In all her time proctoring the final written exam, she'd never seen a more peculiar candidate than the fire-haired young man in the back row. All of the other candidates were diligently punching things into their calculators, bubbling in circles on the exam form or scribbling things down on their scratch paper. But this man, probably not much younger than she was, preferred to spend the valuable exam time staring out the window at the city of Midgar below.
Rydia Drake hadn't been a Turk for very long, nor had she been in Midgar much longer. But it was one of the most exciting and dynamic jobs in the entire world – why would this guy waste exam time? Even being invited to sit the exam was considered an honor, and he was just pissing the minutes away. She walked up and down the aisles of the classroom, ensuring that nobody was cheating, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the fellow in the back.
As the seconds ticked away, the other exam candidates finished and dropped off their tests on her desk at the front. Slowly, the numbers in the classroom diminished, and with twenty minutes left on the clock, the young man was still sitting in the chair staring out at Midgar. When he was the only one left, he didn't even move to crack open the exam booklet. Instead, he amused himself by twirling the supplied pencil in his fingers.
She'd had enough. Didn't this punk understand the importance of the exam? She'd be reporting this to Tseng for sure. Maybe he was the kid of someone important and would be admitted no matter what. But Rydia wasn't having it. She wore the uniform proudly and would be damned before this mental midget became her co-worker.
Making sure her heels clicked importantly and menacingly on the tile, she marched over to the back of the classroom, perching herself on the windowsill and blocking the man's view. He frowned at her appearance as though it annoyed him more than anything else.
"Are you finished?" she inquired, tapping her fingernails impatiently on the sill beside her, feeling tiny sparks bounce off the wood in her frustration.
He frowned and waved the exam booklet at her. "I can't take this test."
"And why not?" She'd seen kids foam at the mouth for the opportunity to be in this young man's place. She'd been one of them just a year before. The written exam had been fairly straightforward, and she'd easily aced the magic and weapons training thereafter.
His smile was one she wouldn't forget for some time. It was almost the tooth and lip and gums equivalent of a boob grope, and she suddenly wanted to cover herself up even though her uniform was doing a fine job already. He dared to lick his lips, whether from dryness or as a flirtation, she couldn't tell. "I can't read."
She raised an eyebrow and tried to stay in proctor and Turks representative mode rather than silly girl confronted by an attractive asshole mode. "You can't read?"
He tossed her the booklet and picked up the pencil, poising it over the answer sheet. He wiggled his eyebrows seductively. "I have special needs…" When she got ready to cuss him out, he shook his head and laughed. "Dyslexia. I was waiting for everyone else to leave so you could read it to me."
She could barely breathe, trying to concentrate on the exam booklet in her hands rather than on the way he had looked at her as he said "special needs."
Rydia scowled at the impertinent man. "You're supposed to request special assistance ahead of time. Why didn't you tell me right up front?"
He shrugged. "Because I wanted to get you alone…"
"Excuse me?"
"…alone so I could concentrate, obviously. I can't take tests with other people around."
If he was ugly, it would be easy to flunk him outright and send him back to whatever retail or food service job he'd come from. But his outrageous hair, his sloppy way of dressing, and of course, those eyes…
"I'm Reno, by the way," he introduced himself, bringing her back to reality.
"Drake. Rydia Drake," she mumbled, opening the exam booklet to the first page. "Be aware that Shinra Inc. is not in a habit of making special accommodations for exam candidates. You will perform the remainder of the exam requirements the same as all the others."
"Of course," he remarked with a wink. "Do you proctor the other exams?"
"Just this one. I volunteered to come in on my day off, I'll have you know. So if we could get on with it…"
He nodded and put on as serious a face as he could manage. She spent the next hour and a half reading the exam to the flirtatious jerk, listening to him hum some song she didn't know while he bubbled in his answers. Finally, the exam was complete, and she was sick of hearing her own voice.
Reno handed over his answer sheet and flashed her another lascivious smile. "Thank you, Miss Drake. I'm feeling pretty confident."
"You think so?" she asked coldly, bringing his sheet and booklet up to the front of the class. He followed her, perching himself on the desk. She could probably zap him to a crisp before he would even know what was happening.
He leaned over as she put the exams in the envelope to go off for grading. "You're not going to mark it yourself?"
She rolled her eyes. "That's not my job."
"Can I have your number?"
"I beg your pardon?"
He grinned. "You know, like a business card or something?"
"Oh." She blushed yet again and dug through her purse. "Here."
Reno read it over. "'Rydia Drake, Strategic Magic Operations.' Sounds important. Hope we work together soon." He shoved the card in his pocket and sauntered out of the classroom.
Jerk, she thought. She was glad that she only had her work number on her…
Wait. He'd had her read the entire exam to him, but he read her business card without so much as a squint. Bastard! Dyslexia, her ass! She raced into the hallway to find him, but she didn't have to go very far. Reno was leaning against the wall waiting for her.
"Ah, you caught me."
She got in his face, gripping him by the lapels of his jacket. "Dyslexia?"
"Strategic Magic Operations doesn't really teach you to look for liars, huh?"
Rydia was ready to send a fire spell straight up his smarmy asshole. But she realized that he'd trapped her. "You lied…"
"…but you're not really supposed to let students take the exam after the allotted time. You could lose your job." He'd outsmarted her. A mere exam candidate had outsmarted her. He'd actually be quite perfect for the Turks, as a matter of fact. And Reno knew it.
She was speechless. There wasn't any time to protest as he pulled her to him, kissing her eagerly. Rydia returned his affections with as much enthusiasm. She'd wanted to jump him from the second she'd seen him staring out the window. Oh, she was never going to proctor an exam again. When he released her, he gave her another of his damn smiles.
"I should probably tell you. I'm hot for teachers. See you around, Miss Drake."
