It Could Be Worse (2nd Season)
Episode 13:
A Letter To You (Part II)
By Sulia Serafine
[A Protector of the Small fanfic set in an alternate universe; all credit goes to Tamora Pierce. I'm broke, so you can't sue me. Any other copyrighted things that don't belong to me in here in fact belong to other very businesslike people. Could you believe that? I guess that's why I'm broke.
BAD LANGUAGE (I. E. cursing, swearing…)! E-mail me at silverwlng@aol.com okay? And you know the drill: titles or subjects of emails are fanfiction.net, s.serafine, or icbw.
NEW! For those of you I left in the dark (so sorry, by the way), I have a new series: The Gift. It's the sequel to ICBW, but I'm running it parallel to its mother series so you, the wonderful reader, can get little tidbits of foreshadowing and the like. It only makes sense after you read episode 9 of season 2, so that's why I waited. For every three episodes of ICBW, an episode of The Gift will come out, so have fun reading! EPISODE 2 IS NOW POSTED!
I'm still accepting people into the mailing list. That means you'll be told when the next episode is posted, as well as other tidbits of information about the series whenever I put them online. ALSO: Every now and then, as a pledge, I'll send everyone bonus material, such as drawings of ICBW characters and little random facts about ICBW.
~~
"When did it happen?" Owen asked, his voice raspy.
"During the winter holiday. I'm told there weren't many casualties, since a majority were on vacation. The others who stayed, though…" Neal trailed off.
The two former Academy roommates were communicating via COMscreen. Owen was at the southernmost part of what geographers called the Roof of the World. He was normally not allowed such a luxury as real-time communication, but Neal had managed to pull some strings, considering the gravity of his news.
Neither one of them spoke it, but both were thinking about their Academy days. One of them always stayed behind during a vacation to keep company with Kel if she decided to stay and take more competency tests to skip courses. She was the reason they graduated so early. Those vacations had turned into study and cram sessions.
Owen wondered what would have happened if he and Kel were still at the Academy, staying behind on the winter holiday. They most certainly would have been killed.
The fire was said to have started at the dormitories, while the students were fast asleep. A few students on the ground floor were able to get out, but those in the floors above slept halfway through the fire alarm before getting up and realizing that their building was on fire. Tongues of fire had blocked the fire escapes and the stairway.
"Was it arson?" Owen asked.
Neal nodded. "That's everyone's first guess. There's no evidence to prove that it was an accidental fire, caused by some electrical shortage and sparks or… or a careless cigarette or stove. They're still sorting through the ruin."
"Will they rebuild?"
"Yes. Tortall is a major center of DJPF activity. It's the country's capital. They have to." He caught his lower lip between his teeth, thus expressing his uncertain and obviously hurt mood.
Owen rubbed his eyes. "Well, that's good. And I suppose everyone else will simply transfer to other minor Academies."
"Yeah."
They didn't say much after that. Owen wished Neal well and ordered him to send his greetings to the rest of the gang. Neal complied. The two said goodbye in lifeless voices and ended their COMscreen conversation.
~~
Dear Kel,
How are you doing, Tough Stuff? I called your place a few times, since I'm in range to use the COMscreen, but you weren't home. That's okay. I'll see you whenever I take my vacation.
Neal told me what happened to the Academy. I feel absolutely awful. After all, we spent some of the best years of our young lives there. I think I was twelve when I entered. I meant to finish my regular school courses there and move on to DJPF courses when I was seventeen. But then Neal and I met you. And you got us on the right track—the terribly fast one, too.
I'm pretty sure if it weren't for you, I would still be at the Academy, most likely in my final year of DJPF training. I was supposed to be an airport security guard, detecting bombs in packages and leading around a dog that sniffed for illegal drugs. But you… you made me do better things. And I'm very thankful.
And if weren't for you, Neal would have dropped out of the Academy and do who knows what! Do you remember how far behind he was compared to his peers because he'd stopped school for a long while to help his dad out at his small clinic? And then when Dr. Baird got a job at the DJPF Headquarters, Neal decided to finish school at the Academy and become some sort of traffic officer. I remember it like that. But you turned him around, too.
I miss those times. Have we grown up that much? We're finally at the stage of our lives when we pine for days gone by. I always thought that feeling would come to me when I was forty. And here it is all ready.
Well, I have to get going now. Take care and do call me. I'll be here at this outpost for about two weeks. My number's enclosed.
Love, Owen
~~
A little over six years previous…
"This is all your fault!" Neal growled. He punctuated his remark by hitting the ground with his plastic rake.
Owen rolled his eyes. "It is not."
"You just had to put it in your back pocket under your jacket, didn't you?"
"My front pockets would show even with my jacket on! I didn't have a choice!"
"Still!"
"Still? Still? My pants are never going to stop smelling like Twinkies because of you!"
In the middle of the night, Neal had decided to test their as yet undeveloped stealth skills to raid the spacious kitchen of the Tortall Academy. Each boy had taken as much food as possible under his clothing without looking too suspicious. The Academy had a rule that no food was allowed in the dormitories unless excused by a doctor.
And Neal's father, Dr. Baird Queenscove, refused to sign a note that said his son needed junk food as a matter of life and death.
They were almost back at the dormitory. Foolishly, they ran straight across the courtyard, where anyone could have seen them. And a certain someone did. The Headmaster, out on a leisurely stroll after a hard day of work, stopped them and asked them why they were out after curfew and running. He had commanded them to sit down and explain it to him.
Needless to say, Owen suddenly remembered the Twinkies in his rear pockets a little too late. The boy had leapt up at once, turning around and looking at his posterior. Headmaster Naxen had lifted up Owen's jacket and eyed the mess with distaste.
The two boys were busted. Big time. For their punishment, they'd been sentenced with courtyard detail and trash duty. A lot of their friends took this opportunity to be as sloppiest as could be during lunch.
"Hey, Neal, you missed a leaf!" a male cadet called. He was twenty-four years old and graduating soon, but he loved to mess with the lower classmen.
Neal leaned on his rake with his gloved hands, resting his cheek against the length of the handle. He crossed one ankle over the other in a casual pose. "You know, a week ago, all these people were worshipping us. A week ago… we practically ran this school! Upper classmen respected us, too! And now look at them!" He snorted and muttered, "Turning their backs on us so quickly."
Owen shrugged. "It's only temporary. And we did deserve it. We were caught." He paused. "I'm actually surprised the kitchen alarms didn't go off. Maybe they knew we were coming."
"Hopefully everyone will forget by next week and we can resume our rising through the ranks."
"What ranks? We're cadets," his companion said, actually raking the leaves while his friend rested. "Come on, Neal. Get back to work."
The taller boy snorted. "Work. I hate work. As soon as I finish my high school courses, I am out of here! No more combat training, no work detail, and no more DJPF!"
"Neal, don't start that again. Come on, man!" Owen pleaded. Other cadets loitering around the courtyard were staring. He didn't like to draw attention to himself, but with his roommate, such incidents occurred on a daily basis.
The two boys continued their task, although Neal did a less than thorough job. Luckily for them, it was Saturday and many cadets were spending their day in the city. By the time lunch was over, there was only one person left in the courtyard besides them.
Neal slung the heavy-duty trash bag over his shoulder. He shuffled over to the stone table where the young girl sat. His muscles were exhausted. The courtyard was as expansive as a football field. Walking over every inch and picking up trash made him sore in the mornings. When he reached the table, Neal plopped down onto the bench and set the trash bag by his foot.
The girl across from him was tall for her age, he observed, maybe already 5' 7". He wouldn't be able to tell until she stood. Her short light brown hair was cut even all around, with perfectly straight bangs like a curtain across her forehead. Neal inwardly cringed. She was about as new and green as they came.
"Are you done with this?" he asked bluntly, pointing to the remains of her lunch.
She looked up from the papers in her lap. Her face held no emotion, but her eyes reminded him of a stray pet that was desperately looking for its owner. The girl cleared her throat. "Yes." She added a "Thank you" when he opened up the trash bag and tossed it in. With a groan of effort, he got up from the table bench. The girl frowned. "Excuse me."
Neal turned around again. "Yeah?"
"Aren't you a cadet?" she asked in a bashful voice.
He looked down at himself. "Well, yeah, that's what the uniform means, right? Why?"
The girl's brow furrowed. "No one told me we had cleaning duties."
"This isn't duty. This is punishment." The older cadet chuckled.
Her eyes widened slightly, betraying her surprise. "What for?"
"Nothing you need to know. Let me guess, you're brand new here, hmm?"
She reluctantly nodded. "How could you tell?"
"Maybe the way you're staring at your schedule like they're your deportation papers. I don't know." He thought for a second, and then offered her his hand. "I'm Nealan Queenscove, but everyone calls me Neal."
"Keladry Mindelan. I'm fourteen," she said, taking his hand and giving it a firm shake that didn't match her timid voice. His eyebrows rose.
"Whoa. Nice grip. So, what, are you in ninth grade? Starting up high school and then moving on to the main attraction?"
Keladry blinked. "Um, no. I'm in twelfth. I was home schooled, and I earned enough credits to be placed in twelfth." She added. "I put in a request to take some more tests so I could already start my DJPF training."
Her new acquaintance immediately paled. Advanced placement tests? Aw man, she sounds like Stone… I'm glad that jerk finally graduated. "Well, good for you. I should all ready be graduated—I'm nineteen, you see—but for personal reasons, I'm in eleventh. So is Bonehead."
"Bonehead?"
"Oh yeah. Owen!" Neal yelled loudly across the courtyard. "Get over here!" He turned back to Keladry. "You'd like him. He's got a better head on his shoulders than I do, people say."
"Is he on punishment, too?" she asked.
"Yup. We're the rulers of this here institution and I'll be damned if we don't get in trouble during our reign." He flashed her a bright mischievous smile and waved to Owen as the other boy jogged to them with trash in hand.
Neal introduced Owen to Keladry. They also shook hands, this time, Keladry standing up to greet the fellow cadet. The oldest boy nudged his roommate in the side with his elbow. "Get this, dude. She's a grade above us and a year below you in age."
"Really? Wow, that's certainly something."
Keladry didn't know what to say. No one ever talked to her out of the blue before. She simply nodded. Owen snapped his fingers.
"Hey! She could tutor us for the upcoming test. Wouldn't that be jolly?"
Neal rubbed his chin, contemplating the suggestion. He grinned. "It sounds great. And in exchange, we can show her the ropes! What do you say, Keladry? Are you up for the challenge?"
Never having had friends outside her family, she was very eager to make friends. Of course, work would always come first, and if she had to, she would later isolate herself from human contact… but at the moment, so lost within a new place she'd never been before, friends were just what she needed. Even if she had to tutor them.
Owen took her schedule into his hands and examined it. "Let's see… you have the same lunch period as us. And you have Strategy with me… and Combat and Debate with Neal."
The other boy snorted. "I don't see the purpose to debate unless you plan on being a diplomat or a hostage negotiator."
"It has plenty of uses." His roommate wrinkled his nose. "It's too bad we're not in the same grade level, Kel. I'd help you settle in with your core classes."
"Thank you," she replied. "But I wouldn't want you to go to all the trouble."
He waved her off. "Nah, it's fine. Hey, as we said, you could help tutor us."
She nodded. "Maybe you'll be able to pass the advanced placement test and move into the twelfth grade with me."
Neal laughed. "Me? Pass an advanced placement test? Oh, no. You're crazy."
Kel tried not to look offended. Neither boy noticed. Neal and Owen gathered up their trash bags. Their break was over and they needed to get back to work.
"Okay, so that settles that. Owen and I will give you a tour of the school Monday; we'll show you the ropes of living large at Tortall Academy," Neal chuckled. He mock-saluted to her and waltzed away, his roommate scampering after. Keladry waved weakly, though their backs were already turned.
She glanced at her schedule once more before stuffing it into her satchel and leaving the courtyard. The brand new cadet had to unpack. And she also had to call her older sisters for advice.
~~
Keladry had forgotten to ask where to meet the two boys the following Monday, so she simply went to the courtyard again. The day before, she had wandered about the school, familiarizing herself with the layout of the Academy. She had located all her classes and the offices of administrators and staff members. Keladry memorized her schedule and skimmed through her textbooks in her spare time. After all, she wanted to start DJPF training as soon as possible, and there was no way that high school education was going to slow her down.
Being intelligent had never come natural for her. Keladry was simply born ambitious. And ambition was a great a motive as anything else to get her mind and body fit. The first time she saw Alanna Olau Trebond on the holoscreen, an AA officer of the highest degree, Keladry knew she wanted to be just like her. It had spawned a lifelong obsession, which she still surrendered to.
"There you are," a voice said from behind her. She recognized the person as Owen Jesslaw, the docile one of the pair that she had met on Saturday.
She turned and inclined her head briefly toward him. "Good morning."
"Good morning," he replied. "You're certainly wide awake." He put his hands on his hips. "Well, come on. We've got an hour before breakfast starts. A lot of people take this time to do last minute homework or get a work out."
Owen began to lead her from the corner of the courtyard toward the center. A paved walkway led to the pond, which was surrounded by a circle of tables. Many students who chose to talk and socialize rather than do homework gathered here. Their ages ranged from Keladry's to even over Neal's age. The older ones scared her a bit. She hoped that those in DJPF training, the "upper classmen" wouldn't look down on her when she tried to earn her way through training.
When they reached their destination, Keladry saw that Neal was sitting on top of the table, with his feet on the bench. His hair was mussed, and he wore sunglasses to hide his eyes. The way his uniform was wrinkled, it looked like he'd been dragged out of bed. Even the turn of his neck was lethargic and slow enough to suggest that he was still dozing.
"Neal! I found her," Owen informed, cuffing his roommate in the chin as he climbed on top of the table beside him. "Come on! Wake up, dude."
Keladry sat on the bench, looking up at the two older boys. She leaned forward. "I'm not sure you're supposed to be sitting on top like that. No one else is."
Neal shrugged. "Sometimes they do. Sometimes they don't." He yawned. Keladry noticed that he didn't even bother to cover his mouth. "You've got to relax, Keladry. If you don't relax, this place is going to have its way with you before you even know what's going on." He tipped his head forward so his sunglasses slid down the bridge of his nose. She met his eyes. "Have you got a nickname? Keladry sounds too… formal. It's horrible, no offense."
She blushed. "My brothers and sisters call me Kel."
Owen smiled. "I like it. Don't you, Neal?"
"It's a good start. Now, get up here. Get off that stupid bench."
"But—" Keladry began, but he cut her off.
"Don't worry. No one is going to yell at you," he told her. "You have to start playing it cool. If you relax, your fellow cadets will feel at ease talking to you. And then you'll have study buddies and sparring partners. And we can hook you up with some fabulous friends." Here he grinned, showing off his sharp white canines.
Owen scooted over to make room for her on the bench between them. She reluctantly clambered onto the tabletop and glanced from either side of her. "So what do we do? Do we just sit here?"
"Wait," both boys said simultaneously.
It wasn't before long that a teenage girl wearing red hairclips approached the trio. She clasped her hands behind her back and beamed up at the nineteen-year old boy. "Hey Neal." She glanced at Owen. "Hi Owen. Who's your friend?"
Neal graced the girl with a smile. He planted a very soft noogie on Keladry's scalp. "This is Keladry Mindelan. She just started here. Kel, this is the most beautiful and charming Sylvia Farmer."
"Nice to meet you, Kel! I hope you like it here. I know I do." The girl directed her attention at Neal again. "I've got some good news for you, Neal…"
"Oh?" The hand that had been gently grinding the top of Kel's head a few moments ago now rested on her shoulder as calmly as if she were a railing that he leaned upon. She urged herself to be completely still, trying to figure out what Neal was trying to show her in this interaction.
The girl nodded. "Do you know that girl with the head full of bouncy curls in Instructor Franz's class? She likes you!"
Owen whistled. "Hey, I've seen her around. Chili pepper, man."
Keladry leaned toward him and whispered, "What does that mean?"
"Hot and spicy," Owen whispered back. She frowned.
Neal leaned forward and tweaked Sylvia's nose playfully. "Thank you so very much, Madam." As an afterthought he added, "I see Roy first period. Shall I be the delegate?"
Sylvia blushed. "Please do! Bye, you three!"
Neal and Owen waved to her casually. Keladry turned to Neal. "What was that?"
"That was socializing. You talk with people. Get to know them. You do them a favor; they do you one. It's a wonderful system. It's just like our deal. You hang with us, we show you the ropes, and you help us study."
"You're just using me for my brain," she said as if it were an undeniable statement.
Owen put a hand on her shoulder. "Whoa, there, Kel. No need for anger. We're friends, right? I mean, after we're done showing you what to do, it's not like we won't hang out. You'll be one of us!"
"Do you mean it?" she asked. Her nonexistent facial expressions did not clue either boy in when they tried to guess whether she was truly angry or not.
"You betcha," Neal grinned.
~~
Keladry looked down at her lunch tray. At least breakfast had been recognizable. "What is this stuff?"
"Supposedly very healthy," Owen replied. He leaned over the table toward her plate. "Here. Let me show you a better way to eat it."
He took her bread roll and cut it down the middle. Then he scooped up the meaty stew onto the bread. After that, he took some of her salad and a couple of Neal's tomato sauce covered meatballs and piled them between the two bread halves. "Voila. I call it… the Owenburger."
Neal snorted. "Bonehead, that sounds like you put yourself in a meat grinder and wound up in there."
The other boy shrugged sheepishly. He offered the makeshift burger to Keladry. "Go ahead. It's the only way to dine, dahling," he said in a faux Port Legann accent. "Now, if only I get my pheasant and caviar…"
"This actually tastes good," Keladry said after taking a bite. She allowed herself to smile. "Any other food creations?"
"Oh, are you kidding me? Wait until I get to the Jello!"
~~
"Would you just relax? You look like you're about to pounce on the next thing that moves."
Keladry tried to keep a straight face when she heard Neal's comment. They were in Combat now, watching the Instructor give two cadets sparring in the center circle some pointers. In this class, the experienced cadets and the inexperienced ones mixed together so one could learn from the other. When they held sparring matches, only cadets of the same level experience fought.
"DJPF officers don't really use quarterstaffs and other pole arms, do they?" Keladry asked him.
Neal was resting his own quarterstaff across his shoulders while his arms were casually draped over it to hold it in place. "Sometimes. It depends on the task. We don't start firearms until we're upper classmen. Right now, that leaves us to master the little weapons." He paused. "You're not expected to master them. Many people never do. And that's fine, because they just want to be traffic officers or security guards… Others want to have desk jobs. This combat training is mostly to keep us from getting fat." He laughed. "You see?"
She nodded.
An instructor turned around. Looking at his watch, he cleared his throat and shouted. "Queenscove! You're up!"
Neal let the quarterstaff slide of his shoulders and into his hands. "Now, I'm not a master at this thing, but I've gotten pretty good with it. Watch, why don't ya? Maybe you'll see you like pole arms."
He stepped forward into circle marked on the floor. Another male cadet stepped in with him.
"Okay, now set up," the instructor commanded.
Both cadets fell into their stances. Keladry chewed on her lower lip absently, trying to absorb every detail before her. She coaxed herself to relax. Neal wasn't tense. He looked very natural in the circle. The older boy was actually grinning.
"Fight!"
Neal's opponent darted forward almost immediately. Neal stepped back, blocking the strike and spinning around to counterattack. The other boy did not move fast enough and Neal struck him in the back of his knee, causing his leg to bend and the boy to lose balance.
"Queenscove, one point."
"Let's try this again, buddy," Neal said and offered a hand to his opponent to help him up.
They took their stances again. This time, the boy decided to attack in a combination of moves, which Neal blocked and countered. They moved about almost in a pattern. Jumping and ducking, twisting their bodies around to avoid being struck. The continual sound of wood hitting wood echoed around the practice court. Keladry watched with rapt attention.
After another minute, Neal's opponent twisted the wrong way. Neal changed his position automatically. He leaned toward his left, withdrew his staff back and stabbed it forward again. Just before the end of the staff would have struck the other boy in the chest, Neal stopped. He held the staff at that position, wishing not to actually make contact.
"Queenscove, two points."
Keladry stared in wonder. She had received high marks in biology and she knew that Neal had been aiming for the sternum, the long flat bone joining the two sets of ribs on either side of the torso. If struck, a large welt would have painfully formed. The instructor also appeared pleased with Neal's precision.
Her new friend won his last point almost as quickly as the first. After about three smacks of staff against staff, Neal feigned a strike to the left and then struck out at his right. The end of his quarterstaff once again made contact, hitting the other boy roughly in the shoulder.
"Match goes to Queenscove. Okay, that's all the sparring for today. Put up the staffs. Start working agility drills 1 and 2. Experienced hands pair up with the novices."
Neal put up his quarterstaff on the rack along with the others. Then, he returned to where Keladry was waiting. She was stretching her legs.
"You're really good. How long did it take you?"
He shrugged. "To get like that? I don't know. I've been working on it since I got here." Neal laughed. "This is the only class where I get excellent marks, to tell you the truth. I bet you could become really good at this, too, if you just worked hard enough."
"Owen said that some people work out during the morning before breakfast. That's true, right?"
"Oh, sure. I mean, I'm too lazy to get up and start exercising, but I bet you could do that no problem. Do you want to?"
She nodded. "I think I will. Where do those people go? Do they come here?"
Neal nodded. "Yeah. Any one of the practice courts will do." He snapped his fingers. "I know the perfect person for you to start training with. He really likes teaching other cadets. I'll be damned if he doesn't become an Instructor. Hey! He isn't teaching anyone right now, I think. Should I ask him for you?"
"Who is he?"
"His name is Zell Dincht. Best fighter at this school. I'll introduce you to him at dinner tonight, okay?"
"O-okay."
~~
As the trio walked down path leading to the cafeteria, many other cadets around them shouted out greetings and hellos. Keladry still couldn't believe how popular the two boys were. Neal responded very casually, as if he got this sort of attention every day.
"What did I tell you? They forgot about the work detail in no time," Owen said.
Neal scratched his chin. "So they did. Back to the way things were, eh?"
The two boys slapped high fives over Keladry's head. She rolled her eyes. When they reached the cafeteria, they headed for a table at the center. Despite the number of people already inside the cafeteria, this square table had been left alone. Neal straddled a chair, resting his arms against the top of chair's back.
"You two go ahead and get in line. I'll save the table from the upper classmen."
Owen squinted at the dinner menu from where they were. "What do you want me to get you?"
"Whatever you want. I don't care tonight. Go ahead, I'll be right here waiting."
Keladry and Owen got in line for dinner. Owen showed her the best choices. He told her as they went along about the other food creations he could make with each and every single selection. Just the thought of a few of his creations caused her to say 'eww', but he seemed to like them. So she thought she would give it a chance.
"Blue Jello, blue Jello…" Owen muttered as he scanned the desserts.
"Why blue?" she asked.
"No reason in particular. I just like blue," he replied. "Ah! Here we go. Gelatin is the best dessert ever. I'm not kidding. Forget cheesecake. Forget sundaes. This is the stuff."
When they arrived at their table again, another teenage boy whom Keladry had never seen before was sitting across from Neal. Owen sat beside his roommate, so that caused her to set down her tray and sit beside this new stranger.
She kept quiet while Owen greeted the newcomer. He was about Keladry's height, with blond hair that stuck up in soft spikes in the front. She couldn't help but glance nervously at the archaic black tattoo pattern on one of his temples. It was very distracting.
"Oh! Zell, I want you to meet Keladry," Neal said, gesturing toward her. "Kel, this is the guy I was talking about during Combat. He's in your grade, too."
The tattooed boy offered his hand to her. She shook it. His grip was definitely stronger than hers, but maybe it was because she wasn't used to the feel of gloves on hands. Zell wore black sparring gloves with the fingers cut off. His presence indubitably intimidated her.
"So! You're the one looking for a training partner in the mornings? I'd be glad to help," he offered with a genuinely friendly smile.
"He's the best unarmed fighter in the school, I guarantee," Neal added. "He could be a Shang if he wants! Hell, I bet he could beat two or three Shangs if he wants!"
Keladry picked up her fork and poked at her food nervously, though she refused to show it in her face. Be calm. Be as calm as a still lake on a winter morning. "I'd like that."
Zell slapped a hand on her back. "Great! We'll meet at six in the morning in Practice Court 3, okay?"
"Sure," she nodded vigorously. She needed to take a breather away from this new acquaintance. "Um… will you excuse me? I forgot to get a straw."
"Oh, get two for us, would ya?" Owen asked.
"No problem." She got up and scurried back to the lunch line.
Zell looked over his shoulder at her. He turned back to Neal. "She's pretty cute. Sort of shy, but cute. How old did you say she was?"
"Fourteen."
"No way! Mature for her age…She must be really brainy to be in my grade. Think she'd help me out with core classes?"
Neal snorted. "Get in line, dude. She's our best friend. Right Owen?" He put an arm around Owen and shook him. "Well, anyway, I'm sure she'd help us all. That's what friends do, right?"
Zell glanced over his shoulder again. His cheeks were a tad flushed. "Right."
~~
After dinner, Neal and Owen went straight back to their room. They had forgotten that they had to get their trash to the bottom floor before the janitors took the trash out for the evening. Zell offered to walk Keladry back to her dorm. She still felt incredibly intimidated by the seventeen-year-old cadet, but he was very polite and sweet.
He could teach me to be as great as Alanna Trebond, she thought. That's all that matters.
"I really am hoping to become a Shang one day, but not until I'm done with high school courses. Then, I'll take a break from the Academy to train in the Shang Guilds," Zell was telling her.
"You sound like you have it all planned out," she replied.
"I bet you do, too."
Keladry blushed. She did.
"You look nice when you're red like that," he noted.
She forced herself to stop blushing. Calm as a lake. Calm! Calm! "Th-thanks."
Their conversation continued, though Zell did most of the talking. Keladry didn't know what to say half the time, so she was glad that he could pick up the slack. Being home-schooled as she was never left her with many opportunities to talk with boys that weren't in her family.
When they reached her dorm room, Zell bid her good night and left with an upbeat reminder of the next morning. She returned the goodnight and entered her assigned room. As soon as Keladry was inside, she took a deep breath and finally slowed her racing heart.
Keladry went through her belongings and retrieved her books. She had meant it when she said she wanted Neal and Owen to pass the competency tests so they could join her in the twelfth grade. And they had asked her to tutor them. Curfew wasn't until an hour and a half. That was plenty of time to tutor.
The girl with whom Keladry was sharing a room was not yet in. She was friendly and talkative, but Kel preferred the company of her new male friends, even if they were a bit obsessed with popularity.
Fifteen minutes later, she knocked on the door to their room. The door slid open, revealing Owen still in uniform. He welcomed her inside, but left the door open, as was the rule when a person of the opposite gender was visiting.
"Hey!" Neal greeted from the top of the bunk bed. His uniform was already off; he was ready for bed and wore a white undershirt and flannel pants.
The room was very small, but scattered with a lot of random paraphernalia. Owen made an effort to tidy up, picking up clothing and papers as he went about. Keladry set down the books on the sole desk in the room.
"What's all that stuff?" Neal asked. He let his arms dangle from the bunk bed rail.
"I meant it when I said I would tutor you. Now come down from there," she ordered. Despite his older age, she felt comfortable commanding him. Maybe it was because he never took anything seriously. Keladry didn't know.
Owen sat down on the floor, tossing a Slinky from hand to hand. The coils were rainbow colored and Keladry glanced away before it distracted her.
"Let's be serious! This is a prestigious Academy!"
Neal groaned as he climbed down from his bed and plopped onto Owen's bed below. He caught the book that Keladry tossed to him and started to skim through it. He made a face. "Something tells me that we're going to regret this deal…"
~~
Graduation. Three years later.
"Any regrets?" Keladry asked nonchalantly as Neal came down from the platform with his diploma.
He put an arm around each of his buddies and started walking with them down the aisle toward their seats. "Well, sometimes, yes. I mean, I regret never having a spare moment of time, but now that we're official officers of the Dominion Jewel Protection Force, I mean… we'll have all the spare time in the world! I can go back to flirting with chicks and… and…"
Owen rolled his eyes. "I have a regret! I never had enough Jello…"
They cracked up. He reached farther behind Neal's back and mussed Keladry's hair. "You have any regrets? Besides not kissing Zell before he left for the Shang Guild?"
She smacked him on the back of the head. "Excuse you! I did not like him that way!"
"Oh, but I bet he liked you, Tough Stuff. You were his favorite 'student'," Neal added, making kissing noises while puckering his lips. She smacked the back of his head as well. "Ow!"
Keladry cleared her throat. "I have no regrets. I accomplished one half of my goal. I'm DJPF. Now all I have to do is get to AA rank and be just like the officer Alanna Olau Trebond!"
The two boys groaned. "Not that again!"
Neal lowered his arms from both of them. He loosened the collar of his uniform and stretched his arms over his head. "Well, I still agree with Owen. You should have kissed the guy." He suddenly took Owen by the shoulders and imitated Zell's voice. "Oh, Keladry. I love you! You can kick me around the practice courts all you want, darling!"
"Oh Zell!" Owen exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.
Keladry glared at them, folding her arms across her chest and tapping her foot.
Neal broke away from Owen and started dancing circles around her. Owen followed suit, both of them throwing their hands up in the air and using their fancy footwork to catch the whole graduating class's attention.
"You know what I bet he'd say?" Neal shouted.
She stifled a cry of frustration and trying to keep a straight face and restraining herself from tripping him. "What?"
"Oh well I guess it would be nice…" he sang. Owen joined in.
"If I could touch your body…
I know not everybody…
Has got a body like you!
But I gotta think twice…
Before I give my heart away
And I know all the games you play
Because I play them, too…"
Their fellow graduates formed a circle around the three, clapping and cheering, swaying along with their song. Caps were thrown up in the air and confetti scattered over their heads. Keladry still stood in the middle of it all, tapping her foot and trying to exercise her good humor.
"Oh but I need some time off
From that emotion,
Time to pick my heart up off the floor
Oh when that love comes out…
Without devotion…
I guess it takes a strong man, Baby,
But I'm showing you the door…"
Neal and Owen hugged Keladry and started swaying back and forth. She allowed herself a smirk.
"I got to have faith!"
~~
Present time
Keladry waited patiently, drumming her fingers in front of Neal's COMscreen. Her friend was busy fixing his dinner behind him, humming a tune she couldn't remember.
"Hello?" Owen's face appeared on screen. "Kel! Wow! How are you?"
She grinned. "Hi Owen."
"Hey, Bonehead!" Neal called in the background.
"Hey, dude!" He snapped his fingers. "Kel, I was reminiscing about our Academy days, and you won't believe who I ran into here at the outpost! Some of the more spiritual Shang guilds have made a small pilgrimage here and are heading out tomorrow, but guess who's with them!"
"Who?" she asked, not knowing whom in the world he was talking about.
Neal seemed to pick up on Owen's hint, because he came up directly behind Keladry and jabbed his finger at the screen. He gasped. "No way!"
Owen nodded excitably.
"I gotta have faith!" both men yelled and started laughing.
Kel blinked. "Oh." She twiddled her thumbs. "I can't believe you two remember that."
Owen went off screen and talked with someone. Keladry's mouth dropped open. She shook her head at Neal, whispering furiously with him, but he stifled a snicker and held her in place in front of the COMscreen.
A familiar young man with a unique tattoo appeared on screen. "Hi, Kel. Remember me?"
She smiled. "Hey, Zell."
Neal leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Forget you have a boyfriend for fifteen minutes, why don't ya?"
"Neal…" she hissed through clenched teeth.
He smiled mischievously and sauntered away, whistling the tune.
"So," Zell began. "How's life?"
She shrugged. "Okay. A bit turbulent, but I'm dealing with it. It's a whole big guessing game. I don't know what's coming next."
"You got to have faith!" Neal yelled from the kitchenette. "Have you not been listening to the song at all?!"
Zell and Keladry blushed.
~~
Author: *doing a little stupid dance while listening to the music* The only good George Michael song, folks. "Faith", kiddies. That is it. That is the song. Well, to Neal and Owen, obviously. I'm not talking about that crappy Limp Bizkit remake of "Faith." I'm talking about the original! I've been planning the two of them doing a dance around Kel like that forever. I'm glad I finally had the chance to put it in.
Zell Dincht is a Final Fantasy 8 character. A very cool one. My favorite. He is one cool dude, I tell ya… Too bad I didn't create him either.
So tell me what you think! If you have any questions, comments, or constructive criticisms then please e-mail me! (It's listed at top.) I love getting feedback. :D
-Sulia Serafine