𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐓 𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐈𝐃 (𝐇𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄 𝐗 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑)

< Chapter 15 >

The last day of school before a break always feels different from other days. Each student had mixed emotions about the last day. Everyone was eager and excited for break but it was also the day test scores got posted, everyone was on high alert.

It was July 20th, the last day of the first term. You and Armin patiently waited behind a large crowd of first years. They were looking at the bulletin board which had your classes test scores, along with the top 100 for your grade level.

There were close to 600 first year students, so managing to get into the top 100 was already a big deal. As you and Armin pushed your way through the crowd, you began feeling a little uneasy.

    You were suddenly reminded of Hange, so you decided that after checking your score, you'd go see one of the second year boards to see Hange's placement. You and Armin finally made your way to the front, the board suddenly came into view. You found the section for Year 1, Class 4 and frantically searched the board.

"Not bad" you murmured under your breath. You placed 9th in your class, and 24th overall. You may not have been on Armin or Hange's level of intelligence, but you were pretty smart. Armin congratulated you, he was always happy to see you do well. Armin ended up getting the highest test scores for not only your class, but your entire grade.

    Armin was getting ready to return to your homeroom class, but you excused yourself so you could go check Hange's score. There were many bulletin boards stationed around the school that had the top 100 for first, second, and third years posted on them. You made your way up to the second floor to check one out.

This one was much less crowded, most people only cared for their placement in their individual class rather than the whole school. You first took a glance at the first year section, seeing Armin's name in the number 1 spot made you proud.

    You redirected your eyes to the second year section, you were a little anxious. You suddenly felt two strong arms wrap around you from behind, grabbing onto your waist.

"See that Y/n? I told you I would do it." the tall figure said, whispering into your left ear. You looked at the name which held the top placement for second years. "Hange Zoe. Year 2, Class 6." You quickly turned to face the person who stood behind you.

"You really are incredible, you know that?" you said as you rubbed Hange's shoulders. "So that means yakisoba bread?" they asked.

    "Really Hange, yakisoba bread? Is that all you care about?" you questioned. Hange laughed a little before answering.

"Of course not, but you made a promise. You can't break a promise!" Hange whined while tugging on your sleeve. You smiled as you rolled your eyes.

"I guess you're right. Let's go to the mall after school. The food court sells really yummy yakisoba bread," you suggested. The two of you separated ways as you made your way back to your homeroom class.

~ Two Hours Later ~

    "You were right Y/n, this yakisoba is amazing!" Hange said before stuffing their face with food. "Slow down Hange. The food isn't going anywhere" You chuckled. The mall was packed today.

The beginning of summer meant that kids and many adults had a lot of free time. It was a pretty common thing for parents to treat their child to some delicious food and do a little shopping as a reward for the end of a school term, especially if their kid got good test scores.

As you and Hange sat at a table in the large food court, many people passed by. A few kids from your school even noticed the two of you and waved. You had the suspicion that Hange was popular, and your suspicion proved to be true. The majority of the students who waved at the two of you only did so because they knew Hange.

You were quite well known around the school because of your student council work but you didn't know any of them on a personal level, whereas Hange spoke with almost everyone. "When we're done eating want to walk around?'' You asked. Hange nodded, her mouth was still full of food.

"Say Y/n, what do you want to do when you're older?" Hange asked after swallowing a bite of food. You paused, you never really thought about the future.

"I guess something to do with literature?" You replied as you scratched your head. "Like a writer!" Hange exclaimed.

"I don't know about that. Sure I like to read books, but I've never written anything of my own before." Hange took another bite of their yakisoba bread before speaking up again. "Sure you have. You wrote essays in school."

You shook your head as you giggled, "That's a completely different thing!" You said. Hange always said stupid things that made you laugh.

"What about you? Anything you want to do?" You asked. "Nothing." Hange replied with seemingly no hesitation.

"You're going to have to figure that out soon then, you'll be a third year sooner than you know it!" You laughed.

Hange looked down at their feet and their smile disappeared. "Right." she replied, her voice sounding dull.

It's stressful trying to figure out what you're going to do after high school, so you apologized for bringing it up. Hange repeatedly told you it was okay, but you couldn't help but feel bad.

After you and Hange took your last few bites of food, you began walking around the mall. Neither of you had much money on you, but you enjoyed each other's company.

"Hey look Y/n, a photobooth!" Hange shouted as they dragged you forwards. The two of you got into the booth and began taking pictures.

You weren't a huge fan of taking pictures but Hange looked so excited to be taking pictures with you, you couldn't resist.

After waiting for the picture strips to print, you and Hange looked at them together. "This one is so cute!" Hange exclaimed as they placed the photos in the pocket of their jacket, not allowing you to see it. "I'm keeping this one."

You laughed as you grabbed the other strip. The one you kept had four squares, all with different pictures. The strip was black and had fireworks all around the border.

Hange was caught off guard in one of the pictures with her eyes closed. You thought it was cute, but you teased her for it.

"Y/n when did you suddenly become so mean," Hange whined as they pouted their lip. You giggled and grabbed her hand. "You're the one who always teases me, so maybe I got it from you" you replied.

As the two of you neared the exit of the mall, you spotted a machine. It had many small mystery bags that apparently had an animal keychain in them. The pictures looked cute, so you wanted to get one.

"Hey Hange, can we go to that machine real quick before we leave?" You asked. Hange agreed as they followed you to the machine. "Can you get me one too?" Hange pleaded. "Okay" you replied, slipping a quarter into the machine. A small blue bag popped out and you handed it to Hange before paying the machine one more quarter.

"Ready to open them?" You asked. Hange nodded and the two of you tore open your blind bags. You simultaneously held up the keychains so you could both see. Hange's keychain was a tiny plastic purple penguin with a dark blue nose.

Your keychain was similar, but a pink penguin with a dark purple nose instead. "Wow we got the same animal!" Hange exclaimed. Both penguins were sparkly and had little black eyes. You smiled at Hange before the two of you left the mall. You were happy you got matching keychains.

The mall was close to 20 minutes away from your house by train. As you and Hange sat on the train, you carefully attached your keychain to the zipper of your backpack.

"I want to do that too'' Hange said before doing the same. You smiled, for some reason having the same keychain on your backpacks made you overjoyed.

After setting your backpack on the floor beneath you, Hange rested their head on your left shoulder. You gave Hange a pat on their head as they closed their eyes.

"Wake me up when we're at our stop okay?" she whispered.

You nodded your head and placed your hand on their thigh, drawing little hearts with your finger on her leg. You could feel Hange smile against your shoulder as she slowly drifted off to sleep.