Sector 7 High.
Chapter I: The Decision
By Seth Fair
I do not own FFVII, nor do I own the rightful names to its many awesome characters and influential places of interest. I am just a boy, embarking on a mission to expand this world. Don't judge… Review! :D
Note: The events of Sector 7 High are based on an alternative past. The characters are used in similar yet different, school-based roles.
"… all entries must be in before next Monday! Any late entries will not be accepted! Those who enter will receive an interview time with the Principal where they will hand in their CV, and short-listings will happen next Thursday! The following Monday, the shortlisted students will give a speech, and voting will commence Tuesday Period One!"
"Uh… thank you Miss Kisaragi for that energetic announcement, please take a seat." Yuffie handed the teacher back the daily notices and happily glided back to her seat humming away to herself. She plugged her iPod back in, pulling her hair over her ears to hide the earphones, slunk back into her seat and shut her eyes.
"… and I'm up to the part where you have to go back and blow up another reactor! Oh man it's gonna be sweet, 'cuz the first time all this electric stuff goes everywhere and you just make it out before it explodes on them!"
Cloud stopped writing and looked at Barret; a confused expression overcame his face.
"Wait? A bunch of rebels manage to blow up a reactor of an enormous corporation without getting killed?" he asked with a tone of derision.
Barret gave a simple nod, an excited look still on his face.
"And the main guy has a sword twice as big as he is?" continued Cloud.
Barret gave another excited nod, hoping that Cloud would become interested.
"… Sounds like a stupid game to me."
Barret's smile faded. "Whadda ya mean? It's awesome! The guys got a friend with a gun arm! Now tell me that's not cool." Barret folded his arms, looking satisfied. He had him now; he had him reeled in.
"That's not cool." Cloud smiled and went back to his English work.
Barret gave Cloud a piercing look and turned to Cid, but before he could open his mouth, Cid slammed his hand in Barret's face, a common way of shutting him up.
"Don't even think about it buddy. I don't wanna hear what new game you got for your gamestation, okay?"
Barret sunk into his chair, arms folded harder than ever as he mumbled to himself, "It's a PlayStation idiot…"
The bell rang for the end of Period One, and the room piled out almost instantly. Cloud was relieved that he didn't have to listen to Barret until Period Three Geography, and so he agreed to savour the silence of his next class.
He soon found himself alone packing his gear back into his bag when he began to hear voices outside. He quickly packed away his books and slowly walked outside. He leaned on the classroom room door, listening to the voices coming in through the windows as they continued.
"… and there's pretty much no competition too. Rufus has this in the bag!"
Clouds ears pricked at the sound of the name. Rufus...
"Damn straight he does. Though, I had a feeling Strife would've jumped at the opportunity. It just doesn't seem right that Rufus has an easy run to the position. For the last four years it's been him and Strife battling it out in every competition; hell, last week we witnessed them wrestling for cello-tape so that they could finish their Wutai Salvation boxes before the other, its nuts!"
"Yeah… it's quite entertaining though. They've been rivals for so long, jumping at every possible chance to better the other that I've forgotten why they fight in the first place."
"Well, from what I can recall, it was down at the Intermediate that they first met. Cloud befriended Rufus and before you knew it, they were like peas and carrots; basically inseparable."
"Oh that's right! Then Rufus overheard Cloud making fun of Professional Wrestling, calling it homosexual and fake!"
"That hit the nail right on his head didn't it? Rufus' life changed from that day onward. He just hasn't been the same since…"
"It's sorta lame considering this illustrated rivalry began over an obviously fake sport…"
"It's actually entertainment, sports entertainment. Rufus has beat that fact into my head one time too many."
"Is that why you wear those stupid sunglasses; to hide your mental scarring?"
"No. And that doesn't make sense. Anyway, we better get going, Rufus wanted us to help him write his CV for his interview with the principal next week."
As the voices trailed off toward the quad, Cloud leaned up against the classroom door, going over what he had just heard. Rufus is running for something? He pondered on the thought.
Cloud knew Rufus; he liked power, the ability to show people that he is right in every way possible. But how was he intending to do that? He went through the conversation again:
Salvation boxes… peas and carrots… homosexual… sports entertainment… interview…
Cloud clicked his fingers as he suddenly remembered.
He dashed over to the teacher's desk and ruffled through the papers strewn across it. As he passed papers over to the side of the desk, he noticed one of his friend's names.
Barret got a B in his research assignment?
Cloud was dumbfounded, he read over the title of his friend's assignment paper:
The History of Video Games by Barret D'Arcy Wallace.
'Why am I not surprised?' Cloud laughed to himself as he placed Barret's assignment to the side with the rest of the papers as he found the daily notices he'd been looking for.
He read over the notice Yuffie had so cheerfully read out to the class earlier to himself.
As this wonderful year draws to a close, and we say goodbye to our beloved Year 13's, we have arrived at the point of the year where we reveal the students that will be leading our school in the coming year. That's right! The Head Student nominations are just around the corner, and so, any Year 12 willing to put himself/herself forward to possibly lead this school next year should asked the Principal's P.A. for an entry form. This form will let you know all the requirements needed for a Head Student, as well as what is expected in the CV you will hand in before your interview with the Principal. The dates are as followed: all entries must be in before next Monday. Any late entries will not be accepted. Those who enter will receive an interview time with the Principal where they will hand in their CV, and short-listings will happen next Thursday. The following Monday, the shortlisted students will give a speech, and voting will commence Tuesday Period One.
Cloud's heart throbbed hard; it was beating faster than usual. Reality hit him hard and fast and he found the facts hard to replay to himself in his mind: Rufus was running for Head Student, and he knew that it was going to lead to nothing but trouble. Though Cloud didn't even consider it; thinking that Term Four was to be nothing but exams and nothing else, he couldn't help but feel that this was the only way to do something about it. Fight fire with fire. He didn't think twice about it, though he was reluctant at first. He had decided on the moment he realised Rufus was going to do it too, which, in itself, was an incentive to do so; He was going to run for Head Student.