Disclaimer: I do not own FF8 in any way and all the characters from the
game are not mine.
AN: Hey thanks to Hanh, SquallJechtLeonhart, CTHKSI, and Rhi-an for reviewing the last chapter! SquallJechtLeonhart, in time, my friend, in time. Hehe eventually you'll get the description hahaha I left it out on purpose ~_^
Chapter 5: Starting from scratch Squall's POV
Today was my big day. My chance to get away from my previous life at Galbadia Garden. I spent last night thinking about what I would tell Balamb Garden to get them to accept me. I thought of lying to them and telling them that I was just a farm boy that moved out to get a better education but I knew that eventually they'd trace my life back to Galbadia Garden and I'd get kicked out.
After about 50 million different stories, I finally decided to tell them the truth but request that noone but the top instructors and the headmaster know about my past. To anyone else, I really AM a farm boy. Boy, I really hope they'll allow me to give the rest of the people that bull about me being a farm kid.
I walked downstairs into the lobby and went up to the front desk. Luckily, the eyelash-batting receptionist wasn't there. Instead, I was greeted by an old guy who looked like he had a stick shoved up his ass.
I checked myself outta the hotel and proceeded to the restaurant since they had this breakfast buffet that was free to everybody who stayed at the hotel. Not that I give a damn whether or not it's free, I was loaded. It pays to be an elite metasite in the government's army, I had a fortune built up since most of my stuff was payed for by the government anyway.
The buffet was crap, but I didn't really care. I didn't expect much from a complementary thing so it doesn't matter to me. I headed for Deling Train station.
I got onto the train that would get me to Balamb. It was still really early in the morning (too early in fact since I wanted to get there before class started) so the train was practically empty. I took a normal cabin to myself since I had enough of the high class SeeD cabins.
Half and hour later, I arrived in Balamb. I was almost right on time and I would get to the Garden before the students went to class. It was 7:30 and class starts at 8:00. The walk to Balamb Garden from Balamb only took about 10 minutes.
I approached the front gates and was stopped by 2 guards. "Hey, school hasn't started yet and if you're a student may I please see your ID?" The guy was big and he looked tough.
"Sorry, I'm not a student but I'm here to see the headmaster since I want to get enrolled here." I said it so innocently but the guy was no dumbass. He made me walk through the metal detector and had all my bags checked before he let me in. Luckily, you can't detect metasites since they're organic.
Whoa, this was one helluva nice Garden. It had like a glass elevator right in the middle of it and the floors were all circular. Surrounding the first floor was a small ring of water and the roof was well lighted giving the whole place a bright atmosphere. The guard gave me a keycard for the third floor only since that's the headmaster's floor.
I went up to the third floor and was immediately greeted by another 2 guards and another eyelash-batting receptionist. I walked past the guards and to the front desk.
"You're here to see the headmaster?" Why do they ALWAYS have to do the eyelash thing?
"Yeah, I'm here to get accepted into this Garden." I said it confidently since I was trained that sometimes if you don't say things confidently, they think you're crappy or something.
"Oh! Please go right in!" she pushed a little button on her desk and the doors to the office unlocked.
I walked into the office and saw the headmaster sitting in his chair with his back turned to me. He immediately turned around when he heard me enter and gave me a smile. It just came to me that I didn't even know the headmaster's name. My metasite took care of that though, it scanned the room and showed me a business card on his desk saying "Cid Kramer, Headmaster".
"Good morning headmaster Cid" boy did I sound like I rehearsed it.
"Good morning! Catherine out there has just informed me that you want to get enrolled here. Tell me, what is your name and where do you come from?" he sounded like a very nice man.
"My name is Squall Leonhart. I come from Galbadia Garden." he nearly fell off his chair.
"Galbadia Garden? I see. What rank were you at Galbadia Garden and why do you wish to transfer to their arch rival?"
"I was an elite metasite in their SeeD army. I want to come here because I didn't like Galbadia Garden and the way they treated me." this was my big gamble. He could either accept me right now or kick me out. To me surprise, he smiled.
"You are a very noble young man. It's not everyday someone comes along who doesn't like the good life and wants to challenge themselves. You are one of the few people that I want the most at this Garden. We'd be happy to have you Squall." I let my breath out finally.
"Thank you sir."
"However, I'm terribly sorry but I cannot allow you to stay in the dormitories. You will forgive me for my suspicion but it is a safety precaution that I must take." he was smart. I couldn't be trusted no matter how good my speech went. But I was curious as to where I WOULD stay 'cause I didn't want to live in any more hotels.
"I will not tell the other kids about your past since I doubt you want any more attention. You will go to regular classes just like the normal kids, they needn't know that you are a metasite either." this was just what I wanted. I couldn't believe how nice he was being to me and that he also wasn't naive. He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed one number.
"Hello, Catherine? Please get me Irvine Kinneas as soon as possible." he hung up and turned back to me.
"Now Squall, I'm going to arrange for you to live at Kinneas' house. He is the best SeeD we have and he lives next door to General Caraway. Once again, I apologize for my suspicions."
"That's alright headmaster I understand." I was just wondering who this Kinneas guy was when my metasite sensed someone approaching the door.
In walked a tall handsome guy with long hair tied back in a pony tail and dressed from head to toe in cowboy clothing.
" Morning sir, you wanted to see me?" He spoke confidently just like I had.
"Yes Irvine, this is Squall Leonhart." I won't bore you with the details since he told Irvine exactly what I told him. Irvine kept his surprise well hidden though and he shook hands with me and was extremely nice about a total stranger living with him.
"Don't worry Squall, most people don't live up at the dorms either. They all have houses in Balamb." he told me this like it was a big secret or something and I couldn't help grinning a bit.
Cid told Irvine to get my stuff and dump it at his house while I went to my first class. Since he wanted me to start right away. I was more than happy to start as well.
Our talk lasted a little long though so I had to go to the second class of the day Physical Training which was in the gym. Of course, my metasite found the directions in about half a second and I entered the gym coming face to face with instructor Bayres. He was a big guy who looked like he was carved out of metal or something but he had a kind aura around him.
"You must be the new kid Squall. Cid already sent me a message telling me about you. It's been awhile since I had a metasite in this class hehe" he gave me a wink and told me that since it was my first day, I didn't have to change. Duh, I didn't even have the uniform.
OK so the instructor was kinda stupid but I had a feeling I would be having a much better time here than in Galbadia.
AN: Phew, finally done! My longest chapter yet! This chapter was kinda boring I know, but it's the first official turning point of the story so it's important nonetheless =P Well, please keep the reviews coming and as I said, constructive criticism is always welcome! Thanks!
AN: Hey thanks to Hanh, SquallJechtLeonhart, CTHKSI, and Rhi-an for reviewing the last chapter! SquallJechtLeonhart, in time, my friend, in time. Hehe eventually you'll get the description hahaha I left it out on purpose ~_^
Chapter 5: Starting from scratch Squall's POV
Today was my big day. My chance to get away from my previous life at Galbadia Garden. I spent last night thinking about what I would tell Balamb Garden to get them to accept me. I thought of lying to them and telling them that I was just a farm boy that moved out to get a better education but I knew that eventually they'd trace my life back to Galbadia Garden and I'd get kicked out.
After about 50 million different stories, I finally decided to tell them the truth but request that noone but the top instructors and the headmaster know about my past. To anyone else, I really AM a farm boy. Boy, I really hope they'll allow me to give the rest of the people that bull about me being a farm kid.
I walked downstairs into the lobby and went up to the front desk. Luckily, the eyelash-batting receptionist wasn't there. Instead, I was greeted by an old guy who looked like he had a stick shoved up his ass.
I checked myself outta the hotel and proceeded to the restaurant since they had this breakfast buffet that was free to everybody who stayed at the hotel. Not that I give a damn whether or not it's free, I was loaded. It pays to be an elite metasite in the government's army, I had a fortune built up since most of my stuff was payed for by the government anyway.
The buffet was crap, but I didn't really care. I didn't expect much from a complementary thing so it doesn't matter to me. I headed for Deling Train station.
I got onto the train that would get me to Balamb. It was still really early in the morning (too early in fact since I wanted to get there before class started) so the train was practically empty. I took a normal cabin to myself since I had enough of the high class SeeD cabins.
Half and hour later, I arrived in Balamb. I was almost right on time and I would get to the Garden before the students went to class. It was 7:30 and class starts at 8:00. The walk to Balamb Garden from Balamb only took about 10 minutes.
I approached the front gates and was stopped by 2 guards. "Hey, school hasn't started yet and if you're a student may I please see your ID?" The guy was big and he looked tough.
"Sorry, I'm not a student but I'm here to see the headmaster since I want to get enrolled here." I said it so innocently but the guy was no dumbass. He made me walk through the metal detector and had all my bags checked before he let me in. Luckily, you can't detect metasites since they're organic.
Whoa, this was one helluva nice Garden. It had like a glass elevator right in the middle of it and the floors were all circular. Surrounding the first floor was a small ring of water and the roof was well lighted giving the whole place a bright atmosphere. The guard gave me a keycard for the third floor only since that's the headmaster's floor.
I went up to the third floor and was immediately greeted by another 2 guards and another eyelash-batting receptionist. I walked past the guards and to the front desk.
"You're here to see the headmaster?" Why do they ALWAYS have to do the eyelash thing?
"Yeah, I'm here to get accepted into this Garden." I said it confidently since I was trained that sometimes if you don't say things confidently, they think you're crappy or something.
"Oh! Please go right in!" she pushed a little button on her desk and the doors to the office unlocked.
I walked into the office and saw the headmaster sitting in his chair with his back turned to me. He immediately turned around when he heard me enter and gave me a smile. It just came to me that I didn't even know the headmaster's name. My metasite took care of that though, it scanned the room and showed me a business card on his desk saying "Cid Kramer, Headmaster".
"Good morning headmaster Cid" boy did I sound like I rehearsed it.
"Good morning! Catherine out there has just informed me that you want to get enrolled here. Tell me, what is your name and where do you come from?" he sounded like a very nice man.
"My name is Squall Leonhart. I come from Galbadia Garden." he nearly fell off his chair.
"Galbadia Garden? I see. What rank were you at Galbadia Garden and why do you wish to transfer to their arch rival?"
"I was an elite metasite in their SeeD army. I want to come here because I didn't like Galbadia Garden and the way they treated me." this was my big gamble. He could either accept me right now or kick me out. To me surprise, he smiled.
"You are a very noble young man. It's not everyday someone comes along who doesn't like the good life and wants to challenge themselves. You are one of the few people that I want the most at this Garden. We'd be happy to have you Squall." I let my breath out finally.
"Thank you sir."
"However, I'm terribly sorry but I cannot allow you to stay in the dormitories. You will forgive me for my suspicion but it is a safety precaution that I must take." he was smart. I couldn't be trusted no matter how good my speech went. But I was curious as to where I WOULD stay 'cause I didn't want to live in any more hotels.
"I will not tell the other kids about your past since I doubt you want any more attention. You will go to regular classes just like the normal kids, they needn't know that you are a metasite either." this was just what I wanted. I couldn't believe how nice he was being to me and that he also wasn't naive. He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed one number.
"Hello, Catherine? Please get me Irvine Kinneas as soon as possible." he hung up and turned back to me.
"Now Squall, I'm going to arrange for you to live at Kinneas' house. He is the best SeeD we have and he lives next door to General Caraway. Once again, I apologize for my suspicions."
"That's alright headmaster I understand." I was just wondering who this Kinneas guy was when my metasite sensed someone approaching the door.
In walked a tall handsome guy with long hair tied back in a pony tail and dressed from head to toe in cowboy clothing.
" Morning sir, you wanted to see me?" He spoke confidently just like I had.
"Yes Irvine, this is Squall Leonhart." I won't bore you with the details since he told Irvine exactly what I told him. Irvine kept his surprise well hidden though and he shook hands with me and was extremely nice about a total stranger living with him.
"Don't worry Squall, most people don't live up at the dorms either. They all have houses in Balamb." he told me this like it was a big secret or something and I couldn't help grinning a bit.
Cid told Irvine to get my stuff and dump it at his house while I went to my first class. Since he wanted me to start right away. I was more than happy to start as well.
Our talk lasted a little long though so I had to go to the second class of the day Physical Training which was in the gym. Of course, my metasite found the directions in about half a second and I entered the gym coming face to face with instructor Bayres. He was a big guy who looked like he was carved out of metal or something but he had a kind aura around him.
"You must be the new kid Squall. Cid already sent me a message telling me about you. It's been awhile since I had a metasite in this class hehe" he gave me a wink and told me that since it was my first day, I didn't have to change. Duh, I didn't even have the uniform.
OK so the instructor was kinda stupid but I had a feeling I would be having a much better time here than in Galbadia.
AN: Phew, finally done! My longest chapter yet! This chapter was kinda boring I know, but it's the first official turning point of the story so it's important nonetheless =P Well, please keep the reviews coming and as I said, constructive criticism is always welcome! Thanks!