Part II: More Magic, More Fantasies

Chapter 8- The Punisher

"And he's punishing you for that?" asked Mishaela in disbelief.

"I told you the man's more than a bit daft," replied Mumford. "We have to give up our Saturday now."

Mishaela and Mumford had become good friends already, probably because they both were good at ice spells. The three of you, plus Yuffie, were out getting ice cream, and you currently sat in a booth eating.

"That's terrible!" Mishaela said sympathetically.

"Snow even tried to vouch for us, but Cloud was persistent," you added. "No Saturday morning cartoons for us."

"So much for helping others and the greater good," complained Yuffie. "I'm never gonna get caught up with the storyline now!"

"Hey, but Cloud knows we only had everyone's best interests at heart, right?" you asked. "He shouldn't be too hard on us... should he?"

Your question was met with complete silence.

"I just got a really bad feeling in the pit of my stomach," Mumford told you.

The next morning, you put on a black tank-top and a pair of denim shorts, with a pair of comfortable sneakers. Mishaela was sleeping in, so she was still knocked out when you left. It was the first time in a long time you'd seen her without her glasses.

You, Yuffie, and Selphie met up with the boys at the front gate, which wasn't even open yet. "Is the school open on Saturdays?" asked Sora.

"For teachers," replied Selphie. "Sometimes different committees gather here too, if they need to have a meeting without interfering with class or something."

Cloud arrived soon after, and briefed you as everyone waited for the gates to open. "The gymnasium hasn't been used yet this year, so before we do use it, we think it could use a nice cleaning..."

"We have to clean the whole gym?!?" asked Sora.

"There are five of you; work out a system. You will not be permitted to leave the area until the gym is satisfactory. There are bathrooms there, so you can't say I'm being inhumane."

"I can only imagine what would've become of us if we'd actually done something wrong," you said under your breath.

"What was that?" Cloud asked you.

"Nothing." You gave him an angelic smile.

"Right." He turned around, where the gates were now opening. "I'll guide you to the gymnasium. The materials you need should already be there waiting for you."

As you walked together, your mind went back to your first day ever at this school: Cloud had left you all alone without discussing when you had to be there, the route to get there, etc. You thought you had wanted to kill him then, but that was nothing compared to now.

"Here you are." Cloud pushed a cart from under the bleachers. "There are some cleaning products and disinfectant here. Floor polish, scrapers to get the gum off the underside of the bleachers... it's all here." He turned to you before saying, "A little advice. Do it right the first time; it's less time-consuming."

"You can't be serious," Selphie complained.

"When is he not?" countered Yuffie.

Selphie sighed and sat on the lowest edge of the bleachers.

"I'll come to check your progress in three hours," Cloud said, handing a checklist to Sora. "Have fun."

~~~~~

"According to this checklist, we have to clean and wax the floors, polish the bleachers and get the gum off the underside... ew... and change the glass and baskets on the basketball baskets, and check all the lightbulbs. I guess we should try to work out a plan." Sora turned to all of you. "Anyone?"