On returning to Garden, Seifer headed towards Zell's room to tell him about the exam. Selphie and Squall headed to their respective rooms -- located across the hall from each other -- to shower and change clothes before joining the group in Zell's room for war-stories and pizza. Outside the door to his room, Squall stopped and turned to Selphie, in the process of unlocking her room while singing at the top of her lungs.
"Selphie," Squall said, "you did a good job with that cannon back there. We all owe you."
"Thanks!" she exclaimed, grinning at Squall and winking, "You didn't do too badly yourself, hotshot." Squall smiled gently back at her.
Inside his room, Squall's answering machine indicated that he had several messages. First, a reminder notice about the annual SeeD Ball, the welcoming celebration for the new recruits. The second, a long, tedious message from Cid, reminding Squall to contact the Adjudication Committee regarding the exam. Third, a quick note from Rinoa.
"Hi, Squall...? It's me. I guess you're out doing the field exam thing. Listen, I know how important the whole SeeD Ball is and everything, but a thing came up with my father. I have to hop a train back to Deling City to deal with it, so... umm... I'll be in touch. Okay, hon? Sorry again. Love you!"
Squall removed his uniform jacket and fell backwards on the bed. In its way, he considered the ball important. Squall and Rinoa first met at the SeeD Ball on the night of his inauguration, so every year, the dance served as an informal anniversary.
Still, Squall reasoned, Rinoa's love for sentiment ran deep, and she wouldn't have left without a good reason. Attending to the complex relationship with her father fell under the rubric of "a good reason." Besides, her train had already departed, so he couldn't even talk her out of it in the first place. Without giving it further thought, he stood up and turned on the speakerphone, placing a call to the committee.
* *
Seifer swung the door to Zell's room open to find Zell sitting cross-legged on the floor, finishing the last in a large pile of hot dogs, their wrappers strewn everywhere.
He jumped up, exclaiming something vaguely recognizable as the word, "Seifer," crossed the room in a few eager strides, and bounded into Seifer's arms.
"Let me guess," Zell said, wrapping his arms around Seifer's neck, and kissing him on the cheek, "having recently conquered the Centra continent, you've come here to throw me on the bed and have your way with me." Zell made no effort to disguise the note of hope in his voice.
"Almost, but not quite," Seifer said, abruptly pushing Zell onto his bed and stretching out in a chair, yawning. Zell sat upright in his bed, lower lip quivering in a parody of concern.
"What, don't you find me desirable any more?" Zell sounded on the verge of tears.
"Two things, Dincht. One: I'm as tired as hell after that exam. And, two: your breath positively reeks of hot dogs."
Zell's eyes widened in mock-terror. "Don't ask me to choose between the hot dogs and you. You know I couldn't handle that kind of pressure." Seifer tilted his head back and laughed.
* *
After concluding his report, Squall took a fast shower, alternating between hot and cold water, pushing the limits of his tolerance at each end. The contrast reawakened his senses and invigorated him. As he finished dressing, he heard a distinct knock -- the sound of small fists banging in rapid succession on the door. This indicated that Selphie stood outside, ready and waiting to go.
Squall opened the door and, without missing a beat in the song she was singing, Selphie pulled him into the hallway and slammed him up against a wall. "Covering them" with the imaginary gun in her hands, Selphie closed the door to his room, and motioned him to follow. Squall sensed her relief at the successful – and safe – conclusion of the mission and checked the impulse to roll his eyes at her. She managed to keep the game up all the way to Zell's room, ducking around corners, returning fire at imaginary attackers, even somersaulting past a crowd of thoroughly confused junior cadets. By the time they arrived at Zell's door, Selphie's action scene reached a feverish pitch, involving airborne assault from several airships.
As Zell opened the door, Selphie darted around him, vaulted over the bed, hurled Seifer to the floor as if to cover him from fire and bounced back up to take aim at the invisible assassins standing behind the complacent Squall. Thoroughly used to Selphie, no one so much as batted an eye.
"Glad you two made it safely," Zell said, "seeing as how the hallway is so fraught with peril."
"Jerk," Selphie muttered, flopping into a chair.
"So, Selphie, where's your other half?" Seifer inquired, "Irvine too good to party with us?" A cloud crossed over her face for a brief moment, stunning in its contrast with her normal cheer.
"No, he thinks that this is a 'SeeDs only' thing. He's been pissy lately about not being a SeeD. He thinks he doesn't fit in because he's not 'one of us.' So, he's ditched me for the evening and gone to Balamb to get drunk. He's even standing me up for the dance."
"That's idiotic!" Seifer exclaimed. "We never would have gotten everyone out today if it hadn't been for him, right, Squall?" Everyone turned to Squall, whose expression remained inscrutable. He had retreated somewhere deep within himself, and his gray eyes had taken on the color of the sky during a thunderstorm, a sure sign of his deep thought.
"Anyway," Zell said, eager for a segue, "how did the exam go? I've been waiting to hear about it, but this loser," Zell pointed a thumb in Seifer's direction, "wanted to wait until you guys got here to talk about it."
At this, Selphie's eyes lit up again.
"It was so cool!" She exclaimed, launching into story with unmatched enthusiasm, even providing the sound effects when needed. Her version of the events, while accurate in the material facts, overplayed the visit with Laguna. In between slices of pizza, Selphie acted out the events of the field exam, dragging her unwitting friends into the demonstration with her.
"Damn. Now I wish I'd gone," Zell said as she finished her story. "Sounds like you guys got in some high-quality ass-kicking. How do you think it went, Squall?"
"Fine," Squall said, nodding, his mind still far away, "everything went just fine."
Seifer rolled his eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Squall. I'm sure the other candidates will be thrilled at your appraisal of their work."
"Oh my gosh! Squall! Look at the time!" Selphie exclaimed, running all her words together into one. "It's almost time for them to announce the results! We have to go!" Selphie leapt out of her seat and grabbed Squall by the hand, pulling him out of his chair and his reverie. As she pushed Squall out the door, Selphie turned to Seifer and winked.
"We'll see you in a few, Seifer. And I'm sure it'll be good news."
As they walked down the hallway, Selphie turned to Squall and asked, "So, what's wrong with you? You're awfully distant, even by your standards." Squall paused for a few second, considering his response.
"It's just that... well, I got a phone call from Rinoa. She's not going to the SeeD Ball. She said she had to go see her father."
"I get it. And you're sad because this is sort of like your anniversary."
"That's partly it. The other thing is that it's weird, what with the timing of Irvine's decision not to go and all."
"Oh, come on, Squall. Nothing's going on and we both know it. It's not like Rinoa and Irvine haven't had plenty of time to cheat on us if they really wanted to. You just worry too much, that's all!" Squall opened his mouth to protest, but before he could say anything, Selphie burst into another high-volume song, cutting off all argument.