This was supposed to be fifteen minutes.
The next two chapters will be Thanksgiving based, because of the upcoming holiday. Also, reviewer replies have been moved to the end.
Rinoa looked around the cafeteria for her friends. She finally spotted them in a corner, talking. She walked over. They looked up as she neared them.
"Hi guys!" she said brightly.
"Hello Rinoa." Squall said.
"Guess what Cid and Edea told me." Rinoa said.
"What?" he asked.
"Guess!" she repeated.
"." He looked back at his drink.
"I wanna guess! I wanna guess!" Selphie said, waving her hand energetically in the air. "Pick me, pick me!"
"Um, okay." Rinoa said, looking nervously at the obviously hyper girl. The King sized candy bars in front of her explained a lot.
"I guess that they told us to take a vacation."
"Nope. They said-"
"Oh, I know what it is now! They said the Garden Festival looks great."
"Actually-"
"They told us to go to a llama petting zoo!"
"Selphie, let Rinoa speak." Squall said.
"Okay, fine." Selphie pouted. Rinoa shot Squall a grateful look.
"Cid and Edea wants us to meet them at a nice restaurant Esthar for Thanksgiving dinner in a couple hours. I thought we should all go to the dorms and get ready now."
"Today? Can it be tomorrow?" Irvine asked.
"Irvine, you can't change the day Thanksgiving is on." Rinoa said.
"Its Thanksgiving?" Squall said, surprised.
"Why do you want to go another time Irvine?" asked Zell.
"Because I was going to go from Deling to Dollet today."
"I told you, you can't do that!" Selphie said in annoyance.
"Well, I admit the record will be hard to beat, but I figure if I get a time when the trains won't hold me up."
"Irvine, shut up." Selphie said. "Rinoa, tell Cid and Edea Irvine and I would love to come."
"I can't." Quistis said glumly. "I need to stay here for a class trip."
"Yeah, I can't go either." Zell said, although he didn't look too upset about it.
"Why not?" Irvine asked curiously, with a smirk on his face.
"Because I need to.visit my mom!"
"No really, why?"
"I told you! I need to visit my mom!"
" Do you have a date?" Irvine asked.
"No!" Zell said, his face turning a violent red.
"Who is it, that librarian? Isn't her name Melissa or something?"
"Her name is Melissa, but I don't have a date!" He was, if possible, turning redder.
"Have a good time." Selphie said. Zell ran out of the room.
"My class starts, so I'll see you later. Extend my apologies to Cid and Edea, and apologize for Zell too." Quistis said, and left the room. Rinoa turned to the others.
"So, are you coming too, Squall?"
"Sure." he muttered.
"Great! Garden is stopped near Esthar, so Nida said he would let us off here." Rinoa said. "Cid and Edea went on ahead so they could reserve a table."
"Well, let's get going!" Selphie said, jumping up and running toward the dorms. Squall, Rinoa and Irvine followed.
After they changed they went to the parking lot they looked around. There were no cars left, not even any armored cars, and Garden was going to stop in five minutes. They were about to leave to find Nida when a voice called them.
"Wait up!" They turned around to see Quistis standing there.
"They cancelled the trip because it's Thanksgiving." Quistis explained.
"Great, but there aren't any cars left." said Squall.
"That's okay. I have a car," said Quistis.
"I want to drive!" Selphie said. Squall resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Selphie driving them anywhere wasn't high on his list of things to do.
"Thanks Quistis!" said Rinoa, clapping her hands excitedly. "Where is it?"
"Near the front gate."
"Okay then, let's go!" she said, and they all walked to the front gate. Once there they piled into the car. Irvine convinced Quistis to let him drive, Selphie sat up front, with Rinoa, Squall and Quistis in the back. When Garden stopped they drove out, and toward the bright city of Esthar.
"Does anyone know where we're going?" Irvine asked.
"I have the instructions Rinoa gave me right here! According to this, the trip should take us fifteen minutes tops." Selphie said, waving the instructions around. There was silence for a few moments as they entered Esthar.
"Where are we supposed to go, Sefie?" Irvine asked. Selphie looked down at the paper with the instructions on it.
"It says to go to the center of the city."
"How do we get there?" he asked.
"I have no idea. The instructions don't say anything about how to get there, it just says 'go to the center of the city, then turn right at a white bowling alley.' It doesn't say how to get to the center."
"Well, let's just try going this way." Irvine said, and they started off down a random road.
"Can you please turn on the radio?" Rinoa called from the backseat.
"Okay." Selphie said, and started pushing and turning random buttons.
"Um, it's the big red button, Selphie." Quistis said.
"Thanks." Selphie said, and pushed it. A loud rock and roll song blasted from the speakers.
"Turn it down!" Squall shouted over the noise, covering his ears to protect them from permanent damage. Irvine and Selphie both reached over and started to fiddle with the buttons. All that happened was the music changed from rock and roll to country to waltz and back to rock.
"It's the knob under the red button!" Quistis yelled. Irvine turned it, and the volume level decreased. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Whoa, that was loud. How do you stand it, Quistis?" Rinoa asked.
"Actually, Selphie turned the volume up when she was messing with the buttons." Quistis said.
"Oh." There was silence as they listened to the rock song, and the two more that followed.
"We're going in circles." Squall said after several minutes.
"How can you tell?" Quistis asked.
"We've passed 'Uncle Bill's Pizza and Cheesecake' place four times already. This is the fifth." Since it was hard to argue with that logic, everyone agreed that they were lost.
"How do we know we've reached the center anyway?" Rinoa asked.
"When we see the white bowling place, I would assume." Selphie said. "So everyone look for a white bowling place." After thirty minutes, however, it appeared that they we're going to find it.
"Maybe it's an invisible white bowling place." Selphie suggested, grinning.
"Then if we drive on the side of the road, we should hit it." Rinoa reasoned, also grinning.
"Okay." Irvine said, and pretended to pull off to the side. Everyone (with the exception of Squall) shrieked.
"That wasn't very funny," Quistis said.
"Sure it was." Irvine said. He looked over at a place they were passing, covered in neon lights. "Man, that was great bar." he commented. "I remember the time I went there with some friends, a long time ago, I had so much fun. We all got really drunk, so the next part was a blur, but I remember we got into this huge fight with some other guys, and they started throwing up because my one friend punched them too hard. Then-"
"Irvine, shut up." Quistis said, banging her head against the seat in front of her. Squall appeared to be drifting off to sleep against the window.
"Irvine, that friend was Zell, and this took place three days ago." Selphie said, glaring.
"Oh yeah. I remember now. So you were the one I called for bail? I couldn't remember."
"Yeah, and that cost me 2000 gil. You owe me."
"Okay, your most high and mighty highness." Irvine said, giving her a head bow. Selphie giggled, then looked back out the window.
"That bowling place has to be around here somewhere." she muttered.
"Let's just stop and ask for directions." Squall suggested.
"We might as well. This is boring." Quistis complained. Irvine pulled off the road at a gas station.
"Wait here." he said, and walked inside. Five minutes later, he was back.
"Okay, good news and bad news. This is the center of the city, and the white bowling alley is closed for repairs. The attendant said it's covered in graffiti, and it's near the 'Uncle Bill's Pizza and Cheesecake' place."
"We passed that sign, and that place, five times!" Rinoa complained, looking annoyed.
"I know. I wonder how old these instructions are." Irvine said as he climbed into the car. "Next stop, the pizza place." He pulled back onto the road, and drove back toward Uncle Bill's again. Once there they turned right.
"Where do we go next?" Irvine asked.
"The instructions say to go about two miles, then turn left onto Road 334."
"They sure have creative names here."
"Yeah." They drove the two miles in silence, until they turned onto Road 334.
"What place are we looking for?" Squall asked.
"A restaurant called The Golden Cactaur." Selphie replied.
"Now that is an interesting name." Irvine said.
"Just keep driving. I can't wait to stretch my legs." Rinoa said. "I hate staying in one place for a long time."
"At least Zell isn't here." Quistis said. "He can never sit still."
"There it is!" Selphie squealed excitedly. Everyone looked over at the building with the giant sign announcing, 'The Golden Cactaur'.
Thank you, reviewers!
Ispreno: I try to make people laugh, I really do. Glad you still like the story.
Da punked-out gym bunny: That's a cool original name, I like it. Those were some really long reviews, especially the one for chapter 2. But don't get me wrong, long reviews and comments are appreciated. If I ever get around to revising this story, I will definitely use some of your suggestions.
Green-eyed Blue Cat: Thank you, thank you! Um, hope your head re-attaches itself.
The next two chapters will be Thanksgiving based, because of the upcoming holiday. Also, reviewer replies have been moved to the end.
Rinoa looked around the cafeteria for her friends. She finally spotted them in a corner, talking. She walked over. They looked up as she neared them.
"Hi guys!" she said brightly.
"Hello Rinoa." Squall said.
"Guess what Cid and Edea told me." Rinoa said.
"What?" he asked.
"Guess!" she repeated.
"." He looked back at his drink.
"I wanna guess! I wanna guess!" Selphie said, waving her hand energetically in the air. "Pick me, pick me!"
"Um, okay." Rinoa said, looking nervously at the obviously hyper girl. The King sized candy bars in front of her explained a lot.
"I guess that they told us to take a vacation."
"Nope. They said-"
"Oh, I know what it is now! They said the Garden Festival looks great."
"Actually-"
"They told us to go to a llama petting zoo!"
"Selphie, let Rinoa speak." Squall said.
"Okay, fine." Selphie pouted. Rinoa shot Squall a grateful look.
"Cid and Edea wants us to meet them at a nice restaurant Esthar for Thanksgiving dinner in a couple hours. I thought we should all go to the dorms and get ready now."
"Today? Can it be tomorrow?" Irvine asked.
"Irvine, you can't change the day Thanksgiving is on." Rinoa said.
"Its Thanksgiving?" Squall said, surprised.
"Why do you want to go another time Irvine?" asked Zell.
"Because I was going to go from Deling to Dollet today."
"I told you, you can't do that!" Selphie said in annoyance.
"Well, I admit the record will be hard to beat, but I figure if I get a time when the trains won't hold me up."
"Irvine, shut up." Selphie said. "Rinoa, tell Cid and Edea Irvine and I would love to come."
"I can't." Quistis said glumly. "I need to stay here for a class trip."
"Yeah, I can't go either." Zell said, although he didn't look too upset about it.
"Why not?" Irvine asked curiously, with a smirk on his face.
"Because I need to.visit my mom!"
"No really, why?"
"I told you! I need to visit my mom!"
" Do you have a date?" Irvine asked.
"No!" Zell said, his face turning a violent red.
"Who is it, that librarian? Isn't her name Melissa or something?"
"Her name is Melissa, but I don't have a date!" He was, if possible, turning redder.
"Have a good time." Selphie said. Zell ran out of the room.
"My class starts, so I'll see you later. Extend my apologies to Cid and Edea, and apologize for Zell too." Quistis said, and left the room. Rinoa turned to the others.
"So, are you coming too, Squall?"
"Sure." he muttered.
"Great! Garden is stopped near Esthar, so Nida said he would let us off here." Rinoa said. "Cid and Edea went on ahead so they could reserve a table."
"Well, let's get going!" Selphie said, jumping up and running toward the dorms. Squall, Rinoa and Irvine followed.
After they changed they went to the parking lot they looked around. There were no cars left, not even any armored cars, and Garden was going to stop in five minutes. They were about to leave to find Nida when a voice called them.
"Wait up!" They turned around to see Quistis standing there.
"They cancelled the trip because it's Thanksgiving." Quistis explained.
"Great, but there aren't any cars left." said Squall.
"That's okay. I have a car," said Quistis.
"I want to drive!" Selphie said. Squall resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Selphie driving them anywhere wasn't high on his list of things to do.
"Thanks Quistis!" said Rinoa, clapping her hands excitedly. "Where is it?"
"Near the front gate."
"Okay then, let's go!" she said, and they all walked to the front gate. Once there they piled into the car. Irvine convinced Quistis to let him drive, Selphie sat up front, with Rinoa, Squall and Quistis in the back. When Garden stopped they drove out, and toward the bright city of Esthar.
"Does anyone know where we're going?" Irvine asked.
"I have the instructions Rinoa gave me right here! According to this, the trip should take us fifteen minutes tops." Selphie said, waving the instructions around. There was silence for a few moments as they entered Esthar.
"Where are we supposed to go, Sefie?" Irvine asked. Selphie looked down at the paper with the instructions on it.
"It says to go to the center of the city."
"How do we get there?" he asked.
"I have no idea. The instructions don't say anything about how to get there, it just says 'go to the center of the city, then turn right at a white bowling alley.' It doesn't say how to get to the center."
"Well, let's just try going this way." Irvine said, and they started off down a random road.
"Can you please turn on the radio?" Rinoa called from the backseat.
"Okay." Selphie said, and started pushing and turning random buttons.
"Um, it's the big red button, Selphie." Quistis said.
"Thanks." Selphie said, and pushed it. A loud rock and roll song blasted from the speakers.
"Turn it down!" Squall shouted over the noise, covering his ears to protect them from permanent damage. Irvine and Selphie both reached over and started to fiddle with the buttons. All that happened was the music changed from rock and roll to country to waltz and back to rock.
"It's the knob under the red button!" Quistis yelled. Irvine turned it, and the volume level decreased. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Whoa, that was loud. How do you stand it, Quistis?" Rinoa asked.
"Actually, Selphie turned the volume up when she was messing with the buttons." Quistis said.
"Oh." There was silence as they listened to the rock song, and the two more that followed.
"We're going in circles." Squall said after several minutes.
"How can you tell?" Quistis asked.
"We've passed 'Uncle Bill's Pizza and Cheesecake' place four times already. This is the fifth." Since it was hard to argue with that logic, everyone agreed that they were lost.
"How do we know we've reached the center anyway?" Rinoa asked.
"When we see the white bowling place, I would assume." Selphie said. "So everyone look for a white bowling place." After thirty minutes, however, it appeared that they we're going to find it.
"Maybe it's an invisible white bowling place." Selphie suggested, grinning.
"Then if we drive on the side of the road, we should hit it." Rinoa reasoned, also grinning.
"Okay." Irvine said, and pretended to pull off to the side. Everyone (with the exception of Squall) shrieked.
"That wasn't very funny," Quistis said.
"Sure it was." Irvine said. He looked over at a place they were passing, covered in neon lights. "Man, that was great bar." he commented. "I remember the time I went there with some friends, a long time ago, I had so much fun. We all got really drunk, so the next part was a blur, but I remember we got into this huge fight with some other guys, and they started throwing up because my one friend punched them too hard. Then-"
"Irvine, shut up." Quistis said, banging her head against the seat in front of her. Squall appeared to be drifting off to sleep against the window.
"Irvine, that friend was Zell, and this took place three days ago." Selphie said, glaring.
"Oh yeah. I remember now. So you were the one I called for bail? I couldn't remember."
"Yeah, and that cost me 2000 gil. You owe me."
"Okay, your most high and mighty highness." Irvine said, giving her a head bow. Selphie giggled, then looked back out the window.
"That bowling place has to be around here somewhere." she muttered.
"Let's just stop and ask for directions." Squall suggested.
"We might as well. This is boring." Quistis complained. Irvine pulled off the road at a gas station.
"Wait here." he said, and walked inside. Five minutes later, he was back.
"Okay, good news and bad news. This is the center of the city, and the white bowling alley is closed for repairs. The attendant said it's covered in graffiti, and it's near the 'Uncle Bill's Pizza and Cheesecake' place."
"We passed that sign, and that place, five times!" Rinoa complained, looking annoyed.
"I know. I wonder how old these instructions are." Irvine said as he climbed into the car. "Next stop, the pizza place." He pulled back onto the road, and drove back toward Uncle Bill's again. Once there they turned right.
"Where do we go next?" Irvine asked.
"The instructions say to go about two miles, then turn left onto Road 334."
"They sure have creative names here."
"Yeah." They drove the two miles in silence, until they turned onto Road 334.
"What place are we looking for?" Squall asked.
"A restaurant called The Golden Cactaur." Selphie replied.
"Now that is an interesting name." Irvine said.
"Just keep driving. I can't wait to stretch my legs." Rinoa said. "I hate staying in one place for a long time."
"At least Zell isn't here." Quistis said. "He can never sit still."
"There it is!" Selphie squealed excitedly. Everyone looked over at the building with the giant sign announcing, 'The Golden Cactaur'.
Thank you, reviewers!
Ispreno: I try to make people laugh, I really do. Glad you still like the story.
Da punked-out gym bunny: That's a cool original name, I like it. Those were some really long reviews, especially the one for chapter 2. But don't get me wrong, long reviews and comments are appreciated. If I ever get around to revising this story, I will definitely use some of your suggestions.
Green-eyed Blue Cat: Thank you, thank you! Um, hope your head re-attaches itself.