Disclaimer: Gundam Seed/Destiny does not belong to me.
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Ring. Ringgggg.
"Hello? Is that you, Cagalli?" Near the kitchens of a cafe, a pretty girl with sea-green eyes and short, stylish brown hair in a waitress uniform of cheerful spring green and white blouse, skirt, and apron ensemble answered her cell phone. She had been allowed a break time of fifteen minutes due to the unusual slowness of business today, which was why she was answering her phone at all – usually she was a very competent and diligent worker.
"Yeah, it is. I'm glad you picked up – I thought you'd be busy serving people. Anyway, I'm just calling to tell you that I'll be there in fifteen minutes. Would you apologize to your boyfriend for me?" Across the lively college town of Heliopolis, a slim-figured girl with ruffled short blond hair was hurriedly descending a set up marble stairs along with fifty other students. Once she reached her bike, she dumped her books into the basket attached to the front of the handlebars and started pedaling down the street.
"Don't rush yourself too much. The business is really slow today – it must be because all the professors are giving tests this week. More people are at dorm rooms or libraries than at cafes." Miriallia opened a window to get some fresh air. She tucked a strand of hair behind an ear and leaned against the wall, looking out at the sunny streets outside. "Oh, and," she added, remembering the rest of her friend's dialogue. "Dearka is not my boyfriend."
Cagalli laughed as she continued on her way. "Sure, sure. Hey listen, I'll see you in a bit, okay? It's a little hard steering this thing with one hand."
The brunette frowned a little, although she wasn't really mad – she'd deal with Cagalli and her teasing later. "All right then, see you. And be careful!"
"Yep. Bye, Mir." Cagalli grinned at her closed cell phone before stuffing it back in her pocket, thinking how cute and frustrating at the same time it was that her best friend continually denied that their manager had any interest in her.
"Miss Haww! Just because I give you a fifteen minute breather doesn't mean I'm permitting you to slack off and gossip with your friends!" A tall, tanned and a rather good-looking blond boy walked towards her with a mock frown on his attractive face. Miriallia's heart skipped a beat, as it always seemed to do whenever he approached her suddenly.
Only a second later, she retaliated, heartbeat returning closer to normal pace. "I apologize for my incompetence, Mr. Elthman! I promise to never ever take another break, even if you beg me to!" She mockingly saluted.
The older boy blinked, then laughed, his rich tenor voice sending a shiver down her spine. She laughed along. "Come on, more customers have come, and what'll they say when they see that our prettiest waitress isn't here as usual?"
She grinned. "You're something else, Dearka, flattering innocent girls like me to trick them into working like slaves – I can see right through your sweet talk!"
They laughed again. "I swear I can't trick you, my dear Miriallia," Dearka said cheerfully as he walked out to where the customers were waiting to be served. Averting her face so it couldn't be seen, Miriallia smiled a little as he started taking orders.
'Boyfriend, huh? No way.'
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Cagalli sped up on her bike a little, not really because she wanted to get to work any faster, even though she enjoyed working at the café, but because she loved the feel of the wind rushing by her face and tousling her hair. She loved riding through the streets like this, when the sky was sunny and clear.
'Two exams down, three more to go. Tonight I'll review over the materials for that biology exam and then tomorrow afternoon I can study for that journalism exam…'
Her thoughts were already planning out what she was going to do for the next twenty-four hours. She couldn't wait until when exams were over – the professors were always a little easygoing after they gave tests. She was looking forward to sleeping for more than two and a half hours a night.
"Oh crap, I have to return this book to the library." She spotted her blue-covered library book mixed in with her notebooks. She realized she could drop it off on her way to the café and so stopped in front of the massive brick building after a short while. She quickly ascended the steps to the entrance and entered the calm, soothing, bookshelves-filled building. Cagalli paused for a while, taking in a deep breath like she always did – she loved inhaling the smell of books whenever she entered. She was dropping off the book and was about to step out again when she heard her name being called.
"-alli. Hey, Cagalli." She turned and saw a good friend, Kira Yamato approaching her. She smiled a little at his ruffled and tired-looking figure; it was clear that someone else had been sleeping for two and a half hours too.
"Hey. What's up?" They exited through the thick oaken doors together.
Kira rubbed his violet eyes and yawned. "Sorry – I'm really tired right now and all I want is some sleep. I'm never going to sit through my computer science exam in this condition." The blond girl 'tsked' her disapproval, looking at her worn-out friend with a scrutinizing eye.
"You should watch your health, Kira. At this rate, you probably will fall asleep in the middle of the exam. Maybe you should take a nap before? What time do you have it at?" They had reached the bottom of the stairs and Cagalli and Kira were standing in front of Cagalli's bike.
"Um…it's in two and a half hours. I guess I could squeeze in some naptime." Kira rubbed a bleary eye and glanced at his watch.
"Well, get some rest. And remember to set the alarm – you don't want to miss the exam. And good luck!" Cagalli said, smiling a little as Kira yawned for the hundredth time since she'd met him just five minutes ago, a small voice in the back of her mind thinking about how cute he looked even when he was dead tired like this.
"'Kay. Thanks, Cagalli. I'll see you later." Kira waved as he saw his blond friend pedaling away.
About a minute or two later, her phone started to ring again. "Is it Milly?" Cagalli wondered out loud. "I'm not that late, am I?" She stopped her bike and fished out her phone from her pocket once more. "Hello?"
But it wasn't Miriallia this time. The clear, beautiful and absolutely unmistakable voice greeted Cagalli in its owner's usual cheerful way. "Hi, Cagalli!" The brown-eyed girl blinked. "Lacus?"
"Yes, it's me! Long time no talk!" A smile grew on Cagalli's lips. Even being on the phone with this girl could make people happy. "I wasn't expecting a call from you. What's up?"
"Well, I have some news and I have a request to ask of you," said Lacus on the other side. "I finished my project early, so I'm coming back to the University three days from now, instead of next week."
"Really? That's good to hear – everyone here has missed you a lot." Cagalli knew that their friends would have the same happy reaction when they heard this news. "And the request? Would you like me to pick you up at the airport?"
"No, I'll be okay. But I have a friend who's coming to our school and he's arriving tomorrow evening at the airport. And I was wondering if you wouldn't mind picking him up? I was planning to go myself, but seeing as how I won't be there until later, I won't be able to. And I'd like you to meet him so he feels welcomed."
"Oh, sure. I'm free tomorrow evening so it won't be a problem. What time is his plane arriving? What's his name? What school is he transferring from?"
"Oh, oops- his name is Athrun. Athrun Zala. He said his plane was arriving at eight. And – well, I'll tell you more about him when I get there. It's kind of a long story."
Cagalli nodded. "Ok, sure. So I'll pick him up tomorrow at eight in the evening."
The long pink-haired girl smiled on the other end. "Yes. Thank you Cagalli! I'll see you soon."
"Mm-hm. Bye." The petite blond girl started once again on her way to the café, wondering about this mysterious Athrun Zala.
Cagalli realized with a start that she took too long at the library with Kira and on the phone with Lacus. "Time for a shortcut. Dearka's going to kill me." Cagalli turned towards a less-used path that went through the woods.
'Almost there…' Then,
CRASH
With a surprised shriek, Cagalli remembered being thrown off her bike as it skidded down the steep slope, veering off the dirt path before she fell unconscious.
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"Urgh…" Squinting her eyes, Cagalli woke up to bright fluorescent lights overhead. Where was she? Screwing up her face at the familiar smell of cleaning alcohol and disinfectants, she looked around at the light blue curtains that surrounded her bed. Hospital. Sitting up with some difficulty, she realized that her left leg was wrapped in a cast. "What on earth…?"
"Miss! Are you all right now?" from her right appeared a tall boy who looked to be about her age with light brown skin and short dark brown hair. His chocolate brown eyes were wide with concern as he approached her.
"Er…yes, I am. Wh-what happened?" Cagalli asked, looking at the boy questioningly.
"Well, I was driving down the wood area and I saw something – or someone, as it turned out – sliding down from the dirt path and I found you unconscious and your bike was nearby. Its chain broke, which is probably why you fell in the first place. Anyway, so I brought you over here when I found you. You sprained your ankle and one of the bones in your leg is fractured, the doctor said. It's good you didn't hurt your head, though."
"Ah…I see. Thank you so much for bringing me here." Cagalli said, smiling gratefully at the boy. "Do you go to this university?" The boy nodded.
"Yes, I do. My name's Ahmed. I think I might have seen you around before, but I'm not sure. Are you in the law school, by any chance?"
"No, actually I'm studying at the medical school. My name's Cagalli. Cagalli Athha. Um…thanks for saving me again. I guess that teaches me not to speed downhill." She laughed as they shook hands.
"Miss Athha! Finally awake?" One of Cagalli's instructors, Dr. Erica Simmons who worked in the emergency room area, walked in to the curtained space that surrounded her bed.
"Dr. Simmons! Yes, I'm fine now." Cagalli smiled up at her favorite teacher. The auburn haired woman looked down at her student. "You'd better be more careful from now on. What would your mother say if she heard of you being careless?"
The blond girl felt her face heat up a little. "I guess I'll get an earful when she hears of this," she admitted. Dr. Simmons laughed. "Don't worry about it too much. Oh, and here are your crutches. Your leg will take about six weeks to fully heal, so you'll have to use these until then."
Cagalli's face fell. Using crutches would mean she would take more time to go places. And she wouldn't be able to work as a waitress, at least for the time being. Wait…her job! She hadn't called Milly since the accident. She wondered how much time had passed.
"Well, I'll be leaving now. If you have any questions or need anything, feel free to call." After Dr. Simmons left, Ahmed turned to Cagalli.
"I could drive you to your dorm." He offered.
"Thanks," said Cagalli as she smiled gratefully at her newfound friend and slid off the bed, holding herself up a little unsteadily.
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Author's notes: Constructive criticisms are always welcome! Please feel free to review with your thoughts/opinions/etc.! Thank you!
Hagumi