Nida's Journal Part VIII:

Forgetting things.

7.15 am. Woke up to find frantic banging on door. Groggily tried to make my way to the door with crystalline things still in eyes. Person at door was saying muffled thingy.

"Dude! Open up! Open up!"

I sleepily leaned at the door. Looking through the peephole with one veiny eye, I mumbled, "Who is it?"

"Zell! Open up!!!!!" he said.

With an 'ugh', I opened the door… and found a very happy Zell hopping around in his usual shrunk bellbottoms, red-and-black sneakers, and, for some strange reason, a yellow shirt.

"Dude, nice pajamas!" he said, eyeing my blue rocket ship pajamas. (Dang it! I'll make it a necessity to wear bath robe next time.)

"Yeah. Nice shirt." I muttered sarcastically back.

"Really? I thought it made me look fat, you know? Cuz, it's bright, and all… I look like a bloated Pikachu! But Selphie gave it to me, and it seems rude to, you know, not wear it, and…"

"Enough about the shirt… what brings you here?"

He finally stopped hopping and made a funny pose.

"He-ey! Don't tell me you forgot that tonight, we're gonna ROCK the… uh… QUAD!!!" he said, air-guitaring like an idiot. (Mornings nowadays don't work for me)

"The Quad?" I rubbed my forehead. Can't remember a hyne-forsaken thing.

Zell looked at me unbelievably. "Uh, you still there, Nida? Remember the band thing? You know? We had to dress like ninjas and stalk the other guys to have a better chance of winning!!!!"

Ninjas? Bands?

"What are you talking about?"

Zell held his head as if it was about to explode, or something, while screaming, "NOOOO!!!!" He then shook my shoulders frantically. "N-nida?! Don't tell me you don't remember anything about this week?!"

Hmm… come to think of it…

"Uh…"

"Tell me you're kidding, man!!!! Tell me you're yoost yolking!!!!" he said.

Yoost yolking?

"… huh? Yoost yolking?"

"… I mean, just joking!!!!" he contorted his tongue in ways no person can understand.

I rubbed my head. "… No, I don't think I'm joking…" I said, slowly.

…. Oh no! NOTHING HAPPENED THIS WEEK?!

"… Wait a sec, Zell, I have to check up on something…" I muttered before slamming the door.

Only, I wasn't talking to anybody by that time. Zell zoomed away frantically.

7.30 am. I checked up on the previous pages of this journal. Things about me ranting about Ellone and cards and bands and keyboards and idiot neighbors and Xu?! What the heck?!

Why can't I remember anything about any of these?! (Hmm… it's amazing how I can write as I think… Good thing I took Stenography during my sophomore days…)

Damn. Damn. I'm practically picking out every strand of hair on my head. It was like a horrible liquid was injected inside my brain, gradually killing and disintegrating a little bit of my memories…

7.31 am. Must not panic. Must not panic. Must be a logical answer to all of these… Yah. I'm cool. Collected. Not gonna snap or anything… yeah. Cool.

7.32 am. GYANCK! …. Oh, it's only the door.

T'was Squall. I hope. I think he was the only one I know who has the guts to show of his figure with leather pants.

"Nida," Goody. He acknowledged my presence. "Zell tells me you lost your memory about… uh… whatever he thinks you forgot."

"Yeah. Or maybe this is just a bad dream," I thought.

"Uh… he did?" I replied lamely. He nodded. I s'posed he waited for my answer, so I did answer.

"Uh… Whatever weird thing happened to me… might have something to do with the ninjas." Urk. That's it, no more ad-libbing for me.

Squall raised an eyebrow at this. "Uh… we were the ninjas, Nida."

Me? A ninja, throwing daggers and the like? Cool.

A blurry image of a ninja being stung by a mosquito while tied to a tree suddenly appeared in my head.

"… was someone tied to a tree while being stung by a bug?" I asked.

Squall made a face. "Uh… that was you, Nida. Remember?"

Dangit. I had to remember that I was the loser.

"Do you remember anything else, now?" he asked.

"No." I said. Though I also remembered falling off a tree.

Squall held his forehead. "Ugh. They must have done something to you. Better take you to the infirmary." He said. I almost went out of the room to follow him, but stopped when he said, "and get out of that absurd get-up." I made a disgruntled sound before I went into my room and changed into my casual clothes, and out of my rocket ship pajamas.

8.20 am. In the infirmary, watching a volunteer tie up a junior classman's broken finger. Dr. Kadowaki had just finished torturing me, but is all over now…Wonder what's wrong with me. Squall and Zell are were, too. Along with the junior classmen, they were watching me like I was some sort of experimental guinea pig. Here was the horrible scenario all over again:

"Hmm…" the doctor said, before slapping violently at my wrist. "Ow!" I whined. The kids giggled.

"Yes, good. Not numb." Dr. Kadowaki said, while writing an un-understandable scrawl in her notebook.

"So, Doctor, like, what's wrong with him?" Zell asked.

"… Might be an artificial toxin injected in his brain, but I have to make sure. NURSE!" she bellowed.

A redhead came towards us. She didn't wear those white plunging nurse suits, thankfully, but Squall reacted somewhat weirdly upon seeing her.

"Ma'am, the name's Chesca, remember? I'm just a volunteer." She said.

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Please get a syringe. We're going to have a blood test."

Wh-WHAT?! BLOOD TEST?!

'Chesca' nodded, then went to the stock to go get the needles. Brrr, needles. Can't stand them. Even the junior classmen knew how needles felt, on account of the "OOOH!!!" they gave when the doctor mentioned 'blood test'.

As I panicked about being pierced with stuff to get my blood, Zell nudged Squall and whispered (but loud enough for me to hear), "Dude, isn't she the…?"

Squall kicked Zell's shin, which sent the latter to hop on one foot. (I'm makin' it a point to improve my grammar! Instructor Trepe would have a cow if I don't)

The redhead came back. Dr. Kadowaki got a cotton ball, soaked it in alcohol, and reached for my arm. She rubbed the veiny part with it.

"Don't worry, Noel, this won't hurt one bit…" I can see the point of the needle glint evilly at me. I started to blabber. The kids laughed at me again.

"Ma'am, I think his name is Nida…" Chesca said, while handing her the syringe.

"… Yeah. Okay, Nida…" she noticed me stuttering like a stuttering person about to be injected. "… And stop stuttering, boy! This would just feel like an ant bite!"

"U-uh…. Isn't there another way?!" I said, just barely avoiding the needle. Dr. Kadowaki was annoyed.

She puffed up her cheeks, but she calmed down. She then smiled at me. "Oh, as a matter of fact, Nido, there is!" Ugh. Hate it when people forget my name. Who doesn't? "Oh-key dokey. Ready?"

Ready? Ready for what?

"OH my God!!! What's that over there?!" she said. Like an idiot, I spun and said, "Where?!"

She stung me with the needle, that she did. What an idiot I am. (… note to self, not over-use the word 'idiot') 

I screamed, "_________!" (that being a silent scream, not a cuss word, like $^%@#!!!)

Squall flinched. Zell was still looking at where I was supposed to look, saying, "Where? Where? I don't see anything…" Chesca wore this weird look. And the kids looked away. 

Dr, Kadowaki smiled. "Okay, it's done, boy. We'll just drop this here blood on that computer-thingy and in a few seconds, we'll find out what's swimming in your brain." Oh, joy.

Squall frowned. "Dr, I didn't know that Cid allowed that kind of technology in here…" Dr. Kadowaki just shrugged.

"Dude!? Where's the thing?! I don't see anything…" Zell whined. What an idiot…. Er… Moron. The kids slapped their foreheads. In unison. Creepy.

Everyone sighed. "Zell, there's nothing in there," said Chesca. Wonder how she got to know them. Squall frowned even more. Zell scratched his head. "Okay… if you say so…"

"Okay…" Dr. Kadowaki said, getting our attention. "Well, apparently, Nida's problem is in his brain." Squall asked, "Whatever do you mean?" Dr. Kadowaki approached me.

"Well, boy… how am I supposed to say this to you…"

"Wha-what?! What's wrong with me, doc?"  Panic. Panic. Panic all over again.

"Well, it seems that you have…" Everyone held their breaths. Or at least, I held mine. Actually, the others seemed pretty calm. "ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE!!!"

Hearing this, I fainted instantly. Dang it.  

***

"Nida? Nida?" am I dead?

Apparently, not. Somebody punched my stung arm.

"OW!!!"

"Goody, he's alive, man!!!" Zell. Typical of him to punch dying people's arms.

I opened my eyes. Blurry. Then, was all clear when someone sprinkled my face with water.

Saw Squall, Zell, Quistis, Selphie, Xu and Chesca gathered around me, like a family does when kid bought a new guinea pig, and all's fascinated by the rodent.

 "Are you okay? Your eyes were moving, like, in a creepy way when you were asleep!" said Selphie.

"Selphie, that just means he was dreaming of something vivid. Right?" Quistis smiled at me.

"Yeah, I guess…" I muttered. Actually, I didn't dream about anything. Must be a side effect of Alzheimer's.

….. OH NO!!!!!!

Chesca smiled reassuringly at me. "Okay, just to tell you, the doctor was just joking about the Alzheimer thing. She scares more people that way. A weird hobby of hers, really." Really? Swish.

"Doc was yoost yolking?" Zell said. Everyone looked at him weirdly. "… I… I mean, just joking? Hehehehe…" Hmm… a pondering session is in order.

"So, what's wrong with him?" Xu asked.

"Only a touch of bitebug poison. Seems that it has weird effects on him. Maybe he's too sensitive. It makes him just temporarily forget certain happenings, whatsoever." Chesca explained.

I'm… too sensitive? Self esteem gauge lowered again. What a girly man I am. Sigh.

"Will it heal by itself? Or, does he need to be… uh… syringed again?" Selphie asked a bit too cheerfully. Wonder how she keeps being so sickeningly optimistic all the time.

"It will heal by itself, but it will be faster if he relaxes outdoors, for a day." Chesca said.

Squall nodded. "Okay, people, I think Nida needs some time here, right? Let's go…" he muttered, pushing people out of the room.

Quistis looked at him angrily. "Squall… just because she's…"

Squall stopped her. "No time for that, let's go!" He went out of the room. Xu was the last one to leave.

She looked back at me. "Okay, just get better, all right?" She patted my shoulder, then gave me a thumbs-up on the way out. Wired. I mean, weird.

Chesca, who was left behind to watch over me for a little while longer, shook her head. "Hmph. Squall still hasn't changed, apparently."

Hmm. Interesting. "Uh… so… what's with you or Squall? Is he your ex or something?" I asked.

She shook her head even more so. "Oh, no, no, no, no!!! Just that…" she smiled. "He lost to me."

"Lost to you? In what?"

"In Triple Triad." Oooh.

"… Elaborate," I asked her.

"Okay. He went to this weird quest, just to get me to fork over the Irvine card. During our last battle, he thought that I would, you know, use my pathetic cards, so he got 4 pathetic cards and his Squall card. Too bad, really." She laughed, "He lost. 6 to 4. So I did what any logical person would do. I took his Squall card. The one he got from the President of Esthar."

I flinched. "That has GOT to hurt!" I said. If I had a Nida card, I wouldn't use it, ever. Just show it off. Helps my ever-so-flattened ego.

"Yeah! You should have seen the look on his face… He challenged me again. This time using his Zell, Selphie and Seifer cards."

"And… he won, right?"

Chesca sighed. "Well, it wasn't his lucky day, so… he lost. By that time, all he could do was walk away angrily." Ooh. That has REALLY got to hurt.

"Oh… and what made him chase you, anyway? How would he know that the Irvine card was with you?"

"Oh. I'm The Queen of Cards, you know." She said, simply.

Oooooh. The Queen of Cards, huh?

"So… to change the subject… Are you gonna have your r & r outside? Or in here?"

"I guess outside, I need the break, anyway. We're in Balamb, right?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna go outside, too. Gonna visit my folks." She said. Hmm. A thought.

"Oh. Okay. Can I tag along with you? Maybe I can relax there, too."

She smiled. "I'd like that."

________________

END OF CHAPTER!

a/n: About time I continued this! My style may be a little bit rusty… hey, it's been months since I last typed the 7th chapter… Hope you people may still appreciate this!

The Queen of Cards, huh? Wonder what's gonna happen next. (Obviously, I don't know too.) So the aforementioned last two chapters may be extended to 5. Sob.