Chapter 1: Love? Give me a break!
"There you are!" a familiar voice exclaimed behind Carole.
She turned around and her anger vanished temporarily when she caught sight of her best friend coming her way.
"Hi, Audrey."
"Wow! Studying for your first test?! I never saw you studying for anything before!"
"Whatever… shit! Don't tell me I'm beginning to speak like him?!" she whispered. "Anyway what did you want?"
The light browned haired girl sat beside her friend. Carole really felt sorry her friend couldn't enter in SeeD yet. She had everything needed except she had to lose some weight. Then she would be able to become a student. Meanwhile, she was authorised to stay in Garden and she was just wearing her usual clothes. She was training herself too and doing little jobs to make herself useful.
"Have you joined any fan club yet?"
Carole arched an eyebrow.
"Fan club?"
"Yeah, for the greatest students of this Garden!"
[If my friend was reading this, she would probably say: "Hey! How come I'm so good speaking english?" It's my story, Audrey so everybody do what I want, hahahaha!]
"Such as?" Carole asked.
"Well I started a fan club for Seifer Almasy," she said with shining eyes. "I'm still the only member. Wanna join in?"
"Seifer? Nah, he's too proud of himself even if he was kind to me."
"Zell, then? Your sister is already in, She started it in fact."
[I can hear my sister screaming: "Hey! I don't wanna be in this story!" She doesn't like the game.]
"Pff! Forget it! Zell is quite funny but not enough serious for my taste. Just Rachel's type."
"Quistis?"
"The Trepies make me crazy. Plus, she's not that cool."
"Selphie?"
"Not serious either, no way."
"Irvine?"
"Ha! The cowboy! He would flirt with anything that got two long and pale legs with a girl on top of them!"
"What about Squall? He always was your favourite before we moved here. There is no fan club for him but you could start your own."
"Squall? Give me a break! He's such a pain! He's so cold…and, and mean, and selfish!"
"My! You sure have changed, my friend. You were always saying he was the coolest when we were hearing about him."
"Yeah, that's what I should have kept doing: hear about him. He's good looking in person but he is so…"
She was unable to find the words. Audrey bent over with a mocking smile.
"You love him…"
"What?! Come on, get real! How could I possibly love such a…"
She was interrupted by voices all around the cafeteria.
"Look, here she comes!"
"She's so great!"
"Look at those hair!"
"She's so sexy!"
Carole took her forehead in her hand and put her elbow on the table, not daring to look around.
"No, don't tell me: Rachel?"
"Yup! With all her fan club close behind!"
Carole looked at the entrance and saw her two years younger sister entering the cafeteria with lots of guys and girls following her in admiration. The girl had long auburn hair and brown eyes. Carole sighed an envying way. She was much more beautiful than her but she didn't really care. She was glad not being so popular so her privacy could be kept.
Audrey turned back to her friend to get back into the initial subject.
"If you don't love him, tell me I'm wrong when I say he ate and studied with you."
"How do you know?"
"I saw him coming out looking pretty mad and there's an empty plate there except for yours. Unless you sit on two seats in the same time, I don't know…"
"Seriously, leave me alone. I'll see all of you later," Rachel's voice spoke to her fan club.
The groupies reluctantly left while she came and sat in front of Audrey, leaving Squall's empty seat just as empty as he left it.
"Hi, guys!" Rachel said with a sigh. "You never guessed: I started a fan club for Zell and I end up having one myself! Wanna join, Carole?"
She didn't saw Audrey quickly shaking her head to tell her not to talk about that.
"Which one? Yours or Zell's?" Carole asked in a sarcastic tone.
Rachel frowned seeing her sister was upset.
"What's wrong?"
"Unrequited love," Audrey answered.
"What the hell are you talking about? I'm not in love, I'm angry!"
"Angry because the guy you like doesn't like you back?" Rachel asked.
Carole got up burning in rage.
"I don't love him! He pisses me off and he's a pain in the ass! Since I got no more classes, I'll go to the junk shop in Balamb and see if my gunblade's ready! Bye!"
She left fuming. Rachel turned to Audrey with wide eyes.
"What's wrong with her?"
"Squall got on her nerves."
"Squall? She should give him a chance, he was dumped only a week ago."
"You heard about it?"
"Gossips are my speciality. Now to forget about her, he's always either training or studying."
"Maybe that's why he helped Carole. Heard any more gossips about them?"
"Whenever they are together, they are arguing."
"Why don't you tell me something I don't know?"
Rachel raised her arms in a shrug with a sorry face.
"Nothing else for now."
"Rachel! Wanna play?" a young boyish voice called.
"Here come the junior classmen," Audrey said.
An eleven years old boy with short brown hair wearing glasses on brown eyes joined them followed by a shorter nine years old blond boy with blue eyes.
"Not fair, Robert!" the blond complaint. "You cheated!"
"No, I didn't! Rachel, wanna play?"
"Play what?"
"Triple Triad!" he exclaimed proudly showing a dozen cards.
"Wow! You gotta lot of them!" Audrey exclaimed in admiration.
"That's not even all of them!"
Rachel shook her head.
"I don't get much of the rules. Find someone else."
"Come on!" he pleaded. "Let's just play open with trade rule one then."
"Just open? Ok then."
She looked at the table to clear it.
"Oh, shit! Carole forgot her books!"
Audrey took them.
"I'll go give them to her."
She left while Rachel took the empty plates and forks on the counter and sat in front of her four years younger brother. The blond sat next to them.
"I may not be a great player like you but still got good cards," she said picking up her cards.
"Maybe…"
They both had five cards in their hands and put them on the table for the other to see. Rachel widened her eyes in disbelief.
"No way! You got Zell's card!"
"Heh, heh… I challenged his mother the day I had ten cards and I won!"
"I'm sure you cheated again," the blond said sulking.
"No, I didn't! I'm good and you're not, that's all."
Rachel was to start.
"I must have that Zell card! As the leader of Zell's fan club, I must have it!"
"Keep dreaming!"
Five minutes later, Robert was proudly holding Ifrit's card."
"Yeah! A GF!"
"No way! It was my strongest card!"
She was very sad and Robert decided to be kind.
"Here, I feel generous."
He handed her Zell's card.
"What? You're giving it to me?"
"Let's say it's a trade: Ifrit for Zell. Unlike me, I know you're not gonna use it in games."
Rachel got up and gave her brother a tight hug.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!!"
"Hey, you're welcome. I didn't have any GF yet so I'm happy."
Rachel got up and left the cafeteria with a big smile on her face, holding Zell's card on her heart.
"She's such a kid," Robert said looking at her.
"Wait until I get other cards!" the blond threatened. "I'll have my revenge!"
"Keep dreaming, Pierre."