Chapter 5: Don't Count Your Blessings

Kellen wanted to bury his head into the ground at all the stares he was getting as he Father pulled up in front of Guiding Center B. His Dad had insisted on driving him to work. Kellen had thought he was going to grab one of his normal cars. Nope. He went with a bright red sports car that Kellen actively chose not to know the name of, or who made it. He found it embarrassing that his Dad liked fast cars, and had the money to buy them.

Kellen got out of the car in his uniform, his cheeks slightly flushed in embarrassment as he took in the view in front of him.

Most of the Guiding Centers had very similar construction. They all had all glass fronts, letting in lots of light into the rooms and lobby. The differences were the internal structures and how the grounds were laid out. Guiding Center B was focused on calming the mind, so the front of the building was covered in well taken care of gardens, a couple of burbling fountains, with lots of cute benches tucked around. With both sunny and shady spots, the sound of birdsong filled the air with life.

Lots of people, civilians, Espers and Guides were around, coming in and out of the building with ease. It was a welcoming place by design, and Kellen exhaled as he took in the sight of the place he'd been working at for the last six months. It still didn't feel real he went from a literal war zone to this.

"Have a safe day Honey! Mom and I love you very much!" He hunched his shoulders before turning to look at his picture perfect Father who was blowing kisses at him before driving away. He had a feeling that if anyone who knew him saw him, he wasn't living that down. But there also weren't many people who knew him who could get away with making fun of his Father. He was just a sweet A Class Guide.

Kellen made his way towards the entrance, the sliding glass doors opening as he stepped into the lobby. Most of the Center was painted in bright, soft colours. Lots of yellows and cream tones, while plants decorated every space. The lobby was no exception. Aside from a couple of soft couches dotted around, several larger than life plants decorated the space, making it feel like you were walking into a small jungle or forest.

Despite that feeling, it was still a welcoming space. The front desk was near the back of the space, and sitting at the desk was one of the several receptionists like usual. Unlike usual, they didn't have a large line in front of them. She smiled warmly when she caught sight of the Guide.

"Guide Woods! Thank goodness you are feeling better." Her easy welcome made it easy to forget the slight embarrassment of his Father, and Kellen gave her a smile in return.

"Thank you for your kind words. I take it since I passed out yesterday, the manager wants to see me before I start my day?" Her cheeks flushed and she nodded. It was a normal procedure after any incident that those involved would report and give their side of the situation. Usually it was done on the same day, but because he had passed out yesterday, he had to go give his report now. "What's my schedule after I meet with the manager? Do I have any reservations?" He asked and oddly, she wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Uh, I think you should speak with the manager first, Guide Woods." Huh. Odd. Kellen wondered what that meant.

"So, just head up right away?" He confirmed and she gave a firm nod.

"Absolutely. She's expecting you." She confirmed with a smile. Another Guide entered the lobby and Kellen took that as his cue to leave. He headed towards the elevators and paused before pressing the button. His slight hesitation had him pausing. He told himself rather firmly that it wasn't yesterday, no one was going to surge today, and no one got hurt in the elevator anyways. The elevator was safe.

The elevator ride to the manager's office was short enough it didn't provide a lot of time to ponder. Kellen hadn't spent a lot of time with the manager since he'd been hired. She was perfectly polite to him, always had been, but unlike the few he had gotten to know like Moira and Gabby, he hadn't spoken to her outside of work related issues. He hoped that this situation with the Esper didn't mean he was going to be disciplined for his actions, but he wasn't sure. Surges didn't happen that often.

Knocking on her door, Kellen waited until he heard her confirmation. The manager was sitting behind a rather large, bulky desk which didn't suit her. The desk itself was littered with stacks of paper. Even now she was looking over a smaller stack directly in front of her while the sunlight from the window poured in behind her. The room had several bookcases, along with some filing cabinets. It wasn't just for appearances and was a functional office. When her eyes caught sight of Kellen, she gave a tired smile.

"Ah, Guide Woods. Welcome. I hope you are feeling better today." Kellen nodded, coming to a stop in front of the desk. There were several chairs around the room, but he didn't find it appropriate to sit given the circumstances.

"I'm feeling much better today. I'm sorry you weren't able to ask your questions yesterday." She shook her head with a smile, putting down the stack of papers.

"It's fine. You saved our ass yesterday Guide Woods. I also had no idea you knew Captain Thatcher and Ms. Green." She raised an eyebrow and Kellen swallowed.

"Oh, Ms. Green and I went to the same school as kids, and she's a friend. Captain Thatcher and I only know each other in passing. I happened to be around him a lot on the front lines so we formed a friendly relationship then." He told her and she nodded.

"That is surprising, but understandable. I just wanted to go over the facts with you about yesterday's incident, as I am sure you are aware." Kellen straightened his back and braced himself.

The manager didn't ask anything out of the ordinary given the situation. From the gist of it, Kellen came to understand that the Esper had come in looking for guidance and the only free Guide at the time had been Gabby. Gabby's compatibility with Wind Espers was some of the worst levels he'd ever heard of, and given he had already been in a bad state, the guiding session had backfired.

It had actually been a blessing where he had been placed, since all the rooms were empty at the time so it caused minimal structural and personnel damage when he began to surge. Captain Thatcher also hadn't been lying when he had said he had been in the area since he and Taylor had been doing some kind of PR event. It might have been related to the tournament currently going on, but the manager didn't clarify and Kellen didn't care to ask.

Thankfully, this surge hadn't hurt anyone, and hadn't hurt either the Guiding Center's image or the Captain's Guild.

When the two of them were discussing the event, the manager kept everything quite formal and to the book. However, Kellen could tell she wanted to ask something else.

Eventually, when the conversation was winding down, she sighed, pressed her fingers into her forehead before staring at Kellen. "Guide Howard told me that you...noticed a change in the Esper's pupils? And that change made you think he was going to attack the elevator instead of lashing out with his power randomly?" She finally asked, and Kellen exhaled softly.

"Yes, that is what I said." She hummed.

"And you still believe that you saw it with your own eyes?" She asked and Kellen wasn't sure if this was a trick question or something.

"I still believe that is what I saw. I knew I didn't have a great compatibility with him so I did what I could to distract him. I am only sorry I couldn't do more." She didn't respond for a moment before sighing, dropping her head into her hands.

"I'm not upset with you, Guide Woods, I am just confused. The phenomenon of powers growing after being set has only been a recent development in our world. There have been very few cases of Guides changing, and if this happens to be the case, you will be the first in our country who isn't an Esper. So you can understand why I am hesitant to say what I think this means." Kellen swallowed.

He hadn't known that another Guide hadn't gone up in class in their country yet. He wasn't one to pay attention to those kinds of things. Well, more like he forced himself not to care about those kinds of things.

"I assume Guides outside of the country have changed Classes?" He asked tentatively and she sighed again.

"Only two officially, but there might be more unofficially. No one wants to reveal that, since Guides in general are special. Your parents asked that we get you tested again. Captain Thatcher also implied we should, and I am inclined to agree." She stared at Kellen long enough that he felt a bead of sweat run down his back. "I know you have a history with the Center, but I do think you should take the afternoon off and get retested. After, Captain Thatcher wanted you to stop by his Guild so that the Esper who surged could apologise to you properly." Kellen went white. He was waving his hands in protest before he could stop himself.

"I am not looking for an apology. It was a crazy situation." She narrowed her eyes at the younger man.

"Yes, it was a crazy situation, but he broke two of your ribs and gave you several serious cuts and a concussion. Without Ms. Green here, you could have been out of work for several days. That costs me money, since you are a well rounded C Class Guide with a good disposition." When her words didn't seem to sway Kellen, she went for a different tactic. "Think of it as you taking the apology for Gabby, alright? She's still in shock." A wave of concern washed over Kellen at her words.

"Is she doing okay?" He asked hurriedly and she sighed once more.

"She'll be fine. We'll have to switch her room since she doesn't have one right now."

"She can take mine for the time being. I'm fine with that." He offered readily and the manager chuckled.

"My feeling, Guide Woods, is that you won't remain on the fourth floor once you come back either way, but I will gladly take you up on your offer. I'm sure Gabby would feel safer in your office as well since you are the one who came to her rescue. Once again, I am very grateful you came to our center Guide Woods. Your hazard pay will be reflected on your next pay stub. Now, you should get going to the center. They know you are coming in for a retest, and the front desk should be expecting you."

Dread filled Kellen's stomach, and his hands got clammy at the thought of going back to the Center.

Unfortunately, Kellen hadn't taken the Center's staff making fun of him too well, and anytime the Center was mentioned or he had to go near the building he broke out in a cold sweat. Thankfully, most of the staff that had been around when he was going back to get retested before were gone, either moved up or retired, but going in for another retest after his Guiding Center had requested it? No doubt some of the remainders would resurface.

"Guide Woods?" The manager's voice broke Kellen out of the panic he was working himself into. He cleared his throat.

"O-Of course. I'll head out right away." She stared at him for a solid 30 seconds before giving a nod.

"I'll see you when you come back. Let me know the results, will you?" He nodded.

"I'll come see you right away once I get back." He gave a slight bow before he spun around and left the office. In the hallway, he crouched down, ducking his head between his knees and he tried to calm his racing heart.

You're just going to walk in and not be upset no matter what happens. No matter the result. Everyone is just concerned about you. That's all. You've got this Kellen Woods.