>>“Great, one option. I’ll take you up on the help, but I don’t think I’d be a good guidance counselor. Too many personal issues.”

You bet.

"I haven't always been a guidance counselor" Gemma smiled "I did pretty much everything that is related to kids in any way. I raised two of my own; I have been a teacher, a coach, a counselor, and, well..." she smirked "I had a couple of dozen mutant kids staying at my house during the Registration." she sighed "I started out like you are now, knowing that I liked working with children. My ability, and things that happened around me, kind of took care of the rest." she smiled again "As I said, you've got a headstart. I can teach you the things I know."

It feels good to have the start of a plan for the rest of my life, Locke thought to himself. It might not be his end choice. After all Ms. Taylor said he didn’t have to decide yet what to do with the rest of his life. There was still that pressure to choose, and he still wasn’t sold that college was going to be for him. Maybe he should try to take some of those classes that counted for both high school and college credits. Said classes would give him a better idea of what college was like, and help him to make his choice. The one option he had as far as an area of interest in had multiple possibilities. Even ruling out counseling kids there was much that Locke could do. Right now he was more equipped to be a nanny than any sort of educational role.

While Locke listened he fiddled with the cuffs of his sleeves, twisted his watch around. It just didn’t feel right to have to keep his head turned slightly throughout their conversation, and not to recognize what was underneath his feet. Locke never realized just how much of the noise that kept him from panicking at night had been the vibes he picked up. The world is quiet here,[/i] the Californian thought, recalling that from one of the books that he read Chris and Mai. The twins were born with rather unfortunate events occurring, and Kendra had been surprisingly ok with Locke reading his brother and sister the popular Lemony Snicket books. Although he needed, and wanted her help, Locke couldn’t feel quite right this close to Ms. Taylor.

“Good thing that you’re here then,” Locke admitted. Not only was she helping him think through some important changes in his life, she knew about what he was interested in. “Kendra knows computers only, so did Dad.” The last word was given a softness that Kendra’s name had not. He plowed onwards. “They wouldn’t be help with any kid work.”

>>“Good thing that you’re here then. Kendra knows computers only, so did Dad. They wouldn’t be help with any kid work.”

Gemma nodded, and made a mental note to bring up the family thing later on. Right now they had other things to talk about, and mixing it with family issued of the past and present wouldn't have worked out too well.

"Well, if you are interested, I'm sure I can find you things to try" she said with a smile "Seems to me like you have some experience with babysitting. That's a start." she noticed how he was fidgeting; she could guess it was not easy for him to be without his powers for so long.

"All right, I think that's about enough for you from my abilities at once." she chuckled "I'll get back to you soon about some job opportunities. Sounds good enough?"

After some thought Locke spoke up. “Only differences are I didn’t get paid to watch them and if they had a nightmare it was my room that they tried to sleep in. Pretty sure that doesn’t happen with every babysitter.” The circumstances at home were not the most ideal, Locke knew that. He also knew that he had made a mess of things when he left San Francisco. Kendra had been furious at his running away. While Locke knew that it was because she cared about him, it was easier for him to believe it was because she had lost hands to help. “So… working with kids?” he asked, almost testing to see what she thought of it. Of course it suited Ms. Taylor, but he still half expected her to shoot him down for considering it. Had he been able to approach his dad or step mother about him not wanting to go to college they would have told him that he was going, and that that was the end of the discussion. It was a parent’s job to make sure their child got the most they could out of life. Ms. Taylor had admitted to being a parent, and she showed concern that he thought he was wasting his time in school. On the other hand it was her who had suggested something with children. “The sandbox will never have been as much fun.”

He sighed and rubbed the heel of his hand into his left eye. Ms. Taylor probably had to deal with mutants who couldn’t handle having their powers turned off all the time. “I’m sorry it’s not you, it’s me,” he said, having to smirk at saying that. Locke had never had to say that to anyone. Usually it was used for break ups. “I rely on my powers so much that the second it gets turned off I don’t know what to do and I get scared.” Locke bit his lip and thought about her offer. "I'd really appreciate that. What should I do?"

>>“The sandbox will never have been as much fun.”

"That's the spirit" Gemma smiled. She liked Locke's attitude. 'I would like to work with kids' was not something you hear often from teenagers. Not your typical career choice.

>>“I’m sorry it’s not you, it’s me,”

The counselor smirked at that too; Locke had a sense of humor. Another good trait if you want to spend your life dealing with children.

>>“I rely on my powers so much that the second it gets turned off I don’t know what to do and I get scared. I'd really appreciate that. What should I do?"

"That's also part of my job here" she nodded "Giving you all a chance to experience the lack of mutant powers. There are other people like me out there, and it can't hurt to be prepared to suddenly lose your abilities, especially if you rely on them most of the time."

She smiled at Locke.

"Keep thinking about your options. That's your job for now. I'll figure out where we go from here." she stood "As I said, I'll find something for you to do as soon as I can." she held her hand out to him "It was nice meeting you, Locke. Feel free to find me anytime if you need something."

Of course it would be just as important for the students at the institute to get use to not using their powers as it would be to learn to use them. That didn't mean that it had to be a pleasing experience. Especially if you were as dependent upon them as Locke was. "I have to rely on them. I don't want to end up getting a service dog." It was a big confession for Locke to make. He tried so hard to keep his handicap unknown. He figured that it would be alright to admit it to Ms. Taylor. She probably had that information on record, and she clearly had looked at his if she knew his name. Besides it's kind of hard to tell someone that you trust them with your future if you kept your past and present hidden.

"I'll try, but there aren't all that many options that suit me," Locke said. He extended his hand and shook Ms. Taylor's firmly. It felt more like the two had just settled some sort of business deal rather than discuss potential college plans. How was someone suppose to end a meeting with a guidance counselor anyways? On the west coast it usually ended with another student walking in and a wave of the hand to go away. "It was nice meeting you too Ms. Taylor."

A thought occurred to Locke as he stood up. "Ms. Taylor? Were you at the fountain on Halloween?" he had to ask. It didn't make a difference he supposed, if it had been her or someone else that had left him blinded, panicked, and in pain. Locke wanted to know though if it had been her anyways.

>>"I have to rely on them. I don't want to end up getting a service dog."

"That makes perfect sense." Gemma nodded. Many mutations were triggered by some kind of trauma; others manifested themselves to make up for something the human body lacked. It was only natural that people would rely on their mutations.

>>"Ms. Taylor? Were you at the fountain on Halloween?"

Raising an eyebrow, Gemma turned back to locke, and nodded slowly. She knew some of the Mansion students were there that night; she knew there were probably more she didn't know about. Some of them didn't even remember themselves.

"Yes, I was." she answered "I think I might have been the only one who wasn't affected. Why?"

Locke’s stomach sank. He didn’t know what compelled him to ask the question in the first place, but with the knowledge that she was there came a terror that he had hurt her. The fountain had hurt him when he made it explode, and he knew that he wasn’t the only one. A person dressed as a zombie had gotten gravel shot as well, and they hadn’t been much farther than Locke was to the fountain. It had been him who caused the fountain’s destruction, he knew that, even if he couldn’t really remember doing it. Locke had made enough failed golems to know what it looked like. “I think I might have run into you there. I was the one with the pig head.”. He didn’t want to ask the question that was on his mind. Did she get hit by the fountain?

“I don’t really remember what happened, but something went wrong, and some people got hurt because of me,” Locke’s eyebrows knitted together with worry once again. “Did you get hurt there?” Locke had no idea why he had chosen to defend himself with such a hard material. It wasn’t like he had been trapped inside a building where concrete was the softest material he had to work with. His feet had been on simple, soft dirt.

>> “I think I might have run into you there. I was the one with the pig head. I don’t really remember what happened, but something went wrong, and some people got hurt because of me. Did you get hurt there?”

Gemma nodded; she kind of remembered him, although the whole night was a blur in her memories, especially the part after the light went out.

"I was there... I got hust, but I don't think it was beause of you. I had a couple of injuries from fighting our was across the park..." she looked at him "Anyway, it was not your fault. Many people got hurt that night... and even though I was unaffected, I still had to hurt some of them to put an end to the whole thing. And you weren't yourself. Don't blame yourself for any of it. I am serious." she said, looking at him. She meant it.