Trickle - 29 - Haze
God, I hate having all eyes on me.
.
Even after describing my near death experience to get the cure for Seifer, nothing was able to tear the happiness away from him. Of course he wasn't smiling when I explained in detail how I pressed the dull blade against my neck, but I could still see there was something inside, reminding him that what I did didn't kill me, and that now we have the rest of our lives ahead of us. He was in such a good mood, that he insisted that we visit Raijin, who was still in the infirmary. He wanted to "apologize" for putting him in that bed...he does deserve an apology...but we deserved one too.
.
In front of the infirmary it was a bit crowded, and I didn't see anyone that I could recognize. Some students were sitting on nearby benches, upset and confused, because of Dr. Kadowaki transferring.
There was a brown-haired girl crying into a blonde girl's shoulder.
"She was so--" ...sniff..."-so nice, what would make her want to leave?"
Seifer stood there and listened to them. I guess he was still angry with Kadowaki trying to kill him with the fake remedy, because he just gave a smirk, shook his head, and continued into the infirmary.
Still standing there, I looked at about 10 students who were breaking down about the whole matter. Most of them were female students. Some cried hard into their hands, as if they've seen a friend killed instantly. Some comforted each other. Some just stood there, and observed it all.
I felt so bad and selfish seeing this. I was the one who drove Kadowaki away, but if everyone knew that she tried killing Seifer, would they still be crying?
Should I tell them what I knew about their beloved doctor? Would that help? Would they still linger in front of her office and sob, as if she died?
It was so hard to stop thinking about it, considering that I had to walk past a thousand more flushed faces to get to the entrance.
.
Inside, it was less crowded. I could see Seifer in the back room talking, expressing regret to Fujin, who stood there with her arms crossed. She looked angry, but also relieved that this was actually Seifer being the first to speak to them.
I was about to approach them, but a young girl, with dirty brown hair caught my eye. She wore a nametag that read "Ling".
Ling? Is she the new doctor?
Standing there, I stared at her. She looked very small and fragile, in the big white coat that I was so used to seeing Dr. Kadowaki wear. She carefully applied a bandage to a male student's arm. Her lips looked sewn shut. She was very focused on what she was doing, a simple job like wrapping cloth around someone's arm seemed so complex to her.
When the student exited the room, she put the extra bandage away, and looked over at me.
"Can I help you? Do you need help with anything?"
I just stood there and stared at her.
"Do you need to sit down?" She laughed. "Do you talk?"
I finally smiled, and nodded.
"No, I'm just...Hi, I'm Quistis Trepe, I'm an Instructor here."
Holding my hand out, she grabbed it lightly. His hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and her skin was pale. She was very pretty, she looked so young.
"Oh, hello. I'm Ling." She chuckled and pointed to her nametag. "I'm the new doctor here, Dr. um...Kadowaki?"
I nodded.
"Yeah, Dr. Kadowaki moved over to a different garden, and I'm here to take her place."
"Hmm, alright well nice to meet you Ling, I'll see you around."
"Okay then, bye Quincy."
Quincy?
"It's uh...Quis..never mind."
Ignoring what I just said, she walked to her new desk, and drank from a shiny pink coffee mug.
I turned around and entered the room Seifer was in.
.
"It's okay, ya know? You don't have to apologize man, it should be Fujin and I saying sorry to you."
The door to the little cubicle swished shut, and it 'caused all three of them to turn and look at me.
God, I hate having all eyes on me.
I looked down embarrassed. It seemed they were all noticing every little imperfection. Staring at the ground, I could see the tattered ends of my dark brown pants that I wore under the peach skirt. My boots looked so used.
.
"As I was saying man, I think it's cool that there's going to be a party in your honor tonight, ya know? I just wish I could go to it."
"Yeah, sorry you can't go."
"STAY!"
"You don't have to stay with me Fujin, go...have a good time, ya know?"
Why isn't anyone talking to me?
"Okay Raijin, I'm going to go now, I have some things to do."
Seifer patted Raijin's shoulders, walked past Fujin, and motioned for me to leave.
.
"Is something bothering you?"
Is something bothering me?
"No...Why?"
"You just seem a little silent, that's all."
"Am I ever noisy?"
Seifer laughed, and put his hands in his pockets.
"Heh, I guess not...I dunno, you just seem troubled about something."
I pressed my lips tight and straightened the sleeves on my shirt.
"No, nothing's bothering me. I'm fine."
"I guess I'll just have to take your word for it then."
"Yeah, you'll have to."
I smiled at him.
"Sorry, but I'm going to go down to the training center for a bit, it seems like I haven't fought for such a long time."
Looking down sadly, I let him go, and proceeded to the library, just for the heck of it.
.
Squall was in there alone, with his jacket placed on the table in front of him. He was in the back of the room, and he had a book placed in his lap.
With his head lowered to the pages examining them closely, his dark brown hair flowed down, hiding his facial expressions.
I approached him quietly.
"Hi Squall."
He looked up quickly, and shut the book.
"Oh...hi Quistis, how's it going?" He replied slyly, tucking the book under his jacket.
"It's going pretty good."
"Right." He nodded, and swallowed. It seemed he was so startled that he was out of breath.
He looked nervous.
What's he reading?
"So...um...What are you reading?"
"Oh, it's nothing...just reading about GF's."
I raised my eyebrows, and slowly placed my hand under his jacket.
"Did you discover a new GF?'
He plunged forward quickly, and sweeped my hand away from the book, causing it to fall to the ground along with his jacket.
"Don't!"
Even with the black leather coiled around it, I could see the cover. I studied the familiar picture of the half-naked couple for awhile, and looked back at Squall who was covering his face in embarrassment.
Squall enhancing his sex life? Boy, this book sure does get around.
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"Where paradise falls, eternity screams." -Unknown
Notes: Whoa, I finally got someone to tell me I need to actually end this story. Hmm, yeah I think you're right, but I've been saving this huge twist/surprise for the ending, and it may take a couple more chapters. (Sorry) Don't worry, it is going to end soon. ^_^; I do have another story in the making; it's going to be great! I need 10 more reviews to make 100...please help me out my dear friends! ^_^