Homecoming {Renee}

[Randel Anthony]

How long had it been since he’d been at Hammel? A decade, at least. He struggled to remember exactly how long.

Randel Anthony turned the keys stuck in the ignition, waiting for his old car to rumble down, then climbed out the side. He stuck his hands in his pockets, face to face with the familiar trimmed lawn and the old red brick. Shielding his eyes, he looked up towards the roof of the building. Still there, Randel, he thought. I don’t know what I expected.

It was just past class time – the bell had just rung, and children of all shapes and sizes were spilling out into the lawn. Randel didn’t find himself as conspicuous as he’d thought he’d be; he supposed, to them, he just looked like another teacher. He’d learned that to be the fate of many people he’d known growing up here. Including one in particular.

Randel remembered Renee as a fickle creature, mischeivious, a little chatty and squirrely when she shouldn’t be. She, like so many others, had become a teacher here. He wondered what that was like, watching his own reflection in the students here…even know, he was cast back to another time. There were kids sitting on benches, kids talking, kids laughing. He didn’t care for nostalgia, and he shook it off before he thrust open the double doors.

After being accosted by security (they took it very seriously here – always had) he made his way up to the classrooms. Randel wasn’t here for social calls, but, well…he thought it’d be rude if he didn’t at least pop by.

Randel knocked on Renee’s door. When she answered, he put his hands on his waist, and shuffled. “Remember me?”

[Deleted]

Classes were finally back in session and, as Renee suspected, she started the semester by hitting the ground running with nowhere to stop in sight. She had four new students this year, she still had students from last year, and they still hadn't finished assigning all the new ones, so there was a very high chance that Renee was going to have even more students by the end of the month. Heaven forbid.

No, not really. While it was a lot of work and would easily have her pulling her hair out, Renee was glad to have them. So long as she could help them, then it was worth it.

Renee remembered what it felt like to be that young and lost, with a power that automatically designated you as "freak" and with absolutely no clue on how to control that power so that you didn't accidentally hurt those small-minded people or yourself. And with absolutely no-one to talk to. It was terrifying for Renee, she remembered that much. She had adopted a completely new persona, an entirely fake version of herself, just so it wouldn't completely break her.

Today, Renee was determined. She wasn't going to let that kind of hopelessness overwhelm any of her students. Not if she had anything to say about it.

The trainer pulled out another file of one student she had yet to see for a session. Sebastian Bolstad. Yet another complicated case, as much as hers with Tomer, the fiery young spirit who didn't let a thing like partial paralysis stop him from moving forward. But Sebastian's difficulties weren't external, but very much internal, according to Vincent.....

Renee's thoughts were focused on her student's file when she heard the knock at the door. Funny, she wasn't expecting any students at this time. Maybe one of them had taken her up on her open door policy? Curiously, Renee rose from her seat and rounded the desk to answer the door to be greeted with a very delicious surprise. "Randel," she said with a faint dip of her chin and flirt in her eyes. "...Oh, my god! What are you doing here?" she suddenly squealed with excitement to see her old friend, and she threw her arms around and over the neck of the tall man in a friendly embrace. She then pulled away from Randel to look him in the face and her face twisted with sudden worry. "What happened? You got old."

[Randel Anthony]

Randel gave her a tentative embrace back, as people unfamiliar with them tend to do. “Old?” he asked, when they’d detached. He looked down at himself. “I must not have noticed.” He grinned.

Maybe he’d gotten ‘old’ but Renee had become quite beautiful. It surprised him, though he’d never say it. Not to say that she hadn’t been attractive back in the day, but now it was looking at a flower at full bloom, as opposed to the budding promise of a young girl. Randel stuffed his hands back in his pockets, and pulled out a badge. “You’re not under arrest,” he assured her. “Just wanted to prove I haven’t been a bum all these years.”

Once he’d stepped inside, Randel gave the room a once-over; he nodded once, as if in approval. “I heard you were a trainer from the grape-vine…thought I’d drop in, say hello. We might be seeing each other around,” he explained. “They sent me here to do a little work. I can’t give you any details, but…” He shrugged. “It’s a doozy.”

“Anyway,” he went on, after a beat, “it’s really nice to see you, Renee. How’re the kids treating you?”

[Deleted]

Renee was definitely a hugger when it came to people she knew and liked, regardless of whether they returned the sentiment. Only certain circumstances prevented her from doing so, then main one being that they asked her not to. The other one would be that many of the people she liked were her students and that was a definite no-no. Not that she couldn't dream, because some of her students were just downright adorable and deserved a good cuddle. And maybe a noogie or two.

But back to Randel.

She giggled when he pulled out the police badge. "Oh, but I think the bum look looks good on you," she said as she once again invaded his personal space and scrubbed his scruff. "Very distinguished." Renee was just teasing and her face easily gave it away. "But still, a police officer? I never would have guessed." She sent him a coy smile and a playful tap on the shoulder.

Renee turned and led Randel inside of her small office. "The grape-vine? I didn't know anybody still used that term." Nor did she think that anyone was still keeping in that close of contact still. She wondered what else he'd heard.

"Anyway, it’s really nice to see you, Renee. How’re the kids treating you?”

"It's good to see you to, Randel," she said with a nostalgic sigh. Then she perked her head up and chuckled. "The kids are amazing. So different, but still so much the same as we were back then." Renee looked up at him, her eyebrows raised in amazement. "Their pranks are more creative than anything I ever came up with."

"So...a police officer." Renee shook her head with a smile. "How'd that happen?"

[Randel Anthony]

Randel didn’t mind Renee’s displays of affection as much as he’d had when he was young. He supposed age had mellowed him out. Before, he’d found her a bit intrusive, squirrely, and much too huggy…but, he supposed, if it had really bothered him, he would’ve simply avoided her. The fact that he did not was telling. Randel needed a bit of personal invasion in his life – he certainly wasn’t the type to give it up willingly. Renee was and had often been a sort of catalyst.

Randel scratched at his scruff. Distinguished? “That’s one word for it,” he muttered, then shrugged. “No, no. Not a police officer. A detective. It pays better.”

He followed her, glancing around at the office. It seemed friendly enough, he supposed. He tried to summon memories of his first time stepping in a trainer’s office. Randel had been one of the more lucky ones; he was never at odds with his power, not really. The act of training had not been a lesson in control – it had been a lesson in better communication. He and his precognition had been acquaintances then; now, they were partners.

He seemed to consider her words. Now that he thought about it, it seemed natural Renee would become a teacher. She’d always been full of affection to give, and Hammel was full of children who needed it.

“Detective,” he corrected, again, without irritation. “Just the same as anyone else gets into it. You get a degree and you get some experience, and you get a job…’course, the pre-cog helps.” He shrugged, then reached up to adjust his glasses. “Let me tell you, Renee. You were smarter than I was. This job wears down on you. You get to help ‘em succeed…I’ve got to clean up the mess when they don’t.”