Hello all. Ah, not as happy with the review count, it makes me the teeniest bit reluctant to update...nah. However, I did find some rather encouraging tidbits. I've ben uploaded into two different C2 networks, and I must say the collection in which I was put under was remarkable! I'm not so much happy about my own additions, but rather the chance to read other works by fabulous authors! I'm really excited. I wish I could have created some of those wonderful ideas!
To those of you who did review (I wish I could mention all of you by name, but that blasted new rule limits the personality in my thank-you's) I love you all! (The last three people listed on my review list for this story...there, I did it.) Anyway, I hope you enjoy the next installment... yeah.
The final bell had wrung, the class had started. Even still, Cloud—among others—was tearing through his notebook absorbing as much information as possible before the professor walked in. In the quiet rustling of notebook pages came the unmistakable sound of stiff, high heels hitting the floor tiles.
She was a short woman, but her strict classroom policies more than made up for her lack in stature. Her glasses hung low on the bridge of her nose , as if disappointment in her class came as a standard. She arched her lip in annoyance as she glanced around the room, scanning for students still trying to cram in those last few history dates. As she found that most were, she opened her desk drawer for a rather large stack of papers.
"The test, as you know, is today." She said curving her lips into a displeased frown. "Clear your desks."
Cloud reluctantly slid his books and notes under his chair and sank back into the seat. "I'm gonna fail...I'm gonna fail," He sighed. The small packet of papers landed softly on his desk, ridden with test questions he would certainly not be able to answer...
Leon glanced over at Cloud with a feeling of curiosity and pity. Cloud really did try to pull himself together to be successful, but sometimes the delinquent inside of him was the stronger of the two forces. He wondered what Cloud would become if it weren't for his laziness; probably a very successful man. As it was however, it seemed almost as if Cloud would never grow up to be that person.
As the test slid in front of Leon, he smiled internally. Even with all his flaws, Leon did like Cloud for the way he was. It was a strange sort of comfortable security that made him what he was. When Leon wanted to relax or calm down a bit from the stress of the day, he would look at Cloud and his tensionless ways of breezing through life and instantly feel a certain ease. It was Cloud in fact who was helping get through those rough times when he spent days on end ghosting around campus. Cloud would always be there when he returned home to offer consonance and a shoulder to cry on. It was this sort of understanding, and principal caring that made him happy for all Cloud's quirkiness.
Cloud was scribbling in answers like a madman for the first fifteen minutes, but as time wore on, he was ready to accept defeat. From the quiet moans and frustrated flips of paper, Cloud was aware that he wasn't alone in this boat of test failure. In the front of the room, the professor sat reading a novel, occasionally glancing up to make sure no cheating was occurring. Down and around he could also see a few sporadically placed students that could confidently say they would pass the test. Leon was one of them.
It was a little frustrating how these choice people could breeze through this class as if it were a sailing ship, while others struggled to get the motor started. Cloud wondered how people like Leon could possibly find the patience to study the material in advance. It took Cloud all his effort and some of Leon's to get up that morning to cram a little. Still, those unlike the majority of the student body couldn't be blamed as it was the right choice... just not the most interesting.
Leon was always so perfect about school. All the way back in elementary Cloud was sure Leon had never gotten a bad mark. He was the teacher's favorite protege and everyone else's point of envy. Seemingly someone so sound would be able to stand against the antagonism of children jeering jealously at his intelligence, but with Leon, that was not at all the case.
Leon was the shy quiet type who stood off alone on the side of the black top so as not to raise conflict. He never said much, but that was mainly because not much was ever said to him. After elementary school though, being alone never seemed to bother him, as Cloud found that Leon preferred to do things without the possibility of others doing an inefficient job. These feelings probably spawned from the memories of elementary. Still though, in the beginning, Cloud could tell that Leon hated being by himself.
As Cloud was in the young stages of his life, he was the popular one who got the most attention. Contradictory, he was a bit modest in his personality. He wasn't a show off, but rather got along with most people due to his personal magnetism, thus crowing him as the king of popularity. With Leon at the bottom of the social scale and Cloud at the top, these conditions automatically raised the story-book setting for conflict.
Cloud had found through experimentation that he really just liked to mess with Leon. More out of curiosity than meanness. He didn't beat him up or publically embarrass him like the other children, he just liked to see how far he could push things. He would wait until the two of them were alone and calmly ask him questions like "Why are you so smart?" or "Why don't you act like everyone else?" Leon, thinking Cloud was just trying to make fun of him had hated every second of these interviews. By the time he had gotten through a few of those un-responded to questions, Leon would be quite upset, and then in turn raise the attention of the other little kids who weren't as tactful as Cloud, and ultimately succeed Cloud's playful banter into cruelty and mockery.
Through this cycle, inevitably came the times when the cruelty would make Leon cry. These were the moments Cloud regretted even confronting Leon in the first place. Nothing in the world made him feel as guilty as when Leon cried. Even way back then, when Leon's cries went unnoticed by everyone else, to Cloud, Leon's feelings were as noticeable as a coffee stain on linen.
Minutes ticked by, and Cloud was running out of things to think about. Just as he decided his best occupant of time would be to catch up on those lost few minutes of sleep, he felt it.
had he not noticed it before? Or had it just occurred? Either way, it was identifiable the second the uneasiness settled within his bones. Shifting his gaze so as not to look obvious, he confirmed his affliction. Seifer was staring at him.
There, it's all said and done. Please don't hesitate to read and review!
