Chapter 10 - The Professor, The Soldier and The Sample
Spring, 1984
"And there we go. Last one."
Professor Gast places the gauze against the soft spot on Sephiroth's arm and removes the needle. It stings but the pain disappears. Blood continues to drip through the line and into the tube for a moment longer. It is strange to see his blood outside himself. That red fluid lived inside him and now he will never see it again. The test tube is foreign as Professor Gast brings it up to check.
Sephiroth's hand comes down over the bandage. Professor Gast leans back in his chair, holds a marker, pauses, frowns and scrawls on the paper label. He's smiling but pressure has been building on his shoulders the last week. His expressions are quieter and he says less every day. The warmth is there but something is happening. Sephiroth hopes that it isn't because of something he has done.
"You are a trooper, S. The amount of biological data needed is tremendous. The answer must be airtight." The creases are dark around his eyes. The vial rolls loose in his hand as he stares at Sephiroth.
He shrugs on the couch. "It's okay."
It really is okay. They've been taking blood samples since he was born. This is nothing out of the ordinary. What is out of the ordinary is that Sephiroth's blood seems to be the answer to some riddle. A riddle that he doesn't know or understand.
"You're doing well. You know that, right?"
Sephiroth nods and looks down, trying for his shoes but ends up on the label.
P-S 3y 4m 84.04.24 8/8
"What is it for? The blood?" He dares to ask.
Professor Gast's gloves wrap around the label. It smears. Black smudges are on the gloves as he places it in a silver box with the rest and locks it. Slowly, he peels off the gloves and sets them aside.
He talks as if he is building the words as he goes. "We need to analyze some biological data. We need to determine how close you are to your mother."
"Jenova?" His heart beats quick. He doesn't hear that word very often. Neither Mariella nor Landon will talk about her to him.
"Yes. We still have some samples from her." The finality in his tone shuts down any further questions.
Sephiroth returns his eyes to his fingers and holds himself stiff. That was the wrong question to ask. He's sure that the professor will snap at him soon and they won't be friends anymore.
Every day Professor Gast and Orlin have gone off into the mountains. Orlin returns with a heavy backpack. Professor Gast returns with a white face and no time for Sephiroth. He disappears into his room for hours. The SOLDIER sticks around and humors Sephiroth but doesn't go out of his way to entertain him. Once Sephiroth is allowed to hold the sword that Orlin leaves by the door. It is almost as tall as him and he shakes lifting it. He gouges a wall as he finds the balance. Plaster ends up on the floor but Orlin only laughs and kicks the majority of it under the rug. Sephiroth moves a chair to the left. No one has noticed.
Marielle still insists on education and normal activities like chores as well. It almost kills him when they are gone for the day. It is only in the evenings after dinner that Sephiroth gets to spend time with Professor Gast. Over the last week, they had worked through all the board games and card games that Sephiroth could play. They had even tried something called "poker" which Landon took one look at and shook his head.
Professor Gast's eyes are far beyond him or this room as the worry covers them over. Then his usual ease snaps on him and he raises from the chair.
"A promise is a promise, come on, let's go." He laughs to himself. "The logic behind this is strange at best but Orlin is convincing."
"I'm excited." Sephiroth smiles but it flickers. He's nervous but he won't say it. The professor has invited him to eat at the inn with him and Orlin. They usually dine at the mansion but it is their last night before returning to Midgar. The dinner would have been enough at the inn but Orlin insists on real drinks.
Sephiroth has never sat at that sort of table before.
Now when he sits staring at the glass of beer in front of him, he is wholly unsure about doing this. The inn is warm and slow-moving. Spring is the quiet season for Nibelheim.
"Come on kid, it isn't going to bite you." Orlin lifts his mug. "I've had to fight damn monsters all week for this idiot. Drink for me."
"I recall on several occasions you complaining that I didn't give you enough action," Professor Gast says as he stacks their dinner plates aside. He's taken several sips of his own drink and the air is souring. He's seen alcohol work on both Mariella and Landon. It is doing the same to these two. They are relaxing and loosening in front of him.
Sephiroth moves the glass and watches it slosh. "I think that I might be too young for this."
"Please, you look, what, ten now? I'm not asking how that is even possible but my father introduced me to beer at ten. Faremis, when did you first take your sip of the bad stuff?" Orlin asks.
"My mother used to put white wine in my bottle to put me to sleep." Professor Gast takes another drink. Both of them have gotten a refill while Sephiroth hasn't touched his.
"No."
"To answer more truly, I was at a teen party when it was by my choice." His eyes shine with laughter. "They recommended the punch. I would not recommend the punch as I cannot recall what happened afterward."
"Remember the killer hangover?" Orlin raises an eyebrow.
"Perhaps."
"That's it. I won't drink. Ever." Sephiroth doesn't want to forget anything ever again.
Orlin shakes his head. "I'm afraid that won't be the case as long as you work for Shinra."
Sephiroth frowns. He doesn't work for Shinra. They help him out but he doesn't work for them. Marielle and Landon do but he's a kid.
Professor Gast takes another drink. "This is less than 6% alcohol. You won't miss anything, I promise. I drank near poison that night."
Sephiroth considers the nasty stuff in his cup one more time.
"I tried that once." Orlin drawled as his eyes wandered around Gast.
He gets the reaction he wants. Professor Gast lets out a laugh. "What? Drinking poison?"
Sephiroth sniffs the glass as he takes it back into his hands. The current conversation goes on without him. It smells off like something Mariella would swear at and then throw away.
"The mako makes that stuff not work-."
"You do not have to educate me on this," Professor Gast cuts him off.
Sephiroth tips the cup up. The weight tips and the beer inches down the glass. The two adults are absorbed with each other so it is safe to stick out his tongue and dip it in. Maybe it is only a rotten smell. None of the adults ever complain about the flavor.
"Oh yeah. Well. I tried a little. Dipped a fry in ant poison on a Friday evening. I was good and drunk."
"Orlin…"
"Nobody tells you that mako doesn't make it stop from making you feel like you are going to die."
Sephiroth is so surprised by this that he loses concentration. The glass tips. The beer comes rushing down. It floods his mouth. He swallows an entire mouthful before he gets it to tip back. Bitterness and sourness burn down his throat. The glass cracks against the table as he presses himself forward, gagging.
Orlin slaps him on the back. "Welcome to adulthood. Everything that should be good sucks."
Water runs from his eyes. Acid is in his swimming stomach. He wipes his face and coughs. Do people drink this for fun? Professor Gast laughs as he gets up to get him water. When it arrives in his hands, Sephiroth drinks most of it, trying to get the strange bile taste out. It is like he's thrown up in his mouth.
"That is a negative reaction on beer," Professor Gast says and rubs his back.
"He'll grow up to be one of the snooty red wine drinkers," Orlin replies.
The hand stops and curls against the fabric.
"He'll get that chance."
Sephiroth doesn't have to look up to know that the worry is back in his face. It is about his mother.
"Do you know anything about her? My mom?" He asks.
Professor Gast smiles and pats his shoulder. "I didn't know your mother personally. I apologize."
"My dad?"
Orlin interrupts. "Damn. You are a true orphan, aren't you kid?"
"I don't need parents." Sephiroth sits tall in his chair. It's true. He's been fine without them.
"Okay, Mr. Tough Guy. Take another sip. Sometimes it is better on a second try." Orlin nudges the abandoned mug in his direction.
Sephiroth shakes his head. "I don't think that is such a good idea."
"Stop pressing him," Professor Gast says, "There is no need for him to become a raging alcoholic." It feels like the last part is aimed directly at Orlin.
"What? Me? I'm not one. Couldn't ruin your reputation."
"Not yet. We will all have to be careful. Remember the bad things in this world that make you feel good have their own cost."
Sephiroth nods and takes another drink of water.
The conversation lapses into a gentle string of memories from their lives. Sephiroth listens and absorbs it all. Professor Gast used to play the piano. Orlin used to work on a chocobo farm. They both dislike this specific part of the drive back where the road is wide enough for a car and half and is littered with potholes. Sephiroth carefully ventures to tell them about how Charlie is learning to give his paw. Both adults give it the attention and importance of any of the other topics.
It fills him to be heard.
Time moves forward without his permission. The room starts to grow hazy. The lights blend together. He catches himself nodding into his chest as the adult voices lull in the background. He fights to try to stay awake but it is too late for that. He loses track as he collapses in the chair. A few more times he wakes to hear them debating the merits of different types of materia.
At some point, he's being carried back. Distantly, he studies Orlin's chin but falls back under.
He recognizes the creak of the stairs and then he's being laid down in his own bed. His shoes slip off and someone pulls the cover to his chin. Big fingers play with the edge, smoothing it. He can't move. Everything is too heavy and he is safe with the voices above him.
"It's too much for a kid," Orlin whispers.
"It can't be, he's got so much further to go." Fingers brush his cheek.
"We both know what those results are going to show, professor."
"My policy is to wait for the results."
"Then you'll all meet."
"Yes, we will all meet. Marielle already knows she is coming in. Landon will stay behind with S."
"It's funny. He doesn't look like a monster to me."
"He isn't and he will not be until someone treats him like one."
They stay for a moment longer and slip out. The conversation drifts away into the place that dreams go. Sephiroth sleeps better than he has all year.
When he wakes, they are gone.
A present is on his desk. It is wrapped in brown paper and a small white note is on top in Professor Gast's handwriting.
This is untraceable, unhackable, and completely yours if you keep it safe. Record your days and memories, then you do not have to worry about forgetting again my dear S. - G
A leather journal is in the paper. A silver clasp keeps it shut. He opens it and all the pages fall open, blank and ready. He searches the road out of town from his window. The black car is gone and with it, Professor Gast.
Allow me to cue the ominous music.
All kidding aside, I adore their dinner at the inn. It's one of the scenes that stick out to me when I think of everything I've written.
What do you think?
Thanks for reading as always, -Quin