So, have you all been dying of curiosity yet? Ha! I try. And I know you guys enjoy it. Hopefully. Well, here's another exciting update. "Exciting" being the hopeful word in this sentence.
Disclaimer: Don't own FF8. Ask someone else.
Life Less Ordinary
Chapter Eighteen
"Going Too Far"
The sounds of angry adult voices could be heard even through the thick door that separated the Principal from the two guys waiting for their turn. They spoke not a word between them but sat in an uneasy silence, trying to block out the yelling that they knew was supposed to be soon directed at them. They knew the punishment would come soon, but it wasn't the Principal that they feared.
Squall and Seifer sat on a bench outside the Principal's office. They were both sitting, heads bent, soaking wet and covered in unpleasant substances. They were, indeed, a sorry sight. Squall had loosened his tie and kept running his fingers through his wet, unruly hair, picking out bits of oatmeal. He tried to block out the sounds of the Principal and his mother and father. He'd never heard his dad lose his temper before, so he knew he was in deep trouble this time.
Seifer could hear his mother, too. Luckily for him, his father was still on duty in Centra; although the situation wasn't much better for him with his mother. He bark and her bite were just as bad.
"Never in all my years of teaching have I ever had two students purposely disrupt a school tradition! This is an outrage! Those boys are risking breaking and entering charges, not to mention detention for the rest of the year and possibly expulsion from this school!" The Principal's livid voice was heard.
Squall knew that he couldn't let Seifer go down with him. This had been his own mindless obsession, and Seifer had nothing to do with the planning of it, and he had conned him into helping him in the first place. He knew Seifer had never really wanted anything to do with the whole project, and so Squall had to take the heat by himself.
"Oh, please! This was just a harmless senior prank! The boys meant no actual harm!" Seifer's mother could be heard, her voice shrill. "Surely you understand a senior prank?"
"Senior prank?" The Principal boomed. "This was no act of a senior prank! This was the act of two rouge delinquents!"
"My son may have made some bad choices, but he is no delinquent!" Laguna exclaimed. The sound of a fist slamming onto a hard surface echoed out to the two guys. Squall shook his head. He didn't want his parents to defend him; he wanted to take his punishment that he knew he so clearly deserved.
"He acted as a delinquent, Mr. Loire! This was more than a bad choice!" The Principal retaliated. "And concerning previous records on both your children, I believe the fault of this whole incident may rest on your shoulders!"
"I may have duties, but my boys are responsible and respectful!" Laguna was getting louder and angrier by the second. "I run a country, Mr. Principal, but I still take time to raise my children right. I expect you could do better?"
Seifer looked up to the clock above the secretary's empty desk. It said 11:45 pm. They'd been in there for nearly 2 hours, and it wasn't looking good for either of them thus far. He looked to Squall who sat bent over, continuously running his fingers through his hair. No matter how badly he wanted to, he couldn't blame Squall for this. He was his best friend, and friends stick together to the end, no matter what.
"The actions of these boys were not respectable or responsible! I am beside myself to believe that two students could do something so completely heinous!" The Principal's voice went muffled for a moment or two, and Squall and Seifer both had to strain to hear.
"Sir, I understand that you may be upset, but you must understand, they're boys and not to mention teenagers. They don't think about the consequences that their actions might bring. I'm sure it was meant, as Mrs. Almasy stated, as nothing more than a harmless senior prank." Raine spoke for the first time, calmly and peacefully, attempting to settle down the other three.
"Mrs. Loire this goes well beyond the label of a harmless senior prank. What am I supposed to tell the other parents who's children were affected by the misconduct of these two?" the Principal demanded. "The parents will want to see some initiative taken, and I imagine most will request to see these two boys punished severely, and I'm talking full expulsion from the school." He had lowered his angry tone down somewhat, but the emotion still lingered.
"I think expulsion is taking this way too far!" Seifer's mother exclaimed. They could se her shadow move to the door with her hand at her head and an arm over her chest.
"And what about what they did? Wasn't that taking it too far?" The Principal asked.
"Maybe we should hear it from the boys. Maybe they had a valid reason for their actions." Raine suggested.
"There is no possible way that anyone could have a valid reason for this." The Principal's voice suddenly got closer.
Seifer watched the movement through the clouded glass. The big, bold letters of "Principal" blocked some of his view. All he could see was four adult figures. One was pacing the room, coming in and out of focus. He was able to label that one as Squall's dad, Laguna. His body language, although not very clear, told Seifer enough that he knew he was tense and angry. Another figure was standing beside the evident figure of his mother, and Seifer knew that to be Squall's mother. The Principal was closest to the door, occasionally moving and blocking Seifer's vision. He kept glancing at the clock, wondering when the principal would be handing them their inevitable punishment.
"I'm sorry, Seifer." Squall whispered, never looking up as he spoke. He kept his head bent, hiding his face. "I never should've gotten you involved in this. I took it too far. I got too competitive, and I dragged you down with me. I'm sorry." Squall shook his head, throwing droplets of water and ink onto the floor below him.
"No," Seifer shook his head. "It's okay. I went along with you because I wanted to. You're not to blame, so don't worry. Let's just hope they go easy on us."
But Squall still couldn't get rid of his guilt. He'd pulled Seifer into a sinister conspiracy that had ended in ruins. Squall knew he was the one to blame here, despite what Seifer said. He had to take responsibility for this. He'd made plenty of mistakes in the past that nobody had caught that had all been blamed on some innocent person who'd just happened to be at the wrong place and the wrong time. This time, it was all him, and he new it. He couldn't let another victim take all the blame for his own stupidity.
Squall knew that he had to do something. He couldn't let Seifer go down with him. It wasn't his fault that they were in trouble. Squall had planned this, set it up, and executed it, dragging in Seifer. He wouldn't let Seifer get involved anymore. He was his best friend and he had to protect him, even if that meant to sacrifice himself.
Squall's thought and Seifer's solitude was both interrupted by the Principal's door opening. Principal Cid Kramer, a short, stout man with a big nose and big glasses resting on it. He was balding on top and had a wrinkling face. He dressed professionally and tackily in black dress pants, whit dress shirt, and a checkered red sweater vest. His face was stern, glaring at the boys in disappointment and anger.
"Boys, we're ready to see you." He pointed to the office.
Squall and Seifer slowly trudged into the office, knowing what was to come. The Principal followed them in, closing the door behind him. He gestured to the two chairs that rested in front of the desk and turned his back to the two.
Seifer saw the look on his mother's face and instantly prayed that the Principal would go easy on them. He wasn't ready to die yet. He still had his whole life to live, but he was beginning to fear that wasn't going to be an option. He took his seat and waited for the storm to come.
As Squall sat down, he made an extra effort to ignore his parents. He knew they were upset and disappointed in him. He didn't want them to stick up for him, and he didn't want them to forgive him just yet. He deserved his punishment and the resentment that went along with it.
A sigh escaped from Seifer's mother, and Squall felt a movement behind him as two strong hands gripped his shoulders. He recognized it as his dad but said nothing. He allowed the grip to be there only for now. He still believed in his guilt and his punishment.
"Boys," The Principal started, still keeping his back to the two now labeled "delinquents." Seifer squirmed in his seat, hoping this would end quickly, but Squall sat as rigid as stone, waiting patiently. Somehow Squall had managed to remain calm, staring forward with little or no care. "I must say that I am disappointed in your behavior tonight. I have never had two students go to such extremities as you have gone. If there is a reason behind your actions, I would like to know. It may help to lessen your sentence." He finally turned to them with a grave expression.
Seifer found that he couldn't speak and dropped his eyes to the floor. He remained mute and ashamed, but again, Squall had turned into the brave hero, facing his enemy head on with no regrets. Well, at least that's what he showed on the outside. He kept his emotions bottled up inside and refused to let them show.
Principal Kramer waited for an answer from either of them, but so far, nothing had come. They both remained silent, much to his annoyance. He glanced up to the parents. Mrs. Almasy was standing behind her son with and arm over her chest and the other up to her mouth. A closer look told him she was biting her nails. Mrs. Loire stood in the back, wearing the same expression as her son, revealing nothing. President Loire stood close behind Squall, gripping his son's shoulders tightly and staring at the Principal with cold eyes as if this whole thing were his fault.
"Perhaps you didn't hear me." He said, returning his attention to the two. "You should tell me any reason you had to do this heinous task."
"We heard you." Squall whispered, speaking for the first time, but then he said nothing more.
"Well?" The Principal asked, running low on patience.
"Revenge," Squall said after a few moments.
The Principal's jaw dropped. "Revenge?" He demanded. "What in Hyne's name could revenge have anything to do with the destroying of a major school tradition?" He tried to avoid yelling, but he was beyond trying to remain calm.
Squall knew, even though it was true, he had chosen a word to give as a reason. He dropped his eyes to the floor, breaking his mask of expressionless calm. He felt the grip from his father's hands tighten considerably, almost painfully.
"Mr. Leonhart, I demand that you explain to me how revenge had anything to do with this!" He leaned over the desk, getting closer to Squall. His face was flaring now, angrier than he had expected himself to be. Squall remained in his silence, staring at the floor.
"Mr. Leonhart!" The Principal said louder.
Squall shook his head. "It would be easier to explain them whole thing." He said quietly. He'd lost his composure and was shaking slightly. Laguna glanced down at his son with sympathy, which if Squall had seen, would have disapproved.
"Then, by all means, Mr. Leonhart, proceed." The Principal waved his hand to emphasize that Squall should continue. "Let's hear this riveting tale."
Squall looked up to Seifer, who was doing the same thing. His blonde head was bent and his eyes were glued to the floor. He turned his gaze to the waiting Principal and sighed. He had to make a correction to this before he told the Principal anything about the Formal. With Seifer's silence, he knew he may be able to make this declaration uninterrupted.
"Before I say anything about this, sir, there's something that needs to be made clear." Squalls aid, raising his voice slightly. He had found a temporary confidence to use before he finally lost all control, but this needed to be done, and he knew that and could accept it.
"Oh, and what is that?" The Principal demanded. This discussion had not yet gone in any direction that he had wished.
Squall glanced briefly to Seifer, who remained in the same position, before returning to the Principal. "Seifer had nothing to do with this. I did it all. He's innocent." He spoke the words loudly and clearly to make his point. Since being out in the hall and having the chance to think, he'd been set on this. He wouldn't allow Seifer to go down with him this time.
"Excuse me?" The Principal asked as Seifer looked up for the first time.
"He had nothing to do with this. It was all my idea. I deserve all the blame." Squall didn't back down from his position despite the shocked look on Seifer's face. He stared up at the Principal in determination.
"Well," the Principal managed out after a moment of silence." Well, we'll see who is deserving of blame once the whole story is told." Squall only nodded. Seifer was still staring at his buddy in shock. "So I advise that you start from the beginning, gentlemen."
Squall nodded again and took the initiative to be the one who spoke. "The whole thing started about three weeks ago…"
A/N: Well? Are you dying of curiosity yet? Are you just dying to know what has happened? Well, you'll just have to wait a few more chapters. Yes, I said a few more. Gosh! I just love being evil.