Hoping That Confidence Is Contagious (closed)

[Mitya Makarov]

It was relatively quiet in the staff room for the time being, which was what Mitya had been hoping for. He still wasn't speaking much to his colleagues except to say 'hello' and 'goodbye', and ask and answer questions about classes and students in between. It wasn't as though he hadn't relaxed a bit since moving, though. In fact, having met some of the residents of Pilot Ridge already, he was feeling a little more confident about exchanging pleasantries and getting involved with life in his new home. Even if some of his experiences hadn't exactly been ideal. Still, better than staying in Europe and allowing his paranoia to consume him. Even in Switzerland he had worried that Spetsnaz would come looking for him for dissenting... although, to really dissent, you kind of had to let people know that’s what you were doing. Fear had, again, stopped him from doing so. Then again, telepaths probably kept tabs on everyone, right? And then someone would just have to read that thought and he’d be outed easily.

Realising how his train of thought had been travelling, he tried to force himself to relax enough to eat something. The constant nausea that came with being so very paranoid wasn’t a pleasant experience. Actually, being paranoid at all wasn’t exactly pleasant, and he was fairly sure that his nervous nature of late wasn’t doing him any favours. Students were noticing, and that would only cause problems down the line when they just stopped listening altogether. He hadn’t always been like this, either, which made it... humiliating, actually. Although, to be fair, he had been feeling much better after actually socialising.

Perhaps what he needed was just to talk to people. There were plenty of confident people in Hammel; maybe some of their boldness would rub off on him if he spent more time with them. What could it hurt, anyway? Spetsnaz was worse, right? Right. They couldn’t be scarier than his former commanders, could they? Well... there was really only one way to find out.

And “spy on everyone” wasn’t it.

[Kateri Rivera]

Kateri wasn’t used to meeting a lot of people in the staff lounge. She knew she tended to keep strange hours, sneaking into the lounge in the middle of class to pop an advil or grab some coffee, or coming there after school in order just to get out of her classroom to get some work done. She was used to it. She knew most of the staff at Hammel now—it wasn’t that big of a school, so it wasn’t too hard to manage—and so could nod to whoever came in and make jokes, but for the most part, she stuck to herself.

Today was going to be the exception, she decided. Today she was going to actually be social. She was going to meet someone new and possibly invite them out for a nice dinner or something. Or, if it was a girl, a movie night with her roommate. She really liked this plan. The only problem with it?

There only seemed to be one person in the lounge. And he was looking a little quiet. As Kateri entered, quietly just in case she wanted to sneak back out again (for example, if that annoying doctor Declan was there), she noticed him settled there. She thought she’d seen him around, but not a lot. He also didn’t seem to interact with others much.

Then again, that could just be her weird hours kicking in as usual. So she shrugged it off and offered him a smile as she went to grab the pasta that served as her lunch, then settled down at the table before holding out her hand to him.

“Hi. I’m Kateri, and I’m a math teacher here.” That was a pretty good introduction, right? “Been here long? I haven’t seen you around that much.”

M’kay, maybe not the most…polite starter, but she at least wanted to get a conversation going.

((Lilac, I am sorry for the complete horribleness of this post. >>))

[Mitya Makarov]

He had only just managed to bring himself to remove the lid from his anything-that-was-in-the-fridge salad when someone else joined him in the staff room. Well, this was the opportunity he had been waiting for... but maybe she was only coming in to retrieve something and then leaving to eat/mark papers/do something elsewhere. Either way, he attempted to offer her a tiny smile and a nod as she entered, a part of him sort of hoping that she would leave and he could put off his rehumanisation until the next day. And the day after that.

Even though she did smile at him when she came in and he had done his best to smile back, he still managed to be very surprised when she came to sit with him and held out her hand. It seemed that it didn't really matter what he felt anymore. She had decided for him. Accepting her hand and giving it a firm, though not hand-crushing shake, he nodded at her introduction.

"Mitya Makarov, trainer," he responded, still a little bewildered by the situation. "I have been here maybe a few months?" When she pointed out that she hadn't seen him around much, he chuckled nervously. "Ah, well, I keep myself busy... I don't really even come in here often." He tried to indicate the room around them as opposed to the school itself, because of course he came into the school, but he wasn't completely certain that he had worded his sentence correctly. Luckily enough, he didn't try to explain it out loud, or else the interaction would surely end right there. "How long have you taught here at Hammel?"

See, Mitya? Not so difficult.

((it is not horrible D=))

[Kateri Rivera]

The poor man looked as if she’d just spouted two heads and had started speaking in Latin. That wasn’t usually the response she got when trying to make friendly overtures, and it wasn’t a great start. He was even laughing nervously. Had the students gotten to him already? You had to be made of stern stuff to work here. The students weren’t very friendly. Kateri had said hello and goodbye to more staff members than she cared to count. She wasn’t even sure who was working in her department anymore.

Still, his handshake was nice and firm, and he was answering her question, even if that laugh was a little nervous. So she decided to give it a try anyways, and just be less…strident than she normally was. That was her goal. Don’t frighten away the…Russian trainer with her usual straightforward and loud attitude. Was he Russian? The accent…well, she’d ask. Later. Once she was sure he wasn’t going to run away. That was a new reaction. Kateri had always thought herself too short to scare anyone anyways.

“Well, nice to meet you Mitya Makarov, trainer,” she said cheerfully. “And I don’t come in here much either, so that explains things, I think.”

That wasn’t less loud, was it? Oops.

“I’ve been here for four years.” She shuddered. “That makes me feel old. What made you come here?” She eyed him. “You sound a long way from home, you know.”

Sorry Mitya. Kateri doesn’t know how to be gentle, even when she’s trying. 

((Well thank you.^^ Mitya is adorable, as always.))

[Mitya Makarov]

She was certainly friendly, and already he was feeling good about this chance meeting. Perhaps not as good as he'd have liked to, the paranoia still creeping around in his mind, but it was a start. She seemed to be leading the conversation, which was fine with quiet, trying-to-be-stoic Mitya. Perhaps he wouldn't have to say very much, either. If there was anything he was good at it was keeping his mouth shut and listening. Actually listening though, rather than nodding, smiling and thinking about...cats. Or whatever people thought about while they pretended to listen.

Four years, when he thought about it, didn't really seem that long, so he couldn't understand why she would say that it made her feel old. Unless he was mistaken by the meaning of the words...? No, definitely not; once he'd run it through his head again it was definitely correct. There wasn't any time to point out that it didn't make her old to have taught at Hammel for four years, though. She then quickly moved on to him and why he chose to move.

That was not something he was comfortable exploring.

Smiling in as normal a manner as he could, he shrugged. "There was nothing left for me in Russia," he said, poking at his salad with his fork. "I worked at the meta school there. And then I moved. Less than interesting, I'm sorry to say."

Managing to gather up a small enough amount of salad that, while eating it, wouldn't make him look like a starving wolverine, he paused before deciding to maybe contribute to the conversation. "What made you decide to teach here? Oh, and for what it is worth? You're not old."

[Kateri Rivera]

So she’d been right about Russia. That was a little bit of a relief. She hadn’t even had to ask about it. However, the “nothing left for me” part indicated that perhaps she shouldn’t ask about it. That was fine. Kat had enough things she preferred not to talk about to understand when other people felt the same way. “Oh, I see,” she said. “Well, I’m sure we’re glad to have you here in any case, however you got here. We always need the help around here.” She waved her hand, as if she could just wave off the subject without any trouble. Which she couldn’t, but she was going to try.

“Well,” she said, and paused to think about it. “I started out teaching in normal public schools. But I got tired of questions asking why it got rainy whenever I was upset, or getting strange looks when I would do silly things, like use the wind to dry my hair.” That had been silly. Still. She shrugged and was about to move on when he offered that second statement, and she paused, blinking at him.

“Pardon? Oh. Um. Thank you.” She realized why he must have said this and hastened to correct herself. “Oh, I just meant that these students make me feel old. Don’t you ever feel that way—that you were never that young?” She realized who she was talking to, then reflected that the answer was probably no. “But I’m also very silly,” she added. “What about you? Why’d you get into power training?”

[Mitya Makarov]

He was thankful that she decided not to push the topic any further. It wasn't something he liked to talk about, but then he was secretive and didn't like to talk about much in the first place. It made conversations with persons like Kateri very, very difficult, but he was determined to have at least one good chat with one of his colleagues. He was determined to be normal just for once! In his awkward way, he nodded and laughed, although that sounded more like weird breathing than proper laughter. So he couldn't even laugh properly. Great.

Taking careful bites of food while he listened to her story, he gave her a lopsided smile. That sounded silly, sure... but also enchanting. Not that he was about to say that out loud. That would make this situation even more uncomfortable than it already was. For both of them. And then he would just have to dig a hole to move into and live for the rest of his life. Why a hole in particular, he didn't know, it just seemed like it would be... more solitary than his apartment.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I misunderstand you?" His face flushed red, and he sheepishly scratched at an eyebrow as though that would help to drain the colour from his face. "Many, many apologies... but... I still think there isn't any reason for you to fell... I mean you're not... I mean... it's... never mind." Coughing uncomfortably, he focused on his food instead.

"I... wanted to help others like myself," he said carefully in response to her question. Technically that wasn't really true, but he had been very determined to help people when he wasn't busy running away from his fears. "It's not a very interesting story, really. Not as interesting as using wind to dry your hair. It's... innovative?" He certainly hoped that was the correct word. Sometimes he could barely speak Russian, never mind English.

[Kateri Rivera]

Kateri didn’t really think Mitya’s laugh was that weird. Maybe that was just because she didn’t think about things like people’s laugh in general anyways. When she was fourteen, she’d always snorted when she laughed. And c’mon, you couldn’t get much more awkward than that. So why worry? Wasn’t like it would do you any good. She returned his lopsided smile with a larger one of her own, then turned back to her lunch.

However, when he blushed and began to stammer out his apology about misunderstanding, she realized she was blushing too, and put her fork down to push a hand to her mouth, trying to suppress a completely unladylike nervous giggle. Tomato red, she told herself sternly, did not go well with her hair. But it was sweet that he was still trying to say she wasn’t old.

Mind, if he’d said that she was enchanting aloud, she’d probably still be red. Not the kind of thing this girl got told a lot.

“Oh, no!” she said, trying to make him feel better—once she’d gotten control of herself, of course. “You’re fine. I wasn’t really being clear, was I? Please, don’t worry about it.” And she offered him one of her grins as she managed to regain her bearings. “Besides, you said I wasn’t old. That’s more than any of the students have ever told me. Ever.”

Still, she was pretty grateful for the subject change, and even though he said it wasn’t interesting…She tilted her head to the side and shook her head. “No, I think yours is better,” she said. “You came here to help people. As my, uh—” complicated history moment, better revise “—father would say, that shows a lot about your character, while my story just shows that I’m vain. I think yours is sweet. So have you managed to help anyone yet? Any interesting cases so far?”

[Mitya Makarov]

If he didn't know better, he would have thought that she was perhaps a little nervous. Considering how he was feeling, he couldn't really comprehend the idea that anyone else could be nervous around him at the same time as himself. That, and his anxiety made it difficult to think about much else. But she was even blushing! Then again, perhaps it was warm. That was probably it; it was just warm in the staff lounge and that was all. That he didn't feel warm in the slightest didn't seem to matter to his way of thinking. It was logical enough to him.

"Vain? How so?" he asked, but then he shook his head as though silently scolding himself. "Goodness, I apologise... that wasn't appropriate, was it?" Maybe if he kept his mouth full of food at all times he wouldn't need to talk so much? He would have tried it but that in itself would have been awkward and a little bit rude. And usually he knew when to hold his tongue. It was almost as though he was having to learn human interaction from scratch. "But... thank you. 'Sweet'... I suppose that's one word for it." Not the word he would have chosen but he wasn't going to correct it.

Sighing, he stabbed at his food. "Not really, not yet. But I am hoping. The students are getting along fine but I would like to see them really succeed. To maybe even surpass myself; it would make me very proud." It was actually a lot for him to say about himself, and he paused for a moment before adding; "I think I may be rambling now. What is it like, teaching maths?" He didn't want to say it but he couldn't imagine that there were a great many students squirming with excitement in class.

[Kateri Rivera]

Kateri wouldn’t have said she was nervous. Mind, she would have also been lying. So maybe she was a little bit nervous. She could talk a good game, but she didn’t put herself out there that much to anyone, and she definitely wasn’t used to people complimenting her. She was a sturdy woman who didn’t need that kind of thing.

Or that’s what she told everyone. The truth? Eh, it didn’t matter.

“No, no, it’s fine.” She grinned at him, grateful that she’d managed to get her face color under control. “I don’t mind. Vain because I liked to have my hair dry and looking nice before I went to the school. That, and I hated blow-dryers because they…” She cleared her throat. “Anyways. You don’t need to know that. And it really is sweet. It shows that you honestly care about the students and want to help them—maybe as you were helped, maybe as you weren’t, whatever.” She waved it off. “But of course you wouldn’t use that word. You’re a man, and you’re a Russian one to boot. It wouldn’t occur to you.”

He said four sentences and he thought he was rambling? Her brows climbed, but she shrugged it off. He was a very nice man, and it wasn’t often that the man was encouraging the girl to speak. “That’s what you always want, right? That’s what you do when you do your job right. Not that they ever thank you for it. And teaching math is…” She looked up thoughtfully, then back at him. “Thankless. But I like it. It’s worth it to see that one person in class who catches it and shows a spark of interest. And then there are others who could care less, but you live with them. What about you? What’s it like, power training?”

[Mitya Makarov]

She managed to stop blushing, which was very impressive. He wondered briefly if blush control could be taught, and if it could, would she teach him? He seemed to spend quite a lot of his time red in the face for one reason or another. Or, on the other side of the spectrum, terribly pale. It would probably kill the conversation to even suggest such a thing, of course. He was fairly sure she wouldn't appreciate it if he told her how well the redness had faded from her cheeks.

"Wet hair is quite uncomfortable, wouldn't you say?" he pointed out, the muscles in his shoulders relaxing somewhat as they spoke. It was an odd, but welcome feeling, losing tension in his upper back for the first time in a while. He didn't feel so guarded. And it was safe inside these walls. Or maybe it was just because he wasn't actively thinking about the threat he constantly felt, and later the tension would return, worse than before. "I don't think it's vain to want to be comfortable and presentable." He smiled at her point about men not using the word 'sweet' but said nothing, suddenly finding himself mentally listing all of the corresponding words in his native tongue.

Perhaps she didn't think he was rambling. She did seem, maybe, a little surprised that he would say it. It was still very rare to get complete sentences out of him at the best of times, even in Russian, and so of course he felt like he was rambling if he said more than a few sentences. Worse than that, when he began to reveal little things about himself, and he was very aware of doing so.

"Perhaps when they are grown they will look back on you fondly," he mused. "I would hope so. Or else maybe wish they had listened to you when they need trigonometry for something." He smirked then, thinking about the mathematics teacher back at the school he attended before being recruited. A very stern gentleman, but ultimately patient and kind.

"It can be exhausting sometimes, I suppose," he said, trying to find a good way to describe his job. "Rewarding when, after a long day of trying, the student is finally able to at least half do what you ask of them. Not so good when they would much rather wreck the training rooms." He winced visibly; the first half of the day hadn't exactly been a rewarding type. "I hope you don't have this sort of problem in your classroom."

((ooc: gah this is late I am so sorry forgive?))

[Kateri Rivera]

Actually, Kateri would have probably found it pretty funny and would have offered to help him in a flash, even though she doubted she could have offered any real advice other than “try not to focus on it.” He was at least as old as she was, but he was like her younger brother in his shyness but also sweetness. And also the head in the clouds aspect that she was getting from him, but perhaps that was just because he was quiet and wary. Then again, she wasn’t going to tell him that.

“You have a point,” she agreed. “I always thought that it was. Well then, thank you. I no longer feel quite so silly.” She smiled back at him, glad to see that he was easing up a bit. Good. She didn’t like it when people seemed nervous around her when she hadn’t even tried to make them so (not that she did that that often).

She finished her lunch and carefully tucked it back into the bag, then lifted her head to study him. “I can hope so,” she agreed. “I haven’t been teaching long enough to have that happen yet, but I can hope that one day, someone will recognize what I did.” She laughed. “If I did anything! But anyways. I am sure they will remember you on some later date, when they realize the control you gave them really is useful. Me?” she shrugged. “Unless I inspire some mathematician, I shall never know. But yes.” She sighed. “I have had children wrecking my classroom. Or, really, I have.” She had the decency to blush again. “I got into a—uh, well, water balloon fight with Dr. Campbell’s daughter. But I cleaned it up, I swear.” And they hadn’t gotten into trouble. That had been very lucky.

And now that she had thoroughly destroyed his good opinion of her…

“How do you like Pilot Ridge?”

((It's fine! Always.^_^))

[Mitya Makarov]

She shouldn't have felt so silly about the wind-hair-dryer thing in the first place, but instead of saying so and quite possibly sounding dismissive and patronising without meaning to, his brain kindly cut the response away for him. It seemed that he might just get through this conversation without coming off as some awkward and arrogant creep.

"Maybe you already have," he mused, poking the remnants of his food with his fork. He was probably just about done with his lunch now but he'd always poked at the bits he wasn't planning to eat for whatever reason. It had earned him quite a few lashings from his father but still the habit lingered. "You never know. And..." Should he say it? Against his better judgement, his brain decided to fail on him again and let him say it. "You seem like such a beautifully vibrant person; I'm sure the kids appreciate that."

Just pretend to be interested in that piece of meat and the awkward feeling with go away... The ever familiar sinking feeling of having said something that could have been taken the wrong way crept up on him once more. He was preparing himself for that 'creep' label now.

Thankful for a change of subject, however, he cleared his throat and pushed his unfinished meal to the side. "It's quiet, but I think that's nice, really. Different from the city where I lived. A change, it's always nice. Have you always lived here?" He was of course assuming she still wanted to speak to him.

[Kateri Rivera]

Dear God, this man was adorable. Kateri was in love. She was half-tempted to just drag him back to Ireland and smile and say, Daddy, can I keep him? Unfortunately, she doubted that would work that well. For one, she’d probably scare the poor man off. Adorable, yes. Lovely, yes. But bold? Mmm, not that much. Besides, Mitya wasn’t the only one worried about being a creep.

But how could someone not find him adorable? There he was, prodding at his food, saying that she wasn’t ridiculous for wind-drying her hair, saying that she’d made a difference in some students life, and that she was “beautifully vibrant.”

Have we mentioned that Kateri likes flattery? I feel that should be brought up again.

Realizing that she was all but beaming at him in a way that was a little over the top for “beautifully vibrant,” Kateri managed to tone her smile down to only a mild grin. “Thank you,” she said. “You really are very sweet. I really hope you stick around. The students could use someone like you.”

And so could she. This man was one hell of a confidence booster.

“Ah, no. I’ve only been here for four years.” She shrugged. “Five years soon. Before I lived in, ah, Texas. Then Ireland.” She glanced at the clock on the wall, then shook her head. “I have to go. My class will start soon. But it was lovely to meet you, Mitya. I hope to see you around.” And she was grinning at him again. C’mon, how could a girl help it?