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Early morning sunbeams streamed through the windows of Balamb Garden, waking grumpy students and faculty from their beds. There was the daily stampede for the bathrooms, as hot water supplies usually started to dwindle after the first few hundred showers. The cafeteria filled with hungry students, while the monsters in the training center crawled from their dens, hoping for a tasty bite of one of these well-fed cadets.
Quistis would normally watch the mad morning rush with a certain level of smug amusement, having the majority of her early duties completed before the rest of the school had even hit the snooze button. A consummate early riser, Garden belonged to her for a couple of peaceful hours before sunrise. But recently, some of the more aggressive Trepies had discovered her scheduling tricks to avoid their advances, so this morning her routine had been disrupted. As a result, the training center was packed and she found herself in the midst of the crowd she so loathed.
While she truly did enjoy teaching her students, she was finding it harder to get any serious conditioning completed during conventional operating hours. The time that should be used to master her chain whip was instead being used to instruct every odd student that followed her into the humid training center. Most had genuine difficulties with particular fighting techniques, but some just wanted an excuse to be alone with the Quistis Trepe. Evading the student population had become a bigger challenge than battling the most ferocious T-Rexaur that Garden had to offer.
Throwing her towel over her shoulders and fastening her whip back to her belt, a sweaty, irritable Quistis trudged through the masses to the cafeteria for a bagel and coffee. Let me see…grab some breakfast, pop in the shower, grade a few exams, call Xu, then class. Damn, it's late. Now I have to hurry. Oh, better call Rinoa as well. I forgot all about last night.
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Kissing Squall on the cheek, Rinoa sent him off to start his Commander duties. "Call me later. I'll bring some lunch to your office. Love ya!" Squall gave her a muffled goodbye through his mouthful of toast, grabbed his bag, and went out the door. Returning to the living room, she pulled open the curtains, allowing the bright sunlight to burst into the dark room.
"Urghhh. Just five more minutes, Rin. I'll get up, I promise." Burying his head under the pillow, he tried to burrow his way back to slumber land, but Rinoa was too fast for him. Snatching his feet, she pulled hard and dragged the unfortunate Zone into the floor.
"Nope! It's a beautiful morning and I get bored while Squall is working. You are now my prisoner, so you have to follow my commands! Time for breakfast and the grand tour. Up!" Her attempt at a cheerful good morning was greeted with a loud groan. "Don't make me sic Angelo on you! She's a vicious killer! Sleepy photographers are one of her favorite snacks."
Laughing at the prone figure on her floor, she opened the window wide, letting the sea-spray air finish rousing the struggling Zone. Stumbling to the bathroom, he realized he had forgotten his comb, but he did remember to bring his toothbrush. Mumbling through the minty froth dripping down his chin, he decided to ask Rinoa about skipping the Garden tour.
"You think we can just hit the beach later? I want to see if I can get a couple shots before it gets dark tonight. The view from the train looked amazing."
"You mean get a few girls to pose for you, huh, you perv? And spit that stuff out. I can barely understand you, silly."
"No! I meant that the weather looks clear and I might get some good pics for my portfolio today. I could use some landscapes to round things out."
"Yeah, yeah. If you say so. I think we can swing that. No boob shots, though!" She chuckled as he rolled his eyes. "But let's get some coffee first. Looks like we'll have to wait in line anyway. We're getting a late start. Here! Catch!" Rinoa tossed a comb at the disheveled outline in the doorway. "You never have figured out how to tame that hair, have you? At least you quit wearing that horrible blue cap. I hated that thing."
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"Rinoa! Who's that? Oh wait! I remember you! Timber, right? Welcome to Balamb, home of Garden Girls Gone Wild, but I guess you know all about that, don't ya?" Selphie was spraying crumbs over the table as she greeted the newcomer.
Yeah, don't remind me. My mom would be so disappointed. Zone couldn't avoid grinning as he was bombarded by the force field that surrounded Selphie. Her energy was contagious. The two had barely stepped into the cafeteria before she had pounced on them with an invitation to breakfast.
"Come on, sit with us. Irvy and Zell will be here in a few minutes. In the meantime, you can tell us all about the glamorous life of a porno kingpin."
"Oh Selphie. Not yet. I need coffee before you start with this again." Rinoa and Zone fell into chairs across from Selphie, both amazed that she could summon such an impressive amount of enthusiasm so early.
"Well good luck with that. I'm beginning to agree with Zell and his wiener theory. The cafeteria ladies have a vendetta against SeeD. He can't find hotdogs, and they are stealing my caffeine before they sell me any coffee. I'm telling ya, it's gonna be gnarly. First caffeine extraction, then pipe bombs and before you know it, a Lunch Lady Queen!" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "They have the regular coffee locked in a cabinet! Can you believe it? I've looked everywhere for the key, but they're good. Too fucking good. I don't trust 'em." Selphie's bright expression darkened as she considered the threats posed by evil lunch ladies. "We can save the world, but can we get a good cup of joe? Hell no! They've got it in for us!" With a menacing glance at the nearest cafeteria worker serving a famished student, Selphie narrowed her eyes and muttered something under her breath. Zone thought it sounded like Humph. And they thought Kablooey was bad. I'll get 'em. I'll get 'em all…
Raising his eyebrows, he was going to ask Rinoa what she meant by 'Kablooey', when he saw Irvine and the much shorter Zell drifting towards their table. "Irv! Hey man! We need to talk. Hey Zell, it's good seeing you again. But really Irv, remember Fat Moe? He's been after me for weeks. Might be gunning for you too. Better watch yourself. I had to shack up with Rin and Squall for a few days."
Irvine and Zell both smiled at the unexpected arrival of the former revolutionary. Zell's face lit up both at the sight of Zone and the smell of waffles floating through the air. "Hey Zone! When the hell did you get here? Have you had a hotdog yet?" Zone nodded, causing Selphie and Zell to frown. "Really? I told you Sef! It's a plot to starve us all! They're hiding them from us." Zell plopped down next to the tiny SeeD, both of them eyeing the cafeteria staff with wicked expressions.
Irvine gave Selphie a peck on the top of her head, instantly cheering the conspiracy expert. "Moe? That old asshole doesn't scare me. Now yesterday, I thought I had bought the farm. Has anybody even seen Quistis today? I know she wakes up with the chickens, so I stayed in my dorm to miss her. She scares the living hell outta me."
Selphie giggled at her boyfriend's discomfort. Taking his worn hat, she placed it on her flipped hairdo. "Well, I tried hard to cheer her up yesterday, but she wouldn't have it. Maybe she just needs to get laid. Like soon. Real soon. You know, by somebody that can handle her mood swings. A good screw will put her right in a hurry."
Zell threw his head back, laughing loudly. Wiping tears from his eyes, he punched Irvine in the ribs. "Hey! Why didn't you try to sweet talk her, Irv? Not scared of the little lady, are you?" He was still laughing as he left his chair to fight his way to the counter for some waffles.
"Do I look suicidal? That woman could scare the fangs off a rattler!" Irvine shuddered, memories of yesterdays encounter with Quistis still fresh in his mind. He continued talking to Zone. "I had to hire good old Zell as my bodyguard. If I can keep him out of the library, I might have a chance at living past the end of the week. Zone, if I were you, I'd hide somewhere."
Rinoa's jaw dropped at the behavior of her friends. "You guys are being really unfair! She's just stressed about so much right now. I know she can get a little touchy sometimes, but she has so many responsibilities. She had to teach four extra classes this year after the Kablooey Incident, Selphie. You wouldn't forget who caused that, now would you?" Selphie had the decency to almost look ashamed. "And now she has to worry about losing her job for defending you, Irvine. We should really help her out, not make fun of her!"
Zone looked around at the embarrassed faces circling the small table. "Wait. I don't get it. Is this the same person I remember? Five six-ish, blonde hair, pretty eyes, glasses, hell of a figure, real smart?"
Irvine smirked at Zone's description. "Buddy, better never let her hear you say any of that. She doesn't take real well to flattery. I've tried. Believe me. But yes, that is the one and only Quistis Trepe."
An angry Rinoa stood up to hit the long line for some juice and cereal. She hoped to cool down before she started shouting at Irvine and company. Is this what Quisty was talking about? No wonder she's so mad. They're all acting like animals, just not the cute and cuddly kind. The mean, spiteful, horrible kind that poops on your car after a wash, and leaves gross presents on the lawn.
"Hey Rinoa. While you're up, will you grab me some eggs and toast? I'm pretty hungry."
"Oh, get it yourself, cowboy."
"Jeez woman! Alright. I'm sorry!" Selphie punched him in the arm, feeling a bit peeved that she was responsible for causing bad vibes for Quisty. "Fuck! Whoa there honey! I get it. We better run, Zell. It's a battle of the sexes in here today. Zell? Zell! Where'd you go?"
Zone excused himself and followed Rinoa to the back of the line, hoping that there might be some food left. Zell, well ahead of them with two empty trays in hand, was already scanning the breakfast offerings. Zone remembered Squall's comment about the martial artist's eating prowess. "What was that all about?"
She shook her head as she tried to think of the fastest way to explain Quistis' predicament. "Irvine is mad because she found out about those movies you two are making. Quistis helped support him when he lied about the content to the finance committee. Now she might not only be denied a promotion, but she may lose her job because Irvine didn't produce the combat aids he promised. She's the superior officer, so any problems from a subordinate are automatically her fault. See? He made those DVD's, and they are making money, but it could cause problems for Balamb's reputation. And Quistis might be the one to suffer for it. That is what that was all about. That is why I told you to stay away from her for a few days. She is very, very upset."
Rinoa sighed, watching her friends at the table tease each other and toss Irvine's hat in a game of keep-away. I wish I could make them see how big of a deal this is for her.
"Damn, Rinoa. I had no idea." So much for stopping to say hello to her. She's bound to hate me, maybe even throw something at me. Zone looked toward the exit with longing. "You know, all of a sudden, I don't think I'm so hungry. Why don't we try back later?"
Rinoa nodded, pushing a downcast Zone to the exit. Leaving the breakfast crowd, they stepped back through the doors and promptly collided with a startled Quistis.