Instructor White passed through the entrance to the cafeteria, immediately spotting the one occupied table in the otherwise deserted hall. Six people sat around it. A seventh empty chair waited for her. Noticing her arrival Squall got up and walked over. In a low voice, he said; "Thank you for doing this with so little notice." He gestured towards the extra chair that had been borrowed from one of the neighbouring tables, inviting her to take a seat. As she did so, Squall returned to the chair he'd vacated next to Rinoa.
Squall cleared his throat as he turned to face his colleagues across the table; "This is Instructor White. She's the music tutor on the academic staff." He swivelled back around to face her; "This is the team. I'm guessing you've met Quistis and Zell, they're both based here in Balamb." She looked at each in turn, then replied; "I think so… You're SeeDs aren't you?" Quistis answered for them both; "Yes." Squall gestured towards Selphie. "This is Selphie. She's also a SeeD… originally from Trabia Garden." Instructor White recognised Selphie, and not just on account of her distinctive hairstyle. She smiled as she asked; "You're the student who took over the Garden Festival committee, right? I mean… before everything went berserk and we figured out this thing could fly!" After she'd put so much effort into badgering anyone who'd listen about the festival, Selphie was pleased that some of her hard work had made a memorable impression; "Yes, that's me!"
"It's a shame with everything that's happened recently that it couldn't go ahead. We don't put on too many events here that capture the attention of the music tutor… but I was really looking forward to that one." Selphie's excitement lessened slightly on being reminded that the festival hadn't actually taken place. Nevertheless, she tried to put on a brave face; "Yeah…that was kind of a bummer… but we did manage to hold a concert of our own while the Garden was being repaired." Instructor White leaned forward slightly, resting her forearms on the table in front of her; "Yes, I heard about that. Sounds like it was a success." Rinoa, Irvine and Quistis all smiled at the potential interpretations of that statement, while Selphie tried to continue with a smile; "…well… we got through it in one piece!" Squall wanted to move the conversation on; "Selphie mentioned to us earlier that she'd been in a band at Trabia Garden." Instructor White nodded approvingly; "That's good! Experience like that will make this easier."
Squall gestured towards the next member of the group… "This is Irvine." From the opposite end of the table, Irvine adopted a warm grin and briefly lifted his hat in acknowledgement; "Ma'am." Squall explained Irvine's role in the team; "He's Galbadia Garden's best marksman… " Wait a sec… Realising his oversight, Squall looked at Irvine and corrected himself; "…although …you've just been relocated to Balamb so… I guess that makes you Balamb Garden's best marksman." A smirk spread across Irvine's face. He wasn't going to let this one pass without milking it for all it was worth. He tilted his head to one side and jibed; "Hey… Gabadia… Balamb… the important thing I'm hearing is that you agree I'm the best." Irvine brushed his fingers across his jacket; "No other qualifiers needed." He looked up to see a distinctly unimpressed Squall staring back at him from the other end of the table. Irvine rolled his eyes. Dude… lighten up. Instructor White broke the awkwardness with a wry-sounding comment of her own; "It's a pleasure to meet you Irvine." Irvine met her gaze across the length of the table and resumed his attempt to be charming; "Likewise, Instructor."
Squall pivoted on his chair slightly to introduce the final member of the group. His voice softened a little as he said "…and this is Rinoa." Instructor White leaned across the table, past Squall who sat between them, and shook Rinoa's hand. I'm sure I've seen her somewhere… Was she out cold in the infirmary at one point? "Pleased to meet you Rinoa." She matched the greeting with an easy smile; "Pleased to meet you too Instructor." As their hands parted, Instructor White asked; "Are you a SeeD as well?" Rinoa shook her head. A momentary silence lingered until Squall attempted to fill it in the most professional tone he could muster; "Rinoa's the client for this mission. She's a member of a resistance group in Timber called the Forest Owls."
Instructor White couldn't help looking slightly unconvinced. She doesn't look like a battle-hardened guerilla fighter… and for a 'client', she's sitting awfully close to him. Not wanting to jump to conclusions, she tried to continue; "Ah… right. Squall mentioned that this mission would be taking place in Timber." She leaned back in her seat and addressed the group assembled around the table. "He also told me you're thinking about pretending to be a band as a cover story. Is that right?" The instructor's comment was met with a chorus of nods. "Can I ask who came up with the idea?" Selphie timidly raised her hand. "I did." The one who's been in a band before… that figures. Trying to ensure they were all on the same page, she continued recounting what she knew so far; "My understanding is that some of you can play something, others not so much. I know Squall's instrument of choice is the guitar, so I'm guessing you've press-ganged him into that particular slot in the lineup… but… what will the rest of you be playing?"
Not wanting to retrace the many footsteps they'd taken up in the third floor meeting room, Squall sighed in exasperation; "We had this discussion earlier. Let me give you the short version." He decided to work his way around the table in an anti-clockwise direction; "Rinoa's main instrument is the piano but she has some basic experience with the guitar." He pointed to Irvine; "Irvine used to mess around with diddley-bows when he was a kid. He wants to try the bass. Selphie is most comfortable with a keyboard, but can also play the guitar and bass to some degree." Squall paused fractionally as he drew breath and gestured towards Quistis. "I think it's fair to say Quistis ruled herself out of performing earlier as she can't play an instrument. Zell's also never played anything… but wants to try the drums."
Instructor White addressed the group around the table again; "Is that an accurate assessment?" Head's nodded and a few yeahs were uttered. She followed with; "Has he forgotten anything?" This time heads around the table shook. She breathed in deeply and slowly as she contemplated what she'd heard. "Okay, I see what the difficulty is. It's a kind of… sort of… maybe… possibly… type of situation." She shrugged, then cut to the chase; "There's only one way to find out isn't there. Gotta try it. I suppose the question is… where?" Squall tacked on an important condition; "It needs to be somewhere private." Taking that requirement on board, she ran through the possibilities in her head; "Normally I'd suggest trying to find a practice room in town… but there aren't that many to start with and they're usually booked up for weeks in advance. Sounds like it'll need to be somewhere in the Garden." Quistis spoke up; "Could we use your classroom?" Instructor White shook her head. "There's not enough space. You'd have to move the desks around and they're all fixed to the floor. Realistically, it needs to be somewhere else."
An idea struck Zell; "Hey, Squall, what about the basement?" Squall's expression softened as he thought about that idea. The basement… yeah… that would work. It's a huge space and hardly anyone ever goes down there. He nodded in Zell's direction, wearing a slight smile; "That's perfect." Squall turned to face Instructor White, then asked; "Are you OK with the basement?" She looked slightly puzzled, then shrugged; "I've never been down there. Is there enough space?" Squall nodded. "…and power?" Squall nodded again. She smiled as she gave her support to the suggestion; "Okay, sounds ideal." Across the table, Selphie threw a question into the mix that had been bugging her for the last few minutes; "Ummm… Are we gonna be able to get hold of all the instruments we need for this?"
Instructor White looked over at Selphie and answered; "Don't worry, there's a load of stuff in the storage cupboard next to my classroom. There's definitely a kit in there… pretty sure there's a bass… keyboards… Yeah, I think we've got everything we're going to need. We should be good as far as equipment goes." With Selphie's query satisfied, the conversation seemed to have run it's natural course. Instructor White laid her palms down on the table in front of her, preparing to get up; "Right then. Nine o'clock tomorrow morning?" Nods of agreement around the table were followed by the screech of chairs against the polished floor. One by one, each chair was placed back under the table and the group began to make their way towards the cafeteria's exit. As she passed under the arch and entered the corridor, Selphie turned back and waved; "See you tomorrow!"
It had been another long Friday at the end of another long week. As the footsteps of Squall's team became an increasingly distant echo as they disappeared down the corridor, Instructor White walked across the cafeteria's marble floor towards a vending machine in the corner. She could feel herself start to flag as the encroaching tiredness began to pull at her. Better get something with caffeine in it before I drive back. She rummaged through her pockets looking for a gil. Alongside the ruffling noise of her clothes as she searched, her ears alerted her to the sound of one set of footsteps that was still in close proximity. She looked over her shoulder to see Quistis walking towards her. Arriving at the vending machine, Quistis held her hand out towards Instructor White. Between her thumb and index finger she gripped a 1 gil coin. "Here."
With the search of her own pockets having drawn a blank, Instructor White reached out and took the coin from Quistis with a "Thank you." A metallic clank rang out as the coin dropped into the machine's mechanism and the front panel lit up, illuminating the available choices. She's loitering because she wants to talk to me about something. Instructor White pressed one of the buttons then looked over at Quistis as the machine whirred and clattered. With some hesitation, Quistis said; "I'm not really sure how I fit into this picture if I can't play an instrument." *THUD* A chilled can appeared at the bottom of the machine. Instructor White bent down to pick it up. Standing upright again, she cut straight to the point; "Can you sing?" Quistis' voice took on a definitive undertone as she replied; "No."
Instructor White carefully teased the tab of the can she'd selected, opening it just enough for a prolonged whoosh of carbon dioxide to escape. Chewing over Quistis' response, she shrugged away the possibility of her being the group's vocalist. "Okay… well…" Her sentence was interrupted by a spluttering gush of dark brown cola that began to fill the rim of the can she was holding. She quickly lifted it to her mouth and slurped the excess liquid away before it had the chance to drip all over the floor. Satisfied that the can was now safe to open fully, she pulled the tab again, then continued; "If the other five can get their act together, we'll have no problem finding something for you to do. Sound and lighting are jobs in their own right if they're done properly."
Quistis frowned as she leaned over to the machine and fed another coin into the slot; "I don't know anything about sound or lighting." The machine whirred into action again as Instructor White looked at Quistis with a mild sense of irritation. Surely, she thought, someone who's received extensive training on how to handle pressured and stressful situations would be able to deal with this? In a slightly dismissive voice, she replied; "Yep… and your drummer can't play the drums. Everyone's got a lot to learn." *THUD* Quistis bent down and withdrew her can from the machine. As she stood upright again, Instructor White pointed something else out; "Even the three who sound like they can play something already will have to learn how to play together." Quistis looked down and wiped the excess condensation from the chilled can onto her skirt; "I guess so." Sensing Quistis' unease, Instructor White thought it might be worth trying to put her mind at rest; "Don't worry about it. It's not that hard. I'll show you the basics tomorrow."
Quistis breathed in deeply, then exhaled through her nose. Despite Instructor White's reassurances, she couldn't escape the feeling that she'd be awake all night worrying about this stupid cover story. Instructor White took a sip from her can and thought; Maybe I need to take her mind off it completely. She smiled and said; "Come on, let's get out of here." The idea of drawing a line under the day appealed to Quistis a great deal. She nodded and the two women started to move. As they walked past the vacant tables and chairs of the deserted cafeteria, Instructor White took the opportunity to clarify something; "I got the impression that a few of your group are… how can I put this… more than just colleagues on a job?"
As they passed under the archway at the cafeteria's entrance, Quistis cracked a smile and chuckled slightly; "You could say that, yes." Instructor White's lack of reaction invited further explanation and Quistis found herself saying; "It's difficult to explain how it happened but Squall and Rinoa are together." A few steps further down the corridor between the cafeteria and the central hub, Instructor White replied; "No kidding. I've never seen him like that." Instructor White gazed through the wide glass windows of the corridor. It wasn't quite sunset yet, but the shadows were growing longer and the day was nearing its end. Through the right hand window, the precision-cut stone of the quad gleamed and sparkled in the evening sunshine. She continued; "And she's the client for this thing? Squall's the last person I'd have thought would mix business and pleasure."
Hmm… I hope she hasn't got the wrong idea here. Quistis tried to clear things up; "It's not quite like that. He was telling the truth when he said Rinoa's the client… but there's also a lot he didn't mention. It's a long story… I…" Quistis trailed off mid-sentence. The silence was punctuated only by the hard klack of her boots against the polished corridor floor as she walked. Quistis wanted her to understand, but her mind boggled at the task explaining what they'd all been through. While she was trying to find a way in, an angle she could latch onto as the basis of an answer, Instructor White threw her a bone.
"Look… I know your team recently came back from the most important mission SeeD ever undertook. I'm guessing Rinoa was somehow part of that… and circumstances pushed the two of them together. Am I in the right ballpark?" Quistis let out a sigh of relief. OK… sounds like she kind of understands. As they exited the corridor and entered the cooler atmosphere of the central hub, Quistis confirmed; "Pretty much, yes." Instructor White let out a quiet laugh; "Those must have been some circumstances… I don't think I can recall a single moment where Squall expressed even the slightest interest in a girl."
Reminded of her own recent failures on that very point, Quistis frowned; "The last few months have been hard going… I think we've all changed a little after everything we've been through." Reflecting on the part she'd played in their recent adventures and the self-awareness she'd gained about her own feelings towards their squad leader, Quistis quietly added; "I know I have." As they left the path from the cafeteria and joined the main walkway, Instructor White asked; "What about the cowboy and the Trabian girl?" Quistis was a little surprised that Instructor White had picked up on the vibe between those two in the relatively brief time they'd spent around the cafeteria table just now. "Ah… that…" She had to admit, the level of perceptiveness on display here was impressive; "You don't miss much, do you?" Instructor White smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
"I suppose you could say that circumstances are still pushing those two together." Before any further questions came her way, Quistis continued; "And to complete the picture, Zell's infatuated with one of the girls on the library committee." Instructor White looked at Quistis. Nice try. She adopted a slightly mischievous tone and dropped the question Quistis tried to dodge; "And you?" Quistis stopped in her tracks where the path to the dorms met the central ring, shaking her head. In a deliberately flat and unemotive tone, she replied; "Single and loving it." Instructor White's comeback was phrased in an equally sardonic form. With one eyebrow raised at Quistis in disbelief, she said; "Is that so…? You being the stunning, statuesque Instructor with her own campus fanclub of dedicated obsessives and all, some might find that difficult to believe." Quistis frowned and crossed her arms; "…former Instructor." Instructor White offered an apologetic smile; "Sorry… I didn't mean to bring that up."
The rose-coloured glow of a flawless sunset poured through Squall's dorm room window, turning the white walls pink. For perhaps fifteen magical minutes, the spartan surroundings would be transformed by the tinted sunbeams into a warm, almost homely space.
The majority of long-term occupants in the SeeD dorms made at least some effort to round off the sharp edges of their accomodation. Some threw rugs over the hard floor tiles, some went to the trouble of putting up curtains around the main window, others would even add their own pieces of furniture. Squall, of course, had taken no such measures. Although he could fall back on the excuse of not having had the room very long, his single quarters had been kept standard to an almost stubborn extent. Standard bed, standard two-seater sofa, standard desk lamp, standard window blinds. It was only the presence of his jacket hanging from the rail on the wall, the stack of Weapons Monthly magazines on the small desk in the corner and the distinctive gunblade case leant against the far wall that gave any clue as to the identity of the inhabitant. As the final glorious rays of the dying sun streamed in, Squall sat at one end of the two-seater sofa and Rinoa lay across his lap, spread out across the sofa's length. Her head rested on the nearest arm of the sofa and her feet dangled playfully in mid-air over the far arm, casting a shadow on the door.
Squall felt mentally drained. This was the first moment since he woke this morning that he could actually sit and take stock of everything that had happened earlier. The relative lull in activity they'd enjoyed in the past few days since returning to Balamb had definitely come to an end now. Squall's left hand rested just below Rinoa's navel while his right hand gently stroked her hair. Behind closed eyes, Rinoa focused on the sensation of Squall's fingers running softly through her luscious black mane. She could happily stay like this all evening, but an earlier promise to a friend resurfaced in her mind. Rinoa opened her eyes and looked up at Squall. With the light streaming in through the window behind him, his outline took on a faint amber glow. With a smile, she thought; It's almost like he's cast an Aura spell. Quietly, she asked; "You know how much Selphie wants this cover story to work, right?" Squall looked down at Rinoa and smiled; "Yeah it's pretty obvious. She nearly burst when we said we'd try it out."
"I know you're not exactly thrilled at the idea… but…" Rinoa winced slightly as she told Squall about the view Selphie had formed; "…she thinks you hate it." Squall paused and thought about that for a second. He found himself questioning whether he'd been so hostile earlier in the day to warrant Selphie drawing that conclusion. I wasn't that harsh was I? I just wanna be sure that it's gonna work… and we're a long way from proving that. He looked at Rinoa and protested in a flat voice; "I don't hate it." Her head tilted a little and her expression changed to one of knowing disbelief. Come on, you don't exactly love it either. Squall's shoulders slumped slightly as he conceded; "Okay, I admit, I wish we'd come up with something else… but I'm quite prepared to make an ass of myself in public if it keeps the Galbadians off our trail." Rinoa was somewhat reassured by that, but her expression changed again as she remembered something else she needed to tell him; "We missed her birthday too."
Squall looked away in frustration. Shit. Of the six of them, Selphie was the one who'd take that kind of thing to heart. Instinctively he felt bad for his friend and hoped she hadn't drawn the conclusion that they didn't care. They absolutely cared. Squall looked down at Rinoa again with a concerned frown on his face; "When was it?" Rinoa breathed out heavily through her nose, her chest falling as she did so; "About three weeks ago." Squall nodded slowly in understanding and resumed running his fingers through Rinoa's hair. As he looked at her, his thoughts wandered back to the traumatic recent past; You were in a coma. I couldn't think about anything except how to bring you back. As Squall's fingers brushed past her temple, Rinoa's left arm slid up beside her face to catch Squall's hand. She gently gripped his hand in hers, then turned her face into his palm and kissed it softly.
She looked back up at Squall and laced her fingers through his, gently pressing his hand to the side of her face. "I know the Instructor lady is going to make the call, but we've got to try as hard as we can tomorrow. If she says no, I don't want to look back on it and think our hearts weren't really in it. That'd be horrible and I'm not sure I could look Selphie in the eye." She stared at Squall intently; "Promise me you'll give it your best shot?" He took a deep breath, then replied softly; "Of course I will." Squall brushed his thumb lightly across her cheek, then shared his thoughts in a low, soft tone; "If it's a 'no'… we're right back where we started, with no cover story." He smiled slightly as he admitted; "I'm not sure if that's better or worse." Rinoa's response was delicate but hopeful, and barely more than a whisper; "There's a chance she'll say yes though." With eyes wide, she asked; "Are you ready for that?" Rinoa could feel Squall's diaphragm sink as he exhaled long and slow; "As ready as I'll ever be."
She had a point. The answer might be yes. For the first time since Selphie voiced it earlier that afternoon, Squall began to seriously consider the notion of adopting this cover story for the duration of the mission. His mind boggled at the prospect. A long silence endured until he finally broke it; "If she says yes… there's gonna be a ton of work to do before we head to Timber." Rinoa's right hand found Squall's left on her abdomen, her fingers resting on his. Nervously, she asked; "You really think we can do it?" Squall was still unconvinced. He looked down at her and said; "A drummer who's never played the drums… and a bass player who's never played the bass… Let's just say I have my doubts."
Rinoa bit her lip slightly, feeling a little embarrassed; "I meant… freeing Timber." Squall smiled; "Oh… right. It's possible, but it's not gonna be easy." A few seconds passed and Rinoa noticed his expression become more serious. He looked deep in thought. Something's obviously nagging at him. Rinoa's left hand travelled up towards Squall's face. She pressed her index finger lightly against his forehead as she said; "What's going on in there? Come on, share." He looked back down at her wearing a half-smile. He had to admit, nobody could get him to open up like she could. Although there were times he'd prefer to keep his thoughts to himself, Rinoa's knack for drawing him out of his shell was, unexpectedly, one of the things he'd come to adore about her. When he was compelled to talk to other people, Squall often found the words didn't come naturally and took some effort. Rinoa was one of the few the exceptions. Talking to her felt as natural and effortless as breathing in and out.
Readying his answer, he inhaled deeply through his nose; "I've been over all the material I can find on the invasion. A lot of it's just Galbadian chest-thumping. They say history is written by the winners so I guess that's to be expected but… there's something that doesn't make sense to me. When you filter out all the noise and focus on the hard facts, I don't understand how the Galbadians succeeded like they did. Everything I know about war tells me that it should have been possible for Timber to repel the invasion 18 years ago… or at least slow it down. There's no way Timber should've fallen as quickly or as easily as it did." Rinoa scrunched her face, feeling a mixture of confusion and worry. Anxiously, she asked "What does it mean?" Squall sighed; "I don't know. I've got this horrible feeling that there's something I'm not seeing. Like there's a missing piece of the puzzle." A few seconds passed until an idea hit Rinoa. She shuffled slightly, then said; "There's someone you could ask about it." Squall was intrigued; "Who?"
"Laguna." Squall's face fell at the prospect, but she persisted; "He was there wasn't he? As a soldier in the G-Army? Maybe he knows what happened back then." Mid-sentence, another thought came to her; "And… he's the only person I know who's done what we're trying to do. He liberated a country. He's got to have some useful advice for us." Squall's attention wandered across the pink walls of the dorm room as he weighed up Rinoa's suggestion. Ugh… once that motor-mouthed idiot gets started… Squall looked down at Rinoa again and said; "Esthar wasn't occupied by another country, so it's not quite the same, but… you're right. He was there 18 years ago when the invasion happened and he helped overthrow a tyrant. I guess I'll ask him about both." Rinoa smiled in the disappearing pink-red light; "I'm sure it'll be a fascinating conversation… but that's for another day." Rinoa laid her head back on the arm of the sofa; "Right now…" She closed her eyes and longed for the sensation of Squall's fingers running through her hair; "…keep doing what you were doing."
