Hammel, and some of his friends. They could be a handful; that was to put it mildly.

“This time, I’d ask you to help,” Sean replied. Now that he was aware of Chase’s powers, he knew that they would be useful in calming down a group of students gone tribal, although he’d handled himself fine the last time. And now that he had gotten to know Chase, he respected the other man and trusted him to handle such a problem on his own, because he was too old to run from his office to a renegade classroom without his knees punishing him later. He then shook his head slightly, clearing it of the memories. “I’m all for hoping that there’s never a repeat incident, because we don’t need one.”

In that, Sean’s sister and brother-in-law would get on well with Chase’s parents, although he was sure they were more metaphobic than most, although short of actually signing petitions to put them all on a watch list ala the Red Scare of the 1950s. Then again, his sister also wouldn’t come to his wedding if he was to marry another man, meta or not, so Chase’s parents were better in that regard. He then raised an eyebrow at the tale Chase recounted, not of how his powers manifested because that was rather run-of-the-mill, but of his pinnacle achievement in using them before coming to Hammel. “Your shark tattoo? Of everything to control your mother’s mind over, you chose a shark tattoo?” Possessed of psychic powers himself, Sean wasn’t the slightest bit uncomfortable with what Chase could do, although as with all powers, and particularly with mental powers, he believed they had a particular duty to others not to abuse them. Yet, if he could control minds and hadn’t been afraid of his own mental unraveling at that age, he wouldn’t have used his powers for a tattoo. To make his father quit smoking, perhaps, although he’d succeeded in that after medical school. He then shook his head to himself. “At fifteen, I would have been more concerned about my girlfriend sneaking out past curfew. We didn’t have co-ed dorms back then.”

“I’m sure she will, once she gets used to it,” Sean remarked, before taking another sip of his coffee. The girl was well-mannered, and although a bit overwhelmed and anxious, was genuinely sweet. She’d find her place here once she relaxed and her parents came to accept the change. He managed not to frown as the thought of Jesse Adams entered Chase’s mind, and thus his because his mental shields weren’t raised as high as they could be. Jesse was...a piece of work, a unique challenge, and one which Sean was unwilling to concede. The boy was at a crucial stage in his development: he could reform his ways to become a force for good in this world, using his abilities to help people, or at least living a normal life with a power to make a wife and children happy, even if he wanted to fade into relative obscurity otherwise. Or he could persist in tormenting his classmates, taking sadistic glee in their misery. Of course, Sean couldn’t let that stand; he’d let one slip through his fingers, years ago. A second couldn’t happen. He didn’t want to think about what might be necessary in that situation, as he held out hope for Jesse’s treatment; yet, he was prepared. Not that he’d mentioned this to anyone; he had yet to reach that point.

He then chuckled at Chase’s question, which banished the train of thought from his own mind. “I wouldn’t say it’s bad, especially since we both know you’re not going to skip them.” Sean didn’t doubt Chase’s dedication for a moment, but they all had those days when they’d rather be elsewhere. If his nephew was in town, one could bet that he’d like to take the day off, claiming too intense a migraine to work, before taking the boy out on the water; but he wouldn’t, because he had work to do. Then his smile became knowing at the mention of Niko. “I’ve yet to meet anyone who doesn’t like him; he’s an adorable boy.”

“Anya could likely whip him into shape without using her powers,” Sean said with a smile. He liked that young woman a great deal, but he knew that she could make the students tremble with her attitude if she applied herself.

Much like Samuel Rixon, Vincent Verax also had a long reputation with the faculty. That his academics were lousy was an understatement; from what Sean had seen and heard, he would retire long before Vincent graduated. Chase could potentially retire long before Vincent graduated at his rate of academic progress. They’d never had a case where someone was no longer in need of power training, but was held back for academic reasons; usually, it was the opposite, students advancing through their coursework at a faster rate than their powers could be controlled, leading to other career and academic opportunities in the area and a slowly thriving network of current and former students in the area. Vincent could be the first, given his performance; loathe was Sean was to admit it, the young man was...not bright. Within the privacy of his thoughts, he also had to assume that he had done well with his powers because he was a regenerator, and that ability functioned unconsciously. If it were more complex, he likely wouldn’t be ahead of his friends...and he also might have died years ago from his reckless behavior. Briefly, Sean paused to reflect on what faculty at normal schools had to deal with. “I wouldn’t use Vincent as a measure of anyone’s progress unfortunately. I’d almost suggest a role model pairing system for that group, but nobody would volunteer to be their role models.” Sean liked them all well enough, but he was also realistic.

Sean had no concerns in that area, since the entire faculty had learned their lesson from that incident, and there had yet to be any repeats. In fact, they had procedures to prevent such a surprise. Beyond that, the telepath had full confidence in Chase’s abilities, and he agreed with the other man’s added thought that they could involve Anya and that would simply be the end of it. Although Sean wasn’t as fast and loose with invoking such a power for actual punishment, he had found that the threat worked wonders with student compliance, and he wasn’t above making use of that fact. “It’s a non-issue now, I’m sure. I’d be more worried about field day getting out of hand.” That was a legitimate concern.

Sean had never understood tattoos, which was why he didn’t have any and could honestly say that the cumulative time he’d spent in or around tattoo parlors was less than the cumulative time he’d spent trapped in elevators at the top of tall buildings – that had been the birthday from Hell. They were potentially painful, could technically kill you through ink poisoning, and ruined perfectly good skin, but he was more natural that way. He had had a piercing once, although that was only his earlobe, and it was decades ago at this point; thankfully nobody here had been around to remember that. And to be fair, Sean didn’t understand the drive for more...interesting and complex piercings, either. He had certainly never desired one. “I’m not one to judge your teenage act of rebellion, I just find it a curious set of priorities for a fifteen-year-old boy,” he said with a smile. “Although when you were fifteen, I was well passed knowing what was ‘cool.’”

Neither of them would find a way out of their obligations for the rest of the day, which was part and parcel with having a job, particularly a job that involved frequent interaction with meta-human children. Alas. To think, that if he had remained in private practice, Sean could set his own hours, clear his afternoon schedule, and go out on the water whenever he wished, weather permitting. Truly, that was lingering on the past. “You could suggest to Claude that we have a staff meeting, and then simply not go.” That would not work, of course, as Claude was not in the habit of surprise staff meetings, since it threw everyone off schedule, and schedule was important for keeping the children regulated. Not to mention that if Chase managed to convince him to hold a meeting, then there would be Hell to pay for not making an appearance. But one pipe dream deserved another.

“Young, adorable, and friendly?” Sean asked knowingly, before taking another sip of his coffee. He couldn’t fault Chase; Nikolai was a rare treat, both for his gentle spirit and his young age, which made him naïve and inspired everyone in the facility that had a soul to want to either cuddle or protect the boy, if not both. Sean himself wasn’t immune, although he had precious little reason to interact with the boy, apart from brief checks with others to make sure he was adjusting well enough. As he had no parents, his legal status was murky at best, Sean knew, which saddened him with the vague paternal urges he’d never been able to channel into a family of his own. Well, life at Hammel was surely better than a group home. “Honestly, I wish we had another student or two his age, to give him some more appropriate friends. But unless we change our policy to take children prior to their manifestation, to make sure they come into their powers in a controlled environment, he’ll be alone in his age bracket for another few years.”

Chase confirmed Sean’s suspicions, and what he believed was the general mindset of the entire faculty; nobody wanted to try and mentor that group of youngsters. Not that he could blame them; he was certainly too old to chase them around, trying to prevent them from starting fires or juggling chainsaws, and certainly everyone else had a personal life apart from the school which demanded their off duty attention. Or, barring that, work to be done. Not that they were lost causes – Vincent perhaps aside – but a one-on-one mentoring program was not the solution.

Sean enjoyed field day insofar as he didn’t have to participate. Neither a teacher nor young enough to be athletic, he was paid to sit in his office and drink coffee, in the off chance that someone needed him. However, his experience differed vastly from the teachers who had to actually coordinate the events, which was why Chase had reason to be concerned. “It is, although better they have a controlled burn outside than a spontaneous explosion indoors.”

Sean listened as Chase described what had led to his choice for the tattoo, and then the resulting, and understandable, anger from his mother afterward. “I’m sure,” he replied, rising long enough to refill his coffee mug. He held up the pot, offering to pour a cup for Chase, while speaking over his shoulder. “My parents were glad to get me out of the house, although they never said as much. I made them nervous.” His parents hadn’t been metaphobic per se, since their opinions had been shaped through the Church’s take on the phenomenon, but they had been uncomfortable with the idea of their twelve-year-old son having access to their thoughts and their memories. It was Kathleen who took that a step further, which was why he and his sister barely spoke.

Sean had known Claude in various roles for the past forty years, and they got on quite well. Then again, Sean also wouldn’t pull a stunt like that because he was far too cautious and responsible to consider doing so seriously. Even as a student, any trouble he caused was purely incidental, completely beyond his control despite his best efforts otherwise, and his reputation spoke for itself. He had not changed in that regard, beyond growing older, larger, and gaining better control. “I think the entire staff is in agreement with you there.” Anyone who was not usually failed to last more than a year.

“He might like him; it’s worth a try,” Sean agreed as he sat back down in his chair. Milo was an exceptionally well-behaved house pet, and what small(er) child didn’t like playing with cats? Besides, small furry pets had a calming effect on people generally, so it might be an idea for keeping Chase’s class under control. Then he smiled at the mention of adoption. James had mentioned it to him, and it had been on both of their minds such that he’d overheard a bit. “I think you’d make a fine father,” he said seriously. One of Sean’s greatest regrets had never been having children of his own, since he was so fond of them. Although he could see how Chase would have blanched at the idea initially, he also saw all of the qualities which suited him to the role, and for both James and for his sake, he was glad that he had begun to come around. “And it’s a little strange how family matters tend to get the best of us; we can never tell early on where life will take us.”

“I think we’d all prefer that,” Sean certainly did, and he knew both through telepathy and experience that the rest of the staff was of a like mindset. Explosions were difficult to contain in the best of circumstances and were downright dangerous in the worst. Yet with these students, they could be unavoidable. “But if we only have a choice between an explosion indoors and an explosion outside, better to have it outside during some controlled competition.” Field day served that purpose, while also letting them work out their competitive drives and tiring them out a bit too. The adrenaline rush tended to burn out long before the end of the day, fortunately for the staff.

Sean set down the pot when Chase declined a refill. With his own filled mug, he returned to his seat and settled to listen to the rest of the other man’s story of his exploits with his family as a teenager. He was fortunate that his mother had made peace with the incident and that she had also come to accept that he was a meta-human and the scope of his abilities in the process. Sean’s parents had adapted likewise, primarily because by the end of their lives, the fact that he was meta was truly the least of their issues with their oldest child. It was only Kathleen, and by extension Colin, who took such exception to his nature. “It can be a little disconcerting when people take morality out of powers,” Sean said with a nod. Surely he had long experience with those comparisons. “I blame ‘The Village of the Damned,’ and the rest of that claptrap.” He had never liked horror movies, particularly not after developing his telepathy; he had his reasons.

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Sean agreed, remembering with perfect clarity a few students from when Sean himself had attended who had Claude as an instructor and had pulled a few similar stunts. It was unwise to try that with someone who always had luck on his side.

“Yes, I do,” Sean said seriously, nodding slightly. He tried not to give idle compliments, particularly not about family sufficiency. One of his greatest regrets in life was never settling down and having a family of his own, and thus he had a critical eye when it came to fatherhood. “Self-assessment is difficult. When I was younger, I had the exact opposite goal, and saw myself celebrating my twentieth-anniversary at this age.” He hadn’t met the right person; rather, he had, but it hadn’t panned out in so many ways, although that was a story for another day. “And your happiness is how you can tell that it’s right.”