Keep Calm and Drink Coffee (OPEN)

[Zebadiah Hayes]

Zeb loved his job, really he did.

Sure there were times when things were hectic and the students drove him nuts. And there were times when powers got out of hand. And sometimes a wall blew up or some thirteen year old spent the day locked in her room because some said her hair looked stupid.

But even on those days, Zeb got a smile on his face when he told someone what he did for a living. He liked the thought that he was giving something back to the next generation at Hammel. Even if that someone was often just an open door for some kid who wanted to chat. Or a stern look to steer a troublemaker in the right direction.

But even his love for his job was not enough to put a spring in his step in the morning. It always took him a few hours to rub the sleep out of his eyes and wake his brain up with a few gallons of caffeine.

He was currently waiting for his second pot to finish brewing when he heard a knock on the door. And although he both students and fellow staff that they were welcome to come knock anytime day or night, he really hoped it wasn't something to complicated at this time in the morning.

"It's open," he called, tearing his eyes away from the black liquid dripping through the filter to see who it was.

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

It was morning and most teenagers weren't awake, Monroe was no exception. Except he had an accuse, he'd spent hours in the library trying to sleep and then fell into a nightmare of a random girl who had also been in the library and it had freaked him out beyond measure. Not to mention he had bags under his eyes and could really use a pick me up.

Zeb was one of the dorm monitors and he was a pretty cool guy, plus he had a power that was rather close to Monroe and he figured maybe the guy could help him out, give some sort of advice? He'd been at Hammel for years and was in his senior year right now and he really wanted to graduate. Of course he'd made progress with his power, but it was still very difficult falling into other's dreams all the time, especially when they didn't want you there.

He knocked on Zeb's door, hair that was sticking up in all directions covered by a beanie. His clothes were wrinkled and he looked exhausted but it wasn't as if that was anything new.

It's open!

He twisted the doorknob and opened it, the smell of coffee hitting him immediately and waking him up a little. "Is it too early?" he asked.

[Zebadiah Hayes]

Still working on rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Zeb looked over at the door to see Monroe walking in the door. Since the boy's first few days at Hammel, Zeb's heart had went out to him. He remembered how hard it had been as a youngster trying to deal with his own adjustment issues, everyone else's dreams, and on top of it be sleep deprived most days.

"It is too early," Zeb said, smiling as he took in the young man's wrinkled clothes and sleepy eyes. He knew that Monroe likely shared his feelings about mornings. "How about a cup of coffee, Mr. Montgomery?" He stood to get himself a refill.

"Have a rough night?" he asked. It was obvious that he had, but Zeb had learned that most students liked to explain things themselves without him making his own conclusions. Of course there were a few students who worried he was making those conclusions based on dreams of theirs he had 'seen'. And sometimes they were right.

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

Monroe nodded in agreement. It was definitely too early. However, all the time was too early in his opinion since he rarely got sleep, but he knew that Zeb understood that, mostly because he offered Monroe coffee the minute he walked in the door. "You know me too well," he told him with a light smile. "Coffee is my vice." It helped keep him awake. He never used to like the taste, but since his power manifested--coffee tasted a whole lot better.

"You guessed it...I wanted to talk to you about it actually." That was the whole reason he came here. If anybody could understand it was Zeb. He wanted his opinion.

[Zebadiah Hayes]

For Zeb, anything before ten was too early. When he'd been a student at Hammel, he had considered anything too early before noon. He was trying his best to push that time back even further, but some mornings were harder than others. Like the nights when he just gave up and sat smoking his pipe until the sun came up.

"Likewise," Zeb said agreeing with Monroe. There had been a morning about a month ago when he'd forgotten to get coffee the day before. Worst. Morning. Ever.

As the coffee finished up, Zeb rose and filled two cups. "Sugar or cream?' he asked. Although Zeb drank his coffee black, he kept those around for students and coworkers who joined him.

Zeb let out a breath at Monroe's statement. Although he did his best to live with the side effects of his own powers, he had to admit that he wasn't exactly the best example of someone who did it well. Of course, he also did his very best to hid this from everyone, most importantly students. He only hoped he would have some advice that would help the young man.

"What about it?" Zeb asked, setting down with both of their coffee and hoping it helped to improve both of their mornings.

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

Monroe shook his head. "Nah, black please. He needed the full effect of the coffee and black was the only way to go when you wanted to achieve that.

He rubbed his eyes once more before speaking. "I figured you'd be a good person to go to about this. I uh, I fell into a nightmare last night. I usually don't stay in my dorm. I can't sleep there, you know with my roommates dreaming so I get away..." He knew that telling a dorm adviser that he was never really in his room wasn't the best of ideas, but he felt that Zeb would understand. He needed a single room if anything, but it just hadn't worked out. "Anyway, this girl was in the library and she fell asleep and her nightmare....I felt like I was intruding...like I know too much about her. It was so intense, Zeb."

[Zebadiah Hayes]

"A man after my own heart," Zeb said, giving Monroe a sleepy grin.

Zeb nodded along, sipping carefully at his hot coffee as Monroe explained. He was aware that the boy spend most nights out of his dorm room, mostly because Zeb had a habit of wandering around at night when he didn't feel like sleeping. Although he had mentioned it to the other staff members, he didn't really see it as a problem. It wasn't like Monroe was sneaking of the campus, or smoking pot in the stairwells.

Zeb leaned back in his chair when the boy finished, rubbing at the stubble on his chin. "First off, I've been meaning to offer this to you. If you feel comfortable with it, you're welcome to crash here from time to time." He gestured over his shoulder to the couch in his small living room. Not that it should be an every night kind of thing, but Zeb understood that sometimes a person just needed a decent night of sleep.

Of course there was also the option of Zeb "monitoring" the boy's sleep and dreams. But that felt a little too imposing. Still if he asked, Zeb wouldn't say no.

"Secondly, I'm sorry you had to experience that. Wanna talk about the nightmare? I know sometimes another's fears can seem even more disturbing than your own, partially because they feel so...out of place. If you know what I mean." He paused taking in more of his precious caffeine. "About the 'intrusion', as you put it, have you worked with your trainer about working on being able to 'exit' another's dream? "

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

One of the main reasons Monroe went to Zeb is because he understood--honestly, he wouldn't mind him being his trainer as he really didn't care for his much. He'd went back and forth between trainers as his original one left Hammel, but that wasn't Zeb's job. He was just a dorm monitor, although Monroe thought he'd be good at it.

He grabbed his cup of coffee, wrapping his hands around it and letting the warmth spread from his hands to the rest of his body. "That means a lot. Honestly." He was grateful for the suggestion. Of course, Monroe wouldn't take too much advantage of it. He didn't want to intrude. But he wouldn't mind doing it every once in a while just so he wasn't falling asleep in the middle of class.

"And I know all too well what you mean," he said with a sigh. "It's so....personal and I not only do I feel like I'm intruding, I feel like I'm living what they are because I experience it with them. It's so hard to explain to others." Especially since he wasn't the best at communicating his ideas aloud. "And I mean, I did work with my trainer in previous years with exiting dreams. I can do it. It just takes energy and willpower. Energy that I don't always have. Besides...with this nightmare...this girl, she was obviously struggling and I felt like I couldn't abandon her. I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders, lifting the cup to his lips and taking an eager sip of coffee.

[Zebadiah Hayes]

Zeb was glad that Monroe felt comfortable enough to come to him. The main reason he loved his job, in fact the reason he'd pursued it in the first place, was to help students in the way that he was. So it was reassuring. Even if he sometimes wondered if he did enough.

"Anytime," Zeb said. "My doors always open, although I don't promise to always been the most alert person." He gave the boy a grin, knowing he would understand. "How's the coffee?"

Zeb continued to nod along as Monroe explained. Even if the boy wasn't all that great at putting his feelings into words, Zeb had no problem understanding.

"I know it seems hard now, but with practice it takes less strength." Zeb said. "It still takes effort, but less." He wasn't going to lie to Monroe and say it would be easier than it would. Zeb had never been the type to lie and make things sound better than they were. He believed that led to more problems in the end.

"What was the nightmare about, if you don't mind me asking?" Zeb said. He was curious, but mostly for the girl's sake. If there was something he could do for her as well, he wanted to know. But if Monroe wasn't comfortable with it, he wouldn't push the issue. Students with recurring nightmares or other sleep problems usually showed up on his radar one way or the other.

"Do you know the girl?" Zeb asked. Sometime, Zeb had found he had a stronger connection so to speak if he was closer to a person. Although that wasn't always the case.

[Thomas "Monroe" Montgomery]

"Don't worry about that. I'm not alert either," Monroe told Zeb. It was a true statement. He nodded at the question about the coffee though. "Just what I needed." It was always a good pick me up.

"The thing is I have been practicing," Monroe said with a sigh. "And I feel like it's still sucking all of my energy from me. I can barely concentrate in class. Some kids think I'm stupid because of it." He wasn't sure if he could tell Zeb about Adaryn's nightmare. She'd be mad if she knew, but Monroe was struggling and he needed some sort of guidance. "It was...in this labrynth. This huge maze...and I couldn't get to her. Someone was terrorizing her and I don't know why, but she knew who the person was and she was scared. I felt helpless." Of course he'd finally gotten to her at the end, but it had been too late then.

He shook his head. "No, I don't know her."