I believe the call it French Blue (Brendan)

[Yulia Sokolov]

Yulia had missed Hammel, she really had. It was the kind of school that she would have liked to have gone to, the kind of school that only existed in her dreams as a child. It was strange to think about how real it was now that she was back. She was able to appreciate it in a way that she never had before. She understood now the intricacies of what was done here, how they didn’t just educate but truly helped these student grow. Lia had never seen that so clearly before. It was like she could now clearly see more of the development of these students now that she had attended to her own, emotionally speaking of course.

For Lia this just set in a new determination to do the best that she could, to learn more about how Hammel functioned, to have the fullest understanding possible. As such she had taken her prep time to walk through the school a little more than she usually did. Lia generally stayed in the vicinity of the training rooms, as that was where she was most comfortable. Now she felt like it was time to reach and time to figure out what to do. It wasn’t a difficult task, not really, it just started with a good amount of familiarization. Lia kept her stride purposeful, even though her walk wasn’t, just to seem like she wasn’t wasting time. Then a familiar scent started to come to her.

Lia followed it, finding a room that she had never visited before. However it smelled like everything that made her feel calm nowadays. That used to be cigarette smoke and metal, but now it was paint. Lia opened the door to the room, glancing around it. It was empty, just blank canvases and paint. Lia drew closer to one of the canvases. She looked at it, smooth and off white.

Then her attention shifted to the palette sitting there. There were a few colors dotting it. The first one that cause Lia’s eyes were the blue. It was a pale shade of medium blue. Lia reached out and touched the paint, and it stuck to her first two fingers. She turned her hand over and rubbed her index finger and thumb together, the blue spreading a little as she waited to see how fast it would dry and peel.

[Brendan James]

Brendan had no issues with the hall. In fact, you could say there was extra bounce in his step. But then again, he’d walked through these halls so many times that they felt like home almost. Then again, that was bound to happen when you taught at the school you actually attended when you were just a little scamp. Although, you would think that the fact he had been more than just a little unpopular and teased, mostly for being so short then, would make these halls a scary place.

But nope. That wasn’t Brendan’s way. He didn’t believe in being afraid. A waste of an emotion and energy. But then, so was any emotion that kept you from having fun and doing what you wanted. At least that was his opinion. Of course, it did help that people no longer laughed and pointed for how he dressed. Instead of being labeled ‘the weirdo’, people thought his attire made him dashing. And respectable. Oh the assumptions of people. It never failed to amuse him what people thought without ever trying to find out.

As he passed another teacher in the hall, Brendan dipped his head down and when he looked back up, he told her that she looked lovely. Then continued on his walk to his class. Still not having decided what he’d have them start doing, he was toying with the idea of starting with some sculpting. Most art teachers liked to try to ease their way into the class before starting off on a big project like sculpting. But they needed to know that they’d be getting their hands dirty.

When he turned the corner, he slowed. The door was open… Curious, but still not afraid, he poked his head around the edge of the door from. Instead of walking in an introducing himself, he stood and watched her. And since her back was to him, it was unlikely she’d catch him watching. Why he watched her was one of his favorite things. Brendan thoroughly believed that you could a lot about a person by the way the acted alone… Or unknowingly watched.

He only walked into the class when she began rubbing her fingers together. “Well hello intruder.” Smiling and walking towards his desk, he slipped his messenger bag off of his body and dropped it the floor next to his chair. After turning and leaning against his desk, he said, “Aren’t you supposed to be wearing all black and being lowered from the ceiling by a rope or something?” Facing the woman in his room, he remembered his manners. "Oh. Sorry." Quickly, he slipped his hat off and ran his hands through his hair. Despite that he was arrogant and cocky, he still knew when a lady is in the room, the hat comes off.

[Yulia Sokolov]

Yulia was still standing, her back to the door and facing the canvas. The paint was starting to roll against her fingers. She loved this color, it was so calm. It reminded her of some of the shades of blue in water lilies. She was going to have to order a print of that once she got home, she really did love it and had forgotten all about that until this very minute. She watched as the paint settled into the creases of her fingers, outlining her fingerprint in a way. The day wasn’t warm out but it did feel warm enough in the room, she figured that was because of the sunlight coming in through the windows. It was that odd mix of chilly and brilliantly sunny, those had been her favorite days back in Russia.

Perhaps part of her new fascination with color came from that life. When she looked back on it everything seemed to be in grey and red. Now she had far more than that, she was just beginning to realize it. She could smell a few other things in the room, but she wasn’t sure of those supplies. Could it be clay? She wasn’t sure. It had a nice earthy smell to it. This room was nice compared to the blank training rooms. Maybe that was partly her own mental process though, given her associations in regards to training.

A voice interrupted her blue fingered reverie and she felt like she had been caught red handed, ironically enough. She turned around and looked at the man, not recognizing him naturally. This had to be the art teacher, and Lia was slightly embarrassed to say the least. She felt like she had invaded his space, and it was not her place to do anything or that sort. So she responded to his comment with a sheepish smile as some red crept into her cheeks.

“I am so sorry, I did not mean to invade your space or…” she looked down at her fingers. “Waste your paint…” How was she supposed to explain this? It must have seemed odd, a strange Russian woman practically playing fingerpaints, but then again this was Hammel. Stranger things had certainly happened. She looked him over, there was something so nicely even about his features but… oh goodness that hat. She couldn’t help but smile at it.

“I seem to have left my grappling hook at home, so just sneaking in will have to do,” she said with a smile. “I don’t believe I’ve met you before. My name is Yulia Sokolov, Lia if you’d like as I know that is a mouthful. I am a powers trainer myself but… well I love to paint so I couldn’t help myself, I had to take a look.”

[Brendan James]

When the woman began to apologize for breaking in and entering into his classroom, he shrugged with a friendly smile on his face. “It’s no problem. Really. I was only kidding. Honestly, you’re welcome in at anytime. As for the paint…” He waved his hand dismissively. “It’s out of the school’s pocket, so I really don’t give two shits. You’re actually welcome to come in as you please and swipe a few things if you want. Just as long as you don’t steal like half the supplies.”

The man lifted himself up onto his desk, sitting crisscross on the edge of it. “Nah, we haven’t met. I just got here. First semester here. Well teaching. I used to be a student. Here that it. But all the same, it’s nice to meet you Yulia. I’m Brendan James. Bren, James, Thom, that’s my middle name. Any of those is perfectly acceptable.”

He realized he was being unusually chatty today with this woman and he wasn’t quite sure why. But he didn’t dwell on that too much. “So Yulia,” He began, as he began drumming his fingers on the edge of his desk. “tell me about yourself. What are those deep dark secrets of yours? Oh oh oh! Let me guess.”

Stroking his chin, he looked the woman up and down. “I think, you’re deepest secret is that… You laughed when Bambi’s mom was shot.” Still stroking his chin, he added more. “Yooou hmmmmm… Oh! Steel Magnolias! You think that movie is a comedy, right?” With a smirk planted on his face, he was sure the woman would know he was only kidding.

[Yulia Sokolov]

Lia was relieved that he was so nonchalant about her invading her classroom. She more or less felt the same way about things but the fact of the matter was that invading hers could get dangerous. Here the worst thing to fear was a paint splatter, not being frozen or hit with heavy flying object. Then again the latter…. Maybe, who knew. Still this felt like more of a safe space, but perhaps that was just her own conditioning at this point. “Thank you, or I guess I should thank the school, for that generosity,” she said with a small laugh.

She crossed to the desk and extended a hand as he introduced himself. He threw quite a few names at her, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do with them all. Brendan, Bren, wait, what other ones were there? No, no, just stick with the first one, the first was the usual. “Nice to meet you Brendan, I am Yulia but that is a bit of a mouthful so most people call me Lia.” She didn’t understand why her name was so difficult to some, it rolled right off her tongue. Then again, around here not all that many people spoke Russian. She supposed it was harder without her accent.

Lia started to look back to the paint when he spoke again. She looked at him, slightly surprised by what he said to her. Deep dark secrets? Oh he had no idea what he was asking for. Where should she start? Honestly the question was amusing at the least, and she got the humor behind it. When he insisted on guessing she simply smiled and tilted her head, she doubted he could ever guess.

Then things turned confusing for her. Her brow pinched together as she tried to figure out what he was saying. She wasn’t sure what he was talking about, eventually figuring out that he was referencing things that she wasn’t familiar. “Who is Bambi?” Despite her chagrin she gave her own slightly embarrassed smile. “I am sorry but, I don’t know what you are talking about. I’m not from here, Vermont, or this country.”

“Still fair is fair.” Lia gave him a better look over, furrowing her brow in a mix of both genuine and mock concentration. “You ran over a neighbor’s pet and never told them about it. Either that or the prints on your underwear are far brighter than you’d want anyone to know.”

[Brendan James]

Taking her hand in his and giving it a little shake, he smiled. “If you don’t mind, I’ll stick with… Yulia. It’s a pretty name. Fitting for you.” And Brendan was off! Being his normal flirty self. It was his little trick. Butter them up before hand and it would take them longer to not be annoyed with his brutal honesty and ridiculous (sometimes dangerous) antics.

Shock. Brendan’s eyes were wide. “You don’t know Bambi? I thought it was an international thing… Huh.” He shook his head. “I suppose this is why other countries always say ‘stupid Americans’, right?” And again, there was a big smile on his face. That was another thing people often found annoying about him. He was always smiling. But he didn’t see the point in frowning.

If you could find a reason to frown, that was your own damn fault. Sure, Brendan could mope around and frown, be sad that his mom died and his sister was getting herself into trouble. But what good would that do? Nothing. So live on he must!

“Well you see… Bambi is this really cute adorable dear.” Brendan said, making his smile bigger, eyes wide, and tilting his head the side. Attempting to make himself look more adorable, as Bambi would. Attempting I said. “And he lives in the woods, obviously, with all of his woodland friends.” And his used his fingers to skitter through the air to portray the little creatures. “But it all ends with Bambi seeing his mom shot in the head by a hunter.” The last bit of what he said was a bit… scarier. He had dropped his hands limply in his lap, felt his face blank, and spoke in a monotone voice.

When she spoke of his dark secrets, he already knew what he was going to do in reaction. It was just a matter of his presentation. “In my defense, it was a cat!” He said, jumping off his desk, and pointing at her as if angry that she had guessed his secret. “And cats… Are awful creatures. They climb into babies’ cribs and steal their breath while they sleep!” And no, he wasn’t making that up off the top of his head. He’d known some really bizarre people in college.

“As for my boxers… They’re bright pink with yellow duckies. And I love people knowing about my weird collection of under-things.” The faux frown that had been on his face a moment ago when talking about cats was immediately replaced with a proud grin.

[Yulia Sokolov]

Yulia knew that there were a number of words to describe the character before her, but which one she should use exactly was still a mystery to her. The difficult part of it all was the fact that he was very outgoing and she wasn’t sure she was prepared for that. Art for her had possessed a sort of calm, or at least it had in the past weeks while she had been using it for therapy. So she wasn’t expecting to see this when she had stepped foot into the art room, namely what seemed to be a very overexcited man.

Despite that fact she could not help but feel a certain warmth towards him, mostly for his friendly effort, or at least that was how she perceived it. It was appreciated to say the least given that she already felt awkward enough adjusting back to work. By all means she did love it but after a long absence it could be hard to take. Lia was no exception to this rule, she was more like the rule itself. She was the proof. However she was determined to do a good and a quick job of it. Things would be better this time.

Lia stood for a moment and just let him rattle on about the deer. She wasn’t quite sure where this whole storyline was going, but it would have been a familiar one to anyone who had seen Bambi before. Lia, sadly had not. She was not yet privy to the Disney craze of the United States, fuzzy animals and moral compass be damned. It was something that she would need to be introduced to, especially after the viewing of the Princess Bride that she had already had with Leila, Ben, and Blue. Then Yulia was jerked out of her thoughts and made a face.

“That’s it? It just sees its mother shot in the head?” She wasn’t sure how to react for a moment, but then she let out a faintly bemused laugh. “That sound like an awful movie…” So why was she snickering? She made a point of regaining her composure. This did not last for long, as moments later he had seemingly taken every joke she had thrown at him and spun it all into something else entire. She hadn’t expected an answer to each silly accusation.

As a result Lia could only stand there and stare nearly slack jawed when he was done. She shook her head once or twice and then managed to speak again. “If your goal in any way was to protect your art supplies by leaving me speechless then you have certainly succeeded. I have no idea what to say to you.”

[Brendan James]

When she asked if ‘that’s it’, Brendan couldn’t help but smile wide and laugh. She made it sound as if that was almost an every day occurrence to her. Of course, his mind immediately pictured her home to be like a freakin’ war zone. And in graphic detail that I will spare you from having to read. But Bren still laughed. Because he’s twisted like that.

“It is awful! Horribly so! Disney bastards… They draw you in with the promise of cute little furry animals, then break your heart with stuff like that.” He was nodding, in agreement. With what he was saying. Because nodding was necessary to show that you agreed with yourself. “Like another movie, Dumbo. It’s all about this baby elephant learning to use its extra large ears, even big for an elephant, to fly. But he’s caught and put in the circus. And there’s this scene where all the animals are with their moms, but Dumbo can’t get to his, because she’s in a cage of some sort. And she sticks her trunk through the bars and rocks him in it.”

He wasn’t quite clear on the details on Disney movies anymore. It had been a few years since he’d watched them, when his sisters were still little. But he did remember them being horribly sad when you watched them from a new perspective. “It breaks my heart and makes me cry every time.” No, he had no shame in admitting to crying at children movies. They were rather sad after all. “And then there’s Fox and the Hound. Never before has a movie made me hate an old woman before. But Disney did.”

It was true. I mean really? What kind of old woman raised a helpless innocent animal, only to dump him in the woods when he’s older? At that point, he wouldn’t know how to survive. Bitch, he thought bitterly. About the woman in the movie of course.

And you should know in advance, if Yulia were to mention The Princess Bride, Bren’s one and only reaction would be to jump on his desk and pretend to be Indigo Montoya. Then possibly jumping from his desk to her, proclaiming how much he adored that movie.

“I promise you Yulia, my goal is far more complicated than that.” He said with a sly little smirk and wink. He was teasing. Mostly. What? She was beautiful, there was no denying that. And he was an attractive man, he knew that. And he wasn’t in a relationship. He’d only just begun working at Hammel… He’d have to read up on coworker affairs. Wouldn’t want to get into trouble so quickly after all.

With a little giggle, he smiled. If she were uncomfortable with his implication, it could easily be passed off as a joke. “So tell me… You’ve never seen these awful and amazing Disney movies. Are you a Star Wars girl instead?”