10074/How To Enroll In One Easy Step

How To Enroll In One Easy Step
Date of Scene:	17 November 2019
Location:	Jean's Office - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Jean meets with the new kid on the block, Brad, and enrolls him as a student at Xavier's after learning about his difficulties and what he'll have to work on.
Cast of Characters:	Haunt, Phoenix

---

Haunt has posed:
In one of the chairs directly outside of Jean's office sits an introverted figure. He's dressed in a school-issue dark blue hoodie, zipped up, the hood also up, which completely masks any or all traits about him, due to his stance: he has both heels up on the edge of the chair in front of him, and has his arms curled around his shins, cheek presumably against one of his knees. His hands are curled into the long ends of the sweatshirt. Sweatpants are similarly Xavier-issue, baggy, and meet the tops of two new white sneakers. One set of laces is untied. Information known would suggest this has to be Brad.

What is known to the faculty about the boy? He's said that his name is Brad, but that's all that has been asked of him. He's a runaway of some kind, found by Jay and Andrea at a homeless meal charity. Known abilities include uncontrolled telekinetics and invisibility: he's been invisible since he's arrived, but has not offered a threat to anyone other than himself. The boy is also blind. So far he has seemed to do well, making friends quickly, and engaging with resources such as the Wellness office: there's paperwork of him going there to get help. But now, he's sitting there on the chair.

There's a weird telekinetic presence throughout the hallway: a feeling of tension, as if telekinetic hands were groping slowly across objects, the doors, the wall: it's an extremely subtle thing, most people don't notice it: why would they? Nothing is flying around, but there is the very real presence of it, like a quiet, low breathing.

Phoenix has posed:
"You must be Brad," comes Jean's rather cheerful voice as she steps towards her office and finds the prospective student already waiting for her, "I love how punctual you are. That's a very good signs, I trust you've been treated well...?" She asks the trivialities ahead of anything else. She can definitely sense the telekinetic touches in the vicinity but makes no comment of it at this point.

For a blind boy, telekinesis sure could come in handy, just have to be sure he has full control over the force applied and keeping subtle with it.

"Let's go in my office, do you need any help? I was told you're blind," she offers for the sake of offering, she's no doubt by how peaceful he seems that he's had practice by now and can get around relatively well given his disability.

Haunt has posed:
Everything gets more intense as soon as Brad is engaged. Doors start to drift shut (or open), the edges of the carpet on the wood floor lift, loose objects start to move. Brad's immediate tension and stress levels rise quickly with it, though it's not some kind of psychokinetic storm. It's just not subtle anymore.

"I'm Brad, yes. Hi," Brad says, starting to unfold from his leg-squeezing posture. "Are you Ms. Grey, the uh, Headmistress of the school?" Brad asks, sort of in her general direction. The posture and behavior is somewhat shy: common to mutants used to masking what they look like, and the raised hoodie checks that box quite clearly. If Jean makes a point to bend and look, though, he's invisible under the hood: no head is present to the eye visually.

"I can come in by myself," Brad answers, when his blindness is brought up. His voice sets him clearly as teenage boy, likely fifteen or sixteen at the most. He uncurls fully and gets up, clearly making a point of being able to navigate through into the door. It does mean that everything in her office will start to rattle, and there may be some floating things. He's getting more nervous, but it's being pushed down under his bravery. And (worried) hope.

Phoenix has posed:
Just as soon as Brad's response to Jean's voice draws some telekinetic based disquiet, it settles, as Jean counteracts enough to keep a 'normal' semblance, trying to keep doors from moving and edges of carpets from being pulled.

"Brad, calm down," Jean says in a soft, almost whispered tone of voice. "You could really give people a scare if you're this jumpy." Jean offers a generaly observation, yet her voice isn't chastising. If anything, she just shows Brad she's not afraid, and that she knows he is the source. Even if he doesn't quite know as much. "That I am," she answers, not going into the details of Xavier's potential resuming of his duties soon enough. It's of no concern to a new student who barely knows anything at all of the school.

Eager to make Brad feel comfortable, Jean doesn't go out of her way to peek under his hoodie. Instead, she reaches to tap him on the shoulder supportingly, "let's go," she opens the door, and eases her hand from his shoulder, so as not to appear to be guiding him.

Immediately spotting what is happening in her office as they step inside, Jean remarks, "I understand feeling your surrounding in a new place, but you could do it in a more subtle fashion. If you become a student here, at Xavier's, I can help you work on that."

Haunt has posed:
"Jumpy? I'm just..." Brad fidgets, but then pauses, distracted by Jean's counteracting. He's picking up on it, and seems to deliberately be adjusting his own telekinesis in response. "You're doing something?" Brad interrupts himself. It isn't aggressive, it has more of a curious tone to it.

Brad doesn't jump at the hand: he expected it, possibly, or his nerves are from something more elusive than being touched by a person he knew was present.

"Sorry. That felt different. Yeah--- sure," Brad's scattered, but heads through the door when tapped, without any insult or seeming to be aware of guiding. The mood has moved from stress to a sort of curiosity in addition to the stress. He's worried, but the new experience is /interesting/. "I'm trying, sorry," Brad says finally, entering the office.

Phoenix has posed:
"Just enough to make what you're doing less noticeable," Jean informs Brad when he picks on her counter-active force, "it's good that you picked up on that, it means you're not oblivious to other telekinetics in your vicinity."

"So I understand you are a telekinetic, and possibly new to this," Jean follows on a different course of conversation, sensing Brad's curoisty, "let's try a hand shake," Jean offers and soon enough Brad will feel a hand touching him telekinetically, "this is not my hand," Jean helps seeing as Brad is blind. "I am using telekinesis, same as you do...that's what your ability is called, in case you weren't aware of it. Try and shake my telekinetic hand with one of your own..." Jean then pauses, "can you make shapes yet?"

Haunt has posed:
Brad automatically pulls away from the telekinesis of the hand, disoriented, and briefly alarmed. "That... is really strange," Brad admits. "Yeah. I've been told it's telekinesis. Moving things with my mind somehow," he says. He's forgotten to hide in the sweatshirt, so his head is up, and hands are out of the sleeves. Meaning, he appears to have no hands, and no head inside the hood.

"I'm not sure how to do what you're asking," Brad says softly. "I just find things, and move them." Brad attempts to grab at the telekinetic hand she's made, but it feel similar to a giant closing pulse, not a telekinetic shape. His attempt is entirely shapeless: more like putting pressure around the 'hand', trying to lift it as if it were a literal object. "Or I can poke things. Like, to nudge them."

Phoenix has posed:
"Precisely, telekinesis, it's a very special gift," Jean remarks, "it's like shaping something out of nothing. It can be creative, it can be helpful, but it can also be destructive...we must be very careful with our gift," Jean makes sure to create the association of them sharing an ability. If only to make it clear that Brad can approach her with questions about it.

While his distraction has made him lapse on his hiding, Jean is quick to remark, "so I see you can also command invisibility, many mutants have more than just the one ability. Can you control it and make yourself visible for me?" Jean wonders aloud.

Jean shifts the telekinetic hand she formed into a square two dimensional surface, letting Brad press against it from both sides. "I see, we'll have to work on shapes, but that's good...you can direct intent. This will help with gaining control."

Haunt has posed:
Brad doesn't shake his head: there's a disconnect from common body language, probably due to the blindness. Or that he knows it doesn't read, because he's invisible. The stress level spikes, and he shifts his weight in place a little bit. He doesn't want to tell her no. But: "No. I'm stick invisible," Brad says, sullenly. It's caused him to emotionally shut down a little, to withdraw: there's humiliation there. He puts his hands away into the pockets of the hoodie.

"I can fly though." The intent to impress her is probably very clear. He can't do that thing, but this other cool thing, he can do!

Phoenix has posed:
"Brad," Jean starts softly, her tone of voice already suggesting she's about to ask something that may be uncomfortable, and awkward, as she follows up with, "were you ever abused or bullied by anyone...?" It could seem like jumping to conclusions, but Jean finds too much in his jumpy reactions and quiet demeanor and seeking to please, to suggest he's encountered a difficult past, which has shaped his mounting anxieties. "I'd like to let you know that you are not being judged, and you're not expected to master any ability to be allowed to stay."

She gives it a moment to let it sink in, "you are welcome, as a student at Xavier's, if you'll decide to become one, to stay as long as you like. We just want you to practice and learn with us, and one day, before you even know it, you will get better. I promise you that much."

Jean smiles, even though the gesture is lost on the blind, when Brad jumps to impressing with other feats. "Brad, do you know how I test skill level in telekinesis? If not, do you want to know how I test it?"

Haunt has posed:
Brad lifts his shoulders, finally some body language coming in, when Jean asks if he was bullied or abused. "I'm blind because I'm invisible. I'd really fix it if I could. I /hate/ it," Brad vents, more firmly. "Destroyed my life, dreams, everything down the toilet." And he ran away. It's all connected in a festering heap surrounding invisibility and blindness.

"I'd like to stay. I was hoping to impress you. So that I could stay. To pass the test? Is this a test for staying? How do you test it?" Brad wonders.

Phoenix has posed:
"Are you saying you were born invisible? It's not something you can 'turn off'?" Jean wonders what's behind the comment, not sure if it's meant to be literal or not. If anything, she's at least pleased that she managed to touch something real. For the first time since he set foot in her office, Brad isn't giving her a practiced response.

"There is no test other than your willingness to better yourself," Jean says pleasantly, "you are welcome here, and we'd like for you to stay."

She then answers the question that was left hanging, "what I was trying to tell you is that I don't measure skill by forceful demonstration. Flying takes force with telekinesis, opening a door takes force...what impresses me is control. A test I might give you to prove progress, would be to try and fold a piece of paper in half, without tearing it apart."

Haunt has posed:
"No. I've moved objects with my mind for a while. Then, um. A few years ago I went blind," Brad answers, heavily. He's speaking less from the heart: this is now more a rehersed thing he gives when people ask him about his blindness. "And it turns out whenever I couldn't see, I was invisible too. So. Connected somehow. And now it's just my life." Brad clears his throat a little, but listens to Jean's explanation. He's still wary: there's uncertainty about what she's said; that if he messes up, he might not get to stay. The boy consistently has lost things, to where there isn't a lot of trust left.

"I can fold paper. Yes." He's pleased, eager, and the confidence shows in his voice right away.

Phoenix has posed:
Luckily, Jean's telepathy helps her a great deal when handling new students, faced with ambiguities, and she quickly assures Brad, "listen to me, Brad. You are now an official student of Xavier's, I'm inputting you into the student records, and nobody can take it away. The only way it can be changed is if you hurt another student intentionally, and because I'm talking to you right now, I know you'll never do it. Because you're a good young man."

Jean chuckles quietly as Brad is quick to assure her he would be able to complete her test, "that's good, now is not the time to check, but if you can indeed fold paper, we will move to the next step...creating a paper plane." The idea is to suggests one could always improve.

Haunt has posed:
The idea of harming another student is immediately repellant. It also comes with a little guilt. He was a little harsh with Andrea. But they fixed it. He pushes the thoughts aside quickly, though, able to focus.

Incidentally, the room has been quiet of Brad's poltergeist effects. Everything has been very tame, even when excited. The trembling seems more connected to his initial arrival in a room, as well as his fear or anxiety. He's chilled out, and there's just a very soft ambiance of him keeping track of his surroundings in a light way. But he'd pick it up quickly if something moved.

"Okay. I mean. I need to tell my parents, probably. They'll like it, though. Out of their hair, but. I mean." Brad struggles with it. His emotions of it are tangled: a lot of guilt, some emotional abuse buried, maybe.

"I'm not sure if I can make a plane," Brad answers. "I have trouble with tying shoelaces."

Phoenix has posed:
"Is that so...? Then tying shoelaces would be something we'll work over," Jean promises, in a show of displaying the work isn't done alone, and others are eager to support him.

"Of course, we would not keep you here without your parents' permission. We can bring them over for a tour of the school, if they like. I'm sure they'll have no qualms about you studying in one of the top private schools in the country."

"Would you like for me to arrange their visit?"

Haunt has posed:
"Yeah. I can't use a phone very well. I mean, I can use the rotary kind, I can figure out the button locations; or I can just give the number. I know it," Brad says, rambling a little bit, because his hope is starting to rise. He's becoming more outgoing and chatty as his comfort increases. It may be just now that Jean's seeing more of the boy's actual personality, and not the anxiety, worry, and mixed depression.

"Could they bring Holly? She is my seeing-eye dog. It's okay if not. I don't /need/ her," Brad says, asserting his self-reliance in the same way he did when he said he could go into the room by himself. Lots to prove, this boy. Blindness isn't stopping him.

Phoenix has posed:
"I'm sure that in time, you will overcome this obstacle as well, but of course...I'll make the call," Jean promises, before grinning at how much Rogue is about to enjoy having Brad around. "Of course Holly can come, she is well behaved, right? I'm sure she'll be no problem." Seeing-eye dogs are generally far better trained than your average dog, Jean doesn't expect any issues at all. Other than perhaps students distracting the dog by trying to play with her, but she'll make an effort to make it clear to them.

"Do you want me to talk you to your room?"

Haunt has posed:
"Yes, Holly is perfectly behaved," Brad agrees. "I just don't always bring her, because people treat me weird. I mean. Like I'm blind." He is blind, but there's an emotional stumble there. He doesn't like being different in a way that causes people to treat him like he's broken.

"I've paced the foyer AND the upper stairs," Brad says, proud of himself. He means that he's counted the steps, distances: a way to navigate without telekinesis constantly on. He knows he causes poltergeist effects. There's self awareness, for sure.

"But if you have time, sure," Brad says, changing his tone. It's better to make a friend here than to sink his heels in about his competency. He's curious to ask her more, anyway!