Chapter 5 – Second Chances
WL: Thank you, Mr Almasy, for your entertaining story.
Welcome back to the "Peach Battle Gear and Greyish-White Coat Show with Water Lily" with our guests Seifer Almasy and Quistis Trepe.
This is your host Water Lily speaking in front of a live audience.
In case you have just joined us, here are the highlights.
Voiceover by narrator booms out, summarising what Seifer had said previously, with pictures and mini-movies running across the screen to illustrate the points:
"Mr Seifer Almasy has been an orphan since the age of three. Living in the Lighthouse Orphanage until nine, he joined the Garden and became a SeeD only after several attempts. Now he wishes to go back to his roots, and thanks those that have nurtured him and his ambition."
WL: Mr Almasy, what do you have to say to your benefactors?
"That I love them." He says with his legs crossed, a wholesome smile on his face. "And I couldn't have done it without my Quistis."
Awwwwww~~~~ a unanimous sound came from the impeccably cued audience, while Quistis looked over at him with a touched expression.
WL: Now, we shall pass the mike over to Ms Quistis Trepe.
"Thank you, Water Lily. It is an honour to be invited to your show. It is one of the most critically acclaimed talk shows in town! Surpassing even 'The Tonight Funny Show with Celestine'!" She gushed enthusiastically.
WL: I owe it all to marvellous guests like yourself.
Q: Shall I begin, then?
WL: Whenever you're ready.
Q: Here goes!
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This morning, they handed me the letter of demotion from Instructor to that of a normal SeeD. It had detailed the reasons for my failure sharply and concisely on the crisp piece of paper. Black words stared at me starkly in the eye as they pointed out the very reasons that led to my disgraceful downfall.
Lack of Leadership Qualities
Display of favouritism towards a certain student
Failure to segregate between personal affairs and work
Well, they didn't really state that last one down, but I knew that it was pretty obvious to anyone who was watching.
All this for what? The only thing I got out of this was a bruised pride and an even worse-off heart.
"Go talk to a wall. He said. Does he even realise how hurtful those words were? But Squall being as he was, he probably wouldn't care even if he knew. I guess I should have expected that kind of reaction from him.
With my heart still smarting from his outright rejection, I embarked on a new mission to help this girl, Rinoa Heartilly, sort of a client, in her quest for Timber's independence.
Squall seemed to be rather enamoured with her, agreeing to a dance even though she was a total stranger. When he wouldn't even listen to a word I say. Me, someone whom he had known as a fellow cadet, and later Instructor for so many years!
But I suppose it was really my own doing. I wasn't as charming, sweet, warm, inquisitive, caring… the list goes on forever, as this girl. She seems to possess all the qualities that made a girl loveable in men's eyes. More importantly, in Squall's eyes.
Qualities lacking in me, I'm sure. I know it too well. Many have called me the "Ice Queen" behind my back. For Hyne's sake… if they wanted to whisper such things about me, they should have done it softly so that I could pretend not to have heard it!
The jealousy and envy I had felt so strongly towards her must have carried forward in my actions… which explains why I just had to scoff at her attempts to restrain the then-possessed Sorceress Edea with a mere Odine Bangle.
I later was to regret that deeply… turning back to apologise after realising my mistake, only to be caught in the midst of a father-daughter feud between her and General Caraway.
An age-old lesson to be learnt here: never say anything that hurts the recipient, else you will suffer the backlash three times worse than your initial words.
Suffer? Backlash? When did you ever suffer for your unkind words? You must be asking.
Have you forgotten about the endless maze we waded around in the underground sewers as a result of my reckless words?
Not only did we exhaust ourselves, wasting precious energy fighting creeps, red bats and some other monsters while searching our way to the main controls… I almost had a cardiac arrest when the thought of not making it in time crossed my mind several times.
It may not seem very much to you… but I suggest you walk a few rounds in your city's sewers before you comment on it.
In the end, it all came to nothing. For the Sorceress escaped from the assassination attempt unharmed, while we were all captured and jailed in the Desert Prison. The rest of the story was as you had remembered it.
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I could go on forever about my feelings towards Squall… and how badly I took it when Rinoa and him fell in love with each other, becoming one of the most loving couples I had ever seen.
Even though I had professed my feelings for him to be those of a sisterly kind, that I had been trying to replace Ellone's position in his heart… it was a front that I had put up just so I could retain a little of my pride and make things seem normal between us.
I didn't want to jeopardise any chances of a relationship I could have with him, even if it was only a platonic one.
But that was only in the past.
Someone pulled my away from the miserable hellhole I was stuck in.
A lonesome figure like me, he must have identified with the emptiness that was in my heart, despite the false appearance I had tried to erect for so long.
When had I started noticing him, for I was so blind to anything except for the stark reality of my unwanted feelings?
It all traced back to the day he was readmitted to the Garden, and I was his appointed tutor.
When Headmaster Kramer came to us, namely Squall, Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, Irvine and myself with a proposal, we hadn't been quite prepared for what he had in mind.
The Headmaster might have looked like a simple man, but do not be deceived by his bumbling appearance. He can be quite shrewd if he chooses to be. If you're looking for a reason that Matron was attracted to him, there you have it.
He had summoned all six of us into his office, which made it a little squeezy, since it was a rather small one.
"I've called you here today to consult you on something of moderate importance. It is regarding the readmission of an ex-cadet, Seifer, as well as Fujin and Raijin. I would like to hear your views on the matter."
All of us looked at each other, first in shock, then in uneasiness. Seifer's name usually brings bad memories to our minds, especially for Squall, Rinoa and myself, while Zell had always disliked him for his name-calling.
The only relatively neutral ones left looked a bit too unreliable to be entrusted with the responsibility of deciding a thing with such paramount importance.
Paramount importance? You think that I'm exaggerating, aren't you?
Now hear this. Seifer has caused much damage to the Garden and also helped to destroy Trabia Garden. Even if the latter was in the process of reconstruction, many lives were lost during our war against Sorceress Ultimecia, of who he was under control.
As such, his readmission might very well affect the morale and overall congeniality of the Garden Community.
However, I believe it to be much better if he was our ally, rather than an enemy. His skills and talent were not something to be overlooked, and made to waste.
That was the main point of the Headmaster's argument.
"Those in favour raise their hand."
To my surprise, all of us did.
The same expression was on everyone's face.
Squall spoke up first without prodding, the greatest surprise of all.
"He was under the influence of the evil Sorceress. It would be unfair to judge him based on that." He blushed a little even as he finished… still shy from public speaking, I guess.
Rinoa squeezed his hand and smile warmly at him. It was hard not to look away, but mercifully I managed to keep my eyes on them.
"I know Seifer. His normal self wasn't like that at all. He's a gentleman." Rinoa put in a good word for him.
I decided to shut out all the malicious thoughts from my mind… it disrupts the thinking process.
"I know that he had a hand in Trabia's bombing, but if we want him to make up for his mistakes, he should be working for us, instead of being kept out of here." An unusually solemn Selphie had her legitimate reasons too. Maybe I had underestimated her reliability.
"I agree with Sefie." Irvine said, surprisingly without that habitual tip of the hat.
It was Zell's turn to speak. He was another unexpected one.
"As long as he doesn't provoke me, it's fine with me. I can live with being called Chicken-wuss if it means so much to the Garden. Well, as long as it isn't TOO often." He added with a broad grin.
Well, well… someone has grown up too.
Finally, all eyes turned to me.
"I've always believed in giving people a second chance. I don't see why he should be an exception."
"Well-spoken, Ms Trepe. And just the person who should have said it. Because I am entrusting him under your supervision." The Headmaster walked up to me, his hands crossed behind his back.
"What?" Why me?
"As we all know, you are one of the best and most experienced SeeD in the Community. And at the same time, you've have had prior experience in guiding him, I find you to be the best person to be his tutor. A condition that I have laid down for his readmission was to pass the SeeD exam and graduate within three months. In addition, this will be a test for you as well. If this goes smoothly, you be able to regain your Instructor's License. Well?" He paused, waiting for an answer.
I looked around me, only to be greeted by a row of supportive faces that seemed to say, "You can do it."
"As you wish, Sir. I will see to it that Seifer Almasy passes his SeeD exam within three months."
"Just as I thought." He said with a fatherly smile, and turned towards Matron. "Didn't I say that she would agree to it?"
Matron responded by giving him a displeased look.
A man will always be a man. Didn't he know that it was taboo to announce in front of others that his wife was wrong?
Especially if those "others" were the closest people she ever had to children.
He was in for a hard time, I could be sure of it.
Oh well, children should not interfere in the "parent's" arguments.
"You are dismissed." He said, blissfully unaware of the impending storm brewing beside him.
"Yes, Sir!" We chorused, saluted him and Matron, and left the office as fast as we could manage.
"CID KRAMER~~~~~~!!!!" We could hear a voice screaming as the door closed behind us.
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"Sure, Instructor Trepe!" He said.
Was he purposely trying to hurt me with words, or did it come out as a force of habit?
Either way, he's still that old, cocky, insult-spewing Seifer.
I had been optimistic of being able to guide him towards the path of becoming a SeeD.
Now, I'm not so sure.
No, I'm POSITIVE that he will fail again.
Like he did the very last time he took the exam.
Will history repeat itself?
Will I have to relive the humiliation of failure staring at me in the face, mocking me to no end?
I put my foot down and told him my reasons for accepting this case of being his tutor.
Does he even understand what I'm trying to say? Did any of it get through that thick skull of his?
I have little confidence that the answer is in the affirmative.
And yet, a little voice lingering in my head tells me to believe in myself, and believe in him. To just let nature take its course.
And it tells me many times that Seifer isn't really as bad as he appears to be, and it was all an act.
Should I give him the benefit of the doubt?
It wouldn't hurt to try… would it?
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Next morning…
I arrived at the entrance of the Training Centre, ten minutes earlier than the stipulated time. I've always placed a heavy emphasis on punctuality, and it wouldn't do if I failed to practice what I preached, would it?
I run through my mind what to say to Seifer when he appears. He would probably be late, given his past records. I definitely have to instil the importance of being on time in him.
I should stop treating him like a delinquent… cos it might very well show in my body language. I wonder if it would be more effective if I were to treat him like a peer? Maybe I shall try that in the upcoming lesson. Just as well that I've told him to call me Quistis… it would make things much easier then.
"Thinking of me, In… I mean Quistis?" Seifer's deep voice broke through my thoughts, startling the hell out of me.
Apparently, he still has trouble adapting to calling me by the first name. I guess I would have to take things one at a time.
"As a matter of fact, yes, Seifer." I looked at my watch, and to my surprise, he was early.
"Good, you have reached five minutes before the time we've agreed on. It is one of my principles to always be prepared, and being early would most certainly enforce that. Make it a habit to be early for all of my lessons, and your subsequent missions throughout your career as a SeeD."
"Understood." He replied, without a trace of his irritating smirk or attitude-laced tone.
Are my eyes and ears serving me right? He seemed to be quite serious about this, so different from what he had displayed yesterday.
"Alright, let's do some training then."
I walked towards the Training Centre, with Seifer following closely behind.
"Where're Raijin and Fujin?" I asked, trying to make small talk as the silence stifles the air in the corridor. Those two usually tagged along with Seifer like Man's best friends… it was a little strange to see him without his posse.
"They decided not to come back. Too many bad memories, they said." There was a hint of sadness in his voice, which dipped a little lower than its usual tone.
"Oh." I didn't know how to respond.
Fortunately, we reached the Training Centre just at that time, without me having to dwell my thoughts on how bad it was to barge into other people's private space.
We battled quite a number of Grats here and there. They were too weak to be worthy training opponents, dying after just one crack of my Save The Queen, or a slash from Seifer's Hyperion.
"Just where are those T-Rexaurs when you need them?" I grumbled aloud in frustration after having battled the grand total of one of them in the fairly long time we had been there.
"Taking a late morning nap, I s'ppose." He drawled. I could see that he was getting bored too.
But even a T-Rexaur would not be good enough for training purposes, I believe, since we had already experienced the trials and tribulations of having battled with a Sorceress and top calibre SeeD respectively.
"I might consider applying for a field session, so that we can train with much more challenging monsters than those available here." I suddenly spoke my plans aloud. He was the sole student to be on this excursion, and I thought he should probably be informed about it.
"That would be great!" He replied, eyes lighting up in anticipation.
He looks just like a kid with a new toy. I thought to myself, trying to suppress the giggle coming to my lips.
"What's so funny, Quistis?" He asked, puzzled look on his face.
"Nothing. I think we've spent enough time in here, and it isn't getting us any further. You can go back to your dorm to shower, change, rest, or do whatever you want. Then meet me at the cafeteria entrance at exactly twelve-thirty p.m. sharp."
I started striding towards the entrance.
"Twelve-thirty? Cafeteria?" His face had such a lost look that I wanted to burst out laughing again.
"I've got a new assignment for you. It may be easy, or it may be difficult as hell. It's all up to you." I said, shooting a meaningful look at him.
"What assignment?" He called after me as I started to step out into the main corridor.
"You'll know when you get there. Don't be late!" I replied, before heading off for a nice cold shower and rid myself of these smelly, sticky clothes.
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WL: Tada~~~ how was that? I hope it wasn't too confusing.