Chapter One: Zanarkand High
A city…like every
typical city, there are several high school buildings standing within it. The
three largest and most progressive of these schools are
Inside Zanarkand
High…hundreds of students are walking down the corridors carrying piles of
books, term papers and shoulder bags. Among these students, there was a rather
confused one---a young 17 year-old teenager with blonde hair and indigo eyes
wearing a dark-blue jacket with a yellow shirt underneath it, shaded white
cargo pants, his trademark yellow and black high-cut sneakers and an accessory
hanging around his neck shaped like a “T” but more eye-catching and more
artistically designed.
“Ummm, s’cuse me
but, do you know how can I get to room 22?” he asked, tapping the shoulder of a
male student standing by a locker but the he just walked away without even
answering the lost guy.
“Ah, man! This is
gonna be way tougher than I thought!” He said, sounding wound up. “Feels like
this school itself is a maze. One minute, I’m inside it. The next minute, I’m
totally lost!”
Room 22 is the Biology
room, where he’s supposed to attend his first classes on his first day at
Zanarkand High. Promising himself that
he would find it, he took a deep breath and started searching for the Biology
room.
“Hey! You guys
have heard about the new guy, ya?” Asked a youth of 18 to his gang of friends
seated beside him, “Heard he’s from out of town. Can’t wait to see his face!”
He added.
Now this student
has crimson hair with the front part of it standing like anti-gravity. He was
sporting a green shirt with three thin black stripes in the middle, light-brown
cargo pants, dark leather shoes and a fish necklace hanging from his neck.
They were inside
the Biology room ignoring the professor’s lecture and secretly chatting from
behind the chairs.
“Think he plays
Blitzball, Wakka?” asked one of his friends.
“Let’s hope he
does, Datto. We really need extra members on our team.” He replied with a hint
of hope in his tone.
As they were
chatting, Wakka felt something small hit his head.
“Wakka,” Professor
Reno said, “If you’re not interested in meeting your new classmate then you’re
free to leave the classroom. But if you still insist, I would be happy to throw
a chalk at you again.” He sarcastically remarked.
“Finally! Found
it!” the door to the Biology room is now right in front of him. On top of the
door frame, there’s a sign that say’s “22”. As he opened it…
“…Class, allow me
to introduce your new classmate”.
All the students
stood on their feet, some even on tip-toe just to catch a glimpse of the
newcomer’s face.
“Whoa, so he’s
the new kid…” Wakka whispered to his seatmate, Botta. “Wonder if he’s fit for
Blitz?”
The new guy
walked awkwardly beside the teacher’s desk, feeling uneasy with all eyes on
him.
“Uh…hi!
…..Howdy!” he greeted his new classmates.
Almost all of
them stared and a few smiled. Some of the girls were putting their mouths
behind their hands whispering to one another.
“Class, take your
seats.” Professor Reno told the gawking group of students. “Okay now, introduce
yourself.” He told the newcomer.
“Okay.” He
cleared his throat and started to speak.
“Hi! My name’s
Tidus and I’m uhhh---from
Professor Reno
sat back down on his desk. “Well Tidus, now that we have an idea of yourself,
why don’t you take you’re seat? You may sit beside Wakka.”
Tidus examined
his classmates’ faces with a raised eye brow. “Uhh, who’s he?”
“The one with the
standing hairdo.” Professor said, sounding slightly irritated while pointing
his finger to the empty chair beside Wakka.
“Oh! Ha-ha, guess
he was easy to spot after al! Thanks anyway!”
He got his
backpack and walked to his assigned seat. He took out a notebook and a pen as
Professor started to jot down notes on the board. Strangely, Tidus found that
he was enjoying himself, listening to all of Professor Reno’s lectures.
“I guess
Zanarkand High’s not so bad after all…” His mind gladly said.
The bell
signaling break time echoed through the hallways. Students went out of their
classrooms to grab a snack at the cafeteria or do extra research in the library.
As Tidus stepped out of the classroom, he stretched his arms and legs to free
his body from the stiffness of note-taking and headed for his locker to get
ready for his Math classes. As he was opening his locker, someone placed a hand
on his shoulder. He turned around to see who tapped him only to see that it
was…
“Hey man! Good to
see you!” Wakka said with a warm smile. He spoke with an outmoded accent which
sounded quite new to Tidus.
“Oh, you’re
Wakka, right? Nice to meetcha too. Name’s Tidus!” He replied, extending his
right hand.
Wakka shook it.
“Yeah, I already know that. So, how do you find Zanarkand and what do you think
of it?”
“Weeelll,” Tidus
said, looking for the right words, “I gotta admit, I’m starting to like it
here!”
“Surely you’ll
like everything here! ‘Cept of course, you won’t wanna mess with the new Math
teacher. Heard he can get pretty nasty when you light his fuse. Sounds scary to
me, ya?” Wakka warned Tidus.
The two boys began
to chat and got along pretty well. As they were chewing the fat, Wakka asked
Tidus a very interesting question…
“Hey. You play
Blitzball, ya?” Wakka asked, hoping for a nice answer. To his kick, Tidus
answered:
“Of course I
do!!! Heck, I was even the star player back in
Wakka stepped
back, hit with surprise. “Get ooouuut! Then, JOIN OUR TEAM!!! You be the
midfielder!
“Alright! You can
count me in!!!”
After that, he
and Wakka did high-fives.
“Okay then, see
you after school. I’ll introduce you to our team.” He said, giving Tidus a hard
pat on the back and left.
Tidus took out
his schedule. “Let’s see, so I’m having Math next in Room 56……Aw, man! I
should’ve asked Wakka for directions! Looking for that room’s not gonna be a
stroll in the park, that’s for sure.”
He turned to the
direction headed towards the Laboratory and walked on, searching for Room 56.
While he was strolling, something gold and shiny caught his eyes. He picked it
up and examined it.
“Huh? A bracelet.
Pure gold too. Wonder who could’ve dropped it?” He put the bracelet in his
pocket and walked on. “That was one expensive-looking piece of accessory back
their.” He said to himself, “Well, looking for the Math classroom’s more
important than looking for this bracelet’s rightful owner.”
As he was walking
searching both sides of the hall for room 56, someone tapped him on his
shoulder. He turned around and saw a girl, around 16, with blonde hair held in
a ponytail and the lower part of her hair tied in braids. She was wearing an
orange, sleeveless turtleneck, green cargo shorts and white sneakers, with a
white jacket tied around her waist. She also has a pair of goggles hanging
around her neck and a digital wristwatch around her right wrist, but the first
thing that Tidus noticed about her are her green eyes.
“Sorry but, have
you seen a bracelet lying around here somewhere?” She said in a light voice, “I
was just wearing it then the next thing I know, it disappeared like poof!” She
added, sounding troubled.
“You mean this?”
He answered, taking out the gold bracelet out of his pocket.
“Yeah! That’s
it!!!” She cried, jumping up and down with cheerfulness, “Where did you find
it!? I almost walked the whole school just looking for this!”
She seized the
bracelet and locked it around her wrist.
“Thanks!” She
giggled. “Hey, what’s your name?”
Tidus, who had
quite a hard time interrupting the cheerful girl, answered. “Name’s Tidus. How
‘bout you?”
“I’m Rikku!
Pleased to meetcha!” She replied.
Tidus thought
that Rikku was probably the most carefree person in Zanarkand High. No matter
what happens, she always dons a happy smile.
“So Rikku, where
is this Room 56? I’m having Math next, you know? He asked her.
“I’m having Math next
too! Why don’t we go there together? I can show you the way!”
“Okay, why not?”
Tidus replied. He was getting quite used to Rikku’s happy-go-lucky personality.
Rikku shot her fist
up in the air and skipped ahead of Tidus. He lightly shook his head and
followed her.
As they were
walking, Rikku asked Tidus something.
“Hey, I haven’t
seen you before. You new to this place?”
“Yeah, I’m from
“Right, if it
only wasn’t for that new Math teacher! Can you believe it? He gives us three
assignments a week! And his lessons are mega-hard as well!”
Rikku said. She
was almost shouting that she caught almost everyone’s attention in the
corridor.
“Here we are!
Room 56!” Rikku announced.
Tidus was
wondering why Wakka and Rikku were sort of terrified with the new Math teacher.
He opened the door to the classroom curious to see who the Math professor is.
His curiosity was fed when he found out that the new Math teacher is---
“AURON!!!!! WHAT
ARE YOU DOING HERE!!!?” Tidus screamed while running to the teacher’s desk,
smacking his hands on the surface. “You’re not supposed to be here, Auron! I
mean, you’re supposed to be back in
“That’s right,
Tidus. Jecht sent me here to---“
“---keep a closer
eye on me, I KNOW!!!” Tidus cut short.
“Tidus,” Rikku
whispered. “Will you please calm down? You’re embarrassing yourself!”
Tidus was
stunned. He forgot that several other students were watching him flare-up. His
other classmates were looking at him with eyes wide open and jaws dropped. Some
others at the back were secretly laughing.
Auron stood up
from his desk and went to the front of the classroom. “Alright, now that you
know who you’re new Math teacher is, why don’t you two take you’re seats?”
Auron ordered his two other students.
Rikku walked to an
empty seat near the window and took out a pen and a piece of paper. Tidus sat
beside Rikku and also took out a pen and a notebook. Auron stood by the board
and started writing down complicated formulas and solutions. Everyone in the
classroom was copying down what’s on the board but Tidus had his mind on
something else.
“Damn my old man.
I’m not a kid anymore! Why does he have to make Auron my babysitter!?” He
knocked his desk with his fist. Of course, having Auron live with him in one of
the apartments outside the school was an okay thing but him being a teacher in
Zanarkand High??? Well, that’s way beyond imagination!
“Tidus.” Someone
called him.
“Go away!” He
replied.
“Tidus!”
“I said go away!”
“Tidus!!”
“Leave me alone!”
“TIDUS!!!”
“WHAT!!!?”
Something stuck
unexpectedly appeared in his throat. He was so deep in thought that he forgot it
was his Math teacher, Auron, who was calling him.
“What do you
want?” Tidus darkly asked, looking at the floor, trying to avoid everyone’s
eyes.
“Okay Tidus, now
that I have your attention, I want you to do problem number 12 on the board.”
Tidus sighed in
frustration. He took the chalk from Auron’s hand and headed to the board. He
stared at the board for seconds, thinking of what to write about. He felt
stupid just standing there like an old dummy. Finally, Tidus agreed just to jot
down anything depending on his luck. He raised his chalk and scribbled on the
board, licking his lips.
“Sir Auron!”
Rikku stood up with her hand raised.
“Yes, Rikku?”
Auron said, strictly looking at her.
“Ummm…Let me do
problem 12 for him!”
“And can you give
me a very good reason for that, Rikku?” Auron asked, which kind of made Rikku
stiff.
“……Well, you
see…” Rikku nervously answered “he’s new to this place so ummm…uhhh….”
“Please Rikku,
speak as you normally would.” Auron said, with a hint of impatience in his
voice.
“Okay! You
see…He----He has no idea about all this so let me do it for him! I know this
question like all the winning techniques in Blitzball!!!” She boldly answered,
sweat sliding down her face. “Please?”
“Alright Rikku.
Tidus, go back to your seat. I’ll let you go on your first day but tomorrow,
don’t expect me to be tolerant with you.” Auron told Tidus, making the whole
class shudder.
After classes,
Tidus and Rikku walked out of the room and back to their lockers.
“Hey Rikku.”
Tidus called her.
“Yeah?” she said,
in her usual cheerful self.
“Thanks…for
putting me out of that mess back in Math class. Thought I was gonna look stupid
for the whole one hour.”
“Hey, no problem!
We’re pals, right?” she happily smiled.
Now that was the
first really funny thing he heard from Rikku’s mouth. They just met an hour ago
and now she’s already declaring that they are now friends. But it’s not that
bad. After all, he’s already made two friends---Wakka and her.
“But why did Sir
Auron have to be so strict on you? I mean, we all know he can get scary but why
did he have to be so…so mean to you!?” She asked him.
Tidus took a deep
breath but didn’t speak at once. It took him quite a while to look for the
right words to use then finally, he started to tell Rikku a part of his life
story.
“You see, Auron
is my dad’s best friend.” He began, speaking like he seriously does.
“Uh-huh,” Rikku
broke off “So, who’s your dad?”
He paused for a
while but still carried on.
“…..My dad.....His
name is Jecht. He was once a hardcore Blitzball player whom everyone looked up
on.” He continued, his voice which now sounded angry, and yet, cheerless. “I
never actually got any praise from him……not once. Always keeps telling me to
just give up, saying that I’m out of my league.”
Rikku now had a
look of sympathy on her face. She didn’t know that Tidus had such a harsh past.
He went on…”But
my dad, he does nothing anyway but get drunk. You know, load up on booze at
night then you find him rambling about pointless words next thing in the
morning. He slowly lost popularity and now he can’t even feed himself. That’s
why Auron’s sort of like my father figure.”
“What about your
mom then?” Rikku asked, hoping for a better answer.
“My mom…….” He
tried to talk but he couldn’t. He couldn’t get the words out of his mouth.
“She…”
“Go on. There’s
no rush.” Rikku secured him.
“My mom was the
only person in the world who really loved me….who really cared for me” He said,
his voice faint. “She was the one who would comfort me if I was yelled by my
old man, but now she…she’s gone.”
Tidus finished.
He looked away, trying not to let the tears that gathered in his eyes flow out.
“Tidus, I…..I-I’m
sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I……” Rikku stopped. She felt like crying too.
“It’s alright,
Rikku.” He said, his voice warm and his face smiling again. It was the first
time he saw Rikku not in her cheery self “I just wanted to let it out to
somebody. Anyway, let’s go meet Wakka at the cafeteria.”
They both grabbed their backpacks and walked
to the cafeteria, with Rikku usually prancing ahead.
Rikku was humming
a tune which sounded like “Suteki Da Ne” but Tidus had his thoughts on
something else…
Here on his
day---his first day in Zanarkand High---all the unexpected things happened.
Getting lost for the first time while finding the Biology room, making friends
with Wakka, joining the Blitzball team, finding Rikku’s bracelet then making
another friend, realizing that Auron’s the new Math teacher and telling Rikku
about his painful past. He shook his head. He couldn’t believe that everything,
all this, happened in just one day…
Rikku quickly
entered the cafeteria. She searched the faces of the other students, looking
for Wakka.
“Hey Tidus!” She
called him. “So who is this Wakka guy?” She asked, looking around the cafeteria
trying to locate Wakka.
“Don’t worry
Rikku, he’s easy to find. Just look for a guy sporting an anti-gravity
hairstyle!” Tidus answered Rikku with a laugh.
She ran through
the tables to the stand near the windows, where the morning sunlight is pouring
in. Wakka, as well as Jassu and some people were sitting there, chatting to one
another.
Rikku also saw
that her brother was conversing with Wakka.
“Oh, sorry I forgot
to mention to you, Tidus! My brother’s part of the team! He plays as one of the
defensives!” Rikku contentedly proclaimed! “This is gonna be mega-great! My
brother and my new pal on the same team!”
“Hey man! Come
sit with us!” Wakka gestured Tidus, pointing at the empty chair beside him.
Tidus placed his
backpack beside the chair. Rikku sat beside her brother and took out her Math
assignment, and a calculator.
“Hey Rikku!”
Brother scolded his younger sister. “You’re not supposed to use calculators in
Math! That’s cheating!”
But Rikku ignored
Brother and went on swindling. “Aw, don’t worry about it, brother! I only do
this once in a while! Besides, devoting one’s life to Math is not human!”
Brother sighed
and gave up arguing with Rikku. Wakka then introduced his team to Tidus.
“Okay, that
there’s Jassu.” He said pointing to a light-brown-haired man. He slightly
raised his hand. “Hey man, nice to meet you!”
“Well, blondie
over there is Linna. She plays a pretty good defensive.” Linna glared at Wakka
for calling her “blondie”.
“Our goalkeeper’s
not here right now so I’m going to introduce the next member. We just call him
Brother for no good reason, really.” Wakka laughed, patting Brother on his
shoulder.
Tidus smiled at
his new teammates. “Wakka, I never knew there’s a girl in your team.” He said,
referring to Linna. “I usually play with only boys. Anyway, I also wanna know
how it feels like to have a girl in the team! So, who’s the team captain?”
“You’re lookin’
at him!” Wakka proudly told Tidus.
“Whoa! So you’re
the team captain! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“Well, that’s
just part of our introduction.” Wakka then cleared his throat. “Alright boys,”
“Are you
forgetting about me?” Linna interrupted in an insulted tone.
“And uh, girl!”
Wakka nervously added. “Meet Tidus! He’s from
“And midfielder!”
Rikku put in. “He told me a while ago before Math class!”
“Yes……!” Tidus
said under his breath. He finally has his own bunch of buddies. He now has his
own gang of Blitzers that he can train and share winning techniques with. Most
of all, he now feels accepted.
“You guy’s wait
for me for a minute. I’ll just get us something to munch on!”
Rikku speedily
stood up. “I’ll go with you!”
Tidus and Rikku
went to the counter and grabbed some trays. Tidus got himself a bowl of noodles
and a carton box of orange juice while Rikku asked for cheesecake and apple
juice. After taking their picks, they headed back to where his teammates are
seated. “So, what’s the name of the team” Tidus asked before slurping a
mouthful of noodles.
“Still haven’t
got one.” Wakka answered. “You decide, ya?”
“Okay then,” he
clears his throat. “We’re gonna be called the ZANARKAND ABES!!!”
Everyone seemed
to like the name. Wakka face brightened, Rikku did high-fives with Brother,
Jassu shot his hand in the air and Linna just held a fist.
“Hey, Zanarkand Abes!
Sounds pretty good to me! Hmmm…Zanarkand Abes…Zanarkand Abes…”
“Yeah! Zanarkand
Abes rock!” Rikku spoke out. She seemed to be greatly affected by the name.
Wakka stood up
in front of the Abes. “Well then, it’s decided! We’re now the Zanarkand
Abes!!!”
“YEAH!!!” They
all got to their feet and shouted together putting their hands on top of each
other’s. Even Rikku joined in the fun.
After all was
decided, they all sat back down and talked about when practice will be.
“Alright boys,
practice will be tomorrow afternoon at the stadium behind the school! Be there
at
“Let’s see the
winning technique that Rikku said you can pull off!”
Tidus blissfully
nodded.
“So, what’s your
next class? Mine’s Geography!” Rikku exclaimed as she and Tidus walked out of
the cafeteria.
He took out his
schedule. His next subject would be…
“English.” He
answered in confidence.
Rikku was glad
Tidus was his normal self again, not the sad side. It’s already in her nature
that she doesn’t want to see her close pals sad or gloomy. She’ll do anything
to cheer them up. She would give anything just for his past to be erased.
“Well, I’m glad
you’ve cheered yourself up now. You were really depressed when you were telling
me about your dad---“
Rikku was cut
short.
“Shut up about
it.” Tidus warned her. He wasn’t shouting but Rikku could sense he was angered.
Rikku froze. She
unconsciously made him mad while she’s supposed to be cheering him up.
“I-I’m sorry…I-I
shouldn’t have---“
“Never mind that,
let’s go.” Tidus walked on, pulling her arm. He didn’t want to talk about it
right now. It’s too painful. He also didn’t want to shout hurtful words at
Rikku but he was unable to control himself. He just tried to forget about it
and moved on.
“Go on ahead to
Geography.” Tidus told her. He released her arm.
Rikku stopped.
“But what if you get lost again?” she asked him, pretending to be cheerful. But
no matter how hard she tried, she still sounded hurt and offended.
Tidus turned to
look at her. “It’s okay. Wakka told me the directions earlier, and….I’m sorry I
said those to you…”
Without a word,
he turned and ran down the hallway leaving Rikku shouting “Wait! Come back!”
He ran on, not
looking at where he’s going. He just wanted to find the classroom and get on
with it. He didn’t keep his eyes on the road that he unintentionally bumped
into someone, knocking her off her feet and making her books scatter around.
“I’m sorry! It
was my fault! I wasn’t watching where I was going! I-----“
He suddenly
stopped. He actually bumped into a girl---a girl, about his age, with short,
brown hair with a blue left eye and the right one, green. She was wearing a
white, sleeveless shirt with a pink sweater over it, long denim skirt with
slits, black boots that are above the ankle, and a necklace with a pearl
hanging from it. What’s noticeable about her is her long, blue earring which
made a tinkling sound with every move. She bent down and picked her books up.
“No, let me do
it.” He told her. “It was my fault.”
He helped her
gather her books and assignments from near the lockers to the foot of the door
to the laboratory. There was only one book left.
They both reached
out for it. As they laid a hand on the book, they unconsciously touched each
other’s hand. Tidus immediately withdrew his hand and felt himself blush. The
brown-haired girl did the same.
“I’m sorry.” He
said as he picked the book up and handed it to her. He tried not to stare at
her face.
“Ah, man! She’s
pretty. And cute too.” His mind said to himself. He just stood there as his
feet were rooted on the spot.
The girl stood up
and wrapped the books around her arms and tidied her hair up.
“Um…thank you.”
She said, looking at his eyes in a soft, small voice. “I-I must be going
now…I’m almost late for Geography.” She then ran off to the other direction.
Tidus tried to call her but somehow, he couldn’t get the words out of his
mouth.
“Rats! I didn’t
even get her name!”
Tidus made his
way to the English classroom. As he strolled, he kept thinking about the
brown-haired girl with mismatched eyes.
“Well, she did
mention something about being late for Geography. Maybe I can ask Rikku about
her after classes. Speaking of lateness…”
He looked at his
watch….
“DAMMIT!!! I’M
LATE!!!”
He zoomed like a
bullet through the corridor. He hurriedly glanced at the room numbers, looking
for the English classroom. He dashed faster until he finally spotted it ten
feet away. He braked in front of the door and opened it.
“Tidus, you’re
ten minutes late. And why do you look so exhausted?”
“I…..I….I got
lost…” Tidus answered in-between breaths.
“Okay, now that
you’re here, please take your seat. My name is Ms. Elena and I will be your
teacher in English this year. You may take your seat there near the bulletin
board. I’ll be away for a while to get more chalk so class…”
All the students
turned their heads to look at her.
“…Please behave
yourselves.” She added before leaving the classroom.
Ms. Elena is a
teacher who had a solemn face and semi-long blonde hair.
Just a few
seconds after Ms. Elena left, the class still remained quiet although Tidus
expected them burst into loud conversations any moment now. He just went on and
headed for his seat. Just when he was almost there---
“Whoa!!!”
---someone stick
his leg out and deliberately tripped him, making him land on his chest with
much force. His backpack flew and hit the wall, making his books and pens
spread out. The whole class started laughing at him. Some were even calling him
names like “loser” and “jackass”. All were laughing except one.
A boy with long,
deformed bluish hair sticking out at odd angles stood up and grabbed Tidus’
collar, lifting him until his eyes were at the same level as his. Tidus was
already standing on tip-toe for the malicious boy was a few inches taller than
him.
“So, you’re the
new kid.” He nastily said, eyeing Tidus from his spiky blonde hair to his
yellow and black sneakers.
“So you’re that
idiot who tripped me…” He angrily countered, his fists closed. “What about it
then…!?”
The blue-haired
boy’s grip around Tidus’ collar tightened. “One of my lackeys found you with my
girlfriend.”
Tidus was taken
aback. “Who-Who are you talking about!? I didn’t go out with some girl!”
The boy then
dragged Tidus near the wall and forcefully thrust him to it.
“Argh!”
“One more time I
see you with my girl, I’ll personally make sure that you’ll pay full price.”
His voice was faint but murderous. He let go of Tidus’ collar and angrily
strode back to his seat.
Tidus rubbed his
back then bent down to gather his scattered books and pens. The whole class
continued laughing at him. He just lowered his head down and tried not to
listen to his classmates’ cruel insults.
“Damn that guy…” He
furiously said to himself. “Who does he think he is…!?
He went on fixing
his things until a girl, who seemed to be a few months younger than Wakka
approached him and helped him pick his things up. She had long, black, braided
hair and red eyes. She was dressed in a brown, long-sleeved top with a gray
poncho over it and a long, black skirt. She was also wearing boots but this
time, they are brown.
“Here, let me
help you.” She kindly told him. “Just ignore that conceited jerk.” She helped
Tidus clean up the mess. After they were all back in his backpack, they walked
to two vacant chairs and sat down.
“Thanks” was all
Tidus could mutter as he laid his head on his desk.
“Don’t mind it.
Tidus got up.
“You mean, that idiot’s name is
“That’s because
he’s the school heartthrob.” She informed him.
“What!? That
stuck-up jackass!? I can’t see why he fits that description in the first place.
I just hope she’s not one of those lovesick girls who are crazy about him.”
“Who?” she
wonderingly asked.
“Oh, I mean,
Rikku, my friend. She’s in Geography right now.” But Tidus was really referring
to the brown-haired girl. “Oh yeah, didn’t catch your name. Mine’s Tidus.
What’s yours?”
She stretched out
her hand. “Lulu.” and Tidus shook it.
Lulu somehow
helped Tidus get his mind off
The door opened
and Ms. Elena entered the classroom holding a bundle of chalk in her hand.
“Okay class, let
us begin…”
English was an
okay subject. At least, it was no sweat compared to Auron’s grueling board
activities.
“Again, don’t let
“Hey! Tidus!
Lulu! Over here!!!”
Tidus and Lulu
both turned to where that familiar voice came from. It was Rikku. She was running
to them with Wakka closely behind her. She reached them and waved at Lulu.
Wakka had his hands on his knees and panted.
“Rikku, can’t you
ever slow down?” Wakka desperately asked Rikku. “You run too fast.”
She hopped on the
same spot excited to tell them about the good news.
“Guess what!?”
she exclaimed eagerly, “Blitzball meeting’s this afternoon at the coffee shop!
Not only that, we’re gonna have a match with the Goers from Luca University
three months from now so practice is gonna be thrice a week from this day
forward!” she finished her sentence. She was so thrilled that she won’t stop
skipping around. “Say Tidus! I had no idea you already met Lulu! Then, you
should know that she’s soooo smart!” She spoke fast, just like what she usually
does when she talks. “Heck, she was the only one in the whole school who got a
99% in the Math finals last year!”
Tidus whistled in
surprise. Lulu bent her head down and slowly shook it, her hand on her
forehead. Wakka gave her a strong pat on the back which slightly pushed her
forward. “Way to go, Lu!”
But that wasn’t
the end of Rikku’s story yet…
“We were already
enjoying a happy ending until that Seymour meanie stormed in and declared that
he got a 100%!!!”
“WHAT!!!? THAT
JERK!!!?” Tidus roared. He was so furious from only hearing his name. He became
even more furious knowing that of all people who can get a 100% and in Math, of
all subjects, it had to be
Wakka put his arm
around Tidus’ shoulders, trying to cool him down. Lulu simply remained silent
and kept a stern face.
There was now an
upset look on Rikku’s face as she looked up the ceiling. “That
Tidus was pleased
to hear that. Even Rikku despises
“But look at the
brighter side, Tidus! At least you can do something that
Tidus looked
puzzled. “And, exactly, what’s that...?”
“BLITZBALL!!!
You’re a star Blitzball player!!!” she happily exclaimed. “We all have a weak
spot and if
Tidus paused then
slowly…he grinned. “Yeah…you’re right! That jerk can’t even play Blitzball!”
That moment he
was happy until…he didn’t find himself grinning anymore. He suddenly remembered
Rikku leaned
forward to Tidus and looked at his eyes in sort of a sweet way. “Hey, is
something wrong?” she asked thoughtfully. “If there is then, you can tell us!
We’ve told you before, we’re pals, right?”
Right, they were
his pals…his friends but, why is something deep down inside him telling him not
to let anything out? Well, since he was their pal, they tried to brighten up
his mood.
Wakka stepped
forward and gave him a light punch on the shoulder. Lulu advanced and put a
hand on the other.
“If you can’t say
it right now then we’ll give you time to think about it.” She assured him. She
knew that Tidus wasn’t the type who easily lets his emotions out and sometimes,
she even envies Rikku’s aggressive personality---not caring even if she gets
yelled at in return.
“Well…” Rikku finally said, “Whatever’s
troubling you, just forget about it! Just meet us and the Abes at The Flowing Moon!
You know, that coffee shop just across the school gates! We’ll have our very
first official meeting there!”
“That’s right,
ya?” Wakka said as he strongly pat Tidus’ back. “Wait ‘til you try their
chocolate muffins! They’re Rikku’s all-time favorite, you know? Once, she even
gave up going with her diet just for a bite of it!” He jokingly shared this
story, which made Rikku give him a playful blow on the head.
“Hey! And where
did you get that load of crap??? We just met at the cafeteria and now you go
making up stories that are not even true!”
Rikku was pissed
and pouted on the spot…
“…But at least
it’s not easy to get on her nerves.” Tidus happily thought. Being with them
seemed to relax him a little. At least he has friends…friends whom he can share
stories with…
Students were
once again walking down the corridors carrying books and other things. Tidus,
Rikku, Wakka and Lulu all just stood there talking and laughing about anything
over the ground. Their conversation was mostly about Blitzball. They all enjoy
Blitz! Well, maybe they all do except Lulu because when the topic was changed
to Blitzball, she just let out a breath and just kept quiet while her three
other friends rambled on “Sphere Shot” and “Grip Gloves” which all sounded like
“kid’s stuff” to her. Though Rikku still hasn’t kicked like Blitz, not even get
inside the Sphere Pool even if she can survive underwater for long periods of
time, she’s the team’s energizer who always provides them with pep talks and
brings the snacks.
They finished
chatting…
“See ya after school then! Tidus bid them another goodbye before they disappeared into the crowd…just a few more classes and next stop is The Flowing Moon…then three months from now on, it’s time to Blitz with the Luca Goers!!!
Chapter Two: The Accident
“Man, Chemistry was tougher than I thought!”
Tidus told himself. Finally, his first day was over. Next stop is The Flowing
Moon. He was wondering whether Wakka and the others are already there waiting
for him or wondering if Rikku DOES have a craving for those muffins. Tidus happily
imagined Rikku devouring muffin after muffin without even stopping to chew them
properly.
Since it’s still quite a long way to the coffee
shop, he simply just walked on and chose this moment as the perfect time to talk
to himself…
“I’m glad
my first day here in Zanarkand High turned out well. Rikku sure is a fire-starter. Wakka’s whole self is into Blitz and
Lulu…nah, she hardly ever talks about Blitz---only assignments and tests. Why
does she have to take schoolwork so seriously??? Well, maybe she lets herself
loose and have fun once in a while….
“Speaking of schoolwork, wonder what’s in store
for us tomorrow?”
He opened the main compartment of his backpack
and took out his class schedule.
“So, Music comes in after lunch…”
He continued reading the schedule. He read
the list of the names of his classmates…
“Hmmm…they’re all pretty much the same---huh?
Who’s this?”
A certain name caught his attention…
“…Yuna?
Who could this be?” He asked himself. “Nah, guess I’ll also know tomorrow. So’
I’ll be with Wakka and Rikku in Math, not to mention Auron being our teacher.
Why does he have to be so obsessed with assignments anyway? Even Rikku’s being
lured to use a calculator.”
He continued reading his schedule until he
folded it and stuffed it back in his backpack. “I might as well worry about that
tomorrow…”
He walked on to Flowing Moon.
“Hey Rikku!” Wakka called out to her as she
was skipping to the counter with some money in her hand. “That’s already your
fourth order of chocolate muffin!”
Rikku ignored him and ordered two more of those
muffins. “At times like this, I have a big appetite!” She then snatched her Muffins
and took a large bite out of one of them.
Lulu sighed and went on studying her Biology
Book. She had just ordered a regular Tuna Sandwich and a Fruit Latte.
Wakka turned back from Rikku to Lulu’s assignment.
He got himself four brownies and iced-coffee. “Man, guess it’s better if we just
postpone the meeting. All the others are busy with their personal problems.”
Rikku quickly paid her money and ran back to
their table. She was halfway through munching on her muffin. “I’m sure Tidus would
understand. Besides, I just wanna spend this afternoon with no one but us!” she
leaned on the table where Wakka and Lulu were sitting facing each other. Rikku
didn’t bother to sit down. She prefers standing up so she can easily run from
one place to another. “You know, I think I better get four more of these tasty
muffins.” She then ran back to the counter…
The bell hanging at the top of the door rang…Tidus
has just entered the coffee shop.
“Hey! Right on!” Rikku shouted.
“Hey man, good to see you!” Wakka waved at
him.
Lulu just smiled at him and continued reading
her book. She took a bite out of her sandwich and sipped her latte.
Tidus walked towards them. He placed his backpack
beside an empty chair. “So, where’s the team?”
“Sorry brother, but they got a few problems
to settle. Anyway, meeting was postponed
tomorrow. Come sit with us!” Wakka happily said as he gestured Tidus to sit on
the empty chair beside him.
Tidus first ordered himself cookies ‘n’ cream
flavored iced-coffee then sat beside Wakka. Rikku ran back to them holding a plastic
bag containing half-dozen chocolate muffins…
“You know Wakka? You make a pretty good fortune-teller.”
Tidus said after sipping his iced-coffee.
Wakka stopped chewing on his brownie and looked
strangely at Tidus. “And what made you say that?”
Tidus heaved a sigh. “Just take a look at Rikku
and find out for yourself…”
Wakka did what he was told and he automatically
dropped his brownie…Rikku just devoured the half-dozen muffins and ordered one
more dozen.
“Hi! These are really yummy muffins! Want some?”
she offered them her half-eaten muffin.
“Uh…no thanks! I’m okay with my cookies ‘n’
cream!” Tidus nervously rejected.
“I’m---full with my brownies!” Wakka quickly
exclaimed.
Lulu still kept a serious face and said “I’m
on a diet…”
After rejecting Rikku’s fifth muffin offer,
they just sat down and talked, and talked, and talked……Rikku can be heard humming
a tune…
“Hmmm
hmmm….Hmmm hmmm…Hmmm hmmm….”
“Hey Rikku! What are you humming?” Tidus asked
her.
Rikku immediately snapped out of her own world
and answered Tidus. “That was Suteki Dane!
You know, the hit song the most popular female singer, Rikki, sang!
Her face softened as she closed her eyes and
hummed the part If we could walk holding
hands together……after she did, she sang the rest of the lyrics.
“I want to go to your
town…