Liz woke up early in the morning and stretched herself out, Wow... how good it felt to be home! She could see the light that'd seeped through the blinds splinter across the carpet and she smiled, mornings always feel so wonderful when you wake up according to your own will. She rolled over on her side and her eyes fell on the picture of Zell and herself she'd brought and set on the table next to her bed. I'll call, she thought and so, she leaned over to the other side of her bed and pulled a small phone out of her bag with a little struggle. She punched in a few numbers, yawning a bit, then waited for someone to pick up on the other end. She didn't have to wait long because Quistis answered from the other side of the line after only two rings.
"Hello?" she asked, but she knew from both the static and from the phone belonging mainly to Zell that it could only be Liz. "Lina? Is that you there?" Her voice sounded a little cautious. Well, that's Quistis Trepe all right--if not curious, then paranoid perhaps.
"Hey Quisty!" Liz giggled, automatically confirming Quistis's suspicions. It was in fact Liz on the other side, obviously searching for Zell. "Yeah... is Zell there?"
"Um... Let me take a look for you," Quistis said, as she began to walk around a bit. Liz could hear her shoes tapping against Garden's corridors as she searched for Zell within the Dormitory. "Well I don't see him here right now, but when I do, I'm going to remind him not to leave his phone out in the middle of the hallway..." Liz laughed--she knew Zell had done that only so that if he were to miss this call, someone would pick it up and find him. For some reason the phone only had reception near the Dormitory. "Oh you know what? I think he just headed down for the cafeteria. Sorry!"
"It's alright, let Zell eat, I'll call back later," Liz tried to say as warmly as she could even though she felt a little lonely just mentioning it. They hung up and Liz turned onto her back again, staring at the ceiling. She took a deep breath and exhaled--it felt positively revitalizing. Soon enough, her mother called her to the kitchen for a quick breakfast before she would have to head off for her second day back at regular school. Liz hopped out of bed, treated herself to a slice of bagel, then headed out the door for school once again.
During gym class that, Liz specifically remembered being made fun of by the teacher for her choice in dress. Liz remembered that she had only brought one pair of running and walking shoes with her for the entire trip, that being her boots. The teacher announced that they'd be participating in a race that day. No biggie--just a relay race, teachers just like to do it every once in a while to keep students in check. He gathered all the students together, then walked around the group, examining them carefully. As he walked past Liz, he stopped, eying her with stern dark eyes.
"And how, may I ask are you going to run in those things?" He asked her, beckoning towards her boots.
"You'll see," Liz smiled sweetly and said rather cheerfully. She had run many distance in these boots and she was sure she could do it again. The teacher was rather skeptical as he glared at her through a pair of thick sunglasses, then walked away. Liz disregarded it--he had never had to run around the entire city of Esthar within a designated time limit before. He directed them to the starting line and--after a brief moment of preparation--he blew the whistle.
Liz sprinted out in front immediately. The wind brushed through her hair rapidly as if to hold her back even as she increased her speed and her distance from the second place runner increased. There was no need to worry, so she slowed down to what was to her a jog; she was out in front of the group--just like training back with Master Tokeen. Her boots didn't bother her one bit--in fact, she was quite used to them. They were a gift given to her by Master Tokeen himself who had especially made them to fit the shape of her feet for many years to come.
When she passed the finish line, she smiled at the teacher and headed back for the locker rooms. The teacher only stood there, looking like he had just seen a ghost.