After escorting Dincht back to Garden, I visited the headmaster's office to turn in Dincht's paperwork. Headmaster Kramer greeted me warmly, yet a bit shakily, as I saluted.
"Well, if it isn't one of Galbadia Garden's best and brightest!" he exclaimed, wringing his hands. "How are you doing? How's the new job?"
He always seems so nervous around me. I guess I intimidate him.
"Fine," I said, gritting my teeth. I handed him Dincht's paperwork.
"Oh, you assisted a student in a test?" asked Kramer. Geez, this old man knows nothing about what goes on here anymore.
"Yes," I stated blankly. "Zell Dincht."
"Oh." Kramer had a puzzled look on his face. "I wouldn't have paired the two of you together." Neither would I, I thought. "He's quite - uh, exuberant, isn't he?"
I shrugged. "His adjudicator is sick today. I was a last-minute replacement."
"Ah," said Kramer. "Well, Xu knows which SeeDs are of the highest caliber more than anyone else. Obviously, she trusted you enough to assist someone you may not even be compatible with."
Or she just wanted to screw with me. "I need to get going, Headmaster. I'm adjudicating a field exam as well."
"Oh, all right," huffed the headmaster. "You take care now, Major."
"Thanks."
-
I wasn't sure of where to change into my SeeD uniform while at Garden, so I ran into the training facility to use one of the changing rooms. I fumbled with the Balamb uniform. It was different from Galbadia's uniform, and it had a lot more buttons and zippers, some of which were in unfortunate and unnecessary places. About ten minutes before I was supposed to meet the candidates, I stumbled back into the headmaster's office, fumbling with my tie and attempting to smooth my hair. Xu greeted me.
"Here you go," she said, handing me the files for the field exam. "Please take a look at the files before you meet with the SeeD candidates."
"Yeah, ok," I said, breathless. I checked out the files in the elevator.
Squad Leader: Seifer Almasy
Great. Just great. I have to deal with this asshole for the entirety of the exam.
Squad Member: Zell Dincht
Again?! I just assisted in his last test! Does no one like this kid or something? Why am I stuck with him?
Squad Member: Squall Leonhart
Well, this will be interesting. Almasy and Leonhart apparently hate each other, so this will be a fun trip.
Sighing, I exited the elevator and entered the lobby, where the three SeeD candidates were receiving a pep talk from the headmaster. I approached as the headmaster finished speaking. Trepe, Dincht, and a young man with brown hair and an angry red scar on the bridge of his nose all saluted me as I approached. That guy must be Leonhart. Almasy, flanked by his cronies, merely sneered. He had a nasty scar on the bridge of his nose as well. Wow, those two really went for it, didn't they? He was not wearing his uniform, opting instead for a rather ostentatious white coat, which I hoped would make him a target. I made a note in his file. Almasy, we haven't even started the exam and you're already off to a bad start.
I cleared my throat. "Hello, everyone. I am Major Rowan Littleton. You will refer to me as either Major or Major Littleton at all times. If you refer to me in any other way, I will make sure that you automatically fail this exam.
"I am here to adjudicate your exam and to provide assistance only where absolutely necessary. If everything goes well, I will be nothing but a fly on the wall. I will not make decisions for you or tell you what your objectives are. I am only to intervene in battles in situations of life or death. Are there any questions?"
Almasy glared at me pointedly. Leonhart fixed his gaze on the ground. Dincht smiled nervously.
"Alright, if there are no questions, let's head out."
Almasy, Dincht, Leonhart, Trepe, and I made our way through the lobby and onto a SeeD van, which took us to Balamb Town. I sat between Leonhart and Dincht, which I found better than sitting next to Almasy, at the least. However, I realized as soon as I sat down that this was an equally poor choice.
After a few precious moments of silence, Dincht piped up. "Hey Squall, show me your gunblade, will ya?"
Leonhart ignored this request. Dincht kept bugging him about it. Just shut up already. I can't hear myself think.
It became very clear that Dincht cannot sit still. About halfway to the station, Dincht stood up and began practicing his battle form, throwing a few punches in the air. Almasy was clearly not pleased.
"Stop that," Almasy said in icy tones. "It's annoying. Chicken-wuss."
Dincht immediately became irate. "What did you call me?" he said, making a threatening gesture. I made a note in Dincht's file - needs to learn to control emotions. Trepe commanded him to sit back down.
Leonhart then asked Trepe about a girl he saw in the infirmary that morning. Almasy began laughing to himself. "This is great. I have Chicken-wuss and a guy who just reached puberty in my squad." I made a note in Almasy's file - poor morale. Unsupportive to teammates. The other boys seethed in silence. We rode the rest of the way to Balamb in uncomfortable silence.
We arrived at the docks. I ushered the candidates and Trepe onto the vessel that was to take us to the field. There were a few scattered notes in my files concerning the mission, but all I knew for sure was that we were going to Dollet and supporting SeeD forces. When we entered the vessel, Xu was waiting for us. Dincht and Leonhart saluted her. Xu looked past them to address Almasy.
"Seifer, how many times has it been now?" she asked.
"Oh, I just love these exams," Almasy purred sarcastically.
After this exchange, everyone was seated. As the vessel transported us to Dollet, Xu informed the boys about the mission. I made notes of the instructions in case of disaster. When Xu finished presenting, she directed the boys to talk to either Trepe or myself if they had any questions. I ignored the little remarks that shot among the boys. They're all nervous. People tend to babble when they're nervous. A few minutes later, we landed, and entered a war zone. I was prepared; the question was, were any of the three boys prepared for this?