Selphie Tilmitt hopped off the train which had just screeched to a halt, and readjusted her dark sunglasses. She studied the train platform suspiciously: no one about apart from two train servicemen, a married couple with a very young child, and an important looking businessman on his own. All in all, it was a quiet morning at Balamb train station.
Giving a signal to Zell, who stood behind her with all five of her cases, Selphie made her way through the turnstiles and steadily down the lilac stone steps. The empty train chugged away with a long loud toot of its horn.
"Are you sure that the company doesn't mind me cancelling the rest of the tour?" Selphie asked with concern over her shoulder, which was dressed in an expensive shawl. "I feel terrible."
"You'd be feeling even worse if you carried on in your condition," Zell explained with difficulty as he tried to contend with all of Selphie's luggage, as she only carried a tiny handbag. "You need a break."
Selphie couldn't have agreed more. She removed her sunglasses and gazed over at the scenery. From this end of the town she could see every little stone house, the large and luxurious hotel that stood proud against the horizon, and she could even caught a glimpse of seagulls cruising over the habour.
Selphie snapped out of her dream-like state when she noticed that Zell was gazing thoughtfully at a tiny house along the path, just a few steps away from the junk shop. Then she suddenly remembered – this was Zell's house.
"Why don't you stop by at home, Zell?" Selphie suggested with a smile, placing a friendly hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure your mom would love to see you."
"Are you sure?" Zell checked with great concern, then looked over at his home again. "I would like to … You really don't mind going to Garden on your own?"
"Of course not," Selphie replied honestly. "Go on, you've been looking after me all day. Go and take some time off."
"Well," Zell began, reaching into his pocket, "I'll give you some money so you can rent a car." He tried to hand her a wad of gil, but she didn't accept it.
"Psssh!" Selphie waved her hand, "It's only a five minute walk away!"
"Well … okay," Zell agreed after some slight hesitation, and pocketed his money. "Don't worry, I won't be too long. It's nearly lunchtime, right? It's been months since I've had a Garden hot dog."
Zell and Selphie's timing couldn't have been worse. Selphie's walk took her barely five minutes, but just as she was dragging her suitcases up to the front gate, Squall and Quistis came trundling out of the car park in a Garden vehicle. What with the window blinds inside the vehicle closed because of the bright sun, and Selphie hurrying excitedly straight into Garden's entrance, each one went completely unnoticed by the other.
Inside the futuristic, yellow Garden vehicle, Squall was fidgeting with his jacket pockets, looking for something. He pulled out the train tickets to Esthar.
"We'll be catching the 10:52 from platform 3 at Balamb," he reminded Quistis. "Our private carriage is dark blue, it should be pretty easy to spot. And it's an express line straight to Esthar city, so it should take no longer than-"
"-two hours to get there," Quistis finished automatically, and rolled her eyes fondly at her ex-student. "Honestly, Squall. You've been over that three times already. Don't you have anything else to say to me?"
"Just making sure you know the plan," Squall replied, a little hurt. But the truth was that no, he didn't have anything else to say to her. Sure, he had invited her on this trip, but only for moral support. Quistis was an intelligent young woman, she knew all the rules and policies that concerned what could and couldn't be done with Balamb Garden. Squall also knew that Quistis would stand up for him, should Ellone become too boisterous, or even violent. It wasn't likely, but still…
The odd couple stayed awkwardly quiet as the vehicle trundled along, jolting them about over bumps and cracks in the road. Quistis thought desperately of something to say, but no words came to her. Squall however, was perfectly content with sitting in complete silence.
The uncomfortable journey ended as Quistis felt the hot sun disappear, and her body became cool again – they had just passed under the small tunnel that was Balamb town's entrance and exit. She began to gather her belongings as the vehicle drove noisily past the Rent-A-Car, turned a sharp corner by the junk shop – where Zell and Selphie had stood but minutes earlier – and headed past the item shop before coming to a sudden halt, right in front of the steps leading up to the train station. Squall and Quistis wobbled dangerously, but both managed to keep their balance. With a tiny smile, Squall opened the door and Quistis almost thought he was going to be considerate and let her out first, but he didn't. Frowning slightly, she collected her luggage and followed Squall out into the harsh daylight.
"Well, here we are," Quistis confirmed needlessly, longing to spark up some kind of conversation.
Squall gave a quick glance at the clock that was mounted above the train station's entrance. "Our train should be arriving now."
Together they climbed the steps and proceeded through the turnstiles, before heading over a small bridge to reach platform 3. They weren't waiting long before a beautiful, highly detailed and sparkly clean train pulled up gently and quietly. There was a dark blue carriage at the very end, from which a door slid open automatically.
It appeared that Squall and Quistis were the only ones to do board the train – platform 3 was now empty, and there didn't appear to be anyone else at all on the train coming in from Esthar.
Inside the carriage it was extremely luxurious and heavily decorated, although it felt a little desterted – and too quiet. Quistis took a large, comfy seat next to a blue tinted window, and Squall sat opposite her. Quistis looked around. The carriage looked more like a hotel room than a train carriage – but then again, this was a private Esthar carriage, which Ellone had probably picked out and sent for them personally.
"Well," Squall announced, breaking the silence and pulling a very thick book out of his bag. "Let's just relax and enjoy the journey."
Quistis frowned as she noticed the title of Squall's gigantic book. It was An In-depth Study Of Gunblades – their history, technology, and proposed battle methods. He opened it up and started reading from the first page.
The disgruntled Instructor made no attempt at hiding her exasperated sigh as she crossed her arms in annoyance and stared angrily out of the tinted window.
This is going to be the longest train ride of my life, she thought.