An Empty Room, I'm Empty Too (Sean)

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

AJ knew it was only a matter of time before she'd need to see Sean about her problems. She couldn't rely on Mr. Meian to help her emotionally as well as with her power, that was too much responsibility to put on the nice man that she was lucky to have as a trainer and as many friends as she'd gained lately, she didn't really know how comfortable she felt talking to Oriel or Phoenix about things that had to do with her power, seeing as it would probably remind them of when she manipulated them which she was sure they'd rather not think about.

She sat, legs crossed at her ankles and picking at a loose string at the end of her sweater. While it was seemingly the beginning of Spring, Vermont liked to hold onto winter, just like Minnesota, where she was from. At least she was used to it.

She'd been handling things better than ever. She'd made friends with Phoenix and Oriel and they'd talked about what had happened, she was finally getting the training she needed and she was in love with Travis Morgan, the blonde boy who had been there for her since she'd came to Hammel. And then everything came crashing down at once. Her and Travis' relationship had gone downhill as he seemed to be experiencing copious amounts of anxiety that he couldn't handle and when AJ tried to talk to him, he became irate. He used her as a crutch rather than treating her as a girlfriend and AJ found that he quickly became too dependent on her. She didn't know how to deal with it. Their relationship led to pent up amounts of anxiety in herself and although she still had feelings for him, she had to break up with him. She'd never broken up with anybody, not to mention Travis was her first boyfriend. And then another bomb dropped on her.

Oliver Barnes from her hometown in Minnesota. Her best friend from middle school to when she left for Hammel abruptly. The best friend who she didn't want to face and apparently he really didn't want to face her either, considering he'd been hiding from her since he arrived, at least that's what she figured. She hadn't actually spoken to him yet.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Once, one of Sean’s coworkers had joked that they should rename his office “Rome,” because all roads led there. She had even threatened to have a plague made and installed next to his nameplate in the middle of the night. While she hadn’t been serious, and so his nameplate had remained untouched, she did have somewhat of a point.

An exaggerated point, as it was perfectly possible to survive one’s tenure at Hammel without having to visit with the psychiatrist. Even if a student had to sit through his Sexual Education Seminar in the summer of their senior year, doing so wasn’t the same as coming to his office. Still, between psychiatric sessions, moral support, discipline for school infractions, serving as a guidance counselor in some respects for future planning, checking in about poor academic performance (and the reasons behind plummeting grades), occasional substance abuse problems, and helping certain psychic students to cope emotionally with their powers, more students than not found themselves in Sean’s office.

Doing so was not a matter of personal failure. It was a matter of statistics.

Not every student who crossed his desk had the same reason for being there. Every student was unique, and certain problems, even if similar in the abstract, differed in the details.

Social problems were one of those big, vague areas that encompassed so many different situations. The psychiatrist was always there to tease out the underlying issues and then to help with a plan of action. Sometimes that took the form of mediation. Sometimes it took the form of role play. More than once, it had taken place during a card game that the psychiatrist had instigated.

Teasing out those details involved a soft touch more often than not.

Seated across from her, Sean took the moment to study AJ: not merely her thoughts, but her body language, her facial expression, her posture. To take in his full assessment. Then, he offered the soft touch, focusing instead on her sweater for the moment. “Would you like me to turn the heat up a notch?”

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

AJ continued fidgeting with her sweater, only looking up when Dr. Neville finally said something. She moved a loose curl out of her face and shook her head. "No, I'm fine," she told him softly. "I'm used to Minnesota winters, so I'm alright. The sweater is enough."

She wasn't sure what this would entail, she wasn't even sure what kind of help she needed or would receive. She just needed help of some sort because she felt lost and on edge and like things from her past were just bubbling up again.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Minnesota winters made winters in Vermont look mild by comparison. Pilot Ridge, like much of northern Vermont, found itself buried under many feet of snow for a winter that began earlier and ended later than the calendar suggested. Still, Pilot Ridge was spared the frequent deep freezes that plagued Minnesota and its surrounding states each winter. Sean was glad that he only lived in Vermont, because, as bad as the snow was, the combination of snow and sub-zero temperatures for months on end would only worsen his joint pain by several factors.

“Of course,” he said, and otherwise let the matter be. As he had informed her that he could adjust the room temperature, should she desire that later, he hoped that she would be comfortable asking.

Since AJ was reticent, the psychiatrist took the initiative to nudge a bit. He wanted her to set the pace for herself, as he wanted her to be comfortable (or as comfortable as she could be in this situation). Absent that initiative, he needed to help split the difference. “High school isn’t easy,” he offered, by way of an opening gambit. “Each and every day isn’t necessarily hard, but it has a way of catching up with us.”

[Amanda Joy "AJ" Lane]

"But it's not just high school," AJ found herself saying almost immediately after Dr. Neville spoke. What he'd said had triggered a response in her. Each and every day was hard when things were constantly being thrown at you and not even normal things. Things involving powers and problems because of powers. If Dr. Neville was trying to get her to talk, it was working and without her really knowing it.

"I have this ability...and I wouldn't even call it that because it's really just messed up my life in more than one way," she started to explaining, letting out a nervous half laugh, half breath before continuing. "I thought I was doing better. And I'm not. Because he's back." She wasn't thinking about the fact that he wouldn't know who 'he' was, she was just talking.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

That was what Sean wanted to hear: that it was not just high school because of...whatever reason AJ could provide as to why her situation set her apart from the typical assessment of adolescence. Whatever she said, whatever weighed on her, they could discuss in an attempt to strategize coping mechanisms, or for the psychiatrist to offer advice, or for her to simply get some of the stress and pressure off her chest and out into the open.

Thus, he leaned forward slightly, although not enough to encroach upon her personal space, and he waited, listening for whatever she might tell him.

Sean nodded sympathetically as she began as so many students had in the past: with her power. At her age, powers were complicated. And any utility and joy one could find often got lost in the shuffle of other slips and angst. The psychiatrist understood, because he had been in her place, although that had been so many decades ago. They didn’t possess the same power, but they were similar enough in terms of the social havoc wreaked.

That fell to the wayside with the cryptic admission – or complaint – that AJ voiced a moment later. Sean had to ask the obvious question. “Who’s back?”