Contemplative Sensitivity

Wishful Thinking

It was December. Arlert Academy was hosting a Christmas dance. According to word of mouth, this dance was a big deal. The last time the school held a Christmas dance was twenty years ago. A girl committed suicide in one of the bathrooms, and the school was sued. They reached a settlement, but one of the things they agreed to was not hosting a dance for at least twenty years. It just so happened to be that Erwin and his friends would be able to attend the first Christmas dance in nearly a quarter of a century. 

Initially, however, none of this mattered to Erwin; he was sure he'd be swamped with work. He figured he'd relive the night through Cecily and Nile (who were going as a pair of course). Mike was going but he was worried about his date and Levi had no interest in attending. But things started went in an unexpected direction when Farlan and Isabel stopped by his locker. Erwin had been chatting with  Mike and Levi when they approached. 

"Bad news," Farlan said. Erwin and Mike turned their attention to him. "Our parents have surprised us with a family vacation."

"Is that really bad news?" Levi asked.

"Yes," Isabel said exasperated. "We already bought our tickets!" 

"Sell them?" Mike asked uncertainly. Isabel yanks Mike's ear in disdain, "Mike, the school has a strict no soliciting policy. We could get expelled!" 

Mike rubbed his ear. "Well, you should get something out of them am I right? You won't have the memory of the dance. And this may the be last one for another twenty years if someone dies!"

"Dramatic," Erwin managed a chuckle. "That won't happen."

"You could scrapbook them," Levi said seriously. "It'd be a cool hobby for you, Farlan. Something you and your mother could bond over."

"Levi, stop being an ass." Farlan warned. "Since we can't return or sell them, we stopped by to ask you if you wanted to attend a bonfire tonight?"

Levi eyes widened in disbelief. "You'd burn the tickets? You fucking pyromaniac! Just give Erwin and I your tickets."

Erwin jumped. "What?"

"Oh that's perfect," Mike said. "You guys are inseparable, anyhow! You guys can go together." 

"Yeah," Isabel said loudly. "Erwin, you can be Levi's date." 

"Uh, I don't think that's a great ide--" Erwin started, but stopped when Farlan grabbed his hand and put the tickets in his palm. 

"It's settled then," Farlan said with smirk. 

That night, at the internship, Erwin couldn't keep his mind from wandering. While he was overjoyed that he'd be spending a formal evening with Levi...he realized he was sure he'd be able to get out of work. He filed slowly, tiredly, and his thick eyebrows were wrinkled in contemplation.

"Come now. You'll need to work faster if you don't want your people waiting." A gentle voice said.

Erwin, engrossed in his thoughts, turned to find Grisha Jaeger standing behind him. Erwin hadn't even heard the door open. Erwin fumbled with a greeting and resumed working, filing faster. To his surprise, Professor Jaeger didn't head to the lab right away; instead he watched Erwin work for a few minutes.

Unable to bear Grisha's unwavering gaze, Erwin swiveled in the chair and asked, politely, "Is something the matter, sir?"

Although this wasn't the first time he had interacted with Grisha Jaeger, Erwin often avoided getting into long conversations with him. The man wasn't necessarily creepy, he was just very quiet and serious about work. Erwin had yet to see Professor Jaeger crack a smile.

Grisha pushed his glasses up his nose and shook his head. "Nothing is the matter, Erwin. I didn't mean to stare...I was just thinking about how diligent a worker you are."

With that remark, Erwin relaxed. Grisha hadn't ever complimented him before. 

"I do try my best," Erwin said bashfully. "The hours kick my ass, but its worth it. I do want to major in this branch of science."

Professor Jaeger nodded and began to take off his coat. Erwin was just about to turn his attention to the filing when he noticed something fall out of Grisha's coat pocket. The paper slid from the professor, so Erwin got up from his desk to pick the paper up.

"You dropped this, s--," Erwin started but stopped short when he saw the picture of a beautiful woman.

"Thank you," Grisha said awkwardly. "...my wife and I were newlyweds when I snapped this. I changed a lot but she looks twenty."

There was a change in the atmosphere. Suddenly this milky eyed man didn't seem so unapproachable.

"Oh." Erwin managed awkwardly. "I think I'll get back to work now."

Grisha grabbed his shoulder. "No. You are free to leave, Erwin."

"Pardon?"

"Don't worry. I'll speak to Keith about this later, but I'm giving you the next week off. This is the last week of school before Christmas break. You probably have exams to take and events you'd like to attend. Consider this an early vacation, young man."

Shocked, Erwin yammered a thank you and couldn't believe his luck. A brief flash of Shadis' angry, harried face appeared before him, but he blinked it away. He gathered his green coat and backpack and made his way for the door. It was while he was getting himself together that Professor Jaeger put on his lab coat and stood near Erwin's unfinished files.

"Uhm," Erwin blushed and looked up at the clock. It read 8:15pm. "Thank you, professor."

"You are welcome." Professor Jaeger offered Erwin a faint smile. "Have a good Christmas and new year. Oh and my son says have a merry Christmas too."