Disclaimer: Characters are not mine.
Author Notes: ^^ Thanks for the reviews you guys~! Without further ado.... the second chapter.
*~*~*~
For his last period, Sora attended creative writing. Another slot was taken by English, but CW was an extra class that he simply felt like taking. Purely for enjoyment and amusement. Not nearly as fun as his beloved science, but it was interesting never the less. It was also one of his favorite classes because it was mixed. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors could all take it. They could choose a semester, or take it for an entire year. Sora had opted for the later, since the only other class he felt like taking was a foreign language, and that had to be for a full year, not a half one. So he'd chosen to have creative writing for his sophomore year, and then Spanish for the last two. It worked out perfectly for him.
The other charming thing about his class was that his little sister Kairi was in there as well, since she was a freshman, and he could keep an eye on her.
She sat in the front center with her best friends, Garnet and Rinoa, laughing and waving her hands with quick, fluttering motions, much like a breeze changing patterns. He smiled contentedly and took a seat towards the back, not wanting to penetrate her personal space. He could be her older brother, but he wasn't allowed to be over bearing.
Vincent glanced up as the cheerful boy sat next to him, and nodded a bit before returning to his book, thoroughly distracted. Sora grinned, and dropped his backpack next to him on the floor with a dull thump.
In front of him sat Zell, a hyperactive blonde that was almost the same height as him, who was raving fanatic about the boxing club.
Behind Sora, was Nida as usual, talking in hushed whispers to Zidane about running track, and all was blissful in Sora's world. There was no one to his left, since there was a great window that he could look outside of.
The best thing about it was that it faced the soccer field. How lucky was he?
Sora stared out at the wide, open green expanse with a wistful, longing gaze, wanting to be running out there, tossing a ball to Tidus, or Barret. The sensation of wet grass brushing against his legs was almost tangible, and he could have sworn on his Playstation 2 he could feel a wind across his face.
Eventually, he was drawn back into to the present world.
Sora blinked, and asked Nida to repeat the question he'd just asked. Nida looked amused for some reason that Sora couldn't understand, and voice the inquiry once more, asking him what his best time running the mile was, and it developed within seconds into an eager discussion of how games would be like if all the players were track stars. Zell jumped into the topic, and with a little nudging from Sora, Vincent put his book down long enough to listen and impart a word occasionally.
"Hey, has anyone like, seen Riku?"
"Who's he?" Sora questioned.
Silence.
Sora smiled wryly.
"I just had a 'Sora' moment, didn't I?" He guessed, not sounding at all startled.
"Dude. Like you so did." Zell informed him with a serious tone. He smirked.
"I can't believe you don't know who Riku is."
"It's not so hard to believe, when does Sora pay attention to anything?"
"Hey! I resent that!" Sora tried to glare at Nida, but failed miserably. Glaring had never been one of his strong points. His friend winked teasingly.
"Although, you know, it isn't surprising either. Riku shows up... what? One day out of the week, if that?"
"He didn't appear last week," Vincent murmured softly.
"Nah, I think he came in just in time for his last class on Thursday.... I think. Don't quote me on that y'all!" Zell scribbled a doodle in his abused notebook. Sora still had a lost expression on.
"'Kay people, time out. Who the heck is Riku?"
"A really bad person to hang out with, if you ask me." Nida mumbled, tapping his fingers against his desk.
"He hardly ever comes to school, and he's the worst snob. He never talks to anyone. If he bothers to show up of course."
"How cheery." Sora dropped his chin between his hands. "Why?"
"What?" Zidane leaned in, and cocked his head to the side. "Why what?"
"Why," Sora manifested, "is he like that?"
"Who knows? Who cares? He's just an ass." Zell remarked with an indolent shrug.
"I don't buy it." Sora protested, but the assured argument was cut short as Yuna, the teacher, came in.
She was young, just a few years older than the seniors, and pretty cool by everyone's standards. It wasn't often they got a teacher that didn't mind being called by her first name.
She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled, a little sheepishly.
"Sorry for being late. Anyway, we're starting a big project tomorrow-" She paused, and the expected groans came-"so I'm just going to put a movie today, because I'm not evil enough to make you do work." With a swift pull, she presented a movie box to the class.
"I hope no one objects to watching The Ring, right?"
*~*~*~
The boy's soccer team had practice after school three days out of the week, one morning practice, one free day, and one five hour practice on late Sunday mornings. It just wasn't inborn talent and foolish luck that they won as much as they did, they work hard for it.
It was Thursday, so a one hour practice was in order. The next day was the only weekday that they didn't have to train, save for the times when they had a match. Since they didn't, Friday and Saturday became their resting days.
Leather smashed violently against leather, and the ball spun wildly, dozens of feet up in the air. It seemed to float freely, like a helium balloon, free of the oppressive grasp of gravity.
From his position, Sora knew better than to look up immediately. If he did, he'd get sun blinded. Instead, he watched the other players for the first few seconds to see how they reacted. From their actions, he was obviously too far away to even have a snow ball's chance in hell, so he stayed put, deciding to protect the area before the net. He wasn't playing goalie, but was a formidable block if the 'other' team tried to get past him. He wasn't very strong, but soccer wasn't really about brawn. It was about speed and being able to control the ball. If you were fast enough, obviously, nothing could touch you.
The ball was pulled down by gravity, and slammed into the ground. Tidus managed to kick it away from Auron, but it wasn't a very good kick, and the blonde went down, slipping sideways on the glossy grass. Sora tensed, an anxious crease forming across his forehead that didn't vanish until Tidus had gotten up and was running. He apparently hadn't sustained an injury.
Wiping a soaked bang away from his face, Sora allowed a relieved sigh to escape from his lips, slightly relaxed since the action was taking place all the way on the others side of the field. His whole body ached, but it was a good kind of ache. The sort that made you certain that you'd done your best and pulled your body to the limit.
Sweat dripped down his chin, landing silently on the grass. Although it was a chilly afternoon, they were well into an hour of running about. His thin chest rose up and down in a quick rhythm, the clothing sticking to his frame. He hated to consider how much sweat would pour down his back during the matches later in the heat of the year.
// Pay attention, \\ Sora reminded himself, shaking his head and focusing on the gaggle of players that were chasing the ball-and the ball seemed to have decided it was attracted to Sora.
A wide, confident grin covered his features, and Sora wasn't Sora anymore. He was the best player he could be.
*~*~*~
"I don't want to go home with you!"
Sora rolled his eyes a little.
"I'm not, we just happen to live in the same house, you know? Same path?" He remarked, running both hands through his thick hair and sending drops of water flying. He was soaking wet, having dragged himself out of the shower and not bothering to dry up. His dark blue eyes looked slightly weary.
Kairi bit her lower lip, trying to decide what to do when she realized Sora wasn't listening to her, because Sora had already started walking.
She mumbled something below her breath, and wondered why it was that everyone loved her brother. He was such an idiot. She jogged to catch up with him.
"You were trying out for cheer leading, right?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.
Kairi gave him a surprised look.
"Yes... how did you know? You were at basketball practice!"
"Soccer," Sora corrected. "And, you normally aren't around at this time of the day on Thursdays. You don't have any reason to be."
"Yeah, well, I could have been hanging out with my boyfriend."
Sora stretched languidly, a pleased groan forming in the back of his throat.
"You don't have one."
"But I could have."
He smiled, sleepily.
"Whatever."
Kairi stuck out her tongue at him and fell silent again. Her brother had a drowsy face, which meant he was probably going to drop into his bed and sleep for an hour before their mother called them to dinner. Being up and about all day was exhausting, she supposed. But it was his fault. He was a bigger social butterfly than Rinoa.
"I don't see what girls see in you." She huffed, and walked faster.
Sora shot her a strange look, and shrugged, trusting his hands inside his pockets. Well, obviously, he didn't know either.
A small, happy smile touched his face, and he looked up at the still clear sky. Life was perfect.
*~*~*~
"I see." The man had dark brown hair going gray rapidly, spreading from the top of his head down. His skin was marked with creases. It would not have been wild to guess that they had been caused by worry over the years, and his wide shoulders slumped in a defeated, shamed way. With one hand, he pressed a dark blue phone against his ear, and with the other, tried to massage away a pounding migraine.
The woman on the phone sounded sympathetic, and equally frustrated.
"I'm sorry, I just don't know what else we can possibly do. It's never been tried, but it is worth the effort, isn't it?" She pointed out softly, holding her breath. If it didn't work, probably nothing would. If it didn't work, then it would most likely end up pushing both away and nobody would end happy.
"Yes. If it is all that is left, then yes."
The counselor released a long breath, and closed her eyes, pressing her hand over her eyes.
"Thank you Mr.Jakunen. I'll try my best."
The phone clicked shut without a good bye, and she stared at it, trying not to bite her lip. Now, who she was going to pick was the question. She glanced at the student rooster as she put down the phone, and suddenly stiffened.
// I must be getting old.. \\
*~*~*~
"Sora, honey, Mrs. Farae wants to speak with you," His mother's soft voice roused Sora from his content, warm world, and he unwillingly opened his eyes. He stared at her dumbly, uncomprehending of what she was telling him.
"Mngr?"
She gestured towards the phone.
"Mrs. Farae, one of your student counselors. She says it's urgent." Her voice was worried, and Sora could understand why. He'd never even formally met the woman. She handled the twelfth grade, why was she calling him?
Blinking, he nodded and took the phone from her hand, pressing it between his shoulder and ear as he stood up.
"Mmn... Mrs. Farae?"
"Sora Kogai?"
"Yep." He tried to hold back a yawn, but failed.
"Excuse me, but why are you calling me?"
"Well, this is a bit complicated. Do you know Riku Jakunen?"
"Erm... no."
"I see." There was a brief silence on her side of the line, and Sora stretched, wincing as a muscle in his lower back protested to the gesture.
"What's the problem?"
"There is no problem, really, but I would like to ask you to do something. It'll contribute to your needed community service hours."
"...What is it?"
"I would like you to join a program we're calling GIFT. Good Influence for Teenagers."
Sora looked up at his mother, waiting anxiously by the foot of his bed and shrugged cluelessly, scratching the back of his neck.
"Uhm. Can you be more specific?" He closed his eyes, shielding them from the yellow light spilling from the hallway and tried to pay more attention to what she was talking about. He had a feeling it was important.
"Yes, of course. GIFT is a program designed for model teenagers such as yourself, who are well adjusted to the public school system to try to help troubled teens. I would like to formally request that you join our quest, and become Riku Jakunen's GIFT partner."
"Uhm... Okay... what exactly, do I have to do?"
"Well," She paused, and the silence did not bode well. "In this particular case, we'd like you to move in with the Jakunen family until Riku's attendance and grades improve."
Sora blinked.
*~*~*~
The next morning, Sora was up and about with enough time to be able to take walking to school slow.
But did he? Of course not.
Jumping over lawn mower someone had left outside, Sora ducked the bridge a passing couple made with holding hands and dashed to the corner, took a small tumble as the front of his sneakers got caught in an upraised piece of cement, and pulled himself back up again. He looked down both sides of the street for oncoming cars and jogged across.
Rokio high school rose up at him, looking particularly imposing that day, but he dismissed the notion, waving at a couple of practicing cheerleaders with an easy smile and pausing to talk to the Vice President of the student council, and his almost-date, Quistis Trepe.
"Morning Quisty!"
She looked up from her planner, and smiled slightly at him.
"Good morning Sora, I'm surprised to see you here so early." She remarked, even though there were less than ten minutes until the bell rang. He grinned freely and hopped up on the wall she leaned against, using it as a seat.
"Yeah, well, I couldn't sleep too well last night." He shrugged casually and crossed his legs, indian style.
"I see. Any particular reason?"
Sora fell silent, a rather odd action for him. He'd usually just say what was on his mind, and that was that. His wide, blue eyes looked unusually dark, and he worried his lower lip with harsh teeth.
"Uhm. Well..." He trailed off. "Do you know Riku Jakunen?"
Quistis pressed the end of a pen against her cheek, glasses gleaming under the early sun.
"Can't say I know him personally, but I've seen him around occasionally. He hardly ever bothers to show up. Why?"
"No reason." He flashed a brilliant smile, then winced. "No, sorry, that was lie." He slid off the wall and landed with a soft sound.
"Ever heard of GIFT?"
Quistis pressed her lips together, vaguely irritated at her own self for lack of knowledge.
"No, I really can't say I have. Sora, what's wrong?"
"Uhm. I'll tell you later I guess, I see Tidus." He bobbed his head and plastered an easy smile back on his face.
"Gotta go, later Quisty!' He waved and dashed off, cutting through a crowd of students with expert moves.
"I really wish he wouldn't call me that." She mumbled under her breath, and wrote 'GIFT' on her notes.
*~*~*~
Tidus practically fell down at the highly unexpected sight.
"Oh, shit, am I that late?"
"Funny." Sora wrinkled his nose and nudged his cousin with the heel of his shoe.
"Come on, get up, you're getting all muddy."
"So?" Tidus retorted languidly.
"So, I don't think Yuna would appreciate the sight of you dragging your sorry self into her classroom looking like.. well, shit."
"Oh, as if I care. Pfft." Never the less, Tidus got up and took painful care to brush away as much dirt as he could away from his blue and yellow blazer. Sora hid a grin and tossed his backpack on the cement.
"Yeah, well, whatever. Where's the rest?"
Tidus ran his hands through his sun kissed hair, and cracked open one eye.
"Uhm. Somewhere." He waved a hand dismissively.
"Oh, well." Sora snorted. "That was informative." He ducked a jokingly slung punch and rocked back on his heels, cerulean gaze flickering nervously about the school campus.
"Oy, em, you know who Riku Jakunen is?"
"I suppose so. He's an ass." Tidus frowned, crossing his arms, and becoming suspicious at the uneasy glitter in his cousin's eyes.
"Why?"
"No special reason, just wanted to know if you could point him out for me."
"Right." He sighed and looked around the area without much enthusiasm. It wouldn't be very hard to find a head of silvery blue hair anyway.
"Nope. He's not here. Not surprising, he's hardly ever here."
"So I've been told," Sora mumbled. "So. Uhm. Do you know him?"
"Nope. We share the same math class, but that's about it."
Sora rolled his eyes, trying not to give a growl of irritation.
"Does anyone know him?"
"Not likely, he's not around, and when he is, he's a grade A jackass. Why?"
Sora shook his head, squirming.
"I said, no reason."
"You're lying."
Sora made a face.
"How can you tell?"
"Your left eyelid tenses when you lie."
"Damn you tense left eyelid."
Tidus snickered and messed up his younger[and shorter] cousin's hair in a brotherly fashion, completely ignoring the outraged squall he gave.
"You're an idiot. But we love ya anyways."
Sora managed to squirm and drop out of the punishing grip, taking a few steps back in case of another attack.
"If you loved me, you wouldn't do that!" He tried to fix his hair, to no avail.
"Sure I would. Now. What's up?"
Sora's annoyed look faded away, and he dropped his arms by his sides.
"Uhm. Well. You've never heard of GIFT before, right?"
"Can't say I have," Tidus answered slowly, a puzzled look descending upon his handsome face.
"Yeah, well. Neither did I, until the twelve grade councilor called me up last night."
Tidus raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I know." Sora waved his hand, and then thrust them into his pockets, tossing strands of brown hair out of his eyes with a toss of his head.
"Uhm. Yeah. Anyway, big, whole complicated yet not so big and complicated story short, GIFT stands for Good Influence For Teenagers. It's a program to mesh good kids with bad kids pretty much, and hope that something good comes out of it. Mrs. Farae called me to ask if I wanted to be part of the program, and..."
"You accepted." Tidus concluded confidently, nodding. His cousin had too much of a heart to say no. Not to mention he had a problem saying no to things, period.
"Yeah," Sora scratched the back of his head with a faint, silly smile.
"I'm just an idiot like that, right?"
"Somewhat. So. Let me guess. You're like.... Riku's guardian angel or something? We gotta hang out with him now?" Tidus looked highly skeptical. Sora suddenly looked just as uncomfortable, and looked down at the ground. Then up at the sky. Then around at the crowd of teenagers that talked excitedly to each other, or slumped themselves against walls and tried not to fall asleep. A few grinned and waved at him, others ignored him. He ran his tongue across his teeth, a nervous gesture and Tidus resisted the urge to stomp his foot.
"Oy! Earth to Sora! Avoiding the question? Not good for my peace of mind."
Sora laughed softly at that, then sobered up.
"Uhm. Well, we don't really have to hang out with him."
"Oh, well, that's a relief." Tidus nodded, his posture gliding into a more relaxed one.
"But I have to live with him."
Author Notes: ^^ Thanks for the reviews you guys~! Without further ado.... the second chapter.
*~*~*~
For his last period, Sora attended creative writing. Another slot was taken by English, but CW was an extra class that he simply felt like taking. Purely for enjoyment and amusement. Not nearly as fun as his beloved science, but it was interesting never the less. It was also one of his favorite classes because it was mixed. Freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors could all take it. They could choose a semester, or take it for an entire year. Sora had opted for the later, since the only other class he felt like taking was a foreign language, and that had to be for a full year, not a half one. So he'd chosen to have creative writing for his sophomore year, and then Spanish for the last two. It worked out perfectly for him.
The other charming thing about his class was that his little sister Kairi was in there as well, since she was a freshman, and he could keep an eye on her.
She sat in the front center with her best friends, Garnet and Rinoa, laughing and waving her hands with quick, fluttering motions, much like a breeze changing patterns. He smiled contentedly and took a seat towards the back, not wanting to penetrate her personal space. He could be her older brother, but he wasn't allowed to be over bearing.
Vincent glanced up as the cheerful boy sat next to him, and nodded a bit before returning to his book, thoroughly distracted. Sora grinned, and dropped his backpack next to him on the floor with a dull thump.
In front of him sat Zell, a hyperactive blonde that was almost the same height as him, who was raving fanatic about the boxing club.
Behind Sora, was Nida as usual, talking in hushed whispers to Zidane about running track, and all was blissful in Sora's world. There was no one to his left, since there was a great window that he could look outside of.
The best thing about it was that it faced the soccer field. How lucky was he?
Sora stared out at the wide, open green expanse with a wistful, longing gaze, wanting to be running out there, tossing a ball to Tidus, or Barret. The sensation of wet grass brushing against his legs was almost tangible, and he could have sworn on his Playstation 2 he could feel a wind across his face.
Eventually, he was drawn back into to the present world.
Sora blinked, and asked Nida to repeat the question he'd just asked. Nida looked amused for some reason that Sora couldn't understand, and voice the inquiry once more, asking him what his best time running the mile was, and it developed within seconds into an eager discussion of how games would be like if all the players were track stars. Zell jumped into the topic, and with a little nudging from Sora, Vincent put his book down long enough to listen and impart a word occasionally.
"Hey, has anyone like, seen Riku?"
"Who's he?" Sora questioned.
Silence.
Sora smiled wryly.
"I just had a 'Sora' moment, didn't I?" He guessed, not sounding at all startled.
"Dude. Like you so did." Zell informed him with a serious tone. He smirked.
"I can't believe you don't know who Riku is."
"It's not so hard to believe, when does Sora pay attention to anything?"
"Hey! I resent that!" Sora tried to glare at Nida, but failed miserably. Glaring had never been one of his strong points. His friend winked teasingly.
"Although, you know, it isn't surprising either. Riku shows up... what? One day out of the week, if that?"
"He didn't appear last week," Vincent murmured softly.
"Nah, I think he came in just in time for his last class on Thursday.... I think. Don't quote me on that y'all!" Zell scribbled a doodle in his abused notebook. Sora still had a lost expression on.
"'Kay people, time out. Who the heck is Riku?"
"A really bad person to hang out with, if you ask me." Nida mumbled, tapping his fingers against his desk.
"He hardly ever comes to school, and he's the worst snob. He never talks to anyone. If he bothers to show up of course."
"How cheery." Sora dropped his chin between his hands. "Why?"
"What?" Zidane leaned in, and cocked his head to the side. "Why what?"
"Why," Sora manifested, "is he like that?"
"Who knows? Who cares? He's just an ass." Zell remarked with an indolent shrug.
"I don't buy it." Sora protested, but the assured argument was cut short as Yuna, the teacher, came in.
She was young, just a few years older than the seniors, and pretty cool by everyone's standards. It wasn't often they got a teacher that didn't mind being called by her first name.
She brushed a lock of hair behind her ear and smiled, a little sheepishly.
"Sorry for being late. Anyway, we're starting a big project tomorrow-" She paused, and the expected groans came-"so I'm just going to put a movie today, because I'm not evil enough to make you do work." With a swift pull, she presented a movie box to the class.
"I hope no one objects to watching The Ring, right?"
*~*~*~
The boy's soccer team had practice after school three days out of the week, one morning practice, one free day, and one five hour practice on late Sunday mornings. It just wasn't inborn talent and foolish luck that they won as much as they did, they work hard for it.
It was Thursday, so a one hour practice was in order. The next day was the only weekday that they didn't have to train, save for the times when they had a match. Since they didn't, Friday and Saturday became their resting days.
Leather smashed violently against leather, and the ball spun wildly, dozens of feet up in the air. It seemed to float freely, like a helium balloon, free of the oppressive grasp of gravity.
From his position, Sora knew better than to look up immediately. If he did, he'd get sun blinded. Instead, he watched the other players for the first few seconds to see how they reacted. From their actions, he was obviously too far away to even have a snow ball's chance in hell, so he stayed put, deciding to protect the area before the net. He wasn't playing goalie, but was a formidable block if the 'other' team tried to get past him. He wasn't very strong, but soccer wasn't really about brawn. It was about speed and being able to control the ball. If you were fast enough, obviously, nothing could touch you.
The ball was pulled down by gravity, and slammed into the ground. Tidus managed to kick it away from Auron, but it wasn't a very good kick, and the blonde went down, slipping sideways on the glossy grass. Sora tensed, an anxious crease forming across his forehead that didn't vanish until Tidus had gotten up and was running. He apparently hadn't sustained an injury.
Wiping a soaked bang away from his face, Sora allowed a relieved sigh to escape from his lips, slightly relaxed since the action was taking place all the way on the others side of the field. His whole body ached, but it was a good kind of ache. The sort that made you certain that you'd done your best and pulled your body to the limit.
Sweat dripped down his chin, landing silently on the grass. Although it was a chilly afternoon, they were well into an hour of running about. His thin chest rose up and down in a quick rhythm, the clothing sticking to his frame. He hated to consider how much sweat would pour down his back during the matches later in the heat of the year.
// Pay attention, \\ Sora reminded himself, shaking his head and focusing on the gaggle of players that were chasing the ball-and the ball seemed to have decided it was attracted to Sora.
A wide, confident grin covered his features, and Sora wasn't Sora anymore. He was the best player he could be.
*~*~*~
"I don't want to go home with you!"
Sora rolled his eyes a little.
"I'm not, we just happen to live in the same house, you know? Same path?" He remarked, running both hands through his thick hair and sending drops of water flying. He was soaking wet, having dragged himself out of the shower and not bothering to dry up. His dark blue eyes looked slightly weary.
Kairi bit her lower lip, trying to decide what to do when she realized Sora wasn't listening to her, because Sora had already started walking.
She mumbled something below her breath, and wondered why it was that everyone loved her brother. He was such an idiot. She jogged to catch up with him.
"You were trying out for cheer leading, right?" He asked after a few minutes of silence.
Kairi gave him a surprised look.
"Yes... how did you know? You were at basketball practice!"
"Soccer," Sora corrected. "And, you normally aren't around at this time of the day on Thursdays. You don't have any reason to be."
"Yeah, well, I could have been hanging out with my boyfriend."
Sora stretched languidly, a pleased groan forming in the back of his throat.
"You don't have one."
"But I could have."
He smiled, sleepily.
"Whatever."
Kairi stuck out her tongue at him and fell silent again. Her brother had a drowsy face, which meant he was probably going to drop into his bed and sleep for an hour before their mother called them to dinner. Being up and about all day was exhausting, she supposed. But it was his fault. He was a bigger social butterfly than Rinoa.
"I don't see what girls see in you." She huffed, and walked faster.
Sora shot her a strange look, and shrugged, trusting his hands inside his pockets. Well, obviously, he didn't know either.
A small, happy smile touched his face, and he looked up at the still clear sky. Life was perfect.
*~*~*~
"I see." The man had dark brown hair going gray rapidly, spreading from the top of his head down. His skin was marked with creases. It would not have been wild to guess that they had been caused by worry over the years, and his wide shoulders slumped in a defeated, shamed way. With one hand, he pressed a dark blue phone against his ear, and with the other, tried to massage away a pounding migraine.
The woman on the phone sounded sympathetic, and equally frustrated.
"I'm sorry, I just don't know what else we can possibly do. It's never been tried, but it is worth the effort, isn't it?" She pointed out softly, holding her breath. If it didn't work, probably nothing would. If it didn't work, then it would most likely end up pushing both away and nobody would end happy.
"Yes. If it is all that is left, then yes."
The counselor released a long breath, and closed her eyes, pressing her hand over her eyes.
"Thank you Mr.Jakunen. I'll try my best."
The phone clicked shut without a good bye, and she stared at it, trying not to bite her lip. Now, who she was going to pick was the question. She glanced at the student rooster as she put down the phone, and suddenly stiffened.
// I must be getting old.. \\
*~*~*~
"Sora, honey, Mrs. Farae wants to speak with you," His mother's soft voice roused Sora from his content, warm world, and he unwillingly opened his eyes. He stared at her dumbly, uncomprehending of what she was telling him.
"Mngr?"
She gestured towards the phone.
"Mrs. Farae, one of your student counselors. She says it's urgent." Her voice was worried, and Sora could understand why. He'd never even formally met the woman. She handled the twelfth grade, why was she calling him?
Blinking, he nodded and took the phone from her hand, pressing it between his shoulder and ear as he stood up.
"Mmn... Mrs. Farae?"
"Sora Kogai?"
"Yep." He tried to hold back a yawn, but failed.
"Excuse me, but why are you calling me?"
"Well, this is a bit complicated. Do you know Riku Jakunen?"
"Erm... no."
"I see." There was a brief silence on her side of the line, and Sora stretched, wincing as a muscle in his lower back protested to the gesture.
"What's the problem?"
"There is no problem, really, but I would like to ask you to do something. It'll contribute to your needed community service hours."
"...What is it?"
"I would like you to join a program we're calling GIFT. Good Influence for Teenagers."
Sora looked up at his mother, waiting anxiously by the foot of his bed and shrugged cluelessly, scratching the back of his neck.
"Uhm. Can you be more specific?" He closed his eyes, shielding them from the yellow light spilling from the hallway and tried to pay more attention to what she was talking about. He had a feeling it was important.
"Yes, of course. GIFT is a program designed for model teenagers such as yourself, who are well adjusted to the public school system to try to help troubled teens. I would like to formally request that you join our quest, and become Riku Jakunen's GIFT partner."
"Uhm... Okay... what exactly, do I have to do?"
"Well," She paused, and the silence did not bode well. "In this particular case, we'd like you to move in with the Jakunen family until Riku's attendance and grades improve."
Sora blinked.
*~*~*~
The next morning, Sora was up and about with enough time to be able to take walking to school slow.
But did he? Of course not.
Jumping over lawn mower someone had left outside, Sora ducked the bridge a passing couple made with holding hands and dashed to the corner, took a small tumble as the front of his sneakers got caught in an upraised piece of cement, and pulled himself back up again. He looked down both sides of the street for oncoming cars and jogged across.
Rokio high school rose up at him, looking particularly imposing that day, but he dismissed the notion, waving at a couple of practicing cheerleaders with an easy smile and pausing to talk to the Vice President of the student council, and his almost-date, Quistis Trepe.
"Morning Quisty!"
She looked up from her planner, and smiled slightly at him.
"Good morning Sora, I'm surprised to see you here so early." She remarked, even though there were less than ten minutes until the bell rang. He grinned freely and hopped up on the wall she leaned against, using it as a seat.
"Yeah, well, I couldn't sleep too well last night." He shrugged casually and crossed his legs, indian style.
"I see. Any particular reason?"
Sora fell silent, a rather odd action for him. He'd usually just say what was on his mind, and that was that. His wide, blue eyes looked unusually dark, and he worried his lower lip with harsh teeth.
"Uhm. Well..." He trailed off. "Do you know Riku Jakunen?"
Quistis pressed the end of a pen against her cheek, glasses gleaming under the early sun.
"Can't say I know him personally, but I've seen him around occasionally. He hardly ever bothers to show up. Why?"
"No reason." He flashed a brilliant smile, then winced. "No, sorry, that was lie." He slid off the wall and landed with a soft sound.
"Ever heard of GIFT?"
Quistis pressed her lips together, vaguely irritated at her own self for lack of knowledge.
"No, I really can't say I have. Sora, what's wrong?"
"Uhm. I'll tell you later I guess, I see Tidus." He bobbed his head and plastered an easy smile back on his face.
"Gotta go, later Quisty!' He waved and dashed off, cutting through a crowd of students with expert moves.
"I really wish he wouldn't call me that." She mumbled under her breath, and wrote 'GIFT' on her notes.
*~*~*~
Tidus practically fell down at the highly unexpected sight.
"Oh, shit, am I that late?"
"Funny." Sora wrinkled his nose and nudged his cousin with the heel of his shoe.
"Come on, get up, you're getting all muddy."
"So?" Tidus retorted languidly.
"So, I don't think Yuna would appreciate the sight of you dragging your sorry self into her classroom looking like.. well, shit."
"Oh, as if I care. Pfft." Never the less, Tidus got up and took painful care to brush away as much dirt as he could away from his blue and yellow blazer. Sora hid a grin and tossed his backpack on the cement.
"Yeah, well, whatever. Where's the rest?"
Tidus ran his hands through his sun kissed hair, and cracked open one eye.
"Uhm. Somewhere." He waved a hand dismissively.
"Oh, well." Sora snorted. "That was informative." He ducked a jokingly slung punch and rocked back on his heels, cerulean gaze flickering nervously about the school campus.
"Oy, em, you know who Riku Jakunen is?"
"I suppose so. He's an ass." Tidus frowned, crossing his arms, and becoming suspicious at the uneasy glitter in his cousin's eyes.
"Why?"
"No special reason, just wanted to know if you could point him out for me."
"Right." He sighed and looked around the area without much enthusiasm. It wouldn't be very hard to find a head of silvery blue hair anyway.
"Nope. He's not here. Not surprising, he's hardly ever here."
"So I've been told," Sora mumbled. "So. Uhm. Do you know him?"
"Nope. We share the same math class, but that's about it."
Sora rolled his eyes, trying not to give a growl of irritation.
"Does anyone know him?"
"Not likely, he's not around, and when he is, he's a grade A jackass. Why?"
Sora shook his head, squirming.
"I said, no reason."
"You're lying."
Sora made a face.
"How can you tell?"
"Your left eyelid tenses when you lie."
"Damn you tense left eyelid."
Tidus snickered and messed up his younger[and shorter] cousin's hair in a brotherly fashion, completely ignoring the outraged squall he gave.
"You're an idiot. But we love ya anyways."
Sora managed to squirm and drop out of the punishing grip, taking a few steps back in case of another attack.
"If you loved me, you wouldn't do that!" He tried to fix his hair, to no avail.
"Sure I would. Now. What's up?"
Sora's annoyed look faded away, and he dropped his arms by his sides.
"Uhm. Well. You've never heard of GIFT before, right?"
"Can't say I have," Tidus answered slowly, a puzzled look descending upon his handsome face.
"Yeah, well. Neither did I, until the twelve grade councilor called me up last night."
Tidus raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. I know." Sora waved his hand, and then thrust them into his pockets, tossing strands of brown hair out of his eyes with a toss of his head.
"Uhm. Yeah. Anyway, big, whole complicated yet not so big and complicated story short, GIFT stands for Good Influence For Teenagers. It's a program to mesh good kids with bad kids pretty much, and hope that something good comes out of it. Mrs. Farae called me to ask if I wanted to be part of the program, and..."
"You accepted." Tidus concluded confidently, nodding. His cousin had too much of a heart to say no. Not to mention he had a problem saying no to things, period.
"Yeah," Sora scratched the back of his head with a faint, silly smile.
"I'm just an idiot like that, right?"
"Somewhat. So. Let me guess. You're like.... Riku's guardian angel or something? We gotta hang out with him now?" Tidus looked highly skeptical. Sora suddenly looked just as uncomfortable, and looked down at the ground. Then up at the sky. Then around at the crowd of teenagers that talked excitedly to each other, or slumped themselves against walls and tried not to fall asleep. A few grinned and waved at him, others ignored him. He ran his tongue across his teeth, a nervous gesture and Tidus resisted the urge to stomp his foot.
"Oy! Earth to Sora! Avoiding the question? Not good for my peace of mind."
Sora laughed softly at that, then sobered up.
"Uhm. Well, we don't really have to hang out with him."
"Oh, well, that's a relief." Tidus nodded, his posture gliding into a more relaxed one.
"But I have to live with him."
