14: New Problems
Of course I was worried sick about Oonagh. The very next morning I got up and escaped from the infirmary. My foot had completely healed itself overnight. I guess I only sprained it or something. I didn't run or anything; I had learned my lesson. I went to our dorm and pounded on the door. I probably woke up everyone around me but I didn't care. I shouted Oonagh's name until the door opened. There she was, still in her dress. She gasped and threw her arms around me.
"Miss Petite! What in the world are you doing here? You should be in bed!"
"My foot's fine!" I assured her. "I must've only sprained it or something. I came here because I was worried about you. You never showed up to tell me how the date went!"
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she cried. "I must have forgotten!"
"There's a first time for everything," I smiled. "Besides, you were on a date with the man of your dreams. I can understand." She blushed profusely. "But you have to make it up to me by telling me what happened."
"Of course," she agreed. "Please come in." I entered our dorm and took a seat at a little table where Oonagh read or did her homework. I usually used it as a napping table. "I don't mean to be rude, but you're up awfully early this morning, Miss Petite." I hadn't thought about the time. I checked my watch.
8:03 AM
"Wow," I awed. "I almost woke up on time today." I giggled and tapped my watch. "Only three minutes late. I didn't really think of the time. I couldn't get any sleep; I was so worried about you."
"I never meant to make you worry about me. I'm sorry." I slapped my palm on the table in pseudo-annoyance.
"Quit apologizing and get to the story!" She smiled fondly and gladly complied to my demands. I had this feeling that she had wanted to tell me the second I had made my presence known, but she was much too polite to do so. She allowed for a moment of silence before she began relating the events of the night before:
*
After I spoke with you, I went back to our dormitory. I trusted your judgment, but I couldn't resist giving myself one last check before the date began. My dress was a bit tighter than I would like but otherwise I was presentable. My insides churned with nervousness. I smoothed out the wrinkles of my dress and walked out of the dorm area as calmly as I could. I feared that I would collapse or trip and make a complete fool of myself. Luckily I didn't klutz out and I made it out of the dorm area with my dignity.
I actually saw Walter before he saw me. He nearly took my breath away. He was wearing a black collar shirt and tan khaki pants. His black hair was slicked back and I could almost smell the cologne he was wearing. I lost all sense of myself. My legs refused to move; all I could do was stand there helplessly and stare at him. My knees trembled underneath me, threatening to send me to the ground. His gray eyes landed on me and his handsome face turned a red hue. We stared at each other for the longest time. He, too, seemed to be transfixed. At last his legs obeyed him and he walked towards me. He was hiding something behind his back.
"Oonagh, you look absolutely breathtaking," he greeted. He brought a bouquet of violets from behind his back and held them towards me. Violets are, as you know, my favorite type of flower. I was so overcome that I couldn't remember if I had told him this preference or not. "I, ah, brought you these, but they seemed to have wilted." I reached for them and saw they were very much alive.
"What do you mean? They look fine to me."
"They were beautiful, until your radiance dwindled them," he stated. He said this without the slightest bit of embarrassment.
"I'll put these in my room," I said, turning to go.
"Wait!" His face had a look of anguish. "Are you leaving me so soon?"
"I must put these flowers in water before they die," I told him. He seemed reluctant to let me leave but at last allowed me to vacate the area. I went back to our dorm, filled a vase with water, and put the violets in the vase. I set that in my room and quickly returned to Walter. He was overjoyed at my return and held out his elbow to receive me.
"Shall we be off?" he asked.
"Very well." I slipped my arm through his and together we walked through the empty Garden. No words passed between us but there was no need for verbal communication. We continued to travel until we came to the cafeteria. This place you may think very unromantic, but at the nearest table was set a candlelit dinner for two. The night lights had been dimmed so that the candles gave off most of the light in the room. Walter guided me to my chair and pulled the seat out so that I could sit down. He scooted me in and took a seat himself.
"Is this… I mean, are you liking this?" he asked eagerly. There was something in his eagerness that reminded me of Zell. Oh, did I ever tell you…..? Never mind. That's a different story. Let me finish this one first.
"Yes, thank you," I answered. "Did you do all of this yourself?"
"Only the best for you," he nodded. He picked up his glass. I followed suit, very much relieved that we were to drink cool water. "To us."
"To us," I repeated, and our glasses clicked together in the toast. To us. Do you know how wonderful that sounded in my ears? He and I began to eat the meal before us. Oh, Miss Petite, he had prepared all of my favorite things! There was grilled shrimp and a bread roll with just the right amount of butter on it. There was also a side of green beans and for dessert, a slice of chocolate cake. It was perhaps the best meal I had in my entire life, and I made sure to tell Walter so.
"Only the best," he repeated, smiling at me. We took a walk around the entire Garden. Again there were no words passed between us, but I didn't mind. I was happy simply being with him. The evening unfortunately had to conclude. Walter brought me to the door of my room. I was reluctant to leave so soon and he apparently shared the same sentiment. He held me in his arms, his beautiful gray orbs gazing at me with affection. To my great surprise he drew close to me and kissed me on the lips. I had never been kissed before in my entire life. It was indescribable. A great warmth passed through me and I felt so happy and safe that I never wanted it to end. But it did.
"Walter," I whispered, rubbing my nose on his cheek. It no longer seemed strange for me to call him by his first name. He pulled away and stared at me as if he couldn't quite believe what he had just done. He wasn't more than a few inches away and already I was starting to miss the warmth of his body. As if he too felt lonely for me, he drew me close to him once again. Our lips met and this time I tried to hold the embrace as long as I could. My common sense cruelly took over and forced me to break away. It was now my turn to tear away from him. He gave me an inquisitive glance. "Forgive me, but I must retire," I said breathlessly.
"Very well. Sweet dreams, sweetest Oonagh." He turned and walked to his own room, turning back to observe me now and again. I waited until he was out of sight before I went into the room. I kicked off my shoes and fell into bed. I didn't know whether to laugh or sing or dance. My happiness was too great to express. I began to feel giggles wanting to escape. I sunk onto my bed and buried my face in the sheets so the laughter would be muffled. After a while I fell asleep.
*
Throughout Oonagh's narrative I listened politely and didn't interrupt her once. That's really something for me! I could understand now why she hadn't told me about this earlier. I reasoned that I would've done the exact same thing as her if Irvine and I had a date like that. Of course Irvine and I would never have a date like that, and that was a good thing. I'd rather have fun with him than a candlelit dinner. He probably wasn't a good cook, either.
"He kissed you?" I shrieked. "Twice?"
"Yes."
"Wow! I never knew he had it in him!" I grinned playfully. "Walter's a nice guy for you. Do I get to dance with him at the Festival?" Oonagh pretended to give the prospect a great deal of consideration.
"I suppose that would be all right, as long as I get to dance with Irvine."
"Sure, no prob!" I hopped to my feet. "Well, thanks for telling me. I'm glad you two had a good time."
"Yes, so am I."
"Speaking of the Festival…," I began thoughtfully. "I'm going to check out my closet. It's been so long since I've had to wear anything other than my SeeD uniform that I'm not even sure if I own any other clothes!" Oonagh chuckled and slipped into her room to change into her school uniform.
"You have that yellow dress, remember?"
"Yeah, but that's not something you wear to a dance!" I retorted. I opened my closet and began picking out all my clothes in search of a good dress. I could hear Oonagh getting dressed. I wondered if she would wear that white dress to the Festival. It reminded me of the one Rinoa was wearing when she first came to the Garden. Only Oonagh's had silver straps, and it was white. As I shifted through my dresses I began to panic. I couldn't wear any of these to the Festival! Most of them were every day sort of dresses.
"Have you found anything good, Miss Petite?" Oonagh asked, stepping into my private room. I flung the last article of clothing out of my closet in exasperation. None of those would do for a Festival dress. I glared at my selection angrily.
"I need a new dress!" I declared.
"Sounds like a shopping spree is in order," Oonagh smiled. So I would get my girl's night out after all. How convenient. With help from my friends, I would be dancing in style. Wait a second. Dancing… Oh, crap.
"AAAH! Oh, no!"
"What's wrong now?" Oonagh frowned.
"I just realized something!" I paused, my face scrunched up in sorrow. "I don't know how to dance!" Oonagh chuckled politely.
"I don't mean to laugh, Miss Petite, but it's kind of funny. Squall doesn't know how to dance, either. It's not a big deal."
"It's a big deal with me because me and Nida are going to do a solo dance with our partners!" I told her. "We had it all planned out."
"But if you don't know how to dance, why did you…?"
"I didn't think!" I cried. "And now I'm going to humiliate myself in front of the whole Garden!" I had been so happy and now I was miserable. All those dances I promised people. I'm going to make such a fool out of myself. Oonagh quietly pondered my predicament.
"I can't think in this confined space. Let's go in the cafeteria." I agreed and we set out to the eating area. Oonagh paused at one of the tables, probably the one she and Walter had eaten at the night before. She ran her fingers over the table with a smile on her lips. We ordered breakfast and took a seat. I just couldn't eat. I put my head on the table. I felt like I was going to cry. "Cheer up, Miss Petite. I know how to dance, so maybe…" She trailed off; I wondered what had distracted her.
"What's wrong now, Selphie?" Zell's familiar voice broke through my thoughts. I put my head up and smiled sadly at the jovial fighter.
"I'm going to make an idiot out of myself at the Festival."
"How come?" he asked.
"Because I don't know how to dance." There was a slight pause as he absorbed this information. His grin grew wider.
"I could teach you!" I gasped and leapt to my feet.
"Would you, Zell?" Wait, I didn't know Zell knew how to dance…
"Sure thing. I could even teach you this afternoon if you want."
"Sorry, girl's night out," Oonagh informed him. This didn't diminish the grin on his face. I wondered if his cheeks hurt him from all the grinning he did. I guess Oonagh knew. Jeez, why doesn't anyone tell me anything?
"Hey, Oonagh," he greeted softly. He turned his attention back over to me. "Okay. Tomorrow then. Is that fine with you, Selphie?"
"Sure, okay!" I nodded.
"Miss Petite, we'd best meet with the other girls to make sure they're free for tonight," Oonagh suggested.
"Okay," I nodded. I waved to Zell. "See you tomorrow!"
"Come after lunch. By then I'll have everything set up." I smiled and saluted.
"You got it." Oonagh and I made our way out of the cafeteria.
"That Zell," Oonagh sighed, shaking her head. "He never changes."
"Yeah. That's what's so great about him!"