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Post by belated valentine on Jan 15, 2014 14:17:59 GMT -5
When Reiner sat up from his seat, his short blonde hair was sticking up in various directions. "Yeah, you were discussing how to get rid of me so Annie can be the alpha blonde," he replied, jokingly, reaching up to rub his eye with his wrist. He'd only been asleep for about ten minutes but shit, he felt like shit. These bus seats might have looked nice but they weren't that comfortable to sleep in. It could have been the fact that he was probably too big. There was a reason why he was the best player on their football team, and it wasn't just because he was good at it. Or it could have been the fact that he had multiple explosives strapped to his body. You know, that could make sleeping uncomfortable. "Nah, Bertl, that one's yours to set off."
"There can only be one," Annie replied, meeting his eyes as if to threaten him.
"See, Bertl, she wants you all to herself. That's her plan," he said, teasing him.
It could have been because he had a soft spot for her, but he felt bad hiding things from her. But he had to. These weren't things he could just tell anyone - not even Hanji. It was for her own safety. If anything happened to her because of him, he couldn't live with himself. It was a dangerous world for anyone who knew about it, even if they weren't involved. Hanji was a biology teacher in a high school. The type of place he'd come from was not for her.
And he knew that if had any idea that he was in trouble, she wouldn't even think twice before involving herself. Why? He had no idea, honestly, why someone would risk everything for someone like himself. Hanji was a genius, quite literally, but she was also an idiot. An idiot he wanted to keep safe. "Relax, shitty glasses," he teased, using his nickname for her. "I'll you sometime, okay? Just not right now. Let's talk about something else for the time being, like how we're going to survive this weekend without any causalities." Someone a few seats down behind them yelled: 'hey watch me drink this whole liter of Sprite at one time without throwing up' and he cringed.
When they were younger, Armin used to bring out atlas' that his grandfather owned long ago and they would sit on a hill underneath the biggest tree in that part of time, reading and dreaming about places they could go. He brought them maps of the skies too, and at night they would follow Armin to the best spot and they would spread out on the grass near the river and look up at the sky, trying to find the constellations. They could never find too many, because they lived in a big town where the lights drowned out the sky. But they always made promises to each other that the three of them would sit out under an open and naked sky together one day, and see all the stars they wanted. "Hey, Armin. What are you going to do after high school?" she asked, suddenly.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 15, 2014 19:54:02 GMT -5
"Annie already is the alpha blonde." Bertoldt said, as if this was a fact and not an opinion. And it was true for the most part. she had a decent amount of control over both the guys. It was impressive and they were both happy to comply with her demands. And, she was happy to comply with theirs. This whole firework thing was something she thought was stupid, when she found out, but she decided to go along with it, since it would probably spice up the trip and it was something he wanted. It was rare for Bertoldt to go out and do anything since he was so shy, but this was something he honestly wanted and was passionate. That affected Annie, sometimes, and she agreed not to say anything as long as she got to set off a few of them.
Seeing that Annie wanted to set off the biggest one, Bertoldt gulped and nodded. "It's yours."
Yeah, I'll tell you later. "Men always say that, but they never mean it." Hanji mumbled to him, still writing her notes. This was not the best place for her to be bitter with him and she was well aware. The incident had happened a while ago and she thought that by making him talk about it here, he wouldn't run from it. But he was and it really upset her. Probably more than she should have let it. She wasn't stupid, she knew that he'd been mixed up with something. Hell, they'd been mixed up with something when they met. As hard as he tried to keep it a secret, she wasn't stupid. He ran from something. And whatever it was, he was still running.
"You'll probably survive my cleaning everything and yelling at them. And I will survive by having fun outside and drinking some of what I brought with me." Then she smiled. "And, then going skinny dipping after I've had one too many and that is how the two of us will survive." Pushing her glasses up her nose, she was feeling a little better. Letting it bother her would only make it worse. He promised to tell her, so now she had to hope that he actually would.
Armin looked up at Mikasa suddenly. He hesitated and thought for a few moments, as if he wasn't sure of the answer. To be honest, he had no idea what he wanted or how to get it. "I want... to see the world." He answered honestly. That was really all he had in that instance. "I want to see it all and experience it all. This world is massive, there are so many languages, so many people, so many things to see and to do. It would make me happy to see them all before I die. I-I don't know of any job that will let me do that. It's why I'm having so much trouble deciding what to do, what to study... what colleges to look at, or if I should look out of the country for that, like in America, or Eastern Europe, maybe even France or Australia... I don't know what I want Mikasa. A-And I think that's because I want everything."
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 15, 2014 21:32:58 GMT -5
Annie seemed slightly surprised by this. Shit, her comment was meant for Reiner, regarding the blonde comment. He'd misunderstood and offered the biggest firework to her. She didn't want to set off the biggest, she didn't even know if she wanted to set off any of them. Earlier she'd agreed because Reiner had been pushing and bugging her about it, telling her that they'd brought enough for everyone to set off a few, and that it would be wrong if she didn't. The blonde shook her head. "Thanks, Bertholdt, but I don't want to set it off. The two of you can."
"Hey, Annie," Reiner spoke up again, but his tone was serious this time. When Annie averted her eyes to him, surprised by the sudden change in his voice, he just shook his head. "Nevermind," he said after a few seconds. Immediately afterwards, the atmosphere changed from the serious turn it had taken and he sat up and shot Bertholdt a look. "Hey, Zoe said there were bears on this park. You think I could take one on?"
Levi sat silent for a second. It was killing him. It wasn't like he didn't want to tell her, he just..He couldn't. As much as he just wanted to sit her down and talk to her about what was happening and what was bothering him he knew that he shouldn't, that it could put her in danger. He knew it would be selfish of him to pull her into the fucked up part of his past he was still currently dealing with. Actually, he was already being selfish. By constantly keeping her by his side. Because she brought him comfort. He knew he shouldn't have started anything with her, and that if he should have cut off their ties and just remained coworkers when he'd found out she was in the same building.
He was pulled back into reality when she followed his lead and changed the topic. Thank god. He was starting to become depressed, and when he became depressed he often took it out on other people. And there were plenty to go around right now. "Now, how do you plan to go skinny dipping with these little shits around?" He gave a small laugh, picturing Hanji naked in a lake while drunk.
Mikasa nodded as she stared out the window, her arms crossed over the back of Armin's seat, her head resting against said arms. "Those are good goals, I think. You could do it, Armin. You're smart enough," she answered truthfully. Then she was quiet for a few moments, pondering. "Is it selfish of me to want the three of us to stay together?" she asked. "I know it's unlikely. People say these kinds of things to their friends in school, but then everyone goes their own way afterward and no one really thinks back to what they said. Eren is rambunctious and gets into trouble, but he's really strong too and he knows what he wants and he isn't afraid to do what it takes to get it. I think he'll be really good at leading people one day." She looked over at the sleeping boy, his face peaceful as he slept soundly. "He'll go his own way one day, and you will too, and so will I. The world is really big, it's really easy to get lose people. It's scary."
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2014 0:32:25 GMT -5
Bertholdt was surprised by her sudden change of heart. He blinked and immediately felt nervous again. Oh no... why did she suddenly change her mind? Had he done something wrong? Had he made a mistake and upset her? "N-No, if you want the biggest one, then you can have it. Really. I think that it would be a good thing for you to set that one off, since you don't really want to and you deserve it." He stated, sweat starting to cascade down his neck. That was the most he had spoken at once in a while and suddenly he could feel his face reddening and he just let it go. He'd try to have her set it off later. Hopefully she'd just agree so he wouldn't be as embarassed. Admittedly, he wanted her to watch the fireworks since she always looked mesmerized and happy to see them explode.
And seeing her happy was what made him the most happy.
"I'll get them drunk too. Screw them. I love camping trips and they're not ruining for me. Besides, I'm sure they're going to be trying to avoid us, smoking weed and hooking up in the woods. We just need to make sure no one gets raped or mauled by a bear and we'll be fine." She told him, as if this was a simple thing that he should understand. That and she had never really done anything with him. They were together and were happy, they went on dates, had dinner, and were generally happy together, but they never really went on vacation or anything like that. It wasn't something she could afford considering all her schooling and how much it cost her to do her research projects. They weren't always free and some of her grant money ran out. She didn't tell Levi this since she didn't want him to worry about her.
Hanji was fine on her own. "I take it you don't want to get drunk with me?" She added, poking him in the side.
Armin hesitated for a moment before smiling at her. He wanted to believe he could, but he always thought himself a burden, a kiss ass, a teachers pet. Not a lot of people liked him because of the way he acted, at times and that didn't always make him happy. He thought he bothered people. But, hearing that she wanted the three of them to stay together, yeah... he liked the sound of that. he really liked it. "I-I've thought the same thing." He said seriously. "I want the three of us to stay together. E-Even if we can't stay together, every minute, sorta like we do now, I want to at least stay friends. Maybe I can afford to fly you to France or America or wherever I'm staying so you guys can see it too. That would honestly make me really happy. We've been friends since we were little kids. This isn't the sort of thing you just walk away from you know? Most people grow apart, but not us. We'll beat that statistic. I know we will." He said, turning in his seat and resting his hand on hers. "We'll beat the system. And, you know that Eren would survive long without us."
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 16, 2014 1:20:01 GMT -5
Annie sat up, turning to look at the boy beside her. He looked ready to pass out and it kind of scared her. "Hey, Bertholdt, you should breathe," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving him a light nudge. She reached behind the seat and the previous seat she'd occupied, where her bag was still sitting, and took out a bottle of water, which she handed to him, hoping that it would help calm him down. "I wasn't talking about the fireworks when I said that, I was talking to Reiner about being the alpha blonde or whatever the hell his creepy fantasies are." She sat back again once it seemed like he wasn't going to go headfirst into a panic attack. The blonde actually found herself smiling a little. He'd brightened her mood since she first entered the bus, that was for sure.
Levi just nodded. "Uh huh..." he went on, listening to her all while trying not to laugh. He was glad to see that the previous conversation had slipped from her mind for the time being. "If I get drunk with you, who's going to take care of the kids?" he teased, giving her glasses a light flick. A smirk played at his lips. "Besides, you get me drunk every other weekend and the both of us know where it leads, are you really sure you want to risk that happening in front of our students?" The last thing either of them needed was for their personal lives to become the talk of the school. It would probably be a hot topic. Oh, did you know that during the camping trip, Levi grabbed Hanji's tits in front of the campfire and all the kids?
Yeah, he was pretty sure that would be the end of his teaching career.
Mikasa smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just wonder about it sometimes. Everyone's growing up really fast - and I really want to but at the same time I wish everything would slow down too." Then she gave a small laugh. "Eren can't even survive a day of high school without us. Imagine his chances up against the real world." Armin and Eren had been her best friends since she was nine years old. She met Eren under some not so good circumstances. But he saved her. Then she met Armin, who'd known Eren even longer than her. The three were inseparable growing up.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2014 16:10:46 GMT -5
Just as Bertholdt was starting to feel light headed, Annie grabbed his arm and offered him water. He smiled nervously and took it. He drank slowly at first but then gulped the whole bottle down and handed the empty plastic bottle back to her. The light headed feeling was starting to go away but now he was feeling a little nervous. He went to rub his face and looked down at the sweat on his hands. Turning his body, he opened the window on the bus, the wind now tousling his short hair. Then he took the bottom of his shirt and drew it up to his face, wiping the sweat from it. As he did so the solid line of muscles his clothes usually covered was visible. There was a click of a cell phone camera and Bertholdt's head popped back up. He let his shirt fall and looked uncomfortable, then turned his head to look out the window.
Well...this was awkward.
"There is one." He stated calmly. "You're more alpha."
For a moment, Hanji seemed to contemplate this. She weighed her options back and forth before nodding. "Alright... I'll just have a few drinks, enough to be warm, but not enough to start sucking your dick." This wasn't really a promise, since the more she drank the more she felt she had to drink. She wasn't sure why she had this problem, it was just something that happened every now and then. Still, she was starting to feel better about the argument he got into. At first she had thought what all women thought: that he was cheating on her or that there was someone else. She learned pretty quickly, however, that this wasn't the case. Levi wasn't the type to do that. Whatever he wasn't telling her, he was under the impression he was protecting her. That's not how she felt, but she knew that he wouldn't change for her. He never changed. And he'd always been secretive about his work.
Eren against the real world? Armin laughed and turned in his seat to face her better. "Yeah... I can't imagine that. It would be a complete nightmare." The thought of Eren in an office building working at a desk for a living was hilarious. THat was never something Eren would pursue in life. But the thought of him losing it, jumping on his desk and doing something comical like biting off his thumb to get out of work was probably something he'd do. "He's smarter than he seems, but it's not really street smarts as much as it is book smart. I think he'd do well in law enforcement." Armin commented seriously.
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 16, 2014 17:12:43 GMT -5
Annie reached back to her bag, depositing the empty bottle back into it so she could throw it out later. She'd seen him go into a full panic attack only a few times before. To be honest, Reiner was better with handling them, but he was currently asleep again. She knew enough to know that as long as he had an anchor - or something to focus on - he could get through them fine. Fortunately, he seemed to be calming down. The air from the window seemed to be helping, considering the weather was a bit cooler today. When he'd lifted up his shirt to wipe his face, his undershirt had gotten caught up too and revealed the tan skin below.
Annie shot her eyes in the direction of the cellphone camera, catching sight of a girl putting her phone away. When the girl looked back again, she gave her a look, blue eyes threatening, as if to tell her "delete it".
Levi shot her a look as if to tell her to watch her language. Which was ironic, since he cursed in front of his students all the time. At first, they seemed rather surprised, but by this time of the year they'd gotten used to it. "Fine, but if you get lost and eaten by a bear, I won't help you," he joked, taking a phone out of his pocket to glance at the time and see how much longer before they arrived. He noticed the new voice mail alert icon lighting up at the corner of the screen. Curious, he told Hanji to give him a second, got up from his seat and walked towards the back of the bus where, away from the chatter of the children. Then he let the voicemail play. It began with silence, but then a cold voice began to speak and his eyes immediately widened.
He recognized the voice. "-you're getting really at this game, neh? It's a shame you won't give us a chance to talk to yo-" Levi hit the end button, refusing to listen to the rest. He shut off the phone, then glanced back at everyone for a moment, before he cracked open a window. Not entirely, just enough to give him the space to slip the phone through it. Then he returned to his seat, apologizing and letting Hanji know it was just a telemarketer.
Mikasa gave a nod, a small laugh playing at her voice. "It would be the start of World War 3," she commented. "Yeah, you're right. Law enforcement seems like something he'd be good at. He doesn't always follow the law but he seems to like bossing other people around so it would be good for him. He'd have a good way to vent his anger too," she noted, knowing Eren had a short temper. He'd been like that since he was little and no matter how many exercises or anger management classes Karla had put him through, he still didn't change.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2014 17:27:40 GMT -5
Annie sitting beside him helped him out quite a bit. Just having someone there with him did wonders for his nerves. He was usually quiet and shy, which apparently a lot of girls found attractive. It just made him nervous. He didn't like getting the attention. He hated attention. he wished he could be small so no one noticed him. Last year, a freshman saw him in gym class and thought he was a teacher. Bertholdt just laughed it off nervously and said that he was a student too. The kid looked confused.
The breeze helped calm him considerably and Annie kept glancing to him, worried. He rested a hand on hers for a second, as if to make it clear he was feeling alright before putting his hands back into his lap.
Hanji smiled at him. "If I encounter a bear, I'll get Annie or Bertholdt." She said, as if they were her only chance of survival. Then, she chuckled. "Or I'll call Jaeger. That kid has the anger to kill a bear." She joked, continuing to draw an outline of what her next experiment would be, this one involving a combination MRI machine and a life support system. She was trying to figure out a way to screen for cancer cells in a machine as an easier and faster way to check the entire body for cancer, at once, rather than running a series of various tests. It could revolutionize medicine and cancer discovery and care.
When Levi stood, Hanji looked confused. She nodded and watched him walk away. Whereas she wasn't directly watching him, she could see him. The look on his face made him looked panicked. Then he opened a window and tossed his phone out of the bus? W-What the hell? This... No! Now she knew something was wrong. Levi had never acted this way before. When he came back over to her and lied, she nodded, just accepting the lie since she knew better than to call him on it. "This is going to be a long ride." She slid her journal into her bag and took her glasses off, put them in there as well. "I'm going to sleep. Wake me before we get there?"
Armin knew that Eren would be good at it, as long as he learned how to deal with authority. Somehow, Eren spitting in the face of a superior officer didn't seem all that unlikely. But Armin knew that his friend was strong and that, with time, Eren might grow out of some of it. While the anger would still always be inside him, he'd calm down after a while and things would be okay. At least, he hoped they'd be okay.
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 16, 2014 17:51:11 GMT -5
A couple of hours later, the bus finally arrived in front a series of small toll booths, where one of the teachers had to sign a terms paper which basically stated that they were not there to tear up or burn down the park. Once all set, the bus drove through and deposited them off as far as the bus was allowed to go. They then had to walk the rest of the way through the forest to reach the spot where they would be setting up camp. It was a slightly rough hike, especially with all the things they were carrying.
Once they arrived, Levi gave them a couple of minutes to rest before he had them clean up the space and set up their tents. He honestly didn't think anyone could fuck that up, but when Connie gave himself a black eye after he didn't tie down his tent right and the rope snapped back and smacked him in the face, he decided he should probably help them. Once he started helping, the process seemed to go by faster. It wasn't that he was a master at setting up tents, it was just that most of the kids were either too stupid or simply didn't want to read the instructions.
"Alright, while the rest of us finish this, we need a few people to go and collect wood for the fire. Don't wander too far either. Any volunteers? Or should I go ahead and pick people?" he asked, standing up and dusting off his hands, before he moved on to help another student with their tent.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2014 17:58:38 GMT -5
It took hours to get there. Eren woke up a little before they got there to find Mikasa sleeping with her head on his shoulder and Armin reading a book. He smiled at his friend and didn't move so he didn't wake Mikasa until they stopped. When she woke up, she looked refreshed and they got off the bus and started to set up their tent. When they were almost done, Eren jumped up. "Me! Oh god me! PLease let me go look around and collect some wood!" He said, waving his hand in the air.
Sasha had half of a slim jim sticking out of her mouth, chewing it slowly to draw it in as she consumed it. She wasn't really paying much attention to them setting up the tents. She had finished setting up hers and was more interested in looking around than anything else. She liked being outside. Taking the food from her mouth, she glanced to Levi. "I'll go?" She offered.
Armin saw Eren agree to go and he glanced toward Mikasa. He smiled and pointed to the sky. It would give them a chance to look for a place to star gaze, right? "We'll chaperone Eren, Levi." He offered.
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 16, 2014 18:16:05 GMT -5
Mikasa nodded and followed Armin as they met up with Eren. Jean followed them too, boasting that since he'd finished his tent first that he should get to go and explore too. At this, Levi sighed, hoping he and Eren wouldn't get into a fight while out in the forest. He waved it off, figuring is Mikasa and Armin were going, it would be fine.
Reiner also spoke up on behalf of himself and Bertholdt. He needed to go so they could find a place to the hide the fireworks. Having had them on his chest for so long was starting to become uncomfortable and painful. After the small group was collected, they headed out, promising Levi they wouldn't do anything stupid.
"Stay together," Levi commanded as they began walking away. "And don't stay gone forever either, we still need to finish setting up and put the fire together." They all gave their promise and then left.
"Okay, there are probably a few hollow trees around here where we can hide the fireworks. We just have to make sure we remember where it is so we can come back for them, otherwise they're lost forever," he said to Eren once they were out of earshot.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2014 18:21:10 GMT -5
Sasha was walking behind them and heard something about a hallow tree. With the slim jim in her mouth again, she looked around. After moving around them she jumped and grabbed a low hanging branch before flipping herself up and onto the branch, almost like a gymnast. "You said a hollow tree, right?" She asked, finishing her snack. "This tree if hollow." She offered, shifting her position on the branch before jumping down. She'd felt it crack and knew she couldn't stay on it for too long.
Eren glanced nervously toward Reiner. "You were listening to us?"
"I heard you say hollow tree. They're usually the best wood to burn. It ignites quickly and burns for a while." Sasha explained. The others weren't paying too much attention as they were exploring on their own and gathering fallen branches and a few logs as they went.
Armin went with Mikasa, but was still within visual distance of Eren. Reiner had grabbed him and pulled him off, so he assumed it was better to let them talk about whatever they were planning and find out later. At least, until he saw Sasha. He was probably better off just asking her. Or Bertholdt. The guy couldn't exactly lie.
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 16, 2014 18:32:41 GMT -5
Reiner laughed nervously. "Ah, okay. Thanks, Sasha. I guess we should have known you'd find the best firewood," he said. Okay, he had to figure out a way to separate the them from the others so they wouldn't see the fireworks. "Alright, I think we should split up. Sasha, you should go and help Mikasa, Jean, and Armin. Eren, Bertholdt, and I will get the wood from this tree and head our own way. You should help them find more like these. Then we can meet back up and head back." He gave her a light nudge towards the others.
After they got the others far enough away from them, Reiner looked toward the tree Sasha had noted to be hollow. Then he used his hand to make an opening within the side of the bark. It didn't need to be big, just enough for them to be able to fit the fireworks through. Then he stripped himself of his jacket and outer shirt. The fireworks were strapped over his under shirt. He got them all off and slid them into the tree, returned his clothes and jacket. "That should do, you guys get yours in there too," he said, starting to pick up some nearby wood for the fire.
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Post by Fateful on Jan 16, 2014 18:39:57 GMT -5
Sasha blinked, knowing that something was going on. "Okay." She said, walking off with Jean toward Mikasa and Armin. They were planning something and she was going to find out what. She lead them on where to get the best wood and after they collected a mixture, her group returned to the campsite with all the wood they could carry. Levi had already set up a huge fire pit and Sasha took the wood and arranged it in the pit before using a single match and some brush to ignite it. The whole thing went up in flames and burned warm around them. They had a grill with them, but a lot of the students wanted to cook over the fire, Sasha included.
Hanji said they could make a few things, just some burgers and hot dogs. Nothing too wild. They weren't grilling steaks on a fire. Things had calmed down.
Eren and Bertholdt also stripped their upper clothing and put all the fireworks back inside. Once they returned to the camp site, they'd agreed they'd set the fireworks off the second night they were here. Then they'd do the rest on the last night. A break would give them a chance to avoid being caught and they'd get double the fun. Everyone else was sitting around the fire, grilling hotdogs on sticks.
Eren sat next to Mikasa and smiled at her after putting the wood in the pile. "So what did I miss?"
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Post by belated valentine on Jan 16, 2014 19:21:10 GMT -5
Mikasa looked over at him when he sat down beside her. "Not much. We got off easy collecting wood. Apparently the others who didn't go were given worse duties by Levi," she said, watching as Sasha lit the fire. It started off small and then the flame grew fairly large, warming everyone who sat around it. It felt nice. The atmosphere was soothing; their classmates laughing, joking, and just having a good time all together. This trip seemed to be going well and she actually felt a little happy that their previous plans had been broken. It was likely that everyone wouldn't sit together like this had they stayed at a hotel.
Levi picked up two bottles of soda and took a seat beside Hanji, handing one to her. He popped open the lid. "Seems like everything's going according to plan, huh. Not so bad, I guess," he muttered, watching the students. To be honest, they actually deserved this. He knew that he and Hanji weren't the easiest teachers to have. They both worked their students harder than most of the others. To give them a weekend to relax like this seemed only fair.
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