Eren threw his bag on the table, startling Armin and Mikasa. Both raised their eyes to meet a furious brown-haired guy. Armin raised his eyebrow.
"You okay?" he asked.
Eren sat down next to Mikasa and flopped his head on top of his backpack. "I wish."
Mikasa put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know what happened and it's really not your fault."
Armin took his lunch out and held out a sandwich that Eren wanted so much before, but now he didn't even lift his head to say no.
"What happened anyway?" Armin asked.
Eren groaned.
"Eren has a substitute teacher for Advanced Algebra, and I hear the guy hates magic tricks," Mikasa answered, taking the sandwich from Armin.
"He's so short," Eren murmured loud enough for his friends to hear. "He's short and bossy."
"If he fails you, I will personally kill him," Mikasa said with a certain kind of anger. Eren leaned back, sitting straight, his hair a bit ruffled from the backpack, his expression changed.
"Ooooh no," Armin said, his eyes jumping from Eren to Mikasa in a heart-beat. "Oh no, I know that face."
"What face?" Mikasa asked.
Armin's hands clenched into fists. "Eren, whatever you're thinking of doing, I don't think it's a good idea –"
Eren stood up from his seat, his face full of determination. "I am not going to listen to him."
"Oh hell no," Armin moaned, Mikasa already catching on with Armin's despair.
"I am going to do whatever I want."
"Eren –"
"Fuck rules, he's only here for three months –"
"Eren…"
"I mean, who doesn't like magic tricks, only an idiot would –"
"Mikasa, stop him –"
"Armin," Eren said in a way that made both of them shut up. "Mikasa. I have a plan."
Armin jumped from his seat, pointing his finger at Eren.
"Eren Jeager, drop whatever you have in that head of yours, I sincerely hope you're not thinking you can pull this off -"
"Watch me," Eren answered, grabbed his backpack and ran off without eating. Mikasa glanced at Armin. "I just hope he doesn't embarrass himself."
Armin followed Eren's back before he disappeared into the hallway. "It's Eren. Embarrassment finds him."
Eren skipped the rest of his lessons, taking his car and driving straight to Home Depot.
His plan was simple. Levi Recon hated magic tricks. He'd give him one that would change the substitute's mind. And for that Eren needed to plan out and prepare for his trick.
Eren has always been rather hot headed, although the guy had brains for planning. One of the reasons he was so good at card tricks was his reaction. He could understand how the trick is done in a matter of minutes, master the trick in five and show it to everyone in ten. Armin was the brain of the group, but you couldn't say that Eren didn't match him in some ways. Mysteriously, Eren could practically prepare for a simple plan without rush, while Armin had to think everything out.
He parked his car in the parking lot, took his wallet and hurried toward the entrance of Home Depot.
A very pretty blonde girl, shorter than probably Levi Recon himself, had asked him if he needed help with anything. Eren nodded and told her he'd need a list of things and he could probably find them himself. She told him that her name was Christa and he could ask for her help whenever needed. He waved at her and took a shopping cart.
It took him about a half an hour to find stuff he needed. He checked his credit card account beforehand, knowing all too well he'd spend his monthly allowance in one day, but he knew it was worth it. He'd prove Levi recon that magic was not stupid. He'd show him something Levi Recon would not have expected.
Deep down he knew that it was plain stupid getting angry over just one incident, but his instinct told him otherwise.
He wanted the attention. Especially attention from one substitute teacher.
Levi Recon entered his Advanced Algebra class without a single glance at his new students. He mentally rolled his eyes. The things he would do for Hanji and Erwin.
He never suspected that he'd have to teach Algebra to a bunch of idiots in one place, especially not one where he'd ended up in. Levi had always been good at Algebra, math being one of the reasons he could make a living out of. He placed the attendance journal on top of his desk, hoping this day would be better than the last one. He didn't expect a student to stand up for what he believed in, especially not because of magic tricks.
And oh boy did that guy surprise him.
It was a simple question with a simple answer. Levi had no problem shutting down another idiot, although he felt some kind of an aura surrounding the brat.
He had brown hair, green eyes and quick hands. That's what he had noticed at first.
Levi had watched him deal the cards. He had watched him surprise the crowd with his petty little youtube tricks. He had watched the brown haired guy fuck up about three times while doing the trick and wondered how in the world he managed making the trick work afterwards. He'd counted the mistakes over and over again, believing that if the kid even knew the first thing about math, he'd never fail a simple thing like a card trick.
Well, that is if the guy knew how real card tricks work too.
The bell rang and Levi once again coughed to catch everyone's attention. He already looked at that brown haired guy, hoping he'd see the same angry sparkle in his eyes from yesterday, but instead he found the guy calm.
Odd.
He brushed the thought away, pointing at the blackboard with a piece of white chalk.
"We're starting with chapter seven, exercise five. You'd better finish everything before the end of the lesson. I will collect the work after. If you have questions, consult me silently."
The class shuffled into work, no words, just the sound of papers flipping and the click of mechanic pens.
Levi sat on his chair, sighing and hoping class would end soon. He wondered what he'd be having for dinner, knowing all too well Hanji would prepare something ridiculous like any other day.
Until -
"Mr. Recon." A voice he recognized called. Levi lifted his eyes, not changing his expression.
The brown haired guy was standing again. The nerve of this guy, seriously.
"Jeager, I presume," Levi answered, barely moving on his chair.
"Would you care for a magic trick, sir?"
That caught Levi off guard. What?
"Do I need to repeat the question, sir?"
Levi narrowed his eyes, refusing to believe this kid was challenging him. And the brat had some proud looking bust. Well, two could play that game.
"Have I not told you that I hate magic tricks?"
"Yes. But I believe I can change that."
Levi lifted his eyebrows, somewhat impressed. He didn't care for the other students, for apparently, every single person in the room now had eyes on him and the Jeager kid.
"Do you?"
"Yes."
Levi cleared his throat and stood up, hands behind his back.
"Let's make a deal, shall we, Jeager?"
The brat didn't show any fear.
"Depends on the deal, sir," he answered, his voice without a hint of a stutter.
"If you manage surprising me, I will leave you alone. If you don't - I will make you fail class. Is that clear?"
Jeager nodded without a seconds delay. Levi grew more fond of the kid by the second.
"Come here," Levi said and Jeager gladly skipped over next to him. Damn that kid was tall.
The kid didn't do anything but stand there. Levi grew irritated. "Get on with it, we have class."
Jeager quickly pulled a deck of cards out of his back pocket, clumsily taking the cards out. Levi crossed his arms.
"Okay, Mr. Recon. Pick a card. Any card."
Levi puffed some air out, picking a card at random. Jeager looked downright excited for one. Levi was used to having people who were afraid of him, but this wasn't the case with this brat.
It was the ace of spades. 'Not bad' Levi thought.
He put the card back into the deck without asking Jeager. Apparently, that was the right thing to do.
Jeager immediately shuffled the cards.
"As you probably heard yesterday, I have a photographic memory," Jeager said. Levi nearly groaned. Did he really think he could surprise him with a cheap trick from youtube? "It's spectacular."
"Shut the words, do the trick already," Levi urged. Jeager noticeably gulped down some air.
"Okay," he said in an answer. "Okay, alright. Well, as we all know, the first rule of magic is to be the smartest guy in the room."
Levi pulled a half of a smile.
Jeager shuffled the cards in a way that Levi could only watch and admire, even if he didn't want to. "The second rule of magic is to never reveal your trick."
Levi rolled his eyes at him. "I don't have all day."
Jeager coughed, turning to class and ignoring Levi all together.
Odd twice.
"And third, most important of all," Jeager said, his shuffle stopping abruptly. He glanced back at Levi, fixing his gaze on his eyes. "Distraction."
With those words, the brat blew air onto the cards, making them fly all over class. A gush of wind suddenly threw all of the papers off Levi's table, lifting Jeager's classmates hair or skirts or shirts. It was so powerful, Levi had to cover his eyes, and good thing he did, because...
There was suddenly smoke everywhere.
He caughed, instantly covering his mouth, closing his eyes and waving the smoke out. The only thing on his mind was how the hell did that kid manage making smoke appear in the middle of a classroom.
There was a commotion everywhere, different shouts from different places in class. It took about ten minutes until the smoke was gone and Levi opened his eyes to see the mess in the classroom.
He did not expect papers and pens on the ground, students shocked out of their mind and a little peace of paper left on his desk.
Levi reluctantly took the paper, swearing he would kill Jeager if he found him, seeing that the kid was nowhere to be found.
The paper said:
Was this your card?
And a friendly reminder of a arrow showing up.
Levi knew he shouldn't look up. He knew he'd see something the kid had planned and it wouldn't make him happy.
He raised his eyes and saw a huge painting on the ceiling, all black and glistening.
The ace of spades.