FicWad

Disturbance in the Peaceful Era:

Disclaimer:

I don't own Final Fantasy VIII. Original characters and names belong to me. All names and characters relating to Final fantasy belong to Square-Enix.

Author's Notes: It's been a long time since my last update... I began writing this chapter so long ago but experienced computer problems... including the entire computer crashing. Of course, I had no way of backing up my stories so thought they were lost... fortunately, the hard drive was able to be conected to a laptop so now I'm back again.

Chapter X – Class with those who have none

Another restless, sleepless, dreamless night had passed and Squall lay awake in his room feeling as exhausted as he had been the night before. He didn't know which was worse; the feeling of sickness emanating from his mind, or the fact that his SeeD training was about to start.

Squall swung his legs around and sat up on the bed, rising to his feet. He remembered the injury he had suffered the day before, his leg felt fine, as though nothing had happened. Whatever that potion had done… it had worked.

Squall was feeling anxious about what was yet to come. He didn't know whether or not he could face it. Maybe he should give up and be done with this... with this feeling. Squall ran a hand through his hair and decided to move on.

He forced his pessimistic feelings of doom and failure to the back of his mind and changed into his uniform.

He left the ghost-town of a Dormitory and entered the equally empty hall. Passing the car park and cafeteria, Squall still saw no other person.

No Seifer, No Zell, indeed, no one to harass annoy or enrage him. He witnessed no Selphie or Quistis, his instructor. Neither Raijin nor Fujin and as he entered the lobby, Squall saw people; but no one he recognized, merely the uniformed inhabitants of Garden with no faces... faceless SeeD and student alike.

These people neither bugged nor noticed him. They may as well have not been there at all. They left him alone and he stowed upon them the same level of courteous respect. Still trapped in thought, Squall climbed the stairs in the centre of the lobby and pushed the button to call the elevator car.

As the unsoiled glass doors; so clean they shined like a mirror, finally opened, Squall stepped inside the elevator and pushed the only lit-up button on the panel. Squall couldn't help but wonder if the other seemingly burnt-out buttons actually did anything and if not, why were they there? Surely the Headmaster must have a way into his office but as for the other buttons... did Garden even have a basement?

After mere seconds, the elevator slowed in its ascent until it remained stationary on the second floor and the glass doors opened with their usual "beep."

Squall stepped out of the elevator and walked down the empty hallway. He pulled a laminated timetable from his left-side pants pocket and examined it to find his new classroom.

"Squall Leonheart"

"Pre-SeeD Educational Timetable: Stage Two – SeeD Training"

"0900 - 1200: Theory – Room 2111"

"1300 – 1600: Practice – Training Centre Safety Zone"

Squall found his classroom after a period of walking the hallways. Balamb Garden was reasonably large but its classroom layout was comparatively simple and easy to follow. His room was '2111.' The twenty one at the beginning meant second floor, north hallway. The eleven at the end of the number stood for the first room in the first hallway, room number two thousand, one hundred and eleven.

Squall walked inside to be greeted by his instructor, Quistis Trepe.

"Hello Squall" she said warmly. She spoke to him with seniority although it was tapered with youth.

Squall couldn't see how the instructor could have been more than a few years older than himself, Squall guessed her age at twenty... maybe twenty one. No more. Her skills must have been greatly refined at a young age for her to advance this far in her career as a SeeD so early in her life... not that SeeD generally lead that long a life.

"You're just in time Squall, take a seat wherever you want" Quistis continued.

Squall merely nodded to show he understood and took his usual seat at the left-most desk in the back row.

"Well now, look who it is."

Squall looked up. In front of him sat Zell and Raijin. Squall turned his head and looked to his right. At the second to last seat in the right-most end of the row sat Fujin and to the right of her, sat Seifer. Squall decided to ignore them.

After ten minutes had passed, Squall was almost beyond bored. His eyes were glazed and his face, expressionless. Inside, he was struggling to stay awake. Sleep deprivation was catching up with him like a ghastly reaper, shrouded in a cloak of deathly darkness and full of sinfully wicked bloodlust, yearning for its pathetic prey, it's screaming carcass-to-be, a shrieking dying youth prior to being silenced by a scythe in the back and the extraction of forever-damned victim's soul in bloody agonizingly painful death.

"Well then, I think that's everyone isn't it?" the instructor said to herself. She looked to the students in her class. "Alright then, shall we get started?" she asked them but before she could do anything else, the electronic door opened and someone stepped inside... an auburn haired girl whom no one could recall ever seeing before... that is, none of the students pointing their gaze in her direction.

One student in the back had laid eyes on this girl, the auburn haired girl wearing a Garden uniform, but one differing slightly from the other Garden students.

"Aahh... sorry if I'm a little late" the girl said.

"Are you in this class?" the instructor asked.

"I think so."

"...oh, are you my new exchange student?"

"Yes, that's me... from Trabia."

"Oh, okay then, welcome... Selphie, is it?"

"Yeah" she answered.

"Alright then, please take a seat. The class is just about to begin."

The girl walked between the desks and computer terminals and smiled when she saw a recognizable face. She headed for the back of the class and sat next to Squall. "Hi Squall," She said "looks like I am in this class after all."

At the sound of his own name, the cloud of drowsiness that had come over Squall immediately relinquished its hold over his mind and he awoke fresh as a herb garden, like someone that had been surprisingly scolded with hot water during the course of his morning routine.

"Very well then" the instructor started once more. "If there are no more distractions, maybe we can finally get started."

No objections were heard so the instructor continued. "Now, for the next month, you are all going to be pushed harder than ever before. You will be working harder than you ever have in your life. Your muscles will ache, your entire bodies will become exhausted and your minds may very well overload from the volume of information you are required to learn or simply from the intense pressure. Candidates have cracked during this program and it is for this reason that I am required to request the following."

She paused a little before proposing the question. "This class is not for the weak, strength of both the body and mind will be required. We will be testing your will and your ability to handle under pressure. If anyone has doubts about their dedication to garden, I advise you to drop out now and save yourself, your classmates and your instructors a lot of wasted time. Please be advised that this program is taking place during student's holiday time and failure will mean loss of holiday."

A long silence followed the instructor's words but no one raised their hands or gave any indication of quitting and abandoning their hopes and dreams of becoming members of SeeD.

"Anyone?" the instructor asked. "No one?" she asked once more. "No?" she repeated, offering her student's one final chance. "Good" she said finally. "Now that we've gotten all of the formalities out of the way, let us begin."
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The first theory class for the month had ended. Squall had found it easy enough, not that he had really done anything. Quistis had spent the whole time talking about what they would have to do over the next month.

There was a lot of spare time after what Squall suspected to be a pre-organized speech and the young instructor had spent this time asking and answering questions, more or less talking to the students as though she were one of them.

Squall hadn't had to do anything for the entire lesson. He had just sat there in his seat in the back and listened. He wondered if the practical lesson later that day would also be as easy.

Perhaps the first day was always spent simply talking to the instructor's and getting to know the other students better, like an introductory course that was designed to do little more than better acquaint a student with his fellow learners and familiarize him with his tools, although the tools of Squall's trade would be instruments of death and destruction; guns and swords and other kinds of lethal weapons.

Squall sat alone at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, whenever Squall sat in the garden's canteen, he always sat by himself at the same table. Generally, people seemed to take the hint that Squall didn't want to be disturbed and respected his privacy.

Of course, there was always an exception to every rule. Two fellow SeeD candidates always seemed to enjoy bugging him, he wished they'd stop and leave him alone. The two students were, of course, Zell and Seifer.

Squall heard the sound of approaching footsteps and knew instantly, without even having to look up that it would be either Seifer or Zell.

"Hey, Leonheart" came the arrogant sound of Seifer's self-important voice, entering Squalls ear canal and forcing its way into his head, blocking off the access to any other form of thought like an angry motorist cuts others off on the road.

Squall ignored his new self-appointed rival, hoping he would go away, all the while knowing full-well that he would never have such luck, Seifer never left him alone.

"I've seen you with that new girl" Seifer said.

"So?" Squall asked. Why did Seifer even care? He had a life of his own, didn't he? Why couldn't he go and bother someone else?"

"Well, I was just curious. You see, Raijin told me that she must be blind and you're like her guide dog and that's the only reason why she's with you."

"Whatever" Squall replied, not caring, he had learned to ignore Seifer's words, his words were cheap and existed only to provoke the weak into a fight they couldn't win. Anyone that could beat Seifer in a fight would afterwards be punished for fighting, anyone who suffered injuries to Seifer's hands were simply unworthy training partners.

"Yeah" Seifer continued "that's what Raijin thinks, Fujin disagrees with him though. I came here to ask you for your help, just tell me what you think. Help me settle a bet."

Squall continued to ignore the spiteful blonde.

"You see, she says he's wrong, there's nothing wrong with that girl."

Squall's eyes widened. Was Seifer telling the truth? Had they really been talking about him? What did Fujin think about Selphie?

"Fujin says that the new girl just pities you."

Squall's eyes narrowed once more to their usual width.

"Squall" the girl Seifer had been talking about said, calling out from the other side of the room. "Come here" she said. Squall didn't even have to think whose company he'd rather be in. He'd prefer Selphie to Seifer any day but then again, He'd prefer almost anyone's company to that of Seifer's of Zell's.

He stood to his feet and crossed the room to where Selphie was standing.

"Yeah, that's what they say" Seifer said, continuing to talk after Squall had left despite the fact that no one could hear him, he was talking to himself. "I disagree with both of them, however. I don't care what people say, I know your better than everyone – me included – makes you out to be, I think she actually likes you… and since we are now rivals, anything of yours must soon become mine. She may like you now but soon she'll grow to prefer me, I don't care what she sees in you, I will ruin this for you, you can believe that, it will come true.
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Squall walked towards the training centre for his afternoon class. The afternoon classes were always physical combat or other such practical classes. If the class before them would be another lecture then it would be simple enough.

It would be simple but pointless. Squall had no interest in such lessons. He knew how to handle a sword and a side-arm. He was a pretty decent fighter with a Gunblade too and the Gunblade was one of the most difficult weapons to use effectively in battle, many novices would end up hurting themselves or even breaking their wrists from the immense weight of the weapon.

He also knew all about the Training Centre, after all, he spent most of his time in there, he spent more time with the creatures that he slaughtered for practice than he did with his fellow humans.

Selphie tagged along right behind him like an excited puppy following a young schoolboy home one sunny afternoon. Squall had no idea why she insisted on following him around.

He remembered what Seifer had told him in the cafeteria. Maybe she did pity him, did she think she was doing him a favor, following him around like this, trying to give people the impression that someone had chosen him as a friend?

He didn't need her doing that, he didn't want people talking about him behind his back. He didn't want people thinking about him or even looking at him. Quistis might have enjoyed that kind of attention but Squall wanted no part in it, no matter which end he happened to be on.

Squall always tried to keep his nose out of other people's business. He always made sure to stay out of their way. Why couldn't everyone else show him the same kind of courtesy?

He reminded himself that for the most part, the majority of people here at Garden did just that, they stayed away from him as long as he did the same. It was just too bad that these three fellow candidates couldn't follow the example that had been set by all the rest of Garden.

Seifer, Zell and now, Selphie as well, his list of pests seemed to be growing steadily longer. Squall didn't know how long he could put up with all three of them, they were tiresome, to say the least.

"Squall?" asked Selphie in a voice that didn't demand attention but somehow acquired in all the same.

Squall stopped walking, they were here, anyway. In the grassy area of the Safety Zone, the rest of the class were already here. Seifer and his Disciplinary Committee were standing in the middle of the 'room.'

On his own, in the corner, stood Zell, scattered throughout the room were the other members of the class, none of whom Squall knew personally.

"Is something on your mind?" Selphie asked him.

"…No" Squall answered in his usual emotionless, monotonous drawl.

"Hey, what's with the attitude?" Selphie asked.

"It's nothing, get used to it, I'm always like this, this is just me. This is just the way I am, if you don't like it, you can just leave me alone."

"Hey, I just wanted to know if anything was wrong" Selphie said in her own self-defense "you just seem quiet, that's all, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry if I offended you."

Squall sighed "No… like I said, I'm always like this."

"Oh" Selphie replied. It was never this hard making friends back in Trabia she said inside her head.

"Yo, Squall!" Zell said unnecessarily loudly "did you see anyone when you came here?"

"No" Squall replied.

"Oh, so then… Where the hell is the instructor, I mean who the hell does he think he is, makin' us wait here… as though we have nothing better to do, as if we don't all have lives of our own!"

"Yeah, how inconsiderate of him" Seifer cut in "I mean we all know that you have no life, but some of us find this whole thing as a big inconvenience."

"Yeah… hey, wait a minute" Zell said, taking a while to realize what had been said.

"Even Leonheart's moving on, just look at him over there; chatting up the new girl… maybe you should fight her. We may as well have a show while we're waiting."

"Oh yeah, nice try Seifer" Zell said, not falling for an obvious trap. "How stupid do you think I am? You just want to make me start a fight with someone so that you can punish me later."

"Oh, come on you chicken! What are you scared of, look at her. Beat her up, you know she deserves it, she's standing there, smiling in her foreign uniform and she's stealing your man."

"What?!!" Zell replied "Would you cut that out already?!!" he replied, sending a left hook right into Seifer's perfect 'pretty boy' face.

Seifer had not been expecting this kind of reaction; most people were too scared of him to even respond to his taunts."

Before Seifer could retaliate, Zell crossed to the other side of the room to continue his rant elsewhere.

"Yeah, just walk away, you chicken" Seifer said quietly as the blonde brawler moved steadily away from him.

Squall watched Zell as he moved and his disappointment grew as he realized where the fighter was going. Zell was walking strait toward him.

"Squall, where's the instructor?" Selphie asked the tall brunette.

"I don't know" Squall answered her truthfully.

"Man, where the hell is he!" Zell cried out with impatience "How long is he gonna make us wait here?"

"So sorry to keep you waiting" a gruff voice replied "I assume everyone is here?"

Zell lost his temper for a split second – just long enough to make him do something stupid. He swung around to face the owner of the voice behind him with his fist flying fast through the air until it hit someone.

The instant the fist hit the man behind him; everybody froze in place, Zell included. He had just hit the instructor.

The instructor simply stood there for a minute as though nothing had happened. His eyes drifted down to meet Zell's and a smirk found itself etching its way onto his face. "I suppose you know that attacking your instructor is reasonable grounds for expulsion" he said, causing Zell's eyes to snap open to full width. "But I suppose I can let this one pass." He lifted his hand and formed it into a fist which he shot strait at the short-tempered SeeD candidate in the form of a jab that sent the ill-fated student flying across the ground like a fresh carcass being dragged behind a jeep. The instructor laughed "After all, you punch so weak that it could hardly be felt."

"So you're the instructor?" asked Seifer's bronze brawn-aplenty, brain-lacking friend.

The instructor laughed. "Why yes I am" he said "and who might you be, my dim-witted friend?"

"I'm Raijin… and this is Fujin and Seifer, we make up the Disciplinary Committee, ya know!"

"I'm sure you do… Seifer" he said, looking strait at the arrogant blonde "I've heard so much about you" he turned to Squall "and you must be the 'problem child' he said.

"Problem child?" asked Selphie, her question went ignored and unanswered.

"Yeah, that's him… Squall Leonheart" said another voice. Someone had followed the instructor. Her voice was full of confidence and superiority but through her eyes shone deep concern.

She approached Squall and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I feel for you" she said quietly with her eyes closed so that only he could hear her. She wore the uniform of a SeeD, the dark blue of the fabric complemented by her olive skin and medium length black hair that hung down behind her, reaching just below her shoulders. She opened her eyes and let out a long sigh before saying "I truly do, it seems that luck really is against you."

Squall, Selphie and Zell all matched this female SeeD's concerned facial expression.

"To get this instructor, especially on your first time taking the training… it will not be easy" the SeeD whispered to Squall.

"What the fuck are you doing here?!!" the instructor demanded.

"The headmaster sent me" the SeeD said. Her voice and body stood up strong but Squall could tell that this was only an act; he could see it in her eyes. She was… scared.

"Oh, did he now, and why would that be?" he asked.

The SeeD paused before talking, to stop you from murdering his favorite student.

"Well?"

The SeeD's heartbeat began to increase. This instructor's methods were brutal and questionable. His standards were impossible to meet. This man was the cause of many of the student's mental breakdowns. To have him as an instructor was madness. She should know, she was taught by the man herself.

She turned to face him and swallowed the buildup of saliva in her mouth before opening it to speak. "I'm just here to observe" she finally said. "The headmaster asked me to report on the students' progress."

"Is that right?" the instructor said.

"…and to make sure you don't give any… special treatment to any particular students."

"Is – that – right?" he said once more, this time more slowly and more ominously, almost threateningly in a way. "Well then" he said, changing his tone and talking to all the students in the safety zone. "I hope you're ready to work… because that's what you're here to do. I hear some of the weaker instructors use this day to slowly introduce you and get to know you all but not me, I think we should get right into it. You all had better be ready to sweat because I'm the best instructor in Garden, having me is a privilege that must be earned and you are all in debt."

"He's right" the SeeD added "He's right, if you survive the next month, you're gonna be pretty tough. He is the toughest instructor here after all, trust me on that."

"Yeah, you can all call me Instructor P" the instructor said.

"Instructor P?" Seifer repeated scornfully.

"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Instructor P asked menacingly.

"Maybe" Seifer replied, matching threat for threat. "You say that you're the toughest instructor here, let's just see how tough you really are."

Instructor P smiled. "They were right about you" he said. "Allrighty then, it looks like you've got two instructors for the afternoons, this" he said, pointing his arm in the female SeeD's direction "is in fact a member of SeeD and as it happens, I just so happened to be her instructor. This is Xu."

The SeeD nodded. "Do your best" she said, addressing the candidates "remember, I'm reporting directly to Headmaster Cid."

"Well then" said P "I guess we'd better get to it then."

"Wait!" Seifer interrupted "What the hell kind of name is P?"

"If you must know, it's short for Pete. P's an initial. I go by said initial, P's my only name."

"Really?" asked Seifer.

"Someone always asks me that question, every single year… right, lets do it" P instructed "I want everyone to pair up with their pre-assigned partners. I want to see you fight, show me what you can do, hand-to-hand, go!"

At P's instruction, the candidates all paired up, leaving Selphie on her own. Xu approached her immediately as though she stuck out like an unhammered nail. "Are you the transfer from Trabia?" she asked.

"Yep" Selphie replied.

"Alright, you have no partner so I guess your gonna have to fight me."

Selphie smiled. "That's alright" she said.

"I'd better warn you though, I've been a SeeD for three years so it's only natural that I'll have more fighting experience than you. I'll hold back to begin with but you come at me with everything you've got. I want to see what you can do. Show me what the instructors taught you at the Garden in Trabia."

Smiling, Selphie nodded and got into a battle-ready stance.

"Come on, you attack first."

Selphie charged at the SeeD, clenching her hands into fists as she ran. Just before reaching her, before closing the gap between her and her target, she leapt into the air and launched a kick right into Xu's face.

Xu had foreseen this all along and knew just what to expect. "Not bad" she commented "but you can not beat me, your style is too familiar and I have more experience." She delivered a hard roundhouse kick that knocked Selphie backward.

Xu quickly jumped toward her sparring partner, clearing the distance between them in a fraction of a second. "I'm also a lot faster that you" she said. She thrust forward her right fist strait into Selphie's abdomen, the pain from which would undoubtedly stun her for at least a few seconds.

Xu sent a barrage of rapid jabs to her opponent's body before finishing her with a powerful open-palm punch, rounded off with a mid-level kick that sent Selphie sliding back. The SeeD let her defeated opponent fall to the hardened mud ground.

"Hey, you're pretty good at this" Selphie said as she rose to her feet.

"You're not so bad yourself" Xu replied with a smile "with practice, you could possibly match me in combat… but you have a major weakness."

"What weakness?"

"Your weakness" Xu replied "or should I say… your lack of strength. I can see that you know what you are doing; it's just that your attacks are not powerful enough to really hurt anyone else in your skill level."

"Really?" asked Selphie with disappointment evident in her voice.

"What is your preferred discipline?"

"Nunchaku"

"I thought as much. That is a weapon used by the small in this region, it is no longer popular. Before you came along, Balamb Garden had no-one with that weapon. Tell me, is it popular in Trabia?"

"Yes, actually" replied Selphie.

"Very well, I think I can understand some of your abilities. I will make a mental note of it and report this to the Headmaster. He seems to be very interested in seeing what you can do. We have not had a transfer from Trabia for quite some time. Keep practicing and you will do fine, you actually remind me of someone."

"Who?"

"Your fighting style reminds me of me, a few years ago. I never used to have a strong body, until I became a SeeD. The same training that you will be going through is what toughened me up."

"Do you think I can become strong over the next month as well?"

Xu laughed "with the instructor this class has, you can count on it" she said. "Alright then, I'll leave you alone, I have to check on the other groups." She turned around and froze at what she saw.

She knew something like this was bound to happen. The Garden Master was right. There was no way Leonheart could ever beat Seifer, Seifer was Garden's top student. If it weren't for his attitude, Seifer would have certainly have attained the rank of SeeD before now.

Across the room from her, Seifer and Squall had been fighting and it was obvious who the superior fighter was. Seifer stood over his defeated opponent with superiority gleaming off his face like light reflecting off clean glass.

The blonde stood over his opponent, basking in his victory while Squall knelt at his victor's feet, beaten and exhausted. Seifer reached down and pulled his rival up by the collar of the T-shirt under his blazer. Seifer lifted his rival's body up so much that his feet were no longer touching the ground.

"Seifer, for Hyne's sake, put him down!" Xu ordered.

"Of course" Seifer replied, letting go of Squall and allowing him to fall onto the ground below.

The Instructor looked on, watching the whole fiasco with a superior smile on his face. This was going just how the Master had said it would. Seifer would beat Squall even if he had an arm and a leg both tied behind his back.

Xu glared at the instructor. Was he in league with the Master, were they conspiring something… or was this all part of the wager? Whatever it was, the result was clear. It was a stupid wager and Cid knew it, Seifer would undoubtedly do better than Squall and Cid would loose his bet with the Master.

"Attention!" Instructor P said, gathering the attention of everyone in the room. "Everybody stop fighting and listen up, that was a good introduction. I have been watching you all and studying the way you fought. I will try my best to come up with a lesson plan that will be both challenging and worthwhile to you all. You now have the afternoon off" he said, saluting them, turning his back on them and leaving before anyone had a chance to react.

"Yell then" Xu said "It looks like you have the rest of the day to yourselves, use it well. I suggest you get a good night's sleep tonight because tomorrow will likely be a busy day. This was just an introduction. Tomorrow, your real training begins, dismissed!"

The students all wandered out and scattered to different areas of Garden. Seifer, Raijin and Fujin walked in one direction. Squall and Selphie went in another. The rest of the students scattered, some of them in small groups, others on their own. Zell however was a little different; he took off in a sprint. Xu wondered where he was going although she had her suspicions. Zell quite often ran everywhere; he was very fast and loud. He was most likely running to the Cafeteria to stock up on carbohydrates. In some ways, he was like a kid, not at all like Squall.

What was it about Squall; it was as though people were drawn to him. Headmaster Cid and Quistis Trepe seemed to prefer him to the other students while the Master saw him as a slacker for some reason. Seifer considered him a rival and now Selphie – the new exchange student – it seemed had found something she liked within him.

He was like a pig, with so many different sections and organs to be processed into so many different kinds of meat and products for so many different people. What was it about him? He differed from the other students somehow. He was… he was different.

She left the training center to make her way to the Headmaster's office. She had to make her report.
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"Wait!" Selphie complained "Where are you going?" she asked Squall.

"I was going to the Dormitory" he replied.

"Oh, then don't you wanna see the common room?"

"Common room?" asked Squall.

"Yeah, some of the other candidates told me about it, apparently its really comfy in there, they have a heater and a sofa and a kitchen… they've even got a TV in there!"

"The Common room is for SeeD only" Squall replied matter-of-factly.

"No it's not!" Selphie argued "SeeD Candidates are allowed in too!"

"I didn't know that" Squall said.

"So, do you wanna go see?"

Squall shook his head slowly "not really" he said.

"Aw, c'mon" Selphie protested like a child convincing a parent to play a game with them at the park.

Squall rolled his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. He would never get any peace until he agreed to go with her. "…Fine" he finally said without enthusiasm."

A big goofy grin plastered itself on Selphie's cute, innocent-looking face. She was like a child at times, as though she were high on a hormone releasing drug known as immaturity. "Follow me!" she said, leading the way, leading Squall where she wanted to go like a young child in a toy shop leading her parents' money to the plastic figurine she wanted like a dog herding sheep in a pen"

"Here it is!" she said, announcing it to Squall.

"This?" Squall asked in disbelief.

"Yeah!" answered Selphie. Squall could hear the excitement in her voice. To her, this seemed like a big deal.

"What's with you?" Squall asked her "why you are so excited, what's the big deal?"

"You know" Selphie replied, sounding like one who changes the subject a lot "you have an uncanny ability to suck the fun out of anything, don't you."

"Whatever" Squall replied as if the word were an automatic recording pre-programmed in his brain from years of repetitive overuse."

"See what I mean?" Selphie said while taking out her Garden ID card. She swiped it through the electronic lock and the door slid open, allowing the two candidates to enter the room.

To Squall's surprise, the room was rather small and cozy. Half the room had a tiled floor and walls with countertops and appliances littering the edges. On the right, the floor was covered in red carpet while the walls were covered in red wallpaper.

An electric heater was built into the wall under the mantle as though it had once been an open fireplace. Several armchairs and a three-seater sofa surrounded the heater in a U-shaped seating arrangement.

The entire room was empty except for one minor annoyance – Zell.

"What are you guy's doing here?" Zell asked them.

"We just wanted to see what this room was like. Squall didn't want to come on his own so I'm tagging along too" Selphie teased.

Squall shot Selphie a look that said the joke was over.

"See what I mean? You're too serious, Squall. You have to lighten up and have more fun!"

"Yeah, I'll say" Zell agreed.

"Whatever" Squall replied in a voice that said he really couldn't care less about what these two were saying.

"So what, are you the only one here?" Selphie asked the blonde fighter.

"Yeah, I am now" Zell replied "But before, Seifer, Raijin and Fujin were here."

"Where did they go?" Selphie asked.

"I think they went back to the training centre" Zell answered.

"I see" replied Selphie. She walked over to the wall where there sat a large television. "So… this is Garden's only TV?"

"Ah, yeah, I think so" Zell answered "but I dunno. There may be another one in the headmaster's office or something. Do you wanna turn it on?"

"What's the point?" Squall asked bitterly "There won't be anything on. It's all Galbadian propaganda anyway."

"What?" the other two asked simultaneously.

"Think about it" Squall replied "When's the last time you heard about a movie or TV show coming from Dollet or Trabia? Timber has a TV station, doesn't it? Why then does it only broadcast Galbadian viewing?"

"Oh, I know!" Zell said, raising his hand as if he were answering a teacher's question in a pop quiz. "It's coz of the occupation. Galbadia must be screening all regulated viewing."

"It's all censored so that it all reflects on how great the president of Galbadia is. It's all the same." Squall walked over and sat down on the Sofa. The other two candidates joined him, one sitting on either side of the brown-haired candidate.

The sofa was made for three and was filled to capacity, but Squall felt that the other two were much too close for his liking. He considered saying something but decided against it. He suddenly felt a rush of fatigue wash over him and was reminded greatly of how he had felt that morning.

He rested his head back on the back of the sofa and closed his eyes, feeling too tired and lazy to say anything to the others or to move. He was so tired that he felt sure he would soon be asleep. He didn't know what the two teenagers on either side of him would say, think or do and he didn't really give it much thought. He was far too tired to care.