A little control goes a long way (Open)

[vincent]

Vincent looked himself over in the mirror as he adjusted his tie before slipping on the jacket of his dark grey suit. Despite the fact that he wasn't the heavily formal type, he did enjoy wearing nice clothing. This was one of the reason his hair was often in something of an elegant mess. It worked to give him a less severe look, not to mention the open expression on his face.

It was his first day working as a teacher and he was going to be helping students with a subject he had always enjoyed, learning to harness their powers and start to understand the full extent of how they could be used. Not only that, he would be able to learn just as much as his students would. There was enough variety in the gifts that people were born with to keep him interested.

As he made his way down the halls, he gave small smiles, waves, and nods to students and staff alike when he passed them. He wasn't known to well yet, but he hoped to change that fairly quickly. he was a very social person and doubted it would take long to become familiar with most people in the Academy.

Soon enough he reached the classroom. It hadn't been touched since his predecessor had been using it. He gave a slightly depressed sigh seeing that it was laid out like a standard classroom. That was going to change right away. Lifting the desks, he set them in one corner to be removed later. There wouldn't be paperwork in his class, that wasn't how it would work. The chairs were assembled in two rows of semicircles and his desk, the would go in the center of the room instead of near the back wall, the chair off to it's side.

Smiling at the new setup, he walked over to the chair and sat down, leaning back casually as he waited for the students to arrive.

[euphie]

She never missed a class.

Charlotte double-checked herself in the mirror. A few adjustments to her hair, a few adjustments here and there, and she was done. She didn't feel like being late for class. Well, if she were late, at least she'd be fashionably late. No, any kind of late wasn't good. Finally she left her dorm room, and made her way down the hall.

As Charlotte walked through the hall, she began to think. Was she really doing as well as she wanted to? Did she precieve herself to be the best that she could be? Surely, she was. She never missed a class. Ever. She also got good grades. But that didn't really matter as much as the actual work. She always completed her work to the best of her abilities. However, she couldn't get by without any lack of belief or faith in herself.

No, she had to stop it. If she kept doubting herself, and believing that she wasn't good enough, then she would stop trying and become the opposite of what she wanted. She had to keep believing that she could be better. Charlotte promised herself, and she promised Travis, and she wasn't about to break that promise.

Now, Charlotte entered the classroom. Perfect, right on time. She sent a friendly gaze toward the teacher, and shot him a simple greeting. "Good morning, sir." As the words slipped from her tongue, she found a spot, and took a seat.

^{STARRING : VINCENT, CHARLOTTE, & OTHERS
TOTAL WORDS : 245
STATUS : FINISHED
NOTES : YAY CLASS.
LYRICS : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
TAGGED : VINCENT & OTHERS}

[blake]

Blake let out a sigh, it was the first class of the day and she was still in a sleepy-teenager mood. On the bright side, for once she wasn't late for class, not like she really cared. The blonde girl wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, which only added to her dislike for academics. The only class she didn't mind going to was her art class, as the guide lines were a little looser.

She walked through the door and waved a sleepy wave towards her teacher. Blake made her way to a seat and let her book bag drop to the ground. She slumped in her seat and ran a hand through her straightened hair. She hadn't spent much time getting ready this morning for other than her makeup and her hair she had really just hopped out of bed and tossed on a dark blue tank top and some dark skinny jeans. Normally she may have primped herself a little more but she wasn't in the mood to be impressing others today, even if it was a cute boy.

Now that she was in her seat she began looking around for things that may entertain herself in the class, for both she and plenty other students knew that she wouldn't pay much attention to what was actually being taught. She couldn't find much that would hold her focus and she didn't see any class clowns she recognized like Jeremy Sullivan that would entertain her. Blake let out a sigh and prepared herself for what she thought would be a boring class.

[satara]

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES

if ten million fireflies lit up
THE WORLD AS I FELL ASLEEP

Daniel ran his fingers through his hair as he looked in the mirror, but as usual, the black locks did whatever they wanted. He only stared at his reflection for a moment before turning and leaving his room. He grinned a bit at the numbers on the door. B-52. He didn't know who had been in charge of the room assignments, but he appreciated the irony of putting the Academy's resident "bomber" in this particular room. The door clicked shut softly behind him as he made his way to Power Control I. It was a class he was eager to get into, and this was the Professor's first day. Daniel didn't know what to think, as he'd never met the guy, but he sincerely hoped it wasn't going to be more boring lectures on deep breathing and focus strategies. He understood why those things were important, but it didn't seem to be helping him in the least.

Ten years he'd spent in the foster home, nine of which he'd spent never using his abilities for fear that he'd get moved again or that he'd hurt someone. It almost felt strange to use them again, and even more strange to use them in front of others. Daniel's life was one filled with ridgid control on his part, and he feared that if he let that control slip there would be nothing he could do to stop himself from demolishing everything around him. Once, just once, he'd like to go somewhere like Antartica and see what he was really capable of.

Turning a corner, Daniel came to a stop in front of the classroom door. He checked the time on his phone quickly to make sure he wasn't late before peering inside the door's small window. The Professor looked younger than he would have thought, perhaps not much older than himself. That could be a good sign or a bad sign. He also noticed the size of the classroom and the way the chairs were arranged. A bit of anxiety crept into him at the sight. If this was going to be a more "hands-on" class, he probably wasn't the safest person to be working with. There was a blonde already present who looked like she might die of boredom, and Daniel felt a little bad for her. Then his bright blue eyes found a familiar face and he felt a little better, even smiling slightly as he pushed the door open and finally stepped inside. "Good morning, Professor." Daniel tried to quietly and unobtrusively take a seat near the edge, but it was a little hard to go unnoticed when he was only one out of four people in the room. Lowering his voice slightly, he looked over at Charlotte. "Nice to see you again."

- - - - - - - - - -

words: 482
lyrics: FIREFLIES, OWL CITY
credit: TEMPLATE BY SHAZI ?! AT CAUTION 2.0

[vincent]

Vincent looked up as the first student entered, a red haired girl who arrived just on time. He gave a smile at her greeting.
"And a good morning to you as well." He replied to her greeting as well to the young man who made a point of saying hello while more students arrived. He let a few minutes pass before giving a wave of his finger and closing the door. He enjoyed using his power even for little things just to keep in practice. Anyone late, wouldn't be penalized for the first day, but they would just slip in. Unless they had an ability that let hem do so.

He let the students settle in before getting to his feet and gave a wide smile to his class.
"Well I'm glad to see that what looks like most you made it on time. I don't require much beyond that and participation." He said as he leaned back against his desk and braced himself with his arms.
"My name is Vincent Monroe. You can call me Vincent, Vince, or Vinnie. I'm not really picky. If you have any names you would prefer me to call you by, just let me know." He said.

Reaching out with one hand a book flew to it and he held it up.
"Now this course has required reading. Well you can do that on your own time. I believe in practical application." He said as he let it lower back down to the desk.
"I don't want to bore you all. While this is a school, you aren't studying a common subject, and this is a fairly broad topic, meaning that actually practicing would be far more useful and much more interesting." He said.

"So let's go ahead and get the typical part out of the way. I would like to know your name and either have a demonstration of your power, or if more appropriate, a description starting from the front row, left to right and then the back row." Vincent hadn't taught a class before and was going to play it by ear, trying to work in a way that he felt would keep the student's interest, but the introduction bit was fairly universal, though in a class where each person had an ability to share, well it could keep it from being totally dull. After that, they could focus on more fun stuff.

[euphie]

She was going to enjoy this class.

Charlotte looked around from her seat. She noted the appearance and arrangement of the room. She figured this class would be interesting. Hopefully it wouldn't be a bunch of lame yoga practices and meditation. No way. That was wat too boring. If that was what the class was going to focus on, she may as well leave now. But she wasn't one to judge a class. Besides, it was the professor's first time, and she didn't want to come off as anybody who would be a nuissance.

She looked over to the blonde who'd walked into the room. She looked as though she may either kill someone, or kill herself. Charlotte could tell she would nuch rather be somewhere else. No, Charlotte didn't much enjoy classes either, but they played a big part in her life's new chapter. She had no other choice but to attend classes. Besides, they wouldn't be that bad. Or so she thought anyway.

Charlotte's face lit up when she saw a familiar face pop into the class. Daniel, the student she met earlier. She lightened up a little now, knowing she had a class with Daniel in it. It was nice to know someone in the class. And then, his eyes drifted towards her. "Nice to see you again," he said. Her lips curved themselves into a small smile. "You too," she said. And then he went off to take his seat.

Once the professor started speaking, her attention went directly to him. He seemed like a nice enough guy, maybe she would grow to enjoy his classes.

"So let's go ahead and get the typical part out of the way. I would like to know your name and either have a demonstration of your power, or if more appropriate, a description starting from the front row, left to right and then the back row."

Charlotte looked around, finding herself to be in the first row, right to the left. "Crap..." she thought. She didn't really feel like talking about her power, nor giving a demonstration. She didn't mind giving her name, but that was about it, unless the professor absolutely must know her power. Obviously, he needed to know. He taught Power Control for crying out loud. Charlotte rose her hand, and awaited the professor to call on her, and ask her of such things.

^{STARRING : VINCENT, DANIEL, BLAKE & CHARLOTTE
TOTAL WORDS : 409
STATUS : FINISHED
NOTES : I THINK I LOVE YOU MORE, THAN THE JAPANESE LOVE TENTICLE PRON... FINALLY MY AVERAGE WORD COUNT. <3
LYRICS : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
TAGGED : VINCE, SATARA & HAZE}

[blake]

Blake let out a breath after hearing that this class involved more practicing than written assignments. She was glad that she wouldn't have much homework that involved writing a paper, but the fact that they had to practice meant that she would actually have to participate in the class. In most classes normally she would just draw doodles on her paper and then rush to finish it in the end of the class. This did however happen to make most of her work rather sloppy.

The blonde girl listened as the professor said that they were to say their name and show the power that they possessed. The line was to start from the left side of the front row. And much to Blake's dissapointment she was only four chairs away from the left side of the front row. She would have taken a seat in the back but she figured the professor would just move her up to the front, considering there weren't many people in the class. Blake did find one way to entertain herself though, as she figured it was a little fun to try and guess a person's power before they said it. She kept on doing this game as she waited for her turn.

[satara]

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES

if ten million fireflies lit up
THE WORLD AS I FELL ASLEEP

There was a grin that lingered on Daniel's face even as he sat down. He was glad he was sharing a class with someone he'd already met, but his smile also hid an apprehension that he tried hard to hide. Since the desks had been removed and only chairs remained, he rested his hands in his lap and tried not to fidget and give away his nerves. He was excited, but at the same time he thought it might be safer for all involved if there was a fire extinguisher handy. At that thought, he looked around the room for one, just in case. Over in the corner of the room by the door, he spotted the red color of a standard sized extinguisher and wondered if it worked. Surely they wouldn't keep a faulty one in a classroom, would they?

Professor Monroe's voice pulled his attention and Daniel listened intently, learning that he expected the students to be on time and for them to participate. Daniel inwardly cringed at that part, wondering if there was a way to participate without using fire. Not likely, since the whole point of the class was to learn control. Well, they wouldn't have let the man teach them if he didn't know what he was doing. Daniel tried to take some comfort in that, but it was hard since it seemed to be a talent of his to inadvertently hurt people.

Required reading wasn't a problem, and neither was completing it on his own time. Chances were Daniel had read it already at some point. Still, it was interesting to watch Professor Monroe float the book around. It had to be some form of telekenisis. However, when the book made it back to its resting spot, Vincent told them that practicing would be much more interesting. That was an understatement. Daniel surpressed a self-depreciating smile and eyed the fire extinguisher in the corner once again.

Next up were the standard introductions, but these wouldn't be so standard. Daniel's fingers twitched in his lap when he learned he would be asked for a demonstration. This soon? It was the first day of the class and the teacher wanted him to light what on fire exactly? Nervousness started to creep in around the edges of his mind and he took a calming breath. People didn't get hurt every time he used his abilities. He glanced around the room, thankful that he would be going last and would have time to prepare himself a little. Then he eyed the fire extinguisher in the corner again, waiting for the introductions to begin.

- - - - - - - - - -

words: 448
lyrics: FIREFLIES, OWL CITY
credit: TEMPLATE BY SHAZI ?! AT CAUTION 2.0

[vincent]

Vincent kept locking eyes with his students in turn as he spoke, never lingering on one more than another. He was going to do his best to be personal with them as he was teaching. It wouldn't serve much good to simply talk at them without connecting with them at some level.
"Keep in mind that if you don't feel comfortable or safe with displaying your gifts, there is no problem with that." He added as he saw the expressions on the faces of some of his students. His warm smile was still in place as he reassured his pupils that he wouldn't pressure them too much.

"If you aren't feeling like giving a demonstration, just tell me a little bit about what you can do. I'm not going to do very well at teaching the basics of controlling your gifts if I don't know what they are." He added. He would of course share his own gift with everyone after they talked, going somewhat the opposite way that teacher's who did similar things went.

He looked over to the left and saw the first girl who entered the room was sitting there. She raised her hand and Vincent's smile widened.
"Our lucky starting point. Very well, just go ahead and tell us your name and then either show or tell us about your gift." He said, figuring that after the first person it would go a lot easier. The starting point was always the most difficult. After that, class would likely go fairly well aside from the possibility of disruptive students.

[euphie]

This class would be interesting.

Oh good. She didn't have to show off her gifts. How could she anyway? She couldn't very well just put a tracker on anybody. That wasn't how she used her gift. She would only use it if absolutely necessary. Anybody who used their powers simply for personal gang to her, were unworthy of having gifts.

"If you aren't feeling like giving a demonstration, just tell me a little bit about what you can do. I'm not going to do very well at teaching the basics of controlling your gifts if I don't know what they are."

Now that she was comfortable with. Talking about her gift was a heck of a lot easier anyway. Charlotte didn't really need to control her power, since she already had a large amount of self-control. Still though, this class would be handy. Not just for control, but for exploration and strengthening her gift. Surely, she could get something out of this class besides that though.

This class seemed interesting and harmless enough. Even the professor proved to be a nice guy. But, that wasn't important, was it? Yes, it was somewhat important, but what really mattered was whether Charlotte was going to be comfortable in this class. She had to get to know the students who surrounded her, and get to know the professor. Yes, that would definitely help her.

"Our lucky starting point. Very well, just go ahead and tell us your name and then either show or tell us about your gift."

Oh goodness, here we go. How was she going to go about this? She figured she would just go about it casually. Just give her name. It wasn't like he was asking for an essay about her, after all.

Charlotte began with her name; "Charlotte. Charlotte Illim-Velaquez." There, that was over with. And now, to give a breif introduction to her power; "I use something called 'superhuman tracking'. That's the official name, but I prefer to call it 'Pathfinding'. It's the ability to track objects or people through a supernatural link. Right now, I can only track through touch, and I can only track up to 3 kilometers away." Done and over with, excellent. Now she could just relax.

^{STARRING : VINCENT, CHARLOTTE, DANIEL & BLAKE
TOTAL WORDS : 373
STATUS : FINISHED
NOTES : LONG POSTS FTW..
LYRICS : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
TAGGED : VINCENT, SATARA & HAZE}

[blake]

Blake looked over at the first girl and listened to her as she talked about her power. She hadn't really heard about the power of pathfinding before but assumed that it was probably useful at times. She did wonder if she was able to use her tracking abilities on normal objects, as Blake could definately see how that could be helpful when searching for a lost object.

The blonde suddenly frowned, realizing it was her turn next and all eyes were on her. She cleared her throat before speaking. "Umm, I'm Blake Starling and my power is," She paused and picked up her pencil between her thumb and pointer finger and froze it, leaving a layer of ice around the pencil. "ice manipulation. So basically I can freeze things and create ice." She wasn't much of a show off and tried to remain humble about the power she had. Blake then looked at her pencil and realized her mistake. She let out a sigh and muttered, "Unfortunately I can't unfreeze things . . ."

She tapped the pencil against the side of her chair with a cling. Much to her dissapointment the ice wasn't chipping. It was only the first day in this class and already she had made a fool of herself. Great job smart one.

[satara]

YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE YOUR EYES

if ten million fireflies lit up
THE WORLD AS I FELL ASLEEP

Professor Monroe seemed to be an attentive teacher, and it was something Daniel was grateful for. This thought was only confirmed when Vincent stated that they didn't have to do a demonstration if they were uncomfortable with it. Daniel breathed a small sigh of relief and relaxed slightly. His attention turned to Charlotte when she was called upon and he still didn't understand how she could remember her own last name. That didn't even include spelling it, but he supposed if he had a name like that he'd have to catch on after awhile. Listening intently, he turned slightly in his chair as she explained her powers. Pathfinding sounded really interesting, and he was slightly jealous that she got something that wasn't destructive. Daniel smiled at her, trying to tell her with a look that she'd done a good job.

Daniel's attention then turned to the bored blonde girl who cleared her throat before speaking. Unlike Charlotte, this girl seemed to be a bit more comfortable with what she could do which was either a very good sign of her control, or a very bad sign. She introduced herself as Blake and then proceeded to freeze her pencil solid. Daniel's eyes watched in fascination, a grin forming on his face. There was a moment of silence that passed before the girl sighed and grimaced at her pencil, explaining that she couldn't unfreeze it.

Thoughts started swirling around in Daniel's mind about how he could do a demonstration without lighting the entire classroom on fire, and that frozen pencil might be just the thing. He hadn't used his abilities with any regularity for a long time, but surely he could unfreeze a pencil without too much problem, right? He blinked and looked at Vincent, realizing it was his turn. Daniel took a deep breath and pushed his hesitance to the back of his mind. He spoke softly, but not so softly that he couldn't be heard, the British in his voice clearly audible in the near silence of the classroom. "Hello. I'm Daniel Ashcroft." He smiled as he stood, wiping his hands nervously on his jeans as he made his way over to Blake. "May I see your pencil, please?"

Gingerly taking the frozen pencil out of her hand, Daniel held it up in front of himself and sighed, eyeing the fire extinguisher one last time. Then he swallowed and pictured what he wanted to happen. Heat gathered in his hand and flames licked their way up his fingers, brushing against the ice on the pencil. Now he just had to thaw it out without catching it on fire. It was cold, which should help, but that didn't mean he knew how long it would take to thaw out. While he was trying to guess, the eraser caught fire and he resisted the urge to shake the pencil, trying to put it out. Instead, he stayed where he was and focused on smothering the flames which slowly sputtered and went out. Looking at the pencil, he grimaced. It looked like something akin to a charcoal briquette and he turned to face Blake, an apologetic frown on his face. "I'm really, really sorry about that. I thought I could just... wait... I'll get you a new pencil." He hurried over to his bag and pulled out a fresh mechanical pencil and handed it to her. "I really am sorry. I suppose I should have just gone with an explanation..." He sighed and figited with the burnt pencil. Good job, Dan. Real smooth.

- - - - - - - - - -

words: 584
lyrics: FIREFLIES, OWL CITY
credit: TEMPLATE BY SHAZI ?! AT CAUTION 2.0

[vincent]

Vincent simply sat back and let the students introduce themselves and explain or show their powers. He made sure to focus on each one in turn, giving them his full attention each time. He was always genuinely fascinated when seeing another person's powers in action
"I'm sure you'll find ways to focus that pathfinding. It may even help in locating potential students or people that need help when they go missing. We'll certianly see what we can find out Charlotte." He said.

He gave a small chuckle in good nature at the ice and fire displays.
"Well it seems you already have a fair hand in using such abilities. I think you have a lot of promise. Both You Dan, and you as well Blake. In fact you two might be good to have as a pair in this class, such a balance is always a good thing." He mentioned. As the class revealed what they could do, he had words of encouragement for each of them in turn. It took much of the class to go through each student, but he didn't want to rush anything, and this was important.

"Well it certainly seems like this class has a good amount of variety in it. One of the reasons I'm not really going to try a standard course with you. There is no real universal method of teaching someone how to use their powers. In fact a lot of one on one time is going to be required so I will of course ask for patience. Not that I plan to leave any of you waiting too long." He added.

"Well I've already told you my name, but unlike what I asked from you. I didn't go into my own gift." He said as he gave a sly smile and formed a gravity well that pulled the students slowly up into the air along with their seats, letting them experience a zero-gee environment.
"I have the gift of working gravity to my own whims." He said as he lifted himself into the air, simply floating there along with his class.
"This is one of the reasons I have been assigned as your teacher, my own talent takes a considerable amount of focus to keep it from being a danger. I've been through this class in this same room just like all of you. Meaning I know that this can be frustrating at times and while I will try to make this enjoyable, it can't always be so."

He gently lowered everyone down and took a seat in his chair.
"We aren't going to really be doing much in the way of classwork today. I want to take a little time to answer questions you might have for me. I know you've likely gone through several teachers in your life who do this type of thing and then just dismiss you. But you have my promise that I will not do that. You are my students and are important to me, so if there is anything you want to ask or just think I should know, this is the perfect time to bring it up." He said as he waited for any questions or comments that would be sent hsi way.

[euphie]

Oh how interesting it was already.

Charlotte nodded as the porfessor explained the potential of her ability. She supposed it could play a large role in finding missing students or objects. Maybe that would be her biggest role in the school. She doubted it though.

And then Blake went on with her introduction. Ice manipulation. Interesting ability, and it could prove useful. She secrely wished she would've inherited a more useful power, rather than a creepy one. Then, she froze her pencil. Well, at least she gave a demonstration? Daniel came up and unfroze it, though he'd burned it in the process. Oh Daniel, how smart of you. He then gave her a new pencil. A nice gesture, she supposed.

And then the professor spoke again. He talked about anybody having any questions or concerns for the class. Charlotte had none that came to mind, so she just stayed silent, and let the others speak.

^{STARRING : VINCENT, CHARLOTTE, BLAKE & DANIEL
TOTAL WORDS : 155
STATUS : FINISHED
NOTES : IM SORRY FOR THE SHORT POST.
LYRICS : USE SOMEBODY - KINGS OF LEON
TAGGED : VINCENT, HAZE & SATARA}

[blake]

Blake handed Daniel her pencil and watched as he proceeded to melt the ice around it. Her eyes suddenly widened as he accidentally burnt the pencil itself and smiled a little as he apologized profusely and handed her a new pencil. She thought it was cute how flustered he got over a little pencil and laughed a tiny bit.

She listened as the teacher explained how Daniel and her could be a good match as partners for the class. That was a good point, she could be his walking fire extinguisher and once he learned how to control his powers a little better he could unfreeze the things that she had frozen.

Blake watched as the professor demonstrated his own power. But it took her a while to realize that both she and the rest of the class were part of the demonstration. As everyone in the room floated up into the air Blake grasped the edge of her seat until her knuckles turned white. As he lowered everyone back down to the ground Blake was definately able to say that she was wide awake now.

As he asked for any questions a small smile came on the blonde's face. "Umm, got any fireproof pencils?" She grinned at her own little joke. Now she was testing the teacher to see if he actually had a sense of humor.