What might have been (Open)

[Jayna Gray]

Jayna had been sitting in the staff lounge for quite a while now making notes in the copy of student files she had. She made notes to make it easy for her to remember everything. She needed to remember a lot of things since she was a trainer; like how the student’s powers worked for them. Each student had a different way of controlling their power and she needed to write down those ways so she didn’t forget. She wouldn’t be a very good trainer if she forgot things. She was glad she didn’t have to go any grading either, she knew she wouldn’t be any good at it.

Jay took a break from the note taking and moved to sit on the arm of the couch closet to the door. She had her guitar resting on her leg; it was one that she kept here, she didn’t mind others playing with it. She knew how relaxing it was for someone to just mess with a guitar even if they couldn’t play it. Jayna didn’t have any student’s to teach at the moment, the one reason why she was in the staff lounge; they were all in their classes. Which classes those were she had no clue. She started to strum the guitar, glad she always kept a guitar pick with her. She started to sing and play ‘I couldn’t save you’.

The trainer related more to the song than she ever planned to. But most didn’t plan on marrying their high school boyfriend and then plan on him cheating. She didn’t mind the divorce all that much, there were many things that had gone wrong in their marriage; the cheating was only one thing. It didn’t help that neither of them were really committed to each other or had loved each other in the first place. But at least he had the decency to take responsibility for his child at the time and didn’t just abandon them. But what could she do? She couldn't make him love her just like he couldn't make her love him. They really only had gotten married because of Cayla.

[Vincent Meian]

As much as he would have hated to admit it, Vincent loved scavenger hunts. It wasn't as if it was the finding lost things that was amusing - he just liked to explore. So when Nik told him to leave unpacking to her and the girls for the day (basically to get lost for a couple hours), he'd jumped on the opportunity to survey the school again. Since he wasn't going anywhere in particular, he didn't focus too much on the where; just walking and observing the layout of the school was enough for him.

While he explored, he found a number of rooms that he decided he needed to become more acquainted with - the home ec. room, the band room (which had been surprisingly empty), the training centers, the gym... these all made his "to re-see" list, so to speak.

Finally, the staff offices rounded off his trip. He'd already been down this way to see Neville-sensei a few days ago, but then the offices had been decently filled. Now they were pretty much empty - classes were continuing for the summer, and the end of the quarter was closing in fast.

As he walked, however, he heard the sound of guitar strings strumming. He almost worried at the toneless start, thinking he had slipped in his control, but when music began to float down the corridor he relaxed. Someone was playing, that's all, and by the sound of it they weren't bad. The song was simple, its notes clean, and the voice that flowed after them seemed to fit fairly well. Curious, Vincent followed the sound down the hall and into the staff lounge.

Inside he found a young woman, probably a teacher by the look of her. She didn't seem to notice him at first, wrapped up in her song as she was, so he leaned in the doorway (mindful of the overhang so close to his head) and listened for a while. She did very well, better than he could hear in the hall, though he was unfamiliar with the song. He couldn't track the words well enough to decipher a meaning, but from the way she was holding her guitar and the inflection in her voice it meant a great deal to her.

As she slowed strumming and came to the conclusion of the song, he cleared his throat, giving her advance warning to his presence before he walked into the room. He knew how involved a person could become with music - he was the same with his violin.

"Good afternoon," he stated politely. "You play very well."

[Jayna Gray]

Jayna wrapped up the song; it was song she needed to stop playing. She had gotten over the divorce there was really nothing to get over. But she couldn’t get over the song, and kept wondering if there was something she could have done to change their relationship. She felt like she had been the problem, it really made her insecure. Had it really been his entire fault? She doubted it, but she didn’t know where she had went wrong. You learn from your mistakes right? But she didn’t know what mistakes she had made other than marrying the guy.

Jay looked up as she heard someone clear their throat. She blinked at the tall Asian who had walked in. She didn’t recognize the man, was he new to Hammel; he had to be. She was pretty familiar with all the staff, accept for some of the other trainers, researchers and the like. She had been a student at Hammel since she was eleven and never really left; considering she went from being a student to a trainer.

She blushed a little at the compliment, it was a small compliment but she was still grateful for it. “Good afternoon and thank you.” She didn’t think she was as good as some people could be, was it her being humble or insecure? She figured it was the later than the former; but maybe a mix of both. “I haven’t seen you around, are you new?” He was obviously staff, or he wouldn’t be in the staff lounge and he didn’t look like he was young enough to be a student. He looked like he was in his thirties or forties.

[Vincent Meian]

Vincent nodded, both to acknowledge her gratitude and answer her question. "I have recently been..." he paused on the word for a moment before continuing,"...reassigned here. My name is Vincent Meian, a trainer from Eisai Gakkō." He did not offer his hand, but bowed slightly to the young woman as he added, "It is a pleasure to meet you."

Straightening, Vincent took in the young woman once more. She seemed completely comfortable in this room, as if she had grown used to it over many years. The way her hands cradled the guitar told him much - that the song she sang had both meant quite a bit to her, and yet it seemed to cause grief within her. He did not ask why; it was not his place. However, he had always been interested in people that played the guitar. No one had at his school before Eisai, and he was always curious about such an instrument.

"If I may ask, how long have you been playing?" he ventured, his accent hiccuping through some pronunciation oddly though his words were intelligible. "This song seems to be a strong source of inspiration for you. May I ask what it speaks of?"

He did not want to intrude or be impolite - if she told him it was not his business, he would apologize and leave. However, he was curious - he had heard very little American music and wished to have a stronger grasp of the styles employed.

[Jayna Gray]

Jayna stood up and bowed a little back; if that was what they did in his country instead of hand shaking she was all for it. She didn’t want to be little his ways, and his country’s traditions. “I’m Jayna Gray. It’s nice to meet you then. How have you been liking it here?” She tilted her head to the side a bit “Is that in Asia?” Okay she got that mostly by how he looked Asian. She went back to sitting on the arm of the sofa.

Jay smiled at the man as he asked how long she had been playing the guitar. “I have been playing since I was ten and I’m now twenty-six.” She did the math in her head; she really wasn’t good at math. “So Sixteen years?” She said questioningly, wondering if she had done the math right. "Do you play anything? Or can you sing?"

Jayna looked at the ground as she held the guitar close to her. “Ah. The song itself is about how you can’t change someone no matter how you want to especially if that person doesn’t want to be changed. How it relates to me, I kind of had a bad marriage and I did want to change my husband but it just never happened and now we have been divorced for a year.” She added the last part because she figured he would ask about how they were doing now.


She didn’t mind sharing vague information about her marriage but she rather not go into detail about it. It was too hard for her to talk about any further than just the basic outline. Not to mention that was all anyone ever needed to know about it. Neither one of them were the person that the other wanted to spend their life with, so naturally they grew apart and it naturally didn’t end well.

[Vincent Meian]

"It has been an interesting change," he answered, falling easily into the pattern of polite conversation. "It is... a good change of pace?" He stated this as a question, mostly because he was unsure of the proverb's meaning in its entirety, but he guessed that it fit in this situation. "Eisai seemed much busier, but perhaps that is simply because of the alternate school year."

He almost smiled at the innocent ignorance of her question, but refrained from doing so. She may have taken it as rude and Vincent preferred to be anything but. So, he simply nodded and answered, "Yes - Eisai is the sister school to Hammel in Japan. We have very similar ideas of how to train meta-humans and interact with them as people, though our cultural approaches are... different."

His eyebrows raised in surprise and not a little appreciation of her dedication. It was a common practice in Japan for children to learn instruments or sports young and mature into experts, but he had heard the courses in the states were much more lax on the subject. To have an example of such dedication was remarkable. "Soo deska?" he asked, forgetting himself a moment before adding, "That is impressive, Gray-san."

He nodded when she asked about his own musical abilities, a very slight smile tugging at his lips when he replied. "I play the violin classically. I also play the viola, though not for quite some time. I have undoubtedly become... 'rusty', I believe is your term? However, I do not sing; I have never particularly enjoyed it."

He almost flinched at her explanation of the song, and felt more guilty of asking when she explained what it meant to her. So young and she had already divorced? He had no idea; if he had known of the song's meaning, he would not have been so intrusive. She seemed open about discussing it vaguely, yet closed off about any additional comments. He thought for a moment, trying to find something to say as he answered softly, "Soo ka..."

After a moment of silence, an idea came to mind and he looked back at her. "I understand the want and need to change," he stated calmly, watching her for any sign of discomfort. "But sometimes it takes courage, and that is something young men seem to lack. I commend you for your effort." He paused, then gave a rare, genuine smile. "But I can respect you for changing yourself. It is not easy to take that first step on a new path, but the way is often clearer once the path has been set."

He hoped he had not overstepped his bounds, but he felt this woman needed to be told that she had done the right thing. Not that he felt actions needed to be approved to have meaning; simply that such a life is hard for those with experience, let alone for those as young as she. His marriage had almost collapsed when he was her age; if not for the stubborn dedication of his wife, he was certain to be someplace much darker than he was now, and for that he could never love, respect, or thank her enough.

[Jayna Gray]

Jayna nodded, “I know how you feel, sort of.” It was an interesting change for her to become a teacher after being a student for so long. It was so different in many ways but good different. Good, because she didn’t have to worry about getting good grades. She also didn’t have to worry about being pregnant since that ship has sailed. This time around she was helping other students control their power, which was just as important as grades and classes. “Does it really? I don’t think I could handle it being busier than this.” Hammel was very busy, every week it seemed they were getting more and more students and apparently more teachers and staff.

Jayna never meant to be rude by her question or anything or the sort. She just wasn’t used to talking to a Fournier let alone work with one. She was going to have to get used to it. She nodded “I’m sure, each country has their own way of doing things. I’m sure it’s hard for you to have to get used to the difference. America is much more relaxed in ways than other countries.” America was spoiled and it was just getting worse. This is why she was teaching her kids to be grateful for what they had and not follow what the culture said about certain things.


The states were relaxed on the arts; it was more about how much passion one had to keep doing it or even began doing it in the first place. Usually the kids didn’t have the drive to learn how to play an instrument till they were in their teens unless their parents made them learn to play. Jayna had gotten her first guitar for her tenth birthday from her grandmother who could also play; it was actually her guitar. She naturally fell in love with it and had the overwhelming passion to learn how to play and she never stopped playing. “Excuse.. me?” She said a bit shyly, not knowing what he said or even if he meant for her to know what he said. Jayna blushed a little “Ah I guess..”

“Oh that’s really cool. I only know how to play the guitar. I was never really interested in any other instrument.” She smiled “Yes rusty is the right term.” Jay just realized how difficult the English language is to comprehend and learn. To the ones who grow up learning the language was fine but for others learning it as a second language it seemed like it would be very hard.

It was her own fault for the divorce, for getting pregnant and for saying yes to the proposal. But she did not regret getting pregnant either times, because she loved both her daughters dearly and if she had to go through that awful marriage to have both of them in her life she wouldn’t change a thing. Jayna tilted her head to the side a bit, confused on what he said. But let it go, he probably just said sorry or something along those lines.

Jay listened carefully to what he had said. She nodded “Thank you.” His words did help but didn’t really make her feel better about the whole situation. “Well I kind of felt I had to be the one to change… But thank you. It does seem it gets easier as time passes.” It was either stay the same and be miserable or change and be happy. Besides that she wasn’t the only one who had been affected by her actions through the years of the marriage. She had two kids she needed to look after and do what was right for them.

Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t but Jayna was grateful for his words none of the less. She only hoped she had done the right things for her kids; she didn’t want them to grow up without a father, but their father also didn’t seem interested in them not since they divorced.

[Vincent Meian]

Vincent chuckled and shook his head. "What I mean is... there are more people, you see? The culture is more strict, so we have a lower percentage of conflicts, however there are still many students." It seemed a little odd to him as well; his former school had been much more populous, but oddly quieter. It didn't bother him at all that Hammel seemed noisier. It made the school feel... alive, he supposed.

Spreading his hand in a gesture of non-committal, Vincent replied, "That is exactly why we have come. Japan is very... stressful. My wife and I wished our daughters to have a more accepting adolescence that either of us." He said nothing more direct than that; he had intended for everyone to have a new start, and his daughters would be well-trained here. He had been assured of that with each staff member he met.

He nodded in response to her assessment of her own desires, as well as in gratitude for the confirmation of his attempt at slang. "I began when I was young," he stated calmly. "It is common for students to be part of many after-school activities and clubs. It is a cultural expectation, though I admit that I enjoy playing now. I have even owned the same violin for nearly thirty years - how long has your guitar belonged in your family?"

"That is good," he added, a little disappointed that the conversation had not deflected as well as he'd hoped. He felt somewhat awkward, as if he had intruded too far, though she seemed like she appreciated the effort.

[Jayna Gray]

Jayna nodded “ah I see, Yeah there are a lot of conflicts here. With the students, I mean. We get the stray ones that don’t really like authority figures. So it does get a little stressing.” The odd ones that acted out were the ones that cause most of the trouble. She didn’t mind it, and liked helping the students and loved seeing the ones that acted out become better. It was worth the wait and worth the job. She loved working with the students and getting to know them. “So what do you do here?”

She nodded “Ah, I see. It’s good it get a fresh start somewhere when you believe before wasn’t working for you and your family. Family comes first right?” She knew how that felt, having to make a choice that was best for the family, for your children. In a way she was also getting a new start, a fresh one; though at times it was hard but her daughters kept her going. “ I’m sure you and your family are going to love it here.” She smiled a bit “Do you mind if I ask how old your daughters are?” She didn’t want to get too personal with the question, but talking about family made her curious.

“Ah I see. Yeah here it’s not required, but a lot of students are more into sports than clubs here.” She was also the type of girl who liked the clubs, but she wasn’t very athletic either. “Ah my first guitar I had gotten when I was ten, from my Grandmother and she has had it since she was my age. So a long time.” She gestured to the guitar in her lap “though this one I have only had for a couple years now.” Her ex husband had given it to her, as a ‘I’m sorry’ gift. She felt like she should get rid of it, but felt it would be better to keep it, thinking it would come in handy.

[Vincent Meian]

Listening to her explanation, Vincent nodded, reminding himself to look over a few files he'd already been given. He wanted to start training students once the school year began, and that would be easier if he understood their powers and personality. "I am a trainer," he answered. "My work in Japan was to train students whose powers are... highly emotive. I teach them ways of controlling their emotions, and then move on to focus on the powers."

"Indeed," he agreed. "My daughters will always take priority over my work. My wife feels the same way." He waited as she assured him of their enjoyment of the area, then answered her question. "Appoline is fifteen, and Cassiopeia is eleven. Nakia gave birth young, though she handled it very well, given our circumstance at the time."

He didn't go into what circumstances those were, but if asked he would not shy away from it. As he had told Dr. Neville-- Sean, he reminded himself again-- he wanted to be as open with his colleagues as possible. Secrets did not work well, and the more people pried into his life the more he fought back. It was better to speak of such things comfortably than be faced with rumor and accusation later.

"Ah, a family heirloom," he replied, nodding in understanding. "That is the most precious gift, I believe." He had no heirlooms of his own, save the necklace tucked beneath his shirt. He never took it off save to clean it, and he never left it out of sight. His social worker had told him it was something that had belonged to his mother, and that his sister had one similar to it, wherever she was. Though he had yet to find her, he kept looking regardless.

[Jayna Gray]

It would be best if he got to know the details about a student, but not everything could be found in a file. The files did work if you only wanted to help train the student, not so much get to know them. However, she herself found training easier if she got to know the students. It all depended on the trainer. “Oh so am I. It’s nice to meet another trainer.” Weirdly enough not a lot of teacher hung around the staff lounge, at least not when she did. Everyone had their weird hours, it didn’t bring time to converse with each other, but they weren’t being paid to talk to each other either. “Oh I see. Is that what you’re going to be doing here also?” She had pretty much the same job, just that she didn’t like to sick with just students who had emotional powers.

Jayna nodded “I feel the same about my daughters too.” Most parents agreed about this, that their family came first above all else. But there was the odd family, that didn’t care about the well fair of their children as much as they should, which was bad parenting; at least she thought it was. “Oh are they attending Hammel?” If they did than that meant they were powered, she wondered if she would meet his children around the school. “Cassiopeia is just a year older than my oldest.” She said his youngest slowly making sure she had said it right. Jayna had also given birth had a young age, younger than she liked but she didn’t regret it.

Jay wasn’t the type to ask people personal questions, she would admit she was a bit curious. But it wasn’t her place, nor her business. If she didn’t want to go into the details of her life she wasn’t going to pry into the details of someone else’s. Even if he didn’t mind it or not.

She nodded, she really hoped at least one of her children would get into music, at least guitar. She wouldn’t force them but she would love it if her passion was passed down to one of her children. It seemed though that Cayla was more into animals than music, which Jay didn’t mind in the least. “Yes, I’m hoping one of my daughters would be interested in playing guitar so I can pass it down to them.” If not she would look forward to being able to give it to one of her grandchildren, like she was sure her grandmother was.

[Vincent Meian]

"I believe so," he answered, thinking momentarily on the subject. "That is where I have experience, so I would expect to start training such students, at least." Despite their rather stoic masks, the students he had trained back at Eisai were still teens - all of their emotions, however, had no outlet. They had bottled them up for so long and hidden them from the world that their powers seemed to manifest at random, scaring most of them senseless. He had given them reasons to feel more openly, and once they did he taught them mastery of those emotions. It almost always worked, though every program had those it grated with.

He smiled genuinely when she mentioned her daughters. Despite his own mask of neutrality, Vincent had a soft spot for children, especially young ones. "Yes, I believe all true parents do. I am glad to have my children here with me, despite the selfishness of our move."

He nodded in answer to her question, then added, "Both are attending, though only my eldest has any sign of ability. My wife tested Cassi, but if she does have the genome it is not currently active. She is young, however - she has many years before we can be sure."

Vincent's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the narrow age difference between his youngest girl and her oldest. How young she must have been - she looked hardly older than Nakia had after Appoline was born! Still, she needed to have received a degree in one college or another, and then taken the training certification. Not to mention the time needed to rear her children between school terms, meaning... she must have been enrolled in Hammel when she became pregnant.

Despite the long train of thought, Vincent's mind ran through this swiftly and he let on no sign other than mild surprise that he had been thinking such things. He did not fault her for such things, nor her former spouse - it was not his place to speak of it. Instead, he merely added, "I see. Perhaps then our daughters may find company with each other within the schoolyard."

With a slightly secret smile, he nodded at her sentiment. "I understand," he replied. "Though, I am certain that they would treasure it solely for being your possession, even if they were never to play for themselves."

[Jayna Gray]

Jayna took off her glasses and she realized she was still wearing them, she was far sighted not near. “Ah I see, Then we pretty much have the same line of training. Though I don’t tend to like just training students with emotional powers sets.” Her power was in the middle of it, it could become an emotional power set if she was overly emotional but other than that, it just had to do with self-control. If she knew anything about the Japanese culture or the school in Asia she would feel a bit sorry for the teens. That they had no way of letting out their emotions; it was quite sad really; and that meant a lot coming from a mother. She always let her daughters yell at her if they needed to let out the anger, but she never encouraged it. Everyone, even children needed to let out some stem and if they didn’t do it one way they would find another way to do it.

Jayna nodded “it might have been selfish but it seems to have been for the better. I’m sure your daughters will find Pilot Ridge wonderful given time. As will you and your wife?” the town was so peaceful, nothing out of the ordinary happened in the town other than the drama between people.

“Ah yeah, it seems the normal age for power manifestation is eleven to fourteen. Some being late bloomers.” He had a couple years before his youngest would manifest. “It gives you time to get used to your oldest having a power.” She was pretty sure Cayla would be manifesting at eleven she showed some signs that she was already starting to. Jay was pretty sure the girl’s power will have to do something that revolves around animals. But it could just be the inner workings of a ten year old at play.


Jayna got pregnant when she was sixteen; she had already been a student at Hammel; considering she enrolled in the school when she was eleven. It wasn’t her proudest moment as a teenager and she often wondered what her life would have been like if she was more careful. But she loved her daughters, and wouldn’t know what to do without them; so she was more than grateful for the events of her being pregnant. She knew it had been a stupid move to have had unprotected sex, but it had happened and it was in the past now. It was also a mistake she would never repeat again. “Ah yes, Though my daughter doesn’t go to Hammel just yet. I’m sure they will get along nicely.” She gave him a small smile.


She nodded at his statement “You have a point. I’m sure they will. Which brings me to hope they don’t fight over it when they’re older..” She said with a smile. Purely joking; but she wondered how well that will go. This guy doesn’t seem the one for jokes.

[Vincent Meian]

Vincent frowned, sensing at best a chastisement and at worst an accusation in her tone. It wasn't that he chose to work with emotive powers; he was simply better suited towards working with them. To have him work with students who needed solely technical help would be akin to taking a nuclear physics expert and having them teach an eighth grade science class. Technique was easy; control and separations of emotions was far more difficult. "You misunderstand; I train any who come to me for aid. My specialty is emotions."

Shaking off the bristle in his voice, he nodded coolly. "Yes, I am certain we will enjoy our time here.

"As for Appoline, we understood the probability of our daughters having abilities. We expected as much." He shrugged slightly, nonplussed. "It is a non-issue."

At her joke, a flicker of amusement crossed his face, though he did not smile. "Perhaps bickering over it will keep them together," he answered cryptically. "I would not know - I have no close relatives other than my children and brother-in-law."

[Jayna Gray]

Jayna didn’t mean to jump to assuming things, Vincent had just made it sound that way. She knew how to work with students who had different kind of powers. Though the ones who had physical powers were more difficult for her to work with. “I see, then I’m sorry for assuming things. Forgive me.”

She nodded “I hope you do. And I hope your daughters will be able to fit into Hammel as students.”

Jay nodded again to show her understanding “I see. Well that’s good.” She knew her daughters also probably had the gene, but Jayna felt like she wasn’t ready for it. Being a single mother was hard enough, not that she didn’t enjoy being a mother but she had her hard ships. Ones she had to face alone; it was tough.

Jayna chuckled a little “Maybe, but they are already close so just hope that never changes.” She gave him a small smile. “Ah I’m an only child, so I didn’t grow up with any siblings. So I’m glad my children have each other.”

The school bell rang and she looked up at the clock. "Excuse me, I have a training session this period." She got up and placed the guitar on the stand it had been on. She collected her papers and placed them in her bag. "I hope we shall see each other again." She bowed her head a little toward him and then made her way out of the staff room.