Young Wyeth finally finds an opportunity to spend time with his long-time crush, Laura, on a field trip by the sea and truly feels alive. When he meets Hal, however, he remembers there are rules to follow and considers breaking a few with his Endowe...
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There it was. Docked, rocking against the waves underneath the early morning light. The scent was rich with salt, adventure, and history, much like the thing of beauty I'm looking at right now – the ship's hull adorned with a fresh coat of paint to mask its rusting palette underneath, places where weapons once occupied areas now gone, and tiny scars from an ancient battle on the seas emblazoned like a badge of honor. I've never seen a finer vintage ship in all my life. The best bit about the whole thing is being able to board it for our class field trip on the seas in connection to our history class.
That is, it would have been the best bit had it not for one teensy-weensy problem.
"Full attention, Wyeth," I heard him say from behind me, serious and dull as ever.
"I'm feeling the mood, Hal," I said, eyes closed and arms apart, feeling the gust of wind caressing me. I turned to him, "It's not every day we can have such a cool field trip, and the open sea is our destination to boot. Sweeeeeeeeet! The constant barrage of lame lectures and theories of Valtimourne university always made me so bored. This whole trip could be the right fix."
Hal stood still, not impressed by my comment. I expected him to wear something fun for today for I do remember him being a fan of history. Yet here he is, wearing a white shirt and dark pants, well-maintained hair, leather shoes, and the same old glasses he wore when we were small kids. It's menacing even on such a nice morning. Maybe a little dip in the ocean might cheer him up.
"Sadly," he said, "I do not have such a luxury of bathing in the magnificence of a warship, what with our other classmates having the same freedom you and I share at the moment. It is my task to keep them in line."
"Oh. Right. You're with Aspire. Shit. Does the university still think this field trip will be a problem?"
"They think everything is going to be a problem, Wyeth," Hal said matter-of-factly, "When you are the leading university of Indanaw, you have to take things seriously after all. Providing services that match the university's reputation is serious business work. The city of Kroph expects nothing less when they are housing that same university."
"I guess." I turn to the ship once more. "But even you can't deny how exciting this all sounds. Let's fuck shit up!"
I was expecting him to say something in protest, or once again call me out for my swearing so casually.
"This is a marvel to behold, I will admit. What secrets does this ship contain? What words it heard before the crew members were killed in combat after a hail of bullets and a storm of swords?" He paused, adjusting his glasses. Was it my imagination or did his eyes soften?
"You are definitely going to win her heart this time. The sea is a mysterious entity that evokes a sense of romance. An effective cliché, Wyeth."
My eyes widened. Does he know? I can't be too sure.
