'ello again… ^^ to Squall fans, I apologise for the initial emphasis on Selphie… Squall shall have the next chapter entirely to himself. ;) And so without further ado…
- PART ONE -
CHAPTER 1 - Setback, progress and beginnings:
Selphie's eyes darted from the glaringly bright monitor screen and back towards her paperwork, furiously striving to copy down the figures and small print that were collaborating in a successful effort to give her a greater head spin that what she was usually accustomed to. Her hand ached from the consistent writing and the inside of her head was protesting against the boring subject matter, but she'd suffered greater pains that that before. With a blip, the rest of the data that she'd been waiting for burst onto the screen in a flash of tiny digits and she hurriedly scanned the multiple lines, scribbling down what she saw…
In conclusion, the Garden budget was tight this year, what with rebuilding to the Garden's mainframe and outer armour from the ugly business last year and the usual cost of upkeep; added to that were the multiple reparations demanded by Galbadia Garden contributing to the hefty sum... Selphie bit her lip as she glanced back at her planning page and then at her findings - the cost for a second Garden Festival would take a considerate chunk out of the money pile... she realised with a crooked grin that she hadn't even gotten the full go-ahead from Squall yet. Heck, he'd come around, wouldn't he? It wasn't as if he didn't know the meaning of fun!! Unless it hit him on the back of the head, Selphie suddenly realised gloomily.
Her eyes flickered back towards the screen and what was on it, and a sudden queasy feeling lodged itself comfortably in the depths of her stomach. Well, no help from FH this year like the first time, that would have to be taken into account - no one had been victim to penny-pitching that time 'round. But this one was gonna be better - the best yet!
Selphie grabbed her clipboard from the side-desk with sudden energy and pored over the planning: Three musical numbers, a trivia pursuit, a talent quest, two more music acts, a goofy awards presentation and something that she figured everyone would take a liking to - a round robin of martial expertise! Refreshments, dancing, lights, maybe even a firework or two sneaked into the bundle... the perfect way to let off the tension from the past year. Selphie sighed, wondering why people lately seemed so hell-bent on doing their best impression of sour grapes. She could fix that, no prob... if only the whole operation could go ahead. Which meant gil. Lots of it. But she tried not to think about that aspect. Better to round up the committee first, which served to remind her…
With the press of a button, the drive spat out the data disc, which she pocketed, and then quickly changed directories to the separate page branching from the Garden bulletin board that she'd devoted to Festival news and updates. A quick scanning revealed results that she'd been hoping would be better, but for the moment what was there was a start - approval for the Festival itself was up by eight percent from the fifteen a week ago, but no contenders for the committee so far.
Selphie ground her teeth in annoyance - she'd been scoping for a near month already but her efforts had borne no fruit; it seemed like nobody was willing to give up their spare time for a good cause! Non-surprisingly, she was aware of a sense of desperation that made her feel willing enough to even hire those cute plastic pot plants outside the dorms if need be... durn it, there had to be some artistically driven folks out there..!! With a flash of renewed determination, Selphie scooped her paperwork up into her arms and stuffed it all into her satchel, whereupon hitching it upon her shoulder, she deftly exited the Garden panel and swiped her clipboard off the desk, pen in her free hand as she bounded out of room 2F, breezing past a bunch of gossiping Trepies and Card sharks to the elevator. I WILL grab someone today, by hook or by crook... even if it's one of those plastic pot plants... Selphie incoming..!
* * *
Her face screwed up in annoyance, Selphie nipped out of the elevator doors as they opened with a soft swish and skipped down the stairs onto the main Garden level, taking care not to slip on the polished surface. Of all the people to run into...!! She shook her head in disbelief at the notoriety of fate... especially when it played against her own deck of cards. She ignored the foyer and cantered down the left hand path, travelling about ten or so metres before realising that the scenery was zipping by a teensy bit too quickly and then followed the sheepish realisation that she wasn't being chased at all. As that thought was acknowledged, Selphie skittered to a halt and paused to get a bit of her second wind. The satchel on her back felt more heavy then how it had been when she'd left room 2F, but then again, maybe that was just the effect that Squall had on certain individuals... suddenly there seemed to be so much more weight on Selphie's slight shoulders. What was it that he said.....? Her mind darted back to the space of three or four minutes before the present time...
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"Cripes..!!"
Selphie tittered as she almost ran full-tilt into the
imposing figure in black before her - battle reflexes pulled her to the side in
the nick of time, and anyway besides, she knew from past experience that
ramming into Squall was a guaranteed way of earning a lollapalooza of a
headache. She hopped on a single leg, regaining balance as the speed of her
momentum threatened to overturn her.
"Going somewhere?" His voice cut
through the air with a mocking edge, slightly frosty on the outer layer as
always, like icing without the sugar. Selphie, having
somewhat recovered from her initial surprise, looked up at his frowning face
with all the innocence that she could muster in her arsenal.
"Ummm.....
wanna join the
committee???"
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Selphie shrugged inwardly - hey, it sounded like the right thing to say at the time. What had followed next wasn't very pretty... well, for her situation anyway. She gritted her teeth again as a wave of chagrin washed through her - how had he known?? If only he'd found out after she'd rounded enough of a posse to back her argument up... well, it didn't really matter anyway - Laguna's arrival had plugged up anything Squall had been intending to say on the Festival for some unprecedented point in the future, and she'd taken the opportunity to scarper.
Selphie felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth - what on earth would bring Laguna to Balamb?? It'd been a long while since any of them had heard news of the cheerful president of Esthar, and he hadn't been too hot on the communications front himself, but Esthar was understandably a massive city to run even with the help of his buddies Kiros and Ward, and he probably didn't have time to indulge in social calls. Still, he did have a responsibility as a father... hmmm. Selphie didn't want to think about that - it didn't involve her at all. It seemed unusual though that Laguna had made such an unexpected entrance, and with none of his advisors or entourage for company… he hadn't acknowledged her presence either, which set off a confused twinge in her stomach… but then again… there were other things to worry about - like the committee!
With a gleeful grin, Selphie hurried off down the corridor, all previous thoughts and worries having been efficiently trumped and dispelled - Squall hadn't said yes but he hadn't said no either. She'd take it as a yes for now! And if he said no later.... well, she'd burn that bridge when she got to it. Selphie had complete faith in her innocent little-girl charm and finely honed diplomatic skills, the result of the lengthy labour of love that had preceded her baptism of fire in the SeeD cauldron of Dollet…
… or rather, her uncontested accomplishments in the arts of wheedling, crawling and incessant nagging. With a grin, Selphie knew that there was only so much Squall could hack for the sake of peace of mind…
Pausing to stretch luxuriously towards the ceiling, Selphie pored through her mental schedule, silently ticking off what had been dealt with so far in the morning. Now what was there to do still...? The disc, Selphie abruptly recalled. Quistis had wanted it back... but where on earth was she?? Then there were fliers to stick, hunting, and staying clear of 2F until Squall had left the vicinity. No use in getting herself tangled in that sort of trouble again... Quistis first. She usually lurked around the foyer, or out near the gates with the new recruits. With that thought in mind, Selphie turned tail and headed back down the corridor from whence she had come...
* * *
Next in the frying pan – everyone's favourite commander… =P See you there!