I added sommore thankies on ch. 2, I thanked the ppl who taught me how to use italics, yay! And one other person. Go see if you're there.
Ch 3: The Arrival
"C'mon! The boat is here! Get your ass moving!" Selphie barked to her friends.
"It's a little difficult!" Quistis replied, stumbling on 4-inch heels, and wearing the most revealing dress she ever dared to try on. There was going to be a fancy dinner for her and her date, and all kinds of other important rich people. She hated it. "This better be worth it," she mumbled, and hobbled over to the dock. They made it to the inside of the boat, Squall dragging a kicking, screaming boy.
"Get away from me! I want my mom! You freak, let go of me!!!" Wat screamed, his veins popping and his face red. Squall made no facial movement.
"Well, it doesn't look too amazing yet." Zell acknowledged, as he looked around the inside of the boat's entrance. There were metal detectors and guards everywhere. "Hey Irvine, how much are you supposed to tip the baggage handlers?"
"I'm not sure...but if you don't tip them enough, I heard they lose your luggage on purpose."
"They can't do that!!" Zell exclaimed. There was 5 years worth of comics in there, all Spiderman and x-men. Irvine shrugged.
"That's what I heard from my friend's half-brother's mom's uncle's daughter's piano teacher who heard it from her sister-in-law's great-grandfather's gardener's wife."
"Well, I'll just have to believe that!" Zell's eyes widened. He gave the baggage handler 100 gil.
"100 gil! Whoa! Thanks dude!" the handler said.
"You see that the bags get into our rooms safely, now." Zell replied.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Quistis's face was red, her palms were sweaty and she kept wiping them off on her dress. "oh, hyne, oh hyne…." She mumbled.
"Quistis, it's ok!" Selphie reassured. "You go on ahead to the dinner. We'll come by later."
"I… I can't go by myself. I ……. I, no. I'm going. I'll be fine, I'll see you guys later." She was clearly terrified, but ran through the metal detectors and toward the room where they were to feast.
The rest of the gang had to go through a metal detector before they wold be admitted entrance. Simple task, right? Wrong.
"Geez, I hope I tipped him enough." Zell asked worriedly.
"It was enough, Zell." Irvine sighed. He pushed Zell through the metal detector, which started to beep loudly.
'What the!?!?"
"Do you have anything metal on you, Zell?" Rinoa asked.
He thought for a minute. "Only my gloves and this piece of metal I carry in my pocket for good luck." He took off his gloves and a giant hunk of metal from his pocket and put them in the tray and went through without a problem.
Selphie and Rinoa walked through. The metal detector went off.
"The weapons and necklaces?" Selphie asked. Rinoa nodded. They put them in the tray and went through without a problem.
"Look, I'm smart!" Irvine exclaimed. He handed his shotgun to the security guard, who was rather freaked out by all the seeD weapons, and walked through the detector without a problem.
"He's only smart because he learned from us." Rinoa muttered.
"Huh?" Zell asked, stupidly.
Squall was last, (thank god) to go through the detector. He, of course, set it off.
"Damn."
Selphie sighed. "This is getting tedious! Your gunblade and necklace!"
"I know that." He put his gunblade in the tray, scaring the crap out of the security guard. The detector still went off.
"Ugh, I'm getting irritated! My whole outfit is leather and metal. You can't expect me to take it all off! It's very complicated!" Squall told the guard.
"Squall's emotional outburst of the day." Irvine clapped. "Hey, everyone get your weapons back now. I'm hungry and I want to eat food."
"Are you crazy?!" the security guard yelled. "You can't bring these weapons onto the boat!"
"What if we get attacked! I don't go anywhere without my gun!" Irvine exclaimed.
"Don't worry, I'll protect you." Zell reassured, patting Irvine on the shoulder. "I just hope I tipped that guy enough."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"… I… I'm sorry, I'm Quistis Trepe…. Where am I to be dining?" She asked a nearby doorman.
"Ah, yes." The doorman said, eyeing her suspiciously. "Right this way, miss." He opened the large doors behind him, and gestured that she may enter.
Quistis gaped. The room was huge, and there were expensive chandeliers on the ceiling. A red carpeted walkway showed her to her table, which was in the center of the room. It was crowded with rich people, all chatting. They immediately stopped what they were doing when Quistis entered the room, and each person stood up, clapping.
"Please proceed to the center of the room." The doorman whispered to Quistis, when he realized she didn't mean to move anytime soon. She hesitated, then nervously walked down the carpet, smiling fakely at the crowd. Her date was already seated. Quistis could tell that he was very handsome and had a powerful structure, just by looking at his back. Her smile widened. Things weren't going to be half-bad at all. That's when he turned. Quistis's eyes widened, and she stopped in her tracks, dropping her purse.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"This place is awesome!" Irvine exclaimed, looking around their room. "It's bigger than 100 dorm rooms put together!"
"Don't get too excited." Squall said, locking Wat in a closet. "All of us are sharing this one room. I couldn't really afford two."
"Bathroom! Bathroom!" Zell yelled, running past Squall. He emerged a few seconds later. "Wow! They have seashell shaped sinks here, this place rules!" He exclaimed.
"Zell….. that was the toilet." Selphie sighed.
"Uh oh. That means I just washed my hands in the……… never mind." Zell said. "let's unpack."
"The luggage isn't here yet." Irvine said
" I knew it!" Zell glanced about nervously. "I didn't tip that guy enough! He's probably burning out luggage right now, screaming maniacally. How could I be so stupid!!!"
"Zell.." Rinoa reached out toward him.
"Don't touch me!" Zell yelled. "I won't have clean underwear for who knows HOW long!!!!"
"Zell… they're right there." Rinoa pointed toward some baggage in the corner of the room. Irvine laughed.
"Why you….." Zell lunged toward Irvine. Irvine reached into his coat calmly, searching for his gun.
Empty space.
Irvine nervously pawed around his whole body looking for them, then realized what had happened to his gun earlier on, just as Zell threw a punch. Irvine's eyes widened.
"Shit!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The clapping ceased and uneasy glances were thrown around the room. Quistis slowly picked up her purse, but didn't move from the spot she was standing in.
Seifer.
Just hearing anyone say that name, brought a menacing glance, an angry stare, clenched fists, any form of anger from anyone that stood around the person that said his name in Garden. But there he was, sitting calmly at her table. Staring straight at her.
It couldn't be him. Seifer was dead!…. wasn't he?
No, there was no mistaking him. He looked exactly the same. He was even wearing his familiar gray trenchcoat. He didn't even make the slightest effort to wear what would have been appropriate at this occasion. Seifer sighed and stood up. He walked toward Quistis and took her hand.
"It seems that my Instructor needs me to hold her hand and guide her towards her table." He whispered in her ear. His warm breath tickled her ear and made her shudder. She desperately wanted to claw at her ear, to tear it off and get any form of virus he had breathed on her, off. But she walked with Seifer's guidance, towards the table. The clapping rose once more, and then faded when Seifer and Quistis were seated.
"……..what…… what the hell are you doing here?" Quistis hissed, once she was sure the people around her were busy chatting and not paying the least bit of attention to her.
"Don't act so surprised to see me, Instructor. I needed the money. Why else would I put up with this shit. To get a date?" he laughed. "The more appropriate question would be why are YOU here? To get a date?"
Quistis didn't answer. Seifer laughed again. He stood up " HEY! CAN WE GET SOME FREAKING SERVICE OVER HERE?"
"Seifer…. You're dead."
"Instructor, do I look dead to you?" Seifer spread his arms wide.
"But the Garden said…. Everyone assumed…"
Seifer cut her off. "Assume? I don't like to assume. It makes an ass out of u and me. SERVICE!!!" he yelled. A scrawny red head ran over in a uniform that was too big for her.
"I- I'm terribly sorry, sir! I hope you weren't waiting long! It's my first night on the job and—"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. La di' freaking da." Seifer waved his arm
"I-I'm so sorry! My name is Hoo and I'll be your waitress this evening. Would you like to order some drinks?"
"Who?" Quistis asked, confused.
"Never mind. Just get us some red wine. And hurry up!" Seifer said. The waitress scurried away, clearly frightened.
"So Instructor, how's seeD life going?" Seifer asked when the waitress left, stuffing complimentary bread into his mouth.
"Don't pretend that you're not a wanted criminal!!! You should be in jail!" Quistis said.
"I'm not wanted! Everyone "assumes I'm dead." You can't want a dead person! Relax! I haven't tried to blow up the planet anytime these past years have I? I entered my poem under the name Walter Melon. Fujin wrote it for me. I just want the money." Seifer replied.
"Fujin knows you're not dead?"
"Don't make me repeat myself, Instructor."
Just then, Hoo arrived with the drinks. "Are you ready to order?" she asked uneasily.
"I'll have the seafood platter please." Quistis said kindly.
"Oh, don't pretend you're not a bitch." Seifer said haughtily. "I'll have some sort of slaughtered livestock. And make it rare!"
Quistis glared at him. She wanted to strangle him with her bare hands. "You know what? I think I'll have my order delivered to my room."
"Yes, ma'am." Hoo said, writing down their orders. She scurried away once more.
"I'm not going to sit here and take this, Seifer… Walter, I should say" Quistis said as she stood. "you're a criminal at heart. If Squall found out…"
"Yea, yea. Squall, Squall, Squall. You still in love with him? Because he'll never go for you. He has Rinoa. No one will ever go for you." He sneered.
Quistis turned and strode out of the room, glad she'd never have to put up with Seifer Almasy again
A/N: or will she? Nyuk nyuk nyuk. Please R/R!!