Disclaimer: No own Squaresoft or FF8.
Surprise Party: Part One
A/N: I split 'Surprise Party' into two parts, chapters one and two. So if you already read this, read chapter three!
"Oh, this will be great! I always wanted to plan a birthday party."
"Calm down, Selphie."
"Aw, give her a break Quisty. Great idea, Rinoa."
"Thanks, Irvine."
"Let's plan the PAAH-TAY!"
"Um, Selphie, not so loud."
"Back off, Zell."
"But you're being loud!"
"So? This is such a great idea, I feel like shouting!"
"What's a great idea?"
Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, Quistis and Irvine quickly looked up, embarrassed, from their table in the cafeteria to see Squall there.
"Hi Squall." Rinoa said, finding her voice first. "How are you?" But he wasn't about to be distracted.
"What's a great idea?"
"Oh, nothing much." Rinoa quickly scanned the cafeteria for inspiration. "We were just talking about the Garden Festival Selphie is planning. It looks like it'll be great this year."
"Whatever." There was an uneasy silence.
"Well, I need to get going. I need to see Cid about permission for my top secret idea." Selphie said, and hurried off.
"I just came over here to remind you guys that we need to be at the Quad to meet with the other Garden leaders."
"Oh, is that today?" Irvine asked. "I didn't know that."
"It's at seven."
"Oh, right." Rinoa said. "We'll be there."
"Definitely." Zell said.
"Count on it." Irvine added.
"Wouldn't miss it."
Squall looked at them oddly. "Whatever. Just remind Selphie." he said, and walked off.
"That was so close." Rinoa said.
"Oh yeah." Zell agreed, looking relieved. "What if he had heard the entire idea?"
"We'll meet at three to start the plans. You guy going to be there?" Rinoa asked.
"Yeah! Wouldn't miss it. The expression on Squall's face." Irvine added.
"Oh yeah. That'll be classic."
"See you later then."
+ + +
It was three o'clock (or 1500 hours, whatever). Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, Quistis and Irvine were in the quad.
"Okay, we are officially planning a surprise party for Squall."
"Hoo yeah." Zell said.
"So, first things first. What will happen at the party?"
"Let's watch Rampaging Ruby Dragons!" Quistis said.
"Paintball tournament!" Irvine yelled.
"Dancing!" Rinoa said, smiling.
"Rabbit petting zoo!" Selphie said, doing the Selphie happy dance. (A/N: Do they have rabbits there? Oh well.)
"HOT DOG EATING CONTEST!"
Everyone looked at Zell.
"Um, Zell, you realize this isn't your party, right?" Rinoa asked.
"What kind of an idiotic idea was that?" Irvine demanded.
"Get help." Quistis said.
"Yeah, really. No one wants to do that." Selphie added.
"I do!"
"Besides you."
"Well, let's add it." They stared at Rinoa.
"Why?"
"It'll keep Zell from doing something stupid."
"Okay then." Irvine said.
"Sure." Selphie agreed.
"Let's go for it." Added Quistis.
"That wasn't very nice."
"Do you want the contest or not?" Rinoa demanded.
"Yeah."
"Then no complaining." Rinoa looked back at the others. "Now, Selphie, about your idea."
"What's wrong with a rabbit petting zoo?"
"Those are for little kids. Irvine, your idea was fine, as was Quistis'. I vote for my idea."
"But I like rabbits!"
"Pick something else, Selphie."
"Okay then! How about.Mesmerize races!"
Rinoa shrugged. "That sounds good. Any objections?"
Silence.
"Any objections to the other ideas of dancing, a paintball tournament, and watching Rampaging Ruby Dragons?
More silence.
"It's settled, then. Now, the meeting starts at seven and should end at nine. We have four hours to get this together, plus invite everyone."
"Who should we invite?" Selphie asked.
"How about Fujin and Raijin?" Quistis suggested.
"Well, they do provide entertainment, as long as Raijin acts stupid." Irvine said.
"Then we'll definitely get entertainment." Zell informed him.
"Seifer?" Rinoa asked.
"Hmm, I don't know about that." Zell said, making a face of disgust.
"Well, as long as we put a ban on gunblades, everything should be okay." Quistis said.
"Alright then. We'll invite Seifer." Rinoa said brightly, and added him onto the list.
"And Xu." Quistis added.
"Plus the CC group." Zell said.
"What about Ellone, Laguna, Kiros and Ward?" Irvine asked.
"Yeah, why not." Rinoa said, and wrote them down too.
"Cid and Edea too. They'll get us in trouble if we don't invite them." Quistis said brightly.
"The jogger boy." Irvine said.
"Won't that be too late for him?" Selphie asked.
"Nah, he can stay an hour." Irvine said, waving his hand.
"And who'll bring him back?" Selphie asked.
"Um." Irvine looked stumped.
"Well, it was Irvine's idea. He can." Rinoa informed them.
"Okay." Selphie said.
"W-wait a minute!" Irvine stuttered.
"But we'll need to invite the other kids too, or they'll be upset." Quistis added.
"Yeah, and Irvine can baby-sit them!" said Selphie, smiling brightly.
"Hold on a minute." Irvine complained.
"Oh, and the librarian, plus Doctor Kadowaki." Zell added.
"Nida too." Quistis informed them.
"Then who'll drive?" Rinoa asked.
"We'll just stop Garden for a while." Zell said.
"About that idea where I baby-sit." Irvine interjected.
"All the SeeD who were with us during the war too." Selphie added.
"Plus the class Quistis teaches." Zell said.
"Ah, let's just invite the whole Garden." Rinoa said.
"Yeah. We have nearly half the people in it mentioned anyway." said Quistis.
"I really don't want to baby-sit guys." Irvine whined.
"Irvine, shut up."
"But." Irvine began.
"Okay! We've wasted enough time talking! Let's get going. Selphie, you and Irvine will decorate. Zell and I can get the food. Quistis, you're in charge of the invitations. Nothing fancy, just a quick message Squall doesn't get."
"Roger." Zell said, saluting.
"Let's do it!" Selphie shouted, jumping in the air.
"Understood!" Quistis informed her.
Rinoa, Zell, Selphie and Quistis left, leaving Irvine standing there.
"Guys."
+ + +
Squall normally didn't mind the chatter people that crowded Balamb Garden. But today, it was just ridiculous! They were everywhere, walking in small groups, all whispering as though they all had a great big secret that no one else could hear. He made his way to the back of the library, where the meet was now being held. Apparently, Selphie needed to prepare the quad for her secret Garden Festival idea, and no one could see it yet. At least, that was what Cid had said. But people had been entering and leaving the quad all day.
He passed the cafeteria, and decided to get a quick bite to eat. He hadn't eaten all day, and there were still fifteen minutes until the meeting. He started down the short hallway, and bumped into Zell.
"WHOA!" he said, and backed up a bit. When he recognized who it was, he shrank back.
"Uh, hey Squall! What are you doing here?"
"Getting dinner."
"Oh, right. Well, wait there. I'll get it."
"I can get it myself."
"But, but."
"Let me through."
"Hey, it's no problem. I have the time, and with that meeting coming up."
"You need to be there too."
"Well, yeah, but a few minutes is okay, right? And you're the leader, so you need to be there early. Honestly, I have the time."
"You were in a hurry a moment ago."
"Well, you see."
"Enough." Squall said, a pushed past him. Zell raced after him.
"Squall, come on." But Squall ignored him, and pushed through the doors.
.and right into someone with a very large mass of jello.
"Sorry!" Rinoa said. She looked closer at the person who had run into her. "S-Squall?"
Squall just stood there, covered in jello. "What.what is this?"
"Um, jello."
"No. Why do you have all this jello?"
"Um.Zell wanted to see how much he could eat in a minute!"
"And that's why I was kind of embarrassed for you to see that."
Squall just glared at them. "Be more careful." he said, and stomped out of the cafeteria. Thanks to the delay caused by Zell and his jello, he had ten minutes to change and get to the library. He muttered several curses under his breath.
+ + +
"That was so close." Rinoa said.
"Tell me about it. Thank god you were there."
"Yeah. If he had seen the rest of the food." she gestured toward the piles of food they had created to feed the entire Garden, plus several extras - more specifically, Ellone, Laguna, Kiros and Ward.
"I wonder how Selphie and Irvine are coming with the decorations?"
+ + +
"Selphie, we're out of balloons."
"What? There were three 100 packs there, Irvine!"
"I know, but while you were off looking for confetti, there was this stampede of T-Rexaurs that came running through here, and they trampled all the balloons I hadn't hung up yet."
"No, seriously, where are they?" Selphie demanded.
"I told you."
"Irvine."
"Okay, okay, I got a little carried away popping balloons."
"IRVINE!"
"Sorry. So what do we do?"
'We're out of balloons now. I can't get anymore, because in ten minutes that meeting starts." Selphie complained.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." He looked around. "Where is that confetti anyway?"
"I ran into Xu outside the elevator, and she told me she would bring it, because I needed to get back here a put the streamers up."
"Oh, and about the extra packs of streamers you gave me."
"What?"
"I sort of dropped them over the side." Irvine admitted, looking pointedly at the floor.
"IRVINE!"
"Sorry!" Just then Xu rushed in.
"Squall told me to remind you about the meeting."
"Where's the confetti?" Selphie asked.
"Oh, Quistis said she could get it, because I needed to talk to one of the Garden leaders." Quistis came in just then.
"All the invitations were sent, and we have a little kid game section set up in the cafeteria." Quistis informed them.
"Quistis, where's the confetti?"
"I got Rinoa to get it, because I needed to direct the landing for Laguna's ship. We needed to make sure Squall didn't see it."
"Where's Rinoa?"
"I don't know. She should be here soon."
Selphie sighed. "Great. Irvine, go find Rinoa."
"Okay." He started toward the door, but was stopped when there was a shout. "Sorry!" a voice called. Selphie, Quistis, Irvine and Xu hurried into the hall. They looked over toward the dorms, saw the source of the commotion, and stared. Rinoa was standing in front of the short hallway to the dorms with a bucket filled a fourth of the way with confetti. The majority of the confetti had landed on Squall, who was covered in an orange goo.
"Um, Squall, what are you covered in?" Irvine asked. Squall slowly turned toward him.
"Don't ask that again." he growled. Irvine backed up a step.
"I'm not about to press my luck, don't worry."
Zell chose at that moment to join them. "I love that game!" He looked at Squall. "Um, Squall."
"Don't. Just don't." he said, and started toward his dorm. Rinoa looked around apologetically.
"I didn't mean to, but I was just in such a hurry."
"Just don't expect Squall to be nice to you." Zell said.
"What was he covered in?" Quistis asked.
"I sort of spilled the jello on him." Rinoa said, blushing.
"Great." Selphie said. "He's not going to want to leave his room."
"Sorry, but I didn't mean to!"
"I know, I know, just calm down. We'll think of something." Selphie said.
"The meeting!" Xu shouted, and hurried away. Squall came out of his dorm, with slightly damp hair and his SeeD outfit.
"Come on, we need to get to the meeting." Squall growled, and hurried toward the library. The others followed, looking around anxiously.
"I hope he isn't too mad." Selphie whispered to Irvine.
"Don't worry about it. At least you didn't dump jello on him."
"I heard that!" Rinoa hissed.
Squall whirled around. "Knock it off. I don't know what you're whispering about, but it's all I've heard all day, and it's annoying." The others looked down, embarrassed.
"Sorry." they muttered. Squall glared for another minute, then continued walking.
They finally reached the library. Squall stopped and looked around suspiciously. Of all the places in Balamb Garden, the library and the cafeteria were always crowded with students either eating or studying. But the library was empty. Even when meetings were going on there were students quietly moving in and out to get books, but today there were none. The librarian wasn't even on duty. Squall looked around a moment more, then headed to the back of the library, where the meeting was about to begin.
"Ah, Squall, glad you're here." Cid said as they walked to the table. "Meet Headmaster Mercaia, from Trabia Garden." Squall took the lady's offered hand, after a moments hesitation, and gave it a quick shake.
"Hi headmaster!" Selphie said. (A/N: Incase you forgot, Selphie was from Trabia.)
"Hello Selphie. I am pleased to meet you again." Mercaia said, extending her hand. Selphie shook it vigorously. "I was glad to hear you had completed your studies here and become a SeeD."
"Thanks!"
"Well, I really hate to interrupt your reminiscing, but we need to start this meeting. And I'm sure you remember Martine, newly reinstated headmaster of Galbadia Garden." Squall merely nodded. Martine looked embarrassed.
"Now, let's all take some seats. We're here to discuss several changes." Cid started.
+ + +
Squall was walking back toward his dorm. He was annoyed to see Rinoa waiting there. She looked up nervously as he came toward her.
"Hey Squall."
"Hello."
"So, um, want to come with me to see the quad?" Rinoa asked.
"No." Rinoa blinked. Normally he just found an excuse not to come somewhere, instead of just saying no.
"Please?" Rinoa asked.
"No."
"But I really, really want you to come."
"No. I have just had jello and confetti dumped on me by you. No way." Squall said, crossing his arms.
"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please-"
"STOP IT!" Squall shouted.
"I'll keep saying it until you come with me. Please, please, please-"
"Alright, alright, alright. I'll go." Squall said in defeat.
"Thanks!" she said, and practically dragged him to the quad. They stepped into the quad.
.and a large canvas sign fell on Squall. There was a brief struggle, and Squall emerged from under it. He glared at the people, who were looking at him nervously.
"Um, well, Happy Birthday Squall." Selphie said nervously. Squall just glared. Everyone else echoed Selphie's words. Then they started to clap.
"So let's start the PAAR-TAH!" Selphie shouted, and everyone else cheered. They started to separate, with a bunch of noisy kids being lead away by Irvine, who was looking annoyed. Zell was laughing at him, and Quistis was looking amused from a distance. Selphie was talking with Xu, and several people were betting on Mesmerize races. Rinoa had just folded the canvas and put it away.
"So, what do you think of the surprise party?"
"This is the worst party I have ever been to. And the first."
"This isn't the worst party you've been to. What about your inauguration ball? If you've forgotten that."
"Well, this is the first birthday party anyway." Rinoa was about to say something, but she was cut off by an announcement from Zell.
"The Hot Dog Eating Contest begins in five minutes in the left corner of the quad, near the edge. One hundred gil to whoever can convince Squall to join in."
Surprise Party: Part One
A/N: I split 'Surprise Party' into two parts, chapters one and two. So if you already read this, read chapter three!
"Oh, this will be great! I always wanted to plan a birthday party."
"Calm down, Selphie."
"Aw, give her a break Quisty. Great idea, Rinoa."
"Thanks, Irvine."
"Let's plan the PAAH-TAY!"
"Um, Selphie, not so loud."
"Back off, Zell."
"But you're being loud!"
"So? This is such a great idea, I feel like shouting!"
"What's a great idea?"
Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, Quistis and Irvine quickly looked up, embarrassed, from their table in the cafeteria to see Squall there.
"Hi Squall." Rinoa said, finding her voice first. "How are you?" But he wasn't about to be distracted.
"What's a great idea?"
"Oh, nothing much." Rinoa quickly scanned the cafeteria for inspiration. "We were just talking about the Garden Festival Selphie is planning. It looks like it'll be great this year."
"Whatever." There was an uneasy silence.
"Well, I need to get going. I need to see Cid about permission for my top secret idea." Selphie said, and hurried off.
"I just came over here to remind you guys that we need to be at the Quad to meet with the other Garden leaders."
"Oh, is that today?" Irvine asked. "I didn't know that."
"It's at seven."
"Oh, right." Rinoa said. "We'll be there."
"Definitely." Zell said.
"Count on it." Irvine added.
"Wouldn't miss it."
Squall looked at them oddly. "Whatever. Just remind Selphie." he said, and walked off.
"That was so close." Rinoa said.
"Oh yeah." Zell agreed, looking relieved. "What if he had heard the entire idea?"
"We'll meet at three to start the plans. You guy going to be there?" Rinoa asked.
"Yeah! Wouldn't miss it. The expression on Squall's face." Irvine added.
"Oh yeah. That'll be classic."
"See you later then."
+ + +
It was three o'clock (or 1500 hours, whatever). Rinoa, Zell, Selphie, Quistis and Irvine were in the quad.
"Okay, we are officially planning a surprise party for Squall."
"Hoo yeah." Zell said.
"So, first things first. What will happen at the party?"
"Let's watch Rampaging Ruby Dragons!" Quistis said.
"Paintball tournament!" Irvine yelled.
"Dancing!" Rinoa said, smiling.
"Rabbit petting zoo!" Selphie said, doing the Selphie happy dance. (A/N: Do they have rabbits there? Oh well.)
"HOT DOG EATING CONTEST!"
Everyone looked at Zell.
"Um, Zell, you realize this isn't your party, right?" Rinoa asked.
"What kind of an idiotic idea was that?" Irvine demanded.
"Get help." Quistis said.
"Yeah, really. No one wants to do that." Selphie added.
"I do!"
"Besides you."
"Well, let's add it." They stared at Rinoa.
"Why?"
"It'll keep Zell from doing something stupid."
"Okay then." Irvine said.
"Sure." Selphie agreed.
"Let's go for it." Added Quistis.
"That wasn't very nice."
"Do you want the contest or not?" Rinoa demanded.
"Yeah."
"Then no complaining." Rinoa looked back at the others. "Now, Selphie, about your idea."
"What's wrong with a rabbit petting zoo?"
"Those are for little kids. Irvine, your idea was fine, as was Quistis'. I vote for my idea."
"But I like rabbits!"
"Pick something else, Selphie."
"Okay then! How about.Mesmerize races!"
Rinoa shrugged. "That sounds good. Any objections?"
Silence.
"Any objections to the other ideas of dancing, a paintball tournament, and watching Rampaging Ruby Dragons?
More silence.
"It's settled, then. Now, the meeting starts at seven and should end at nine. We have four hours to get this together, plus invite everyone."
"Who should we invite?" Selphie asked.
"How about Fujin and Raijin?" Quistis suggested.
"Well, they do provide entertainment, as long as Raijin acts stupid." Irvine said.
"Then we'll definitely get entertainment." Zell informed him.
"Seifer?" Rinoa asked.
"Hmm, I don't know about that." Zell said, making a face of disgust.
"Well, as long as we put a ban on gunblades, everything should be okay." Quistis said.
"Alright then. We'll invite Seifer." Rinoa said brightly, and added him onto the list.
"And Xu." Quistis added.
"Plus the CC group." Zell said.
"What about Ellone, Laguna, Kiros and Ward?" Irvine asked.
"Yeah, why not." Rinoa said, and wrote them down too.
"Cid and Edea too. They'll get us in trouble if we don't invite them." Quistis said brightly.
"The jogger boy." Irvine said.
"Won't that be too late for him?" Selphie asked.
"Nah, he can stay an hour." Irvine said, waving his hand.
"And who'll bring him back?" Selphie asked.
"Um." Irvine looked stumped.
"Well, it was Irvine's idea. He can." Rinoa informed them.
"Okay." Selphie said.
"W-wait a minute!" Irvine stuttered.
"But we'll need to invite the other kids too, or they'll be upset." Quistis added.
"Yeah, and Irvine can baby-sit them!" said Selphie, smiling brightly.
"Hold on a minute." Irvine complained.
"Oh, and the librarian, plus Doctor Kadowaki." Zell added.
"Nida too." Quistis informed them.
"Then who'll drive?" Rinoa asked.
"We'll just stop Garden for a while." Zell said.
"About that idea where I baby-sit." Irvine interjected.
"All the SeeD who were with us during the war too." Selphie added.
"Plus the class Quistis teaches." Zell said.
"Ah, let's just invite the whole Garden." Rinoa said.
"Yeah. We have nearly half the people in it mentioned anyway." said Quistis.
"I really don't want to baby-sit guys." Irvine whined.
"Irvine, shut up."
"But." Irvine began.
"Okay! We've wasted enough time talking! Let's get going. Selphie, you and Irvine will decorate. Zell and I can get the food. Quistis, you're in charge of the invitations. Nothing fancy, just a quick message Squall doesn't get."
"Roger." Zell said, saluting.
"Let's do it!" Selphie shouted, jumping in the air.
"Understood!" Quistis informed her.
Rinoa, Zell, Selphie and Quistis left, leaving Irvine standing there.
"Guys."
+ + +
Squall normally didn't mind the chatter people that crowded Balamb Garden. But today, it was just ridiculous! They were everywhere, walking in small groups, all whispering as though they all had a great big secret that no one else could hear. He made his way to the back of the library, where the meet was now being held. Apparently, Selphie needed to prepare the quad for her secret Garden Festival idea, and no one could see it yet. At least, that was what Cid had said. But people had been entering and leaving the quad all day.
He passed the cafeteria, and decided to get a quick bite to eat. He hadn't eaten all day, and there were still fifteen minutes until the meeting. He started down the short hallway, and bumped into Zell.
"WHOA!" he said, and backed up a bit. When he recognized who it was, he shrank back.
"Uh, hey Squall! What are you doing here?"
"Getting dinner."
"Oh, right. Well, wait there. I'll get it."
"I can get it myself."
"But, but."
"Let me through."
"Hey, it's no problem. I have the time, and with that meeting coming up."
"You need to be there too."
"Well, yeah, but a few minutes is okay, right? And you're the leader, so you need to be there early. Honestly, I have the time."
"You were in a hurry a moment ago."
"Well, you see."
"Enough." Squall said, a pushed past him. Zell raced after him.
"Squall, come on." But Squall ignored him, and pushed through the doors.
.and right into someone with a very large mass of jello.
"Sorry!" Rinoa said. She looked closer at the person who had run into her. "S-Squall?"
Squall just stood there, covered in jello. "What.what is this?"
"Um, jello."
"No. Why do you have all this jello?"
"Um.Zell wanted to see how much he could eat in a minute!"
"And that's why I was kind of embarrassed for you to see that."
Squall just glared at them. "Be more careful." he said, and stomped out of the cafeteria. Thanks to the delay caused by Zell and his jello, he had ten minutes to change and get to the library. He muttered several curses under his breath.
+ + +
"That was so close." Rinoa said.
"Tell me about it. Thank god you were there."
"Yeah. If he had seen the rest of the food." she gestured toward the piles of food they had created to feed the entire Garden, plus several extras - more specifically, Ellone, Laguna, Kiros and Ward.
"I wonder how Selphie and Irvine are coming with the decorations?"
+ + +
"Selphie, we're out of balloons."
"What? There were three 100 packs there, Irvine!"
"I know, but while you were off looking for confetti, there was this stampede of T-Rexaurs that came running through here, and they trampled all the balloons I hadn't hung up yet."
"No, seriously, where are they?" Selphie demanded.
"I told you."
"Irvine."
"Okay, okay, I got a little carried away popping balloons."
"IRVINE!"
"Sorry. So what do we do?"
'We're out of balloons now. I can't get anymore, because in ten minutes that meeting starts." Selphie complained.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." He looked around. "Where is that confetti anyway?"
"I ran into Xu outside the elevator, and she told me she would bring it, because I needed to get back here a put the streamers up."
"Oh, and about the extra packs of streamers you gave me."
"What?"
"I sort of dropped them over the side." Irvine admitted, looking pointedly at the floor.
"IRVINE!"
"Sorry!" Just then Xu rushed in.
"Squall told me to remind you about the meeting."
"Where's the confetti?" Selphie asked.
"Oh, Quistis said she could get it, because I needed to talk to one of the Garden leaders." Quistis came in just then.
"All the invitations were sent, and we have a little kid game section set up in the cafeteria." Quistis informed them.
"Quistis, where's the confetti?"
"I got Rinoa to get it, because I needed to direct the landing for Laguna's ship. We needed to make sure Squall didn't see it."
"Where's Rinoa?"
"I don't know. She should be here soon."
Selphie sighed. "Great. Irvine, go find Rinoa."
"Okay." He started toward the door, but was stopped when there was a shout. "Sorry!" a voice called. Selphie, Quistis, Irvine and Xu hurried into the hall. They looked over toward the dorms, saw the source of the commotion, and stared. Rinoa was standing in front of the short hallway to the dorms with a bucket filled a fourth of the way with confetti. The majority of the confetti had landed on Squall, who was covered in an orange goo.
"Um, Squall, what are you covered in?" Irvine asked. Squall slowly turned toward him.
"Don't ask that again." he growled. Irvine backed up a step.
"I'm not about to press my luck, don't worry."
Zell chose at that moment to join them. "I love that game!" He looked at Squall. "Um, Squall."
"Don't. Just don't." he said, and started toward his dorm. Rinoa looked around apologetically.
"I didn't mean to, but I was just in such a hurry."
"Just don't expect Squall to be nice to you." Zell said.
"What was he covered in?" Quistis asked.
"I sort of spilled the jello on him." Rinoa said, blushing.
"Great." Selphie said. "He's not going to want to leave his room."
"Sorry, but I didn't mean to!"
"I know, I know, just calm down. We'll think of something." Selphie said.
"The meeting!" Xu shouted, and hurried away. Squall came out of his dorm, with slightly damp hair and his SeeD outfit.
"Come on, we need to get to the meeting." Squall growled, and hurried toward the library. The others followed, looking around anxiously.
"I hope he isn't too mad." Selphie whispered to Irvine.
"Don't worry about it. At least you didn't dump jello on him."
"I heard that!" Rinoa hissed.
Squall whirled around. "Knock it off. I don't know what you're whispering about, but it's all I've heard all day, and it's annoying." The others looked down, embarrassed.
"Sorry." they muttered. Squall glared for another minute, then continued walking.
They finally reached the library. Squall stopped and looked around suspiciously. Of all the places in Balamb Garden, the library and the cafeteria were always crowded with students either eating or studying. But the library was empty. Even when meetings were going on there were students quietly moving in and out to get books, but today there were none. The librarian wasn't even on duty. Squall looked around a moment more, then headed to the back of the library, where the meeting was about to begin.
"Ah, Squall, glad you're here." Cid said as they walked to the table. "Meet Headmaster Mercaia, from Trabia Garden." Squall took the lady's offered hand, after a moments hesitation, and gave it a quick shake.
"Hi headmaster!" Selphie said. (A/N: Incase you forgot, Selphie was from Trabia.)
"Hello Selphie. I am pleased to meet you again." Mercaia said, extending her hand. Selphie shook it vigorously. "I was glad to hear you had completed your studies here and become a SeeD."
"Thanks!"
"Well, I really hate to interrupt your reminiscing, but we need to start this meeting. And I'm sure you remember Martine, newly reinstated headmaster of Galbadia Garden." Squall merely nodded. Martine looked embarrassed.
"Now, let's all take some seats. We're here to discuss several changes." Cid started.
+ + +
Squall was walking back toward his dorm. He was annoyed to see Rinoa waiting there. She looked up nervously as he came toward her.
"Hey Squall."
"Hello."
"So, um, want to come with me to see the quad?" Rinoa asked.
"No." Rinoa blinked. Normally he just found an excuse not to come somewhere, instead of just saying no.
"Please?" Rinoa asked.
"No."
"But I really, really want you to come."
"No. I have just had jello and confetti dumped on me by you. No way." Squall said, crossing his arms.
"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please-"
"STOP IT!" Squall shouted.
"I'll keep saying it until you come with me. Please, please, please-"
"Alright, alright, alright. I'll go." Squall said in defeat.
"Thanks!" she said, and practically dragged him to the quad. They stepped into the quad.
.and a large canvas sign fell on Squall. There was a brief struggle, and Squall emerged from under it. He glared at the people, who were looking at him nervously.
"Um, well, Happy Birthday Squall." Selphie said nervously. Squall just glared. Everyone else echoed Selphie's words. Then they started to clap.
"So let's start the PAAR-TAH!" Selphie shouted, and everyone else cheered. They started to separate, with a bunch of noisy kids being lead away by Irvine, who was looking annoyed. Zell was laughing at him, and Quistis was looking amused from a distance. Selphie was talking with Xu, and several people were betting on Mesmerize races. Rinoa had just folded the canvas and put it away.
"So, what do you think of the surprise party?"
"This is the worst party I have ever been to. And the first."
"This isn't the worst party you've been to. What about your inauguration ball? If you've forgotten that."
"Well, this is the first birthday party anyway." Rinoa was about to say something, but she was cut off by an announcement from Zell.
"The Hot Dog Eating Contest begins in five minutes in the left corner of the quad, near the edge. One hundred gil to whoever can convince Squall to join in."