Holding on too tight

[Salem Hirch]

Salem rarely felt nervous around adults, it was usually only around people his age, or sometimes a bit older. Never adults. So why did his stomach feel like it was being beaten to death by a million angry butterflies? Talking to a consular wasn't a bad thing, he knew that and yet he still couldn't seem to sit still. It was probably because he thought he knew why he was there. Occasionally, if he was thinking about his brother when his power decided to kick in, the image of the accident would flash before his eyes. 

Normally this wasn't an issue, normally he kept that memory and that image under control. Even his roommates didn't know what happened to his brother, all he would say was that Aiden wasn't around anymore. Of course he knew that the staff would know, any school would want to know something like that. Knowing about it, and seeing it were two different things however. Salem was sitting in an empty classroom studying a bit, when something hit the window near him and startled him.

Naturally (for him anyway) his power decided it would kick in. Salem just figured this was for protection when it went off when he was scared. The problem was, it was the image of his brother...and the tractor. It didn't last long, it never did, but he was sure someone had seen it because he heard the door to the room close. 

That was why he thought he was sitting awkwardly in a chair in the office of Beth Young. His eyes focused on the floor as he played with his fingernails and set quietly until he was spoken to. 

[Beth Young]

Studying the boy in front of her, Beth sighed softly. From what she'd read from his file, he'd had a rough time, what with the loss of his brother and the way his ability kept replaying the incident. That surely couldn't be an easy thing for someone so young to carry around. Beth knew a thing or two about losing someone you cared about, and it was never easy. It wasn't easy to carry around with you. Seeing their face in other people, wondering what they would have been doing right now... Wondering if you could have done anything differently. Wondering if maybe, just maybe, if you hadn't spent so much time packing their lunch... Maybe if you'd gotten out of bed five minutes earlier.

It was no use.

"Do you want a cookie?" Beth asked as she pushed the plate with freshly baked cookies across her desk towards the boy. Cookies were always a great ice breaker. It brought a sense of security - at least, in her opinion it did. It was there Beth had found some kind of solace in the midst of it all. Baking and cooking. It was a nice way to keep her mind busy. Even if it had become an almost obsessive little hobby, it still brought some sense of belonging and living.

"Do you prefer being called Salem or Mr. Hirch?" she asked, her smile widening slightly. Some of the kids preferred being referred to in a formal way, she'd noticed. Some didn't like getting too personal, and in a way, Beth could understand that. It was better to ask - just in case. This was all about making these kids feel comfortable, after all.

Never one to push or step on any toes, Beth liked -- enjoyed, actually -- taking the safer road in life.

[Salem Hirch]

In the small silence between them, it seemed like hours were going by. Or maybe that was just the way it felt to Salem. Then again, the boy rarely noticed the passage of time unless he was without a book in his hand. This just happened to be one of those moments where hiding behind a book was not only inappropriate, but out right rude. He was raised right, he knew better than to be rude to anyone older than him, especially a teacher or other school official. They always knew what they were doing, and for the most part, all of them had been very nice to him and made him feel at home. Salem almost didn't notice that his thought process was starting to shift and that his mind was wandering away from the room until there was the gentle sound of a plate being pushed towards him, the scent of something sweet, and the mention of cookies. Even on his bad days, Salem loved cookies, they reminded him of his mom.

"Well, th..thank ya Ma'am." He stammered with his country accent. Reaching out, but never fully looking up, he took a cookie from the plate and began to nibble on it. Much like a mouse would and it brought a little smile to his face. His mind going back to days of after school snacks and sitting on the porch watching the sunset. All together, memories that did not cause him to slip away from the present, just ones that were always there. "The..these are very good." He added, finally looking up at her with a faint little smile of his own. Salem had the type of smile that just set lazily in the corner of his mouth and though it may not seem like much, when he smiled, he meant it. "Kinda li..like Momma's." There was no hint of him trying to get on her good side with that comment, he was only being honest.

As he nibbled a little more, she asked what he would liked to be called. Truth was, Salem never thought about it much, but he liked that she asked. "You ca..can call me Salem Ma'am." Another sign of his eyes looking up at her and he nodded. "S..som..some people call me Sa though. So you can cal..call me that if ya like." Giving another little nod, Salem relaxed a little in his chair, not before taking another cookie though.

[Beth Young]

The mom comment caused Beth's smile to falter slightly, but only briefly. It caused a few flashes of bad memories to briefly move across her eyes, but she quickly regained herself with a chuckle. "Thank you; I'm glad you think so," she said. She offered the boy a warm smile; in truth, Beth took great pleasure in the fact that people complimented her cooking. It was one of those things she knew best. She had spent so many years of her life cooking. Going from being one of those reserved girls who did nothing than studying, to meet the man she would end up marrying to becoming an almost stereotypical housewife.

It was funny how some things worked out sometimes. Thinking back, she had never expected, nor planned for her life to turn out this way.

It was obvious that the boy was nervous, and it made her inner "momma bear" feel a little bad for him. "Sa it is," she smiled. Anything to make the boy feel a little more at ease. "And there's no need to call me Ma'am," she issued softly. "Beth works just fine." As long as he was comfortable with that, of course. She wasn't going to press the matter at any rate.

Folding her hands together, Beth looked down at the file in front of her. Her brows furrowed slightly. She didn't want to press the boy for information, but it was clear that he had some unresolved feelings that needed to be dealt with. "How have you been feeling lately?" she asked. She figured they could start off easy. Maybe see if the boy would talk willingly, as opposed to her pushing him in a direction. Somehow, that didn't sit quite right with her. It almost felt as if she was violating the bond between her as an adult, and him as a kid.

[Salem Hirch]

Salem just nodded at her thank you, forgetting his manners momentarily. Only because he was nervous of course. That was actually bothering him. Being nervous was normal for him to some degree, but this was just silly. It was probably because he knew she would eventually ask him about Aiden and that just wasn't something he was ready for. Shuffling in his seat a little, he decided he better look like a more well adjusted teenager than he really was.

He did smile fully when she called him by his nickname, very few called him that, but he really enjoyed it. Naturally though, she pointed out his sometimes overly active manners and he blushed. "Sorry. Just how Momma and Daddy raised me. Ya know, be polite to folks older than you." His smile didn't falter and he nodded. "Alright, I'll call ya Beth." Even though he knew it would take some time to get used to it. Something about calling an adult anything other than Ma'am or Sir seemed off to him, but it was what she wanted and who was he to say no.

His blue eyes peered over his reading glasses, that he forgot to take off, at what her eyes kept falling to. It was definitely a file, which he assumed was about him. Granted, he figured it would be slim, to Salem - there was very little interesting about him. As he waited for her line of questioning to begin, he set back in his chair, doing his best to relax. It worked a little, and he didn't even flinch when she spoke again. Besides, it was a gentle question for a start. "Honestly? A little stressed I guess, senior year and all." Again, he played with his fingernails, but a little less intentional this time. Salem wasn't exactly sure if he should tell her things, or go the round about way. He was a horrible liar, so that was out of the question and besides he had nothing to hide.

"I mean, I'm sure there are others that have it far worse than me." With that he nodded and gave his little smile. "Like, my roommates always seem busier than me."

[Beth Young]

"Well, if Ma'am is more comfortable to you," she added, offering the boy an apologetic smile. It was easy to forget that some people actually preferred going with polite terms over names, seeing as how most of the kids she talked to preferred making things a little more personal. Either way, Beth wasn't going to hold it against the boy. Whatever he wanted to call her, as long as it wasn't something insulting, she wouldn't point it out.

Though, she didn't quite feel like a Ma'am. Though, she supposed, in her position, it was one of those things she just had to get used to.

"Ah yes," she chuckled. "The dreaded finals." She smiled a little at that. When she had been younger, she had been the horribly reserved kid who loved to study. At least she had been until she'd met her husband. She had spent so much of her time in front of books, she had completely forgotten there had been a life outside of it. And then Bradley had come crashing into her life like wrecking ball and turned everything upside down. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, it won't last forever." Her smile widened slightly at that. "And once it's over, you get all summer off," she added.

Nodding slowly at his next words, Beth's lips pursed into a soft smile. "We all have our limits. Just because they're busier, it doesn't mean your level of feeling stressed is unjustified." After all, everyone reacted to things differently. Just because a movie made someone sad, didn't mean someone else couldn't watch the same movie and be completely heartbroken afterwards.