Quistis groaned. She opened her eyes and groaned again.
"Who authorised the roadworks in my head this morning?" she mumbled, only slightly intelligible. The blonde instructor tried to sit up, an action that caused the image of her dorm to blur and waver. She flopped back on her pillow, her head protesting the jerky movement. It took another three attempts for her to successfully sit up. Slowly, she shook her head to clear it, sending bolts of pain down through temples. Deciding that moving was not a good idea, she sat perfectly still and waited for the pain to subside, which was a futile exercise.
"What a night?" she murmured, stumbling towards the shower. She undressed out of last night's crumpled, slept-in clothes, and stepped under the running water.
Fifteen minutes later, Quistis emerged, looking and feeling a little better. She dug around for some clean garments and raked a brush through her blonde, shoulder-length hair, an exercise that took some time due to her splitting headache and slight unco-ordination.
She put the brush down, and carefully made her way to the cafeteria.
"Morning Quistis. My, someone's had a good night out!" teased the woman serving at the cafeteria. Quistis managed a lopsided smile.
"Yeah... I have never been drunk before in my life. Ah well, I'm sure I'll get over it, but Holy Hyne, I've got a headache I wouldn't wish on Ultimecia! Cup of green tea please, and a plain bagel."
"Sure thing, Quistis. Go out into the quad and get some fresh air, it'll help. The others are there too. 20 Gil please."
Quistis found her purse and handed the friendly lady a few coins, smiled her thanks and took her meagre breakfast out into the quad. Her friends had already secured a large table. Zell, Alia, Iris and Squall were already seated. Zell waved cheekily, and wincing, Quistis raised a hand in return. She sat down next to Squall and gratefully drank down her tea.
"How're you feeling, Quistie?" asked Alia innocently, with a wicked gleam in her eye.
"Not too good, I think someone hit me with a sledge hammer in my sleep," replied the blonde, massaging her tender temples.
Alia giggled. "It seems you're quite well-versed in the Old Terran musicals," she drawled. "Care for a reprise?"
With a sinister smile, she launched into song, slightly more in tune than her three friends had been the previous night?
"Someone's 'ead restin' on moi knee,
Warm an' tender as 'e can be,
'Oo tikes good care of mei,
Aow, woooldn't it be loverly?"
Squall, Zell and Iris joined in.
"Loverly,
Lov-er-ly,
Lov-er...ly!"
Quistis gasped in shock.
"You mean??" she stuttered, eyes wide.
Iris nodded.
"You were royally pickled, my dear. And it appears that in a drunken state you don't seem to think much of work."
The instructor blinked in suspicious confusion.
"Please explain?" she said in a rather shaky voice.
Iris grinned wickedly, then leaned closer to her friend, cleared her throat, and in a singing whisper charoled the verse of importance.
"The Lord above gave man an arm of iron,
So he could do his job an never shirk,
The Lord above gave man an arm of iron, but,
Wiv' a li''le bit of luck,
Wiv' a li''le bit of luck,
Someone else will do the blinkin' work!"
Quistis almost spat out a mouthful of her tea. This couldn't be happing! She shook her head in denial and disbelief, wincing in agony as her head protested the movement.
"Did - did anyone see?" the instructor whispered. She couldn't lose her license a second time, and a few (very unpopular) instructors had lost their licenses for lesser crimes.
Alia smirked.
"Let's just say that a member of the Garden Staff is probably off on a shopping spree today. Don't worry Quistie, you'll be fine. Just get some fresh air, drink plenty of water and above all, do not move too much."
Quistis sent her a venomous look.
"I suppose you'd know," she sniped.
"Sshh - big secret," she said mysteriously.
Iris grinned and tossed the blonde a bottle of aspirin.
"Here you go. You need it. Apparently someone here - "she nodded meaningfully at Alia, who stared back innocently - "not mentioning any names of course, had some close connections in the clubbing sector of Esthar."
Quistis blinked again, still too hungover to stare at Alia incredulously. Zell grinned and handed Quistis a glass of water.
"Drink up, girl," he said kindly.
A group of sweaty and bedraggled SeeDs left The Bowl, just in time to catch the last fading rays of sunlight. However, the shape they were in didn't exactly have them in any mood to appreciate the spectacular display. The medium-height blonde opened a bottle of water and started guzzling it down at a shocking speed, not paying any attention to the general rule that one shouldn't drink too quickly after a hard work-out.
Irvine walked up next to Quistis with an evil grin.
"Getting used to drinking a lot, are you?" he said in a friendly teasing tone.
Quistis growled and slapped her tormentor across the face with her towel, causing him the rub his cheek and mutter something about `over-sensitive females'.
Iris sidled up on Quistis's other side, idly humming the tune of `With a little bit of luck'. This action earned Iris a poisonous glare from the blonde.
If looks could kill, Iris thought with a grin.
Irvine's jaw dropped indignantly.
"Hey! That's not fair," he protested. "I got slapped!" The sharpshooter gestured wildly to the fading red mark across his cheek to prove his point.
Iris shot him a superior look.
"You have to be a little subtle," she explained in an arrogant voice. "Though I don't suppose `subtle' is a word in your vocabulary."
Irvine lifted his finger and mock-shot her. Iris briefly stumbled, clutching her chest as if fatally wounded, causing chuckles from her companions.
"If I did this, I expect I would earn a slap, however," Iris said after having caught herself. With that, she serenaded the group of SeeDs.
"The Lord above gave man an arm of - "
She wasn't given a chance to continue as a sweat-soaked towel hit her squarely across the jaw. However there was no need for her to continue, for her friends had taken on the job.
" - iron,
So he could do his job and never shirk
The Lord above gave man an arm of iron, but
With a little bit of a luck, with a little bit of luck
Someone else will do the blinking work!
With a little bit, with a little bit, with a little bit of luck, you'll
never work,
With a little bit, with a little bit, with a little bit of blooming -"
So they continued, conveniently ignoring Quistis's steely glare and practically half-dancing their way back to Balamb Garden.
"They're always throwing goodness at you,
But with a little bit of luck a man can duck.
The gentle sex was made for men to marry
To share his nest and - "
Suddenly the musically adept combat specialists were shocked into silence. The reason was an imperious-looking figure crossing their path. Squall winced and instantly reverted to his poker-faced self. It wouldn't do for his conceiver to catch him displaying immature behaviour. The other SeeDs stood in what they hoped were quite innocent looking stances.
"Evening, daddy," Alia said in a jaunty voice.
A grin flashed in the darkness outside the Garden.
"I have never known Balamb Garden's finest to sing songs with such unethical messages," he greeted them.
The group of SeeDs took on a distinctively embarrassed look.
Laguna chuckled and dropped the subject.
"Actually, I came to visit you, Squall."
Squall managed to maintain his neutral expression.
"How come, uh, d-Laguna?"
Laguna smiled wryly to himself. Still can't say it - well eventually he'll get there - hopefully before I die.
Out loud, he answered his son's question.
"I was in the neighbourhood. I hope that's a good enough reason for me to visit?"
Squall shrugged, and almost found himself giving his standard `whatever', but swallowed it.
"I s'pose so."
Before any awkward silences could arise, Zell shoved himself into the conversation. Swooning melodramatically, he clutched a hand to his throat.
"Good sir, wouldst thou take thy mercy on us poor, half-starved crowd and" - Zell winked and dropped his formal, medieval tone - "supply our empty stomachs with hotdogs?"
Iris stared at her friend incredulously.
"Alright, who are you and what have you done to Zell?" she demanded.
Zell shushed her and whispered dramatically, "Can't you see I'm trying to get us a free dinner?"
Laguna laughed and made his proposal.
"Alright, I'll save you lot from starvation, on the condition that you introduce me to this lovely lady," he said gallantly, bowing to Iris, the `lovely lady' in question. Iris blinked, then returned the compliment.
Irvine stepped forward to do the honours.
"President Laguna Loire, may I present her ladyship the oh-so-horrible Iris Bardok?" he announced formally.
Inwardly, Laguna gasped. Bardok? Couldn't be! However, outwardly his composure held and didn't betray any of his inner emotions. He took Iris's hand and gave it a chaste kiss. Iris blinked in surprise, but didn't object.
"Would you enlighten me on why this Lady Bardok is `oh-so-horrible'?" Laguna asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
"You'll find out," Irvine muttered darkly.
Just then, Zell stumbled towards Laguna and collapsed at his feet.
"Must... have... food..." he moaned.
Laguna laughed and shook his head at Zell's comic antics. It was surprising what some people did for food.
"Alright then, let's find something to sustain the body," he said.
The group made their way into the Garden, searching for the nearest open cafeteria. Before Laguna completely turned his attention to the other SeeDs, and briefly took note of the fact that Iris's eyes were a vivid amber.
It was definitely food for thought.