13: Slow Down

So much to do, so little time! The day of the Festival is getting closer and I've got a lot to do to prepare. The final touches on the ballroom decorations have to be ready and Nida and I have to start taking down the posters we had put up. And there's a whole lot of other stuff I have to do in between that. I haven't given myself a good workout in such a long time, so I had to make a trip to the training room as soon as I had the time. I had a whole lot of homework to catch up on. There were places to go, people to see, and I wanted to make sure Oonagh was ready for her date with Walter Oren.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

Yikes! I was running late already. I shoved the rest of the toast I was eating into my mouth and took off to my first class. It was actually a little late to be eating breakfast, but I slept in, as usual. I took the elevator up to my class and went running down the hall. Suddenly my foot slipped and I fell flat on my butt. That really hurt. I continued to skid until I ran into a wall. I instinctively put my left foot in front to stop myself from crashing into it. It contacted with the wall, my bodyweight bearing down on it. Pain shot through my whole leg. Once I could think again I scolded myself for being so careless as to not notice the "Caution: Wet Floor" sign. I got up and tried to walk but in a few steps I slipped and fell again, this time face-first. I had enough sense to twist my head so my cheek would smack on the floor instead of my nose. Not that it hurt any less. I lay there for a few minutes, wondering if it was even worth going to class now. Today just isn't a good day for me.

"Did you fall asleep on the ground, Selphie?" Strong arms helped me into a sitting position. I smiled at Raijin.

"No. I fell down."

"Can you get back up?" he asked. I tried but found that I had done something to my ankle. I cringed in pain.

"I think I broke my left ankle."

"Okay. I'll help, ya know?" he offered. I put my arm around his shoulders and together we walked down to the infirmary. Actually, he walked while I sort of hopped. We must have been a very odd-looking duo, because we attracted many strange looks. At last we came to the infirmary. Raijin directed me to one of the beds and waited until the doctor came by. Dr. Kadowaki walked in and shook her head.

"Dare I ask, Selphie?"

"I slipped and fell. I think I broke my left ankle," I explained. I propped both legs onto the bed so she could have a better look. She prodded my left ankle with her fingers.

"Does it hurt?"

"It hurts a lot, especially when I put weight on it." She continued to poke at it with her funny little instruments. Raijin watched her curiously.

"What's that thing do?" he would ask when she picked something up. At first she tried answering him, but he gave her a blank stare every time. After a while of this she decided it was best not to say anything and continue with her job.

"It's not shattered to pieces, that's for certain. I'll put ice on it until the swelling goes down. Then I'll wrap it up. You should stay off it for a day at least, maybe more." I wanted to scream. A day, maybe more? What if it doesn't heal in time for the Festival? I'll miss another dance! I didn't want that to happen.

"Doctor, is there any way I can heal in time for the Festival?"

"As long as you don't subject yourself to anymore punishment, I think you'll be all right," she nodded. She produced a bag of ice and set it on my left ankle. The sudden chill felt nice on my throbbing ankle. "I don't want you going anywhere today. Understand?" I pouted.

"But I've got a lot of stuff to do, doc! What about the Festival?"

"I think Nida can take care of things for at least a day." I frowned. If I hadn't have been so careless, I wouldn't have slipped and hurt myself. It wasn't just the Festival I was concerned about; I had promised Oonagh I would help her get ready for her date. Oonagh! Oh, man, how'm I going to help her like this? I couldn't back down on my word! I squirmed restlessly.

"Doc, I have to be allowed to leave at five o'clock!"

"Why's that?"

"I promised a friend I'd help her do something."

"I'm sorry, Selphie, but doctor's orders." I groaned audibly. All I could do now was turn to Raijin for help.

"Will you do something for me?"

"Sure thing, ya know?" he nodded.

"Go and get my friend Oonagh. You know who that is?" Raijin thought for a while.

"She's the one that used to like Zell, right?" I nodded my head. "I see her go into the library a lot, ya know? I'll go see if she's there. I'll be back with her soon, ya know?" He waved and left the infirmary. I sighed and arranged the bag of ice on my foot. In a few more minutes my ankle would begin to feel numb. My ankle was numbing when Raijin returned with Oonagh in tow. She gasped when she saw me and ran to my side.

"Miss Petite, what happened to you? Are you hurt?"

"I slipped and hurt my ankle," I told her. "Dr. Kadowaki won't let me go anywhere today. That means I can't help you get ready for your date." She smiled; she looked more concerned about me than about her date.

"That's all right. I can understand. I'll come by so you can make sure I'm dressed properly. Is that all right with you?" I nodded eagerly. I was struck by a great idea.

"You could ask Quistis for her help. She knows what's fashionable."

"Really?" Oonagh awed. "I would've thought it was Rinoa that knew more about fashions."

"They both know a lot," I agreed. "Either one of them could help you." She thanked me and politely left the room. Raijin continued to hover over me. "You don't have to stay here if you don't want to."

"I don't want to leave you by yourself, ya know?" Raijin frowned. "Besides, it's not like I have anything else to do, ya know?" What a great friend he was. He brought a chair up and took a seat. The only thing that could make this better would be if Irvine popped in. Someone burst in, but it wasn't Irvine. It was Zell; his black eye was starting to heal. He didn't look like he was hurt. I wondered what he was doing here. He spotted me and his eyes bugged out.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

"I fell down and hurt my ankle," I answered.

"Bummer."

"What about you?" I demanded. "Why are you here? You don't look hurt." He grinned sheepishly.

"I'm not. Doc Kadowaki wanted me to come in so she can make sure my black eye's healing up all right."

"You remind me of Fujin, ya know?" Raijin noted. "With the one eye and all." I tilted my head to one side and observed Zell. He did sort of remind me of Fujin. It was mostly because of his black eye. Zell eyed Raijin quizzically. "I'm not sayin' you look that much like her, ya know? You just remind me of her, ya know? 'Cause one of your eyes looks like it's got a patch on it."

"Whatever," Zell huffed.

"Oh, Squall, I didn't know you were here," I joked. Zell glared at me but couldn't stop himself from grinning. Dr. Kadowaki came in.

"Oh, Zell, I didn't know you were here." Raijin, Zell, and I died laughing. Zell fell on the ground, he was laughing so hard. Tears ran down my smiling cheeks. Dr. Kadowaki observed us, perplexed by our strange behavior. "What in Hyne's name is wrong with you three?" I tried to control my giggles long enough to speak.

"It's… haha… nothing, haha. We're all just… haha… really hyper." I burst into another fit of giggles and could speak no more. Dr. Kadowaki shook her head. She turned her attention over to Zell, who was still on the ground.

"Get up so I can see your eye." He obeyed, his whole body shaking with mirth. It took the good doctor only a moment to examine his healing eye. "Good. The mark will be gone in a few more days. Just in time for the Festival."

"That's… haha… great, doc," Zell chuckled. She smiled at us and shook her head. Once she left the room we started laughing louder. "What… haha… are we laughing about, again, hahaha?" This only made us laugh louder.

"Did you… haha… forget so soon… haha…?" I paused. I was laughing so hard I couldn't finish my sentence. "Squall?" I blurted, sending the three of us into fits of laughter.

"Whatever," Zell managed in between guffaws. It wasn't like we were making fun of Squall or anything. We just couldn't stop laughing. If Quistis came in and asked us a completely normal question, we probably would've started cracking up. I was laughing so hard I found it hard to breathe. I didn't care, though. It was so much fun to laugh with my friends.

_____

My left ankle had been wrapped in soft bandages to help it heal. My watch told me that only ten minutes remained before Oonagh was to go on her date with Walter Oren. My cheeks still felt stretched after all that laughing myself, Raijin, and Zell had done. I just can't imagine how Zell can keep that grin on his face all day long. I could tell that Zell didn't hate Raijin as much anymore. That made me very happy. Now if only he could learn to accept Fujin and Seifer, however unlikely that may be. I had finally convinced Raijin I was fine by myself. He and Zell went off to have a hotdog eating contest or something like that but promised to check up on me. The door to the infirmary opened. If it was Zell or Raijin, I would've burst out laughing.

"Miss Petite?" There was only one person I knew who called me that.

"I'm here, Oonagh." She entered, and I sucked in a breath. She wore a white dress that cut off a few inches below her knees. The dress was close-fitting like the yellow one I wore all the time. Its shoulder straps were silver and about as thick as my index finger. Her hair had been teased into ripples that shimmered on her head, coming to a stop just below her chin. Thick curls framed her face. Her neck was bare and she wore pearl earrings. Her black high heels had been buffed and her bare arms hung gracefully at her side. My eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"Do I look all right?" she asked, turning around for my inspection.

"All right?" I repeated. "Poor Walter's going to have a heart attack! You look great!" She smiled, blushing modestly. "Who did your hair?"

"Rinoa. She said she might do the same thing for the Festival. Quistis picked out my dress, believe it or not." I believed it, all right, but I wondered what Quistis was thinking. Walter was a courteous guy, but even he would have a hard time keeping his hands off Oonagh while she was wearing that dress.

"You look really great. Remember, I want a full report when you get back," I instructed. "Now go and have a good time."

"Thank you, Miss Petite. Thank you for everything." She gave me a smart salute and exited the infirmary. I was happy for her, but I couldn't help wishing that Irvine would ask me out on a date. I contented myself with waiting for her to come back and tell me everything that happened.

_____

I waited.

And waited.

And waited.

It was past curfew and still she didn't show up. What could've happened to her? She would never break a promise unless there was a good reason for it. I sighed and crawled under the covers. Hurt ankle or not, I was going to find out what had kept her first thing in the morning. I hope everything went okay…