She Who Seemed Heartless

Chapter 12

"Oh... How's Jean?"

"He's fine. It was a bit awkward being introduced to a dead friend."

Annie opened the book and took the pen that was in between the pages. There were some few scribbles on the edges of the page and some words were highlighted with neon green. "Here are some words I don't really quite understand." She said as she pushed the book closer to Armin. He read not the words but the sentences that were containing them. As he did, Annie simply watched him. His eyebrows furrow a bit, clearly studying the page. Her eyes fell again on the picture frame that stood firmly on the desk.

"Those are my parents." Annie jumped a bit. She didn't realize she had been staring at it for quite a while now.

"When do you visit them?"

"Semester break. Sometimes Eren and Mikasa come along, but I don't know if they will this year. Anyway, look here." He pointed at a certain word with his pen. "This is figurative. You might've gotten confused because you probably took it literally. But if you read the sentence, or the whole passage, it has a different approach."

He continued to lecture her regarding the words that were emphasized in her book. Annie took note of them by writing some notes on the page itself. He taught her some tips how to familiarize herself with figurative expressions and some idioms that affected her understanding of the paragraph.

"Thank you. I understand well now."

"No problem! Have you studied for math already?"

"Yes. I don't really have a problem with it. Just vocabulary."

"That's great! Then I guess there'll be nothing else for you to study except this."

Annie nodded, though something made her question him. "What about you? I don't think you even need to study for the exams."

"Hahahaha. I'm just reviewing so I won't forget most of them."

She nodded for the second time and studied the book herself, but not leaving his room let alone his side. Armin did the same but with his science book when an idea popped in his mind. "Say Annie, you wanna come with me this break to visit my parents?"

Her concentration was broken and she glanced at him, who was still studying the book. It amused her how he could remain focused with two different situations happening simultaneously. She replied though. "Will it be okay for them?"

"Come on, how long have you been here? I'm sure they're looking forward to meeting you someday."

"Okay then. I'll come with you."

"Really?!" That was the time when he actually switched all of his attention to Annie. He absent-mindedly took her hands and trapped them in between his. "I'll look forward to it! And I'll show you the ocean there, it's really beautiful! I miss it very much so maybe you could go there with me", he said without exasperation. The bright grin didn't disappear on his face, and his eyes were wide and bright. Annie couldn't react at the sudden assault of happiness from Armin.

"A-Alright, we'll go to the ocean", was all she could say.

"Anything to see you happy."

--

Exam week, or Hell week, as the students call it, finally started. The first day was stressful for most of the students, especially to those who didn't study enough or not at all. The last two days were better and smoother, since the exams held that day were not too difficult compared to the first one. To celebrate their freedom from the clutches of hell that is academics, Armin and the others visited a newly-opened café near their school. The ambiance was fit for students who want to relax or have summer classes, since the place itself is just composed of low tables and chairs and pillows. Customers can even leave notes on the floor and walls themselves.