The lighthouse light shut down, letting the sun do its job. The sun's rays illuminated the rooms of the orphanage. Squall shot up out of bed and, quickly, got dressed. He walked over to Ellone's bed and was about to wake her up, when he saw that her bed was empty. Squall scratched the back of his head, as he said, "Maybe Sis is already up."
He exited the bedroom and walked through the hallway, peeking into each of the rooms. Edea stepped out of her room and greeted Squall. "Good morning, Squall." She said with a smile.
"…Good morning." Squall responded, and then continued through the halls.
Edea watched him go and sensed that there was something wrong with him. However, she had to wake up the rest of the children, before dealing with Squall. Squall walked all over the orphanage, but didn't see any sign of Ellone. He walked back to the kitchen, where most of the other children were ready to eat, except for Zell, who had slept in again. Squall took a seat at the end of the table and stared down at his feet, thinking about where Ellone might be. Seifer saw Squall in a depressed state and he moved over a few seats, so that he was sitting in front of the other boy. "What's wrong with the crybaby?" He teased.
Squall remained staring down at his feet. "You need someone here to hold your hand?" Seifer tried again.
Still, Squall remained motionless. At that moment, Edea walked into the kitchen with Zell behind her. "I'm sorry I'm late, children. Cid is on vacation and I will have to do everything by myself." She said, making her way to the refrigerator.
"It's okay, Matron." The children said in unison.
Edea smiled, as she shut the refrigerator and took the food over to the stove. Over the sound of the stove heating up, Squall could hear the whispers of Selphie, Irvine, and Quistis. "How much longer are we in trouble for?" Selphie asked.
Irvine shrugged his shoulders, but Quistis answered, "Four more days."
Selphie slumped down in her chair. "This is all Seifer's fault. Why do we all need to be punished?" She complained.
Seifer took his original seat, leaving Squall alone. "Hey, you guys agreed to it!" He said.
"But I didn't even touch the fireworks!" Selphie argued.
"Hey, calm down." Irvine said. "Yoo're gonna get us in bigger trouble."
"I am not!"
"Are to."
"Are not!"
"Are to."
"Are NOT!"
"You guys." Quistis butted in.
"Yeah. It's in the past. It's over, done with." Seifer announced, wiping his hand through the air as if erasing something.
Edea finished cooking a portion of the food and filled a few plates. As she turned around with her empty pot, she noticed that Squall was missing. She took the pot over to the stove and prepared the next batch of food. Then, she turned around and addressed the children. "Has anyone seen Squall?" She asked.
Everyone looked around, and then shook their heads in unison. Edea made sure that the pot wouldn't fall off of the stove, and then set out to look for Squall.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Squall walked down the hall and through the playroom. His head hung low, as he walked. He left the playroom and went outside. He stood a few feet away from the door and looked out across the ocean. He didn't look at the ocean for too long. Shortly after, his head was hanging down again. "Sis," he said. "Where'd yoo go? Yoo don't like me anymore?"
The door opened behind and Edea's head stuck out. "Squall," she called. "Breakfast is ready. Come inside."
Edea waited for Squall to come. Squall remained still for a moment longer, and then followed Edea to the kitchen. Edea slowed her pace to let Squall walk beside her, but Squall just slowed down. Before long, they reached the kitchen once again. Edea walked Squall to his seat and pulled his chair out for him. Once he was comfortable, Edea walked back to the stove to check the food's progress. "Oooo, did you get in trouble?" Seifer teased from his seat.
Squall kept his gaze to the edge of the table. Seifer slid off of his chair and walked around the table to sit beside Squall. "Hey," he said. "Do you hear me talking to you? Or are you deaf?"
In a split second, Squall clenched his fist and backhanded Seifer, sending him flying off of the chair. Squall jumped off of his own chair and began pummeling Seifer. Seifer locked his arms around Squall and tried to get the upper hand. "FIGHT!" Selphie shouted, jumping off of her chair.
Edea turned around and rushed to the rescue. She pulled Squall off of Seifer, and then stood between the two boys. "What's going on here?" She asked.
Seifer whipped up some fake tears and sobbed, "I just wanted to have a nice, little chat. But then he hit me for no reason."
Squall didn't like that lie and tried to go after Seifer again. Edea tightened her grip on him and said, "What's gotten into you, Squall?"
"He's lying! He called me names!" Squall yelled.
Edea looked back and forth between the boys, and then said, "Seifer, you go to your corner. Squall, you're in the back corner of the bedroom."
Squall made Edea let go of him, and then he ran down the hall to the children's bedroom. After hearing the door slam, Edea let go of Seifer, who went to his corner in the playroom. After making sure that there wouldn't be any more problems, Edea turned back to the stove to work on the food again. She heard Selphie giggling behind her, but acted as though she didn't hear. Within a half an hour, all of the children were given their breakfast. By the time Edea sat down with her own breakfast, most of the children had finished eating and had left the kitchen. She took her time in eating her breakfast because she knew that the children wouldn't venture too far off. When she, finally, cleared her plate, she began clearing the table and putting the dirty plates and silverware into the sink. She, then, filled the sink with hot soapy water and began washing the dishes. All was quiet, except for her hands swishing about in the water. Then, she heard the sound of Squall's voice. "Matwyn, Sis isn't here! Where's Sis?" He shouted from the bedroom.
Edea dried her hands off on the nearby dish towel and walked out of the kitchen, toward the bedroom. When she reached the bedroom door, she pushed it open, slowly, and peeked her head inside. Squall was standing next to Ellone's bed with his head down. Edea stepped into the room and said, "Squall, you're supposed to be in the corner."
Squall looked up her with teary puppy dog eyes. "Where's Sis?" He asked.
Edea thought for a moment as to how she would explain to him that Ellone had to be taken away. She walked over and sat on the edge of Ellone's bed. "Ellone went on a little trip with Cid." She said.
"Will I ever see her again?" Squall asked.
"As long as you believe you will." Edea said with a smile.
Squall only nodded his head, and then returned to his corner. Edea sat on the bed and watched him go, and then she got up and left the room, shutting the door behind her.