"We're going to hold a small party for you," the disc jockey said, about to inform Laguna of the third task.
"Cool."
"But! You must get at least ten guests to come."
Laguna's brow wrinkled slightly. "There's a catch to this, isn't there."
"Tell them it is a theme party. The theme this year shall be-" An artificial drum roll resounded from behind the man. "-The Black Plague!" Trumpets played a victory tune.
"Black Plague?"
"The Black Plague!" Trumpets were blasted once again.
"....Black Plague?"
"Yes! If you can still get ten people to come to your party, you win!"
A sudden burst of confidence surged through Laguna. "Alright!"
"We'll set up our show down at the concert hall this Saturday at 8:00 p.m.! Be there!"
Now all he had to do was make a few quick phone calls, then sit back and wait for those pizzas to arrive at his doorstep. The president picked up his phone and dialed the number he knew so well.
Brrring, click!
"Hey, son!"
"......"
"I'll save us some time... It's me, your father!"
"...Laguna."
"I'm having a party Saturday," he explained, "and was wondering if you'd like to come."
"I...uh..."
"Free food!" he said, knowing how much teenagers love free food.
"We'd love to, Laguna!"
"Rinoa, get off the other line."
What luck! Rinoa's there! "Great!" exclaimed Laguna. "Oh, and it's a theme party, so dress accordingly."
"Really? Sounds like fun. What theme is it?" she asked.
"The Black Plague!"
"....Black....Plague?"
"Yup! It'll be a ton of fun; we're going to have little plastic rats everywhere and -"
A creak could be heard on the line as Squall readjusted his grip on the phone. "WHY would you choose an epidemic as the theme for your party?"
"Well...Everything else has been done to death." Laguna paused. "No pun intended," he added.
"Only you, Laguna..."
"So, I'll take it that you're coming!"
"Wait, I-"
"Hey, why don't you invite all your friends, too?"
"I don't-"
"See you 8:00 p.m. Saturday at the concert hall!"
Click!
"Dammit, Rinoa," Squall groaned, massaging his forehead.
"C'mon, it'll be fun!" she chirped, wrapping her arms around his chest.
"Dammit, Rinoa."
"It'll be fun!"
"Damn, damn, damn, damn."
"Fun, fun, fun, fun!"
Squall passed out.
"I can't believe I'm here."
The leader of Garden stood stiffly in the middle of the concert hall, arms folded across his chest.
Rinoa smiled warmly. "Now don't be upset!" she urged. "I'm sure this'll be great! See, everyone else is having fun." She pointed to her left at the food table, where Zell, Selphie, and Irvine were stationed.
Squall stared blankly at the trio, then rolled his eyes.
"What is it?" questioned Selphie, poking what seemed to be a jello mold with a fork. "What's that black stuff in it??"
Irvine leaned closer, inspecting the gelatin. "It looks like bugs!" he exclaimed.
Zell's brow wrinkled. "That's kinda gross."
"Hey, everyone! Are you having fun yet?" Laguna walked cheerfully over to the group, ignoring the weird stares they gave him. "Oh! Did you try the jello mold?"
"I think there's something wrong with it," said Selphie, hoping Laguna would fix the problem and retrieve another, perhaps clean, gelatin dish.
"You mean the fleas?"
Zell looked at him in disbelief. "Uh, YEAH."
"This is the Black Plague!" he exclaimed, shrugging it off. "You can't just eat whatever you want and expect it to be removed of all disease! Geez! Kids these days!" Laguna threw up his arms in frustration and walked back to the other side of the room.
Selphie clutched her stomach, half leaning over. "I don't think I like this party," she whimpered.
"You okay, Sef?" asked Irvine, resting a hand on her shoulder. "Here, I'll get you some punch."
The gunman strode over to the punch bowl and picked up the ladle. Yet before he even scooped up any of the drink, the ladle flew from his hand as he stepped back in shock. "What in the hell is this?!"
Zell ran over, intrigued by Irvine's sudden outburst. "What? What's wrong?"
"This party is messed up," he grumbled, pointing to the plastic rats sitting around, and in, the punch bowl.
The president of Esthar remained in a corner of the room, carefully counting how many guests had arrived. He needed ten, but there were only eight...
"Argh... I've come too far! Squall must know more than eight people!" he complained. "...Wait. Kiros and Ward! Of course!" Laguna smacked his head on the realization. He remained stunned for a moment, having hit himself too hard. When the room stopped spinning, he quickly made his way over to Squall, hoping the kid would have a phone on him.
"Let me use your phone!" he pleaded.
"....Hello."
"Let me use your PHONE!" Laguna repeated, more demanding.
Squall looked at him silently.
"How are you?"
The president sighed in agitation. "Son, please let me use your phone. It's an emergency!"
"Just give him the cell!" Rinoa commanded. Squall reluctantly gave in as Rinoa continued, "Honestly, can't you be nice to your father just once?"
"Right. He comes over here screaming at me to give him my cell phone - which, might I add, I'm paying long distance charges for here in Esthar. Then I ask him how he is, and you scream at me!"
"Thanks, son!" yelled Laguna as he sprinted off towards the corner again, attempting to dial as he did so.
Squall called after him, "You're paying the bill!" but either the president didn't hear, or he didn't care.
Ring.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"
Ring.
"Please, oh please, oh please!"
"Ye-llo."
"Ward!" exclaimed Laguna, excited that someone answered.
There was a short pause on the other end.
"It's Kiros," said the voice slowly. "Ward is mute, remember Laguna?"
"Oh, yeah," he mumbled, scratching his head. "Well, anyway! You guys gotta get down here right now! I'm short two people and if that disc jockey gets here before you do, I won't win!"
"You know I only stick around because you're the president."
"I don't care! Just get your rear in gear and come to the concert hall!"
"Seriously, one of these days I'm going to assassinate you and then overthrow the government."
"Whatever, just get your butt down here!"
Kiros sighed audibly, shaking his head and smiling slightly. "Alright, alright. After all you went through, I guess it would be cruel of me to ruin your chances at winning now."
"Bring Ward!"
"I know."
Click.
Perfect. This was going to work out after all. Laguna grinned, thinking about how spectacular it was going to be to be able to have pizza whenever he wanted. No more teenagers hanging up on him, no more having to go to town to pick up the pizza... It would actually be delivered to him.
"What's with the stupid grin? Are you done with my phone yet?" asked Squall as he approached the older man.
"Yeah, here you go, son!" answered Laguna cheerfully.
Squall snatched the device from his father's hand, somewhat leery as to why he was so happy. The commander eyed Laguna suspiciously as he left.