Participants:
| Scene Title | School's In Session |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Brian comes to Maya offering her a walk out in the sun, and some help… |
| Date | August 4 2009 |
Claire and Maya's Place
It's a two bedroom unit with kitchen, bathroom, laundry area, central air and heating, living room, and the standard range of modern appliances. The refrigerator and cabinets are well stocked with food. The entire unit is the approximate size of an apartment affordable to middle-income New Yorkers.
Shoes press against the floor lightly after he disembarks from the elevator. Stepping down the hallway, he straightens his suit jakcet over his shoulders. A crisp black suit over a starch white shirt. Taking off and folding a pair of sunglasses from his face he tucks them into his pocket.
Rounding on Maya's room he raises up his knuckles and gives two sharp taps. "Maya?" He calls out, tucking his hands behind his back.
Shoes press against the floor lightly after he disembarks from the elevator. Stepping down the hallway, he straightens his suit jakcet over his shoulders. A crisp black suit over a starch white shirt. Taking off and folding a pair of sunglasses from his face he tucks them into his pocket.
Rounding on Maya's room Brian raises up his knuckles and gives two sharp taps. "Maya?" He calls out, tucking his hands behind his back.
Inside, Maya is just a little bored…she's waiting on word that her legal documents are actually legal, and that she could actually get a job with them. So she's sitting on the couch watching television, because she has nothing else to do. The woman rises at the sound of the knock on the door, and moves to open the door for Sad Panda. "Hey there!"
"Hi." He says with a little smile. Tucking his hands into his pockets whilst leaning against the doorframe he glances into the room. "Havin' fun?" He asks with a little smirk. "Anyway. I just wanted to say thank you for helping out with Peyton." Winters says softly, giving her a grateful expression. "I really appreciate it."
She returns a smile. "You don't need to thank me for that. She was having a really hard time." And then the smile slips, just a notch. "Though the whole "she has to stay here" part freaked me out a little. Made this place sound like a prison."
"I would never force someone to stay here against there will, Maya." Brian assures her, going to straighten himself out in the doorframe. "I just needed to somehow convince her that running straight to her home was not the best idea. She's free to go as she likes." He maintains with a little bob of his head.
"I'm sorry I freaked you out." He gives a little grin, shaking his head a bit. "You doing okay, here? You need anything? Want to get out for a little bit?"
The Latina smiles. "Well, good. And sure, I'd love to get out for a little. I'm just waiting for a green light from some people that I can start job hunting. Till then, I'm all yours. Where'd you wanna go?"
Giving a shrug, "Anywhere you want. I— We could." Another bigger shrug. "Have you been able to see much of the city? I imagine getting.." Not wanting to bring up bad memories he instead skips that part, "…In your stituation, you might have been able to see the parts of the city that are.. less desirable. We can go see the sights, if you want?" Winters offers with a hopeful smile.
Maya laughs. "I've seen all of Staten Island I ever want to see. But I'd like to see more of the rest of the city, sure! What's it like out there today?" She looks to the window, checking the climate outside.
"Sunny with blue skies." Brian reports brightly, peering over her shoulder at the window. Taking a step back he splays out his hand at the elevator. Offering an arm to her he waits until she joins him before heading for the elevator.
Maya takes a moment to head to the bedroom, and changes into a comfy t-shirt, shorts, and sandals, before coming back to meet Brian. "Lead on! Where are we going?"
After waiting for her to get ready, Brian places a hand on Maya's back to usher her gently along the corridor towards the elevator. "I figured we could go to Central Park." He says with a bright smile. Before glancing at her, "There was something I wanted to talk to you about. I don't want to make you upset, but.." He gives a soft sigh as they step into the elevator.
There's a sigh, as she steps into the elevator. "But let me guess…word about me has already gotten around the building?" So much for keeping her secret. Or trusting people to keep her secret.
"Yeah." He answers, looking just as agitated. "A contact of mine found out. I'm assuming from Elisabeth. I don't think people in the building are finding out." He tries to reassure her, tucking his hands into his pockets. "I'm bringing this up, because I think I can help you." He says, offering her a faint smile this time. "I have been trained in how to use my power, well. And with that training, I've got a pretty good grasp on how to use abilities. And so I'm pretty good at teaching other people how to use their.. abilities. I think that I, more than anyone else could help you learn about this thing." He goes to make eye contact with her. "You don't have to worry about hurting me." He assures her.
Maya sighs deeply, but then looks at Brian with a frown. "I don't want to learn how to use it, Brian. I want it gone. I don't want to be responsible for anyone else dying!"
"Of course you don't want to use it." Brian offers quickly, "I understand that. I'm just saying, I could teach you to stop it. Teach you to limit it, no one else will have to die."sures her, sadly. "I can't take it away from you. I'm just trying to offer what I can do for you."
Okay, THAT gets her attention. Her eyes widen. "But how?" She stops walking, the topic of conversation now having her paying far more attention to this than anything else. "I mean…even trying it…people die!"
Turning to face her fully he brings up his hand to rest on her shoulder. "I'll take you out of the city. Some place secluded. Where there's no one around. Some open field. We make sure there's no one around. And then I'll teach you. You can't kill me Maya." Winters explains giving her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable. I'm just trying to help."
The elevator comes to a stop at the bottom floor. The doors slide open. "Still want to go to the park?"
Maya hesitates, but then finally answers, in a quiet voice "I think maybe that field outside the city." If she could learn to stop it…well, it wouldn't be as good as it being gone, but better than now!
Brian gives a solid nod. "Tomorrow. We'll go tomorrow." He lets his hand drop from her shoulder. Reaching out to her hand he gives it a gentle squeeze before releasing it. Stepping out of the elevator he gives a broad grin over his shoulder, "But for now! We go have fun, right? See the city. Forget about it."
She nods, and a smile comes to her lips. "All right. Just a day off." She starts to move again, stepping off the elevator. "Are we walking, or driving, or?…"
"I figured we could walk. Stretch the legs, but if you want to drive I can get us a ride." He says, turning around to talk to her. Walking backwards momentarily, "I have a..me in the area. With a car. Up to you." With that he turns around to finish walking the distance of the corridor from the elevator. Opening the door he holds it open for Maya to walk out into the great outdoors.
That makes her laugh, and she looks back. "That's got to be so strange. No, we can walk. Do you…I mean, do you know what your other…yous know? We need to invent a whole new language just to talk about this!"
He grins, giving a shrug. "It's nice. At first I just used it for getting things done faster, but I can do so much with this gift." His is a gift, Maya's is an 'ability'. "I am all of me. One.. spirit, I guess you could say. It's all me. The same person, such exact copies that it's more of just another me rather than a 'clone' if that makes sense. I see everything and hear everything all at once." He looks back at her to see if she's tracking with him. "Used to be hard to distinct between everything but.. I trained and practiced and now it's pretty easy. I take a lot of classes, and study a lot of things. I can learn a lot. At once." He pauses allowing Maya to catch up with him.
"One soul." she says. Maya's a religious enough person that her views on it come through that lens, of course. "That sounds really useful. God's given you a blessing instead of a curse." She walks down the sidewalk with Brian, looking about here and there. "Feels odd to just be walking instead of hiding."
"So, you think God has cursed you." Brian repeats flatly, glancing over at her. He frowns thoughtfully. "That's depressing." He notes, watching her for a long moment before finally. "You hungry? I could get you a hot dog or something."
She shakes her head a little. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to bring this down. This should be a happy day." She smiles, even if it's a bit forced. "I would love something to eat, yes. Thank you."
"No, it's fine." He maintains, going to step up to a hotdog vendor. Taking out a few bills from his wallet he orders the pair of them two dogs. Once they are prepared he lays down the cash before handing Maya her hotdog. Taking his own he goes to walk alongside her again. "Well if this is a happy day. What happy things do we talk about?"
Maya takes her hotdog, and eyes it a little dubiously. New York-style hotdogs aren't exactly standard fare for the Dominican Republic. But she takes a bite, and seems to decide it's good enough, chewing and swallowing. "Well, what makes you happy? You have a hobby? A girlfriend?"
Grinning as she eyes the hotdog, he takes his own and chomps into it quickly. Heedless of how sketch it might be. "Happy? Hell, I don't know. My hobby is apparently teaching women how to control their abilities." He says with a smirk, "Something I've been doing a lot lately. Girlfriend?" For a moment he hesitates. Trying to decide where the blurry line of his life is drawn. Where his double life stopped being his 'real' life or where that confusing circle ended. Taking another bite to get a few more seconds to think, he chews before finally answering. "No."
Swallowing he grins, "But if I did, she would make me very happy. What about you, what makes Maya happy? You have someone back home?"
She laughs at that. "First Peyton and now me. You should open a school, at this rate." And then a more serious look. "No…no one at home. And even if there was…I don't think I can ever go back there. For better or worse. I just want to find my brother and…start over."
"I kind of do!" He points out. "The Lighthouse. Well, when it reopens, that is. When it's up and running you should come by, and help with the kids." He suggests, "I'm sure you're great with kids." Walking alongside her he tilts his head for a moment. "We'll find your brother Maya." He reassures her in a more serious tone.