Another beautiful day had come and gone. The moon replaced the sun and the lighthouse lit the way for wandering ships. Most of the orphans were tucked away in their beds, resting up for the next big day. However, a small group of four children were still up and about. They had grouped together on the beach at the back of the orphanage. Quistis, Irvine, and Selphie waited patiently as Seifer jammed a small rocket into the cold sand. He wiggled the rocket around to check its stability, and then he turned to the three others. "How do we light it?" He asked.
Quistis began rummaging through her pockets, until she pulled out a pack of matches. "Will these work?" She asked, holding the pack up.
"Yeah. They'll work." Seifer said, reaching up to grab the pack of matches.
Quistis pulled her hand back from his reach and said, "I'll light it."
"Get real, Quisty! This was MY idea! I'll light it!" Seifer argued.
"We're working together! You already did something, so now it's MY turn!"
"Hey!" Selphie interrupted. "I wanna light it! Pretty please?"
"No!" Seifer and Quistis shouted at the same time.
Then, there came the sound of a 'snap', and then the sound of fire burning. The fuse had been lit. "Don't worry, guys." Irvine said, putting out the match. "It's taken care of, so you don't have to fight anymore."
Quistis searched herself for the matches, but found that they were 'stolen' from her. Selphie plopped down on her knees as the fuse got closer and closer to the rocket. Everyone gathered around and waited for the rocket to lift off. "Yeah, yeah! Go, baby. Go!" Selphie shouted, cheerfully.
A few seconds past when the familiar sound of Zell's voice sound from the top of the stairs. "Yoooooooooo!" He shouted, and then ran down to the beach. "Kids aren't supposed to play with fireworks! I'm telling! I'm gonna tell on yoo!"
"Cry-Baby-Ze-ell! Go back to bed!" Seifer taunted him, and then continued to watch the rocket.
Zell ran back up the stairs and into the orphanage, when the rocket lifted off. "Woo-hoo! There it goes!" Selphie shouted.
When the rocket reached its destination in the stars, it exploded in a brilliant display of sparkles and colors. "Guys," Seifer said, staring up at the sight. "You're gonna remember this day forever."
"I hope so." Quistis said.
The wondrous moment ended at the sound of Edea's voice coming from inside of the orphanage. "Seifer, Quistis, Irvine, and Selphie… in here now!" She shouted.
"I think we're in trouble." Irvine pointed out.
"Nah, I'm sure she just wants to congratulate us for figuring out how to set off fireworks all by ourselves." Seifer said, confidently.
Quistis began walking up the stairs, when she stopped suddenly. "Ahhh, Seifer, you go first." She said.
"What?" Seifer asked. "Why me?"
"Well," Selphie jumped in. "It was your idea, wasn't it? You take the blame!"
Irvine walked up and stood beside Seifer and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We'll be right behind yoo. Go ahead." He said.
"F-Fine." Seifer gave in, and then walked up the stairs and into the orphanage.
As they said they would do, the others walked right behind Seifer. However, upon entering the orphanage, they all scattered and hid in various places throughout the orphanage. Seifer stood before Edea, ready to receive his punishment. "What were you thinking, using those fireworks without supervision? You could have hurt yourself or your fellow orphans." Edea said.
"I was just curious." Seifer lied.
"What do you think I should do to you?"
"…I don't know. Spank me?"
"Now, now. You know I don't like to hit any of you children. This is your punishment. Are you ready?" Edea said.
Seifer nodded his head and Edea raised her voice slightly. "And this is for you guys, too."
Irvine, Quistis, and Selphie came out of their hiding places and stood behind Seifer. "You are on clean-up duty in the playroom for one whole week. When you are not cleaning, you are to remain in your assigned corners, until told you can move." Edea said.
"…Yes, Matwyn…" The children agreed, sadly.
"I'm glad to see that you understand. Your punishment will start in the morning. Now, get some sleep." Edea finished.
In single file, the four children walked to their beds to call it a night.
* * * * * * * * * *
The next morning was the same routine as the day before. Ellone awoke, got dressed, and began waking up the rest of the gang. However, this time Edea was standing at the bedroom door, waiting for last night's troublemakers. The four of them were the last ones to wake up, trying to get a late start on their punishment. Ellone wasn't about to let them sleep in, so she tried as hard as she could to get the four troublemakers to wake up. "C'mon, guys!" She said. "The sooner you get this over with, the sooner you'll be able to play."
"Not true." Quistis said from under her blanket. "We have to stay in our corners."
"You guys did this to yourselves, ya know?" Ellone stated.
Slowly, Irvine, Selphie, and Seifer climbed out of their beds and got into some comfortable pairs of clothes. Once fully dressed, with the assistance of Ellone, the three of them lined up in front of Edea. Quistis remained under her blanket. Ellone walked over to the edge of the blonde girl's bed and shook the girl, lightly. "I'm NOT doing chores!" Quistis screamed.
At that time, Squall was standing beside Ellone, holding out his hand for her to hold. Ellone took the boy's small hand, as she said to Quistis, "Just get it over with, Quisty. You're just making it harder for yourself."
Edea made her way over to Quistis's bed and sat down on the side. She pulled the blanket off of Quistis and put her hand on the small girl's head. "Ellone's right, Quistis." She said. "It's better to do the chores now and avoid an even worse punishment."
Quistis's eyes filled with tears. "But, I don't wanna!" She cried.
"Yoo're not alone, Quisty!" Selphie shouted from the doorway. "We're here to help you! We, kids, gotta stick together!"
Quistis wiped her tears away and slowly crept out of bed. Squall stood next to Ellone, watching all of the emotions within the room. He remained vigilant, even as Edea helped Quistis change clothes. When she was properly dressed, Edea led the four children to their assigned corners throughout the orphanage. "Come on, Squall." Ellone said. "Let's eat some breakfast!"
"Yeah!" Squall said with a smile.
The two children walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, catching glimpses of Quistis, Irvine, Selphie, and Seifer on the way. They reached the kitchen and took their appropriate seats and awaited their breakfast with the rest of the children. In no time at all, they enjoyed another fantastic breakfast made by Cid and Edea. When Ellone finished her breakfast, she pushed her plate forward toward the middle of the table, and then looked up and Edea. "Matron," She said. "Can we go for a walk?"
Edea smiled at the young girl as she said, "A walk sounds nice, Ellone."
"Yay! Are you coming, too, Squall?" Ellone asked.
Squall swallowed some of his food, and then responded, "Yeah, let's go."
The small brown haired boy jumped out of his seat and ran to be near Ellone. Edea looked up at the rest of the children and asked, "Anyone else want to take a walk?"
Zell raised his hand and shouted, "Yo, I wanna go!"
"Yeah, c'mon, Zell." Ellone said, excitedly.
The spiky haired boy jumped out of his seat and ran to unite with the small walking group. Edea looked at the small group, and then at the other children. "Now you children be good for Cid. I'll be back soon." She said. With that, Edea took the three young children on their walk.