Thanks to KHLegacy for the review on the last chapter and to those that still read this thing during the long hiatus. Will Ventus and the others get Dead Fantasy XV and will it be worth the many years wait? Stay tuned!
-miano53
Of Games and the Winter Love Woes
Wednesday, December 5th, Radiant Garden High staff lounge…
"Hmm…If I get her some chocolates and some flowers, you think she'll forgive me for scaring her like that?" Prof. Cecil asked, staring at his coffee.
Prof. Xehanort sighed, not wanting to be the couple's mediator again. The last time Cecil had asked, Nurse Rosa and he were having a quarrel over whether or not to get a rabbit. Rosa was allergic, but Cecil begged her for the pet. She caved in after he latched onto her legs and she dragged him around the house. And that was two years ago.
This time, Cecil scared her by taking their thirteen-year-old son, Ceodore, flying without her knowledge. She was deathly afraid of heights and the thought of her son in a plane nearly had her going in a tizzy. When the father and son returned, Rosa refused to speak to Cecil, only speaking to Ceodore and replying to Cecil with grunts and sighs. That was over a month ago.
So, the poor man sought out Xehanort's help. Xehanort, who was still single as a teacher's salary couldn't afford marriage, asked, "Why are you asking for my help? Ask Sazh or something."
"I did, but he told me to apologize. I did that and Rosa's still mad at me," Cecil said, looking ready to cry.
Xehanort groaned, hoping that the man would stop asking him for relationship advice. It was his mess, not Xehanort's. So, he needed to be a man and clean it up. The bell rang and Xehanort saw his chance to escape.
Grinning, he quickly started to leave the room as classes were about to begin. Cecil nearly lunged for him, yelling, "Xehanort! You still didn't tell me what to do! I can't have Rosa mad at me during Christmas!"
Sighing, Xehanort muttered, "Why don't you just talk with her?"
"I just said I did that. So, what else can I do? I can sell the rabbit back…I think. And I can go and get those chocolates she likes from Fabul. But then I would have to fly over there and…" Cecil muttered to himself.
The late bell rang and Xehanort started for the door. Before he could turn the knob, Cecil yelled, "Hey! You still didn't give me any advice."
"Just ask the kids or something!" Xehanort said, annoyed.
He left in a huff and headed for his classroom. Just as he stopped at the door, his eyes widened, realizing that he made a grave error.
'Kids giving a man marriage advice? That's not gonna end well,' Xehanort thought.
Gym class, 10 a.m.…
Vivi, grinning, stood next to Eiko and Rydia as they waited for their gym teacher to speak. The class of 25, all in Radiant High's uniform of white shirts and green bottoms, watched as Coach Jecht approached. He pushed a cart of dodgeballs into the gym and the gruff teacher said, "Sorry that Coach Faris isn't here. She had to take a leave of absence about somethin' back in her hometown of Tycoon. Said somethin' about tamin' a wyvern."
He gave them a mischievous grin and yelled, "Welp! We're not gonna let you kids turn into fat babies! So, I got a little game planned! It's as old as pain itself: Bombardment!"
"Uh, what's that? How do you play?" Rydia asked.
"You…DUCK OR DIE!" Coach Jecht yelled.
The coach and several kids, mainly jocks, rushed to the cart, taking what they could. Those that managed to get them began throwing dodgeballs at the other kids. Vivi, Rydia and Eiko weren't among them.
Coach Jecht, tossing what he could, bellowed, "BOMBARDMENT! DEAL WITH IT!"
He struck Vivi in the face, knocking his hat off. One of the kids took out three students, screaming, "LIFE'S A WITCH, KIDS!"
A third ball-thrower threw one at Eiko and struck her, yelling, "WALK IT OFF, NOOB!"
A fourth took out four in one go, shouting, "KISS RUBBER, LOSERS!"
The fifth bellowed, "C'mon now, those were just baby teeth, Ami!"
Rydia caught the ball throw by the last kid. She smiled and said, "Yay! I caught it! I'm safe!"
She was them slammed by five dodgeballs, getting hit in the head by two of them. The girl fainted and Coach Jecht rushed towards her. He knelt beside her and asked, "Hey, you okay?"
"Um, I guess…?" Rydia said, unsure.
The man then threw another dodgeball at her, hitting the girl in the stomach. Rydia yelled, glaring at the man as he yelled, "BOMBARDMENT!"
Prof. Cecil's astronomy class…
As they waited for the professor to enter, Garnet, Tidus, Lea and Roxas sat at their desks, bored out of their mind. Their classmates chatted away or checked on their phones. Lea looked at his to see the upcoming info on Dead Fantasy XV. He grinned as he saw that the game was going to be 60 hours plus. So, if he got the game the day of, he would spend the whole Winter Break playing it.
The door opened and Anna came rushing in. She slid to her desk, to the left of Garnet's, and smiled as she looked at Lea and Roxas. The girl put up two thumbs, approving of what they had done. Lea nodded and she gave him a quick text, as they exchanged numbers after she agree to join the Fair's Group.
"Hey! Thnx for being good to Elsa! She hasn't been melancholy or anything lately!"
Lea smirked and typed his reply.
"Well, she just needed a friend."
Anna nodded and sent many smiley faces, along with a pair of eyeballs. That was needed as Prof. Cecil came in, plopped at his desk in front of the class and said, "One, two, three, all eyes on me!"
"ONE, TWO, EYES ON YOU!" the class yelled.
The platinum blonde pulled out the attendance book, saying, "I'm going to call roll. So, please listen for your name. I really don't want to repeat myself. We're almost at break, so I know some of you can be restless."
He looked at the names, saying in, mostly, alphabetical order, "Ashley Asthmata? I'll never get over that name. Seriously, that's your last name?"
"Yes, Professor. It hasn't changed…sadly," the student said, sighing as she glared at her phone.
"Okay. Annalise Arendelle, Garnet til Alexandros, Nier Automata, Alfred Bailey, Freddo Crescendo, are you all here?" Prof. Cecil asked.
The five raised their hands and he continued with his class of 25 and their, mostly strange, names. The next kids were Aquafina Desi, Maybelline Franks, Ultima Fantasia, Geraldo Gains, Edith Gainsborough. They raised their hands and Lea wondered why did one of them have the name of a bottle of water.
"Okay. Jorge Hiawatha, Lea Ignis, Panasonic Jenkins, Matsuri Mitsubishi, Shulk Monado. Are you all here?" Prof. Cecil asked.
"Yup! All here! Present and accounted for! And yes, that still is my last name, professor! I'm here!" were the five's response.
The professor nodded, marking them in and went to the two last groups. With a sigh, he said, "Link Ordona, Roxas Pellegrino, Suzie Qi, Febreeze Reyes, Palutena Icarus. You all are here?"
"Yup, except for Febreeze," Roxas said, taking note of the girl named after air freshener.
The last group was the twins Lann and Reyn farna Solidor, Cuore Xi and Tidus Zanar. The four raised their hands and Lea still wondered why half of his class had terrible names. Seriously, his last name just meant "fire" in the old language and legend had it that his ancestors were pyromaniacs…hence his affinity for burning things. Well, Elsa wouldn't know unless he told her. So, he opted not to.
Instead, his attention went back to the professor, who seemed awfully melancholic. More so than previous days. He began teaching on the moon phases and how they were known to affect the weather and even the land itself. Apparently, it also affected moods, as the man had told them about the legend of berserkers. They were people who supposedly went into a mad trance under a full moon, like werewolves in horror films.
After the hour class, the bell rang and the professor had announced a test for next week. The class groaned and began rushing out of the room. Lea was about to join them when Prof Cecil stopped him and Anna.
"Uh, what's goin' on, professor?" he asked.
"Um, I really don't want to do this. But…I need your help," the light-haired professor muttered.
Anna's interested quickly peaked and she asked, "What's wrong?"
Prof. Cecil looked at the two and then at the door. He sighed and said, "Um, well…Nurse Rosa and I aren't speaking to each other and I was told to talk with you guys."
"What? Why? Aren't you married?" Lea asked.
The professor nodded and the bell rang. Not letting them leave, he pleaded with them, saying, "I'll give you a pass for your next class. I just need to know if you all could help me. You are the Fair's Fourteen, right? You help nerds?"
"Yeah, but you're a teacher, Professor Cecil. So, I don't know how much help we can give…" Lea started.
Anna cheered, "We'll help."
"We will?" Lea said.
"Yup. And if we do a good job, maybe you can help us with…" Anna said.
"No. I'm not giving you automatic passing scores. I'll just give you free tutoring. That's it," Prof. Cecil told her.
"What about munny?" Anna asked.
"No," Professor Cecil told her.
She whined and the two were handed passes to their next classes.
Later…
"So, Prof. Cecil wants us to help in his marriage? That's a weird job," Zack said via text.
Lea, at home, had texted the whole group in the chat, wondering if it was okay that Anna had already signed them up for it. Demyx, Garnet, Shuyin, Eiko, Roxas and Noctis were against it, thinking the man should solve his own problems. And if they helped and got it wrong, then he would take it out on them, maybe even lowering their grades on purpose.
"Oh, he's not like that! He's a nice guy, unlike some people," Yuna said, adding several exasperated emoji's.
Lea figured she was talking about Prof. Even, one of the science teachers that had a particular foul attitude whenever he didn't get his chocolate fix. Seriously, the man was like an addict and after the horror story Ven told him, he made sure to bring some to bribe the guy on his off days. And Coach Jihl…If her "Cheerios" were barred from doing anything, she took it out on the whole school. What was the deal with teachers abusing students, Lea wondered?
"Well, we know he's married to Nurse Rosa. And no one knows why they're not talking?" Tidus asked.
"Uh, no. He didn't tell us why," Anna replied.
Lea added, "He just told us that he won't charge us for tutoring. So, kinda sucky reward…"
"Hmm. Yuna and Garnet can go and ask Nurse Rosa what's wrong. And me, Ven and Roxas will spy on Prof. Cecil and see if he can give us some clues," Zack texted.
"What about us? We've been getting our butts kicked by Coach Jecht and the 'BOMBARDMENT'!" Vivi asked.
That was definitely Lea's lane. With several evil smile emojis, he texted, "You can get back at him with his own medicine."
"No! NO! You're not gonna get this kid arrested, Lea!" Isa said.
"What? What?" Vivi asked.
Lea then told the boy that he could create "ice balls" by filling dodgeballs with water and freezing them overnight. He could then bring it to school and toss it at the jocks and anyone else who participated in the "BOMBARDMENT" of the younger students. A few evil smile emojis and one with an angry face was the last part of the message, to which Isa replied in an expected manner.
"WHY WOULD YOU GET THIS KID ARRESTED? Seriously! He can kill someone doing that!" Isa told him.
"It's not like he can't not aim for the head. Maybe the stomach or a leg…" Lea texted.
"Vivi, don't listen to Lea. He's gonna get you expelled," Ven said.
Two days later, December 7th…
Holding a dodgeball in one hand and the attendance clipboard in another, Coach Jecht started attendance, but combined it with the game. As he walked in front of the class that lined up in the gym, the man was ready to commit more Bombardment as those kids were wimpy snowflakes whose parents thought they needed to be "shielded from the real world." By the Light, he wasn't gonna let them leave that high school as wimps. Not if he had anything to say about it.
Behind him were the jocks, holding dodgeballs and kept guard over the cart of their weapons of choice. With an evil grin, Coach Jecht started with, "Yukio Hondo."
"Here…OW!" the girl said, getting struck in the face by a jock.
She ran away, crying and the coach yelled, "Suck it up, missy! Talcott Hester!"
The youth raised his hand and could barely say "here" when he was struck in the stomach and face. He ran off, joining Yukio, and cried. Coach Jecht rolled his eyes and said, "Oh, walk it off! Vivi Orunitia!"
"Here…AH-HA-OW!" Vivi cried, getting struck in the face and falling over.
"Eiko Carol!" Coach Jecht yelled.
"Right here!" Eiko said.
She grinned evilly and Vivi muttered, "Eiko's got an ice ball. Wait, didn't Isa say not to…?"
"Get over here, girlie! You are gonna defrost, drain and surrender that ball!" Coach Jecht declared.
"Nope! KID POWER! YAH!" Eiko yelled.
She tossed it at his face, but the coach ducked and the ball went sailing towards a window. It crashed through, hurdled towards a car and smashed through the windshield. Said car was owned by none other than Prof. Cecil. He, who gotten out moments before the window was smashed, gasped and yelled, "My car!"
He fell to his knees and Zack and the twins, Roxas and Ven, muttered, "Uh oh."
"How could this get any worse?" the professor asked, looking utterly pitiful.
"Cecil?"
Nurse Rosa appeared, saw her husband's destroyed windshield and asked, "Are you hurt?"
"No…" he said, sounding ready to cry.
The woman gave a piteous look and said, "I'll call the insurance company and get the car towed. Pretty sure it shouldn't be too much to fix."
"But I don't have a way to get home…And I'm not taking the bus…" Professor Cecil said.
"Yeah, and taking a taxi probably isn't economical," Nurse Rosa said.
Roxas muttered, "Why can't they see the obvious solution…?"
Ven shrugged and Zack said, "Eh…?"
The couple looked awkward and Roxas yelled, "Just kiss and makeup already!"
They saw them and Prof. Cecil yelled, "Get to class!"
The boys left and he awkwardly said, "Um…"
Rosa said nothing, just staring at him. The man rubbed the back of his head and said, "I know you're still mad at me for taking Ceodore on a flying lesson. Um, but he was safe."
Rosa kept silent and he continued with, "And I know you weren't happy when I got that rabbit. And I got mad when it 'mysteriously disappeared' yesterday."
The nurse folded her arms and he said, "Um…uh…"
"Just tell her already!" Roxas shouted from behind a dumpster.
"I'm-sorry-for-taking-Ceo-on-that-flight-without-telling-you! Please-forgive-me!" Cecil said, clasping his hands and bowing his head.
Rosa sighed and said, "I forgive you, but…"
"But what?" Cecil asked.
"That's not why I was mad," she said.
"Oh, great," Roxas mumbled.
"SHH!" Ven and Zack said.
"So, why were you mad?" Prof Cecil asked.
Rosa looked around and whispered something in the man's ear. His eyes widened and he asked, "Really?"
"Yup. Just went to the doctor and they said I'm about eight weeks," Rosa told him.
Ven looked at Roxas and Zack, the trio behind a dumpster, and asked, "Uh, what?"
"She's preggers!" Zack cheered.
"So, that's why she was mad all this time? Seriously, that's not something to get mad at. A baby is a blessing!" Roxas said, yelling at the couple.
Zack dragged him away, with the blonde ranting about how he never knew he had siblings and always wanting some until he met Ventus. Ventus, however, was happy for the couple, who finally made up by walking into the school together.
"Mission accomplished. Now, he just gotta pay us. Lea said he would," Ven said.
Yay! Nurse Rosa's going to bring forth another child. But will it be a boy or girl? And Prof. Cecil finally can stop being pitiful. Yay on two fronts. But I doubt that he'll pay them since he did kinda solve his maritial problems, with a push from Roxas yelling at him.