Sta.sh
''Looks like I underestimated things a bit too much. Bodhum High isn't actually that bad, and I've managed to go a full day so far without any trouble starting. Trouble is, Snow and the rest of the NORA gang are getting on my nerves - already - and Hope keeps trying to invade into my life, even though we've only just met. I'm still surprised, however, at the fact that of all the people in the world, it's Sazh Katzroy who's my History teacher!
Serah's getting excited today because we have Drama. Honestly, I don't know what the girl sees in that subject. The reason I gave her yesterday for taking it is the truth - I would definitely kill myself out of boredom by the end of the week if there wasn't a subject besides PE where I can be out of my seat for most of the lesson.
I woke up today with a really bad feeling about things. I get that sometimes. Problem is, my bad feelings often jinx the entire day. I hardly doubt that today will be any exception...''
The next day, the sisters had an uneventful bus journey, and even NORA didn't seem like so much of a pain to Lightning today as they were the day before. To make things better, she and Serah were 5 minutes early to form time today as opposed to 5 minutes late. Everybody who was already there had changed places, so Lightning and Serah took two seats at the back of the room instead.
After Miss Skye had came in and done the register, she had a couple of notices to share with the rest of the tutor group. One of them was just about a charity event that wasn't of much interest to the Farron sisters, but the other was a room change for people who had Economics lesson 3 - Lightning was in that class, so she made a mental note of where she had been moved to for the lesson, and then she blanked out again.
When everyone was allowed to talk for the last 10 minutes of form time, the two sisters compared their timetable for the day.
''Okay, so we've got English-''
''But we're in different classes for it.''
''Yeah. But then we have PSE together, and we're both back in here for that lesson.''
''Great. Joy of joys. I hate this room so much. Way too cramped for my liking.''
''Yeah. That's true...what do we have after PSE?''
''I've got Economics-''
''Got down your room change?''
''Yeah.''
''Good. I've got Art, then Business. You?''
''ICT.''
''And then we have Drama last lesson!''
Lightning couldn't help but roll her eyes at Serah's enthusiasm.
''Serah, why do you love that subject so much?''
''Because you're doing it with me!''
''Then why weren't you like that for PSE, or History?''
''Because we all have to do PSE, and I wasn't surprised that you'd chosen to take History. Speaking of which, you going to see Sazh at the bar before Friday?''
''Yeah. I'll probably go tomorrow or Thursday. Interested?''
''Maybe. I'll see how I feel. Why not see him tonight?''
''I have a bad feeling about the whole day. You know how I'm like when I have that sort of feeling...''
''Oh...yeah, I see...''
Both Serah and Lightning went quiet. It was a well-known fact among the two sisters that any 'bad feeling' that Lightning had usually resulted in something going wrong.
''Well, I guess we can always hope that nothing will go wrong this time.''
''Yeah...''
And on that note, the bell went off for first lesson, and the two girls walked off to their English classes.
English was uneventful for both sisters. Hope and Serah were in the same English class but otherwise, nothing worth noting happened to either of them. However, for PSE they were both put back together in their form room. Lightning was first to arrive and immediately bagged the two tables at the far back right corner, as far away from the teacher's desk as possible. Serah was next to arrive and took her place next to her sister.
''How was English?''
''Boring. Hope's in my class though, and we got to sit together!''
''Hmph.'' Lightning smiled faintly.
''Light, you know tomorrow, in Maths...will you please give him more of a chance to get to know you? He may seem pushy, but he really isn't that bad!''
''Look, I just don't like it when people ask too many questions. I'll try, but don't expect anything.''
''Thanks Light.''
The two sisters hugged, then separated just as Miss Skye walked into the room. She set her stuff down on her desk and turned to the class.
''Okay, judging by the lack of empty seats, I assume everyone is here. In Sixth Form, PSHE is often revolved around critical issues that often happen during somebody's lifetime, and ways to avoid them. The first topic we're gonna be looking at is personal health and well-being, and this will last roughly until we break up for half term...''
Lightning had zoned out at 'okay', but now not even Serah was interested. She'd heard this stuff too many times before to care anymore. Instead, she examined her right arm, where she sleeve of her t-shirt had been rolled up. There were roughly five scars, all within close proximity of each other but all of them also very faint, near her elbow on the inner part of her arm. She examined each of them in turn, rubbing her index finger softly over each one and shivering slightly as she rubbed her finger over the last scar. Lightning watched her doing this and then once she was sure she wasn't interrupted at the wrong time, she whispered to Serah.
''Is something wrong?''
''No, I'm fine.''
''Then why are you examining your scars?''
''Because they've faded. They're still there, but not so obvious anymore...hey Light, do you think they'll disappear completely over time?''
''Maybe they will, maybe they won't. Do you want them to?''
''Yeah...scars are supposed to be memories of past events, but sometimes, it's better to forget than remember...''
''Serah, sometimes, even if the memory is almost too unbearable to think about, it's better to remember them, so that you can grow stronger from it.''
''But what if that memory just cripples you?''
''Then you learn to grow a hard shell around that memory so it can't cripple you.''
Serah sighed and looked back up at where Miss Skye was standing, still talking to the rest of the class.
''Serah, I'm here if you want to talk about it, just remember that.''
''Yeah...thanks.''
Both sisters started to daydream again, until the lesson was finally over.
After break, the sisters had different lessons. Lightning had Economics - where she had a room change - and ICT, whilst Serah had Art and Business Studies.
But at lunchtime, they met up in the School's Dining Hall, as they sat down with Snow, Vanille, Hope and the rest of NORA at their usual spot - which was a circle table right in the middle of the Dining Hall. Everyone was determined to get Lightning to talk more.
''So Lightning, what have you got next?''
''Drama.''
Everyone except Serah looked surprised at this statement. Just like the other Farron had said at first, nobody was expecting that someone like Lightning would take a subject like Drama.
''Oh for God's sake, will everyone stop acting like I've just declared that the world is going to end today, just because I've taken Drama?''
''Honestly Light, why take Drama? You don't seem the type.''
Lightning had said this so many times now that she said her reason in a monotone voice:
''I would kill myself out of boredom by the end of the week if I didn't take a subject where I could be out of my seat for most of the lesson. Happy with that?''
''Yeah!''
Serah smiled.
''I take Drama too, so we're gonna be in the same class! Is there anyone else here who takes Drama?''
Snow raised his hand, as did Maqui and Yuj.
''Well, looks like we're all in the same class!''
Vanille smiled mischievously at the group.
''I hear the Drama teacher's new. Just joined yesterday apparently - and I heard that she hates people who are grumpy. So Light, try to keep a happy face on, yeah?''
''Hmph, I'll try!''
Everyone on the table laughed at the somewhat irritated but also mischievous response from the otherwise quiet Farron. Vanille moved over to Lightning and tapped her on the shoulder, this time talking in a more serious manner.
''Well hey, you seemed happy in Economics today anyway, so I'm sure it won't be hard to smile-''
''Wait, you take Economics Vanille?''
''Yeah! And I sit next to Lightning in it too!''
''Wait, so what else do the two of you take?''
Vanille spoke up first.
''Well apart from Economics, History and Art, I also take Geography and Music. And you, Light?''
''Economics, Drama, History, ICT, Philosophy-''
''SNAP!''Everyone turned to look back at Snow, who had just interrupted - loudly enough to draw the attention of roughly half the Dining Hall, too. He looked around at all the faces staring at him and smiled, despite the fact it was obvious that he'd now just embarrassed himself.
''Sorry, wasn't meant to come out so loud!''
''Sorry, wasn't meant to come out so loud!''
Once people had stopped being so interested in him again, he looked back at the others.
''I take Philosophy too, if you're wondering why I shouted snap.''
This time, it was Hope's turn to speak up. He sounded shy and didn't look anyone else in the eye, instead choosing to look just past them.''Well, me, Snow, Gadot and Serah are all in Business Studies together. And then me, Snow and Maqui are in Sociology class together too. But there's no one class that all of us are in together unfortunately!''
''Hope, do you take Drama?''
''I'm too shy for a subject like that. I chose Art instead, so I've got that next with Vanille.''
Vanille smiled at Hope, and then Snow turned to her.
''Speaking of you Vanille, is it true Fang's gonna join us? She's done a no-show so far!''
''Well, yes, she is joining, but something's just held her up for a bit, that's all. She won't even tell me why she's pulling off a no-show right on the first few days of the school year, but she told me that her first day's gonna be on Friday!''
Lightning smiled.
''Cheeky. Coming in the day before the weekend.''
''Yeah, but that would be Fang, wouldn't it?''
Everyone smiled until Serah spoke up again.
''So how do you know Fang?''
''Well, I-''
''She's going out with Vanille!''
''Hey, I was gonna tell them that!''
There was more laughter around the table as Vanille hit Snow for spilling her secret.
''But your tone of voice suggests you know her Serah. Do you?''
''Yeah. Me and Light haven't seen her for a while but she used to be a good friend of ours. She was often around ours. I'm not sure why we suddenly separated from her to be honest...I guess it was just because we lost contact with each other. Fang did use to visit her home in Oerba quite a few times, after all.''
''Fang pretty much knows everyone. She gets around quite a bit!''
''Yeah.''
Everyone laughed, then Snow looked up at the clock to find that they'd all spent 45 minutes of their lunchtime eating and chatting to each other. There was only a quarter of an hour left before they would all have to be in their form rooms again, and he had work to do with NORA. They politely made their excuses and left the table. Hope wasn't too far behind, saying he had a bit of work to do, and Vanille went along to help him. That left Lightning and Serah, who also left the table and took a slow walk back to their form room at the other side of the school.
Serah was thinking about the events of the day so far, and turned to Lightning.
''So Light, has your bad feeling jinxed anything yet?''
''Not yet, thankfully. I'm not dismissing it until the end of the school day at least though-''
''Have you got a bad feeling about Drama?''
''I've got a bad feeling about everything today. Drama's no exception.''
''Look, Light, we'll be fine! And besides, we're together in the lesson, plus we have Snow, Maqui and Yuj with us too! If anything happens, we'll be together and looking out for each other!''
''Yeah. But I still feel uneasy. We'll see how the rest of the day goes.''
''Yeah, sure. But Light, I would take Vanille's advice and try to smile more at least - especially if this Drama teacher hates grumpy people!''
''I've said this already - I'll try!''
Registration was uneventful for the two sisters, but on the way to Drama, they met up with Snow and Yuj, who were in the same form and had also just been let out for their last lesson. Maqui's form were let out just afterwards, and Maqui himself ran to catch up with the others.
As they entered the Drama Studio, the first thing they noticed was that as soon as the door closed, it was pitch black. Snow, Yuj, Maqui and Serah all decided to play tag in the dark, but Lightning wasn't interested.
''Great, a pitch black room is just what we need. Has anyone in this room heard of a stupid light switch?''
Once her hands made contact with the wall, she fumbled across it slowly as not to trip up, until she felt her left hand slide over something sticking out from the wall. Feeling around it, she turned the thing that was sticking out to find that it controlled the light that came into the Drama Studio. Everyone else groaned as their game of tag-in-the-dark was interrupted by the sudden introduction of light into the room.
''Aww Light, no fair!''
''You guys would have probably killed yourselves tripping over something or another. Have you seen how busy this room is?''
It wasn't busy in the sense of too many people being in the room - although to be fair, the rest of the class had arrived and there were at least 20 people in the room - the problem was that there were objects and props scattered everywhere!
Chairs lined the sides of the room, and a throne-like chair was right in the middle of the studio. Besides them, there were heavy curtains along one side of the room, a teacher's desk on the other side, along with a massive crate of costumes, and there were props of all different varieties scattered everywhere else. Just managing to keep on two feet without tripping up was a challenge, so the class decided to make things at least somewhat presentable and put props to the side so that there wasn't a tripping hazard wherever the people stood.
Chairs lined the sides of the room, and a throne-like chair was right in the middle of the studio. Besides them, there were heavy curtains along one side of the room, a teacher's desk on the other side, along with a massive crate of costumes, and there were props of all different varieties scattered everywhere else. Just managing to keep on two feet without tripping up was a challenge, so the class decided to make things at least somewhat presentable and put props to the side so that there wasn't a tripping hazard wherever the people stood.
Snow was about to move the fake throne, but instead chose to sit in it. The others just looked at him and laughed.
''Snow, I don't think you're regal or graceful enough to be a King, no offence!''
''Well you should try and sit in this yourself, Queen Lightning!''
Everyone laughed and Lightning playfully hit Snow on the shoulder.
''I'm not graceful enough to be a Queen although that being said, I am more graceful than you.''
''Well you know, it's not all about being graceful. It's also about being handsome. And let's face it, good looks like these take time to build up!''
As the class laughed, Snow winked at Lightning. Then, behind them, the door burst open and a woman came walking in. Without even introducing herself to the class first, she looked at Snow, rolled her eyes and then gestured to his side.
''Now the last time I checked, Mr Villiers, you are not a King. So please, will you be so kind as to get out of my chair?''
''Well in all fairness miss, the last time I checked, you are not a Queen, and this chair does not have your name written on it.''
''If you really want to throw that argument back at me then I'll be more than happy to write my name on the chair just to prove you wrong.''
''Not if I write mine first!''
''You have already embarrassed yourself once today Snow. Are you really willing to embarrass yourself a second time?''
''Wait, how do you know my name?''
''I know your name because let's face it, it is rather hard to forget a face that can manage to grab the attention of everyone in the Dining Hall by simply shouting 'snap', am I right?''
''Oh...'' Snow blushed in embarrassment.
''You shouldn't be too embarrassed, Snow. Grabbing everyone's attention like that at once isn't easy, and if you can do something like that, then I figure we will get on well in this class...but we won't get on at all if you don't get out of my chair!''
Snow couldn't even think of a comeback, so he moved out of the chair and made way for the woman to sit in it instead. As she walked past Serah, however, the Farron sister went pale and covered her hand over her mouth.
Lightning was at her side immediately, talking to her but making sure that neither of them alerted the attention of the woman who presumably was their Drama teacher.
''Serah, what is it?''
''That woman...she looks like...like-''
''Like HER?''
''Yeah!''
Light examined their teacher as she spoke to the class. She knew who Serah was referring too but couldn't see similarities between the woman in question and their teacher, besides the long blonde hair, thin-rimmed glasses and green eyes. She could, however, see similarities between her and someone else she knew, and it triggered a past memory of hers...
---
''Lightning!''
The cry for help struck a chord in Lightning, and the soldier ran over to where the woman that had called her name lay. She was covered in blood and mud, with her green eyes being the only thing untouched. Lightning knelt down next to her, using a few Cura spells to try and ease her pain - but she knew that magic alone would not save the woman's life. Signalling to a nearby medic to come over and help her, she began to talk to the woman.
''Listen, Alyvia. You're too wounded to fight. You've done well though. I'll make sure you're going to get some medical help, but then I'll have to leave you and keep fighting.''
''But Lightning, I-''
''I know: you want revenge. But in the state you're in, you'll die before you can get that revenge. I've lost too many people today, and I have no intention to add your name to that list.''
As the medic reached the two women, Lightning explained the situation to him, then she smiled slightly at Alyvia and got up onto her feet.
But before she could run off into the field of battle again, Alyvia grabbed her ankle in protest.
''Lightning, please...if I can't stay and fight, then I want you to finish what I've failed to...''
''And what is that?''
''I want you to find my sister...and kill her.''
Alyvia said the last three words with an icy tone, and Lightning shivered slightly, hoping that she would never feel the same way about her own sister.
''Your sister has sentenced herself to death already, with the crimes that she has committed. You don't need to ask us to kill her. Even if you wanted her alive, she has done too much harm already. I'll carry out your wish, but only because she's signed her own death warrant - and only because I'm after revenge on her too.''
''Thank you, Light...''
Alyvia closed her eyes and fainted into unconsciousness. Lightning bowed her head slightly and put a clenched fist over her heart in respect, then left the medic to work on healing her as she ran off back into the fray...
---
Lightning gasped in shock, although thankfully it wasn't loud enough to grab anyone's attention. Serah was still a bit shaken, and Light could understand why, but she held her sister's hand and smiled at her encouragingly.
Snow had noticed the commotion between the sisters and had moved himself next to them.
''You two alright?''
''Yeah, we're fine. What has she been saying?''
''She's just been telling us about the syllabus. I'll explain later.''
Lightning nodded slightly and looked back at where the teacher was sitting.
''And now that I've told you about the general syllabus of this year in Drama, I suppose you also want to know who I am. The name's Miss Dale, and I'm new to this school, so you'll probably find that for those of you who are also new to this school, you won't be the only ones who are getting lost for now. I'm fairly good at remembering names, but still, I apologize in advance for any mispronunciations, or if I indeed do forget your name. Now, shall we do the register?''
Lightning had shaken all suspicions out of her head by now, assuring herself that her Drama teacher was not the person that Lightning had just remembered. She shook the thoughts out of her mind and waited for her name to be called.
''Claire Far-''
''Lightning.''
All the students had heard of Lightning asking not to be called Claire by now, but they all stared at her nonetheless. Miss Dale looked up at her and raised her eyebrow, almost as if she was examining her.
''And to what pleasure do I owe this interruption? I had been warned in advance by Mr Katzroy that you would object to being called Claire, but I did not think that you would speak out against it with such confidence. What drives you to be called Lightning?''
Lightning was annoyed at the question, but was still careful as to not say anything which could be considered to be answering back.
''Without meaning to offend, Miss Dale, I don't like the name Claire. It reminds me of things I'd rather not tell you, or anybody else here. In fact, I'd rather forget it. And, if you really must know, I find the name 'Lightning' to suit me more than you'll probably ever realize. I'm sorry if it sounds rude, but I don't want to talk about it.''
''You don't need to apologize, Lightning. I understand. But please, you will have to remind me to call you that instead of Claire, whilst we get to know each other.''
''Understood.''
Lightning remained calm, but inside she was shivering. Something about the way Miss Dale had looked at her before asking about her name had unsettled her - it looked like a mixture of curiosity and...intrigue...
Serah could feel her sister's muscles tense up, and she too began to feel uneasy, but she maintained a calm voice as her name was called out.
''Serah Farron.''
''Here, Miss.''
''And I presume by the pink hair and same surname that you and Lightning are sisters, correct?''
''Yes miss. We're twins.''
Miss Dale looked up at her and smiled as she answered, but whilst Serah showed a calm demeanour on the outside, she was a wreck on the inside. If her initial thoughts about the teacher weren't bad enough, Lightning was now tensing up, in the same way she would if she was about to go into a fight. That meant she felt uneasy too. And the smile that Miss Dale gave her...Serah gripped tighter onto Lightning's hand, and Snow looked at the two sisters. He immediately grabbed their free hands and looked them both in the eye.
''Is she causing any problems? I don't care if I'm a student, I'll have a go at her if she's making you guys feel scared.''
''Thanks for the offer Snow, but I'm fine.''
Lightning smiled slightly at him and took her hand from his, but Snow maintained his grip on the now speechless Serah.
''Serah?''
''Please, I'm fine. Just stay with me. I feel safer when you're around.''
''Okay, I will.''
As Miss Dale called out Snow's name, he responded happily and perhaps a bit too eagerly, causing her to look up at him briefly and give a warning glare at him. She paid no attention to the Farron sisters, thankfully.''Right, so you all know what's in the syllabus, and we've all gotten to know each other. So, we'll start off with a small Drama game, and then we'll get into groups for your first project.''
Once everyone was in a circle on the floor, they all played a game called 'Splat'. The rules were simple: when somebody's name was said, they would duck down and the people sitting either side of them had to 'shoot' each other. It was quickly established among the class that anyone going against Lightning were doomed to lose, but in regards to everyone else, there was a chance of winning. All the while whilst they were doing this, Miss Dale watched the Farron sisters in particular, and couldn't help but note the almost inhumanely fast reflexes and reaction time that Lightning had.
Once the students had done a few rounds of Splat, they were called back up and lined up as Miss Dale organized them into groups. Lightning and Serah were separated, but Serah was with Snow and Maqui whilst Lightning was with Yuj, so both sisters were with a familiar face.
''Alright people. This first project revolves around 'Improvisation'. Everything is down to you: you have whatever is available to you here in the Drama Studio, as well as anything you need from home too. You are free to choose your own story and create your own characters, BUT I do not want to see a single script! This is improvisation, and if you want to score well in this unit, you must be able to work without needing to read lines off a piece of paper first! I have put you in these groups because I don't know any of you very well, but once I find where your talents in Drama lie, I will group you in the future accordingly with your talents. I will be coming around each group in turn, helping you with your pieces. So, start planning!''
And with that, the groups got to work. Lightning had shaken all thoughts about the teacher out of her head, whilst Snow made sure that Serah remained as calm as possible. When the bell finally rung to signal the end of the day, the sisters were the first ones out the room, with Snow in close pursuit.
On the school bus, both sisters had finally calmed down, and Snow was eager to help them.
''Hey, why don't we go to the bar tonight? There's practically nothing that Sazh and a couple of drinks can't seem to make better, even if only temporary!''
''Thanks for the offer Snow, but me and Light aren't in the mood for any drinks. We'll probably come in tomorrow or Thursday though!''
''Oh, okay...well, I gave you both my numbers yesterday, so if you need anything, I'll be there on the other side of the line right away!''
''Thank you, Snow.''
Once Snow and the rest of NORA had left the bus, Lightning turned to Serah.
''I don't like Miss Dale. It's not her appearance, or her personality, that bothers me though. It's the fact that she reminds me of an old friend...who I would rather leave behind with the rest of my memories about the past...''
''That's exactly why she scares me too...only that it's not a friend she reminds me of - it's an enemy.''
Serah pulled up her sleeve again and showed Lightning the scars on her arm.
''She reminds me of the same person responsible for these.''
''I know who you mean. But I don't think it's her, Serah. Hell, I don't event think she's the old friend that she reminded me of! I think we're both probably just overreacting. So, shall we just call it a day and rest at home? We need to put this at the back of our minds and keep it there.''
Lightning couldn't help but laugh at the way she and Serah were reacting. Yet the deceivingly happy tone in her voice did not reach her eyes.
''We're acting like she's one of those Seven Deities of myth that everyone apparently fears! We should just try to forget this panic ever happened.''
''Yeah, we should.''
The two sisters hugged as the bus pulled up to their stop, so they quickly got out of the bus and walked back to their home. But Lightning had one more thought on her mind as they walked.
''Serah...do you like Snow?''
''I think he's a really nice guy. But in THAT sense...I barely know him, so no. Not yet, anyway.''
''That's all I needed to hear.''
''Would you be jealous if I said yes?''
''No, of course not! I'd be happy for you Serah.''
Lightning smiled at her sister, and the two entered their home, ready to call it a day.
Fav. Perfume: Outspoken Intense by Fergie 
Fav. Type of chocolate: Dark
Tired 
ing Wildfire and Seta Gets a Spear. 
SuperTeeter64 + LunarPhoenix87
It's been a crazy busy time for me. Almost done with finals so I can hopefully reply soon. 
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