Quistis jolted from reading some files when a woman suddenly spoke through the intercom in her desk. It was Dr. Kadowaki.
"Quistis dear, are you busy?" The old woman asked through the speaker.
"No, not at all. Why?" She replied while neatly returning the files she's been holding on its towering stack.
"I have news for you. It would be better if you can drop by at the infirmary so we can talk about it." The doctor informed her.
"I'll be there in a few. Thank you for the heads up." She obediently replied as the conversation ended. She stood up from her chair and fixed her uniform. Must be about the incident. I've been eagerly waiting for some updates for awhile now. She thought while making her way towards the infirmary, greeting back some students which she happens to come across in the process. She emerged from the sliding door and immediately spotted the old woman sitting on her desk. She also spotted a young lady wearing a scrub suit sitting on a newly placed desk just beside the automatic door. The said woman stood up and saluted to her which she replied in return.
"You're new? What's your name?" She asked with her kindest smile.
"I'm Emilia Bridgen. It was nice to finally meet you Instructor!" The young woman replied shyly.
"Likewise, dear." She responded. "Go on. I won't be bothering you any further. I hope you enjoy your stay here at the Garden." She added.
Emily smile and nodded. "I'm sure I will." She saluted again before going back to her work.
Quistis on the other hand proceeded towards Dr. Kadowaki's desk whose eyes were glued onto her computer.
"I see you have a new nurse." She enthusiastically started. The old woman turned her attention towards the blonde instructor which is now sitting in front of her desk.
"You know I'm getting to old to do all the work around here in the infirmary." She sighed with a smile. "I can't even lift a box of files like I used to." They both laughed.
"Few more years and it would be best if you push your plans of staying in Winhill. I mean you've served the institution for a long time. It's come time for you to take good care of yourself. I always wished for you to live your life peacefully." Quistis suggested, acknowledging the additional wrinkles all over the face of the old doctor. She felt bad about the doctor missing her youth and the opprotunity of creating her own family, what with her devotion towards the Garden. Now that she's old, Quistis was worried no one will take care of her outside the premises. Kadowaki has been one of her most reliable friends through the years, that's enough reason for her to be concern for the old lady's future.
The old woman chuckled. "I know you're concerned, and I'm very thankful that you're always looking after me. But I assure you, I'm still strong enough and capable of sticking around longer. You can't kick me out that easily." Again, they both laughed.
After a couple of more pleasantries, the blonde instructor moved on the serious topic. "So you wanted to talk to me about something?" She started.
"Oh! Yes. That completely slipped my mind." Kadowaki then pulled out a file from her drawer and called her assistant, Emily. The young woman immediately came and smiled at them. "Would you be so kind dear and deliver these folder to the finance department? That's the list of things we would be needing to restock soon. Make sure they didn't miss anything upon approval." She kindly instructed the new nurse.
"Sure thing, Doctor. I'm leaving now." She obediently replied. And with that, the two of them were left alone in the infirmary.
The old woman adjusted her glasses and pulled another set of files from another drawer. She handed it to the woman in front of her which the latter accepted. Quistis started to read the contents of the papers including a picture of an adorable plant with colorful flowers that look like cotton balls.
"Popple berries?" She quizically asked while staring at the photo.
"Do you know anything about those plants?" Dr. Kadowaki asked her in return.
"They are also called the Adorable Poison because of it's pretty appearance. These are one of the listed poisonous plants though I remember reading an article, they are quite extinct these days." She answered while in deep thought.
"Correct." The old woman turned into a serious expression. "I have a friend who has been working in one of the labs in Esthar and he's specializing with toxic plants and he's very kind as to fill me in with further information about these plants." She added.
"And what did he say?" The blonde instructor curiously asked.
"I started asking him about poisonous substances that can have these specific effects on human body. And he immediately answered with popple berries. He said it starts from weakening of the muscles and power when taken into small dosage to attacking your immune system and vital organs which leads to eventual death if taken by large amounts and failed to be treated immediately." Dr. Kadowaki informed. "Well, he said he wasn't certain until he can see it for himself so cutting to the chase, I wasted no time and sent him the remaining blood samples from both patients I examined, Mr. Dincht and Ms. Pollock so he can examine it further. The result is, he's 100% certain that the substance we saw from their blood came from this plant." She explained while handing her another folder which contained the official results from Esthar.
Quistis gave her her a confused expression. "But we don't have popple berries here." She recalled. Worry starts to creep on her.
"Precisely." The old woman agreed. "Walter said it can affect a human being by simply inhaling the spores or by consuming any part of the plant. He also said the most poisonous part of it would be the pure extracts inside which can weaken a human body 70% faster. It has no taste and odor and can be easily mixed with anything. That's why these plants are strictly banned a long time ago. Thankfully it's very rare to come across it these days. But based on his tests and the pace of the students weakening, the most probable source was the extract itself." She further added, though all the information was written on the documents she gave Quistis.
"Now the real question is, since there are no popple berries within the grounds and since we reduced the suspect into an extract from a particular plant, where does it came from? I'm certain it is from somewhere that majority of the students have direct access." Dr. Kadowaki asked, pondering to herself. "You don't think we give it here, do you?" She humorously asked and chuckled at the thought.
Quistis thought for a moment and her eyes widen in shock. "Oh my god!" She exclaimed as a realization dawned upon her which earned her a confused look from the old woman. "Thank you! You have no idea how much you helped me right now! I'll make it up to you sometime. I'm sorry but I have to go." She apologetically said as she stormed outside the infirmary.
Clutching the documents on her right hand, she paced quickly towards the elevator. She was planning to inform the commander about the findings. She gritted her teeth. Ofcourse this will happen! She thought.
Now standing in front of Squall, she filled him in with all the information she acquired from Dr. Kadowaki. She also took the opportunity to voice out her suspicions. Luckily this time, the brunet found it as plausible.
"Then we are down to only two places we can possibly look for. The cafeteria and the water dispensers." Squall thought. His expression very serious at the thought of someone secretly attacking them from under the table.
"Do you drink from those dispensers, commander?" Quistis asked him. Making sure her suspicions were right.
"I do. But I don't feel weird at all." Squall answered matter-of-factly. "Though I don't eat from the cafeteria for quite sometime now because Laguna keeps sending me a lot of meals everyday. He apparently contracted a restaurant in Balamb to regularly feed me. I have no choice but to eat them or they'll just go into waste." He added.
The blonde instructor smacked her right hand on the table. "You know what? We're actually down to one suspecting target." This time she was 100% sure of it.
"Why? Don't you also eat there?" The brunet asked him curiously.
Quistis sighed. "Right. You were the only one who doesn't know about it but I don't. I was really into cooking these past few months and obviously I cook my own food. I'm also monitoring my caloric intake and what perfect way to do that than to prepare what I eat on my own" She responded.
Squall nodded and sighed as he come up with a decision. "Alright. Thank you for bringing this up to me. This is a serious case if proven to be true. We will conduct a thorough inspection on the entire place. Request approved." He declared.
Instructor Trepe smiled and saluted before striding off the headmaster's office.
Hey guys! Sorry it took me an eternity to continue with this story. My computer died along with the drafts I already made and failed to backed it up and besides that I became absorbed with work and other adult stuff. Now that I have a new one, I needed to continue writing the next chapters from scratch but I'll be updating this story as much as possible. Much love and I hope you enjoy this very short chapter. I promise to come back with a longer one soon!