Mrs. Strife was in her moods. I tried to teach everyone their roles, but things weren't working out well at all. First of all, Mrs. Strife pulled the number and we weren't going to do the performance. At least I got out of the dare. We watched musicals the whole lesson. All that stressing about that song for nothing... oh well, these things happen.
I came back from cheer practice and Uncle Rufus waited for me to get home.
"Claire, you are in serious trouble." He angrily announced and pulled me into the living room. He dumped me onto the couch. Serah sat on the stool with her eyes down to the floor. I was about to find out why.
"Why did you kiss Serah's friend's boyfriend?" he asked furiously with his arms folded across his chest.
"Alright. You know Aerith's side of the story, but you don't know Sephiroth's! Aerith was only using him to increase her popularity. His other friends and I cooked up a plan to split them up. It blew up in my face and I almost died. I guess the way I did it was wrong, but his friends said that they tried almost everything and it didn't work. You should have seen him before the break up! He was always frustrated or angry because she was pissing him off with the fact that he was the only one organising dates alone! She didn't want to be alone with him on the dates and only around her own friends and never his as well. Well, she was around them but they hate her. I did it with good reason." I replied. Uncle Rufus stared me down like a behemoth would his naughty offspring.
"To your room. And you're not going to that prom." He said.
"Serah! You sold me out twice in one day?! How could you? You're not my sister anymore, you're Aerith's pawn! You know what, forget this!" I exclaimed at my traitor of a sister and stormed into my room and slammed the door behind me.
I flopped onto my bed and sighed. I pulled out my text book and studied for the exam next week. I wanted... no, I needed to be in the top four. I needed to go home and be around the people who get me. It would be even better if Angeal, Genesis and Sephiroth came along. I sighed again. I decided to play a trick on Serah. Before dad died, he gave me a guitar similar to his. It looked the same, but dad's guitar had an unnoticeable thunder bolt on the left corner. I switched the guitars and hid the original. I ever so slightly opened the door so that they could see me and hear me.
"I hate you! I hate all of you!" I exclaimed and picked up the fake guitar. Serah looked up at me and I raised the guitar above my head.
"Claire, no!" Serah exclaimed and raced upstairs. I was about to smash the fake when Serah and Uncle Rufus came up the stairs.
"Claire, put the guitar. Down." Uncle Rufus said.
"You're not my father." I hissed.
"Claire, think about this." Serah replied.
"My family are full of traitors! Why should I have any remnants of them?" I asked with fury and smashed the guitar against my bedpost. Serah completely lost it when the pieces fell to the floor. She grabbed me and went to swing at me. I caught her fist and used it to strike her. Serah fell to the floor and began to cry. She held the pieces in her hands and let her tears fall onto them.
I stormed down the stairs. Uncle Rufus pulled me aside.
"What the hell was that?" He asked and pointed upstairs.
"I need to desensitise myself. I won't be a good soldier if I don't." I replied and headed for the door.
"Don't you dare leave this house!" he exclaimed. I turned to face him and I could feel the fury building up inside of me.
"Why not?" I hissed.
"You are in big trouble, young lady! Smashing your father's guitar is the last straw! I'm sending you back to Bodhum and you can finish your schooling there! Ungrateful kid!" He exclaimed and walked away.
"If that was all it took to get me back home, I would have done it ages ago!" I snapped. The doorbell rang and I stormed to the door. I opened it and Sephiroth stood in the doorway.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"No. I'm going back home. Apparently, it's a punishment." I replied and sighed.
"But what about your exams? What about prom?" he asked.
"No prom. I'm guessing it's finish the school year and then go back home." I replied.
"But why not?" he asked. This was clearly hurting him. I could see it in his cat like eyes.
"Because of the Aerith incident today, I'm not allowed to go." I replied. He sighed sadly and then looked at the ground.
"What did you do to get you sent home though?" he asked. I chuckled.
"It was a mix of the Aerith incident and smashing 'dad's' guitar." I replied. He looked confused.
"Before he died, he gave me a replica of his guitar. I smashed that one instead. I would never destroy his actual guitar. I don't have the heart to." I explained quietly.
Uncle Rufus came to the door and stared me down.
"Who's this, Claire?" he asked.
"Uncle Rufus, this is my friend Sephiroth." I replied.
"Get inside!" he shouted and I trudged into the living room. I sat down on the couch and had no choice but to listen to my sister's wailing. I could tell by Sephiroth's voice that he was a little bummed about something. I wonder what it was that was bothering him? Uncle Rufus closed the door and came into the living room.
"Well, he's a remarkable boy. He told me everything. What you said was true, Claire. Then Serah has been the one leaving out a few facts." He replied. I gave him a half smile and then frowned again. I stared at the tiles on the ground and followed the lines the grout made with my eye.
"Someone still needs to be punished. I'm sorry Claire. But you have to go back to Bodhum at the end of the year. And no prom." Uncle Rufus said. I sighed and then trudged up the stairs to my room. Serah was still on the ground, crying over the guitar.
"Get up and get out!" I exclaimed and she hurried out of my room faster than a chocobos running from a predator. I picked up the pieces and threw them away. I came back upstairs and put dad's guitar back onto its perch.
Uncle Rufus knocked on the door and then came in. He sat on my bed and examined the guitar closely. He saw the lightning bolt and smiled.
"That wasn't the real guitar was it?" he asked.
"No, it was a replica dad gave me." I replied.
"Why pretend to smash it then?" he asked.
"I needed to vent my anger and make Serah upset at the same time without actually damaging our parents' instruments." I replied. He laughed.
"I remember back in high school that your father did the exact same thing you just did. You two are so alike." Uncle Rufus said. I smiled and then opened my text book again.
"Listen Claire, Sephiroth really wanted to take you to prom. I might consider lifting the ban, if you place top four in your class." He replied.
"Really?" I asked hopefully. He nodded.
"Thank you!" I exclaimed and gave him a big hug.
"Yeah, after this year you will go back to Sanctum and finish up your schooling before I send Serah over." He said. I groaned. The last thing I wanted to know was that I had two more years of freedom.
Uncle Rufus left me to study and closed the door behind him. I sighed. I could not believe that Seph actually wanted to take me to prom. Me of all people! I laughed and then began to put together a set of notes to study with. I ate dinner in my room and went to sleep at one in the morning. I couldn't sleep, knowing that my life would change according the exam results.
