Returning to School (2)

I collapsed onto the ground as I lost all the energy that I previously possessed.

Cillian struggled to support both Luke and I as we helplessly relied on Cillian to stand back up.

Eventually, we all sat down tired on the dirt paved roads as Cillian couldn't stand as well from spending hours on supporting both Luke and I.

"How many more hours left?" I whispered due to my lack of energy.

"Two more hours," Cillian sighed as he opened his marble again to check the time.

Luke already blacked out three hours ago. If I fainted as well, then Cillian would have to lift us both into the hover bus.

Observing Cillian's condition, he would be unable to lift us both into the hover bus before the hover bus left strictly on its scheduled time.

As I leaned on Cillian for support, I promised myself that I would never ever faithfully follow the school's orders to go on a field trip unless it was in a metropolitan area.

Time passed quickly as I cursed the school with the remaining bits of my energy. Cillian pretended to not hear anything as he kept on sighing and checked the projection for any updates on when the hover bus would come.

"We really should have checked the setting on the teleportation gate so that it wouldn't just bring us to the first district," I said my thoughts out loud.

"I agree," Cillian sighed again.

Cillian and I didn't talk much as it would be waste of energy. We were both trying to save our energy to be able to carry Luke together into the hover bus.

When the hover bus came, Cillian and I helped each other in carrying Luke into the hover bus. Both of us sighed in relief when we were all able to make it inside the hover bus.

The hover bus landed on the school grounds in less than an hour. Both Cillian and I didn't dare to sleep as we were afraid that we would miss the stop.

By the time we were about to get off, Luke woke up.

Luke stretched his arms and straightened his posture immediately as if it was part of his usual morning routine.

Since Luke always woke up earlier than I did, I was never able to see what he was like when he was waking up.

"You're up!" I shouted to make sure that Luke wouldn't go back to sleep again.

"Can you walk?" Cillian politely asked.

Luke cutely nodded as I silently cheered that Cillian and I wouldn't have to carry Luke off the hover bus.

Since Luke always looked either mad or disappointed in me, I never thought of Luke as 'cute' or 'childish".

However, the vulnerable Luke that cutely nodded his head with his drooping eyelids that struggled to keep open suited his age for once.

When we got off the bus, one of the teachers quickly welcomed us into the familiar dean's office.

There were those familiar desserts and cups of tea on the table that was supposed to serve as decoration as usual.

When I sat down on the couch, I slouched due to my lack of energy to sit properly. But, both Cillian and Luke sat upright and properly even when they were able to faint earlier.

Seeing the pitiful states of Cillian and Luke, I handed them some muffins on the table. Surprisingly, they accepted the desserts as the dean's eyes widened from their unusual behaviour.

However, the dean regained his composure when he saw me stuffing all the cookies inside my mouth just as last time I was in his office.

When the dean coughed to ask if we were ready to start the explanations, both Luke and Cillian placed their muffins down onto the table.

"Rika accidentally fell down into the waterfall..." Luke lied flawlessly.

"And then after getting on the hover bus, we were able to return to school," Cillian concluded as I continued to enjoy my strawberry flavoured cookie.

When both Luke and Cillian looked like they were finished with their explanations, I asked, "Can I go now?"

I finished all the desserts on the table and desperately wanted sleep now. Luke didn't even bother to silently nag me as usual as he waited for the dean's response.

"Of course. The school will take this experience as feedback for unsupervised field trips for the middle school section in rural areas," the dean concluded the meeting.

Not even bothering to greet the dean farewell, I left the room to head to the dorms. Luke apologized for my behaviour in my stead as he ran to quickly catch up to me.

I guess he regained some of his energy when he ate a piece of the muffin I handed to him.

I thought Luke would scold me again for leaving without greeting the dean farewell, but he walked with me to our dorms in silence.

When we were finally inside our dorms, we both slumped down onto our beds.

"We should shower," I commented when I noticed how dirty we were.

Luke nodded as he hesitantly left his bed.

I was feeling the same, however I took a nice long bath that healed some of the pain coming from my overused muscles.

I didn't even bother to dry my hair as I dropped onto my bed once I was clean.

'Maybe Luke will detangle my hideous hair tomorrow,' I thought before I fell asleep.