"Let us go, Squall." Edea said, and then began walking to the area the other children were located.
Squall watched the door, in which Zell left, a bit longer, and then followed Edea outside. Once outside, Irvine was seen on the bottom of a dog pile, which was brought about by the other children. "AHHH! Get off!" Irvine cried.
"Not 'til you apologize to me!" Selphie laughed.
"I was just kidding around, Sefie!"
Selphie looked up when Squall entered the area. "Squall!" she shouted. "There's a spot for you on top of the dog pile!"
Squall smiled as he walked, casually, over to the dog pile. The other children watched him, hoping that he'd jump on top of the dog pile. Once Irvine was within reach, Squall grabbed hold of his hands and began pulling him free. Irvine wiggled and wiggled, trying to get free. "No, Squall!" Quistis shouted. "Get on top of the dog pile!"
"No!" Squall said, still trying to pull Irvine free. "Why does he have to apologize when he said he was only kidding?"
"It's not that." Selphie said. "It's the fact that he did it to me! It's payback time!"
At that moment, Irvine was pulled free and Seifer ended up on the bottom of the dog pile. "Hey, get off!" Seifer ordered and one by one the children climbed off.
Squall looked to Irvine and ordered, "Irvine, run!"
Irvine nodded, and then turned around and ran, laughing. "Get him!" Selphie shouted, leading Quistis after Irvine.
Squall turned around, as Selphie and Quistis ran after Irvine. His smile faded when he was, suddenly, tackled into the ground. Seifer had him pinned to the ground. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked, angrily. "Are you siding with the enemy?"
Squall spat out a mouthful of dirt and said, "What enemy? He's a friend."
"He became the enemy when he did that to Sefie!"
"That is enough, Seifer." Edea stepped up to save the day. "You are being too rough. Do you want to be punished again?"
Seifer let go of Squall and stood up. "No, Matron!" he said. "I'm sorry."
As Seifer took off after Irvine, Squall began getting up off of the ground. Upon lifting the pressure on the front of his body, Squall's body stung with pain from the tackle. Tears began streaming from his eyes. Edea took notice of Squall's tears and asked, "Are you all right?"
"It hurts!" Squall cried.
"With a tackle like Seifer's, how would it not hurt?" Edea said, and then walked over to the crying boy. "Come on inside."
Edea tucked her hands underneath Squall's armpits and lifted him up to his feet. Squall's hand snaked its way up and into Edea's hand. Edea, carefully, took Squall into the orphanage.
* * * * * * * * * * *
Three weeks went by and several more children had found great homes. It was raining outside and the remaining five children were stuck indoors. Selphie stared out of the playroom window with her arms on the windowsill. "I'm bored!" the energetic girl shouted. "Why does it have to rain today? Wait a minute… why does it rain?"
As Selphie turned away from the window and began walking to the door to the hallway, Irvine and Quistis were seen in the middle of the floor rolling a beach ball back and forth. Squall was lying on his belly next to the door, coloring in a coloring book, while Seifer cruised by on a small, red bicycle with training wheels. Selphie, finally, stepped into the hallway only to see that the front door was opening. "Matwyn!" she shouted. "Somebody's coming in!"
Edea stepped out of the kitchen and looked toward the front door. Selphie jumped back into the playroom, afraid of whom it might be. When the door was completely opened, a black haired man in a white T-shirt and blue jeans was seen at the door. The man stepped inside and shut the door behind him. He let down the umbrella that he had over his head and began walking toward Edea. "Excuse me." He said. "Would you happen to be the owner of this orphanage?"
"Yes, I am." Edea responded.
"Ok." The man said. "I was hoping to adopt one of your kids. My wife and I are having trouble having one of our own."
"There's no need to explain, sir." Edea said.
"I'm sorry."
"Please follow me. The children are in the playroom."
The man followed Edea through the hallway towards the playroom. As she done before, she poked her head into the playroom and told the children about their visitor. Then, she opened the door all the way and let the man inside. The man looked around at the children. "I think my wife would like a daughter." He said, mostly to himself.
There were only two girls: Selphie and Quistis. The man looked back and forth at the girls' attitudes. "I don't think were ready for an extremely energetic girl." The man said.
"Hey!" Selphie shouted. "I'm not THAT energetic!"
"She's, also, mouthy." The man said, and then turned his gaze to Quistis. "She seems pretty mellow."
"Her name is Quistis." Edea notified.
"That's a pretty unique name." The man said, and then kneeled down in front of Quistis. "Hello. Would you like to come home with me and live with me and my wife?"
Quistis backed off and shouted, "I'm not leaving! I'm not! I'm happy here!"
"Quistis…" Edea sighed.
The man lowered his head, and then stood up. "No, don't misunderstand, sir." Edea stopped him before he could go anywhere. "Quistis is really quite a nice child. She's just grown attached to living here. I am sure that she'll come around."
The man turned around and faced Edea. "Are you trying to get rid of her?" He asked.
"No, sir." Edea said. "It is only because the children won't grow up properly living in an orphanage all their lives. I would like them to experience real family life and develop good social skills."
Edea walked over to Quistis and said, "Please, Quistis. Go with him. I am sure you will be happier."
"No, I wouldn't!" Quistis said, crossing her arms and sticking out her lower lip.
"Quistis," Edea said. "Could you, at least, stay with this couple for one week? If you don't like your new home in one week, you can come back here. Do we have a deal?"
Quistis remained in her current state and said, "Alright… but only because you want me to."
"Thank you, Quistis. I will help you pack your things."
Quistis kept her arms crossed, as she exited the playroom. Edea followed her out of the room. Seifer climbed off of his bicycle and walked over to the man. "Where are you taking Quisty?" He asked.
The man smiled down at the young blonde and said, "She going to stay with me and my wife in our house in Timber."
"Where's Timber?" Irvine asked from the floor.
"Timber is on the southern most side of the Galbadian continent. It's only a day away."
"Oh." Irvine said.
"What's the Galbadian continent?" Squall asked, also on the floor.
"It's another place where people live. You might see it some day."
At that moment, Edea and Quistis walked back into the room. Edea handed a small duffel bag to the man and waited for Quistis to join him. The man held his hand out for Quistis to take it, but she turned her head to the side. The man returned his hand to his side and asked, "Are you ready to go to your new home?"
"Cut the small talk and let's get this over with!" Quistis ordered.
"Okay." The man said, and then led Quistis out of the orphanage.
"Bye, Quistis!" Selphie shouted. "We'll come to visit you in Timber!"
Squall remained quiet, as he watched Quistis being led away. He, suddenly, felt a little uneasy, afraid that all of his friends were going to be taken away from him.