Crisis Mode [Sean]

[Eloise Eaton]

Until very recently, Eloise Eaton was a very confident individual. She never questioned the things she did, or said, or thought- and she never considered their consequences. She never doubted herself in any way shape or form, and never questioned the way things were. She didn't let what people think change her opinion, which was pretty impressive since she always knew what people were thinking. She knew what she wanted to do, and had a pretty good idea of how she wanted to do it. She didn't dwell on things that happened in the past and didn't worry to much about the future.

However, life had recently hit Eloise like a brick. She wasn't sure what it was that made her suddenly reconsider everything... her new found "friendship" (if you could call it that) with Monroe, the realization that he is the closest thing she ever had to a friend, not being able to finish her portfolio in time to apply to fashion school, not having been able to contact her father in weeks. There were a number of variables that influenced how Eloise was feeling, and never had she dealt with such a strange mix of emotions.

And until recently Eloise would have laughed at the idea of knocking on the door of the school's counselor, but in all honesty she didn't have anyone else to turn to. It wasn't that she thought counseling was beneath her, or that it was a waste of time. El just thought he had it all figured out. Though the way she had been feeling the past couple weeks proved her wrong. So she set up an appointment with Dr. Neville, secretly hoping her dad would get back to her before her slot came up, but no such luck.

She raised her hand to the door of Sean's office and knocked, taking a deep breath, and tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She fidgeted a bit waiting for a response from the other side. She couldn't come up with an explanation for her nerves, other than the fact that she wasn't used to sharing things with anyone other than her father.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Until 2013, Sean Neville had never experienced fatherhood in the legal sense. He had never experienced fatherhood in the biological sense, before 2013 or afterward. Having Bailey in his home, as his foster daughter, had provided him with that level of connection in the legal sense, although she had left, and she had lived with him and Josh for less than a year. Otherwise, Sean had never been a father, although he had been a father figure. Countless students over the decades had relied on him in one capacity or another for guidance and emotional support. L.C. had been on the extreme end of the spectrum, but there had been so many others: Emma, Estelle, Remle...the list went on.

At the same time, the psychiatrist understood what it was for someone to want to rely on their family or someone unaffiliated with Hammel. Time and again, he had prolonged contact with students who would rather talk to a parent or older sibling or grandparent or family friend. Sean knew that he couldn’t be all things to all people, and he had no expectations of doing so; at the same time, he wanted to be available in any ethical capacity that the students might need him.

So often, that role involved serving as a vaguely parental figure, in addition to his role as a psychiatrist.

He heard the knock outside his door, and he turned towards the threshold. “Please come in,” he called out.

[Eloise Eaton]

Eloise turned the the handle of the door, and peeked into the room. She had been to some of the offices before, being a transfer student required a lot of paperwork. She hadn't been to this one though. She shuffled into the room, closing the door softly behind her like if somebody noticed her slipping into the Psychiatrist's office they'd think she was crazy. Then again, she felt kind of crazy recently. I never had these problems at Kocher she couldn't help but think to herself. She blamed Monroe, mostly...

"Hello Dr. Neville," Eloise said politely with a small smile, clutching the strap of her bag as she spoke. "I'm Eloise... I made an appointment with you for today..." she said, suddenly hoping she had gotten the date and time right, because it would be extremely embarrassing if she hadn't. She had never really come in contact with the Doctor... except for the one lecture he gave on Sex Education toward the beginning of the year. However, Eloise was taught to hold high respect for her teachers and trainers and felt no differently about Dr. Neville. If she had arrived when he had not been expecting her, she would be mortified.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

In some ways, Sean’s office looked like many administrative offices that had come before it, and which would come after it. In other ways, the psychiatrist had placed his mark on the space, fitting it to his personal specifications within the bounds of what the past Headmistress and Headmaster had allowed him to install and arrange.

The walls were lined with bookshelves, all of which were filled with books on psychology, on adolescent behavior, on meta-human development, on psychic powers, on sexuality, with various medical and education journals. The psychiatrist sat behind a desk near the window, and two chairs were set in front of the desk.

On the other side of the room were a couple of more comfortable arm chairs, a coffee table, and the crown jewel of the office: the sofa. Sean had hand-picked all of the furniture to maximize a comfortable atmosphere.

When Eloise entered his office, the psychiatrist turned to offer her a smile of greeting. “Hello, Eloise, it’s nice to formally meet you.” Without rising from his desk, he extended his hand for a handshake.

“Please, make yourself comfortable. You can sit anywhere that you would like, and I can move around you.” If she wanted to take advantage of the sofa, then he would not fault her.

[Eloise Eaton]

Eloise stepped into Dr. Neville's office a bit tentatively. The room was nice, there were a lot of places to sit, but it was still an administrative office. It was still white walled and filled with various reading materials - some so thick that Eloise couldn't even imagine lifting the literature let alone read it. The sitting area with the arm chairs and the sofa was the only sign that this wasn't just another teacher's office space. Dr. Neville was here, in fact, to make the students feel comfortable. Yet, somehow, Eloise was still wary.

The blonde stepped forward and shook the psychiatrist's hand, and returning his smile, doing her darndest not to appear as nervous as she was. She wasn't even sure why she felt so weird about talking to someone about the problems she had been having. "It's nice to meet you too," Eloise agreed politely, taking a seat in one of the chairs across for Dr. Neville's desk. While this was the first time they had met, Eloise knew a bit about the doctor. She had been present for his Sex talk at the beginning of the school year, and occasionally talked to somebody who had a story to tell. But this was her first real encounter.

"Thank you for meeting with me today," Eloise said grateful with a small smile, setting her hands in her lap so she wouldn't fidget with them too much.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

The gentle smile remained on Sean’s lips as he shook her hand. He was careful not to pump too firmly, given the size of his hand relative to hers, and given that this was not a content of wills wherein he needed to make a show of power or authority. After pumping, he released her hand, withdrawing his back towards his desk.

“You are most welcome, Eloise. This is why I’m here, after all.” The vast majority of Sean’s time at Hammel involved meeting with the students for a variety of reasons, many of which were student-initiated. He made time for any student who desired to meet with him, even on busy days. Fortunately, today was not one of those particularly busy days, when he was jammed between sessions and meetings from daybreak to sunset.

“Would you like something to drink? I have water and ginger ale. I might have lemonade left, too.” The psychiatrist did not drink soda, and as a result, he typically did not keep soda. The beverages were there to help calm students, as well as to aid in case of panic attacks or side effects triggered by stress or emotion. For himself, he stuck to coffee or tea except in rare circumstances. The mug on his desk stood as a testament to that.

[Eloise Eaton]

"No thank you," Eloise declined the offer for a drink, even if she may have wanted one. She didn't want to impose. She didn't want to take up any more of Dr. Neville's (or her own) time. Eloise played with the fringe on the bottom her bag absentmindedly, still unsure of how to even approach the topic - half of Eloise's problem was her sudden realization of not knowing how to talk to people. Sure, talking to people was easy. But conversations were hard, and she didn't know how to hold one without letting her ability get in the way.

"I uh..." Eloise started, still not quite sure where she wanted to start or how she was supposed to explain the problems she was having. This resulted in a small chuckle at herself, and suddenly feeling ridiculous. "I'm really bad at this," she admitted with a shake of her head. "Talking to people... about things. About serious things. Feelings and stuff," Eloise said. "So I don't really know how to start. Just coming her today is... a bit out of character for me," she informed Sean, making sure he knew that her discomfort wasn't caused by him or his office or anything - just Eloise and the way her mind worked, she supposed.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean would not force a beverage on her. “If you change your mind, let me know.” If she became thirsty, or if nerves got the better of her, she could always ask for something to drink. That might relax her a bit, or otherwise give her a focus while she talked, rather than having only his face, her own hands or feet, or a random spot in the office.

Sean would make her the same offer that he had made to others before. He offered everyone who came through his office the opportunity to have a discussion without using their voices. With telepaths in particular, he made that offer because they might find it less disconcerting than speaking aloud, particularly over sensitive topics, while simultaneously finding the method of communication natural rather than disconcerting. “If you don’t want to talk aloud, we can talk silently.” To emphasize, he tapped his temple with two fingers.

The psychiatrist would leave that decision to Eloise to make.

“Likewise, if you don’t want to dive right into serious discussions, we can talk about how the semester is going as a whole.”

There was something to be said for starting with pleasantries, so that Eloise could ease herself into conversation with the psychiatrist. Wherein he would seem less imposing and the entire situation might seem less daunting.