17: Excitement

IT'S FINALLY THE NIGHT OF THE FESTIVAL!!!!! I'm so excited about it! This is… just so cool! Okay, okay, I'm calm now. All of my girlfriends gathered an hour before I was to go and greet everyone at the ballroom entrance. We put on our dresses first and then waited for our hair to get fixed. Of course Rinoa was the one in charge of that. She would start with Quistis, then Oonagh, then Fujin, and save me for last. I didn't mind. I busied myself with watching her fix up the other girls.

Rinoa hummed something familiar (I think it was "Eyes on Me") as she combed out Quistis' hair. Rinoa had her hair in curlers. She looked very strange that way. Oonagh was busy putting on makeup. Only myself and Fujin were unoccupied. The pale girl sat with her hands clasped in her lap, calmly waiting her turn to be fixed up. She was wearing Oonagh's black gloves with her black dress. She still had on that patch, but I didn't say anything about it. She could wear that if she wanted to. Besides, she would look strange without it. I hovered behind her and studied her figure.

"Fuj, there's something wrong."

"What?"

"You need a necklace," I decided. We were all in mine and Oonagh's dorm, so I only had a short distance to go to rummage through my jewelry. I found a silver necklace and came back. "Here," I said, handing her the necklace. "I want you to try this on." She obediently took it from me and put it around her neck.

"Is that better?" I tilted my head and gave her a critical look.

"I like it, but we'll have to ask Rinoa for her opinion." I went into Oonagh's room (the makeshift beauty parlor) to check on Rinoa's progress. She had pulled Quistis' two locks away from her face and allowed the rest of it to fall to Quistis' shoulders. Oonagh was now getting her hair fixed.

"Selphie, come here," Quistis requested. I drew closer. "Tell me the truth: does my hair look nice?"

"It's perfect, Quisty!" She smiled a little. "Hey, I just gave Fujin a necklace. Will you go look at it and see if it's all right? I would ask Rinoa, but she looks a little busy." Quistis sighed and got to her feet. "Thank you!" I hugged her tightly.

"Selphie…"

"Just so you know, I'm going to steal your date!"

"Please try and act ladylike." I curtseyed like a perfect lady. Quistis was smiling at me. "Besides, I was planning to steal your date as well." I stared at her in surprise. I got out of my shock and slapped her playfully on the shoulder.

"Quisty, you go, girl!" She blushed and shook her head to hide it. She cleared her throat and politely pushed me out of the way. I knew she was escaping the subject but I didn't mind very much. I took her seat and waited my turn.

"What are you up to, Miss Petite?" Oonagh demanded.

"Nothin'!" I insisted.

"I'll be with you in a minute, Selphie," Rinoa assured me. Her nimble fingers went up to her own hair and took out the curlers. A few got tangled in her hair. "Help me out, someone!" Oonagh and I released the curlers from her hair, stifling our giggles. "Hey, quit laughing, you two!"

"Forgive me, Rinoa. I only act this way because of Selphie," Oonagh defended. I stuck my tongue out at her.

"You're such a traitor!" She winked at me.

"Selphie, sit down," Rinoa ordered, pointing to the chair before her.

"Am I done?" Oonagh asked. Rinoa had braided her hair in a single braid and tied a green ribbon at the end.

"You're done," Rinoa answered. I hopped down to the chair. I felt Rinoa brushing my hair. I have short hair, so it didn't take her long to brush it.

"What're you going to do?"

"Silly Selphie! I can't tell you that!" I was forced to wait for her to finish her work.

"Hey, wasn't Fujin supposed to go before me?"

"She didn't want me to do anything," Rinoa shrugged. Her hands were putting my hair up to the top of my head. Oonagh was watching the process.

"What's she doing, Oonagh?" I asked.

"You'll be fine. It looks great."

"That's not what I asked!" She chuckled quietly. Rinoa patted me on the shoulders.

"You're done!"

"Woo-hoo!" I leapt up and rushed to the nearest mirror. All of my hair had been clumped on the top of my head. Pins held it in place. Having my hair away from my face gave me a whole new look. I barely recognized myself.

"See?" Oonagh whispered, resting her head on my shoulder. "I told you so."

"Yeah, yeah. What time is it?" I glanced at Oonagh's clock.

6: 45 PM

"Whoa! I've got fifteen minutes to finish getting ready! Quisty, you have to be ready too."

"I'm ready now," she stated. I gave her a skeptical look.

"I don't think so! You're not going anywhere without putting on some makeup!"

"Oh, please, no!"

"Yes, yes, yes!" I nodded. "It'll just be lipstick, I promise."

"All right," she sighed. "But just lipstick." I cheerfully applied the makeup and then started on myself. Rinoa also touched up her features. Fujin was the only one that looked the same.

"Come on, Fuj!" I urged. Her lips curled in a smile.

"Sorry, but I would rather stay the way I am."

"Fine, be that way."

"Do I look okay?" Rinoa asked. A single lock of hair framed her face. The rest of it had been pulled back and held in place by a red clasp to match her dress.

"Definitely," Quistis nodded. Oonagh and I added our agreement. Fujin merely smiled. There was a knock at our door. We all froze.

"Answer it, Rinoa!" I hissed. She sighed and went to the door. There was a pause. Oonagh, Quistis, and I held our breaths. Fujin watched with a mixture of confusion and amusement on her face.

"It's just Squall, guys!" Rinoa assured us. We all poked our heads out. Indeed, Squall was standing in the doorway. He looked handsome in a way, I guess. He had on a black suit with a dark red tie. I had a feeling Rinoa had told him what color her dress was. He nodded to us, then eyed Rinoa curiously.

" 'Just Squall'?" She smiled sheepishly. He smiled too, a little. "Rinoa, you look beautiful."

"Why, thank you!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. You know, Squall's changed a lot since he and Rinoa became a couple, I realized. He would never have let anyone do that to him before. He pushed her back and observed us.

"Instructor, nice to see you."

"Always a pleasure, Squall," Quistis replied. The corners of her lips were twitching.

"Uh… is that… Selphie with you?"

"Yep!" I chirped.

"And that other girl?"

"Oonagh," she answered.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"That's all right."

"Well, don't just sit there!" I shouted. "You two go on! Our dates will be here soon!" They gladly did as I bade them without a single word of protest. The rest of us tried to calm down from that "excitement". A few minutes passed by before another knock came to the door. "Answer it, Quistis!"

"Oh, for goodness sake!" She got up and went to the door. I couldn't help but take a peek. It was Walter. He, like Squall, had on a black suit. But he had a dark green shirt underneath, and was wearing a gold tie. He smiled and bowed to Quistis.

"Good evening, Instructor Trepe." Oonagh made a strange sound in her throat and grabbed my arm. She knew that voice.

"Good evening, Instructor Oren," she replied.

"Is… Oonagh here?"

"Walter!" I cried, running out and attacking him with a hug. He laughed and pushed me away. His gray eyes were shining.

"The voice and actions belong to Selphie, but I fear the face does not."

"Rinoa fixed up my hair," I told him. Oonagh came out of her room. Walter gathered her into his arms and gently kissed her forehead. I pushed past them to see if anyone else was out there. Nida was standing a ways from the door. He had on a light brown suit. I had to admit that he looked handsome. I hissed his name.

"Selphie?" he awed.

"It's me," I confirmed. "Come on in." He did so, and blushed when he saw Quistis. Walter and Oonagh were holding hands and smiling. "Hey!" I shouted. "Look who I found!" I presented Nida proudly.

"Nida, there you are," Walter smiled. Nida smiled and shrugged modestly. "Instructor Trepe, I believe this is your escort?"

"Yes, he is." She held out her hand and after a moment's pause, Nida received her. I hopelessly stared at the two couples.

"Would you like it if I waited for you?" asked Nida.

"No, thanks," I smiled. "I'm fine with Fujin."

"Very well." He bowed to me and together he and Quistis exited.

"See you there," Oonagh waved, and she and Walter set out. It was just me and Fujin now. We exchanged a smile. Another two or three minutes passed before there was another knock on the door.

"Answer it, Selphie," Fujin stated. I grinned at her and opened the door. Irvine was standing on the other side. He wore a brown suit like Nida, only he still had his black fedora on his head. He took it off and bowed politely.

"Good evening, ma'am. Is Selphie here?" he asked.

"You know it's me, you goof!" I giggled. He grinned and held out his arm.

"Shall we be off?"

"Oh, wait a second." I turned to Fujin. "Hey! Are you coming with us?"

"I'm going to meet Raijin and Seifer," she answered. "Don't worry about me. You two just go on."

"All right." I gave Irvine my arm and we left Fujin. We came to the ballroom, no longer blocked off with crepe paper. I had a feeling that this was going to be a night to remember.

Author's note: I didn't mean to forget about Irvine. He just didn't play a major role in the last four chapters. Sorry about that, Irvy!