Chapter Three-
Something hairy-
Zell was alone, and he was busy surveying the enermous Christmas tree at the lobby when Quistis came by.
"Good morning, Instructor," Zell greeted her, as soon as he felt her presence.
"Good morning, Zell. So, what have we got?"
"The first category. Right here." Zell pointed to a colored Christmas ball, which had appeared somewhat different from all the other ornaments because of its size and its shiny gold-and-red color. A small piece of paper was pasted on the surface of the ball.
Day One-
Make sure the first present
Is underneath the tree,
It must be something hairy,
Granted only by thee.
"Something hairy?" Quistis scoffed. And where on this planet would I find a 'hairy' present for Seifer Almasy? She suddenly despaired.
"Well, we've got the whole day to figure that out. Selphie's idea is crazy, but actually, I'm loving it." The martial artist brightened. "As for me, I already have a 'hairy' idea for a gift. I just hope that he or she—will enjoy it," he said, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Good for you," she replied, a note of uneasiness crossing her face. Like Xu, Zell must have picked an easy target, too. Quistis sighed. How unfortunate of me.
"I'm sure you'll find something from the shops if you look hard enough, Instructor. It isn't that hard, really…" Zell consoled her with a reassuring smile.
Quistis simply replied with a frown. That's pretty easy for you to say because it's not Seifer's name you've picked. I could just imagine your reaction if you're the one on my shoes right now.
O o O o O
Spending an afternoon alone in a shopping mall felt very awkward. Seeing all these clusters of people about her, Quistis tried to recall the last time she strolled the mall by herself and figured, she never did. She always shops with her friends. And never was any dull moment with them inside that busy shopping mall, even when they had to endure tremendous amount of time waiting for their turns in the cashier or in the fitting rooms.
…And I wasn't even shopping for myself! How pathetic.
Again, she was reminded of the Secret Santa ordeal and could not believe still that she was to accomplish such a difficult task.
Her legs were getting wobbly already after all these walking. Who knows how much time she'd already wasted circling floors after floors and getting through boutiques after boutiques just to find a Christmas gift.
Focus, Quistis. She coaxed herself. Just find something hairy for Seifer and go home. It's that simple.
She kept on walking while mentally referring to the list of possible hairy stuff that she could give as Seifer's Secret Santa.
She saw a bunch of wigs back on the second floor. Seifer might want a new hairstyle for the holidays, right? Or maybe, she could purchase a mannequin with nothing but a wig on its head. But why would Seifer want one? What about those gunblade sheath made out of sheep skin at the buy one, take one area? Perhaps, Seifer would like it and she could give the other one to Squall… that way, they'll have matching gunblade sheaths courtesy of herself…
"I want blue cotton candy!" someone wailed.
Half of the passers-by turned to the direction of the voice, including Quistis. There was a skinny woman in a pink dress pulling a stout little girl who was then busy throwing tantrums.
A light bulb flicked brightly inside the instructor's head upon seeing the cute stuffed panda on the little girl's hand.
A stuffed animal. Why didn't I even think of that? Quistis wondered, her mood shifting from agitated to hopeful.
No, not a stuffed animal. She'll give Seifer a real dog! It's hairy and he'll surely love it!
She vaguely remembered from one of Zell's old stories how Seifer had been fond of this particular dog during their Dollet field exam.
With this idea in her mind, Quistis hastily raced towards the mall's exit and headed straight to the nearest pet shop.
O o O o O
Rinoa was busy rummaging under the Christmas tree while Irvine was on the act of fitting on a furry winter bonnet over his head when Quistis dropped by to pick up her present. Irvine had noticed her first.
"Hiya, Quistis! What do you think?" Irvine inquired, letting Quistis take in a full view of his newly acquired apparel. Quistis also noticed a pair of pink bunny slippers tucked under his left arm.
"Suits you well." Quistis replied, drawing closer to Irvine, "And um, I think those bunny slippers were cute, too."
"For your information, Instructor, these are Rinoa's" Irvine told her.
"Then what are you still doing there, Rinoa? Don't tell me you want another one."
The raven-haired lady slumped back her shoulders then turned to Quistis. "Oh, I'd love that idea but no, I'm looking for Seifer's present."
"Huh?" Quistis uttered, doubled over with confusion. What does this have to do with Rinoa?
"Seifer and Fujin have been here for like, two minutes ago. We all got our presents except for Seifer. Well, he left sulking, thinking he wasn't going to receive anything at all. He even said he was already expecting the scenario." Irvine explained.
"Oh. I see." Quistis nodded, pretending not to know anything. Deep inside, she kind of enjoyed hearing about Seifer's reaction when he could not find his gift. Quistis purposefully did not place her gift for Seifer under the tree. She intended to have it delivered to Seifer's doorstep later. He'll be very surprised for sure that he'll thank me later! Quistis thought pensively.
"No gift for Seifer and for Ellone just yet." Rinoa announced. "That means their Secret Santas were just delayed or something."
"Of course," Quistis agreed. "It's just 8 o'clock in the morning. Anything can happen during the day. He shouldn't be so cynical about this Secret Santa thing."
Finding a gift for him was such an enormous burden but I'm not that heartless to render him empty-handed. Quistis pondered on what might be going inside Seifer's mind. I don't blame him. Seifer's track record was pretty messed up though he has sworn he'll never go astray again…
Despite the warm welcome and acceptance, Seifer that thinks everyone is still holding grudges against him. He wasn't too trusting, after all, but that was because he wasn't that trustworthy either. Quistis doesn't blame him, though. Seifer is still the most stubborn and cockiest student she's ever known. There wasn't so much difference than before except that he is now aware of where he stands. It wasn't so easy to forget what he did in the past. Seifer need to work harder to prove his worth. A lot of reparations have to be made.
Rinoa decided to steer the discussion into another direction. "By the way, Quistis, I think I've already seen your gift a while ago…" she went back to her kneeling position and began checking on the gift tags again. "Oh, here it is!"
Rinoa handed her a box wrapped in shiny red paper with thick green ribbon. The blonde lady held out her arm to receive it.
"Wow. It was rather light for its size." Quistis remarked. "What could be inside?"
"You'll never find out until you unwrap it." Irvine said.
"Yeah, why not open it?" Rinoa urged her. It was so easy to see how excited she was. Squall's girlfriend looked even more excited than herself. Quistis felt something strange about the gift. She shook it gently but it made no sound.
"Do I have to open it in front of you?" she asked, feeling a bit hesitant.
"C'mon. Let's see what Instructor Trepe got," Irvine prodded her.
"Alright..." giving up, she loosened the ribbon and slowly tore the wrapper. A smaller box wrapped in the same red shiny paper and green ribbon was inside. Irvine whistled.
Quistis nervously unwrapped the box and found another smaller box, and then another.
That 'another box' was the last. Quistis was slight relieved to know that when she lifted the lid and saw... crumpled newspapers? That's why the gift inside didn't shake! But what could be inside this tiny box?
She removed the crumpled newspapers much to Rinoa and Irvine's delight. Finally, the box revealed a medium-sized mayonnaise jar filled with leaves.
"What is so hairy about this?' Quistis wondered out loud, with a whining tone. Did she just spend all those priceless energy to receive this junk?
Irvine was now excited, too. "Not yet, Quistis. The biggest surprise is inside the jar."
Quistis thoughts were swirling while she twisted the cap. The bad feeling within her was growing at a break-neck speed...
Then, an ear-piercing shriek was heard from Balamb's most favorite instructor, mingling with the sound of glass crashing on the Garden's marbled floor.
A baby caterchipillar had jumped out from the leafy jar and had stuck to Quistis' chest. The shocked blonde dusted the itchy creature off her blouse and squished it with her heels as soon as it landed on the floor.
Quistis' face flushed in burning anger. She glanced around and could not believe that all these people had witnessed what just happened. Rinoa and Irvine were stupefied, with all these confused and sorry looks on their faces. Well, they need not say anything; their sympathetic comments were the last thing she needs just about now.
"I am not enjoying this Secret Santa thing anymore," She spat. Then, she spun around and quickly left the spot.
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Author's remarks:
Chapter three, it is. The 3-year late update was unexpected but was also inevitable. Sorry. I would love to pick the pieces of what's left of this fic and do better this time. Push the review button, please. I would love to hear from you. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
