Chapter 7

Weeks passed in a flurry and I continued to meet up with Aerith for coffee at Café Andante, sometimes bringing Yuffie along when she wasn't practising in her studio in the Performing Arts building. It was funny seeing those two sit next to each other. When I considered Yuffie to be my polar opposite, I obviously never imagined Aerith compared to her. It was like seeing a preppy cheerleader next to a gothic bad ass with the biggest attitude. We were certainly an odd group, and when we met up we'd always catch questionable glances from other students. Sometimes we'd even have study sessions in the library after Aerith finished her shift. She'd received special permission to have friends from within the academy stay in the library after 9pm, as long as she was responsible for lock up duties.

Every Wednesday was the same, I'd be shrugged off by 'Spikey' in our General Studies tutorial, then I'd be the only one to ask questions during Music History and finally we'd all meet up in the band room, including Aerith if she wasn't working. Because we didn't have a drummer yet, we'd normally just chat amongst ourselves, tune the old guitars, play a few of our favourite songs, or do homework together while we stuffed our faces full of Chinese take-out. Yuffie would even show off a few of her ballet-break moves as she called it. I'm pretty sure she had us all pretty impressed, especially Vincent, which was unusual. Zack and Aerith hit it off too, and when she'd throw me side-glances when Zack's back was turned, I could tell she was sometimes a little pinker in the cheeks than usual.

During the 4th week, before my first General Studies assignment was due, things began to change. That Wednesday, the day before the essay was due, I arrived to the tutorial 10 minutes early and took my usual seat beside 'Spikey' who was always early. As I took my seat I was prepared to endure another hour stuck next to a guy who I was fairly sure disliked me for no apparent reason.

As he flipped his note book open, I caught a glimpse of his draft essay in the corner of my eye. The draft had received a 45% mark from the professor along with a hefty amount of red pen sprawled across the page. He had a few too many errors in his paper to allow him to pass if he didn't fix them by the end the next day. I too flipped my notebook open and begun revising, changing any sentences that I thought could be improved in my assignment. Professor Tseng had only given me 3 suggestions, other than that, I had received a 96% mark on my draft.

"You're good at this," Spikey spoke from beside me. He had his intense eyes trained on my page.

"Well, I remember learning this stuff from high school," I replied meeting his blue eyes. "I see you're struggling…"

He sighed and leaned back into his chair, "yeah, I'm no good at this writing stuff, I thought this school was about studying music, not this shit."

"I could help you," I blurted out. "I mean if you want, you're not going to pass on a grade like that by the due date."

He pursed his lips, giving me a questioning look, "what's in it for you?"

"Well in exchange for tutoring you," I began nervously. "Would you consider joining a band?"

He laughed, "you're asking me to join a band, what is it full of girls or something."

"No, actually," I retorted sharply. "I'm the only girl in it among 2 other guys."

He inhaled, contemplating the offer, "so you're telling me, if I agree to join your band, you'd help me with this?"

"Yes, that's the deal," I answered.

"Fine," he agreed. "On one condition…"

"Yes?"

"You help me get through this topic for the rest of the semester," he smiled crookedly. "I'm no good at math either."

We both laughed and I agreed, shaking his hand to seal the deal, "we'll study in the band room tonight. That way you can meet the boys."

"Where's the band room?"

"Top floor in the abandoned studios," I replied. "Also, don't worry about dinner, Wednesday night is Chinese take-out night."

It was then that Professor Tseng entered the room and began the lecture. I wasn't exactly sure what I'd just got myself into, but I knew for a damn fact, the band was only just beginning.

As Yuffie and I exited our dorm that evening, I caught sight of 'Spikey' down the hall leaving his room too.

"Hey," I said catching him off guard.

He smiled at us both as he locked his door, "perfect timing."

"Oh this is Yuffie by the way, we're roommates," I said before turning to Yuffie, "Yuffie, this is…"

"Cloud," he introduced himself. I was amazed at his name. It was so different, yet it suited him perfectly.

We entered the elevator and made our way to the band room. Zack, Vincent and Aerith were sitting on the old couch already digging into the food.

"Sorry we couldn't wait any longer," Zack said with a mouth full of dumpling. "Who's this?"

"Our drummer," I replied with a smile. "This is Cloud."

Zacks eyes widened with excitement, and again knocking a small portion of his food into Vincent's lap, he jumped off the couch to give me yet another enormous hug, spinning me around, "you're absolutely amazing, Tifa!"

"Alright, alright, put me down before you take someone out," I said as he settled me on to the ground.

"Zack, nice to meet you man," Zack shook Cloud's hand. "I would be the lead guitarist, and that over there is my main man, Vincent on bass, oh and Aerith, Tifa's friend."

"I'm not actually in the band," Aerith clarified. "I'm just here for the food."

"So what does that make you?" Cloud asked me.

"Singer and pianist," Zack interjected.

"You sing?" Cloud asked doubtfully.

"Hell yeah," Yuffie said. "She kicks ass too."

That was the first time Yuffie had stood up for me. I smiled, cocking an eyebrow at Cloud, daring him to contest Yuffie.

As Zack settled back onto the couch between Aerith and Vincent, Yuffie and Cloud took the crates while I found a comfy spot on the floor. We ate the entire contents out of the Chinese food paper bag and began to get to know Cloud. He was from Gongaga, originally from Nibelheim when his parents decided to move when he was just a baby.

"No way!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Tifa, aren't you from Nibelheim too?"

I nodded, "yeah been there my entire life."

"Small world," Cloud replied with a warm smile.

After we'd talked for a bit Cloud and I found a clear space in the corner to study. Zack and Vincent decided to tune the guitars, while Yuffie and Aerith chatted about who knows what, however they seemed to be giggling way too much for my liking.

I read Cloud's essay a few times and began to help him make the corrections as suggested by Professor Tseng. By 8pm we had completely changed his essay, and I reckon it would have been even better than mine. We then even started to work on the chapter questions assigned for the week before the rest of the crew decided it was too late and headed back to their rooms at 9:30pm.

Cloud and I stayed a little while after listening to music and chatting. He didn't seem bad at all and I considered his awkward and sometimes cold demeanour was caused by his shyness. He was actually quite a genuine guy. We must have stayed up there until midnight before, we decided to head to our rooms ourselves.

As we reached Cloud's door, he paused before opening it, "thank you again for the help."

"No problem," I said matching his smile. "Thanks for making Zack's night."

He laughed, before wishing me a goodnight and closing the door behind him. My heart swelled for a brief moment before I reached my door and stepped inside.

"You're late don't you think?" Yuffie said condescendingly. "So what's going on between you two?"

"Nothing, why would anything go on between us?" I asked confused.

"Oh my god, Tifa," Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Are you blind?"

"No I don't think so," I said puzzled.

"Aerith and I think Cloud is totally into you!" she enthused.

It was my time to roll my eyes, "well you obviously had never seen us before today then."

"What do you mean?" she asked. "You guys looked as if you had known each other forever."

"Well if you'd seen us before tonight, you would have thought we hated each other," I laughed. "The first time I actually met him, was in the elevator the day before classes began. He seemed so rude, he even shoved my shoulder as he left. Besides that, he just always seemed so cold toward me."

"Weird," Yuffie replied. "You reckon it's because he's shy?"

"I thought that," I said sitting on my bed. "Although…"

"What?!" she exclaimed. "Tell me! You think he's cute, don't you!"

"Maybe a little," I pursed my lips holding my index finger and thumb up gesturing a small amount.

Yuffie threw her pillow at me giggling and it was at this point I knew this is how I was supposed to feel at the academy, surrounded by new friends and new emotions.