Alexander flipped through his book on the bench he sat on. He enjoyed listening to the sounds of the internment zone. Well, as long as no one was being beaten that is. Other than that the city was oddly peaceful. His book on dangerous plants was fairly interesting. He recognized a few of the plants in the book like poison ivy, poison oak, lily of the valley, elephant ears and surprisingly nutmeg. He didn't know its effects were so intense! Plants really were cool. It made his mind wander to the tree that held the source of all living matter. What connection did it have to trees?
He was brought out of his thoughts when a boy suddenly sat beside him. He looks up at the boy next to him and looks him over. Blond, blue eyed, and maybe a couple years older than him. He notices a flesh of yellow on his left arm. No way! A warrior candidate! His eyes widened.
The boy turns to look at him. "Is there something I can help you with?"
Alex meets his eyes. A look of embarrassment crosses his features. "Sorry. I was just looking at your, uh, armband. I didn't mean to stare."
The boy looks down at his armband. "It's okay, a lot of people do…"
"..."
Silence permeated the air between the two of them. Alex took it as a sign to continue reading his book.
"U-Um." Alex heard the boy speak beside him and he looked up. The boy pointed at the book "What are you reading about?"
He blinked. "Um, it's a book on dangerous plants."
"Can I see?"
"Sure!" Alex scooted closer to the boy. "These right here are pokeberries. They look a lot like blueberries but are darker. They both grow around the same area in the Southwest. "The blond nodded excitedly. "I don't think Marley is going to take over the west just yet, but you should keep this in mind in case they do." He flipped the page.
"That one looks cool!"
It continued on like that for some time. The two boys talked and observed the plants in the book for what felt like hours. Was it hours? Alex couldn't tell without a watch with him. He missed cell phones.
"If you don't mind me asking," The blond beside him started. "Why are you learning about these plants? Do you want to be an herbalist?"
Should Alex tell this boy his plans? Actually, would it even matter? Probably not. "Well, no. I want to be a soldier. In the research branch to be more specific. I wanna know more about the titans and make powerful weapons to make our nation stronger. One day I'll make our weaponry so strong that no one will be afraid of the Rumbling." He blinked. "Er, I didn't really answer your first question did I? Um, when I become a soldier I need to know what's safe and what's not."
"Why didn't you become a warrior candidate?"
"I want to live my life how I want."
"I see."
"Why did you join the warrior program?"
An odd expression crossed the blonds face. "To save the world…"
"That's honorable. I want to save the world from the Rumbling."
"Really? But you could die!"
"We'll all die if we never attempt to stop it. You gotta fight to survive in this world."
The blonde huffed. "My grandpa would disagree."
"It makes sense. He probably wants you to stay safe."
A silence ran between them, though it didn't last long.
"Hey," Blondie started. "What's your name?"
Alex smiled. And put out his hand. "Alexander Birken. But you can just call me Alex."
The blonde took his hand. "Zeke Yeager."
His eyes widened. It was Zeke in the flesh. He was so adorable!
"Yeager? Like, as in the doctor?"
"That's right. I didn't know my Grandpa was so famous."
"Ah, W-Well, I want to learn anything useful so I've been researching health stuff. It'll be helpful in battle. What if there aren't any medics?"
"... If you become my friend then I'll introduce you."
Alex blinked before a smile broke out on his face. "You don't even need to think twice about that. We're already friends!"
Zeke smiled and told Alex his address. "Meet me here on Saturday at noon."
"Alright." Alex looked up at the sky. The sun was already starting to set. "Uh oh, it's getting late." He definitely didn't want to be out late with all the Marleyan officers about. He rises from his seat and puts away his book. "I'll see you Saturday!" He waves and sets off for his home.
Alex knocked on the door in front of him. It opens and a tall man with brown hair opens the door.
The man smiled. 'You must be Zeke's new friend. Alexander, right?"
He nodded. "That's right, sir. Though you can call me Alex for short."
The man nodded and led him inside. They entered a room that was probably Mr. Yeager's office. It had all sorts of medical stuff on the desk and on the shelves. Sitting at the table, kicking his feet, was Zeke. The blonde looked up towards them.
"Hey, Zeke." Alex said.
"You really came!" Zeke said excitedly.
"I wouldn't just abandon you like that." Alex said as he moved to sit next to the blond.
Mr. Yeager sat down in front of us. "Are you boys ready?"
"Yes, sir!" Alex said. Zeke just nodded his head excitedly.
"Thank you so much for the lesson, sir!" Alex said as they cleaned the materials up from the office.
"It's no problem. If you'd like, the two of you can do this every Saturday."
"Only if it's okay with Zeke."
"Of course we can!"
They heard the door open.
"Father? We're back!" Ah, that must be Grisha. Alex turned to look at Zeke and a weird dead look in his eye. He put his hand on his shoulder and smiled at him.
The three of them made their way towards the entrance. Standing there was Grisha and his first wife, Dina. It was so surreal to Alex seeing them there.
"Ah, there you are Zeke." Grisha said. He looked at Alex quizzically. "Who's this?"
"I'm Alex, sir."
The man nodded slowly. "I see… Zeke, say goodbye to your friend." The four exited the house.
Alex told Zeke his address. "Make sure to visit me, okay? You'll always be welcome."
Zeke nodded. "I'm almost always with my grandparents, but you can find me here for sure on weekends. That's when my parents have their… group activities."
"I wi-"
"Zeke!" His father interrupted. "Let's go." Zeke ran towards his father and joined his parents. Alex watched as left. He walked the other direction.
