Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy or its characters. This is just for fun.
Chapter Two: It's My First Day!
I'll show him! Rinoa thought to herself with determination.
Her bus ride wasn't long, but it was lengthy enough that her mind started wandering as she stared out the window at the quaint streets of Balamb. Currently she was replaying a past argument with her father. It was one of many.
He'd wanted her to stay in Deling City and take a job that he'd gotten for her. Her father was a high ranking Galbadian general and he had a lot of powerful friends. Friends who had promised to find his somewhat unaccomplished twenty-something daughter a suitable job. And if they couldn't find one, they would invent one. It would have been a personal favor for General Caraway.
All Rinoa had to do was show up at a downtown Deling City skyscraper in a well tailored skirt suit, and they'd find something for her to do at one of her father's friend's company. They'd give her work to do, even if they had to create some. Busywork for the general's little daughter.
She sighed. If she did that, she might as well just drop herself off at the company's daycare.
She wanted to get a job on her own, away from her father's influence. And that's just what she did. She got this job without his help. She got it with her high school degree, a few community college courses, and a smattering of incredibly short term and varied work experiences.
Okay, it wasn't the best job. But she did it on her own. That's what was important.
Although her father didn't like that she had chosen Balamb for this. He thought this whole thing was a bad idea. He didn't understand why she couldn't find a similar position in Deling City, or even in Galabadia somewhere. Why did it have to be in far off Balamb?
She answered that Balamb was such a cute little place. It was sunny and touristy. It was much safer than Deling City. And she wanted to try living on her own, away from her father.
He didn't like that part.
Rinoa knew he loved her, in his own way, but it came across as being very controlling. He even chose what guys she could date. They were suitable men for her, the general would answer.
Suitable men. Suitable job. Suitable life. All according to him.
She was sick of having him choose what was suitable for her. She wanted to choose for herself. She wanted to find out who she was. She wanted the chance.
And that's why she'd show him! She'd show him that she could do it. She would hold down this job and figure out how to live on her own and be her own person.
And if this didn't work out, she could always try something else.
The brakes of the bus creaked metallically and she bounced on her seat.
Is this my stop? Rinoa thought as memories of her father faded away.
It was time to get off already. She quickly exited and looked around. The company wasn't that far away. Time to get moving.
Rinoa's heart rate picked up as she strode away from the bus stop. Her commute wasn't long, but it was a relief to get off the bus and stretch her legs. It was a beautiful brisk day where the sun kissed the chill away, so she didn't mind the short walk at all. She was so excited that she would have loved to run, jog, or skip to her destination, but she didn't think that would be a good look for a person wearing office attire. And she didn't want to arrive all sweaty with disheveled hair on her first day of a new job.
She was so excited. She was so nervous.
Soon she sighted the office building down the street. She was almost there, so she walked up the sidewalk at a fast pace. Mirrored windows of an office building reflected a gray parking lot that was semi-filled with an assortment of nondescript vehicles. She thought it was a shame that the office workers were unable to enjoy the chilly yet brisk morning.
Rinoa could hear the twittering of birds as she passed by the dense green shrubbery that lined the building. The sound of her shoes clipping up on the sidewalk must have startled the birds because she could hear the sound of wings starting to flutter. Suddenly the unseen birds took flight as they flew away in a group.
Rinoa looked skyward after the birds as she laced her finger through her dark hair. She smiled at their freedom, but then noticed that little lost feathers floated overhead. She frowned as they started settling around her, and she moved to avoid them from raining down on her neat office attire. She looked down at herself and smoothed her hands over her black pencil skirt while she continued to approach the front door of the building. She took a moment to check her appearance in the reflective surface before she entered. Everything looked good, so far.
She took a deep breath and her hand grabbed the cold metal door handle. It was her first day, anything could happen. This was a new chapter in her life, but this time she was going to write her story herself. Her dad wasn't going to co-author this story any more.
She looked backwards over her shoulder nervously and briefly thought of flying away like the birds. Was this going to be a mistake? She shook her head and she steeled herself. She remembered that her dad thought this was a bad idea, and that firmed her resolve. She'd prove him wrong She'd do a great job without anybody's help.
But first she had to get her first day under her belt.
You can do this, she thought. Act professionally and make a good impression.
She tried pulling the door open, but it was incredibly heavy and resisted. Was it locked?
She pulled again. It didn't budge. Wait, was she suppose to PUSH instead of pull?
She pushed.
Nope, that didn't make sense. She pulled again and put some muscle into it.
She would be a great addition to this company, but first she had to get her foot in the door. Literally.
She pulled on the door again with all of her might and it slowly started creaking open. The door needed to be oiled. No door should be that hard to open. Once she cleared the heavy door, she jumped inside to avoid being hit by it. She didn't trust it.
You did it! she thought to herself. You opened a door. Hooray, she thought sarcastically. Hopefully the rest of the day would go better.
Once she was inside her face was met with warm stale air. It seemed oppressive after the wonderful brisk freshness of the morning, but that was to be expected. Offices were stuffy and full of florescent lights.
Before her stood an empty desk, gray and uninviting. It was the only desk not hidden by high cubicle walls. She could hear the sounds of employees who were busy working away, answering phone calls and typing on their computers.
Somebody should be here to greet me, Rinoa thought. Then she shook her head at the thought. Oh wait, I guess that's why they hired me in the first place. Better find somebody to talk to. Who is in charge here?
She could hear people, but she didn't know who to approach. And nobody approached her. She'd slipped in so quietly nobody even noticed. And why would they notice her? There was quite a loud commotion coming behind the closed door of an office. Mini-blinds were going up and down while clanking against the office's inner windows. Two people were arguing within. Suddenly a tall and very handsome man stepped out. His bright blond hair was slicked back neatly, save for a few bits that fell over his forehead. He was well dressed in a crisp white dress shirt and a bold red tie. He had a confident posture and looked very managerial, or as her friend Zone would say, large and in charge.
The man leaned on the doorframe heavily and looked over at her. She was somewhat glad that she'd finally caught somebody's eye. Time to introduce herself.
"Um, excuse me. I'm the new office worker," Rinoa said to him. "Are you Quistis Trepe?"
"Do I look like a lady to you," the blond man yelled at her. She inwardly winced, not really sure what to say.
"Um no, I didn't know Quistis was a lady's name. It's so unique that I've never heard it before. I didn't know who to expect. I've only met Mr. Kramer at my initial interview," she explained.
"Actually, I'm Quistis Trepe," a tall blond woman said while introducing herself. "You must be Rinoa Heartilly, the new receptionist."
Rinoa looked over at the woman who had identified herself as Quistis. She was tall, blond, and very beautiful. Sleekly styled blonde hair, tailored professional clothes, finely manicured nails. Was everybody in Balamb good looking, tall, and blond? Or maybe it was just everybody in this particular office. Wait, maybe they were related. Was this a family business? Better not make any assumptions., the blond man seemed to have a fiery temper.
"Yea, that's me," Rinoa said in a small voice, feeling stupid. She cleared her throat and started again, this time trying to make her voice sound smooth and professional, maybe even sultry. "I'm Rinoa Heartilly, the new receptionist," she said while repeating the same information Quistis just stated.
Ack! First impressions! First impressions! Say something smart!
"I'm here to be... I mean, I'm here to work," Rinoa said.
Well duh, Rinoa!
"We're glad you're here," Quistis said with a warm smile.
"Finally," Seifer added while standing over Rinoa. She stepped back, to keep her distance. "Quistis didn't think you'd ever show up. Late on your first day," Seifer said while shaking his head with a tsk tsk sound.
Rinoa's eyes widened at the information Seifer had just given her.
"It's better to show up late than not at all," Seifer said, giving unasked for advice. He paused and looked up at the ceiling thoughtfully for a moment before continuing. "Although, some might say if you're going to show up late on the first day, maybe you shouldn't bother showing up at all."
But I thought Cid said to show up at 10 am! I thought that was weird, Rinoa thought to herself.
"Mr. Kramer said to show up at 10," Rinoa said. "I think," she added. Did she make a big mistake already?
"Mr. Almasy," Quistis chastised, "I'm sure you have work you should be doing."
"Yes, Ms. Trepe," Seifer answered with a smirk. He walked back to his cubicle before shooting a look over his shoulder at Quistis.
Quistis pushed her eyeglasses up on her nose once Seifer was no longer in her line of sight. "Don't worry about it," Quistis said to a visibly flustered Rinoa. "Cid maybe did tell you that. He does things like that sometimes." She paused. "But Mr. Almasy is right in saying that our workday does start at 9 am here. So show up then tomorrow."
Rinoa nodded her head while her stomach lurched. "I'll be here bright and early," she said to reassure Quistis. She straightened her back and gave her a wide smile, trying to show that she'd be a good employee. She couldn't already be hanging on by a thread, could she?
She didn't know they needed her more than she needed them. And she'd have to be pretty bad to get fired here. Even if she was the worst receptionist, they wouldn't fire her because she would quit of her own accord soon enough. At least she would if she were anything like every single previous receptionist. It was like this position was cursed.
"Welcome to the Phoenix team," Quistis said while trying to encourage Rinoa. "We're happy to have you."
"You're welcome," Rinoa said while trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach.
You're welcome? That doesn't seem like the right response, Rinoa thought while kicking herself mentally.
Quistis nodded her head and winced for her. She decided to just move forward with getting the new employee acclimated to the business.
"Before your training starts, I'll just point out a few things. This part of the building does administrative functions for Phoenix," Quistis explained. "The factory and warehouse is in the back, but you won't need to go back there. The products are organized and readied for shipment there." Rinoa nodded her head at Quistis. "It's through those large metal doors down the hallway, but it's separate from the front part of the building. Noisy, lots of machines, forklifts, and all that. You'll be mostly concerned with up here," Quistis said while pointing to a desk at the front. There was a computer and a file cabinet next to it.
Well there it was. Little boring desk. This was going to be her new home away from home.
As she wondered if somebody was going to show her what to do, she felt a light, but insistent tapping on her left shoulder. She turned around to see a young woman with a quirky hairstyle and a yellow ribbon headband smiling widely at her. Her smile was so huge and friendly that it seemed the woman knew her, but she didn't look familiar to Rinoa. Had they met before?
Rinoa didn't think she could have forgotten a hairdo like that.
"Hello, nice to meet you. I'm Selphie Tilmitt," the woman said while giving a little wave at Rinoa.
Quistis took a step back now that Selphie had arrived.
"And here is the person to help you with your first day and give you a walkthrough of your daily duties," Quistis said. "Let me know if you need anything else," Quistis said before walking away to go back to her office.
Selphie clasped her hands in front of herself now that Quistis had left them alone together. Her eyes gleamed with excitement.
"So, I volunteered to train you," Selphie said with a smile. "I mean, I usually train ALL the receptionists, and it is kinda my job now, but I want you to know that I also volunteered to do it too." Rinoa stared at her, not knowing what she was trying to say. "I WANT to train you," Selphie clarified.
"Okay?" Rinoa said, not knowing what else to say.
"Take a seat," Selphie said while pulling out the office chair at Rinoa's front desk. The wheels squeaked quietly on the carpet. Rinoa started to bend her legs to sit down when Selphie pushed the chair at her and she collapsed into the fake leather seat. The chair squeaked and protested further when Selphie leaned onto the backrest and started pointing over Rinoa. "All the office supplies you need are in that drawer. But there is an office supply closet down the hallway if you need other stuff too."
"Okay."
"All the supplies are dull colored and pretty ugly though, if you ask me," Selphie said with a sigh. "I'd recommend bringing in cuter pens, pencils, and erasers if you want to have a cheerful atmosphere." She took a moment to think. "Hey! Did you know they make paperclips in the shapes of animals?"
"No," Rinoa said. She wondered when the training would start.
"Well, they do. And they're adorable," Selphie explained. She pulled one out of her back pocket to show Rinoa and shoved it into her hand. The big looping wires of a pink paperclip resembled a butterfly, if Rinoa squinted enough. The wires were a bit deformed though, presumably from use.
"Do they work as well as a normal paperclip?" Rinoa asked while holding it up before her face.
"They totally don't," Selphie said instantly, "but it's worth it." Selphie pulled a few more colorful animal paperclips out of pocket to admire them.
Rinoa thought that Selphie really seemed to be into cute stationary, and maybe she was working at the wrong place. She could be a stationary salesperson or at least work at a stationary store or gift shop selling cute trinkets to people. That seemed a better job for her than new-employee-trainer.
"Okay," Rinoa said yet again, waiting for further instruction, or any instruction. She really didn't know what she was going to be doing other than greeting people and answering phones. She put the pink butterfly clip down on her desk with a clink, not sure if it was a present or it was just hers to look at for now.
"Oh wait, what's that?!" Selphie asked suddenly, feigning ignorance with her mouth wide open and her hand touching the side of her face. She was pointing to a small mesh bag of candies right next to the computer.
Rinoa turned away from Selphie to see where she was pointing. She saw the little present sitting on the desk and reached out to take it, prompted by Selphie's outburst. She picked it up in her hand and looked at it, then she looked back at Selphie expectantly.
"Looks like you made an office friend already," Selphie said with a smirk. "I wonder who," she said with a lilt in her voice.
Rinoa looked at the little candies. They were tied together in their bag with a decorative yellow ribbon. She looked down at the yellow ribbon, and then back up at the yellow ribbon headband in Selphie's hair. She put two and two together.
"Are you my 'office friend'?" Rinoa asked slowly.
Selphie nodded her head quickly, her curled ends of hair bobbing along with her and her green eyes twinkling like some kind of merry elfin creature. Although in fairy tales, sometimes elves were helpful and benign, and other times they were wicked and mischievous. Which type was this girl?
She wondered.
Rinoa decided that this person was very nice, but her energy level was off putting. It was slightly scaring her that she could smile that much at a complete stranger.
Rinoa chastised herself internally. Here she was, a new person in a new place. She shouldn't be complaining about a person being friendly, no matter how eccentric the person might act, or how weird her hair was. She reached into the bunch of candies and pulled out one and popped it into her mouth. The sweet and sour tang of a lemon drop made her lips purse.
"Yummy! Thanks," Rinoa said with a big smile. The lemon drop clinked against her teeth as she sucked on it. She personally felt it was too early in the morning for candy, but she wanted to be polite.
Selphie smiled back at her and hunched her shoulders together in a look of glee. She obviously was having a lot of fun that Rinoa was playing along with her. Most other receptionists weren't as obliging. She took this as an encouraging sign that Rinoa was a special one. She felt that she should train Rinoa well so that she stayed longer than the others. She walked closer to the desk to get started.
"Okay, first things first. We totally get a mega-ton of informative inter-office emails here. So let me show you how to check your emails," Selphie said while grabbing the computer mouse to wake up the sleeping computer. She shook it from side to side quickly.
Show me how to check emails? Does she think I'm her grandma? Rinoa thought to herself.
"You don't need to show me how to check emails," Rinoa said while leaning forward as Selphie smooshed over her in the seat. It would have made more sense to have Selphie sitting in the chair if she was going to be showing her everything on the computer.
"Well then you're overqualified for this job," Selphie said as she let go of the computer mouse suddenly and straightened up.
"What?" Rinoa asked turning her head to look up at Selphie.
"What?" Selphie responded. She pause and blinked at her. "So, do you want me to show you where you sort mail, weigh mail, work the postage machine, file different kinds of paperwork, use the switchboard phone, or any of those sorts of things?"
"Wait, slow down," Rinoa said. "Maybe I should write some of this down." She looked around the desk for a small pad of paper and a pen.
Selphie watched as Rinoa dug around her new desk looking for supplies. Teaching new receptionists about their job wasn't the most fun. She mostly liked meeting the new receptionists and giving them a tour and introducing them to everybody else.
"Or we can just skip all that for now and I can show you the break room. Do you want a tea or coffee or complimentary energy bar?" Selphie asked. "They're revitalizing!" Before waiting for an answer, Selphie grabbed Rinoa by the arm and pulled on her to a standing position. "Time for a break!" she said.
"But..." Rinoa started. It was no use, Selphie had her in her grip.
Selphie started pulling Rinoa out of the main work area and down the hallway to show her where the break room was. Her footsteps skittered across the carpet as she pulled Rinoa along. She deftly maneuvered Rinoa around potted plants and a gawking male coworker. As they passed another set of doors she whispered, "bathrooms are over there, just so you know."
"Thanks," Rinoa said while Selphie steered her into the small break room.
"And here we are," Selphie said, "Ta-da!" she added with a flourish of her hand. It was an overkill move as it was just a bleak looking break room. The dull grayness of the rest of the office continued into here too. A long white table and plastic chairs were scattered throughout. A small kitchenette with a sink, microwave, coffee pot, and refrigerator was on one side of the room, while a big corkboard adorned the wall of the opposite side. A few drab posters admonished workers to be safe, and to report any accidents. Another poster showed how to help a choking person.
Selphie pointed to the little basket full of the company's energy bars. "You can snack on these anytime. We never run out. But it you want something fun and not healthy, you have to bring your own stuff."
Rinoa didn't know why Selphie referred to the energy bars as being healthy. They didn't look healthy, and she was pretty sure the main source of energy in them was sugar. Not that Rinoa was a health nut. She liked junk food as much as the next person.
A man jogged by the break room door quickly, then backtracked and popped his head in. He grabbed at the doorframe.
"Heya, nice to meet ya, I'm Zell," he said with a sharp toothed smile while waving at Rinoa. He looked like the coworker that Selphie had just steered Rinoa around when they were traipsing down the hallway.
Rinoa looked him over. Yet another blond at this office. She didn't think he could be related to the other two though. He was a lot shorter. His blond hair was gelled up into a spiky style and his shirt sleeves were rolled to his elbows. He had unusually muscular arms for somebody who worked in an office all day. Maybe weightlifting helped prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.
"I just want to welcome you." He paused while looking side to side down the long hallway before continuing. "And to tell you to watch out for Seifer," Zell explained. "He's bad news. And sometimes he plays practical jokes on people. Just giving you a heads up."
Selphie waved her arms in front of her and shook her head from side to side. "Don't scare her Zell," Selphie said.
"I'm doing her a favor," Zell explained. "I'm being nice."
"Frightening the new person doesn't sound very nice," Selphie said. "And Seifer doesn't prank girls."
"But," Zell started while making a fist, "he's a jerk!" He walked fully into the room with them.
"Yea, he's a jerk," Selphie agreed, "but he's more verbally abusive to women than an actual prankster. There's a DIFFERENCE."
Rinoa couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was this office going to be a scary place to work? Was Seifer the man she'd already met? She had to start leaning names and faces quickly.
"Either way, Zell is right about you maybe staying away from him," Selphie said. She looked over her shoulder to make sure Seifer wasn't standing there. "Just to be on the safe side."
She thought that these two coworkers really didn't seem to like this Seifer person.
"And Seifer is the tall and good looking blond man?" Rinoa asked, just wanting to clarify. She might as well know who exactly they were all hating.
Sudden silence. Zell and Selphie stared at her. Zell's nose wrinkled in disgust and his eyes crinkled shut as if he smelled something rotten. Selphie mostly seemed stunned. She tipped her head to the side in thought.
"I guess he could be described as good looking," Selphie said slowly, "to somebody who didn't know him," she added at a faster pace. She nodded her head and shrugged as if agreeing with the realization that she'd just had.
Seifer had all the ingredients to be a good looking man. Tall and broad shouldered. Yes. Piercing eyes. Got those. Confidence. He had way too much confidence, that was for sure. But somehow when you added it all up, he wasn't the ideal man. He was missing something. Probably kindness, self-control, empathy, or something like that. Seifer wouldn't consider those traits to be manly. And he thought he was a manly man, an alpha male. Above all the rest.
"Jerk, prankster, whatever, just be careful. Thanks to him I always make sure there is nothing on the seat of my chair when I sit down," Zell said. "Or on the toilet seat," he continued under his breath.
Rinoa gasped. "You've got to be joking, right?" she asked. She was not happy if there was going to be an employee sabotaging the bathroom. She couldn't hold it for 8 hours every day. That wasn't healthy.
"Don't worry about it Rinny," Selphie said. "I'm sure Seifer won't do anything to you in the bathroom." She shook her head. "But Zell should watch out. Hey Zell, just use the ladies room with us, I wouldn't mind. She wouldn't either," Selphie said while pointing at Rinoa.
Rinoa wasn't so sure that she wouldn't mind, but she wasn't going to say anything. And by the way Zell recoiled at Selphie's suggestion, she didn't think Zell was going to be joining them in the ladies' room anytime soon.
"Uh, no thanks Selphie," Zell said. "Nice meeting you," he said to Rinoa while giving her a little flip of a salute before jogging out of the break room.
Selphie turned towards Rinoa and smiled. "Well, that's Zell. He's a sweet guy, and you definitely DON'T need to avoid him. Really nice." Rinoa nodded her head at Selphie. "Hey, do you want me to introduce you to everybody else?" Selphie asked, her eyes lighting up at the prospect. "I can take you on a quick little tour of the cubes!"
"Uh, sure?" Rinoa said while readying for her to drag her away again. Rinoa had quickly learned that Selphie wasn't the type of person to take no for an answer.
"Booyaka!" Selphie yelled before pulling Rinoa back down the hallway.
Rinoa sat at the receptionist desk with a big smile plastered on her face. So far she'd been shown around the little office and shown what to do. She'd been introduced to everybody in the administrative area, and even to some of the people in the warehouse. Her head was swimming with new names and faces. She probably wasn't going to remember anybody tomorrow. It would take some time to get used to everybody and everything, but she was going to try. There wasn't a whole lot to her job, but she was going to try her hardest to be friendly and professional.
But right now, all she had to do was sit and smile. Actually, smiling was optional, but she felt it was the professional thing to do. She practiced her resting smiley face because she never knew who'd walk in though the front door. She was the first face they'd see.
It was boring though.
Suddenly the phone rang. Finally, something for her to do. She lunged for it before fumbling it off the hook.
"Phoenix Industries," she said in her silkiest and calmest voice. "Yes, I'll transfer you. Hold please." She looked down at the phone set. Selphie had shown her what buttons to push to transfer calls. but she started to panic now that Selphie wasn't there to help her. "I'm going to transfer a call to customer service," Rinoa said out loud. She pressed several buttons, hoping they were the right ones.
She didn't hear a ring from Selphie's cubicle.
"Oh no, oh no," Rinoa mumbled. "I think I dropped the call."
Selphie got up and ran over to Rinoa's desk. "It's okay, you're trying!" she cheered. Selphie went through the motions of trying to show her how to work the switchboard phone again. She went way too fast, almost at hyperspeed, but Rinoa believed that she now knew what she did wrong and how to correct it for the next caller.
"Maybe they'll call back," Rinoa said.
"Just keep trying, you'll figure it out soon," Selphie said while pumping her arm in the air.
A long and low whistle could be heard from across the office. "I don't mind at all, she's making our job easier if she can't transfer calls," Irvine said.
"Irvy!" Selphie protested, not liking anybody dragging down the new person. "It's her FIRST day!"
"Yea Irvine, but to a certain point she's going to hurt business," Seifer said while ignoring Selphie. "And if she hurts the business bad enough, it's going to jeopardize all of us eventually."
"Seifer, it was just ONE call," Selphie said. She turned to Rinoa and mouthed, "Don't worry, it's fine."
"She's going to put us all the poor house!" Seifer yelled. The sound of his fist pounding his desk could be heard. "I'm going to lose my job as a salesman and then what will I do?" He paused and everybody hoped he'd stop talking.
Of course it was a small hope.
"I'm tall and I've been told I have striking features and a masculine jaw line," Seifer said in a smooth voice. "I could be a model."
The office let out a collective sigh.
"Seifer, nobody wants to see you strip!" Selphie complained while walking back to her cubicle. Rinoa looked after Selphie, not agreeing with her giant leap of logic.
"I said MODEL!" Seifer yelled. "And who says nobody would want to see me strip? I bet I'd make a ton of money being a stripper! I dare you to find a stripper that looks better than me!" His fist pounded his desk again.
"Seifer, nobody wants to pay to see you in any form," Selphie said, settling into her office swivel chair. She was skating a fine line between mildly irritating Seifer and daring to draw his full rage. The limit of his patience could be easily broken, and he could become enraged at the drop of a hat.
The sound of Seifer's chair squeaking roughly could be heard as he jumped up from his desk and stalked over to Selphie's cubicle. Within a moment his large body loomed over the cube's entrance and he put both of his arms out on either side to block her escape. His mouth was tightly shut and his nostrils flared in anger like a wild torama.
Selphie swiveled around to see him there, and she suddenly felt trapped like a little animal. Her heart started hammering at the feeling of being stalked and confined by a large predator. If he had a tail, it would be flicking from side to side, readying to go in for the kill. It was too much for her to handle.
"Rinoa might," she stammered quickly while her eyelids fluttered in fear. She bit her lip before continuing. "Rinoa thinks you're handsome!" she belted out, trying to distract him so she could run away to someplace safe. Irvine was just next door, and Seifer never had a problem with him. She could hide behind his lanky frame, maybe Irvine could talk him down from his rage high.
Seifer suddenly snapped out of it. His eyes lost the look of anger and he relaxed his posture. He smoothed his hand over the top of his head. His already slicked back style didn't need straightening, but it was a move that calmed him. "She said that?" he asked in a husky voice. He didn't need to call dibs on the new girl. It seemed that the new girl had called dibs on him. And why wouldn't she? He was handsome, nay, he was gorgeous. He put his arms down and turned to go speak directly to her.
Handsome? Squall thought.
Squall's hands withdrew from his keyboard and he strained his ears to hear what was happening. Did he just hear Selphie say that the new girl was attracted to Seifer? Squall became unreasonably irritated. Why would any woman be attracted to that jerk? Or at least a nice person. Why would a nice person be attracted to Seifer? And the new receptionist seemed like such a nice person. At least he was hoping that she was. Not that he knew her very well, or at all. They'd just met.
Selphie had introduced them earlier in the day. He could tell that he hadn't made an impression on her at all. Her eyes were glazed over and he doubted whether or not she even caught his name. He would love to have chalked that up to Selphie's whirlwind tour of the office and its inhabitants though. Squall had been at the tail end of it, and she looked burned out on meeting people.
But apparently somebody had made impression on her, and it just happened to be the office's resident loudmouthed jerk, Seifer Almasy.
And now she was going to attract his attention. He would feel sorry for her, but she thought Seifer was handsome. He didn't have a lot of spare sympathy for somebody who would think that about Seifer.
Although he was curious about what was going to happen.
Squall could hear Seifer walking to the front reception desk. He leaned out of his cubicle to see what was happening.
Seifer leaned on the top of the high walled receptionist desk and smirked down at Rinoa. He arched one blond eyebrow at her.
"So apparently," Seifer began smoothly, his voice going lower, "I've caught your notice."
Rinoa's mouth fell open and her cheeks colored. She looked stunned. "Uh, well..."
"Do you think I could have a career as a male model?" Seifer continued, wanting to keep talking about himself. He leaned towards her further and turned his head side to side. "Do you think I have a striking jaw line? I've heard women find masculine jaw lines to be attractive. Would you agree?"
Squall's earlier irritation turned to protectiveness. And suddenly he realized he did feel sympathetic for her, no matter what she'd said about Seifer. Quistis hadn't come back from lunch yet, so there was no end in sight for Seifer's interrogation. Nobody else in the office would stop him from hassling the new girl, so he'd have to do something. Squall looked around his desk for something. He reached out and grabbed a file folder and got out of his seat and walked up to the front desk.
"Seifer," Squall said calmly, as if he had been ignoring everything that had been happening in the office. Nobody would think otherwise, as Squall never spoke with anybody about anything non-essential. People often forgot that quiet people had ears.
Seifer's eyebrows knit together and he turned. He wasn't used to Squall initiating a conversation.
"I have a report I need you to look at," Squall said, unsure of where this was going. He figured he could point at a spread sheet full of numbers and babble about something while asking questions. Maybe that would distract him for long enough to get him away from Rinoa.
"Can't it wait?" Seifer asked. "You've never needed me to look at your stuff before. Losing your touch?"
"Can't wait," Squall said, ignoring his mild taunt.
Seifer shrugged his broad shoulders and then his attention was successfully diverted. He straightened his back and walked back to Squall's cubicle for their discussion. He could always bother the new girl later. She wasn't going anywhere. Her whole job description was physically staying at the front desk all day. She was an unmoving target. A sitting duck. He could always go back later.
Oh good, he's got work to do, Rinoa thought. Rinoa watched Seifer retreat back to the cubicles. Once he was fully gone, she breathed a sigh of relief.
A few minutes later Selphie tiptoed up to the receptionist's desk. She mouthed that she was sorry, but Rinoa just gave her a stern glare until she scampered back to her cubicle. Her feelings were hurt that Selphie had blurted something out that she clearly wouldn't want Seifer to know.
And Selphie was supposed to be her 'office friend.' Some friend!
Rinoa suddenly had a little bit of guilt at the rude thought. She wasn't completely without sympathy for Selphie. It was scary to attract Seifer's full attention. She thought her heart was going to leap out of her chest when he came over to her. When his aqua eyes gleamed at her, she'd felt cornered. He was an intense person, and the fact that he was handsome somehow made him even scarier. Not that she'd ever admit that AGAIN. Ugh. What a day.
Time marched on slowly. Rinoa never had a desk job before. She'd worked at an ice cream store, pet shop, a library, different retail locations, and she'd even tried being a nanny. But the last time she sat at a desk this long, she was in school. This was hard for her.
This first day was physically and emotionally draining her and she couldn't believe how tired she was. Her muscles ached. She must have been tensing all of her muscles all day long. Even her face hurt from smiling. She couldn't wait for her first day to be over. It had dragged on for long enough. She just wanted to go home and relax in a nice warm bubble bath.
And how soon could she do that? Surely the day must nearly be over.
Rinoa looked over at the clock on her computer. 1:30 pm. It was only 1:30 pm?! And she'd even arrived late.
UNBELIEVABLE!
Rinoa breezed into her apartment and kicked off her shoes. She stretched out her back and sighed luxuriously. She was moments away from preparing a celebratory bubble bath.
"Home sweet home," she said while dropping her keys down on the table next to her front door.
She was tired but she walked further into her little apartment with a feeling of triumph. She'd finished her first day of her job, a job she'd gotten on her own. Sure, it wasn't much, but it felt good that she had gotten it without her father's help or his Galbadian connections. Nobody knew who she was here in Balamb. She wasn't General Caraway's 'rich and spoiled daughter,' she was just Rinoa Heartilly, the new girl. It was a fresh start, and it was exciting.
Well, it was half exciting, half mind-numbingly boring. And it was also a little lonely to be on her own, but time would fix the loneliness, probably. She'd meet new people and maybe make some friends. And if that didn't work, there was a whole wide world out there. She could go anywhere she wanted. She had promised herself when she moved here she wouldn't set down roots so deep that she couldn't pick up and leave. She didn't want to be trapped. Even the apartment was on a month-to-month lease.
She looked around her new apartment as her dog bounded up to her. She scratched Angelo, her shepherd-collie mix, behind her ears. White walls. Cheap beige carpet. Not particularly interesting, and it was tiny and barely furnished. She certainly was living light and free compared to her father's huge dark and stuffy house in downtown Deling City. But maybe that's just what she needed, a total change.
Angelo gave a happy bark. She patted her dog's head.
This was liberating, in a scary sort of way. Her eyes sparkled. She felt so alive.
Today was just the first day. She couldn't wait to start her new life!
Author's Notes: Please read and review. I have a lot more of this story half written so far. More silliness coming up.