The New girl
"Students, we have a new student. Her name is Tifa," Professor Shera Highwind said. Everyone was silenced as sixteen year-old Tifa Lockheart walked into the classroom. They all looked up at the slim brown-eyed girl who walked in; most of the boys wooed and their eyes continually stuck on this pretty figure. The girls gave Tifa a dark look. She wore short black shorts, with brown boots. She had long dark, brown hair, which went up to behind her knees and bright red lipstick.
"Tifa there's a desk at the front here, you can take that one." Professor Highwind pointed. Tifa walked towards the desk and sat. "Tifa, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself eh?" The new girl spoke:
"My name is Tifa Lockheart," She began. Someone muttered a 'duh!' at the back of the class. Tifa took no notice. "I'm from Nibelheim." A look of sadness flickered in her eyes when Tifa mentioned that town. She continued: "That's all."
"Tell us more baby!" A blond hared boy at the back shouted.
"Oh shut up Taios," A chestnut hared girl who sat beside
Tifa said. "Don't take any notice of him, he's
the class clown," she said to Tifa. Tifa looked at her
and nodded.
"Err- thank you Tifa- can we have someone to make sure Tifa get's around alright? Not like you can get lost in this small school but you know what I mean," Professor Highwind asked. Most of the boys shot up their hands at once.
"Ok gentlemen, calm down now. Err...Aeris, you're responsible enough, why don't you?" Proffessor Highwind pointed at the brown hared girl who sat beside Tifa.
"Sure Miss." Aeris answered politely. This girl seemed happy enough to take her.
"Thank you Aeris. Now we must really go on. Lately we've been doing practicals. We've been analysing particular engines and seeing how they function..."
Tifa lost her concentration at once. She glanced at the slim brown hared girl next to her. She supposed she was pretty. She had very long brown hair which went up to her waist, big bright green eyes, a long pink buttoned dress with a little red jacket around it followed by big brown boots. What an outfit!...But anyway, probably the first girl I've ever seen down here in the slums with a dress that actually goes past her knees, Tifa thought. But she also thought there was something about this girl that just seemed very strange. She seemed to emanate some kind of peculiar aurora...
Tifa dismissed her and looked around the class... at the back was that blond head who'd called out to her before. Tifa figured his name was Taios. He was sitting next to a quiet-seeming bold headed boy who wore dark slick sunglasses. They were dressed in run down jeans and ragged shirts. Opposite them on the other side of the room sat a- Whoa- handsome... dark headed man. He had faint, glowing dark blue eyes which Tifa guessed was mako? Was it? He'd probably been in SOLDIER or something. There was a memory at the back of her mind at the mention of the name SOLDIER. She was sure she had known someone to do with SOLDIER, but she just couldn't remember. After that blow to the chest and been thrown down hard to the ground by that wicked man at the reactor one year ago... most of Tifa's memories were vague and indistinct. She could remember the fire very vividly like a big solid red block. She could remember the mountains... yes, she loved the mountains. She could remember her father... not her mother... She could remember the well which sat at the heart of the town...She could vaguely remember a boy... how did he look like? What was his name? Why has this certain boy stayed in her mind? Sometimes it could be so frustrating and mind-straining trying to remember.
A voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Tifa, are you alright?"
"Oh.. yeah miss. Just a little head ache I guess."
"Would you like to get some water?"
"Yeah, thanks miss."
She got up out of the seat and headed towards the door.
"There's a water fountain outside in the school yard, you should find it easily," Professor Highwind called after her. Tifa just nodded and walked outside. She closed the door behind her and let out a long sign. She put a hand over her forehead. Whoa- she could fry eggs on her forehead if she wanted to! Her head was boiling and she was sweating. I shouldn't strain my mind so much...
She walked down the small rickety hallway of the run down sector six school. There were no lockers, the floors were really dusty and there were even traces of green fungus growing on the walls. This place is really bad. How can the people here live like this? This must be the only school in the sector I bet.
Twenty seconds later she was at the exit which led to the back of the school. She stepped outside. This, is the school yard?
The schoolyard looked like an abandoned rubbish dump. There was a water fountain on the far side to the left. It looked dirty, and there was even mould growing under it. She walked towards it nevertheless. She pressed the metal switch and a trickle of water came out. It doesn't even work!
She decided to head back to class, for the lesson would be over soon. But it was so boring! Sector Seven Community school was only a half-day school, three hours long. It didn't have enough money to be running full time, and barely had enough fully qualified teachers either. Tifa was back in class a minute later.
"Feeling better?" Professor Highwind asked as she entered the room.
"Yeah," she replied and sat back at her desk.
Professor Highwind went on with her lecture while Tifa lost her concentration again...
Tifa looked over at the Professor Highwind and studied her. She had seen her somewhere before...Only now that she realised: Isn't that? Professor Shera Highwind? Wife of that famous Highwind engineer who works for Shinra...? What is she doing in the Midgar slums? She's supposed to be some rich celebrity! What is she doing here? In this Dump? The was the perfect word to describe the school. It was really small and rundown. Peeling walls, dirty floors, every form of vandalism everywhere. It was meant for anyone within the ages of sixteen to eighteen, but it didn't look like it; Tifa could tell that many of the students were much older.
I must listen... She couldn't help but think that this was rather...well, boring. Tifa had taken up engineering and gym when she had come to the school. She had never taken an interest in engineering but she needed to learn more for a particular reason...
The bell suddenly rang and everyone jumped out of their seats. Professor Highwind had to shout to be heard over the eager teenagers. "Not so fast! I didn't say you could go did I?" Then in a quieter voice: "I want you to do an evaluation on the practical we did last week. I'll see you all tomorrow- now you can go."
Tifa gathered up her empty note papers and walked out, followed by Aeris who then led them out into the small rickety yard at the back of the school where everyone else seemed to be. A crowd of boys immediately came up to her, chatting her up and trying to flirt with her. Tifa looked all of them over. Spotty freaks, she thought. Aeris had gone to sit down on a near by bench by herself. Tifa pulled out of the crowd and walked towards her. The boys followed but she told them to go away harshly, and they did. She sat down on the bench next to Aeris and they both took out their lunches. Aeris spoke first:
"You seem very popular already," she said.
"Yeah well what can I say?" Tifa replied vainly.
Aeris just stared at her for a moment. She wasn't really fond of conceited people, but she hid that and tried to be nice. "So how did you like the lesson?" she asked.
"It was crap." Tifa stated, in a flat tone. "It was so boring! I just couldn't concentrate."
"You should really try to listen you know, it can be quite interesting."
"Yeah, right."
"Then why did you come here?" Aeris inquired.
"For reasons..."
A short silence followed.
"You don't have to tell me then."
"Thanks." She thought Aeris seemed quite kind.
"So what brought you here?" Aeris asked. Tifa didn't answer as if she didn't hear, so Aeris didn't continue. A long silence followed. Both girls immediately realised that they were two very different people and far from soon becoming friends.
"Umm... so, what do you like to do Tifa?" Aeris turned her eyes towards Tifa, who was eating a sandwich.
"Kick butt," she replied.
"O-Kay..."
Another long silence followed.
Aeris stared at Tifa for a moment. She sensed there was something about the girl that just didn't seem right. The things she was saying, it just didn't seem to fit...for some reason.
Tifa looked around. She could see that cute mako boy approaching them. He sat down next to Aeris, putting an arm around her shoulders then giving her a soft kiss on the cheek. Tifa guessed they were together, but thought the boy had bad taste.
"Hi girls," He saluted.
"Hi. Tifa, this is Zack," Aeris explained. Tifa let out her hand to meet Zack's and they shook it. Tifa blushed wildly when their eyes met. Girl! You never blush when it comes to boys! Tifa silently told herself.
"Nice to meet ya," was all Zack said. There was a silence for a while until Zack broke it.
"Did you hear about what Avalanche did to Shinra? They broke in and managed to burn down the whole of the first floor!"
"They're gonna have to do better than that if they wanna destroy Shinra," Aeris stated. Tifa looked down to the ground then said:
"At least it was something. Shinra deserve every little bit of despair."
"You're right." Aeris said, and Zack nodded. All three of them seemed to have come to an understanding of Shinra. Aeris looked down to the ground and Zack got up and left with out saying a word.
"He's had a tough time... don't ask," Aeris said, but Tifa already knew.
Tifa looked after at Zack as he disappeared into the shadows. Oh, why did he have to go so soon? There was silence for a while, then abruptly, Aeris gasped, her hands clutching her head and she seemed to be in pain.
"What's wrong with you?" Tifa asked, looking down at the girl beside her.
"I'm... ok... now." She said in tiny whispers.
"What just happened?" Tifa couldn't really care less.
Aeris finally looked into Tifa's eyes. The girl didn't
say anything more, but got up and ran... and ran... and ran... Tifa stood
there frozen. Should she go after her? Puh-lease. Instead, she went
in Zacks direction.
----