okay, here's my poor attempt at stifling my writer's block! thanks to the reviewers... you make me feel halfway okay about my skills as a writer.

disclaimer again- i do not own FFVIII. but, i do resemble Selphie Tilmitt. just not as animated. or beautiful. or tiny, for that matter. :D

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Squall groaned. Was it really the first day of school already? He usually had very few problems with school, but for some reason he thought this year would be different. As he turned off the alarm clock and slowly got out of bed, he felt that something was going to go wrong today. He sighed. Whatever, he thought, no use worrying about it now. Besides, even if something did go wrong… it's not like I'd be able to change it.

Twenty minutes later, Squall was fully dressed and out the door. It was a short walk to the school, which was just outside of town, and he reveled in the momentary silence. He knew once he got to school there would be no more silence, and that irritated him. He didn't see how people had a problem with being quiet all the time, especially considering that what they did talk about was usually unimportant, not to mention uninteresting.

Once inside the school, Squall made his way for the library. It wasn't that he particularly wanted to be there; he didn't even really like books. But, the library was always the quietest place in all of Balamb Garden, and as usual, Squall was in the mood for thinking. However, when he made it to the hall leading to the library, there was an announcement over the intercom.

"Squall Leonhart, please report to the Headmaster's office. I repeat, Squall Leonhart, to the Headmaster's office."

Squall scowled. He made his way to the elevator, pushing the third floor button. What could they possibly want of him so early on in the day? It wasn't even time for first period yet and already he was being called to see Headmaster Cid. The elevator stopped, and Squall got out. When he got to the Headmaster's office, he stopped dead in his tracks.

There, standing in front of him, was the dark-haired girl. Did Seifer call her… Rinoa? he found himself wondering. Ugh, it doesn't matter. I just want to get this portion of the day over with.

Squall stepped forward. "You wanted to see me, Headmaster."

"Yes, Squall, please, sit down!" the headmaster replied, smiling.

Squall remained standing.

"Um… yes, well. This young lady right here," he gestured toward the girl, "is in need of assistance."

Squall said nothing.

The headmaster's smile faltered a little, but he continued. "Her name is Rinoa Heartilly, and she is new here. After having gone over her schedule, it appears that yours is the same." He said this as if it was a great, exciting discovery.

Wonderful! The girl who thinks I should thank her for everything is in all of my classes. This day just keeps getting better, Squall thought. What he said was, "I don't see where I come in, Headmaster."

"Well, Squall, I would like for you to sort of… oh, take her under your wing, if you will. You are among the most mature students in this school, and I know that I can trust you not to play any jokes on her or give her any misinformation. Show her around, introduce her to people, get her acquainted with our school." He nodded once.

Squall just looked at the Headmaster. Obviously he didn't know one thing about Squall. Introduce her to people? How was he supposed to accomplish that? And moreover, he didn't want to be stuck with her tagging along all day. Still, Squall wasn't one to say no to an order from an authority figure. He nodded in the Headmaster's direction, frowning slightly. Then, he turned and walked out the door, silently hoping that Rinoa would forget he was supposed to take her around school.

His hopes were shattered when he heard a, "Hey, wait up!" from behind him.

He stopped.

"Sorry, I don't walk as quickly as you do," Rinoa said when she caught up with him. She was smiling.

Squall looked at her. Why is she talking to me? Does she think that just because I'm supposed to show her around this place, that we're suddenly going to be friends? This is going to be a long day. He looked ahead of him once more, and set off for the elevator. Once inside, he pushed the first floor button.

"So, Squall… umm… what are the teachers like here? Are they strict?"

She was prodding, he could tell. She wanted to get him to speak to her. Well, she can prod all she wants. I'm not going to tell her anything unless I have to.

"Okay… do you not like me or something?" she asked.

Squall continued staring straight ahead of him as he walked.

"You know, you could at least say something to me. You don't have to be so rude about everything! I was just trying to make polite conversation." When he didn't answer her yet again, she sighed. "Fine, then. Two can play at that game. I won't talk to you, either." She folded her arms across her chest.

"Finally," Squall said simply.

Rinoa groaned in frustration. "Why are you so difficult? I've only spoken to you once before today, and you've been rude to me both times!

Maybe if you would stop bothering me I wouldn't have to be rude to you.

"See, and even now you still just keep walking silently. You don't say a word, unless it's something rude and uncalled for."

What else is there to say? You never say anything worth while.

"You know what, never mind. I'm going to get someone else to show me around the school. And I'll make sure to sit far away from you in all of my classes!" With that, she turned on her heel, and walked away.

Was that supposed to offend me or something? Squall thought, smirking to himself. Well, at least this day's not a total bust. Something went right after all; I don't have to deal with her anymore!

--------

The day passed relatively quickly, even with Rinoa in all of Squall's classes. True to her word, she had sat as far away from Squall as possible, which was just as well for him. He preferred his seats in the back of all his classes. More importantly, he preferred sitting alone, and everyone knew that.

Before Squall even had time to wonder what time it was, it was lunch time. Lunch was always Squall's least favorite time of the day. At this time, he was actually required to stay in the Cafeteria, locked in there with all of the other students. Unfortunately, it was the loudest time of day, and he always detested it. Sighing (as he so often did), he headed toward the Cafeteria. Once inside, he walked over to the very back table in the very farthest corner away from everyone else. However, it was not empty as usual. There, sitting at his table, was none other than Rinoa Heartilly.

"Don't you have somewhere else to sit?" Squall inquired.

"Oh, so you're speaking to me now, are you?" Rinoa asked, her voice the sarcastic kind of sweet.

Squall blinked, irritated. "I wouldn't have to if you weren't sitting at my table."

Rinoa looked down. She appeared to be examining the table, and this confused Squall. Finally, she looked up, smirking. "Well, Squall, I don't see your name on this table anywhere. So, you can do one of two things. You can find your own table to sit at somewhere else… or, if you'd like, you're more than welcome to sit here with me."

Squall glared at her. However, he could hear her annoyingly hyper friend coming, so he decided he'd just find another table somewhere else. He turned, and looked around, trying to find another empty table. Finally, he succeeded, and sat down, taking out the lunch his father had insisted on packing him.

Peanut butter and jelly? I always tell him I hate peanut butter and jelly. That's his favorite, not mine. Well, whatever. I lost my appetite anyway… I can't believe that girl! It's like she's trying to irritate me. She probably is. She's childish enough. Well, whatever. It's just a stupid table, right? And better this one by myself than that one with her and her stupid, childish friends. Squall sighed, throwing away his lunch.

--------

When he finally got home at the end of that excruciatingly long day, he was glad to see that his father was not yet home from work. While he really did love his dad, and didn't mind spending time with him occasionally, today wasn't one of his bonding days.

After lunch, Rinoa had insisted on accompanying Squall to class, and even sitting by him. This irritated him to no end, especially since she kept up a steady flow of conversation the entire time. He knew she was just trying to annoy him into speaking to her. She probably wanted an apology for his being "rude", but he didn't think he owed her anything. So, he sat stoically through every ounce of chatter she threw his way, determined to stay silent no matter what. And, after a while, he actually halfway learned how to tune her voice out.

But now, he was at home, free from the annoying voices and prying eyes of others, and he just wanted to sleep off all the irritation. So, he did.

this chapter is DISGUSTINGLY short... and i'm sorry!! BUT! i promise the next one will be longer. in case you hadn't noticed, i want to switch off between Squall and Rinoa for each chapter. thus far, it's been harder for me to write Squall-chapters than it has for me to write Rinoa-ones... but i'll try to be a little better with Squall. anyway, feel free to review. let me know how i'm doing.