As soon as she left her room, Quistis looked at her watch. It was 07:12, so she would have more or less half an hour to prepare the next class.
Quistis left the area and walked towards the lift in the centre of the Garden. Only a few people walked around the Garden so early: professors and instructors, mainly; the students that came by bus as well.
She entered the lift with a young student, Ledd (Quistis had forgotten the name; he didn't attend her classes). One second before the boy covered it with his jacket, Quistis could see a badge on his shirt: it said "I am a TREPIE!! And proud of it!" in blue letters. The word "Trepie" was written in big, red letters.
Quistis couldn't help smiling. She hadn't seen this new model.
"Good morning, Instructor Trepe", said Ledd, blushing.
He seemed to be nervous in front of Quistis. She decided to be nice to him.
"Good morning, Ledd", said Quistis smiling. "What are you doing here so early?"
"Oh…" said Ledd, looking at his feet. "I still have to finish the Communications homework. I tried to do it yesterday, but the library-"
"It's okay, Ledd, as long as it is finished for the lesson" interrupted Quistis.
The lift stopped at the second floor. They both walked through the corridor.
"Good morning, Instructor Trepe" said Ledd, walking towards his class.
"Good morning".
Quistis left behind the classes and entered the Instructor Room, at the end of that Wing.
The Instructor Room, a big room filled with tables, chairs and papers everywhere, had no ornament at all, excluding a big window from which they could see Balamb at the distance. There were three or four scattered instructors in the room.
Quistis saw Xu sitting near the window.
"Hi", said Quistis, walking towards the window.
"Hi", replied Xu, without stopping her work.
The weather was good, and Balamb was starting its activity. Quistis sat in front of Xu and started taking her papers, when she stopped. In Xu's jacket was one of the "I am a TREPIE!!" badge.
Quistis laughed, surprised.
"What?" said Xu, faking innocence.
"I just can't believe you bought one of those", said Quistis.
"What do you mean with buy? Shykee Linson was giving them for free yesterday afternoon. Everyone took one. They're stylish, aren't they?"
Quistis smiled. "Linson again…" said. "Well, what's up?"
"Everything will go as planned", said Xu giving Quistis a timetable. "The Biology extraordinary lesson has been moved to half past three, but that has nothing to do with us."
"And what about my exam?"
"I don't know," said Xu. "I guess everything's all right. Oh and, the Almighty asked for you", added Xu, stressing the last word.
"The Lord?" asked Quistis, puzzled. What could Kramer have to tell her?
"The Master himself" nodded Xu.
Quistis looked at her watch. "Well, I guess I'll go the class now", said.
"See you at lunch".
Quistis went to the 2nd class. She was going to make them an exam that afternoon, and wanted to show everyone the Training Room map and the indications.
While she accessed the Library's archives, people started coming. She saw one or two Trepie badges among the class; certainly, Linson would be a charismatic team leader.
"And remember", said Quistis sitting down at her desk. "The Hoffman Triangle is only useful in the open field."
She was giving a lesson to the oldest students, the ones that would do their SeeD exam that term.
"For tomorrow, I want each one of you to create an offensive operation using the Hoffman Triangle. For that, you can use any map from the Library."
The students started leaving the class. She waited until Squall left to say:
"Zell, I'd like you to stay awake at least half of the class. And, Seifer, come here."
She saw Seifer's expression turn angry as he walked toward Quistis.
"Yes?" he said.
"I heard you and Squall had a row in the Dining Room… again", she added in a low voice.
"It was just a discussion, Instructor", said Seifer.
"Well, maybe breaking dishes makes a discussion to you, Seifer, but I call it a row. If it happens again, you will be punished". Quistis was starting to feel angry.
"Yeah, well, I hope you tell Squall the same thing." Seifer left the classroom without waiting for an answer.
Quistis was glad that he didn't wait for an answer. Of course she should blame both of them for the quarrel; it was the Garden's policy. But she was sure that Squall wouldn't behave as he did if Seifer didn't incite him.
Quistis found Xu waiting for her in the corridor. This had been the last lesson of the morning, the fourth. They both walked towards the lift, trying to let the students pass first.
"So, how was your morning?" said Quistis.
"All right", said Xu. "One of my groups, the ones in third, proposed that this term's SeeD exam should be organising the Student's Festival."
"Oh, I wouldn't care supervising a ball instead of a battle operation."
"Sure," Xu smiled. "But I don't think the Almighty would like it".
Quistis thought that probably Cid Kramer would be the first one approving the organisation of a Student Festival as a SeeD exam… It would be the professors that would complain.
"So how was your morning?" asked Xu as they entered the lift.
"Nothing special", said Quistis looking around. Three students were in the lift with Xu and her, and fortunately Xu was the only one wearing the "I am a TREPIE!!" badge. "They just told me that I will have another student for the SeeD exam, someone from the Trabia Garden" continued Quistis.
"Don't worry," replied Xu. "Trabia never sends the problematic students to the other Gardens. It will be a decent student, most probably."
The lift stopped at the first floor. Quistis and Xu walked downstairs and took the left path, longest and less frequented at lunch time.
"Took care of the Seifer problem?" asked Xu.
They heard a buzz. They both turned around to see someone flying towards them in an airskate.
"Airskates are not allowed inside the Garden, Zell!" said Quistis and Xu at the same time, as Zell passed by. He pretended not to have heard them, but he stopped and walked.
"I talked with Seifer a while ago," continued Quistis. "He's not that much of a problem, but you need to be keeping an eye on him all the time".
They arrived at the Dining Room. Quistis and Xu always tried to arrive late, but there was still a long queue for the sandwiches. Anyway, instructors and professors were still coming, so the row was disciplined.
Quistis and Xu headed to their table, in the Prof.&Instr. section. A waiter soon brought the lunch: an omelette with vegetables.
"And, have you talked with Squall too?" asked Xu.
"No," admitted Quistis. "I think he would do nothing if Seifer wasn't continuously inciting him".
"But you know what you have to do. When the students have a row, everyone is to blame."
"But I don't feel it's fair…" said Quistis, even knowing which would be Xu's answer.
"You mustn't care if it's fair or not. After all, it's just a warning; it isn't as if you were punishing them or something."
Quistis said nothing.
After the lunch, Quistis took a coffee, said goodbye to Xu and left the Dining Room. Once in the Main Hall, she leant on the handrail and she drank the coffee, looking at the water. She still had a whole hour until the exam of the ones in second, and she probably wouldn't need much more than half an hour to prepare everything.
When she turned around and faced the Main Hall, she saw a familiar figure walking towards her. Squall was probably going to his room after having lunch.
As usual, Quistis waited, always hoping that this time he would talk to her first. When it was obvious that he wouldn't, Quistis waved her hand towards him. Squall came and stood in front of her.
"Hi," said Quistis.
There was no answer, so Quistis continued talking.
"You had a row with Seifer again, didn't you?"
"I did nothing," said Squall.
"Well, next time try not to do nothing again, all right?". Quistis waited, but she received no answer. He was obviously waiting for her to let him go.
"I don't know why you let Seifer provoke you so easily" she said at last.
An irritated expression crossed Squall's face. Quistis guessed what he would say even before he started talking.
"Whatever," he said, and begun walking again.
Quistis watched him leave, then she looked at her watch. It was 14.18. The exam would begin at three o'clock, so she had better start working.
She threw the empty coffee cup to the bin, and went to her room. She changed clothes; she left her Instructor uniform and put on normal clothes. She took her chain whip and hanged it on her belt.
She headed towards the Training Room, but she entered through a private corridor. This was the Control Room, where they could control the functioning of the Training Room.
There were several computers in there. The controller was sat in front of one of them.
"Good afternoon," said Quistis. "Quistis Trepe, Instructor n. 18.".
"Good afternoon," said the controller, writing Quistis' name and number in a paper. "You're making an exam, aren't you?"
"Yes," nodded Quistis, sitting next to him. "Nothing too spectacular. I intend to make them organise a survey operation in open field. They must avoid any and all fights, so there shouldn't be any problems".
"Okay. I will free the usual babies, and maybe some wind too...".
"All right, but not too much wind. We're using old communication modules, and they might not hear each other right".
The controller said something in a low voice about the Garden's material, and continued his work.
They were inside the Training Room, in the area where the path divided in two. When all the students turned up, Quistis started talking. Some of them looked surprised to see her in normal wear.
"All right," she said. "I hope everyone has studied the maps I gave you this morning. The plan is the same, so you already know what to do. Just remember that you must avoid all fights". Quistis saw that a couple of students shook their heads disappointed. "Should you encounter any monster," she continued, "you must escape immediately and come back later or either find a new position. Is that clear?"
There was no answer; she accepted it as a "yes".
She gave the last instructions, and the operation started.
Quistis climbed a rock and looked how the different groups disappeared in the trees. One of them, the group C, begun their work where she could see them. It was obvious that Deely was nervous, but that didn't seem to prevent her from working and, besides, it was her first practical exam in this Garden since she came from Galbadia.
When she saw that the C team had everything under control, Quistis crossed one of the bridges and walked through the forest. Soon, she found another base, this one of the A group. She saw only one student, Arant Dukel.
He was giving his back to Quistis. He had a whip, similar to Quistis', and he seemed to be trying to break a leaf from a nearby tree. After watching him try it twice, Quistis revealed her presence.
"You're practising?" she said.
Arant turned around quickly, embarrassed.
"I, ah..." he whispered.
"You have to move your wrist, Arant. You're not hitting someone with a stick. Make your wrist to continue the movement of your arm."
"Yes, Instructor Trepe" he nodded.
"This is your base?" she said, looking at the communication module installed on the ground. "Where are the other members of your group?"
"They both went to install the antenna," said Arant, pointing to the right. "The group B had a problem with theirs, so we had to search a higher place to put the antenna, so that it works for everyone."
"I'll go search for them," said Quistis. "Meanwhile, try to control the communications yourself."
Arant nodded, and Quistis headed to the centre of the Training Room. If they were searching for a place to put the antenna, they had to be there.
She found them there: Anna and Rob, the rest of the A group. They had just placed a big antenna on the ground, and now Anna was trying to turn it on.
"So, what happened?" asked Quistis when she got near enough for them to hear her.
"The antenna of the group B didn't work," said Rob. "And they didn't know what to do, so we came here and-"
Quistis heard a shout to her right that made her stop thinking whether to fail the B group or not.. She looked, but she only saw trees. It sounded like someone younger than her students, someone in trouble.
She ran towards the sound. When she crossed a bridge, she heard the shout again. It was near.
Quistis arrived to a clearing, and soon realised what was happening. A young boy that couldn't be older than 14 was on the ground, paralysed. He had a stick, but he seemed to be too frightened to use it.
She heard a roar that made her look towards the other side of the clearing. The problem was clear: a T-Rexaur was somehow free and had discovered the boy.
"Run away!" shouted Quistis. "It's too dangerous!"
She thought for a moment that saying that a T-Rexaur was dangerous was somewhat redundant, but the boy didn't seem to hear her.
Quistis went towards the boy and took his arm. The animal noticed her for the first time. She unwinded her whip, raised her arm, and froze.
The dinosaur seemed to decide that Quistis was not welcome, and raised his head to attack. When he begun to lower his head, she cracked her whip and hit the dinosaur right in the eye.
The T-Rexaur roared in pain; Quistis used the moment to run away with the boy.
"You can enter," said a Professor.
Quistis entered Kramer's office. It looked like they somehow didn't like Quistis' action at the Training Room. She wondered if they would make her apologise for hurting a T-Rexaur.
Cid Kramer and two professors were in the office. Quistis took seat in front of them.
"It has been a big irresponsibility to leave a whole student group unattended in the Training Room," said one of the professors.
Quistis knew the professors too well to get upset. If someone was escaping from a monster, they would heal their wounds and punish them for running through the corridors.
"More or less irresponsible than leaving a T-Rexaur free?" asked Quistis, that couldn't help being at least a little ironic.
"The T-Rexaur was there for the Biology lesson," said the other professor. "He somehow managed to break the ropes."
The fault of the Garden was so obvious that Quistis refused to say anything.
"I'll take care of this" said Kramer, speaking at last.
The two professors looked each other and left the room. When the door was closed, Kramer lost his official expression.
"Are you all right, Quistis?" said Kramer, staring at her.
"Yes... director" she said. She had been about to call him Almighty, his surname among the instructors. He had to know it, but she didn't want to try anyway.
"I'm sorry for all of this," said Kramer, shaking his hand. "They are mad because everything was their fault this time. I wanted to talked to you for other reason."
Quistis, suspicious, said nothing.
"I wondered if being Instructor is the proper job for you."
Quistis' eyes were wide open, surprised.
"...what?" she managed to say.
"I think you take too much responsibility," continued Kramer. "Maybe renouncing to your responsibilities as an Instructor would make you live better."
"You... you can't fire me!" she said. "My students are going to take the SeeD exam soon!"
"I would never fire you, Quistis," said Kramer, trying to calm her down. "I just wanted to ask you to think about it. Don't you think you take too much responsibility?"
Quistis said nothing. She had indeed thought it, but she had always wiped the thought out of her mind. She had never thought about quitting being an Instructor.
"Well," she said at last, breathing deeply. "We'll talk after the SeeD exam."
Kramer seemed to understand that Quistis refused to talk about this with him, and he smiled.
"All right then," he said. "We'll talk after the exam. You know, Quistis, sometimes it's good to think on yourself." he added.
He calmly took a paper and wrote on it, thus finishing the meeting. Quistis didn't move for a minute, thinking on what Kramer had said. Although she had noticed that quitting the instruction might be good for her, she still refused to consider that option.
She decided to focus on the present. She whispered "Good afternoon", and she left Cid's office. One or two people entered the lift on the second floor, but she didn't seem to notice.
When Quistis arrived at the Main Hall, she saw Xu talking to two students, but didn't call her. She continued to the Dormitory and went to her room. She put on the Instructor uniform again, although she didn't have any lessons until the next day. She could see the sun setting from the window.
She looked at herself at the mirror. She suddenly felt less comfortable wearing the black uniform; she felt in disguise.
Quistis left her room and her insecurities behind. She had nothing to do, but she went to the Instructor Room again. She wanted to talk with Xu, but they were going to have dinner with all the other instructors, and there would be no time for informal talking.
She passed Squall on the second floor's corridor. Even worried and confused as she was, she felt the usual anxiety when she wondered if he would talk to her this time. He didn't, and she continued to the Instructor Room.
Xu was there already; it looked like the talk with the students was nothing important.
"So, how was the talk with the Almighty?" she said when she saw Quistis.
Quistis tried to find the best way to express it.
"Kramer said I should quit being an Instructor because I take too much responsibility," she said directly, not wanting to make the conversation too long.
There was a long silence. Xu had her look fixed on her papers.
"Well," she said after a minute.
Another long pause followed.
"...it is true that you are a bit too responsible sometimes."
None of them said anything else. Quistis didn't want to keep talking about the subject, and Xu knew it.
Quistis closed her room's door behind her.
The dinner had been exactly what she expected it to be. They organised their exams, talked about their students... She had behaved normally, but now that she was alone the thoughts came to her mind again. This time she let them pass.
When Quistis was lying on her bed, trying to sleep, she took a decision. Rather than taking a decision, she realised what she was going to do. After the SeeD exam, she would quit being an Instructor. It was the only way of knowing if it would be good for her. After three months of being just a regular SeeD she would become an instructor again. She thought that, after those three months, she might not want to be an instructor again, but she wiped the idea from her mind. This time, she would try not to assume any more responsibilities. She would decide when the moment came.
And, with this decision in her mind, Quistis slept.