CHAPTER THREE:
the weekend.
"Alright. See you later, Y/N." Mikasa got up from her bed and finished pulling on her boots.
"Have fun cleaning," I laughed. "Make sure to polish the front tables for me, I plan on sitting near the front so I can see the hot teacher!" I started wheezing.
Mikasa hurled a hanger at me.
"Ow!" I complained as I rubbed my head.
"Bye." She shut the door quietly.
"Bye!" I called.
I flopped backwards on my bed.
I laid there in silence for a few minutes.
It's Sunday.
School starts tomorrow.
I got up to sit down at my desk and opened up my laptop.
I had a few emails from Armin. I smiled.
Armin Arlert
armlert3@gmail.com:
Eren and Jean went to go clean a few minutes ago and I'm literally so bored
Armin Arlert
armlert3@gmail.com:
I heard there's a nice ice cream shop outside of the dorms
Armin Arlert
armlert3@gmail.com:
Would you maybe want to go with me?
Armin Arlert
armlert3@gmail.com:
Forget I said that
Armin Arlert
armlert3@gmail.com:
Unless you want to?
I felt giddy.
Y/N L/N
(username)@gmail.com:
I'll be there :D of course I would
Should we meet up downstairs?
I tapped send and leaned back in my chair.
He responded almost instantly.
Armin Arlert
armlert3@gmail.com:
Okay! :)
I closed my laptop and picked out an outfit.
I ended up settling on a gray button up and some high waisted jeans.
Pulling on my (f/c) shoes, I heard a knock at my door.
I got up from the floor and closed the window before walking over to the door.
I opened it to see Hanji.
"Hi Y/N!" She waved while balancing a large stack of books in her other hand.
"Hello- do you need help with that?" I interrupted.
"Yes, yes, that's why I'm here! I wanted to know if you'd like to help me with something!" Hanji gave me about half of the stack. "I already got Arlert here to help me, so I thought you'd want to help too since your other friends have gotten in trouble with Levi. Nobody else wants to help me, so I've resorted to getting students. I'll give you a free grade if you help me!"
Armin peeked out from behind Hanji and gave me a weak smile.
"Alright. Just give me a second-" I grabbed my purse and threw my keys and phone inside before tossing it over my shoulder.
I closed the dormitory door and walked out alongside Armin.
"I guess we'll have to grab that ice cream later." Armin adjusted his books.
"Yeah." I laughed a bit. "Hanji, what'll we be helping you with?" I asked.
"I'm glad you're so eager! First, we'll just be dropping these off to Professor Ackerman, and then I need help with decorating my classroom a bit. I could've sworn I had more time, but I ended up procrastinating and dissected a frog instead." She said happily.
"Oh."
We walked outside in silence, except for Hanji's bubbly humming as we passed the gardens.
Sometimes the books would slip a bit, and Armin would push them up a bit with his elbow.
We finally arrived at the main classroom building, and encountered a lot of new students exploring the halls and returning students greeting their teachers.
Hanji jogged up to a classroom I assumed was Professor Ackerman's, because there was a sign that said 'clean up in progress; don't bother me.' on the door. Armin and I followed closely.
She knocked on the door repeatedly and stepped back. The door slammed open and a short man wearing a face mask and kerchief on his head stepped out.
"Hanji. Are you incapable of reading or something?" He scowled.
Hanji smiled brightly. "I love you too, Levi! Here are the textbooks you needed!"
Professor Ackerman scowled. "Put them on the bookshelf on the far right. And wipe your shoes on the mat." He walked back inside. The classroom was a basic lecture hall, with the addition of bookshelves and counters on the side. The ceiling was high, and lights dotted the top evenly.
I did as he told, and entered the threshold to see Eren on a ladder dusting bookshelves.
"Hey Eren. Could you put these up there?" I climbed the ladder and handed him the books.
Mikasa was wiping down tables and seats, but seemed distracted with making sure Eren didn't fall off. I got down and waved to her. She waved back but continued supervising Eren.
Jean was preoccupied mopping, but was doing it so poorly that he was dripping too much water and caused Armin to lose balance.
Hanji sauntered over to Levi's spinning chair and started messing with the height settings.
She made the chair go to its tallest, and proceeded to raise the armrests as well. How is a chair able to be that tall?
I sort of stood awkwardly next to Hanji while waiting for instructions on what to do next.
"Wh-what are you doing, Hanji?" I asked with a confused expression.
"I'm changing the height of his chair so he can't sit in it without having to lower the height all over again." She snickered. Armin put his face in his hands.
"Whew! Look at the time! We'll be on our way then!" She hopped down from the chair and waved goodbye without even looking back.
"Good riddance." Levi scoffed.
"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Hanji waited for me and Armin to come out and shut the door loudly.
"My classroom is just across here," She pointed to the door literally right by the one we just exited.
The science lab was a white room with black tables and green stools lining the sides. Black counters with sinks circled the room, and there was an eye washing station and shower in the corner.
"Feel free to explore! Not much to see anyways, but you guys can take out the stuff inside the bags if you want! I would love it if you got started on the decor- be creative!" Hanji waved her car keys. "I'm going to go get a pizza!"
Armin looked around in wonder, and approached a table with a bunch of Dollar Tree and Walmart bags. I followed and looked inside one. "Just a bunch of science posters." I said.
"No, there's candy in this one." Armin showed me a bag stuffed with chocolate bars and toffee.
"She's certainly eccentric." I pulled out a poster that said 'Think like a PROTON and stay POSITIVE'.
"But a free hundred is a free hundred." Armin laughed.
"We should get started then." I smiled.
We got to work, hanging up posters and diagrams, and cleaning up her desk littered with paperwork.
"I don't think it looks too bad." I tilted my head.
"I think it could use some greenery."
"I'm pretty sure I saw some fake plants in that cupboard." I walked over to the closet and took out a clear container full of faux succulents and cacti.
We went around, placing small plastic plants on the counters here and there, before being interrupted by a door opening.
"Hanji, do you have-'' Mr. Moblit tumbled in holding sets of watercolors.
He turned to look at us. Armin was holding a cactus and skipping over to Hanji's desk, while I was emptying out her stuffed drawers.
Moblit sighed.
"Did Hanji tell you to decorate her classroom in exchange for a free A?" He asked.
"Yes, sir." I said and shut a drawer. Are we in trouble or something?
Gosh, I hope I don't end up having to clean with Modern Napoleon. He kiNdA cUtE dOe- Oh my god, I need therapy.
Mr. Moblit started muttering under his breath.
"How long have you been with her?"
"About two hours, but she left maybe an hour and a half ago." Armin tucked a strand of hair behind his ear.
I wonder how he would look with a bun?
I'll ask him if I can style his hair later-
If he says no, I think I can force Eren to agree.
"I literally told her not to procrastinate on this-"
He pulled out his laptop and started typing away furiously.
Hanji burst into the classroom and slid two large pizzas across her desk. "Whew! You two did a good job on this one! I hope neither of you guys are vegetarian or lactose intolerant or anything, because I only got pepperoni and cheese." She cackled.
Isn't it a bit early for lunch?
I looked at the clock that hung above the door.
10:43.
"If you are, I think you can just eat those chocolate bars, right? Oh heyy, Moblit!" Hanji put an arm around him.
"You can't leave two students unsupervised in a room full of chemicals and hazards, Hanji!" Mr. Moblit scolded her as Hanji hugged him even tighter.
Armin coughed awkwardly.
"Why aren't you eating? Go ahead!" Hanji called out as she ruffled Moblit's hair.
"A-alright then." I grabbed a paper towel from beside the sink and pulled out a piece of pizza.
I sat down at a desk near the front. Armin took the stool next to me.
He pulled out his phone and earbuds.
"Wanna listen to music with me?" He asked with a small smile.
"Sure." I grinned.
I started headbanging as a joke, but Hanji jumped up from her desk and joined me while Armin stared in disappointment.
Hanji unplugged the headphones and put the phone up at top volume. We continued for a few more seconds until suddenly-
"Oi. Hanji." Levi slammed the door open, and Eren and Jean trailed behind him, with Mikasa lanking in the back.
The noise startled me, and I fell out of my stool.
Except that when I fell out, I toppled Armin's stool too.
He fell on top of me, barely catching himself on his elbows.
Cliche. Come on, I've got to be in some poorly written novel. Pack it up, Wattpad.
Soft hair tickled my face. I looked up at Armin nervously. Armin's blue eyes met mine. For a second it felt like everything stopped.
"You guys should kis-" Eren started.
"Shut up, Jaeger." Professor Ackerman snapped as Eren shrank back. He pulled Armin off of me and shoved him to the side. "Hanji. These brats were whining about smelling the pizza and not being able to have any. Do you have any scraps I can feed them? They won't shut up."
"Er- yeah, they can have the rest, I guess?" Hanji said.
Armin was blushing aggressively behind her.
I covered my face with my hands. I can't believe that just happened. I mean, I guess the awkward anime situation was bound to happen eventually.
I pulled my purse over my shoulder. I looked to my side.
"Hey, um- I'm sorry for making you fall earlier." I rubbed the back of my neck.
"It's okay. I- uh- I'm sorry I fell on top of you like that. Sorry if that made you feel uncomfortable in any way. I didn't mean to fall like that, so I hope you can forgive me." Armin said sheepishly.
"It's fine, I swear." I shook my head.
We exited the school building and walked towards the boarding building.
The blue flowers that lined the path were in full bloom. A gentle breeze flowed through my blouse. I tightened my grip on my purse.
"Yo!" A voice called out. "Have you guys seen Sasha out and about?"
It was Connie.
"No, I don't think so." I yelled back to him.
"Me either." Armin furrowed his brows. "She's probably just sore from the fall."
"Ergh...I wanted to go to this cool video game store with her today." Connie groaned.
I smiled.
"Are you and Y/N dating? I've only known you guys for about a day, but like, I've seen the way you look at her like it's so obvio-" Connie rambled on.
Armin stiffened next to me. "N-no! Well- I, um- we're not-!"
Connie wiggled his thin eyebrows, hazel eyes sparkling devilishly. "Oh?"
"We've got places to be, Connie. See you later." I did a mock salute and pulled Armin by the hood.
Only after we were a considerable distance away from the chaotic boy did I speak.
"Hey, how about you show me your room? Not like Jean and Eren will be there right now." I suggested, breaking the awkward silence.
He put his hands in his pockets. "Okay! It'll probably be a bit messy, I mean this is a room shared by three boys we're talking about, but I tidied up a bit this morning as best as I could without disturbing Jean and Eren's things." He laughed a bit, blond hair being blown back by the breeze coming from the air conditioning of the building.
I patted him on the back as we walked past the common room and library. I haven't really been in the common room, since I've been trying to get used to my dormitory first. And I don't really do well with talking to people anyways, so I wouldn't have made many friends.
Armin motioned for me to follow him. The second floor was the boys' floor, and was divided into two parts; one section contained the students, and the other was where the teachers lived.
It was practically the same as the girls' floor, which was on the third level, except that the boys' floor had more people, and as a result had rooms where there were three students in one room as opposed to the normal two.
Armin unlocked the door and held it open for me.
His shared room was slightly larger than mine, and seemed much less coordinated.
Armin sat down on his bed.
The wall behind him had a bulletin board with pictures of Eren, Mikasa, and I, and had small inspirational quotes printed on blue paper. A few pictures of the sky and nature scenery were also hung up. An electric piano was in a box at the side of the desk.
His desk sat at the foot of his bed, and held his laptop and a small jar full of seashells next to a flower pot. On his chair was the blue hoodie he bought on the trip neatly folded. His comforter was a light gray, and had a smell reminiscent of lemon and fruit. It was really soothing.
I sat down at his desk and picked up his hoodie.
"You have a good taste in decoration." I smiled at him.
"Thanks, Y/N. I certainly wish I could say the same for them." He sighed and pointed to the other side of the room.
"What do you mea- oh."
The rest of the room was plastered in posters and had clothes strewn everywhere. A bed on the wall opposite to us had a red plaid comforter, and dark blue pillows and sheets. There was a poster of a red car at the headboard, and a bunch of drawings of- Mikasa? I'm assuming that's Jean's bed. Eren would never.
Meanwhile, another bed was in the corner, and had black- well, everything. Which would've been perfectly fine if the bed was actually made. Clothes littered the floor near the closets.
"I- how? It hasn't even been three days? How have they made such a big mess already?" I stuttered out.
"I just decided to let them have the closet in hopes that it'd be a bit neater, and put all of my clothes in the drawers under my bed, but I think that was a mistake." He laughed darkly.
His laughter seemed to fill up the room.
We talked for a while, and went on to play random games for the duration of the day until Eren and Jean finally came back.
ʷᵒʳᵈ ᶜᵒᵘⁿᵗ: ²⁶⁰⁴