Yvette, Tisha, Tamika, Jada and Leo: Tuesday Evening

[x-leosamson.livejournal.com]

Yvette helps out Leo with a young girl coping with a change in her powers



"Ugh," Leo muttered to himself. His last client, Tyler, absolutely adored playing with Mood Mudd, but had a habit of tearing off pieces and tossing them onto the walls. It wasn't that the Mudd was difficult to take off after a session, but he hated the slimy texture. Finally getting the last of the Mudd back into the jar, he placed it on the shelf and took a look around the office.

The chalkboard was clean and had plenty of colored chalk, and the drawing pad attached to the wall had a new roll of paper, with both crayons, markers, colored pencils and finger paint ready. He'd borrowed My's Barbies to add to his doll collection, and the doll house was open with all the furniture ready to be used.

He walked over and picked a bit of Mood Mudd off one of the bean bags and sat down at the desk, looking over Jada's file. He wasn't quite sure how today's session would go--it might end up a talking only session, but he wanted the toys ready in case Jada became a little shy and needed some time to get comfortable with Yvette. Hopefully that wouldn't be an issue--he was confident Jada would be more fascinated by Yvette than intimidated or scared. He glanced at the clock: 5:30 p.m. He still had about a half-hour to go over his notes again before things got started.

"There you go, honey," Tamika said as she handed the small boy a balloon animal. Not many people could smile and talk at the same time she knew; it was just one of her many unique gifts, along with making balloon animals. "A red Tyrannosaurus Rex to go with your shirt." The boy beamed back as he hugged the creature and muttered a shy "Thank you" before he and his mother walked out of the reception area.

Still grinning, Tamika lowered herself back onto her chair. It was kids like that which made what she did completely worth it. As she settled back, she surveyed the contents of her desk. The normal receptionist paraphernalia was scattered amongst her clown gear. A water squirting flower here, a red nose there, and a stack of balloons with the accompanying pump on top of a stack of papers. Her computer flashed a reminder that tonight Dr. Samson had a six pm appointment with Parrishs and a student from Xavier's Institute named Yvette. Well, none of them, except for Leo that is, was there at the moment, providing Tamika with the opportunity to work on her latest undertaking. Optimus Prime would be perfected yet.

As fate would have it, that was the cue for the door to open again and a small, brick-red face to appear around it. "Miss Tamika?" Yvette said, a little nervously. "I am sorry, I am early, yes?" She'd spoken to Tamika often on the phone to arrange appointments, and she'd met the woman once or twice at the school, but it was a little different here in Salem Center. The graffiti on the wall outside - "Muties Go Home" - for one, made her acutely aware she wasn't in the haven of the mansion any more.

"Yvette, honey, there's no need to apologize, you know you are welcome any time you need." Tamika rose from her desk and made her way out to the reception area. "Don't listen to those awful people outside, you hear me?" She grabbed the candy container filled with lollipops and Jolly Ranchers and held it out to the small girl. "Here honey, care for a sweet?"

"Yes, please." Yvette reached out and accepted a lollipop, dipping her long fingers into the jar to secure it. "Is the little girl I am meeting here yet?"

"Not yet honey, but they should be here soon. You go on ahead and take a seat, and let me know if you need anything." The candy bowl was returned to its rightful place as the receptionist returned to hers and set to work completing some filing.

With a nod, Yvette obediently went and sat down, pulling a book out of her bookbag to read while she waited. Her short legs swung in the air as she sat, lollipop in her mouth and a tattered volume of Farenheit 451 open in one gloved hand. It was apparently enough to completely absorb her attention - she paid no mind to Tamika going about her tasks.

The door swung open again, revealing a young woman in a neatly pressed blouse and skirt who, despite her carefully applied make-up, was unmistakably worn. She paused to hold the door open for the girl who followed her closely as a shadow, ushering her inside with a gentle word. The girl was in jeans and fluffy coat left open to reveal a sweatshirt with butterfly appliques over the front. She was also surrounded by a soft, blue aura of light that sparked every few seconds. She looked as if she'd have been clinging to her mother's skirts in other circumstances and half-hid behind a large potted plant as her mother went to speak to Tamika.

The door opening had caught Yvette's attention, on tenterhooks as she was, and she carefully tucked her book away as she took in the new arrivals. Dr. Samson had described the girl's blue aura and there was no mistaking that she was the one she was supposed to meet. Unsure of starting the session before Dr. Samson was there to introduce them, she settled for giving the girl a friendly smile (accompanied by a flash of her eyes) and a little wave. "Hello."

The girl gave Yvette a look of rapt fascination, glanced over toward her mother and Tamika, then raised her hand to give a tiny wave in return. "Hi. I'm Jada." She shifted in place, twining her fingers, then twisting them nervously. "Are you here to see Dr. Leo too?"

"I am pleased to meet you, Jada. My name is Yvette." She stayed sitting, not wanting to spook the girl. "And in a way, yes, I am here to see him. Did he tell you about maybe meeting someone like you who you could be talking to?"

Leo looked up from his notes, hearing familiar voices echo down the hall from the waiting room. He put away his file and left out a legal pad for notes, turned on the blue sparkling lava lamp on his desk that Jada liked, and then switched on the Ipod to the Disney song playlist and turned the volume down fairly low. He looked around and nodded to himself and then walked down the hallway. Peeking around the corner he saw Tisha and Tamika chatting quietly at Tamika's desk, Tamika doing her usual fantastic job of putting clients at ease. Yvette was sitting and talking with Jada. He sighed internally--Jada was glowing brightly and occasionally sparking. On the other hand, she didn't seem afraid of Yvette, rather she looked curious, as he had hoped. Hopefully there would be a good rapport: Jada was a bright, inquisitive and kind child, and Yvette had a natural ability to connect with people--an ability she consistently underrated.

"Hello, everyone!" Leo walked into the waiting room with a smile at Jada and Yvette. "I see you all are getting acquainted, but let me do the introductions anyway." He walked over to stand by Tamika's desk and nodded to Tisha. "Tisha, this Yvette Petrovic, she's a remarkable young woman who has grown up with a mutation that's very visible. I asked her here because she has a wealth of experience on what it's like to openly be a mutant." He smiled at Yvette, "Yvette, this is Jada and her mother Tisha Parrish. Why don't we all head back to the room and get started?"

Tisha offered Yvette a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you, Yvette." She spoke with a hint of an accent, a drawl similar to Kevin's but considerably gentled. "Come on, baby," she continued, motioning to Jada. The girl hung back for a moment, but followed along as her mother began walking, though she fell into step beside Yvette this time rather than tagging at her mother's heels like a cerulean duckling.

Once in the room, Tisha headed for the couch, but Jada removed herself from the group, plopping down onto a beanbag chair and hugging her knees to her chest.

Pausing for a moment, Yvette pulled a chair out, placing it between the couch and Jada's beanbag chair, so she could talk to both mother and daughter. "It is good to be meeting both of you," she said in her soft voice, her accent still marked despite nearly two years at the school now. "I hope I can be helping with the questions. It can be difficult, to have the powers that do not let you touch, but it is not being impossible."

Leo settled himself awkwardly into the room's other bean-bag chair, his long legs flopping onto the floor. It was far from comfortable, but had the advantage of putting himself on Jada's level, and also looking rather silly, which was intentional. People who look silly are much less likely to seem intimidating, and someone of his size was always searching for ways to seem approachable.

He nodded along as Yvette began, and then spoke up to supplement her introduction. "And that's the reason we're here. Jada, we've been spending a lot of time in the past few weeks talking about how hard it's been for you to cope with this new part of your abilities--and now that your school has asked you to start home schooling, I know that it's been even harder. School is something you love very much, and it hurt you a lot that many of your friends are treating you differently. Yvette has been through many of these experiences, and also had experiences that I hope you do not have," he said, glancing over at the young Albanian with empathy. "Yvette, I think Jada's been feeling very sad and very afraid things are never going to get better for her, and it's good for her to her from someone who knows that things can get better."

He looked over at Jada. "Jada, could you talk a little with Yvette about how things have been for you? And if you have any questions Yvette might be able to answer? Tisha, you may have questions too, and this is a good time to ask them."

Leo put up a hand suddenly, and shook his head ruefully. "Listen to me!" He grinned at Jada, "I'm just going full steam ahead!" He pointed over to a large sign on the wall that said in large, bright blue letters: 'Safe Space!' Around the words were childrens' handprints and small drawings: a lifeguard, a stop sign, a policeman, a mom hugging a child and other images. "We have a few rules at the clinic, and the biggest one is that this is a safe space. Anything you say here we keep safe--meaning confidential. The only exception is if anything is said in the room that might hurt someone--if someone is hurting a child, if someone might try to hurt themselves, or if someone might try to hurt someone else. And it's also safe in that no one has to say more than they feel comfortable. Some of my younger kids use the stop light--" and Leo pointed to another wall where a large stop light was painted on the wall near the floor, easily accessible for small children. The red, green and yellow 'lights', were battery operated push-button lights. "If we're talking about something that's scary, we can push the yellow light to slow down, the red light to stop altogether, or the green light when we feel ready to talk again."

He settled back into the bean bag. "Ok, so now that we've gotten all that out of the way--Jada? Tisha? The floor is yours."

Tisha gave her daughter a hopeful look, but Jada remained silent, staring down at the tops of her knees.

"The last couple of weeks have been...difficult for Jada," Tisha said at last, then amended: "For both of us. The school really had been acceptin' of our family issues and the after-school programs meant that I could pick her up after work and not have to worry about her being alone or finding someone I could trust to watch her. We're getting by and my family is lending a hand as they can, but it's been a strain."

"This stupid light is making me ugly," Jada mumbled. "I hate it."

"I remember, when I was becoming like this, thinking that I was the monster," Yvette said gently, her eye-glow almost matching Jada's. "Because I did not look like the normal person. But I am learning that it is not changing who I am, inside. People are still being my friends."

"I don't have any friends anymore." Jada still hadn't uncurled, and was keeping her arms and legs protectively close to her body. "I can't play with anyone without hurting them, no one wants me around. They throw stuff at me if I try to go on the playground a-and I'm ugly now 'cuz Momma can't even fix my hair and..." No tears welled in the girl's eyes, but sparks crackled in her aura as her upset grew more acute.

"Jada, baby..." Tisha was managing to keep her composure, even if her eyes were overly bright. "You need to calm down."

Jada took a hitching breath and swallowed, falling silent, her glow eventually following suit and dying back down to the occasional spark.

"It hurts, doesn't it, Jada," Leo said softly. "It makes you feel like you're all alone. And right now, I know it seems like it's never going to get better, but I believe that it can. And that it will." He leaned forward to meet her eyes, "You are not alone in this Jada. Your mother loves you very much and nothing is going to change that. Your friends are frightened right now because they don't understand what's happening, but that doesn't mean they can't learn. And even though right now you can't touch people, your powers may change, and you may be able to control the electricity just as you have learned to control the light." He looked over at Yvette, "And as Yvette said, people will learn that a little blue light doesn't change who you are inside." Leo shook his head, "You are not ugly, Jada. You are a beautiful little girl, you are smart and kind. I'm going to keep working with you to get past this, and so will your mom, and your grandparents, and many other people who care about you."

Yvette looked at Leo, and then down at her hands, safe in their gloves. "It is difficult, yes," she said. "But there are always ways. To be touching." She pulled the glove off and carefully reached out to brush Jada's aura with a fingertip. There was a crackle, the same tingling buzz as when she touched an electrical circuit, but she wasn't hurt. "And there are people who can be helping, like Dr. Samson is saying."

Jada hardly seemed to hear what her doctor was saying; words didn't seem like very much against the isolated, frightening place her world had become. Yvette's touch against her aura, though not a tactile sensation in and of itself, was something concrete -- proof positive that the entire world wasn't cut off from her. She swallowed again, then, very small, "How?"

"Slowly," Leo said with a smile smile. He leaned back to the desk behind him and pulled out one of the rubber gloves he'd picked up yesterday. He reached out and very carefully, very gently, tapped Jada on the shoulder, reinforcing the touch Yvette had initiated. "One step at a time," he finished quietly.