Chapter 2
A friends Pack
It was nearing five in the afternoon when Quistis decided to hike down to the cafeteria to meet up with her friends and grab some dinner. It had been a long and stressful day, her encounter with Seifer kept replaying over and over in her head and she wished she would of just popped him and rejected Cid's offer. She wasn't so sure she was strong enough to deal with him or not, he was in fact cocky, arrogant, so full of himself. Quistis entered the noisy cafeteria and scanned the crowd in search for her friends, she didn't have to search for very long, the tip of Irvine's cowboy hat caught her eyes and she wandered over to their usual table by the window and sat down next to a very green looking Zell and a bemused looking Selphie.
"Hi guys." She greeted her friends with a smile.
"Quisty. How was your day?" Selphie asked.
"Terrible." Quistis replied in a mutter, "It could of been better." She glances over at Zell and runs a hand through his spiky blonde hair, getting his attention. "What's wrong?"
Zell gnaws on the bottom of his lip, the hotdogs in front of him lay untouched. "Nothing." He lies, his eyes wander across the cafeteria and he turns greener.
Irvine chuckles. "Our dear friend Zell here is trying to ask the sweet library girl out, but is failing miserably."
Quistis sighs and pats Zell on the shoulder. " Arwena is sweet, Zell. You've liked her for how long?"
Zell sighed and rubbed a hand through his hair, he glanced down at the hotdog on his plate and much to everyone's surprise pushed it away and laid his head down on the table. Quistis patted his back and ran her hands comfortingly through his hair. She was just about to open her mouth to say something, but was cut short as Rinoa Heartilly slid in the seat next to her. She set her books down on the smooth surface and shot everyone a wide, broad smile.
"Hey guys." Rinoa greeted sweetly.
"How are you?" Quistis asked.
"Eh I'm ok." She replied. "Been reading a lot of books on magic, GFs, Sorceress, and the junction-system. I figured I can learn all this stuff on my own and know how to do it, instead of having Squall do it for me."
"Where is he anyway?" Irvine asks.
"Upstairs with Cid discussing our...uh...new student. There is a bunch of papers that need his signature." Rinoa explained.
Quistis tapped her fingers against the tabletop and sighed. "You guys are aware Seifer is coming back to Garden right?"
Irvine, Selphie, and Zell all looked at her shocked and shook their heads in union. The twisted look of anger clouded their faces and they suddenly began to speak and protest at the same time. She couldn't make out what any of them were saying, it was all a jumbled mess of words.
"Listen it sucks to have someone like him back in Balamb Garden." Quistis says. "But you ever stop and think that maybe just maybe he was innocent after all. I mean I don't think Cid would of given him a second chance if there was a small possibility that Seifer did all those things on his own."
Irvine frowned. "Your defending that asshole?"
Quistis shook her head. "No not really, but if you read the newspapers, they will say the same thing and besides Ultimecia took over several peoples minds, including Rinoa's." Rinoa tightened her grip on the book she had been reading and tuned out of the conversation, she didn't want to be reminded of Ultimecia or Adel, or the fact that she fought unwillingly against her own friends, that was something she was having a hard time getting over.
"Besides," Quistis continued, "Cid decided it was best to appoint him a personal mentor, so its not like he is going to be wandering the halls unsupervised."
"Damn that bastard slinking his way back into this place, makes me so damn mad." Zell hissed.
"Yeah, this is ridiculous I mean seriously." Selphie complained.
"Quistis, how do you know all this?" Irvine asked curiously.
Quistis bites her lip. "Because I am going to be his mentor. Cid offered me the task and I accepted because the reward is my instructing license back. I figured I'll whip him into shape, make him a SeeD, Suggest he transfer to a different Garden."
Irvine scoffs, "What garden would take him? Not Trabia, and certainly not Galbadia."
The five friends chatted for the next half hour or so, the topic of Seifer dropped and Selphie had gossiped excitedly about the rebuilding of Trabia. She was so excited to announce a leader has emerged from the ashes and was bringing everyone who had been effected by the missiles together. Everyone around the world, excluding Galbadia and Deling were helping Trabia out, Esthar was the biggest help though, with their technology and resources Trabia could be up and running within 6 months.
The friends finished eating their dinner and rose from their table, heading towards the cafeteria exit in a deep chatter. There chatter died down as a young girl with long flowing black hair and green eyes brushed past them and gave them a wide smile. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. Arwena Flint, the library girl was standing so close to Zell that it looked like he was about to lose his lunch, Her friend Savannah trailed silently behind her.
"Hi guys." Arwena greeted sweetly.
"Hey." Everyone greeted her except for Zell who could barely utter a word. His palms were sweaty and butterflies filled his stomach, his cheeks were as red as an apple and he trembled slightly.
"Quistis, your book came in by the way. The one you order from last week. History on the Blue mages." Arwena smiled and shifted her green eyes so they landed on Zell who refused to look up from the ground.
"Alright I'll pick it up when I have a chance."
Arwena turned to Zell. "I got you a new copy of combat king, Zell. That is if you want it." She blushed and glances at the floor, shifting from one foot to the other. Zell nodded his head, but remained silent and refused to look up from the vanilla tiles. Irvine chuckled at his friends behavior and wrapped an arm around Selphie. Selphie motioned for Rinoa and Quistis to follow them from the cafeteria, they took the hint and exited the cafeteria, much to their surprise Savannah followed them out into the halls with a large grin on her face.
"She likes him too you know." Savannah comments.
"That's good news, because he has been pinning over her for three years and hasn't found his balls yet to ask her out." Irvine comments.
"Irvy." Selphie lightly scolds.
"What it's true." Irvine says in defense. "Hopefully he doesn't strike out this time."
Zell lifted his head in order to gaze into her beautiful green eyes and as soon as he did it felt like he was going to be sick. Truth be told he was terrible at this kind of thing, he has liked this girl for three years and was unable to even look her in the eyes for a long period of time. The silence between them was thick with tension and he prayed to Hyne that someone would swoop in and chat him up, that way he would have an excuse to back out of this conversation. Hyne, since when did he become such a wuss, he was able to bash monsters skulls in with his bare hands, go up against the most powerful sorceress ever, but he wasn't able to look at the girl he liked for so long in the eyes.
"You want to walk back to the library with me and get the combat king issue?" Arwena asks sweetly.
Zell runs a hand through his sweaty hair and bites his lip. "I uh I got hmmm hot-dogs, cant." He replies lamely, he was so embarrassed he felt like he was going to die.
"Sorry didn't catch that?"
"Sorry" He muttered before abandoning his spot next to her and taking off out of the cafeteria. His face was an unhealthy shade of red and he zoomed past his friends with such speed, never once bothering to look up or say anything to them. They all looked at each other as Zell sprints past them, and the five of them sighs in defeat. The nickname Seifer used on Zell suddenly enters Quistis's mind, Chicken-wuss. It was a mean nickname and she would never, ever, in a million years use it, but sometimes Seifer was right, Zell could really be a wuss. Quistis bid her friends goodbye and started making her way to the dorms, a hot shower and her fluffy bed was really what she needed. She wanted to crawl under the sheets and lose herself in the dream-world.
Cyan eyes scanned the dorm in front of him, it was a decent size room, with a queen sized mattress pushed up against the wall under a the large window. There was a large wooden dresser in the corner by the foot of his bed, a door that led to a medium size bathroom, and a desk and chair next to the front door. Overall, this dorm was a shit hole, but at least it was bigger than the last one he had when he was here, and this room was so much smaller than the bedrooms at Raijin and Fujin place. He had to keep telling himself that he was doing this for them and himself. As many times they told him it was not a problem that he stayed with them, he could see it in their eyes that it was a problem, and honestly it seemed like the two of them were beginning to like each other a little bit more than friends.
There was a knock on his dorm door, the sound took him by surprise and he jumped a little, grumbling to himself as he moves across the floor and flings the door open, revealing the small frame of Quistis Trepe. Oh course it would be her, she had seen him come in, their dorms were literally right next to each others. He took a moment to study her, she was wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a black tank-top, her hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail and a pair of white earbuds hung around her neck. It became apparent that she was just about to go on her daily jog, so why bother him? It wasn't time for their pointless lessons or her boring ass lectures, and there was no way in hell he was going to let her evaluate him without a fight.
"What do you want?" Seifer greeted in a deep stoic tone.
Quistis frowned. "Must you be so rude? A simple hi would do."
"Your disturbing me at the moment so a 'what do you want?', is all you get." Seifer crossed his arms over his large chest and leaned up against the door frame, his eyes bored into hers in irritation.
"Your lessons start tomorrow at 7 in the morning and last until 1 in the afternoon." Quistis reveals crossing her own arms over her chest and boldly staring hard back at him.
Seifer's jaw dropped in disbelief." Seriously, 7 in the Hyne damn morning, 7 hours of listening to you."
"This is what you signed up for, 7 am and don't be late because if your late then times will change." She turned her back to him and sprinted down the hallway, beginning her daily jog. Seifer slammed the door shut and stomped his way over to the mattress, kicking his empty backpack on the way to his bed. This bitch was going to make his life a living hell and there was nothing he would be able to do about it. He plopped down onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling tiles, willing himself to take a small nap, but there was too much going through his brain, too many thoughts. He gave up on sleeping all together after 45 minutes of trying. His bare feet hit the soft carpet and he pulled his body from the bed and crossed the room. Slipping his feet into his dark black boots, he flung the door open, looked to the left and then right and emerged into the empty hallways. He had nothing else to do at the moment besides wander the halls of Garden. The students were all in class at the moment so there was a slim chance he'd run into anyone. Seifer shoved his hands into the pockets of his black jeans and began strolling down the empty corridors. He left his trench coat behind due to the fact it was hot as fuck in the room, he had to remind himself to open a window when he got back from his stroll.
Nothing changes in this Hyne damn place, same boring fucking halls, same boring water fountain. Wonder if I could get away with throwing junior class men's books in that fountain or maybe I could just push chicken-wuss overboard and watch him squeal, that was hilarious last time. Fuck, being back here is like being stuck in a nightmare you cant wake up from. Is this really what I am reduced too, what a fucking loser I turned out to be. What other choice to I have? I cant get a job, cant afford my own apartment, bumming off my only friends. Whatever, I'm here now and there is no going back, besides playing with Trepe could be fun.
Seifer rounded the corner and made his way to the cafeteria for a bite to eat. He tugged on the wooden door and stepped through the door-frame. There were a few students in the back with their books open, pencils in hand and deep in conversation. Seifer's stomach grumbled and the realization of being hungry dawned on him, he couldn't remember the last time he actually had a decent meal. Raijin had always left him something to eat on the kitchen counter when he was living with them, but the food from The Ross's Rose always gave him a stomach ache, The cooks in that fancy little restaurant didn't know how to cook properly, it was always burnt or undercooked, or raw, but he never told Raijin or Fujin that he hated the food there because they were owners of that fancy little restaurant on the beach. Purchasing that run-down old blown up building seemed like a waste at first, but as timed pasted the two of them turned that building into a fancy, romantic restaurant, and he was happy that his friends were able to make something out of themselves, open a successful business after the second sorceress war. Fujin and Raijin were going places and the last thing he wanted to do was mooch, bum off them and stand in their way.
"Hey Almasy." A voice pulled him from his thoughts, he was staring blankly at the lunch menu, lost in thought. Turning around to see who had called his name he came face to face with three young cadets, all with chestnut brown hair, but one of them had blonde streaks going through his locks and it looked like an awful mess. Seifer studied the cadets closely, trying hard to remember who they actually were. When it clicked he smirked and turned around to peer up at the menu again, completely ignoring them. Chester Terse, Jayson Tyap, and Chris Prava, three punks that he used to brutally pick on.
"I cant believe it." Chester growled. "They let scum like you back into Garden?"
Seifer ignored Chester's comment and stepped up to the register where the lunch lady was waiting for him to tell her what he wanted to eat. As he continued to look at the lunch menu above the lady's head, he became aware that the three idiots circled him, one stood at him back while the other two stood on his left and right side, but he paid no attention.
"Can I get a double cheeseburger, with lettuce, bacon, onions, pickles and tomatoes with a side of fries." He ordered.
"16 gil" The lady gave him his total and he dipped his hand into his pants pocket, pulling out the remaining Gil he had earned from selling fish off the pier. He handed her the money and she disappeared into the back.
"Hope she spits in your food, Almasy..." Jayson comments.
"Cant believe Headmaster Cid decided to let a traitor back into this place." Chester adds.
"Hey what was it like killing all those innocent people?" Chris questions.
No matter what spilled from these punks mouth, he kept his cool and focused on the counter in front of him, waiting patiently for his food. The lady comes back with his burger and slides the tray towards him. He picks it up and nods in appreciation, brushing past the cadets towards an empty table. He could feel them trailing behind him, whispering and spewing comments in his direction.
"Look at you now Almasy. Fucking loser crawling back to Garden with his tiny dick between his legs. Look at what Garden's bully has become a filthy little dried up lapdog with no money, no job." Seifer sat down at an empty table and dove into his burger while the cadets continued their verbal assault.
Chester brows furrowed as he realized he was getting no reaction out of Seifer at all. He decided to take it one step further and in one swift motion gripped the left side of Seifer's tray and flung it off the cafeteria table. Anger filled Seifer's body as he stared at the empty spot on the table where his tray used to be, it was taking everything he had inside him not to pummel this punk to the ground. The tips of his sharp fingernails were digging into his palms, breaking the skin, a tiny dab of blood made its way to the surface of the crested-moon shape marks left by his fingernails.
"You aint bad, Almasy. Your nothing but a washed-up bully, traitor, murderer, your better off dead." Chester turned to Chris and Jayson. "I think he got back into Garden because he fucked mommy Matron real good and got off the hook."
The was the last straw he hopped from the table so fast they didn't have time to realize what was going on, pulling back his large fist he let it collide with Chester's nose, a sick crunching sound was an indication he had broken it. The cadet screamed out in pain and clutched his now bloody nostrils, rage was still coursing through Seifer's veins as he let his head fall backward and then quickly snap forward, headbutting the cadet in his broken nose. Chester fell to the ground and that was when Chris and Jayson came to his aid, yanking him up by the arms. The young Cadet didn't know when to quit, he charged at Seifer followed by his two lackeys. He thrusts his fist out in every direction, but Seifer easily dodged his attacks. The small group of students that had been sitting at the table by themselves all gathered around. Seifer raised his own fist and his knuckles connected with Chester's nose again, he howled in pain and blood poured from his face.
"What are you doing." A high pitched familiar voice screamed in their direction. Seifer glanced in the direction of the offending voice, a pair of ocean blue eyes was peering at him, they were full of anger, he lower his bloody knuckles and stashed them into his pants pocket looking down at the ground, ashamed that he had broken this cadets nose on his first day back in garden. Quistis marched towards them, sweat dripped from her forehead, her earbuds hung loosely around her neck. She studied the four of them and placed her hands on her hip, cocking it slightly to the left.
"Well?" She yelled looking between the four of them.
"Almasy started it." Chester said pointing his index finger at Seifer. Jayson and Chris nodded their head in agreement and mimicked Chester's movements in pointing the finger.
She turned towards Seifer, an angry expression written on her face. "Really? First day back in Garden and you pick a fight?" She frowns at him and the expression she is giving Seifer pisses him off beyond control. "Terse, go to the infirmary and take your friends with you." Quistis ordered.
"With all do respect Trepe, you aren't an instructor anymore so therefore I don't have to listen to you." Chester hissed. "I much rather beat the living daylights out of the mommy fucker."
Quistis stared at him in disbelief. "Ok fine your right, but when I write up a report of the incident and give it..." Her voice trialed off and she tapped her index finger against her upper lip, "Your instructor, uh...Davis correct? See how instructor Davis likes to hear about one of his students picking a fight with another."
Chester huffed in irritation and motioned for his friends to follow him, but not before turning around to growl at Quistis. "Your a stupid bitch, no wonder you lost your license, failure at life." With that said the trouble-makers took off from the cafeteria. Seifer stood there with his hands in his pockets, his expression was blank and uncaring. Quistis eyed the red tray and the spilled food that was all over the cafeteria floor.
"Care to explain?" Quistis frowned and unhappily crossed her arms over her chest.
"They fucked with me." Seifer replied. "Ruined my lunch."
"So you broke his nose?" Quistis asked furiously.
"Yep." Seifer says in boredom.
She was silent for a moment, studying the spilled food on the ground. Her temper was getting the best of her. His actions were unnecessary and it looked bad, beating up another student on his first day back. Was he trying to end this before it even began? He was fucking up any chances she had in getting her license back and making him a SeeD. Typical Seifer, all he knows how to do is throw his fists and Hyperion around, misbehave and refuse to follow orders, how in the hell was she going to help him pass this SeeD test?
"Clean this shit up." Quistis ordered.
Seifer grinned at the fact that she had just used a curse word, he had never heard her swear before. "Yes, Ma'am" He saluted her, kneeled down above his spilled lunch and began picking it up off the floor. When the cafeteria floor was spotless and there wasn't a trace of food on the tiles, Seifer and Quistis made their way out of the cafeteria in silence, her anger seemed to have died down just a hair.
"I didn't start it." Seifer said as the were halfway towards the dorm.
"I don't care who started it, he probably did start it, but Seifer you cant go punching on people, no matter how mad you get. I know you got a really bad temper and you need to control it." She says calmly.
"You gonna tell Cid?" He questions.
"I don't think so and I don't think Chester will either, he was pretty worried about me telling his instructor, so I think he will keep his mouth shut as well. From now on focused on the task at hand."
They started walking down the hallway again, his stomach grumbled in hunger and he had wished he had taken at least a bit of the burger before it was thrown on the floor. She must of heard his stomach growl because the corner of her lips twitched upwards, not quiet a smile, but pretty damn close.
"You must be hungry?"
"Uh yeah, I was trying to get food, that's why I was in the cafeteria, but apparently it's a challenge for someone like me to even show his face without someone wanting to bash it in." Seifer grumbled, he started making his way towards his own dorm that was right next to hers, curse Cid for making them neighbors, it was bad enough he was going to half to spent all his time with her, learning about shit that he already knew, but to have her so close while he slept and pissed around with his free times was just ridiculous.
"I have a mini- fridge full of sandwiches." Quistis revealed.
"And?" He crossed his arms over his chest grumpily and leaned against the left side of the wall that was next to her door.
"And your welcome to a few." She dug around her pockets for her key-card.
"No thanks."
"By the way your lesson starts at 6am tomorrow." Quistis stated.
He grumbled, turning his back on her and hiked towards his own dorm which was only a few paces away. Quistis watched as he pulled his own keycard out, his door clicked open and he strolled inside with his hands in his pants pockets. Quistis cringed as he slammed the door so hard that it sound like it was going to come off its hinges. Quistis sighed and entered her own dorm, She kicked off her running shoes, tossed her earbuds and music player on the desk and then plopped down on the soft bed, staring up at the ceiling.
Where do I even begin, he has so much hatred inside him, Everything he has been through though, maybe he has a right to be angry. I sometimes forget that he was mind-controlled and Cid is giving him a second chance. Ugh, why does this responsibility fall on me? Seifer and I have never really been close and he was always disturbing my classes and giving me attitude. Hyne, how do I turn him into the best SeeD this Garden has seen. Seifer, how do I help you move on from your anger.
To be continued..