Climbing Through Windows


When one door closes, a window opens.

Chapter 4


"Yes," Seifer pinched the bridge of his nose, "I understand. Yes. Yes. Thank you, Mr. Gorder, I'll talk to her. Yeah, thanks. Bye." He hung up the phone with heavy shoulders and smacked his forehead against the wall. He should have known things were going too well. Rory was settling in, he'd made friends for once - Bhanu's little sister was a charmingly domineering spitfire who brought out his son's spine. Sure, the kid was still a little chunky, but his grades were soaring and he finally had a library large enough to suit his curiosity. Seifer had thought the same could be said for Alice, but apparently, he was wrong. According to the school, Alice had been absent all week without excuse.

It was three in the afternoon and Seifer had no idea where his daughter was. The idea was worrisome. However, the fact Alice was obviously experienced when it came to entertaining herself in Balamb, he tried to remember she was a smart girl. Even if she was totally grounded for the rest of her life.

He ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the stubbed on his cheek, trying to find an answer. Problem was, he didn't know what question needed answering. The obvious kickers were 'Where was Alice?', 'What was she doing?', 'Was she stupid?', and 'Does she have any idea how dead she was when he found her?', but, underneath the immediate anger and panic was a parent wondering 'Why?'. Alice wasn't a fan of school, that was obvious. Rory was the odd egg who loved learning and even he had issues with public education. It wasn't that his children were stupid; they were considerably smarter than Seifer. They had no patience. Rory was interested by everything except people. If they were too slow to follow his growing web of ideas, it was their fault and he refused to waste his time coddling them. Classrooms were stifling for his appetite for knowledge which was all Rory cared about. Alice was the opposite; she loved people. Books were boring. they never changed. People had life and actions; people you could talk to and influence. Seifer supposed the key difference was people liked Alice. So, he could understand her missing homework or failing classes, but skipping out completely? The child adored gossiping with her peers. Was something wrong with her?

Seifer paced the large kitchen, running his fingers along the granite counter tops.

Things were good here, Seifer was sure of it. Fuujin and Raijin were home sporadically between fishing trips, back for days between weeks away. Seifer spent his morning behind his small plywood desk filing papers and balancing the books. He interacted with the wholesale sellers and local restaurants to sell the fish and generally cut the time consuming paper pushing from his best friend's lives. Lunch was spent with Bhanu who had become a fun if dizzying friend. She didn't understand the stresses of parenthood but her constant optimism kept Seifer buoyed against the strain of responsibility. They argued, she gossiped, and he gave solemn advice he knew she'd ignore and it was nice. Then, by the afternoon, he had the office phones forwarded to his cell and he was home in time for the kids. He slept when they slept, they had dinner together at night, and breakfast in the morning. They were a family.

One hiccup didn't make the whole affair a mistake.

He waited for the kids to come home, crossing his arms and tapping his fingers nervously on his elbow. Finally, half an hour later, loud voices stomped their way up the stairs and rushed into the house.

"No! If Boyd wants to hit a home run, he needs to hit the ball so it goes up more," Rory insisted to Nargis, shedding book bag and jacket haphazardly in the hall. "If he only focuses on going straight forward, gravity will take effect and crash it straight into the ground."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes, popping gum loudly. "Until you can prove it, I'm right."

Rory gaped behind her, appalled. Normally, Seifer would have grinned. Nargis was the tiniest child he'd ever seen. A couple months older than Rory, she was considerably smaller than his son and Rory had been the second shortest kid in his class back in Galbadia. Still, Seifer pitied any sixth grader stupid enough to mess with her. She had enough force of personality to knock a behemoth on it's ass. Still, Seifer noticed Alice wasn't with them.

"Hey," Seifer greeted, trying to hide his concern. "Alice on her way?"

"Nope!" Rory dove into the fridge pulling out pudding cups.

Seifer raised his eyebrows. Someone didn't seemed concerned. "No?"

"Nope," Rory affirmed.

"She's at the beach," Nargis supplied helpfully, scaling the counter stools to nab a pudding cup of her own before Rory claimed the whole pack.

Seifer took a calming breath, reminding himself these two hadn't done anything wrong. Alice was in trouble. The beach? What was she thinking? What if she swam too far out and was too tired to swim back? What if she was dragged away from the beach by the current? Undertow! She could die and no one would notice!

"Don't burn down the house, don't cook anything, don't stick metal objects in the outlets - Anything in the outlets!" He amended, pointing at Rory. His son was already trying to hide his whirring thoughts behind a facade of innocence. Seifer grabbed his coat and decided against the car keys, "If someone comes and kidnaps you, mention your rich stepfather repeatedly; they're more likely to keep you alive if there's a randsom. Got all that?"

Nargis perked up excitedly and looked between them. She whispered to Rory, "Are we being left home alone?"

Rory watched his father leave in panicked fascination. "But we don't talk to-"

"Kidnappers don't know that." Seifer said and left, hoping the house would still be standing by the time he got back . Rai and Fuu would doubtlessly forgive him for destroying their home, but it was just bad manners.

The beach was twenty minutes away on foot and Seifer had his eyes peeled for his daughter as soon as the sandy shores came into view. Alice usually ran around in a short tee shirt and shorts over a dark blue swimsuit - He's insisted on a one piece; she was not flashing that much flesh. Luckily, he didn't have far to look. Alice was obviously mindful of the time, but without a watch her escape plan was coming an hour too late. She was returning her surfboard to the rental hut, her curls already springing back to life as they dried. Seifer took a moment to fight the rush of emotions. If he stormed over right now, he'd yell, lecture, and ground her without ever figuring out the problem. He really wanted to shake some sense into her, but this wasn't the time. If her reasons were inadequate (and, he was already promising himself they would be) Seifer could ground her afterward and maybe devise some ingenious tracking device.

"Hyne, if I were forty years younger!" An old man at his elbow exclaimed in good humor.

Horrified, Seifer balled his fist and ground his teeth. They say sixty-five is retirement age; he was beginning to agree. Permanently.

"Ohho, calm down. I'm assuming that little fish is yours? She's got your looks about her." The old man waved, "I was wondering when someone would take her home."

"How long has she been here?" Seifer asked.

"Well, She comes every day at nine o'clock and is gone by three. Stayed a bit late, today, but her teacher was here longer than usual. He's a hard man to pin down. Spend months away from the beach sometimes. Hard to imagine, with as much as he loves the water. Thought she was his, first time I saw 'em." Grandpa gave Seifer a speculative look, "Feel rather silly for it now. She's far too tall."

Seifer grunted. So, she did come here instead of school. He was glad she wasn't running about, but this talk of a teacher was worrisome.

"The guy, he a beach bum? You said he disappears for awhile? He usually pick up girls?" Seifer could see the smarmy smiling face of the no good bastard now. Of course, if Grandpa though Alice was this bastard's kid, he couldn't have been terribly young. Seifer's blood ran cold. He'd never dealt with a pedophile before, but if that shit tried to talk to his daughter again, he'd rip off his balls with a blender.

Grandpa tutted, "Don't get so grim. Man doesn't mean any harm, been coming here long as I can remember. Just likes to surf, that one. Your bit saw him work his magic a few week ago and's been harrowing him to show her ever since. Normally, I'd say it's a waste, not worth the time, but your girl's got quite a talent for it. Her teacher thinks so too."

"Her teacher, her teacher, doesn't this fuck have a name?" Seifer spat, refusing to be appeased. Some man was keeping his daughter out of school; wandering hands or not, Seifer was having a long private chat with the man.

"Course he does!"

Seifer waited, eyebrow raised.

The old man shrugged, "Don't look at me. I said he has one, not that I know it."

"Why you old shit, I should - "

"Dad!" Alice gasped in horror, "Wha - Oh shit, what're you doing here?" She'd been trotting towards the path home, obviously oblivious to her watcher until she was right on top of them.

Seifer gave the coot a last glare before turning his ire on his daughter, "What do you think?"

Her shoulders slumped and she scuffed her toe, "Guess I'm in trouble, huh?"

"Oh, you can guess that."

She sighed, peeking through her bangs, "How long have you known?"

He was tempted to say 'the whole time', but that wasn't true and she knew it. Seifer crossed his arms and gave her a harsh look, "Since your principal called."

Alice winced.

"Come on, I think it's time to go home." Seifer said, setting a heavy hand on her shoulder. "We have things to talk about."

Alice was solemn and silent, watching her feet meekly as they walked. Seifer watched her carefully, noting the slump of her shoulders and her general melancholy with a critical eye. It seemed sincere. Alice usually had a certain air of rebellion around her when she was caught misbehaving, a stubborn insistence she wasn't acting beyond herself. This time she seemed to know it was only a matter of time before she was found out. It didn't make sense. Alice had inherited Seifer's arrogance; if he'd been skipping school, he would be confident no one would find out. Alice skipped school despite herself. It made him worry.

"So," He broached, "Want to testify before your sentencing?"

Alice shrugged, "No."

Seifer frowned. Alice never turned down a chance to slip out of trouble. "So, you don't care that you're stuck eating Fuujin's tofurky for a week."

She didn't respond, just kept staring at the ground.

"No TV for a month," He added, but she was stoic. Finally, Seifer sighed and squeezed her shoulder sympathetically, "No beach until next quarter."

"Wait!" Alice cried, coming to a halt. She panicked, "You can't do that! That's not fair!"

"You've been skipping school to hang out with some middle-aged beach bum!" Seifer declared, "Explain to me how that's unfair?"

"I - He's not a beach bum!" Alice insisted, "and school's stupid!"

"Right," Seifer rolled his eyes. "Because all respectable men hit the beach to pick-up preteens."

Her eyes flashed angrily and her chin jutted stubbornly, "You taught me surfing, what so wrong with someone else showing me a few tricks?"

"I'm your Dad," He explained carefully, trying to make her understand. "I have a vested interest in your happiness. This man? He shouldn't. He's not your friend or your uncle. He seems like a really nice guy, but he's not. Don't you think it's odd that, on a beach filled with attractive women his own age, he spends all his time talking with you?"

"He doesn't spend all his time with me," Alice snapped, irritated. "Sometimes he brings a friend."

A friend. Seifer's eyes narrowed dangerously and he grabbed Alice by the shoulders, meeting her eyes intently. "Alice, this is very important," He pressed. "Have either of them touched you?"

"What?" Alice asked incredulously, "Of course they have."

Seifer ground his teeth. "When."

"Ow! You're hurting me," She whined, pulling an arm away. He slackened his grip slightly. Alice glared, "They touched me all the time. Fixing my footing, helping with my balance."

His breathing sped and Seifer rubbed her shoulders fervently, "I need you to be honest with me," He said, "I need you to be honest, right now. What are their names?" Seifer didn't know how to deal with this; his worries were about teenage boys with hormones and stupid ideas. Other adults? It was sick. His little girl alone with two perverts who... He shook his head and met her eyes. "Tell me."

Alice stared in shock. Then, to his surprised, crossed her arm and spat, "How stupid do you think I am?"

"What?" Seifer blinked, unbalanced.

"Oh please," She rolled her eyes. "You're all growly and mean; if I tell you their names, I'll never see them again. They're way better surfers than you are - Well, skinny pale boy isn't, but that doesn't matter. I'm pretty sure if you break his legs my friend won't come back."

Seifer scowled.

Alice raised her eyebrow, "Not. A. Chance."

"He's not your friend, Alice!" Seifer roared, "Don't protect him! Don't you see? He wasn't helping because you're a good surfer! He wanted to do terrible things to you."

Alice pouted thoughtfully, "I don't think so."

"You don't - You don't think so?" Seifer gasped, "Dear Hyne, I thought I raised a sensible girl and here you are, protecting a fucking pedophile!"

Her eyes went wide and Seifer knew he'd finally gotten through to her. It was a less understanding approach than he'd meant to try, but hell, it worked.

"That is so gross, Dad!" Alice exclaimed and he nodded fervently.

"I know, sweetheart," He consoled.

He tried to pull her into a hug, but Alice wriggled out of his grip and threw a curve ball, "He is not a pedophile!" She stomped, "He is-is very respectable! And polite! We talked all about inappropriate touching in sixth grade. I know how to scream 'Rape!' when bad guys touch my butt!"

Seifer stared.

"I'm going home!" She insisted, and stormed off down the path.

"This is not over, young lady!" He yelled after, running after, "You are still grounded and if you don't shape up and tell me what I want to know, I'll never let you go to the beach ever again!"

"FINE!"

Seifer cussed. Kids sucked.

"You're dating older men, skipping school, what's next? Drugs?" He raved, "I should send you to that all-girl's boarding school in Trabia and solve all my problems!"

"Do it then!" She sassed over her shoulder, "I'll just start kissing girls!"

Oh Hyne, he forgot girls could do that. Seifer was swarmed with his teenage fantasies of girls and sleepovers and decided immediately Alice would never be allowed to spend the night. Obviously, her judgment couldn't be trusted. He stopped and took a deep breath, pressing his palms into his forehead. "You," He ground out tersely, "I can't talk to you. I swear, I don't know why I try."

Alice spun and stared at him reproachfully, "You call that talking? What do you call yelling, then?"

Seifer pressed his lips together and glared without a word. This wasn't what he wanted to know, anyway. Well, yes, he did want to know, but it wasn't the most important thing. Damn important, but not most important. "Why have you been skipping school?"

His daughter turned away and muttered rebelliously, "Cause I wanted to."

"And why did you want to?" He continued, reminding himself that the only way to break through her temper was to hold his own. Seifer was proud his daughter was like him, but fuck if it didn't make parenting a pain in the ass.

"Cause." She snapped.

Seifer remembered this conversation. Yeah, she'd been about three and asking him why she had to clean her room. Glad to see she remembered his witty conclusion. Hyne, he was never using 'Cause I said so' ever again. Haunted by parenting, they should write a book about it. 'The Night Dad was Eaten 'For His Own Good''. He sighed and took the bait, "Cause why?"

"Cause I did!" Alice stomped, "What does it matter! Ground me, lock me up, or, better yet, send me back home!" She grabbed the hem of her shorts nervously, glaring at him fearfully. "Go on! Do it!"

Goading was always an effective tool against him; Marita had perfected the art over the years and now, Alice was taking up the mantel. Luckily, she was shit at it. Seifer loved her more than her mother. To her surprise, Seifer hugged her close. "Yeah, yeah. I'll get to that," he mumbled into her hair. "Why don't we try that talking thing, again. I think we need some practice."

"Or volume control," said to his shoulder and Seifer grinned. That's his girl.

"Don't go asking the impossible," He teased. Finally, he released her, but Seifer kept hold of her shoulders when he looked at her. "Now, tell me what's up."

"I hate it here," Alice said stubbornly, her bottom lip daring to pout. She set her chin defiantly.

Seifer raised his eyebrows speculatively, "You hate it? I doubt that."

"See!" She jumped, "This is why I don't tell you anything! It doesn't matter what I want, just what you want!"

"I'm just saying, I don't think you hate it here," Seifer said, trying to keep her calm. He didn't. "I mean, you're never bored, you have your own room, you've got enough allowance to see a movie every weekend, and, even though you're never going to see it ever again without a tracking bracelet and a guard dog, you live at the beach. None of that was back in Galbadia."

Alice slumped, glare deflating to a sulky glower, "No one likes me, here."

He was surprised. Everyone liked Alice. It was one of life's constants. Alice was a social butterfly, loved and envied by all the kids while Rory was the social flub. It never occurred to him Alice might feel out of place here. Why would she? She was gorgeous, fun, and confident, not to mention oozing with the Almasy charming. It was a powerful party trick. "Oh, come on. Says who?"

"Says me."

"Why's that?"

Alice sighed and tipped her head back lifeless and explained, as if by rote, her evidence. "I hit too hard in dodge ball, I'm not allowed to play rugby because Daniel Donaldson is a pussy and cried, Aki doesn't like me because I have curly hair, and I'm tall, and I don't use mechanical pencils, and everyone does what she says because her older brother is this famous SeeD and you're not. Roy said he'd give me his candy bar if I let him cheat so I did and he didn't because he ate it, so I broke his v-gamer, so he doesn't like me either, not that I care because he smells like crap. The only people who don't hate me are total chickenwusses and they're weird, ok? Like, weirder than Rory weird. I'm pretty sure they lick light sockets," she concluded.

"Have you told your teacher?" And the sheer stupidity of the question made him cringe. Seifer might not remember being a kid, but he sure remembered how not-cool it was to cry to the teacher because no one would play with you. He chucked kids headfirst into the toilet for less. He was so uncool. "Don't answer that."

Seifer didn't know what to do. They weren't moving back. Alice's happiness was important, but Seifer wasn't going to sacrifice financial security, support, and his children's future because she was having trouble fitting with the locals. It was still early in the school year; likely Alice would learn to give a little, kick that chick, Aki's, bossy little ass, and by this time next year be queen of her middle school. Of course, how do you tell a preteen to wait? A year was forever when you were young. He'd think about it. Bhanu might have some ideas how to tell Alice her world wasn't ending. Perks of keeping exceptionally young females as friends, he supposed.

"So, no one likes you at school. You hit the beach where you can have fun and, while you're at it, you pick up a boyfriend old enough to be me." Seifer decided it was time to switch gears. School was a problem that would take time to work through, but dirty old men was a here and now issue.

Alice rolled here eyes and sighed, but she wasn't angry this time. Exasperated, yes, but Seifer had a feeling the pair of them were finally figuring out this 'talking' shit. It was actually pretty nice. Next time, though, he hoped it was less about 'Why are you ruining your life?' and more about 'How could I make you do chores?'.

"Dad," She said, "He's not my boyfriend."

Seifer grinned, "Does he know that?"

"It's not like that!" She insisted, "Really! We just surf! There's no 'Wanna come back for coffee at my place?'", she said with a mocking deep voice.

Come back for - "How do you know what that means!" Seifer was scandalized, "You should not know what that means!"

"I found your porn stash when I was seven," She shrugged. "Things like bad pick-up lines really stick with you."

Fucking Hyne on a dead horse, Seifer was never watching porn again. When she was seven? Why didn't she have questions? Seven! This was - "Did Rory see?" He wheezed. The last few months had made him feel like a capable parent. Amazing what junior factoids could do to your ego.

"No."

That was a relief.

Then she amended, "At least, not until the tape got caught in the vcr. I had him help get it out, but there may have been a few boobs on the screen."

... Fuck.

"He was three," Seifer reasoned weakly. "He doesn't remember anything."

"Whatever you say, Dad." Alice patted his shoulder sympathetically, "Wanna go home, now?"

"Yes, please."

-

"I'm sure you understand Mr. Almasy, we can't allow that sort of behavior here."

Seifer wasn't sure who he should be angry with. Alice was sitting next to him, slunked down in the over stuffed chair, burning holes in the wall with her eyes and entirely unrepentant for the whole mess that brought him here. On the other hand, if all the douchebag teachers where like the principal, he couldn't blame her.

Seifer plastered on as sincere a face as he could muster, assuring Mr. Gorder that, despite his short stint as world dictator, he did understand Balamb Elementary could not let their students kick their classmates in the balls, knock out their front teeth, and threaten to shoot them between the eyes, no matter what Roy Belbi said about Alice's new Skechers. But, really, after his last discussion with Alice, it was really a case of cumulative frustrations. It had nothing to do with the Skechers at all. Okay, maybe a little. They had unicorns on the soles, after all.

Alice listened to them talk without a word, arms crossed across her chest. She'd stopped trying to defend herself as soon as the teacher started screaming about the blood.

"I've been hearing multiple reports about Alice's temper, Mr. Almasy. This sort of behavior doesn't usually stem from the child alone." Mr. Gorder said pointedly and Seifer shifted uncomfortably.

"Look, I get it, you don't like me," Seifer began. "There's no reason you should, but I don't go knocking out my neighbor's front teeth."

Alice paused her glaring to give her father a look of disbelief.

"Hey! That was once," He defended, "and the old freakshow kept chasing you two with a shovel. That doesn't count." Mr Gorder stared in shock and Seifer tried to explain, "We didn't live in the best neighborhood before. That's part of why I brought the kids here. To top it off, I know you know who I am, and so does the rest of the world. Can you imagine people gunning for your kids because of a mistake you made when you were eighteen? Alice has got a temper. Hell, she's got my temper, but she's not a bad kid. We just come from a place that's a bit rougher than all this."

"Mr. Almasy," Gorder chided, "While your tale has certain sympathies to it, I'm afraid I can't allow a dangerous student to wander free with the other children. A boy was beaten today! His life was threatened! The damage to his reproductive organs may be life-altering! This simply cannot be allowed."

"So, what?" Seifer shrugged, "I take her home and put her in time out?"

Mr. Gorder folded his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to stay calm, "No, Mr. Almasy. If Alice wishes to continue her education here, she must enroll in anger management courses, be evaluated by a child psychiatrist and attend regular appointments, and fulfill a month suspension."

"A psychiatrist?" Seifer yelled, "You think my kid's crazy because she got fed up with her class treating her like the class reject? What the fuck sorta answer is that!"

"It is obvious Alice exhibits alarming social behavior and the obvious solution is to seek medical help, Mr. Almasy." The principal said loudly over Seifer's ranting. "These are the school's terms and it is up to you whether you will abide by them."

"You know what?" Seifer spat, "There's a place where kids who can take care of themselves are appreciated. Fuck your terms. Alice ain't coming back. Come on," He said to Alice, "Let's go."

She scrambled out of the chair and sped towards the door, but Seifer stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. Her hand was red and swollen and two knuckles were busted open. It looked like she'd washed it in the sink and let it air dry. Seifer turned on the principal, "Yeah, you take care of your students alright," He hissed. "That's why her hand hasn't been checked for broken bones or cleaned out. It's not even wrapped up."

"Mr. Almasy," Gorder began, but this time Seifer was the one in control.

"Shut the fuck up," He snapped. "She nailed a guy in the mouth, you fuck-nut. Yeah, sure, she's the one in trouble. I get that. Why the hell, when you were done with pussy-piss-pants, didn't the nurse disinfect that? The mouth, asshole, full of germs and teeth. Those sorta things get real fucked up if you don't clean'um good. The red and veiny fucked up."

Mr. Gorder, however, wasn't phased. "Honestly, Mr. Almasy, Alice wasn't our top priority. We had a classroom of scared students, a victim awaiting paramedics, and a limited number of staff members to deal with the issues. If she had mentioned her hand, we would have called the nurse, but she didn't. I had greater concerns. You're her father. You deal with it."

Seifer clenched his fist and curled his lip angrily. Sonnovabitch. Hitting him wouldn't help a damn thing, not when they were talking shrinks and wackos looking at his kids. Life was easier when he had no rules. He wasn't invincible anymore. Reigning in his temper, he snatched Alice and hauled her out of the office. He vaguely registered her gripe about his grip, but he ignored it. Finally, he reached the nurse's office and chucked her inside. The nurse was alarmed, but he didn't care. Without asking, Seifer hoisted Alice on the counter and began opening cabinets, searching for the gauze and rubbing alcohol. Finally, he set his supplies on the counter and picked up Alice's hand gently.

Carefully, he rubbed at the scabs with a towel, peeling off the layers and making it bleed. It looked like Alice hadn't scrubbed the gashes very well, but he couldn't blame her. It didn't didn't take a fuck child psychologist to realize it hurt. He pressed lightly around the fingers, noting her reaction. Pain, but no screaming. Fingers probably weren't broken, then. He'd take her to the doctor tomorrow for an x-ray, anyway. As for the open wound, Seifer picked a couple shards of tooth out of the deeper gash and rinsed it with water. Seifer checked again. Then, he poured rubbing alcohol over the wound and wrapped it up. He helped Alice down and shoved the first aid supplies back where he found them with a curt nod towards the nurse and left.

What was he supposed to do? His plans as of late weren't working out, if his 'wait it out' theory was anything to go by. Hyne, two front teeth, a shot to the balls, and a threat for one between the eyes? Seifer was lucky the principal hadn't expelled her and called the cops. Angry as he was about Mr Gorder's neglect of Alice's hand, Seifer still knew he'd been cut miles of slack for Alice's behavior. It just didn't make any sense.

Seifer laughed, gaining an odd look from Alice as he unlocked the car. Of course it made sense. That was the problem. Everything made perfect sense and there was fuck-all he could do about it. He lived for the rush of fighting. When he'd given that up, it was for the hope of something better. Whether his heartbreak and years of thankless work evened the scales when measured against his kids, he didn't know, but he knew his days of glory and power were over. Playing the villain makes even the greatest dream bittersweet. Alice had that same hunger. She wanted to be strong, to be known. She wanted to show the world who she was on her terms, not on theirs. Who was Seifer to tell her no? Who was Mr. Fuck-Gorder?

His hands flexed on the steering wheel as Seifer fought to pay attention to the roads while he thought. Killing them before they reached home wasn't the answer, tempting as it might be.

The answer was so simple it burned, but it was beyond him. How could he do that to her? She had enough trouble in a normal school with parents who never knew more than his name. How was she supposed to deal with an entire compound filled with people who'd blood he'd spilt? Kids taunted her at school; at Garden, it would be instructors and SeeDs. If she tried to knock someone's front teeth out, she'd be splattered across the deck. It wasn't reasonable. How could he do that to her?

Seifer spared a glance for his daughter in the passenger seat. Then again, he thought grimly, taking in her tired eyes and defensive curl, how could he not?

When he pulled up to the house, he sent her on ahead and pulled out his cell. A list of faces flashed through his head, each with a sneer or snarl of their own. Dincht, Trepe, Xu. All of them had reason to scorn him. However, the face that loomed in his thoughts was Leonhart. Always his rival, Squall had started as the skinny boy with more spit than sense. Somehow, that spit had grown into strength and Seifer had been left facing an honest hero. Seifer had a feeling Leonhart's success was built on his shoulders, but he was the only one to blame. He'd failed in his romantic dream, but Seifer had molded himself into a spectacular demon for Prince Charming to slay for his Ladylove. Crowd cheers, hero bows, and the happy couple runs off into the sunset, all thank to him.

Somehow, Seifer doubted that was how Leonhart saw it. Thinks like turning traitor, electroshock interrogation, and throwing his girlfriend to the wolves tended to leave a man a little bitter.

Seifer press zero and waited for the operator to answer, "Hello," He said, praying for his little girl. "Connect me to Balamb Garden."



A/N - Gah, did I fight with this chapter. I wanted to be at Garden by the end of this and it just wouldn't do it. I also have a writing competition I'm working on, midterms, and bad health, so I was all over the place for this chapter. HOWEVER, this does mean Squall will be in the next chapter, probably a good deal more than I intended for this one. It will be about a month until I post the next chapter because of the writing challenge. If there are any crazy awful grammatical snaffu's in this, tell me. I wasn't able to give it even the basic proof I usually do, so it was chugged through spellcheck half-assed and posted because I figured you people have waited long enough and I was sick of thinking about it.