Alexa decided if they had to wait any longer the anticipation would kill her before the head of the Academy could. Mr. Tucker had gone into the office and left shortly afterwards, not giving any instructions or even a glance at them. His departure had been at least ten minutes ago.
Her head was pounding furiously where she had contacted the wall, and her stomach hurt from the kicks Stark had given her. She was trying not to look at her thumb, which had swollen twice its size and was turning a deep purple. The unceasing throb made it hard to ignore.
Hoping to distract herself from the pain, Alexa's eyes wandered over to the two boys who were waiting with her in the hallway. Vincent was sitting in the next seat over, leaning his head against the wall with his eyes closed. There were angry red streaks along Vincent's neck from where Jakob tried to strangle him. Alexa spitefully wished that boy was up here too. Of the three students, Stark looked the worst off. His lip had split open and a bloody smear colored his chin. His left eye was puffy and bruised, and Alexa was unsure if it had been she or Vincent who had hit him before deciding the latter was most likely.
If she wasn't in so much trouble right now, Alexa would be impressed with herself. That had been the first time she had fought back, and all things considered she thought she had done moderately well.
But don't forget, you'd be zolom food if Vincent hadn't arrived, she reminded herself.
Now that she thought about it, she was astounded the older boy had come to her aid. He could have easily pretended not to notice the fight. It was amazing he managed to hear them through the shooting range's thick glass doors at all. It wasn't like they had said more than a handful of words to each other during the tournament, and any aggressive behavior outside class was strictly forbidden at the Academy. Why had Vincent put his neck on the line for her, literally and figuratively?
"What's with that look, Spero?" Stark asked, finally breaking the silence of the hallway. "We're about to get chewed out by the Director and you're over there looking like you're contemplating the meaning of life."
Stark's normally cool, haughty attitude had dissipated somewhat. He liked causing trouble, but now that he was on the chopping block he was sweating. It was a bad time for it, but she could still appreciate the subtle change in her adversary. If only he had been knocked off his high horse sooner, she wouldn't have been as afraid of him all this time. She looked over at Vincent. He alone appeared cool and composed.
"Hello, I'm talking to you. Are you brain dead?"
"No thanks to you," Alexa retorted. She resisted the urge to touch the tender part of her head, which hurt worse now that she was paying attention to it.
There was silence for a minute afterwards. Stark began to fidget, tapping his fingertips against his thighs. Unconsciously, Alexa began to squirm as well before she realized it and forced her body to stop.
"Can you cut that out," Alexa asked in a near-civilized tone. Stark was going to make her climb up the wall soon.
Stark scowled. "What do you want me to do? Most people can't take a nap at a time like this, like Valentine here."
Her eyes flicked over to the boy at her side. Vincent showed no response. Was he sleeping? Whether he was or not, Alexa was extremely impressed by his outer calm.
"You must have heard about Gradern," Stark said in a lower voice. His nerves were loosening his tongue rather than any temporary feelings of solidarity. "He was a general in Shinra's military before retiring. He has a reputation for being a harsh, merciless bastard."
As if scared the Director was listening at that moment, Stark leaned forward to speak in an undertone, and Alexa found herself leaning closer to hear. "And the Director… his name is an anagram for 'danger'."
Her eyes widened, feeling even more scared of the man behind the dark wooden door.
"Wait… no it isn't. There's an extra 'r'," she said uncertainly, switching the letters around in her mind.
Stark shrugged. He leaned back, raising his arms to lace his fingers behind his head and leaned back.
"It also spells 'garden'," spoke Vincent, so unexpectedly that Alexa jumped a bit. She stared at him. Vincent raised his eyelids and gave a serious look with his dark eyes. "Without the extra 'r,' of course."
Alexa didn't know whether to laugh or not. She had been convinced he hadn't been paying the least bit of attention to them.
The Academy Director's door finally opened and the students quickly stood. Vincent squared his shoulders and walked in. Stark, refusing to follow behind a girl, hastily went in behind the older boy with Alexa forced to take up the rear.
Well, here we go.
Alexa's hands shook as she stood facing a large mahogany desk. She pressed her hands to her thighs to stop the sign of nervousness and raised her eyes to meet the head of Shinra Academy.
Director Gradern was a formidable man in all respects. His thick muscular build and tall frame spoke of physical power, but his stern face and sharp calculating eyes were evidence of a sharp mind as well. Gradern's presence had a detrimental effect on friend and foe alike, and the three students before him were no exception. Alexa had seen him at the tournament, but that short encounter didn't seem to have prepared her now that she was standing before him to be reprimanded. The man was seated at his desk, yet somehow he still seemed to look down upon them.
"Unauthorized brawls are not permitted within the complex. This was made perfectly clear to each of you when you enrolled." His words were punctuated and deadly clear. Gradern looked at each of them. "Was it not?"
"Yes, sir," the three said simultaneously.
Gradern leaned back and the chair groaned. "Now, I don't care about who initiated the fight, nor the cause of it. Both are irrelevant. You broke the rules and now you will each receive punishment in accordance with those rules. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"This is a warning: consider yourselves grateful that you are still attending this institution. However, if you place another toe out of line then you will be dumped off the property before the rest of your foot has touched the ground."
Alexa tried to swallow, but her throat was so parched she couldn't complete the action and nearly choked. At least they weren't going to be expelled. Somehow that wasn't much of a comfort.
"Now, proceed to the medical quarters for evaluation. You will receive the details of your punishment first thing tomorrow morning. Your instructors will be notified of your absence from any classes you may have. That is all." With that, Gradern turned his attention to a stack of papers on his desk.
Effectively dismissed, Alexa followed the other two out of the office. The door closed behind them with a loud click.
"We're still alive." Alexa didn't know she spoke the thought aloud until Vincent gave a slight grunt of a laugh.
"For now. Who knows what they're going to make us do tomorrow," Stark commented. Then as if he finally realized who he had been talking to, the boy's platinum-blond eyebrows drew together and he gave Alexa a disgusted look. "I'm done with you two. Later—much." With that, he stomped down the hall.
Alexa sighed, feeling exhausted. If she hadn't just been ordered to the medical quarters, she would have headed straight to her room to sleep.
"Are you alright?" Alexa head Vincent ask.
She turned to him and nodded with a forced smile. "I'll be okay. How about you?"
"I've had worse."
Not wanting to linger near the ominous threshold of the Director's office any longer, they walked away in silence. Alexa hoped she would never have to come here again in her life.
The medical ward was a bright, sterile environment on the ground floor of one of the Academy's auxiliary buildings. Alexa had received many injuries during her short school career, but none had been severe enough to warrant a trip here. A medic looked over her injuries with brusque indifference. He had given her an ice pack for her head and would have sent her on her way if it weren't for her thumb. The digit in question was now so swollen she could hardly move it. Alexa was ordered to sit on a padded table while he sent for a low-grade Cure materia.
Alexa wondered in uncomfortable ignorance what her punishment would consist of. Her first response to the fact that she wasn't expelled had been pure relief. But now she was even more nervous than before. When she misbehaved as a child, her father would simply give her a time-out. What would happen here? Certainly not some alone time in a corner. Her mind ran wild with scenarios. Would they make her run laps until she fainted, or wash every lavatory with a toothbrush? Or would they just chain her in the dungeon and whip her? Alexa didn't think the Academy had a dungeon, so the last one was out at least.
It would be so much fairer if Stark's gang was punished too, thought Alexa. Why did Mr. Tucker take only half of us? Even if the others didn't jump in the fight, they were just as involved.
The entire situation was strange. If Stark's information about the Director being so strict was true, why had they not been thrown out? Even with the unknown punishment in store for them, they seemed to have gotten off easily. Alexa sighed. She wished she had gotten a chance to explain herself. Stark would be in a lot deeper trouble had Director Gradern found out about Stark's breaking and entering, not to mention stealing and ripping her book. It was still lying somewhere on the basement floor, as long as Stark's gang hadn't taken it. The mental image was heartbreaking. And now she couldn't go back and tell Gradern without looking like a pathetic tattletale.
A woman in clean white scrubs entered her room carrying a green semi-transparent orb. If Alexa was expecting compassionate treatment, she was immediately proven wrong.
"Well, let's see it then," the nurse stated as she reached Alexa. Alexa gingerly held up her injured thumb. The woman examined the finger, making a "tsk-tsk" sound before placing the materia on the bruised skin. "Cure," the woman commanded.
Growing up in a small rural town, Alexa had seen materia being used only two or three times, and never on herself. Now, she watched a the crystallized mako burst to life upon command, casting a bright green light that made her skin seem to glow. No, her skin was actually glowing! Her whole thumb was bathed in an intense light and she felt a burst of energy seeping through her. The only way she could describe what the magic felt like was comparing it to the sun's rays, except without the heat. Her explanation sounded strange even to herself, but before she could come up with a better description the sensation faded.
"You're lucky to get a materia treatment. The few materia we have are reserved for emergencies, so very few students get healed with them." The woman placed the now-dull orb in the special container, wrapping it in plastic so it wouldn't shatter. "The proximal phalanx was fractured, but that would've healed in time with a brace. But orders are orders."
I guess they want me healed for whatever I'm supposed to do tomorrow, Alexa assumed. She flexed her thumb experimentally. There was no pain or any sign that the digit was ever damaged.
"Refrain from punching people anymore, especially if you don't know how," the nurse said and then waved her out the door.
She was incredibly surprised to find Vincent leaning against the wall when she exited the medial quarters.
"Hey Vincent," Alexa called in a soft voice. "Did you get cleared by the medic?" Of course he did, idiot, she mentally berated herself. Why else do you think he's out here and not still inside?
The boy nodded in confirmation and then pushed himself off the wall. "Here," Vincent said, reaching out to hand something to her. "I believe this is yours."
Alexa gasped in surprise. It was her book! She took it from the boy, relieved the precious gift from her father was safely back in her possession. The binding was loose, but the torn page had been reinserted and her letter was still tucked in the back, undisturbed.
She looked up into Vincent's face, tears of gratitude shining in her eyes. "Thank you so much! I was afraid the others had destroyed it after Mr. Tucker took us."
"I went back to the range and found it on the floor. It looks like everyone forgot about it," Vincent explained. Then he looked down and asked, "How's your thumb?"
"Good as new," Alexa replied. "I was stupid. The nurse said I don't know how to punch."
Vincent's face twisted into an expression of amusement. "Show me how you punched him."
Alexa looked around the empty hallway. "Are you sure? What if someone saw, after we just got out of the Director's office?"
"No one's here," he said calmly. "Show me what your hand looked like."
Alexa hesitated before setting the book gently on the ground and curling her fingers into a fist. She raised her hand, letting Vincent see.
"You have your thumb on the inside. You should wrap it across the bottom of your fingers, or else you'll break it when you punch. Here." Vincent took her thumb and carefully adjusted it so it rested between the first and second knuckles on her index and middle fingers, out of the way of any direct contact. "And you need to make sure your wrist is always aligned with your arm," he added, raising her fist a bit so her whole arm was in a straight line.
She looked at her hand from different angles until she was sure she could recreate the positioning, and then took a hesitant punch through the air. Vincent observed her and then nodded.
"Not bad. But I would stick to a pistol for now."
"What, Turks don't fight with their fists?" she asked, jabbing the air once more.
Vincent gave a small grin. "They do, but I wouldn't put my gun away just so I could hit a guy with my bare hand."
Alexa laughed and added, "Unless you had brass knuckles on or something."
The conversation lapsed into silence. Alexa bent down to retrieve her book, dusting the dirt off the back cover. "Thanks for coming to help me," she expressed after a bit, feeling embarrassed. "I'm sorry I got you in trouble, but still I really appreciated it."
Vincent shook his head. "You didn't get me in trouble. It was my decision to fight. Besides, it might have been a good thing we were caught, before things got ugly."
"What do you mean?"
The boy crossed his arms, looking perturbed. "I saw the tall, bulky one trying to get into the shooting range. It looked like he was trying to get a pistol."
Alexa's mouth dropped. "Rhodes? But, but that's crazy! Why would he have tried something that stupid?!" she exclaimed.
"Boys don't usually act rationally in a fight," Vincent told her with a small wry smile.
"You didn't seem too crazy."
Vincent shrugged off the compliment. "I locked the door before I jumped Stark, just in case. Nothing would have happened," he continued. "If weapons were involved Gradern would have had no choice but to expel us all. The ones who were left alive, anyway."
Something clicked in Alexa's mind. "That's why Mr. Tucker only took three of us. The more people involved, the more serious the Director would have to take it."
"Tucker was actually doing us a favor," Vincent agreed with a nod.
Alexa's head was beginning to spin at the implications. "Wow, this is complicated."
"You're handling it well," Vincent told her, and Alexa blushed at the unexpected praise. Then he looked at the watch on his wrist. "I have to go. Rest up for tomorrow. And don't worry, the punishment shouldn't be as bad as you're imagining."
How does he know what I'm imagining? Alexa thought with some humor. Out loud she said, "Okay, you too."
She bent down to retrieve her book as Vincent departed down the hallway.
"Hey, Vincent," Alexa called to the withdrawing figure. Vincent turned around with an inquiring look. "Thanks again!"
The boy gave her a smile before continuing on his way.
Alexa clutched the valuable manuscript to her chest, feeling remarkably happy given what had happened today. She watched Vincent turn the corner before going in the opposite direction toward the dormitories.
I'll never be so happy to sleep in my life, Alexa reflected, picturing her tiny yet longed-for bed. She would need all the rest she could get with her unrevealed punishment looming tomorrow.