Failed A Spot Check [Gabe]

[Gabriel James]

Gabriel laughed at Cecil's joke regard the Hammel students. It was almost scary that his joking suggestion could be true, though. "Hopefully there won't be any of that," Gabe said. He wasn't sure how much Cecil actually knew about Hammel. He had gone to Kocher since he had lived in Europe. Which meant he knew plenty about meta-humans, however.

They had never actually discussed the nature of their own powers, though when Gabriel had told Cecil he was going to work at Hammel - his alma matter - it had been revealed that Cecil went to Kocher. They knew they both had abilities, but the abilities themselves never really came into question. Gabriel was curious though, and wondered momentarily if Cecil would even want Gabriel to know.

"Sometimes I wonder if incoming teachers are shocked by the fact that Hammel is a meta-human school. Some of the teachers don't have abilities," Gabriel explained. "They try to hire alumni. It's easier that way. But every now and then... I just wonder what their reaction is when they learn they're teaching shape shifters and telepaths and kids who can turn invisible in the bink of an eye," Gabriel laughed at the though.

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil's smile was bright and genuine, the Welshman giving a casual shrug of his shoulders. “I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, I will. Just don't turn your back on them too long, I remember what trouble some of us used to cause for the teachers.” His tone was joking but Cecil could all too well remember some of the mischief certain students used to cause for the teachers. He himself had been an absolute nightmare his first few months there, though that admittedly had very little to do with his power and a lot to do with his rebellion over having to be hundreds of miles away from his family.

His own power was something he was quite happy to discuss but, like certain other things in life, it wasn't a conversation that could just be sparked with anyone as easily as asking where they got their jacket from. Anti-meta campaigners still existed even in this day and age, and Cecil had heard horror stories of certain individuals who made those campaigners look like avid supporters. Even with other people he knew had powers, 'just what is it you do' was hardly a polite conversation starter.

The Welshman's lips gave a twitch of a smile and he pondered over the concept a while before he spoke again. “I'd assume they'd be told beforehand, wouldn't they? Surely sticking an unaware person into a room full of fire breathers and wind controllers would be just asking for trouble.”

[Gabriel James]

"Well they don't exactly advertise the fact... so I guess applicants would just have to stumble upon it during their job search. If you don't look hard enough I'm sure it's somewhat easy to miss," Gabriel suggested. He laughed at the thought of an unknowing non-meta making it all the way to a job interview before being questioned on how he or she planned to handle out of control meta-teens.

"God help us if we get any students like I was... I still have a reputation with some of the teachers," Gabe said with a laugh, making a mental note to stay away from the older teachers that probably to this day had a personal vendetta against him. "I just liked being a nuisance. Wanted nothing to do with school. Just wanted to play my guitar." Sometimes he managed to convince a teacher (via his charm, of course) to let him play guitar for the entirety of class. That ended soon after the teachers realized how strong his power could be. "What kind of trouble did you like getting yourself into? Stupid little pranks?"

[Cecil Wathen]

“It's an amusing thought, that's a fact. Imagine it, first day at your new job and suddenly one of the kids sneezes and puts a hole in their desk.” Cecil topped up the coke in his glass, adding a little extra ice to it before taking a long drink. “I can understand why they go for alumni when they're recruiting. It's less to explain, plus the new staff would have a clue about what sort of things to expect at least. Going in with the shields up, so to say.”

Giving a quiet laugh as Gabe explained what he was like at school, Cecil nodded his head. “I bet you were, you've done nothing but cause trouble since you started coming here.” The cheeky smile on his lips hopefully showed that he was only teasing, and he gave a small shrug as Gabe asked what he had been like. “Er no, not really. I wasn't much of a trickster. My first few months I was just... hell. Rebellious shitty teenager, as so many are. I'm sure I was in detention more than I was out of it. How about you, have you got any interesting stories to tell?”

[Gabriel James]

Gabe laughed, trying to imagine Cecil being uncooperative and rebellious. Even so, it was more than understandable for a newly recruited teen to be a little rebellious when they're suddenly whisked away to a new place and told they can't go home to their families. Clearly the man in front of him had coped with the circumstances and had matured over the years. . Gabriel had yet to completely grow up. He wondered if he ever would, and then thought eventually he probably wouldn't have a choice. When he started teaching he had to be an 'adult' figure. He had to be a role model and a mentor and a good influence and all the things he had never been in high school.

Cecil snapped Gabe out of his mini panic-stricken realization and asked him about the trouble he used to get into at Hammel. He smiled, glad to reminisce instead of worry about the future. For now. He took a sip of his beer before starting. "Let's just say a lot of the teachers had my picture on their wall," he said with a chuckle. "I pulled a lot of the 'normal' pranks I guess. Loosening bolts on chairs and gluing pages of books together. Once a couple friends and I moved an entire classroom's worth of desks onto the roof. That wasn't so normal, but still awesome and hilarious. I never got in too much trouble though... I was quite the charmer back in high school," Gabe smiled at his own joke at the end. "I can talk myself out of trouble pretty easily."

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil had been the first Meta in his family, a fact that had hit them all hard. Whilst no one had any problem with Cecil's newfound ability, the way in which the Swiss school had handled his recruitment had left the entire Wathen family furious and bitter. Whilst they could understand that he needed specialist help to train his ability, for the life of them they couldn't understand why he was being forced to move halfway across Europe at such an influential age, especially since his power wasn't harmful to anyone. In the end the courts had been forced to step in to get the teenager taken away, and Cecil had rebelled as only a fourteen year old boy was capable. Fights, arguments with teachers and refusing to do any work were part of his daily schedule, and it wasn't until the school started him on a more intense physical training schedule that he began to calm down and stop being such an insufferable brat.

Cecil's eyebrows raised as Gabe spoke about the mischief he'd gotten up to at school and he gave a nod, genuinely impressed. “Wow, you certainly were busy. How did you get the desks up onto the roof? I assume you had some rather handily gifted people helping you out, hmm?” A soft laugh left his lips. “I bet you were. I was always rubbish at getting out of trouble – though I never really tried all that much, to be honest.”

[Gabriel James]

"I liked to keep things interesting," Gabriel admitted before taking another long sip of his drink, "And I liked getting the community involved." He laughed at the memories. He'd often promise the others he would get them out of trouble for their help. It got to the point where some teachers knew to wear glasses while disciplining Gabe. The eyesight had to be completely unobstructed for Gabe's power to work. By his senior year there were very few cases of tom-foolery for Gabriel that he managed to completely get away with.

"I also had a buddy that would put the power out before tests and stuff. And I'd bail him out. We were kind of known for being pains back then. And I'm sure we're still talked about to this day between some of the older teachers," Gabriel explained. "I'll know all the tricks though so I won't be letting any of my students get away with it."

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil gave a soft laugh, finishing off his own drink before putting the glass to the side ready to be put in the dishwasher. “Well, your team spirit is to be commended. It’s great what people can achieve when they band together. Even if it is just rearranging the furniture.” Cecil’s own mini-rebellion at Kocher had been very much a solo affair and for that he was grateful. He had spent a lot of time in varying degrees of trouble, and he would have hated the regret of having dragged others along with him.

Giving an approving nod of his head, Cecil smiled easily. “I’m sure you’ll do great. Just keep your wits about you, you should. The kids will have gotten trickier even since your day.” God, that made him sound so old. “Thanks again for playing tonight. Even with the hiccup I thought it went well.”

[Gabriel James]

"I know most of the tricks though," Gabe pointed out, hoping that he could use the fact to his advantage. He was still pretty young. He still had a pretty good idea of what the kids may be thinking. He was only a music teacher anyway. At least he was responsible for how well they used their powers. Like Everett. "Hopefully that will help me stay a step ahead."

Cecil still seemed to think they may cause trouble though, which made Gabe laugh. He was probably right. Gabriel just didn't want to believe it. He hoped things would be easy going. "It's my pleasure Cecil," Gabe insisted after the barkeep expressed his gratitude for the performance. "I just... I love it up there. I love preforming and I honestly hope I'll be able to do it for the rest of my life."

[Cecil Wathen]

Cecil merely smiled at Gabe's insistence that he knew most of the tricks and should be able to stay ahead. The bar owner knew how quickly the kids methods evolved; it was a constant battle every weekend keeping the little brats out of the bar. It was even tougher when some of them came equipped with powers that made them look older, or let them walk through the walls, or go invisible. “Yeah, I'm sure you'll do fine.” He hoped Gabe would settle in quickly and not have too many hiccups, he just also hoped he'd be ready when the inevitable trouble did decide to rear its head.

The Welshman nodded as Gabe spoke about his love of performing; it was completely clear to see his passion and that was exactly why Cecil had made him the offer. People tended to respond well to those that loved their job, and an enthusiastic and talented singer was more likely to get bums on seats that an unplayed piano and old speaker system. Speaking of which, he'd probably need to upgrade them if this went well. “I know you love it, a blind man could see that.” An easy smile crossed Cecil's lips as he opened another bottle and slid it towards Gabriel. “I'm sure you'll still be bringing smiles when you're old and creaky.”

[fin?]