3: Tickets, Anyone?
Nida and I set up two tables near the center of the Garden so we would get the "pick of the litter". The posters that the other committee members made were wonderful. They drew pictures of gardens and people dancing. They would have to help out with the decorations as well. We divided up the workload so that everyone would have a job in making the Festival a success. I'm not graceful and Nida isn't an artist. I guess we balance each other out, though, because he's really quiet and I'm… not. Like I said, everyone in the committee has a talent that's useful.
"Hi!" I greeted, perking up as a student walked towards me. "Would you like to buy some…?" The student walked right on past me. "Okay, never mind." Nida sat quietly behind his table and was also ignored. He usually is ignored, so he was used to it. "Hey, Nida! Any luck over there?" I shouted. Many students gave me weird looks. He shook his head. We had positioned our tables on either side of the center so we wouldn't be crowding each other.
SeeDs don't have to go to as many classes as training students, so I had a whole bunch of free time to sell tickets. Nida was a SeeD too. Being on the Garden committee got us out of class too. I love this school. As SeeDs walked by us on their way to their jobs, I tried selling tickets. They pretty much ignored me. Jerks. I stuck my tongue out at some of them as they walked by. Students training to be SeeDs acted pretty much the same. This was going nowhere fast.
Since no one was buying tickets, I had lots of downtime to think about things. If my calendar was right, it had been a month since my friends and I battled Ultimecia. Time was just flying by. It didn't seem like that long ago at all. When we defeated her, I was a little scared that all the Gardens would shut down, since their primary purpose was to rid the world of Ultimecia. Headmaster Cid later explained to me that the Garden was also a haven for orphans. SeeDs were constantly needed even after Ultimecia's defeat, so they would continue to be mercenaries/soldiers for anyone that wanted them. What a relief! It'd be a real bummer if my friends and I were the cause of SeeDs going out of business, especially since we were SeeDs too.
"Hi!" Another potential customer was walking by. "Would you like to…?" They hurried on past me and didn't even look at poor Nida. I feel so neglected. I stood up and waved my tickets at the retreating student. "Hey, buddy! Get back over here and buy a ticket!" This only made the person walk faster.
"Selphie, you're drawing some unwanted attention," warned Nida.
"Oh, who cares?" He sighed and decided to give up. That's the wisest thing to do when you're around me: just let me have my way. I started giggling crazily again. I never could figure out why people looked at me strangely when I did that. I calmed down and got ready to sell tickets. "Hi, would you like…?" As before, I was completely ignored. This was going to be a long month.
_____
In my next class, the instructor was late. We all filed in and got out our things to take notes and no one was there! Shouts of joy erupted from my classmates and I could tell they were planning some mischief in the instructor's absence. I was too tired from trying to sell tickets to make any trouble. I laid my head on my desk and tried to take a nap. Of course my classmates didn't want to take a nap. They were bouncing off the walls-- some almost literally-- and yelling things that weren't appropriate in a classroom. I always have my nun chucks with me, and I was really tempted to use them.
"Selphie? Hey, wake up!" Someone was poking me on the head. I grunted and looked up. My vision was a little blurry but I could still tell what was going on. There was one kid sitting at the instructor's chair with his feet on the desk. Others were making paper balls and throwing them at each other.
"Whaizzit?" I slurred. Zell was standing over me, his huge grin blinding me.
"What're the tickets for?" I stifled a yawn.
"The Garden committee's holding a Spring Festival. Weren't you listening to my announcement?" He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly.
"I was busy sleeping."
"Oh, okay." I put my head back down on my desk and closed my eyes. He rapped his knuckles on the desktop. I glared at him irritably.
"How many do you have?"
"Thirty."
"How many did you start with?"
"Thirty."
"Oh." His smile became slightly less bright for an instant, then picked up its usual radiance. He picked up the roll of tickets and observed them. "Didn't anybody want to buy one?"
"Nope. They all just ignored me." I really wanted to take a nap but Zell wouldn't let me do it.
"Mind if I try?"
"Go ahead. I don't care."
"Okay." Well, I couldn't go to sleep knowing he had three hundred Gil's worth of tickets in his hands. I rubbed my eyes, still feeling sleepy. Zell climbed up on his desk and waved his arms in the air. "Hey, everybody! SHUT UP!" The noise died down in the room and everyone turned their attention to Zell.
"Get off the desk, you moron!" someone shouted. "You wanna break it?"
"There's going to be a Spring Festival. Who wants to go?" The class erupted in cheers. He waved his hands around to quiet them down. "Okay, okay. I've got thirty tickets. One per person, unless you buy one for somebody."
"We don't wanna buy them now. We've got a whole month!" another student yelled.
"You all suck! Come on!" I was wide awake now. I was getting worried about Zell because these desks weren't build to support a teenage boy of his size. The class grew raucous again and began throwing paper balls at the zealous Zell. He took them in good nature and for some reason started singing something:
"Five hundred men they were, they were
Round and round the fire.
Dancin' to that crazy tune
Five hundred men they were."
The class burst into laughter and applause all at the same time. I didn't know whether to be embarrassed for him or to laugh with them. He grinned and did a little dance. This only made the class laugh harder. There was a knock at the door. Everyone rushed back to their seats and picked up the stray paper balls. They shushed each other and tried to look civilized. Zell was still standing on top of his desk, looking confused.
"Get down, stupid!" someone ordered. "You wanna get in trouble?" Zell stuck his tongue out at the student.
"Come up here and make me!" Zell's my friend, but he can sometimes be so stupid. The door opened and in walked Irvine. He tipped his hat at me. My heart fluttered happily. The others in the class stared at him in dumb bewilderment. I could hear some of the girls swooning and giggling.
"Y'all better simmer down. The other classes can't hear their instructors."
"Yes, sir, Mr. President," said Zell sarcastically, giving him a mock salute. Irvine glanced up at him.
"Zell, get offa that desk right now."
"And what if I don't, smart guy?" he demanded, putting his hands on his hips defiantly. Irvine's lips twitched into a smile.
"Then I know a guy that'll be sleepin' on the floor tonight." Zell grumbled something and got down. Zell and Irvine are roommates, so Irvine's pretty good at getting Zell to do what he wants. Irvine flashed his wonderful smile at the whole class and turned to leave. I leapt out of my chair and ran over to him.
"Do you have to leave?" I whined.
"Well, ah, I guess not," he shrugged. I took him by the hand and brought him to my desk. Zell put his elbow on his desk and it immediately crashed to the floor. He coughed and fanned at the dust.
"Nice going, Zell," I giggled.
"Oops." Irvine sat at the empty desk on the other side of me. That desk was always empty. I don't know who was supposed to be sitting in it, 'cause the guy never came to class. I haven't a clue how such a bum got to be a SeeD. I put my hand on Irvine's shoulder.
"Irvine, would you like to buy a ticket from me?"
"Sure thing. How much?"
"Ten Gil each." I smiled sweetly and hugged his arm. His handsome face turned red.
"That's all? Well, I'll gladly buy a ticket. Here ya go." He handed me twenty Gil. I repressed my squeal of excitement.
"Two tickets for you then, Mr. Kinneas." I tore off two tickets and purposefully touched his hand as I gave them to him. "And who is the lucky lady?" His face grew more red until I could almost feel the heat radiating from it. He is so cute sometimes!
"Uh… I'm not sure about that yet."
"Oh. Okay." I put on my brightest grin. "Tickets! I've got tickets for sale! Only ten Gil!" I knew Irvine was going to ask me. He just didn't want to say it in front of Zell and the others.