Four weeks. Four weeks she had been teaching this class, and the results so far were amazing. The cadets, after weeks of continuous training, were starting to look really good. Every other day they fought battles in the field for hours against a wide range of enemies. She had carted them all around the world in a skimmer, exposing them to a wide variety of monsters. They were picking up the monsters' tricks and learning to improvise. Then they returned to Garden and regardless of whether they had had a field trip that day, they fought again. She set them against each other in as many ways as she could think of. One on one, cadet against mentor, mock battles between SeeDs and cadets, one cadet against several others. The possibilities were endless, and every day it was easy to come up with something new.

"All right. Two against one today. I'm the one, and you cadets are the two. We'll start with Marya and Sim, then rotate." She eyed the remaining cadets and SeeDs as they plopped down onto the grass to watch. "Oh no. Don't think that you're getting a rest. Get up, all of you. You'll be working on balance. Handstands.

Now. You SeeDs, too. Show them how it's done. And take off your boots. It will be easier to balance that way. Later you can do it with them on." They bounced up off the warm grass with evident good cheer, except for Seifer, who couldn't seem to help shooting her a disgusted glance. He took off his coat and folded it carefully before setting it on the grass. She hadn't known his vest was sleeveless. He had beautiful arms. The body of an angel and the disposition of a devil. She watched as he launched himself effortlessly onto his hands. Once up, he didn't even sway. After a few moments, he shifted a bit and removed his left hand from the ground, folding it across his stomach.  What a showoff. I wonder where he learned to do that. You don't learn to do handstands without practice. She thought of Seifer, furtively practicing handstands in the privacy of his room, and suppressed a smile.

"All right, you two," she addressed Marya and Sim, who was a good-natured young man with black hair and shockingly white skin. "Let's see what you've got." They readied themselves and approached her warily. They stood there for a moment, then half-heartedly began to circle her.

"Quit skulking around," she told them sharply. "If you're up against someone with a whip, you're in a dangerous spot if you don't disable them. A whip can take out your eye before you even realize what's happening. Your goal is to disable me. Keep me from using this. It isn't much good at close range, so you need to get in as close as you can. That's better." Sim had launched himself at her. But she dodged him, pivoting suddenly as he passed her and driving her elbow into his back. He hit the dirt face first. While he was still in the air, she crouched and flicked the whip at Marya. It tangled around her ankles and Quistis tugged sharply. In short order, both cadets were on the ground. "Up," she commanded. They got up groggily, and dusted themselves off. "Again." Keeping a running commentary, she knocked them to the ground several more times before they finally started working together and managed to pin her to the ground.

"Better. Okay, you guys. No more handstands." She noticed that Seifer was still up, on his right arm now. He flipped himself up onto his feet. His face was bright red, but his expression dared anyone to say anything about it.

"Now. Up on your toes, all of you. As high as you can. Good. Stand on one foot. Yes. Now close your eyes. I want Desiree and Jax next."

She sparred with all of them, critiquing constantly. The sun was warm, and she felt good. Finally, all had had a chance at her and she was tired. Pretty soon she wasn't going to be able to hold her own against two of them. They were improving every day.

"All right. You cadets have an exam tomorrow, so we'll break early. SeeDs, take the morning off. But I want all of you here directly after lunch, 1300 hours. Go eat dinner and finish your studying. Dismissed." They replaced their footwear and began to walk toward the gate, chatting amiably with each other. She brushed some dust off her sleeve and followed.

 

After dinner, she sat in her room and wrote her impressions of each cadet and his or her improvement. She had just finished when there was a knock at her door. She opened it to find Selphie and Rinoa standing in the corridor, board games tucked under their arms, bags of potato chips and popcorn in their hands.

"I see you have junk food," she quipped. "Please come in." They grinned and did so, dropping everything in the middle of her floor.

"We heard that you're giving an exam tomorrow, so you don't have any excuse. You don't need to be awake to do that. We haven't seen you for weeks; you've been so busy. We thought we'd come over and have a little party since the boys are out tonight," explained Rinoa.

"What she means is that Squall and Irvine and Zell have gone to Esthar to pick up Laguna and his buddies. They're going to go to Deling City, get drunk, and tell lies about their prowess in battle," joked Selphie. Quistis and Rinoa burst into laughter.

"Don't worry. I was thinking about calling you guys up anyway. I let them out early today so they would have extra time to study, so I'm not exhausted."

"Good! Let's play." Selphie sorted through the games and picked one that looked fun.

"And eat," added Rinoa. Quistis laughed again.

They had a great time. They played around with the board games and ate junk food with abandon. Eventually, they ended up lying on the floor, looking at the ceiling and talking.

"So how is this class of yours turning out?" asked Selphie.

"Very well, actually. They're improving fast, and they'll all make top-notch SeeDs."

Rinoa glanced at her. "Seifer?"

"He's at the top of the class, actually. You know he's a good fighter..."

Selphie interrupted. "Not as good as me! Booyaka!" She held up her arm and flexed it. "Check out these guns!" They all laughed.

            "Anyway," Quistis continued, "he's way ahead of everyone there in that aspect. That's never been an issue, not for him. Now, following orders, that's a different story. I warned him right at the beginning that I'd be making him to crazy things all the time." She chuckled. "The very first day of class I made him go out and lie in a field for an hour. I told him I expected to see him soaking wet. It was raining like crazy out. Unfortunately, it cleared up right after lunch. But when I went down to the gate, he was there, and he was completely drenched. I know he got a kick out of seeing me so surprised. Apparently, he had driven down to the shore and jumped right in the sea. Following orders, he said." She smiled.

"You're evil!" Rinoa snickered. "Wish I could have seen that."

"You mean you wish you could have seen my jaw drop," she teased.

"That too."

"So I've been sending him around every few days on crazy errands. It's been kind of fun, actually. You never know what to expect with him. He does exactly what I tell him to do, but he does it his own way." She closed her eyes. And then bounced up onto her feet. "You know, he's about due for another errand. You guys didn't bring any chocolate, and I'm dying for some. We'll just see if Seifer can handle this very important mission."

"Good idea," said Selphie. "Make him bring us something to drink, too. I'm verrry thirsty." They got up and gathered around the phone. Quistis picked up the phone, put an exaggerated expression of seriousness on her face, and dialed Seifer's number. Rinoa and Selphie looked at her face and somehow managed to stifle their giggles.

It rang four times before being picked up. The receiver was dropped, then picked back up again.

"Yeah?" He sounded out of breath. Quistis heard a feminine murmur in the background. She felt her eyes go round. Evidently, she had interrupted something.

"Been exercising?" she asked coolly.

"Something like that." He was annoyed. She supposed she would be too. No matter.

"Go down to the shop and bring me six chocolate bars and three sodas. No diet. If you're quick enough, I'll reimburse you."

He paused. "Yes, Instructor." She hung up the phone and laughed until tears flowed down her cheeks. She eventually stopped, and wiped her eyes weakly.

"Oops," she said. "I think I interrupted something."

"Too bad," Selphie growled. "Me need chocolate, NOW!!"

As if on cue, there was a knock at the door. Selphie ran to open it. Seifer was outside. He was wearing his coat, but his chest was bare. His boots were unlaced and his expression was completely blank.

"Oh, what a pretty delivery boy," cooed Selphie. "Give up the goods, mister." He handed over the bag without commenting and turned to leave. "Wait a sec, big boy," called Selphie. "I've got something for you." She grabbed him by the arm and pulled a five G note out of her pocket. "This should about cover it." She tucked it in the waistband of his pants and patted his stomach, leering for all she was worth.

He ignored her, looking at Quistis instead expressionlessly. She matched his look, and nodded. "Very quick, cadet. Good. I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early. Dismissed."

He did leave then, but Selphie leaned out the door and called after him, "Have fun, big boy!"

She shut the door, and slid down it, giggling like a maniac. "What nice abs," she said, and roared with laughter. Rinoa and Quistis exchanged amused glances.

The two other women stayed for perhaps an hour more, and talked about other amusing events around Garden. But Quistis only picked at her chocolate. Somehow she didn't want it any more.