Thou shall do thy paperwork, eventually (sean)

[Yulia Sokolov]

Click. Click. Click. Click. Lia’s thumb pressed down with a steady rhythm, causing the retractable ball point of the pen to appear and disappear roughly fifteen times per minute as she stared down at the forms in front of her. It had taken a good amount of time to finish up all of the reports. Progress reports, feedback, behavioral plans, all the data had needed to be entered and organized. Goodness knew that it couldn’t be broken down, at least not for her. When it came time to do work like this she sat down with the stack and powered through it. On the bright side the last few hours had also served as good time for quiet reflection. She mulled over what she had been doing and what she had been working on, in large part to make what she was working on at that very moment slightly less dreary. What she surmised from this time was that the strict discipline drilled into her by years of military training was most useful when it came to paperwork.

She clicked a pen a few more times before putting it away and getting up from behind the desk. She pulled out files from a drawer and quickly separated the sections of the pile. Then Lia re-stacked the lot and picked it up off the desk. Now that it was done she really did want to be finished with it entirely. Lia set out with a stride that was perhaps a bit quicker than necessary, aimed towards the office with her armful of sheets wrapped up in manila. She dropped two off in the main office, one by recruiting, another by power side effects, one more at the nurse, and that left her with the last folder in her stack.

Lia went to Sean Neville’s office door and knocked, hoping that she was not interrupting anyone or anything. “Sean, I have something for you,” she called through, weighing the folder of behavioral plans in her hand. She spoke again a moment after that, for the sake of not being deceptive. “It’s nothing really exciting, but still.”

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Whenever Sean described his job to other people, invariably he received a comment – similar in spirit if not precisely phrased – of “It must be great to just talk to people all day.” While he did enjoy direct person-to-person interaction, it was a gross misunderstanding of his profession to think that all he did was talk to people. As though patient records updated themselves through good feelings.

Without a doubt, the aspect of his job that he most enjoyed was talking to the students. Through talk therapy, or through other forms of therapy that he employed, they were able to make life improvements for their futures. The psychiatrist enjoyed imparting advice and helping others work through problems.

Yet, even with some of his less orthodox methods, there were records to maintain. Confidential records that would be shared with nobody else still had to be written down for the dual purposes of accountability and further progress. While Sean had a strong memory, it wasn’t infallible, and he kept detailed notes.

Making those notes was often difficult, if not impossible, to do during individual sessions, as he had to give the students his undivided attention.

As such, when he wasn’t engaged in a session, there was often paperwork to be done. Paperwork that he could set aside for visitors, but which occupied his time nonetheless. The stack of files on his desk was a testament to that.

Upon hearing the knock and the familiar voice, the telepath glanced down at Sam Rixon’s file, making a final note. “Come in, Yulia.”

Exciting wasn’t synonymous with pleasant. Spending half his life at Hammel made that abundantly obvious. He would prefer pleasant and low-key to exciting any day of the week.

[Yulia Sokolov]

It did occur to her that if he was in the middle of something she had already served to be a distraction by calling through the door. It was something that crept up in her mind, since the service that he provided to the students could be broken down by interruption, or so she assumed. It was something that she really knew precious little about and so she tried to be as mindful of it as possible. Then again, it didn’t seem to come up much in conversation and it was a quality of teenagers to be almost illogically resilient. That being said she leaned down to slip the folder under the door.

Then she stopped and straightened up. She tapped the papers back into the center of the folder and took the invitation to her offered through the closed door. She opened the door and went into the office that she hadn’t often been through. Most of her interaction with coworkers like Sean happened outside of the work environment. They had mutual friends. In addition she was far too busy during the day to pay visits, all of her attention was put towards making sure that instances of flying objects and spontaneous combustion lessened at least a little bit. She was also certain that he was likewise as engaged, if not more so.

“Hello Sea, looks like we’ve been doing the same thing.” She nodded towards the file on his desk before holding the one that she had brought with her out to him. “Observation notes, progress reports, et cetera. They’re all in order. There’s been nothing... unusual on our scale.” Lia knew she could have just said that things seemed normal, but she was married to the idea of normal as a place on a scale that none of them could ever reach. It was habit if nothing else.

“So, how are you?”

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean followed the motions of her hand, gaze falling on the folder she held. He then nodded a single time in acknowledgement; it was, apparently one of those days for filling out paperwork. It had to be done. “So it does.”

When she offered the folder to him, the telepath reached out with one large hand to grasp it. As she described its contents, he thumbed through the papers, confirming what they were – not because he didn’t trust her assessment, but because the visual confirmation would help him to sort through later.

“Nothing unusual is an accomplishment for the week,” Sean remarked, offering her a smile. This was Hammel, after all. Considering that they often had to cope with wayward powers, adolescent emotions and relationship drama, in addition to the typical stresses of operating a school, the lack of anything unusual was remarkable indeed. Or it simply spoke volumes about what the baseline at Hammel was, and so Yulia had been subject to antics on the scale of Vincent Verax.

“I’m fine,” he replied, as he finished his brief mental inventory of the papers. Setting the folder down in his “to do” pile, he then gestured at the chairs in front of his desk, indicating that she should sit if she had a minute or two to spare. “With the weather turning nicer, I hope to actually get out to the lake this weekend.” He and Josh would enjoy spending some time on the water.

“And how are you?”

[Yulia Sokolov]

Yulia smiled and nearly laughed. “Oh Sean, I can’t decide if I like it better when these kids are quiet or causing chaos nowadays. The quiet always feels too much like the quiet before the storm. You never know what’s going to happen or when. At least when you’re in the storm itself you have some perspective. That’s teenagers though I guess. Something is always brewing.” She honestly did believe that. This entire place was a bomb of hormones and none of them were going to get out in time to escape it, and it just kept going off week after week. Yulia loved it, she liked a challenge.

Yulia took a seat in the offered chair and let her eyes wander for a moment. “I bet the lake is going to be really nice this weekend. I checked the ten day forecast before I came in and it looked like the week was going to be clear. I don’t know how reliable that is, but it seems like a good sign.” She liked the lake, and she decided it would be good to try to get out there more often in the summer. Goodness knew she could use some more vitamin D.

“I’m doing well. I’m probably going to be moving into another apartment soon. The one I’m in now, that two family house, that isn’t working out. I have lots of space, but space doesn’t stop the noise. Plus my landlord won’t fix a thing. I’m just going to find something new.” She shrugged and rested her hands on her knees. She looked at the pile that the folder rested on top of and thought for a moment.

“Honestly Sean I have no idea of how it is that you do what you do,” she told him, eyes still on the file for a moment. Then she looked back to him. “I listen and I am as supportive as I can be but… I worry. I worry the most about all of those psychological things, because sometimes I am not sure what is important and what isn’t. They feel everything so strongly from what they say. I have no idea of how to relate to them sometimes. I did not grow up like this, and I cannot remember what it felt like to be a teenager, as people say.” She shrugged again and let out a small chuckle.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean nodded his understanding. While he didn’t feel that way about all of the students, there were some who, when quiet, were only so because they were plotting something terrible. Vincent came immediately to mind, followed by Harmony, who had yet to fully come to terms with her status as a student. To think that there were at least another four or five years with her boded poorly, given her powers. “At least it’s only another month and a half until summer break. If everyone can focus on the end goal, we can plow through the last of the term without a major disaster.”

Then they would return for the new term, beginning with his sexual education lecture. He hadn’t begun to prepare for it yet.

He smiled at the thought of the lake. “I think so too.” That was his hope. He wanted to spend a few carefree hours there with his family, simply enjoying the act of sailing and the stillness of the water.

“Have you found an apartment?” The telepath asked, giving her his full attention. There was a fair amount of turnover with housing in Pilot Ridge, due to the transitory nature of some of the residents. He was sure that there were plenty of available apartments. “And when are you moving? I can try to lend a hand.” Granted, at his age, he wasn’t that useful for moving boxes, but he had been able to do have the job with Josh two years ago. He could move books and clothing if nothing else, should she want the help.

Sean spread his hands in front of him. “Honestly, I don’t know how you and the other trainers can do what you do.” He had never considered, even for a moment, becoming a trainer. Not merely because it had been expected that he would go to medical school, but because he couldn’t fathom, on a personal level, engaging in power training day in and day out. As much as he admired his mentor, the telepath could admit to himself that he wasn’t Robert Hopkins.

As for his work, Sean said, “Teenagers always feel everything so keenly; it’s the curse of adolescence. All we can do is try to give them a healthy, positive environment in which to grow.” After two decades at Hammel, the telepath was certain that, for the most part, they provided the students with that environment.

[Yulia Sokolov]

“Summer break is something I have learned to enjoy out here. We used to have a break in our schooling back in Russia as well, but up in Norilsk I could not really call it summer.” It felt like centuries ago, though it had only been a decade and a half. But, given that she was twenty seven, that was a large chunk of her life. “I guess though, in terms of disasters, we should be fine. Nothing feels like it could really be a disaster anymore, just a hassle.” Her mind had drifted to that last time she had snuffed out a life like pinching a candle flame. It was the fight they never spoke about now, not in plain words. Everything that had needed to be said about it had been said already so far as she knew.

“I was thinking that this year I might take a trip somewhere, but I don’t know. Trips are more fun in groups, and there’s nowhere out there that I have a desire to wander around for a week on my own. I went all over back when I was in the military. We didn’t get to do much sightseeing but all of that does tend to stick with you.” She shrugged after she said it, in part to show how she wasn’t sure how to explain that feeling. What did it really mean to travel anyways? There was always plenty enough to discover in Burlington if she took the time to catch the bus down there. That might be time better spent.

“I will be moving soon I hope. I am going to take a look at an apartment that did sound very promising. I met the man who lives there before at the diner. He went to Hammel, maybe you knew him. His name was Feivel, he was pretty tall, had great big blue wings.” The last two descriptive points were followed by gestures to help further illustrate what she was saying. “But I will take you up on that offer of help. I don’t have much to bring over, but having a car and someone who could drive would make things very quick. Perhaps, you could help me with that? Technically, I could haul most of it, but that might look a little strange.”

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I can imagine,” Sean remarked. His experience with Russia was largely through reading and through anecdotes from Russian friends, although Anya had always wanted him to visit her family. Perhaps he still had time to do that, in his golden years, and then, only during the summer months. The climate of Russia made Vermont winters seem like Hawaii by comparison.

Yulia was one of the few adults who had been with Sean during the battle with M.S.A.D. and who had remained at Hammel in the aftermath. Together, they had experienced the worst (of Sean’s life – having never been forced into the military, he had lived an easier life than Yulia had). “You’re right. I’d take a dozen Sam Rixons over anything that might be considered truly dangerous.” He hoped that those days were behind them. It had been a couple of years, and with the exception of Jesse’s reemergence, they seemed clear.

He perked up a bit at the mention of travel. “Josh and I, and a dear friend from college, went to Western Europe last summer. It was the first time Josh had gone.” They had enjoyed themselves, and Sean thought that his partner had benefitted from communing with the city of his father’s birth. “But you’re right: traveling is better when you aren’t alone. Have you thought about going to New York? It’s a short trip, but there’s so much to do.”

Sean nodded along with the description, the memories readily available to him. He remembered Feivel; he also remembered Feivel’s twin brother, and he hoped for the younger man that there existed a great deal of physical distance between Gideon and Feivel. However, the winged man’s easygoing nature would make him an ideal roommate for Yulia. “I remember Feivel, and I hope that living with him works out for both of you.” He nodded again, this time in agreement. “Just give me a call when you’re ready to move and give me a little lead time. I’ll bring the car with me,” he promised.