...Studying...
You could feel yourself about to doze off to sleep like the near-bald Connie sitting behind you.
You had already known from your orphanage years that academics was not your strongest suit and this staid Instructor was not making it any easier. The minute that old man opens his mouth, you zone out.
Though, your homework grade was stellar. Only because Armin let you copy his all the time. All of your friends copy off him. But he didn't let anyone cheat off him during tests so your test grade was shit. Your participation grade was even worse because according to the Instructor, you had this "attitude," but really you were just being yourself.
"Now, can anyone come to the board and solve this problem?"
The Instructor pointed to the mathematical equation about the science behind ODM gear. Something about momentum or mobility or something that sounded like another language to you. Made you wonder if it was even solvable if Armin wasn't raising his hand.
"No volunteers? Okay, I shall pick."
Everyone turned to look anywhere except at the Instructor. You and your three friends sat front rowâbecause Armin's the smartass that insistedâand almost every time the Instructor picked from your row. So you were in extra danger.
"L/n, why don't you come up?"
You banged your head on the table, got up, ignored all the stares, and headed to the front. You stood there, chalk in hand, and stared at the problem. There wasn't even an equation to start you off with.
"What's wrong, L/n? Didn't study last night like the rest of your classmates?"
You son of a bitch, nobody studies other than Armin. But you weren't worried because no matter how difficult situations got, you always found ways to get yourself out of it. "So how's your day going, sir?"
His eyes lit up slightly, surprised about your good manners. "Well, it's going quite nicely. How is yours?"
"Could be better. But you know what could really make my day? If I can get a little direction on how to do this."
He chortled. "You're a funny one, aren't you?" Then he pulled his face straight. "No."
"Then I'm not solving it." You set down the chalk and crossed your arms. Everyone else whispered behind you. Probably about how "disrespectful" you were being again.
"Ms. L/n, please do as you are told."
"I can't because I don't know how. So either you can call someone else or I can just stand here doing nothing until class ends and no one would learn a thing. But then again, you're the Instructor so I really can't tell you what to do with your class. I just kind of feel bad for the rest of my classmates, don't you?"
He was glaring at you now. "Ms. L/n, I advise you to please stop causing trouble. Or else I will take points off of your participation grade. Again."
"With all due respect, I'm not trying to cause any trouble for you, sir," you said, holding up your hands in surrender. "I'm just looking out for all of us."
He let out a deep sigh and massaged his nose bridge. "Jaeger, what are you laughing at over there?"
Eren covered his mouth with his hand. "Nothing, sir."
"L/n, go back to your seat and fix your attitude. Jaeger, come up and show us how it's done."
Eren glared at you as he walked up. "Now look what you've done," he muttered.
You smirked and tilted your head. "Come on, don't be like that." You bumped your shoulder in his as you passed him.
He began scribbling on the board with his atrocious handwriting. Whenever he wrote, he would grip the pen like a knife and scratch around the surface as if he was slashing his mortal enemy. You winced at times when the chalk would creak too loudly on the board. He glanced at the Instructor for approval when he was done.
"Jaeger, this is a math problem. Not a vocabulary problem. But bonus points for your creativity."
Everyone fell into fits of giggles as he returned to his seat, scowling. He slumped down and crossed his arms. "I don't want to hear it."
"I didn't even start yet."
"At least I did something."
"You defined what ODM Gear is. Everyone knows what it is."
Armin ended up going to the board and solving the question. Could've gone up a bit sooner, but at least class ended early because of him.
"Please, the test is tomorrow! I can't get another zero again," whined Sasha, keeping up after Armin. "At least tell us how you're so smart! Is it something you eat?"
"No, eating doesn't really do anything," he said, sounding a bit overwhelmed.
"Then is it how you sleep?" asked Connie.
"Not really... but sleeping does help rest the brain so-"
"I fucking knew it! I'm going to bed right now! Race you there, Sasha!" The two of them dashed off back to the barracks. "We're going to wake up so fucking smart tomorrow," you heard him say in the distance. Now it was just the usual four of you left.
"You know, back in Shiganshina, they used to call me a nerd and look down on me for being smart," said Armin. "At least some people think it's cool now."
"You've always been cool, Armin."
"Thanks, Y/n."
"Now can you help the three of us study?" you asked shamelessly.
"I don't know about that..."
"Yeah, please, Armin?" chimed in Eren. "I'm going to fail if all I can do is redefine the questions on the test."
"And I...might need some guidance too," added Mikasa.
"But it's tomorrow. I can't spoon-feed you all the information in one night and expect you guys to understand it all in time for next morning."
"But you can give us some pointers," you said. "Come on, Armin. We're not hopeless. Remember, if we really were stupid, then we wouldn't have become friends with you." You ended your sentence with a grin.
"You're seriously kissing his ass just so he could help us?" asked Eren and you elbowed him hard in the ribs, making him hiss.
Armin sighed. "Fine. I'll help. Or else what kind of friend am I, right? Let's go to the library for this."
. * . *
The library wasn't very big, just a wooden cabin on the hill. Inside, there wasn't even a librarian, only a few bookshelves and some cushions on the ground. Armin pulled out some of the books on mathematical basics and got started on tutoring all of you.
"Just remember that Mobility equals Drift Velocity divided by Electric Field," he told you and Eren as he helped out Mikasa first. In his words, her case was "more hopeful."
You began working on some practice problems. Mobility equals electricity divided by drift...no, that's not right. You erased your writing. Mobility equals... equals... what did Armin say again?
Eren passed you a ripped note. You threw it back at him. "I can't read this fucking mess you call 'writing.'"
He clicked his tongue. "I'm asking if you know how to do these."
"No. That's why we're asking Armin for help."
"But he's helping out Mikasa."
"Exactly. So figure it out yourself and stop bothering me."
"Fucking fine."
When Armin checked up on you and Eren's progress, you could tell how badly he wanted to give up. "Oh..." was all he said. You had never heard that much disappointment poured into one word before. "We should take a break," he said, going back to the shelves.
Mikasa eyed you and Eren judgmentally. "Seriously, how bad are the two of you that even Armin doesn't want to help?"
Eren scratched his neck in shame and you bit down your smile.
"Okay, since we're on a break, thought I'd show you guys what I found." Armin set down a thick, dusty, ancient-looking book.
Eren's eyebrows jumped up. "No way! They have one here?"
"What is this?" you asked.
"It's a book about the outside world," he said, his eyes shining in excitement, flipping the pages open. He pointed to a lot of thingsâ lands made of ice, fields of sand, trees taller than towers, and many more places you've never even dreamed of existing.
"Is it real?" you asked.
"Of course it's real! Armin showed it to me and Mikasa when we were younger."
"Hey, you never showed it to me."
"I was planning to because you were in the orphanage that day. I had it for about half a week, then grandpa found it and was scared about it getting me in trouble. So he burnt it." He flipped through the pages. "Anyway, this is the sea. This is where Eren and I want to go."
"An entire land of water? That's hard to believe," you said.
"It is not! It's perfectly believable!" argued Eren.
"Why would you want to go to a place where everything is water? Aren't you going to drown? Can you even swim?"
"No, but that's what boats are made for, idiot!"
You shoved him. "You're the fucking idiot." Then he shoved you back. "Hey!"
"Guys." Mikasa looked tired, and it definitely wasn't because of the book. "Quit it. Go outside if you want to flirt so obnoxiously."
Eren stiffened but you rolled your eyes. "Mikasa, if this is what you call 'flirting,' then I really worry about your romantic standards."
"Anyway," she flipped the pages, "I want to go here. It's pretty."
"The land of ice is very pretty," added Armin. "What about you, Y/n? Where do you want to go?"
You flipped forward some pages and pointed to the image. "Here. The sea of fire."
"Sea of fire?" Eren had something to say again. "That's even more unbelievable than the sea itself."
"You're unbelievable."
"You-"
Someone cleared their throat, and this time, it was Armin. "If you two don't take a break during this break, I'm going to put this away and pull out the math books again."
You and Eren sat up straight and finally shut your mouths as Armin flipped through more pages, introducing you to more exhilarating places.
* . * .
A week later, the Instructor passed out the graded tests.
"Thirteen out of twenty!" exclaimed Eren. "That's a first!"
You got handed your paper. "Fourteen out of twenty?!" That was the highest you've ever gotten.
"Sixteen out of twenty," said Mikasa with a small smile as she showed you guys.
Then Armin showed you all his grade and your eyes bulged out of your sockets. "Twenty-one out of twenty?! How the hell is that even possible?"
"Extra credit."
Behind you, Connie and Sasha screamed. "Ten out of twenty on both? Armin, you're a god!" exclaimed Sasha as she hovered over the desk.
"What other kind of secrets do you have?" asked Connie. "I'm following you for life after this one!"
"Guys, it's not really the biggest deal-"
You nudged him on the arm. "Shut up and stop playing humble. Take the praises for once."
"But it feels a little weird."
You raised your eyebrows and crossed your arms. He sighed, giving in, and turned around in his seat to chat with more people in the rows behind you.
* * * *
i would kill to have a friend like armin i'd bring him to all my classes