Cloud Strife opened his glowing Mako eyes, and stared out the window. He had stayed all night training with Zangan in order to partake in the SeeD field exam. It didn't go that well, though. Just thinking about what happened yesterday gave him a huge headache.

He sat up on his bed and thought for a while. Then he heard the bell ringing, indicating that breakfast is now being served in the cafeteria. Cloud didn't make any motion to leave. He decided to stay in his dorm for a while.

"Yo Cloud! You ready to eat or what?"

Cloud looked up and found his best friend, Zack. Zack stood by the door with a mischievous smile forming across his face. He has jet-black hair and same blue eyes. He and Cloud are a carbon copy of each other.

"Come on now, man! It's the beginning of the year, damn it!" Zack exclaimed. "Cheer up, hey? I know you're still thinking about your training with Zangan yesterday, but don't worry about that too much."

Cloud got up from his bed. "I'll meet you in the caf. I'm gonna go change."

"Sure, man!" Zack replied. He turned towards the door, but stopped short and turned back at Cloud. "Hey, and put a little smile on your face a little, okay? I hate seeing my sorta-twin looking down."

After meeting Zack in the cafeteria, Cloud silently made his way to his English class. It was long walk to the classrooms. Balamb High School is one huge school. He still looked a little sad when he entered the classroom. Opening the door to Ms. Trepe's classroom, Cloud was greeted by his childhood friend, Tifa Lockheart.

"Hi Cloud, wanna sit together?" Tifa asked, smiling at him. She wore her chestnut-colored hair down, and her ruby eyes were shining as she looked at him.

Cloud shrugged and sat next to the empty seat next to Tifa. "Whatever..."

Tifa observed Cloud's expression. He just sat there with his eyes staring out into space. "Let me guess... The training didn't go very well, did it?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," Cloud replied coldly.

"Oh, so you're just gonna keep everything to yourself? Is that what you're saying?" she said, looking a little hurt.

He nodded. "It's none of your business anyway."

Tifa looked taken aback. She was about to say something when Ms. Trepe entered the classroom.

"Good morning everyone," Ms. Trepe greeted. "Since there is a field exam that most of you guys are taking, I will give this time for you all to study. If you failed the last test, you must remain in the study hall. Dismiss."

Everyone got up on their seats and left the classroom. Tifa rose to her feet and looked at Cloud. "Cloud, if you want to talk about it, you know I'm here..."

Cloud avoided her gaze and remained sitting there without a word. Tifa made a fist. She was about to protest, but she decided not to. She stormed away from the classroom, leaving Cloud sitting on his desk.