70 Preliminaries [3]
The exams spanned a total of four days.
Each day was dedicated to a different subject, comprised of 200 items for every subject.
"That's enough. Pen's down."
As Vanessa's voice rang, each and every one of the students did as she instructed.
Flip–
They flipped the papers back and passed it all to the front rows.
Vanessa walked towards them and gathered each stack of papers.
As she returned to the podium with the papers in her hands, her voice echoed throughout the lecture room once again.
"Congratulations on finishing your preliminaries exam. I know how hard each and every one of you worked, which is why…."
She paused, allowing the tension to sink in. She really liked doing that for some reason.
Silence befell in the lecture room.
No words slipped out from any of the students.
She then continued.
"The Academy has rewarded you with a school trip to start off the midterms. Two sections will be paired up for this trip. In your case, Section A will be paired up with Section B."
As soon as she mentioned 'school trip', all of the students' eyes lit up.
This became evident as their chatters began to echo throughout the lecture room.
"Maybe I'll pick out new clothes for this trip."
"I'll go with you!"
"Section B? I'll go with my girlfriend then."
"Eh? Then who am I going to pair up with?"
But as Vanessa's voice rang, they all fell silent once again.
"Pairs of two will be formed. You're only allowed to pair yourselves with the other section. Think of it as expanding your connections."
More or less, Vanessa's debrief could be summarized as;
Each section pairing will be assigned to different locations for their trip.
For section A and section B, the location of the trip was Everglade.
Everglade was a town that was situated far out the countryside. It was located on the northern side of the country, meaning the climate would be cold.
Though rural, there were urban aspects to it as well.
It seemed likely that 'rural' had a different standard in this world, as far as Brandon could remember.
At that, they were given two days to prepare and such. And on the day of the trip, the meetup would be at the Academy's gate.
Amidst the noise that continued to echo, all of a sudden, a faint glow emitted from Vanessa and a sudden pressure bore down on the students.
In doing so, silence befell the lecture room once again.
Walking around the podium, Vanessa squinted her eyes as she pursed her lips.
"I hope you all control yourselves throughout the trip. Remember, each and every one of you carries the pride of Astrea Academy."
For some reason, Vanessa had yet to debrief what the pairs were actually for.
It seemed high likely that there was going to be a task that the students need to fulfill.
That being said, the debriefing was finished and they were all dismissed.
Brandon wanted to investigate his identity first.
But there was a change of plans. If the main cast were to go on the trip, then he had to go there as well.
After all, wherever the main cast would go, trouble would always follow them.
They were given two days to prepare, sure.
But from what he knew from Belle, their hometown was quite far from the main city.
It would be a lot of trouble just to go back and forth within two days.
He had to prepare for the trip as well.
It became apparent to Brandon that this kind of school trip had never happened in the novel.
Could it have been because of him?
After revealing three of his affinities, Brandon had noticed that the teachers were buttering him up.
Maybe the Academy was trying to curry favor with him.
Since he was a first year, the school trip privilege would be given to the first years as well.
But then again, it was all speculation on his part.
Once again, it was another storyline that he didn't know.
To make up for it, he had already decided on his partner.
Section A was Brandon, Raven, Reinhard, and Rachel's class.
While Section B was Amy, and Claire's class.
But there was another person Brandon wanted to pair up with.
Which is why he headed directly towards section B's lecture room.
Standing by section B's door frame, it seemed like they were already dismissed as well.
While waiting for 'this' person, Brandon's gaze met two familiar faces–leaving the lecture room.
The two's purple and blonde hair made them stand out. Brandon was able to distinguish them easily amidst the crowd.
The first one to have spoken was Amy.
"Brandon, good timing. Want to pair up?"
"Nope."
A flat out refusal.
"....Okay, I'll ask Rachel instead."
"Sure."
But then, Claire motioned for Amy to stop.
Pursing her lips, Claire's voice rang.
"Hold up, I've already spoken with Rachel. We both agreed that we would pair up."
Amy's brow suddenly furrowed as her tone raised.
"Eh… Then who do I—"
"Raven."
"A-ah, yeah. That's right."
Amy's hesitation instantly piqued Brandon's curiosity.
It seemed like something was going on between Raven and Amy without him looking.
But not like he actually cared.
Brandon didn't actually know who Raven had ended up with in the novel, since he had never finished it in the first place.
But then again, it was none of his business in the first place.
That being said, the two bid their farewells and Brandon stood alone, waiting for the specific person.
Just as his patience was about to run out, the person he had waited for had finally left the lecture room.
Her black hair tied to a ponytail instantly registered within Brandon's vision.
Her lavender eyes scanned the surroundings and eventually meet Brandon's gaze.
That being said…
As soon as Sarah recognized him.
She instantly ran away.
"Hey, wait!"
Chasing her, Brandon grabbed her shoulder.
"Where are you going"
"A-ah, Brandon… What a surprise."
Bullshit.
She obviously saw him.
She just pretended she didn't.
Brandon frowned, but immediately changed his expression.
He then opened his mouth.
"Sarah, want to pair up?"
"W-why me?"
"You know where we're going right?"
"Yes."
The reason why Brandon opted to pair up with Sarah instead of Amy or Claire, was simply because Everglade was actually Sarah's hometown.
If he didn't know how the storyline would unfold, then it was better to at least have someone who was familiar with the place.
Sarah's face scrunched up.
It seemed like she wanted to pass on the offer.
"But—"
She paused as her eyes darted away.
She seemed like she wanted to say something as she opened and closed her mouth back and forth.
"But what?."
"I…"
She hesitated once again.
"I won't bite."
As those words left Brandon's mouth, Sarah's shoulders suddenly trembled.
But eventually, she composed herself, and hesitantly spoke up.
"...I don't think I'm going on the trip."
"Hm? Why?"
Brandon tilted his head.
"Don't you want to visit your family?"
"It's not that. It's because…. I don't have any money for souvenirs…."
Blinking, Brandon was taken aback.
Tilting his head, he opened his mouth.
"I don't think your family would mind it."
"Yes, but… After all my has Mom done for me, I want to at least give something back."
Once again, Brandon was taken aback.
He had never seen this side of Sarah before.
Not like he was particularly close to her.
He had only known her for a span of two weeks.
But because of what she said, Brandon now respected her.
It was quite wholesome.
As someone who cherished his own mother back in his past life, it touched his heart.
Which is why he had decided.
Pursing his lips, Brandon met her gaze.
"I'll give you money."
"What?"
Her eyes widened.
"You don't need to do that."
"I know, call it an investment."
Brandon then turned around.
His back facing Sarah, as he walked ahead.
"Be sure to pay me in the future."
Sarah stood speechless, staring at Brandon's departing figure.
He didn't even give her a chance to refuse.
But in the end, she appreciated his kindness.
He wasn't as scary as she initially thought he was.
She then called out to him with a shout.
"Thank you!"
Brandon turned his head back and nonchalantly nodded as he continued to walk away.
At that, he had secured his pair and a tour guide for the trip.
A win-win on his part.