Someone tell me why I'm here.. (Sean)

[Lucas Blacke]

After his shenanigans in the library which could more aptly be described as a brawl, the boy known as Lucas was told to go to one of the big guys.

Neffol? Neffil? Nevli?

Luke had met way too many big chiefs at his previous schools to be arsed to remember their names. ''But,'' the boy figured, ''this is Hammel, this guy is bound to be able to warp reality or something.'' He thought as he passed through a corridor on his way to the home of people who sat on their asses all day.

Not that he was any better, because he needed to go see one of those people who sat on their ass all day.

Walking through the school was quite the eye-opener, the insides were quite beautiful if you took the time to look around, and it actually succeeded in calming the boy down a bit. Where his mood was close to a 'kill all humans' setting before, it was now reduced to a 'slap people with a newspaper' setting.

He approached a door which he assumed held the almighty.. Nevbul? Neffy? And raised his hand to knock gently, but decided against it at the last moment. He scolded himself mentally for passing up a chance lie this and broke a grin.

He closed his fist and banged on the door loudly.

''Housekeeping!''

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Hammel did not condone the use of violence or of students fighting. As someone dedicated to non-violence and clear communication, this was an area wherein Sean fully agreed with Hammel administrative policy.

After the fight had been broken up, all three students had been sent to him for debriefing and possible punishment. From the staff member that had brought them, and through discussions with Marnie as his first interview, the psychiatrist had a fair idea of what had transpired. However, in the interest of justice, he met with each student separately as a matter of policy; it allowed him to get their version of events and to check veracity. It also allowed him to assign punishments and aftercare appropriately, without immediate complaints based upon comparative sentencing.

As such, he expected Lucas’s arrival. He sensed the boy’s approach before he reached the door, and then he heard the announcement.

At another time, that might illicit a smile from the psychiatrist. However, this was a matter of administrative discipline, and such boded poorly for the rest of this meeting.

Holding back a sigh, he called out, “Come in, Lucas. And be sure to close the door behind you.”

Passersby did not need to overhear the ensuing discussion.

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke opened the door, confused by the fact that this high up guy knew who was at the door even before he announced who he was. He decided to shrug it off and pushed down on the door handle, opening a door into the lions den. The den of.. He squinted and looked at the name tag on the door as it creaked open due to Luke delibirately opening it as slow as humanly possible. Every door in existence creaked at some point, and he liked to draw it out to annoy people, like Sean Neville.

He hopped on in to the room, semi hoping that his entering of this utopia of high and mighty was actually a different dimension. He closed his eyes momentarily as he slammed the door shut behind him. He figured it was a bit loud, but eh, he was on a streak of bad today.

''So whaddup mister Doctor?'' Luke asked as he plopped down into a chair and crossed his arms over his chest. ''Don't tell me I get to go on a forced vacation again? I'd hate that.'' He rolled his eyes.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean’s facial expression conveyed how very unamused he was. He didn’t like it when students were involved in fights, and the report from the library was unfortunate, albeit not weighed evenly on each person involved. He also disliked deliberate disrespect. He considered basic respect – for him as a person and for his position – to be more than a mere courtesy; it was necessary, as part of his job and for him to maintain a rapport with the students.

“Lucas, if you want to have any hope of leaving here without being saddled for the rest of the calendar year, you’ll treat this seriously and behave like an adult.” That was the only warning that the boy would receive. If he chose to disregard it, then they would have to address two disciplinary situations as opposed to only the one from the library.

With that said, he turned to the matter at hand. “I spoke with Marnie already. I’d like to hear your description of events from the library, before I dole out punishments. As always, I expect the truth with the barest minimum of commentary.” Which was to say that he did not want to hear any profanity or any insults towards staff or other students in describing what had transpired.

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke grinned at the warning of the mighty and, after some seconds of thinking about it he decided to heed it for once. Being faulted for his action was not new to him, he'd feel right at home getting some, but for once, and possibly the first time in his life he bore the slight realization that he wasn't alone in this for once. Adrenaline had subsided from him and offered some rational thought processes.

Marnie didn't like what went down, he realized. He didn't feel sorry for what he did exactly, but he did feel a smudge of regret for how Marnie reacted. He loved her, right? So why didn't he stop? Was it the thought of her being called a bitch by this winged asshole? He mentally shook his head as he plastered a smile on his face, fake as it was.

He should've known Sean could see right through it for some reason, but he chose to ignore that. ''Right right boss. I'll try not to be too much for you ta handle.'' He replied in a joke.

Luke tried to remain calm as Sean said he had talked with Marnie. His hands clenched tightly as his mind raced through questions. What did she say? Did she mention him? What'd she say about the wingman? How did she respond to the whole scene? How?

He coughed and settled down. ''Right. We were at the library, this much you should have fornicating picked up on.'' Hey, he said no profanity, this just meant he needed to improvise with his words a bit.

''I was sitting down. Marnie came in. She talked. I talked. Maybe a bit loudly. This guy picked up on that. He walked over. He told me to fornicating quiet down. Marnie said I would. He said I needed to get my fornicating female dog in line. His face hit my fist. He hit Marnie. He hit my fist again. People came in. They stopped me from fornicating this guy up any further. The end.''

''Satisfied, mister high and mighty?''

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Not every student demonstrated the good sense and the self-preservation necessary to avoid digging themselves in deeper. Vincent Verax and Sam Rixon had always proven their inability to keep themselves out of trouble, and that was with Sean’s relatively high tolerance for their shenanigans. Lucas had set himself up for more discipline than he would otherwise have earned, and he had nobody to blame but himself.

Even with those factors, the psychiatrist remained dedicated to hearing Lucas’s account of events. The boy was allowed to explain what had happened, and Sean would see how that synced with the other accounts that he had heard. From there, he would assess who was at fault, who had done what, and he would provide discipline as necessary and as deserved.

From what Lucas described, so far it synced with what he had been told. The boy’s less than clever remark was noted, and the psychiatrist suppressed a sigh. There would be time to address that as well.

“Every insult is going to earn you an extra day of gardening, Lucas, so you tell me if you think I’m satisfied.” His voice remained even; there was no reason to raise his voice, since he had the upper-hand, and because to lose his calm would be to encourage the boy.

“Did he throw any punches at you?”

[Lucas Blacke]

Boy, there was no visible reaction to him what-so-ever. It sucked. Luke had always been able to upset people, so finding one that very well could be but didn't show it was extremely frustrating for him. He'd have to dig deeper.

''Gardening?'' He repeated from way back in his chair. ''That's a new one. I've never had to do that before.'' In his mind he had gone to thinking about how it'd play out, and it starred him crushing every flower. He grinned. ''I think I'll pass though.''

He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees as the master asked him if wingfuck threw any punches at him. He did, but the most damage Luke had was that he caused himself. ''He threw punches at me, yes.''

''And he throws like a girl.'' He smiled.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean’s ability to take matters in stride, and his ability not to react to when the students tried to provoke him, served him well as an administrator. Even if he disapproved of behavior, even in the midst of disciplining students for gross misconduct, they would not make him lose his temper. He might grow stern, but he would not shout and he certainly would not give them the reinforcement that they craved.

Lucas’s frustration only underscored the necessity of remaining calm when dealing with him.

Not everyone had received gardening or grounds keeping duty as part of their detention. Some were assigned to help with other duties around Hammel, such as in the kitchen, aiding the janitors, or with specific tasks. Others were assigned book reports and academic assignments, intent to teach them lessons and make them grow intellectually and emotionally. Others were placed on restriction in order to affect a particular change or to avoid certain behaviors. But gardening was a favorite because the results were tangible. “Then it should be a new experience. You can report to Miss Raines after class. Passing on it isn’t an option.”

He would leave the specifics up to Josie; she certainly knew the drill (both as the custodian as well as from her time as a student).

Then, in response to the other remark, he added, “And if you make gendered remarks like that again, you’ll have more time to tend the garden.” He did not smile.

[Lucas Blacke]

Luke didn't like this guy, not even a bit. He was like a wall that handed out punishment, he even had the boy wondering if there was anything this guy could give aside from punishment. Perhaps this guy just liked punishing young boys.

He bet that was it, he was just a frustrated little.. Wait, he could hear thoughts, right? Luke sighed. And then came the mention of the new name. Raines. Also a miss. Sean probably didn't know Luke as good as he wanted because he was just going to annoy the shit out of this miss Raines. He wouldn't pass up that opportunity for the world.

''Yup, throw more women into my life. Sure to help.''

And then Sean addressed his last remark about the winged douche throwing punches like a girl. Apparently they weren't too big on gender stereotypes around these parts. He threatened [or so Luke thought] with more gardening if he kept up his remarks. Luke felt accomplished, he hadn't even started and was already on the verge of getting more. Now if it could just be money instead of dirt..

''I think that'll be fun.'' Luke began. ''I'll do my best to rain on her parade, sir!''
He stood up and saluted Sean, but didn't move.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean overheard the boy’s thought, although he chose to ignore it. Everyone was entitled to their own thoughts, as unflattering as they might be, irrespective of whether a telepath could them. After all, Lucas did not give voice to them, which was the bright line rule of this office. And the psychiatrist’s confidence and self-image were not entwined with how the students viewed him, particularly not those students sent to his office for fighting and with severe attitude problems.

“If you keep that attitude, I can promise on behalf of the faculty that the only women you’ll see are adults and that you’ll be kept separate from your female peers.” While this was not a preferred system, the staff had implemented similar protocols before. That was a warning to the boy that Sean did not tolerate casual misogyny any more than he tolerated more aggressive forms of sexism.

Typically, the psychiatrist told students not to call him ‘Sir’, as he considered it more formal than necessary, as well as applying an authoritarian structure in which he did not believe. Sean did not bother to do that with Lucas, since he knew that the boy was simply trying to rile him up. “Two more matters, Lucas. First, if I find out that you showed Ms. Raines any disrespect, your detention time will increase exponentially. “And he would find out, as it was difficult to hide from a telepath. “Second, this is a word of warning: she won’t offer you the same level of patience that I do. Keep that in mind.”