4: Three Weeks Left!
In a week I only got one sale. And that was from Irvine! I'm glad that he bought tickets from me, but I'm a little disappointed that no one else wanted any. The others on the Garden committee had blocked off the ballroom so we could have it all to ourselves. We had some great planners on the committee and a great number were also good at decorating. While Nida and myself were busy begging people to buy tickets, others on the committee were getting furniture and other nick-knacks arranged. If I were better at decorating, I would gladly trade jobs, because selling tickets is so boring.
I went outside to make sure our posters outside the Garden gates were still up. Some jokers thought it funny to rip our posters off the school walls. Thankfully these idiots hadn't gotten to the ones outside yet. It was a beautiful day outside, anyway. Flowers bloomed in anticipation of spring. I picked one and put it in my hair. It was yellow, the same color as my favorite dress. I made a mental note to tell the decorating people to add some flowers to their plans. The sound of feet trampling on the dirt path averted my attention. I glanced down the road and saw three figures coming towards the Garden.
One of the persons was easily distinguished because he (a bit too manly-looking to be a female) was the most muscular. He had dark skin and dark hair in a box-cut. He wore black pants and a red vest. Black shoes carried his body down the road. My lips broke into a grin. I knew who this guy was. But… was it really him? And what was he doing here? Ah, who cares? I squealed and ran towards him, throwing my arms around his muscular body. It felt like I was hugging an oversized teddy bear.
"Raijin!"
"Hey, Selphie. Long time no see, ya know?" I giggled and beamed at him. His face was in a grin as well. His smile was childlike but not half as big as Zell's.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came back, ya know? The Garden's my home, ya know?" I was very excited to see him, and I honestly missed him, but I couldn't help but be drawn to his female traveling companion. If I didn't know better, I would've thought she was a ghost. She had pale skin and her hair was silver. Her right eye was covered by a black patch and she wore all blue, except for her black boots. Her lips were drawn into a straight line and her good eye showed little emotion. I put my arms around her thin frame. Her skin felt icy cold to the touch.
"Fujin!"
"SELPHIE. LONG TIME," the girl smiled. Her lips barely moved to make her smile; it was a smile for a shy person, not someone like her.
"You're both here?" I awed. They nodded, smiling their unique smiles. "Then that means…" My eyes fell on the third figure. His fair face had a scar, his lips as stern as his cold eyes. A single strand of blonde rested on his forehead, the rest of his hair slicked away. His cold blue eyes stared into my cheerful ones. He wore the same white overcoat he had on the last time I saw him. In fact, his whole ensemble was exactly the way it was a month ago. My whole body shivered. I pinched myself just to make sure this wasn't a dream. No, I was very much awake.
Seifer Almasy. That name often brought fear and anger into a person's heart. He was the self-proclaimed "sorceress knight", the one that had helped Ultimecia achieve her dominance. He had caused so much pain, so much suffering. He had been so mean to us, even when we were kids growing up in the orphanage together. There wasn't a single person in Balamb Garden that didn't have some sort of grudge towards him. While he was in the Garden he bullied people and basically made everyone's life miserable. He was responsible for deaths, sorrow, and many more unspeakable acts. Many vowed they would kill him if they ever ran across him.
"Seifer!" I threw my arms around him and kissed his cheek. His body felt like a stone that had been warmed by the sun.
"Selphie? What the…?"
"I'm so glad to see you! It's been far too long!" I pulled away and was pleased to see I had stumped the man terribly. His two friends also looked perplexed.
"You're… glad to see me?"
"Sure, of course. It's good to see all of you. Let's go inside!" I took Seifer by the arm and eagerly led him inside the gate. In true Seifer fashion, he tore away from my grip and glared at me as if I had given him a deadly disease.
"What in hell do you think you're doing?" he hissed.
"Bringing you into the Garden!" I answered.
"I don't think they'd be happy to see us, ya know? We haven't exactly been friendly, ya know?" noted Raijin uneasily. I winked at him.
"Don't worry about that. It'll all work out. Besides, you're sorry for it now, aren't you?" This question was followed by silence.
"MISTAKE. FORGIVENESS?" Fujin asked after a pause. It took me a while to figure out what she had said.
"Of course I forgive you! As long as you feel sorry for what you did, I'll forgive you. I'll talk to the others; I'm sure they feel the same way." The posse stared at me in amazement.
"Selphie, did you hit your head?" Seifer asked, tilting his head towards one shoulder. His face bore a confused expression that I had never seen before. I think he was trying to mimic me.
"Of course not, silly. What made you think that?"
"Well, you're being nice to us. In case you've forgotten, not many people would do that unless they hit their heads." He tilted his head towards the other shoulder. The imitation was so perfect I almost started laughing. "So, why are you being nice to us?"
"I just want to. Do I need a reason?" Seifer moved his head back to its proper position and shrugged his shoulders.
"No. It's just hard to believe that you would forgive us so easily."
"Hey, it's me! What else do you expect?" The posse nodded in agreement. I've made pretty bad mistakes in my life, so I thought it only fair to give them the benefit of the doubt. It was my belief that everyone deserved a second chance in life, as long as they were sorry for what they had done in the past. I knew already that Fujin and Raijin were sorry; I could only hope that Seifer felt the same way. I giggled crazily and grabbed Seifer's arm again. He rolled his eyes but tolerated me. In this condition the four of us made our way into the Garden.
We entered the Garden and the posse glanced around quizzically. It went through slight changes since they were there last but nothing major. They were mostly interested in the Festival posters that were scattered all over. I allowed them to study the posters closely before leading them on. As I walked them to my "ticket booth", I let them take in everything in silence. I know that sounds out of character for me, but these guys were coming home after a month of absence. They needed the time to themselves. We reached the center of the Garden and I was slightly surprised to find Nida missing from his post. I knew there was a good explanation so I didn't worry about it. And anyway, I was starting to wonder how people would react to the posse's presence.
"MISSED THIS PLACE," Fujin sighed.
"Me too, ya know?" Raijin agreed. I finally let go of Seifer and turned to the trio expectantly.
"So, what have you guys been up to since I saw you last?" There was a slight pause as the three friends exchanged unreadable glances.
"WANDERING," Fujin said at last.
"Trying to stay out of everyone's way," Seifer added.
"Oh, okay," I nodded, rocking on the balls of my feet. "What brings you here to Balamb?"
"I don't know. It's our home… I guess we came here without thinking," Seifer shrugged. Fujin nodded in agreement.
"Nostalgia, ya know?" Raijin grinned.
"Well, I'm glad you guys are here, anyway. We're going to have a Spring Festival in three weeks. You guys can come if you want." The posse seemed flabbergasted by this invitation. They looked so funny when they were confused.
"IMPOSSIBLE," said Fujin sadly. "MISTRUST." I frowned; she was right. Not many people would trust them, especially after all that mess with Ultimecia. What am I going to do? I smiled in encouragement.
"If you guys show everyone that you're truly sorry and you've turned over a new leaf, they might accept you."
" 'Might' being the key word," Seifer snorted. I chuckled and patted him on the arm. Seifer stared at my hand as if he wasn't quite sure what it was.
"Just let me take care of everything. All you guys have to do is be nice," I said brightly.
"Easier said than done, ya know?" noted Raijin wryly. I had to agree with that. The three of them huddled near my station as I got ready for another round of attempting to sell tickets. Seifer stood slightly apart from the other two, like he had done thousands of times before. I spotted a customer coming our way but she took one look at my friends and ran screaming in the other direction, her arms flailing wildly above her head. The posse grimaced simultaneously.
"TOLD YOU," Fujin noted.
"That was just one person," I shrugged. The very next person to come by saw the trio and fainted. That person's friend took out their weapon and demanded a fight. I groaned; this wasn't starting out well.
"We don't wanna fight you, ya know?" said Raijin helplessly, holding up his hands in a sign of peace.
"I don't believe it! You're here to finish us off!" the student shouted. His words had brought on quite a crowd, many of which wanted to take on the posse as well. I felt helpless. The posse was right: no one wants them here… No one except for me.
"Get out of here! We don't want the likes of you in our Garden!" a voice shouted. Suddenly the posse was being bombarded by paper balls, hotdogs, shoes, and other miscellaneous objects. Everyone started shouting obscene phrases at the trio. I didn't know whether to cover my ears or my head.
"I have a feeling they don't like us," Seifer growled, his hands covering his head. My blood was boiling. They had no right to treat the posse like that, no matter what they did wrong!
"That is quite enough!" I shouted. The crowd stopped shouting and the projectiles ceased as well. I was a small girl but I felt like I was looming over the mob. "Why don't you all just grow up? I am well aware that these three haven't been perfect angels, but who here can claim that they have never done anything wrong in their lives? Nobody! They're really sorry for what they did and they came here hoping to find forgiveness. I think you all should give them a chance instead of lashing out at them like this." I paused, taking a deep breath. Everyone, including the posse, was staring at me with gaping mouths. When I spoke again, I tried to sound more gentle. "Show them some compassion, huh? That's what this Garden's all about."
One by one the crowd dissipated, muttering among themselves. I was tempted to kick one of them in the butt. Some more responsible people cleaned up the mess that was made. They muttered apologies to the posse; I could tell from their expressions they didn't really mean it. The posse stared at me in silent awe, none of them able to find their voices. Finally the last of the jerks were gone. Fujin straightened her jacket and Raijin straightened my desk, which had been jostled in the confusion. The four of us stood there in silence for a moment. Seifer cleared his throat.
"Thanks for sticking up for us."
"BRAVE," Fujin smiled.
"You're a true friend, ya know? I can't remember the last time anyone's done that for us," Raijin said. I blushed modestly.
"You're welcome." I sighed and took a seat behind my desk. I didn't expect to make any sales that day after I scared off all the customers, not like I would make a sale anyway. The posse huddled together and began whispering earnestly. I leaned closer, trying to listen in. They finished talking before I could catch what they were saying.
"Selphie, we were wondering about this Festival thing," Seifer began. His two friends smiled at each other. I grinned broadly.
"The Spring Festival will take place in about three weeks. To go you have to buy a ticket, but they're only ten Gil." I was starting to sound like a recording.
"I'd like one, ya know?" Raijin requested. I squealed in delight and handed him the ticket. He slid ten Gil towards me. I thanked him about five hundred times. Fujin stepped up next.
"ONE," she said. She paid for her ticket and thanked me. They eyed Seifer significantly. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked up to my desk. He leaned in so close our noses were almost touching. Fujin winked at Raijin with her single eye. Seifer whispered something very softly.
"What?" I frowned.
"I wa… t… tick…," he repeated.
"What?" He cringed and tried to speak a bit louder.
"I want two tickets," he hissed, still barely audible. I grinned mischievously and cupped a hand around my ear.
"Speak louder. I can't hear you." A vein bulged in his neck. Fujin and Raijin wisely took a step back.
"I said I want two tickets, dammit!" he shouted. His hand smacked his forehead, cursing himself for blurting that out. Fujin and Raijin pretended they hadn't heard it. My eyes were dancing with mirth.
"Oh? And who's the other one for?" He shoved twenty Gil in my face.
"Never mind. Just hand 'em over." I obeyed, still grinning. I couldn't resist giving him another hug.
"Sorry about that," I whispered. I kissed his cheek again. "I missed you a whole lot. Welcome home." I pulled away and saw I had shocked him yet again. He grunted and joined his friends. Fujin poked him in the ribs, her eyes conveying a silent order. Whatever it was she wanted to do, Seifer refused to do it. It wouldn't have been polite to ask what they were up to, so I ignored their actions. "You three behave yourselves, now. I don't want to hear you getting into any trouble." Seifer shook his head and pocketed his tickets.
"NO WORRIES," Fujin assured me.
"We'll behave, ya know?" Raijin added. I watched them leave. I was glad they were back. The Spring Festival was going to be more fun than I expected.