Seifer stood in the lobby of Cid's office, waiting with the other cadets who'd passed the exam. They'd stood in the lobby, waiting for Cid, for a full thirty minutes. Seifer had spent many hours of his life in this lobby, waiting for an audience with the Headmaster, but he had never waited with such glee.
This time, he stood awaiting official inauguration into SeeD, an event he'd anticipated most of his life. After many years of dashed hopes, he felt somewhat taken aback when the instructor called out his name as one of the four passing cadets. In the end, Seifer passed, as did two students from Selphie's squadron, and one person from D squadron he didn't even recognize. Seifer didn't come back to reality until he heard Selphie's whoop of joy.
The elevator chimed and its glass doors slid open. The high-pitched sound served as a signal for the cadets to snap to attention. Cid and Squall stepped off, cutting a path through the lobby and directly to Cid's office. The Headmaster had his nose buried in a report and didn't notice the cadets waiting to see him.
"Sir?" Squall asked from the doorway, trying to point out the cadets to Cid.
"Oh, yes," he replied, stepping back towards the door. "Good work, everyone." He glanced up long enough to confirm the presence of four live bodies before grabbing Squall's arm and guiding him into the office. The doors closed behind them, leaving the puzzled cadets to stare at each other in bewilderment. After a few minutes, they opened again, and Squall exited.
"Normally, the Headmaster would conduct the inauguration, but he's busy at the moment. So, congratulations to all of you." He started passing out the scoring sheets from the field exam. "If you have any questions about your grade, please consult your instructors. Dismissed."
Squall stood at attention and saluted the cadets, and they responded in kind. The other three turned to the elevator, while Seifer stood and faced Squall. Seifer didn't speak until he heard the doors close behind him.
"What the hell was that?" he snapped, looking at Squall with fire in his eyes.
"I'm sorry?" Squall replied.
"That thing. With Cid. Just now. Has he always treated the new recruits like this? Or am I just special? He couldn't bear to admit that I passed the exam, could he?"
The elevator chimed and Squall turned, crossing the lobby. He held the elevator door open as he waited for Seifer. Once Seifer entered, Squall pressed the button for the second floor. Squall looked out over the concourse, until Seifer's arm reached out of its own accord and pressed the "Elevator Stop" button.
"Damn it, Squall! Just get this little game over with." Squall cocked his head, as though curious at Seifer's outburst.
"You're paranoid, Seifer. Cid's in the middle of some important business, and he's just distracted. Oh, and you haven't looked at your grade report yet."
Seifer glanced down at the grade report, wrinkled in his clenched fist. He smoothed the paper and looked over his scores.
What Seifer saw astounded him.
"These... these are my numbers?"
Squall nodded.
"I did this well?"
Squall nodded again, adding, "In fact, your overall score is in the top five in the history of Garden."
Seifer blinked several times in succession. Squall reached past Seifer and started the elevator again.
As Seifer stared at his file in amazement, the elevator reached the ground floor. Squall stepped around Seifer and patted him on the shoulder.
"Glad to have you aboard," Squall said.