Chapter XI – Thunder Storm
The storms of suspicion flail…
Enthused by inkling thunder…
All because of one movement.
"…Balamb Town…Please…Thank you. "
Hmm?
The voice stirred her. The odds and ends of a sentence she piqued her curiosity. Quistis breathed deeply and relaxed again, pressing herself against a warm object. The object seemed to quiver and suddenly, it was gone.
Wha—
She felt the odd sensation of falling. Interrupted by something velvety, she finally opened her eyes and found herself lying sideways on the SeeD cabin couch, with her student kneeling in front of her, grinning mischievously.
"So you're still alive, Instructor."
Quistis bolted to an upright position, fully awake. "What happened?"
"Nothing. You fell asleep on me."
That's what was so warm…
"Your weight was making my arm numb, so I had to move."
"Seifer, are you calling me fat?"
"Maybe." Quistis rolled her eyes. "C'mon. The train's stopped and we need to get off."
Still feeling a little groggy, Quistis followed him out of the cabin. The journey from the train station to her dorm was hazy, and Hyne, her head was spinning. Naps weren't good for Quistis Trepe. She was usually alert the second she wakes from sleep, but—
"Here you are, Instructor. Back at Garden and alive to boot."
Quistis's throat emitted an unladylike grunt. She slipped her key card into the slot to open her door.
"Go straight to bed and sleep some more. And don't mark any papers either."
She looked over her shoulder and stared at him, finding his words strange. Since when did he care whether she slept? She had nothing to say except for "…thank you, Seifer. Goodnight."
He was not expecting such a gentle response. He said, almost too quietly, "Goodnight to you, too, Instructor." He turned and went into his own room, leaving Quistis alone in the hallway. Shaking her head, she stepped through her doors and felt it slide shut.
Quistis opened her eyes to a persistent sound. Someone was knocking at her door quietly, but loud enough to awaken her. The blinding red light of her clock told her it was 0340 hours. Who could it possibly be, on a Saturday morning (was it Saturday?)? Pulling the covers away and getting out of bed, she smoothed out her nightgown and opened the door. She was annoyed to find Seifer. She leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms, waiting for him to speak. He simply stared at her with the same curious expression, with a hint of a smile.
"Yes, Seifer?" she asked. His silence disturbed her.
"I couldn't sleep, Instructor, and I had a sudden urge to do my homework," was his reply. His eyes darted downwards and he looked back up at her again.
"A sudden urge to do your homework?" she repeated. "In the wee hours of the morning?" He nodded. "And you couldn't wait until the entire Garden is awake to ask me? Weren't you the one who told me to go to sleep?"
"You know how inspiration is, Instructor. So tell me what the assignment is before I give up on doing it altogether."
"You could have handled waiting a few more hours to find out, I'm sure. It's rude to wake someone in the middle of the night, especially after the evening we've had."
"Well, it does have some benefits…" he trailed off. Those same benefits had been keeping him up for most of the night, and when he couldn't stand it anymore, he just had to knock on her door.
"Such as?"
"Nothing you need to know."
Quistis sighed. "Very well. I assigned an essay on the importance of etiquette in missions involving social functions, a minimum of a thousand words in proper essay format, to be handed in the moment you step through the classroom door on Monday for the corresponding class."
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it, Instructor?"
"What wasn't so hard, Seifer? Telling you about your homework when you really didn't deserve to know because you weren't paying attention to begin with, or trying my best not to use my whip on you for waking me up at this hour?"
His sadistic side would have loved to have her use her whip on him, though only in certain contexts. Amused by the small show she was giving him, Seifer couldn't help but tease her. "Hyne, I never knew you were this violent or this suggestive at night."
"Let me remind you, Seifer, that it's no longer 'night'," she hissed at him. "Do you not know what sleep is?"
"But I'm not tired—"
"Well, I am. Are you quite done?"
He gave a mock salute.
"Good, now go to your room." She looked at him and waited for him to leave, but he did not move. "What?" she asked. She wanted to go back to bed.
He smirked, his eyes glimmering. "Will you come with me?"
"No! Goodnight!" Quistis pressed the 'close door' button and Seifer's face disappeared.
Walking to her bed listlessly, Quistis fell back down and covered her face with her blanket, now cold from the absence of her body. When she calmed down, she remembered that Seifer used to do this almost all the time before the War: interrupt her during the evening or wake her late at night just to ask about homework. But tonight, she admitted that he had gone too far.
"Will you come with me?"
How dare he suggest such a thing? She was his Instructor, for Hyne's sake. He knows better than to tempt her.
Why do I even classify him as a temptation?
Quistis closed her eyes tightly to force the forbidden thoughts out of her mind. But it was no use lying to herself. She knew Seifer was still an attractive man underneath the repulsive nature of his ego at its maximum potential.
Wonderful. Keep thinking about that man and you'll never get back to sleep.
"Thank you for the use of your restaurant, sir. It has been most helpful," Quistis said as she shook the hand of the Golden Torama's manager. Her students were already outside, visibly enjoying the cool night air.
"You're very welcome, Miss Trepe. We're glad to be of service and we appreciate your business." She withdrew her hand from his. "If Garden ever needs anything from us, please don't hesitate to ask."
"We'll keep your offer in mind. Thank you and have a good evening."
Quistis stepped out of the restaurant and joined her class waiting outside. "Walk this way, please." She gestured with her arm and they followed her to a more open area in the quiet streets of Deling. When there was enough space, she ordered, "Cadets, attention."
The students scrambled to stand in a line in alphabetical order and awaited the Instructor's inspection. Walking past them, Quistis corrected a few minor mistakes. "Heels in line at forty-five degree angle, Abram. Excellent posture, Ainsworth. Lower your chin a bit, Aki. Very good, Almasy. Barton, your arms are too stiff."
Carrying on and finishing off the rest of the inspection, Quistis finally said, "Proceed to the Deling train station in an orderly fashion in line formation. Once again, please be on your best behavior for you are representing Balamb Garden. Remember to keep your weapons concealed and don't cause any unnecessary trouble. Mariah and Edgar, you will be the guides."
"Yes, Instructor," they answered. As the students marched to the station, Quistis took the back of the line to keep an eye on everyone.
The Cadets resumed their usual chatter once they were on the train. Quistis took a small seat by a window. It wasn't long before someone disturbed her peace.
"Instructor Trepe."
Quistis tried her best not to sound annoyed. "Yes, Mr. Aki, what do you need?"
He had been sitting elsewhere talking to some others, and now there he was, beside her. Talman looked around, as if he didn't want anyone to see him or hear what he was about to say. "I wanted to know how I did on the essay," was his answer as he scooted a little closer to her.
Quistis leaned against the window naturally, trying not to be too obvious that he was a bit too close for comfort. When she spoke, her tone was neutral. "I only received your essays today, so I haven't had the time to mark them yet."
"Oh…yeah, of course." He realized it was a silly question. He continued to sit there, breathing deeply every once in a while. It was clear to her that he didn't want to leave and wasn't going to leave any time soon. She tried the subtle approach.
"Was there something else you wanted to ask, Mr. Aki?" she asked in a way that emphasized her authority, hopefully reminding him that she was his superior.
"Uh, yes. I also wanted to know what you think of my current grades."
Quistis had to think on this a little. "I'd say your grades are…fair." He seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but Quistis could see it wasn't the exact answer he was looking for. "Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering if I could take an early exam, Instructor."
"The next set of exams available is in a few weeks. By that time, you would have completed the prerequisites, so I can see if that can be arranged. You seem confident enough." She watched him smirk and couldn't help but think that Seifer's is so much better. "Is there a reason for such a rush?"
Perhaps she had asked something he wanted to answer, because Talman smiled. "No reason, really. Hypothetically speaking, would an Instructor be impressed if one of her students passed an early exam?" He boldly placed a hand on one of hers, which had been resting on her lap.
Quistis was appalled by his nerve but didn't lose her composure. "Please remove your hand, Mr. Aki." He looked disappointed and snatched his hand away. "I've never had a student who chose to take an early exam. But I suppose that, hypothetically speaking, yes, I would be impressed." She didn't want to give him too much hope, but no hope at all would be too harsh. If the thought of impressing her was his motivation to succeed, then so be it.
"Thanks, Instructor Trepe."
"You may return to your seat now," she said, trying to make sure that he leaves this time.
"Yes, Instructor." He stood up and walked away, leaving her with the scenery in the window again. Quistis half-watched the passing lights and half-gazed at her reflection. She caught a pair of sharp verdant eyes staring at her, but thought nothing of it.
"What the hell was that, Aki?" Seifer pushed the boy against a wall. It had barely been twenty minutes since he got off the train, and already Talman found himself wanting to be back on it.
"What was what, Almasy?" he challenged.
Seifer shook him by the collar and growled, the sound echoing in Talman's ears like fuming thunder. "You know what I'm talking about."
"I can touch her if I want to. What are you gonna do about it?"
"You don't want to know what I'll do about it." He pressed him harder against the wall. "Now you listen, and you listen good. Don't you dare touch her again. Ever. If I find out that you did, then those hands of yours are going straight to the nearest chocobo feedlot. By themselves, without the rest of you. You got that, Aki?"
Talman clicked his tongue and scoffed. "You just wait, Almasy. You can't boss me around like this." Seifer let him go and watched as Talman slipped away at a quicker pace than usual.
"Seifer."
Seifer quickly put on a smirk before turning around. "Instructor."
Quistis walked towards him. "What's going on?"
"Just a friendly chat with a fellow classmate." He turned to leave.
"I can report you for threatening a student. That is, if you were making a threat."
"Would I ever threaten someone?"
"Enlighten me, Seifer. Why do it if you know you could get into trouble?"
He stepped closer to her. "Because he could become a disturbance to your teaching. I don't want that to interfere with my education. I'm just doing what's best for me."
"You've never taken your education seriously, so forgive me if I'm not entirely convinced by that line of reasoning."
"If you really want to know, Trepe, then I'll tell you." He narrowed his eyes and looked at her intently. "As long as I'm around, no one is allowed to touch my favorite Instructor. No one." He made a brisk exit, leaving his Instructor behind to ponder his sentiment.