For those who reviewed/added this story in their follow/favourites list, thank you so much! :D Here's the second chapter, and they're still eight years old here. Anyway, as always, please let me know what you think. :D
Chapter Two: Eight (Part Two) - Date
Levi found out that Hange went to the same school as he the following day, when he was suddenly aware of her existence, but they didn't belong to the same class. This didn't surprise him, though, since he never really bothered knowing everyone in his batch, just his classmates.
He was walking by himself when from a not-so-far away distance, he heard someone calling his name. Levi trained his ears to find where that soprano came from until he spotted Hange, her hair neatly tied up this time, waving her arm wildly at him, and wearing his school's uniform for girls. He didn't wave back of anything; he just waited for her to reach him, greeting him with a warm beam that was so warm he swore he could cook eggs with it. The corners of his lips tugged upwards slightly.
"Wow, so we go to the same school, huh?" she began nonchalantly, not even catching her breath as she once again found his hand and coaxed him to start walking. "Funny I don't ever see you at the bus stop, though."
"My uncle couldn't drive me to school today. The car's battery died, that's what he said." He told her, though it didn't really directly answered Hange's wondering.
She frowned in deep thought. "I always take the bus since my dad goes to work at night and has to sleep for the day while my mom has to take care of my baby brother."
Oh, so she had a sibling. Levi stored that new information in his brain for future use. He also made a mental note to try to ask his uncle if he could possibly commute on his way to school in the next days. Not that it was because of this girl walking alongside him.
They sat behind the driver's seat when they rode the bus. Hange told him that it was the easiest spot to get off from since it was closest to the door. That way, they didn't have to run through the aisle to get down before the driver closed the door. She sat by the window, and when she had settled, Hange remained quiet for the rest of the ride. Levi glanced at her every now and then, checking if she was alright. The soft smile on her face that was slightly reflected from the window told him she was fine.
"I like watching the streets go fast when I ride the bus." She suddenly quipped, that soft smile still present in her face. Levi only nodded even though she couldn't really see it.
Just as she said, the bus ride took them fifteen minutes-thirty five if they walked-and a few blocks away from their stop, the two youngsters were welcomed with the sight of their school gate.
Levi saw some of his classmates as they walked along the corridor. It was only that time when he noticed that Hange wasn't holding his hand anymore, but it wasn't like it meant the world to him. For crying out loud, he just met her yesterday. If he was in a rather gloomy mood, Hange was all smiles, greeting the students whom she knew. Levi found the contrast odd, kind of like how sometimes it rains on just one side of the same area. He was the rainy part, by the way.
He also learned that she belonged to Section 1, the creme de la creme. No wonder he didn't really notice her. He was from Section 4 (which wasn't that bad, he supposed, since there were 7 sections all in all). Besides, it wasn't Levi's thing to memorize every single data about his whole batch. For what would it amount anyway? Hange was the first person he knew who wasn't part of his class. Okay.
Breaks were usually spent eating in silence for him. Sometimes his seatmates would gather around him to eat with him, but when said seatmates were eager to spend their breaks outside the classroom, Levi would end up spending recess and lunch on his seat, munching on whatever his uncle packed for him.
Today was different. The door of his classroom slid noisily as Hange entered with her bento cradled on her arms. She was grinning, like she seemed to always do, as she moved closer to where he sat, the rightmost part of the room by the window. Levi didn't need any prompting as he carefully placed his spoon down in his lunchbox, stood up from his seat, and dragged a chair in front of his desk for Hange. His uncle did teach him about how to be a gentleman every now and then, though not exactly directly; he just watched how his uncle acted whenever he took him outside to eat or to stroll around.
Hange sat across him, placing her bento on his desk. She unfolded the cute large handkerchief, revealing a cute lunchbox, the shape a head of a cat–a maneki-neko, he recalled–as its design. Levi was kind of disappointed when the insides looked really messed up, probably from being cradled instead of holding it by the knot.
"Let's eat!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together, then digging in. "Don't you have other friends to eat with?" she asked before stuffing her mouth with half a sausage.
Levi swallowed his food before replying. "There's Eld and Gunther, but they're at the soccer field with the other guys. I didn't want to stay outside today. What about you? You know everyone."
The young girl chuckled. "No I don't! Just met some of them through my classmates. My parents told me it's rude not to greet people you know, so I smile at them. I talk and play with them sometimes."
"So today you're not going to play?"
"Maybe later, when I'm done eating." Her eyes lit up from behind her glasses. "Want to join us?"
Levi wasn't exactly lame. In fact, he did well in PE classes, but that was because they were graded, and they get to change uniforms after a round of intense battery tests or games. Silly as it sounded, the real reason why Levi didn't like spending his lunch outside engaging in physical activities was because he didn't want to be drenched in sweat for the remainder of the school hours. So there he was, sitting on the bleachers, his eyes following the ball while his peers played Monkey in the Middle. Hange was it a while ago. Now, she was at the corner, cackling and eagerly throwing the ball to the other kids. Levi's eyes didn't find the ball interesting anymore as he saw how her pigtails sagged from moving a lot, and how her glasses was tilted to the right from all the jumping, and how her uniform looked rumpled each time she caught the ball and pressed it on her chest. The young boy's nose crinkled.
Five minutes before the lunch bell rang, Hange's group stopped playing. She ran over to where Levi sat and presented herself in all her sweaty glory. She wiped the sweat on her forehead with the sleeve of her uniform, making Levi's nose crinkle once more.
"...Gross." He whispered. His eyes narrowed when he saw the dirt that stained her sleeve. Hange only giggled.
Something just snapped inside little Levi. He fished for his handkerchief and offered it to her. Hange alternately looked from his face to the pristine white handkerchief in front of her, as if asking Levi if he was serious about lending it to her.
"At least your uniform won't be dirtier from the sweat and dirt if you used this." He told her. Hange took it as an assurance that he was fine with letting her use it.
The young boy surprised even himself when he started straightening up the young girl's uniform, lightly patting the sleeves as he dusted it off. He ignored how sweaty it felt in his hands. He even went as far as parting her bangs neatly as she continued wiping the sweat of her neck. Hange didn't seem to mind, though. If anything, she was just watching him, a curious look printed on her face. She only shrugged when he was done fixing herself up.
"You sure are a neat freak, huh?" she commented, slightly smiling. Levi only frowned in reply.
The lunch bell rang. The kids outside ran inside the building as fast as they could to line up at the lobby. Hange's hand was on his again, dragging him with her as they made their way inside the noisy hall. Her hand left his when she turned round to look at him. "See you after school?"
Levi only nodded. He watched as Hange rushed to Section 1's line before lining up with his classmates. As each section went inside their classrooms in a single file, Levi's eyes would always land on the pigtailed girl, chatting up her classmate. Very talkative, he noted, but at least he didn't have to worry about keeping things interesting when they were together.
Levi's stuff had always been neatly replaced inside his school bag five minutes before the last class ended. So when the bell rang, he was one of the first students in his class to leave. His uncle was a pretty busy guy so he had to be by the school gate five minutes before his uncle arrived. He grabbed his bag and wore the strap across his shoulder and headed for the door. As always, the corridors were filled with chatter and laughter from the other students coming out of their rooms. Levi had mastered walking through the hallway without bumping to any of the kids who were horsing around the corridor.
From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Hange fixing her stuff inside her bag as he passed by Section 1's room. Her notebooks were scattered on her desk and she was in the process of stuffing her big Math book. He could've ignored her and went straight outside the school, but his feet somehow led him inside Section 1's room. The poor kid needed help organizing her stuff that he just couldn't resist it.
He carefully retrieved Hange's bag from her hands, catching her by surprise. She recovered after a few seconds and shrugged as she watched him arrange her stuff for her.
"We don't have any Math homework, right?" Levi spoke, his eyes never looking up at the young girl as he continued placing her notebooks inside her backpack. "Why are you bringing this home?"
She hummed in confirmation. "But mom said I should practice my Maths every time because it's the subject that's the hardest for me."
Levi looked up and met her eyes. "...Math is my favourite subject."
The young girl's face brightened at his confession. "Really? You think you can teach me?"
The young boy nodded. Hange rewarded him with a toothy grin. "Really, really?"
Levi sighed. "Yeah."
Hange punched the air in excitement. "I have to tell my parents!"
They went out of the school together, but this time they weren't holding hands or anything. Levi saw his uncle's car parked a few steps away from the school gate.
"Uh, I have to go. My uncle's there." He told Hange, turning his head to her. "...Need a ride home?"
Before Hange could reply, his uncle was already in front of them, donning a dress shirt, black slacks, and dress shoes like a respectable man. The two kids looked up to keep their gaze on his face.
"Who's this little friend of yours, huh, Levi?" he asked, smirking. Levi wished he didn't do that because it actually made him look sinister.
"She's Hange, and she lives around the neighborhood, too." The young boy said, looking at his uncle and Hange alternately.
His uncle kneeled to match their level (Levi thought he was too tall). "Hi Hange. I'm Levi's uncle, Uncle Kenny." The old man smiled, making the little girl smile shyly in return. "Why don't we drop you off to your place so you won't have to walk back by yourself?"
Levi looked hopefully at his companion. Hange casted him a look that asked for permission, and the young boy only shrugged in reply. The young girl returned her attention to the old man, grinning this time.
"Okay!" Hange exclaimed.
The ride home to the Ackermans was boring after they had dropped Hange off Rose Street, at least that was what Levi thought. He and his uncle weren't really the talkative type to begin with, and their conversations mostly centered around school or something his uncle saw on TV. Other than that, they mostly spent their time together in silence. Levi, though taciturn by nature, found this boring.
"I didn't think someone would want to be friends with a somber child like you." His uncle suddenly spoke.
He shrugged his shoulders. "She's the one who follows me around."
"Oh. And you don't mind?" He didn't miss the naughty glint on his uncle's eyes as a smirk formed on his face. Levi shot his uncle the scariest glare he could muster, daring him to go say what he was thinking.
"A study session, you say?" His uncle repeated as they talked about school over dinner. "So you'll be staying every afternoon at Hange's, you mean to say?"
The young boy nodded, his cheeks a little puffed from the food stuffed in his mouth.
Kenny narrowed his eyes when he met his nephew's eyes. "Sounds pretty harmless, so sure, I don't really mind."
Levi found it odd that Kenny didn't seem to have second thoughts or had many questions when he said yes to after school study sessions with Hange (since he usually didn't like him going out of the house that much because of "safety reasons," whatever those safety reasons were), but he wasn't complaining.
The young boy would be lying if he wouldn't admit, even to himself, that afternoons would be something he'd look forward to after a long day of school.
