Note: OMGOODNESS!!!!! I am sooo stupid! Thank you so much Iron Ethel Rackham for telling me! Ugggh! I really have to think about what I'm writing this time! Eek! Well, I guess it can't be helped anymore….@_@ Just think of it as an error which isn't really important…..But if you really cant get rid of it out of your mind…well you don't have to read this story if you don't want to…*sniff*
Chapter 14 - Revelation
She moaned, getting up from bed. Monday morning was not her favorite day of the week. She wished weekends were much longer so she wouldn't have to face the dreaded classe that was math. Selphie wished she was smart like Quistis, but she figured the reason why she wasn't getting at least a B average, was because her weakness WAS math and her strenghts were mostly in arts and physical education. The bouncy haired girl sighed. She took a quick shower, wore her best outfit and was just about to head out the door, when she noticed the same, white tube she saw from Zell's jacket pocket resting on the dresser drawer. It was a good thing her mother didn't do laundry today, or else she would have seen it and would immediately think it was hers. She picked it up and looked at her. It was high time she faced Zell with the evidence of him using marijuana. She didn't want to listen to him lie again. This time, she was going to be firm on what she was going to say so there would be no more lies between them. Since Selphie didn't have any pockets on her pants and shirt, she decided to stuff it inside her binder and reminded herself mentally in her head to take it out and put it in her locker before she went to math class.
It was as usual the same routine in school. She was dropped off by her dad on his way to work, was greeted by her favorite teachers and marched over to where her locker would be, but she stopped remembering she was suppose to meet her Japanese teacher before class started. Selphie glanced at her watch and gasped. She didn't have time to go to her locker, so she quickly walked passed it and headed straight for her Japanese class, forgetting about the single marijuana stashed in between the papers of her binder. Selphie knew gripped her hand around her binder and hurriedly made her way to the class. Inside, she was greeted by the warm smile of her Japanese male teacher. She thought he was handsome for his age of thirty-nine, with a wide, manly face and a set of teeth that were so white, it seemed impossible for them to be too perfect. He had squared shoulders, telling her once that during his high school days, he probably played in a football league back in Japan or maybe took up sumo wrestling, who knows!
"Ah, Selphie I'm glad you could make it!" Mr. Mizumoto spoke, putting the book he was reading down on the desk.
Selphie approached him meekly. She was still quite shy with their new Japanese professor. Ever since their past teacher resigned only last month, it was really hard trying to get used to the presence of a handsome teacher like Mizumoto. "Well, you wanted to see me about something, sensei?"
Mizumoto nodded, standing up. "Well, I was looking at your grades and they are quite impressive! I wanted to talk to you before class starts about maybe joining the camping trip over at Osaka Japan this coming semester. Along with my college students I teach, I am taking them there for a little sight seeing and more of knowledge about the culture there! Would you be interested?"
Selphie had forgotten that Mizumoto had two jobs. One in high school as a temporary substitute and one as a full time college professor. She was quite impressed with the hard work he was putting on both sides. And he was inviting her for a school field trip in Japan!? She was astonished with this offer. "O-Osaka? Are...what?" She was very shocked to hear this news and no words were definitely coming out of her mouth.
The laugh that escaped from the teacher's lips echoed in the empty room. "You have four weeks to think about that, so don't worry about it too much! Right now, I want you to focus on your studies. But I would just like for you to know that this trip will be covered precisely by the school board in my college. They have given you support to come and since you're the only high school student that I am taking with me, the college board has agreed to let you in without expense."
The brunette girl couldn't believe her ears. Did she just hear right? A free trip to Osaka Japan?
Suddenly, the school bell had rung, interrupting Selphie's voice of reasoning over the whole trip from her head. She blinked, looking up at her teacher. "Th...thank you so much for this opportunity, sensei... I'll think about it..."
Mizumoto nodded and watched as Selphie bid him farewell and left the room for her math class.
Inside, students were already present and she was surprised because it was only three minutes until the second bell would ring for classes to start. Usually, many of her classmates in class would show up a minute before, just to piss the teacher off. But this time...something was different for some reason. She looked up and was shocked to find Seifer sitting beside Quistis at the very back of the room. She ignored Brandy's insults towards Quistis. The presence of the tall, blond male made her wonder. Was there something going on? she asked herself, looking from one blond, to the other. Quistis had on large, round glasses, which made Selphie even more curious.
However, before she could comprehend the uncharacteristic manner Seifer Almasy was showing, Ms. Fisher stepped inside the class. She tapped hard on the end of the ruler on the table. The noise quickly died down, satisfying the teacher a lot more, then proceeded to do a role call. Selphie put her binder on her desk and tapped her finger on it, quietly, remembering what decision she has to make in three more months. Osaka....Osaka....she thought excitedly. She had family there and it was because of that, that she was fluent with the language there.
When she heard Quistis' name being called, Selphie couldn't help but keep her mind back to her friend who decided to sit at the very back. After realizing she had missed a couple of seconds of Brandy's insults, Selphie had managed to catch up to the part where Ms. Fisher was asking her blond friend about why she was wearing sunglasses. Seifer defended her by saying that she had allergies and that it was not a pretty sight. The whole class laughed, as if Seifer was making a joke, but as Selphie looked at him, she noticed the way Seifer's shoulders tensed. He probably thought he wasn't trying to be funny, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
More drastic note taking took place that same morning as Math dulled onwards until ten thirty. She was glad that it was over. Selphie gave a long sigh, but quiet enough so her teacher couldn't hear and slowly stood up on her feet. She stretched and yawned, allowing the students to shuffle out of the room, especially her blond best friend who quickly left, without her noticing. Selphie was disappointed, but something told her that she probably had a reason to be doing that. Seifer, of course, with his hands stuffed in his pockets, casually walked out of the room, without even acknowledging that Selphie was there. 'Oh well,' she thought, shrugging it away. She picked up her binder and quickly walked out of the room. She was going to be late for her next class if she didn't leave soon. The hallway would be VERY busy if she didn't leave soon enough. Selphie bid farewell to Ms. Fisher and entered the noisy hallway full of students.
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Another math day passed, but more days to come. Midterms were approaching and Ms. Fisher was aware of the groans and moans she recieved from her students when she announced the arrival of the dreaded exams that most students feared the most. She looked around the room, satisifed with the clean air her first class had left behind. Sure, there were negative outcomes, with Brandy insulting her brightest student of all, but there was no damage. She had noticed that Seifer and Quistis seemed to be closer than ever.
So, after reliving that thought, Andrea walked around the room, making sure there were no garbage left behind. Where Brandy had set, the desk was marked with insults directed to Quistis. Andread had approached the Principal many times about this, but since Brandy was the daughter of a wealthy businessman, Principal Belaford didn't want to take the risk of expelling her. Sighing, she moved on to the next table. Rinoa's, as usual clean. Squall's...or- what's suppose to be Squall's. His absence this morning made her curious, but she ignored that thought anyway and decided to move on to the next desk. Which was Selphie's. It was also neat and tidy, no marks, whatsoever. But something had caught Andrea's eyes. There was something small and white at the bottom of Selphie's desk, lying on the ground. She furrowed her eyebrows curiously and reached down to pick it up. After careful examination, there was no mistaking that the item she was holding was something that was supposed to be banned from all schools. She was disappointed to know that the item she found it from was from the bottom of Selphie's desk.
Andrea Fisher sighed and stuffed it in her pocket. With the thought of visiting the Principal in mind, she quickly left the room and made her way to the Principal's office, which was only a walking distance from her room. She hated doing this...this was the only thing she dreaded of doing, but if she were to hide this from the Principal and if they managed to find out, SHE would be the one suspended from school. Her job was more important than letting her student off the hook.
When she arrived, she knocked on the door softly. There was a faint squeak of a rotating chair moving, followed by heavy footsteps walking towards the door. She was finally greeted by a tall, middle aged man, dressed in an untucked polo shirt and slim, black pants. James Belaford was skinny and had receding hairline showing at the sides of his head, which he usually hid under his wig, but it seems Belaford didn't have time to do that. Hiding the aching to laugh, Andrea entered the room, as James headed back to his desk. His grin and goatee seems to be the only thing that showed signs of normalcy in Belaford.
"What brings you here, Ms. Fisher?" he asked, in a moderate tone.
Andrea took a deep breath, fished into her pocket and took out the item she found. "This," she simply put.
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A tired hand reached for a sandwich and for a small, drink. And another. And another. And another. "Woah! Woah! Take your time drinking, why don't you?" a voice interrupted her thoughts. Selphie recognized a male voice, but it was a familiar voice, nonetheless. She recognized it to be one of her classmates from her math class. It took Selphie moments to realize that she had put at least six canned drinks on her tray and even the weight of the cans. When she noticed this, she yelped in surprise and almost stumbled forward, when a hand caught her from slipping backward. She looked up, face to face with Ms. Fisher.
"Ms. Fisher!" Selphie said, straightening herself up on her feet. She put the six cans back down to where they belonged on the counter and sighed. "Thank you for that, Ms. Fisher. I don't know what I would have done wit-" but she was cut off by her teacher's hand shotting up in front of her.
"I don't think you're going to be thanking me, after this, Selphie..." Ms. Fisher replied with a frown.
Selphie looked at her curiously. She has never seen her teacher this serious before. She was usually seen with a kind smile on her face and the look she was wearing now, was scaring her. "Why?" She had a look of worry on her face now.
Andrea Fisher grabbed the tray from Selphie's hands and put it down on the counter. She put a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave a weird look, as if she was trying to give a reassuring smile. "Just come with me to the Principal's office, okay?" With that request finished, she turned and began walking towards the direction of the Principal's office.
The brunette obeyed quietly and followed suit. She felt a gnawing sensation inside her heart and Selphie was beginning to familiarize herself on what was going on.
When they finally arrived at the Principal's office, Ms. Fisher was the first person to step inside, followed by a very nervous young woman. "Selphie...please, sit down," Principal Belaford said when he noticed Selphie coming in. He gestured towards an empty seat in front of his desk and Selphie obeyed promptly without a word. As soon as she was seated, Principal Belaford clasped his hands together in front of him and looked into her eyes. "There's a matter I need to discuss with you, Selphie and..." Through her emerald green eyes, he could tell that she had an idea on why she was there. "And judging by how you're looking at me, you seem to understand what I'm talking about."
Selphie was not surprised, because from what she has heard from students who have been sent to the Principal's office before, spoke rumors that their six footer Principal had a knack for looking into student's eyes and figuring out what they're thinking. "Ye... yes sir, I think I do."
Belaford nodded, puttining his hands firmly on his desk. "Then I guess there's no need for me to explain what Ms. Fisher found on the floor at the bottom of your desk?" He glanced at Andrea standing by the door, as if guarding it so no one would step inside without consent. He looked back at his student. When he saw Selphie's look, he continued by taking out the item the young teacher found from his top drawer and placing it on the desk for Selphie to see. "And I don't need a reason to know that this is yours..."
Selphie hesitated for a moment, thinking of what to say. If she told the whole truth that it wasn't hers, but Zell's, which she found in his jacket pocket, then Zell would get suspended and he wouldn't be able to play in the football game coming up in three weeks. However, if she told him it was hers, she would get suspended and she wouldn't be able to go to Osaka. Either way, she was stuck in a whole.
"Selphie?" Belaford called, who has been waiting this whole time for her answer which he never got.
The brunette looked up and opened her mouth to answer.
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"Damn! That was some hard work Coach gave us!" Kent said, adjusting his backpack on his shoulders. "And I could go for some smokes right now too," he added, glancing at Zell for a response. His blond friend was thinking of the same thing, when he nodded in agreement. "Then, let's go!" Kent was itching even more for the wonderful brand of Columbia. He really didn't like Italian. He walked ahead of his friend, walking faster than before.
Zell nodded, moving his feet a bit faster to catch up to Kent. They were turning the corner, when Zell noticed Selphie opening the Principal Belaford's office door. Both boys paused, taking time to watch Selphie closing the door behind her. As soon as she looked up, she was startled to see them standing there with curious looks. She walked pass her best friend, but didn't say anything. Zell caught her by the arm in time, before she had a chance to leave. "Selphie?" He looked into her eyes. She had on the most serious look he has ever seen on her and it took him by surprise. "What's wrong? Why were you in Principal Belaford's office just now?"
Selphie forced a smile on her face. She didn't want him to know anything. She didn't want him to think that she hated him because of what she did. "Oh, well it's the fact that Mizumoto-sensei asked me to come with him to Osaka Japan along with his college students. Principal Belaford was explaining a bit more about it." She had already forgotten about why she was suddenly angry with him. Then, she remembered that he had lied to her when she asked him about what she found from his jacket pocket.
The blond didn't like that answer. He could tell she was lying to him. However, before he could ask anymore, Selphie jerked her arm away from him and walked away, not giving Zell a chance to understand why she did that. It took him a while to suddenly remember that she had asked him about the marijuana that she found from his jacket pocket and he lied to her. "Damn..." he mumbled.
Kent looked at him, this whole time, quietly watching the scene with skeptism. "You're not going to believe her, are you? Osaka, my ass! If she wanted to know more about the place, she could have asked Mizumoto about it. He lived there and he knows more of it than Principal Belaford who lived only in England for a couple of years. What she said was crap!"
Zell nodded. He knew that already and he had an aching feeling about why Selphie was in the office.
"Hey, do you think she....do you think she TOLD the Principal about your stash?" Kent suddenly asked.
The blond looked up. "What? How would she know about my stash?"
His friend looked away. "Nothing..."
"Do you know something, Kent? Did she know before????"
Kent looked at him, then slowly nodded. "Yeah. I bumped into her last week and I saw it fall on the floor. I told her not to tell anyone about it. I even threatened her if I can remember right." He thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I think I did."
Zell's eyes turned into thin slits. "You knew about this and you didn't tell me!?" He grabbed the collar of Kent's shirt and shook him like a rag doll. "You idiot! Maybe she DID tell him about it! Let's....go...." He slowly looked up at the sound of Principal Belaford's office door opening. Ms. Fisher suddenly walked out of the room and stared at both young men. Did she hear the whole thing? Or did she know before?
"Boys, you're suppose to be in my class right now," Ms. Fisher said.
Zell and Kent nodded in unison. "Yes, m'am," they replied together.
Ms. Fisher fixed her hair before, nodding her head. "I'll see you there." She turned and left for her classroom.
They watched her disappear around a corner, before Zell turned to Kent. "I have to go and catch up to Selphie..."
Kent looked at him strangely. "What? Why?"
"Because... I just have to! Just let Ms. Fisher know that I'll be two minutes late." He turned and ran out of the building, calling Selphie's name. Kent sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets, his thought of getting a little smoke before the next class disappearing from his head. He walked to the direction of their math class and mumbled some cursed words.
Meanwhile, Zell had finally caught up to Selphie, who was quite stubborn to listen to him calling her name. She was just crossing the street when he suddenly grabbed her arm and forced her to turn around to look at him. "Selphie....did you...did you tell..."
"If I did, then you wouldn't be playing football right now," she replied, interrupting Zell. She dared not look at him. Had she really done the right thing? Sacrificing her own happiness for Zell's own? The one person who wished never lied to her about it? He was always the one telling her that she needed to be selfish for once to get what she wanted, but what Zell said...did it really mattered to her? What she did, now confirmed it, but why wasn't she happy?
Zell took a deep breath. Did she really just tell the Principal something else besides him? He had to know. "What exactly did you tell him?"
"I told him it was mine," she responded simply. She finally looked up, having the courage to stare into her eyes to tell him she wasn't lying. He needed to know that at least she wouldn't betray his trust.
The blond's eyes widened in astonishment. He froze, not really knowing what to say. This gave Selphie a chance to turn and walk away from him. She couldn't face him now. She didn't want to look into his surprised look any longer, because deep in his eyes, she could see herself drowning all her happiness in them.
"Selphie, wait!" He ran ahead of her and stopped just in front of his childhood friend, who was now getting flustered from all this. "Selphie, I'll show you that I can be your best friend. Come tomorrow, you'll see." He held her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "I hated it when I lied to you. I'm so sorry about that. But you have no idea how hard it is for me to walk up to you and explain everything that has happened ever since my parents died."
Selphie's face softened. "You could have told me that you were having problems getting over their deaths! Instead, you turned to the one thing that you know, would lead you to fall back from football... Why, Zell? Why couldn't you tell me everything?" There were tears falling from her eyes now and she had no idea she was crying. She turned away from him, wiping the tears with her left arm. "When I asked you about it, you lied to me...You lied to me about it and I felt so lonely. I felt like I didn't know you anymore Zell."
"Like I said, I'm sorry!" Zell suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for an embrace. "Please forgive me..." he whispered.
"No...please forgive me...Let me take this suspension in peace Zell, okay?" She removed herself from his embrace and looked up at him. "Go play football. I know your team is playing in the regional championships and I don't want you to miss that." With that said, she turned and walked away, but this time, Zell did not follow.
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Slowly, ever so slowly, he stuffed his things in his bag and closed his locker. He ignored all his teammate's pleas, especially from Kent Marshall, who was getting irritated by Zell's quiet responses. "Damn it, Zell! You're such an idiot! We're going to need you in the game!" When he didn't answer, Kent slammed his own locker and followed him out the door. "Zell! What are your parents going to say when they find out about this? That means you also won't be in classes! Did you know that in this situation, you're suspended from classes AND extra-curricular activitied for four weeks?! That's a month! And that's AFTER our actual game against the Sentinels!!!!"
Zell ignored his angry screams, instead, he put his duffel bag over his shoulders and walked out of the change room and into the hallway. Kent was the only persistent teammate to follow him out the door. The other players were too nervous to see him out, because they were afraid to associating with the 'druggie' of the school. People would spread rumors and their reputation would be ruined. "Zell! Hang on a second!" Kent placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and forced him to turn around. He sighed. "Aren't you at least going to see the game?"
The blond shook his head. "I can't, Marshall. I can't be on school grounds at all. I'll just call you about it." He turned and waved his hand. "See ya in four weeks!"
Kent growled. "Yeah well, maybe I won't!" He knew he was lying to himself. Zell was the only friend who he got along well with. Sighing again, he did the same gesture he did before, stuffing his hands in his pocket and walked back inside the change room. He was truly a friend to not tell the Principal about HIM smoking as well. "Oh dammit!" he hissed under his breath. His conscience was telling him not to say anything, but his heart was telling him the opposite. "Stupid heart..." he mumbled, ignoring the feeling.
GoodGurl: Wooh! Finally finished that! Yeay! ^^ Okay, so Zell sacrificed his own happiness to make Selphie happy! Isn't that sweet!???? Eek! I want a boyfriend like him! Speaking of boyfriends.... Will Selphie and Zell FINALLY confess their feelings for each other??? Hm.....o.O
Chapter 14 - Revelation
She moaned, getting up from bed. Monday morning was not her favorite day of the week. She wished weekends were much longer so she wouldn't have to face the dreaded classe that was math. Selphie wished she was smart like Quistis, but she figured the reason why she wasn't getting at least a B average, was because her weakness WAS math and her strenghts were mostly in arts and physical education. The bouncy haired girl sighed. She took a quick shower, wore her best outfit and was just about to head out the door, when she noticed the same, white tube she saw from Zell's jacket pocket resting on the dresser drawer. It was a good thing her mother didn't do laundry today, or else she would have seen it and would immediately think it was hers. She picked it up and looked at her. It was high time she faced Zell with the evidence of him using marijuana. She didn't want to listen to him lie again. This time, she was going to be firm on what she was going to say so there would be no more lies between them. Since Selphie didn't have any pockets on her pants and shirt, she decided to stuff it inside her binder and reminded herself mentally in her head to take it out and put it in her locker before she went to math class.
It was as usual the same routine in school. She was dropped off by her dad on his way to work, was greeted by her favorite teachers and marched over to where her locker would be, but she stopped remembering she was suppose to meet her Japanese teacher before class started. Selphie glanced at her watch and gasped. She didn't have time to go to her locker, so she quickly walked passed it and headed straight for her Japanese class, forgetting about the single marijuana stashed in between the papers of her binder. Selphie knew gripped her hand around her binder and hurriedly made her way to the class. Inside, she was greeted by the warm smile of her Japanese male teacher. She thought he was handsome for his age of thirty-nine, with a wide, manly face and a set of teeth that were so white, it seemed impossible for them to be too perfect. He had squared shoulders, telling her once that during his high school days, he probably played in a football league back in Japan or maybe took up sumo wrestling, who knows!
"Ah, Selphie I'm glad you could make it!" Mr. Mizumoto spoke, putting the book he was reading down on the desk.
Selphie approached him meekly. She was still quite shy with their new Japanese professor. Ever since their past teacher resigned only last month, it was really hard trying to get used to the presence of a handsome teacher like Mizumoto. "Well, you wanted to see me about something, sensei?"
Mizumoto nodded, standing up. "Well, I was looking at your grades and they are quite impressive! I wanted to talk to you before class starts about maybe joining the camping trip over at Osaka Japan this coming semester. Along with my college students I teach, I am taking them there for a little sight seeing and more of knowledge about the culture there! Would you be interested?"
Selphie had forgotten that Mizumoto had two jobs. One in high school as a temporary substitute and one as a full time college professor. She was quite impressed with the hard work he was putting on both sides. And he was inviting her for a school field trip in Japan!? She was astonished with this offer. "O-Osaka? Are...what?" She was very shocked to hear this news and no words were definitely coming out of her mouth.
The laugh that escaped from the teacher's lips echoed in the empty room. "You have four weeks to think about that, so don't worry about it too much! Right now, I want you to focus on your studies. But I would just like for you to know that this trip will be covered precisely by the school board in my college. They have given you support to come and since you're the only high school student that I am taking with me, the college board has agreed to let you in without expense."
The brunette girl couldn't believe her ears. Did she just hear right? A free trip to Osaka Japan?
Suddenly, the school bell had rung, interrupting Selphie's voice of reasoning over the whole trip from her head. She blinked, looking up at her teacher. "Th...thank you so much for this opportunity, sensei... I'll think about it..."
Mizumoto nodded and watched as Selphie bid him farewell and left the room for her math class.
Inside, students were already present and she was surprised because it was only three minutes until the second bell would ring for classes to start. Usually, many of her classmates in class would show up a minute before, just to piss the teacher off. But this time...something was different for some reason. She looked up and was shocked to find Seifer sitting beside Quistis at the very back of the room. She ignored Brandy's insults towards Quistis. The presence of the tall, blond male made her wonder. Was there something going on? she asked herself, looking from one blond, to the other. Quistis had on large, round glasses, which made Selphie even more curious.
However, before she could comprehend the uncharacteristic manner Seifer Almasy was showing, Ms. Fisher stepped inside the class. She tapped hard on the end of the ruler on the table. The noise quickly died down, satisfying the teacher a lot more, then proceeded to do a role call. Selphie put her binder on her desk and tapped her finger on it, quietly, remembering what decision she has to make in three more months. Osaka....Osaka....she thought excitedly. She had family there and it was because of that, that she was fluent with the language there.
When she heard Quistis' name being called, Selphie couldn't help but keep her mind back to her friend who decided to sit at the very back. After realizing she had missed a couple of seconds of Brandy's insults, Selphie had managed to catch up to the part where Ms. Fisher was asking her blond friend about why she was wearing sunglasses. Seifer defended her by saying that she had allergies and that it was not a pretty sight. The whole class laughed, as if Seifer was making a joke, but as Selphie looked at him, she noticed the way Seifer's shoulders tensed. He probably thought he wasn't trying to be funny, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
More drastic note taking took place that same morning as Math dulled onwards until ten thirty. She was glad that it was over. Selphie gave a long sigh, but quiet enough so her teacher couldn't hear and slowly stood up on her feet. She stretched and yawned, allowing the students to shuffle out of the room, especially her blond best friend who quickly left, without her noticing. Selphie was disappointed, but something told her that she probably had a reason to be doing that. Seifer, of course, with his hands stuffed in his pockets, casually walked out of the room, without even acknowledging that Selphie was there. 'Oh well,' she thought, shrugging it away. She picked up her binder and quickly walked out of the room. She was going to be late for her next class if she didn't leave soon. The hallway would be VERY busy if she didn't leave soon enough. Selphie bid farewell to Ms. Fisher and entered the noisy hallway full of students.
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Another math day passed, but more days to come. Midterms were approaching and Ms. Fisher was aware of the groans and moans she recieved from her students when she announced the arrival of the dreaded exams that most students feared the most. She looked around the room, satisifed with the clean air her first class had left behind. Sure, there were negative outcomes, with Brandy insulting her brightest student of all, but there was no damage. She had noticed that Seifer and Quistis seemed to be closer than ever.
So, after reliving that thought, Andrea walked around the room, making sure there were no garbage left behind. Where Brandy had set, the desk was marked with insults directed to Quistis. Andread had approached the Principal many times about this, but since Brandy was the daughter of a wealthy businessman, Principal Belaford didn't want to take the risk of expelling her. Sighing, she moved on to the next table. Rinoa's, as usual clean. Squall's...or- what's suppose to be Squall's. His absence this morning made her curious, but she ignored that thought anyway and decided to move on to the next desk. Which was Selphie's. It was also neat and tidy, no marks, whatsoever. But something had caught Andrea's eyes. There was something small and white at the bottom of Selphie's desk, lying on the ground. She furrowed her eyebrows curiously and reached down to pick it up. After careful examination, there was no mistaking that the item she was holding was something that was supposed to be banned from all schools. She was disappointed to know that the item she found it from was from the bottom of Selphie's desk.
Andrea Fisher sighed and stuffed it in her pocket. With the thought of visiting the Principal in mind, she quickly left the room and made her way to the Principal's office, which was only a walking distance from her room. She hated doing this...this was the only thing she dreaded of doing, but if she were to hide this from the Principal and if they managed to find out, SHE would be the one suspended from school. Her job was more important than letting her student off the hook.
When she arrived, she knocked on the door softly. There was a faint squeak of a rotating chair moving, followed by heavy footsteps walking towards the door. She was finally greeted by a tall, middle aged man, dressed in an untucked polo shirt and slim, black pants. James Belaford was skinny and had receding hairline showing at the sides of his head, which he usually hid under his wig, but it seems Belaford didn't have time to do that. Hiding the aching to laugh, Andrea entered the room, as James headed back to his desk. His grin and goatee seems to be the only thing that showed signs of normalcy in Belaford.
"What brings you here, Ms. Fisher?" he asked, in a moderate tone.
Andrea took a deep breath, fished into her pocket and took out the item she found. "This," she simply put.
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A tired hand reached for a sandwich and for a small, drink. And another. And another. And another. "Woah! Woah! Take your time drinking, why don't you?" a voice interrupted her thoughts. Selphie recognized a male voice, but it was a familiar voice, nonetheless. She recognized it to be one of her classmates from her math class. It took Selphie moments to realize that she had put at least six canned drinks on her tray and even the weight of the cans. When she noticed this, she yelped in surprise and almost stumbled forward, when a hand caught her from slipping backward. She looked up, face to face with Ms. Fisher.
"Ms. Fisher!" Selphie said, straightening herself up on her feet. She put the six cans back down to where they belonged on the counter and sighed. "Thank you for that, Ms. Fisher. I don't know what I would have done wit-" but she was cut off by her teacher's hand shotting up in front of her.
"I don't think you're going to be thanking me, after this, Selphie..." Ms. Fisher replied with a frown.
Selphie looked at her curiously. She has never seen her teacher this serious before. She was usually seen with a kind smile on her face and the look she was wearing now, was scaring her. "Why?" She had a look of worry on her face now.
Andrea Fisher grabbed the tray from Selphie's hands and put it down on the counter. She put a gentle hand on her shoulder and gave a weird look, as if she was trying to give a reassuring smile. "Just come with me to the Principal's office, okay?" With that request finished, she turned and began walking towards the direction of the Principal's office.
The brunette obeyed quietly and followed suit. She felt a gnawing sensation inside her heart and Selphie was beginning to familiarize herself on what was going on.
When they finally arrived at the Principal's office, Ms. Fisher was the first person to step inside, followed by a very nervous young woman. "Selphie...please, sit down," Principal Belaford said when he noticed Selphie coming in. He gestured towards an empty seat in front of his desk and Selphie obeyed promptly without a word. As soon as she was seated, Principal Belaford clasped his hands together in front of him and looked into her eyes. "There's a matter I need to discuss with you, Selphie and..." Through her emerald green eyes, he could tell that she had an idea on why she was there. "And judging by how you're looking at me, you seem to understand what I'm talking about."
Selphie was not surprised, because from what she has heard from students who have been sent to the Principal's office before, spoke rumors that their six footer Principal had a knack for looking into student's eyes and figuring out what they're thinking. "Ye... yes sir, I think I do."
Belaford nodded, puttining his hands firmly on his desk. "Then I guess there's no need for me to explain what Ms. Fisher found on the floor at the bottom of your desk?" He glanced at Andrea standing by the door, as if guarding it so no one would step inside without consent. He looked back at his student. When he saw Selphie's look, he continued by taking out the item the young teacher found from his top drawer and placing it on the desk for Selphie to see. "And I don't need a reason to know that this is yours..."
Selphie hesitated for a moment, thinking of what to say. If she told the whole truth that it wasn't hers, but Zell's, which she found in his jacket pocket, then Zell would get suspended and he wouldn't be able to play in the football game coming up in three weeks. However, if she told him it was hers, she would get suspended and she wouldn't be able to go to Osaka. Either way, she was stuck in a whole.
"Selphie?" Belaford called, who has been waiting this whole time for her answer which he never got.
The brunette looked up and opened her mouth to answer.
**********************************
"Damn! That was some hard work Coach gave us!" Kent said, adjusting his backpack on his shoulders. "And I could go for some smokes right now too," he added, glancing at Zell for a response. His blond friend was thinking of the same thing, when he nodded in agreement. "Then, let's go!" Kent was itching even more for the wonderful brand of Columbia. He really didn't like Italian. He walked ahead of his friend, walking faster than before.
Zell nodded, moving his feet a bit faster to catch up to Kent. They were turning the corner, when Zell noticed Selphie opening the Principal Belaford's office door. Both boys paused, taking time to watch Selphie closing the door behind her. As soon as she looked up, she was startled to see them standing there with curious looks. She walked pass her best friend, but didn't say anything. Zell caught her by the arm in time, before she had a chance to leave. "Selphie?" He looked into her eyes. She had on the most serious look he has ever seen on her and it took him by surprise. "What's wrong? Why were you in Principal Belaford's office just now?"
Selphie forced a smile on her face. She didn't want him to know anything. She didn't want him to think that she hated him because of what she did. "Oh, well it's the fact that Mizumoto-sensei asked me to come with him to Osaka Japan along with his college students. Principal Belaford was explaining a bit more about it." She had already forgotten about why she was suddenly angry with him. Then, she remembered that he had lied to her when she asked him about what she found from his jacket pocket.
The blond didn't like that answer. He could tell she was lying to him. However, before he could ask anymore, Selphie jerked her arm away from him and walked away, not giving Zell a chance to understand why she did that. It took him a while to suddenly remember that she had asked him about the marijuana that she found from his jacket pocket and he lied to her. "Damn..." he mumbled.
Kent looked at him, this whole time, quietly watching the scene with skeptism. "You're not going to believe her, are you? Osaka, my ass! If she wanted to know more about the place, she could have asked Mizumoto about it. He lived there and he knows more of it than Principal Belaford who lived only in England for a couple of years. What she said was crap!"
Zell nodded. He knew that already and he had an aching feeling about why Selphie was in the office.
"Hey, do you think she....do you think she TOLD the Principal about your stash?" Kent suddenly asked.
The blond looked up. "What? How would she know about my stash?"
His friend looked away. "Nothing..."
"Do you know something, Kent? Did she know before????"
Kent looked at him, then slowly nodded. "Yeah. I bumped into her last week and I saw it fall on the floor. I told her not to tell anyone about it. I even threatened her if I can remember right." He thought for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I think I did."
Zell's eyes turned into thin slits. "You knew about this and you didn't tell me!?" He grabbed the collar of Kent's shirt and shook him like a rag doll. "You idiot! Maybe she DID tell him about it! Let's....go...." He slowly looked up at the sound of Principal Belaford's office door opening. Ms. Fisher suddenly walked out of the room and stared at both young men. Did she hear the whole thing? Or did she know before?
"Boys, you're suppose to be in my class right now," Ms. Fisher said.
Zell and Kent nodded in unison. "Yes, m'am," they replied together.
Ms. Fisher fixed her hair before, nodding her head. "I'll see you there." She turned and left for her classroom.
They watched her disappear around a corner, before Zell turned to Kent. "I have to go and catch up to Selphie..."
Kent looked at him strangely. "What? Why?"
"Because... I just have to! Just let Ms. Fisher know that I'll be two minutes late." He turned and ran out of the building, calling Selphie's name. Kent sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets, his thought of getting a little smoke before the next class disappearing from his head. He walked to the direction of their math class and mumbled some cursed words.
Meanwhile, Zell had finally caught up to Selphie, who was quite stubborn to listen to him calling her name. She was just crossing the street when he suddenly grabbed her arm and forced her to turn around to look at him. "Selphie....did you...did you tell..."
"If I did, then you wouldn't be playing football right now," she replied, interrupting Zell. She dared not look at him. Had she really done the right thing? Sacrificing her own happiness for Zell's own? The one person who wished never lied to her about it? He was always the one telling her that she needed to be selfish for once to get what she wanted, but what Zell said...did it really mattered to her? What she did, now confirmed it, but why wasn't she happy?
Zell took a deep breath. Did she really just tell the Principal something else besides him? He had to know. "What exactly did you tell him?"
"I told him it was mine," she responded simply. She finally looked up, having the courage to stare into her eyes to tell him she wasn't lying. He needed to know that at least she wouldn't betray his trust.
The blond's eyes widened in astonishment. He froze, not really knowing what to say. This gave Selphie a chance to turn and walk away from him. She couldn't face him now. She didn't want to look into his surprised look any longer, because deep in his eyes, she could see herself drowning all her happiness in them.
"Selphie, wait!" He ran ahead of her and stopped just in front of his childhood friend, who was now getting flustered from all this. "Selphie, I'll show you that I can be your best friend. Come tomorrow, you'll see." He held her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "I hated it when I lied to you. I'm so sorry about that. But you have no idea how hard it is for me to walk up to you and explain everything that has happened ever since my parents died."
Selphie's face softened. "You could have told me that you were having problems getting over their deaths! Instead, you turned to the one thing that you know, would lead you to fall back from football... Why, Zell? Why couldn't you tell me everything?" There were tears falling from her eyes now and she had no idea she was crying. She turned away from him, wiping the tears with her left arm. "When I asked you about it, you lied to me...You lied to me about it and I felt so lonely. I felt like I didn't know you anymore Zell."
"Like I said, I'm sorry!" Zell suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for an embrace. "Please forgive me..." he whispered.
"No...please forgive me...Let me take this suspension in peace Zell, okay?" She removed herself from his embrace and looked up at him. "Go play football. I know your team is playing in the regional championships and I don't want you to miss that." With that said, she turned and walked away, but this time, Zell did not follow.
***********************************
Slowly, ever so slowly, he stuffed his things in his bag and closed his locker. He ignored all his teammate's pleas, especially from Kent Marshall, who was getting irritated by Zell's quiet responses. "Damn it, Zell! You're such an idiot! We're going to need you in the game!" When he didn't answer, Kent slammed his own locker and followed him out the door. "Zell! What are your parents going to say when they find out about this? That means you also won't be in classes! Did you know that in this situation, you're suspended from classes AND extra-curricular activitied for four weeks?! That's a month! And that's AFTER our actual game against the Sentinels!!!!"
Zell ignored his angry screams, instead, he put his duffel bag over his shoulders and walked out of the change room and into the hallway. Kent was the only persistent teammate to follow him out the door. The other players were too nervous to see him out, because they were afraid to associating with the 'druggie' of the school. People would spread rumors and their reputation would be ruined. "Zell! Hang on a second!" Kent placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and forced him to turn around. He sighed. "Aren't you at least going to see the game?"
The blond shook his head. "I can't, Marshall. I can't be on school grounds at all. I'll just call you about it." He turned and waved his hand. "See ya in four weeks!"
Kent growled. "Yeah well, maybe I won't!" He knew he was lying to himself. Zell was the only friend who he got along well with. Sighing again, he did the same gesture he did before, stuffing his hands in his pocket and walked back inside the change room. He was truly a friend to not tell the Principal about HIM smoking as well. "Oh dammit!" he hissed under his breath. His conscience was telling him not to say anything, but his heart was telling him the opposite. "Stupid heart..." he mumbled, ignoring the feeling.
GoodGurl: Wooh! Finally finished that! Yeay! ^^ Okay, so Zell sacrificed his own happiness to make Selphie happy! Isn't that sweet!???? Eek! I want a boyfriend like him! Speaking of boyfriends.... Will Selphie and Zell FINALLY confess their feelings for each other??? Hm.....o.O