Masterpiece Theater (Brendan James)

[Brielle Vacanti]

Brielle was upset, very upset, but that was pretty normal. But unlike all the other times she was upset , this time she was actually emoting it. Most times she just kept her head down and stayed away from others. but today she walked into the theater , the local town one with her head held up and emotions clearly written on her face. It was a mix of anger and despair, that all seemed come together.

She was carrying her portfolio with her and as she got to the stage she set it down and glared at it with disgust. She knew everything in it that she had done recently was a load of crap. Her powers had been freaking out more and more lately. Not coming out the way she wanted, coming out in the middle of class, or even just timing out on her in less then 10 seconds, something that hadn't happened since freshman year. But the worst had to come from the side effects, even now she could still feel the water droplets on her skin from the illusion of rain she created this morning. It made her itchy , irritated and scared all at the same time. She didn't know what to do about it. Sure she could go talk to a counselor about it, but she didn't like talking to people she didn't know well.

Which was why she had left school early to come to the theater.

"Mr. James?" She called out into the empty theater, and hoped that she would get a reply.

Brendan James had been her art teacher for 2 months before leaving Hammel. And in those 2 months he became her favorite teacher,ever. He was the one and only teacher that she felt like she could speak to. So she was sad when she suddenly found out that he was no longer going to teach her. She didn't know why , nor did she care about why he left, she just knew that he was the best teacher she had, and the only adult she could ask questions to.

This wasn't Brielle's first time to visit him, nor did she think it would be the last. but it was the first visit that wasn't a happy one. Most of their meetings were to talk about her latest project, or the award she won from her painting, or even just to ask about things. But this was a serious problem for Brielle and she didn't have anyone she could ask.

Art was her life, without it she was...she was nothing. Art was the thing that isloated her from people, that got her bullied when she was younger, and what caused her to hide from the world. But art was hers, what she created was her's and only hers alone, like the illusions she created. Now it was all wrong, and she didn't know how to fix it, or if she even could fix it.

With a nervous tremor to her voice she called out in a frantic and louder voice "Mr. James!"

[Brendan James]

Most of the time when Brendan was working he could be found singing and dancing just a bit. It sometimes made working just a bit difficult, but he felt it helped to get his creative juices flowing. And Eugene never reprimanded him for it. Well, until Bren started dancing on Genie like he was a pole. The his friend, turned boss, would ask him to stop. And he would stutter. And he would blush. And Genie was adorable like that.

But Bren hadn't seen Genie in weeks, still giving his oldest friend the space he needed since Eugene found out he was in love with Brendan.

And the set designer respected that, he really did. But the theater... having it in his life was a comfort. And the work he did with/for it was amazing to him. And he didn't want somebody ruining that. So every once in a while, when Bren was sure Genie was out, he'd sneak into the theater. He'd look around the place, sometimes just sit in the chairs, look over sets, make a few small changes to them.

That's what he'd been doing when Brielle called out, making small changes (and singing and dancing), so he hadn't heard her at first. Second time he did though. "Yo!" He hollered back from behind the curtain. "Keep your panties on!"

When he came out and saw her, Brendan smiled. "Ah, Bri, hey!" he jumped off the stage and walked over to her. "How many times do I have to tell you? Call me Brendan. Or Bren. I'm not your teacher anymore." he said with a chuckle.

[Brielle Vacanti]

Brielle felt like she could almost weep from the relief she felt from seeing her old teacher again. She was so glad that he was here and not somewhere else, she would of most likely given up and just went back to go into her room to cry.

"And how many times do I have to tell you, that it's hard for me to call adults by their first name." She gave him a very stern , serious glance, but quickly it softened to a rolling of the eyes. "But I shall try for you."

Brielle quickly started to pace back and forth in panic, frustration, and fear. She took a moment to collect herself before turning to her former teacher.

"I have a problem, one I don't know what to do. And this problem will ruin my life if it continues." she didn't wait for his reply , she just grabbed her portfolio and opened it. She pulled out drawings and paints one by one and placed them on the stage. They were horrible when they came to her standards. Streaks of colors mixed together and blobs placed on the paper.

"Look at this!This isn't me! this is not what I do, I draw what I imagine, what I wish in my hearts desires! Not freaking modern art!"

She was close to tears now as she looked on at the art she hated. She kept pacing until she finally stopped and just leaned on the stage. Her elbows on the wood and hands in her hands.

"My powers are not working right, and without them my art...my art is gone. And I can not survive the world without art Brendan, I can not."

[Brendan James]

With a chuckle, Brendan nodded. “Ok ok, I get it. Don’t worry. Call me Mr. James, if you insist. But if you ever meet my dad, you’ll have a hell of a time getting us confused.” Which wasn’t exactly true. Tim, much like Bren, insisted that all call him by his first name. But if Brielle were insistent on calling them by the last time, well, a fun (if slightly inconvenient) time would be had by all.

The older man watched as his ex-student began pacing. It caused him to frown in worry, wondering what was wrong that could possible distress the so much. Frowning deeper, he nodded. While he was worried, he didn’t think whatever was wrong would ruin her life. But it were that serious than she most definitely came to the wrong person.

Looking at the papers on the stage, he picked them up, looking at them individually. While they were exactly her style, they were still good. A bit more modern than his own taste, but he could appreciate all form of art. “Alright. Well, the important thing here is not worry or get upset too much. That’ll do nothing to help the problem. Yes, it’s ok to be alarmed. But… just take a deep breath. We’ll figure this out.” Once more, he looked at the paintings and drawings closely before setting them back on the stage.

“Ok. Well, first of all, they’re good. I know it’s not your style, but they’re still good. At least there’s that.” Bren lifted himself onto the stage, sitting beside Brielle while his legs swung. “So, what are the issues you’ve been having with your power? Have you talked to your trainer about them?”

[Brielle Vacanti]

Brielle let her head slip out of her hands to rest on the stage below her. She knew that others would think the art on the canvases were not that bad, but it wasn't her. All Brielle's life art was the one thing that made her different from all the bullies and rude people from her home town. Without HER art she was nothing but a girl who had no individuality. Brielle could separate artists just by looking at their paintings , because they were all different, but those works that lay on the stage before her were not her's. They were someone else's that she just copied in style.

"No, I haven't talked to my trainer, I don't like talking to people in the first place. If it wasn't effecting my art, if it wasn't effecting who I was as an artist , then yes I would go tell them. But this, this is to personal."

Brielle kept her head pressed against the wood as she thought over the issues her powers had been causing her. They had made it so she couldn't trust herself anymore. She knew that they weren't real, but her body seemed to think otherwise. It made it so unless her powers popped up unannounced that she didn't use them.

"I can't trust myself anymore Mr. James. The other day I made an illusion of sun, and couldn't wear anything but short and t-shirt because it felt hot. It was in the middle of winter! and it wasn't as if it was a short time. And then the illusions just come out without notice and when I do want them they dissapear in a short time."

Brielle let out a sigh before turning her head to look at her teacher ,"I need some advice on how to fix it."

[Brendan James]

“I know it’s difficult, trying to talk to somebody about something as personal as your art, trust me I know. But your art is being affected because of the illusions. You don’t have to talk to your trainer about the art part, but you absolutely do have to talk about the power part, how it’s affecting you.” Brendan didn’t want to talk to her about his feelings on the power they shared. He didn’t want to frighten the girl. Nor did he want her to be frightened of their power the way he was.

Sighing, Bren reached over and gently stroked her hair. “Listen, I know it’s hard, really I do. I had a hard time with it when I was your age. It’s a struggle knowing what’s real and what’s not. But that’s why you need to talk to your trainer, ok? There are ways for them to help you to learn distinguish between the reality of the world around us and the reality your mind and power try to make.” It had been especially difficult for Brendan. Though, he didn’t know how Brielle was feeling on the inside, so it might not be. But given the struggles and that he’d had to attend a near by community college for a year while he finished his training…

“The fact of the matter Bri is that it’s not going to get any easier if you don’t communicate with your trainer about your difficulty in controlling your power. I’m not a trainer, I never was.” Bren did his best to keep his voice sympathetic, but serious. “And it’s been a long time since my own training. But, I’ll make you a deal. If you promise to talk to your trainer about your power, I’ll work with you on your art. See if we can’t… figure something out.” He smiled at her, hoping that she’d accept the deal, though he was exactly sure how he’d help her with her art.