AN: Believe it or not, the events in this story are based on a week in the real life of Kylara Kitsune. It's been condensed into a day, but everything you read here actually happened. I simply turned it into a story using Square Enix's characters. Prompt 100 (see, I haven't abandoned the list) - "relaxation".
7.30am, mid-March, and spring was in the air. Tifa Lockhart lifted her box of books from the back seat of the car, while Axel simply straightened his suit.
"Once again, I envy the fact that you don't have to do any marking."
"One of the perks of teaching music, Tifa, love." Axel smirked, but carried the box of science books to Tifa's lab. It would be about an hour until the pupils started arriving, but at Twilight High, there was always something that needed doing. The staff meeting taking place in thirty minutes, for a start.
"Thanks, Axel."
"No problem." Ruffling Tifa's long dark hair, he grinned and sauntered away, knowing full well that she would be standing there shaking her fist at him. It happened every morning, and was as much a part of the routine as brushing his teeth or making them both a cup of coffee.
"Tifa?" Yuffie Kisaragi, the enthusiastic (and scarily young-looking) student teacher who had just joined the department, poked her head around the door. "Have you got a minute to look at this?"
Tifa called her in, sinking into her chair and making herself comfortable. The day had now officially begun.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The thirty-minute staff meeting was at least a quarter of an hour too long, in Axel's opinion. He had much better things to do than listen to the headmaster, Professor Yen Sid, drone on about various things that didn't affect him. Something about budgets for equipment, and homework in the maths department, and something else was all he heard before he stopped making notes and started doodling on his notepad instead. It was ironic that he (and a number of other teachers, to be fair) were doing exactly what they told the pupils not to do in class. A sigh of relief, not dissimilar to the one from the pupils when the bell rang, ran round the staff room when Yen Sid finally finished talking and returned to his office. With any luck, nobody would see him for the rest of the day.
Tifa squeezed Axel's hand, murmured, "see you later," before they went their separate ways. If they were lucky, they'd have time to meet up at lunch, but that wasn't always the case.
Axel was making his way back to the music block when he caught the distinct scent of cigarette smoke in the air. Not unusual for Twilight High, but the student responsible this time wasn't one of the expected culprits. Squall (Leon) Leonhart, puffing away behind the bike sheds. The guilty look on his face when he spotted Axel said it all.
"Sorry, sir."
"You know the rules, Leon. Head's office, now."
Smoking on school grounds was expressly forbidden, which meant that Axel couldn't be lenient, even though he wanted to be. He escorted the moody brunet to Yen Sid's office, then attempted to reach his classroom for a second time. It was clearly shaping up to be "one of those days". Lessons hadn't even begun yet, and Leon's transgression had already landed him with a pile of extra paperwork he didn't need. He'd better get started, Axel decided.
Across the school, in the science department, life was even less peaceful. Yuffie Kisaragi's first class of the day, a room full of overly hormonal teenagers, were restless. It was the warmest day of the year so far, and they wanted to be outside, letting out their frustrations on the Struggle sandlot. Instead, they were in a rather stuffy science lab, studying the life cycle of a star. Unless it involved blowing things up or setting fire to something, this class simply weren't interested in science. It was only a matter of time before the tension was released. It started when Seifer Almasy flicked ink at the back of Aerith Gainsborough's white shirt.
"Leave my girlfriend alone, Almasy." Inevitably, Cloud Strife leapt to Aerith's defense, sparking an argument.
If the incident had remained at the level of arguing, it wouldn't have been such a problem. Instead, the boys ended up out of their seats, throwing punches at each other in the middle of the lab. Yuffie shouted at them to stop, screamed until she was hoarse, and sent one of the other pupils, Demyx, for help. Before Demyx returned, though, Seifer had grasped Cloud's throat, in an attempt to strangle him. Yuffie had to do soemthing to separate them, before they or anyone else, ended up seriously hurt. Somehow, she managed to pull Seifer away, allowing Cloud to breathe normally again. Unfortunately, the enraged teenager simply wasn'y prepared to give up, and twisted round in her grip, trying to get free. Yuffie heard, rather than felt, the bones in her wrist snap, a sickening crunch that caused everyone to freeze. Seifer was immediately, and genuinely, contrite.
"I... I didn't mean to, miss..."
"Yuffie, are you..." Tifa stopped in her tracks, took in the situation at a glance. Cloud Strife was on the floor, hands gingerly touching his neck, bruises already blossoming. Yuffie Kisaragi cradling her right wrist, Seifer Almasy standing beside her, looking more worried than he'd ever been before. The rest of the class were either in their seats or huddled on the far side of the room.
"Everybody sit down. Seifer, Cloud, Miss Kisaragi, come with me." The other members of the department would keep an eye on Yuffie's now-subdued class for the time being. Tifa marched the two boys to her office, ordered them to sit quietly, then examined Yuffie's wrist. "Hospital for you, I'm afraid."
"I thought it might be." Even so, Yuffie smiled. "If I tell you what happened, could you write it down for me? I don't think I can hold a pen at the moment."
"Of course. After you get back from the hospital."
Once Yuffie had been sent off to Twilight Town's hospital, accompanied by one of the school's secretaries, Tifa's attention turned to the two boys. She was well known for having a fierce temper, and this served to demonstrate it. By the time she'd finished, they were both thoroughly embarrassed about the entire incident. Seifer was to be placed in isolation for three days, Cloud merely given detentions. When she dismissed them, Tifa felt drained of energy, thoroughly exhausted by the morning's events. It wasn't even break time yet, which made it even worse.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.
In the relative peace and quiet of the library, two students sought refuge when the bell rang to indicate it was break time. Spiky-haired, blue-eyed brunet Sora and his redheaded girlfriend Kairi hid in what they thought was a secluded corner, trying to get a few minutes alone. Clasped hands, then a tentative kiss was all that happened before the librarian, Rinoa Heartilly, let out an indignant squeal.
"Out! Get out! I won't have behaviour like that in my library! Leave at once!"
Sora and Kairi, both blushing furiously, hurried out, stumbling over their own feet and not quite meeting anybody's eyes. Tifa happened to be passing as they left the room, and smiled kindly. After all they weren't hurting anybody, and it was really rather sweet.
.-.-.-.-.-.-.
After such an eventful morning, Tifa hoped the whole school would calm down a little. No such luck. Her next class arrived, and she only just stifled the groan. Naminé, a quiet, studious girl who generally kept her head down and worked hard, was being loudly berated by the notorious troublemaker Larxene. From the sound of it, Naminé had been asked on a date by Marluxia, Larxene's ex-boyfriend, and Larxene was objecting to it. Tifa stood up, opened her mouth to ask them to be quiet, when Larxene's fist shot out and hit Naminé hard in the face.
"Larxene, outside! The rest of you, sit down and get on with the work on the board. Naminé, over here."
Naminé had one hand tightly over her left cheek, and Tifa had to persuade her to move it. Already, it was bruising, turning purple-blue. It was possible that the punch had broken her cheekbone - Tifa wasn't certain. The next hour was a whirlwind of activity as Naminé was taken to hospital, the police were called to the school, and Larxene was placed under arrest for assault. In the frenzy, Axel managed to pull her aside for a minute or two.
"Remember to breathe, Tifa." She hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder for a brief moment.
It had only been a few seconds, probably not even a full minute, but the short contact with Axel gave Tifa the encouragement she needed to get the incident sorted out. She gave her statement to the police, and then supervised as the rest of her class did so, one by one. Somebody pressed a mug of coffee into her hand, and she sipped it gratefuly, thanking the powers that be that she only had one more lesson to teach that day. A free period, last thing on Friday, was rare, but Tifa had one, and she'd never been more relieved by that fact.
Finally, it was lunchtime. Tifa had mountains of work to do, but couldn't cope with even looking at it. She needed a rest, and so, it seemed, did all the other staff. They congregated in the staff room, drinking gallons of tea and coffee, and eating their way through several packets of biscuits. She'd just sat down when Axel appeared, looking as tired as she felt. He sat beside her, puller her into his arms and rested his head against hers.
"Is it time to go home yet?"
Despite the comments from the rest of the teachers, Axel and Tifa stayed there, holding each other, until lunchtime was over. Just as they stood up, ready to go back to class, a bell began to ring, loudly and insistently. A groan went round the staff room. It was the fire alarm.
Irritated teachers herded overexcited students outside, where they lined up in rows on the tennis courts. Rumours were spreading like wildfire - Tifa listened to them all and quickly dismissed them. It was, after all, not unusual for someone to set the alarm off just to get out of lessons for a while. When given the all clear, she ushered pupils back inside, hurrying them along. It wasn't until twenty minutes later, when Professor Yen Sid entered the room, that she found out what actually happened.
"Reno Tarshil set the alarm off, Miss Lockhart. He was looking for a place to hide an air rifle, and wanted the buildings empty. He has been apprehended by the police, and both he and the weapon have been removed from school property."
"Thank you for letting us all know."
The rest of the lesson was a complete waste of time. The class only wanted to discuss the incidents, and Tifa was happy to let them get on with it.
.-.-.-.-.-.
When the final bell rang, the pupils bolted out of the buildings, leaving the staff of Twilight High standing there, somewhat shellshocked, and relieved to have survived to the end of the day. Axel wrapped his arms around an exhausted Tifa.
"Let's go home, babe."
he wouldn't let her take any of the books that needed marking, saying she needed a break this weekend. For once, she was far too tired to argue, and just let him lead her out to the car and drive home. He carried her into the house, sat on the sofa with her still in his arms. For the first time that day, a sense of calm fell over them. The pupils were glad to see the back of the teachers, but the feeling was entirely mutual. Axel's hands carefully massaged the tense muscles in tifa's shoulders, and gradually, she felt herself begin to relax. It had been a long, strenuous day, but now she was at home, with the man she loved. What more could she ask for?
AN: It happened, I promise. All of it. I was there.