It was a bright and sunny day at Balamb Garden. Not like that was

uncharacteristic though, because if the weather was less than agreeable, the huge

academy could just get up and fly its way to warmer climates. I gazed up, astonished, as I

laid eyes on my new school, the place where I would be taught to be a SeeD – a soldier

trained exclusively for fighting evil sorceresses.

I don't remember exactly how my professors had talked me into it. They told me I

had much more potential than to just stay in our little Dollet Academy that only taught

the basics needed to get a boring job in something like a flower shop. In my opinion,

Dollet had too many of those already. I had never dreamed that soon I'd be going to the

most exclusive garden ever to roam the earth.

I was still awed at the sheer enormity of the place at the actual entrance when I

heard a high-pitched, very excited voice cry, "WELCOME TO BALAMB GARDEN!!"

I jumped backwards ten feet in the air and landed on my butt. There was a group

of people in front of me, most of who were snickering. One girl at the front who had

short, sort of strawberry blond hair and a yellowy-orange dress, was the only one not

laughing. She turned around to the others and cried in that unmistakable pitch, "Oh, give

her a break, guys! It's scary transferring to a new school, I know where she's coming

from! Y'know, for a welcome committee I bet you're not making her feel very

welcome!"

I staggered to my feet. "No, it's ok," I told her, dusting off my black, sleeveless,

thigh-length jacket with a tight, long sleeved red shirt underneath, covering what chest

area the black one wouldn't. My red bellbottoms looked fine upon inspection, and my

new black shoes hadn't seemed to suffer even a scratch. I blinked my hazel eyes as I

adjusted my dark, plastic-rimmed glasses on my nose and flicked a few stray strands of

auburn hair out of my face. "You just surprised me. I didn't expect there to be a

welcoming committee."

"Well, Balamb Welcoming Committee, at your service," she replied, not in the

least bit shy. "My name's Selphie! What's yours? Where are you from? Ready for your

official guided tour?"

"Uh-" Before I could answer any of those questions Selphie whisked me away by

the hand and started dragging me around the garden, chattering the whole while.

"...that's the Library, though you'll hardly need to ever go there because almost

everything is already on the computer...and that's the Training Grounds. Watch out for

T-Rexaurs, we've had six separate injuries with first years in the past month...the dorms

are up that way, you'll have your own by tonight...and that's the Cafeteria. If you want

hot dogs, don't ask, they're not there..."

"Is...all this...going...to be...on the...exam?" I puffed when we stopped for a

break at the Quad, which was "very relaxing for its running water and a nice place to

study if need be".

"Huh?" Selphie said, tilted her head to one side. "I'm no teacher."

I looked up and smiled at her. "I was joking."

"Oh!" she cried, and smiled that smile that I was sure I'd see a lot of now that I

was here. "I'm sorry, it's just that you really haven't said much since you got here." I

rolled my eyes at her and shook my head. She giggled.

Lastly, Selphie showed me around to the classrooms on the top floor before I had

to go see the Headmaster. At this point I saw her as a godsend. I never would've been

able to navigate through the hallways and different places alone, and I'd be too afraid to

ask anybody. And to boot, I am the adventurous type. Who knows what might have

happened if I sauntered into the Training Ground thinking I was going to the Library?

"Well, I guess you'd better get to Headmaster Cid's office, huh?" Selphie said

after passing the last classroom, which was apparently closest to the deck/Cid's office.

"I guess so," I said a little sadly. I didn't want to say goodbye to my first new

friend so soon.

"Oh, don't be so glum!" Selphie exclaimed. "Listen, I'll meet you in the Cafeteria

at lunchtime. I have some friends you'd probably like to meet. How about it?"

"Well, alright," I replied. Then I grinned. "Just so I know, what's the next best

thing to eat there besides hot dogs?"

Selphie laughed. "There is no "next best thing". You grab what you can and go."

"Sounds like survival of the fittest," I replied. "I like challenges, even if it is over

lunch."

"By the way," Selphie said, "you still haven't told me your name."

"Oh, heh." I blushed. "Sorry, you didn't really give me a chance. It's Sierra."

"Ok, well I'll see you at lunch Sierra!" Selphie called as she ran off.

"Bye Selphie!" I called back, just in time before she rounded the corner out of

sight.

My nerves returned as I pressed the elevator button to the deck. It seemed that

there'd be a lot to get used to here. As the doors slid apart with a soft "ding", something

dawned on me: What if I was behind the rest of my class? I was already in my final year,

and I was sure that Balamb Garden taught most everything differently from my old

school in Dollet. What if Headmaster Cid turned me away because it was too late to teach

me everything?

It was all I could do to keep my hands from shaking as I walked forward and

knocked on the double doors. "Come in," came a voice from within. I turned the

elaborate handle on one of them and admitted myself, closing it softly behind me.

"Ah, you must be Sierra Marcus," an almost plump man who looked about in his

late forties said as he rose from behind a large oak desk piled with all sorts of papers.

"I've heard a lot about you, such as you've never attended a garden before. Is that

correct?"

"Y-yes sir," I stammered. "Is that a problem?"

"Heavens no," he replied as he came around the desk and stood in front of me.

"It's true that you won't know exactly everything your fellow classmates do at the

moment, but if a normal school recommended you, let alone at such a high level, then

you must have a very wide range of talent open for us to work with."

"I...I suppose so," I said, trying to understand what was going to happen to me.

"My former professors told me that I had too much potential to stay where I was so they

sent me here."

"And with just cause!" Cid exclaimed. "My dear, you are taking the first step in

your journey to become a SeeD. However, to start you off for your first week I think I'll

have you teamed up with some current SeeDs to get a GF for yourself, how does that

sound?"

I grinned from ear to ear. "You really think I can handle that already?"

"I have every faith in you," he replied, smiling back. "Right now, why don't you

go down to the cafeteria and get some lunch. You'll set out first period this afternoon."

"Yes sir, thank you," I said politely as I turned to leave. I tried as hard as I could

not to run back to the elevator. I couldn't wait to tell Selphie.

Once back downstairs, I got lost and had to retrace my steps from the entrance.

"Ok...that's the Library with information that's rather useless cuz it's already on the

computers...Training Grounds complete with T-Rexaurs...Dorms...Cafeteria without hot

dogs." I stopped for a moment. "I wonder if there's a reason for that." A bell chimed out

of nowhere, and a rush of students came from much a similar place. Lunch had officially

begun.

As I turned the corner to enter the cafeteria, I saw two male students playing

Triple Triad. I hadn't known that Balamb students played cards! I sighed, missing my

own cards. I had traded them off at the orphanage back home in Dollet before I left. It

was my own decision, because I thought that I was far too old for cards.

"I'll just have to start from scratch," I told myself as I took the end of the lunch

line, scanning around for any sign of Selphie. I couldn't see her anywhere. My eyes were

still elsewhere as the line moved forward. Unfortunately, I didn't stop when the rest of it

did and bumped into the person standing in front of me.

"Oof!" I tumbled backwards onto the floor, miraculously, for the second time that

day. I gazed up to behold a guy with rather dark-looking eyes and short blond hair,

wearing a long gray coat with very interesting red crosses near the tops of the sleeves,

glaring down at me from on high.

"Watch where you're going, you little klutz!" he yelled. He bent down just

enough so as not to lose any of his dignity to take a closer look at me and smirked. "I've

never seen you around here before. You must be new. You'd better watch yourself

around here or you'll find yourself in some rather unfriendly company. You got it?"

Before I could nod to acknowledge what he had said, Selphie leapt to my rescue

out of the blue and began collecting me from off the floor. "Leave her alone Seifer! She

doesn't need to be bullied by the likes of you on her first day! Can't you find someone

else to pick on?"

"Well, well, if it isn't the Espresso Poster Girl. You know, I'd love to come pick

on some of your little chicken-wuss friends, but I've got other plans." He started walking

off. "Catch you later, Sophie."

"IT'S SELPHIE, YOU POMPOUS IGNORAMUS OF A JERK!!" she screamed

after him. "THE LEAST YOU CAN DO WHEN YOU'RE INSULTING SOMEONE IS

GET THEIR NAME RIGHT!!"

I covered my ears and just stared at her for a moment. "Selphie, you yelled in my

ear." I gazed after Seifer curiously. "Was it necessary to yell at him like that? It WAS my

fault, after all."

"Oh, sorry Sierra," she apologized. "It's just that if you don't show Seifer who's

boss he'll walk all over you."

"I didn't mean to cause a scene," I sighed as I dusted myself off for the second

time that day. "The last thing I want right now is publicity like that."

"Aww, don't worry about it," she reassured me. "Let's get your lunch and I'll

introduce you to my friends, ok?" At this point, we were at the front of the line.

"Alright," I said. I pointed to a plate with some Shepherd's Pie one it. "How's that

supposed to be?"

"Ick," she shuddered. "You've got a lot to learn about the cafeteria lunches."

In the end, after much debate and arguing, Selphie picked out my whole lunch,

which consisted of a Caesar chicken wrap, a small fries, a small chocolate milk and a

green Jell-O cup. Amazingly enough, it all cost less than 5 Gil.

But before I could even take a second look at it, Selphie was leading me around

the numerous tables, filled with talking people, most of whom were wearing blue school

uniforms. I was expecting to stop at one of these tables, but when she finally sat down, I

noticed that every person was dressed casually. That's when I realized: Selphie and her

friends were full-fledged SeeDs.

"Ok, these are my friends," Selphie said, motioning to the table of people,

pointing to each one respectively. First was a cute guy with light brown hair and blue

eyes who was wearing a black jacket with fur around the collar, sitting next to a black-

haired girl with dark eyes and a long, light-blue sleeveless sweater with wings on the

back. "This is Squall and Rinoa. He took charge in Headmaster Cid's absence during the

sorceress hunt." I could tell just by the way they sat together that they were a couple.

Already I was feeling a little jealous. Squall nodded and flicked a hand at me and Rinoa

managed a small, "Hi."

Next was a girl with long blond hair, which was all tied back besides her bangs.

She was wearing an orange outfit. "This is Quistis. She's a teacher here, so if you have

many questions, you can ask her." Quistis smiled and said clearly and instructor-like,

"Hello."

Before Selphie could move on, the guy with the spiky blond hair and a tattoo on

his face sitting next to Quistis grinned and said, "Hey, I'm Zell. I'm a master fighter and

GF expert and...well, master all-around everything."

"Everything except grabbing hot dogs for lunch, huh Zell?" the other guy sitting

at the table joked, elbowing him in the ribs. He had long bangs and a longer ponytail

falling down out of a black cowboy hat. He was wearing a long beige coat. Selphie

wrapped her arms around him and again I felt the small twinge of jealousy.

"This is Irvine," she said happily. "He's mine, though he wouldn't be able to stop

being a lady's man to save his life."

Irvine smiled and said, "Hey." He then turned to Selphie. "Stop it Sephie, you'll

scare her off. I don't want her to think she hasn't got a even a bit of a chance, after all."

"Oh geez," Selphie sighed as she let him go. "Anyway, everybody, say hello to

the newest member of Balamb Garden! This is Sierra."

I smiled sheepishly. "Hello everybody," I managed to croak as I sat down across

from Zell with my tray of food.

"I see Selphie managed to weasel her way into picking out your lunch for you,"

Irvine snickered as he eyed what was on my tray.

"I just don't want her making any of the wrong decisions!" Selphie cried,

defending herself. "Without my help, she was going to pick the Shepherd's Pie!"

Everyone laughed, and I managed to catch Squall's eye. He was chuckling along

with the rest of them. I found that a little strange, because Squall looked like the kind of

guy who hardly ever so much as smiled.

"Well, if you can't eat your way through to it, I got dibs on your Jell-O, ok?" Zell

said to me as he leaned his elbow on the table.

"As usual," Irvine said, grinning.

"So Sierra," Quistis said as she leaned forward a little, in a desperate attempt to

change the topic of conversation, "what's your first order of business here at Balamb? Do

you think you're up to par with the rest of Balamb's curriculum?"

I choked down a mouthful of my chicken wrap. "Headmaster Cid said I'm pretty

far behind everyone else actually, especially just coming out of a normal school," I

replied.

"Wow," Selphie chimed in out of nowhere. "You didn't tell me that. So, what IS

your first mission?"

"I'm to go out after lunch with a couple of SeeDs and get a GF for myself," I said

casually.

A fork clattered onto an empty plate and I looked up, startled. Everyone at the

table was staring at me, even Squall and Rinoa, who both seemed to have just come out

of their own little world at what I had just said.

"You're going after a GF on your FIRST DAY??" Zell exclaimed.

"Cid must have some really high hopes for YOU!!" Selphie cried. "Never have I

ever heard about a normal student being pushed so far ahead on their first day!"

"Neither have I," Squall said thoughtfully. Everyone's attention seemed to be

diverted to him as he spoke. "Cid must have some incredibly high hopes, indeed. What

does he think he's trying to prove with this publicity stunt? It's almost impossible for

some students who've been here several years to get a GF so soon, let alone for this

newbie."

I felt my face turning red with embarrassment. Squall hadn't said a good thing

about me yet. Angrily, I stood up and left the table. "Zell, you can have my Jell-O, I just

lost my appetite!" I called over my shoulder as I stalked away.

Not being able to think of anywhere else to go and gather my thoughts, I found

myself standing at the railing and staring into the running water at the Quad. I had never

been so insulted in my life. What kind of incredible jerk makes such a judgment without

even getting to know a person first? The nerve!

It was then that I heard a soft bell chime, the same one that had started lunch.

'Sierra Marcus, please report to the entrance for your lesson. I repeat, Sierra Marcus,

please report to the entrance for your lesson." I sighed a sigh of relief. At least they

hadn't said "first lesson".

But upon reaching my destination, I groaned inwardly. Who was standing there

waiting for me but Squall himself? With loathing in my eyes I approached him.

He avoided my gaze by looking at the floor as he asked, "Do you have a

weapon?"

"No," I said defiantly. "It's my first day in a garden. Or did you forget that already?"

He looked up from the floor and our eyes met. His were angry, and full of fire. I

crossed my arms and took a very impatient stance as I glared back. He sort of growled

before holding out to me a box about as big as one of my old school textbooks that was

wrapped up in white paper and adorned with a red, curly bow. "A gift from the

headmaster," he prompted me, so I took it.

I carefully removed the bow, tore off the wrapping and opened the box. Inside

was a pair of metal glove/arm guards, which stuck off at the elbow. They were black and

decorated with elaborate gold etchings, and looked incredibly sharp. "They're beautiful,"

I whispered.

"Well, put them on and let's go. I want to get this job over with as soon as

possible," Squall sighed as he put the blunt edge of his huge Lionheart gunblade on his

shoulder and started towards the gates.

I dumped the box and the wrapping into a nearby trashcan, and shoved the bow

into my pants pocket before I made a move to follow. Why did it have to be Squall, of all

people? It was apparent just by the way he remained a number of paces in front of me the

whole walk that he disliked me.

When we had reached the fire cave, he finally spoke again. "Do you know what

GF we're going to get?" he asked with a tone of annoyance in his voice.

I looked past him into the cave. "Obviously something of a fire element," I said,

staring him in the face again. "So I suppose it would be Ifrit."

"Very good," Squall replied a little too sourly. "Now may I ask who told you to

say that?"

I gritted my teeth. That was the last straw. "Why do you assume that someone

told me what to say?!" I cried. "Just because I've never attended a garden before doesn't

mean that I don't know that what's behind you right now is a fire cave and the only GF I

could think of who has that element is Ifrit! I used to play Triple Triad, you know! I'm

not STUPID!!" Before I could give Squall a chance to respond, I dashed ahead and past

him, into the cave.

"Wait!" I heard him calling after me. "Sierra, wait!" But I didn't stop. Anything

he said after that was lost among the roar of the lava around me. I followed the rock

pathway, as it was the only way to actually walk without falling into the bubbling hotness

below, staring straight ahead the whole time.

'Who needs an egotist like him?' I fumed along with the lava under my feet. 'So

what if I'm new? It doesn't mean he has to treat me like I'm a complete and utter moron.'

I heard footsteps running behind me, so I ran faster. I didn't want Squall to catch up with

me. I wanted to prove to him that I was capable of handling myself, despite how

incompetent he seemed to think I was.

But even with that thought on my mind, I slipped on a small stone and lost my

footing. I fell over the side of the rock path, and dangled just a few feet above the boiling

lava. I clung to the rocks for dear life, but my grasp was starting to slip. "Help!" I cried.

"Help!! Squall, help me!!!"

For a moment I feared that he had already run past me and hadn't seen my

fingertips struggling to hang on. But all of a sudden he was there, kneeling down to me,

gunblade tossed aside on the pathway. "Take my hand! Hurry!" he cried.

But I didn't. "Why did you assume that I didn't have a sweet clue about

ANYTHING at Balamb Garden??" I called back.

"Sierra, can we talk about this in a minute, after you're back on the pathway??"

Squall replied. "Take my hand! That's it, now try to get your footing on the side and help

me pull you up!!"

My feet scrambled on the loose rock, but I was back on the path in no time.

Panting, I asked him again, "So...why do you assume...that I have no...gasp...idea

about your garden?"

Squall looked at me, with those same eyes that I couldn't believe were so angry

and full of hate earlier. "I wanted to apologize," he replied. "It was mean of me to say

those things. I shouldn't have judged you based on where you came from. If you were

sent to Balamb at all, then you must have at least some potential." He offered a gloved

hand. "Friends?"

I smiled and shook. "Friends." Then I stood and looked around. "So, when do you

think we'll run into Ifrit?"

"Soon," Squall replied. "Come on, let's keep going." We took a few steps, feeling

the smoldering heat before he asked, "Um...what's your favorite ice cream?"

From there, Squall and I ended up talking about everything from GFs to star

signs; from Balamb Garden to Triple Triad; from mogs to chocobos and back. We were

just getting on the topic of his SeeD exam mission when, from out of nowhere, Ifrit

appeared with a loud roar.

"Alright, this is where you prove your worth, Sierra!" Squall called out to me.

"Are you ready?"

"Y-you bet!" I called back, though completely terrified. This was the most

exciting moment of my life, but I never even so much as idly threatened the other kids at

the orphanage, let alone defeat and take a GF all for my very own. So, feeling like it was

now or never, I dove headfirst into battle.

Big mistake. I had absolutely no idea how to use the weapons strapped to my

arms. Every movement I made to strike the huge monster missed by a mile and a half, but

I refused to give up. Squall's cheering made me feel even more confident that I'd get the

hang of it eventually.

But wait, that didn't seem like cheering at all. I could barely hear him, but he

looked very distressed. I dove for cover behind a nearby rock, then dashed behind a

second, using them as shields until I got close as I could to Squall.

"What is it?" I asked him.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?!" he cried at me.

"I already told you, dammit! No!" I yelled. "I'm running on pure determination

here, but it doesn't seem to be enough. You're a full-fledged SeeD, Squall! Tell me what

I should do!"

"I can't teach you a lot from behind a rock," Squall replied. "But never mind that

now, you'll train back at garden. Let me see...for now I can teach you a few simple

techniques. Watch closely, and do exactly as I do."

He showed me a few simple arm movements; swing the guard part of the gauntlet

to stun, slash with the sharp tips by my elbows to strike, and cross my arms together in

front of me to block. Ifrit roared loudly, thrashing about, as I mimicked every stance he

made. Within three minutes, I found myself back in the fight.

"Strike swiftly and try to avoid getting hit!" he exclaimed as I pummeled

forwards.

Meanwhile in my mind, I was trying to remember the poses. 'Stun, strike, block.

Stun, strike, block.' I clubbed Ifrit on the lower back with the backside of my right-

handed gauntlet, then slashed at its side with the point of my left-handed one. It roared

something awful and swung behind to try and smack what was bothering it. I blocked its

huge hands with the backsides of my gauntlets, and scurried to the side to make some

distance between it and myself.

"You're doing great, Sierra!" I heard Squall cry. "Keep it up!"

"Now that's the kind of support I wanted to hear from the beginning!" I yelled

back.

The battle lasted another ten minutes, and I was beginning to grow weary.

"Squall," I half-cried, half-wheezed, "I can't keep this up forever! Ifrit doesn't seem

nearly as tired as I am. I want to finish this, but I can't!"

"Yes, you can! Just keep doing what I showed you!" Squall prompted me. "You'll

have Ifrit on the ropes in no time! Trust me!!"

"Okay, if you think I'm capable of – Ahhhh!" Ifrit had swung out at me with one

of his huge arms and I went flying across the cave. I collided with the wall and landed

hard on the rock floor. I was still conscious, by some miracle, and I knew after a spill like

that I just had to be bleeding.

I struggled to stand up, but each time I moved even a millimeter, pain shot up

through my legs. I looked down, and in several places my pants had been torn and huge

gashes were visible. It was hard to tell which ones were causing me to bleed most

profusely, because my blood blended in with the color of my bellbottoms. I hoped to god

that they weren't broken, but I collapsed against a large stalagmite jutting out of the floor.

I couldn't get up. It was impossible.

Hearing Ifrit roar again, I looked up quickly. It had located me and was fast

covering the distance between us. I winced, but didn't look away. Prepared for the worst,

I had vowed long ago that when death came, I'd stare it directly in the face until the end.

But from out of nowhere, like a knight in shining armor, Squall jumped between

my foe and I, gunblade held out in front of him. Ifrit stopped, and sized up his new

opponent. "Get up!!" he yelled at me over his shoulder. "C'mon, you'll be swimming in a

river of fire if you don't move it!"

"I can't stand up!!" I cried back, fanning a hand at my shredded legs. Squall

glanced down at them, then at Ifrit, then back at me. Before I could muster another word,

Squall dropped the Lionheart, gathered me up in his arms, and raced along the pathway to

the exit. I stayed huddled near him and didn't dare say a word until we were out of the

cave.

"Why didn't Ifrit chase us?" I asked Squall as he caught his breath when we were

safely outside. He had propped me up against the cave wall, away from the exit, and sat

next to me, panting and wheezing.

"Ifrit...gasp...doesn't like to...leave his...gasp...cave...if

he...doesn't...have...to...wheeze..." Squall choked.

"I see," I replied, looking down at my legs. My face fell and I sighed heavily.

"These were my favorite pair of pants, too. I knew I should've asked for a uniform on the

day I enrolled."

Squall turned his head toward me, gaping. "You're worried about your pants of

all things? Just LOOK at those cuts! We have to get you to sick bay, right now."

He stood and made to pick me up again, but I stopped him. "Squall, aren't you

going to go back in and get your gunblade?" I asked.

He stood with a hand behind his head. "Are you kidding? Going in there without a

weapon would be suicide now! Besides, my training states that we have to get you to a

doctor right away, so to hell with anything else." He picked me up again. "Here, put your

arms around my neck, it'll make my job a lot easier. There we go. Don't worry, we'll be

back in Balamb Garden before lunchtime.." He started walking the paved road back to

garden, staring straight ahead.

"Hey, Squall?" I said timidly after a minute of silence.

"Yeah?" he replied, glancing down at me.

"Thanks for saving me today," I said, smiling. Then I added. "Twice."

He let out a small chuckle. "We'll keep the first incident between you and me."

"Thanks," I repeated, feeling myself getting drowsy. "Thanks...for being

there...I'm so...tired..."

"Sierra- Hey, Sierra don't go to sleep on me-!" Squall's voice echoed in my fading

consciousness. "Sierra, talk to me! About anything! Sierra...!"