Breathless
Chapter Eleven: Fly High
By Tyrael aka LiangFeng
Disclaimers: FFVIII belongs to Squaresoft. The poem Quistis refers to is "I Wandered as Lonely as a Cloud" by William Wordsworth
Forever
unable to leave this place
Only because here there's a scenery that I'm familiar with
If one day I were to return here again
Using the same eyes to gaze at the same sky
Will I still feel that it's just as beautiful?
--"Fly High", Ayumi Hamasaki
Today was beautiful, as must have any other day been. The weather was exquisite, not too hot, but not cold either. Puffs of cotton-ball clouds were pinned across the vast expanse of blue sky, as the sun smiled happily upon Mother Earth. Once again…it was a beautiful day.
Quistis took this all in, and was awed.
She saw students walking to their classes, others were pausing to take a break during their passing time to grab a snack or hastily finish a procrastinated homework assignment.
A young girl rushed over to join her group of friends before they walked off, talking amiably with each other.
Another group of boys stood in a circle on the grass lawn, kicking a hacky sack between each other. However, one of them kicked it too hard, and it flew through the air, before hitting the ground near Quistis' feet.
The boys waved at her, smiling, and called for her to help return it.
"Hey Instructor Trepe! Can you hand that back to us?" The boy who had kicked the hacky sack yelled.
Quistis complied, bending down to pick up the bag in her fingers. She tossed it back to them, the boy brought his knee up to receive the bag. The boys gave a holler of thanks before returning to their activities.
Just then, the bell signifying the end of passing period, went off. The hacky sack boys moaned in protest, but reached for their backpacks to return to class. Students bid their friends goodbye before running off, so not to be tardy and be forced to serve detention.
Some students were still lingering, and Quistis knew that these were the students that would be marked "absent" in their third period roll call, only to suddenly appear again in their fifth period classes. But as they spotted Quistis, sitting on the park bench observing them silently, they turned on their heels and rushed off in an attempt to look blameless.
Eventually, Quistis was left to herself, with only the singing birds and gentle breeze to accompany her. She was to meet Headmaster Cid in his apartment to further discuss matters. But that wouldn't be until eight o' clock in the evening. It was only 11:45 in the morning right now.
Suddenly, Quistis found that she had a lot of time on her hands.
Her teaching was put on hiatus. They had given her a sort of vacation until she fully "recovered". It was all bullshit, but Quistis didn't really care, in fact she loved it.
She yawned, stretching her arms up, wincing as she heard a few bones pop back into place. She folded her arms behind her head, laying herself out on the bench.
The meeting she had with Mr. Cid this morning wasn't very eventful. They had just covered the "basics" as Xu had so put it. Which all the things they had told her, she could sum up in just a few sentences.
She peered up at the sun, through the spaces between the fingers of her outstretched hand. She winked to block out the sunlight stinging her left eye.
Quistis recalled to her mind, a simple manila folder she had been presented by Mr. Cid, with some reluctance on his part. She had to practically beg for it, but in the end, the older man consented.
"Trepe, Quistis. Born on October 4, the exact year is unknown, but we can estimate that she is currently twenty to twenty-one years of age. Height: 5'6" Blood Type: A Instructor ID No. 14, SeeD ID No. 9954635, SeeD Level: 30, SeeD Rank: A"
"A child prodigy, and the youngest person in Garden history to become a SeeD. An exceptional fighter," She continued, without a pause for breath. "Her leadership skills on the battlefield are invaluable. However, it is advised that her administration in the classroom be kept under close watch."
The last sentence, Quistis vividly remembered, as being blotted out with black ink but she had managed to decipher the words. It also said that her instructor license had been reinstated a couple years ago, after the Ultimecia War.
She sighed heavily. "I wandered as lonely as a cloud…"
Quistis continued to stare at the sky, through her splayed fingers. Overhead, a flock of birds flew over the Garden, their squawking echoing in her ears.
Something caught her eye.
Quistis pulled her hand away, squinting her eyes into the bright sun. A diamond was falling from the sky. She reached her hand up, to catch in her fingertips, a single white feather.
She held it delicately between her forefinger and thumb, gazing at it with a scrutinizing eye. At last, she took a quick breath and blew it away, watching it return to the heavens.
"What did you wish for?"
Quistis leapt to her feet, turning to meet the owner of the sweet voice.
Rinoa stood in the hallway that adjoined with Quistis' courtyard. She was resting with her arms crossed and a pleasant smile on her face. It was as if she had been hiding in the shadows this whole time, just watching her.
And she probably had.
"What?" Quistis said in a low voice, more to herself than Rinoa. She hadn't seen Rinoa since the day she woke up in the infirmary. In reality, it was only yesterday, but why did it feel like hundred of years?
"You're suppose to make a wish when you do that." Rinoa said as she lifted a finger to the sky, indicating the feather Quistis had released.
"Oh." The blonde woman said simply.
Rinoa laughed, and Quistis couldn't help but watch as the young sorceress' face lit up with merriment. "Come on, I'll take you to lunch. There's this great café over at Balamb…" She said as she cocked her head at the other girl. "Ok?"
Quistis opened her mouth to speak, but found that this wasn't the appropriate time. She nodded, before joining Rinoa.