Chapter Zero
Chapter Zero? That's right! This chapter is a list of all the main characters, all my dedications, statistics of the technical stuff, history, and all the boring copyright info.
\/Main Characters/\
Squall Leonhart [pic]
This is the main character of the story. Squall is a bit on the cold side. He doesn't care much about others when it doesn't concern him. He is a student of Balamb Garden.
Rinoa Heartilly [pic]
Though she doesn't present herself in the beginning, she is the female lead of the story. She is very nice, true to her heart. and warm to others, sort of opposite of Squall. She is also the leader of the Timber Owls, a group which opposes Galbadia Garden and Sorceress Edea.
Zell Dincht [pic]
He is Squall's best friend. Zell have a high temper, and gets mad easily. He is an expert in all types of fighting styles. Though he tries to be a 'player,' he is never very successful.
Quistis Trepe [pic]
An instructor at Balamb Garden. She just graduated a year before, and applied herself to be a teacher. She has feelings for Squall, though she tries to hide it.
Selphie Timmitt [pic]
She is a new transfer student from Tribia Garden, and Zell's new girlfriend. She's very hyperactive, and a very good talker. She is also the Head of Festive Committee in the Garden.
Irvine Kenneas [pic]
A student from Galbadia Garden, and the true 'player' of the group. He trains in the area of sniper arts. Though a very good sniper, his nerves collapses under pressure.
Seifer Almasy [pic]
A student at Balamb Garden. He considers himself a rival of Squall. He doesn't like to follow rules, and always wants his own ways. Seifer is the oldest student at Balamb Garden.
Laguna Loire [pic]
A retired Galbadia Soldier, now a journalist working for the publisher Timber Maniacs. He is warm hearted, and very fun to be around. He has a son and a daughter.
Sorceress Edea [pic]
She is a sorceress planning to take over the world. With the help of Galbadia Garden, she seems to be unstoppable.
Headmaster Sid [pic]
Headmaster of Balamb Garden. Very nice, and generous. Though sometimes he is taken advantage of.
\/Dedications/\
I would like to dedicate this to my friends at LMS that got me into the Final Fantasy Stuff…Jason, Matt, all you people. My computer. Without you, I would've never been here…Square Soft! You guys are gods. Without you, I'll probably still be a fighter freak. And uh \ / \ / ] ] _ ] _ E ] \ [.
\/Technical/\
The body text of the writing SHOULD be in 12 point MS Reference Sans Serif, one and one-half spaced, with macros auto-hyphenation. The Title boxes in Coronet. And the FF writing in Runic MT Condensed. On computer, it should be viewed in Words with all the bells and whistles on.
\/Copyrights/\
All parts of this writing may NOT be reproduced in any way, unless with the explicit permission of the author. The writing belongs to the author, who is me, Tao Li. Actually…All of the FINISHED writing(separate chapters) can be, electronically or physically, transmitted ONLY FOR PERSONAL USES. I encourage you to share this with your friends. BUT, that does not include printing for your own profit. A.k.a.: selling them. That is a violation of international copyright law, and can be punished by law. At the time of this writing, this novel is not finished/completed.
1.1.1.1 Chapter One
"Can you say your name for me?"
Squall laid flat on the cushioned bed as he regained his conciseness. Feeling still sick, he held himself up as the doctor continued on his forehead, examining and reapplying potion for the fourth time.
"Doctor, I'm fine. Your don't have to fuss about a small scratch." Squall said, though he felt the stinging sensation as the doctor went on without stopping.
The infirmary is like its old self; white and green wall, which always make Squall think of green grass and white sky. The curtain is fluttering against the soft wind.
He's lying in the inner room, which is where you go if you are seriously injured.
"I wouldn't call that a scratch if I were you," he said, as he applied more potion on it. "It is quite deep. I think you should keep this one, unless you want enormous stitches across your head."
"I guess I'll keep it." Squall groaned, still holding his forehead.
"When you're finish resting, Quistis wants you to forget about the morning classes." The Doctor said as he went back to his desk, "Wait here. She'll come to get you."
Another scar, representing another battle. He didn't really mind his other scars that he got in fights. But this one, across his forehead?
Squall is in a special training program, called the Silver Lion. He has been in it when he was Thirteen. His friend, Zell, was with him all through his school years; they've been together through childhood, went to school together, and now is with him through Silver Lion.
Just like Zell, Squall is an orphan.
He remembered when he was just a child when his mother told stories about his father, about how he's father courageously fought in
the battle, which he died honorably in; in the single fight against the most powerful enemy of all.
Long before, There was Sepheroth, a devilish monster inhibiting in the most powerful sorcerer of the time. He turned the whole world into a living hell. Only those with incredible fighting skill and courage dared to challenge Sepheroth's power, and all of them had failed, of course, and slaughtered by him. Until one day, a Mercenary named Cloud and his fellow warriors dethroned Him of his power. Just before Sepheroth's painful death, it gave life to its next generation.
After two thousand years, the egg hatched. The most evil soul has emerged. Her name was Ultimecia.
It was Ultimecia who took Squall's father away.
When Ultimecia stuck again, she took Squall's mother away, just like his father. Squall swore at his mother's funeral revenge for his
parents' death. He heeds to do that no matter what.
Ultimecia lives on the unknown part of the world. She dispatched evil spirits around the world to take control of powerful people. Five hundred years ago, one of the spirits took control of Adel; a mysterious person who controlled Esther, a continent that is hidden from the world. But that did not last long. An unknown soldier fought and took over Esther. Now, Adel is entombed in the cold surface of the Silver Moon.
Twenty-five years ago, one of the evil spirits took control of Edea, a powerful sorceress who explorers the world to perfect her magic skills, and she is also the Headmistress of Galbadia Garden, a garden for training soldiers. Ultimecia used her power to take control of Galbadia Garden, and started a worldwide invasion.
About the same time, every year, she would start invading a place. Those who have been conquered can do nothing about it. She has taken control of a part of the entire continent.
When Squall finished his schooling at thirteen, he immediately enrolled himself to Balamb Garden, where the Silver Lion took place. Balamb Garden is located on a remote island out in the ocean.
He received his weapon, the Gun Blade, when he joined the Silver Lion. The weapon has a two and a half feet blade, a razor sharp point, attached to a gun handle. Each time you pull the trigger, a shock of energy go through the blade.
Training is hard, But Squall manage to pass every grueling test. Tests like written exam isn't really difficult to him. But, physical/mental exam, is when you have to fight off a monster, that's what all the students are worried about.
When you graduate from Silver Lion, You become a SeeD, special military unit specialized to help restore peace around the globe.
Other than Zell, he made friends. Like Nida, who is a member of Silver Lion as well, and Quistis, his teacher, who were with Squall and Zell through the whole five years.
He made Enemies. Like Fujin and Rajin, who are member of the disciplinary team; people who punish students who fall below the military standard. And most especially, Seifer. It was him who gave Squall the scar across the face.
Squall and Seifer had been Enemies all the time they've been in the Silver Lion. From the time they first met as Silver Lion, and to now when they're training for battle. Every time they threaten to start a fight, Quistis always come to stop them, as though she were wherever they were together.
There are magical creatures inhibiting this world. Some that does not harm people, though they attack as self-defense. But most of them are ferocious and dangerous. They could attack people who just walk passes by them out in the woods. But the people know one thing that will protect them, magic.
Magic is not uncommon. It is everywhere. People use magic to move objects, travel, communicate, get work done, and, at least, have fun. But for fighting, they use magic that harm the enemy and heal the allies. There is several elemental magic: Ice, Fire, Water, Thunder, Poison, Time/Gravity, Heal, Holy, and Forbidden.
Each element is different than the other. Each of the creatures has a weakness to one or some element that the people could use to scare or make them unconscious with.
Forbidden Magic is the creation of the Evil. They are so powerful, they are banned from use of anyone, anytime.
Another type of magic is summoning magic. There are thirty or so types of summoning magic. When you use a summoning magic a magical creature appears and attacks your enemy. Each summoning magic has an element that they contain. Like Ice, Fire, Thunder, and so on.
For Squall, he is only a beginner. The Silver Lion is designed to train beginning magic users, like Squall.
A knock on the door snapped Squall back to reality. At the doorway, stood Quistis, his teacher. Quistis is very young to be a teacher, at least that's what Squall thought. She has golden orange hair, which is tied elegantly in to a loop in the back of her head. She has bright eyes, which looked incredibly intelligent. Sometimes, like today, she wore glasses. She wore the traditional, and tidy clothes of the Balamb Garden, which is high- collared outfit with gold-trimmed edges, and a black dress, or pants for guys.
"How are you doing, Squall?" Quistis asked, looking at Squall straight in the eyes.
"Fine." Squall said in a low voice, looking straight toward the ground.
Quistis sat down on a chair besides the bed, taking a sip of water she poured out from the jug on the counter.
"That was a bad wound you took from training. Did the doctor clean it out for you?" Quistis asked, still holding the cup in her hand.
"I've had worse." Squall answered shortly.
Quistis didn't say anything for a while. Finally she stood up. "Have you had enough rest?"
Squall stood up too. "Yeah." Walking toward the door.
"All right. Let's get out of here." Quistis lead Squall out the Exit
They both walked down the corridor, which is now full of people. Because the Morning classes has ended, and it's time for break and lunch. All of them have two hours until the afternoon classes.
"How's your study?" Quistis asked while looking straight forward.
"Same." Squall just said flatly.
Quistis suddenly stopped in front of Squall. "Listen to me. I know you're mad at Seifer, but you cannot go looking for revenge. Not now"
Squall sighed. Quistis do this almost every time they got in a fight. Quistis sometimes is like a sister to Squall rather than a teacher. "Yeah, sure." Squall said, and resumed walking. Quistis soon started walking too.
They stopped at the edge of a flight of stairs, which leads to the to the main part of the Garden and the lunch area.
"You can go get lunch now, since you have been in the Infirmary all morning. I've heard they're serving hot dogs." Quistis smiled awkwardly to Squall.
Quistis waved good-bye to Squall and walked to the elevator to return to her classroom.
Squall strolled slowly down the steps. He heard footsteps running towards him. He didn't stop to look.
"Hey did you check out that new foreign exchange student? She is such a chick!"
Zell ran and stepped beside of him. Zell looks like someone out of a comic book. If he had gone one step further into dressing himself, he would be wearing wetsuit and a cape. But today, he is wearing a colorful tropical shirt.
Zell became a SeeD to follow his father's footsteps to become a soldier. His father died in the same war Squall's father died in- the fight against Ultimecia.
Zell lives in Balamb, a quiet, cozy little coast town by the ocean, which is a couple of hours drive from the garden. Many students visit there on days off. It is also a harbor, used to ferry students off the small island for vacation. For Squall, he just stays around the garden.
Zell and him walked toward the lunch area, and sat down.
"Are you going to devote your whole life to girls? You had, what, five girlfriends already? And you broke up with four. Are you going to treat this as a game?" Squall said as he took out his card to get lunch.
"Hey, let me say something, and I quote, 'If you can't live with them, you don't have to!'" Said Zell, as though he was having a grand lecture. He too took out his student card and swiped it in to the slot. "Hot Dogs," he said to table. Some bright red letters popped up on the screen that said: SOLD OUT.
"God darn it!" Zell pounded hard on the table, "Every time!"
Pizza, though, popped out of the table in front of Squall. Squall took the lunch and started walking toward the dorm area.
"Where are you going?!" Zell grabbed his lunch and ran toward Squall. "I was going to introduce to you some new girls!" Zell yelled after him.
"Maybe some other time." Squall muttered.
Squall walked back to his dorm. Gulping on his drink, he sat down and turned on his PC.
PC ID: SQUALL LEONHART/ ID NUM: 1279
LOGGING IN…
WAIT…
WELCOME TO DATA BASE, SQUALL
1. EVENT
2. GARDEN
3. ASSIGNED WORK
4. GAMES
5. DIARY
6. SCHOOL NET
7. MAIL BOX
Squall first went to his work. He dragged his cursor to Assigned Work, and clicked. There displayed a list of teachers with a little comment next to it:
1. Quistis—Magic/Strategy —N/A—Com: get well soon!
2. Ridder—Past & Future—N/A—Com: nasty wound
3. Chaine—Creature I.D—N/A—Com: see you tomorrow
4. Norg—Battle—N/A—Com: train hard
Great, Squall thought, now the teachers are easing on him. He went back to the main page, and clicked on the link about the Dance.
WORKING…
DONE!
The Graduation Ball is on its way! This is a dance only for those who graduate from Silver Lion! This dance will begin three days after the exam. Get approval from all of your teachers after the exam and come by to the Quad to register! Registration fee is 500Gil.
Mail me at SELPHIE@BOX45
FINISHING…
A school dance. One of the things Squall hated the most.
Squall closed the link, and clicked the Event link. He wants to find out more about the exam they were talking about in class yesterday.
A list of events lit up on the screen. He went through them, and clicked on the Ending Exam icon.
WORKING…
…
DONE! DISPLAYING…
Final field exam date is set on the fifteenth of this month. The Silver Lions and Falcons will be having theirs are the same day. The Silver Lions are to meet that day in the lobby with their partner promptly at 0900 hours. Be prepared with your spell and summon materia. Check over with your partner please. At the lobby, you will form four people per group. Anyone who wishes to earn a materia should go to the training center after class. Good luck.
EXAM@MAILBOX3
FINISHING…
Squall only has two spell materias; Blizzard and Cure. Blizzard is the basic spell of the Ice type. Cure is the basic of the Heal type. He wishes he could have learned more of them. He wishes to learn Demi, a Time/Gravity spell, which take a quarter of the enemy's energy and gives them to the caster. There are two teachers that teach magic. Quistis is his magic casting teacher. She is going to give him a review sometime later for the exam. Norg is his magic strategy teacher.
He hasn't picked, or got picked on for a partner. Other people seem to pick the opposite sex. Zell will surely pick the Foreign exchange student he babbled about
He backed out of events, and went to his mailbox. He doesn't usually get mail, but he checks it sometimes any ways. The screen flashed a bit and there, it said 1 NEW MAIL. He clicked. There, the sent address said XU@MAILBOX32.
Squall flinched, and blinked his eyes to make sure they are working properly.
Xu is a girl who is a member of a girl group, which is formed in the garden a year ago. They perform songs and dramas, which is held in the Garden Festival every year after the Graduation Dance. They are all members of the Silver Lion too, though they rarely speak to anyone. And he thinks they're really spoiled and concealed within themselves. But now one of them is sending him mail? Squall's heart thumped faster as he slowly dragged the cursor on the link, and clicked.
SEACHING DATABASE…
FOUND! DISPLAYING…
Hi, Squall.
Though I never spoke to you in person, before, I'm writing this letter because I want to ask you some thing. You know I'm in your classes, and you don't really know me that well. And, I don't know if you know or not, but I find you awfully handsome.
As you know, I think, I'm in the Garden's performance group. And we all have a boyfriend, except me. I want you, or ask you to be my first boyfriend, and we can go out to Balamb next time we have the chance. What do you think? I know that you're shy and quiet. But, you may not know that I am too. It took me a lot of courage to write this letter to you. Just mail me a reply, or you can just tell me.
Love /Sincerely
Xu
P.S. Think about being my partner for the exam?
XU@MAILBOX32
FINISHING…
Squall froze. A lot of thoughts went through his mind. Yet he doesn't know what to do. He stood up, and walked around his dorm for a few times. He finally sat down again. He went through the tool bar, and found the print button, and he clicked. A copy of the letter came out from under the PC. He shut down it and walked out the dorm. He needs to see Zell, fast.
He walked out into the main hall. Now, it's almost full of people. He squeezed through the crowd, and stepped inside the cafeteria. He found Zell chatting endlessly to a bunch of girls around a table. Squall walked soundlessly toward him and waited. Zell didn't see him standing there. Squall waited.
Zell still didn't see him. Squall tapped him softly on the shoulder. He looked up, turned back to the bunch of girls. "I'll be back, girls. Wait here."
"What's up?" Zell said, running his fingers through his hair, looking back at the girls.
"Look at this." Squall muttered, and shoved the paper in front of him.
"What's this?" Zell read, while drinking some juice. Squall let him read on. When Zell's almost finished the letter. He's eyes widened, and he almost spat out his drink.
"You sure this is the right address?!" Zell muttered loudly, holding the letter like it's very precious.
"Yes, and will you give me a hint what to do?"
Zell thought about it for a moment. He snapped his finger. "Yes, I know exactly what to do."
He lead Squall back to the table where the girls still is.
"What are you doing?" Squall whispered to Zell.
"Be quiet." Zell murmured back, while he sat Squall down.
Zell sat down next to Squall, and turned to a girl at the table.
"Xu, meet my friend, Squall."
©( Copyright Omega 2000-2002. All text is the property of Authors Tao Li and Jeanie Owen. All rights reserved.
Chapter Zero? That's right! This chapter is a list of all the main characters, all my dedications, statistics of the technical stuff, history, and all the boring copyright info.
\/Main Characters/\
Squall Leonhart [pic]
This is the main character of the story. Squall is a bit on the cold side. He doesn't care much about others when it doesn't concern him. He is a student of Balamb Garden.
Rinoa Heartilly [pic]
Though she doesn't present herself in the beginning, she is the female lead of the story. She is very nice, true to her heart. and warm to others, sort of opposite of Squall. She is also the leader of the Timber Owls, a group which opposes Galbadia Garden and Sorceress Edea.
Zell Dincht [pic]
He is Squall's best friend. Zell have a high temper, and gets mad easily. He is an expert in all types of fighting styles. Though he tries to be a 'player,' he is never very successful.
Quistis Trepe [pic]
An instructor at Balamb Garden. She just graduated a year before, and applied herself to be a teacher. She has feelings for Squall, though she tries to hide it.
Selphie Timmitt [pic]
She is a new transfer student from Tribia Garden, and Zell's new girlfriend. She's very hyperactive, and a very good talker. She is also the Head of Festive Committee in the Garden.
Irvine Kenneas [pic]
A student from Galbadia Garden, and the true 'player' of the group. He trains in the area of sniper arts. Though a very good sniper, his nerves collapses under pressure.
Seifer Almasy [pic]
A student at Balamb Garden. He considers himself a rival of Squall. He doesn't like to follow rules, and always wants his own ways. Seifer is the oldest student at Balamb Garden.
Laguna Loire [pic]
A retired Galbadia Soldier, now a journalist working for the publisher Timber Maniacs. He is warm hearted, and very fun to be around. He has a son and a daughter.
Sorceress Edea [pic]
She is a sorceress planning to take over the world. With the help of Galbadia Garden, she seems to be unstoppable.
Headmaster Sid [pic]
Headmaster of Balamb Garden. Very nice, and generous. Though sometimes he is taken advantage of.
\/Dedications/\
I would like to dedicate this to my friends at LMS that got me into the Final Fantasy Stuff…Jason, Matt, all you people. My computer. Without you, I would've never been here…Square Soft! You guys are gods. Without you, I'll probably still be a fighter freak. And uh \ / \ / ] ] _ ] _ E ] \ [.
\/Technical/\
The body text of the writing SHOULD be in 12 point MS Reference Sans Serif, one and one-half spaced, with macros auto-hyphenation. The Title boxes in Coronet. And the FF writing in Runic MT Condensed. On computer, it should be viewed in Words with all the bells and whistles on.
\/Copyrights/\
All parts of this writing may NOT be reproduced in any way, unless with the explicit permission of the author. The writing belongs to the author, who is me, Tao Li. Actually…All of the FINISHED writing(separate chapters) can be, electronically or physically, transmitted ONLY FOR PERSONAL USES. I encourage you to share this with your friends. BUT, that does not include printing for your own profit. A.k.a.: selling them. That is a violation of international copyright law, and can be punished by law. At the time of this writing, this novel is not finished/completed.
1.1.1.1 Chapter One
"Can you say your name for me?"
Squall laid flat on the cushioned bed as he regained his conciseness. Feeling still sick, he held himself up as the doctor continued on his forehead, examining and reapplying potion for the fourth time.
"Doctor, I'm fine. Your don't have to fuss about a small scratch." Squall said, though he felt the stinging sensation as the doctor went on without stopping.
The infirmary is like its old self; white and green wall, which always make Squall think of green grass and white sky. The curtain is fluttering against the soft wind.
He's lying in the inner room, which is where you go if you are seriously injured.
"I wouldn't call that a scratch if I were you," he said, as he applied more potion on it. "It is quite deep. I think you should keep this one, unless you want enormous stitches across your head."
"I guess I'll keep it." Squall groaned, still holding his forehead.
"When you're finish resting, Quistis wants you to forget about the morning classes." The Doctor said as he went back to his desk, "Wait here. She'll come to get you."
Another scar, representing another battle. He didn't really mind his other scars that he got in fights. But this one, across his forehead?
Squall is in a special training program, called the Silver Lion. He has been in it when he was Thirteen. His friend, Zell, was with him all through his school years; they've been together through childhood, went to school together, and now is with him through Silver Lion.
Just like Zell, Squall is an orphan.
He remembered when he was just a child when his mother told stories about his father, about how he's father courageously fought in
the battle, which he died honorably in; in the single fight against the most powerful enemy of all.
Long before, There was Sepheroth, a devilish monster inhibiting in the most powerful sorcerer of the time. He turned the whole world into a living hell. Only those with incredible fighting skill and courage dared to challenge Sepheroth's power, and all of them had failed, of course, and slaughtered by him. Until one day, a Mercenary named Cloud and his fellow warriors dethroned Him of his power. Just before Sepheroth's painful death, it gave life to its next generation.
After two thousand years, the egg hatched. The most evil soul has emerged. Her name was Ultimecia.
It was Ultimecia who took Squall's father away.
When Ultimecia stuck again, she took Squall's mother away, just like his father. Squall swore at his mother's funeral revenge for his
parents' death. He heeds to do that no matter what.
Ultimecia lives on the unknown part of the world. She dispatched evil spirits around the world to take control of powerful people. Five hundred years ago, one of the spirits took control of Adel; a mysterious person who controlled Esther, a continent that is hidden from the world. But that did not last long. An unknown soldier fought and took over Esther. Now, Adel is entombed in the cold surface of the Silver Moon.
Twenty-five years ago, one of the evil spirits took control of Edea, a powerful sorceress who explorers the world to perfect her magic skills, and she is also the Headmistress of Galbadia Garden, a garden for training soldiers. Ultimecia used her power to take control of Galbadia Garden, and started a worldwide invasion.
About the same time, every year, she would start invading a place. Those who have been conquered can do nothing about it. She has taken control of a part of the entire continent.
When Squall finished his schooling at thirteen, he immediately enrolled himself to Balamb Garden, where the Silver Lion took place. Balamb Garden is located on a remote island out in the ocean.
He received his weapon, the Gun Blade, when he joined the Silver Lion. The weapon has a two and a half feet blade, a razor sharp point, attached to a gun handle. Each time you pull the trigger, a shock of energy go through the blade.
Training is hard, But Squall manage to pass every grueling test. Tests like written exam isn't really difficult to him. But, physical/mental exam, is when you have to fight off a monster, that's what all the students are worried about.
When you graduate from Silver Lion, You become a SeeD, special military unit specialized to help restore peace around the globe.
Other than Zell, he made friends. Like Nida, who is a member of Silver Lion as well, and Quistis, his teacher, who were with Squall and Zell through the whole five years.
He made Enemies. Like Fujin and Rajin, who are member of the disciplinary team; people who punish students who fall below the military standard. And most especially, Seifer. It was him who gave Squall the scar across the face.
Squall and Seifer had been Enemies all the time they've been in the Silver Lion. From the time they first met as Silver Lion, and to now when they're training for battle. Every time they threaten to start a fight, Quistis always come to stop them, as though she were wherever they were together.
There are magical creatures inhibiting this world. Some that does not harm people, though they attack as self-defense. But most of them are ferocious and dangerous. They could attack people who just walk passes by them out in the woods. But the people know one thing that will protect them, magic.
Magic is not uncommon. It is everywhere. People use magic to move objects, travel, communicate, get work done, and, at least, have fun. But for fighting, they use magic that harm the enemy and heal the allies. There is several elemental magic: Ice, Fire, Water, Thunder, Poison, Time/Gravity, Heal, Holy, and Forbidden.
Each element is different than the other. Each of the creatures has a weakness to one or some element that the people could use to scare or make them unconscious with.
Forbidden Magic is the creation of the Evil. They are so powerful, they are banned from use of anyone, anytime.
Another type of magic is summoning magic. There are thirty or so types of summoning magic. When you use a summoning magic a magical creature appears and attacks your enemy. Each summoning magic has an element that they contain. Like Ice, Fire, Thunder, and so on.
For Squall, he is only a beginner. The Silver Lion is designed to train beginning magic users, like Squall.
A knock on the door snapped Squall back to reality. At the doorway, stood Quistis, his teacher. Quistis is very young to be a teacher, at least that's what Squall thought. She has golden orange hair, which is tied elegantly in to a loop in the back of her head. She has bright eyes, which looked incredibly intelligent. Sometimes, like today, she wore glasses. She wore the traditional, and tidy clothes of the Balamb Garden, which is high- collared outfit with gold-trimmed edges, and a black dress, or pants for guys.
"How are you doing, Squall?" Quistis asked, looking at Squall straight in the eyes.
"Fine." Squall said in a low voice, looking straight toward the ground.
Quistis sat down on a chair besides the bed, taking a sip of water she poured out from the jug on the counter.
"That was a bad wound you took from training. Did the doctor clean it out for you?" Quistis asked, still holding the cup in her hand.
"I've had worse." Squall answered shortly.
Quistis didn't say anything for a while. Finally she stood up. "Have you had enough rest?"
Squall stood up too. "Yeah." Walking toward the door.
"All right. Let's get out of here." Quistis lead Squall out the Exit
They both walked down the corridor, which is now full of people. Because the Morning classes has ended, and it's time for break and lunch. All of them have two hours until the afternoon classes.
"How's your study?" Quistis asked while looking straight forward.
"Same." Squall just said flatly.
Quistis suddenly stopped in front of Squall. "Listen to me. I know you're mad at Seifer, but you cannot go looking for revenge. Not now"
Squall sighed. Quistis do this almost every time they got in a fight. Quistis sometimes is like a sister to Squall rather than a teacher. "Yeah, sure." Squall said, and resumed walking. Quistis soon started walking too.
They stopped at the edge of a flight of stairs, which leads to the to the main part of the Garden and the lunch area.
"You can go get lunch now, since you have been in the Infirmary all morning. I've heard they're serving hot dogs." Quistis smiled awkwardly to Squall.
Quistis waved good-bye to Squall and walked to the elevator to return to her classroom.
Squall strolled slowly down the steps. He heard footsteps running towards him. He didn't stop to look.
"Hey did you check out that new foreign exchange student? She is such a chick!"
Zell ran and stepped beside of him. Zell looks like someone out of a comic book. If he had gone one step further into dressing himself, he would be wearing wetsuit and a cape. But today, he is wearing a colorful tropical shirt.
Zell became a SeeD to follow his father's footsteps to become a soldier. His father died in the same war Squall's father died in- the fight against Ultimecia.
Zell lives in Balamb, a quiet, cozy little coast town by the ocean, which is a couple of hours drive from the garden. Many students visit there on days off. It is also a harbor, used to ferry students off the small island for vacation. For Squall, he just stays around the garden.
Zell and him walked toward the lunch area, and sat down.
"Are you going to devote your whole life to girls? You had, what, five girlfriends already? And you broke up with four. Are you going to treat this as a game?" Squall said as he took out his card to get lunch.
"Hey, let me say something, and I quote, 'If you can't live with them, you don't have to!'" Said Zell, as though he was having a grand lecture. He too took out his student card and swiped it in to the slot. "Hot Dogs," he said to table. Some bright red letters popped up on the screen that said: SOLD OUT.
"God darn it!" Zell pounded hard on the table, "Every time!"
Pizza, though, popped out of the table in front of Squall. Squall took the lunch and started walking toward the dorm area.
"Where are you going?!" Zell grabbed his lunch and ran toward Squall. "I was going to introduce to you some new girls!" Zell yelled after him.
"Maybe some other time." Squall muttered.
Squall walked back to his dorm. Gulping on his drink, he sat down and turned on his PC.
PC ID: SQUALL LEONHART/ ID NUM: 1279
LOGGING IN…
WAIT…
WELCOME TO DATA BASE, SQUALL
1. EVENT
2. GARDEN
3. ASSIGNED WORK
4. GAMES
5. DIARY
6. SCHOOL NET
7. MAIL BOX
Squall first went to his work. He dragged his cursor to Assigned Work, and clicked. There displayed a list of teachers with a little comment next to it:
1. Quistis—Magic/Strategy —N/A—Com: get well soon!
2. Ridder—Past & Future—N/A—Com: nasty wound
3. Chaine—Creature I.D—N/A—Com: see you tomorrow
4. Norg—Battle—N/A—Com: train hard
Great, Squall thought, now the teachers are easing on him. He went back to the main page, and clicked on the link about the Dance.
WORKING…
DONE!
The Graduation Ball is on its way! This is a dance only for those who graduate from Silver Lion! This dance will begin three days after the exam. Get approval from all of your teachers after the exam and come by to the Quad to register! Registration fee is 500Gil.
Mail me at SELPHIE@BOX45
FINISHING…
A school dance. One of the things Squall hated the most.
Squall closed the link, and clicked the Event link. He wants to find out more about the exam they were talking about in class yesterday.
A list of events lit up on the screen. He went through them, and clicked on the Ending Exam icon.
WORKING…
…
DONE! DISPLAYING…
Final field exam date is set on the fifteenth of this month. The Silver Lions and Falcons will be having theirs are the same day. The Silver Lions are to meet that day in the lobby with their partner promptly at 0900 hours. Be prepared with your spell and summon materia. Check over with your partner please. At the lobby, you will form four people per group. Anyone who wishes to earn a materia should go to the training center after class. Good luck.
EXAM@MAILBOX3
FINISHING…
Squall only has two spell materias; Blizzard and Cure. Blizzard is the basic spell of the Ice type. Cure is the basic of the Heal type. He wishes he could have learned more of them. He wishes to learn Demi, a Time/Gravity spell, which take a quarter of the enemy's energy and gives them to the caster. There are two teachers that teach magic. Quistis is his magic casting teacher. She is going to give him a review sometime later for the exam. Norg is his magic strategy teacher.
He hasn't picked, or got picked on for a partner. Other people seem to pick the opposite sex. Zell will surely pick the Foreign exchange student he babbled about
He backed out of events, and went to his mailbox. He doesn't usually get mail, but he checks it sometimes any ways. The screen flashed a bit and there, it said 1 NEW MAIL. He clicked. There, the sent address said XU@MAILBOX32.
Squall flinched, and blinked his eyes to make sure they are working properly.
Xu is a girl who is a member of a girl group, which is formed in the garden a year ago. They perform songs and dramas, which is held in the Garden Festival every year after the Graduation Dance. They are all members of the Silver Lion too, though they rarely speak to anyone. And he thinks they're really spoiled and concealed within themselves. But now one of them is sending him mail? Squall's heart thumped faster as he slowly dragged the cursor on the link, and clicked.
SEACHING DATABASE…
FOUND! DISPLAYING…
Hi, Squall.
Though I never spoke to you in person, before, I'm writing this letter because I want to ask you some thing. You know I'm in your classes, and you don't really know me that well. And, I don't know if you know or not, but I find you awfully handsome.
As you know, I think, I'm in the Garden's performance group. And we all have a boyfriend, except me. I want you, or ask you to be my first boyfriend, and we can go out to Balamb next time we have the chance. What do you think? I know that you're shy and quiet. But, you may not know that I am too. It took me a lot of courage to write this letter to you. Just mail me a reply, or you can just tell me.
Love /Sincerely
Xu
P.S. Think about being my partner for the exam?
XU@MAILBOX32
FINISHING…
Squall froze. A lot of thoughts went through his mind. Yet he doesn't know what to do. He stood up, and walked around his dorm for a few times. He finally sat down again. He went through the tool bar, and found the print button, and he clicked. A copy of the letter came out from under the PC. He shut down it and walked out the dorm. He needs to see Zell, fast.
He walked out into the main hall. Now, it's almost full of people. He squeezed through the crowd, and stepped inside the cafeteria. He found Zell chatting endlessly to a bunch of girls around a table. Squall walked soundlessly toward him and waited. Zell didn't see him standing there. Squall waited.
Zell still didn't see him. Squall tapped him softly on the shoulder. He looked up, turned back to the bunch of girls. "I'll be back, girls. Wait here."
"What's up?" Zell said, running his fingers through his hair, looking back at the girls.
"Look at this." Squall muttered, and shoved the paper in front of him.
"What's this?" Zell read, while drinking some juice. Squall let him read on. When Zell's almost finished the letter. He's eyes widened, and he almost spat out his drink.
"You sure this is the right address?!" Zell muttered loudly, holding the letter like it's very precious.
"Yes, and will you give me a hint what to do?"
Zell thought about it for a moment. He snapped his finger. "Yes, I know exactly what to do."
He lead Squall back to the table where the girls still is.
"What are you doing?" Squall whispered to Zell.
"Be quiet." Zell murmured back, while he sat Squall down.
Zell sat down next to Squall, and turned to a girl at the table.
"Xu, meet my friend, Squall."
©( Copyright Omega 2000-2002. All text is the property of Authors Tao Li and Jeanie Owen. All rights reserved.