Chapter Two:
Somewhere in Garden a bell chimed the hour and the previously-deserted hall was suddenly filled with a sea of bodies. This time however, there was no commotion around the fountain to draw their attention; instead, several pairs of eyes shot anxious glances at the elevator doors, waiting for a sign to tell them of the arrival of their instructors for their briefing. The students huddled together in small groups, all anxiously whispering to each other about where their exam would take place, strategies and whether or not so-and-so had mastered a particular level of magic.
Squall, as was usual for him, was standing alone, leaning against the wall near the directory, looking cool as ice. Of course, he was as impatient as the rest of the students to get going, he just wasn't as vocal about it. A flicker of movement caused him to glance up and he blinked in confusion as he found himself staring into a pair of deep violet eyes. The person stepped back a little and Squall finally recognised the girl who had been responsible for the whole fountain incident.
"Any sign of the head honchos yet?" She asked conversationally as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic band at the nape of her neck. Squall shook his head by way of a reply and she huffed irritably as she dropped to a knee and began to lace up her boots (Squall only just noticed that the laces had merely been stuffed into the footwear, as though she'd been in a hurry when she'd put them on).
"Well that's just fantastic." She drawled in a tone that dripped sarcasm. "I thought I was gonna be late so I rushed and hurried to get my ass here on time, only to find that the faculty aren't even here anyway. I mean jeez, they keep stressing the importance of punctuality, but then are late themselves. What the hell ever happened to leading by example? I swear they do this just so they can watch us squirm and work ourselves into states of near-panic before they let us loose." Squall just nodded again, not bothering to say anything as the girl seemed quite capable (if not content) to carry on the conversation all by herself.
Finally finishing with her laces she stood up and walked over to the fountain, checking her reflection critically in the gently rippling water. Satisfied that she looked presentable, she wandered back to where Squall was still standing and leaned against the wall next to him. "So, you taking the big exam too?" She asked casually and Squall nodded yet again, turning to look at the girl curiously.
"You're the one who pushed Seifer in the fountain…right?" She shrugged.
"Well it all depends on how one defines 'pushed'. If you define pushed as 'deliberately walking into him so he'd fall' then yeah, that was me. I never expected him to land in the fountain though, that was a major bonus."
"You're a lousy liar." Squall told her simply with a frown.
"I wasn't trying to lie. I was bending the truth a little so it would show me in a more favourable light."
"…whatever." Pushing away from the wall, Squall walked off. The girl stared after him in confusion.
"What the hell is his problem? Jeez, talk about anti-social." Someone laughed nearby and she looked up at them, confused.
"That's Squall Leonhart, anti-social may as well be his middle name." The person told her as they walked over. He was a tall, well-built young man whom she assumed to be a student because he was wearing the same uniform as her. He looked to be about 19 or so and dark eyes twinkled at her from beneath equally dark, long hair.
"I see." She replied, though her tone indicated that she didn't find the information that interesting. "I don't remember seeing you around though. Just who are you?"
"The name's Shadow." He answered with a smile.
"Shadow? Is there a last name that goes with that?"
"No, it's a kind of nickname. And you are?"
"Rhia Summers. Medic in training." She announced and then sighed. "I've done all I can training-wise and I want to enter the Seed medical course. Unfortunately in order to do that, you have to actually be a Seed. Go figure."
"Unfortunately?"
"I don't like fighting." She admitted and Shadow arched an eyebrow at her.
"Forgive me if I'm wrong…but aren't you a little out of place in a military academy?"
"Well, I guess to most it does seem that way, but where else would I go? And besides, military schools tend to have the best courses in any given field."
"I see. Well I need to see if I can find my brother, so I'll see you later. Good luck Rhia." She smiled and nodded.
"And to you Shadow." With a wave, the young man walked off and promptly disappeared amongst the milling students.
The elevator beeped sharply and a hush fell over the expectant students as Instructor Quistis Trepe stepped to the top of the stairs, pausing for a moment to survey the crowd before descending the stairs to stand in front of the directory. Pulling out a stack of paper, she began reading off team assignments and students began to break away from their friends in order to join their team-mates. Everyone seemed to be satisfied with the groupings except…
"WHAT!" Rhia's enraged scream drew several startled looks as the girl stormed up to Quistis, her face incredulous. "Instructor Trepe, with all due respect, I think there's been some sort of mistake. I was under the impression from Dr Kadowaki that I would be going out with the field medic team." Quistis returned Rhia's look coolly before answering, "The assignments are final and non-negotiable Miss Summers, so I suggest that you go and join your team-mates so the exam may begin."
Almost cringing now, Rhia turned and watched as Zell Dincht tried vainly to get Squall to shake his hand and Seifer just stood near them looking bored. Taking a deep breath, Rhia charged up to the head of the disciplinary committee and got in his face. "Ok Blondie, let's get a few things straight. I don't like you and you don't like me. That's fine, I can live with that, but for now it seems we're stuck together so we're just going to have to try and get along for the next few hours. Basically, I won't try to kill you if you don't try to kill me, we behave like a good team and we both become seeds. Got it?" He smirked at her.
"Got it. Just stay out of my way and we'll get along fine. Now let's get moving."
"I still don't get the point of these stupid exams anyway." She said viciously, still put out that she had to endure being bossed around by Seifer for the next few hours.
"If you have a problem Miss Summers, then by all means do voice it." The group snapped to attention and saluted as the Garden Headmaster Cid Kramer approached them.
"I'm sorry sir, I just don't understand the need for fighting. After a battle is done, things wind up being resolved around a conference table. If we went straight to the table…then innocent people wouldn't get hurt, innocent people wouldn't lose their lives." Cid smiled tolerantly.
"Unfortunately Miss Summers, not everyone thinks the way you and I do. The only way to deal with those kinds of people is with a show of force. You're training to be a medic correct?" At her curt nod he continued, "Your job is going to be difficult I'm afraid. Remember to always help others with pride." Rhia nodded and saluted again not quite understanding his cryptic words.
"I will do my best sir." She replied fervently and with a wave, the headmaster dismissed them.
"Then I have nothing more to say except, good luck students. Godspeed."