We arrived at the arcade.
My eyes beamed, it really was a cool looking place.
"Let's go bowling first," Dick suggested and we all agreed.
I picked the bowling ball when it was my turn, and though it was my first time bowling, I did a pretty good job- Knocking down all the pins.
Brittany's hands went up as she clapped for me.
"Alright Rydinger, that was pretty good." Wally commented walking towards me. He picked up a bowling ball, "You didn't tell me you were an expert in this," then he rolled it hitting down all the pins too.
I smiled at him, "You're pretty good too,"
"Yeah I've been playing since I was a kid, my dad loves bowling so. You?"
"That was actually my first try." I answered, proudly and walked away with a smug grin. "What..." I heard him say in disbelief.
We tried other things like the escape rooms, video games, go-karting, laser tags, even the bumper cars- Haha.
"That was crazy," Wally exclaimed as we exited the room of illusion. We all shared a laughter, the room of illusion was pretty cool.
"Let's try this arcade punching machine, Wally," Dick suggested.
"C'mon you know you're no match for me," Wally responded.
"Why don't we see?" Dick grinned.
They started punching the punching machine, and truly, Wally got a higher score.
"This looks really relaxing," I commented moving closer to the machine, then I hit it, almost beating Wally's score.
"Wow you're pretty strong," Wally pointed out.
"Yes, don't mess with me," I pointed at him, he knocked my finger off gently as he snickered.
I chuckled.
Then we all tried the high striker, and ended the day with the Arcade dance machine.
I didn't feel awkward at all with Wally, instead I had so much fun. I'm glad I didn't say no to spending the day with the day with them.
***
We'd already submitted our report, and also presented it. And now, we were receiving our grades for it.
"Nice Job guys. You two make a pretty good team." Prof. Bart praised. We got an A+, Wally and I beamed.
Immediately he left our working table, Wally and I jumped up in joy and he got me into a bear hug. I was taken aback by the hug I just froze, I couldn't hug him back. His cologne, a scent I was becoming so familiar with, enveloped me.
He slowly withdrew from me, his hand moved to hold the back of his neck and he chuckled nervously. "Uhm... Sorry,"
"No it's okay." I smiled at him, then I turned away to hide the blush I could feel had appeared on my face.
We sat back down.
"You all did great..." Prof. Bart started.
"Now I hope you guys are looking forward to our field trip," he continued.
A field trip?
"We'll be exploring Adaptation Theorems, experiencing them ourselves. It's going to be one unforgettable adventure guys," he added excitedly.
He seems more excited than us.
"Deets of the date and venue will be announced soon, anticipate people!" Then the bell rang.
It was lunch time so I was on my way to the cafeteria, when I felt myself being lifted up in a bridal style.
"Wally are you crazy?! Put me down! You're embarrassing me!" I protested, everyone had their eyes on us, they might get the wrong idea.
"I can't hear you," he responded.
"Are you nuts?! I said put me down, where are you taking me to?!" I questioned.
"To the cafeteria." He replied.
"I was already heading there, you Baywatch. Now put me down please?! I have my own legs." I responded, riled up.
He put me down when we got to the entrance of the cafeteria. "People are dying for the princess treatment I just gave to you,"
I scowled at him.
He pinched my cheek gently, "You look even more adorable when you're angry."
"Let's go in," he continued. We walked in and spotted Brit and Dick, they already saved a table for us. Wally and I went to them, they were already seated- chatting and laughing over something.
"Sup you too," Wally uttered.
"Hey guys," I said.
They greeted us too. They continued talking, with Wally joining in.
I noticed that everyone was staring at us. At me mostly. I really hated the attention I was attracting to myself right now.
"Why are they staring at us so strenuously?" I whispered to Brittany who was sitting close to me.
"Well- Maybe it's because we're currently sitting with one of the hottest guys in the whole school." She replied, grinning sheepishly.
So they're staring this much all because we're sitting with normal guys who just happen to be popular in the school?
Jeez.
I wasn't comfortable with the stares, so I decided to distract myself with a conversation.
"So... What do you guys think about the field trip?"
"From natural science? I think it's great. The last one with Prof. Bart was really great." Brittany responded.
"Yeah," Dick and Wally agreed.
"What do you think Athena? Have you been on a field trip before?" He grinned at me.
He seems to guess right so many things about me
"No, but... I think it'll be great trying out something new." I answered.
...
The days flew by. The date and venue of the field trip was announced and it was finally the D-Day.
It was a Saturday, I just got to school with my stuffs. I didn't pack much, we're to spend just two days on the field trip. I got to the bus that's to be our travel vehicle. I attracted some stare when I got into the bus which I ignored. I didn't see Prof. Bart or any driver around. I skimmed through the bus for Brittany.
She was already sitting with Dick, with Wally sitting right behind them, a empty seat besides him. Brit seems to be ditching me a lot these days for Dick.
Wally's face brighten up when he finally saw me. A cute smile appeared on his face as he removed his headphones sitting up.
My lips pulled up, his smile was infectious. I walked up to him and sat on the empty seat besides him.
"...Hey badass," he started.
I chuckled softly, "Asshole."
"You're late," he continued.
"Well, at least I didn't miss the bus,"
"Better late than never huh?" He let out a laugh, "I thought you weren't going to come anymore."
"You sound sad about that," I teased him- Surprisingly.
"No... You know, uhm... We were about to depart... So uh, that's why," he turned away. A smile crept up to my lips.
Then Prof. Bart walked in with another man, the bus driver also got into the driver's seat of the bus.
"Okay, I guess this is all of us," Prof. Bart elucidated.
"Standing besides me is..." Prof. Bart trailed off.
"Let me introduce myself, I'm Dr. Charles from Garfield university. I'll be assisting Prof. Bart on this field trip," the man introduced.
"Oh you're too modest. He'll be doing most of the tutoring and guidance on the educative field trip guys. So as you already know our final destination is SARABI FOREST, a government property for a reservoir for special and endangered species of plants and animals." Prof. Bart emphasized. "We'd be spending two days there. I promise y'all, it's going to be an experience of a lifetime. Tighten your seatbelts people, we're going now." He added.
***