I know...I know...you can all throw rotten vegetables AND wet puppies at
me...I've been a bad girl, and not updated for ages. Sorry :( I will make
it up to you. I can't express my gratitude for all you reviewers, I've got
nothing but good from everyone, and this isn't even CLOSE to the juicy
parts! Thanks SOOO MUCH!!! Maybe I can repay all of you (might take a
while, but hell, after this story, I AM TAKING A BREAK lol).
Quistis got around to the back of the building, praying harder than ever, that her ride hadn't left her. If the pilot had indeed gotten impatient, this mission was probably over. She looked up, and all her hopes were shattered.
Empty airship landing.
She felt as if she could cry. Like things could get any worse. The thing that bothered her the most was the fact that she had blown the mission herself. There was no one responsible for the damage done, but her. In her case, taking into consideration the amount of pressure she put on herself to do the best at everything, this was a considerably big deal.
She sat right down on the asphalt, brought her knees to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them, throwing her luggage down carelessly. What was she going to do? What was she going to tell Edea? Oh, she overslept and lost her ride...nice story. Real impressing.
Her stress-level doubled when the same army truck she'd almost been hit by pulled up about thirty feet away from her. She buried her head in her knees. Not him, not again...please Hyne...
"Need a ride?" he called.
She groaned slightly. Maybe if she ignored him, he would just go away. Just maybe.
"Hey, are you alright?" he called again.
She kept her face down, her forehead on her knees. Ignore...ignore...ignore...
All hopes of him just forgetting about her were shot when she heard the truck door open and slam shut. She listened to his boots thump across the blacktop, and stop a few feet in front of her. Finally realizing she couldn't just wish him away, she lifted her face from her knees.
"You look....bad. Sure you don't need a ride or something?" he asked.
She couldn't help rolling her eyes. "I know I look bad okay! I've had a hard day, and I'd appreciate it if you would get back in your truck and go away." she said, standing up so her eyes could be at least more level with his. She couldn't keep tears from welling up in her eyes. Her headache was so bad by now, her head felt as if it would explode any minute.
"No need to cop an attitude, I was just trying to help, damn." he said. "Well, me and my friend Raijin here are trying to get to Galbadia Garden. Maybe you could help by providing information on how we could get a pilot?" he asked.
Great. Just great. He was going to Galbadia too. Wasn't she just having a wonderful "vacation"?! She turned and began walking away.
"I take it you don't know then." he said, his voice revealing that he was losing patience.
She turned on her heel. "Yes, as a matter of fact I do. You hire them inside the rental shop. Unfortunatly, I can't get my ride to Galbadia, because my pre-paid, impatient, bastard of a pilot decided to just take off, because I was late, and now I'm broke!" she snapped. "So if you want one, go PAY for one."
"You DO need a ride then?" he said with a smirk.
It finally clicked. He may be Seifer, and he may be an ass, but he also may be her ticket to a successful mission. She could just hitch a ride...after all, she was broke. It's not like she had any other way of getting to Galbadia..."Yes." she said, finally. "I do."
Three hours later, she sat one seat behind Seifer and Raijin on a a rickety, cheap airship. Must have been built during the First Sorceress War. Nevertheless, it got her off the ground, and inside Galbadia Garden, so it wasn't half bad.
Not much conversation had gone on between her and the two men. Any questions were usually dodged, or answered with a simple "yes" or "no". Needless to say, they still had conversation amongst themselves.
She gripped the arms of her worn-out seat as the pilot turned the airship around and headed for the Galbadia parking section. Since the Gardens' flying capabilities had been discovered, airships had been the only way on and off them. Unless, of course, Garden stopped for something, which was somewhat rare.
The garage door opened automatically, sensored to detect movement in a twenty foot radius. Students never hung around in the parking garages anymore, noisy doors were a nuisance, opening every time a bird flew by.
The airship touched the floor of Galbadia Garden's parking garage as she was unbuckling her seatbelt. She couldn't wait to get out of here, away from Seifer and Raijin, and into the safety and privacy of a dorm room.
She climbed out after Seifer and Raijin. The pilot gave them a smile, and she gave a slight nod back, pulled her luggage out of the ship, then quickly headed for the exit. To her relief, they didn't bother to follow her, but turned at the entrance to the dormitories instead. She headed for Headmaster Martene's office.
The secretary in the first office had her waiting for fifteen minutes, but she wasn't complaining. At least the mission wasn't blown. She hated to admit Seifer had saved the day. It sounded so wrong...Seifer...saving the day... Just wrong in so many ways.
During her short meeting with Headmaster Martene, she'd acquired her dormitory keycard, and her student ID card.
She wasted no time in heading to her dorm, taking a shower, and changing her clothes. She re-applied make-up, trying to make it as different as she could from the way she used to, as "Quistis".
After all this, she finally realized she was actually very hungry. During the flight here, nerves had washed away any hungry feelings. The whole time she was dreading, going over and over in her mind, the moment he would realize who she really was. Now that that nightmare was over, she could get something to eat.
She walked down to the cafeteria, and bought a salad and iced tea. She was glad to see an empty table, somewhat close to the corner, where she could eat in privacy. She sat down at it, and started in.
As she ate, she re-capped the mission objectives. Sabotage Caraway's chances of getting Dollet. The more she thought about it, the harder it seemed to sound. I mean, she was only one woman. However qualified or capable she seemed, this was still going to be extremely hard.
And Seifer had thrown a whole new kink into the plan. With him around, who's to say she wouldn't be figured out? What business did he have in Galbadia Garden anyways? He couldn't be attending?!
She was getting a headache thinking about it all. She finally resolved to concentrating on eating her salad, and NOT thinking about it. Which, needless to say, didn't help as much as she'd anticipated.
Quistis got around to the back of the building, praying harder than ever, that her ride hadn't left her. If the pilot had indeed gotten impatient, this mission was probably over. She looked up, and all her hopes were shattered.
Empty airship landing.
She felt as if she could cry. Like things could get any worse. The thing that bothered her the most was the fact that she had blown the mission herself. There was no one responsible for the damage done, but her. In her case, taking into consideration the amount of pressure she put on herself to do the best at everything, this was a considerably big deal.
She sat right down on the asphalt, brought her knees to her chest, and wrapped her arms around them, throwing her luggage down carelessly. What was she going to do? What was she going to tell Edea? Oh, she overslept and lost her ride...nice story. Real impressing.
Her stress-level doubled when the same army truck she'd almost been hit by pulled up about thirty feet away from her. She buried her head in her knees. Not him, not again...please Hyne...
"Need a ride?" he called.
She groaned slightly. Maybe if she ignored him, he would just go away. Just maybe.
"Hey, are you alright?" he called again.
She kept her face down, her forehead on her knees. Ignore...ignore...ignore...
All hopes of him just forgetting about her were shot when she heard the truck door open and slam shut. She listened to his boots thump across the blacktop, and stop a few feet in front of her. Finally realizing she couldn't just wish him away, she lifted her face from her knees.
"You look....bad. Sure you don't need a ride or something?" he asked.
She couldn't help rolling her eyes. "I know I look bad okay! I've had a hard day, and I'd appreciate it if you would get back in your truck and go away." she said, standing up so her eyes could be at least more level with his. She couldn't keep tears from welling up in her eyes. Her headache was so bad by now, her head felt as if it would explode any minute.
"No need to cop an attitude, I was just trying to help, damn." he said. "Well, me and my friend Raijin here are trying to get to Galbadia Garden. Maybe you could help by providing information on how we could get a pilot?" he asked.
Great. Just great. He was going to Galbadia too. Wasn't she just having a wonderful "vacation"?! She turned and began walking away.
"I take it you don't know then." he said, his voice revealing that he was losing patience.
She turned on her heel. "Yes, as a matter of fact I do. You hire them inside the rental shop. Unfortunatly, I can't get my ride to Galbadia, because my pre-paid, impatient, bastard of a pilot decided to just take off, because I was late, and now I'm broke!" she snapped. "So if you want one, go PAY for one."
"You DO need a ride then?" he said with a smirk.
It finally clicked. He may be Seifer, and he may be an ass, but he also may be her ticket to a successful mission. She could just hitch a ride...after all, she was broke. It's not like she had any other way of getting to Galbadia..."Yes." she said, finally. "I do."
Three hours later, she sat one seat behind Seifer and Raijin on a a rickety, cheap airship. Must have been built during the First Sorceress War. Nevertheless, it got her off the ground, and inside Galbadia Garden, so it wasn't half bad.
Not much conversation had gone on between her and the two men. Any questions were usually dodged, or answered with a simple "yes" or "no". Needless to say, they still had conversation amongst themselves.
She gripped the arms of her worn-out seat as the pilot turned the airship around and headed for the Galbadia parking section. Since the Gardens' flying capabilities had been discovered, airships had been the only way on and off them. Unless, of course, Garden stopped for something, which was somewhat rare.
The garage door opened automatically, sensored to detect movement in a twenty foot radius. Students never hung around in the parking garages anymore, noisy doors were a nuisance, opening every time a bird flew by.
The airship touched the floor of Galbadia Garden's parking garage as she was unbuckling her seatbelt. She couldn't wait to get out of here, away from Seifer and Raijin, and into the safety and privacy of a dorm room.
She climbed out after Seifer and Raijin. The pilot gave them a smile, and she gave a slight nod back, pulled her luggage out of the ship, then quickly headed for the exit. To her relief, they didn't bother to follow her, but turned at the entrance to the dormitories instead. She headed for Headmaster Martene's office.
The secretary in the first office had her waiting for fifteen minutes, but she wasn't complaining. At least the mission wasn't blown. She hated to admit Seifer had saved the day. It sounded so wrong...Seifer...saving the day... Just wrong in so many ways.
During her short meeting with Headmaster Martene, she'd acquired her dormitory keycard, and her student ID card.
She wasted no time in heading to her dorm, taking a shower, and changing her clothes. She re-applied make-up, trying to make it as different as she could from the way she used to, as "Quistis".
After all this, she finally realized she was actually very hungry. During the flight here, nerves had washed away any hungry feelings. The whole time she was dreading, going over and over in her mind, the moment he would realize who she really was. Now that that nightmare was over, she could get something to eat.
She walked down to the cafeteria, and bought a salad and iced tea. She was glad to see an empty table, somewhat close to the corner, where she could eat in privacy. She sat down at it, and started in.
As she ate, she re-capped the mission objectives. Sabotage Caraway's chances of getting Dollet. The more she thought about it, the harder it seemed to sound. I mean, she was only one woman. However qualified or capable she seemed, this was still going to be extremely hard.
And Seifer had thrown a whole new kink into the plan. With him around, who's to say she wouldn't be figured out? What business did he have in Galbadia Garden anyways? He couldn't be attending?!
She was getting a headache thinking about it all. She finally resolved to concentrating on eating her salad, and NOT thinking about it. Which, needless to say, didn't help as much as she'd anticipated.