Original characters belong to me, other characters from the game don't…blah
blah blah. Thanks for all the nice reviews! Yay!
Ryo's eyes followed Ainsley as she nodded her head in accordance with something the petite girl at her side with braided black hair. The pair of cadets was walking out of the cafeteria after finishing their meal. Ryo had wanted to talk to Ainsley, but he hadn't gotten the chance to because of the bubbly, annoying girl that had been following her around ever since she had finished the test. Ryo pounded his fist on the cafeteria table subconsciously. Moss looked at him.
"Girlfriend's ignoring you, eh?" Moss teased lightly. Ryo replied to his comment with a glare. Moss placed his hands above the small dining table in a submissive gesture.
"Don't blame me," Moss said, "I didn't do anything."
"Why is she ignoring me?" Ryo sadly asked, "It's not just today, with that girl who keeps looking at you." Moss sheepishly scratched behind his head.
"What can I say? Women love me," Moss said confidently. Ryo shook his head at Moss, who, despite the fact that his comment was said in a facetious tone, was right. He often had female cadets following him in the hallways, coming up to talk to him, offering him various favors… Ryo shook his head to clear his mind. He didn't really care that Moss was popular with women. It wasn't really something Ryo desired for himself.
"She's been avoiding me ever since she faced Leviathan," Ryo sighed. Moss good-naturedly patted him on the back.
"I'm sure she's just been busy. You know, studying and stuff. I mean, you have too."
"Yeah, something you might want to do more often," Ryo said pointedly.
"Whatever," Moss said, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. "The point is that both of you have been really busy. Especially Ainsley. She's, like, Miss Super-Student of Balamb Garden. Maybe she just wanted her head clear for the test. Becoming a SeeD is obviously something very important to her." Ryo looked up from the table at Moss, a bemused expression on his face.
"Since when did you become so smart Doctor Brimhall?" Moss shrugged.
"I'm not really smart. I just pay attention to people. They're just interesting, I guess," he told Ryo.
"Whatever," Ryo said. Then he proceeded to change the subject. "So," he asked Moss, "How do you think you did on the SeeD exam?" Moss shrugged.
"I probably did alright. I doubt I failed, but I probably didn't get above a ninety, either," Moss said. Ryo studied his friend for a moment. Moss was very odd sometimes. Ryo couldn't understand how, when he made statements like, 'I doubt I failed,' and 'Women love me,' he didn't sound like a braggart. Every statement Moss made seemed so calculated, as if he only said certain things to certain people for numerous specific, tiny reasons that only he understood.
"Are you okay?" Moss's voice pulled Ryo out of his thoughts.
"Hey," Moss continued, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure Ainsley will start talking to you within a day." Ryo just smiled and nodded. That hadn't been what he was thinking about, and he didn't feel like talking about it anymore.
"So how do you think you did?" Moss asked him. Ryo shrugged. He wasn't like Moss. If he said confidently that he passed, he was afraid it would jinx him somehow and he wouldn't pass.
"I dunno," Ryo replied. Moss grinned.
"Come on, don't pull this crap with me. There is no such thing as jinxes," he told Ryo. Ryo simply shrugged once more.
"Whatever. Some of it was easy and some was hard," Ryo said.
"Did you get the question on the different Gardens and their headmasters?" asked Moss. Ryo shook his head. He knew that there were a total of 200 questions written for the SeeD exam and there were 100 on each student's test. These 100 questions were chosen at random, a different combination for each computer console.
"Well then," Moss continued, "Do you know all of the different Gardens and their headmasters?"
"Well, the Gardens are easy. Balamb, obviously, then Trabia, Galbaldia, and…one more. Centra, I think?" he began to use his fingers to count off the Gardens. Moss nodded.
"Right," Moss said, "And we obviously know that Headmaster Cid is in charge here." Ryo lowered the finger that represented Balamb Garden and nodded.
"And Martine is at Galbaldia," Ryo continued, and lowered a finger down for Galbaldia.
"That leaves Trabia and Centra," said Moss. "But was Centra even finished yet?" Ryo shrugged.
"I dunno. The last I heard, construction was still going on and Squall Lionheart, you know, the hero commander from the last Sorceress War was in charge down there." Moss nodded and Ryo lowered the finger for Centra.
"That leaves Trabia. Wasn't there another one of the Sorceress War heroes up there?" Ryo asked. Moss shook his head.
"No, you're thinking of Selphie Tilmitt. She's just a SeeD. I don't think that she has a position. There is a woman in charge of Trabia, though. I think her name is Faylinn." Ryo nodded and put down his last finger. Moss was still looking at him oddly.
"What?" asked Ryo, "You're giving me that look." Moss leaned in conspiratorially.
"Don't you think it's weird that we'd have to know useless information like that?" asked Moss.
"No," Ryo answered bluntly, "You need to know lots of things in order to become a SeeD. I'm sure that knowing the headmasters will be useful, someday." He looked at Moss again who was still grinning an odd, mysterious grin. "What is your problem?" Ryo said, laughing at him, "Oh no, this isn't another one of your weird conspiracy stories is it?" Moss looked indignant.
"They aren't weird!" he sniffed mock defensively. "Never mind," he continued after a pause. "When I can prove it to you, I'll tell you." Ryo snorted and laughed again.
"Whatever. I'm going to go back to my dorm. I promised Geo that I'd help him study."
"Study?" Moss asked, "Study for what?"
"He wants to learn everything he can about GFs in case he gets to draw one from a monster on the field exam." Moss laughed.
"All your roommate does is read! It's no wonder he passed the written with flying colors. But he doesn't have a mind of his own. I think he's going to fail the field exam. And," Moss tacked on to the end of his statement, "If you don't mind me saying so, he's a little, you know, weird." Ryo gave Moss a look, got up from his seat and walked out of the cafeteria. Moss leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head and lightly whistled to himself.
Ryo's eyes followed Ainsley as she nodded her head in accordance with something the petite girl at her side with braided black hair. The pair of cadets was walking out of the cafeteria after finishing their meal. Ryo had wanted to talk to Ainsley, but he hadn't gotten the chance to because of the bubbly, annoying girl that had been following her around ever since she had finished the test. Ryo pounded his fist on the cafeteria table subconsciously. Moss looked at him.
"Girlfriend's ignoring you, eh?" Moss teased lightly. Ryo replied to his comment with a glare. Moss placed his hands above the small dining table in a submissive gesture.
"Don't blame me," Moss said, "I didn't do anything."
"Why is she ignoring me?" Ryo sadly asked, "It's not just today, with that girl who keeps looking at you." Moss sheepishly scratched behind his head.
"What can I say? Women love me," Moss said confidently. Ryo shook his head at Moss, who, despite the fact that his comment was said in a facetious tone, was right. He often had female cadets following him in the hallways, coming up to talk to him, offering him various favors… Ryo shook his head to clear his mind. He didn't really care that Moss was popular with women. It wasn't really something Ryo desired for himself.
"She's been avoiding me ever since she faced Leviathan," Ryo sighed. Moss good-naturedly patted him on the back.
"I'm sure she's just been busy. You know, studying and stuff. I mean, you have too."
"Yeah, something you might want to do more often," Ryo said pointedly.
"Whatever," Moss said, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders. "The point is that both of you have been really busy. Especially Ainsley. She's, like, Miss Super-Student of Balamb Garden. Maybe she just wanted her head clear for the test. Becoming a SeeD is obviously something very important to her." Ryo looked up from the table at Moss, a bemused expression on his face.
"Since when did you become so smart Doctor Brimhall?" Moss shrugged.
"I'm not really smart. I just pay attention to people. They're just interesting, I guess," he told Ryo.
"Whatever," Ryo said. Then he proceeded to change the subject. "So," he asked Moss, "How do you think you did on the SeeD exam?" Moss shrugged.
"I probably did alright. I doubt I failed, but I probably didn't get above a ninety, either," Moss said. Ryo studied his friend for a moment. Moss was very odd sometimes. Ryo couldn't understand how, when he made statements like, 'I doubt I failed,' and 'Women love me,' he didn't sound like a braggart. Every statement Moss made seemed so calculated, as if he only said certain things to certain people for numerous specific, tiny reasons that only he understood.
"Are you okay?" Moss's voice pulled Ryo out of his thoughts.
"Hey," Moss continued, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure Ainsley will start talking to you within a day." Ryo just smiled and nodded. That hadn't been what he was thinking about, and he didn't feel like talking about it anymore.
"So how do you think you did?" Moss asked him. Ryo shrugged. He wasn't like Moss. If he said confidently that he passed, he was afraid it would jinx him somehow and he wouldn't pass.
"I dunno," Ryo replied. Moss grinned.
"Come on, don't pull this crap with me. There is no such thing as jinxes," he told Ryo. Ryo simply shrugged once more.
"Whatever. Some of it was easy and some was hard," Ryo said.
"Did you get the question on the different Gardens and their headmasters?" asked Moss. Ryo shook his head. He knew that there were a total of 200 questions written for the SeeD exam and there were 100 on each student's test. These 100 questions were chosen at random, a different combination for each computer console.
"Well then," Moss continued, "Do you know all of the different Gardens and their headmasters?"
"Well, the Gardens are easy. Balamb, obviously, then Trabia, Galbaldia, and…one more. Centra, I think?" he began to use his fingers to count off the Gardens. Moss nodded.
"Right," Moss said, "And we obviously know that Headmaster Cid is in charge here." Ryo lowered the finger that represented Balamb Garden and nodded.
"And Martine is at Galbaldia," Ryo continued, and lowered a finger down for Galbaldia.
"That leaves Trabia and Centra," said Moss. "But was Centra even finished yet?" Ryo shrugged.
"I dunno. The last I heard, construction was still going on and Squall Lionheart, you know, the hero commander from the last Sorceress War was in charge down there." Moss nodded and Ryo lowered the finger for Centra.
"That leaves Trabia. Wasn't there another one of the Sorceress War heroes up there?" Ryo asked. Moss shook his head.
"No, you're thinking of Selphie Tilmitt. She's just a SeeD. I don't think that she has a position. There is a woman in charge of Trabia, though. I think her name is Faylinn." Ryo nodded and put down his last finger. Moss was still looking at him oddly.
"What?" asked Ryo, "You're giving me that look." Moss leaned in conspiratorially.
"Don't you think it's weird that we'd have to know useless information like that?" asked Moss.
"No," Ryo answered bluntly, "You need to know lots of things in order to become a SeeD. I'm sure that knowing the headmasters will be useful, someday." He looked at Moss again who was still grinning an odd, mysterious grin. "What is your problem?" Ryo said, laughing at him, "Oh no, this isn't another one of your weird conspiracy stories is it?" Moss looked indignant.
"They aren't weird!" he sniffed mock defensively. "Never mind," he continued after a pause. "When I can prove it to you, I'll tell you." Ryo snorted and laughed again.
"Whatever. I'm going to go back to my dorm. I promised Geo that I'd help him study."
"Study?" Moss asked, "Study for what?"
"He wants to learn everything he can about GFs in case he gets to draw one from a monster on the field exam." Moss laughed.
"All your roommate does is read! It's no wonder he passed the written with flying colors. But he doesn't have a mind of his own. I think he's going to fail the field exam. And," Moss tacked on to the end of his statement, "If you don't mind me saying so, he's a little, you know, weird." Ryo gave Moss a look, got up from his seat and walked out of the cafeteria. Moss leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head and lightly whistled to himself.