Down Time [Sean]

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Giving the students the opportunity to play outside for a while had several benefits, so long as one wasn’t caught in the line of fire. In some ways, Sean admired the more Scandinavian education system, which allowed the children more freedom to discover what they learned and incorporated a healthy respect for mind/body alignment, and which had far better results than the rigidity of American schools. He took issue with other aspects, however, which was why he wouldn’t petition for a change of structure or curriculum; primarily because the Scandinavian wasn’t designed with American teenagers in mind. “Which is something all of us can look forward to: napping at their desks and gloating quietly over who beat who at kickball.”

Sean wasn’t astounded by any of the recruitment stories that came up at staff meetings or bull sessions in the faculty lounge. He considered himself desensitized when he wanted to be clinical, and jaded when he wanted to be cynical, to the irrational reactions of parents. His own parents had been, he supposed, on the more rational/relieved end of the spectrum, to learn that their first-born child wasn’t suffering a nervous breakdown. That relief had then been replaced with the suspicion and concern that usually afflicted parents of children with psychic abilities; Sean had forgiven them and had stopped taking offense to it long ago. He’d also learned how to categorize parental reactions, and he’d also noticed the trend of parents of those with gentler powers taking it worse than those with more dangerous powers. There were notable exceptions, of course, often in the case of pyrokinetics, or the other way, those with physical powers, most often wings. And Chase made an excellent point about the role of the media in these perceptions. “It’s the problem with being a minority group or an underclass; the media reinforces negative images without thinking twice about it.” Sean’s thoughts drifted back to that terrible afternoon when he had gone with Kathleen, Ryan, and Colin to see X-2, and then the aftermath two months later. It was amazing how a movie that had mutants – for some reason the fictionally preferred name for metas - could bolster the anti-meta sentiment.

Sean also didn’t like horror movies, but that was unrelated to the portrayal of meta-human, instead focused on the tendency of horror movies to serve as violent pornography.

Sean suspected those reasons, and he counted all of them as valid. He smiled all the same and nodded, “He certainly deserves it. What that man had to put up with back in my day...” Sean still remembered clearly, and then Claude had managed to put up with that and more for another four decades.

Sean nodded sagely as Chase explained what he had seen in the minds of others and had occasionally felt for himself. “That’s what love does, but it’s always worth it.” He then smiled and winked conspiratorially. “Oh, you don’t stand a chance at all, my friend. You might as well give in now.”

[Chase Campbell]

During a normal class, if Chase actually liked the kids, and they were making good progress with training, often let them play outside for a while at the end of class. He kept a beat up football in his classroom for just that reason. It was a good way to blow off steam, for both teacher and student. So far, he’d had good luck. No fistfights, no all out brawls. Just fun, and a few bruises from flying tackles from energetic teenagers. Nothing he couldn’t handle. “Not that they don’t sleep through their classes as is.” Training was probably the one class they couldn’t get away with it easily. ... Unless you were in class with that Richmond kid. Tactile anaesthesia. Fun.

Chase got to hear a lot of recruitment stories from James, both his firsthand accounts, and then the stories he heard from those under his command. Things hadn’t changed much from the time he’d been recruited. It was always a topic of discussion among students, what their parents thought of their powers. Some, like him, had had fun stories of the mischief they’d gotten up to before Hammel had taken them in. Some were quiet about it, because their parents didn’t give into the whole meta idea. Like it or not, they were a part of society. “Doesn’t really help. I mean, the media thinks some of these teenage girls are bad off with the ‘ideal’ images being tossed at them, but I see some of the kids here really struggle with the whole meta thing.” Of course, those were often the ones that got “mutant” and “freak” tossed at them by humans back home. Kids really could be cruel. And the worst part was, adults were no better.

The trainer could remember Claude in his student days. He wasn’t a person you wanted to get on the wrong side of. Apart from skipping a few classes here and there, Chase had behaved himself during his Hammel days. He’d never had a reason to get on the headmaster’s bad side until he was well into his adult years. “Yeah... I don’t know how he’s still sane. The kids were bad enough when I was a student. They’re even worse now.” ... A lot worse.

The funniest thing about this parenting deal was that... well... Chase wasn’t so scared anymore. He sure as hell had enough exposure to kids with James’ nieces and nephews. He grinned and flopped back a little on the couch. “Yeah. I give up. But if I suck, I’m blaming the two of you for making me think I can do this.” His gaze wandered to the clock. Sigh. Almost time to head back to class.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had better luck with the students, insofar as none of them had ever slept through a session with him. They were either too emotionally invested to do so, or they were trying to be on their best behavior to wiggle their way out of a disciplinary session. Although he liked to think that he was interesting enough that the students wouldn’t sleep through regular classes if they taught them, he hew to admit it was material and composition more than his personality. His psychology seminar was exclusive to a handful of motivated students, often seniors. And the sexual education seminar...of all the problems that might occur, or had occurred, in that lecture, boredom was never among them. Teenagers were never bored with sex, even when Sean was explaining yet again why he wanted them to take condoms from the bowl in his office, or from the one in health services, or from the ones he had advocated to have in the dormitory bathrooms. “Teenagers will be teenagers.” That was hardly an excuse, but there were certain concessions to adolescent brains that adults had to make.

But then there was Horus. There were many powers in which Sean had no interest in trying, not even for a day if it were possible, and tactile anesthesia was near the top of that list. The poor young man would doubtlessly be another impromptu topic at this year’s lecture. “Horus is a special case. But I’m advocating that all teachers who have him in their classes be granted an air horn, should they need it.” It would, hopefully, do the trick, since shaking him awake wasn’t an option.

Humanity in general left much to be desired when it came to accepting those who were different, and particularly those who were in unprotected classes, or were in legally-protected classes but with resentment for those protections. Sean had spoken with Josh at great length about possible lobbying efforts; despite having existed with documented cases for well over a century, the prejudices were numerous. “It isn’t easy. You’re uprooted, not allowed to return home until your powers are under control. You don’t know anyone else here, your powers aren’t under control and depending on the nature of those powers, you might be a danger to those around you, you might be a nuisance, or you might be on the verge of nervous breakdown.” That hit closer to home, both personally and for his recent session with Ann Hudgins. “And you’ve still absorbed the same prejudicial messages as the rest of society. I had a student worried about shapeshifters recently. Perhaps the most common of benign, individual powers, and they were worried about them, because there’s that fear of physical mutations and that mistrust of other meta-humans. It’s downright distressing.”

True, the students were far worse in terms of behavior or motivation than they had been when Chase had been a student, certain when Sean had been a student. Then again, as he’d told others, this was a trend of society as a whole, because teenagers overall were less motivated, and it wasn’t restricted to Hammel. Claude had adapted well over fifty-five years at Hammel wearing every hat he had in that time. “It’s not as though they would be any better at another school; they simply wouldn’t have powers. And likewise, Claude couldn’t get away with tipping the scales in his favor like he usually does.” That was one reason that Sean had never considered working at a “normal” school; his job would only be that much harder.

Sean returned the other man’s grin, hearing the shift in Chase’s thoughts and his confidence. The younger man had come around to it, and although Sean wasn’t in the business of making people undergo serious life changes, he’d come late to this party. James and Chase had already made the decision, and so as far as he was concerned, he was merely playing confidence booster. “You don’t have the option of messing up. You just have to learn on the job and get good at it, and I’m sure you will.”

[Chase Campbell]

If they thought they could get away with it, Chase knew the kids would try to sleep, especially during larger group sessions. Though Chase tried to keep the classes interesting, there was only so much a sleep deprived teenager could take. He’d been no better. He could admit to sleeping through a few classes in his student days. But never training. He’d thrown himself into those lessons. Anything to nullify the migraines that came with mind control. Some of the kids didn’t seem bothered by the side effects. For others, it was their drive to gain better control. Chase had seen the long lasting effects that could stem from not receiving training in James, and had tried to give him help and advice. “That’s true. But the more work they put into this, the faster they’ll graduate.” Not that that had helped his own teenage mind. He’d still slept through academic classes.

Horus. Chase sighed as Sean brought up the name. “I think I’d like an air horn in general, just to keep them awake.” He’d seen what Horus could do to his fellow students, if he wasn’t careful. More often than not, it was just Horus affected, more by narcolepsy than his power. He was an interesting student, there was no question about that.

Chase had grown up among prejudice. It had been one of the reasons he’d been so guarded for the first few months he’d been with James. Back home, the few times he’d slept with other guys had been carefully covered up and hidden. But when he’d begun to date James, there had been no hiding it. He saw the same thing in the kids. The ones that had been called freaks by insensitive people at home were more likely to come to Hammel with a tough shell to hide beneath. “I remember that feeling well enough. But I made friends here. It was harder to go back, honestly. Not all my friends were cool with what I could do.” Granted, he’d accidently used it on them a few times. That would be enough to make anyone uncomfortable. But he did arch an eyebrow at the idea of being afraid of shape shifters. The few he knew were pretty gentle people. “Poor kid. I guess that’s what we’re for. Show them all they’re still all just kids. They shouldn’t be scared of each other.” That was wishful thinking.

The talk about parenting was slowly easing Chase’s anxieties over the whole thing. He did manage a little smirk when the older man told him he wasn’t allowed to mess things up. “Yeah. I know. If I really mess things up bad, well, at least James knows what he’s doing.” If all else failed, he knew he could at least rely on his husband to help pick up the pieces.

He would have gone on, but something caught the blond’s attention just then. A yell, but not a pained yell, or even an angry one. It sounded more exhilarated, excited, and like it was coming from outside. He glanced at the window, just in time to catch a glimpse of a blur of black. … Not again. Chase shook his head and turned back to Sean. “Was that Verax?” Stupid question. Who else was dumb enough to jump off the roof?

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had worked as hard as he could in all of his studies. The regular academic classes were a matter of his future, and he’d been taught early in life that he always had to apply himself. The power training was for his own sanity and to make Robert proud, and he’d been doubly motivated there. The dedication in both areas had paid off. He chuckled lightly at Chase’s attempt to apply adult logic to the teenage mindset. “I know that and you know that; I’m sure the students realize that on a level, but their hormones get the best of them. They’re teenagers, and so they lose focus.”

Horus was a special case, but Sean certainly understood why his teachers would be frustrated. More serious than not, he said, “Requisition the air horn. I’ll make a pitch for you at the next budget meeting.” Not that Sean was technically part of the budget committee, but he found his way into more parts of Hammel bureaucracy with every year he spent here. Sometimes he suspected that he would quietly run the place by the time of his retirement.

The telepath empathized with that statement; it had been difficult for him, too, to leave Hammel once he had graduated. He’d come to rely on the close community on the school and the thought of making connections outside of it had been daunting. Yet he’d survived, had made friends, had struck it out in the “real world” and had still returned. All roads led to Hammel, it seemed. Sean then nodded in agreement with Chase’s assessment; they were here to try to make transition easier for the students. Both in accepting themselves as meta-human and then being able to reintegrate back into the world at large. “They shouldn’t be, and I’ll keep working on her. It just takes time.” Time Sean had in abundance, as did the students, as they were here for as long as it took them to pass and to gain control of themselves.

“You’ll be fine, both of you.” Sean had full confidence in Chase’s abilities, as he’d been a teacher for the past four years and was well-liked. And James was a veteran father, so there would be no trouble on that front. However, the rest of his pep talk was interrupted.

Sean had lifted his head as well at the sound of a shout, and he turned his head toward the window, just in time to catch the black blur fall past them and land, hopefully, in the bushes. Of course it was Vincent, which also meant that there was at least one other student involved, who had bet him that he couldn’t do the jump. With a sigh, Sean pushed himself to his feet and set down his coffee mug. “I’ll go check on him; he’ll only end up in my office as it is.” Perhaps if he moved quickly, he could catch the other student without having to read Vincent’s mind. Well, this job was never boring, even when it was exasperating.

As he turned to leave, he gave Chase one last smile of encouragement. “Don’t worry about fatherhood. Although I don’t have any practical experience, I’m told it comes naturally.”