Chapter 40 - Team Bonding

Beep—! Beep—! Beep—!

BAM

I hit my alarm clock to stop it from beeping as I got up from my bed.

Yawn

I yawned as I stretched. Haaa. I feel so refreshed this morning.

And honestly I understood why. Those assholes I beat up yesterday, beating them up felt good.

It reinstilled my confidence in my abilities. Too bad they had to be the scapegoats tho.

Oh well their loss not mine. With that, I decided to start with my daily exercise routine.

I had increased my routine, increasing my reps to 200 of each exercise.

After I was done, I had my bath and was about to relax on the couch to watch a movie.

Why? Cause today's saturday. In other words a resting day.

And what better way to watch a movie than with popcorn.

I went inside the kitchen, grabbed a bag of popcorn and plopped down on the couch, ready to spend the rest of the day doing absolutely nothing.

But just as I was about to do that, my phone buzzed. Haaa. I groaned, leaning over to pick it up. It was a message from the academy.

All cadets are required to attend a mandatory equipment inspection today at 10:00AM. Failure to attend will result in disciplinary action being taken.

I stared at the screen, as my mood instantly turned sour. Seriously? On a fucking Saturday?

Haaa.

I sighed, tossing my phone onto the couch. So much for relaxing today. I dragged myself off the couch, threw on a casual black jean, black T-shirt, and a pair of white sneakers and headed out the door.

The sun was already high and the complex was already bustling with cadets heading to the academy as well.

Haaa. I shoved my hands in my pockets and walked toward the academy, grumbling under my breath.

As I turned a corner, I nearly ran into someone.

"Whoa, watch it!" River's voice rang out, and I looked up to see her standing there, her hands on her hips.

She was wearing a flowing pink one-piece dress, her hair tied back in a loose braid. She looked... surprisingly cheerful for someone who was probably also annoyed about the inspection.

"Sorry," I muttered, stepping around her.

"Hey, wait!" She called, jogging to catch up with me. "Where are you headed?"

"Equipment inspection," I said flatly. "Apparently they can't afford to let us have even one day off."

River groaned. "Ugh, same. But hey, since we're both here, how about we make the most of it? After the inspection, let's go see a movie! The whole unit, of course."

I blinked at her. "A movie? Seriously?"

"Yeah! It'll be fun," she said, her eyes lighting up. "Come on Nathan. When's the last time you had any fun."

Yesterday I almost replied. Although I doubt beating up a bunch of cadets even if they did jump me should be considered fun.

But anyway, this feels like a drag. Better refuse.

As I opened my mouth to refuse, she cut me off, pouting and giving me the most exaggerated puppy-dog eyes I'd ever seen.

"Please? Pretty please? I'll be super sad if you say no."

Haaa. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose. "Fine. But only because you're being weirdly persistent about it."

River clapped her hands, grinning. "Yes! Okay let me text the group."

She pulled out her phone and began typing. A few moments later, her phone buzzed with responses. She frowned. "Marcus says no. Typical. Lucas also says no, but—oh, wait, Maria says yes. And now Lucas is saying yes too? What the heck ?"

I smirked. "Probably Maria's doing. Lucas has a hard time saying no to her."

That's how he was in the novel as well anyway.

River tilted her head, looking confused but shrugged. "Well, whatever. Looks like it's the four of us. Let's meet at the theater after the inspection, okay?" She said typing out her words, sending them to the group.

She received responses moments later and nodded in satisfaction.

We then continued walking toward the academy. The inspection was as tedious as I thought it was going to be, but at least it was over quickly.

Afterward, River and I met up outside and hailed a cab to the theater.

As we rode in the cab, River chatted excitedly about the movie we were going to see.

Apparently it was some action flick that had just come out, I really didn't care that much, so I mostly just tuned her out, staring out the window as the city passed by.

I don't know if I've said this before, but this city, Eden is beautiful. Extremely beautiful. It even has it's own districts like the Academy district.

But I'll get to that another time. Right now, even though I'm not as into this as River is, I still felt a bit lighter. Maybe, just maybe this movie outing won't be so bad.

When we arrived at the theater, Lucas and Maria were already there, waiting near the entrance.

Maria waved us with a bright smile, while Lucas stood beside her, lookingbas indifferent as ever.

"Hey guys!" Maria called as soon as we approached. "Ready for the movie?"

"Absolutely," River said, linking her arm with Maria's. "Let's go get tickets."

I hung back a little, falling into step beside Lucas as the girls excitedly walked ahead of us.

He then glanced at me, his expression still as unreadable as ever. "This is a waste of time," he muttered.

"Tell them that," I said shrugging.

"Haaa", he just sighed and we walked into the theatre together.

As we walked in tho, I couldn't be sure especially as I don't trust Lucas, or like Maria and I don't even know River all that well, buy I felt what could be camaraderie?

Not sure, but I know I felt something. Besides this might not be how I planned my Saturday to go—especially as I don't plan it, just wing it— but this might not be so bad after all.