~Chapter One~

I put on my coat and stepped out of the house. It was winter, and it was my most favorite season. I decided to go and kill time at the park, since I had nothing else to do anyway. Look out world, I thought. Here's Tifa Lockhart, coming to the park on an average winter day! And I never go to the park much.

Crisp, crisp, crisp. I walked briskly towards the park, which was just across my apartment. My fists were jammed into the pockets of my chocolate brown coat, and the lower half of my face was covered by my violet scarf. These pair of jeans I was wearing did not help at keeping me warm at all. Not to mention the plain, old sneakers that I had on. I didn't mind it though; I'm used to living this way. I have no family; I live alone. I have a part-time job over at the cafe in town and that's where I earn most of my pocket money from. Just recently, I transferred to another school because my previous school was too far from where I was living. School would not start until tomorrow though. What's this? School in winter? Yes, apparently this school was an elite school which accept only rich families' kids. This referred to celebrities' kids too. How did I enroll in this school? Let's just say my old school principal helped me with it.

Finally, a bench, I thought. I sighed and made my way to the bench. After wiping off the snow with my bare hands, I settled down on it. It was alright. Just sitting here in the park while snow fell on me. It was nice to admire nature's beauty and watch the little kids play. Boy, I would no longer be a kid in a few years' time. I need to spend more time with people at this new school of mine.

It was not long until I realized the snow fall was getting heavier.

"You know, it's not a really good idea to sit there while the snow falls," I heard someone snicker. It sounded like a guy. "You'd get a cold."

"I can handle it," I said, barely looking up. It was the truth.

"Gawd! You'll get a frostbite, yo!"

"Reno, that's enough," another guy spoke. His voice was much lower. Was that the boy's, Reno's father? Somehow, I turned to look up. A group of kids - two girls and three guys - my age were standing right before me. No fathers, no mothers. I was confused.

A redhead turned to a blond male, "C'mon! What's wrong with trying to keep someone safe! Tis' about time I do something good, yo!" His voice... he was the one who first spoke to me.

The blond one spoke, "I don't think she's from this place, Reno. Be nice."

"But I'm trying to be nice!"

"Well, you fail to do so."

As the two males argued, the girl with short, black hair rolled her eyes. She turned to me and grinned - probably the most cutest grin I had ever seen. She tilted her head to the side, "Don't mind those guys; they're always arguing. Except for the black one there!" She pointed to the boy also with black hair - a similar spiky hairdo like the blonde. The boy simply shrugged when I looked at him, so I turned back to the girl.

The girl held out her hand, "You must be new around here. I'm Yuffie Kisaragi! This girl beside me, her name's Aerith Gainsborough."

Aerith had long, plaited brown hair which I thought was beautiful. I wish I had hair like that. Maybe next time, I guess. Aerith nodded at me and grinned as I shook hands with Yuffie.

Yuffie turned her attention to the boys and nudged the blond one with her right elbow. They immediately stopped fighting and turned to face me, scratching their heads shamefully. The redhead - Reno, I believe he was called - rolled his eyes and said, "I'm the one and only, but you can just call me Reno." I never really understood what he meant.

The blond one nudged Reno and turned back to me. He shot me a grin, "Cloud Strife. Nice to meet you. Sorry about what happened earlier." He held out his hand just like Yuffie and I shook hands with him. Wow, I thought. He seems nice.

The last one - the black-haired one - walked towards me and unexpectedly ruffled my hair, "Zack Fair, here! Nice to meet ya'! Mind introducing yourself this time?"

As Zack put down his hand, I went to fix my hair. However, I never looked away from those group of people. "I.. I'm Tifa Lockhart, and I came from Nibelheim...," I said nervously.

"Nibelheim!" Reno echoed. "Nibelheim! Ain't that the village where poor people live?" Cloud punched him in the arm. Hard.

I shrugged, "It's not that bad though. I'm pretty used to it. I moved here not long ago, but... I recently got transferred to a school here. Know any possibilities?"

The teenagers looked at one another and then turned back to me. "There's only one school here, in this neighborhood, and it's called 'Midgar/Edge High'," informed Yuffie.

"I think you got the wrong information," Aerith pointed out.

I shook my head, "I'm pretty sure the school I'm enrolling in to is in this neighborhood. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here. So," I took a step closer to them. "What's with the name?"

Yuffie tucked her hands into her pockets and continued, "Midgar/Edge High is a school for rich kids and all. The campus consists of several buildings, or blocks. 'Midgar' itself is a whole, huge block! It's like college and heaven combined together, and it belongs to the seven richest kids of the whole school. Most of the seven kids are children of famous celebrities."

"And the 'Edge' part?"

"'Edge' consists of three big blocks, and they belong to those rich kids who couldn't afford to get into 'Midgar'," Yuffie sighed. "It's pretty hard to explain, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about!"

I nodded, "I understand perfectly."

"Anyway, it's pretty impossible for you to get enrolled in such a school," said Cloud. "I mean, you came from Nibelheim, right? Who gave you the money?"

"My school principal."

"What? You had a school, why didn't you go there?"

I shrugged, "It was too far. I'd have to take lots of bus rides and they all cost a lot of money. About 10 gil. I can't afford to waste that much."

"Seriously?" Zack stepped forward. "What about your parents?"

"They're dead," I squeaked. "I live alone. Been living like this for years - not sure how many, to be exact. Currently, I have a part-time job over at the cafe in town. It's new."

"You mean that new cafe that opened at Gold Saucer?" Yuffie barged in. "...I think that one's called 'Melting Point' or something. How much do you get paid a month?"

"Mh, about 250 to 500 gil. I can't keep all of them."

Before we could go any further, Reno started shivering and interrupted, "Hey, hey! We can't just stand here and talk; we have to move! Mooovvee! Then we won't freeze to death in the middle of the park!"

We walked around the park several times talking about each other. I taught them things, while they taught me. It was okay. At least I had friends. Imagine my shock when I learnt that they were from 'Midgar/Edge High' as well!"

"Which part of the school do you guys belong to?" I asked, curious. These kids standing right before me must be stinking rich! And even richer if they answered 'Midgar'! I would think I was dreaming!

Cloud smirked, "That we can't tell. You have to figure it out yourself." His 'speech' was followed by laughter.

I pouted, "Don't worry, I'll find out. Tomorrow!"

Oh yeah. Me and my big mouth.

Okay, wow. My English is totally FAIL in this one! xD

Well, I'm not too sure on what to write here. xD I just have to wait until I get some reviews or something.
So please don't forget to review! *gives all of you cookies*

- Kira